Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1920-11-24
3 EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS
NOTES FROM THE THREE BIG
CONVENTIONS
Four Hundred Twenty-Seven Board
Members Teachers and Visitors
Attend the Three Gatherings

The splendid attendance at each of
the three school board and teachers
conventions held at Viroqua, LaFarge
and Hillsboro respectively last week, is
indicative of the interest that is being
aroused in behalf of the most import
ant business in our county-that of
educating our boys and girls. Super
intendent Sanford and his staff of
able assistants are making every eff
fort to bring about better school con-
ditions in Vernon county. We under
stand that every rural school, but one,
has been visited already this fall; and
that besides the inspection so as to
find out local conditions and problems,
tests in one of the basic subjects has
been given and the teachers and pupils
left with means to make immediate
in fundamentals of arith-
metic. Reports have been made to
each clerk of the most pressing needs
and suggestions for improvement of
conditions. The good attendance at the
school board conventions is an evil
dence to the fact that school boards
are becoming more and more interest
ed in the problems of their schools,
and are giving time and attention to
the solution of those problems.
AS stated in these columns last
week the Viroqua meeting over-taxed
the county normal building and ad-
journed to the auditorium and gallery
of the Nj. E. church. There were pres
ent PIT school officers, 95 teachers and
"a interested visitors-in all 346. The
enrolment at LaFarge and Hillsboro
was 80 and 81 respectively. In all
BOB school officers 154 teachers and 70
visitors. The main speaker at each
session was the state Inspector of ru-
raj schools, Geo. S. Dick, who is new
to this state but experienced and well
seasoned in the service of rural schools
His talks upon school attendance and
consolidated schools were both sane
and convincing. No one who heard
this gentleman can doubt his sincerity
nor ability to cope with any of the
many problems now confronting the
gestions that will be food for thought
on the part of those interested in our
boys and girls educations, and can
not but result in promoting better
schools. Other speakers on the print
ed program were supervising teacher,
Matte r. Jackson and Prin. A. w.
and timely talks upon real problems
of the schools. Superintendent San
ford was in charge of the meetings and
made announcements of good school
week and explained the rural teachers
group meetings which will be held in
seventeen communities in the county
during the two weeks beginning at the
Partridge school November 4. Music
was furnished by the local school in
each case. 1t was a noteworthy re-
suit of the character of the meetings
that the school board members used
the opportunity given them to discuss
the various topics. The most immed-
late gratifying result of these discus
sions is the fact that a talk by school
board member from the audience brot
up the vote for the sentiment of the
convention upon the subject of county
of text books. There was
but one dissenting vote at Viroqua,
and the vote was without dissenting
vote at each of the other meetings.
Superintendent Sanford informs US
that a meeting for the entire county
at one place is necessary to take le-
gal vote, therefore he will call such a
meeting at Vtime before the an
nual school meeting, to settle the ques-
ton of county adoption of uniform
text books. This will be done as he
believes that many more districts will
then vote free text books at the an
nual meeting. He believes that no
school is in reality free public school
unless it furnishes free text books
the material with which to conduct the
school.