The Lubbock avalanche. (Lubbock, Tex.) 1909-1922, 1921-11-01

Phobe X. Warner in Star-Telegram,
Can't afford what? Can't afford
a county high school. Course not;
No little town can afford to build ana
equip and support a modern nigh
school for the whole county. Yet
that Is Just what most of our small
county seats of our big, thinly set
tied counties are doing, or trying TO
do. minus the modern part. Here
is the way II Is in West Texas: The
farmer or the big ranchman wants
his children to have good educa-
ton. There are not enough children
for more than one, or at the most
two-room school out in the country.
In such a school the teacher has
plenty to do, but no matter how hard
she tries she cannot create as inter-
esting school with two or three pu-
pills in a class as If there were doz-
en- or more. What happensY
II possible, as soon as the children
are old enough to go to school the
family moves to town to put the chill
dren in school. They may buy a
home and they may not. They do
not have to buy a home in town II
they do not want to. The children
whose parents are worth two or three
thousand dollars has the same adj
vantage Of the town school as the
mans child who pays hundred dol
lars schco, tax annually. That IS
democratic, we say. So the rich
mans child goes to good school for
eleven years and it may cost the
father as much as $500 tax a year
or the total sum Of $1,000 TO send
his boy or girl through the whole
public free school. But" says the
well-to-do farmer with home where
ever he needs one for convenience,
al pay MY school tax out in the
country where my farm is. / help
But he does not build the kind OF "a
school there he wants his child to at
tend or he would keep his child IN
the home school. No, he helps TO
build a school good enough for his
neighbor's children who cannot go
to town TO school. And it is not long
until he is losing interest in the home
school because he has no interest in
it. His child and his school interest
is in another school that is not costing
him anything. And naturally he is
not so very deeply interested in the
town school. When you tap him for
a contribution for the town school he
pays to keep up the country school
When you tap him for the country
school his children are going 70 the
town school.
But the hope Of Texas Is this; No
all Of our town farmers belong (
"a e fIhl
town school is overtayed and runninl
over, full Of pupils today becaus'
every year the country is cominl
more and more 20 town 20 school
The school roll is increasing but tn
tax roll is not. Consequently tn
town school. built by the town dis
trict for the town children, is crowd
ed 20 an unhealthy condition for bot
teacher and pupils; the town teache
is imposed on by extra work, an
the rural school is slowly dying o
general starvation What happen
again? The country boy or girl tina
cannot come 30 town TO school drop
out along the way and is soon los
from the school roll.
Here are few facts from our owl
them with your county and see wher
you are. Last year in the primar,
room Of our school there were sixt.
little tots 20 be taught their letter
and the first years work All IN tn
same room. One teacher 10 keel
them all busy and happy, These be
side a kindergarten Of twenty-five
more the first Of the year. In th'
graduating class Of the same schoo
there were eight members. Out II
the rural schools there were two anC
three and some places no graduates
in the tenth grade In our towr
school, a town Of a thousand inhabi
tants, we have graduated one towr
boy in two years, or an average Of q
half boy a year There were -four
other boy graduates in the two years
but all four from the farms. These
boys Travelled an average Of ten miles
nor dav to % 10 school. 800 miles