Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1921-04-06

greater Reorganization of our schoo
system due to the ravages of tina
terrible disease, the Spanish Influenza
What little there was left of system
and regularity of school work gave
way entirely with the approach of this
new disorganizing factor. The rura
| school, of course, was the heaviest
sufferer. Many schools were closed
for months at time, only to find
when school re-opened that merely a
handful of the pupils were in at
tendance. Under those conditions and
handicaps, the first year and a half
of my incumbency of the office was
finished.
AS became better acquainted with
the various school units, the town
ships, under my jurisdiction, l be-
came more and more convinced that
a thorough reorganization of the
entire system of rural schools would
be necessary before we might hope to
attain to that standard of rural school
education to which l aspired. There
was scarcely a pretense of proper
organization of classes within the
schoolroom or definite classification
of pupils. 1t seemed that no two
schools were using the same kind
of textbooks. No course of study of
any kind was in use, nothing whatso-
ever to guide the immature and in
narinnnn1 IN, hn,,
OF course, the results were proportion
ately discouraging. 1t was obvious
that a course of study was the i'm
mediate and the vital need of the
rural school system. Such a course
of study could not possibly be built
up until the schools, in which it was
to be used, had uniform textbooks.
The task ahead was clear but not a
pleasant one, at best. However, it so
happened that there were a number
OF wide-awake, progressive and intel
ligent school officials in the county
at that time who willingly and un-
selfishly gave our office every as
sistance in the selection and adoption
of uniform set of textbooks for all
the rural schools. On the basis of
these textbooks, then worked out the
present plan of the Delaware County
Outline Course of Study and the
six weeks examination plan which has
proved so successful in our rural
schools and which has since it's intro
duction here been copied by a num-
Der of counties in the State of Iowa.
With this plan, even the weagest
teacher will find it possible to keep
her school properly graded, the pu-
pills correctly classified and the work,
as assigned for the grade, completed
at the close Of the year. OF course,
the success of the plan, at that, de-
ponds upon the quality and the abil-
ity of the teacher. To my knowledge,
no "cure-all' has ever been discover
ed by anyone which will make a
competent teacher out of an indiffer-
ent or incompetent schoolma am. The
kind words of praise and appreciation
that the better class of teachers of
our county have for the system, as
is now used in our rural schools, and
the six weeks examination plan, that
goes with it. has been a source of
pleasure and inspiration to me. The
six weeks examination plan is prob
ably familiar to most of you. Briefly.
1t requires the teacher to give ex-
animation over the subject matter of
the textbook at the end of each six
weeks period that the school has been
in session. inasmuch as the course of
study provides exactly for the num-
Der of pages that the teacher should
cover in each subject, during each
six weeks, it is reasonable to expect
that she will be able to write proper
examination questions covering the
six weeks work. She sends those
questions to the office of the County
Superintendent. Here they are care
fully reviewed, the best questions
mimeographed and then sent
out to all the teachers. Thus, eX-
are given througout the
entire county, on the same days, cover
ng the same ground and asking uni
,orm questions of the pupils. No
or deception is possible and