The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1922-12-14

II right. boise mas cOrpS VI tuoW
.middlemen, or women, who come
between the teachers and the city
or between the
teachers and principals. The sup
ervisors step In and take charge OF
q room and give some tests to see Il
the course of study is being carried
out properly, and that seems to re-
feet upon the integrity or ability OF
the teacher or pupils or both. Some
times the supervisor would disap-
prove of the way the teacher taught,
and that lowered the teacher In the
eyes Of the pupils. 1t was subject
Of anxiety, and In the opinion Of the
mothers, q weakness In the school.
A good many of them complained
that the pupils did not know very
much for certain, and seemed to be
getting a smattering Of the subjects.
but not enough to be counted as
real worth. They complained OF
lack OF system, and q general hurry
scurry and pell-mell effort to get by.
Not How Well, How Much
It was stated that the supervisors
in making speed tests did not seem
to prize accuracy. One instance was
given where eighteen short prob
lens were given and solved. in IS
minutes, and fifteen out OF the
eighteen were solved wrong, but
they made 1t In the time given and
that seemed satisfactory. The fact
that pupils did not understand what
they were doing and that their
solutions would ruin anything that
was based on them, did not seem Of
any consequence to the supervisor
80 long as the speed was there.
Many complaints were made OF sim
iiar Inconsistencies, and when the
business men had their innings,
they complained that high school
graduates could not be trusted to
figure out prices because they made
so many mistakes. and very few OF
them knew fraction at all. II the
graduate was selling one and q
quarter yards at so cents q yard,
he could charge correctly for the
yard, but would be confused by the
fraction, and might charge almost
anything for that. Anything in
fractions seemed hazy to the gradu-
ates and they had to be taught and
drilled into it before they could be
allowed to sell and make change.
The Graduates Said
When the graduates had their
inning, they confessed to two
things-they had bluffed their way
thru school, and the management
was such that they could BLUM their
way thru. They were allowed tt
select what studies they would take
and they generally took the easy
ones. A favorite way Of sluffing thu
work when they felt indisposed t.
stay in and work was to ask to bt
excused to attend to-and then they
would name some school activity
such as practicing for the show Of
the game or getting up material fol
| the school paper. or whatever woule
! sound plausible, and much Of thu
time they could get by on 1t. The!
confessed that they did not under
stand what they had been thru, ant
some Of the people who had EN-
ployed students said they did no
| find that the high school graduates
knew any more that was useful II
business than the grammar schoo
graduates and the sooner they wen
into q business concern and got t
learning something actual and ex
act and useful, the sooner they go
to be worth something. Those whit
had bluffed their way thur schoo
naturally tried bluffing their way II
business and that was fatal to sue
cess and had to be taken out o
them.
System is Wrong
A part of the rottenness OF tn
system accounting for the lack o
thoroness all thru is that tn
teacher whose pupils make thei
grades is accounted a better teache
than one who has some pupils Wit
are not advanced with the class
| The conscientious teacher who In
sists on thoroness even at the cos
| NJ demotion. gets a bad record as