Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1922-09-22
sH al. RIGHTS AND
- '"tS EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

One of the hopeful signs in the edu-
cational situation is the growing con-
cern which persons of leadership out
side of professional are showing for
the educational needs of the Nation.
1t becomes increasingly evident that
the problem of educating all the peo-
pie is a problem for thinking men
and women regardless of occupation.
The following plea for equal rights
and equal opportunities is an editorial
by DIR. H. ]. Waters which appeared
recently in the Weekly Kansas City
Star:
mo part of the Nations education
al system is worthy of so much con-
scious concern as is the school where
its farmers are prepared for their du-
ties and responsibilities. And no part
of nations education system is so
difficult to develop and maintain sat
sifactorily as its rural schools
Educating one considerable part Of
it's children well and another part
badly is an unsafe program for any
nation, however rich and powerful.
"The principle upon which our ma
tion was founded-that Of equal rights
and equal opportunities to all--is be-
ing grossly violated in the matter Of
the education of the country child.
Equal opportunity is not even approx
mated when the children of the city
attend school in comfortable, COM
modious, sanitary and well-lighte1
building; and taught by well-trained
and carefully supervised teachers; are
accurately graded and given every
facility that modern progress has pro-
vided, while children of the farm are
brought together in poor, one-roCm
schoolhouse, where one teacher,
poorly trained, inexperienced under
paid girl, teaches all grades and that
without modern help and with almost
no supervision To the inexperienced
country teacher is given the most diff
fcult task in education-that Of
teaching the entire range of elemen-
tary subjects to small and unclassified
groups.
Eight million farm children in the
| United States must be satisfied with
an education costing twenty-four dol
lars a year each, while approximately
IAN equal number of city children have
Ispent upon their education forty dol
lars a year. The country chiid's
school year is thirty y-eight days short
Ell than the city child's school year.
The country child gets only six years
of elementary schooling as compared
with eight years given the city child.
County children lose by absence on
the average twenty-eight per cent of
seven months school year and the
children of a town school lose but
twenty-one per cent of nine months
school year.
Half of the rural teachers of the
United States have never finished a
four-year high school course; ten per
cent have never studied beyond the
grade they teach; and only two in
hundred have graduated from a nor
NAL school or college. In only twelve
states is provision made for profes-
sionally prepared supervisor for rural
schools. Every town of the United
States has well trained supervisors for
its schools. In more than half the
states county superintendent of edu-'
cation-those in charge of rural
schools-are chosen on the basis of
their political affiliations. No other
school supervisor is so chosen.
"No wonder the country chilfs in
terest in school lags; no wonder the
attendance record in country schools is
low; no wonder progress in education
, among country children is unsatisfac-
tory The fault lies not with eoun-
= try children but with country schools
"But merely talking about the de-
ficiencies of country schools accom-
plishes nothing. If we hope to equal
ize the educational opportunities Of
the country and city child we must
take radical steps with the country
school. We must make the country the
school unit and replace the isolated
weak, one-room school with a we'll
supervised and well equipped consOli-
dated institution.
CAS- good schools in the country as
in the city is the only safe course for
any nation"
AN EVpI I.ANATTnN