Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1926-04-22
AFFIRMATIVE
ALBERT LOUIS GELDERS

Mf. CnalFmdll, 1oHot aOiS SuN@S"'
Fellow Students, Worthy Oppo-
nents:
One Board of Education composed
of members from the rural districts
and city wards in proper proportion
will have one school fund for the en-
tire county, there will be one require
ment for teachers, one salary sched-
ule, one length of school term, one
course of study, one superintendent,
one body of supervisors. The ad-
vartages of education will be. evenly
distributed regardless of city and
county lines. One Board OF Educa-
tion would help because the repre-
sentatives of the country and city
could meet and get to know each
other better. They could also make
plans for the city and rural schools
alike. One school fund would help
because then the money from the
rural and city schools would be to-
gether and when one of the schools
wanted some kind of playground
equipment, ETC., which would cost
more than they could have paid out
of their separate fund they could
easily pay it out of common or
consolidated fund. One requirement
for teachers would help because then
both schools could get expert super
vision. One course of study would
help because both rural and city
schools would get the same instruc-
ton and therefore would be on the
same footing.
This plan will be economical for
If means a reduction of overhead ex-
pense. 1t will bring better teachers
and better buildings. It will bring
the schools in the country up to the
same standard as the schools in the
city, for there will be but one pur-
pose in the mind of the administra-
tive board and that is to care for all
the schools regardless of where To-
Gated.
Wherever this plan has been tried
it worked well. Take for instance
the schools of South and North Caro-
lima and Florida. The negative side
may say that the schools of Florida
are one grade lower than our schools
and therefore not as good, but this is
wrong because the Florida schools
are more complete than ours, includ-
ing IL grades.
My opponents may say that it
would take too much time for one
superintendent to make the rounds of
all the schools in the city and coun-
ty, but secretary could be hired for
a small sum to do the general office
work, receive the reports of the prin-
cipals, and hand in a report OF the
most important matters to the super
intendent, leaving him free to make
his rounds and inspect and note the
progress of the schools.
We have lately been aroused to
the farmers bad condition and given
him better roads, rural telephones,
rural mail delivery, farm demon
strators, county agents, and few
other things, all Of which the city
helps to pay for. But when it comes
to schools for the farmers children
the city has been singularly aloof.
This made the farmer dissatisfied.
They want good schools and have
moved to town to get them. If this
keeps on for a few years there will
not be enough farmers to raise crops
for us to live on; besides this the I'M
cultivated land will not be put into
use as quickly as otherwise.
We can remedy this by making
life more attractive, and furnishing
schools to farmers children. By
furnishing good schools to farmers
children, the children would learn
many things which would make farm
life more interesting and this would
reduce the number of boys and girls
who leave the farm every year. But
the cities who have wealth must pay
for the schools and to wake the cities
up to this need there must be one
The county unit of organization
will organize the whole area of our
counties regardless of city lines.
In the Cotton Pool News for March,
in some propositions in the farmers
platform, it was said that "the farm
er is entitled to just as good living
for himself and his fam
lily as others enjoy" "that his chill
dren are entitled to just as good
educational advantages as other chill
dren have" and that he is entitled i
to an educational system which will
reflect, recognize and utilize the cul-
tural influences of country life and
its environments in the same degree
nizes and reflects the influences of |
urban life
Therefore the rural schools should |
have the same advantages as the city
children in books, teachers and equip
ment.