Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1930-02-20
SchoolNotes
COUNTY SCHOOL NOTES

Tests for illiteracy OF yesterda,
will not meet the requirements Of to
day. If literacy means ability t.
read, recent statistics show a fairl,
favorable position. If it means thu
ability to interpret and the desir'
to understand the function of law, i
it means the inclination to understand
current developments, if it can tn,
ability to function in community life
we are not in so favorable a position
In the light of this we have peopl,
who are schooled but who, in a de
gree at least, may be i~lliterates. Thi:
is u situation that the schools have
understood. They have undertaken
to remedy it through student guild.
anee through encouragement of indie
pendent thinking, initiative, the in.
terpretation of present day events
interest in community and nationa'
affairs, a concern for ethical and
health development-all of which
conserve or strengthen community
life. These form a part Of the school
detectives.
AS children. we knew little of
movies-now we know too much
Formerly it was a nickel for a quar-
ter of a pie, now it is fifteen cents
for a sixth, and the taste is dimin-
ished. Formerly youth gained an
abundant supply of entertainment
and recreation from Gods out-of
doors through wholesome companion
ship and play; now pleasure and am
uSement are set up on a budget basis
at so much an hour. 1t now costs
more per hour to amuse a child than
it does TO educate me 1t could not
be foreseen that the nickel to the
boy of yesterday would seem as large
as the dollar to the youth of today.
This contrast is not due to greater
costs as much as it is to the fact that
it takes more and greater variety to
furnish the satisfying thrill.
In a like degree the standard of
understanding has changed A few
years ago we were concerned with
the ability to read and write. Their
has largely been accomplished in ac-
cessible region. There has come q
new idea and a standard of literacy.
1t is not alone the ability to read, but
the ability to grasp what is read.
1t is no longer sufficient to negatively
recognize law but urgently necessary
to strengthen law and order. 1t is
no longer desirable to permit a life
to boat to its placement-it is lee
essary to guide it in its growth. 1t
is no longer desirable to p~assively
exist but rather to have a life func-
ton actively for community and So
cial betterment. That the broader
scope of education has not been pre-
valent in years past is evidenced by
the number of adults now taking ev-
ening courses in a wide variety of
subjects. Our schools, sensing the
need, have been ready to make these
privileges available. Under the pres
ent plan of instruction the demand
for evening courses should gradually
diminish, as the schools are now
furnishing by way of instruction what
was missing when present adult life
was of school age.
The enthusiasm Of those engaged
in this work is contagious, their eff
forts heroic, their purposes sound
and their accomplishments crafty
ing. A new and refreshing view of
the purpose and detectives Of teach
ing is in evidence.-Better Schools
League.
Miss Gladys Void, teacher of the
Nickerson school in district No. IA,
reports 100 per cent attendance for
the past month.
As a result of the January State
7th and 9Th grade examinations the
following pupils received their eighth
grade diplomas: Clarence Grove, Beu-
lab Joyce, Wallace Nelson, Myrtle
Rasmussen, Selmer Samuelson.
Sheridan County Unit of M. E. A.
has for the current year 1877 out of
a possible 152 members. Among the
counties Of the state we rank 23rd in
per cent of membership. Eleven
counties had a membership of 100
per cent or more of the number Of
teaching positions.
Ethel E. Singleton