Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1932-10-27
MCCONNELL GIVES
TALK AT ASKOV
State Commissioner OF Education Re-
views History OF MinneSOta'S
Educational System.

About 20 people were present at
the regular meeting of the Askov
Parent-Teachers association las t
Thursday night and heard program
featured by the presence of j. NJ.
Mcconnell, state commissioner of edu-
cation, of st. Paul.
Mr.. Mcconnell went into the history
of Minnesota and the origin of the
establishment of the school system
which is comparable among the fore
most states of the nation. Mr.. Nc
Connell said that Minnesota had the
largest school fund of any state and
it is this fund which furnishes sta
bility to the school system. In 1878
President Folwell of the University
OF Minnesota had a university, virtu-
ally, without students for there was
no high school system in the state
capable of graduating students with
university credentials. The speaker
then told of the steps taken to estab-
lish the efficient system which is now
supported. 1t was a big undertaking
and must be uniform all over the
state so that any boy or girl, no mat
ter where he or she might live, might
enjoy the privilege of this education.
Twelve years after the movement
was inaugurated the high school en-
rOllment was 1870 of the entire state
school enrolment In the next ten
years the enrolment in high school
had climbed to $3.50 and in 1920 it
was $40 of the school population.
Now, out of every 100 pupils in state
school enrolment 20 are in the high
schools, or figuring on the percentage
basis the calculation would be 20.6%.
In 1923 said Mr.. Mcconnell, Is chill
dren were in high school for every
100 who entered school IL years be-
fore. In other words, IL had con-
tinued on to high school while IS
had quit before they had become high
school students. In 1882 this percent
age had increased until now there are
fore entered school. This is a re-
markable development, said the speak
er, and the high school standard has
been raised.
State Pays Tuition.
Two years ago the state legislature
made it possible for the state to pay
the tuition of those living outside
district so that they might attend
high school, and since that time this
class of attendance has increased -
per cent. The schools vary teaching
with the progress of the times, said
the speaker. The average person, of
course thinks the cost of the high
school system has incre aSed treme ndu-
ously with the II per cent it shows,
but not so, said Mr.. Mcconnell, when
it is seen that the high school en-
rOllment has doubled. The people of
the state are responsible for this in
crease for it is the people as a whole,
who furnish the children for the
schools. The school boards all over
the state, as rule, are making an
honest effort, Mr.. Mcconnell said, to
get as much school work as can be
had for the amount of money allotted.
1t is a fact that there will not be as
much money spent this year for edu-
cation, but the time will come again
when there will be as much spent
unless an inferior educational sys EN-
will be the result. The school will
bear it's share of the burden of re-
duced expenditures but it should not
bear more. The education of the
child mush be given when that child
is ready for it. His or her education
cannot wait unless society will suffer.
In commenting further on the
school system of the state. Mr.. Nc
Connell said that insofar as he knew,
no children in Minnesota are deprived
of a chance to go to school due to
the lack of school facilities. Mime
sofa has supported the school system
we'll considering the hard times. A
country that keeps such percentage
of its children in school as does Min
nesOta, is a good country in which
to have children grown up i'm, con-
cluded Mr.. Mcconnell.
The Commissioner of Education was
accompanied to AskOv by T. j. Bern
ing, statistician of the state depart
ment of education.
The remainder of the program was
made up of songs by the audience and
solos on the violin by Hjalmar Peter
sen accompanied on the piano by Mrs.
p. N. Fenger. Lunch was served and
the usual social hour of visiting was
enjoyed.
The next meeting of the Parent