Year: 1872

Editor Superior Times


Dear Sir: Those who would visit the High School
of Superior must either 90 early often. Your cor
respondent learned this by experience. He had been
warned beforehand but went little too late and the
door was shut In plain English the DOR Of the High
School building is locked certain number of minutes
after the opening of the morning session It IS very
proper measure, and designed to ensure punctual
iy, quality that is simply essential to uphold good
teaching and secure good scholarship We were on
hand next time early enough surprise the janitor
and be in advance of the teacher


Mr.. John W Sercomb, the Principal Of this School,
entered upon his duties as such, last October Com
inc to Us from the city of Milwaukee, he has been the
means of introducing into Superior in part, the excel


lent school code of that city This measure, judging
by its working the past winter, has proved success


But one Of the eight rooms of the High School
building, is occupied present This is the south
room on the ground floor. The teachers desk is near
the northeast wall OF this apartment. Behind the desk
painted upon the wall itself is equivalent for the
blackboard. This upon the morning of our visit was
covered with we'll written statements of examples in
simple interest At the opposite end of the room is
Washington map of the United States. On the north
west wall hang few small sized outline maps of Nit
ches series The rules of the School Board, as aso
the tabular statement of the Averages or respective
rank in attendance department and scholarship OF the
pupils are posted where they may be consulted by ALL


The exercises of the morning proceeded quietly the
school being as we were glad to observe under adj
vanced state of discipline. Pupils called to their
classes one at a time, and that not by name but by
GrSt haar this that II
must be difficult for teacher and scholars to remember
these personal numbers but after hearing few classes
thus called the numbers began to asten themselves in
our own memory, and present writing we recall ten
or a dozen without effort.


The recitations heard during visit in arth-
metic and geography The pupils received from their
teacher no prompting leading questions or other sup
pleinents and props of defective scholarship. 1t was
evident they we're rectng what they knew, and were
expected bv the teacher and themselves to depend up
on their own resources. The written examples on the
blackboard came in play during of the recitations
The scholars did not know what would be there. Nor
did they know a visitor would be present There was
trihe of embarrassment; few instances of partial
failure But the recitation the whole was credit
to teacher and class as revealing plainly the system of
teaching, aud manner OF aiu IecltdIioI' 'SioiS
the class was dismissed each pupil gave the number of
examples in the lesson he had worked out before com


inc to recitation. The class then dismissed as 1t
had been summoned, by calling each scholars number
in succession.


4 class in geography recited the lesson perbatia
Your correspondent is persuaded that this wordtor-
word system is the best in the long run 1t scholar
will not trouble himself to acquire the exact language
of the book he will rarely trouble himself to acquire
the exact ideas of the book. And especially In geo
graphy the scholar soon pronounces all soils fertile


if not all climates ~ unless he is confined vigorously
to the very words of our school text books, that IN
geography especially are condensed enough already
We are gratifed a the evident progress the High
School has made this winter and bespeak the warm
upholdng and approval of its efficient drill on the part
! of parents and citizens. Yours &c, VISITOR