Part 40 (1/2)

The facing table shows the number of days the public schools were open, the average number of days of attendance by each pupil enrolled, and the rank of the state in each case, for each state in the school year 1915-1916.

Why would it not be more democratic to permit children to attend school or not as they or their parents wish?

Discuss the statement that ”education makes people free.” Compare this statement with a somewhat similar statement made on page 136, Chapter XI.

What is the compulsory school age in your state?

Is wide variation in the compulsory school age among the different states a good thing? Why?

Is the compulsory school law rigidly enforced in your state? How is it enforced?

How much of each year must a child spend in school during the compulsory period in your state?

Investigate the reasons given by pupils in your community for leaving school before completing the course, and report.

What rank does your state hold with respect to length of term? to average daily attendance of pupils? (See table.)

What rank does your state hold with respect to number of children of school age in and out of school? (See table.)

What is the length of your own school year? Do you think it should be lengthened? Why?

Get from your teacher or princ.i.p.al the average daily attendance for each pupil enrolled in your school; in your county. Do you think this record could be improved?

Is there any good reason why the school year should be shorter in rural communities than in cities?

It is advocated by many that schools should be open the year round. What advantages can you see in the plan? Debate the question.

THE DISTRICT SCHOOL

The pioneer family was dependent at first upon its own efforts for the education of its children. When other families came, a schoolhouse was built, a teacher employed and the work of teaching the elements of knowledge was handed over to the school. This was the origin of the ”district school,” which is characteristic of pioneer conditions. As the population grew and local government was organized, the unit of local government tended to become the unit for school administration. In New England this was the ”town”

or towns.h.i.+p; in the South it was the county; in the West it was sometimes the towns.h.i.+p and sometimes the county, or else a combination of the two. In a large number of the western states, however, and in a few of the eastern states, the district school persists in many rural communities, a relic of pioneer conditions.

It is often felt that it is more democratic for each district to administer its own school, subject only to the laws of the state.

Under the district system there is an annual school meeting of the voters of the district, who vote the school taxes, determine the length of the school year, and elect a board of education or school trustees. The trustees look after the school property, choose the teacher and fix his salary, and in a general way manage the school business. Each school is independent of all other schools.

TOWNs.h.i.+P ORGANIZATION

Under the towns.h.i.+p system all of the schools of the towns.h.i.+p are administered by a towns.h.i.+p board or committee (or by a single trustee in Indiana) elected by the people of the towns.h.i.+p. The chief advantages over the district system are that all the schools of the towns.h.i.+p are administered by a single plan, the taxes are apportioned to the schools according to needs, and pupils may be transferred from one school to another at convenience. In New England two or three towns.h.i.+ps are sometimes united into a ”union district” supervised by a single superintendent.

COUNTY ORGANIZATION

Under the county system all the schools of the county are under the management of a county board and, usually, a county superintendent. In 29 of the 39 states that have county superintendents they are elected by the people, in 8 states they are appointed by the county board, in Delaware they are appointed by the governor, and in New Jersey by the state commissioner of education. Election of the county superintendent is losing favor on the ground that there is less a.s.surance of securing a highly trained man. The chart on page 293 shows a plan of organization for county schools proposed to the legislature of South Dakota by the United States Bureau of Education.

ADVANTAGES OF SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION

Among the advantages of the county system are greater economy, more nearly equal educational opportunity for all children of the county, and better supervision because of the larger funds available for this purpose. It is under the county system of organization that the movement for SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION is progressing most rapidly. By this is meant the union of a number of small, poorly equipped schools into a larger, well-graded, and well equipped school. Its advantages may best be suggested by an example.

In Randolph County, Indiana, there were, in 1908, 128 one-room schools in the open country, with an attendance of from 12 to 60 pupils doing grade work only, 6 two-room schools in hamlets, with grade work only; 2 three room schools in villages, with grade work and two years of high school work with a six months' term; 3 four- room village schools, with grade work and three years of high school work with a six months' term; 1 six-room school in a town, with grade work and four years of high school work with an eight months' term.

By consolidation, 113 one-room schools and 4 two-room schools were supplanted by 20 consolidated schools with two grade teachers; 6 with four grade teachers, 6 with five grade teachers; 2 with six grade teachers; and 1 with eight grade teachers--a total of 86 grade teachers doing the work formerly done by 148 teachers, and doing it better. Fifteen of the schools have a four-year high school course with an eight months' term. For the five-year period preceding consolidation not more than half of the eighth-grade pupils attended high school; after consolidation, an average of 96 per cent of the eighth-grade pupils went to high school.