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ANNUAL REPORT OP SUPERIN
TENDENT TO BOARD OP
EDUCATION
POR YEAR 1008 1909
The total enrollment In McCook
schools for the school year just past
was 1118 Compared- with the total
enrollment of the year before this
shows a net gain of 79 Of these
9G7 were enrolled In the grades
and 151 in the high school The
year before there were 893 in the
grades and 141 In the high school
This gives a gain for this year in
goth grades and high school
We should be proud of the large
number of boys in the high scnooi
this year There are more boys enroll
ed in the McCook high school than in
most schools the proportion being
79 boys and 72 girls
From year to year the number in
the various grades changes compara
tively If the number enrolled In
the first eight grades could be arbi
trarily divided by eight the whole
number would then be equally di
vided among the eight grades and
the assignment of classes and grades
would be much simplified In the
practical management of a school the
reverse of this much desired condi
tion is often the true situation 1
called your attention at mid year to
the unequal enrollment in the differ
ent grades During all of last year the
preparatory and first grades were
very full and the seventh and eighth
grades were in the same condition
The coming year the crowded condi
tion in the lower grades will be car
ried on into and including the sec
ond grade while the crowded condi
tion in the seventh and eighth wfll
be pushed up into the eighth grades
and the high school
There will be therefore a corre
sponding dimunition of numbers in
the middle grades This may make
necessary some shifting of teachers to
meet the opposition of numbers in
those grades that are crowded As
a usual thing the individual teach
ers do not like to be shifted in their
work
We had a total of 27 non resident
pupils in the high school as com
pared with 27 the year before The
detailed statistics of the attendance
of non resident pupils is to be founa
In the permanent record book on
pages 240 to 247 inclusive We
nave found a little
as to what constitutes free school
privileges As the law and decisions
of the courts now stand free school
privileges depend upon residence in
the district and not in any way upon
taxes paid or property owned in the
district In any individual case it
is simply a question of the pupils
legal residence This situation some
times brings up questions of peculi
ar turn
Soon after school commenced last
fall it became evident that we woulcl
have to employ more teachers to take
care of the added numbers in certain
grades having extra enrollment as
shown above Accordingly the teach
ing corps was increased by two one
in the eighth grade and one in the
first grade This gave a total of 26
teachers including superintendent
the largest in the history of the
school
According to the stubs of the war
rant book the expenditures for tne
school year ending July 12 have been
as follows
Teachers 1427970
Fuel 159202
Apparatus 9102
Textbooks 1130 43
Supplies 82456
Furniture 46942
Janitors 176600
Incidentals 115506
Repairs and improvements 485702
Total 2616523
For purposes of comparison it is
hard to classify correctly all expen
ses and not always are correct con
clusions reached when an attempt to
compare classified expenditures Is
made
The items of Incidentals Refer
ence Books Text Books and Furni
ture for the year 1907 1908 totals
536918 The same items for the
year just past total 367049
The two years just past have been
years extraordinary on account of the
building expenses the first and the
heavy repairs and improvements last
year In the year just past the dis
trict spent 485702 alone on re
pairs and improvements
On this point an explanation would
be in order The toilet and closet fix
tures at the East ward was the larg
est item in the improvement list and
it was undoubtedly money well spent
Then a new boiler and new chimney
both were put in at the West ward
At the Central building the grading
and fixing of the lawn with the fin
ishing of one new room made quite
an expense there It will thus be
seen that each of the three large
called for which had to be done with
out question
c
V r d
At the second Monday of July n
year ago there was the sum of 5
58000 in the treasury and the flrsc
of July this year there was 359808
in the treasury Considering the
fact of hiring two additional teachers
and the heavy -expense in improve
ment the past years financial rec
ord seems commendable
It is undoubtedly good economy
to be liberal in the matter of repair
ing and keeping in shape any pub
lic building
I would suggest that the floor
should be put in the gymnasium so
that the boys and girls can have the
use of it practically the whole year
The floor in the boiler room of tne
Central building needs to be cement
ed The Board has already autno
rized the repairing of the windows so
that needs no mention
At the West ward suitable cross
ings and walks are badly needed
There is much work at the West
ward that should be done by the
city
The city authorities are very reas
onable in matters of public improve
ment and they would probably Be
willing to fix a crossing over the big
ditch that has been made to carry
the water past the West ward build
ing As the ditch now stands it is a
menace to the safety of the children
and ought to be fixed by all means
A sidewalk to the West ward directly
west from the New Opera House is
much needed to accommodate the
pupils living north and East of the
West ward It seems reasonable for
the Board to confer with the City
Council and see what can be done to
make the situation there safe and
agreeable From the scarcity of visi
tors I venture the suggestion that
few of our citizens know what a
comfortable and cozy school building
we now have in the West ward
The East ward building needs to
be painted on the outside roof in
cluded and new sidewalks outside
and inside put in with a lawn started
also The lawn is bound to be an
expensive proposition always but the
children and the people take great
pleasure in seeing and caring for a
nice school lawn At the Central
building we had practically no troub
le at all with the children running
over the lawn while it was starting
They took as great a pride in pro
tecting it as they would have taken
with their own property
I forgot to montion that a bell sys
tem with automatic attachments is
very badly needed at the Hgh School
building Where five class rooms
are running simultaneously it is very
important that the signals be rung
automatically The time lost in one
year to the district oy the present
system would pay for the whole ap
paratus We are indebted to the
kindness of several of the high school
pupils for the bell ringing the past
two years They deserve much cred
it for their faithfulness in this work
At least one crossing from Main
street over to the north side of the
Central building is needed to accom
modate pupils who now have to go
south to Mr Suttons corner in or
der to get to the High School build
ing without getting in the mud when
the weather is bad
The modern trend of our
trial and social life seems to point
to the fact that the average high
school is not doing all that it might
be expected of it along the line of
fitting boys and girls for the active
duties of life The courses of study
in most high schools are built along
the same lines as those of seventy five
years ago and simply prepare pu
pils to attend the college or universi
ty This preparation for college is
and should always be one of the
chief aims of the high school course
Certainly if the high school does not
do its work in giving inspiration to
the young people for higher educa
tion they will possibly not get the
inspiration
Ex commissioner Harris is au
thority for the statement that less
than ten per cent of those who enter
college and the university finish the
course A very small per cent of
those who finish the high school
ever enter any college or university
Is it not high time then for us to
give some consideration in our hign
school courses of study to the three
fourths of our high school graduates
who have heretofore been sadly neg
lected Let us put our course of
study in touch with the avenues open
to young men and young women who
graduate from our hign schools In
this manner we can hold the boys
and girls for graduation who would
otherwise drop out before the seni
or year and ultimately more would
graduate from the high school and
more enter the college university
and normal school than to hold to a
course made dry and impractical with
the dust of ages The American
high school should be the poor mans
college Let us make it so
buildings came in for a big share of j The majority of the boys and many
the improvement expense Owing to of the girls who graduate from our
business colleges shows that there
are many boys and girls who want
jcgcgrT3
some training before they go into
this career and the business men are
looking for those who have had speci
al training The courses in these
business colleges are usually short
and they are entirely practical A
commercial high school course should
give an entirely broader training
than can be had in so short a course
Some subjects which are of a general
character and which will broaden the
mind of the pupil should be taught
and many practical subjects should
be given in the most thorough man
ner While the business college
does not keep its pupils fnr more
than six months or perhaps a year
the commercial high school should
lay out a course covering four years
so that the training may De compar
able with that given in the ordinary
high school course The average boy
who goes into business life knows
very little about business methods
It is possible to give the student in
a commercial high school course of
study which will train him in busi
ness methods which will make him
an enthusiast in business and
which will render him of immediate
use to his employer A broad busi
ness course is not only of immediate
use to the young man who enters
business but it also strengthens the
mind and stores it with information
and with knwledge of methods which
will be of use in later years As the
college course broadens the mind
and enables a man to think along
many lines so a thorough commer
cial training will broaden the mind
and enable the student to reason
to think and to understand through
out his entire business career
Subjects which have been consider
ed necessary in the high school
course because they tend to develop
the mind should not for this reason
only be placed in a commercial
course Subjects should not be giv
en because they strengthen the mind
but subjects which are necessary in
this course should be given in such
a way as to strengtnen tne mina
The following are some of the sub
jects which ought to be taught Eng
lish science business correspond
ence business methods indexing
business organization and manage
ment banking accounting and aud
iting stenography and typewriting
Under the head of English should
be taught reading punctuation para
graphing composition penmanship
spelling and a most thorough course
in business letter writing The prac
tical applications of all of these to
correspondence and business meth
ods should be made of special import
ance
The science work should include
chemistry physics and botany The
general work in these suDJects should
be elementary but the practical ap
plications with reference to the ma
terials of commerce should be made
as complete as possible
Each student should be obliged
to take at least one modern language
German would be the best and study
it for a period of three or four years
A great deal of writing should be
brought in and the whole work
should be arranged with reference
to facility in foreign correspondence
Business houses now trade with the
whole world and it is necessary for
the well informed business man to
be able to handle a part at least of
the foreign correspondence of his
firm In one of the best commercial
schools of this country the pupils
write business letters to a similar
school in German These letters
are corrected by the German stud
ents and sent back At the same
time the German students write busi
ness letters to the American school
where they are corrected by the
American students In this way the
pupils of both institutions learn to
carry on business correspondence in
a foreign language
The mathematics in this course
should consist of business arithmetic
and mensuration The pupils should
be taught short and practical meth
ods of working business problems
Mental arithmetic should make up
quite a large part of this traning
The student should learn to think in
numbers without reference to pencil
and paper Every business man has
to compute lengths areas and solids
and a good course mensuration
should by all means be given Con
tinual drill in rapid calculation
should form an important part of
the mathematics
Commercial geography means the
study of the earth in its relations
to commerce The lines of trans
portation by railroads steamboats
and so on should be given McCook
being a railroad division headquar
ters the need of transportation
study and practicability needs no ar
gument The railroad will undoubt
edly continue in the future as in the
past to form the Important economic
factor in the life of our little city
A complete and thorough course
in book keeping should be given
Sufficient knowledge should be ob-
the cold weather there were a high schools go into business in some tained so that it would be possible
ber of items of necessary plumbing of its forms The success of the for a graduate to understand any set
of books in comparatively short time
and become familiar with them
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Stenography Is a useful subject for
a business man and should be given
as an elective Those who take It
should bo given a long and thor
ough course No other special lino
of business education has ever been
as often a stepping stone to high ex
ecutive positions as a good working
knowledge of stenography
A course in typewriting should bo
long and complete Practice in writ
ing from shorthand notes from copy
and dictation should all be given
This subject is the handmaid of
stenography and what is true of one
applies to the other
The subject of commercial law and
the principles of contracts would
form a necessary part of such
a course These subjects could best
be given by a lawyer who could speak
with authority on the points in
volved
The methods of business corre
spondence should be taken up the
latter part of the course and the
student taught to dictate direct
clear and concise letters
Business methods and business or
ganization and management should
all be given in the latter part of the
course Indexing letters filing cor
respondence and office system would
make up a part of the work
The history of banking the dffer
ent kinds of banks which have ex
isted in this and other countries and
the methods used in banking houses
should form a part of a commercial
training Accounting and auditing
should be taught and distinguished
from ordinary bookkeeping
It will be readily seen that such a
course would take four years of good
hard work It is much broader in its
scope and development than any
course given in any of the short
term business colleges which often
take pupils who have gone no farther
than the sixth grade Such a course
would give mental development to
compare with the college preparatory
course which is practically the stand
ard for 99 of the Nebraska high
schools today As I indicated a few
lines above McCook from her pe
culiar economic conditions seems to
need something of this sort of course
in our high schools not to displace
the other courses which we have so
well established but to supplement
it and offer a range of selection to
the boys and girls who do not want
and can never be made to want the
regular college course I wish the
Board of Education to consider care
fully the establishment of such a
course in our high school When
once determined upon the details
would easily be worked out It
would take four years to grow into
such a course It could not be start
ed in one year The expense would
thus be comparatvely light This
would be particularly true for those
who elected to take the commercial
course would evidently not be in the
other and would have to be taught
only once We are nearly to the
place now where we will have to
employ another teacher in the high
school as it is
At this point it seems proper to
mention the efficiency of the McCook
schools Too much cannot be said
for the splendid work and organiza
tion of my predecessor George H
Thomas
In the October number of the De
lineator was started a series of arti
cles entitled Whats The Matter
with the Public Schools In this
article much criticism on the teach
ing course of study and results gain
ed was freely given To illustrate
and prove some of the points regard
ing the actual accomplishment of pu
pils in the most practical subject
arithmetic definite reference was
made to a series of arithmetical tests
made in Cleveland by the Cleveland
Educational Commission I wrote to
Cleveland and got the actual
lems that had been given to the pu
pils there We had the problems
printed and gave them to the pupils
here The answers and work were
graded with the same degree of hard
ness as used by the Cleveland Edu
cational Commission They were
graded on the test of absolute accu
racy If any one little mistake was
made in the solution of the problem
the whole problem was marked
zero This is the business mans test
of the arithmetical ability of those
working for him It must be born
in mind that these problems were
s flirt nio lifTi rryn A r in
land and McCook under the same
conditions Neither teachers nor pu
pils knew the test was coming No
time was had therefore for practice
or preparation The problems were
to test the ability in the simple fun
damental operations and one in per
centage which was also a test in men
tal arithmetic The whole eighth
grade of McCook took the test in
cluding weak medium and strong
pupils with no exceptions I shall
give the problems and the results m
the case of each problem in both
schools
Addition
123456
8910
1 1
23456
789101
234
56789
210978
3456
78123
4239S7
65432
Cleveland handed in 4 i correct
papers while McCook did 86
Substraction
9832184567
3219383574
Cleveland did 88 rightly while
McCook gave us 94 correct solu
tions
The multiplication problem was
not a representative test in any sense
It shows how unpractical the very
people can often be who are testing
the schools along practical lines It
is doubtful If there lias ever been a
business transaction in Nebraska or
Ohio either that would demand so
many figures in its solution The
pupils of the age of those who took
the test could not work through
such a problem at one concentration
of mind without becoming tired out
This is because of the immaturity
and youth of the children involved as
much as because of the difficulty of
the example itself
Problem
38798640209
76039
In Cleveland the pupils handed in
11 correct answers while McCook
gave 55 correct
Division
394 20544332
Cleveland worked 55 while Mc
Cook did 71
The percentage problem was also
a test in mental arithmetic
What is 25 of 250
What is 25 of S 9ths
What is 33 1 3 of 015
A merchant had 300 barrels of
flour of which he sold 25 per cent at
one time and 33 1 3 per cent of the
remainder at another How many
barrels had he left
There is much opportunity in this
problem to make one little mistake
in number form or method
Cleveland worked correctly 7
and McCook 67
A comparison of per cents will
show a high degree of efficiency in
our eighth grade which is the cul
mination of the common school sys
tem as compared with theirs The
papers of this test are on file in the
office and open to the inspection of
the public No better definite proof
of the efficiency of our schools along
this one line could be given
I have prepared and submitted to
the treasurer of the school district
an Itemized detailed report of the
tuition from all non resident pupils
who attended last year The statis
tics of attendance and other data are
to be found on pages 240 to 247 of
the permanent record book In
summary they show 100580 due
the school district most of which
has been collected 19115 was
collected at this office As much as
possible I prefer the tuition money
to be paid to the treasurer direct
I would recommend to the board that
they authorize the treasurer to col
lect in advance from all pupils paying
individually excepting of course any
districts that contract with McCook
URSI0
re5reg3ggg3gg
IgTHTYTH V f wmrwWl TWri
k223
for tho tuition for the wholo district
In case a party moves away tho board
can readily refund the unused tub
tlou
It has seemed necessary for this
office to handle quite a sum of
ey the past year In fines tuition and
so forth In all cases I have given a
receipt for money collected Whero
I have spent money chiefly on freight
and express on school books I havo
preserved the receipts I submit
both receipts and duplicate stubs for
all money collected or paid out A
complete Itemized account of all
money transactions will be found on
pages 24S to 263 inclusive of tho
permanent record book I wish your
committee to audit and O K tho
same as soon as convenient
Following is a classification sum-
mary
Received
Commencement programs 4570
Athletic benefit programs 7350
Fines 17 C4
Merchandise sold 1566
Tuition 19090
Paid out
Exp freight drayage
Merchandise
VERYW
igrzS5ti3frm
34340
9375
245
Stamped envelopes 2164
Com program expenses
Athletic program expenses
and to Ath association
Self Exp to see McDonald
Self expenses to N E A
2905
3725
91
25
21838
Balance on hand 12502
34340
In order to make the classification
of expenditures and receipts complete
on the records of the district in pro
per form I herewith hand the secre
tary of the board a check for 34340
and also submit a bill of 21838
The secretary of the high school
band Joseph W Moore has handed
me a complete report of the finan
ces of the band which I am giving U
the secretary of the board to be plac
ed on file Mr Moore reports a
total collection of 2075 with an
expenditure of 1032 leaving a
balance in the hands of Mr Moore of
1043
The senior annual is nearing com
pletion fast and we hope to have it
out by August 1 There have been
an unusual number of troublesome
unlooked for delays which can bo
charged to no one in particular The
annual will be so much more com
plete and comprehensive than the
usual annual that I feel sure all will
feel proud of it when once delivered
On account of the senor class failing
to give the class play as had been
expected the annual will make a de
ficit if all copies are sold for 25 cents
each I would suggest that a limit De
put on the 25 cent sale and the rest
sold for 35 cents and 50 cents
In behalf of the wnole teaching
corps I wish to thank the Board of
Education and through them the
patrons and public for the splendid
loyalty and co operation the past
year We wish to be judged lenient
ly for the mistakes we have made
and promise the whole of our best
endeavor for the success of the next
school year
Respectfully submitted
chas w Taylor
Superintendent
hfeSiHrdaaaa4feS LjiMk9UJiml
RATES
ER
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YOU CAN GO EAST on daily low rates to Atlantic cities and
resorts every day rates to Wisconsin Michigan and Canadian re
sorts and the celebrated tour of the lakes
YOU CAN GO WEST There are very attractive rates
every day to Colorado Yellowstone Park Seattle California BIack
Hills Hot Springs homeseekers rates every first and third Tues
days everywhere west Inquire about the personally conducted
camping tour from Cody into the Yellowstone Park
SEE YOUR OWN COUNTRY Between Americas pros
perity and low railroad rates there is ever reason
why you should join the great summer travel throng
D F Hostetter Ticket Agent McCook Neb
L W Vkeley G P A Omaha
Jsw
i v v f UriV 11 rfti 11 ti rfryij
V Fkaxklis Pres - Jas S Doyle Vice Pres
R A Gkeex Cshr - G H Watkixs Asst Cshr
The Citizens National Bank
of McCook Nebraska
Paid Up Capital 50000 Surplus 25000
DIRECTOKS
V Franklin Jas S Doyle R A Green
G H Watkins Vernico Franklin
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