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About The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 1901)
J J aH MB oB PoS 5 rBfcSi-Jy sSlx K1. k J vSIx " 'B; 1 lVSV -Ll- IBBi I'OL. ATJ, NO. LII LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 'JS, 1901 ESTABLISHED IN 1S86 EDUCATION IN NEBRASKA Although Young in Yeats the Schools of the Commonwealth Have Shown a Mar velous Growth J Jt jt jt During the last decade Nebraska has taken long and rapid strides to the fore in development of public schools. For the next decade even a greater development is prophesied by W. K. Fowler, state superintendent of public instruction. of 47,927. In the same length of time the value of school properties of the state increased by $2,977,670.28. . While the figures quoted show a mar velous growth in the school interests of the state during the last ten years. Superintendent Fowler, who is espe- . LV :. .. JL?Cr-jK ' L -d: .',?-tr. MB - HPKWBjBBBiiBBiV - Z BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB'' BBBvUT'-.Xf P-' BMtV- V y "& J . r- .Bk------- ' " -'-'. i -Mydti - -. - j4BHpr-l,p cPnBjBifi J - HC i. IKs.''iiiiHlliiiiV a -HBE --lil----------r 'i )KBBBBBBBBBBBLbT J BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBbBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBr -? . TbBbbbbbbQ " bIbIbIbIBbIbBbIbIbIbIbIbIbIbIbIbIbIb- s.r5t - !1bbbbbbbbHm. B-bPP 31 ' Vr- MHif ' ' ' bbPPIbbbbbbbbbH" - JBBBBBJBBBSFftlv.-:. -BBbB11bBBBBP '" Wmmlwm - ----HiEfB-B-- Evolution of a Nebraska School Views of North Platte Schools '6S. and must be a material Increase if we wish to keep in the profession the better qualified persons. "In 1910 the enrollment will be a larger per cent of the school census than in 1900, but what is or vastly more importance, the average daily at tendance will be a much greater per cent of the enrollment and of the school census than In 1900. The num ber of sod and log school buildings in the state will rapidly decrease, the number of frame school buildings will slightly decrease, while the number of brick buildings will increase. During the next ten years there will be a de crease in the total number of school buildings in the state of Nebraska through the consolidation of ru ral school districts. "There will be a ma terial increase In the length of the term In many school districts of the state; and let us hope that in 1910 our county superintendents will average at least $1,000 a year each. Our state teachers associa tion, our great univer sity, andour stale nor mal school will in crease their enrollment materially. There will then be three state normal schools. In 1910 in many of the rural portions of the state the farmers" children will have the same ad vantages of education in a well arranged, well organized, well graded school, that the village and city pupils now enjoy. Instead of attempting to let down our hooks and nets and tackles and lines from better preparing our pupils for prac tical life by giving more attention to the sclentillc side and less to the class ical side than we did In 1S90, or than we now do. "In 1910 we will distinguish between one, two, three and four year high schools, their diplomas or certificates and their graduates, as we now dis tinguish between university graduates and those who complete only the Jun ior year, or perhaps the sophomore year, or only the freshman year; or as we distinguish between those who complete the eight, seventh, sixth and fifth grades respectively in the gram mar department. A high school grad uate then will be one who has com pleted the three-thirds of our public school system, including the high school department of four years. "In 1910 the high schools of the state will be as free to the children of the farmer and the stock raiser ns they now are to the children of the mer chant, the banker and the professional man. In 1910 the public will demand that those who train and direct and assist In developing their children's minds and morals and habits and manners have the same thorough training for their work as those who look after their children's bodies In times of ill-health. The teacher will then be a professional man or wo man. In 1910 we will have a law fixing the dimensions and other requirements of school-rooms and school buildings, as well as the size and character of school grounds. "Schoolrooms will then be arranged with reference to proper seating. heat ing, lighting and ventilating, with greater regard to the comfort and con venience of school children. Every schoolroom will then be provided with maps, a globe, a dictionary, and a li brary. Our teaching body will then be the same earnest, progressive, hard working people they now are", even though a larger per cent of Its mem bership will be changed three times during the decade, but the third group ' In 1890 there were 792 sod school houses in the state. Ten years later this number had diminished by 2S7, and in each instance almost without exception the building of sod was re placed by a substantial frame struct ure. During the same time the num ber of log school houses diminshed from 210 to 112. Thus it is seen that 'yvrie are aim ova sou suiuui uuusw ',fid 112 log doing service throughout me state today. The total receipts for school pur poses from all sources, for the year ending July 1900, exceeded the receipts on the same date ten years previous by $771,283.39, aggregating for the year JU10.400.33. Expenses during the same Period Increased at about the same rate, the total expenditures for 1900 being $4,404,222.07. and those for 1S90 being $3,499,300.26. The total number of "len teachers employed dropped from 2,861 in 1890 to 2,062 in 1900, and the number of women teachers from 7,964 ,0 7,401. A peculiar feature of the de cade was the Increase of men's salaries from an average of $43 a month to J4C.26, while the women's average de creased from $37.92 to $36.90. Both the census of school children and the enrollment of school children show marked Increases. The census of iVoth boys and girls increased 43.54S during the decade, aggregating 377.791. i The "total enrollment for the year end ing July, 1900, was 2SS,227. an Increase cially well situated and fitted to speak with authority, expresses the opinion that the future holds out greater promise. In an address before the Southwestern Nebraska Teachers' As sociation held at Holdrege last month, he said: "I prophesy that in 1910 city super intendents and principals will be re quired by law to make as complete re ports and to furnish statistics of school as county superintendents now are; that their work will be done more sys tematically. There will, let us hope, be a revision of the method of assess ment and levying of taxes before that time; a consequent reduction of the maximum tax levy, a slight increase in the receipts for all school purposes, a very slight increase in the expendi tures, but that waste through lack of organization and system will be large ly reduced. Let us hope that the num ber of men teachers employed, which decreased nearly thirty per cent dur ing the past decade, will increase, while the number of women teachers, which decreased only about four per cent during the same time, will re main stationary. May their shadows never grow less! In this connection permit me to call your attention to the fact that the average monthly wages of men during the decade increased $3.26, while that of the women de creased $1.02. In both there should r bbbbbbbbbbbbbIbbb! Sod Schoolhouse in Western Nebrask a District No. 14, Frontier County the university above, in 1901 we will build from the kindergarten up, carry ing the better features of the kinder garten through the primary grades, correlating with it manual training and domestic science and elementary agri culture in the grammar grades, and will be better prepared in advance for its great work than the first group. You, nor I, nor any one else, working alone, can do an appreciable amount toward effecting these Improvements, but all of us, working together, may accomplish much for the schools and school children of Nebraska and o' this southwestern district." 1 S.1 i I f Kg2si T
