FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 139 



have assumed, and, as a result, bright children lose the only opportunity 

 of their lives for gaining that inspiration and uplift which is the rightful 

 inheritance of every pupil during the first few years of his high school 

 life. 



There are in the State about sixty-five hundred ungraded schools, and 

 a little more than this number of graded schools. There are. all told, 

 about fifteen thousand teachers, over four thousand of whom received 

 last year the lowest grade certificate. The great majority of those hold- 

 ing third grade certificates are employed in our ungraded schools. The 

 average service of the rural teacher is not over three years. This means 

 that one-third of our country schools each year are in the hands of inex- 

 perienced teachers. 



In a few minutes there will be thrown upon the screen pictures of 

 dilapidated, unwholesome school buildings, and, while we shall look at 

 them with a degree of abhorrence, yet we must not forget that the build- 

 ings of our rural schools, in most cases, will register a higher degree of 

 efficiency than the teachers who occupy these buildings. Plans have been 

 proposed and will be proposed for improving the buildings, but how shall 

 we improve the teachers? Our normal schools, good as they are, are 

 simply inadequate to train a sufficient number of teachers for our schools. 

 Of the fifteen thousand teachers of the State, one-half hold certificates 

 from our normal schools, and it is safe to say that nearly all this number 

 are employed in graded schools. Very few normal school graduates are 

 found in our rural communities. We certainly cannot depend upon our 

 normal schools for the preparation of our country teachers. Some other 

 method must be devised — a method which will train large numbers at 

 comparatively little expense to the State, and also at a reasonable expense 

 to those desiring to prepare to teach. This would imply that the training 

 school must be brought to the young people rather than that they should 

 travel long distances to such schools. The plan I would suggest is to 

 establish as speedily as possible a training school in each county in con- 

 nection with one of the better high schools. 



We have in this State a most excellent group of high schools. In 

 almost every county may be found a number offering four years of splen- 

 did work. One good school in each county could be selected and author- 

 ized to organize a department which would be known as a training 

 department. Graduates of other high schools could be admit- 

 ted to this department. No one should be admitted who was 

 not a graduate of a high school. A course ' should be adopted of 

 perhaps two years in length. Thorough instruction should be given in 

 pedagogics and methods of instruction, and in addition, thorough instruc- 

 tion in nature study or elementary agriculture. This school should, of 

 course, receive help from the State, depending somewhat in amount as to 

 the course of instruction offered and the number of teachers employed. 

 Each training school would be of such advantage to the city or village in 

 which it was placed that much of the expenses would be gladly borne by 

 said city. Each city has already the necessary organization to carry on 

 the work. The superintendent of the city is an expert in pedagogics. The 

 city schools serve as training schools for the pupils in preparing to teach. 

 They would have every opportunity to gain knowledge at first hand as to 

 the best methods of imparting instruction. Many of them could receive 

 actual experience by substituting in the absence of regular teachers. 



There should be a teacher in this training school who is thoroughly 



