defects whicli they i)omtcd out must inevitably lead or what sort of a 

 reconstruction the reforms which they suggested would make necessary. 



Seventy-five percent, of the answers received worked around in one 

 way or another to certain main points which we will indicate. There 

 are too few teachers for the amount of work to be covered. Each teacher 

 is compelled to teach too many grades. The common branches are not 

 taught with sufficient thoroughness and yet the special branches, of 

 more value to the country pupils, cannot be imder taken at all. There 

 is no room in the curriculum for specialization, nor would the teachers 

 be able to prepare themselves for it if there were. The salaries are too 

 low and in consequence there are too many relatively inefficient, poorly 

 trained teachers. There is no proper inducement for highly trained 

 men and women, desirous of making teaching a life work rather than a 

 temporary means of gaining a livelihood, to devote themselves to the 

 work of education in the country. The buildings and equipment are 

 not always up to the standard and the rooms are frequently over- 

 crowded. The work is not carried far enough in those schools upon which 

 a majority of the pupils are dependent. Eight grades are offered in the 

 one-room schools. In many sections any pupils desiring work beyond 

 that point must travel away from home to obtain it. This the children 

 of poorer families are not able to do and consequently their education 

 is brought to a premature close. The attendance of pupils, particularly 

 of the younger pupils, is very irregular whenever weather and roads are 

 bad and consequently satisfactory results are hard to obtain. 



The demand for more highly specialized courses of study was parti- 

 cularly insistent. There is a widespread feeling expressed in many 





MAKING THE SCHOOL SERVE THE HOME. DOMESTIC SCIENCE 

 LAHORATORY, ROCKVILLE HIGH SCHOOL 



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