History of Dakota Territory, volume III, Part 122

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1146

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At a meeting of the Southeastern South Dakota Teachers' Association, at Yankton, in May, 1903, State Superintendent Nash announced that he intended to call a meeting of the state educators to consider all phases of the new educa- tional law. The many important changes demanded prompt attention in order that schools should be ready for them during the summer terms. The main

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object of the meeting, he said, was to formulate a revised plan for a uniform system of study in the high school. He further said that the high schools at this time had each its own course of study, arranged by local superintendent and containing many contradictory and varying provisions. Mr. Nash spoke with much emphasis of his intention to enforce uniformity of work in all the schools of the state. Therefore, he thus called together the superintendents of the high schools to assist in the movement. At the same time he issued a circular calling specific attention to the requirements demanded of teachers who desired certifi- cates. Those who received certificates, he stated, must be graduates of courses fully equivalent to the complete collegiate course of the state university, or of a course having the same requirements as the advanced course of the norma! schools. After July Ist, the state superintendent was permitted under the law to grant all first and second grade certificates. The county superintendents, as formerly, were required to grant third grade certificates. Under the law children of the rural regions were entitled to free high school privileges, the clause of the law concerning this change reading as follows: "Any pupil who shall success- fully complete the work of the Eighth grade as established in the state course of study is privileged to continue his school work up to and including the Twelfth grade; by attending neighboring schools furnishing courses of study, and the tuition charges therefor shall be paid by the board of his home district, provided his home district does not furnish instruction in such higher grades." The new law provided for the establishment of township high schools upon the petition of fifty free holders and it was concluded that consolidation or centralization would prepare the way for these schools. Beginning with March Ist of this year the salaries of county superintendents were provided under new regulations. The law also required that all school officers should be elected in June each year. These officers consisted in each district of a school board composed of a chair- man, clerk and treasurer for the term of one, two and three years respectively, and annually thereafter one member was to be elected for the term of three years. It was further provided that no district board should buy any chart, globes or similar devices in any one year, the cost of which should exceed $10 unless authorized to do so by a majority of the school board at any regular or special meeting, and unless said purchase should have been approved by the county superintendent.

On September 1, 1903, the total amount of cash that had been realized from the sale of school lands and from the other school fund sources was $4,079,439.22, all of which was drawing interest. Up to this date there had been invested in securities the sum of $2,413,421.91, which made an annual income of $123,671.09, providing the full amount remained on interest at 5 per cent. This amount, together with the interest on the deferred payments, still constituted the interest and income fund and was distributed to the schools of the state pro-rata during the months of January and July of each year. The apportionment of July I, 1903, amounted to $266,758.30. In 1903 it was decided by the board at their January meeting that it was best to sell no more school land, because it seemed impossible for suitable investment of the rapidly accumulating fund. The leasing of the school and endowment lands was placed in charge of county auditors of the counties where the lands were situated. The leasing price per acre during 1903 ranged west of the river from 6 to 8 cents and east of the river from 8 to

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28 cents for hay land and 50 cents to $1.75 for cultivated land. A small fee was collected with each lease. In 1903 it was decided to make only two and four-year leases which were really term leases at the option of the lessee, as he was required to pay for only one year at the time of leasing and to pay for each subsequent year in advance. In the leasing of the common school lands a lease could not embrace more than one section, but in the endowment land as many sections as the blanks would conveniently hold were permitted. The endowment lands existed mostly in large bodies, which could more readily be leased for grazing purposes by owners of large herds. By January 1, 1903, the endowment lands had thus realized a total of $26,979.64, which sum had been distributed to the Aberdeen, Madison, Spearfish and Springfield Normal schools, State Uni- versity, Agricultural College, Deaf and Dumb School, Reform School, Northern Hospital for the Insane, Blind Asylum and School of Mines.

On July 1, 1904, there was in the treasury idle only $13,871.59 of the per- manent school fund and even this amount soon afterwards was invested and applications had been filed for $64,500 more of the fund as soon as it should become available. This satisfactory result was due to the excellent work of the public press and the hearty co-operations of county auditors and treasurers throughout the state. The last apportionment of the interest and income fund amounted to $289,627.50 and was the largest ever made this far. Owing to the rapid increase of the school population the commissioner doubted whether this proportionate amount could be maintained. On July 1, 1904, there was only $86.40 of delinquent interest on deferred payments for 1903, as against much larger sums for all previous years. The conclusion was that the people of South Dakota were far more prosperous than ever and in a position to promptly meet their obligations.

Through the efforts of the South Dakota congressman that portion of the state lying within the boundaries of Gregory County had been thrown open to settlement, and there had thus been added to the school lands of the state 29,544.14 acres, a portion of which was very valuable. The Legislature formally gave this department charge of all the lands acquired in settlement with the defaulting state treasurer, Taylor, and at this time the commissioner made a detailed report concerning the disposition of these tracts. Every sale of these lands had been made with the approval of the board of school and public lands and the attorney-general. During this biennial period the commissioner had con- tinued the work of his predecessor in ascertaining the topography of the school and public lands of the state. He believed that the state would lose considerable of the lands in Lawrence and Pennington counties on account of provisional survey and the liberal interpretations given the United States Mining Law. He protested earnestly to the commissioner of the general land office and to the secretary of the interior and expected to secure as many of these tracts as pos- sible. He recommended several important changes in the school and public land laws. One of the recommendations was that the law relating to the leasing of school and public lands be so amended as to require the lessee for a term of years to give security for the payment of the rental annually during the life of the lease. As the law then existed the lessee could default in the payment of the rental and the state had no recourse except to re-lease the land to other parties, which proceeding often resulted in loss to the state.

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The most important duty of the commissioner was to superintend the invest- ment of the permanent school fund and to collect the interest on the amount invested and interest on deferred payments of school lands sold. As this fund now amounted to over four million dollars and as it was necessary to protect in every way this sacred trust, the commissioner again asked for an additional clerk whose duty should be to visit the several counties and check up the permanent school fund; examine the notes, mortgages and bonds given to secure the same and ascertain whether they were in proper form; and see that proper accounts were kept by the county auditors and treasurers. There were indications that in several of the counties, grave mistakes had been made in handling the school fund, which could have been avoided if such a clerk had been specially detailed for this important duty, as the fund would continue to grow year by year, and as it constituted a permanent trust it was absolutely necessary to handle it in a safe and businesslike manner.

On June 30, 1904, the total number of acres of common school land owned by the state was 1,776,533.52; the number of acres of endowment school lands was 696,569.47 ; the total acreage of all the school lands was 2,600,393.50. The total acreage of common school lands under lease was 1,197,898.91 acres. The total rentals amounted to $143,277.64.

During the biennial period ending June, 1904, perhaps the most important educational question was the consolidation of rural schools or the establishment of township high schools. The latter measure was provided for by a bill intro- duced by Senator Stoddard. Another bill granted other free high school privi- leges to eighth grade graduates of country schools. This was introduced by Representative Carroll. Representative Kehm at the same session introduced the uniform certificate bill under the operations of the Stoddard bill. The con- solidation of rural schools had commenced and was slowly progressing with what seemed to be resulting advantages. It was now generally believed that this measure was one of the best and wisest ever established in the state, because it gave equal advantages, it was believed, to the children of the country districts to secure the best education provided in the towns and cities. The new measure provided that several adjoining school districts might unite and construct a suit- able house for the benefit of all; grade the school and a little later transform it into a high school; transport the children regularly at the consolidated district expense to this school and thus secure by the employment of better teachers and the adoption of better methods, an education which could not be secured else- where owing to the great expenses of attendance. At this centralized school, it was planned that the children could attend daily and return to their homes at night. Thus the cost to each pupil would in the end not amount to as much as it had under the old district system. The state superintendent cited a centralized school at Clear Lake, Iowa, where consolidation had been effected after a difficult fight and where a four-year high school course was provided. At Volga a por- tion of the township was centralized with the same satisfactory results. The superintendent noted that everywhere over the more thickly settled portions of the state the people of the rural sections were showing increased zeal in provid- ing better educational advantages at home than their children had hitherto enjoyed. Another advantage of the centralized school was that the children were not removed from the immediate care and influence of their parents and neighbors

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during the most impressionable years of their lives. The old Carroll law was regarded in high terms, and hundreds had already taken advantage of its pro- visions; but only a comparatively small percent of the rural children, after graduation in their home schools, had taken advantage of that provision which permitted them to attend high schools in villages, because the cost and loss of time were too great to be borne. It was not correct, as the superintendent stated, that this old act was a most beneficent one and had given wonderful uplift to rural education. That seemed to be the case at the start; but in all instances of rural education the school authorities still failed to take into account the fact that the farmers generally would not send their children to schools of towns and cities because many of the studies were not wanted, and the expense and loss of time were too great a burden. Thus all the former utopian hopes and gilded theories of the school authorities under the old law were wholly impracticable and undesirable as far as the education of the rural child was concerned.

The superintendent thought that the Kehm uniform certificate law had ex- ceeded the most sanguine expectations of the department in its effect upon the standard of the teaching force of the state. He said, "In fact it has produced a veritable revolution in its brief history. Only three examinations have been held under its provisions but these have conclusively proved the progressive and elevating influence of the law." He gave statistics to show that the examinations indicated how teachers had been inspired to higher attainments and better quali- fications at each succeeding examination. The statistics showed that 92.3 per cent of the applicants wanting state certificates were successful; that 97.2 per cent of those who applied for first grade certificates were awarded either first or second grade certificates; that 68.2 per cent of the applicants for second grade certificates succeeded ; and that 72.5 per cent of all applicants succeeded in secur- ing certificates. The superintendent said: "The new law dignifies the profession of teaching, places every candidate entirely upon his merits, destroys all possi- bility of favoritism and gives to the worthy teacher a credential in which he may take pride and which is good or may be made good in any county of the state."

The superintendent noted the value of the work being done by the state uni- versity, agricultural college, school of mines, the four normal schools and several sectarian colleges of the state. He believed that the graduates of all these insti- tutions should be recognized by giving them certificates upon their diplomas without further examination. In view of this fact the state superintendent had . adopted the following rules: To grant five-year certificates to (I) graduates of any of the four South Dakota state normal schools who should file with the department certified copies of their diplomas; (2) graduates of the collegiate department of the state university, who had taken the course in pedagogy as given in that institution and who should file certified copies of their diplomas; (3) graduates of any of the colleges in the state, who had taken a course of study equivalent to the collegiate course to the state university and a course in pedagogy equivalent to the course required in that institution and who should file a copy of their diplomas, copy of courses of study pursued, specifically show- ing the amount of class work, and the standing in each branch, each of the three copies to be certified by the institution of which the applicant was a graduate; (4) graduates of a normal or teachers' course (equivalent to the advanced courses in the state normal schools) in any higher institution of learning in this

Girls' dormitory

West wing

East wing Gymnasium and Science Hall

BUILDINGS OF THE STATE NORMAL COLLEGE AT MADISON

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state maintaining such a course and who had received model school training in all respects equal to the model school training in the state normal schools ; pro- vided that in lieu of such model school work applicants might furnish satisfactory evidence of nine months' successful teaching experience in the public schools ; (5) applicants who should present satisfactory evidence of twenty-four months' successful experience in teaching and should pass a satisfactory examination in each of the following branches : Algebra, geometry, physics, psychology, hygiene, drawing, civil government, didactics, general history, American literature, Eng- lish, grammar, orthography and penmanship. In addition, the possession of a good moral character was deemed to be a necessary requisite for the granting of any of these certificates, and satisfactory recommendations establishing such character were to be submitted by each applicant. A fee of $5 was required of applicants who should seek state certificates by examination. Graduates as above indicated were to receive their certificates free of charge.

The superintendent noted at this time that measures were being carried through reciprocal measures which had been proposed and were to be adopted, into effect whereby the teachers in the schools of this state could secure certificates of high degree should they remove to other states. Already a new movement to this end had been inaugurated and was being duly considered.

It should be noted in this connection, that notwithstanding the stringent law that had been passed for the advancement of rural education, the superintendent had not performed a single act looking to the education of rural children in scientific agriculture, which step at this time was being agitated in almost every state of the Union and had already been put into effect and operation in several of the states. The former school authorities who had considered this question had been displaced by other officials who were not familiar with this view. The present school authorities had not yet reached the elevation whence they could see that the education granted in the town and city high schools and in the colleges and universities was not suited and not wanted by the rural child who expected to pass his life on the farm as his father and mother had done. Thus the school authorities of South Dakota still failed to meet the wants of four-fifths if not nine-tenths of all the school children of the state. The entire thought of the state educators at this time was almost wholly along the line of higher educa- tion and was not applicable to the rural districts. Even in the few cases where the higher educational view might possibly be accepted, the rural children were forced to receive an education that would be useless on the farm and would take them permanently from the farm in order to be of any use. They were thus putting in operation a school system that was not wanted by four-fifths of the school children of the state and that would rob the farming community of many of its best and brightest students. This was a fact in spite of the splendid pro- visions of the bill introduced by Senator Stoddard of Turner County, which provided for the establishment of township high schools. At the same time no thought was given the requirements necessary for teachers to have to be able to instruct country children in the studies they wanted to know and needed on the farm. Graduates of classical colleges and universities who knew nothing of farming and other country occupations, were given first grade certificates and yet not one of them was competent to teach even the rudiments of scientific farming, studies that were demanded by the rural pupils. Even in the state

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normal schools at this time, the instruction given the prospective teachers almost wholly evaded any reference to the teaching of scientific agriculture, or at best made only a superficial and wholly inefficient reference to such instruction. The only teachers who were qualified to teach what the rural pupils wanted were the graduates of the agricultural college.

At this time the state superintendent was doing excellent work for the high schools and the higher educational institutions, but was failing utterly and abso- lutely in his attempts to improve the rural schools, except when he made advances to carry into effect the township high school project. He could not see, nor could the higher educational authorities of the state see, that it was out of the question to expect the rural schools to consolidate or centralize and form town- ship high schools, except after many experiments and after quite a long period of years. They did not seem to realize that even the high schools in towns and cities had undergone conflicting development and experimentation for many years, that at this date the existing high schools were far from being perfect, in fact had many faults; and that even the courses in the colleges and universities were far from being what time, experience and study would yet make them. Because the farming community did not at once generally adopt the consolidated or centralized system, was no proof that they did not want it, nor that they would not accept it when it became manifest that the instruction and the teachers therein were all that was necessary to make the schools conform to the require- ments of rural education. Thus instead of pursuing a steady, persistent and practical method of gradually but surely establishing in all the rural districts of the state such consolidated or centralized schools, the authorities seemed to con- sider the problem impracticable because it was not adopted and put into opera- tion instantaneously or at least expeditiously.

At the convention of the National Educational Association in February, 1904, a committee consisting of state superintendents G. W. Nash of South Dakota, W. W. Stetson of Maine, E. A. Jones of Ohio, W. T. Carrington of Missouri and C. P. Cary of Wisconsin, was appointed to confer with the state superintendents . of the United States with the object of carrying into effect the plan of validating teachers' certificates of high degree so that the holders could teach in any state. This committee received encouragement from many of the states, but a few an- nounced that they were unable at present to grant such concessions.

The state superintendent made at this time a thorough examination of condi- tions existing in the common schools throughout the state, and by direct contact with school managers of all the counties succeeded in formulating a plan that would secure as good results in the country schools as had recently been reached in the high schools. He began co-operating with the several county superin- tendents in order to meet in succession the school officials of each county to con- sider these important questions. The department recommended that stated pro- grams be arranged for each county meeting and suggested to county superin- tendents that the following topics as well as others should be discussed at such county conferences : Schoolhouses and appliances ; ventilation of rooms ; decora- tion of schoolhouses; improvement of grounds; relation of teacher to board; relation of board to county superintendent ; how to induce the larger pupils to remain in school; how may patrons assist in the management of schools; reports of district officers; teachers' reports and wages; how to improve the country

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school; transportation and its problems; regular and special board meetings ; tuition of eighth grade graduates; formation of township districts; salary of school district officers ; purchase of apparatus ; penalty for not attending teachers' institutes ; moral instruction in schools; school libraries; duties imposed in con- nection with compulsory education ; township high schools; application of school law to contracts ; removal of schoolhouse; consolidation; division of districts; boundaries changed; the voters ; subjects of a local character, etc.

On July 1, 1904, there was on hand in the state treasury only $13,871 of the school fund. On June 30, 1902, there had been on hand idle in the treasury, $538,511.06. It was estimated that the interest loss to the school fund that was idle in the treasury amounted in 1902 to about sixteen thousand dollars. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904, the teachers of South Dakota were paid $1,303,824-37. Thirty-seven new school buildings were erected in the state dur- ing this fiscal year. There were in the state at this time, 136,996 children of school age and of these, 106,822 were enrolled. The number of female teachers was 4,079; male teachers, 946. In 1904 Prof. R. B. McClennon was president of the South Dakota Educational Association. The semi-annual apportionment of the school fund in June, 1904, was $289,627.50. This was about $2.19 per capita. In 1904 Doctor Chalmers was president of the agricultural college.

During the period from 1883 to 1904 the following departments were estab- lished from time to time at the state university: College of Arts and Sciences ; College of Law; College of Music; Department of Engineering; Commercial Department ; Art Department, and Special Courses for Teachers.

In 1904 the State Agricultural College offered a four-year course in the fol- lowing branches: Agriculture, horticulture, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, agricultural engineering and domestic science. It also offered a two-year course in pharmacy, a one-year course in commercial branches and stenography, a two-term course in steam engineering and a one-term course in butter making.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume III, Part 122

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920 Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1146

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1146