BETWEEN US

1. What am I going to do with pupils who do not know what they should have learned in the previous grade?

If possible, in justice to the rest of your class, send them back where they belong. If this step is not practicable, find out just what drill they need and give it to them. Do not try to do fourth year work on a second year foundation. If you can not cover this and the required work of the grade, do the best you can, and hold them over as "this grade to be continued pupils," or if they must "move on" leave what you can not do to the teacher who will get them next.

She may

"storm" at you, but you will know the facts in the case and her storming can do you no great

harm.

2. What shall I do to make my pupils more prompt? I have a great many cases of tardiness and my pupils do not seem to realize the enormity of this lack of punctuality.

Try to get the co-operation of parents. Get them to see that you are working for the children's good. Convince them, if possible, how important it is that their children get into the habit of being punctual. Asking for a written excuse for each case of tardiness brings parents to a realization of the fact that their children should be on time.

3. Suggest some device for drill on facts of multiplication and division?

If you can secure the interest in mastery that will make pupils want to know these facts the most important part of your battle will have been fought and won. Miss Anna A. Anderson of Florence, Wis., sends the following account of a device, for a test of knowledge of these facts, which she uses successfully.

"I pass each child a piece of paper asking that on it he number to fifty. Then I hold up a perception card, about six inches by two and one-half inches upon which a combination is printed. I count 'one.' Each child places the answer after 'one' on his paper. I keep on counting and holding up a new card at each number. When the fifty results have been recorded, the pupils exchange papers. Then they do the counting and I

answers.

give results. They mark the incorrect This plan enables me to find out with little expenditure of energy on my part, just who are the weak ones. As I have a room of about fifty pupils, the plan of correcting papers in this way is very much worth while. The children are so desirous of having 'perfect' papers that they study hard, so that the test answers the purpose of a drill also. We handle facts of subtraction, addition, and division as well as of multiplication in this way. The results are highly satisfactory"

4. When should children begin to use the forearm movement in writing?

They should never be allowed to use any other. Teach them the form of letters with full arm movement at blackboard. Minimize the amount of written work required in the lower grades but insist on forearm movement in whatever writing is done.

5. Can you suggest a plan of marking papers in the lower grades that will encourage pupils to present neat as well as correct work?

I know a teacher who is using successfully the following plan: She uses red crayon and green crayon. If a paper has no mistakes, or is the pupil's best, she makes a large "100" with red crayon in a very conspicuous place. If at the same time the paper shows care and neatness in preparation, she makes it with a green "100" alSO. No one gets a green "100" who has not a red one, too. If the work is poor, the teacher makes a capital "P" very small with red crayon on the paper. If it is fair, she makes a capital "F" with red crayon. These are the only marks she uses. It is very rarely, indeed, that the capital "P" is made use of.

6. Discipline is my weak point. What shall I )

do?

Study human nature. Cultivate tact. Consider the intentions of the offender. Keep your pupils busy at tasks in which they are interested. Extend their interests.

CAUTIOUS SUPERVISION.

"I'm afraid my work is going to be complicated," said the new teacher.

"In what way?"

"Mrs. Cumrox was looking through the text book on arithmetic and it occurred to her to suggest that I refrain from teaching her daughter any examples in improper fractions."

MODERN PHILOSOPHY GLEANINGS.

Knowledge and discipline are necessary, but they are a means not an end.

Character and service should be the standard of measurement in all life activities.

We are hearing much of municipal and national corruption in the institution of state. Since the modern spirit places the emphasis upon character and conduct, we realize that the day is here when the public conscience must be aroused to see that the successful man is the one who serves the best, not the one who accumulates the most.

ONE WAY TO TEST IN ARITHMETIC.

Dictate a question or a problem. Let the first pupil who answers or solves it first lay his paper upside down on your desk. Let the next one to finish his put it upon the first. So continue until all are finished, or until a reasonable amount of time has been allowed. Mark the first correct answer "one", the second "two", etc. Pupils enjoy the contest feature of this exercise and it may be found valuable for occasional use.

GIVE THE SUPERVISORS A CHANCE TO ASSIST YOU.

One reason why we hear so much criticism of school superintendents, principals, and special supervisors is that teachers either are not willing to think out, or feel that they are not expected, to think out, the details of teaching the school subjects. They seem to think that making of detailed plans is the particular business of the supervisor. If teachers could convince themselve that all that can be reasonably expected from the "supervisory teachers" is the presentation and explanation of the essential, underlying pedagogical principles and a willingness and ability to offer specific suggestions to the individual teacher upon demand, they would soon discover themselves in a different attitude to their supervisors.

No superintendent or special teacher can make out the best plan suited to your particular school. If you will just go to work yourself and try to apply the general principles offered by your supervisor, you will find out just what your particular need is and you may also find out that your supervisor is capable of being more helpful than you ever thought he was because you didn't give him a chance.

A revised edition of the manual of the course of study for common schools has just come from the printer and is being distributed throughout the state by the department. Teachers interested may receive a copy of this through their respective superintendents or by writing direct to State Superintendent Cary, Madison, Wis.

There is some delay in getting out the new school code and it is uncertain at the present writing when it will be ready for distribution. The department is using every means possible toward urging the public printer to hasten its completion.

State Superintendent Cary has recently given an important decision regarding the sending of children to school in Manitowoc county. The appellant petitioned that his property be transferred from one district to another so that his two children would have less than a mile to travel to attend school instead of going some two miles. The district school boards refused to permit the change, but Supt. Cary ruled that the transfer should be made.

A school clerk in Langlade county was removed from office by the county court on the grounds that he had been negligent in the discharge of his duties. It was proven to the judge that the clerk was negligent in the matter of notifying the school treasurer of the fact that he did not approve of the treasurer's bond, and also that the clerk's general conduct had been such as to make it seem for the best interests of the school affairs of the town that he be removed from office.

The county court of Langlade county last month removed the director of a school board in district number one of the town of Upham, finding him guilty of willful neglect of duty, in signing orders illegally drawn, and also in making contracts with himself contrary to the provisions. of law. It was also brought out that the clerk

called meetings of the board without notifying the third member.

Twenty-four truancy cases were heard in the municipal court at Wausau in one day last month. Mistakes were found in names, and several children had labor permits, while two others had moved out of the city. There seemed to be a wide divergence between the school records and the school census reports in that names were misspelled in the census reports and not easy of identification in the school records.

A Green Bay merchant last month was arrested charged with employing boys under fourteen years of age to peddle bills during school hours. The trial developed the fact that the boys had worked on All Saints' Day, a holiday in the parochial schools when no classes were held, and the case was dismissed.

Timothy Sullivan of Princeton, Green Lake county, is probably the oldest school district clerk in point of service in the state of Wisconsin. He has officiated in this capacity for fifty-sceven years, and last July was elected for another three years. He is now eighty-four years old and quite active, but feels under the necessity of resigning his position after his long term of service.

HELP THE SEAL CAMPAIGN THIS YEAR.

Twelve hundred district campaign managers throughout Wisconsin will handle the distribution of red cross Christmas seals this year beginning the first of this month. The anti-tuberculosis association has ordered 6,000,000 seals for Wisconsin and hopes to dispose of everyone of them. in the cause of the great fight against the white plague. Teachers and school officers should not hesitate to encourage the pupils to exert every effort possible in selling these seals.

PROBLEMS

OF

Has a teacher or a principal any jurisdiction over children coming and going home from school?

Yes, the courts of various states rule that the teacher has jurisdiction concurrent with that of the parent. Furthermore, the decisions of courts hold that, "The teacher is privileged to punish any pupil guilty of misconduct on the way to and from school when such conduct has a tendency to interfere with or demoralize the discipline of the school."

The School Board May Act on Its Own Initiative:

May a school board take the initiative and open its school library and gymnasium to the public or must they wait for a petition from the voters to that effect?

The school board may take the initiative. The statute providing for a petition was enacted for the purpose of giving the voters a right also to the use of the schoolhouse if the school board should object thereto.

Should the School Board Engage a Teacher Who Has Fits:

Can a school board legally hire a teacher who is subject to fits?

There is nothing in the statute to prevent the school board from hiring such a teacher. There are, however, things other than mere legal qualifications for the school board to consider when they as agent of the district are securing a teacher for the district. The patrons and children of the school have rights that the school board should respect.

Dismissing a Poor Teacher:

Has a school board the power to dismiss a teacher under contract whose presence in the school and the district is a menace to the good order of the school and the harmony of the district?

Yes. A teacher who places herself in such relations with the school, the pupils, and the district is guilty of a breach of her contract and may be dismissed for cause. Our supreme court holds that, "A teacher is responsible for the discipline of his school and for the progress, conduct, and deportment of his pupils." An erratic, mischiefmaking teacher is not an efficient teacher nor a

useful member in a community, and should be dismissed when her presence in the school is worthless or a damage. When in the opinion of the court, after hearing the evidence if the teacher sues on her contract, the board was justified in dismissing the teacher, the district will not be liable.

The Parent Must Accept the Board's Offer:

There are two children residing in a family more than two miles from the schoolhouse in the sub-district under the township system of school government. The town authorized the board to transport pupils to and from the school in certain cases. There is a building that can be used for school purposes near the home of the parents. The school board has offered to provide a teacher for these people and pay the father six dollars a month for the use of this building, or transportation will be provided to a nearby school. The father insists that he shall have ten dollars a month for the use of the building. What option has the board in the matter?

They can compel the parent to take six dollars a month for the use of the building or have his children transported to the nearby school. The fact that transportation is provided places the parent in a position where he is compelled to take advantage of one or the other offer of the school board or render himself liable under the provisions of the compulsory attendance law.

In Case of Smallpox Must the School be Closed::A pupil broke out with the smallpox while in school. Has the school board power to close the school?

Yes, if in their opinion school should be closed. The case should, however, be reported immediately to the local health officer. He has power to close the school if it becomes necessary. The statute seems to indicate that school need not, however, be closed where smallpox breaks out in the district unless the epidemic becomes unusually severe. It does, however, require the health officer immediately to determine what pupils have been successfully vaccinated and who have not. Pupils who have not must then be vaccinated. In cases where the smallpox is prevalent in the district, successful vaccination certified to by the local health officer is a condition precedent to attendance upon the school.