Show SCHOOL PA daei gea aj N T porter editor in chief department EDITORS G A seaman educational clara san lers literary adah roberts local A B 3 cook miscellaneous CHANGE OF TEXT BOOKS lie that judieth jud gelli a matter mailer before je iii bearnth it il is unwise y solomon tile the chanc changing ging 3 of school books is costing costin gr me just twelve dollars cash it is simply an outrage the nie old books aregust are just as good a as the new ones its a change air ir I 1 would like to know who is responsible for this thing such is a type of file past the er takes in the daily word exchange between himself and the dealer or the teacher ort or possibly a neighbor 0 who is suffering from the same high handed so considered As to the book dealer he feels no sting from these accusations the book exchange 0 is no concern of his provided the margin of profit has a satisfactory width he simply serves as a head he adgate ID ate the chief use of which is to direct the whole flood of complaint in the direction of the teachers and school superintendents they in in turn are wont to seek relief by diverting 0 the main force of the current toward the great lawmaking reservoir where the 0 identity of responsibility is sure to be lost thus in many r cases ases the buyer of school books finding no one to blame blames the whole school lawmaking law making and book making fraternities right lie he is all are to blame school teachers in particular parents we teachers plead guilty that is through our efforts this state text book adoption every five years has been legalized by the legislature all AH other parties to the transaction can claim no higher position than that of accomplice we ac linow lege your right to demand of us an explanation and to this we willingly accede at the same time we ask of you what we con seder our right i e not to be condemned until we are heard the first of the statements and charges quoted we grant the others we emphatically deny the expense of this book exchange t is considerable on all books in good condition changed dorother fo for other rother books there is a loss of sixty per cent on cost price other things being equal if each child attending school in davis county was fully supplied with books in working gr condition at the beginning of the present school year a conservative estimate would place the money loss sustained through the exchange at 1 10 per capita it is a matter of fact however that all were not thus supplied at the time the exchange was ordered which condition would necessarily reduce the actual expense occasioned by the change Of 0 texts one dollar per child is 6 high estimate of what this boob book exchange is really costing C the parents L e when we average 0 the expense in all the grades esthe Is th e payment of this one dollar an investment or a tax a purchase or a robbery in other words is there a difference in the quality tot of the two texts Is this difference in the favor of the lerg i I 1 if so is s the difference the bivalent u ale n it 1 in value ivalue of one dollar A coln complete ale t e and final answer to these hese quer queries i es would imply a reful examination of the two alti at noting every shade of con ast and weighing gal ing the respect points ints of difference in the lance of educational value either space or consistency 0 i permit such a reply here M d our only resource in this re ard rd would bo be a reference to alie vision of the twenty seven ool superintendents which af armed the existence of the differ nce co between the two texts to a acae beyond estimate in favor the e adopted there are tea rea however however ow ever that must appeal very ory thinking individual and amon among 1 those wo we present tho the following foll foil to prevent pro vent confusion and a score of other disadvantages 7 a uniformity must be secured secure d to accomplish this an agreement a 0 between bookmaker book maker 0 or r dealer and book user must exist this contract must fix the price and bound the period of purchase by specified time limits certainly says the objector we grant g rant you all that but here is s tho the point why not extend the time limit say to ten or fifteen years and do away with this frequent chan change chane ca e of books it w would save the state thousands of dollars A second thought is all that is required to show the economic transparency of such a policy every year sees the cost of bookmaking book makin making ZD reduced the two dollar geography geog raphy of six six years ago or to be more accurate its improved prove successor is sold today at a discount of cent would it be possible tor for the ten years advocate to consider it better to pay forty per cent more for every book purchased during the coming five years than to lose sixty per cent on the reduced retail price of books exchanged at the beginning of the present school year if so we can at least agree on the fact that our methods ds of computation differ well remarks another when you hold your convention why dont you adopt the books then in use at the prevailing k prices at that time simply because such a course followed out would take from the pupils text the vital elements of progression and competition stagnation is the equivalent of decay and the synonym of death the absence of competition implies the presence of monopoly oh yes remarks one indignant over the exchange weve heard that before I 1 it seems to bo be a sort of chorus in which all the teachers join theres the old wilson reader for instance which has just as good prices in it as any of your newfangled new tangled readers it is simply a changing fad similar to the style of dress to refer to this objection is but to cast a reflection upon the intelligence telli gence 3 of the community what would we think of a person threshing his grain with a flail and giving as a reason for such a proceeding 0 that the wood in this primativa prima tive grain sheller was just as good as the very best to be found in the improved threshing machine of 1897 this CO comparison mp arison may be objected to as being M unfair but a closer scrutiny will disclose the fact that there is a striking analogy in the logic of the wilson reader advocate and that of the man with the flail As much energy is being expended each year to improve the means of educational growth as to increase the efficiency of aids in other lines and where would we go to search out the farmer who would hesitate to change his bis farm machinery of five years ago for the up to date apparatus even at the cost of one dollar parents we leave it with you to draw the comparison let each one estimate the values involved in ill either transaction and we are arc persuaded that the robber ghost so frequently seen in the back ground of the book exchange will quickly be transformed to the invisible SCHOOL surroundings the school building 0 with its surroundings S represents th the average culture of the community apply the test to the average community place the result before its people and see if i they will rise up and call you blessed th the e culture of a people is marked by their broadminded broad minded ness their system and the manifestation fe of their esthetic tastes as well as their book learning these qualities are made known in two ways by personal contact and by a close observation of the channels through which those feelings find vent we take no persons word on his own own fixations ficat ions except in politics mr A tells you he is a broadminded man you engage hi him 1 m in in conversation and find fin d him hir void avoid of 0 f ideas on vital questions lie he is broad lie he tells you of his love for the beautiful you visit his home find lack of system and adornment and leave with your own opinion of that mans culture we perhaps have not the time or disposition thus to view each individual in a community so wo we ook look for some general or common commo n standard from which to judge can we take the church ch I 1 no for alas in too many instances it does not represent the entire population there they are divided but where can we find a common reflection of the people where else but in their common property and common gathering place the schoolhouses As it is there that the foundation of future good citizenship is laid and the good go od citizen makes the community it is perfectly proper that we should apply our test there in order that one be educated to broad mindedness the example and condition of broad mind edness must be with him precept alone will not answer our school should present these conditions dit ions can it do so if there is a restrained confined feeling with us as a result of insufficient room in which to move does not our average school present this latter condition it is a lamentable fact that it does the error at first was not ours but we are the victims of the error nevertheless every well regulated school should have sufficient acreage to admit of convenient and ample play ground id round for both tho the boys and the girls play is necessary to the healthful growth of the bodies and minds of our boys and girls g als while it is not ad advisable to keep the boys and girls entirely separate each should have play ground that the other does not infringe upon many school boards recognize the importance of ample school ground 0 and spend vast sums to secure it whereas reaSi 1 if I at the foundation of school districts sufficient ground had been set apart we could have had the benefits with comparatively little expense to any one but we are unfortunate enough to be without them and perhaps cannot afford to purchase we have excellent opportunity to show wa what lat we would have done by care and adornment of what wo we already have we ran can make all respect us for our good taste even in s small mail things A few trees well placed a few flowers and a well cleaned yard create an attractive and refining atmosphere unlike the average dismal foreboding for boding school place I 1 heard one of our teachers remark not long ago that in going through the front yard to her school room in autumn she was c compelled to dod dodge ge the sunflowers sun flowers to avoid dust when rains came to avoid a drenching more disagreeable than a direct downpour others have as adornment the native saoe sage 0 and the oak brush as dame nature planted them many many years ago while it cannot bo be elpe expected acted that rural districts become metropolitan ro in grandeur there is a natural simplicity which if properly arranged can make it even more attractive by spending a very few dollars in the employ ment meat of ono one of our worthy poor a lasting benefit and plea pleasure surd would result such importance is placed upon this branch of education that thai the government by proclamation sets apart one day each year to be observed by bythe the schools in decorating 0 school grounds lot school boards set the example by placing the grounds in order let arbor day be observed by the schools and an influence will go out in the community that will be felt for good geo A seaman |