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Show Supt. Tells What We Should Know About Our Schools The Board of Education and the Garfield County School District staff feel that all citizens of Garfield County should know the philosophy and alms of the school district. This philosophy should be' consistent with the philosophy of those most vitally concerned with the welfare of the most important product of this nation -r-the Student. The greatest task of education facing us today is ono of providing opportunity for the student to gain the necessary wisdom to meet the increased demands of more highly trained specialists and to face the responsibility of an increasingly complex society. The objective of education, then, is to give man power to meet the problems of life and to develop all his faculties to the fullest degree. The true order of learning should be, first, what is necessary; second, what is useful, and third, what is ornamental. To reverse this arrangement is like beginning to build at the top of the ediface. Students should have a definite understanding regarding the distinction between knowledge and wisdom, and should remember that the objective of study should be to gain wisdom rather than knowledge. Facts are important and must be learned, but far more important is to gain wisdom and to train the mind and judgment so that truth may be distinguished from error. Someone has said, "Knowledge and wisdom- far from being one have, oftimes, no connection . . . Knowledge dwells in heads replete with thoughts of other men; wisdom, in minds attentive to their own. Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; wisdom as humble that he knows no more." Knowing, then, that knowledge is not wisdom and that wisdom is the aim of education, study (or the major process of acquiring education) is the activity of gaining wisdom. The capacity to study is the ability to carry on the intellectual labor necssary to solve a problem, think through a question or master a method of doing something. Study includes not only what we gain in.the classroom, but Involves also our acquisition through direct observation and through actual performance. To know how to study is to know how to think, to observe, to concentrate, to organize and analyze, and to be mentally efficient. It is the application of Intelligence to the task of understanding and controlling the world about us. In learning to study we are learning to think and to live! One of the main aims of the Garfield County School District is to provide the educational opportunity for each student to learn to study efficiently and hence to gain wisdom. With this philosophy in mind, and with the aim of providing this opportunity to all students within the district, the Board of Education felt that some changes were necessary in order to carry out this objective. Through careful analysis of the economy of the operation of our school system, the following changes have been innovated: The position of assistant superintendent was eliminated and was replaced by that of business manager. This change made it possible to reduce our management costs by approximately $1,800 per year. We have reorganized our system of delivering supplies to the various schools, which will result in a ssving of approximately .:2,000 per year. By modifying our in-district travel we feel that we will be able to cut our operating costs considerably. (continued inside) YOUR SCHOOLS (continued) Through the above reorganization, the Board of Education feels that we will be able to provide more professional service throughout the district and hence facilitate improvement of educational opportunity to all students. Because of inadequate space the school district offices were moved to a new location after October 1. We strongly feel that the new facility will enhance the economy of our operation because the time now utilized in physical detail because of inconvenience will be used for the purpose for which our professional staff Is hired. The new facility will naturally cost more in actual dol- lars than tho present facility; however, in total cost per square foot. This is less than the usual fee for rental of storage space (twelve cents per square foot). The rent is within the budget which was approved through public hearing for the 1965-66 school year. The damaged bell tower at the Pangultch Junior High will be repaired and, if possible, the bell will be put in working order and the request for I ringing of the bell granted. Financing of this project will be taken care of through our insurance policy. There are several new programs within our' schools which will be conducted during the' year. These should be of major interest to parents. These programs .will be explained in future articles which will be published periodically in the Garfield County News. |