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DUNK, PRINTER, NEW BERN ©be Hibtarp Of t| )t Onitoersitp of jQortb Carolina Collection of j^octb Catoliniana JFtom tl)c Etbtatp of HW.Wst/L'K w Qfi>Y r e>A E Teachers Handbook Edgecombe County Schools NOTE.—1. Examine register and all report blanks at the beginning of the school year, to understand in ad¬ vance what records to keep. Note especially the “Yearly Summary of Each Pupil” in back of register. This infor¬ mation is needed about every child enrolled. In the past many teachers have had a great deal of trouble at the end of the year to get their register and reports in proper shape for filing in the county office, * because they failed to familiarize themselves with* the requirements in advance, and to keep the records as the weeks passed. 2. Teachers are especially requested to familiarize themselves with the State Course of Study; to study carefully the text-books they are to use; and to plan their work so that there will be no time lost after school opens. 3. The engagement of substitutes by teachers, even for a day or part of a day, must be arranged with the County Superintendent in advance. In emergencies, where substitution is necessary, the case must be reported to the Superintendent with the name of the substitute teach¬ er. 4. Teachers are requested not to allow the school to be interrupted, except for providential reasons. Lost days must be made up at the end of the session. BEFORE SCHOOL OPENS Teachers who spend as much as two days in the com- munity will be paid one dollar per day for their efforts, provided they make a satisfactory report to the County Superintendent. See Rule 5, page 2 of school register. Identify yourself early with church, Sunday school, and Betterment Association, etc. See the school librarian and get the school library in „ good order. Collect books. At the Schoolhouse.—See that your school-room is clean and neat, with all .proper supplies and conveniences at hand, brooms in particular. Means for a supply of water should also be provided. On the opening day, children should go into a clean, orderly schoolroom, and get to work on schedule time. Desks should be firmly fastened to the floor. If neces¬ sary, call the attention of the committee to this or any other matter in which you need their help. If additional desks and black boards are needed report same to the Superintendent. The committees have been asked to make all necessary repairs clean yards and arrange for water. If this has not been done report same to the Superintendent. 3. Classifying Pupils..—Consult last year’s register for the names of pupils. With this list the school can be fairly well graded and a tentative program can be made before school opens. For aid refer constantly to Bulletin VIII. What to Do: „A11 teachers in one, two, and three teacher schools and the principals of the other schools are required to call at the office of the Superintendent prior to the date of the opening of the school and confer with the Superintendent and procure the following: a. Last year’s register. 2 b. New register. c. Report blanks. d. School Bulletins: No. 1. How to Teach Reading. No. VIII. A Course of Study. No. XI. Opening Exercises. The Public School Law. State Reading Course Leaflet. * e. Blank for teaching schedule. f. List of books in library and name of librarian. g. Crayon and erasers, if needed. h. School census. i. Pupils’ report books. TEACHING SCHEDULE. Every teacher is required to send to the Superintend¬ ent by or before the end of the first month his or her schedule of recitations to be made out on blanks to be obtained from the office. On the reverse of these blanks are found suggestions that will help in making the pro¬ gram. GRADING AND PROMOTIONS. Teachers should use the State Course of Study as a guide in making promotions. Here are a few things you should never do: 1. Do not promote all the members of a class because there are a few pupils in it who are ready for promotion. 2. Do not promote a pupil because he is prepared for the next higher grade in some two or three subjects. Promote him in the subjects on which her is ready, but keep him in the other subjects till he is properly prepared. 3. Remember that one of the chief reasons why there are so few pupils in the upper grades is because children 3 are allowed to slide along over their work in the lower grades; when they reach the upper grades, they are un¬ willing to go back. They cannot do the advanced grade work; and they get discouraged and drop out and never return to school again. TEXT-BOOKS. a A new State-adoption for five years is effective June 1, 1917. The readers, spellers and a few other books will be changed. No supplementary books may be used except with the consent of the Superintendent. Teachers may obtain from the Superintendent’s office supplementary readers in sets as follows: 1. The Progressive Road to Reading, Book I. 2. The Progressive Road to Reading, Book II. 3. The Progressive Road to Reading, Book III. 4. Boy and Girl Pleroes. 5. How We Are Fed. 6. How We Are Clothed. 7. Modern English—Emerson & Bender, Book I. 8. Modern English—Emerson & Bender, Book II. 9. Tarr and McMurry’s New Geographies—Second Book These sets of books are lent to teachers for free use by the children. Teachers should collect damage from pu¬ pils who abuse these books. For further supplementary material the attention of teachers is called to the list of supplementary books adopted by the State—new and old adoptions. NOTE.—The F. A. Owen Pub. Co., Dansville, New York, publishers of the Normal Instructor, publish over 4 * a hundred little books at five cents each. Many of them are excellent, and could be used to advantage in the grades. Write for their catalogue. PARENTS SHOULD BUY BOOKS FOR THEIR CHILDREN. Many parents object to purchasing books for their children. Others buy eventually, but they are very slow in doing so. There is not much that a child can do in school without books'*. Books do not cost much, especi¬ ally when their value to the child is considered. No farm¬ er would send an emfploye to chop wood without an axe, nor to plow without a plow. Why expect a child to do much in school without the necessary tools? Parents should remember that a few dollars’ worth of books is necessary, and the more prompt the books are secured the better the child will get along in school. THE TEACHERS’ BOOKS. Teachers should have a copy of every text-book their pupils use. They are most needed for the preparation of lessons. It is not professional to borrow a pupil’s book “to hear the lesson.” It is best for the teachers to own copies of the text-books. The next best plan is for them to be owned by the school and kept in the library when not in service, for the use of the teacher. Any aids, devic¬ es, or assistance from any other texts that the teacher may secure are useful and helpful. PAPER. It is recommended that as far as practicable, all work of pupils be done on paper of uniform size. Work can be arranged best on large sixed sheets. Tablets 3 x 10 5 inches are recommended. Beginners should first use un¬ ruled paper, and later wide-spaced paper. FIRST DAY. 1. Exercises. Prepare some general work for the ad¬ vanced grades, also some for the lower grades, to be given on the first morning. We suggest some work in addition, subtraction, mul¬ tiplication and division, and perhaps some problems in en- volving fractions; some assignment in copying, a few general questions from history, geography, etc. These questions should be placed on the black board. While pupils are writing the answers the teacher may be classi¬ fying the new pupils. The papers will reveal to the teach¬ er something of the advancement of the children. 2. Classes. The teacher should determine as far as pos¬ sible the classes. She should do some reviewing and as¬ sign lessons for the next day. 3. Supplies. A few cents worth of paper and pencils for use the first day is a valuable investment. 4. Roll Call: The first morning the names of all the children should be called, using the school census. En¬ quiry for the absent and personal messages of kindly in¬ terest would doubtless be valuable. The teacher’s field is measured by the census and not by the enrollment. 5. Roll: For the next day a roll of the pupils should be made out. Also a program of recitations should be posted. I 6. Before leaving, the teacher should have the school room put in good order—floors swept, black boards clean¬ ed, chalk and erasers in readiness, etc. 6 REPORTS. » 1. To Parents: Parents have a right to expect reports of the progress and behaviour of their children at school. Class roll book should be kept, and a report sent to every parent or guardian at the end of every month. Teachers are required to make these reports each month unless different arrangements are made with the Superintend¬ ent. Suitable books are furnished by the Superintendent. 2. To Superintendent: Weekly, monthly and final re¬ ports are required. Weekly reports should be mailed ev¬ ery Saturday. Monthly reports should be sent within a week from the end of the school month. The weekly re¬ ports for children between the ages of eight and twelve years shall be made to the Superintendent and to the at¬ tendance officer. Final reports (school and Betterment) should be filed promptly at the close of the term. The law requires that the school register properly filled out be filed with the Superintendent at the close of the ses¬ sion. 3. To Committee: A copy of every monthly report and of the final reports must be filed with the secretary of the school committee. 4. To Attendance Officer: A copy of the special re¬ port to the Superintendent for children between the ages of eight and twelve years shall be filed with the attend¬ ance officer. COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE. Teachers will please read the Compulsory Attendance Law passed by the General Assembly of 1913. Note especially section 6 of this act. “Teachers Must Co-operate; Penalty for Non-Compliance. “Sec. 6.—It shall be the duty of all principals and teachers to co-operate with the attendance officers in the enforcement of this law. To this end it shall be the duty of the principal or teacher in charge in every school in which pupils between the ages of eight and twelve years are instructed, to keep an accurate record of the attend¬ ance of such pupils; to render during the period of com¬ pulsory attendance of each school term weekly reports of same to the attendance officer and the county superin¬ tendent of public instruction, showing all absences, ex¬ cused and unexcused, and, in the case of an excused ab¬ sence, to state the reason for which the pupil was excused. Upon the willful or negligent failure of any principal or teacher in charge of any school to comply with the pro¬ visions of this section, the county superintendents shall deduct from his or her salary for the current month the sum of five dollars before approving the voucher there¬ for.” CO-OPERATION OF PARENTS. Teachers and attendance officers would do well to con¬ fer with parents and seek to secure the regular attend¬ ance of their children without resort to the law. Teach¬ ers and attendance officers should explain to the people that they have no option. The State requires the enforce¬ ment of the law during the compulsory period of four months. CERTIFICATES AND CONTRACTS. Sections 4161 and 4163, Public School Law: “No person shall be employed as a teacher who does not produce a certificate from the county superintendent 8 or State Superintendent of Public Instruction, dated with¬ in the time prescribed by law and continuing to the end of the term.” . .And no voucher for the salary of a teacher of any school shall be signed by any county super¬ intendent unless a copy of such teacher’s contract has been filed with him as herein provided. ...” SUMMER SCHOOL AND INSTITUTE ATTENDANCE. Biennial attendance upon an institute for ten days is required of all teachers in North Carolina. Applicants for position to teach must file their certificate of Institute attendance with their contracts: Provided, that in lieu of attendance upon an Institute, teachers may substitute attendance upon an approved summer school. THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. No High School Subjects Taught. The law defines the Elementary School as the first seven grades. Grades from eight to eleven, inclusive, compose the High School. Under the law no High School subjects may be taught in any one-teacher school, and not in two-teacher schools until after ample provision has been made for the Elementary grades. In fine, High School instruction given in an Elemen¬ tary School would necessarily be of poor quality, and would at the same time rob the Elementary School chil¬ dren of their rightful share of the teacher’s time and at¬ tention. The High School pupils will be better provided for in the county High Schools. Under certain conditions—where as many as five to ten pupils have completed all of the work of the Elemen- 9 tary School and desire instruction in first year High School work, where a special tax is levied, and where the work of the lower grades has been amply provided for, subjects in eighth grade may, upon consultation with the Superintendent and with his consent, be introduced into two-teacher schools. Teachers should carefully observe this regulation. PRIMARY AND GRAMMAR GRADES. Grades 1 to 3 inclusive, compose the Primary Depart¬ ment, and Grades 4 to 7, the Grammar Department. In a two-teacher school the Primary teacher shall teach the Primary Grades, and the Grammar grade teach¬ er shall teach the Grammar grades. Only with the con¬ sent of the Superintendent may the Primary teacher teach Grammar grade classes, , but if the Primary grades are overcrowded, the teacher must be relieved of part or all of the third grade. MISCELLANEOUS. 1. Lesson Preparation: Teachers who do not prepare before hand the lessons of the children, will be unable to assign lessons successfully and their teaching will be worthless. The unprepared teacher always does more harm than good. Prepare each day’s lessons carefully. 2. Order: Don’t forget that order is heaven’s first law. A good school without good working order is im¬ possible. The State School Law requires teachers to maintain proper discipline. Pupils who are wilfully and persistently disorderly may be suspended. Teachers who have serious trouble with discipline are asked to confer with the Rural Supervisor or the County Superintendent. 10 Teachers who fail seriously in maintaining order may be asked to resign. 3. Seat Work: Teachers are urged to provide seat work for the pupils. Much more time is spent at the desks than on recitation. Idleness at the seats is a fruit¬ ful source of trouble. With no seat work assignment, the loss of time is very great. 4. Moonlight Schools: The moonlight school move¬ ment is worthy of our earnest co-operation and support. Plans for these schools will be announced later. 5. Reading Circle for Teachers: Teachers should keep in mind the Reading Circle for Teachers. It is very helpful. By all means take and read North Carolina Education. Consult freely Charter’s Teaching the Com¬ mon Branches. No better or more helpful book for teach¬ ers has yet been published. 6. In Classifying: Don’t attempt to carry out the “graded school” plan too closely in your school. Try to fit the work to the needs of each child. The “graded plan” is often an obstacle to the best interests of pupils. Don’t hold pupils back in one subject because they are backward in another. As far as possible let each pupil go forward in each subject as fast as he can wisely ad¬ vance. 7. Books: Don’t use unauthorized text books in your school. Follow the advice in your State Course of Study and in this Handbook. THE DODGE GEOGRAPHIES. We advise the use of Dodge’s Primary Geography in the 5th and 6th grades. The Comparative Geography 11 should be used in the 7th grade, not in the 6th. The Primary book is too difficult for use in the 3rd and 4th grades. Follow closely the instructions in the State Course of Study for work in geography in the first four grades. Excellent supplementary material is provided for all the grades. ESSENTIAL STUDIES IN ENGLISH. Use the second half of the book, beginning on page 223 for 6th grade work. The grammar as the basis in the first half of the book should be used for reference and taught somewhat incidentally. Complete the grammar (the first half of the book) in the 7th grade. Do not attempt too much with the sub¬ junctive, participles, infinitives, gerunds, etc. This is eighth grade work. ARITHMETIC. The first book is for grades 3 and 4. The second book is for grades 5 and 6. The third book is for 7th and 8th grades. In the 7th grade, pupils should stop at page 247. Teachers should omit the following topics: Foreign Mon¬ ey p. 139; Operations With Denominate Numbers, p. 147; Longitude and Time, p. 150; Metric System, p. 15 8; Measures and Equivalents, p. 170; Measure of Tempera¬ ture, p. 173; Taxes and Duties, p. 211. EIGHTH GRADE STUDIES. Teachers will bear in mind that no eighth grade work may be done in one teacher schools, and none may be 12 done in two and three teacher schools until the work of the first seven grades is fully and amply provided for. Two teacher schools must not exceed the eighth grade. In three teacher schools no work higher than the ninth grade may be done without consulting the Superintend¬ ent. ( We suggest the following book list for the eighth and ninth grades: Arithmetic—complete—Milne’s Book III. Follow arithmetic with algebra, or have arithmetic three times per week and algebra twice. WORK OF LOWER GRADES TO BE EMPHASIZED. In the Edgecombe County schools, more than one-half of all the school children, are in the Primary Department; one-third are in the Grammar Department, and only 7 per cent are in the High School grades. Here lies the proof of the need to concentrate our efforts on the work of the Elementary School, and especially on that of the lower grades. INSTRUCTION FREE IN COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS. To provide for a better grade of instruction in High School subjects than could be had in the Elementary Schools, and to relieve the crowded conditions in the Elementary Schools, three County High Schools have been established in Edgecombe County. These are located at Tarboro, Battleboro and Macclesfield. In these schools High School instruction is free to every white child in the county. All elementary School teachers should en¬ courage their pupils of High School grade to go to these schools. SANITATION AND HYGIENE. 1. Drinking Water: Be careful about the water pu- 13 pils drink. Keep strict oversight over well and bucket or cooler. Encourage the use of individual drinking cups, but do not allow these to be dipped into water bucket. Any teacher may have the water of the school well ex¬ amined at the State Laboratory of Hygiene free of charge. Send to the Laboratory for mailing case. 2. Mouth Hygiene: Neglect in care of the teeth is the cause of ^ much ill health and mental retardation. School authorities are seeking co-operation with compe¬ tent dentists. Dr. D. Williams and Dr. G. E. Weeks, the dentists of Tarboro, have offered freely their time and services in making examinations at the schools and in giving lectures on mouth hygiene. Teachers who wish examinations in their schools, or lectures, or who wish specific directions for supplement¬ ing this work, may communicate with the Superintendent or with the dentists themselves. 3. Health Law. “3441. Children Exposed to Contagious Diseases Not to Attend Schools. The school committee of public schools .... shall not allow any pupil to attend the school under their control while any member of the household to which said pupil belongs is sick of either smallpox, diphtheria, measles, scarlet fever, yellow fever, typhus fever, cholera, mumps, whooping cough, itch, or during a period of two weeks after the death, recovery, or re¬ moval of such sick person; and any pupil coming from such household shall be required to present to the teach¬ er of the school the pupil desires to attend a certificate from the attending physician, city health officer, or coun¬ ty superintendent of health of the facts necessary to en¬ title him to admission in accordance with the above regu- 14 lations. A willful failure on the part of any school com¬ mittee ... .to perform the duty required in this section shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall subject each and every member of the same to a fine of not less than one nor more than twenty-five dollars: Pro¬ vided, that the instructions in accordance with the pro¬ visions of this section given to the teachers of the schools within twenty-four hours after the receipt of each and every notice shall be deemed performance of duty on the part of the school committee. Any teacher of a public school .failing to carry out the requirements of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not less than one nor more than twenty-five dollars.’’ 4. Teachers to Advise With Parents: Children often go to school improperly shod. They should wear good, substantial, thick-soled shoes. This kind of shoe costs no more than flimsy, thin-bottomed shoes. In rainy weather and when the roads are muddy overshoes should be worn. Teachers should advise with parents as to their children’s clothing and health. They should solicit co-operation in the execution of the health law. 5. Attendance Lessened by Diseases: Every winter a number of schools are practically broken up by contagi¬ ous and noncontagious diseases. A careful observation of these directions would greatly improve the health of the children and reducq the loss in attendance upon the schools. TEACHERS’ MEETINGS. Six teachers’ meetings are held during the year, the third Saturday in every month, beginning with October 15 and ending with April. The meetings are held in the Court House building from noon to 2:30 p. m. Regular attendance upon the sessions of the teachers’ meetings, faithful performance of all work assigned and satisfactory examination on the Reading Course, also at¬ tendance of Institutes v * . CLUB WORK. . ' %.v ", : ; v^-‘. The County and State have employed Miss Effie Vines, Tarboro, N. C., as the Edgecombe Home Demonstration Agent. All of the canning work, etc., is in her charge. 1 . -f Teachers are urged to strive to secure members for her clubs and co-operate fully with her. Teachers are 'reminded of the Corn, Pig and Poultry Clubs. Mr. Zeno Moore, Whitakers, N. C., is the County Farm Demonstration Agent; he will take pleasure in en¬ rolling members and rendering any assistance possible. S’ HOLBERNESS PIG CLUB. 4 * * . . ! > i Mr. George A. Holderness, of Tarboro, is very much interested in stock-raising, and he is anxious to interest others in this important occupation. He offers to assist the Pig Club members in the following way: - ... . 1. Furnish bred sows to members of the Pig Club up to twenty-five. 2. Each boy Securing one of these sows to give his personal note with interest at six per cent. Note payable in 1917 in money or in pigs at market prices. 3. Sows to be selected by the County and Pig Club agents, and a fair price set. V '•*. 19 7 . ... ' • . > 4. In case sow proves to be a non-breeder, she may be returned and note cancelled, or another sow taken. 5. If sow dies before litter is farrowed, due to causes other than neglect by members, the note will be cancelled by Mr. Holderness. 6. Before sow is taken, the member must have graz¬ ing crops planted and arrangements made with parent for land for a succession of crops as decided by county agent. Parent must agree to allow instructions of county agents to be carried out. 7. Pig Club members must keep record of the work and make report. Must show pigs at Edgecombe Fair. Boy showing most profits and best all-round‘results, gets his sow free. ../• The boys who get pigs under this agreement will form an organization known as the Holderness Pig Club, in which Mr. Holderness will take a deep personal interest. COUNTY COMMENCEMENT. Definite plans regarding the County Commencement to be held in Tarboro about the first of May will be an¬ nounced in due time. * «*\ v '. • - SEVENTH GRADE EXAMINATIONS. Two examinations will be given to the seventh grade i pupils annually—one in the fall and the other in the spring. The first is to determine the-fitness of pupils to complete, during the term, the prescribed work for the seventh grade as outlined in the State Course of Study. The Fall examination passed, pupils will be entitled to take the full seventh grade examination in the spring. Those who fail to pass the Fall examination will be 20 h / entitled to take in the spring the first half of the final seventh grade examination. The following year they will be excused from the Fall examination but will take the entire seventh grade exmination in the spring. Pupils who have successfully passed the required ex¬ aminations will receive diplomas at county commence¬ ment. These diplomas are accepted by the county high schools in lieu of examination. v V / • » ^ PRIZE IN COMPOSITION. Row, Peterson and Company. Chicago, Ill., have offer¬ ed a very attractive gold pin as a prize for the best com¬ position work done this year by any pupil in our county schools. The only condition imposed by the publishing company is that the composition work shall be based on Robbins and^ Rowe’s Essential Studies in English, II. This is the book adopted for use in the seventh grade. Teachers who have pupils wishing to enter this contest may get further particulars from the Superintendent. The prize will be awarded at the county commencement. SCHOOL EXHIBITS AND FAIRS. •" . V 'n- ■ ■ ■••'W > 1 Most creditable exhibits were made last year at the close of some of our schools. In the main these consisted of drawing, map drawing, written work in spelling, arith¬ metic, history, composition, in cooking and sewing. Such exhibits are far more-valuable than the ordinary “com- mencemept” exercises, apd catch the interest of the par¬ ents. They are indicative of progressive teachers. Community Fairs are most excellent entertainments. These fairs have proved most successful in a number of places in the county. The premiums, usually from 20 to 50 cents in value, are given by interested persons mei- ' 21 V chants, dealers and manufacturers. The exhibits consist of such things as best stalk cotton, best five ears of corn, best tobacco wrappers, best five tomatoes, best quart green beans, best loaf bread, best display of vegetables and canned fruits, best hand embroidery, best quilt, best doll dress, etc., etc. SCHOOL BETTERMENT ASSOCIATION. The School Betterment Association and the School Farm are the most successful institutions whereby the school and the community have been brought into sym¬ pathetic and co-operative alliance. The School Betterment Association is composed of the men and women and youth of the community organized for the purpose of meeting at the schoolhouse with the teachers; on the one hand to become acquainted with the life and needs of the school; on the other, to draw the entire community into a closer and more vital relation¬ ship with the school. In this way the status of the teach¬ er and the school has received greater security and digni¬ ty, and the needs of the school, not met by a limited school fund, have been supplied,—from crayon, black¬ boards, and maps, to increase of salary for teachers, lengthening of school term, and the erection of new buildings. * THE SCHOOL FARM. The School Farm has gone hand in hand with the Bet¬ terment Association in the services just enumerated. In no single way can teachers render larger service in their communities than by getting the people together and organizing a school farm and a School Betterment 22 ' Association. For aid in this work consult U. S. Bureau Bulletin, 1912, No. 28. COMMUNITY WORK. The teacher should become thoroughly identified with the highest interests of the community, and should strive to organize the community into a “social center” for the purpose of social, recreational, and intellectual benefits. ; V, * ; A few suggested programs are given below, details of which may be secured from the Superintendent’s office: Special Day Programs. . *y» «•' 'I&l, 1 ' ' ' Hallowe’en Social, Oct. 31. Community Service Week, Dec. 3, 4, and 5. Lee’s Birthday, Feb. 18. Washington’s Birthday, Feb. 22. Spring Arbor and Bird Day, March 26. t . Farm Program. Farmers’ Evening. Peanut Evening. Poultry Evening. Corn Evening. Rural Health Evening. Good Roads Evening. Miscellaneous Programs. Ye Old Time School Days'. Spelling Bee. Local History Evening. 23 Music Evening. Indian Evening. North Carolina’s Natural Resources. Debating Society. SPEECHES AND LECTURES. Teachers wishing addresses, etc., in their schools are referred to the public spirited citizens of our county, a number of whom make good addresses and are glad to help the schools. Good speakers may be had from the State University, Chapel Hill, N. C.; A. and M. College, the State Depart¬ ment of Education, Department of Agriculture, Raleigh, N. C.; and from East Carolina Teachers’ Training School, Greenville, N. C. PUPILS’ READING CIRCLE. The purpose of the Pupil’s Reading Circle is to secure the careful reading of a number of good books at an age when the taste and habits of the children are forming. Teachers and school officials should co-operate to sub¬ stitute good reading matter for the trashy and vicious matter which too often falls into the hands of the boy and girl whose reading receives no direction. The only way to create a taste for good literature is to see to it that books of the right kind are placed in the hands of the children. To this extent there will be given at the next county commencement a certificate to every pupil who satisfies his teacher that he has read six (6) books in this year’s reading course. The teacher must give some form of oral 24 or written test to each child so as to determine whether or not he has read the book intelligently. Teachers may secure the interest of the children by talking about some character in a book which they may get from the library, or by telling some interesting part of the story. Once each month take the language period and test the reading by oral or written exercises. Do not give new book until old one is passed. Make an effort to enroll the pupils soon after school opens and send a list of names to the Superintendent. Pupils who expect to graduate this year must join the Reading Circle. LIST OF BOOKS—PUPILS’ READING CIRCLE. Primary Grades. Grimm’s Fairy Stories—Claxton. Anderson’s Fairy Tales. Uncle Remus’ Stories—Harris. Hiawatha Primer—Holbrook. Big People and Little People, etc.—Shaw. Mother Goose—Welsh. Book of Nature Myths—Holbrook. Fables and Folk Stories—Scudder. Classic Stories for Little Ones—McMurry. Fifty Famous Stories Retold—Baldwin. Stories Mother Nature Told Her Children—Andrews. Old Stories of the East—Baldwin. Old Greek Stories—Baldwin. 25 < ■ f • l * 1 Aunt Martha’s Corner Cupboard—Kirby. Blue Fairy Book—Lang. Little Lame Prince—Mulock. Adventures of a Brownie—Mulock. Seven Little Sisters—Andrews. Bow-wow and Mew-mew—Craik. ■ „ Grammar Grades. Robinson Crusoe—Defoe. . f Little Men—Alcott. Little Women—Alcott. Hans Brinker—Dodge. Life of Washington—Scudder. Two Little Confederates—Page. With Wolfe in Canada—Henty. With Lee in Virginia—Henty. Four American Naval Heroes—Bebee. Last of the Mohicans—Cooper. Bonnie Prince Charlie—Henty. Ivanhoe—Scott. John Halifax—Mulock. Heroes and Martyrs of Invention—Towle. Carpenter’s Geographical Readers. The Iliad and the Odyssey—Church’s Translation. Story of the Greeks—Guerber. Story of the Romans—Guerber. Gods and Heroes—Francillon. Wonder Book—Hawthorne. 26 y Great Stone Face—Hawthorne. Hiawatha—Longfellow. Evangeline—Longfellow. Snowbound—Whittier. Rip Tan Winkle—Irving. Stories from English History—Warren. Story of Cotton—Brooks. Makers of North Carolina History—Connor. ■ ) J- 4 High School Grades. Tale of Two Cities—Dickens. Last Days of Pompeii—Lytton. Scottish Chiefs—Porter. ■: i Tales from Shakespeare—Lamb. Franklin’s Autobiography. Christmas Carol—Dickens. Lady of the Lake—Scott. Silas Marner—Eliot. Idylls of the King—Tennyson. House of Seven Gables—Hawthorne. Poe’s Poems and l^ales. David Cppperfield*—Dickens. V*- Henry Esmond—Thackery. Burns’ Selected Poems. Tennysori’s Selected Poems. Longfellow’s Selected Poems. Lowell’s Vision of Sir Lannfal. Vicar of Wakefield—Goldsmith. Quentin Durward—Scott. V If these books are not available, teachers are asked to consult with the Superintendent in regard to the selec¬ tion of substitutes. r GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS AND MAPS. * No free material contains so much assistance for coun¬ try teachers as government publications. Write to your Congressman Hon. Claude Kitchen, M. C. Washington, D. C., or to Hon. F. M. Simmons, U. S. Senate, Washing¬ ton, D. C., for seeds, also for government publications on any subject in which you may be interested. If you have no good map of our country, ask for a large map of the United States. This map is free and is a most excellent one. If you do not receive the bulletins of the State Board of Health, write to Dr. W. S. Rapkin, Raleigh, N. C., re¬ questing him to send you regularly the State Health Bul¬ letin. A good map of North Carolina may be had free from the N. C. Corporation Commission, Raleigh, N. C. The University News Letter should reach you regular¬ ly. Write to E. R. Rankin, Chapel Hill, N. C., requesting your name to be placed on mailing list. Write the following companies for their catalogues: Milton Bradley Co., Atlanta, Ga.; A. Flanagan Co., Chi¬ cago, Ill.; The Prang Educational Co., New York. For a good map of Edgecombe County, see or write to Mr. Hyman H. Phillips, Tarboro, N. C. V The Bureau of Extension of the University of North Carolina offers to the people of the State: 1. General Information: Concerning books, essays, readings, study outlines, and 28 \ f- subjects of general interest. Literature will be loaned from the Library upon the payment of transportation charges each way. 2. Instruction by Lectures: * Lectures of a popular or technical nature and addresses for commencement or other special occasions will be fur¬ nished any community which will pay the traveling ex¬ penses of the lecturer. 3. Guidance in Debate and Declamation: Through th^High School Debating Union, special bulle¬ tins and handbooks, and material loaned from the Libra¬ ry. 5. Circulating Libraries: By paying transportation charges, schools may secure a loan of a well-selected library. Write to Miss Minnie W. Leatherman, Raleigh, N. C., or for further information, address: The Bureau of Extension, Chapel Hill, N. C. THE STANDARD TEACHER. In order to stimulate the work of improvement along educational lines, there must be set up some standard of efficiency for the teachers of the county. To meet the requirements, the teacher must: 1. Be a member of the County Teachers’ Association. 2. Be an active member of the Teachers’ Reading Circle. 3. Have desk copies of the text-books which she is re¬ quired to teach. 4. Own and use the Outline Course of Study, and, if 29 / a primary teacher, the bulletin “How to Teach Reading.” 5. Make out daily schedule and follow it. 6. Read one or more educational journals. 7. Visit patrons of the school. 8. Hold Parents’ Meetings, debates, spelling matches, entertainments, community meetings, etc. 9. Raise some funds for school improvement. 10. Organize Pupils’ Reading Circles. .i 11. Enroll Corn Club boys or Domestic Science girls whenever possible. 12. Make reports to parents as to conditions of teeth, eyes, ears, and general health of children. 13. Have an exhibit of school work at commencement. Teachers who comply with the above requirements as best they can will be entitled to promotion in position and salary, and the Superintendent pledges himself to do all he can for the advancement of such teachers. NORTH CAROLINA TEACHERS READING CIRCLE, 1916-1917 Public School Education in North Carolina—Edgar W. Knight, professor of education in Trinity College, North Carolina. 1. How to Teach the Fundamental Subjects—Kendall & Mirick. 30 4 . >. A. » 2. Language Work in Elementary Schools—Leiper. 3. The Brown Mouse—Herbert Quick. 4. North Carolina Education (In clubs of 10 or more, .60 per year). READING CIRCLE BOOKS OF 1915-1916. 1. Teaching the Common Branches (Charters) . . . .$1.20 2. Geographic Influences in American History (Brigham) . 1.00 3. The Teaching of Geography in the Elementary Schools (Dodge and Kirckwey).90 4. How to Tell Stories to Children (Bryant).95 5. Stories to Tell to Children (Bryant).95 6. Bulletins: (1) How to Teach Reading; (8) Outline Course of Study; (23) How to Teach Spelling; (11) Opening Exercises. Furnished free by the State Department of Education. Note.—All the books on the Reading Circle list can be obtained from Alfred Williams & Co., Raleigh, N. C. Teachers who complete the reading course will re¬ ceive the following certificate: CERTIFICATE OF CREDIT, 1916-1917 This certifies that. of.County, North Carolina, has given satisfactory evidence of having completed the work 31 of the North Carolina Teachers’ Reading Circle for the current school year. County Superintendent. Date. Four of these certificates entitles a teacher to a diplo¬ ma issued by the State Department of Education. A Request—If you are a teacher and have not read Charters’ Teaching the Common Branches, by all means get it and read it. For teachers, no more helpful book has ever been written. This BOOK may be kept out TWO WEEKS ONLY, and is subject to a fine of FIVE CENTS a day thereafter. It was taken out on the day indicated below: Lib. lOM-Je ’36 t h FOR USE ONLY IN THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION '' /'<; -■-c-Asfes SfiSgS &n0!Sw at/mii