expense of good buildings had fallen on those directly interested, and this indicates that houses were built either by private subscription or by a local tax authorized by a two-thirds vote.
Nor was the method of apportioning the Territorial funds producing the best results. Under the law these were apportioned according to school population, and in consequence—
the bulk of it goes to the larger towns, and the outside districts seldom have enough to keep their schools going for more than three or four months in the year. I would suggest that the Territorial school money to which each county is entitled be divided equally among all the districts. This plan would aid very materially the outside districts, and would work no injury on the schools in the towns and villages. In nearly every town of any importance in the Territory, such as Globe and Tucson, there is an abundance of school money, far more than will be required for school purposes for the present year. Such an amendment, changing the manner of apportioning the Territorial school funds, would work no hardship on populous towns, and would build up the outside districts.[1]
It was urged that boards of school supervisors were sometimes indifferent to expenses, and even in this uncontaminated region it was felt necessary to warn districts to get the best men possible for school trustees and “that they do not change for the mere sake of rotation.”
The superintendent was able to show clearly marked evidence of progress. Yavapai County, with its 28 school districts and its 2,086 pupils, claimed to be the leader in matters educational. In 1882 the Territorial board adopted a uniform series of textbooks. “Heretofore, in some districts, there were often as many as three or four different kinds of readers. This made the labor of the teacher much harder and the number of classes greater.” The report for 1882 adds the gratifying information: “In nearly every district in the Territory a cheap, uniform set of books is now in use.”
In January, 1882, a printed list of questions was furnished by the superintendent to each of the county boards of examiners, which served as a general and uniform Territorial examination for all teachers, and showed that the school courses were expanding. It included geography and “other natural sciences,” grammar, botany, theory and practice of teaching, arithmetic, United States history and constitution, reading, physiology and the laws of health, and orthography.
About the same time, and under the same authority, the superintendent published a manual of school work which was to serve teachers as a guide in their duties. The school course there outlined covered a total school period of 8½ years of 10 months each. It was divided into what may be called the primary and grammar-grade courses. The primary work began with what was called the fifth
- ↑ Reports for 1881 and 1882, pp. 8–9.
