VILLAGE OF MONROE HAS A MODEL SCHOOL
--------
Modern Education Methods Introduced by Supt. Thorpe and Her Assistants to Raise It to High Standard.
--------
During the school year which ended Tuesday, the public school at Monroe achieved a perfection of organization probably not equalled, and certainly not excelled, in any other village of that size in Nebraska. Introducing into the curriculum the socialized recitation, the "free hour" for pupils, manual training and athletics, among other things, and employing the latest modern methods of administration and management, Superintendent Verda E. Thorpe, Principal Anne Munson and their associate teachers, Misses Anna Potter, Laura Mann, Dorothy Reed and Leone Hollingshead, developed the Monroe school to a plane which many city school systems have not attained.
Visitors to the school during the term just ended were at once impressed by the unusually keen interest evidenced in their work by the pupils. Asked to account for this facct, Superintendent Thorpe replied: "It is simple. Our whole plan of organization has been formulated with one end in view--to encourage individual initiative on the part of the pupils and to throw them as much as possible on their own responsibilities, and they have responded wonderfully."
Has Junior High School. The entire school, comprising 130 pupils from kindergarten to twelfth grade, is housed in one modern building, erected after the fire destroyed the old one two years ago. The first six grades constitute the elementary department, the seventh, eighth and ninth are grouped into a junior high school, and the tenth, eleventh and twelfth constitute the senior high school.
In the elementary grades the past year each class has had one "free hour" a day--an hour during which the pupils might do as they pleased, the only restriction being that they must spend the time at worth-while work which would be subjected to criticism by the group. Individual pupils were placed in charge of the classes during these periods and made responsible for their behavior.
Throughout the entire school, the socialized recitation in its broadest sense was used, the class work often being conducted completely under the supervision of the pupils. Youngsters in charge of third and four grade spelling classes vied with one another in developing original methods of presenting the subject and conducting the recitations most efficiently. Pupils in the tenth grade organized a "history society," with a change of officers every two weeks, and pursued their study of history throughout the entire term as a society with the least possible supervision from the teachers.
Few village schools make such effective use of music in their daily routines as did the Monroe school the past year. Two phonographs were in daily service, furnishing the music for marching, group singing and folk dancing. Every pupil, from the largest boy to the smallest girl, learned the folk dances.
When the question of a manual training course was raised, it was evident that the district could not spare the funds for the purchase of equipment. But that didn't keep manual training out of the Monroe school. The boys "rustled" the equipment, buying some of it, making some of it, and bringing the rest from home, and that department turned out some splendid work during the year.
Athletics, too, had a place of prominence in the student life. Four girls' and two boys' basketball teams and four volleyball teams were organized.
Pupils of the sixth grade in the physiology classes and those of the tenth grade in their study of biology were given practical courses in first-aid work.
The big room in the basement, which served as a lunch room during the winter months, was converted into a veritable botanical conservatory containing between 200 and 300 plants, which were all cared for by the pupils.
School Paper. With their school activities covering such a broad scope, it was inevitable that the pupils would want a school paper--and they had one. They named it most aptly, "The Monroe School Doctrine," the doctrine itself being expressed in rhyme embodying belief in courage, loyalty, work and helpfulness as the essential elements for success in all things--a doctrine which the spirit of the school exemplified. The fifteen members of the senior high, with several pupils of the junior high as reporters, constituted the staff. Howard Lightner was editor-in-chief; Elizabeth Matson, business manager, Leone Farmer, Mary Baker and Fred Stillinger, department editors, Henrietta Kelly, subscription manager, and Vivian Chandler, advertising manager. It was recognized that in a village the size of Monroe a school paper would not be entirely self-supporting, so the senior high pupils supplemented its revenue with proceeds from a vaudeville entertainment they gave April 1. In February, the little folks of the school gave a Washington operetta, "George in Nursery Land," and a playlet, "Washington's Loves," and divided the proceeds, some of the money being used for purchase of playground equipment, some for books and the rest for the paper fund. Monroe always accords its school entertainments generous and appreciative support.
Standard Tests. Superintendent Thorpe introduced the standard intelligence tests two years ago and since then promotions have been based almost entirely upon the pupils' natural ability as determined by those tests. As result of their application, one girl, for instance, who was in the sixth grade two years ago, entered senior high school last January and has made good there.
High schools are classified by the state according to the number of credits they give pupils for admission to the university. Monroe high has had a "C" classification--28 credits--but with the addition of one more teacher to the staff and several subjects to the course of study, it can obtain a class "B" rating next year, and the faculty has been working toward that end.
Members of the board of education, who share with Superintendent Thorpe and her assistants credit for the progress made by the Monroe school during the past year are: L.C. Kelley, president; A.E. Hoare, secretary; M. Nelson, treasurer; S. Pearson, John Talbitzer, R.W. Stillinger.[The Columbus Telegram, May 27, 1921]