Our school population, since my last report, has increased about ten per cent. Below is inserted the annual report of the treasurer, showing the financial conditon of the schools. It is believed that the curriculum of studies pursued in the Richmond public schools is not only equal to that of any school, public or private, in northwest Missouri, but superior to most and fully abreast with the progressive spurt of the age. The course of study comprising the ancient languages, natural sciences and mathematics, is, we think, ahead of any similar school in this part of the state. By reference to the carefully and judiciously graded course of study, it may be seen that the time required to complete it properly, embraces a period of eleven years, from the time the child enters school at first, to the time when it may, with due diligence, finish. It is true that many of our students enter upon the active duties and employments of life before completing the entire course, feeling that they have acquired enough to meet all the exigencies that may arise in life. This, in a certain sense is true; but without additional expense to the community we are able to supply a much larger and more thorough course of training, a course intended to equip for the higher and professional walks in life. This higher training cannot, I think, be well dispensed with, without great injury to your schools and the course of education generally. In reference to the study of Latin, the decision of school officers in other free schools has been uniformly favorable to its retention. We are gratified that this has been the result reached, if for no other reason than because there was a popular demand for its continuance, which, if disregarded, would seriously injure the standing of our schools. I am confident that any effort looking to a further contraction of the excellent course of education at present in vogue in our schools, would cause the withdrawal from it of some of the best material now in attendance. The discussion of the advantage of the study of Latin is an old one, but the history of education shows that no great headway has been made by those who hold that it is a useless study. The thorough study of a language that underlies the modern southern languages, and is so largely interwoven with the English, cannot be an unprofitable or unpractical study. The chief objection has appeared to be that the results of Latin are not like those of what are called practical studies. The student of surveying has the results of his knowledge in tangible shape, while the results of Latin scholarship, like the moral training at home, are a part of and color everything done in life, and yet rarely appear in such tangible form as to be readily separated and pointed out. The study of Latin is the study of the crystalized embodied thought of ages, that thought which underlies and has been made the foundation of modern civilization. One cannot study the language thoroughly, without better understanding from a knowledge of that which underlies it, the drift of modern thought. Every Latin word in our language, like the river at its mouth, contains the spring that was the source, and all the contributions from alí sides on its way down to us; to follow it back to its source, is not only mental exercise of great value, but it is obtaining a knowledge of not the language we speak alone, but also of the thought of this age in the material which has contributed to and determined its direction. Certainly the highest aim in education is the training of the mind, without which practical knowledge is as useless and impracticable as a garret and its useless contents. It is true that a mere smattering in any branch is not training, and confers no practical benefits, but it is also true that it is the very few that acquire more than a mere smattering, whether the aim be practical knowledge or mental training. In thorough study of the ancient languages, it is the experience and settled opinion of great educators, and one demonstrated in the practical efficiency of thorough scholars in all fields of human endeavor, that it confers the highest mental training, and the highest practical efficiency and aptitude for all pursuits, as well as a useful knowledge. It does not stand alone, and is not only not incompatible with other studies, but the best preparation for thorough knowledge of those things miscalled practical-miscalled when it is intended to convey the meaning that the languages are unpractical study. This much has been said in regard to the ancient languages, because of the belief in their transcendant importance in that course of study, that would lay claim to anything like completeness. Let no one conclude that we undervalue the necessity of preserving intact the full course of study in those departments that have contributed so largely to the success and reputation of the schools in the past. Arrangements have been made to place in charge of the mathematics a gentleman of very high scholastic attainments, a graduate of the university of Michigan, while another, a graduate of the university of Missouri occupies a position in the school. We feel, therefore, thoroughly competent to the work assigned us by the board of education. TEACHERS. In my report for last year, the teachers were commended for their diligence and punctuality. I stated that the corps of teachers seemed to recognize the pre-eminent force of example and to desire to conduct themselves in such manner as to render other means of securing good habits on the part of the pupils unnecessary. This method, to a great extent, was successful, as the character and conduct of the pupils amply proved. The ability to set a proper example before his pupils is a necessary qualification on the part of the teacher, and one that should be insisted upon by school officers in the selection of teachers, and if, after a teacher has been fairly tried, he is found wanting in this important respect, it is plainly the duty of the board to displace him. No teacher, however, should be displaced at the instance of prejudiced complainants or in compliance with an ignorant and unjust popular clamor. There are times when communities seem to forget that onerous and most delicate responsibilities rest upon the teacher, the discharge of which renders it necessary that he should combine in his own character some of the rarest elements that enter into the make-up of a human being. It is believed that, with the exception of a few notable instances, our corps of teachers have exercised great patience and forbearance in dealing with refractory pupils, and, as said last year, we are still able to say that in no instance have we been forced to acknowledge even a partial failure by resorting to expulsion. In this connection I would state that the right to inflict corporal punishment with the very proper and necessary restrictions thrown around it by the board meets all the demands of sound sense, merciful discretion, and public justice. I am glad to state that our board of education possess the firmness to protect their employes in the legitimate discharge of their duties, and that no teacher need fear displacement as a consequence of a rigid performance of duty. It would certainly be a great detriment to the successful operation of the schools were any outside pressure permitted to operate to such an extent upon the mind of the teacher as to cause him to hesitate in the performance of any known duty, and no conduct would more surely or speedily secure his dismissal than the manifestation of this timeserving spirit. We desire to pursue such a course with the corps of teachers in our schools as will stimulate them to high and noble effort, and inspire them with that degree of enthusiasm that will lead to prosperity and renown. As the compensation received by teachers is a matter of great concernment, you will excuse me for suggesting that liberality in this direction is in perfect accord with the strictest economy in the management of school finances. Demand controls supply, and low salaries command only a low order of talent. Schools should be managed with the strictest economy, but in my opinion there is no economy in employing cheap teachers. Better dispense with the services of all incompetents and put double work and larger salaries on those who are thoroughly informed and able to impress their ideas. It is a suicidal policy that applies economy to the extreme of driving off efficient service in any business. Especially is this true of a profession in which personal qualification and character are almost exclusively the forces employed to produce the results sought. Finally, returning most sincere thanks to the members of the board and of the corps of teachers who have co-operated with and assisted me in the discharge of the complicated and arduous duties devolving upon me, allow me to express the hope that under your control the schools will continue to do well the important work for which they were established, and that they will always command the respect, the confidence and the cordial support of the entire community. SOCIETIES. A brief account of the various societies in Ray county, founded for objects of usefulness, charity, profit, or pleasure, will be found interesting and important. These organizations are beneficial alike to the individuals who compose them, and to the community at large. That Masonry, for instance, the chief and grandest of all secret orders, and which has existed for centuries, has wrought much good in the world, no one will deny who impartially consider its results. It is an honor to be a Mason; and the same is true of all other societies established for similar purposes. We have taken special pains to gather the following information concerning the different lodges of the county; and while the result of our effort is not so gratifying as we could wish, it is believed to be, to some extent L |