(cover) NEMOSCOPE SUMMER 1947 (page 2) PRESIDENT'S CORNER In this issue of NEMOSCOPE there is a short article dealing with the enlarged school district of Ashton in Clark County, Missouri. This article is significant and timely. I hope many thoughtful people of Missouri will read this article carefully. The enlarged school district is of utmost importance to the success of the public schools in our state. In the days when most of our rural schools were established, roads were poor, and transportation slow. Consequently, it was necessary to provide schools within easy walking distance of each home. In addition, families were large and often the pupils attended until they attained their eighteenth birthday. As a result rural schools were crowded. Today, however, economic and social changes have altered the situation measurably. Roads and transportation facilities are vastly improved. Our families are no longer large in numbers. In most communities a considerable burden has been placed upon the tax payers to support several one room rural schools for a handful of pupils. The citizens of Ashton and the surrounding districts are to be congratulated upon their forward looking program. Their school is being staffed by competent, well paid teachers at a cost considerably less than would be required to support several schools and several teachers. The children of these districts will reap the reward of their parents wisdom. About the COVER PICTURE The modernistic railroad station at La Plata is normally the scene of much activity. Quite a considerable portion of that activity is provided by faculty and students of the Teachers College arriving from, and departing to points east and west. NEMOSCOPE NORTHEAST MISSOURI STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE KIRKSVILLE, MISSOURI WALTER H. RYLE, PRESIDENT EDITOR ROBERT L. MCKINNEY EDITORIAL BOARD WRAY M. RIEGER PAULINE D. KNOBBS BERENICE B. BEGGS C. H. ALLEN This is the EIGHTIETH ANNIVERSARY YEAR of the NORTHEAST MISSOURI STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE VOLUME I SUMMER QUARTER, 1947 NUMBER 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS BUILDING THE SANTA FE IN MISSOURI. . . . .Peggy Sperra SHOULD TEACHERS COLLEGES BE STATE COLLEGES. . . . .Walter H. Ryle WHAT CONSTITUTES VETERAN COUNSELING. . . . .C. H. Allen ENLARGED SCHOOL DISTRICT AT ASHTON. . . . .A. W. Brightwell A quarterly publication issued in November, February, May, and August. Subscription rate is $1.00 a year; single copy $.25. Address all communications to Robert L. McKinney, Assistant to the President. Entered as second class mail matter April 29, 1915, at the post office at Kirksville, Missouri, under the Act of Congress of August 24, 1912. Accepted for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized July 26, 1919. (page 3) Summer, 1947 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 3 BUILDING THE SANTA FE IN MISSOURI by Peggy Sperra Santa Fe Public Relations Department Topeka, Kansas EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of a series of articles on transportation in Northeast Missouri. Other articles will feature air, road and water transportation. The familiar blue cross in the white circle symbolizing the Santa Fe Railway Co. first began to move across the rolling hills of Missouri from Kansas City to Chicago in 1888. Building the Santa Fe through Missouri to an eastern terminus in Chicago was the fulfillment of the dream of William B. Strong, then president of the Santa Fe, and his Chief Engineer, Albert A. Robinson. In the year 1887 the Santa Fe system included 5,350 miles of railway with outlets on the Pacific Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. But the problem which President Strong had to meet was obtaining an outlet to the east. Because Chicago then as now is the great traffic center of the Middle West, extending the line through Missouri to this great central market offered potential large value. As President Strong declared, "The people along our whole system above all other things, want direct, rapid, and unobstructed communication with Chicago, with only one carrier to deal with in the entire transaction; and they will patronize the road which furnishes it." This ambitious building project was carried out under the Chicago, Santa Fe and California Railway Company of Illinois incorporated in December 1886. The plan followed aimed to construct only as much main line as necessary and to purchase minor lines which could be used to advantage. With an interest in the Kansas City Belt Line which extended to Big Blue Junction eight miles out of Kansas City, the problem of getting into Chicago demanded construction of 350 miles of new road between Big Blue Junction and Ancona, Ill and the securing of terminal rights in Chicago. Preliminary plans for the new road were made in deep secrecy until, with a head start, the Santa Fe came out into the open and established construction offices in Kansas City and Chicago in December 1886. Octave Chanute, a bridge designer, drew the plans for his bridges--five in all--to boost the tracks across the Missouri, Mississippi, Grand, Illinois and Des Moines rivers. Construction of these bridges was a gigantic engineering feat in itself, and the Sibley bridge across the Missouri is today still one of the most imposing bridges on the Santa Fe line. Because of the treacherous course and shifting bed of the Missouri, the Sibley bridge deserves special mention. The site chosen was Sibley Reef as this location offered bedrock from 42 to 47 feet below low water. The bridge, resting on eight piers of masonry, stretches 2,153 feet over the channel. Started in March of 1887 the bridge was completed at a cost of $770,000 in eleven months, quicker time than any bridge of similar size put across the Missouri. Field operations on the new line proceeded rapidly. In less than a year engineers and crews located, surveyed, graded and ironed 350 miles of line. When train service started in January, 1888 it marked the completion of strenuous months of road-building during which track was laid at the rate of four miles a day. Construction was facilitated by the frequent crossings with other lines, thirteen in all, which meant material could be delivered in a dozen places at once. At Carrollton, Bucklin and La Plata, Missouri supplies were received via other roads. By a scheme of dividing the work into so many construction divisions with sufficient supplies at the ends to meet gangs building from the next point it was possible to rush the work all along the line. Approximately 7000 men toiled with unceasing energy to close the last gap on December 31, 1887 near Medill, Missouri. In the meantime the Santa Fe had spent nearly $13,000,000 on terminal facilities and real estate in Chicago. The completion of the entire project including 100 miles of rebuilt road, 350 miles of new line, nine miles of bridges and trestles and spans across the two greatest rivers of the country ranks with the great engineering feats of the 19th century. The Santa Fe could now offer speed and luxury with new trains between [photo caption] CHICAGOAN ON SIBLEY BRIDGE CROSSING MISSOURI RIVER. -- Santa Fe Railway Photograph. (page 4) PAGE 4 NEMOSCOPE SUMMER, 1947 Chicago and Kansas City and through service to the Pacific Coast. Still seeking to expand its services, the Santa Fe also obtained entrance to St. Joseph, Missouri in the same year, 1887. It built a 19 mile extension from Atchinson to St. Joseph and purchased a 76 mile line from the Wabash which connected St. Joseph with the new main line at Lexington Junction, Missouri, thus bringing a valuable auxiliary line into the Santa Fe system. When the railroad builds through a new territory, new towns spring up in its wake. The towns and the people who live in them are the most valuable assets and the best friends the railroad can have. Many of the towns on the Missouri Division were named for men on the railroad or townspeople who helped the Santa Fe build on. Courtney is such a town named for the man who originally platted the ground and got the right-of-way for the railroad. Major Bucklin, a chief engineer on the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad, gave his name to the town of Bucklin. Gower, Missouri was named for a Division Superintendent of 1870 on the Santa Fe which was the old Wabash line at that time. Marceline, was named after the daughter of the first resident in Marceline. Landowners, planters, and railroaders named many of the other towns along the line. Today the Santa Fe owns 213.3 miles of main track on the Missouri division and 75.9 miles on the St. Joseph branch with a total of 289.2 miles. To keep this stretch of railroad "highballing", the Santa Fe employs 2,690 people in Missouri. Handling a large bulk of Santa Fe traffic, a total of 752 freight trains rolled across the Missouri division main line in April, averaging 27 freight trains daily. During the war the Santa Fe hit an all time high in freight carried over the division. In 1944, 6,096,627 gross ton miles were hauled by trains running 2,363,159 miles over the Missouri division alone. In 1946, 4,978,574 gross ton miles were carried over 1,941,560 miles on the division. Passenger trains hit their peak in 1945 traveling 1,751,573 miles, dropping off somewhat in 1946. Today, upholding its tradition of providing up-to-the-minute service in speed and comfort to the west and southwest, the Santa Fe now sends fleets of passenger trains and Diesel engined freights over its main fine in Missouri, a far-cry from the single train which made the run between Kansas City and Chicago on that January day in 1888. That first train was but a forerunner of the future. Now, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf, Chicago to California it's "'Boooard! Santa Fe All the Way!" [photo caption] MR. P. B. IVENNETT, SANTA FE AGENT, LA PLATA, CHATTING WITH TICKET PURCHASER. --Santa Fe Railway Photograph. NEW BUILDINGS AT THE COLLEGE Through cooperation with the Federal Works Agency two new buildings are nearing completion at the Teachers College and a third has been tentatively approved. Approximately 6,600 square feet of floor space will be made available for classrooms and offices, as a result of the new construction. One of the buildings is a former two-story army barracks which has been dismantled and rebuilt on its present location. The building was originally located at Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis. A single story building to be used for Industrial Arts is joined to the two-story unit by a heating plant. Approximately $50,000 worth of metal working machinery received from the government will be installed and ready for class work soon after the beginning of the fall quarter. Mr. Duane Cole, Instructor in Metal Working, will be in charge of all classes taught in this subject. Application has been made for a third building and preliminary approval has been given by the FWA. When received this unit will be connected as a second wing to the converted barracks and will be used as a storage unit for the College. Schneider Brothers Construction Company of Kirksville, Mo., are the contractors for the erection of the buildings. TEACHERS MEETING OCT. 9-10 The Northeast Missouri Teachers Association has scheduled its annual meeting for Thursday and Friday, October 9 and 10, 1947, at Kirksville, Missouri. Program arrangements this year, according to Mr. Marvin Shamberger, of Bowling Green, and president of the association, will feature an address by Ellis Arnall, ex-governor of Georgia, musical entertainment and discussion groups. MUSEUM NOTE A "haystack clinker" is one of the oddities recently acquired by the Violette Museum. The object resembles a clinker from a coal furnace except that it is very light in weight. It was fused as the result of lightning striking a haystack on the farm of Mr. Frank Cassity of Purdin. Mr. Cassity stated that there were many others formed at the same time by the bolt of lightning. (page 5) SUMMER, 1947 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 5 SHOULD TEACHERS COLLEGES BE STATE COLLEGES by Walter H. Ryle EDITOR'S NOTE: In recent years much discussion has taken place in educational circles concerning the changing of teachers colleges into state colleges. In an address before the Teachers College Conference group in Chicago last October, Dr. Walter H. Ryle, President of the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College, presented a ringing challenge to this trend of thought. Herewith is his address on that occasion. The state teachers college is an historic institution. Its ancestor, the old normal school, had its birth in New England more than a century ago. The Teachers College, however, had its origin and development in the Middle West shortly after the Civil War. Its founding fathers did not attempt to ape liberal arts colleges or cut its pattern after any existing educational institution east of the Alleghenies. From its very beginning it was indigenous to the pioneer folk of the Mississippi Valley, and its development and dissemination is far more than a mere historic incident in the life of a people. Its place in a democracy is unique. The pioneers in the Middle West had a building instinct. For a decade after the close of the Civil War many one- room rural school houses took form. A spirit of "universal education" was in the air. Parents of the children grew conscious of the fact that the many schools needed more and better teachers. The idea of a school supported by the state for the special purpose of educating teachers was readily received and enthusiastically supported. The parents of the children were eager for them. Thus, the teachers college was conceived, born, and nurtured in the best democracy of the last century. It is sustained today by the same fundamental forces. It is not only near the heart of the democratic spirit of America, it is a part of that heart. As a people, we Americans have long believed that social and cultural progress of the social scene is conditioned upon the kind of education that is furnished all the children of all the people at the expense of all the people. Believing this, we must also believe that properly educated teachers must be provided for the "people's schools." Because popular education is financed by the people it was long ago agreed that public school teachers should be adequately educated at the expense of the state. For generations in America it has been generally accepted that it is the responsibility of the state to provide public schools in which the children of each generation shall be educated and also to provide "state schools" in which teachers for these schools are to be educated. What has happened in our country that would make it advisable to reject this fundamental thesis? Do we no longer need professionally educated teachers? It has already been suggested what the function of a teachers college should be. You may ask why have a professional school for the education of teachers for the public schools? The same question can be raised regarding medical schools, law schools, journalism schools, agricultural schools, theological schools, et cetera. If an educational institution has a right to exist it must have a major function to perform. A professional school has a definite service, mission, or function, -- a central idea. The central purpose of a teachers college is to educate teachers. This has been its historic function and it must continue to be its function, if it is to justly claim support of the state. Its chief mission and moral obligation to the people is the education of teachers and administrators for the public schools from the kindergarten through the senior high school, and probably through the public junior college. No greater mission has ever been given to an educational institution than that entrusted to a teachers college. Also, no educational institution has been entrusted with a more difficult professional task than that of a teachers college, expected to develop men and women teachers of keen mind, of strong character, along with a breadth and depth of understanding; and entrusted with the organization of a subject matter field for teaching purposes with the ability to run it through an educational transformer in order that it might be adapted for teaching purposes in the various grades. [photo caption] The original Baldwin Hall as it appeared in 1873. This building was the first to be erected by the State of Missouri for the specific purpose of educating teachers. This building was completed in 1873 and was in use until it was destroyed by fire in 1924. More recent photographs show the building with the tower removed. (page 6) PAGE 6 NEMOSCOPE SUMMER, 1947 This is truly a task far more difficult than that faced by other professional colleges. Such a task cannot adequately be done except in professional schools organized for this professional service, and staffed by professionally minded people. Because it is a difficult task is no convincing argument for these schools to be abandoned and converted into state colleges dedicated to a program of general education. At the present time there is being waged in certain educational circles a persistent campaign to convert teachers colleges into state colleges devoted to a program of general education. It is significant that this campaign finds its motivation chiefly among educational administrators and does not spring from the initiative of the people themselves. The present situation would lead a casual observer to believe that the day of the teachers college is fast passing. Many will pass. That may be fortunate in many respects. There will be some, however, that will remain devoted to their professional function and these will continue to be in name and in reality a teacher education institution. These colleges will expand, grow stronger, and exert a greater influence in the American educational picture than anything that has occurred in the past history of teacher education institutions. Teacher education institutions are fundamental to the public schools of America. Americans have an abiding faith in and a sincere devotion to their public schools. They will not allow that part of their public school system to pass which is devoted to the preparation of teachers. I repeat, some teachers colleges will survive. Those colleges that desire to remain teachers colleges in every sense of the word must, however, reorganize their teacher education program to meet the ever developing educational program of the public schools. What should be the program of a teachers college? This should be the chief concern of those conducting the affairs of teacher education institutions instead of planning and scheming to convert them into colleges of general education. If a teachers college is to remain in the forefront of teacher education it must acknowledge that a four-year program for professionally educating teachers is an old model, outmoded and should be discarded for a new one. A four-year program for the preparation of teachers is as outmoded today as a three-year program was a quarter of a century ago. The curriculum of a teachers college in the tomorrow should envision a five-year program, of which two years should be of broad and enriched general education followed by three years of specialized professional education; all of which should be integrated into a unified program of teacher education. The first two years of the five-year program should be largely devoted to general education or pre- professional work for the teaching profession. During these two years the prospective teacher should secure a breadth of [photo caption] THE NORTHEAST MISSOURI STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE AS IT APPEARED TWE (page 7) SUMMER, 1947 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 7 understanding and a maturity of judgment that comes to one who has lived vicariously through the centuries of man's recorded experiences. These two years of general education should not only develop maturity of judgment but should have a tendency to liberate a person from uncritical submission to suggestion of other people as well as from his own ill-founded ideas and wishes. Such a program will enable teachers in understanding other people's modes of thinking, their modes of living, and conception of values. It is very easy for one to become so enmeshed in details that he loses sight of the broad inter- relationship and the deeper understanding of the general scheme of the unity of thought. These two years should also give the prospective teacher a broad cultural background that is so essential to a great teacher. A program of general education or pre-professional work for the teaching profession should be taught by a professionally minded faculty with an eye constantly on the central problem of educating people for the teaching profession. The problems growing out of a general education program for preparing one for the teaching profession are sufficient to challenge the faculties of a teachers college. The last three years of a five-year program of teacher education should be devoted to professional work which should include at least four things: FIRST, the prospective teacher should specialize in some discipline of the academic or applied fields augmented by one or more minors in related fields. A teacher must not only have a breadth and depth of understanding to the extent of being able to make his way around in the discipline in which he teaches, but he must also know how to effectively present it to the learner. This part of the teacher's program should be thorough and based upon genuine scholarship, for scholastic training is basic to the professional education of a teacher. In the two years of general education the prospective teacher secures a breadth of understanding but in the three years of professional education he secures a depth of understanding in some academic or applied field. SECOND, only by knowing the best teaching techniques can a teacher hope to be a successful practitioner in the teaching profession. The professional courses cannot be substituted for the academic or applied fields but neither can these fields be substituted for the professional courses; both are an integral part of the education of a teacher. Those who wish to teach should have professional training in order that they may know the principles of learning, methods of presenting subject matter, the philosophy of education in a democracy, and sound principles of educational organization and administration. It is highly important that there be a close working cooperation of the academic or applied fields with the professional fields to the end that the two may be integrated into a common program. [photo caption] RS AGO. FIRE DESTROYED ALL BUT THE BUILDING ON THE EXTREME RIGHT. (page 8) PAGE 8 NEMOSCOPE SUMMER, 1947 THIRD, an essential requirement for the education of a teacher is a period of internship where the prospective teacher can observe master teachers at work, and at the same time become a participant in the teaching process. There should be a close coordination of a student's work in his major and professional fields with his internship experiences. The period of preparation of a person for the teaching profession in a laboratory school should occupy a position as significant as the internship in a hospital during the education of a physician, or the experiences in a moot court in preparing one for the legal profession. Laboratory schools should be the heart of our teacher education program. FOURTH, each prospective teacher before completing the five-year program should take a comprehensive philosophical course. Such a course should be given during the last quarter or semester of the fifth-year work preparatory for the teaching profession. The heart of this course should be a synthesis of the student's educational experiences in preparing for the teaching profession. Such a course would attempt to give him a sense of the unity of thought which is so essential if a teacher is not to become lost in the turbulent storms of the contemporary world. How should the educational program of a teachers college be implemented? The answer to this question sets forth clearly the difference between the internal philosophy and organization of a teachers college from that of a college interested in a general education program. The FIRST essential in implementing a program for teacher education is a professionally educated and a professionally minded teaching staff. The members of the staff should be outstanding, possessing broad and intensive scholarship, having an interest in, an acquaintance with, and an understanding of the problems and the tremendous significance of the American public school system, and possessing a heartfelt interest in the professional preparation of men and women for these schools. It is most difficult to secure professionally minded people for a teachers college staff, and it is certainly one of the most trying problems of an administrator to maintain that attitude on the part of the staff members under the most favorable circumstances. It does not seem reasonable to expect this professional attitude to be maintained when the college devotes its energy to several types of educational programs. I insist that a great teachers college faculty is one possessing a professional attitude toward its task--the educating of teachers. The SECOND essential in implementing a program of teacher education is the professionalization of subject matter. This means that the subject matter of the curricula of a teachers college is not to be presented academically but instead from a professional viewpoint. The teachers are interested in presenting subject matter from the viewpoint of what a prospective teacher is going to do with it rather than in presenting the subject matter for its sake. This is purposeful teaching. That is the basic nature of the educational program for any of the professions. A teachers college professionalizes its subject matter because it is primarily interested in educating the prospective teacher HOW to teach and WHAT to teach boys and girls. This cannot be done in an educational institution primarily interested in a general education program, for the professionalization of subject matter belongs to a professional school dedicated to the task of educating for a specific profession. A professional minded faculty of a teachers college attempts to adapt the educational program to the prospective teacher. FINALLY, a teachers college faculty, should feel great pride in the profession of teaching, believe that it is the greatest of the arts, and have an abiding interest in developing practitioners of this art. Teachers college administrators and faculties should weigh all factors carefully before trying to convert their institutions into something different from what the people originally in- (Concluded on Page 11) [photo caption] LEFT TO RIGHT: Miss Lucy Simmons, faculty sponsor of the Graduate Club, Charles Funk, President; Paul Philips, Secretary; Willo Kincaid, Vice-President, (page 9) SUMMER, 1947 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 9 WHAT CONSTITUTES VETERAN COUNSELING? by C. H. Allen Professor of Psychology Northeast Missouri State Teachers College The question is often asked just what is meant by veteran counseling and what methods and techniques are being used in carrying out this type of service. The Northeast Missouri State Teachers College has been chosen as one of the three hundred or more Guidance Centers which are established and equipped for providing counseling service to ex-service men and women. The fundamental principles employed in the counseling of veterans are very much the same as those of pre-war days but the methods and techniques are continually being improved. The Government agencies have outlined rather uniform-counseling procedures and the tests used as well as the testing techniques are fairly well controlled. For these reasons the services offered to veterans in our own institution are quite comparable to those given at any other Guidance Center. The college here in cooperation with the Veterans Administration is given the responsibility of providing both the equipment and the counseling personnel necessary to meet Government stipulations. Veterans receiving counseling service at our Guidance Center may be classed logically in three distinct groups: first, those having service-incurred disabilities who need to select new objectives leading to vocational rehabilitation; second, those wishing to take advantage of the educational programs offered to them for time spent in the armed forces but who are uncertain as to what courses or types of training they should choose; third, those making their own initial choices of goal or training but later finding it desirable or necessary to change to other educational or vocational objectives. Counseling is required for all veterans in groups one and three but it may be obtained by any veteran upon request who wishes to receive assistance in planning his own educational or vocational career. Our college has a standing contract with the Government to furnish this service upon the recommendation of the Chief of our Guidance Center. Just what constitutes counseling service may be best shown by indicating the steps followed in the advisement of a typical claimant in group one applying for benefits under Public Law 16. The veteran is received at the Guidance Center by appointment previously arranged. Upon arrival he is met first by the Chief of the Center who extends to him a friendly welcome and checks over his papers for regularity and completeness. He is then referred to the Vocational Appraisor of the college staff who proceeds to advise with him according to definite steps outlined in the counseling technique. The first part of the interview is given to securing a rather complete personal as well as family history of the veteran, including his educational training, vocational interests, pre-war and postwar employment, learning experiences [photo caption] A GROUP OF MEMBERS OF THE GRADUATE CLUB POSE FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHER ON THE STEPS OF THE KIRK MEMORIAL (page 10) PAGE 10 NEMOSCOPE SUMMER, 1947 while in the service, and possible educational and vocational outlooks. The Appraisor also attempts to assist the veteran in reviewing and evaluating a number of vocational activities which would seem to be in keeping with his interests, specific aptitudes, and general ability to succeed. The veteran's age, his educational background, his economic status and responsibilities, and his willingness to work are all important determining factors. In order to supplement these subjective impressions the veteran is next given a series of standard objective tests. These tests may vary according to the judgments of the Appraisor and the Chief of the Center but as a rule they cover the evaluations of interests, personal adjustments, general mental ability, educational achievements, and special aptitudes in the area or areas in which the veteran has indicated some knowledge and experience or has expressed desire to receive training. The scores made on these tests are included as a part of the veteran's counseling record and the results obtained are used in helpful ways in getting a better understanding of his potential abilities and vocational needs. The next part of the interview is taken up with a careful analysis of the veteran's disability claims together with any specific handicaps which may have resulted directly or indirectly from military service. These handicaps studied in light of former work employment and previously acquired training techniques and skills serve as a part basis for determining whether or not the veteran is in need of vocational rehabilitation. In the event he is not found to be in need by the officials of the local Guidance Center he has the right of appeal to have his claims reevaluated by higher administrative boards. However, he is still eligible to receive his compensation pay based upon disability rating and in addition he is entitled to full education or training benefits under Public Law 346. Once the veteran is found to be in need of vocational rehabilitation the question is raised as to what should be his training objective. With all the facts available the Chief of the Guidance Center, the Vocational Appraisor, and the Training Officer together with the veteran in conference jointly agree upon some objective which would seem to be best suited to his needs and one in line with his possible attainment. Another problem which logically follows is whether or not the veteran should attempt to reach his chosen objective by attending some professional or technical institution of learning or by acquiring skill and mastery through apprenticeship on-the-job training. In some cases it may seem advisable for the veteran to follow a modified plan which would provide both types of experience. Many factors need to be considered in arriving at such conclusions. The responsibility in guidance from this point becomes very largely one for the Training Officer. He stands ready to assist the veteran in selecting and becoming enrolled in some institution which seems suitable for realizing his objective or in finding for him an approved business firm or organization where he can secure the right kind of instruction and experience on-the-job training. The Training Officer does not dismiss him even here but continues to keep in touch with him and checks his progress through the training period until his desired goal has been realized. In some instances it may become rather evident that the veteran has not chosen his objective wisely and that he should return to the Guidance Center for a further study and re-evaluation of his case. A very similar procedure is followed in counseling veterans classed in groups two and three who share Government benefits under Public Law 346. They are more commonly referred to as the G.I.'s. Since they have not been given disability ratings they are automatically dismissed as being in need of vocational rehabilitation. They are entitled, however, to the best counseling available in helping them to get the greatest returns from the educational and vocational training periods allotted to them based on the time they were in the Service. They are given much more freedom in selecting and pursuing their education and training courses but they are provided with sufficient supervision to prevent possible dissipation of time and effort in realizing their respective indicated goals. It is very difficult at this time to make a fair appraisal of the counseling service as provided in the administration of the G.I. Bill of Rights. Its value to the returning veterans has been thoroughly established and counseling without doubt will continue to be recognized as an essential part of any effective educational program. Its methods and techniques will continue to show improvement in the hands of trained personnel. Through the aid of this service multiplied thousands of our G.I.'s are being guided into the selection and achievement of useful educational and vocational careers and a vast army of our disabled veterans are being reclaimed into gainful occupations as happy citizens and valuable contributors to society. GRADUATE SCHOOL With the conclusion of the summer term on August 1, the first quarter of graduate work in the history of the Teachers College came to a close. The enrollment of nearly one hundred students in the program exceeded the expectations of even the most optimistic, and indications are that a considerable number of students will enroll during the regular school year to complete the work for their Master of Arts degree. Plans are now being made to confer the first of the degrees at the commencement exercises in May of 1948. Graduate work was offered in the fields of Education, Music, Social Science, and Business Education. Work in other fields will be offered as soon as facilities of the College will permit. FOOTBALL PROSPECTS With the opening of the football season only a few weeks away Coaches James Dougherty and Boyd King are taking stock of available player material and developing tactics for their second year at Kirksville. Coach Dougherty expects twenty lettermen to return and with thirty new men reporting for practice the prospects for an outstanding team are encouraging. Last year the Bulldogs came back after a lapse during the war years to win third place in the M.I.A.A. Conference, and the title of "Surprise Team of the Conference." According to Coaches Dougherty and King, Cape Girardeau and Maryville are expected to provide some of the strongest opposition, but in the M.I.A.A. where football victories are dearly bought, anything can happen. The season's schedule is as follows: Sept. 19--Kan. State Teachers--There Sept. 26--Eureka College. . . .There Oct. 3--Rockhurst College. . . .Here Oct. 10--Southwest Mo. State. . . .Here Oct. 17--Southeast Mo. State. . . .There Oct. 24--Rolla School of Mines. . . .Here Oct. 31--Central Mo. State. . . .There Nov. 7--Maryville Teachers. . . .Here Nov. 14--"B" Team Mo. U. . . .Here (page 11) SUMMER, 1947 NEMOSCOPE PAGE 11 ENLARGED SCHOOL DISTRICT AT ASHTON by A. W. Brightwell County Superintendent of Schools Clark County, Missouri One of the most vexatious problems facing public school officials in Missouri today is the one room rural school and its dwindling number of pupils. Although the Missouri school law of 1939 provides ways and means of reducing the number of small inefficient schools, few if any communities have taken advantage of this opportunity. With the thought in mind that other communities may benefit from our experience in Clark County, there is presented herewith an account of the enlargement of the school district of Ashton, Clark County, Missouri. When the school building in Hays District No. 38 (see map) burned the al patrons and board were faced with three possibilities: (1) to rebuild, (2) to transport to another school, (3) to join with another district. These three alternatives were discussed and debated at length by the Hays board and with the County Superintendent, but no decision was reached. Early in March of 1947, three patrons of the district, Linn, George, and Lambert Seyb visited the office of the County Superintendent to inquire about ways and means of joining Hays No. 38 with Ashton No. 31, a town district. These three large land owners were interested in providing the best possible schooling for the children of Hays District as well as doing it as economically as possible. In the office of the County Superintendent, Section 10484 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1939 was explained and Mr. Linn Seyb offered to circulate a petition among his friends and neighbors to secure the necessary ten signatures. In a short time twenty-eight signatures to the petition were obtained. On April 1, 1947, the proposition was put before the patrons of Hays District in a special election, and carried by a substantial vote. After the initial action was taken by Hays District, citizens of other adjoining districts began to be interested in the proposition. The Honorable Walter Alexander, Representative in the Missouri Legislature and a staunch friend of education, was a vital force in convincing the public in the soundness of such a move. Miss Viola Brandt of the State Department of Education held meetings in the communities to explain the advantages of such a proposition. By June 14 three other districts (see map) had voted to annex with the Ashton District. Work was immediately begun on the improvement of the Ashton school building to accommodate the increased number of pupils. Running water is supplied by a deep well in the school grounds and adequate space has been provided for the 40 children in the modern building. Two well-qualified teachers have been employed and transportation problems have been satisfactorily solved. The effectiveness of this enlarged district will be carefully watched and reported upon from time to time. It may well set the pattern by which such enlargements may be accomplished throughout the state. LEGEND 1 -- Present Ashton School 2 -- Toops School 3 -- Eureka School 4 -- Hays School 5 -- Lebanon School Dots -- Old Ashton District. Diagonals -- Territory added by annexation. Enrollment 40 Enumeration 70 Area 50 sq. mi. [caption] MAP OF ASHTON SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 31, CLARK COUNTY, MISSOURI --Should Teachers Colleges Be State Colleges (Continued from Page 8) tended. The campaign to change teachers colleges into state colleges offering a general education program springs not from the people but from those who labor in these institutions. Is it because they are ashamed of their task? Is it because they fail to realize the bigness of their task? Do they fail to understand the challenge? There is something wrong. The teachers colleges have a tremendous task to perform in the next quarter of a century. They have been commissioned by the people to educate teachers for their children. Some of them at least should remain true to this great commission. No greater responsibility has ever been placed upon any type of professional school than that which now confronts teacher education institutions. Will they fail the people who support them? Let us hope that there are some who will hold steadfast to their glorious commission. (page 12)