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year. A committee of three was appointed to act with the county superintendent in arranging for these meetings. It was decided upon as a good plan that every teacher's name be placed upon one of the programs during the year. One teacher was to present a subject, then three or four different teachers were expected to discuss it. A few weeks before the association personal letters were sent out asking the teachers whose names had been placed on the program for the discussion of a subject to discuss a special phase of it. We found this plan very successful, for in this way every teacher present felt responsible for the success of a certain part of the program.

     The North Platte Valley Teachers' Association is held at Bridgeport, Morrill county, early each spring: Our teachers are always anxious to attend this and the educators who come to help us in these meetings speak in glowing terms of the enthusiasm of the western teachers. Only a few of our teachers attend the state association. When the N. E. A. convened at Denver a few of our teachers were able to attend.

     All teachers are required to do the state reading circle work. Circle meetings are held in all of the towns once each month, where all teachers who are in adjoining districts join, other teachers follow the note book plan.

     It is gratifying to know that all districts have at least started a school library, having complied with the law and spent the required 10 cents per pupil for library books and many districts spend more than this. Most teachers, some time during the year, give an entertainment and buy books with the proceeds.

     Because of the state aid that is received for the weak school districts of the county, most all children are given the privilege of at least a five months' term of school; whereas if no aid was received many districts would be unable to maintain a school at all, for in a few districts the revenue for school purposes during the year is less than $30. However, this condition will not long exist. State aid to weak school districts is certainly a great blessing in Western Nebraska.

     My experience has been that the students graduated from the normal training courses of our high schools make very efficient rural school teachers. They have a great interest in the work to begin with and are not compelled to go blindly into something that they know nothing about.

     The course of study is being followed closely in all of our schools.

     No particular stress has been laid upon the observance of special days, yet I know that most schools have especially prepared programs on one or two of the special days in the year and the others are observed in the general schoolwork in connection with opening exercises, reading, art and language.

     Consolidation of school districts is hardly practical in Morrill county since a majority of the districts are as large as consolidated districts should be, and the general tendency is to divide the districts.

     Instead of letting them remain large and furnishing transportation. We have three or four large districts where the district is financially able to furnish transportation and the plan would be ideal, but the people seem to let the few disadvantages there may be stand in the way of the many great benefits, however, we feel that something is being accomplished along that line when these large districts are influenced to build two or three school houses instead of dividing the district.

     Eighth grade examinations are conducted in four towns of the county and all pupils have the privilege of attending where it is the most convenient for them. I do not know of a single instance where it was impossible for an eighth grade pupil to reach one of these points for examination. I think there is nothing that serves so much to bring the pupils into the high school when they have finished their elementary course, as the way in which the eighth grade examinations and graduating exercises are conducted. There were thirty-five graduated from the eighth grade last spring and most of them are now in high school.

     Many of these must pay their own tuition as the majority of our districts. are exempt from paying free high school tuition because of not being able to maintain a nine months' school out of their own funds by voting the maximum school levy.

     We feel that out here where so many of the districts are very large and perhaps one-half of our pupils are more than two miles from school that for the compulsory education law to be real effective we should be able to compel pupils to attend school more regularly even though they are more than two miles from school.

     Neat, new frame and cement buildings are fast taking the place of the sod school houses. There is now being built and equipped a school house modern in every respect as to lighting, heating, ventilating, etc. Little has been accomplished in the way of improvement of school grounds, because people until lately have felt that it was useless to plant trees, but since agriculture is receiving more attention in this part of the state I am sure our school grounds will not be neglected.

     My predecessor was very active in furthering the industrial work and was very successful in his efforts along that line, for when I took up the work clubs were organized in almost all schools and the pupils were interested in all phases of industrial work. Since that time the work has grown very rapidly. One of our schools did excellent work in manual training. To provide funds at first each member paid 50 cents to join the club, then they began doing work for whoever wanted work done, not charging anything for their work, as they were glad to have the material to work with furnished. After they became more skilled in their work they began making articles to sell, thus providing funds to carry on their work. Another school I think deserves special credit for the interest they have taken in domestic science. During the summer vacation they have kept up their work and have occasionally

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