Eastern Michigan University - Aurora Yearbook (Ypsilanti, MI)

Page 10 text:

PRES! DENT I. H4 JONES

Page 9 text:

THE PRESlDENT'S HOIVIE

Page 11 text:

Igrvaihvnt E. 15. 31111125 ' v ' D 0 ir A 0 X 9 nf , ,,. -XFX, f N THE early his- W, Q i li tory of our country 0 0 ' 1 0 a family of Welsh X! 1 1 , lx! Quakers by the f . f ' 0 name of Jones came lv p - If A to America an d i ' 9 V4 O settled in the Caro- , N 'sf 4 E 'v t C! linas. Alittle later, s. is L ,gg H probably being Q f Q ' 5 fv-htm , ' 0 ' crowded out by slave labor as so many of the small farmers and free laborers of the Carolinas were, they joined the movement westward and found anew home in Tennessee, near Knoxville. Here they remained until the early thirties, when the head of the familv became active in the anti-slavery movement and so antagonized the slavery sentiment of his neighbors that the family was driven out of Tennessee and moved northward into Indiana. Of this stock L. H. Jones was born-the grandson of the anti-slavery agitator. His early education was in the common schools of the state, and in one of the many academies which preceded and corresponded to the high schools in our western states. From here he was attracted to the Oswego Normal School, the representative of Pesta- lozzianism in this country at that time, where he was gradu- ated from both the elementary and advanced courses. From the Oswego Normal he went to Harvard, where he had the rare opportunity of studying science under the great naturalist, Agassiz. With this great teacher, Mr. Jones' work was turned so strongly into the scientihc lines that when he left Harvard to begin his professional career. it was to take the chair of natural science in the State Nor- mal School at Terre Haute. After spending four years at Terre Haute, Mr. Jones was called to a position in the high school of Indianapolis, and a little later was made principal of the Normal Train- ing School of that city, where he served for eight years. He was then made superintendent of the Indianapolis sys- tem of schools and in this position, during the ten years following, he gained a training and experience which fitted him for the accomplishment. of a task in the schools of Cleveland, Ohio, which was of very great significance in the history of public education of the United States. The problem of directing successfully the school system of a great city and at the same time conciliating and harmon- izing the discordant and many times selfish political forces that are placed in authority over the superintendent, is a well nigh hopeless task. There is a constant temptation for the superintendent to View every policy in the light of its effect upon a political clique rather than upon the schools. while the superintendent who honestly seeks to serve the schools too frequently falls a victim to the politician. Thus in many of our cities the superintendency has come into the hands of Wire pullers, to the innnite detriment of the schools. Only in rare cases have really great educators succeeded in holding these positions for a sufficient length of time to work o11t a successful policy. And, even where