CIHM Microfiche Series (l\/lonographs) ICIVIH Collection de microfiches (monographies) Canadian Institute for Historical Microraproductions / Institut Canadian da microraproductions historiques 1996 Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes techniquo et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming are checked below. 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Lea diagrammea suivants illustrent la mOthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 MICROCOrV RtSOlUTKm TEST CHA«T (ANSI nnd ISO TEST CHART No. 2) A APPLIED IIVHGE 1653 Eost Main Street Rochester, Ne» York 14609 US* (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone (716) 288- 5989 - Fo» matumAoin hatiovxlk /J- Reply to Criticisms CO NCE R N I N G TEXT BOOK AND OTHER SCHOOL QUESTIONS DUKE OF CORNWALL AT TORONTO UNIVERSITY October ttth, igoi, on the occasion of his receiving the Degree of L.L.D. THB DUKB'S RBPLT. In reply, the Duke said : — "Mr. Chancellor and gfentlemen,— We thank you for the kind welcome to this Province which you offer us in the name of the University of Toronto, and I shall have much pleasure in conveying the renewal of your allegiance to his Majesty the King. Looking at this handsome pile, and its ample equipment, we feel that you and the Government of the Province are to be congratulated upon the courage and energy with which you faced the task of recreating your University after the disastrous fire to which you refer, and up- on the success which has crowned your efforts. Vou have earned the gratitude of all Canadians for the steady advance of your steps with the onward march of mind, throwing wide your doors to wel- come whatever may conduce towards the increase of intellectual cul- ture and scientific development. It is a fitting crown to the admir- able and complete system of education, of which Ontario stly boasts. "I deeply appreciate the high honor of a degree in your distinguish- ed University, which you have just conferred upon me. At the same time you have reminded me that the ungraduates' roll bears th« name of my dear father. | Applause] and. I further notice that he has remamed in that position for more than forty years. ( Applause. ) 'The Duchess joins with me in wishing tha as years roll on, the University of Toronto may continue to send forth from its halls not only men ot cultured minds, but leaders in thought and action, to take part in guiding the destinies of this FVovince and the trreat Dominion." [Loud cheers. | ( Fr,m, the Toronto Globe, July ^^th, tqai. ) UNAUTHORIZKD TEXT BOOKS Objections have frequently been taken to the use of unauthorized text books m the public schools of the Province, especially the use of such unauthorized books as summaries, notes or helps. The ob- jection does not rest solely on the cost of the books or the increased burden to parents, great in the exaggerate as that burden mav be It rests rather on the pronounced intellectual and moral evils that result from the use of such helps and notes. It is said, and with much force, that on the intellectual side they are sterilizing. Their purpose forbids all play of imagination and all development of reason. They cram the memory with lifeless and disconnected facts. Success in mastering their dry-as-dust contents establishes vicious standards of knowledge Sham and superficiality replace thorough and honest scholarship. But whilst .the financial, intellectual and moral evils of the use of these text books are pronounced, it cannot be denied that the books themselves are a natural product of the times. This hurried age cannot plod through elaborate treatises-it demands summaries. This age of complex interests can hope to understand those inter- ests only in abstracts. The civilized world, in the presence of an ever-increasing body of knowledge, must take refuge in notes ar d abridgments. The public school is the world in miniature. What wonder then that the spirit of the world should enter into the bus- mess life of the school? Notes and helps present to the busy teach- er an ever-ready supply of problems for his classes. To the im- mature and inexperienced teacher who is preparing candidates for examinations the;, offer in a very condensed but objectionable form the fruits of experience. Even if the teacher discourages the use of these books, what is to prevent the pupil buying them? To the fact that these book. ,m-.t the needs of (he a^e are due their appearance and persistence in the schcn.ls of every modern country where the free printing of books is allowed. Vhev are common in Great Britain and Ireland; France is striving unsu^cess- ully to free herself from them, while school boards throu^.hout the I n.ted States, abandoning- hope of . rstin^- them from the schools now recoffm/c them as necessary eviU. It K known that these books are published and sold in Ontario but they are not sold so .reely as in other countries. Thev mav be purchased an* sed by any person, student or otherwise.' but 'thev are not sold to pupils at the dictation of the teacher or the schoo'l Hoard ; and they are not used as text b. .>ks in anv public school. Ontario s comparative freedom from the evil is due to the pers' .tent care and effort of the Department of Education. Its authority is l.m.ted and its work is difficult. It c.u. ot prevent the publication and sale ot the books. Any pup.: or any teacher may purchase and study them. But such influence and authority as it pos.sesses it has thrown unreservedly ajrainst these unauthorized books. Tim- and again in the House and on the platform have the late Minister and the present Minister referred to the regretable appear- ance of these books in Ontario. Teachers-in-training at the Model and Normal Schools and Normal College are carefully instructed as to the unfortunate pedagogical results of the use If these books Its advi.sory circulars and correspondence will show that the Kduca- tion Department has steadily s, t its face against these books In urging that few text books of any kind be used in the junior classes It strives to remove all temptation to introduce them. It has been •said that departmental examinations are an encouragement to the use of these books. Within the last tl.. e years the primary and l-orm I. examinations have been abolished. The authority of the ocal Entrance board has beet made paramount. The public school leaving examination has been emodelled. so that the principal's report is accepted for one-half the subiects of the public school leav- ing examination, and for the other ha.f, the principal's report has a value scarcely inferior to that of the examinations themselves Reference to the examination papers will show. too. a decided effort on the part of the examiners to ask such questions as cannot be sat- isfactorily answered from these notes and helps. Surely the influ- ence of the Education Department has not wavered in its support of its own principles. v But, beyond it* influence, the Education Department ha* set ItH Huthonty «gaini.t thew book*. The statute in that behalf read«— " In ca«e any teacher »hall ne^liifent:, or wilfully permit any unauth- or.«ed text bi>olc., to be u«ed h the pupils of h... school, he 'mil for each such oflTence, n conviction thereof before a Police Mairisfrate or Justice of the Peace, b, liable to a pen.lty not ex.eedin,. ten dollars. The Minister cannot by personal . i.its to the Hooo public «choo s of the Province -nforce this law. He must rely upon the Hchool boards, teachersand inapectors. Practically the school boards teachers and inspectors declare ann, ly to the Minister-and the Mmister has no reason to doubt the character of that declaration- that the law with refjard to unauthorized text books is strictly ob- ■erved. To leave no opportunity for misunderstandinK, the Kduca- tion Department issued ; lon^ since a special notice to all inspec- tors, directing their attention to the unauthorized notes and helps and instructing them to withhold the Provincial grant whenever such notes were in use. The authority of the Education Department it IS plain to see. has not wavered in support of its own laws. But there is a point beyond which the law cannot go and ought not to go It cannot prevent the publication of the books, and it cannot prevent pupils cr teachers from buying and reading them. (/*mm Tht Toronto Olobt.) CHANGES IN TEXT BOOKS. The question of text book changes must be approached with the conviction that the school children of Ontario are to have the best text books and that the parents of Ontario will insist that their children have the best text books. This admits of no argument. There is a second conviction equ.-illy beyond argument : The best text books of ten years ago are not necessarily the best text books of to-day. Ten years in the history of human thought and progress m the present era is greater than fifty or a hundred years in the centuries that are past. Every decade brings new outlooks and new problems. In their own way text books should represent the new outlooks. The text books of 1890 cannot alwa> s faithfully represent the world of 1900. Of course, this is not true of all text books. The character of its subject or the wisdom of its author may retain for a book Its superiority far beyond a decade. The Minister of Education IS singularly fortunate in that at the close of the decade and century the list of authorized text books has needed but little revision. The revision, now completed, has affected only ten books or series of books out of a total of fifty-one books authorized in public and hieh schools. * The books thus revised during the last two or three years are the Public School Grammar, Public School Arithmetic, Public School Geography, the Copy Books, the Drawing Books, and the Book- keeping in the public school list, and the High School Grammar, the High School Latin, German and French Grammars in the high school list. The revision of the Grammar needs no justification. Every teacher knows that the study of grammar has undergone great changes in method, purpose and extent during the last ten years The curricula and th- examinations of the Education Department and of the university give evidence of these changes. Formal analysis and parsing, technical grammar, minute classifications, are gradually giving place to such a knowledge of the grammar of the language as is of value in the ordinary uses of life. What is true of grammar ,s also true of arithmetic. Here the modern teacher de- mands such a treatment of the subject as develops in the student ac- curacy, rapidity and neatness of execution— all virtues of vast im- portance in the modern industrial world. A mere reference to the great changes in execution, in map-work and plate-work, to political and industrial changes in China, South Africa. Australia, the Yukon District and Western Canada, to industrial, commercial and statis- tical changes during the last decade (the geography was authorized in 1887), will fully justify the issuance of a new geography. There have been two authorized copy book sets, one the vertical and the other the ordinary Spencerian style. The vertical was a copyright reprint of an American edition, with American sentiments •n the headlines. The authorization of a new set more national in spirit in lieu of this latter set bears its own justification. Changes m copy books are, however, of little significance in the matter .f cost for new copy books are never bought until the old ones are filled and discarded. Drawing is a comparatively new subject in school courses in Canada and elsewhere, and, like ail new subjects its nature and extent are somewhat unsettled. Ten years have seen great changes, and these changes are represented in the new series Drawing masters are now better able to classify and grade their exercises, to give more prominence to industrial ends than heretofore ; their exercises now have life and purpose, where formerly they con- sisted of aimless circles, squares and triangles. The changes of the decade are seen best, however, in the improved paper, plate-work and binding, so necessary in books of art studies. But drawing book changes have as little significance financially to the pupils as copy books. A pupil does not purchase a new book until he has filled and discarded his old book. It is then immaterial to him financially whether he buy a book from the new or the old set of authorized texts. Properly speaking, there has hitherto been no authorized public school text in bookkeeping. The high school text which has been generally used, was too minute, too advanced, too theoretical and too expensive. A special public school bookkeeping text at about one-third the cost of the high school text has now been authorized. Thp new edition of the High School Grammar was issued under conditions and for reasons exactly similar to those that obtained in connection with the Public School Grammar. Changes and dis- coveries in the departments of philology and historical grammar would alone justify the new edition. The demand for a revision of the grammars in the foreign languages came from a desire for a better arrangement of material, for more carefully selected exercises, and generally for a recognition of more modern pedagogical methods in languages. It is not enough that these changes are advisable or necessary, or that they are insignificant in number. The Minister invariably has regard to other conditions. In the first place, changes should be asked for by teachers. No change has been made that has not been urged by the teachers in season and out of season in their county and Provincial associations ; and no change has been made that has not won the hearty commendation of all true teachers. In the second place, changes should be made with as little derangement of school life and economy as possible. For this reason the new editions, so far as compatible with the purpose to improve and correct, corre- spond in treatment with the old, and are to be used side by side with them. With this idea the masters are urged to change from the old editions gradually, and with the least possible disturbance and ex- pense. For this both editions are authorized, and both alike must be considered by examiners and teachers in preparing and valuing the answer papers of candidates. Finally, for this reason the regu- lations specially provide that any school board may by resolution retain the old edition in use. In the third place, changes should be made with due regard to the cost to the pupils. The revised arith- metic, grammar, geography, and copy books of the public school list are indisputably better books mechanically— and the excellent if imperceptible influences of well-made books should not be overlook- ed — than the old editions, and yet the old prices remain, viz. : gram- mar, 2SC ; arithmetic, 25c ; geography, 75c ; copy books, seven books at 7c each. In drawing, the new edition consists of five books at 5c each, instead of six books at 5c each, a decreased cost of 5c per pupil ; while in bookkeeping a 60c book has been replaced by a more suitable 25c book. To the public school pupil, then, who buys all the new editions, the decreased cost is 40c. If it were possible to consider the 470,000 public school students, the saving would be $180,000. The High School Grammar remains as heretofore at 75c. The revision of the grammar of the foreign languages was taken advan- tage of to amalgamate grammars and readers, with admirable results to the convenience of the student. This amalgamation obviates also the evil of annual changes in the selections to be read, and decreases the cost of text books by one-half, as can be seen by a reference to the cost in 1899 and 1 901 or 1902. In 1899 the Latin Grammar, with the required selections from Caesar and Virgil for Form I. , II. and III., of the high schools, cost $2.25. With the new edition they cos $1.50. In French the corresponding amounts in 1899 and 1901 are $2.50 and $1.25; in German, $2.25 and $1.50. This means a saving to a student in Latin of 75c, to a student in German of 75c, to a student in French of $1.25, or to a student in the three languages of $2.75. But other changes that are not revisions have also resulted in great savings to the high school students. The High School Botani- cal Note Books, (Part I. at 50c, and Part II. at 60c), have been withdrawn from the list of authorized books, together with the book- keeping blanks at 25c, making and additional saving of $ i , 35. When the interest of 19,000 high school students and about 20,000 students in continuation classes are considered, the total of the possible sav- ing of $4. 10 per pupil becomes enormous. A change in ten out of fifty-one text books after the lapse of more than a decade does not seem excessive. They have been much less freqi nt than in the United States ; quite less frequent than in Eng- land, where the local school authorities practically control the text m^ books ; decidedly less than in France, where the teachers themselves ntiay annually revise the text book lists. In the latter country it must be remembered there is much, educationally speaking, to be admired. In the case of several of the books the revisions of which are com- plained of there had been no change for as long a period as from ten to thirteen years. And if changes are not numerous and not/re- quent, why this idle repeating of "the confusion and annoyance of endless changes ?" Shouting parrot-like "new books" proves noth- ing. There is no magic in the use of the word " changes." Reiter- ating the word " changes" is not argument. The question is, have we better books than formerly, and were the changes imperatively called for in the interests of the schools. (From The Toronto Globe.) APPOINTMENT OF DEPARTMENTAL EXAMINERS. The Educational Council of Ontario consists of twelve members. As one of its duties this council appoints the examiners and assistant examiners for the July examinations. These examinations are the combined matriculation and departmental examinations, and, as the senate of the university has full control over the matriculation exam- inations, it is but natural that in transferring these examinations to the control of the council the senate should be given representation in the council. As a matter of fact and law, the senate appoints six out of the twelve members of the council. For the current year these six are: — Dr. Loudon, President of Toronto University; Chan- cellor Burwash of Victoria University, Dr. T«»fy of St Michael's College, Principal Hutton, Prof. Baker and Dr. Macallum of Toronto University. The Minister of Education appoints the remaining six members, and for the current year these six are: — Rev. Dr. Clark of Trinity University, Rev. Dr. Farmer of McMaster University, Prof. Knight of Queen's University, Principal Fessenden of Peter- borough Collegiate Institute, Mr. Tytler, Inspector of Public Schools of Guelph, and Mr. Armstrong, Principal of Borden Street School, Toronto. This council has been charged with improper and unworthy pur- poses, and its members described as time-servers, subject to party tio„, do rnculcZ h' 1 ■ ! """""'^ '""'"" »y»l»tl.y for .due- to place beyond eh. Lch^f J,', °f '""«"«■'""• By i, he hoped o' "udi.s^,,:■:^„ ir ^iir':'!?"^^ °' ™"™' he would not shrink from fh ? . ' *'"'* ** *''« same time Minister of the ct~^^^^^^^ ^^^^ Jould attach to a Province do honor to its .H . . '"°'' "''"^^*'°"'''^« °f ^he remuneration o^Tts'chS tr^lC Xnd^ T "^ ^'^'"^^ ings and perform its onerous du ies merely out o'^h'""' '""^■ education. Anxious to h. • ! ! ^ °^ ^*'*"' '"terest in inations of e^rZL by ba lot" h" ™'''''^'' ^"^^ '"^'^« -- argues concea,n...-::d deceit • '"' '" '^ '^ ^^''^ ^''^'^ "^""^'"^ The senate, it said, was a fl r a^d h ."'''' °^ Education. mentswereadmirabrTh^EdTcttiotS" r' '°'"' '*^ ^''P^'"'" dependent and time-servin. Us ao'oinf ''":'"'"' ""^ ''"P^'"*'^ unworthy. When it leamf L *PP°'"*'"«"*« ^^^-^ improper and confine the charges to the MlnLTr' ^ members. But let us nificance? Thf Rev Dr ClI k the"7'" n ^T''^' '^ ''''' ^"" '''^- Minister's nominees and a^ th \ '^ ^^"^''' *''"« ^'^ *»>« Past and present studentrfT-"^ '^'''* to dishonorable influences? Anglican aVdrptL^trchl^^^^^^ -e world everywhere will resent »K V . '^°^'"'^e' t^e scholarly against these gentled n Dr K„thrf "'"""" °' ' '""^'^^ the Kin..tonLllegiate^nstL':rd\t:roLr7?r '' Queen's University Mr TvH«, f i Pro'essor of biology m Ontario hi,h .U; ,at Pri^ ;^, 'Z^^T^r". 1 "■"" now tapeceorof P„b,ic School/for the cf "ofcS ' ^Mr F '' :^.5i^^ (I r> -aid to oWginate b the bre 'tl 7^r " '"' """"'•^^^ •"°*'-» --e inspired by the Mi,^' e^ Tel T""*"" ^'^'^^'^^ - -«- -.^s^. tr„;irt:e^t::7v;''r -p-^*'— i-ersthe.. proper influences ^ church to^nr^'"''' '''^ P^"^'' ^^^^' ^° '- fact that they are lei, f' 1?^^'' *°"P""^-" Respite the lengthofservfcea ^^'^^ cUr^^^^^^^^ ^^\^^ «--". and by ment. many are regard^ ^ h 3 ,X'"" '" '"^^^^'' ^PP°'"'- even dishonest. He oretend! *"°'^"'' prejudiced and ^ora certain exa.tCn^Xtas^tholrr ' ^^"'^'•^^^ examination was cancelled ,„h » u *''^''°''"*' ^e says, and his iner. It matters littLt ' th -^ u" '""'"'' '^' y^'"" *« ^n exam- for seventeen v;ar"'4o thatch '' ''' "~"^''°'"^ ^^ ^'°-d during those seventeT^elrs alf . '°"ru"''* ^""^'^ *^ ^ ^^^^^^er away. It matters Tu chTo he /eTdt T' '^"' '^^^ '^^" *'>^ whole incident is untrue to hi feet ' No "'k '° '"°" ^'^^ *"« appointed an examiner. ° *"='' P^""^"" ^as been ments are made. These lists Jn. '"*^/'^°'" which the appoint- — .e,.,„ ..u,,,^^ ,, P™f-if„a,«l':rjf "eTa'r:"' tions— and these <.vr^««f:« . *^o"ncil. With these exceo- na.« „r.„'t:r 'xTu^r °:rraf f '"^^^^^^^^ council. Wi^h each nam- »!, »>r- *'^® forwarded to the viz.: The teacVe:^;: Ut ts'^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ " ^"^°---. taught, the school, the da"es of h f ^ ^^ ^"^' "'^ '"''J"^*" any), etc. All other nLmSon „ Ih '""" ^ ^''""^'"^^ ^'^ at the council's disposal etr/o h! " ^^ ^^e MinisterV, ^eacher-sproressionafworrWh^lrcrir^^^^^^^^^^^ Supplied thus with information that h»« u. 12 as it pleases. As a rule an efficient examiner is reappointed for three years, but never for more than three. Having once served out a three-years' term, 't is a practice not to reappoint an examiner before his fellow-teachers who have taught as long as he have served in turn. By what, then, is the council influenced in making its appointments? The scholastic standing, the professional certificates, the length and character of the experience, the subjects taught, the dates of previous service as an examiner (if any), these are the most important influences; but there are others. There is need, occasion- ally, for an experienced man in an inexperienced section, and an old examiner receives a second appointment. Certain subjects, e.g. , gram- mar, history, etc., need twice or three times as many examiners as other subjects, e.g., algebra, and, as a consequence, reappointments are more common in some subjects than in others. It is not the duty of the council to consider in these appointments the claims of any par- ticular geographical area, of any college or of any school. Its duty is to appoint capable examiners, and that duty it performs in an emi- nently satisfactory way. It might be claimed that the Minister, with special officers of the Education Department, is better able to make these appointments. What a splendid opportunity for charges of political favoritism! The joint board, a university and depart- mental committee, appointed the examiners between 1890 and 1897. As the high school inspectors, paid officials of the Education Depart- ment, were n.-mbers of this committee, how heroically such critics as our contemporary rang the changes on "pulls," politics, party, etc. In the council we now have an independent body of the fore- most educationists of the Province, and this body has at its disposal m its derisions all official documents and reports of the Education Department. What better appointing body could be devised ? {From the Tonus Globe.) DISCUSSING EDUCATION. Although it would be too optimistic to expect that we can ever reach a general agreement as to educational methods, we may well entertain the hope that great progress may be made by careful study of the problems involved, by free discussion and the comparison of results. The discussion, to be of any value, however, should be freed as far as possible from bias, and this, is to be feared, educational »3 discussion in the Opposition press too seldom is. One would imagine that the theory at the back of most of their statements is that the Minister of Education is a gentleman possessed of a demoniac hatred of the public school system, and that his hourly study is how he may destroy it. They do not appear to have any clear views of their own on the matter, but when they are fortunate enough to come across the views of an educationist which run counter to the practice of the department they publish them, as if they were the last words on the subject, and that anyone holding other views is either fatuous or malevolent. It mav be said at once that we cannot hope for a Minister of Edu- cation whose views of duty and policy will gain universal acceptance. It would be a great mistake, nevertheless, to suppose that this is a proof that his critics are always right and that he is always wrong. Sensible men who undertake the discussion of the question admit its complexity, and advance their views with a modesty that is the re- verse of dogmatism. This is well illustrated in the address of Mr. Henderson, read at the meeting of the Dominion Educational Associ- ation, which the Opposition press are disposed to regard as an attack on the department. Mr. Henderson has his view, and urges it with force and ability, but he does not deny that contrary views are held by men who have give the subject careful study. " Unfortunately," he says, " there is no consensus of opinion as to the proper remedied, nor is there absolute agreement as to the defects. This want of harmony arises from the different standpoints of the critics. The university professor has one view, the high school inspector another, and the Education Department a third. To a certain extent the intelligent observer, not connected directly with our educational work, takes a line of his own." Every unprejudiced person will recognize that this a statement of fact, so plain is it that we have not arrived at an agreement on many vexed questions. The only way to appoximate to such an agreement IS to encourage free and fair discussion, and we are sure that there IS no disposition on the part of anyone in the department to stifle such discussion. We feel sure that the reports of these discussions find nowhere a more careful reader than the Minister of Education. There is plenty of evidence that he profits by them. Mr. Henderson and others, for example, represented at various educational meetings that the multiplication of examinations was an evil. It is a subject surrounded with difficulties, for whatever objectionable conse- or .h. ••«l..r'.«Li.t or cT^Ll T '""""'"^ of .. „!,•.« .XIU„i.«,0„., .h"wi„;.h..ti,no»r''H'' """""'"» "■••"•"-•of "..*«. .... p„., f«u-i:::,r *:;r c:: -.tr "°- b« "ght, and it is lilcelv tho* »k "^5 charges can hardly two extremes. I it not 'L^^^^^^ '*^''' ^ f-"«' between the wholly divested of its l^arb.'".v"T '^" "^^°'' ■' ''""t^"" the way to do this Tto put aVo^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ h 7'" "°* '° *° »^ ^« been tried, and it did nofsave th« H ? t '" ~"*''°'- 'T''" ""as by P°"ticalacrin,ony ThTVea/Cr"*'^^^ "'''^'^'"' ^•"^•*' being appointed bv a nniu I ' *''*'' '" Pai-'iament or not. If that 1st i the 0^,7!^' "°"':! ^''^ ^^^-'^^^ - * Politicia -ch. and for who^s:^! ?„7fit:i:gt^^r^^^^^^ ''' ''"°'"^- be responsible. It should b^ n..v "'"^"f*» *''« Government would stances to discuss Vd^lli^^^X^^^ T" '"^'' ^^^^""■ to give the Minister credit for an 1^ T ^ "'^ rauonally. and matters put under his cWge ""' '"'•"■"* '" ^"^ ^P-t-t r/*«>« TXr Brantford Expositor.) SCHOOL BOOKS. one bit of information with regL tt ^eto ^^^^^^^ ^''^^ .^^^^ - not cite, viz.: the reoort of tL =\ , l . * Opposition will appoin.edi„ .8«, Tlltd Tu. j".': , B^l't" "'■'^\"" Toronto public librarv r-^ .- . James Bam. librarian of the •od Judge Morean Aft., . "P'"«"''"e '!« l""!. nanufarturers, Hon of .„.„^!:;. wtol^/T" K r""" '"^» '"" "'■"•"'■ reduction in price „f ,Te ^ "i, 'I """f""" "P""" «gain« . «l.oo,,,„Uh'.heexcepior<^ro„e vy.t.'"„-''': iT' '"" "«" -r„. T.e„d„cHo„^...ca:.'.:or.„r„!:tl°o'^::s I »5 per copy to 15 cento. The following extract from the report cf tlie arbitrator! is worthy of note: — An examiiuition into the pric«> charged in the United Staten for school book^ «bno.t Identical with thone forming the ,ubject of thi» reference. ha» satisfied us hat the pnce. of Canadian school book* are far below the price., obuined in the United Sute., and that the Education Department of Ontario ha. exerci^d ex. treme rare .n dealing with each work a» to the reuit price thereof, so that the pubhc ha, obuined the book» at lower price, than could have been obuined under any other ,ystem than the .y.tem of aulhorixation now adopted by .he department, and thi. .ystem. while it fu'v protects the public and ,ecure, low- prtced school books, appean. to be reasonably fair to the publisher. The arbitrators proved their statements by comparisons of prices between American and Ontario school books. The school-book commission appointed at a later date made a similar report. The government has steadily reduced the number of text books until now there is only one text book in each course, it has made as few changes as possible in the text books themselves and it has sought to encourage our own teachers to undertake the authorship of all school books. The result of its efforts to lessen the cost is shown by the fact that whereas in 1875 i^ required 24 text books at a cost of $10.83 to complete the public school ..ourse it can now be completed with almost one-third the number of books at a cost of something like $5. /■«.« 7%e Toronto Afewt ( QmteroaHve ), July 17th, tgoi. There will be some difficulty in making a case against the Govern- ment on the school book arra.igements. The publishers who are favored with the business at present may be making a pot of money out of jt, and they may be contributing to the campaign funds in return for the concession, but the books are well made, and they are not sold at an extortionate price. The.e are weaker points in the armour of the Ross Government than the school book monopoly. (From a Leading Educational Journal.) What text-books are perfect? No geography, history, singing book, writing book, scientific book, spelling book or arithmetic is perfect. There is none that does not have to face the scorn of a multitude of scholarly persons. What text-book has the approval of all eminent authority ? No progressive text-book for elementary school, preparatory school, or i6 coWtgt has such Hpproval. On this baNis the lejfi.slature of Connec- ticut could exclude from use every up-to-date text book in drawing, music, writing, language, and number, every reader, Nature study book, botany, psychology, algebra, and geometry, every text-book =n Latin, German and French. There is not a modern text-book, method or device now used in Connecticut against which there may not be arrayed practically as much eminent, authorative disapproval as was arrayed against the scientific temperance text-book. THE MIDSUMMER EXAMINATIONS. Each recurring midsummer there is a certain amount of complaint about the Departmental and I'niversity Examinations. Some por- tion of this is obviously due to a desire to make political capital at the expense of the Government, and in certain ';uarte.s criticism would promptly cease if the other party were in control of the same examinations and were conducting them in precisely the same way. Some portion of it is due to the character of the examinations them- selves, and to certain drawbacks fonnepted with them. These are worthy of careful consideration, with a view of ascertaining whether the drawbacks are irremoveable. In order to understand the system at present in use it is necessary to bear in mind the process of evolution through which it came into existence. Formerly, public school teachers' certificates were ranked in three classes — first, seconr* and third— and were granted to teach- ers on an examination by a board of examiners for each county. There was hardly a pretence of uniformity in the standards observed, and therefore, each certificate was limited to the county in and for which it was granted. In 1871 a change took place in this crude system, so far as the higher certificates were concerned, these being granted after examination by a Provincial board, and being made valid for the Province at large and for life. At a later period the same requirement and privilege were imposed on and conceded to teachers of all grades. Obviously such a system implied a uniform test, and, therefore, the answers had to be read, as the questions were prepared, by a central committee and assistant examiners. This was the origin of the present much criticised system. At the time when this change took place, and for years after, the High Schools were expected to prepare candidates, not merely for teachers' certificates, but for matriculation into various learned insti- »7 tutiuns and corpor.»tions. There were half a do/en or more of these examinationN, all diflTerent, and the work of the Hi^h Schools was greatly hampered and hindered hy needlessly lomplicated classifi- cation. After years of effort, complete uniformity i^f matriculation tests was secured, and ultimately the teachers' examinations and the matriculation examinations were made substantially identical. Those who strove lonjj and earnestly to brintj about this uniformity of High School work and examinafions thought they were effecting a genuine reform, however opinion^ ..lay vary on that point now in the light of experience. It is certain that the High Schools gained by simpification of the course of study and of the tim '-table of work. Possibly, we may have gone too far in some respec s in identifying the examinations for teachers' certificates with the examinations for matriculation. This is a fair subject for calm consideration and dis- cussion, but it may be safely assumed that no High School master would care to go back to the old system of several different matricu- lations along with the Departmental tests for teachers' certificates. Unfortunately for the cause of education, it seems impossible to have thi.i subject discu.ssed without bias at.d without acrimony. All sorts of motives are imputed in connection with the appoint- ment of members of the Educational Council who appoint the exam- iners, in connection with the appointment of the examiners who pre- pare the question papers, and in connection with the appointment of sub-examiners who reaJ the answer papers. All these appointments are probably fairly made, and it is impossible to prove that they are not so. It would je better to assume this, and devote attention to the best means of lessening undoubted evils connected with the ex- amination system itself. Some of these are apparent enough, such as the tendency to "cram" and "rate" work, the tendency to judge the teacher by the number of candidates he passes, rather than by some higher test, and the tendency to set up unseemly rivalry be- tween the secondary schools. (Front the Tontnto Globe.) THE TORONTO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The discussion of the standing of Toronto school children at the entrance examinations has not proceeded so far as to enable a judgment to be formed. It is already clear, however, that the criti- cism directed against the Toronto schools is diametrically opposite to It th« criticiam directed against the Ontario School nyiitem in general. We have been told that in the Ontario >y>tem too much attention is p«id to examinations: it is now said that in Toronto examinations are neglected. We have been told that examinations ought not to be regarded as the test of a teacher's work ; the schools of Toronto are now criticised adversely on the ground that they do not pass a large enough precentage of children at the high school entrance ex- ammat.ons. We have been told that the public school education, bemg the only education that the mass of th*- children receive, ought to be "rounded oflT." complete in itself, and a mere step towards a collegiate and university education ; we ..ow find the Toronto schools attacked because they do not sufficiently answer the purpose of steps toward collegiate and university education. Again, we have been told that business men complain that public school pupils cannot wr. a good English letter oi calculate quickly or correctly. The fifth b. classes are established for the very purpose of supply- ing this want, a d of meeting as far as possible the demand for a rounded off education ; now we find the fifth book classes attacked as overlapping high school work, and drawing off pupils who would otherwise pass the entrance. These contradictions show not that all the criticism is wrong or absurd, but that the critics ought to make up their minds as to what IS really required, and then, having the standard fixed, to discover hov,r far education falls short of it and what are the causes of deficiency In his reply to Dr. John Ferg-son, Inspector Hughes argues strongly against taking examinations as an absoiote test of the efficien.y of teaching,. He points out also that the examiners are different for each citv , so that there is no common standard. He says ':hat in Toronto the entrance to the collegiate institui s is not made a goal for the efforts of the pupils to the same extent as m other places. "In loronto a comparatively small number of pupils ever try tht entrance examination, and the work of the schools is planned and carried out for the great majority and not for the small minority. The pupils who write at the entrance examination in Toronto are not by any means the best pupils in our schools. In the cities named by Dr. Ferguson the candidates at entrance examinations are the best pupils in the schools." The controversy, while intrinsically of great interest to the pupils of Toronto, also furnishes a curious comment on the char -es made ;!Sl""illthJ'"hT-*'''"''''"'''^'*''' °"^- -y-^em. grinding down .^1 the »chooI« mto an .bwlut. uniformity. Here we find .o «I«ewhere that they might almost belong to different «y«tem» Th! ;rpr:;trh''' " """"-"'•'"" '- •-•^•'^ • -tteTrhoice"^; he part of teachers, parent, and local authoritie.. There i. perfect PROF. LOUDON AND EDUCATION. Professor Ixjudon. Principal of University College, Toronto in hi. convocation address recently, dealt with the neceSty r^hJand un,vers.ty reform in this Province. Prof. Loudon, while no doubt i^Zer :';r:ronmer t "'°"^' ''-''"" ''' -^ --^^ "'• cHie«y .ncernrr^ hl^J; ^Sn^rS^l'':: ««soc.ated and his treatment of his subject admitted o^Iy conside . a .on of the faults he pointed out in relation to the interests" th J h^,he education, ignoring largely those of primary and intermed ate r t ,n hi'd'T* 'TV ""^^ ^'-"''^'"'^ -'^ ^''--"•-' '-a - Touth of "^•-'••"^^.^'^h the "unnecessary waste of time" by the Z^jl^ZfTl '"^'^t'"^ ^ '''"^' educatlon-a unive'r si y degree-Prof Loudon from h.s point ofview-the university point -may fa.rly he credited with having made thre- points. '.The un due postponment of language study" is worthy of consid. tin fo t .s un.ve. sally conceded that in early youth the pov er of acqui'rinJ anguagcs-chiefly a work of memory-is at its best. Then al in from h.s pent of view it may be conceded that other subjects' arfun^ duly fost»red .n tne public school course, especially wLn done" the expense of early acquirement of languages fand then again! Prof Loudon, .s not alone, from his view point, in desiring a reduct on of an undue number of examinations. But from an educationist of the responsibility and eminence of Prof. Loudon, we might reasonably expect something more than destructive criticism. ^It i easy 'o point out faults in the b-st of h,.m-., .. ^ Prof F n„ ^^„ f I . r '^ afrangemeais and devices. onL r " ^ '°"^"'" '^''' ^' P'°P°'^' "o remedy for the conditions he criticises, a confession one would hardly expect from a gentleman, who from his official position, is a part of the e u aL 30 department, and to some extent, at least, responsible for the condi- tions that prevail in connection with it. In reference to his con.plamt in regard to th» undue postponement of the study of languages, he cannot be ignorant that the study of languages is permissive in the public schools, and as one interested, it is perhaps not unreasonable to expect ihat he should suggest some way of reaching, from his point of view, such desideratum. He must recognize the fact that there are difficulties in the way of realizing his first postulate. The study of languages in the public schools would encounter popular prejudice, for it must be remembered that the public school subjects which Prof. Loudon soems to think unduly supersede the study of languages, are to the great mass of the children of the Province the.r sole education-their university degree-and, while the proficiency m them may not be final, it at least, fits the possessor for taking his place in his station in the world, and forms the basis, where the will exists, of self-improvement in after years. And a University edu- cation can do no more, except in degree: for a University course receives peihaps its chief value from the training in methods of study and economical exercise of thought, and is, broadly considered, not an end anv more than a course in a public school— only the means to an end. From the view point of the president of a college. Prof. Loudon may be justified in demanding that our primary schools may have languages added to their curriculum- they are permissive, at the will of the trustee boards now, and in some cases are actually taught But he should be able in the interests of higher education to persuade trustee boards and ratepayers to permit the public school to be used for the study of languages. If he can do so, without imparing the efficiency of these colleges of the masses, no one will say him nay. . . Prof Loudon's comparison of the earlier age at which pupils of German schools reach certain educational stages, than that of our High School or Collegiate Institute pupils, is a phase of his subject which he does not seem to have adequately considered. We are as- sured by one of the most eminent and successful High School principals in Ontario, that any pupil of fair parts and with reasonable diligence can reach the matriculation stage at the age of seventeen, and that without entering the public school before seven. When a later age is reached the fact is not due to the system but is generally due to the pupil himself or herself, or the intrusion by foolish parents of social dissipations into the pupil's school life, with the natural result of arrested progress and wasted time. 21 The Hi^h School is described by Prof. Loudon, speakinff still in the interests of hiK'her education, as "chieflv a traininjf school for teachers m their non-professional work." Here Prof. Loudon seems to torjret that to teachers he owes no little o( the lenjfth of the class rolls of his. and other colleges as well. It is. while not altofjether desirable in the interests of teachinj,-. still inevitable in a vountj country like Canada, where the wealthy classes are vet sparsely represented, that teaching should be made a stepping sto'ne to hijfher education and professional life. There are comparatively few fathers who can give their sons a "hijfher education" for its own sake, and the ranks ot our professions, and even some of the hijrhest public positions, are filled by men who per urdua ad astni reached their high places through the hard course of a teacher's work. And this tact accounts in a way which Prof. Loudon does not seem to recollect, tor his complaint of the late stage in life at which University students graduate. We know of one of the most solid and best-equipped educati. ists of the Province, who varied his college course by inter- vals of teaching^-compelled thereto by lack of means- -and' it was not till the age of 28 years that he took his degree. With hundreds ot other students pursuing their college course under similiar condi- tions, IS It unreasonable to assign this as more the t:ause of the late average ot graduating than the failure to teach Latin in our kinder- gartens? Prof. Loudon complains that there are too many examinations, but he should know that the Education Department has made earnest endeavor to minimize the number. As a member of the Senate, was he not a party to an arrangement between the Department and the Colleges by which Junior and Senior Leaving examl-iitions are accepted by half a dozen Colleges as equivalents for cet.ain College examinations, at the same time answering for non-professional quali- fications for teachers; and saving High School teachers from the multiplicity ot text books and the dispersion of teaching energy in- volved in preparing a class of say half a dozen for matriculation examinations of as many different colleges. We understand, more- over, that it is in Prof. Loudon's own power— by the stroke of his pen —within a week's time, to abolish one quarter of the alleged evil complained of. Other important Universities on this continent, of admittedly high standing-as high as that of Toronto University- have discontinued in toto the matriculation examination. If this were done at Toronto University, one-fourth of the examination "mcubus" complained of would disappear. Prof. Loudon, instead 22 of requiring the existing matriculation examination could well accept, instead, certificates of the principals of Collegiate Institutes and High Schools in the Province to the effect that the students named in the certificates had pursued a certain course of training, were well grounded in certain subjects, and that they had reached an educational standing at least as high as that of the present matriculatior standing. In this he could well trust the principals of our High Schools, who are, for the most part, graduates of his own university; and if he wished to extend the area of reform in respect to examina- tion reduction, the continuation classes of the public schools, doing First Form high school work, afford another opportunity. Similar certificates of their teachers might be accepted in respect of pupils of mat-" -Illation efficiency. This idea may not be accepted, but it is still an advance on Prof. Loudon's position— he declares he is not ready with any remedy, a somewhat remarkable admission. If one's watch runs badly and will not keep time a watch expert is consulted, not to discover the faults— faults are easily seen— but to render a really useful service, to find a remedy. Everyone will be glad if all our University Professors will take a keen interest in public school matters and high school matters. The public may well expect from them valuable advice in this way. In what we say, therefore, we have no wish to speak harshly of Pro- fessor Loudon, though he has only considered the subject from one aspect — the interests of university education. We wish simply to point out the fact that there are difficulties in connection with these matters that did not seem to come within the scope of his address, and if, instead of merely indicating defects, his recognized ability to suggest remedies had been exercised it is not too much to say that additional value would have been given his address. Constructive criticism by eminently competent authorities, represented by Pro- fessor London and other University professors, would be of practical value where legitimate interests so susceptible of becoming conflicting elements are to be dealt with, and where the united wisdom and unbiased co-operation of our best educationists are called for. In this matter it will be noticed av a very striking fact that Presi- dent Loudon and Mr. Whitney, the leader of the Opposition, hold quite opposite views. The former would begin University studies in the Public schools. Mr. Whitney insists that there shall be drawn a sharp line between the work of the Public schools and that of the High schools. Each of these views is extreme. This case forms no 23 exception to the jfenerally correct rule that the middle view— the moderate course — is the wise one. DOES NOT AGREE WITH PROF. LOUDON. Prof. Loudon, of Toronto L'niversity, is just now the idol of the enemies of Ontario's Public school system. Not that they agree with his views of what our primary schools should be, but is enough that he assails them. Prof. Loudon denounces the Public schools because they teach English, arithmetic and grammar, instead of Latin, Greek and Hebrew. He makes no serious attempt to show that his plan would be practicable, or if so, that it would be better than our present plan of teaching first the subjects of general utility ; it is merely his opinion, unsupported. Th^re are others and their views will appeal to many. Prof. Laurie, Edinburgh, perhaps at least as eminent in the world of education as Prof. Loudon, in a Cambridge lecture, says : — When I say that lan(>^atfe is the supreme subject in alt education, I mean the vernacular langruage, with some '."oreigfn tongue as a necessary auxiliary Mind srows only in so far as it finds expression for itself; it cannot find it through a foreign tongue. It is round the language learned at the mother's knee that the whole life of feeling, emotion, thought, gathers. If it were possible for a child or a boy to live in two languages at once equally well, so much the worse for him. His intellect and spiritual growth would not thereby be doubled, but halved. Unity of mind and of character would have great difficulty in asserting itself in such circumstances. My own opinion is (but this is a matter on which there will be difference of view) that the beginning of the twelfth year is quite the earliest age at which grammar can be effectively taught .... Prior to the age of 1 1 , and indeed very early at (8), a child should, by help of numerous examples, be taught to recognize the subject and its predication— the whole logical subject, that is to say; and the whole predicate — as constituting a sentence or proposition .... The first ob- jection which will meet us is this : Inasmuch as a subsequent rule of methods demands that foreign grammars should be based on the nativ . grammar, we should, by not beginning native grammar until the twelftn year, have to post- pone Latin and French till the thirteenth at the earliest. To which my answer is : By all means; why not ? . . . The merely imitative acquisition of French and German in the nursery — mere memory work at best — lies outside my present argument. But let me repeat here, in passing, that children should be made to live in the atmosphere of their mother tongue alone, and think through the vehicle of it alone, if wc are to promote in them depth and solidity of nature and unity of character, s.|n.,aruies. contra.. of-h^oL;, of ;:Jr"l;;''-'''>- ^-^ 'he co.p...!!:: . With the forms already familiar ,„ him ,h!,h '"'.''"""•'''" '■"""» '^nRuaJ "enefi. ....d a finer a.s.he.i. p.rcep,;;:„: " '■"•"^-^ '""•"-'"•" and m^r^^ ■ < the nuvv is 1 1 vocabU.s.„„^,,,,,^,;,/;7 ;";"[.''- Old. La,inKran.mar, no less tl.u. - .• ---on.n.li.-;----^..^^^ -the eUucationists o.' BhI:.-' He '.:' r^^' •"^'^-' --K^v Loudon may be ri^^ht ; it ,.s j^st a cZ 7 '"■""*-' ""^ P-"^''- Prot. Laurie stands very hJh in J . ''"""■''"■-^' '^P'"'"^"-^- But and we .a, f^iri, p.t his^L ^rS^" f'^'^'^ '" ^^^ ^-^i" Loudon, and leave the rest to h^- ' .. ■' '"^'^^"'"*>' that of Prof ;f they prefer that their 1 ,dren oTT"'' '''''' '■'*"''"-" P^P' ^ Latin and Greek instead of radiL and ''"" '^ -t at studv'n,. pammar and geography, the; In" '7 "^ ^'"*''"'^'^' ^•■'^'^-«'' ^ Loudon's attack on the w^rk of thJ . T'"' approve of Prof. Edinburgh man's theory that the b/.t ." ^"^' '""'^^ --"•'^' the can give a lad is education i, F„!, '"'"' ''^ f'^''"-'->- -hool