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THE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SERIES was projected for the par- poBe of bringiiig together in orderly arrangement the beet writings, new and old, upon educational subjects, and presenting a complete course of reading and training for teachers generally. It is edited by W. T. Harris, LL. D., United States Commissioner of Education, who has contributed for the different volumes in the way of introductions, analysis, and commentary. The volumee are taste- fully and Bubstantially bound in uniform style. VOLUMES NOW READY. Vol. I.— THE PHILOSOPHY OP EDUCATION. By Johann K. P. Robbk- KRANZ, Doctor of Theology and Professor of Philosophy, University of KOnigsberg. Translated by Anna C. Brackett. Second edition, revised, with Commentary and complete Analysis. $1.50. Vol. n.— A HISTORY OP EDUCATION. By P. V. N. Paintbr, A.M., Pro- fessor of Modern Languages and Literature, Roanolce College, Va. $1.60. Vol. III.-THE RISE AND EARLY CONSTITUTION OP UNIVERSITIES. With a Survey of Medlgval Educatiok. 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XIV.— PESTALOZZI : His Lipb and Work. By Rookr de GinHPS. Authorized Translation from the second French edition, by J. Kcsbkll, B. A. With an Introduction by Rev. R. H. Quick, M. A. $1.50. XV.-SCHOOL SUPERVISION. By J. L. Pickabd, LL. D. $1.00. XVI.— HIGHER EDUCATION OP WOMEN IN EUROPE. By Helbnb Lanoe, Berlin. Translated and accompanied by comparative statistics by L. R. Klehm. $1.00. XVII.— ESSAYS ON EDUCATIONAL REFORMERS. By Robert Her- bert Quick, M. A., Trinity College, Cambridge. Only authorized edition INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SERIES THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO (CANADA) ITS HISTORY AND DISTINCTIVE FEATURES BY The Hon. GEORGE W. ROSS, LL.D. MINISTER OF EDUCATION FOR THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO AUTHOR OF THE SCHOOLS OF ENGLAND AND OERHANT PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, ETC. NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1896 Copyright, 1896, By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. 7-1^ \\ Electbotypkd and Pmnted AT THE ApPLETON PrESS, U. S. A. t^ EDITOR'S PREFACE. The publishers take pleasure in presenting a new volume in the fourth department of this series, that of Practice or Education as an art. This is a work on the organization and supervision of schools, and a most in- structive one. After the history of educational theories and their criticism, one is prepared for a study of sys- tematic treatises on the theory of pedagogy. Then come treatises on the art of instruction and discipline ; and lastly, in our classification, works on the organization and supervision of schools. • Next after the study of school organization in the several States of our own country comes that of the colo- nies of Great Britain. Descended, like ourselves, from the people that invented local self-government, their solutions of the problem of popular education have in many respects the same features that we find in the United States. But, unlike our own people, these colo- nies have never passed through an epoch of revolution and become separate from the parental Government. From this circumstance flows a stream of results that mark considerable differences in practice. It was natural that the people of our colonies should develop an almost morbid feeling against centralization. The true civil government is a proper balance between VI THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. centralization and individualism, the central power lim- iting itself to doing such things only as the individual can not do so well, and in all cases helping the individual to help himself. With our phobia agains* centralization, there have been frequent cases in which the central Gov- ernment has failed to take the initiative in matters of great public concern. The individual has in many in- stances been left to sufifer for his feebleness where he might have been re-enforced .and made strong by the social whole. The consequence has been a slower growth in that function of our Government which, in the lan- guage of the Constitution, is " to provide for the public welfare." The British colonies in many particulars furnish in- stances where the central power has acted more freely and provided for the public welfare more wisely than it has done with us. Take, in the present volume, the account of the per- sistent attempt to secure the best method of supervision (Chapters I and II) — an attempt crowned with success. Take the record that describes the growth of the codes of comprehensive rules and regulations for the administra- tion of details in localities. The central power sets the standards so that the local authority can readily see the ideal and criticise for itself its own results. The indi- vidual is left free in many details of method, but must secure a certain standard of success in what he accom- plishes. We may read with interest and profit the growth of the plan for the professional training of teachers; that for school libraries, and the final substitution of town or village public libraries; that for secondary and higher education; that for the provision of good text-books; EDITOR'S PREFACE. Vll the care for equal justice in the matter of separate schools for religious denominations ; the systematic modes of procedure in selecting schoolhouse sites and in adopting plans for building that secure the best hygiene for teacher and pupil. Throughout this volume is seen what may be done by a central power that makes a liberal appropriation of money to local authorities, but requires, as a condition, the recipient to respond by contributing an equal sum of money, and by showing to the central supervisory power results that equal the standard of requirement. It may be doubted whether there is another i. Jance in America of so wise a use of money and supervi- jry power as is shown in this Province of Ontario, oxcepting the 'tdmin- istration of the Peaboc'y and Slatei lunds fo^ ine stimu- lation and nurture of education in our I^'outhern States. The Peabody fund is worth studying as another example of wise centralization used for increasing local and indi- vidual self-help. In proportion to the progress of our country toward an urban condition of civilization and the political sub- ordination of the rural phase, we ourselves achieve this desirable feature of wise centralization that really and truly " provides for the public welfare," in the sense that the deep-seeing mind of Jefferson used those words. Wo at the same time outgrow that morbid jealousy of cen- tralization, not fearing any longer the usurpation of our liberties, now that we have the newspaper, universal free suffrage, and a government by public opinion. The difference between a well-balanced civil govern- ment and socialism is as well marked as the difference between mere individualism and anarchy ; for, while the civil state helps the locality or the individual only where VllI THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. it can increase local or individual self-help, or where the interest of the social whole is subserved by it, socialism does the deed for the individual and destroys his power of self-help altogether. It assumes all directive power all power of initiative. The civil government of the Anglo-Saxon finds the true balance between central and local powers where each re-enforces the other. The school system at home in Great Britain is still complicated with questions of caste, and not so instruc- tive to us or so easily understood as the school systems of the English colonies. W. T. Harris. Washington, March 1, 1896, AUTHOR'S PREFACE. Evert school system has its own distinctive features. An ideal organization is scarcely possible in any case. The living forces which shape and mould the political in- stitutions of a people also shape and mould its educational institutions, so that any system, to be successful, must adapt itself to social and local conditions. The school system described in the following pages is the evolution of the best thought of different Legislatures, aided and di- rected by the judgment of men who gave a lifetime to the task of adapting broad principles of organization and ped- agogy to the wants and aspirations of the people for whom it was designed. Briefly summarized its chief character- istics are as follows : 1. It is an organized whole, beginning with the kin- dergarten and ending with the university. 3. It provides free education to all persons under twenty-one years of age. 3. It graduates the courses of study from the kinder- garten to the. university, so as to avoid waste of time on the part of the pupils and waste of teaching power on the part of the teachers. 4. It provides a trained teacher for every school, aided by public money. 5. It furnishes a uniform standard of examination for every teaehor, according to his rank. ix Kti i'' \i. II X THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 6. It protects children against the selfishness or neglect of parents and guardians, by making attendance at school compulsory. 7. It secures trustees against the incapacity of teachers by a rigorous system of examination and inspection. 8. It protects education from the caprice of public opinion by the appointment of inspectors during pleasure, and by the election of trustees for a lengthened term of service. 9. It secures economy and uniformity in text-books by placing their publication in the hands of a central provin- cial authority. 10. It permits the establishment of separate schools for Roman Catholics subject to the same standards of effi- ciency as the public schools. To those who are concerned in the administration of schools it is always an advantage to know what methods are adopted in other countries for securing the co-opera- tion of the public and promoting the efficiency of educa- tional effort. In order that the reader might be able to study the school system of Ontario, as at present organ- ized, full details have been given of its different depart- ments. In preserving the continuity of the statement, repetition in some cases was unavoidable. To be con- cise, it was necessary to omit minor matters of detail. It is hoped, however, that the statement, as a whole, will enable the intelligent reader to understand reasonably well the various features of the school system which it has been the object of the author to unfold. George W. Ross. Education Department, Toronto, January S, 1896. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Editor's Preface Author's Preface PAOB V ix CHAPTER I. HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. Kecoramendation of Governor Siracoe. — Appropriation of lands for school purposes. — Public-Schools Act of 1807. — Ele- mentary-Schools Act, 1816.— The Act of 1824.~The Act of 1841. — Germ of Separate-Schools Act. — Act of 1843. — Office of chief superintendent. — Appointment of Dr. Ryerson. — Dr. Ryerson's report on foreign schools. — The Act of 1846. — Establishment of school libraries. — Appointment of coun- ty inspectors. — Appointment of a Minister of Education . CHAPTER II. ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Minister head of the Education Department. — Constitution, jurisdiction, and power of the Education Department. — Powers of the Minister of Education. — Public schools, how organized. — Government of rural schools. — Duties of trus- tees. — Township boards. — School assessments.— Trustees of urban schools.— Industrial schools 24 CHAPTER III. SCHOOL SITES, PREMISES, AND PUPILS. Law regarding school sites. — Schoolhouses, school furniture, and equipment."— Duties of pupils. — Departmental regula- tions re pupils.— Sanitary protection of .... 43 xi mmsm xu TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. COURSE OF STUDY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. PAGE Beading. — Spelling. — Writing. — Language lessons. — Geog- raphy. — History. — Drawing. — Physiology and temperance. — Literature. — Music. — Drill and calisthenics. — Moral and religious itistruction. — Reviews and recitations. — Optional subjects. — Dual languages 56 'I' if " I. i CHAPTER V. TEACHEBS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. Qualification of teachers. — Subjects of third-class standing. — Subjects of second-class standing. — Subjects of first-class standing. — Specialists' certificates. — Preparation of exami- nation papers. — Mode of conducting examinations. — Duties of candidates. — Duties of presiding examiners. — Reading answer papers 70 CHAPTER VI. TRAINING OF TEACHERS. County model schools. — Course of study in. — Final examina- tions of. — Normal schools. — Organization of normal schools. — Course of study in. — Examinations, how conducted. — Kindergarten teachers. — Normal Training College. — Courses of study and text-books. — Teaching staff. — Spe- cialists. — Teachers' institutes 89 CHAPTER VII. HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. Historical sketch. — Acts of 1807, 1841, 1853. 1865. — High schools, how established. — Duties and powers of trustees. — Sites and buildings. — How sustained. — Fees. — Course of study. — Physical culture. — Qualification of teachers. — Upper Canada College Ill TABLE OF CONTENTS. Xlii CHAPTER VIII. INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. PAQB Qualification of inspectors. — Duties of public-school inspectors. — High-school inspection. — Inspection of teachers' insti- tutes. — Inspection of model schools. — Religious instruc- tion. — Departmental regulations 128 CHAPTER IX. DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. Established under the Act of 1841. — Continued in 1843. — Acts of 1852, 1855, 1863. — Organization of Roman Catholic separate schools. — Who are separate-school supporters. — Separate schools, how sustained. — Separate-school teachers. — Course of study, text-books, and inspection. — Protestant separate schools. — Coloured separate schools 140 CHAPTER X. SCHOOL LIBRARIES, PUBLIC LIBRARIES, AND TEXT-BOOKS. Historical Sketch. — Mechanics' institutes. — Free Libraries Act, 1882. — Government aid. — Regulations respecting public libraries. — Evening classes in art schools. — Text-books. — One text-book in each subject. — Text-books, how prepared. — How published 156 CHAPTER XL THE PROVINCIAL UNIVERSITY. Historical sketch.— The Act of 1837.— The Act of 1849.— The Act of 1853.— The Act of 1873.— The Federation Act, 1887. — Government of the university. — Faculty, how appointed. — The Senate. — Matriculation. — Course of study. — Faculty of medicine. — Affiliated universities and colleges. — The li- brary. — Gymnasium. — Discipline.— College residence. — The School of Science 173 ■PPW* ^i i. II ^ \ i k: i _ xir TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. GROWTH OP THE ONTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. PAQE Returns of 1344. — Pupils in advanced subjects. — Number of trained teachers. — Salaries of teachers. — Cost of public schools. — Growth of separate schools. — Growth of high schools. — Percentages in different subjects. — Salaries of masters. — County model schools and normal schools. — Growth of public libraries. — Results of Arbor Day. — At- tendance at the provincial university 188 APPENDIX. Report on the sanitary condition of rural schools . 198 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO (CANADA). CHAPTER I. HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. By an act known as the Constitutional Act of 1791, the Imperial House of Commons divided the British pos- sessions in America into two provinces to be known as Upper and Lower Canada, which names they retained until all the British provinces were united by the British North America Act of 1867 as the Dominion of Canada. Since that time Lower Canada has been known bv the name of Quebec, and Upper Canada by the name of On- tario. To avoid confusion, it is proposed to use the name " Ontario " instead of " Upper Canada " in the historical narrative that follows. The Province of Ontario contains an area of 219,650 square miles, with a population of 2,114,321, or about the same population as the State of Massachusetts. In area it is larger by 50,000 square miles than the nine States generally described as the North Atlantic States of the American Republic, viz., Maine, New Hampshire, Ver- mont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New 2 1 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. There is no record of the population of Ontario at the date of the Constitu- tional Act of 1791 ; in 1806, however, its population is stated as being 70,718, and in 1814 as 95,000. The early settlers of Ontario were mainly immigrants from the British Islands and refugees from the United States called United Empire Loyalists, because they dis- approved of the Revolution which led to the separation of the North American colonies from Great Britain. On the 11th of November, 1791, Lieutenant-Governor J. Graves Simcoe, the first Governor of Ontario, arrived in Quebec, and on the 17th of September, 1792, the first Legislature of Upper Canada assembled at Newark, a little village on the Niagara River about seven miles below the Falls, now known as Niagara. By the act of the Im-' perial Parliament, under which this Legislature was con- vened, the people of Ontario, through a Parliament of their own choice, had the right to legislate with regard to all matters which concerned the development of the country and the welfare of the people educationally and socially. On Simcoe's nomination to his office as Governor, he evidently revolved in his mind how best he could secure a solid foundation for the government and institutions of the youthful colony intrusted to his care. Religion and education were his watchwords. The form in which he wished them introduced into the new province was, the first in the person of a chief ecclesiastic, and the other as an endowed university. " The former was to inculcate in all ranks and descriptions of people a sober, industrious, religious, and conscientious spirit, which shall be the best security that a government can have for its own internal preservation. The latter, with the liberal education which HISTORICAL REVIEW. 8 it would afford, would be most useful to inculcate just principles, habits, and manners into the rising generation." These views Governor Simcoe impressed upon the im- perial authorities and upon the dignitaries of the Church of England in a correspondence extending over several years. In a letter addressed to the Duke of Portland, dated July 20, 1796, he urged " the erection and endow- ment of a university, from which more than from any other source, a grateful attachment to his Majesty, morality, and religion will be fostered and take root throughout the whole province." Governor Simcoe, on account of ill health, was re- lieved of his duties in August, 1796, but, as a result of his influence upon the public opinion of the country, the Legislature on the Ist of July, 1797, memorialized the British Government " to set apart certain portions of the waste land of the Crown as a fund for the establishment and support of a respectable grammar school in each dis- trict of the province, and also of a college or a university for the instruction of the youth in the different branches of liberal knowledge." The Imperial Government having given its consent, the Executive Council for the province took the matter up, and on the 1st of December, 1798, recommended the establishment of a grammar schoq) in each of the four districts i nto which the province was divided, viz., at Cornwall, Kingsto n, Newark, and S andwich , but owing to the limited revenues at their disposal it was decided that only the schools at Kingston and Newark should be I opened at once.* They recommended that the university ♦ These schools were not opened till after the passage of the [Public-School Act of 1807. THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. -ff I 1^ 51 / I should be established at the town of York, now called Toronto, and that 500,000 acres of the wild lands of the province should be set apart, from the sale of which a suflBcient endowment would be obtained to provide for the necessary expenses of the schools and the university. The Legislature had as yet, however, taken no steps for the organization of an elementary school system for the province, and no schools of any kind were in existence except such as were maintained by the voluntary contri- butions of the people. Public ScJiools, Act of 1807. — Although petitions had been presented from time to time, and bills of various kinds submitted for the organization of a system both of primary and secondary education, it was not until the year 1807 that any progress was made. In that year an act was passed establishing eight public schools in the province. This act is the germ of the act now in force with regard to secondary education, from which the Province of Ontario has derived such incalculable advan- tages. By this act $400 were set apart for the payment of the salary of a teacher for each school. Five trustees were to b e appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province for each district, whose duty it was to " nomi- nate a fit and discreet person as a teacher, and to examine into the moral character, learning, and capacity of such person so nominated, and, being satisfied with the moral character, learning, and capacity of such person," to rec- ommend him for appointment by the Lieutenant-Gov- ernor. The trustees were to have the power of dismissing the teacher if his moral character was unsatisfactory, or if he was unfit for his duties, and to nominate another for the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor. The trus- tees had authority to make such rules and regulations for HISTORICAL REVIEW. the good government and management of the school with respect to teachers and scholars as in their discretion they deemed expedient. The duration of this act was first lim- ited to four years, but afterward this limitation was with- drawn, and the act amended from year to year as public opinion demanded. Its provisions, as modified during the last eighty years, are fully considered in a subsequent chapter. Elementary Schools, Ad of 1816. — Having secured the establishment of eight public schools in the province with a reasonable provision for their maintenance, the Legis- lative Assembly next addressed itself to the duty of providing elementary schools for the great mass of the people. It was not until the year 1816 that these efforts were crowned with success. The act passed for this pur- pose was approved by the Lieutenant-Governor on the 1st of April of that year, and was entitled " An Act granting to his Majesty a sum of money to be applied to the use of common schools, and to provide for the organization of said common schools." The principal provisions of this act are : 1. The appropriation of 124,000 to be divided as the Lieutenant-Governor might direct among such schools as were established according to law, but in no case was any school to receive more than $100. 2. The inhabitants of the town, township, village, or place concerned were authorized to meet in public as- sembly, and so soon as they had erected a suitable school- house and were able to show that twenty children were likely to attend the same, they were to appoint three fit p -^^ and discreet persons to act as trustees of the said school, . with authority to appoint a teacher. / » / ** 3. The qualifications of the teacher were determined 6 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. i it, ■ii p ^, If •J : •I H by the trustees, as they, and they alone, had the power and authority to examine into his moral character and capacity for the duties of his oflBce. Every teacher ap- pointed must be a British subject either by birth or naturalization. No teacher could be removed by the trustees without the approval of the Board of Educa- tion having supervision for the district in which the school was situated. 4. The trustees were authorized to make such rules and regulations for the good government of their respective schools, both with regard to teachers and pupils, as they deemed expedient. They were to report to the district board with regard to the text-books to be used in their schools, and the rules and regulations which they had made for the government of the school, all of which were subject to the approval of the district board. The moneys appropriated by the Legislature were to be ap- portioned to the teachers of the several schools yearly or half-yearly, as might be directed by the trustees, in pro- portion to the number of scholars in attendance, provided the number was not less than twenty. 6. The Lieutenant-Governor was authorized to ap- point a Board of Education for each of the eight districts into which the province was divided, to be composed of five discreet persons who had authority to superintend the schools established under the act. 6. The Board of Education for the district was au- thorized to expend a sum not exceeding $400 of the amount appropriated to the district for the purchase of proper books for th& use of the schools, and to dis- tribute those books among them as was considered ex- pedient. Special Features. — Several features of this early act HISTORICAL REVIEW. power sr and ler ap- rth or by the Educa- ch the lies and ipective as they district n their ley had ch were . The he ap- early or , in pro- )rovided to ap- le eight to be lority to are noteworthy, viz. : 1. The truateea were elected by a majority of the inhabitants of the district, irrespective of all property qualification, and were the sole judges of the fitness of the teacher for the duties of his office. The teacher's tenure of office was more secure in those early days than it is now, as no teacher could be dismissed except with the approval of the Board of Education for the district. 2. The school grant was based iippjL the at- tendance of the pupils, but no grant was to be paid unless there were at least twenty in attendance. 3. The trustees hadJihejright to select text-booka. for the use of pupils, and to make regulations for the government of the school, subject to the approval of the District Board of Educati vi. 4. No pro vi sion was made for levying rates upon property for the maintenance of the school. All sums required over and above the Government grant had to be raised by voluntary contributions. 5. There was B^HPylsl9HJ9tJMP'Bciion or supervision j the Boards of Education for the districts had the right to refuse their assent to the regulations made for the government of the school, and in that way promote uniformity of man- agement. They depended, however, for all the informa- tion by which they were to be guided upon the reports of the trustees. 6. The schools were to_„be_known as common schools, a name which in 1871 was changed to public schools. The School Act of 1816 contained but sixteen sections, and was the first attempt of the Legislature of Ontario to provide for the educational wants of the whole people of the province, and, elementary though it was, it was a statutory recognition of the right of the people, under the direction of an act of Parliament, to provide for the education of their children. It is true that the teachers THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. !l appoirted by the trustees might not have been in all cases entitled to rank as members of a learned profession, as we now understand the term. They were not, how- ever, devoid of scholarship, many of them having received a liberal education in the schools of their native land. As a rule, the curriculum was limited to reading, writing, and arithmetic, with a moderate drill in British history and the geography of the world, so far as then known. The log schoolhouse, with its rude, primitive accom- modation, was, in the fullest sense of the term, the people's university, and, except in the towns and vil- lages, was the only school available to the great majority of the people. The Act of 182M.r —The next important amendment to the Common-Schools Act of 1816 was an act approved by the Legislative Assembly on the 19th day of January, 1824. It has already been noted that in each of the eight districts into which the province was divided the Lieu- tenant-Governor was authorized to appoint, and did ap- point, a Board of Education having authority to appro- priate the moneys granted by the Legislature, and in a general way to exercise a limited control over the schools with regard to management and discipline. In 1824 pro- vision was made for the appointment of a general Board of Education for the whole province. This board was appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor, and in the first instance consisted of the Rev. John Strachan, D. D., chairman; the Hon. Joseph Wells, a member of the Legislative Council ; the Hon. George H. Markland, also a member of the Legislative Council ; the Rev. Robert Addison, John Beverly Robinson, Attorney-General, and Thomas Ridout, Surveyor-General. This board after- wards developed into a Council of Public Instruction in HISTORICAL REVIEW. 9 the year 1850, with powers to prescribe text-books, courses of study for common and grammar schools, qualifications of teachers, etc., but was abolished in 1876 when the . schools of the province were placed under a Minister of Education. It appears that the Legislative Assembly was impressed with the necessity for promoting the " moral and religious instruction of the more indigent and remote settlements in the several districts throughout the province," and that accordingly the sum of $600, in addition to the amounts voted for common schools, was granted for the encouragement of Sunday schools. This sum was placed at the disposition of the Board of Education for the prov- ince, to be by it laid out and expended for the purchas- ing of books and tracts designed to afford moral and re- ligious instruction, such books and tracts to be distributed in equal proportions among the several District Boards of Education throughout the province. This would give $75 for the moral and religious education of the pupils of each district ; and as there were over two hundred schools in the province at that time, the appropriation to each must have been exceedingly small. It showed, however, the sympathy of the Legislature with the moral and re- ligious education of the people. Another and more important provision was made in the act with respect to the qualifications of the teacher. By the Act of 1816 the trustees were authorized to ex- amine the teacher they proposed to employ, and to satisfy themselves as to his fitness mentally and morally. By the Act of 1824 this duty was transferred to the Board of Education for the district, and no school could receive any portion of the public grant unless the teacher held a ce rtificat e signed by at least one member of the district I 10 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. m M 1 :li " board. There were in all at this time eleven district boards in the province. The Act of 1841.— In 1841 the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Quebec) were united under one Legislature or Parliament, and among the subjects receiv- ing the early attention of the Legislature, education ap- pears to have been most earnestly considered. On the 18th of September, 1841, an act was passed of a somewhat comprehensive character, which showed the great interest taken by the people in the development of a system of elementary schools. 1. It was provided that a ppj^'^auf pt fund, should be established in each township ^and parish in the province (Ontario and Quebec were then called the Province of Canada), consisting of such money as might accrue from^ the Ru llfi of lands appropriated b y th e Legislature or be in any other way provided for the maintenance of couimon schools. 2. The grant for education was increased to $200,000 — a very liberal sum, considering the resources and popu- lation of the country at that time. 3. Authority was taken for the appointment of qt Chief Superintendent of Education, who was to hold office dur- ing pleasure, at a salary of $3,000. 4. Municipal Councils were empowered to raise by as- sessment such sums of money for school purposes as would be at least equivalent to the amount appropriated by the Legislature for the maintenance of each school. 5. The district boards of trustees appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council under the Act of 1807 were abolished, and the Municipal Council for the dis- trict was constituted the Board of Education of such district. u HISTORICAL REVIEW. 11 6. The Municipal Council, as the Board of Education for the district, was authorized to divide the several town- ships in their districts into school sections and to assess the inhabitants to the extent of $200 for the erection of a schoolhouse in each section where none existed, and to appropriate a sum of $40 for the purchase of such books as might be recommended by the school commissioners for the district. 7. Five persons were to be appointed for each town- ship, or parish to be known as Common-School Commis- sioners, whose duty it was to select school sites, super- intend the building of schoolhouses, appoint teachers, regulate the course of study in each school, select text- books and make rules for the conduct of the schools, hear and settle complaints, visit each school in their township at least once a month by one or more of their number, relieve poor persons not exceeding ten from the payment of school fees for the education of their children, and report their proceedings to the Municipal Council before the close of the year in the form furnished by the Super- intendent of Education. 8. A monthly fee of twenty-five cents was to be paid by each pupil attending the school, in addition to the rates which might be levied by assessment for school pur- poses. No public moneys were to bo paid to any school attended by less than fifteen children, and unless the rate- payers raised a sum equal to the Government grant. 9. The religious minority, whether Protestant or Catholic, in any township or parish who dissented from the proceedings of the school commissioners of any par- ish had the right of signifying their dissent in writing to the clerk of the Municipal Council, and, on submitting the names of persons to act for them as trustees, to establish il 'I 'ill 1 1 12 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. Vi common schools on their own behalf. The trustees so appointed were to have the authority and be subject to the obligations and liabilities of ordinary school commis- sioners. They were to be subject to the " visitation, con- dition, rules, and obligations provided with reference to other common schools, and to receive from the municipal treasurer the due appropriation according to the number of pupils and the moneys appropriated by law, and raised by assessment for the support of common schools." Such moneys were to be paid to them upon the order of their own trustees. A few things in this act are noteworthy : 1. Pro- vision was made for the appointment of a Chief Super intendent for the whole province. As the Act of ? 841 applied to both Ontario and Quebec, the jurisdiction of the Chief Superintendent, in this case, would apply to both provinces. 2. The Legislature for the first time declared by statute that the property of the people was held in trust for the education of the people, as, in addi- tion to the large grants given directly by the Legislature for common-school education, the school commissioners were authorized to tax the inhabitants for the mainte- nance of schools ; and although a monthly fee of twenty- five cents was still chargeable upon pupils, a great advance had been made toward free schools, the evident goal of tho early educational leaders of the province. 3. Township Boards of Trustees called school commissioners, elected by the people, were intrusted with all matters affecting common schools in each township or parish. 4. The principle of separate schools for Roman Catholics and Protestants, respectively, was admitted for the first time by statute. 6. As all reports had to be made to the Chief Superintendent, and as ho was authorized to visit HISTORICAL REVIEW. 13 the schools and ascertain their standing for himself, it was evidently the desire of the Legislature to secure greater uniformity in the administration of the schools.* The Act of I843. — The apathy shown by Parliament hitherto in dealing with educational matters had now given place to great activity, and in the session of 1843 an act was passed involving many changes of great im- portance to the country. On account of the dissimilarity in race and religion of the people of Ontario and Quebec, it was found difficult, if not impossible, to meet the pe- culiar conditions of each province by a common system of education. Accordingly, the Act of 1841 was repealed, and the schools of the two provinces were organized in a manner more in harmony with the wishes of the people of each province. The provisions of the Act of 1843, as applicable to Ontario only concern us. 1. The office of Chief Superintendent was abolished, and the member of the Government occupying the posi- tion of Provincial Secretary was appointed Chief Super- intendent of Education for the Province of Ontario. The Governor of the province was invested with authority to appoint an assistant superintendent, who was to act in all things under the direction of the Provincial Secretary, as his chief. 2. County Councils were authorized to appoint a superintendent for their respective counties, and every city, town, and township was authorized to appoint a * On the 11th of May, 1842, Vice-Chancellor Jameson was ap- pointed Chief Superintendent of Education for Ontario and Quebec, and the Rev. Robert Murray, a minister of the Church of Scotland at Oakville, was appointed Assistant Superintendent under this act. He held office for about two years, and was afterward appointed Professor of Mathematics in the University of Toronto. I ■ i n 14 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. Buperintendent who was to act under the direction of the county superintendent. These officers all held office dur- ing pleasure. 3. The city, town, and township superintendents were authorized to divide the districts under their jurisdictions as far as might be necessary, into school sections, to visit the schools under their care at least once a year, to ex- amine teachers as to their moral character, learning, and ability, and to grant them certificates as teachers valid for one year. 4. By the adoption of a system of reports with regard to the standing of children, a certain degree of uniform- ity was secured in the administration o^ the schools. 5. The government of the school sections by school commissioners was abolished, and the provisions of the Act of 1824 for the election of three trustees were reverted to. The trustees so elected were to have the right to appoint teachers, fix their salaries, regulate the course of study and the books to be used therein, and generally all matters affecting discipline and school management. All plans for the erection or alteration of schoolhouses were subject to the approval of the Municipal Council in the city, town, or township in which the school was situated. 6. A conscience clause for the first time appears in the statute to the effect that " no child shall be required to read or study in or from any religious book, or to join in any exercise of devotion or religion that shall be ob- jected to by his or her guardian." 7. Separate schools for the minority were continued. It was provided that wherever the teacher of a school happened to be a Roman Catholic, the Protestant in- habitants had the right to establish a school with a teacher of their own religious persuasion, upon the £^n HISTORICAL REVIEW. 15 application of ten or more resident freeholders or house- holders. A similar privilege was allowed to Roman (Catholics. Schools established under these conditions were to bo entitled to their share of the Government grant the same as other schools established under the act, subject to the same visitations, conditions, rules, and obligations as other common schools. 8. County Councils were authorized to levy the sum of 1800 upon the taxpayers of the county for the establish- ment of a model school. The purpose of this model school is not clear; it would appear, however, to be intended for the training of teachers, and remained until 1877 a dead letter. 9. The establishment of a normal school for the province was anticipated by proposing certain regulations with regard to its administration as soon as it was put into operation. Dr. Ryerson appointed Chief Superintendent. — On the appointment of Mr. Murray to the professorship of Mathematics in the University of Toronto in 1844, the Rev. Egerton Ryerson, better known as Dr. Ryerson, who had for many years actively identified himself with the educational movements of the province, was appointed Assistant Superintendent,* and directed by Lord Met- calfe, who was then Governor of the province, to visit the schools of Great Britain and the Continent with a view " to devise such measures as may be necessary to provide proper school books, to establish the most effi- cient system of instruction, to elevate the character of both teachers and schools, and to encourage every plan ' W- 'if 1^ * Dr. Ryerson was appointed Chief Superintendent under the Act of 1850, and the office of assistant abolished. 16 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. \' '\ r .i^A'l iW I I I and effort to educate and improve the youthful mind of the country." Dr. Ryerson devoted upward of a year to the duty thus imposed upon him, and extended his inquiries into the dominions of nearly twenty governments, among them Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Austria, and Great Britain. On his return he submitted a very elaborate report on the school systems of the schools he visited, and recommended the establishment in the province of — 1. A system of graduated schools composed of ele- mentary, model, grammar schools, and colleges. The elementary schools were intended to correspond to what were then called the common schools of Ontario and the primary schools of France and Prussia; the model schools were to be industrial or real or trade schools, like the polytechnic schools of Vienna and Paris, though on a smaller scale, or like the real or trade schools of Prussia ; the grammar schools were to occupy the position and fulfil the functions of the French communal schools or royal colleges, and the Prussian burgher schools and gymnasia — the whole superstructure to be crowned by a provincial university or universities. "Under such an organization," Dr. Ryerson says, "the same principles and spirit would pervade the en- tire system, from the primary schools up to the uni- versity ; the basis of education in the elementary schools would be the same for the whole community — at least so far as governmental provisions and regulations are con- cerned — not interfering with private schools or taking them into account ; but as soon as the pupils would advance to the limits of the instruction provided for all, then those whose parents or guardians could no longer 'i'ij HISTORICAL REVIEW. 17 dispense with their services would enter life with a ^ound elementary education ; those whose parents might be able and disposed would proceed, some to the Real school to prepare for the business of a farmer, an architect, an engineer, a manufacturer, or mechanic, and others to the grammar school to prepare for the university and the profession." " In the carrying out and completion of such a system the courses of instruction in each class of schools would be prescribed, as also the qualifications for admission into each of them, above the primary schools; each school would occupy its appropriate place, and each teacher would have his appropriate work ; and no man in one and the same school, and on one and the same day, would be found making the absurd and abortive attempt of teaching the a, b, c's, reading, spelling, writing, arith- metic, grammar, geography (in all their gradations), to- gether with Latin, Greek, and mathematics." The Act of 18^6. — Acting very largely upon the recommendations of Dr. Ryerson's report, the Legislature of Ontario, on the 23d of May, 1846, repealed the Act of 1843, and substituted for it a new act containing the following important provisions : 1. The Provincial Secretary was no longer to be re- garded as Chief Superintendent of Schools. The duties of his office were to be discharged by a person appointed by the Governor of the province, at a salary of 12,000, with such assistants as might be from time to time re- quired. The Chief Superintendent was to be subject to such orders and directions as he might receive from time to time from the Governor of the province. His duties were to see that the appropriation made by the Legisla- ture for school purposes was properly distributed, to pre- 1 18 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. il pare suitable forms and regulations for school reports, to decide upon all complaints that might arise with regard to the school law, to provide uniform and approved test- books in all the forms, to recommend suitable plans for schoolhouses, suitable books for school libraries, and to have the supervision of the normal school as soon as established. 2. Provision was made for the appointment of a Board of Education, to consist of not more than seven persons (the Chief Superintendent being a member ex officio). This board was to hold oflBce during pleasure. Although the duties of the board were mainly advisory, it was vested with the power to select a site for a normal school for Ontario, and to make such rule^^; and regulations as might be necessary for its government and for the ad- mission of pupils. The board had also authority to ex- amine and recommend or disapprove of all books, plans, or forms which might be submitted for use in any school. 3. The sum of $7,000 was appropriated for the pur- pose of procuring and furnishing suitable buildings for a normal school, and an equal sum for the payment of the salaries of teachers and the contingent expenses of the school. 4. District or county superintendents were continued, with the power to certify to the qualifications of teachers, as under the Act of 1841 ; and as no mention is made of city, town, or township superintendents, it is presumed that they were by this act abolished. 5. Clergymen of all denominations having pastoral charge within the city, town, or township in which the school is situated, judges, justices of the peace, and mu- nicipal councils, were constituted statutory visitors of the school, with a right to examine into the progress of the HISTORICAL REVIEW. 19 pupild, and give such advice to the teacher as they might deem expedient. Such visitors, at a meeting called for the purpose, or any two of them, were authorized to cer- tify as to the qualifications of candidates for a teacher's certificate, but such certificate was to be valid for only one year. 6. The office of school trustee as in the Act of 1843 was continued, as was also the monthly fees of pupils. Their power, however, to make regulations for the gov- ernment and discipline of the school was withdrawn, such power having been vested in the Chief Superin- tendent. 7. The conscience clause and the clause in the act with regard to separate schools were continued. 8. Teachers' certificates were, for the first time in the history of the province, divided into three classes, first, second, and third. The Act of iftia->i 28 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. i be supported by the people. It is not necessary that his bill should be the mere echo of a public opinion clamour- ing for redress or for advanced legislation. All a minister has to know is that the legislation he proposes, whether called for by a largo body of the people or not, will so commend itself to their good judgment that they will take it in trust, partly because of its apparent merits, and partly because of their confidence in the minister or the Government responsible for it. If any explanation is necessary in order to make it clear, that explanation can be given by the minister on the floor of Parliament. True, he is liable to misrepresentation by those who are politically opposed to him. What has been done in good faith may be charged to party exigencies or to political motives, and in that sense public confidence in his educa- tional poU y r; ^^ ^;. ^; -i!^ J Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 V'ESTMAINSIiiHT WEBSTER, NY. H5S0 (716) 373-4503 I \ i! i A I 76 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. Candidates for second-class standing are also required to take Latin and Greek and one modern language, or Latin and two modern languages and chemistry, or Latin and one modern language and a full science course. Put- ting the course for second-class standing more simply, every candidate must take Latin and French and Greek, or, if he prefer, he may take Latin, German, and Greek ; or Latin, French, German, and chemistry; or Latin, French, physics, chemistry, and botany; or Latin, Ger- man, physics, chemistry, and botany. The theory of the course is that Latin is the basis of a good English educa- tion; but, in order to secure flexibility and breadth of culture, the candidate may follow his preference for lan- guage or for science, according to the limitations above mentioned. The examination in classics consists of translation from and into English of passages from the prescribed texts, translation at sight, and questions in grammar from the prescribed texts. Subjects of First-Class Standing. — Candidates who write on the subjects required for first-class standing are assumed to have already passed the examination required for second-class standing, with the exception of English composition, English literature, algebra, and geometry. When they enter upon the preparation of the work re- quired for first-class standing, they are free to give their whole attention to the courses of study required for this examination. In English literature the texts are similar to those pre- scribed for matriculation into the universitv, and consist of complete poems from the best English and American writers ; for instance, The Ancient Mariner, from Cole- ridge; Evangeline, from Longfellow; The Merchant of TEACHERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 77 of Venice and Richard II, from Shakespeare ; several poems and sonnets from Wordsworth, and a few selections from Campbell. The selections named do not include all that are required to be studied, but are simply given by way of illustration. To the algebra required for second-class standing are added the theory of divisors, ratio, proportion and varia- tion, progression, notation, permutation and combinations, binominal theorem, interest forms and annuities. To geometry are added the fourth and sixth books of Euclid, and the definitions of Book V, and a short course in trigonometry. Biology is added to the science course. The classical and modern language courses are propor- tionately more difficult. Specialists' Certificates. — In view of the desire for pre- eminence in the higher departments of education, pro- vision is made for those who desire to give special at- tention to some department of study. The Education Department makes no provision for examinations of this kind, but accepts the honours which candidates may ob- tain at a university as evidence of their required qualifica- tion. Specialist certificates are awarded, therefore, to any person obtaining honours at a university in the province of Ontario in English and history, or in mathematics, or in classics, or in French and German, or in science. As the courses in the different universities vary somewhat, the Education Department, in order to secure uniformity in its standards, requires a candidate for a specialist certifi- cate to submit to the department the papers on which he wrote, a confidential statement from the registrar of the university of the marks obtained on each paper, and s\ich other marks as may have been awarded at any oral or practical examination in the subjects of his course. The il ■■■I mmmmmmm 78 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. department reserves to itself the right to adjust the re- sults to the departmental standard adopted for a specialist certificate. A specialist certificate is also given to those who take an extended course in bookkeeping, covering such sub- jects as single and double entry, warehousing, steamboat- ing, municipal bookkeeping, commission business, joint- stock companies, etc. ; commercial arithmetic, including interest, sinking funds, annuity tables, stocks, exchange, etc. ; banking, including the business of banks in all its variations, and the laws of business as applied to con- tracts, chattel mortgages, corporations, telegraphs, patents, etc. ; stenography and business correspondence. Preparation of Examination Papers. — The literary examinations of candidates for the thre3 grades of cer- tificates already referred to are based upon examination papers prepared under the direction of the Education De- partment. By arrangement with the Senate of the Pro- vincial University, a Board of Examiners is constituted for the whole province, four being appointed by the Sen- ate and four by the Department of Education. This board is called a Joint Board of Examiners. Their duties are twofold : first, to select suitable persons to prepare exami- nation papers ; and, secondly, to appoint suitable persons to read the answers of the candidates. As the literary standing of first- and second-class teachers corresponds with the qualifications required for senior and junior ma- triculations respectively, the university is, by this arrange- ment with the department, enabled to dispense with its own matriculation examination. Through its representa- tives on the joint board it has all the control necessary to maintain its own literary standards. The cost of an extra examination is also saved, as well as the time of candi- TEACHERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 79 dates who might desire the twofold advantage of matricu- lation and the literary standing of a teacher. Experience has shown that many who qualify themselves to teach a public school, finding that the same qualification admits them to the universitv, are led afterward to take a uni- versity course. In constituting the Committee of Examiners for pre- paring papers, the joint board is instructed to select such committee from persons qualified by experience as teach- ers either in a university or high school. The idea under- lying this instruction is that persons who have taught a subject are the best qualified to prepare suitable tests for those who are to be examined upon it. A similar limita- tion is imposed upon the joint board in selecting a com- mittee to read the examination papers, with this additional restriction, that such committee must be selected from persons who hold a degree in arts from some university in the British dominions, and who are actually engaged in teaching. The theory of this instruction is that the per- son engaged in teaching a subject is familiar with the most modern and most approved methods of dealing with it. His knowledge of the subject itself Is also likely to be more accurate, and justice is therefore more likely to be done to the candidate. The committee charged with the preparation of the examination papers consists of at least one person specially skilled in the subject. If not an honour man of his university, he must have been a teacher of recognised merit in his department. The procedure in preparing examination papers is briefly as follows : The joint board, at a meeting usually held six months before the date of the examination, meets and selects from among the professors and lecturers of the different uni- '-i 80 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. ^ ! II versities of the province, and such other persons as ac- quired distinction as high-school teachers, the requisite number of persons to constitute a committee for the preparation of examination papers. Within a month or six weeks thereafter, each member of the committee ap- pointed to prepare a paper transmits a manuscript copy thereof confidentially to the Minister of Education. This manuscript is placed in the hands of a confidential printer employed by the department, whose office is in the de- partmental buildings. When the different papers are in type, proofs are sent to the various members of the com- mittee for consideration. A meeting of the committee is then called, and each paper is submitted to the judgment of the whole committee. Although the responsibility of preparing a suitable paper primarily rests on the member of the committee appointed for that purpose, yet, by the rules of the joint board, approved by the department, the whole committee is held responsible for every paper finally passed. The papers, having been approved by the com- mittee, are initialled by the chairman and then returned to the confidential printer, and are ready to be struck off. While the joint board is responsible for the personnel of the committee, it has no responsibility with regard to the character of the examination papers. This rests entirely on the persons appointed for that purpose ; and, in order to increase the sense of that responsibility, the name of the person or persons who prepared the paper appears on the face of it. Mode of Conducting the Examinations. — Candidates who propose to write for matriculation into the university or for a teacher's certificate of any grade are required to notify the public-school inspector of the district in which they reside, not later than the 24th day of May immedi- TEACHERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 81 ately preceding. As a matter of public convenience this examination is held at the beginning of the summer holi- days. Every high school and collegiate institute is an examination centre, but examinations may be held, with the approval of the department, at other places. In noti- fying the inspector of their intention to come up for ex- amination, the candidates intimate the class of certificate for which they propose to write, and the optional subjects, if any, which they desire to take, at the same time trans- mitting to the inspector an examination fee of five dollars, if it is proposed to take a full examination, or a smaller fee for a partial examination. When the time for receiv- ing notices expires, the inspector makes a list of the ap- plicants on the form prescribed and transmits the same, with the fees, to the Minister of Education. These lists are entered in the office of the registrar of the department, and a number is assigned to each candidate. The public- school inspector for the district presides at the examina- tion, but where, from the number of candidates, more rooms than one are required, additional presiding exam- iners may be appointed with the approval of the Educa- tion Department, preference being given for this duty to members of the teaching profession. Where the inspector does not consider himself com- petent to select the plants for the examination in botany, the Minister of Education appoints some suitable person for this purpose. The specimens for the examination in zoology are sent directly to the presiding examiner from the Education Department. When the candidates for examination assemble, places are allotted to them at least five feet apart, and all charts or maps having reference to the subjects of examination are removed from the room. A diagram of the room r m l: W 82 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. la showing the position occupied by each candidate during the examination is transmitted to the department with the examination papers, in order to facilitate the detec- tion of candidates who may be suspected of copying. During the examination no person except the presid- ing examiner is allowed to be present in the room in which the candidates are writing. The candidates are furnished by the presiding examiner with the necessary stationery and writing supplies, and with envelopes in which they are to place their answer papers at the close of the exami- nation in each subject. The presiding examiner is di- rected as to the time to be allowed for each subject by a time table prepared by the Education Department. Duties of Candidates. — Before distributing the exami- nation papers the presiding examiner reads the instruc- tions of the department with respect to the duties of candidates, which are as follows : 1. Each candidate shall satisfy the presiding examiner as to his personal identity before the commencement of the second day^s examination, and any person detected in attempting to personate a candidate shall be reported to the department. 2. Candidates shall be in their allotted places before the hour appointed for the commencement of the exami- nation. If a candidate be not present till after the ap- pointed time, he shall not be allowed any additional time. No candidate shall be permitted, on any pretence what- ever, to enter the room after the expiration of an hour from the commencement of the examination. 3. No candidate shall leave the room within one hoiir after the distribution of the examination papers in any subject ; and if he leave, then he shall not be permitted to return during the examination on such subject. TEACHERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 83 4. Every candidate shall conduct himself in strict ac- cordance with the regulations. Should he give or receive any aid or extraneous assistance of any kind> in answering the examination questions, or if he leaves his answers ex- posed so that any candidate may copy from him, he will forfeit any certificate he may have obtained. Should such candidate have failed at the examination, he shall be de- barred for two years from writing at any departmental examination. 5. Every candidate shall write the subject of examina- tion very distinctly at the top of each page of his answer papers, in the middle. If a candidate writes his name or initials, or any distinguishing sign or mark on his answer papers by which his identity may be disclosed, they will be cancelled. 6. Candidates, in preparing their answers, shall write on one side only of each sheet, and shall mark the sheets in each subject in the order of the questions, as 1st, 2d, 3d, etc. ; and on the last sheet shall write distinctly the total number of sheets inclosed in the envelope, fold them once across, place them in the envelope provided by the department, write on the outside of the envelope the sub- ject of examination only, and on the slip provided, his name in full (surname preceding), and then securely fasten the slip to the envelope, as instructed by the pre- siding examiner. Duties of Presiding Examiners. — Having read the in- structions, the presiding examiner is himself directed to proceed as follows : 1. Punctually at the time appointed for the commence- ment of each examination the presiding examiner shall, in the examination room and in the presence of the can- didates and other examiners (if any), break the seal of the f^s I i 84 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. envelope containing the examination papers, and give them to the other examiners and the candidates. The papers of only one subject shall be opened at one time. 2. Should any candidate be detected in tidking or whispering, or in copying from another, or allowing an- other to copy from him, or in having in his possession, when in the room, any book, notes, or anything from which he might derive assistance in the examination, it shall be the duty of the examiner, if he obtain clear evi- dence of the fact at the time of its occurrence, to cause such candidate at once to leave the room ; nor shall such candidate be permitted to enter during the remaining part of the examination, and his name shall be struck off the list. If, however, the evidence be not clear at the time, or bo obtained after the conclusion of the examination, the examiner shall report the case to the department. 3. Punctually at the expiration of the time allowed the examiner shall direct the candidates to stop writing, and cause them to hand in their answer papers imme- diately, duly fastened in the envelopes. 4. The examiner shall keep upon his desk the certified list of the candidates, and as each paper in any subject is handed in, he shall check the same by entering the figure " 1 ' opposite the name of the candidate, on the form pro- vided. After the papers are handed in, the examiner shall not allow any alterations to be made in them, and he shall be responsible for their safe keeping until transmitted to the Education Department, or placed in the hands of the presiding examiner. 5. The presiding examiner, at the close of the exami- nation on the last day, shall secure in a separate parcel the fastened envelopes of each candidate., and on the same day shall forward by express (prepaid), or deliver to the TEACHERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 85 Education Department the package containing all the parcels thus separately secured. The papers are to be arranged in the alphabetical order of the surnames of the candidates. The inspector or presiding examiner shall at the same time sign and forward a solemn declaration to the Minister of Education in the following terms : (1) I, the undersigned, hereby solemnly declare that I read the regulations to the candidates fifteen minutes be- fore the time at which the examination papers were to be submitted, as per time table. (2) That the time table was strictly observed. (3) That I was present in the room in which I was au- thorized to preside during the whole period of the exami- nation, and that no other person was present except the candidates during said period. (4) That during the whole of the examination my un- divided attention was given to my duties as presiding ex- aminer, and that no part of my time was taken up with any other duties whatsoever. (5) That I made no suggestion to the candidates re- garding the meaning of any question, or the kind of an- swer that they should give. Presiding examiners are paid the sum of $4 per day and actual travelling expenses. The fees paid by the can- didates for the examination are supposed to cover all the expenses of the presiding examiner, the necessary station- ery, and the reading of the answers of the candidates. Reading Answer Papers. — When the answer papers of candidates are received by the department they are classi- fied according to subjects by the officers of the department As the members of the committee appointed to read the answer papers in most cases are the teachers by whom the candidates were prepared for the examination, it is neces- 1 86 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. I sary to take all reasonable precautions for preventing the identification by the examiner of his own pupils. Ac- cordingly, the slip placed on the envelope by the candi- date which bore his name is removed, and the number by which the candidate was registered is placed upon his envelope, and as the departmental register in which the names of candidates are entered is confidential, there is no way of identifying a candidate except by his handwriting. When several thousand candidates send in papers, identi- fication in this way is very improbable. The examiners are classified in sections according to the subjects of examination. A member of the commit- tee who prepared the examination papers acts as chair- man of each section, or, if unable to act, a suitable person for that purpose is appointed by the joint board. Before commencing the actual work of examination the examiners of each section are required to spend suflB- eient time in discussing the answers and reading answer papers jointly, to enable them to arrive at a consensus of opinion as to the valuation of answers, especially of par- tial or imperfect answers. When a section finds that the values assigned to the questions on the examination papers are unsatisfactory, or when it is evident that the examiner did not follow the course of study prescribed by the Education Department or by the curriculum of the University of Toronto, the section shall report through its chairman to the chairman of the examiners or the person acting on his behalf. In reading the papers each examiner is required to mark distinctly in the left-hand margin the value assigned by him to each answer or partial answer, and to sum up the total on each page at the foot of the margin, and to place the re- sult on the face of the envelope, indicating the deductions TEACnERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 87 for misspelled words and incorrect English thereon — thus, e. g., history 80 — 2 sp. — 4 f. s. (false syntax) = 74, and initialing the envelope of each paper examined. In order that the examiners mav maintain the neces- sary freshness and vigour for the duties to which they are appointed, they are limited to six hours of work per day, three hours in the forenoon, from nine to twelve, and three hours in the afternoon, from two to five. They are paid the sum of $6 per day, the payment being subject to the restriction that the whole amount paid for the exami- nation shall not exceed the sum of $1.50 per candidate. In ^addition to this they are allowed actual railway ex- penses to and from their residences. In .i; praising the work of the candidates they are guided by the marks as- signed to each subject by the Education Jepai tmen'.. As the ey^ni 'nation proceeds, the marks assigned to each can- didate are entered by the registrar in a bo)k prepared for that purpose. Candidates writing for third-class standing are required to obtain one third of the marks in each sub- ject and one half of the aggregate. Candidates writing for second- or first- class standing are required to obtain only one third in each subject. As soon as the registrar has completed the summing up of the marks awarded, his books are submitted to the committee appointed to prepare the examination papers. If a candidate has failed by a very few marks in a sub- ject, but is on the whole a strong candidate, the commit- tee is at liberty to recommend such candidate for full standing. After considering the work of the examiners and any special circumstances affecting the standing of any candidate, the results are reported to the joint board. On the acceptance of the report by the joint board, a list of candidates who have passed for matriculation is K^ if! S8 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. transmitted to the registrar of the university) and a list of candidates who have passed for first-, second-, or third-class standing is transmitted to the Minister of Edu- cation. Should any candidate be dissatisfied with the re- sult of the examination, he may appeal within a certain time to the Minister of Education for a rereading of his papers. If his appeal is entertained, his answer papers are submitted for a rereading to the committee by whom the examination papers were prepared, which has full power to revise the work of the examiner in the first in- stance, and to consider such representations as may have been made with regard to sickness, or the unavoidable absence of the candidate from the examination. In order to protect candidates from loss of standing through illness or any other incidental cause, the depart- ment requires every high-school master sending up candi- dates to the examination to transmit to the department confidentially a list of the candidates classified according to merit on the basis of such examinations as the high school may have conducted during the term. This list is submitted to the examiners, and is considered by them conjointly with the marks obtained by the candidate at the departmental examination. Should it appear that the candidate was ranked by the high school staff very high, and that the estimate of the staff with regard to other candidates was warranted by the results of the examina- tions generally, the ranking of the staff is accepted in lieu of the standing obtained by the candidate at the depart- mental examination. This mode of adjusting results has passed candidates who would otherwise have been rejected by the examiners, and is besides a reasonable protection to a good candidate from the consequence of a casual attack of illness, which might otherwise deprive him of the fruits of a year's labour. ■■ CHAPTER VI. i TRAINING OF TEACHERS. There are three different kinds of schools for the training of teachers under the public-school system of the Province of Ontario, viz., county model schools for teachers of third-class standing, normal schools for teachers of sec- ond- or first-class standing, and a normal training college, formerly called the School of Pedagogy, for persons hold- ing a degree from a university in the British dominions, or such persons as have obtained first-class literary stand- ing at the departmental examination and who intend to become teachers in a high school or collegiate institute. In providing so fully for the training of teachers, the Education Department has proceeded upon the principle that no person should be allowed to take charge of a school without instruction in the theory and practice of teaching, and that to knov.' a subject from the standpoint of a pupil is a very different thing from knowing it from the stand- point of a teacher. As has already been noted, the department dissoci- ates the literary course of study required for teachers, commonly called the nonprofessional course, from that subsequently required in pedagogics known as the profes- sional course. It is not necessary here to discuss whether candidates for the teaching profession are better qualified by taking these two courses conjointly, or by taking them 89 *' •90 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. separately, as is done in the Province of Ontario. In the provincial normal school both courses were taken together for about thirty years, with very satisfactory results ; for the last twenty years they have been taken separately, with equally satisfactory results as to the literary attainments of the candidates, and, it is believed, with better results as to their professional attainments. At the same time the sec- ondary schools have been greatly stimulated and their use- fulness increased by the presence in their class-rooms of young men and women preparing for the literary standing required for teachers. County Model Schools. By the School Act of 1871 provision was made for the appointment of a public-school inspector in each county, or, where the counties were very large, for the appoint- ment of more inspectors than one. By the Act of 1877 provision was made for the establishment of a model school in every inspectoral division, and no person was thereafter allowed to enter the teaching profession unless he attended a term at the model school and passed the prescribed examination. The county model school, subject to the regulations of the Education Department, is under the direction of a Board of Examiners, of whom the inspector is one, and not more than two other persons holding first-class cer- tificates of qualification appointed by the Municipal Coun- cil of the county. The Board of Examiners is authorized to select from among the large public schools in the county or inspectoral district the particular school which in its opinion will best serve the purpose of a model school for the training of teachers. Usually the school in some in- corporated village or town having the largest number of i TRAINING OP TEACHERS. 91 teachers, and the most easily accessible to the district, is selected. A school so established receives a special grant from the provincial treasury, and also from the county, in addition to all ordinary school grants. The model school opens on the 1st of September and continues four months. No teacher is admitted to the county model school who has not passed at least the ex- amination required for third-class literary standing, and who will be not less than eighteen years of age at the time of the final examination. In order to guarantee the efficiency of the model school the department requires : 1. That the principal shall hold a first-class certificate — i. e., a certificate of the highest grade issued by the Education Department — and shall have had at least three years' experience as a public- school teacher. 2. That not fewer than three of the assistants on the staff of the school shall hold at least second-class certificates. 3. That the equipment of the school shall be in every respect satisfactory to the Educa- tion Department. 4. That in addition to the number of rooms required for the public school, a separate room shall be available for the teachers in training during their attendance at the model school. 5. That during the model-school term the principal shall be relieved of all public-school duties except the oversight of his staff. It will be observed that a county model school is there- fore presumably the best and largest public school in the inspectoral division, with a principal of considerable ex- perience and high professional attainments, with a well- organized staff, and with all the other equipments and appliances necessary to the efficiency of a good school. Every teacher in training is required to provide him- self with a set of all the text-books used in the public 1} 92 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. school, and with such other books as may be required for training purposes. Course of Study. — The course of study in county model schools consists of {a) instruction in school organization and management based on Baldwin's Art of School Man- agement adapted to Canadian schools; {b) a course of lectures in the methodology of all the subjects taught in the public schools ; (c) practice teaching with a view to the establishment of correct methods of presenting sub- jects to a class and of developing the art of school govern- ment ; (d) a course in physiology and school sanitation ; {e) instruction in the school law and regulations relating to the duties of teachers and pupils ; (/) special instruc- tion in music for primary classes ; and (g) drill and calis- thenics. During the first six weeks of the term the work of the model school consists of {a) lectures by the principal; (h) class teaching by the principal ; (c) class teaching by the students, and general criticism. After the first two or three lectures by the principal, classes are drafted from the public school, by means of which the principal of the model school illustrates his method of teaching the sub- ject to which he wishes to direct the attention of the teachers in training. This done, the principal assigns a lesson for class teaching by the model-school students, which any student, if called upon, shall be expected to teach the following day — the other students to take notes for subsequent criticism. For six weeks, by means of lectures and class teaching by the principal and the stu- dents, with appropriate criticisms, the teachers have ac- quired enlarged powers of observation, greater confidence in themselves, and some conception of the logical order in which a subject should be presented to a class. TRAINING OP TEACHERS. 93 During the remainder of the term the time of the teachers in training is divided between lectures by the principal, observing methods of teaching in the different rooms of the public school to which the model school is attached, and in teaching such subjects as may be assigned to them. Every teacher in training before conducting a recitation in the public school is required to prepare a plan of the lesson which he is to teach, and to submit the same for the approval of the principal or assistant in charge of the class. While teaching, the assistant or prin- cipal is required to take notes of the work of the teacher in training, such as his attitude before his class, his mode of presenting the subject — whether logical or otherwise — his mode of questioning the pupils and of dealing with their answers, his mode of explaining difficulties — whether clear and complete or otherwise, etc. These criticisms are made known to the teacher in training privately, or are made the subject of a lecture by the principal for the benefit of the whole class at a later stage. A small reference library is provided for each model school by the Education Department, consisting of such books as are considered most helpful in preparing teach- ers for their work, and in increasing their knowledge of education, both as a science and an art. Final Examinations. — The final examination consists of practical teaching by the teachers in training in pres- ence of the Board of Examiners, and also a written exami- nation on papers submitted by the Education Depart- ment. The examination in practical teaching consists of two lessons of twenty minutes each, for one of which the teacher is allowed ample time for preparation ; the other is assigned forty minutes before it is to be taught. These two lessons are not to be taught in the same ■Rn3e=r«itenance of the high school a sum at least equal to the Government grant, or, at the request of the trustees, a sum equal to the cost of the instruction of a pupil at the high school. Owing to the wide urea from which the high-school pupils are drawn, it would be unfair to tax the municipality in which the high school was situated for the benefit of the surrounding dis- trict. Municipalities, therefore, which do not establish a high school for their own benefit, are permitted to enjoy the advantage of the schools established elsewhere by sim- ply paying the cost of instructing the pupils at such high school. High School Fees. — High schools, unlike the public schools, are not free schools by law, although the trustees in cities, towns, and incorporated villages have power to make them free schools for pupils residing within the municipality. Pupils who are not residents of the mu- nicipality, but who live within the county, can not be charged a school fee higher than one dollar per month. In respect to resident pupils and pupils who live beyond the limits of the county in which the high school is situated, HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 121 the trustees may either admit them free or impose such fees as they may deem expedient. As trustees appear to have a laudable ambition to have a large school, the fees imposed are usually very moderate. In 1895 the average for the province was a trifle less than five dollars per pupil. Entrance Examination. — A uniform entrance exami- nation for the admission of pupils to high schools it held annually at every high school, and at such other places as may be approved by the Education Department, and consists of an oral examination in rea^ling and a written examination in literature, spelling, writing, geography, grammar, composition, history, and physiology and tem- perance. The papers for the entrance examination are prepared by the inspectors of the high schools, assisted by such other examiners as may be appointed by the Minister of Educa- tion. These papers are printed by the confidential printer of the Education Department and transmitted to the pub- lic-school inspectors, who are, under the regulations, re- sponsible for the proper conduct of the examination. The answer papers of the candidates are examined by a Board of Examiners consisting of the principal of the high school, the public-school inspector for the district, and one other person holding at least a second-class certificate with five years' experience as a teacher, appointed by the trustees of the public school and the trustees of the separate school respectively of the city, town, or incorporated village in which the high school is situated. The examiners are paid by the trustees of the high school at the rate of one dollar per pupil for conducting the examination and read- ing the answer papers of the candidates. Pupils who pass this examination receive a certificate signed by the 122 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. inspector of public schools, which entitles them to admis- sion to any high school in the province. Courses of Study. — The high-school course of study is divided into four forms ; each form is supposed to cover the work of one year. At the end of the third form, a high- school pupil should be qualified for matriculation into the university. The work of the fourth form corresponds as near as may be to the course of the first year at the university. The subjects of the high-school course consist of — 1. English, including reading, grammar and rhetoric, composition, literature, history, and geography. 2. Language, including Latin, Greek, French, and German. 3. Mathematics, including arithmetic and mensuration, algebra, geometry, ik d t: 'tonometry. 4. Science, including chemistry, physics, botany, and zoology. 5. Commercial work, including bookkeeping, stenog- raphy, and drawing. English Course. — By the course in English a pupil is expected to acquire a thorough knowledge of etymology and syntax, the logical as well as the rhetorical structure of sentences and paragraphs, and an intelligent and ap- preciative comprehension of the best literature of the day. By means of a reference library established in connection with every high school, pupils are encouraged to acquaint themselves with the best writers of the English language, and, as the course in English is varied from year to year, every pupil who passes through a high school will be reasonably familiar with the works of all the great poets, such as Shakespeare, Milton, Cowper, Wordsworth, Byron, Scott, Coleridge, Longfellow, etc. HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 123 While it is the aim of the high school to cultivate cor- rect standards, both as to writing and speaking, the minds of tlie pupils are at the same time directed to the form of expression which constitutes one of the chief beauties of English literature and to the refining influences which good literature should exert upon the mind and character. The study of literature expands from form to form, the pupil being constantly reminded as he proceeds that the examination in the first form, which was largely a test of the grammatical and rhetorical structure of his composi- tion, will in the fourth form require a more comprehen- sive knowledge of the whole field of literature, a better vocabulary for the expression of his ideas, and more finish as to style and rhythm of composition. Language.— In the first and second forms the study of language is optional, but the pupils are advised to begin the study of Latin and either French or German. In the second form they are advised to take up either the second classical or the second modern language. As pupils can matriculate into the university with a knowledge of three languages — i. e., the two classical languages and one mod- ern, or Latin and two modern languages with physical sci- ence — the pupil makes a choice of his language course in the second form, and this choice is the basis of his course either for matriculation or for second-class literary stand- ing as a teacher. The language course includes a knowledge of gram- mar, the power to translate into English and vice versa^ the power to read " at sight " in English, and in the case of French and German to know the language conversa- tionally. In Latin the texts are Caesar's Bellum Gallicum and Virgil's -^neid ; in Greek, Xenophon's Anabasis and Homer's Iliad ; in French and German the texts are those 124 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. f 1(1! prescribed by the University of Toronto for junior and senior matriculation. Mathematics. — In mathematics the course consists of advanced arithmetic, mensuration, algebra, six books of Euclid, and a moderate course in trigonometry. Science. — In science the course is largely experimental. Every high school is equipped with a chemical and phys- ical laboratory, and with all modern appliances for the study of chemistry, physics, botany, and zoology. Commercial. — The course in bookkeeping and stenog- raphy is expected to qualify pupils for the work of banking houses, insurance companies, customhouses, and excise. Physical Culture. — By the regulations of the depart- ment it is provided that drill and calisthenics shall be taught during the regular school hours, and in organized classes not less than half an hour per week to the pupils in the first three forms. The course in these exercises is the same as that prescribed m the military schools of the province. When the weather is not suitable, or where the pupils are physically incapable of taking this course, the principal may dispense with it. Every collegiate insti- tute (by that is meant a high school of superior standing) is supplied with a gymnasium suitably furnished with mattresses, rings, ladders, and other appliances for gym- nastic exercises, where pupils receive systematic instruc- tion from a competent teacher. Outdoor sports of all kinds are encouraged, and many high schools have foot- ball teams and baseball clubs, by means of which ample physical exercise is obtained. Qualifications of Teachers. — No person is eligible for appointment as principal of a high school {a) unless he is a graduate in arts of some university in the British do- minions, (h) unless he passes the examination prescribed HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 125 for the training of teachers in the Normal College ; and {c) unless he has taught two years successfully as an assistant. No teacher is eligible for appointment as an assistant teacher (a) who does not possess first-class literary stand- ing, and (b) who has not passed the examinations pre- scribed by the Normal College. The holidays in high schools are the same as those of public schools in cities, towns, and incorporated villages. High schools are inspected by officers appointed by the Education Department, who report annually to the Min- ister of Education with regard to their standing, progress, equipment, and all matters covered by the regulations of the Education Department. Upper Canada College. Owing to the disputes arising over the sectarian char- acter of King's College, Sir John Colborne, then Lieu- tenant-Governor, suspended the charter of the college, and established in 1829 a Royal grammar school in the city of Toronto, which has been known ever since as Upper Canada College. About sixty thousand acres of the land appropriated for grammar school and university purposes were set apart for its endowment. As regards its organization. Upper Canada College was designed to be a residential school after the manner of the great public schools of England, such as Eton and Rugby. Its course of study was to lead up to university matricula- tion, and by means of the discipline and supervision exer- cised over its pupils in residence, it was intended to aflford moral, intellectual, and physical training equal to the great schools after which it was modelled. For about forty years Upper Canada College supplied the best preliminary train- ing available for a university career. In later years this 126 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. work has been divided with the high schools. Upper Canada College differs from the high schools in the fol- lowing respects : 1. It is a residential school, although a certain number of pupils are admitted as day pupils. 2. No preliminary examination is required for admis- sion. 3. Its trustees are partly appointed by the Executive Government and partly by the alumni of the college. 4. Its courses of study and organization are not sub- ject to the regulations imposed upon high schools. 5. It is not subject to the same inspection as high schools. Notwithstanding these distinctions. Upper Canada College still prepares pupils for matriculation in arts, law, or medicine. Its special advantages are not, however, its courses of study, although these are equal to the best high school in the province, but in the discipline and training incident to residential schools, the freedom from distrac- tion which residence of five or six years affords, the phys- ical culture of the gymnasium and the playground, and the development of self-reliance and manliness arising from well-organized games and sports. These advantages, to- gether with the broad and thorough literary training of the college, have made it a very important element in the educational equipment of the province for about sixty years. As at present organized the trustees of the college recommend all appointments to the staflf of the college, and make such regulations as, in their opinion, are neces- sary to its successful administration. Such appointments and regulations are subject to the approval of the Execu- tive Government. The stafE of the college consists of a HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 127 principal who resides in the college, four assistants who also reside in the college, and as many day masters as the attendance of pupils renders necessary, including in- structors in drill and gymnastics, music and stenography. For physical culture there are a gymnasium, skating rink, a running course with ample grounds for cricket, footbulb and tennis. The buildings now occupied by the college were erected in 1890 at a cost of over three hundred thou- sand dollars, and afford ample class-room accommodation for three hundred pupils with dormitories for one hun- dred and fifty boys. There are besides, a large assembly hall, and a well-equipped library and reading room. The fees for residence and tuition are $240 per annum; for tuition alone, $60 per annum. .'I T i I CHAPTER VIII. INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. The Education Department is charged with the duty of inspecting the different classes of schools which con- stitute the school system of the province —viz., public schools, high schools, separate schools, model schools, and teachers' institutes. Normal schools are not made the subject of inspection, as they are immediately under the direction of the Minister of Educi Jon. The inspectors o* public sch #ols in rural districts are appointed by County Councils ; in urban districts, by the Board of Trustees ; all other inspectors are appointed by the Education Department. As the jurisdiction of pub- lic-school inspectors is limited to one hundred and twenty schools, the larger counties are divided into two or more districts, each district being under a separate inspector. For high schools two inspectors are required; for sepa- rate schools, two ; for model schools, one ; and for teach- ers' institutes, one. Public-school inspectors are appointed during pleasure, and are liable to dismissal for misconduct or inefficiency by the Executive Government of the prov- ince or by the body by which they were appointed. They are paid at the rate of ten dollars for every school inspected, and, in addition, reasonable travelling expenses as the County Council may determine. Qualifications of Inspectors. — The qualifications for a 12b INSPFXTIOX OF SCHOOLS. 129 for a public-school inspector are : {a) Five years' successful experience as a teacher, of which at least three years shall have been in a public school ; and (b) a specialist's certifi- cate obtained on a university examination, or a degree in arts from the University of Toronto with first-class gradu- ation honours in one or more of the recognised depart- ments of the university, or an equivalent standing in any other university of Ontario, with a certificate of having passed the final examination of the provincial School of Pedagogy, now called Normal College. A high standard of literarv -^jialifionUon has been fixed by the department in order to secure -e best men in the profession for inspection purposes, 'ii.is is all the more important, as the inspector is a member of the Hoard of Examiners that determines the qualifications of pupils for admission to high schools and of candidates for teachers' third-class certificates. On account ol their standing and experience, inspectors are also selected by the Minister of Education to assist in conducting the normal-school examinations, and in determining the teaching power of candidates for second-class certificates. The qualifications of inspectors of separate schools are the same as those of inspectors for public schools. In- spectors of high schools are selected from the most expe- rienced and successful high-school principals, and in- spectors of model schools and teachers' institutes from those who have shown special aptitude for that kind of work. Duties of Pullic' School Inspectors. — By the instruc- tions of the department the public-school inspector is re- quired to visit every school in his district twice during the year, and to spend at least half a day in the school at each visit. Where a school has several departments he is 10 I 130 THEi SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. ! I I 1 ■! i required to devote half a day to each department. If it is considered necessary in the interest of the school that he should extend his .visit over a longer period or visit a school more than twice during the year, he is expected to do so. During his inspection he is required to make memoranda of the standing of each class and of the pro- ficiency of the pupils in the various subjects of the pub- lic-school course of study. In order to satisfy himself as to the efficiency of the school, he is to examine the classes himself, either orally or by written work, so as to test thoroughly their attainments and to keep a record of the results of each examination. Where he finds any subject badly taught as to method, he is expected to illustrate by the teaching of a lesson in that subject how it should be taught for the benefit of the teacher and pupils. Notes are taken of the discipline of the school, and an estimate formed of the teacher's fitness for his position by study- ing his manner and methods in teaching such subjects as may be assigned to him for that purpose. Where the in- Bpector finds defects in organization or in methods of in- struction, he is required to point thorn out to the teacher at the close of his inspection, and at the same time to make a record ot them for consideration at his next visit. With regard to the equipment of the school, he is to see (a) that the registers and class books are properly and neat- ly kept, and ascertain whether or not entries are made ther»nn daily; (b) that the maps are suitable and well preserved ; (c) that blackboards are in proper repair, and that crayons and brushes are fully supplied ; {d) that the furniture is g'^nerally adequate ; (e) that proper attention is paid to the heating and ventilation of the rooms ; (/) that the fences and outhouses are in proper repair ; (g) that the school library is properly cared for. mi INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS. 131 As soon as possible after his visit he reports to the trustees with regard to the standing of the school, the effi- ciency of the teachers, the equipment of the school, and any other matter which requires their attention. If he finds unauthorized text- books in the school, the equip- ment deficient, or the regulations of the department gen- erally neglected, be is required to make a special report to the Minister of Education, who has power to withhold the Government grant from such school until the defects re- ported by the inspector are removed. The public-school inspector is responsible, in a certain sense, for protecting the good name of the profession, and should he be aware that any teacher is guilty of immoral- ity or has become so incompetent as to discredit the pro- fession, he may suspend his certificate and call a meeting of the Board of Examiners of the county for the purpose of making a full inquiry into such complaints. In addition to his duties as public-school inspector, he is required to visit the county model school of his district twice during the term, and to attend the meetings of the teachers' institutes and to take part in their proceedings. He takes charge of all local examinations conducted by the Education Department, makes up such statistical re- turns as are required by the department in regard to the enrollment of pupils, their classification, local expenditure for school purposes, etc. Though not appointed by the department, he is to all intents and purposes an officer of the department, and responsible for the proper enforce- ment of all regulations respecting public schools and for educating public opinion in respect to every question af- fecting the educational interests of the province. In many cases ho is a judicial officer, as he decides upon disputes between trustees and teacher or acts as an arbitrator in i: I il 1 !9inR 132 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. ' the selection of school sites or in the adjustment of school boundaries. In the discharge of his duties it is assumed that he will act from the highest motives and so conduct himself as to enjoy the undoubted confidence of the public, irrespective of any private opinion which he may entertain, either on political or religious questions. The duties of the sepa,rate-school inspectors are ana- logous in every respect to those of public-school inspec- tors, but, being appointed by the Educatin* Department, they are not in any way under the control of ^''^'inty Councils. High-School Inspection. — For the purpose of inspecting high schools the province is divided into two districts. Each high-school inspector is required to visit the schools of his district at least once a year. At the end of two years he exchanges districts with his colleague. He is guided in his inspection by the educational standard-, prescribed for high schools, and it is his duty to see that these stand- ards are maintained ; he has similar duties with regard to the inspection of high-school premises, the equipment of the high schools, etc., as public-school inspectors have with regard to public schools. He is also an officer of the department, and prepares the papers for entrance to high schools and such other examination papers of a profes- sional character as the department may require from time to time. Inspection of Model Schools. — The model-school in- spector is required to visit all the model schools in the province at least once in two years, and to see that they are conducted according to the regulations of the depart- ment. It is his duty to examine tlie moc'el-school students with regard to tlie methods of instruction pmctised in the model school, to see that the practice school attached is INSPECTION OP SCHOOLS. 133 properly organized, and to give such advice to the princi- pal of the model school and the teachers in training as he may consider necessary for their welfare. Inspection of Teachers' Institutes. — The inspector of teachers' institutes is required to attend meetings of the teachers' institute and to discuss such matters affecting school organization and methods of teaching as the public- school inspector might suggest. He is expected to give addresses on subjects of a popular or pedagogical character which would tend to arouse greater interest in education, to correct misapprehensions as to the work of the teacher, or to excite a greater interest in literary or scientific study. Under the democratic influences which have so rapidly developed in this century, it is sometimes feared that the educational interests of the people may become subservi- ent to the aims and ambitions of the partisan and the po- litical adventurer. It can not be said that in working out the school system of Ontario there is absolutely no polit- ical interference, that trustees p»re always elected because of fitness, and that teachers and inspectors are appointed purely on their merits. In the latter case, however, no matter to what political party the inspector belongs, the public is reasonably well protected against incompetence," if not against mediocrity, by the fact that no person is eli- gible to fill the position of inspector who does not possess certain fixed qualifications of a very substantial character. Any partisanship in the discharge of his duties would only invite criticism and imperil a position of great dig- nity and of comfortable emolument. The experience of twenty-five years shows that officers of this class fully realize the responsibilities of their position, and although Bsveral have retired of their own motion, only one, so far 1 13^ THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. as known, has been dismissed because of his political par- tisanship. In the appointment of teachers, similar conditions pre- vail. It probably can not be said that no trustee is unin- fluenced in his choice by the political or denominational leanings of the applicant. It may, however, be said that appointments from political motives are exceptional, and that teachers who exercise the franchise as citizens do so without offensively interfering in political contests. Even in Parliament, legislation with regard to school matters is generally discussed upon its merits and independently of those political considerations which so largely influence the judgment and conduct of opposing political camps. Religious Instruction. — In the early organization of the public schools of Ontario, no rules were laid down with regard to the religious instruction of the pupils. The absence of any central authority for the direction of the teacher or for the adequate inspection of schools permitted a large measure of freedom in this matter as well as in all other matters pertaining to public-school education. It was not until the organization of a Department of Educa- tion under a chief superintendent, in 184G, that directions were given to the teachers either with regard to morals or religion. In the regulations of the department, issued in 1850, the teacher was enjoined " to pay the strictest attention to the morals and general conduct of his pupils, and to omit no opportunity of inculcating the principles of truth and honesty ; the duties of respect to superiors, and obedi- ence to all persons placed in authority over them ; to evince a regard for the improvement and general welfare of his pupils ; to treat them with kindness combined with firmness ; and to aim at governing them by their affections INSPECTION OP SCHOOLS. 135 and reason, rather than by harshness and severity ; to cul- tivate kindly and affectionate feelings among his pupils ; to discountenance quarrelling, cruelty to animals, and every approach to vice." These, however, are moral obligations necessarily involved in the relation of teacher and pupil, and must be enforced in any school, even where the doc- trines of Christianity are not the recognised standards of faith and practice. In the regulations adopted on the 5th day of August, 1850, the Education Department made its first advance toward direct religious instruction, and " with a view tc secure the Divine blessing, and to impress upon the pupils the importance of religious duties and their entire de- pendence upon their Maker," the department recommended that " the daily exercises of each public school be opened and closed by reading a portion of Scripture, and by prayer. The Lord's Prayer alone, or the forms of prayer approved by the department, may be used, or any other prayer preferred by the trustees and master of each school. But the Lord's Prayer shall form part of the opening ex- ercise, and the Ten Commandments shall be taught to all the pupils, and be repeated at least once a week ; but no pupil shall be compelled to be present at these exercises against the wish of his parent or guardian, expressed in writing to the master of the school." It will be observed that the religious exercises here enjoined are a matter of voluntary arrangement. The School Act of 1843 provided that " no child shall be re- quired to read or study in or from any religious book, or to join in any exercise of devotion or religion, which shall be objected to by his or her parents or guardians : provided always that, within this limitation, pupils shall be allowed to receive such religious instruction as their parents or \fi 136 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. guardians shall desire, according to the general regulations which shall be provided according to law." In these regulations religious instruction, at least so far as the reading of the Scriptures and devotional exer- cises were concerned, was given in the majority of schools of the province with very satisfactory results. To improve and systematize the religious instruction of pupils, select Scripture readings were authorized, and a text-book was prepared by the chief superintendent, entitled Lessons on the Truths of Christianity for the use of public schools. The importance of religious instruction, or at least of the recognition of Christianity and its teachings, as part of the educational outfit of the pupil, has been recognised by the Education Department ever since the school system was regularly organized, and where a proper regard is paid to the conscientious scruples of parents and guardians there is no reason why that recognition should not find expression in an authoritative way. To make it obliga- tory for teachers to conduct religious instruction of any kind might be to impose a burden upon their conscience, which no state authority has a right to impose. To au- thorize them, if they were so inclined, to explain the Scriptures might lead to the propagation of dogmas in- compatible with their usefulness as teachers, and in- volving departmental responsibility inconsistent with a popular system of education. The Education Depart- ment, however, impressed with the necessity of giving at least a legal sanction to the teachings of Christianity in all the public schools of the province, authorized in 1885 a series of Scripture readings and forms of prayer, the use of which was obligatory in all public and high schools. If the teacher had any conscientious scruples against the reading of the Scriptures and the opening and closing of INSPECTION OP SCHOOLS. 137 the school by prayer, he was to be considered as discharged from the 'performance of this duty. Parents or guard- ians had the right to withdraw their children from such religious exercises at their discretion. Where religious instruction of a more formal character was desired, the privilege was allowed the clergy of any denomination or their authorized representative to give religious instruction to pupils of their own church in each schoolhouse at least once a week after the hour of closing in the afternoon. Trustees have also the power of reduc- ing the hours of regular study in order to afford facilities for religious instruction. The statistics of the department show that the regu- lations with regard to religious instruction are generally observed. In 1894 the Scriptures were read in ninety per cent of the rural schools of the province, and the devo- tional exercises sanctioned by the department were used in ninety- three per cent of the schools. In every urban school except two the Scriptures were read daily, and every urban school without exception was opened and closed with devotional exercises. In three hundred and sixty-nine of the rural schools religious instruction was given by clergymen after school hours, and frequent visits were paid to many other schools as an expression of their sympathy with the work of the teacher. In separate schools, whether Protestant or Catholic, as already intimated, the Education Department assumes no responsibility with regard to religious instruction. Departmental Regulations. — From the interest which attaches to this question, the regulations of the depart- ment are given in detail, and are as follows : 1. Every public and high school shall be opened with the Lord's Prayer, and closed with the reading of the •41 Bi 138 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. Scriptures and the Lord's Prayer, or the prayer authorized by the Department of Education. 2. The Scriptures shall be read daily and systematically without comment or explanation, and the portions used may be taken from the book of selections adopted by the department for that purpose, or from the Bible, as the tr^8tees by resolution may direct. 3. Trustees may also order the reading of the Bible or the authorized Scripture selections by both pupils and teachers at the opening and closing of the school, and the repeating of the Ten Commandments at least once a week. 4. No pupil shall be required to take part in any re- ligious exercise objected to by his parents or guardians, and in order to the observance of this regulation, the teacher, before commencing a religious exercise, is to allow a short interval to elapse, during which the chil- dren of Roman Catholics, and of others who have sig- nified their objection, may retire. 6. If iii virtue of the right to be absent from the re- ligious exercises, any pupil does not enter the schoolroom till fifteen minutes after the proper time for opening the school in the forenoon, such absence shall not be treated as an offence against the rules of the school. 6. When a teacher claims to have conscientious scru- pleg in regard to opening or closing the school as herein prescribed, he shall notify the trustees to that effect in writing ; and it shall be the duty of the trustees to make such provision in the premises as they may deem expe- dient. 7. The clergy of any denomination, or their authorized representatives, shall have the right to give religious in- struction to the pupils of their own church, in each school- INSPECTION OP SCHOOLS. 139 house, at least once a week, after the hour of closing the school in the afternoon ; and if the clergy of more than one denomination apply to give religious instruction in the same schoolhouse, the Board of Trustees shall decide on what day of the week the schoolhouse shall be at the disposal of the clergymen of each denomination at the time above stated. But it shall be lawful for the Board of Trustees and clergymen of any denomination to agree upon any hour of the day at which a clergyman, or his author- ized representative, may give religious instruction to the pupils of his own church, provided it be not during the regular hours of the school. Emblems of a denomina- tional character shall not be exhibited in a public school during regular school hours. lil ! CHAPTER IX. DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. Under the Act of 1816 the trustees of common schools were the sole judges of the qualifications of teachers. They were also authorized to make rules and regulations for the good government of the schools with respect to the teachers and pupils and to determine what text-books should be used, subject to the approval of the Boards of Education for the district. The Boards of Trustees, therefore, practically deter- mined not only who should conduct their schools, but the text-books to be used and the course of study which should be observed both by teachers and pupils. In localities where the majority were Protestants, Protestant teachers were employed ; and owing partly to the scarcity of text- books and partly to the education which the early settlers had received in the schools of Great Britain and Ireland, the Bible was almost invariably used as a text-book in reading. Where the majority were Roman Catholics they had the right to use the powers which the school act con- ferred upon them, and to direct both the secular and re- ligious training of their children at the common school. Aci of 18^1. — On the union of Upper and Lower Can- ada (Ontario and Quebec) in 1841, the establishment of common schools and their improvement was one of the questions that early engaged the attention of the Legisla- 140 DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 141 ture. In his address at the opening of Parliament, Lord Sydenham, the first Governor-General, used the following language : " A due provision for the education of the people is one of the first duties of the state, and, in this province especially, the want of it is grievously felt. The estab- lishment of an efficient system, by which the blessings of instruction may be placed within the reach of all, is a work of difficulty, but its overwhelming importance de- mands that it should be undertaken. I recommend the consideration of that subject to your best attention, and I shall be most anxious to afford you, in your labours, all the co-operation in my power. If it should be found impos- sible so to reconcile conflicting opinions as to obtain a measure which may meet the approbation of all, I trust that at least steps may be taken by which an advance to a more perfect system may be made, and the difficulty under which the people of this province now labour may be greatly diminished, subject to such improvements here- after as time and experience may point out." In response to this request of the Governor-General, Solicitor-General Day, afterward the Hon. Mr. Justice Day, introduced a bill for the improvement of the school system of the province. Petitions were presented to the House urging the Legislature duly to recognise religious instruction as an essential part of the common-school edu- cation. As an illustration of the urgency of this demand, the following quotation f^-om a petition signed by clergy- men and members of the Church of England may be taken : " Wherefore your petitioners humbly pray that not only may the Bible be recognised as the class book to be universally taught in all public schools and seminaries throughout the province in which Protestants shall re- 142 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. PI' ceive their education, but that it may be put into the hands of all such scholars in its full unabridged state, and that no part of it may be withheld from them." The Mod- erator of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, on behalf of the Presbyterians, prayed " that an enactment be made for the use of the Bible in all the schools of the province." The Roman Catholic bishops of Quebec prayed " that in framing any school act for the improvement of education, care should be taken that it shall contain no enactment that can prejudice the interest of her Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects." Of the forty-two petitions presented, thirty-nine were from Protestants, and called for the use of the Bible in the schools. The bill submitted by Mr. Daly and the petitions pre- sented with regard to education were referred to a select committee of twenty-two^eight from Ontario and four- teen from Quebec* As a result of the deliberations of the committee, a bill was reported which received the royal assent on the 18th day of September, 1841, and which con- tained the following clause : " Provided always, and be it enacted, that whenever any number of the inhabitants of any township or parish, professing a religious faith differ- ent from that of the majority of the inhabitants of such township or parish, shall dissent from the regulations, ar- rangements, or proceedings of the common-school com- missioners, with reference to any common school in such township or parish, it shall be lawful for the inhabitants so dissenting, collectively, to signify such dissent in writ- * The Ontario members were Messrs. John S. Cartwright, M 1- colm Cnraeron, Buncombe, Merritt, Park, Thorburn, Fran '■' ' ks, and John Prince. The Quebec members were Messrs. Ne: Mrap- son, Moflfat, Quesnel, Allwin, Christie, Morin, Child, Pare* liobert- son, Holmes, Foster, Berthelot, and Viger. iilil' DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 143 n It, y 1- , c>ifnp- Robert- ing to the clerk of the district cour cil, with the name or names of one or more persons elected by them as tlieir trustee or trustees, for the purposes of this act ; and the said district clerk shall forthwith furnish a certified copy thereof to the district treasurer ; and it shall be lawful for such dissenting inhabitants, by and through such trustee or trustees, who for that purpose shall hold and exercise all rights, powers, and authorities, and be subject to the obligations and liabilities hereinbefore assigned to and imposed upon the common-school commissioners, to estab- lish and maintain one or more common schools in the man- ner, and subject to the visitation, conditions, rules, and obligations, in this act provided with reference to other common schools, and to receive from the district treasurer their due proportion, according to their number, of th« moneys appropriated by law, and raised by assessment for the support of common schools, in the school district or districts in which the said inhabitants reside, in the same manner as if the common schools so to be established and maintained under such trustee or trustees were estab- lished and maintained under the said common-school com- missioners, such moneys to be paid by the district treas- urer upon the warrant of the said trustee and trustees." By section 16 of the same act, provision was made for the appointment of Boards of Examiners for each city or town, to fee composed of not less than six nor more than fourteen persons, half of whom should be Protestants and the other half Roman Catholics. The mayor of the city or town was ex officio chairman of the board. The Catho- lic section was given full jurisdiction over all the schools attended by Roman Catholics, and had a right to appoint its own chairman. The Protestant section had similar powers with regard to schools attended by Protestant 144 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. childreu. In the case cf mixed schools, the board, as a whole, exercised undivided jurisdiction. This board, or either section of it, had power to examine candidates for teachers' certificates, to select the text-books for pupils, aod to make rules and regulations for the government of the schools of their section. By section 4 of the act it was provided that no person should be appointed a teacher in any school who was not a subject of her Majesty either by birth or by naturaliza- tion, and who had not passed an examination as to his ability as a teacher before the proper authorities, unless such person belonged to the order known as Les Freres de la Doctrine Chrctienne. This is liie first recognition of denominational schools by act of Parliament in the history of Ontario, containing m these sections all the characteristics of the present Sepa- rate-School Act of the province, viz. : 1. The right of Roman Catholics to establish separate schools for their own children. 2. The right to appoint teachers of their own faith. 3. The right to public moneys for the maintenance of their own schools. 4. The right of members of a religious order to be rec- ognised teachers without examination. Act of 1843. — Owing to' the dissimilar educational in- terests of the two provinces the Act of 1841 was repealed, and in 1843 separate acts were passed for each province. In the act passed for Ontario, the principle of the Act of 1 841 with regard to denominational schools was retained, but in a modified form. 1. It was provided that no separate school could bo established for Roman Catholics unless the teacher of the common school was a Protestant, and no separate school TENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 145 could be established for Protestants unless the teacher was a Roman Catholic. 2. Application for a separate school must be signed by ten or more resident freeholders or householders of the school section or of the city or town in which it was pro- posed to establish a separate school, and approved by the council or local superintendent. 3. On such approval being given, the separate school was entitled to receive its share of public grants accord- ing to the number of children in attendance. Separate schools, however, were to be subject to the same inspec- tion as common schools, and the course of study to the approval of the school superintendent of the district. In 1850 it was provided that no separate school should be established for Protestants or Ronian Catholics except on the petition of twelve heads of fatuilies, instead of the petition of ten householders, as under the previous acts. Public aid was to be given upon the average attendance at separate schools as compared with the average attend- ance at common schools of the district. No change was made with regard to other provisions of previous acts of Parliament. Although Protestants and Catholics were thus allowed the privilege of establishing separate schools for the chil- dren of their own faith, and although they shared in the grant made by the Legislature for the maintenance of common schools, they were nevertheless liable for all assessments for the maintenance of common schools which the municipality miglit impose. The effect of this pro- vision of the law was that they were doubly burdei^ed : first, for the necessary school accommodation for their own children; and, second, for the maintenance of the commoa or mixed schools, from which they received no 11 fc 146 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. direct benefit. The Roman Catholics claimed that as the principle of separate schools at which they could educate their own children practically in their own way was con- ceded, and as they were permitted to share in the grants made by the Government to common schools, thev should not be subject to this double burden. Act of 1852. — As a consequence of this demand, the Common-School Act of Ontario was amended in 1852, by which separate schools were allowed the following privi- leges : 1. Where the supporters of a separate school raised by subscription an amount equal to the assessment imposed by the trustees of the common schools for common-school purposes, then such separate-school supporters should be exempted from all rates for the support of the common school. 2. The Government grant payable to separate schools was to be in proportion to the average attendance of chil- dren at separate schools, as compared with the attendance of common schools in the same municipality. 3. So soon as the supporters of separate schools ceased to subscribe an amount equal to the sum for which they would be liable for common-school purposes, then they became liable for common-school rates. 4. A certificate of qualification signed by a majority of the trustees of a separate school was sufficient qualifica- tion for a separate-school teacher. Under the previous act separate-school teachers were examined by the district Board of Examiners. 5. Separate-school trustees were constituted corpora- tions with power to impose school rates upon persons sending children to or subscribing toward the support of separate schools, and they were invested with the same DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 147 [rpora- lersons )ort of same power to coilect school rates as were enjoyed by the trustees of common schools. This power they did not possess under previous acts. 6. The supporters of separate schools were not allowed to vote at the election of trustees for common schools. Act of 1865. — In 1855 the question of separate schools was again before the Legislative Assembly, and a short bill passed repealing all previous legislation with regard to separate schools, but re-enacting in a diflferent form near- ly all the privileges which the Legislature had conferred upon them in previous years. As the question had now entered the political arena, and had been taken up with that intensity which char- acterizes the contests of political parties, it became quite apparent that any settlement that did not meet the rea- sonable expectation of th'^ Koman Catholics was but to prolong the struggle and to foster antagonisms which might prove injurious to the future of the whole country. Numerically, Roman Catholics and Protestants were about equal in population. The representatives from the Prov- ince of Quebec alleged that they were justified in sup- porting separate schools for the Catholics of Ontario, because of the liberal concessions they had made to the Protestant minority of their province. Parliament had by repeated legislation acknowledged the principle of separate schools ; then why should Parliament, they asked, refuse such legislation as would give those for whom sepa- rate schools were intended greater control over them ? As a result of this agitation the election of members of Parliament was largely determined by their attitude with respect to separate schools. It was not, however, until 18G3 that a measure was approved by the Legisla- ture which practically placed the separate schools in the 148 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. I position they now occupy, and which has in a large meas- ure relieved the question of that acutcness, at all events, as a political issue, which characterized it for the previous twenty years. Act of 1863.— The bill of 1863 was introduced by Mr. II. W. Scott, member for the city of Ottawa, and now a member of the Senate of Canada. This bill was sup- ported by twenty-two members from Ontario and by fifty- four from the Province of Quebec ; of those who voted against it, thirty were from Ontario and only one from the Province of Quebec. Although amended in some re- spects by recent legislation, no material change has been made in any of its main features. And so separate schools for Roman Catholics and Protestants as they at present exist under the public-school system of the Province of Ontario may now be considered. Organization of Roman Catholic Separate Schools. — Any number of persons, not less than five being heads of families, and householders or freeholders, resident within any school section of any township, incorporated village, or town, or within any ward of any city or town, being Roman Catholics, may convene a public meeting of per- sons desiring to establish a separate school for Roman Catholics for the purpose of electing three trustees for the management of such school. Notice of this meeting must be given to the reeve or head of the municipality or to the chairman of the School Board, and from the day of the delivery and receipt of such notice the persons elected at this meeting become a corporation for separate- school purposes. In rural schools three trustees constitute a corporation. In urban schools two trustees are elected for each ward into which the municipality is divided, the same as in the ill DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 149 case of public schools. Any person being a British sub- ject, twenty-one years of age, is eligible for election as a trustee, and any person twenty-one years of age who is a separate-school supporter has a right to vote for a separate- school trustee. Elections for separate-school trustees are held at the same time as elections for public-school trus- tees, and proceedings at such elections are in every respect similar. Where the Board of Trustees asks the election to be by ballot in cities, towns, or incorporated villages, the elections are so held ; but instead of being conducted by municipal officers, as in the case of public-school elec- tions, they are conducted by officers appointed by the separate-school bo&/d. Wlio are Separate- School Supporters. — Any person who desires to become legally recognised as a separate- school supporter is required to give notice in writing to the clerk of the municipality that he is a Boman Catholic, and the supporter of a separate school situated in the municipality or in a municipality contiguous to the one in which he resides. Such notice exempts the person giving the same from the payment of all rates imposed for the support of public schools or for public-school li- braries, or for the purchase of land for a school site, or for the erection of buildings for public-school purposes within the municipality or school section in which he resides, so long as such person continues a supporter of a separate school. It is not necessary that this notice shall be renewed annually. While this notice rel'sves the person from all future liability for the maintenance of public schools, it does not, however, relieve him from any obligations that may have been incurred by the public-school trustees, such ns the payment of debentures for school buildings while he was '^1 150 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. a public-school supporter. As it would be impossible for municipal councils to divide a municipality into public and separate-school sections, owing to the fact that Prot- estants and Roman Catholics are distributed generally throughout the municipality, the law provides that any person within three miles in a direct line of the site of the separate school, who gives the notice required by law, shall be deemed a separate-school supporter. The occu- pant or tenant of any land within the three-mile limit, if a Catholic, has the right to declare himself a separate- school supporter and to require that any tax chargeable on such land shall go for separate-school purposes. This right he enjoys even if the land is owned by a Protestant. Conversely, where the tenant is a Protestant and the owner a Catholic, the Protestant will be regarded as a public- school supporter. Although Protestants may, if they choose, send their children to a separate school, they can not claim exemption from public-school rates on that account. Joint-stock companies may under certain conditions require that that portion of the joint-stock property owned by Roman Catholics, or their relative interest in the prop- perty, shall be assessed for separate- school purposes. The policy of the law is to allow Roman Catholics the privi- lege, where they have formed a separate school, of appro- priating without any reservation, except as to previous obligations, all their property for the maintenance of their own schools. If a Roman Catholic desires to withdraw his support from a separate school, he may do so on giving notice in writing to the clerk of the municipality, and in that case he is no longer liable for separate-school rates, but he re- mains liable for any debts incurred by the trustees of the DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 151 separate school during the time ho was rated as a sup- porter of it. Roman Catholics arc as free to support a public school as a separate school, and, as a matter of fact, some of them do support the public school even where they are in reach of a separate school, although this is the exception and not the rule. Separate Schools^ how supported. — Separate schools are supported {a) by a grant from the provincial treasury, paid upon the basis of average attendance, subject to pre- cisely the same conditions as the grant paid to public schools ; {h) by a rate levied by the trustees upon the tax- able property of the supporters of the school. This rate the trustees collect by officers of their own appointment or through the collector of the municipality, as they pre- fer ; (c) by fees from the pupils attending separate schools. By law, separate schools are not free, as the term is understood when applied to public schools, although as a matter of practice fees are not charged by any Board of Trustees in the province. Separate- School Teachers. — There are two classes of teachers employed in separate schools : one class known as lay teachers, who are subject to the same examinations and receive their certificate of qualification in the same way as public-school teachers ; the other class known as religious teachers, who are not, under the Separate-School Act, subject to any examination whatsoever. Of those employed in separate schools in 1894, 323 were lay teach- ers and 391 teachers belonging to some religious order. It does not follow, however, because religious teachers are not subject to an examination, that they are either deficient in regard to literary qualifications or exempt from the control of the department. Should any teacher, whether lay or religious, be regarded as deficient, either as 152 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. to his power of maintaining order or of advancing the efficiency of his pupils, it is within the province of the Education Department to withhold the school grant in such cases, and the trustees would he obliged to replace such teacher by some person who would discharge the duties satisfactorily to the department. Teachers of sepa- rate schools are under the same regulations with regard to their duties and privileges as the teachers of public schools. Complaints betweeh teachers and trustees are settled either by the Minister of Education or before a county judge. Courses of Study — Text- Books and Inspection. — The courses of study in separate schools are similar to those laid down by the regulations of the Education Department for public schools. With regard to text-books, a gi eater liberty of choice is permitted than in public schools. In the majority of separate schools public-school text-books are used, except in reading and history. The separate schools are inspected by oflBcers appointed by the Education Department. These officers possess the same qualifications as public-school inspectors ; they con- duct the inspection in a similar way. and report annually to the trustees of the school and to the Minister of Educa- tion as to the efficiency and standing of each school. With regard to the religious instruction which consti- tutes an essential feature of separate schools, the depart- ment lays down no regulations and exercises no jurisdic- tion, nor does it fix any limit as to the time to be devoted to this purpose. All that is required in order to the pay- ment of the school grant is that the efficiency of the school and the standing of the pupils are sufficiently meritorious, having regard to the attainments of pupils of the same age in the public schools. So far as departmental con- trol is concerned, the Minister of Education stands in pre- DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 153 ciselj the same relation to the separate schools as he does to any other branch of the school system, and no author- ity, lay or clerical, has a right to interfere with him in tho legal discharge of his duties. Protestant Separate Schools. — Side by side with the recognition of the privileges granted to Roman Catholics for the establishment of separate schools for the children of their own faith was recognised the principle of separate schools for the children of Protestants. Such schools are organized in the same way as Roman Catholic schools, with these exceptions : 1. Protestant separate schools can not be established unless the teacher is a Roman Catholic. 2. In order to be entitled to a grant by the Legislature, the supporters of Protestant separate schools must subscribe annually a sum equal to the amount which the supporters thereof would be rated in order to obtain the Government grant if such Protestant separate school did not exist. 3. Protestant separate- school supporters may withdraw by ceasing to subscribe for the support of a separate school or by sending their children to a public school. Protestant separate schools are established only where a few Protestant families have settled in a school section controlled by Roman Catholics. So rarely is that control exercised in a manner distasteful to Protestants, that only ten separate Protestant schools exist in the whole province. The qualifications of teachers in Protestant separate schools, the text-books used, and the supervision exercised over them are identical with that exercised in the case of public schools. Coloured Separate Schools. — In a few localities in the province, owing to the existence of large settlements of coloured people, separate schools are permitted, at which 'i:- ■ I 1 i m 154 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. the children of coloured people attend. These schools are organized, conducted, and inspected the same as Protestant separate schools. It must be observed here that while under the school system of Ontario separate schools are allowed, there is no cleavage of a denominational character beyond the elemen- tary or public school. In high schools, as well as in the university, no religious distinction of any kind is recog- nised either as to pupils, teachers, or courses of study. Should pupils, however, desire to absent themselves from the religious exercises of the high school or the devotional exercises of the university, they are at liberty to do so, and are not amenable to any discipline because of such action. It may be said that separate schools are necessarily less efficient than public schools. This depends entirely upon the vigilance of the Education Department, and the thor- oughness with which the work of inspection is conducted. Separate schools have no immunities under the school sys- tem of Ontario by which the standards of elementary edu- cation can be lowered or the intellectual improvement of the children attending them impaired. The whole ques- tion is one of administration, and the policy which pro- duces an efficient public-school system will, if honestly administered, produce the same results in the separate schools. Control of the Dominion Government over Separate Schools. — Under the British Korth America Act, power has been taken to pass legislation with regard to separate schools where, in the opinion of the Dominion Parliament, inj-^stice has been done to the minority. For instance, if it should appear that the Protestant minority in Quebec, or the Roman Catholic minority in Ontario, or in any other province, were deprived of any right or privilege DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOL; 155 which they had by law at the time of the federation of the British provinces in 1807, it is held that the Dominion Parliament could pass remedial legislation restoring to the minority, in such cases, the privileges of which they were deprived by the Provincial Legislatures. In 1890 the Legislature of Manitoba repealed all previous legislation which had been passed for the establishment of separate schools in that province, substituting therefor a system of public schools for the province without any distinction as to denomination or creed. Considerable litigation arose oat of this action of the Manitoba Legislature, the result of which has been that the Dominion Government con- siders itself called upon to interfere on behalf of the Ro- man Catholics of Manitoba, with a view to the re-estab- lishment of separate schools in that province. f 1 'i m I if % 5-* t. CHAPTER X. SCHOOL LIBRARIES, PUBLIC LIBRARIES, AND TEXT- BOOKS. In the School Act of 1850 authority was given the Chief Superintendent of Education " to employ all lawful means in his power to promote the establishment of school libraries for general reading in the several townships, cities, towns, and incorporated villages of the province." In order to assist in the establishment of such libra- ries, the Legislature voted the sum of $12,000, and author- ized the chief superintendent to apportion the same, sub- ject to the regulations of the Education Department. In 1853 the Education Department sanctioned the expendi- ture of this money for the establishment of libraries in school sections and in townships as the local authorities might see fit. Township councils were authorized to keep the library in some central place in the township, or to divide it into as many parts as there were school sections in the township. When the library was divided into sec- tions the trustees were required — at regular periods of not more than a year — to see that the portion allotted to them was transferred to another school section, and in this way the books were removed from one section to another in rotation. The Education Department also authorized the preparation of a catalogue, and the choice of books was 156 en the lawful : school 3, cities, libra- author- ae, sub- nt. In xpendi- taries in lorities to keep or to sections nto sec- s of not to them ;his way )ther in ized the loks was SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 157 limite(d to the list so prepared. The Government grant to libraries was equal to the amount raised by the locality. In order to guard against the circulation of unsuitable books, the Education Department established a book de- pository and imported books from the foreign market for the use of section and township libraries. The book trade, however, regarded such a depository as a competitor with the legitimate book-selling business, and in 1881 the de- pository was abolished and libraries supplied through the ordinary channels of trade. Although the effort to establish school libraries was not as satisfactory as could be desired, they proved of great advantage to some of the more remote parts of the prov- ince. In the twenty-nine years during which the Educa- tion Depository existed 298,743 volumes were sent out to school sections and township libraries, valued at $178,510. School libraries ceased to exist with the withdrawal of the grant. Their place has, however, been more than filled by the establishment of public libraries in all parts of the province. Public libraries were first known under the term " Mechanics' Institutes." The first institute in Ontario was opened in Toronto in 1835, and received a grant from the Legislature of $400 for the purchase of books and philosophical instruments. In the same year a library was opened at Kingston, and in 1842 another at London, all of which received aid from the provincial treasury. In 1868 provision was made for the establishment of evening classes in connection with public libraries, and for the founding of a reference library to consist of books on architecture, engineering and building, manufactures and industrial art, agriculture and horticulture, technical chemistry and experimental philosophy. The Government ^ n it' ■if Tiiii- I' ^i I uL 'I .i:. 158 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. grant paid to each public library was to be proportioned to the amount of money expended by the local board on books of a scientific character. In 1872 public libraries were subjected to the supervision of the Inspectors of Pub- lic Schools who were to report with regard to them to tlio Education Department. Notwithstanding the anxiety of the Legislature to pro- mote the establishment of public libraries, the progress made was not satisfactory. The great difficulty in maintaining them as the law then existed was the want of local support. The directors were dependent entirely upon voluntary sub- scriptions and the small grant made by the Government. After paying the rent of rooms and other expenses of maiutenance the sum available for books was necessarily very small, and it wus difficult for the board to find the means of supplying libraries with fresii and attractive literature. Free Libraries. — In 1883 an act called the Public Libraries Act was passed, which authorized the municipal council of any city, town, or incorporated village on the petition of a certain number of electors, to submit a by-law to the votes of the ratepayers for the estjiblishment of a free public library. A board of management was con- stituted under this act, consisting of the mayor of the city or town or the reeve of tlie village, three other persons to bo appointed by the council of the municipality, three by the Public School IJoard, and two by the Separate-School Board of tlie city or town in which the library was to be located. This board was to have the power of purchasing a site and erecting suitable buildings for a library and read- ing room. It was also to have the general management, regulation, and control of the library and reading room, with power to make regulations for the purchase, circula- SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 159 tion, and diatribution of books and papers. As a corpora- tion the board had the right of fixing its own meetings and carrying on its business independent of ail municipal control. The money required for buildings and equipment was raised by the debentures of the municipality. Tiie annual expenditure of the board (not including buildings) was limited to the amount that would be produced by a rate of half a mill on the dollar on the real and personal property of the municipality. In the case of cities with a population over 100,000 this amount was not to exceed one quarter of a mill on the doU'ir. T -le library and readmg room were to be free to all residents of the municipality. The first free public library established under this act was opened in Toronto in 1884. Tiie expenditure of the board on buildings and books has already amounted to over $200,000. In addition to a circulating library, the board of management has established a very valuable ref- erence library of over 30,000 volumes. Subsequently free i)U blic libraries have boon opened and maintained by the municipalities under tlie Act of 1883 in eight cities and. in four of the large towns of the province, with assets etitimatod at ift.'J30,0()0, contain- ing 1()5,000 volumes, and an aggregate circulation for the year of over l,5^>o.000 volumes. The appropriation of the Oovortiment fo'* ea.'h library and reading room is i|f^.')0 in cities and U^)0 m towns. The annual axpenditure for library purposes by the province (including local and Government grants) in IHD.j was over $]r)0,0()(>. Minor Free Librariva. — The greatest obstacle to the general establishmeni of free lil)nu-ie8 is the cost of suit- able buildings and promises. In small municipt».ities it has been found, however, that wljile the people may not be willinfT to incur the larger expenditure necessary for a I; 1 I < W.i m^ I 1 nil IGO TUE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. library building, they are not unwilling to contribute annually a moderate sum for the purchase of books and for coLtingent expenses. Accordiogly, in 1895 the Pub- lic Libraries Act was amended, authorizing municipal councils to appoint a board of management for library purposes, even where a by-law had not been passed for the erection of buildings. In such cases the income of the board depends upon the bounty of the municipality from year to year, the amount of money received from voluntary subscriptions, and the appropriations made by the Government from the provincial treasury. Already fifteen free libraries have been established under this act, in addition to thos^j for whose accommodation the municipalities have made provision under the Act of 1883. But there were still places of a more isolated charac- ter, in which it was desirable to provide facilities for the circulation of good literature, and wliere no aid was likely to be received from municipal authorities. In sucli cases it was provided that ten persons could constitute themselves a corporation, under the Public Libraries Act, w ith the right to appoint a board of management for li- brary purposes. In this way a public library may be estab- lished in any village, however small, but no grant is paid by tlio Government unless the board of management is able to show that one hundred persons over twelve years of age, fifty of whom shall be over twenty-one years of ago, have subscribed themselves as members — member- ship in this case meaning that the persons so subscribing intend to avail themselves of the privileges of a library. Such boards are dependent entirely upon voluntary contri- butions and upon the Government grant amounting to 1100. This class of library is simply a modification of the Mechanics* Institute Act of 1351, and has been of greater SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 161 tribute ws and I Pub- nicipal library ;ed for )me of iipality i from ade by already er this ion the )f 1883. charac- for tho lid viiis In such [istitute ies Act, for 11- estab- is paid nent is ^e years rears of ember- cribing ibrary. contri- te 1100. of the greater service to the public than any other class of library aided by the Government. In 1895 there were 318 libraries of vhis class iu the country, having a total circulation of CJ-4,000 volumes. Government Grant. — Public libraries are aided by tho Legislature, subject to the regulations of the Education Department, on the following conditions: 1. The sum of one dollar is allowed for every dollar invested annually by the board of management in the purchase of books, but so as not to exceed $200 in the case of cities, $150 in the case of towns, and iu all other cases $100. 2. A further sum of one dollar is allowed each public library for every dollar expended on newspapers and magazines for the purpose of a reading room, but so as not to exceed $50 for each reading room. Where public libraries establish evening classes, a sum of three dollars is allowed for every pupil, providing the class is composed of twenty-five or under, with an additional allowance of one dollar per pupil for all over twenty-five, but so as not to exceed the sum of $100 for evening classes to each board. Refjulations rcspectinfj Public lAhrnries. — Public libra- ries, for which the municipality has not provided the neces- sary buildings, are subject to the following regulations: 1. The building selected for the accommodation of the public library and reading room shall be conveniently sit- uated and shall be easy of access to the public. The words " Public Library " shall be painted on or over the outside door of the building or in some other conspicuous place, in letters not less than four inches in length and three inches in width. 2. The rooms shall be properly warmed and lighted, 12 162 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. and shall be furnished with suitable racks and files for papers and with seating accommodation for at least ten persons. The reading room shall contain on separate files at least two daily newspapers, five weeklies, and three standard monthly magazines. The Government grant shall be based on the amount expended by the board of management. 3. The library and reading room shall be open to the public for the delivery and exchange of books and the perusal of papers and magazines at least three times every week, on such days and at such hours as the board of man- agement may direct, subject to the approval of the Edu- cation Department. 4. All books shall be properly stamped, labelled, shelved, and kept in good order, and shall be insured for the total amount contributed by the Government during the last ten preceding years. 5. The Government grant shall be paid for books bought within the official year, on the declaration of the president and librarian that the books have been received, labelled, and shelved. A receipted invoice of the books purchased for the library and a certified ac- count of the expenditure on supplies for the reading room should accompany the declaration. Only twenty per cent of the Government grant for books will be allowed for expenditure on fiction. 6. All books, registers, and account books and invoices used in connection with any public library, reading room, evening classes, or art school shall be open at all conven- ient hours to such inspection as the Minister of Education may direct. Evening Classes and Art Schools. — By a reference to the chapter on the Courses of Study in Public and High SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 163 Schools it will be seen that elementary drawing is one of the obligatory subjects of study. In order to promote the further study of this subject, particularly with a view to mechanical and industrial purposes, the board of manage- ment having charge of a public library is authorized to establish evening classes in drawing, such classes to take the following courses : 1. Primary drawing, viz., free-hand drawing from flat examples, practical geometry, linear perspective, model drawing, and object or memory drawing. 2. Advance drawing, viz., shading from flat examples, outline drawing from the round, shading from the round, drawing from flowers and objects of natural history, and industrial de- sign. 3. Mechanical drawing, viz., projection and descrip- tive geometry, macliine drawing, building construction, architectural design, and advanced perspective. 4. In- dustrial art course, viz., modelling in clay, wood carving, engraving, lithography, painting on china. Classes may also be formed in botany, chemistry, or physical science, the course in any of these subjects being tiie same as that prescribed in forms I, II, and III of high schools. In order to be entitled to Government aid, the board of management must provide ample accommodaition and equipment for teaching the subjects in the courses pre- scribed, u d must be suj)plied with a staff of teachers sat- isfactory to the Education Department. Examinations are conducted annually by the Educa- tion Department, and certiticates, medals, and other dis- tinctions awarded on the basis of such examiiuitions. In 1895 there were forty-two evening classes established in connection with public libraries, with an attendance of 906 pupils. It II ii 164 TOE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. ifi'! til , II I ' Text-Books. Since the appointment of a chief superintendent in 1846, the Education Department has had authority to regulate the use of text-hooks in public schools. If un- authorized text- books are used, tiie Government grant may be withheld, and any teacher who negligently or wil- fully substitutes any unauthorized books for the author- ized text-books in actual use in the same subjects in his school is liable, on conviction before a magistrate, to a penalty not exceeding ten dollars. When, in the opinion of the department, a text-book in actual use has to be changed, notice is given that a new text-book in the sub- ject is available, but no new text-book can be introduced except at the beginning of a schojl term. The policy of the Education Department with regard to text-books may be briefly sumned up as follows : 1. That so far as practicable there shall be but one text-book in each subject in the course of study. So long as pupils are required to purchase their own text-books, it is considered undesirable that they should be put to the expense of providing a new set in case of their removal from one part of the province to another. Besides, as tlie courses of study are graded with reference to the au- thorized text-books both as a guide to the teacher and the inspector, a variety of books would render proper classifi- cation impossible. There may be some disadvantage to the pupils in limiting their reading to one series of read- ers, as facility in vocal expression is obtained largely from practice over a wider field than a single text-book affords. The abundance and cheapness, however, of literature of all kinds for children, and the general distribution of public libraries, have removed this objection, and an in- ir i SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 165 telligent teacher need have no difficulty in inciting his pupils to read for themselves far more extensively than could be done from the number of text-books in reading used in any school. 2. That all text-books of doubtful merit shall be ex- cluded from the public schools. Where trustees are al- lowed to determine the text-books to be used, they are not infrequently imposed upon by publishers who are seeking a market for their goods. As trustees have no special qualifications for judging whether a text-book is properly graded or not, or whether the subject of which it treats is logically developed, to allow them to select text-books for the use of schools would be to confer upon them a power, whether honestly exercised or not, which might injuri- ously affect the mental development of pupils. Few per- sons possess that knowledge of a subject and of the mode in which the child's mind is unfolded which would qual- ify them for presenting it, either as to matter or as to method, psychologically. There should be, therefore, some censorship which would guard the child from the evil effects of text-books defective in arrangement and matter and perhaps inaccurate as to statement of facts. This censorship the Education Department of Ontario assumes. On the principle that no man can teach a school as well as the trained teacher, the department has assumed that no person can prepare a text-book except the person who has taught the subject of which it treats. According- ly, when it is felt by experienced teachers that the text- book in any subject has outlived its usefulness, is deficient or redundant with regard to any part of the field which it is supposed to cover, or is wanting in logical arrangement, or is obsolete as to che theories which it propounds, it be- ■ ir I IB 166 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. comes the duty of the department to prepare a new text- book in such subject. In the discharge of this duty the department seeks out one or more teachers whose stand- ing and experience are universally admitted, and intrusts to them the preparation of the book required. For in- stance, when it was found that the text-books authorized in 18(»7 in the subject of reading did not meet with the approval of the j)rofe8sion generally, a committee was ap- pointed by the Minister of Education, consisting of three men of well-known ability and taste and with large expe- rience as teachers, for the preparation of a new series of readers. One member of the committee was the holder of a degree from the provincial university, another an inspector of high standing, and the third a teacher of wide experience. The department placed at their dis- posal its reference library of 10,000 volumes, and sup- plied them with all the text-books in reading that could be obtained from the leading publishers of the United States and Great Britain. They were instructed to invite suggestions from the profession, and to read the works of the best authors on the subject of reading. For nearly two years they devoted themselves almost continuously to the duty assigned to them. Whatever illustrations were thought necessary were engraved from copies taken from other text-books or from original drawings prepared by the best artists available ; and as the result of their labours, a series of readers has been placed in the schools which the profession has unanimously received with favour. The cost to the department was comparatively trifling, while the advantages to pupils and teachers were incal- culable. In the preparation of other text-books, such as arith- metic, grammar, or geography, a different course was pur- SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 167 sued. In these cases a single teacher was advised that a text-book in the subject in which he was facile princeps was required, and, after consultation with the Minister of Education and well-known experts, he entered upon the task assigned to him. The manuscript was put in typo by some i)riuter or publisher selected for the purpose, and proofs were sent to a number of persons known to bo capable teachers and critics, who were instructed to com- municate with the author or the Minister of Education. Every part of the work was therefore subjected to the closest scrutiny; inaccuracies were sure to be detected and all reasonable doubts removed as to the usefulness of the work when completed. The cost of revising or even re- setting the book three or four times, as has often hap- pened, was considered a small matter where the interests of half a million children were involved. By the adop- tion of this course, the department has obtained in every subject text-books which are reasonably satisfactory, and which conform to sound principles of pedagogy as under- stood by the best members of the profession. When a text- book is prepared by a single teacher or by one or more teachers without disturbing tiieir profes- sional engagements, instead of paying them a fixed sum of money for their work, they are allowed a royalty of ten per cent on the retail price of each book, such royalty to be paid by the publisher authorized by the department to place the book upon the market. As a matter of practice the text-books in every subject except reading are revised decennially, and a notice of one or two years given to teachers and the publishing trade that a new text-book is forthcoming. The pupils are in this way protected against the purchase of books under the impression that their use will be continued, and the I , ^!1 168 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. trade warned against the issue of a large edition which will be unsalable when a new book is authorized. -3. That Canadian authonihip should be encouraged. While the department holds itself free to authorize the best book in any subject, no matter where published, it is considered desirable to encourage the profession by the prospective rewards of authorship. The prizes in the pro- fession are at best both limited in number and moderate as to value, and any incentive which authorship might afford is due to the men who may have given to the pro- fession all their energy and talent. Where it is found, however, that a book of special value has been published, either in Great Britain or the United States, there is no hesitation in authorizing such book for the schools of Ontario. This applies particularly to text-books required in high schools, and to which the " one text-book " policy of the department is not so rigidly applied. 4. That the quality and price of text-books should be regulated. When a text-book has been approved by the depart- ment it becomes the duty of the Minister of Education to find a publisher who will place the book upon the market. As the book is sure to have a wide sale, and there is no danger of any loss from depreciated stock, publishers are easily found to undertake this task, particularly as there is no competition and can be no comjietition with regard to the sale. Having found a publisher, the next duty is to settle the quality of the book as to paper, binding, etc., the character of the type to be used, and the price to the purchaser. Through an officer of the Government known as the Queen's Printer, who is charged with the publica- tion of all parliamentary documents, and who is by virtue of his office an expert printer, the desired quality of paper, 1 1' ilL SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 169 binding, typography, and price are easily adjusted ; and as soon as an agreement is arrived at the publi'jher is re- quired to enter into a contract with the department con- taining the following provisions : 1. That the publisher will, during the time such hook is authorized, publish each and every edition of the book on the quality of paper and according to the style of bind- ing approved of, and will not vary either during the pe- riod of authorization, under the penalty of having the right of publication withdrawn, or any book not published according to the standard contiscated by the department. 2. In order to enforce this agreement, the Minister of Education reserves to himself the right, through an officer appointed for the purpose, to examine all text-books dur- ing the process of manufacture as to the quality of paper used, the quality of the ink employed in printing, the material used in binding, and to see that in every detail the agreement is faithfully carried out. Should this officer find in the warehouse of any publisher books of inferior workmj nship, he has power to prevent such books being placed upon the market; the loss in that case being the publisher's loss. 3. In order that the purchaser of the book may have no doubt as to the price he should pay for it, it is re- quired by the department that the price at which the book is to be sold shall be stamped on the outside cover of the book in conspicuous figures ; and in order that the retail trade may have a reasonable profit upon the sale of these books, the publisher is required to allow such dis- counts upon the retail price as may have been fixed by the Minister of Education. These discounts are graduated, according to trade usage, on the quantity sold to any pur- chaser. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 141 m It. IIIM m 1 ^ M 1.8 1.25 U 1.6 -^ 6" ► V <^ /} 'M salaries varying according to the im- portance of the duties to which they ate assigned. I 182 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. i lors and vice-chancellors. The appointed members con* sist of three representatives of the council of the Univer- sity of Toronto — one from the council of University College, one from the Law Society of Upper Canada, one from each federated or affiliated institution, and nine members appointed by the Executive Government. The elected members number twenty- three, and represent the graduates of the federated universities in arts (seventeen members), in medicine (four members), in law (two mem- bers). Elections take place to the Senate every three years. The mode of election is as follows : Any ten mem- bers of Convocation — i. e., any ten graduates — may deposit with the registrar a nomination paper containing the names of such persons as they desire to see elected to the Senate. These names are transmitted by the registrar to every graduate whose address is known, and at a time specified in the act the graduate returns his voting paper to the registrar, and in presence of scrutineers appointed for that purpose the votes are counted, and the persons having the majority are declared elected as members of the Senate. The chancellor of the university is elected in the same way by the whole body of graduates. The vice-chancellor is appointed triennially at the first meeting of the new Senate. The Senate has by statute the right to deter- mine the standards for matriculation into the university, the standards for the examination to be taken for each year or for any degree which the university is authorized to confer, the right to appoint the examiners for prepar- ing and reading the papers of students in every depart- ment of university work, and generally to decide upon all academic matters subject to the approval of the Executive Government of the province. THE PROVrXIAL UNIVEIiSITY. 183 Matriculation. — By means of a joint Board of Exami- ners, four of whom are appointed by the Senate and four by the Education Department, an examination is annu- ally conducted for matriculation. Candidates who pass this examination are recognised as having obtained the standing required of second-class teachers, in addition to the privilege of admission into the university. The sub- jects of examination are : Latin, English, history, mathe- matics, French or German, and either (1) Greek or (2) the second modern language with physics and chemistry. This examination is conducted simultaneously with the exami- nations of the Education Department for teachers' certifi- cates. In the case of candidates who fail in not more than three subjects, a supplemental examination may be taken in the month of September, in the subjects in which they fail. Course of Study. — The course of study in the faculty of arts consists of Latin, Greek, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Hebrew, with so much ancient history and geography as incidentally pertain to the study of the lan- guages. In science : Physics, mineralogy, geology, biology, chemistry, and psycho-physics. In philosophy : The his- tory of philosophy, logic, ethics, metaphysics, and psy- chology. In English: Modern history, comparative phi- lology, and English literature and education. In political science : Political economy, constitutional history, consti- tutional and international law, IJoman law, and general jurisprudence. The teaching staff in the faculty of arts consists of thirteen professors, four associate professors, and twenty-six lecturers and demonstrators. Faculty of Medicine. — In the faculty of medicine the couL'seof study is similar to that pursued in all well-organ- ized medical schools. The students in this faculty have ill 184 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. free access to the well-equipped laboratories of the uni- versity for conducting experiments in morphology, physi- ological chemistry, botany, psychology, and chemistry. The teaching staff in the faculty of medicine consists of fifteen professors, three associate professors, and twenty- one lecturers and demonstrators. Owing to the want of funds, no faculty in law has yet been organized. Affiliated Ufiiver sides and Colleges. — Since its first incorporation, the University of Toronto invited affilia- tion with other educational institutions, and from year to year steadily enlarged its relations in this respect until they now include Victoria University (Methodist), Knox College (Presbyterian), Wycliffe College (Anglican), St. Michael's College (Roman Catholic), Albert College (Methodist), Huron College (Anglican), Trinity Medical College, the Woman's Medical College, the School of Pharmacy, the School of Dentistry, the Provincial School of Practical Science, the Provincial College of Agricul- ture, and the Toronto College of Music. These institu- tions are entitled to representation on the Senate, and to share in the administration of the university. Examina- tions for degrees in all federated or affiliated colleges or universities are conducted by the University of Toronto, excepting for degrees in theology. T/i6 Library. — The university library occupies a sepa- rate fireproof building with a storage capacity of 120,000 volumes, and a reading room capable of seating upward of 200 readers. The library contains about 55,000 vol- umes and about 5,000 unbound pamphlets. The library is a circulating one . for members of the faculties, and a library of reference for students. For the purpose of in- struction on the seminary method, special rooms are set THE PROVINCIAL UNIVERSITY. 185 apart for the professors and students in each department of study, the works of reference required for the course being placed in such rooms. There are two large mu- seums, one illustrative of the course in biology, and the other of the course in ethnology. Gymnasium. — A gymnasium costing about $30,000 has been fitted up for the benefit of students with all suitable appliances for athletic purposes. In connection with the gymnasium, rooms are set apart for the meet- ings of students' clubs and societies, including a large hall for public meetings, a reading room, and committee rooms. Degrees. — Degrees in arts are conferred on those per- sons who have completed the prescribed course of study and who have passed the required examinations. The course extends over four years, and is divided into general and special courses. A corresponding distinction is made in the degrees conferred. Attendance at lectures is com- pulsory unless a dispensation is granted by the Senate owing to special circumstances. The degree of Master of Arts is conferred upon Bachelors of Arts of at least two years' standing on the presentation of an approved thesis in one of the departments in arts. Provision is made for admission ad eundem gradum in the case of both degrees. In 1805 the Senate passed a statute to confer the degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy and Doctor of Pedagogy on teachers who passed the prescribed examination. Discipline. — The discipline of the university is vested in the president and faculty of University College. Ma- triculated students are required to attend the courses of study and examinations in all subjects prescribed for students of their respective standing. No student is per- mitted to remain in the college who persistently neglects academic work, or whose presence is deemed prejudicial 186 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. to the interests of the university. " Hazing " is strictly forbidden. No suspended student may be admitted to the university buildings or grounds. No person is allowed to lecture before any of the university societies without the approval of the university council. Men and women students, unless members of the same family, are not per- mitted to reside in the same lodging houses. Women students are under the supervision of a lady superintend- ent, and are subject to her directions as to their conduct in the university halls and lecture rooms, or while attending university societies. College Residence. — The residential quarters of the uni- versity are very limited in extent, capable of accommodat- ing only between forty and fifty students. The residence is in charge of a dean, who has the oversight of students in residence. The regulations for the government and dis- cipline of the college are prescribed by the college council. Devotional exercises are conducted in the college by the dean. Devotional exercises are also conducted in the university daily at ten o'clock ; attendance is not compul- sory in either case, but those who have no conscientious scruples are expected to be present. The fees chargeable for attei> dance upon lectures aver- age about $40 per student. The School of Science. — The School of Science was erected on the grounds of the university, in order that the students of the school might conveniently receive instruction from the professors of the university, and also that the students of the university might avail themselves of the laboratories of the School of Science. The school is affiliated with the university, and represented by its principal on the Senate. The buildings and equipment cost about $350,000. The faculty consists of three pro- THE PROVINCIAL UNIVERSITY. 187 fessors, five lecturers, six fellows, and an assistant in each of the departments of chemistry and metallurgy. The teaching staff is appointed by the Government. The school is under the direction of the Minister of Educa- tion, 'and in that respect is part of the school system of the province. It is modelled after the Boston S^^ii^ol of Technology. Its course includes surveying, architecture, applied mechanics, applied chemistry, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mineral- ogy, metallurgy, and assaying. A special examination is conducted by the faculty of the school in arithmetic, algebra, Euclid, and English for the admission of students, but any person who has passed the matriculation examination of the University is eligible for admission. The course of study extends over three years. The fees are $45 per annum. The average attend- ance of students is from one hundred to one hundred and forty. Students who take a post-graduate course of one year and pass the required examinations are eligible for the degree of Bachelor of Applied Science in the Univer- sity of Toronto. Graduates in the department of civil engineering are eligible for the degree of Civil Engineer, after three years of practical work. CHAPTER XII. GROWTH OF THE ONTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. It was not until the school system of Ontario was or- ganized under the Act of 1843 that any regular effort was made to compile the returns received from superintend- ents and other school oflScers. The earliest reliable re- ports begin with the year 1844. These reports show that up to that time there had been established 2,610 public schools, with a registered attendance of 96,756 pupils, in charge cl 3,736 teachers. In the fifty years that have elapsed since 1844 the schools have increased to 5,649, the registered pupils to 483,203, and the teachers to 8,824, of whom 2,795 were males and 6,029 females. The returns do not show the establishment of any Roman Catholic separate schools as early as 1844, although there is no doubt that many schools were, under the Act of 1843, con- ducted as separate schools. The number of high schools, then called grammar schools, was 25, with an attendance of about 3,000 pupils. One of the most significant indications of the develop- ment of the school system of the province is the steady increase in the average attendance of pupils. This may be partly owing to improved facilities for transportation and partly to the improvement in the circumstances of the people, by which parents and guardians are better able to dispense with the labour of the pupils, particularly 188 GROWTH OF THE ONTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. 189 in rural districts. In 1867, out of 401,643 children regis- tered, the average attendance was forty-one per cent; in 1894 the average attendance had risen to fifty-six per cent. By way of explanation, it should be said, however, that the average attendance in Ontario is determined, not by the number of days each school is kept open, but by the number of teaching days in the academic year. For instance, a school running six months, with an average attendance of 40 pupils per day, would in the oflBcial re- turn show an average attendance of only fifty per cent for the year. The average attendance in rural districts in 1894 was fifty-one per cent, in cities sixty-nine per cent, and in towns sixty- four per cent ; in some individ- ual cases the average reached seventy-nine per cent. Classification of Pupils, — By the system of classifica- tion fixed by the Education Department a pupil's whole course of study is determined by the form to which he has been promoted. It is only in the fifth or highest form that options are allowed. It follows, therefore, that any increase in the number of pupils studying any subject depends to a great extent upon the increased attendance of registered pupils. The changes in the courses of study, however, since 1867, have largely affected the number of pupils in some subjects. Drawing, which was optional in 1867, is now compulsory, and the number of pupils in this subject has increased since that time from 5,450 to 435,541. In the same way English and Canadian history occupied relatively an inferior place in the course of study ; recent changes in the regulations of the department have in- creased the number of pupils in this subject from 61,787 in 1867 to 264,896. Similarly in the subject of music the increase has been from 47,618 to 206,346. The study of physiology and temperance was also optional till 1885, 190 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. and is now studied from text-books and charts by 191,406 pupils. The following statement shows the enrolment of pupils in the subjects mentioned : Bookkeeping 22,422 Algebra 13,353 Geometry 12,693 Botany 6,122 Elementary physics 3,549 Agriculture 7,680 Taking the whole enrolment of the public schools of the province, the percentages in the various subjects of the course of study are as follows : Per cent. Reading 100 Writing 96 Arithmetic 98 Drawing 90 Geography 70 Music 41 Per cent. Grammar and composition . . 63 English history 23 Canadian hi.story 32 Physiology and temperance. 40 Drill and calisthenics 49 Perhaps the most satisfactory test of the efficiency of the public-school system is the annual departmental examination required for entrance to high schools. As stated elsewhere, this examination is usually taken at the end of the fourth form. In 1877, 3,836 pupils, as com- pared with 10,049 pupils in 1895, were successful at this examination. Teaching Staff. — Although the number of schools in the province has more than doubled within the last fifty years, there has been scarcely any increase in the number of male teachers employed. As stated above, the number of male teachers in 1844 was 2,736 ; fifty years later — in 1894 — the number was 2,795, whereas in the same period of time female teachers, unknown to the profession in 1844, increased to 6,029. The increase in the number of female teachers employed is greater in urban than in rural dis- tricts, although even in the latter case they preponderate. The effect of this transfer of the educational work of the GROWTH OP THE ONTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. 191 63 23 32 40 49 country from the male sex to the female sex can not be discussed here ; it may be said, however, that so far there is no perceptible deterioration in the quality of the work done in the schoolroom, while in the matter of discipline and in all the other circumstances which go to make school life pleasant to the pupil, there has been a very marked improvement. The average age of the teachers employed is nearly twenty-six years (35*95), and their average experi- ence four years and three fifths. The number holding first- class certificates — the highest certificate granted by the de- partment — is 262 ; the number holding second-class certifi- cates 3,184 ; the remainder hold certificates of lower grades. As to professional training there is a very gratifying and steady increase. In 1867 the number of teachers who had attended a normal school was 666 ; in 1894 this num- ber had arisen to 3,207. Nearly forty per cent of all the teachers of the province have attended a normal school ; of the remainder the greater number have received pro- fessional training at a county model school. The increase in teachers' salaries has not kept pace with their professional attainments and is far from satisfactory. The average salary of a male teacher in the whole province in 1867 was 15346, and in 1894 $421. The average salary of a female teacher was $226, and in 1894 1300. The av- erage salary of male teachers in rural districts in 1894 was $376, and of female teachers $269 ; the average salary of male teachers in cities $876, and of female teachers $415. The average salary of male teachers in towns was $632, and of female teachers $303. The highest salary paid a teacher in a public school was $1,500. Maintenance of Public Schools. — The total expenditure upon public schools in 1867 was $1,473,000, or an average of $3.67 per pupil. In 1894 the expenditure had increased 192 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. to $4,248,000, or an average of $8.79 per pupil. Of this expenditure the sum of $300,000 was contributed by the Legislature of Ontario and the sum of $3,460,000 was raised by assessment on the taxable property of the rate- payers. The amount expended on teachers' salaries was $2,822,000 ; on maps and apparatus, $50,465 ; on sites and buildings, $445,000 ; and on general expenses, $870,000. The estimated value of public-school property in 1894 was $10,600,000. Roman Catholic Separate Schools. — The reports of the Education Department show that in 1854 there were 44 Koman Catholic separate schools in the province ; in 1867 the separate schools numbered 161 , attended by 18,924 pu- pils ; the number at the close of 1894 was 328, attended by 39,762 pupils. In 1867 the number of teachers employed was 210 ; in 1894 the number increased to 714, of whom 323 were lay teachers and 391 religious teachers — that is, teachers belonging to some religious order of the Eoman Catholic Church. The number of pupils in the various subjects in the separate-school course of study bears the same proportion to the whole number in attendance as in the case of public schools, the classification and optional subjects being the same. High Schools. — The growth of the high-school system of the province since 1867 has been very satisfactory, as the following statement shows : Number of schools . Number of teachers Number of pupils.. Cost per pupil Total expendituros. Paid for salaries. . . Government grant. 1867. 103 129 169 554 5,696 23,523 $21 80 $29 27 $124,181 $682,532 $94,820 $507,441 $54,562 $100,000 1894. A GROWTH OP THE ONTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. I93 Classification. — The classification of high-school pu- pils is largely determined by the course of study required for matriculation into the university. The following table, therefore, to a certain extent, indicates the trend of sec- ondary education in the province : Classification op High-School Pupils, 1867-'94. Composition and rhetoric. Poetical literature History Geography Arithmetic Algebra Euclid Trigonometry Physics Chemistry Botany Latin Greek French German Drawing Commercial subjects 1867. 1804. 4,091 23,360 23,416 4,634 23.269 5,264 23,418 5,526 22,404 2,841 23.253 1,847 20,569 141 1,353 1,876 7,335 840 4,880 6,088 5,171 9,366 802 1,080 2,164 10,530 2,785 676 14,827 1,283 15,101 From the above table it will be observed that English and English literature are receiving increased attention, partly by the addition of poetical literature to the course of study and partly by the expansion of the subjects of composition and rhetoric. Nor has the mathematical group of studies been neglected, as may be seen from the large increase in the number of pupils in algebra, Euclid, and trigonometry. A similar remark will apply to the science group, and particularly to the subjects of chemistry and botany. The desire to meet a popular de- mand for what is called a practical education (what that means it is hard to say) has led to the establishment of a 14 194 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. commercial course in high schools. This accounts for the large increase in the number of pupils in commercial subjects. The language group is somewhat influenced by the elective principle for matriculation, and therefore indicates to a certain extent the preferences of pupils and teachers. In 1867 ninety per cent of the whole at- tendance at the high schools of the province studied Latin ; in 1894 the number of Latin pupils was only forty per cent of the number in attendance. In 1867 fifteen per cent of the pupils studied Greek, and in 1894 only five per cent. In 1867 thirty-eight per cent of the pupils studied French and none studied German ; in 1894 these numbers had increased to forty-five per cent and twelve per cent respectively. Although the high-school course is necessarily taken by persons looking forward to a professional career, it is worthy of notice that many take the course for the sake of the intellectual culture which it provides. From the reports of high-school principals in the offices of the de- partment, it appears that since 1873 18,709 pupils have taken a high-school course with a view to prepare them- selves for mercantile life, and 14,486 left the high school for agricultural pursuits. As a test of the efficiency of the high schools it may be stated that in 1867, 56 pupils passed the matriculation ex- amination required by the university. In 1894, 482 pupils passed this test, while 1,990 obtained third-class literary standing at the departmental examinations, 1,147 sec- ond-class literary standing, and 302 first-class literary standing. The average salary of principals of high schools in 1895 was $1,065, and of principals of collegiate institutes 11,573. The highest salary paid in the whole province was $2,500. GROWTH OP THE ONTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. 195 Training of Teachers. — County model schools for the training of teachers of third-class literary standing were first established in 1877, and were attended that year by 1,146 teachers in training. The attendance increased to 1,834 in 1895, and the number of model schools from fifty to sixty. The average salary paid the principal of a model school is $844. The number of normal-school students has increased from 257 in 1877 to 442 in 1895, and the expenditure on normal schools, etc., from 125,780 to $52,668. The maximum salary of normal-school prin- cipals is $2,500, and of assistants is $2,000. The salaries -rid teachers in the model or practice schools attached to i;he provincial normal schools are graduated according to a scale determined by the Education Department. The first two years of service are considered probationary. At the end of this time an annual increase of $50 is allowed until the maximum fixed by the department is reached. For head masters the minimum is $1,300, and the maxi- mum $1,500 ; for head mistresses and male assistants the minimum is $1,000, and the maximum $1,200 ; for female assistants the minimum is $650, and the maximum $850 ; for directors of kindergartens, music masters, and drawing masters the minimum is $800, and the maximum $1,000. The principal of the Ontario Normal College (School of Pedagogy) is paid a salary of $3,000, and the vice prin- cipal $2,300 per annum. The number of teachers' institutes has increased from forty-two in 1877 to seventy-three in 1894, and the num- ber of teachers in attendance from 1,181 in the same year to 7,630, representing over ninety per cent of all the teach- ers of the province. The expenditure upon teachers' in- stitutes in 1894 was $6,527, of which sum $2,000 was spent on reference libraries. The directors of teachers' 196 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. institutes and the inspectors of model schools are each paid $1,850 annually and travelling expenses. Public Libraries. — The following table shows the number of public libraries in 1883 and 1895 : Number of public libraries Number of reading rooms Number of newspapers and periodicals.. Number of volumes in libraries Number of volumes issued Total receipts Total assets 1883. 03 59 1,540 154,093 251,920 159,716 $255,190 1895. 300 192 5,13« 604,719 1,087,806 $165,283 $752,426 Arbor Day. — The number of trees planted since the establishment of Arbor Day was as follows : In 1890 22,250 " 1891 15,697 " 1892 14,489 " 1893 14,103 " 1894 14,244 In 1885 38,940 " 1886 34,087 " 1887 25,057 " 1888 25,714 " 1889 21,281 Illiteracy. — From the decennial census of 1891 it ap- pears that the percentage of the population of the Province of Ontario over twenty years of age, able to write, was 90*4 ; able to write between ten and twenty years, 94'22, or a higher percentage than obtained in any of the other provinces. The criminal statistics, however, do not show any material reduction in crime, except in the arrests for drunkenness. Higher Education. — The progress of higher education, so far as high schools are concerned, has already been con- sidered. The effect of their growth on the provincial uni- versity and its affiliated institutions has been to broaden the course of instruction, to re-enforce the staff by addi- tional professors and lecturers in every department of GROWTH OF THE ONTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. I97 22,250 15,697 14,489 14,103 14,244 study, and to increase the attendance of students in a corresponding degree. In the academic year 1884-'85 the number of students taking an art course in the University of Toronto was 348 ; in 1895-'96 the number had increased to 875. In its affiliated institutions au equally gratifying increase has taken place in the number of students. Briefly summed up, it may be said that the school sys- tem of the Province of Ontario takes in hand the child of four years of age at the kindergarten, and watches over his education for a period varying from eighteen to twenty years, or practically to the close of his professional train- ing. If at the end of the public-school course he con- siders his education complete and goes no further, he finds himself reasonably well equipped for the duties of citizen- ship. If he pursues his studies until the end of the high- school course, he has acquired a wide knowledge of Eng- lish literature, science, and mathematics, and one or more foreign languages. If he has chosen for himself a profes- sional career, the provincial university, either through its own faculty or the faculties of affiliated institutions, offers him substantial facilities for achieving success and per- haps distinction in the profession of his choice. APPENDIX. Report on the Sanitary Condition of Rural Schools. In the autumn of 1895, searching inquiry was made hy the department, through the inspectors, with regard to the health of teachers and pupils, and the sanitary condi- tion of rural schools. As the inspectors were not able in the term to complete their inspection of all the rural schools, the report is incomplete. Nevertheless, it may be accepted as reasonably conclusive with regard to all matters to which it refers. The following schedule was filled up by the inspector on his visit to each school, from which the summary for his district was afterward made : Special Repoet on the Sanitary Condition of Rural Schools. Report on Teacher. Name of teacher : age ; years' experience ; would you consider teachers' health as excellent, good, or inferior ; number of days lost by illness in 1895 ; was illness caused by any schoolroom defect ; does teacher take luncheon in schoolroom ; has teacher any fixed rules for exercise ; does teacher go out of doors at recess ; at noon Report on Pupils, Number of boys present ; girls ; how many boys would you rate as in feeble health ; girls ; how many wear glasses ; how many of defective hear- ing ; how many are indifferent to games and play ; are pupils more easily managed in the forenoon or afternoon ; how many take luncheon in the schoolroom 198 APPENDIX. 199 ; what sports do boys favour. ; what sports do girls favour ; number of prop- erly organized sporting clubs among boys ; number of matches played by school in 1895 ; any epidemic among pupils in 1895 ; of what nature ; number who complain of headaches Report on Schoolkouse. Size of schoolhouse ; material , . ; are cubic contents sufficient for average attendance ; do. for enrolment ; has school building porch or ante- room ; when was schoolroom last whitewashed ; when was floor last scrubbed ; how often swept ; by whom swept ; what provision made by trustees for scrubbing and sweeping ; cost of ; are seats graduated in height ; are seats of good form and comfortable ; are rooms properly lighted ; are windows provided with blinds in good order ; are windows on weights ; any structural provision for ventilation j are stoves and pipes in good repair and cleanly Report on School Orounds. Is position of school site with respect to elevation of the ground, safety from malaria from swamps, and suitability for its purpose (having regard to the health and comfort of the pupils), excellent, good, bad ; is condition of fence excellent, good, or bad ; condition of gates excellent, good, or bad ; are proper walks made from gates to schoolhouse door ; are grounds level and dry and suitable for playgrounds ; number of shade trees that appear healthy ; number flower beds ; is well on the premises ; is it in a sanitary location and condition ; are there separate closets for the sexes ; how many screened ; how many have plank or gravel approaches ; are they regularly disinfected ; how often does teacher inspect them : in good condition at date of visit ; any woodshed ; area of grounds In connectioQ with the above schedule, instructicns, WiLLIAMSTOWN PUBLIC LIBRA 200 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. signed by the Minister of Education, were sent to inspect- tors as follows : " As several of the answers to the inquiries in the schedule sent herewith can not be conveniently tabulated, I shall feel greatly obliged if you will summarize your obser- vations upon the answers received in a few paragraphs sup- plementary to the statistical report. For instance, in your report on teachers I would like to have the general result of the information obtained with respect to the health of teachers, the effect of the schoolroom upon their powers of endurance, the ailments incident to the profession, and the care taken by teachers to maintain unimpaired their physical powers. I would like to ki.^w to what extent teachers suffer from the effects of bad ventilation or the unsanitary condition of the schoolroom, and if in your opinion there is any disease peculiar to the teaching pro- fession, such as myopia, or bronchitis, or phthisis, or any neurotic trouble which could be mitigated by greater care on their own part or on the part of the school au- thorities. It is important to know whether the conditions under which the teacher pursues his profession are as favourable to the full enjoyment of health as they should be, both for his own sake and for the proper discharge of the public service which he is called upon to per- form. " In answer to the questions with regard to pupils, I should also desire your opinion on a number of points. For instance, are spectacles more used by pupils now than they were ten years ago ? Do children show signs of spinal curvature or rounded shoulders, or any other physical de- fect which you think greater vigilance could prevent ? It is also important to study carefully the evil effects which overcrowding and bad ventilation have upon the pupils' kii»r'- APPENDIX. 201 powers of study, upon their temper, and their desire to enjoy themselves. My reference to games and sports is to draw out the teachers with regard to the development of those manly sports without which a boy's education even at an ordinary public school is incomplete. No teacher should neglect the organization of clubs for cricket, base- ball, football, etc. The training which a boy gets on the playground is just as useful as any part of his school course, not simply because it is healthful, but because it develops his self-control, his powers of self-defence, and his mettle in competing for the mastery in an honourable way over his fellows. " In reporting upon schoolhouses I would like to know particularly as to the arrangements made for sweeping, scrubbing, and whitewashing. I fear these elementary principles of cleanliness are very much neglected in many school sections. It is hard to realize what injury may accrue to pupils and teachers from the polluted dust with which the atmosphere of many schoolrooms is loaded. The seeds of such diseases as diphtheria, scarlet fever, typhoid fever, or consumption may through this medium be transferred to many a promising pupil and teacher, with the most disastrous results. " The examination of the school grounds is most im- portant. Are they tidy and well kept? Are they mud puddles in spring and fall, or are they well drained, and with proper walks ? Are they neatly fenced and planted with trees ? Are they large enough for playground pur- poses, or are the pupils obliged to play upon the highways, etc. ? But what is most important is the sanitary condi- tion of the closets. I fear there is an amount of neglect in this respect in many parts of the province that must react upon the morals as well as upon the health of many pupils. 202 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. Let there be no sparing this evil if it exists. Deal with it fully and fearlessly." The result of this inquiry is contained in the following statement : Summary Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Rural Schools of Ontario, 1895. Total number of schools reported 3,794 " " " rural schools in Ontario 4,749 The Teachers, Male teachers in schools inspected 1,763 Female teachers in schools inspected 2,297 Average age (male and female) 25*95 Average years' experience 4*6 Days lost by sickness 4,314 Cases of sickness chargeable to schoolroom 37 Number of teachers who take regular exercise 2,297 Health of teachers, excellent 2,271 " " " good 1,645 " " " inferior 141 The Schoolhouse. School rooms below regulations in cubic contents . . 490^ Number without porch 1,307 " " " or anteroom 769 Schools not whitewashed, 1895 1,820 Not scrubbed, 1895 265 Not swept daily 405 Number in which seats are defective 713 " without suitable or sufficient blinds 916 " '• windows on weights 2,613 " " structural ventilation 2,341 Stoves and fixtures in bad repair 352 Sohoolhouses, grade I 1,366 " TI 1,875 « '• III 613 APPENDIX. 203 490^ 1,307 769 1,820 265 405 713 916 2,613 2,341 352 1,866 1,875 613 The Pupils. Boys present 58,474 Girls " 60,707 Number who wear glasses 680 •* defective hearing 1,005 " apparently weakly 1,966 " who complain of headaches 4,981 •• indifferent to play 1,366 " who luncheon in school 92,001 Organized sporting clubs 316 Cases of epidemic diseases 919 The School Grounds. Schools on a sanitary site, excellent 80 " " " " good 1,317 " " " " inferior 257 Fences and gates, excellent 1,243 " " good 1,698 " " " inferior 824 Number with walks where required 1,552 " of growing shade trees 50,449 Wells in good condition 1,937 Number with separate closets 3,535 " not screened 2,343 " in good condition at date of visit 2,908 Woodsheds 2,459 Average area of grounds 62 acre School grounds, grade 1 1,228 " II 1,803 " " III 775 THE END. D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. New Volumes in the International Education Series. "T^HE SONGS AND MUSIC OF FROEBELS 2 MOTHER PLAY. Prepared and arranged by Susan E. Blow. Fully illustrated. Vcl. 32, International Education Series. i2nio. Cloth, $1.50. This is the second and concluding volume of Miss Blow's version of Froebel's noted work which laid the foundation for that important branch of early education, the kindergarten. The first volume, " The Mottoes and Commentaries," may be desig- nated as the Teacher's or Mother's book, and " The Songs and Music," the present volume, as the Children's book. In the latter many of the pictuies have been enlarged in parts to bring out the details more distinctly. New translations are made of the songs, eliminating the crudities of poetic composition that have appeared in the literal imitations of Froebel, and new music is substituted where the original has been discarded. 'T^HE MOTTOES AND COMMENTARIES OF I FRIEDRICH FROEBEL S MOTHER PLA Y. " Mother Communings and Mottoes" rendered into English verse by Henrietta R. Eliot, and " Prose Commentaries " translated by Susan E. Blow. With 48 full-page Illustrations, izmo. Cloth, $1.50. The increased interest in kinderc^arten work and the demand for a clearer exposition of Froebel's philosophy than has heretofore appeared have made a new version of the " Mother Plav " an imperative necessity. No one is better equipped for such a work than Miss Blow, as her late book, "Symbolic Education," has attested. It is an attractive volume of a convenient size, and a book of specific value to mothers as v/ell as to teachers of every grade. It will be followed shortly by another volume contain- ing the songs and games. PRIEDRICH FROEBEL'S PEDAGOGICS OF I THE KINDERGARTEN ; or, His Ideas concerning the Play and Playthings of the Child. Translated by Josephine Jarvis. i2mo. Cloth, $1.50. This book holds the keynote of the " New Education," and will assist many in a correct comprehension of the true principles underlying the practical outcome of Froe- bel's thought. Although extant for ncariy fifty years, his ideas are still in need of elucidation, and the average kindergartner and primary-school teacher grasps but a superficial meaning of the methods suggested. y^HE PSYCHOLOGY OF NUMBER, and Us J. Application to Methods of Teaching Arithmetic. By James A. McLrllan, a. M., LL. D., Principal of the Ontario School of Pedagogy, Toronto, and John Dewey, Ph. D., Head Pro- fessor of Philosophy in the University of Chicago. i2mo. Cloth, $1.50. It is believed that this work will supply a special want. There is no subject taught in the elementary schools that taxes the teacher's resources as to methods and devices to a greater extent than arithmetic, and none that is more dangerous to the pupil in the way of deadening his mind and arresting its development, if bad method are used. "The authors of this book have presented in an admirable manner the psychological view of number, and shown its applications to the correct methods of teaching the several arithmetical processes. New York : D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. Recent Volumes of the International Scientific Series. OVEMENT. By E. J. Makey, Member of the Institute and of the Academy of Medicine ; Professor at the College of France ; author of *^' Animal Mechanism." Trans- lated by Eric Pritchard, M. A. With 20o Illustrations. Vol. 73, International Scientific Series. i2mo. Cloth, $1.75. M Tlie present work describes the methods employed in the extended development of photography of moving objects attained in the last few years, and shows the importance of such researches in mechanics and other departments of physics, the fine arts, physi- ology and zodlogy, and in regulating the walking or marching oi men and the gait of horses. R ACE AND LANGUAGE. By Andr^ Lefevre, Professor in the Anthropological School, Paris. i2mo. Cloth, $1.50. " A most scholarly exposition of the evolutio account of the Indo-European group of tongues." "A welcome contribution to the study of the obscure and complicated subject with which it deals." — San Francisco Chromcle. " One of the few scientific works which promise to become popular, both with those who read for instruction anr^ those who read for recreation." — Philadelphia Item. of language, and a comprehensive Boston Advertiser, M. AN AND THE GLACIAL PERIOD. By G. Frederick Wright, D. D., LL. D., author of " The Ice Age in North America," " Logic of Christian Evidences," etc. With numerous Illustrations. i2mo. Cloth, $1.75. " Theauthor is himself an independent student and thinker, whose competence and authority are undisputed."— AVw York Sun. " It may be described in a word as the best summary of scientific conclusions con- cerning the question of mnn's antiquity as affected by his known relations to geological iaac."— Philadelphia Press. H ANDBOOK OF GREEK AND LATIN PA- L/EOGRAPH Y. By Edward Maunde Thompson, D. C, L., Principal Librarian of the British Museum. With numerous Illustrations. i2mo. Cloth, $2.co. " Mr. Thompson, as principal librarian of the British Museum, has of course had very exceptional advantages for preparing liis book. . . . Probably all teachers of the classics, as well as specialists in palzography, will find something of value in this sys- tematic treatise upon a rather unusual and difficult study." — Review of Re7>iev.f/(7« Advertiser. HE STORY OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. By G. F. Chambers, F. R. A. S. T T IN PREPARATION. 'J^HE STORY OF ELECTRICITY. By John -* Munro, C. E. 'J^HE STORY OF A PIECE OF COAL. By E. -* A. Martin. New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue. D. APPLETON & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. THE STORY OF THE WEST SERIES. Edited by Ripley Hitchcock. "There is a vast extent of territory lying between the Missouri River and the Pacific coast which has barely been skimmed over so far. That the conditions of life therein are undergoing changes little short of marvelous will be understood when one recalls the fact that the first white male child born in Kansas is still living there; and Kansas is by no means one of the newer States. Revolutionary indeed has been the upturning of the old condition of affairs, and little remains thereof, and less will remain as each year goes by, until presently there will be only tradition of the Sioux and Comanchcs, the cowboy life, the wild horse, and the antelope. Histories, many of them, have been written about the Western country alluded to, but most if not practically all by oiitsiassing away." nd libraries of story none the regard it as a s, e of the nctual ith the various croaching civ- lism or hostile assing life." — i with the story acquaintance d with a high to understand aiNN. enue. AirfMki'n'