LB 
 2805 
 
 School flrJTTiini f.- 
 
 Southern Branch 
 of the 
 
 University of California 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
 Form L I 
 
 LB 
 2805 
 P95
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below 
 
 ' FEB 2 5 1925 
 
 *^^^ 6 1926 
 ^^ 2 I92g-
 
 tl
 
 ' 7 
 
 SCHOOL IDilllSTRlTlOl 
 
 including the 
 
 Organization and Supervision 
 of Schools 
 
 by 
 
 John T. Prince, Ph. D. 
 
 Author of Courses of Studies and Methods of Teaching ; Methods 
 of Instruction and Organization of the Schools of Germany, etc. 
 
 / (a ^ ^ ^ 
 
 SYRACUSE, N. Y. 
 
 C. W. BARDEEN, Publisher 
 
 Copyright, 1906, by C. W. Bardeen 
 
 7^ o v. J^o 7
 
 PREFACE 
 
 American conditions do not seem to favor an easy, 
 simple and effective administration of schools. Among 
 the adverse conditions existing in many places are: (1) 
 an overpowering sentiment in favor of local self- 
 government and a strong opposition to centralization of 
 , any kind; (2) a non-recognition by the people of the need 
 V of professional knowledge and skill in carrying on the 
 V3 schools; (3) a tendency to adopt political methods in 
 vN) the election of school officials as well as in matters 
 of school control; (4) the comparatively short terms of 
 ""■^ administrative offices and the frequent changes of 
 membership in them; (5) the large extent of sparsely 
 V. inhabited regions and the consequent difficulties of 
 school attendance and classification; and (6) the dif- 
 ference of financial ability in the various sections of a 
 ^ State and the variety of needs to be met. Such condi- 
 "\ tions as these are likely to foster mistakes of adminis- 
 \ tration which can be avoided only by the greatest care 
 
 ^ 
 
 and effort. 
 
 Among the mistakes of school administration act- 
 ually existing in this country may be mentioned first 
 the tendency of over organization in which the atten- 
 tion of the workers is turned away from the product to 
 the machinery which turns it out. Again there is the 
 other extreme of a lack of organization by which the 
 time and effort of school officials are wasted. But 
 more frequently perhaps than all else is the loose or- 
 ganization by which the duties of school officials over- 
 lap one another, frequently resulting in confusion and 
 friction of a serious kind. 
 
 In matters of school supervision also there is the 
 same tendency to extremes of practice which exists in
 
 vi Preface 
 
 school organization — the over-supervision on the one 
 hand which takes away the original freedom and orig- 
 inality of the teachers, and the absence of supervision 
 on the other which gives an opportunity for teachers to 
 carry out in questionable ways the lowest ends of edu- 
 cation and which gives no encouragement or support 
 to teachers who are striving to attain the highest ends. 
 
 It is difficulties like these which this book is intend- 
 ed to meet. It is not expected that theories of admin- 
 istration can be applied everywhere exactly as they are 
 here given; but it is hoped that their presentation 
 will be of substantial assistance to members of 
 School Boards, Superintendents and Principals of 
 schools, as well as to professional students of educa- 
 tion in Colleges and Normal Schools. 
 
 It should be said that many of the recommeded 
 plans and outlines are simply a transcript of existing 
 practices. Full credit, however , could not be given in 
 all cases because of the changes in them which were 
 thought desirable to make and because of the fact that 
 in a few instances the authorship was unknown.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTEE PAGE 
 
 I The Nature and Source of School Organi- 
 zation 1 
 
 II Legislative Provisions respecting the Organ- 
 ization of Schools 6 
 
 III State Administration of Schools 21 
 
 IV City and Town Administration of Schools.. 32 
 V District and County Administration of 
 
 Schools 52 
 
 VI The Superintendent as Organizer 59 
 
 VII The Superintendent as Supervisor 150 
 
 VIII The Superintendent and Community Inter- 
 ests 181 
 
 IX The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 187 
 
 X The Teacher as Organizer 202 
 
 XI Schools for Defectives and Delinquents 220 
 
 Xir Records and Reports 226 
 
 APPENDIXES 
 
 A The Evolution of School Supervision 247 
 
 B The Supervision of Rural Schools 265 
 
 C Consolidation of Rural Schools 272 
 
 D School Revenues and their Distribution 283 
 
 E Special Schools and Classes 290 
 
 E School Hygiene 298 
 
 G General Plan of Studies for Elementary 
 
 Schools 361 
 
 H Plans of Studies for High Schools 404
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 / c^s z^ 
 
 THE NATURE AND SOURCE OF SCHOOL ORGANI- 
 ZATION 
 
 The organs comprising a system of educa- 
 tion are the essential means or instruments by 
 which the work of education is done — the or- 
 ganization becoming more and more complex as 
 the system extends in function or in the number tion. 
 of pupils reached. A school of one pupil with 
 one subject of instruction must have its organi- 
 zation no less than a system of many schools 
 with a large number of subjects. The place 
 and means of instruction must be provided even 
 though they be only Garfield's well-known log 
 with a teacher at one end of it. The reach 
 from such an organization to the organization 
 needed for a city system is very great, and yet 
 in these extremes of conditions and in all the in- 
 termediate points, a choice of means must be 
 made; and it will be found that that organiza- 
 tion is most effective in which each part or The most 
 organ is best suited to perform its particular ^'^^^^^^f or- 
 function with reference to all other functions "' 
 and the result to be reached. 
 
 Before considering the functions of these 
 organs or what the organs should be, it may be 
 
 1
 
 ScJiOol Organization arid Supervision 
 
 Protection of 
 schools 
 against parti- 
 sanship and 
 sectarianism. 
 
 The adjust- 
 ment of local 
 and central au- 
 thority. 
 
 well to refer briefly to the power which lies be- 
 hind the organization and which is alike its 
 source and defence. This power is the will of 
 the people as expressed in the constitution and 
 laws of the state. In the constitution there 
 should be a recognition of the necessity of main- 
 taining free schools, and provision should be 
 made to protect them from the debasement of 
 partisanship and sectarianism. The statutes 
 should go further by designating certain condi- 
 tions and means for the establishment and 
 maintenance of the schools. In the creation of 
 offices and in the authorization of official func- 
 tions the utmost wisdom is needed. The foster- 
 ing of the people's interest in the schools and the 
 protection of their rights will warrant the plac- 
 ing of a large measure of power and responsi- 
 bility directly into their hands and into the 
 hands of local boards. 
 
 On the other hand the protection of the 
 schools from neglect and mistakes occasioned by 
 indifference or ignorance on the part of those 
 most directly concerned will require some cen- 
 tralization of power, either by restrictive legis- 
 lation or by the giving of authority to a central 
 board or commission. To what extent general 
 laws should be made in matters of education and 
 how the powers conferred upon local and state 
 authorities should be adjusted are difficult ques- 
 tions and can be determined only by principles 
 of wise government and by a careful considera- 
 tion of circumstances. 
 
 It should be borne in mind that the influence
 
 Nature and Source of School Organization 3 
 
 of illiteracy or of poor schools extends beyond 
 the circle immediately concerned. What affects 
 for ill one part of the state affects to a greater or 
 less extent all other parts. If therefore a large 
 majority of people are desirous of maintaining a 
 high degree of intelligence throughout the state 
 they are justified, in the interests of the state 
 and of all the children in it, in making condi- 
 tions to which the minority must conform. For 
 this reason the state rightfully establishes a 
 standard of educational opportunity for children 
 which must be met by every town ; and lest some 
 of the towns may be too heavily burdened in 
 meeting the requirements, the state should pro- 
 vide for such equalization of taxation as will Equalization 
 enable all towns with reasonable effort to comply °* educational 
 with the provisions of the law. To carry out andTaxation 
 these beneficent ends there must be provided by 
 law an organization both of official functions 
 and of material means. Such an organization 
 involves questions of the adjustment of central 
 and local powers which are as difficult of solu- 
 tion as they are important. 
 
 Among the advantages of influential centrali- 
 zation in education may be mentioned (1) the 
 certainty of maintaining a high standard of ex- 
 cellence in the schools of all parts of the state 
 (2) the prevention of sudden changes of policy due 
 to local jealousies or to the ignorance of local offi- of centraiiza- 
 cials (3) needed assistance in determining the tion. 
 curriculum and in making a course of studies 
 (4) the securing of uniformly good attendance 
 of pupils throughout the state.
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Advantages of 
 decentraliza- 
 tion. 
 
 Constant 
 changes in 
 systems of 
 education. 
 
 The advantages of centralization are positive 
 and apparent, but they are no more positive and 
 apparent than are the advantages of giving a 
 large degree of responsibility and power directly 
 to the people or of what is sometimes called de- 
 centralization. The chief of these advantages 
 are (1) the encouragement of individual interest 
 and effort in behalf of the schools on the part of 
 the people (2) the ready adaptation of means to 
 the peculiar needs of given localities (3) the op- 
 portunity for a healthy and progressive rivalry 
 among communities (4) the stimulus to personal 
 exertion and professional skill on the part of 
 teachers and supervisors. 
 
 It is to be expected that the organization of 
 any new system of schools will partake some- 
 what of the character of existing civil condi- 
 tions, and that modifications in the direction of 
 centralization or decentralization will be made 
 as the needs and the intelligence of the people de- 
 mand them. Thus it is that the systems of edu- 
 cation in Europe are highly centralized but are 
 changing slowly in the direction of placing the 
 schools in the control of the people. In this 
 country there is a great variety of practice, j In 
 some sections the direction and support of ihe 
 schools are largely under state control, while in 
 other sections a large share of their control and 
 financial support devolves upon the municipality. 
 As might be expected, a constant change is going 
 on in the administration of the schools of all 
 sections — some of the states changing in the di- 
 rection of local control and support and others
 
 Nature and Source of School Organization 5 
 
 in the direction of ceDtralization, These changes 
 will doubtless go on until a fair balance of gen- 
 eral and local control is reached, when, it may 
 be supposed, the forms and conditions of school 
 administration throughout the country will be 
 alike in many important respects.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 A suificient 
 number of 
 schools re- 
 quired by law. 
 
 LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS RESPECTING THE OR- 
 GANIZATION OF SCHOOLS 
 
 The following brief outline embraces the main 
 features of legislative provisions needed for the 
 establishment of a system of schools in which 
 a large measure of power- is given to the people 
 subject to some needed restrictive conditions: 
 
 1. The maintenance in every town and city -of a suffi- 
 cient number of elementary schools for all the children 
 of a certain school age and for a given time in the year ; 
 and the maintenance of high schools in cities and large 
 towns. 
 
 The general requirement of a "sufficient 
 number of schools" seems wiser than that of 
 designating the distance beyond which pupils 
 may not be obliged to walk or ride to school, 
 inasmuch as what might be regarded as a rea- 
 sonable distance under some conditions would be 
 under other conditions quite unreasonable. A 
 distance limit also might preclude towns from 
 furnishing free conveyance of children to the 
 schools as is provided in several states.* 
 
 The term " sufficient number of schools " also 
 has reference to efficiency as well as to con- 
 
 * For a statement as to the desirability of con- 
 solidating the schools and for suggestions relat- 
 ing to means and method of consolidation, see 
 Appendix C.
 
 Legislative Provisions for Organization of Schools 7 
 
 venience. For the protection of the schools it 
 
 may be found necessary to designate by law a 
 
 maximum number of pupils for each teacher. 
 
 Some countries and states have made such a 
 
 limit, but the number in a few cases has been 
 
 placed so high as to set a wrong standard for com- "^^^^ number 
 ... 1-1 jj.i_ -J J.- £ of pupils to a 
 
 mumties which regard the consideration or econo- teacher 
 my more than that of the children's welfare. In 
 some instances also the legal hmit is ignored in 
 practice. It is very important in this as well as 
 in other educational matters that the legal re- 
 quirements be kept not greatly in advance of 
 public sentiment. 
 
 The time during which schools should be re- 
 quired to be maintained will depend somewhat 15 tune ve- 
 
 ^ '■ quiiement of 
 
 upon circumstances, but 8 months would seem scho ma^^- 
 to be the least time for which any state should tenau. 
 require the schools to be kept in the year. 
 Similiar reasons for an indefiniteness of state- 
 ment may be urged respecting the legal period 
 of compulsory school attendance. A reasonable 
 regard for the welfare of the children however 
 would warrant the state's requiring 6 years at 
 least of attendance upon the schools all the time 
 they are in session.* 
 
 * The compulsory school attendance laws vary 
 considerably in the United States. In most of 
 the 30 states having compulsory laws children 
 from 8 to 14 years of age are required to attend 
 school for 12, 16 or 20 weeks during each year. 
 In some of the states the required time for school 
 attendance is greater — thus in Colorado, Penn- 
 sylvania, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and 
 Minnesota the required time for school attend-
 
 8 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 High schools 
 to be estab- 
 lished by law. 
 
 In addition to the requirements respecting ele- 
 mentary schools, there should be provision made 
 by law for the establishment of high schools. 
 That such schools should be free and within 
 reach of all the children in a republic like ours 
 is coming to be regarded as wise and, for many 
 parts of the country, as feasible. They may be 
 required to be maintained in certain accessible 
 centres or they may be required in all cities and 
 in towns of a given size. The studies required 
 to be taught may be designated or there may be 
 a provision that the schools shall prepare pupils 
 for entrance to college or the higher technical 
 schools.* 
 
 ance is from 8 to 16 years of age with some ex- 
 ceptions during the last 2 years. In Massachu- 
 setts and New York children of compulsory age 
 are required to attend school all the time the 
 schools are in session and the schools must be 
 in session 32 weeks. In Germany children 
 are, with some limitations, obliged to attend 
 school for 7 and 8 years after the age of 6. In 
 France the compulsory age is from 6 to 13, and 
 in England it is from 5 to 14, For further de- 
 tails respecting school attendance in this and 
 foreign countries see Hughes's "The Making of 
 Citizens", pp. 134-141. 
 
 * In Massachusetts such high schools are re- 
 quired to be maintained in all cities and towns 
 containiag 500 families, and provision is made 
 for the children of other towns to attend some 
 high school at the expense either of the town in 
 which they live or of the state. 
 
 Several of the central and western states have 
 provided by law for county high schools to be
 
 Legislative Provisions for Organization of Schools 9 
 
 2. The maintenance of schools for the care and edu- 
 cation of habitual school absentees, of juvenile offenders, 
 and of abnormal or defective children who cannot be 
 cared for in the ordinary public schools. 
 
 Compulsory school attendance implies an obli- 
 gation on the part of the state to make suitable J^^ ^ainte- 
 provision for habitual violators of the law, either schools for 
 by placing the absentees in good homes or by school absen- 
 establishing truant or parental schools. These *^^^- 
 schools should be situated in convenient localities 
 and be under the control and care of the state.* 
 
 Other schools should be established for those 
 morally delinquent and physically defective chil- 
 dren who cannot be educated in the ordinary 
 
 supported and controlled by the county. In New 
 York tuition in high schools of non- resident pu- 
 pils from schools not maintaining an academic 
 department is paid by the state, at the rate of 
 $20 for 32 weeks. In Nebraska the law permits 
 pupils of country towns to attend an existing 
 high school and provides for tuition fees at fixed 
 rates to be paid by the county in which they re- 
 side. In Minnesota state aid is given to city 
 high schools, approved by state educational au- 
 thorities upon condition of providing free tuition. 
 For information relating to free high schools for 
 rural pupils see report of the Commissioner of 
 Education for 1899-1900, p. 643. 
 
 * There seem to be good reasons for keeping 
 all reformatory and penal institutions in the care 
 of the state. Possible exceptions may be those 
 institutions which are supported by large cities 
 mainly for their own benefit. In any case they 
 should be in charge of unpaid boards or com- 
 missions, with paid executive agents.
 
 10 Schook Organization and Supervision 
 
 Schools of re- 
 formation and 
 special schools 
 for defectives. 
 
 The function 
 of state board 
 of education 
 advisory. 
 
 public schools, such as juvenile offenders, blind, 
 deaf, and feeble-minded. Attendance at these 
 schools, as in the case of normal children, should 
 be compulsory for all children of a certain age 
 whose education is not otherAvise provided for. 
 Such schools should be entirely separate, from 
 truant schools and from the ordinary public 
 schools, and should be so organized and conducted 
 that the fullest benefits to all concerned may be 
 secured. * 
 
 3. The estahlisJiment of a state board of education 
 and the designation of its powers and duties. 
 
 The powers and duties devolving upon the 
 state board should be very general so far as its 
 administration of the schools is concerned. In 
 all matters pertaining to the direct management 
 of the schools its function should be mainly 
 advisory rather than directive. Through its 
 executive officers it should lead and guide the 
 educational sentiment of the state and be ready 
 to shape such legislation as will be needed to 
 promote the greatest efficiency of effort in be- 
 half of the schools, t 
 
 In the composition of the state board, as well 
 as in the method by which its members are se- 
 lected, much latitude may be given in the statute 
 
 * A fuller treatment of this subject will be 
 found in Chapter VI, under the heading of 
 "Special Schools and Classes" — also in Appen- 
 dix E. 
 
 t For details respecting the duties of the state 
 board of education and its executive officers see 
 Chapter III.
 
 Legislative Provisions for Organization of Schools 11 
 
 requirements. The desirability of having the 
 
 affairs of education removed as far as possible 
 
 from politics would favor the appointment of 
 
 members by the governor rather than election by ' 
 
 the legislature or people. And to secure the 
 
 needed knowledge and continuity of service, the 
 
 term of office of members should be at least four 
 
 years in length. If the board has, as it should ^^^^bersbip of 
 
 , .■ nri T , , . State board 
 
 have, executive omcers who act as experts m ^nd term of 
 educational matters, it need not and perhaps office. 
 should not be composed of professional teachers. 
 This restriction will be especially apparent in the 
 case of teachers in institutions which are under 
 the charge of the board. There are good reasons 
 for having upon the board one or more members 
 of the state executive department. The number 
 of appointed members should be small, perhaps 
 not more than five. Better attendance at meet- 
 ings will be secured and a greater degree of re- 
 sponsibility will be felt in a small board than in 
 a large one.* 
 
 * Tn Prussia and other states of Germany the 
 general board consists of skilled men to whom 
 large powers are given. They are appointed by 
 the minister of instruction, who is a member of 
 the government. In France the general board 
 or council also consists of educational leaders 
 endowed with large powers; they are variously 
 appointed, some by the president of the Repub- 
 lic and some by officials of educational institu- 
 tions. In the composition of state boards in 
 this country there is a great variety of practice, 
 some of the boards consisting chiefly or wholly 
 of professional teachers, some of designated 
 officials, and some of all classes of citizens. In
 
 12 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 4- The establishment of a local board for each town 
 and city, with some provision to meet the needs of coun- 
 try districts or small toivns. 
 
 The question of organization respecting; the 
 local school boards has mainly to do with the 
 manner of selection, number of members, and 
 term of office of members. 
 
 First as to the selection of members. Shall 
 they be elected by the people, by the city or town 
 council, or ^j the executive? No doubt has 
 been raised in this country either in practice or 
 in theory as to the advisability of the popular 
 
 states where members of the board are not des- 
 ignated by law, they are either elected for a term 
 of years by the general assembly or appointed 
 by the governor. In Michigan 3 members are 
 elected by the people. In New York all state 
 education is in the hands of a board of regents of 
 the University of the State of New York, con- 
 sisting of 1 1 members elected by the legislature 
 on joint ballot, each for a term of 1 1 years, one 
 retiring each year. The following examples 
 serve as types of practice followed in the various 
 states : 
 
 Indiana : Board composed of governor, state 
 superintendent, president of state universiy, 
 president of Purdue university, president of 
 state normal school, and superintendents of the 
 three largest cities of the state. 
 
 Massachusetts : Board composed of governor, 
 heutenant-governor, and 8 persons appoilated by 
 the governor, one retiring each year. 
 
 Connecticut : Board composed of the governor, 
 lieutenant-governor, and 4- persons elected by the 
 general ssembly.
 
 Legislative Provisions for Organization of Schoo Is 13 
 
 election of members in rural communities or 
 small towns. But the arguments in favor of 
 popular elections in such communities are equally- 
 strong in all. The public schools are the schools Members of 
 of the public, that is of the people; and the local school 
 .people should be trusted in the control of their f^iJ^te^j ^„ the 
 schools to the extent at least of electing proper people. 
 persons to manage them. For special reasons 
 the administrative board should be given large 
 powers — in fact almost unlimited powers in all 
 questions of management. The largeness of their 
 powers and the direct interest the people have 
 in the schools will induce the people to make a 
 careful selection. While in some communities 
 there may be possible dangers attending a pop- 
 ular election of members, the dangers in the long 
 run of taking it out of the hands of the people 
 and of placing it in the hands of a single person 
 or commission are far more likely to be realized. 
 
 The tendency in recent years to reduce the 
 number of members of tlie board and increase g,^^j^|| i^oavfl.? 
 their term of service is noticeable, A board of desirable. 
 3, 5, or 7 persons is likely to represent the best 
 sentiment of the community quite as well as a 
 larger one. Moreover the members of a small 
 board are likely to be more carefully selected 
 than those of a large one. 
 
 The responsible and intricate duties of local 
 school boards render it advisable to make the 
 term of service for which members are elected 
 n long one. Three years is not too long a time 
 for members to acquire a good knowledge of the 
 needs of the schools and of the means of meeting
 
 14 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 The term of 
 service of 
 school boards. 
 
 Eligibility of 
 members. 
 
 The organiza- 
 tion of county 
 boards. 
 
 them. It seems also advisable that the terms 
 of service of the members shall Dot expire at 
 the same time. It would be well for the length 
 of the term and the time of election to be such as 
 will obhge only a third of the members to retire 
 in any one year. By this plan at least three 
 years would be required to effect an entire 
 change of membership by ordinary elections. 
 A further provision should be made that no 
 teacher shall be eligible for membership on any 
 school board which elects him to his position as 
 teacher or which fixes his salary. 
 
 To meet the needs of rural schools where the 
 county is the unit area of organization, laws 
 should be passed enabhng them to have privileges 
 as nearly equal to those of villages and cities as 
 possible. Provision for the election of a county 
 board should be made which shall have jurisdic- 
 tion over all the schools of the county. This board 
 may be elected and organized in a manner simi- 
 lar to that of the town boards already alluded to, 
 and it may have essentially the same duties.-^ 
 
 5. Provision for the appointment of snch officers and 
 teachers as will be needed to secure regular attendance 
 of children upon the schools, to insure the health of 
 tlie pupils, and to raise the schools to the highest pos- 
 sible degree of efficiency. 
 
 Compulsory laws of school attendance presup- 
 pose the existence of the means of their execu- 
 tion. Chief among these means are properly 
 
 * For the details of a possible plan of county 
 organization for the supervision of schools see 
 Chapter IV. Also Appendix B.
 
 Local and state 
 
 Legislative Provisions for Organization of Schools 15 
 
 appointed attendance officers to look after those 
 pupils who are, without good reason, absent 
 from school. In addition to attendance officers 
 appointed by local boards there should be one or 
 more state attendance officers appointed by the 
 state board of education whose duty will be to offlcers~to"be^ 
 see that the compulsory attendance laws are en- appoiuted. 
 forced. This will be especially needed in coun- 
 try districts where the obstacles to the enforce- 
 ment of attendance laws are the greatest. 
 
 The practice which prevails in many cities of 
 appointing health officers for schools should be 
 extended so as to include by law all the schools 
 of the state. It should be required of the school 
 board in every city and town to appoint one or 
 more health officers whose duty will be to inspect ^^ ,^^ ^ 
 
 •^ '■ Health officers 
 
 the physical condition of the pupils and to pro- to be appoint- 
 vide not only for the prevention of disease but ed. 
 also for the promotion of health among them. 
 
 Such provision should be made by law as will 
 insure for all the schools the best possible service 
 both in teaching and in supervision. A mini- 
 mum of qualifications for teachers should be qualifications 
 designated by the state board of education, and of teachers to 
 provision should be made whereby each local ^^ designated. 
 board in making a selection of teachers may 
 select from candidates only those whose character 
 and ability are unquestioned. 
 
 The school board of each city and large town 
 should be required to elect a superintendent of skilled super- 
 schools, of given scholastic and professional qual- intendents of 
 ifications. For the smaller towns district super- '^f ^'""'f *^ ^® 
 vision which has worked so well in some states
 
 16 
 
 School Organization and Sujiervision 
 
 School super- 
 vision in small 
 towns. 
 
 County [super- 
 intendents. 
 
 Subjects of 
 study to be 
 designated by 
 law. 
 
 might well be made a requirement of statute law. 
 The essential features of such a plan might be 
 as follows : 
 
 (1) Two or more towns to unite for purposes 
 of supervision, the valuation of each town not 
 to exceed a certain sum and the aggregate num- 
 ber of schools in all the towns to be witliin given 
 limits. 
 
 (2) The formation of district limits to be 
 made by the state board of education. 
 
 (3) The superintendent to be elected by the 
 combined boards in such a way as to protect the 
 interests of each town and with designated limi- 
 tations of choice, 
 
 (4) Provision for such aid from the state as 
 will be needed to pay the superintendent's salary. 
 
 In states where the district plan of supervision 
 is not feasible, one or more county superintend- 
 ents should be appointed by the county board, 
 with certain limitations as to number of schools, 
 qualifications, etc.* 
 
 6. The designation of subjects to be taught in the 
 schools. 
 
 The required subjects to be taught in the ele- 
 mentary schools should be language (including 
 reading, spelling, penmanship, composition, writ- 
 ing and English grammar), arithmetic, geogra- 
 phy, elementary science, physiology and hygiene. 
 School boards should be free to provide for the 
 teaching of any subject not required to be taught, 
 
 * For possible plans of district and county su- 
 pervision see Chapter Y and Appendix B.
 
 Provisions for 
 liigli schools. 
 
 Legis lative Provisions for Organization of Schoo Is 1 7 
 
 but certain desirable subjects may be named 
 in the law as optional, such as geometry, alge- 
 bra, industrial training and a foreign language.* 
 
 In the law for the establishment of high 
 schools there should be provisions which will in- 
 sure a certain degree of efficiency. These provis- 
 ions may include fitness of teachers, subjects of 
 instruction, and length of course, f 
 
 7. Provision for the financial support of the schools. 
 
 There is no part of school legislation more 
 difficult to formulate than that relating to taxa- l^'^i^uities in 
 tion for the support of schools, especially in schools. 
 states where the wealth is unequally distributed 
 and where other conditions of school mainte- 
 nance are widely different. Not only is the mat- 
 ter of equalization of taxation to be considered, 
 but the question of how far local support of the 
 
 * For details concerning the curriculum in this 
 and foreign countries see Chapter VI and Ap- 
 pendix G. 
 
 t In the Massachusetts high schools, teachers 
 of " competent ability and good morals " are re- 
 quired to give instruction in such subjects "as 
 may be required for the general purpose of train- 
 ing and culture as well as for the purpose of 
 preparing pupils for admission to state normal 
 schools, technical schools, and colleges. " These 
 schools are required to maintain one or more 
 courses of study at least 4 years in length 40 
 weeks in each year. The requirement to maintain 
 high schools is made of all cities and tow'ns hav- 
 ing 500 families. Towns having fewer than 500 
 families are to permit qualified pupils to attend 
 high schools in other towns, the tuition for the 
 same to be paid in whole or part by the state.
 
 18 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Two methods 
 of distributing 
 school fuuds. 
 
 Importance of 
 local taxation 
 for support of 
 schools. 
 
 schools is Decessar\" to a proper public spirit in 
 relation to education and to the prevention of 
 a weakening dependence upon the state on ac- 
 count of benefits received. 
 
 General laws of taxation for the support of 
 schools and distribution of funds are found to 
 proceed either from the municipality to the state 
 or vice versa. For example the law may provide 
 as it does in some states that a certain sum per 
 pupil or per school shall be raised by local taxa- 
 tion, with the understanding that the balance 
 needed for the support of the schools shall be 
 drawn either from an established fund or from 
 funds raised by general or state tax. Or as in 
 other states the law may provide that each 
 municipality shall receive a certain sum per 
 pupil or per teacher from the state with the un- 
 derstanding that the balance needed shall be 
 raised by local taxation. 
 
 Again, it is assumed in some states that the 
 more wealthy municipalities while sharing in 
 the general or state tax are not in need of aid 
 and therefore ought not to receive any return 
 whatever from the state ; that is, these cities and 
 towns provide means not only for the support 
 of their own schools but also in some degree for 
 the support of the schools in other and less 
 favored localities. 
 
 Whatever scheme of state assistance is adopt- 
 ed, the importance of local taxation for the sup- 
 port of schools should be considered. The moral 
 support which a community gives to the schools 
 will be largely measured by the financial support
 
 Legislative Provisions for Organization of Schools 19 
 
 it gives. Where schools are wholly or largely 
 supported by local taxation, there will be found 
 a strong public interest and pride in the schools 
 whatever their real merit may be. 
 
 It is true that in many countries like Germany 
 where education is supported largely by the 
 state good schools abound. Indeed it may be 
 said that the schools are likely to be more uni- 
 formly good in such countries and states than in 
 countries and states which force each commun- 
 ' ity to support its schools ; but in a country like 
 ours founded upon the idea of local self govern- 
 ment it is fitting that the central treasury shall 
 be used only when the given locality becomes 
 unable to maintain the standard necessary for 
 the good of all. In the long run too it is prob- 
 able that the schools of a country will be best 
 whose support as well as control is largely in 
 the hands of those who are directly benefited. 
 
 In any plan of local taxation for either the 
 entire or partial support of schools there is likely Equalization 
 to be some inequality in the burden assumed, of taxation 
 If it is assumed, as it should be, that all the needed, 
 children of a state ought to have as far as possi- 
 ble equal opportunities, it must be admitted that 
 the burden of support ought to be uniform so far 
 as it can be made so throughout the state. The 
 most just and equitable plan would be for a special 
 commission to give careful consideration to the 
 conditions and needs of every city and town, 
 and to provide that each municipality pay toward 
 the support of its schools a sum in proportion to 
 its ability to pay and with reference to its other
 
 20 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 needs, the state paying the balance needed to 
 bring the schools up to the required standard. 
 Even this plan could not be carried out without 
 difficulty; for whatever adjustments the com- 
 mission might make, they would l)e subject to 
 criticism by jealous communities.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 STATE ADMINISTRATION OF SCHOOLS 
 
 The laws of a state relating to the establish- 
 ment and maintenance of public schools must rpj^^ duties of 
 be administered by designated boards or officials, locai school 
 As has been said the most orderly method of boards. 
 administration is through boards as far removed 
 as possible from the influence of politics. The 
 work of these boards of administration may be 
 classed as legislative, executive, and supervisory ; 
 legislative, in establishing schools and providing 
 for their maintenance by directions and rules 
 governing the duties of all concerned in the 
 management of the schools; executive, in carry- 
 ing into effect the directions and rules of legis- 
 lation; and supervisory, in overseeing, advising, 
 and directing the work of the schools. 
 
 In a certain sense the schools may be said to 
 be town or city schools, but in reality they are ^^^^,^10^3 ^f 
 state schools so long as they are established and local and state 
 maintained under the laws of the state. For administration. 
 the purpose of securing the direct interest of the 
 people, a large measure of the responsibility for 
 maintaining good schools should rest upon the 
 municipality. While there should be little cen- 
 trahzed authority in the state, there are some 
 functions which can best be perfoimed by a 
 general or state board of education, assisted by 
 such executive and supervisory officers as may 
 be needed. 
 
 21
 
 22 School Organization and ^Supervision 
 
 Present duties 
 of state boards 
 of education 
 
 Reasons for 
 and against 
 centralization. 
 
 State board of (Mlucation.— Among the duties 
 now devolving upon state boards of education 
 in this countiy may be named the following: 
 
 (1) having general charge of educational in- 
 terests in the state 
 
 (2) appointing^ the state superintendent of 
 schools 
 
 (3) appointing county superintendents of 
 schools 
 
 (4) having charge of state normal schools 
 
 (5) prescribing course of studies for the public 
 schools 
 
 (6) granting licenses to teachers 
 
 (7) prescribing text-books 
 
 ('>) recommending text-books and reference 
 books 
 
 (9) settling controversies between school officers 
 
 (10) having control of state funds 
 
 (11) commissioning high schools to send pupils 
 to the state university 
 
 (12) preparing blank forms for the use of 
 towns 
 
 (13) hearing appeals. 
 
 The duties as outlined above may be divided 
 broadly into two classes, those that are general 
 and those that are special and technical. An- 
 other and closer view of the prescribed duties 
 shows that to some boards are given judicial and 
 legislative functions, while others have only 
 supervisory or advisory duties to perform. 
 
 If it is assumed that local boards cannot 
 wisely control such matters as the selection of 
 text-books, making courses of studies, and the
 
 State Administration of Schools 23 
 
 licensing of teachers, or if a full and prompt 
 enforcement of the laws cannot be secured by 
 the local authorities, or again if centralized 
 authority in respect to the securing of high 
 standards of education is more to be trusted 
 than the direct will of the people, then a large 
 measure of authority and close direction or 
 supervision of the duties named should be ex- 
 ercised by the state board. But these assump- 
 tions cannot be fairly made. Certainly the 
 principle should not be maintained in a republic 
 that the people in either educational or political 
 affairs cannot be trusted. It is true that the 
 peoj)le themselves may decide that, for certain 
 reasons, some measure of centralization in edu- 
 cational affairs should be maintained, as in the 
 designation of a certain standard of proficiency 
 in the maintenance of schools. The question 
 is how far this centralization of power should go. 
 The following statement (^f powers and duties 
 of a state board may fairly represent the medium The proper 
 of two kinds of practice in this country. It is powers and 
 
 , , , T , , 1 , , . duties of a state 
 
 an attempt also to show what prerogatives may i,Q^y^ ^f edu- 
 be exercised by the state board in its assistance cation. 
 of city and town boards without unduly impair- 
 ing their responsibility and authority.* 
 
 * The two states which represent the extremes 
 of power given to the state board of education 
 and its chief executive officers are perhaps Cali- 
 fornia and Massachusetts. In California the 
 state board 
 
 (a) adopts rules and regulations for the gov- 
 ernment of the public schools
 
 Full control of 
 state educa- 
 tional institu- 
 tions. 
 
 24 ScJiool Organization and Supervision 
 
 1. Full control of the normal schools and other edu- 
 cational institutions supported wholly by the state. 
 
 The function of the normal school is to train 
 teachers needed for service in the public schools. 
 Owing to the peculiar service that the teachers 
 render the state and to the small remuneration 
 that they receive compared with members of 
 other professions, it is the custom generally for 
 the state to furnish free tuition to all normal 
 school students. To direct the expenditure of 
 money thus involved and to establish in a cer- 
 tain way the kind of qualifications needed for 
 teachers of the public schools are functions 
 which naturally fall upon the state board of 
 education. 
 
 " Other educational institutions "referred to as 
 properly subject to the control of the state board 
 are the schools for the bhnd, deaf and dumb, 
 feeble-minded, etc. Also schools for juvenile 
 offenders and truant schools. 
 
 (6) makes rules and establishes a standard of 
 proficiency for the examination of teachers 
 
 (c) prescribes course of study and text-books 
 
 (d) grants life licenses to teachers on recom- 
 mendation of the board of education and may 
 revoke the same. 
 
 In Massachusetts but little direct authority is 
 given to the state board bryond having full 
 charge of the normal schools, holding in trust 
 gifts and bequests made for educational purposes, 
 prescribing the form of school registers and re- 
 turns, holding teachers institutes, and certificat- 
 ing superintendents of union districts.
 
 State Adnmiistration of Schools 25 
 
 £. A partial or advisory control of all educational 
 institutions supported in part by the state. 
 
 This provision applies to private institutions 
 in which the education of children and adults is Partial control 
 carried on at the expense of the state, such as ^ ^"^^^*'! ^ 
 
 '■ ucational m- 
 
 normal schools, reformatories, and schools for stitutions. 
 defectives. The form in which the control is 
 effected should depend upon circumstances. In 
 some cases one or more persons appointed by the 
 board of education might serve upon the board 
 of managers. In other cases the state's inter- 
 ests might be best served by inspection and re- 
 ports made by one or more of the executive 
 officials of the board of education. 
 
 3. The designation of a minimum of qualifications 
 for all the teachers of the public schools. 
 
 If it is true as has been affirmed that " what 
 affects for ill one part of the state affects to a 
 greater or less extent all other parts," and if 
 there is general indifference or unwillingness ^^ minimum 
 in some portions of the state to provide good qualifications, 
 teachers, then there should be fixed a minimum to be deslg- 
 of qualifications for all the teachers of the state, ^ated. 
 There are some good reasons why a minimum 
 of qualifications should be established by the 
 state board of education rather than by statute 
 law. In the first place the standard of qualifi- 
 cations when set by a board is likely to be higher 
 than when determined by law. Moreover adapta- 
 tion to the changing needs of given communities 
 may be made to a greater degree by a board 
 than by a legislature. 
 
 There are two ways of fixing the qualifica-
 
 26 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 tioDS of teachers (1) by setting forth what the 
 quahfications shall be, as for example gradua- 
 tion from certain institutions; (2) by examining 
 all candidates and decreeing that all teachers 
 selected by towns and cities must have received 
 a certificate of one or another grade.'- 
 
 4.- Nomination of county or district superintendents of 
 schools who are supported in full or in part by the 
 state. 
 
 Experience has shown that in the election of 
 l^omination of superintendents as well as in the election of 
 
 county and dis- , , , • , • i •. -. , 
 
 trict superin- teachers some restrictions should be put upon 
 teudents. the action of the local boards which elect. This 
 
 restriction is especially needed when the salary 
 of the superintendent, in whole or in part, is 
 paid by the state. For each vacancy in the 
 office of such superintendent the state board 
 may be required to make one or more nomina- 
 tions for the action of the local board, or the 
 election may be made from a general list of 
 candidates approved by the state board. + 
 
 * In many of the states teachers are required 
 to pass a state or county examination, but in 
 nearly every case the standard set is quite too 
 low; so low that it is not a difficult matter for 
 teachers to secure positions on other grounds 
 than those of merit. In Massachusetts local 
 certificates only are required; but in this state 
 more than two-thirds of the teachers of elemen- 
 tary schools have been professionally trained 
 either in a state normal school or in a city train- 
 ing school. About the same proportion of sec- 
 ondary school teachers are college graduates. 
 
 t In New Jersey, Mississippi, and Virginia the 
 county superintendent is appointed by the state
 
 State Administration of Schools 27 
 
 5. The appointifnent of one or more state attendance 
 officers who shall act in conjunction with local officials 
 in enforcing school attendance laws. 
 
 In many places doubtless the local attendance 
 or truant officers may be trusted to enforce the Appointment 
 school attendance laws of the state; but there of state attend- 
 are some places of which that cannot be said. ^^"^^ officers. 
 Even in the law-abiding towns there are likely 
 to exist circumstances in which the loc^al officers 
 need the support and co-operation of a state 
 official who can act independent of local consid- 
 erations. 
 
 6. The making and sending out of school registers 
 and other statistical blanks so as to secure a uniform 
 basis of statistics. 
 
 The need of uniformity in the making of sta- 
 tistics is unquestioned, and this can be gained Preparation of 
 only by the use of uniform blanks throughout ^j^^l^^^^ 
 the state. The information called for should be 
 limited to the needs of those who desire to make 
 a comparison of conditions upon which the wel- 
 
 board of education. In most states the office is 
 elective, with meagre educational prerequisites to 
 eligibility. 
 
 In Massachusetts the superintendents of union 
 districts are elected by a joint committee of local 
 boards, but their qualifications are determined by 
 the state board of education. 
 
 In New York the school commissioners, who 
 correspond to the county superintendents of 
 other states and whose salaries are paid by the 
 state, are elected by the people, without restric- 
 tion as to qualification, and hence the office is 
 often regarded as a political gift.
 
 28 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Report to leg- 
 islature. 
 
 The awaken- 
 ing of public 
 interest in ed- 
 ucation. 
 
 fare of the schools depends. It would be well if 
 a common form of statistics could be agreed 
 upon for the entire country. In another place 
 will be found an outline of school statistics care- 
 fully prepared by a committee of the National 
 Educational association,* 
 
 7. The rendering of a report to the legislature re- 
 specting the condition and needs of the public schools 
 of the state and of all other educational institidions sup- 
 ported in full or in part by the state. 
 
 Such a report should contain tables of statis- 
 tics gathered from the various towns and cities, 
 together with such comparisons and comments 
 as will be both suggestive and helpful to all con- 
 cerned in the welfare of the schools. It should 
 also contain reports of inspectors and others 
 authorized to give actual educational conditions 
 and results. 
 
 8. The awakening of a strong public sentiment among 
 the people in favor of popular education and tJie ren- 
 dering of wise counsel in maintaining the schools on a 
 high standard of excellence. 
 
 The history of education in this country shows 
 the futility of making laws that are not sup- 
 ported by pubhc opinion. It can be shown also 
 by experience that the welfare of the schools is 
 directly promoted by an enlightened public sen- 
 timent as to the purposes and means of educa- 
 tion. 
 
 9. The appointment of a chief executive officer and 
 such assistants as are needed to carry out the policy of 
 the board. 
 
 Appendix D,
 
 State Administration of Schools 29 
 
 The board of education should be an unpaid 
 board, and its members cannot therefore be ex- ^^^ ^i?Y>oint- 
 
 ment of execu- 
 
 pecied to give more tmie to their duties than tive officers, 
 will be needed for legislation. The executive 
 details and the settlement of questions directly 
 relating to teaching must be in the hands of 
 persons whose time is given wholl}^ to this work. 
 
 State siiperintendt^nt of schools — Much of what 
 may be said'in relation to the mode of appoint- 
 ment, term of service, and duties of a state 
 superintendent has already been referred to. 
 The reasons named for removing the appoint- 
 ment and functions of the state board of educa- 
 tion as far as possible from the influence of poli- 
 tics are even more potent in relation to the ex- 
 ecutive officer of the board. It is plainly un- 
 wise to make the office a foot-ball for politicians, 
 either in a popular election or in an election by 
 the legislature. As has been said he should be esaesu- 
 
 ^ permteiideut 
 
 appointed by the board, and, since it is wise to an appointed 
 separate the legislative and executive functions official, 
 of the board, he should not be a member of it. 
 His term of service should be sufficiently long to 
 enable him to acquire wisdom in the formula- 
 tion and carrying out of plans, and his tenure 
 of office should be so secure as to make him free "^^^ supcnu- 
 and independent in the discharge of his duties, .mj teum-e of 
 After a trial service of a definite term he should ^^^^^<^'^- 
 be elected during the pleasure of the board. 
 
 His duties may be inferred from the duties 
 already enumerated as belonging to the board. 
 Such of these duties as need careful direction or 
 professional knowledge will be performed by
 
 30 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Powers and 
 duties of the 
 state superin- 
 tendent. 
 
 him. In general it may be said that all the 
 details of functions belonging to the board are 
 to be performed either by the superintendent 
 directly or under his direction — the duty of the 
 board being chiefly to pass upon the acts of the 
 superintendent. 
 
 He should be a man of liberal education and 
 large experience as an educator and have a strong 
 and exalted personality. Such assistance should 
 be afforded him in his executive and clerical du- 
 ties as will give him the largest opportunity to 
 impress upon the schools of the state his ideas of 
 what they should be. This he v^rill do by attend- 
 ance upon and participation in county and other 
 educational meetings, by educational addresses 
 before the people, by teachers' institutes, in 
 v^hich the aid of the most advanced lecturers 
 and instructors is had, by advice to local school 
 boards and superintendents in their work, and 
 by visits to the state normal schools. 
 
 In all this work he should be aided by able as- 
 sistants who will act with him under the direc- 
 tion of the board. 
 
 Besides advising the state board in respect to 
 its action as a board and carrying out its require- 
 ments in relation to all state educational insti- 
 tutions, he has constantly to act in directing and 
 regulating matters relating to the school census, 
 registers, etc., in tabulating and reporting the 
 results of official inquirers, in advising the legis- 
 lature as to the making of new laws and the 
 changing of old ones, in answering personally 
 and by letter inquiries in relation to the inter-
 
 State Administration of Schools 31 
 
 pretation and enforcement of school laws, in at- 
 tending and addressing educational meetings, 
 and in arousing among the people by addresses 
 and reports a public sentiment in favor of the 
 schools. If it is found advisable to provide for 
 the state examination and certification of teach- 
 ers, that duty so far as dn^ection is concerned 
 must devolve upon him, or upon some one ap- 
 pointed for the purpose." 
 
 * The present system of New York is in this re- 
 spect noteworthy. The non-political and perma- 
 nent board of regents (see page 12) elects as its 
 executive officer a commissioner of education for 
 a term of 6 years with a salary of $9,000. He 
 appoints three assistant commissioners with 
 salaries of 15,000 and heads of departments at 
 salaries of $3,000 to $4,000, subject to the ap- 
 proval of the board of regents. These assistant 
 commissioners and heads of departments appoint 
 their subordinates subject to the approval of the 
 commissioner. Thus each officer has permanent 
 appointment, with all needed power and re- 
 sponsibility.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Two distinct 
 classes of du- 
 ties in school 
 administration 
 
 CITY AND TOWN ADMINISTRATION OF SCHOOLS 
 
 The organization of a model system of schools 
 rests upon the assumption that the most active, 
 direct, and resi)onsible management must be 
 local rather than centralized. To each city and 
 town belongs the duty of keeping the schools 
 up to as high a degree of excellence as possible, 
 and this must be done not directly by the people 
 but by persons duly elected for the purpose. 
 
 The local school board. — The definition of gen- 
 eral administrative functions given elsewhere* 
 may be applied with special force to the duties 
 of local boards. These legislative, executive, 
 and supervisory functions belong to two quite 
 different and distinct classes of duties — one 
 class relating to financial and otljer business 
 matters and the other class having to do with 
 matters which, because of their technical char- 
 acter, may be called professional. For the good 
 of the schools it is very important that there be 
 a wise designation of duties among all who are 
 employed in their service. This may be secured 
 by carefully drawn rules stating what duties shall 
 be performed by the board collectively, what by 
 individual members or sub-committees of the 
 board, and what by appointed officials. 
 
 *Page 21, 
 
 33
 
 City and Town Administration of Schools 33 
 
 The wisdom of a separation of functions in 
 civil government is unquestioned. This separa- 
 tion seems all the more imperative when the 
 duties involved are as technical as some of the 
 duties of school administration are. The exact 
 line of separation is doubtless difficult to define 
 in some cases, but in general it may be said that 
 the board should have general charge and super- 
 vision of the schools, and that upon it as a board 
 must rest the responsibihty of making such pro- 
 visions as will give a reasonable assurance of 
 good results. 
 
 Before an attempt is made to determine what 
 duties if any the school board shall have outside 
 of the general legislative duties already men- 
 tioned, it may be well to point out in detail the 
 duties which must be performed in efficiently 
 carrying on the work of the schools; these nec- 
 essary duties are 
 
 (1) keeping in repair the school buildings 
 
 (2) providing for adequate ventilation and gcj^ooi^a^^^ 
 lighting of the school-rooms istration out- 
 
 (3) purchasing of fuel lined. 
 
 (4) purchasing and keeping in repair the school 
 furniture 
 
 (5) caring for the school-rooms and grounds 
 
 (6) selecting and purchasing the needed appa- 
 ratus 
 
 (7) selecting and purchasing the needed text- 
 books and reference books 
 
 (8) making a course of studies 
 
 (9) appointing truant officers and otherwise
 
 34 
 
 School Organization and Supervison 
 
 Needed limita- 
 tions of the 
 powers of 
 school boards. 
 
 providing for an enforcement of the law relating 
 to school attendance 
 
 (10) appointing the teachprs 
 
 (11) inspecting and directing the work of the 
 teachers 
 
 (12) classifying and promoting the pupils 
 
 (13) making statistical and other reports to the 
 state board of education and to the citizens of 
 the town or city. 
 
 In determining which if any of the details of 
 these duties may be performed directly by the 
 board, two limitations naturally present them- 
 selves : first, that of a lack of time which mem- 
 bers can give to minute supervisory and execu- 
 tive duties; and, secondly, that of inability to 
 perform those duties which require professional 
 knowledge and skill. It must be assumed that 
 the chief attention and time of members must 
 be given to their vocation, whatever it is, and 
 that only such scraps of time may be given to 
 their official duties as can be spared from the 
 farm, factory, or counting-room. It is of course 
 conceivable for members to be employed in some 
 of the executive details of school administra- 
 tion, such as janitor service, repairing buildings, 
 and purchasing supplies. But even in this ser- 
 vice the questionableness of having a member or 
 sub-committee serve as both principal and agent 
 will readily appear, especially if compensation 
 is received for service rendered. 
 
 The second limitation named, that of unfit- 
 ness of the members to perform the details of 
 administration, applies to those duties which are
 
 City and Town Administration of Schools 35 
 
 professional iu character. Strange to say this 
 limitation does not so readily appear as does the 
 first, especially to newly elected members of a „ . . 
 
 ^ ir J J Professional 
 
 board. It is only at a comparatively recent date supervision 
 that the function of professional or skilled super- needed, 
 vision has been to any degree recognized in this 
 country as essential or even helpful to the wel- 
 fare of the schools.* In the centralized school 
 systems of Europe, particularly those of Ger- ' 
 many, France and England, professional super- 
 vision is as fully established as is professional 
 teaching; while in those parts of our own coun- 
 try where the greatest progress in education has 
 been made, the supervision of the schools has 
 been changed from that of non- professional 
 school boards to that of superintendents elected 
 for their ability to organize the schools and direct 
 the work of the teachers. 
 
 Besides the superintendent of schools there 
 should be employed by the board several execu- Executive 
 tive officials, whose duties so far as they bear officials of the 
 directly upon the work of the schools should be board. 
 under the direction of the superintendent. 
 These officials are a business manager, a physi- 
 cal director, one or more attendance officers, and 
 one or more medical inspectors, f 
 
 The advisability of the appointment of special 
 supervisors, such as supervisors of primary 
 grades, of drawing, of music, and of physical 
 
 * For a brief history of supervision and for 
 plans of organization see Appendix A. 
 
 t Medical inspectors may be appointed by the 
 local board of health. See Appendix F.
 
 36 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 The appoint- 
 ment of special 
 supervisors not 
 always desir- 
 able. 
 
 Duties of the 
 
 physical 
 
 director. 
 
 training, will depend upon circumstances. In 
 a large system of independent schools or in 
 a system of schools of any size in which a 
 large proportion of the teachers are untrained, 
 a special direction of work upon lines indicated 
 above seems desirable. But where there are 
 competent supervising principals and where the 
 teachers are trained as they should be, the direc- 
 tion of work by special supervisors is not neces- 
 sary or even advisable. There is such a thing as 
 too much supervision of work, especially of the 
 work of intelligent well-trained teachers. Such 
 teachers need to have a large degree of freedom 
 in carrying on their work, and abundant oppor- 
 tunity to correlate their teaching in all the sub- 
 jects of the school. 
 
 If upon any one hne or department of subjects 
 special supervision is necessary to the highest 
 efficiency, it is found in connection with the phy- 
 sical welfare of the pupils. For want of a bet- 
 ter term to designate the official who will assume 
 this service, that of physical director is named. 
 His duties will be to see that the hygienic con- 
 ditions of the schools are what they should be, 
 and that the work and play of each individual 
 pupil are such as will secure for him the highest 
 degree of health, grace, and strength. In small 
 systems of schools he may also perform the du- 
 ties usually performed by a medical inspector. 
 
 Secretary of the board. — The secretary may 
 or may not be a member of the board. His 
 duties should be those ordinarily performed by 
 such an official, such as recording the proceed-
 
 City and Town Administration of Schools 37 
 
 ings of the board in a permanent record book, 
 calling special meetings, notifying members of ^"**^^ ^^ *^® 
 the board of. all meetings, notifying each execu- 
 tive officer and each member of a committee of 
 his appointment, preserving files of communica- 
 tions and documents belonging to the board, fur- 
 nishing all teachers appointed by the board with 
 certificates of their qualifications and appoint- 
 ment, and preparing school returns called for by 
 the national Bureau of Education or state board 
 of education. 
 
 Sub-committees. — There is a tendency in most 
 school boards to make the number of sub-com- 
 mittees unduly great. The rule should be fol- 
 lowed of having sub-committees only for busi- 
 ness which cannot be well done by the full Fewsub-com- 
 board, and which it is not wise to leave fully in mittees needed. 
 the hands of the superintendent or any other 
 executive officer. A committee on finance may 
 be necessary to approve bills and audit the ac- 
 counts ; also to recommend appropriations from 
 carefully made estimates. A committee on 
 school-houses should have in charge all matters * 
 relating to the erection and alteration of school- 
 houses ; such a committee might also nominate 
 the janitors and supervise their work. A com- 
 mittee on furniture and supplies should have in 
 charge the purchase, change, and alteration of 
 school furniture; also the purchase, care, and 
 distribution of all supplies, including text-books, 
 reference books, stationery, etc. A committee 
 on text- books and course of studies should pass 
 in review the recommendations of the superin-
 
 38 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 The necessity 
 of clearly de- 
 fined duties. 
 
 Construction 
 and care of 
 buildings. 
 
 tendent respecting text-books and the course of 
 studies, and report to the board. 
 
 It is beheved that to the above-ilamed com- 
 mittees all business may be committed that can- 
 not be performed by the executive officers of the 
 board or by special committees. Certainly no 
 sub-committee should be appointed which will 
 in any way arrogate to itself duties or functions 
 which belong to the superintendent or any other 
 executive officer. These officials ought to be 
 held responsible for the efficient performance of 
 certain clearly defined duties, and in such per- 
 formance there should be no divided responsi- 
 bility. 
 
 The superintendent of schools. — The superin- 
 tendent is the chief executive and advisory officer 
 of the board, employed as an expert in matters 
 pertaining to the teaching and training of chil- 
 dren. The division line already hinted at be- 
 tween the duties of such an expert and those of 
 the board and other officials should be clearly 
 defined, in the interests both of economy and of 
 the welfare of the schools. 
 
 In the construction, permanent repairs, and 
 care of school buildings there is needed profes- 
 sional advice which relates to the convenience of 
 the school and the health of the pupils. This 
 advice should be given by the superintendent, 
 matters of detail being left to others. 
 
 In matters of equipment, which includes every- 
 thing that is needed to carry on the schools, the 
 superintendent's advice should be given respect- 
 ing the kind and quantity desired. So far as
 
 City and Town Administration of Schools 39 
 
 furniture and furnishings are concerned, his ad- 
 vice may or may not be followed by the board; School equip- 
 but in respect to text and reference books the ^^^ ' 
 prerogative of the superintendent should extend 
 so far as to make it impossible for any books to 
 be selected in opposition to his recommendation. 
 Needed apparatus and ordinary supplies should 
 be ordered under the direction of the superin- 
 tendent, either by the teachers or by an agent 
 appointed for the purpose. Their distribution 
 should be provided for in other ways than by 
 the superintendent's personal care. It is poor 
 economy to give the work of an expressman or 
 errand boy to a highly paid official. In country 
 districts, however, where the schools are far 
 apart, some of the work of distribution may be 
 done by the superintendent with little loss of 
 time on his part. 
 
 In all the work of supervision, no greater degree 
 of technical or professional work is needed any- course of 
 where than in the making of a course of studies, studies. 
 and the superintendent alone should do it, or be 
 responsible for it. For reasons of protection 
 against possible contingencies, the course should 
 be ratified by the board, but no additions or 
 omissions should be made without the superin- 
 tendent's sanction. The course of studies is to 
 teaching what the mariner's chart is to naviga- 
 tion, and no unprofessional hand^should tamper 
 with it. 
 
 Full power should be given to the superintend- 
 ent to nominate teachers, and, when elected, to 
 assign them to the schools in which they are to
 
 40 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Nomination 
 and direction 
 of teachers. 
 
 Suspension 
 and dismissal 
 of teachers. 
 
 Classification 
 and promotion 
 of pupils. 
 
 teach. Power also should be given him to fill 
 temporary vacancies by substitute teachers. 
 He should inspect and examine the schools fre- 
 quently, and make such suggestions to teachers 
 concerning teaching and disciphne as will assist 
 them in their work. These suggestions may be 
 made to teachers individually or to them collect- 
 ively in teachers' meetings, which he should have 
 power to call. Sometimes the suggestions will 
 need to be made by class recitations conducted 
 by the superintendent or by some one whom he 
 appoints. 
 
 The function of suspending and dismissing 
 teachers, as well as of electing them, should be 
 performed by the school board upon recom- 
 mendation of the superintendent. Good rea- 
 sons are assigned for giving the power to sus- 
 pend and dismiss teachers to the superintend- 
 ent ; but the reasons for withholding that power 
 from him and for putting it alone in the 
 hands of the committee are strong enough, at 
 least, to make doubtful the policy of the as- 
 sumption by the superintendent of the full power 
 either to suspend or dismiss teachers. 
 
 By a knowledge of pupils gained through in- 
 spection and examination and by the advice of 
 teachers, he should arrange for the proper classi- 
 fication and promotion of pupils. For such im- 
 portant functions he alone should be responsible. 
 Only in this way can be avoided the mistakes of 
 the varying standards of teachers' judgment 
 on the one hand, and of the pressure upon school 
 boards for unmerited promotions on the other.
 
 City and Town Administration of Schools 41 
 
 Wise plans should be made by the superintend- 
 ent for the placing of each pupil at any time 
 where he can do the most for himself. 
 
 Aid through counsel and active support should 
 be given by the superintendent to the school 
 committee, teachers, and attendance officers for School attend- 
 the securing of punctual and regular attendance ^^^^' 
 of pupils at school. He should promptly report 
 all violations of the law relating to school at- 
 tendance and help in its proper enforcement. 
 For the possible protection of the superintendent 
 from thoughtless attacks of offended parties, 
 the school board should assume the responsi- 
 bility for the enforcement of any rule relating 
 to excuses for absence and the suspension or 
 dismissal of pupils. 
 
 The superintendent's duty to the people and 
 patrons of the schools cannot be set forth in 
 formal phrase. By all ways in his power he is 
 to keep up an enlightened public sentiment in .^j^'Jj mtrons 
 regard to the schools, and to aid in fostering a 
 cordial co-operation on the part of all who have 
 any part in their maintenance. By reports, pub: 
 lie addesses, parents' conferences, newspaper 
 articles and private conversation he is honestly 
 and fearlessly to tell the truth as to the needs of 
 the schools and express the hopes and plans he 
 has for their improvement. 
 
 In circumstances where the superintendent 
 cannot attend to details, as in cities or large 
 areas of schools, he may delegate certain duties 
 to principals of schools or other teachers, hold- 
 ing them to the same responsibility which he
 
 42 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Details to be 
 delegated. 
 
 Character of 
 rules needed. 
 
 Rules to be 
 adopted gov- 
 erning the 
 powers and 
 duties of the su- 
 perintendent. 
 
 assumes to the school board. In a system 
 of schools which requires much clerical work, 
 that work should be done by a clerk, so as to 
 allow the superintendent all the time possible for 
 professional duties. To avoid any misunder- 
 standing, carefully prepared rules should be 
 adopted by the board, defining the duties of 
 the superintendent in all important features of 
 his work, and giving him the largest freedom 
 consistent with a proper recognition of the rights 
 and responsibilities of the school board. 
 
 The following rules embody recommendations 
 and suggestions relating to the duties of a super- 
 intendent of schools. They may serve as a basis 
 for the rules of school boards which are will- 
 ing to put so large a part of the direct work of 
 the schools in the hands of the superintendent. 
 
 RULES RELATING TO THE DUTIES OF THE SUPER- 
 INTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 
 
 1. General powers. — It is the province of the 
 superintendent to manage and direct the work 
 of instruction and training in the schools, and 
 to advise in all other matters which have any 
 relation to such work. 
 
 2. School buildings. — In all work of construc- 
 tion and alteration of school buildings the super- 
 intendent shall advise respecting matters which 
 relate to the convenience of the school and 
 health of the pupils. 
 
 3. School equipment. — He shall advise as to 
 the kind and quantity of furniture and furnish- 
 ings needed for each school. He shall also recom- 
 mend all text-books and reference books that
 
 City and Town Administration of Schools 4:3 
 
 are needed, and no book shall be selected by the 
 board in opposition to his recommendation. 
 Apparatus and ordinary supplies within the ap- 
 propriation made by the board for that purpose 
 may be ordered under his direction as they are 
 needed. 
 
 4-. Course of studies. — He shall prepare and 
 recommend to the board for adoption a course of 
 studies for the schools, and any changes that he 
 may from time to time deem advisable. No 
 course of studies or any part of a course shall be 
 adopted without the sanction of the superin- 
 tendent. 
 
 5. Teachers. — It shall be the prerogative of 
 the superintendent to recommend suitable per- 
 sons for positions as teachers, and the board 
 shall elect no teacher not recommended by the 
 superintendent. He shall assign to places all 
 teachers elected by the board, and transfer teach- 
 ers from one school to another whenever in his 
 opinion such transfer will secure greater effi- 
 ciency in the schools. 
 
 He shall fill all vacancies occasioned by the 
 absence of teachers, and recommend to the 
 board the suspension or dismissal of any teacher, 
 whenever in his judgment such suspension or 
 dismissal is necessary for the good of the schools. 
 
 He shall inspect and examine the schools fre- 
 quently, and make such suggestions to teachers 
 as will assist them in their work. He shall at 
 proper times hold meetings of teachers for a dis- 
 cussion of the principles and methods of school 
 work, and shall at his discretion give permis-
 
 4:4: School Organization and Supervision 
 
 siou to teachers to attend teachers' conventions 
 or institutes and to visit schools. 
 
 6. Pupils. — The superintendent shall arrange 
 for the proper classification and promotion of 
 pupils, with the sole object of placing each pupil 
 at any time where he can do the most for him- 
 self. He shall excuse any pupil from pursuing 
 one or more subjects of study and from attend- 
 ing school a portion of the time, whenever in 
 his judgment the best interests of the pupil are 
 served by such action. He shall pass judgment 
 in the case of suspended pupils, either returning 
 them to the schools or reporting them to the 
 school board, with such recommendations as he 
 may see fit to make. 
 
 7. Meetings of the hoard. — He shall attend all 
 meetings of the board, and have the privilege of 
 speaking upon any question before it, but not of 
 voting. Opportunity shall be given him at each 
 regular meeting to make a report upon the con- 
 dition of the schools, and to present recommen- 
 dations for its action. 
 
 It will be observed that the foreging rules do 
 not refer to the minor details of the superintend- 
 ent's duties, such as keeping needed records of his 
 office, ringing the bell for no session of the 
 schools, and providing for the transfer of pupils. 
 Nor are those duties mentioned which he is re- 
 quired bv law to do, such as excusing cases of 
 
 of supermten- ", „ i -, -, • ■ ^ ^ 
 
 (jgQt. necessary absence from school and signmg school 
 
 attendance blanks. All these and other duties 
 are either understood or may be defined at any 
 time by special vote of the board. Moreover, 
 
 Other duties
 
 City and Town Administration of Schools 45 
 
 the proposed rules do not hedge him about with 
 requirements and restrictions as to the precise 
 manner in which he shall spend his time. 
 The rules should be made upon the presumption 
 that the superintendent is a person of ability, 
 common sense, and integrity. If he is wanting 
 in any one of these necessary virtues, no rules 
 will make him what he ought to be, and no 
 rules ought to be necessary to show to the com- 
 mittee his unfitness for the work. 
 
 The question may be raised whether the pow- 
 ers and duties of a superintendent of schools, as School super- 
 outlined above, fairly or fully meet the needs of ^.j^igg 
 supervision in the large cities. It has been as- 
 sumed in recent years that such cities present 
 difficulties which cannot be met by means ordi- 
 narily used in smaller cities. So strong is this 
 feeling in some cities, that a radical change of 
 school administration is advocated by earnest 
 reformers. 
 
 No doubt the form of the superintendent's 
 work should vary somewhat with the number of 
 schools he has to care for; but it is a serious 
 question whether the great extent of his work 
 should lessen the professional character of it. 
 "With the assistance that ought to be given, and 
 conditions of freedom from politics, there is no 
 more reason why a superintendent of a large 
 system of schools should be engrossed in unpro- 
 fessional administrative details than the super- 
 intendent of a small system. The chief differ- 
 ence lies in the amount of work delegated to 
 others. There is needed the same professional
 
 46 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Professional 
 supervision 
 needed for ali 
 
 A business 
 manager 
 needed in 
 cities and 
 large towns. 
 
 knowledge to properly direct the work in both 
 positions, and the responsibility, though differing 
 in amount, does not materially differ in kind. 
 
 With a v^ery small system of schools the 
 superintendent personally directs the teachers 
 and attends to the few needed matters of busi- 
 ness. In a small city system he should have 
 the aid of a clerk to attend to business details, 
 and supervising princpals and special teachers 
 to whom he can delegate certain supervisory 
 duties. In a larger system he should, in addi- 
 tion to these helpers, have one or more assistant 
 superintendents to whose charge certain grades 
 or kinds of work should be committed. In all 
 these relations the superintendent ought to have 
 a clear professional policy, and see that it is car- 
 ried out. It is believed, therefore, that the func- 
 tions here defined might well be exercised by 
 superintendents in any system of schools. 
 They at least may serve as a basis or guide for 
 that division of functions and responsibilities 
 between a school board and the superintendent 
 which is necessary to harmonious relations and 
 the most effective service. 
 
 Business manager. — As has been said, the 
 superintendent in rural towns may to a limited 
 extent attend to small matters of business, such 
 as buying and distributing needed school sup- 
 plies and looking after the care of the buildings. 
 In such towns also the school board may very 
 properly put certain local matters of business, like 
 attending to repairs and furnishing supplies, 
 into the hands of individual members; but in
 
 City and Town Administration of Schools 47 
 
 the cities and larger towns these and other busi- 
 ness matters should be performed by a responsi- 
 ble person known as agent or business manager. 
 The duties assigned should not be such as will 
 in any degree conflict with the duties of other 
 officials or in any way defer giving attention to 
 immediate needs. Among the duties belonging 
 to such an official might be 
 
 (1) attending to all needed repairs of buildings 
 
 (2) purchasing, distributing and caring for all 
 books, apparatus and other supplies furnished 
 for the use of the schools 
 
 (3) keeping all necessary accounts 
 
 (4) supervising and directing the work of jani- 
 tors 
 
 (5) preparing the pay-rolls of all persons regu- 
 larly employed by the board 
 
 (6) attending to all matters relating to the tui- 
 tion of out of town pupils 
 
 (7) taking the school census required by law. 
 Some of these duties will be performed under 
 
 the direction of the superintendent, some under 
 the direction of sub-committees, and some under 
 the direction of the board itself. The business 
 manager should however have a large measure 
 of freedom given to him, and be held responsible 
 for results only. 
 
 Atteiidance officers. — The election by the board 
 of one or more attendance officers ought to be 
 required by law, to see that the school attend- 
 ance laws of the state are properly observed, 
 and to encourage in all possible ways regular 
 and punctual school attendance.
 
 48 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 The rules governing their duties should be 
 
 T^llP VlllP^ orOV- 
 
 erning the'du- ^^'^®^ ^^^ explicit. The following rules will per- 
 ties of attend- haps meet the needs of cities and large towns. 
 ance officers, jn small towns the rules may be less elaborate. 
 
 1. Annually at a meeting in June the board 
 shall elect the attendance officers and fix their 
 salaries. 
 
 2. They shall devote as much of their time 
 as is needed to the duties of their office,* and 
 shall enforce all ordinances and laws in relation 
 to truant children, absentees from school, and 
 such children as persistently disobey the rules 
 of the school. 
 
 3. They shall visit such schools as the superin- 
 tendent may designate at least once a day, and 
 upon request of a teacher duly made upon cards 
 provided for the purpose and countersigned by 
 the principal they shall investigate the absence 
 of any child thought to be a truant and take 
 such action as they may think proper. 
 
 4. It shall be the duty of attendance officers 
 to co-operate with the superintendent and teach- 
 ers in their efforts to secure a regular and 
 punctual attendance of the pupils at school, by 
 frequent visitations in the homes of pupils most 
 inclined to disobey the laws relating to school 
 attendance. 
 
 5. They shall visit and inspect each month 
 while the schools are in session all factories, 
 
 * In some places only one of the attendance 
 officers needs to give his full time to the duties 
 of his office, the others being called upon only 
 as occasion may require.
 
 City and Town Adnmiistration of Schools 49 
 
 workshops, and mercantile establishments in 
 their respective districts, and ascertain if there 
 is any violation of the public statutes relating 
 to the employment of children therein.^ 
 
 6. They shall keep a record of all cases of 
 truancy and other violations of the public stat- 
 utes relating to school attendance, shov^ing the 
 name, age, and residence of the offender, and 
 the nature of his offence. They shall make a 
 monthly report in writing to the superintendent. 
 
 Medical inspectors. — Experience has shown the 
 value of the service of a close inspection of the 
 schools with the view not only of detecting the 
 symptoms of contagious diseases and thus of 
 preventing their spread, but also of preserving The duties of 
 conditions of health. At a comparatively small medical mspec- 
 
 1 . . , tors. 
 
 expense one or more physicians may be ap- 
 pointed by either the school board or the board of 
 health, whose duty it will be to call each morn- 
 ing at the school to see if there are any pupils 
 who in the estimation of the teacher should be 
 examined with reference to determining whether 
 they are too unwell to remain in school. Pupils 
 sent home on account of ill health may be given 
 a properly filled blank stating the reason of the 
 physician's action and his recommendation. f 
 
 * This rule is suggested as suitable for all 
 states which require certificates of school at- 
 tendance to be given for children up to a certain 
 age. The rule may be equally needed in states 
 which forbid children of a certain age to work 
 in any of the establishments named. 
 
 fThe examiner's recommendation should re- 
 fer simply to the need of consulting the family
 
 50 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 If the presence of a contagious disease is 
 suspected, attention may at once be given to it 
 by the board of health, so as to prevent its 
 spreading. In case of serious trouble with the 
 sight or hearing of a pupil, advice to the parent 
 may be given, or action which will help to re- 
 move the trouble may be taken by the teacher 
 under the direction of the inspector. 
 
 In a large graded school system one inspector 
 will be needed for two or three buildings having 
 from twenty to forty teachers. In country 
 towns the difficulties of adequate inspection are 
 greater than in cities and large towns, but they 
 are not so great as to prevent the carrying out 
 of a modified plan by which each school may 
 have from the inspector one or two visits a week. 
 Some of the details of medical inspection as car- 
 ried on in various places of this country are given 
 in Appendix F. 
 
 Meetings of the board. — From what has been 
 said, it will be seen that most of the duties of 
 the school board are performed in its legislative 
 ings of the capacity at regularly called meetings. The des- 
 board. patch and efficiency of its action will depend 
 
 in a large degree upon the order of business, and 
 the rules governing the discussion of matters 
 presented. The following order of business is 
 suggested as a good one to follow. It will be 
 seen that the most important matters are as- 
 
 physician. No treatment should be recom- 
 mended or any statement be made that might 
 lead to a misunderstanding of the examiner's 
 motive. 
 
 Order of busi- 
 ness in meet-
 
 City and Town Administration of Schools 51 
 
 signed first, upon the theory that such matters 
 will receive the most attention. 
 
 1. Reading the minutes of the last meeting. 
 
 2. Report of the superintendent.* 
 
 3. Action upon the recommendations of the 
 superintendent. 
 
 4. Reports of standing committees and action 
 thereon. 
 
 5. Reports of special committees and action 
 thereon. 
 
 6. Unfinished business. 
 
 7. New business. 
 
 * This report will include a report of what has 
 occurred since the last meeting or of existing 
 conditions, together with suggestions and recom- 
 mendations for action of the board.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 DISTRICT AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATION OF 
 SCHOOLS 
 
 Thus far in the discussion of local school ad- 
 ministration the presupposed conditions have 
 Difference in been those of urban communities. It should 
 the conditions j^q^ l3g forgotten that a large proportion of the 
 of school maui- i i r. , i , • i • -, ^ 
 
 tenance schools of the country are mamtamed under 
 
 conditions quite different from those which are 
 found in cities and large towns, and that parts 
 of the organization of the two classes of schools 
 must be somewhat differently adjusted. It is 
 important however that the principles of ad- 
 ministration already defined shall be applied as 
 far as possible to all classes of schools. These 
 principles are: 
 
 -V (a) separation of the schools from politics 
 ■ ) (6) a well balanced adjustment of centrahzed 
 and local authority 
 
 (c) a large degree of dependence upon local 
 financial support 
 
 {d) a separation of professional and business 
 functions in administration. 
 
 To meet the needs of the smaller rural towns, 
 laws should be passed enabling towns to combine 
 in districts for purposes of supervision. By this 
 plan a union of two or more towns may be 
 formed, with such provision for the support of 
 a superintendent of schools as will be needed to 
 
 53
 
 District and County Administration of Schools 53 
 
 iDsure local interest and effort on the one hand \ ^ ^ 
 and efficiency of supervision on the other. Such ^^^° ^°^ ^^^^' 
 
 , -11 ' i • . r. -11 ' lug the country 
 
 a plan will not intertere with the proposed or- towns for pur- 
 ganization of local school boards, which will have poses of school 
 the general charge and supervision of the schools supervision. 
 in their respective towns. The members of all 
 the boards included in the supervisory district or 
 delegates representing them will meet when 
 necessary for the purpose of electing a superin- 
 tendent, of apportioning his time for the towns, 
 and of fixing his salary.* 
 
 The superintendent will be subject to the 
 board of each town in which he is employed. 
 For example if, in a district of three towns, the 
 superintendent is expected to serve in the town 
 of A two-fifths of his time, he will spend two 
 days a week in that town and while there will 
 act under the rules of the school board of A, 
 subject of course to such general statutory pro- 
 visions as govern the duties of a superintendent. 
 In the towns of B and C his time and duties 
 will be controlled in the same way. His general 
 plan of supervision, including the making of a 
 course of studies, inspection of schools, and the 
 conducting of teachers' meetings, may be largely 
 the same in all the towns, but each town board 
 
 * After a probationary period the tenure of the 
 superintendent's office like that of the teacher 
 should be permanent. 
 
 For obvious reasons a minimum salary for 
 the superintendent should be fixed by law, and 
 should be large enough to attract to the office the 
 best teachers.
 
 54 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 will have its separate organization and deter- 
 mine its own administrative policy. « 
 
 There should be prescribed by law a maximum 
 and a minimum number of schools in a district. 
 Experience shows that, in country districts 
 where distances between the schools are great 
 and where a good proportion- of the teachers are 
 untrained, there should not be over fifty schools 
 or teachers under one superintendent. The 
 minimum limit might be placed at twenty-five 
 or thirty. If the conditions are such as to in- 
 sure the employment of trained and skilled 
 teachers, the maximum and minimum limits 
 may be considerably greater.* 
 
 In states where the support of schools is 
 chiefly local, it may be necessary for towns to 
 receive aid from the state in bearing the expense 
 i/' /^ of this form of supervision; but such aid should 
 \ .(' depend upon the sustained effort of the towns 
 themselves. It might be a wise provision of the 
 law to oblige towns to provide for the payment 
 of one-half of the superintendent's salary, with 
 the further provision that the amount raised for 
 
 * In the country districts of Germany and 
 France the number of teachers for each super- 
 visor is much greater than the number indicated 
 above. The successful maintenance of large 
 supervisory districts in these countries is due 
 partly to the fact that the teachers are well 
 trained and do not need the supervision required 
 for untrained teachers. The same may be said 
 of Austria and Switzerland. In New York the 
 commissioner of education. Dr. Andrew S. Dra- 
 per, has recently recommended the substitution 
 of a system like that here outlined. 
 
 /
 
 District mid County Administration of Schools 55 
 
 each school by local taxation be kept up to the 
 average of the preceding three years.* 
 
 In any plan of district supervision regulated 
 by law and supported in part by the state, pro- 
 vision should be made for the election of com- 
 petent persons to the office of superintendent. 
 If the selection is left to the towns without any 
 restrictions whatever, mistakes are are hkely to 
 to be made, for in some of the districts there 
 may be either a degree of indifference as to the 
 competence of the person employed or ignorance 
 as to the qualifications which ought to be 
 demanded in a superintendent. In the plan of 
 supervision here outlined for country towns it 
 might be well either to establish by law a mini- 
 mum of qualifications for the superinten^dent or 
 to place certain restrictions upon the local board. 
 Perhaps as effective a way as any to reach the 
 desired end would be to limit the selection of 
 superintendents supported in part by the state 
 to candidates approved by the state board of 
 education.! 
 
 The above plan can be carried out only where 
 the town or township is made the unit of gov- 
 ernment. In most parts of this country the 
 county has been made the unit for purposes of 
 
 * For a detailed statement of the practical 
 working of this plan of supervision, see Ap- 
 pendix B. 
 
 t For some reference to the eligibility of dis- 
 trict and county superintendents see pp. 26, 27. 
 See also Dexter's History of Education in the 
 United States, p. 198, and Draper's Supervision 
 of Country Schools.
 
 56 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Prevailing 
 methods of 
 county super- 
 vision ineffec- 
 tive. 
 
 A plan of 
 county super- 
 vision sug- 
 gested. 
 
 school administratiou, largely by reason of the 
 fact that in those sections the county is the 
 dominant political unit. Apart from ease in 
 the adoption of means already employed for 
 other purposes, there is little to be said in favor 
 of prevailing plans of county school administra- 
 tion. In the degree of local educational interest 
 and effort and in the efficiency of school super- 
 vision the county plan is far inferior to that of 
 the city or town. There is no good reason how- 
 ever why, with some modification of the present 
 county organization, there cannot be enjoyed 
 the same privileges as are now enjoyed in sepa- 
 rate municipalities. The following plan is sug- 
 gested as a basis of county organization for an 
 effective administration of schools. 
 
 Let the county elect a single board consisting 
 of a sufficiently large number of members to 
 represent all parts of the county. The number 
 of members constituting the board may be a 
 multiple of three, so that the term of office may 
 be three years, one-third of the membership ex- 
 piring every year. The powers and duties of 
 the board may be essentially the same as those 
 which have been defined for municipal boards, 
 with the possible difference of some increased 
 powers for members of the county board in re- 
 spect to the external affairs of the schools in their 
 immediate neighborhood. The size of the county 
 and the difficulty of travel will make it incon- 
 venient to have frequent meetings of the board, 
 and therefore certain duties usually performed
 
 District and County Administration of Schools 57 
 
 by a municipal board or by a sub -committee may 
 fall upon individual members. 
 
 The board will elect a superintendent of 
 schools, who will have the same powers and 
 duties as have been defined for city and town 
 superintendents. If the county is large he 
 ought to have one or more assistants. Fifty 
 rural school rooms or one hundred city or village 
 rooms are as many as one person should be ex- 
 pected to supervise, unless, as in large cities, 
 there are supervising principals ; in which case 
 two or three hundred schools might be in charge 
 of one supervisor. 
 
 The support of all the schools of the county 
 except that which is afforded by the state will 
 be by taxation. The money raised will be dis- 
 tributed by the county board to the various 
 schools according to their conditions and needs. 
 It is understood that the proposed plan applies 
 alike to those counties which have cities and large 
 towns in them and to those which have only a 
 sparsely settled population. Wealthy centres 
 should assist in the support of schools situated 
 in sections not able to raise by taxation a sum 
 needed for maintaining good schools. 
 
 The plan above outlined is essentially the 
 same as that which is followed in several coun- 
 ties of the South and West.'* As will be seen 
 it involves an organization quite simple in char- 
 acter, one that can be easily introduced in place 
 
 * For a detailed account of the working of 
 this plan in one of the counties of Georgia. 
 See Appendix B.
 
 58 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 of the present prevailing plan. It is generally 
 best in effecting reforms to build upon existing 
 practices, but in many of the county systems 
 a reorganization upon new lines will be neces- 
 sary, so far at least as to make the superintend- 
 ent a professional rather than a political official.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE SUPERINTENDENT AS ORGANIZER 
 
 In general the duties of a superintendent of 
 schools may be divided into two classes, those 
 of an organizer and those of a supervisor. His 
 duties as organizer require' him to get and to 
 keep all parts of the school system in good 
 working order. The parts in relation to the 
 direct work of the schools are the school build- 
 ings and furnishings; the departments, grades, 
 subjects of study and times; the school board, 
 superintendent, teachers, and . janitors. These 
 parts of the school system are to be so adjusted 
 in relation to one another that the ends for 
 which the schools are organized may be most 
 effectively attained. 
 
 The subjects of school organization to be con- 
 sidered somewhat in detail are : 
 
 (1) the construction and furnishing of school 
 buildings 
 
 ^^, , 1 ,, , , T ,. . , T school organ- 
 
 (2) school attendance and gradation, mcludmg jzation to be 
 (a) -age of admission (6) length of course considered. 
 
 (3) course of studies, including (a) subjects 
 of instruction (6) elective studies (c) correlation 
 of studies (d) time limits (e) making of school 
 programme . - 
 
 (4) classification and promotion of pupils 
 
 (5) departmental instruction 
 
 (6) special school classes 
 
 59 
 
 Features of
 
 60 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 School build- 
 ings and their 
 equipment, 
 
 (7) the qualifications aud appointment of 
 teachers 
 
 (8) text-books and supphes. 
 
 Some of the above mentioned features of 
 school organization are controlled wholly by the 
 superintendent and some are made the subject 
 only of advice on his part; but whatever his 
 relation to them may be, it is necessary for him 
 to have as full knowledge as possible of their 
 nature and use, both in theory and in practice. 
 
 The construction and furnishing of school build- 
 ings. — If the relation of the superintendent to 
 the external conditions of the schools is as 
 close and responsible as is assumed in Chapter 
 IV, it follows that he should have a definite 
 knowledge of what is most desired for health 
 and convenience in the way of buildings and 
 their equipment. Of course in respect both to 
 ideals and to the method of securing them he will 
 be guided by circumstances. What will be suit- 
 able and desirable in one place will be altogether 
 impracticable in another. But in all places the 
 superintendent should remember that providing 
 the material means of carrying on the schools 
 is not his chief business, and must not monopo- 
 lize his time. He should in the planning and 
 construction of school buildings give prompt as- 
 sistance to building committees, and in the fur- 
 nishing of equipment of every kind he should 
 do aU in his power to provide an ample supply. 
 
 In the construction of school buildings three 
 considerations should be kept constantly in mind : 
 
 (a) health of teachers and pupils '
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 61 
 
 (6) convenience in carrying on the work of the 
 schools 
 
 (c) economy. 
 
 Emphasis is placed here upon the first two of 
 these considerations in the belief that building 
 committees look to the superintendent mainly 
 for assistance in these directions. 
 
 Whenever it is possible to do so, an architect 
 should be employed to draught plans and oversee An architect 
 the work of construction of school buildings, needed. 
 One who makes a careful study of school archi- 
 tecture is likely to provide all that health, con- 
 venience, and good taste demand, to a far greater 
 'degree of satisfaction than a carpenter or a 
 building committee can provide without such 
 help.* 
 
 School buildings should in no case be more 
 than three stories high. In the country they ^i^''giitc)f 
 should consist of but one or two stories. A j^^g 
 cellar should be under the entire building, and 
 be thoroughly ventilated. It should be cemented 
 throughout, and be so arranged that it may be 
 used in cold and stormy weather for boys' and 
 girls' playrooms. 
 
 The lower floor of the building should be not 
 
 1 ±1 ^^-1 1 ji o r.,T Construction 
 
 less than 18 mches above the surface of the of fi„ois and 
 lot, and the walls should contain vertical air ceilings, 
 chambers. The floors of the schoolroom should 
 
 * In Massachusetts, plans and specifications of 
 proposed school buildings must be approved by 
 an inspector of factories and public buildings. 
 The same official is also required by law to inspect 
 school buildings, with authority to correct ex- 
 isting defects of sanitation.
 
 62 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Size of school 
 room. 
 
 Furniture and 
 furnishings. 
 
 be of hard- wood, kilii dried boards not over four 
 or five inches wide, fitted so close as to permit 
 no cracks in which dirt can settle. The floors 
 should be so built as to permit the least possible 
 vibration and transmission of sounds. Double 
 floors with heavy building paper or mineral wool 
 between them will help to accomplish the desired 
 end.* 
 
 The schoolrooms should be large enough to 
 allow enough single desks to be placed hi them 
 to accommodate the largest number of pupils 
 likely to be in attendance, and to give space for 
 recitation seats and extra tables. They should 
 be large enough also for games and gymnastic 
 exercises, especially if there is no gymnasium or 
 playroom in the building, f 
 
 The furniture and furnishings of schoolrooms 
 should be such as are needed for convenience 
 and efficiency. Besides desks and seats of suit- 
 able construction the following articles should 
 be provided for every schoolroom ; teacher's desk 
 having several drawers, book-case, chairs for 
 teacher and visitors, one or more tables, crayons, 
 erasers, pointers, clock, bell, thermometer, broom, 
 ink-filler, dustpan, dusters (^soft pieces of cloth 
 are the best dusters), waste-basket, suitable wall 
 
 * Floors consisting of narrow boards or blocks 
 of wood in cement have been found very satis- 
 factory. They are described in Burgenstein's 
 Handbuch der Schtdhygieue, Jena, 1895. See 
 also Kotelmann's School Hygiene, Syracuse, 
 1S99, pp. 95-100. 
 
 t Other features of schoolhouse construction 
 are given in Appendix F.
 
 Kind and 
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 63 
 
 pictures, and (if there is no dressing-room) toilet 
 appliances. Some schoolrooms should have in 
 addition to the above-named articles a moulding- 
 table, and a piano or organ. 
 
 The kind and amount of apparatus used in 
 teaching indicate in no small degree the charac- 
 ter of work done. It is not always desirable to paratus 
 purchase apparatus which is the most costly, needed. 
 Indeed much of the most valuable apparatus 
 used may be made or gathered by the teachers 
 and pupils, especially that which is needed in 
 the observation lessons. Charts of any kind 
 can be made of thick manilla paper, marked 
 with artist's crayon or with a rubber pen. The 
 following list comprises the minimum amount 
 which should be found in every primary school- 
 room, or at least which should be accessible to 
 every teacher. 
 
 Blocks, splints, and shoe-pegs for number and 
 "busy work"; measures (dry, liquid, linear, 
 metric) ; balance ; toy money ; globe ; wall maps ; 
 charts for number, reading, writing, anatomy, 
 and music; numeral frame; drawing models, 
 and compasses ; toys and other objects for read- 
 ing; forms for mensuration; pictures for lan- 
 guage, geography, and history; cardboard for 
 number, language, etc. ; colored worsted ; col- 
 ored cardboard for form and number; plants; 
 minerals; mounted insects; pen-holders, and 
 pens, lead-pencils, and paper of various kinds; 
 ruler. 
 
 If slates are used (paper is better), good slates, 
 sharpened pencils, sponges and coarse files should
 
 64 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Duration of 
 school course 
 in America. 
 
 Practice in 
 England. 
 
 be provided. Among the materials for '' busy 
 work ' ' may be mentioned paper for folding and 
 weaving, sticks and splints for laying, forms of 
 animals and other objects for tracing, letters for 
 making words, words for making sentences, 
 designs upon cardboard for drawing. 
 
 It will be seen that the above list does not 
 comprise some of the means of teaching physi- 
 ology and other observation lessons which may 
 be gathered from day to day, such as flowers, 
 leaves, and plants. Neither does the list include 
 the little devices used for illustrating the men- 
 suration of boxes, walls, etc., nor any of the 
 tools and materials used for the industrial work 
 carried on in all the grades. 
 
 School attendance and gradation. — Practice 
 varies in America as to the earliest age of admit- 
 ting children into the school and also as to the 
 length of the course. 
 
 In most places where the earhest age of admis- 
 sion is 6 years, the length of the elementary 
 course is 8 years, and where the earliest age is 5 
 years, the course is generally 9 years in length. 
 Exceptions to this are found in towns and cities 
 whose elementary course is 8 years in length for 
 pupils who are permitted to enter school at 5 
 years of age. It should be said that in all places 
 where the earliest permitted age of admission is 
 5 years, the actual average age of the admission 
 of pupils into the lowest grade is much higher. 
 
 In the public elementary schools of England 
 children may begin at 3 years of age and must 
 begin at 5, remaining in the infants' school un-
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 65 
 
 til the age of 7. The length of the subsequent 
 course is 7 years. 
 
 In France and Germany the earliest age of ad- „ . . 
 
 • • , .1 • 11- -, .-, Practice m 
 
 mission to the primary school is 6 years, and the France and 
 length of the elementary course is from 6 to 8 Germanj'. 
 years. In France, however, nearly half of all 
 the children from 2 to 6 years of age are en- 
 rolled in the mother schools {ecoles maternelles), 
 or lower primary "classes (classes enfantines). 
 Many cities of Germany and of this country 
 also provide for children under the age of 6 in 
 the public kindergarten. 
 
 It is possible that the differences in this coun- 
 try in the earliest age of admission to the ele- 
 mentary schools and in the length of the course 
 of such schools will disappear when the kinder- 
 garten becomes universally a part of the public 
 school system. It may be fairly questioned, 
 however, in any event, whether much of the " " -P"'"^'3 
 
 ' *' ' course advis- 
 
 formal intellectual work now carried on in many able. 
 first year primary classes should be demanded of 
 children before the age of 6. If, where chil- 
 dren are permitted to enter school at 5, a sub- 
 primary course could be pursued, consisting 
 largely of manual and observation exercises, 
 advancement in subsequent work would be 
 likely to be quite as rapid as it is at present 
 where pupils are required to read and write 
 much during the first year. In case there is a 
 kindergarten course which children can begin at 
 3 or 4 years of age, the work of the sub-primary 
 class could be supplementary to the work of the 
 kindergarten and be preparatory for the more
 
 66 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 formal work of the primary school. According 
 to many of oar best kindergartners and primary 
 school teachers some connection between the two 
 schools is very much to be desired. Further de- 
 tails of the proposed plan will be given later in 
 connection with the course of studies. 
 
 Whether the kindergarten or sub-primary 
 Children not courses are offered or not, it is doubtful if pupils 
 to begin formal yhould begin regular formal school work under 
 six^ ears of ^^^® ^S® ^^ ^- While the work pursued in the 
 age. sub-primary class should be closely connected 
 
 with the course pursued in the following year 
 and be a preparation for that course, it should 
 not be a necessary preparation. That is, pupils 
 of 6 years of age and upwards who have never 
 attended school should enter the lowest grade of 
 the primary school without taking the prepara- 
 tory work of the sub-primary class. The pres- 
 ent classification in most places obliges pupils of 
 all ages who have not attended school to begin 
 the primary reading and number work together. 
 Such work is found as discouragingly hard to 
 some as it is demoralizingly eas}^ to others. 
 If the regular elementary school work begins 
 Elementary for children of 6 years of age, it should be no 
 course to cover j^-^Q^e than can be easily performed in 8 years by 
 eig t yeais. average pupils. Some of the pupils will be able 
 to finish the course in or 7 years, enabling 
 them to be ready for the high school at 12 or 13 
 years of age. But as these instances of early 
 preparation are offset by instances of late en- 
 trance upon the elementary school course, the
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 67 
 
 average age of graduation from that course is 
 not likely to be less than li years. 
 
 On some accounts it will be found convenient „, ,. . . 
 
 llie division 
 
 to separate the elementary school pupils into li^e between 
 primary and grammar grades. The division primary and 
 line between these two kinds of schools varies in grammar 
 present practice, some of the primary schools 
 covering 2 years' work, others covering the 
 work of 3 and 4 years. 
 
 One natural and well recognized method of dis- 
 tinguishing the grammar school course from the 
 primary is on lines of proficiency in what may be 
 called the mechanics of the two sequential sub- 
 jects of reading and arithmetic. As soon as the 
 pupils are able to read at sight any ordinary sec- 
 ond reader and to work with a fair degree of facil- 
 ity in the four fundamental rules of arithmetic, 
 they ought to be ready for some formal study in 
 geography and other information subjects. This 
 division line might be placed at the end of three 
 years, although doubtless many pupils could 
 reach it at the end of two years. By such an ar- 
 rangement the course would be arranged as fol- 
 lows: primary school 3 years, grammar schools 
 years, and high school -i years. There are good 
 reasons for dividing the entire course into three 
 equal parts, giving four years to the primary 
 school, four years to the grammar school, and 
 four years to the high school. Again, much can 
 be said in favor of dividing the course of 12 
 years into two parts and of considering the high 
 school work to cover (3 years. 
 
 The subject of length of grades will be consid-
 
 68 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 A course of 
 studies advis- 
 able. 
 
 The course 
 should not be 
 too minute. 
 
 ered later under the head of Classification and 
 Promotion of Pupils. 
 
 Course of studies. — There is some danger of 
 exaggerating the importance of a course of 
 studies. As men can not be made good by any 
 amount of legislation, so the work of teachers 
 can not be made effective by the mere directions 
 of a course of studies — be they ever so wise. 
 There are good schools with poor courses of 
 studies or even with no courses at all, just as 
 there are poor schools with very excellent courses. 
 
 But while the teacher always and everywhere 
 makes the school, the advisability of placing be- 
 fore him a guide as to subjects and times can not 
 be questioned. It is better however for the 
 superintendent not to make a too radical change 
 in the course at first and not to make any course 
 before the school conditions are well understood. 
 Either the general outline of the state course or 
 the existing local course may for a time at least 
 be used as a basis of work, supplemented by di- 
 rections and suggestions which may be given 
 either by special written bulletins or at the regu- 
 lar monthly or bi-monthly teachers' meetings. 
 If circumstances permit it will be advisable to 
 limit the positive directions of the course to a 
 statement of the subjects in general that should 
 be taken up in given periods. 
 
 Certainly it is not wise to put before the teach- 
 ers a detailed statement of all they are expected 
 to accomplish during fixed periods of time. 
 Some courses even go so far as to point out the 
 exact pages of the text books which are to be
 
 The Superirdendent as Organizer 69 
 
 gone over in a given period, the presumption be- 
 ing that the topics included in those pages will 
 constitute the entire work of all the pupils. 
 Such courses are made upon the assumption that 
 every pupil will accomplish as much as every 
 other pupil and no more. The leveling system 
 is complete where examinations for promotions 
 based upon these requirements are given by some 
 one other than the teacher. 
 
 The course of studies should aid the teacher in 
 adapting the instruction to individual pupils; and Obstacles to 
 it will do so best by giving to teachers a large ^'"^ teacher's 
 
 success. 
 
 measure of freedom in the selection of material. 
 The excessively large numl)er of pupils to a teach- 
 er found in most schools renders it impossible to 
 accomplish the results of adaptation in any 
 degree satisfactory to the best teachers. The 
 brighter and quicker pupils as well as the duller 
 and slower ones, are not reached in the way they 
 should be reached. The present customary 
 plan of keeping together for long periods all 
 the pupils of a large class upon the same kind 
 of work is harmful alike to the quicker and 
 to the slower pupils; to the former in the undue 
 suppression and lack of stimulation to healthful 
 effort, and to the latter in discouragement and 
 superficialness. 
 
 A course of studies is intended as a guide in 
 determining 
 
 (CD the subjects of instruction that shall be <'|'"™te"s«^« 
 ^ ■' of a course of 
 
 pursued studies. 
 
 (6) the time — both relative and absolute — 
 which shall be given to the various subjects
 
 70 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Two theories 
 of an element- 
 ary school 
 course. 
 
 (c) the order in which the subjects and parts 
 of subjects shall be presented and reviewed 
 
 (c?) the distribution of subjects that shall be 
 made in the programme in respect both to a 
 proper correlation of studies and to the teaching 
 force of the school. 
 
 Subjects of instruction. — Two widely opposing 
 theories prevail respecting the number and kind 
 of subjects to be taught in the elementary 
 schools. Some would have the curriculum con- 
 fined to a few subjects, scarcely more than the 
 three R's; others advise the extension of the 
 course so as to include many subjects which are 
 sometimes begun in the high sfchool. The advo- 
 cates of a limited programme urge the necessity 
 of thoroughness in the branches studied, partly 
 it may be supposed on account of the mental 
 habit formed. They also plead for what are 
 called essential subjects, presumably because 
 these subjects are deemed more practical than 
 others. Those who believe in the extended 
 courses say that the nature of young children 
 will not permit an exhaustive study of any one 
 branch, but that it demands studios which will 
 yield a large number of facts relating to many 
 subjects. In this way, they argue, the mind is 
 made to have a substantial basis for subsequent 
 study and for a many-sided interest which is 
 essential to good scholarship and intelligent 
 living. 
 
 There is wisdom in both of these views and 
 the selection of studies should be made with 
 both views in mind. Tuat the curriculum of
 
 The essentials 
 of a good 
 course. 
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 71 
 
 the elementary schools should include the sub- 
 jects ordinarily pursued in such schools is beyond 
 question. These include reading, writing, lan- 
 guage, arithmetic, geography, history, and 
 grammar. Other subjects — drawing, singing, 
 physiology, and elementary science — are coming 
 to be reckoned among the essentials of a good 
 course. In many states these subjects are pur- 
 sued in a majority of the schools, and in some of 
 the states they are required by law to be taught. Doubtful sub- 
 The only remaining subjects the wisdom of whose 3'^^*^ ^^^' s^'^^- 
 adoption in the elementary couise is either denied ™^^ ^^ °° ^' 
 or doubted by a large number of educators are 
 algebra, geometry, industrial training, and a 
 foreign language. 
 
 There are two avenues of approach to the set- 
 tlement of all mooted questions, the avenue of "^^^^ ^.^^^ "^ 
 reason and philosophy, and that of experience. whatTubjects 
 We can point to each of the doubtful subjects should be 
 of study and ask from the standpoint of culture offered. 
 and discipline or of direct use in life why it 
 ought to have a place in the course of studies ; or 
 w^e can appeal to the experience of thoughtful 
 people who have practically tested the value of 
 each of the subjects taught. It would not be 
 difficult to show the reasonableness of including 
 algebra and geometry in the grammar school 
 programme, both on account of their practical 
 value as aids in the solution of every day prob- 
 lems, and by reason of their use as a means of 
 
 , , T . ,. rni 1 1 ^ Theories of a 
 
 mental disciplme. The same mav be said of a ,..,.o,„„„„. 
 
 -■- "^ ill clLIilllcll 
 
 foreign language. The increased power which school curncu- 
 one possesses in an ability to read and speak in '""^ discussed.
 
 72 School Organization and Supervison 
 
 a language other than one's own is undoubted. 
 And when we see how readily a foreign language 
 is learned during the period of childhood and 
 early youth, it seems an inexcusable neglect not to 
 provide the opportunity for its study in the gram- 
 mar school. There remains but one of the doubt- 
 ful subjects to be considered and that is indus- 
 trial training. If it is true that education should 
 prepare for vocational as well as for social and 
 civil life, and if it is true also that in the train- 
 ing of the hand there is a training of the intel- 
 lect and the will, we must conclude that hand 
 training of some kind should have a place in all 
 grades of the elementary school. 
 
 So much for theory. What shall we say of 
 the result of practice in teaching these subjects 
 in elementary grades ? In many of the private 
 Results of ex- schools of this country some of the doubtful 
 perience in pri- subjects named are taught to pupils of grammar 
 school age. The fact that this practice has pre- 
 vailed for many years is in itself evidence of its 
 value. It is said in justification of making a 
 difference of programmes in private and public 
 schools that the patrons of private schools are 
 from a more cultured class than are those of the 
 public schools, and that therefore the higher 
 studies may be begun earlier. It may be said 
 in reply that in this country there should be no 
 recognition of a difference of classes in the estab- 
 lishment of a system of public education. What 
 is good for the so-called " upper class " must be 
 good for all classes and all should have as far as 
 possible an equal chance. 
 
 vate schools.
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 73 
 
 Again it is said that the number of pupils to 
 a teacher in private schools is comparatively choice of sub- 
 small and that hence the conditions there are jects not to de- 
 more favorable to the pursuit of an extended P^"*^ "P'^'^ 
 
 , , • J 1 IT 1 1 r< 1.1 size of classes. 
 
 course than m the public schools. Surely the 
 wisdom of a choice of studies at a given time 
 should not depend upon the size of classes. 
 If constructive geometry, for example, is a 
 profitable study for a class of three pupils 
 of a given age, it ought to be profitable for a 
 class of thirty of the same age. Besides it is 
 to be hoped that the number of pupils to a 
 teacher in the public schools will in the future 
 be nearer the standard set by the best private 
 schools than it is at present. 
 
 But experience with an extended curriculum is 
 not confined to private schools. It is well- 
 known that a large number of grammar schools 
 throughout the country include in their subjects pei^igncc in 
 of study geometry, algebra, and a foreign Ian- public schools. 
 guage. The testimony of persons best qualified 
 to judge the results of this experience seems to 
 be convincing, so far at least as the usefulness 
 and desirability of including some sul)jects in 
 the cuniculum of elementary schools which have 
 hitherto been begun in the high school."^' 
 
 How far such extension .of the elementary 
 school curriculum should be carried will depend 
 largely upon the way in which the subjects are 
 taught or in what aspects the various sub- 
 
 * For detailed testimony respecting the value 
 of an extended curriculum for elementary schools 
 see Appendix G.
 
 74: School Organization and Supervision 
 
 jects are presented. As we come to know the 
 Choice of sub- choices and capacities of pupils, we find that 
 jects to depend breadth rather than depth of knowledge is 
 upon the way needed in the earher grades, and that the ele- 
 
 they are pre- ^ ' 
 
 sented. ments of any subject may fittingly be presented 
 
 to young children. But the mistake must not 
 be made of anticipating the child's mental 
 growth by presenting as a science or as philoso- 
 phy what ought to be matters of observation or 
 fact. The present sharp division line between 
 the grammar school course and the high school 
 course niay be eliminated by an extension of the 
 high school studies into the lower grades, but 
 the existing difficulty will be greatly enhanced 
 if these studies are brought down in their pres- 
 ent form. Such an extension of studies instead 
 of enrichment would be impoverishment and 
 waste. 
 
 Again, in choosing subjects of instruction for 
 the elementary school course, the difficulty of a 
 
 How the diffi- multiplicity of studies must not be overlooked. 
 
 CUlties of mul- ci £ ij.- £ ^ • ^ :\ ^ • J. • l^ 
 
 t piicitv are to ^^ ^^ ^ correlation 01 kmdred subjects, either 
 be met. in the course of studies or in the teaching, can 
 
 help to meet the difficulty it should be made 
 And finally, the immediate as well as ultimate 
 and general needs of the children should be met 
 so far as circumstances will permit. While it 
 is true that the education of children and youth 
 should be rounded off at every stage, and that 
 what is proper preparation for a higher grade of 
 instruction should be a proper preparation for 
 life, it is also true that a differentiation of studies 
 somewhere in the course, according to the tastes
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 75 
 
 and needs of pupils, may be highly desirable 
 whenever it can be done without detriment to 
 the best interests of the schools. 
 
 With tliese limitations and with the condition 
 that good teachers are employed, it is safe to say Pi^^pei- sub- 
 that all of the hitherto mentioned studies, in- ^^^^^ °* ^ 
 
 ' grammar 
 
 eluding algebra, geometry, industrial training, school course. 
 and one foreign language should have a place in 
 the grammar school curriculum. 
 
 Acknowledging that some study of a foreign 
 language is desirable in the grammar school, we 
 may be at some loss to determine which lan- 
 guage it shall be. Doubtless the selection in 
 some instances should depend upon circum- a modern lan- 
 stances ; thus in a community where there are a g^age pre- 
 number of French or Spanish speaking people *'"*^ ' 
 one or the other of these languages should be 
 taught ; or if there are teachers of Latin close at 
 hand and no one that can teach a modern lan- 
 guage, Latin will naturally be the language 
 taught ; but if there are no local or incidental 
 reasons for a choice, there would seem to be 
 more good reasons for choosing a modern lan- 
 guage than for choosing an ancient one. If the 
 study of it is begun early in the grammar school 
 course and continued to the end of it, a good 
 reading and speaking knowledge of the language 
 may be gained, even though it be pursued with 
 moderation. 
 
 The sul)jects offered in high schools are deter- 
 mined largely by the demands of the colleges 
 and higher technical schools. It is feared that 
 too often these demands determine the subjects
 
 76 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 College re- 
 quirements 
 not to domin- 
 ate the high 
 school course. 
 
 Present plan 
 of electives 
 in German 
 and American 
 high schools. 
 
 of study not only of the pupils who intend to 
 enter the higher institutions but also of that 
 larger class of pupils who pass from the high 
 school directly to their life work. It is for this 
 reason that the gr-eatest care should be taken 
 lest the zeal to conform to college preparatory re- 
 quirements force wrong standards upon pupils 
 whose school life ends with the high school. It 
 is the latter class of pupils therefore that must 
 be kept specially in mind in making up a high 
 school programme. Such studies as physical 
 geography, English literature, English composi- 
 tion, history, physics, physiology and hygiene 
 should receive special attention, or at least be 
 offered in liberal measure. Manual or industrial 
 training also should have a large place in some 
 of the courses of the high school. This empha- 
 sis upon important subjects does not preclude 
 proper attention to foreign languages, mathe- 
 matics, and the .various sciences. 
 
 Elective studies. — There has come to be felt in 
 this country the necessity of offering a plan of 
 studies for high schools in which the privilege 
 of choice is given in the selection of some of the 
 subjects of study. In Germany the selection is 
 made by schools, each kind of school having a 
 fixed curriculum. Here the plan generally 
 adopted is that of arranging the studies in 
 groups or courses and giving the pupils the privi- 
 lege of choosing the course they wish to take. 
 
 In the larger schools there are usually two or 
 more electives offered in each course, the number 
 of electives increasing year by year. In a few
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 77 
 
 schools the practice prevails of giving the privi- 
 lege of selection from a widely extended list of 
 subjects. 
 
 There can be no doubt that some of the sub- 
 jects offered in high schools should be elective. 
 
 -n/r IT fji -I ji iiTio'^ medium 
 
 Many would go further and say that the list of p].^^ recom- 
 
 subjects offered should be very extensive and mended. 
 
 that all of the subjects taken by a pupil should 
 
 be elective. Perhaps a medium plan may be 
 
 safely followed of offering a number of courses — 
 
 from two to five, depending upon the size of the 
 
 school; and of permittiug each pupil to select all 
 
 but one or two branches. These required 
 
 branches might be English, including literature 
 
 composition, etc. ; and history. Great care should 
 
 be taken in the selection of subjects. A good 
 
 plan is for advice to be given by the teachers to 
 
 the parents and for cards to be issued asking that 
 
 a selection be indicated by a parent or guardian. 
 
 It has been generally assumed that the sub- 
 jects pursued in grades below the high school 
 are subjects needed for all pupils, unmindful of 
 their expected career, and that therefore such 
 subjects should be made obligatory in these 
 grades. But the introduction of new studies 
 into the grammar school course has brought up 
 again the question of carrying the elective sys- 
 tem below the high school so far at least as the 
 new studies are concerned. 
 
 There seems little question of requiring all the 
 pupils below the high school to pursue the ordi- 
 nary English branches — reading, writing, arith- 
 metic, geography, and history. Alge))ra, geome-
 
 mar schools. 
 
 A foreign lan- 
 
 78 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 try, and book keeping may well be taken with 
 Kequired sub- arithmetic in the higher grades, or at times be 
 iects in gram- required in place of it. To pupils who are not 
 going beyond the grammar school algebra and 
 geometry may seem a waste of time and energy^ 
 but in their practical bearings they are equally 
 useful to all and hence may properly be included 
 in the required subjects. Drawing, singing, and 
 industrial training have even a stronger claim 
 for recognition as required studies than algebra 
 and geometry. A foreign language may very 
 elective in properly be offered as an elective in place of, or 
 grammar in addition to, English grammar. It should how- 
 
 schools, ever be begun early in the course and be carried 
 
 on in such a way as to require little of extra 
 study at home. Two or three recitations a week 
 in a modern language during the last four or 
 five years of the grammar school course will 
 give abundant opportunity for pupils of average 
 intelligence to acquire the ability to read easy 
 reading, to converse in simple speech, and to 
 know something of the grammatical construc- 
 tion of the languge. 
 
 Time limits. — A determination of the time 
 
 which should be given to the various subjects of 
 
 Timehmitsto g^^^jjy jg important not merely on account of the 
 
 by the needs of Convenience of classification but chiefly by rea- 
 
 the pupils. son of the fact that it expresses the relative 
 
 value of the studies to the pupils. 
 
 One way of ascertaining a proper standard of 
 time limits is by a consideration of the subjects 
 themselves and the needs of pupils for instruc- 
 tion in those subjects. If for example it is be-
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 79 
 
 lieved that there is httle disciphnary value in 
 arithmetic and that the real arithmetical needs 
 of graduates of the grammar school are limited 
 to a knowledge of the four fundamental rules, 
 it is evident that only a small amount of time 
 will be given to that subject beyond the third or 
 fourth year in school. If, on the other hand, 
 both the disciplinary and the practical value of 
 arithmetic is thought to be great, a liberal al- 
 lowance of time will be given to the subject 
 daily throughout the course. 
 
 From this point of view, we may regulate in 
 a general way the time w^hich should be given 
 to a subject or group of subjects. For example, 
 we know from the nature of the child that ob- 
 servational subjects should have a relatively Relative 
 large place in the programmes of the primary '^™^^^'^t*^ 
 
 " "^ 1 o L J f jj^g given to 
 
 school and of the lower grades of the grammar observational 
 school, while the reflective studies should largely and reflective 
 predominate in the higher grades of the gram- '^t^^*^!''*^- 
 mar school and in the high school. We judge 
 also in the same way that the formal studies, 
 such as mathematics and language, should not 
 monopolize the time of the pupil in any grade, 
 or prevent a good degree of attention being given 
 to science, history, and literature. 
 
 Looking more closely to the nature and needs 
 of the pupils, we may come to a more accurate a large share 
 estimate of the relative time to be given to each ^i time to be 
 subject. Upon the theory that so-called disci- s/^^^ *<;* p'^^- 
 
 •J ^ J ticiil subjects. 
 
 pline of the mind may be gained by means of 
 practical subjects and that the practical subjects 
 to be pursued are those chiefly which assist in the
 
 80 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Co-ordinate 
 groups of sub- 
 jects. 
 
 Proportion of 
 time to be 
 given to eacli 
 group of sub- 
 jects. 
 
 preparation for vocatioDal and social service, we 
 shall make prominent in the course the studies 
 which directly serve those ends. Upon this 
 basis, the following groups of subjects would 
 seem to have about an equal claim upon the 
 time of the school : 
 
 1. ijanguage and literature 
 
 2. Geography and history 
 
 3. Drawing and industrial training 
 ■i. Mathematics and science. 
 
 That is, a five hour school day would be di- 
 vided so as to give about 1\ hours to each group of 
 subjects named. In this division of time several 
 circumstances should be taken into considera- 
 tion. In the first place the day's programme 
 should be arranged so as to give pupils an op- 
 portunity for study. Opportunity also should 
 be given for singing and the needed physical and 
 recreative exercises. Moreover a varying degree 
 of emphasis must be placed upon each branch of 
 study as the pupils progress in their course. In 
 general therefore it may be said that the daily 
 time for recitation in each group of studies 
 named above should be more or less than one 
 hour, depending upon the age and grade of pupils. 
 
 Upon this basis the proportion of time for each 
 group would be about as follows: 
 
 I. Language (including reading, writing, spell- 
 ing, composition, English grammar and litera- 
 ture, and a foreign language), one fourth. 
 
 II. Mathematics (including arithmetic, alge- 
 bra, geometry, and book-keeping) one-eighth. 
 
 III. Elementary science (including nature-
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 81 
 
 study, physiology, hygiene, and geography), 
 three- sixteenths. * 
 
 IV. History (including civil government, biog- 
 raphy, and history proper), one-eighth. 
 
 V. Miscellaneous exercises (including singing, 
 drawing, industrial training, physical exercises, 
 and recesses for games), five-sixteenths. 
 
 The above proportion of time would give an 
 average approximate number of minutes weekly » , , ,. 
 
 ^ ^ ^ '' Actual time for 
 
 to each subject as follows, counting the week each group, 
 to consist of 5 days and the day to consist of 5J 
 hours : 
 I. Reading and literature 150 ^ 
 
 Writing 60 ^ , , 
 
 d ir Kr. \ Total, 410 
 
 Spellmg 50 ' ' 
 
 Language and grammar 150 
 
 II. Mathematics, (arithmetic, alge- \ m x i 
 
 bra, and geometry) 210 j ^^^^^' -^^^ 
 
 III. Geography... 200 | ^^^^j ^^^ 
 
 Physiology, ele. science 110 j 
 
 IV. History, civil government, \ ^ , 
 
 biography, etc 210 / -^^^^^' "^^^ 
 
 V. Opening exercies, physi- \ 
 
 cal exercises and re- > 150 
 
 cesses ) 
 
 Industrial exercises 250 j' Total, 510 
 
 Singing 50 | 
 
 Drawing 60 j 
 
 The above allotment of time is for all the ex- 
 ercises of the school. For example, an average 
 of 80 minutes a day will be given to all the 
 recitations in the Language group of studies, 40 
 minutes to mathematics, and so on. To enable
 
 82 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 The results of 
 experience in 
 this country 
 and Europe. 
 
 Time for sub- 
 jects in the 
 sub-primary 
 class. 
 
 the pupils to have sufficient time for independent 
 study a division of the school in some subjects 
 into sections will be necessary, some of the 
 classes reciting every day and some only two or 
 three times a week, 
 
 A much closer estimate of the time which 
 should be given to each subject may be found 
 by a careful comparison of times allowed in good 
 courses of studies, on the supposition that the 
 combined wisdom of many makers of courses 
 must be more reliable than the wisdom of any 
 one person. An extended inquiry into the prac- 
 tices of a large number of the most progressive 
 systems of schools in this country and abroad 
 has been made the basis of a careful estimate of 
 the amount of time which should be given to each 
 group of subjects. The estimate in general is 
 as follows: 
 
 In the sub-primary class, or connecting class 
 between the kindergarten and the first grade 
 primary, a larger share of time should be given 
 to observation lessons, games, weaving, paper 
 cutting, etc., than is given in subsequent grades, 
 while a comparatively short time should be 
 given to reading, writing, and number, the pro- 
 portional allotments for this grade being approxi- 
 mately as follows: for physical exercises, games, 
 manual training, etc., a little more than one- 
 third; for language, including reading, writing 
 and composition, a little less than one-third; for 
 number, one-sixteenth; for observation lessons, 
 one-fifth, and for story teUing and memorizing 
 of gems, one-tenth.
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 83 
 
 The formal language studies should occupy a 
 larger proportion of time in the earlier grades r^^^^ f^,. gu^. 
 of the regular elementary course than in the jects in the 
 later grades, while mathematics should have a P""i'^i'y ^"^^ 
 less prominent place in the lower grades than in o-rades 
 the upper; the approximate proportion of time 
 for formal language exercises being from two- 
 fifths to one-fourth, and for mathematics from 
 one-eighth to one-fifth. The time allotted io 
 elementary science or nature study should be at 
 the beginning of the course about one-eighth of 
 the entire school time, increasing in amount until 
 in the middle grades it is one-fifth of the time, 
 and falling off in the last two grades to one-sixth 
 and one-eighth of the time. History, including 
 literature, biography, civil government, and his- 
 tory proper, should occupy about as much time as 
 science in the first six grades. In the two upper 
 grades about one-fourth of the time should be 
 given to the history group. To singing, draw- 
 ing, and manual training there should be but 
 little difference in the proportion of time given 
 in the various grades of the course, the approxi- 
 mate proportion of time being from one-fourth 
 to one-fifth.* 
 
 To establish for high schools a theory of limits j)ifflc„it , of 
 as to the time which should be given to the vari- estabiishlug 
 ous subjects of study is even more difficult than t"iie limits iu 
 to establish such a theory for elementary schools, '^ ^ ^^ °" ^' 
 for the reason that the requirements for entrance 
 to higher institutions are to be taken into con- 
 
 * For details of the investigation upon which 
 these estimates are made see Appendix G.
 
 84 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 sideration ; and until such requirements are made 
 to agree with the requirements of a preparation 
 for life it will be practically impossible to regu- 
 late courses, at least college preparatory courses, 
 upon any just basis. 
 
 In all the courses, both required and elective 
 studies should be so arranged that the cultural as 
 well as the practical needs of the pupils will be 
 met. There must also be kept in mind the need 
 of providing foundation studies for all technical 
 subjects. From an extremely practical point 
 of view the studies to be offered in any course 
 will be those which contribute directly to the 
 future vocation of the pupils taking the course. 
 With such a view, the business course will con- 
 sist only of business studies such as penmanship 
 book-keeping, stenography, and typewriting; 
 and a mechanics course will consist only of such 
 studies as drawing, wood working, and forging. 
 But if we consider as desirable the need of a 
 preparation for all the duties of life and also the 
 need of a thorough groundwork in a knowledge 
 of principles, we see that a technical course should 
 be much broader than either of the courses indi- 
 cated. 
 
 It seems only reasonable, therefore, that such 
 Culture studies culture studies as history and English literature 
 to be required gj^Q^j^j have a large and continuous place in an 
 
 throughout the -, • -i n ^^ i /^ • 
 
 course. ideal course, designed for pupils who are fitting 
 
 either for a higher institution or directly for life. 
 The same may be said of English language, in- 
 cluding composition, grammar, rhetoric, etc. 
 Three recitations a week in both history and
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 85 
 
 English literature throughout the course and 
 two recitations a week in English language would 
 seem not too much to require of every pupil. 
 Upon the assumption that each full time pupil 
 will have 18 recitations a week in addition to 
 physical training, singing, etc. , there will be left 
 10 recitations a week for optional studies. If 
 the selection is made in recognition of the prin- 
 ciple of a many-sided interest or a harmonious 
 development of the powers, both science and 
 mathematics will receive a fair share of atten- 
 tion — perhaps 3 recitations a week in each study, 
 
 „ . ,, . . . -Til • , Science, mathe- 
 
 allowm^ the remammg 4 periods to be given to ^atics and lan- 
 a foreign language. If it seems desirable to guage in the 
 offer a second foreign language for 2 or 3 years, ^'^s^ school. 
 time could be found for it either by increasing 
 the number of recitations per week or by drop- 
 ping one of the other studies.* 
 
 Grades and courses. — Upon the assumption 
 that the kindergarten and connecting or sub- 
 primary classes are made a part of the school 
 system the courses will be as follows : 
 
 1. Kindergarten course of one year for chil- 
 
 -, , o ' The various 
 
 dren4years of age. courses and 
 
 2. Sub-primary course of one year for chil- time for each, 
 dren 5 years of age. 
 
 3. Primary school course of two years to be 
 begun by children 6 years of age. 
 
 4. Grammar school course of 6 years for pu- 
 pils who have completed work required for the 
 primary course. 
 
 * For brief outlines of high school courses 
 adapted to various conditions, see Appendix H.
 
 86 
 
 School Organization and Supervisiori 
 
 Age of gradu- 
 ation. 
 
 Quality and 
 not quantity to 
 be|empliasized. 
 
 Some teachers 
 to have a large 
 degree of free- 
 dom. 
 
 5. One or more high school courses of 4 years 
 for pupils who have completed the work required 
 for the grammar school course. 
 
 If the above plan is closely followed and if 
 promotions from grade to grade are uniformly 
 made, all the pupils will graduate from the high- 
 est course at the age of 18. If, however, the 
 subjects of study are properly selected and ar- 
 ranged and if the plan of promotions is as elas- 
 tic as it should be, the age at which the pupils 
 will leave the high school will range from 16 to 
 20 years and the training provided in this school 
 will be a good preparation either for college or 
 for the ordinary duties of life. 
 
 It is well known that the tendency of unwise 
 and unskilled teachers is to emphasize the quan- 
 titative rather than the qualitative side of their 
 work ; to regard the work of teaching mainly as 
 an assistance to the pupils in obtaining a certain 
 amount of knowledge or mformation; and as 
 this can be measured best by the pages of the 
 book or by the per cent marks in an examin- 
 ation these standards are uppermost in their 
 minds. The apportioning of subjects and topics 
 in a course of studies so that the attention is 
 fixed mainly upon the amount to be learned 
 tends to strengthen these convictions of unwise 
 teachers and places unnecessary restraints upon 
 wise ones. 
 
 It may be said that whenever a course of stud- 
 ies gives a great degree of freedom to teachers, 
 there is likely to be a neglect of essentials and 
 a weakening of work that may be called consec-
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 87 
 
 utive. But this can be true only of unwise and 
 unskilled teachers. With those teachers who 
 understand what all their pupils most need and 
 who know how they are best to be provided with 
 it, the faults above alluded to are not hkely to 
 exist. To them the fixed bounds of non-essen- 
 tials stand in the way of a proper adjustment of 
 the work to the needs of the pupils. In mat- 
 ters only that are essential or important should 
 limitations be indicated in a course of studies. 
 
 But even the hmits of the essentials of knowl- 
 edge might well be omitted in a course to be fol- 
 lowed by one teacher alone. It is only in a sys- 
 tem of schools where two or more teachers are 
 employed that a limited plan or programme of 
 studies is needed. The fact that the non-essen- 
 tial subjects are almost limitless in number and 
 kind renders it impossible to make a selection of 
 such subjects as will be suitable alike for all 
 schools or for the pupils of all teachers. 
 
 For -these reasons, a course of studies intended 
 for the schools of a large section, as of a county 
 or state, should first of all be general in charac- 
 ter, and be confined largely to the designation of 
 subjects that are essential or important. This 
 course may be used as a basis for a city or town 
 course having the following features: . 
 
 1. A general outline of subjects to be taught 
 
 in the various grades and classes, related sub- Ff'^tui^es o^ a 
 
 . . city or town 
 
 jects to be given m groups. course of 
 
 2. A designation of important or principal studies. 
 features which must be taken by all for a proper 
 understanding of the subject.
 
 88 
 
 School Organization and Supervi?i':'r! 
 
 A miniTrmm 
 of ■work xo be 
 desienated. 
 
 General and 
 
 specific 
 
 courses. 
 
 3. A designation of the less important fea- 
 tures which may be taken up by some classes 
 and pupils. 
 
 4. A special syllabus upon each subject or 
 group of subjects giving in detail. (O) sugges- 
 tions of topics, from which the teacher may se- 
 lect in giving work to a class or to individual 
 pupils. ( ?> ' suggestions to teachers as to means, 
 methods, sources, etc. 
 
 o. A division of the various subjects in such 
 a way that at given periods of time there may 
 be a rational and orderiy correlation of studies. 
 
 It may be necessary to designate periods of 
 time during which prescribed work must be ac- 
 complished, but it should be done in such a way 
 as to permit an elastic system of grading and 
 promotions. This may be effected by designat- 
 ing the minimum of work which is to be done 
 within certain periods, and by placing in a par- 
 allel column the time at which all that g<>es be- 
 fore shall be completed. The outhne of subjects 
 thus presented will be only the essential or most 
 important work required to be done. 
 
 Some superintendents follow the plan of plac- 
 ing a general course before their teachers, and 
 of supplementing this course by specific direc- 
 tions in monthly grade meetings. This plan suc- 
 ceeds well where not too many details are given, 
 and where the independence and originahty of 
 the teachers are not interfered with. It has the 
 advantage of affording opportunity for constant 
 adjustment of work to new and varied condi- 
 tions, and of assisting untrained or inexperi-
 
 T/t€ Superintendent as Organizer 89 
 
 enced teachers in a proper interpretation of direc- 
 tions. Such a plan is especially advantageous for 
 directors of special subjects, like drawing and 
 nature study, inasmuch as it gives opportunity 
 for instructing teachers in such technical details 
 as are not well understood by them. 
 
 The plan of issuing separate pamphlets or 
 slips, containing the prescribed and suggested 
 work for each subject in all the grades, has the Separate 
 advantage of bringing before each teacher a prescribed 
 statement of what is expected to be done in a work. 
 given subject in all the grades, thus making it 
 easy for every teacher to know what every other 
 teacher is expected to do, — a necessary condition 
 for good work. This condition is not likely to 
 exist under a plan followed by a few superintend- 
 ents, of presenting the prescribed course of each 
 grade in a single pamphlet. 
 
 The question as to whether the course shall be ^^i^tjiQfjg ^f 
 presented by years or terms in each subject — or laying out the 
 by subjects in each year or grade will bo deter- ^'^rk. 
 mined largely by circumstances. Teachers are 
 perhaps less likely to confine their attention to 
 the requirements of their own grade or grades 
 by the former plan. The advantages of both 
 X^lans may be secured Ijy placing the require- 
 ments in tabular form opposite a given year or 
 term. By this plan the requirements of a special 
 grade will be read horizontally and the require- 
 ments of all grades in a given subject or group 
 of subjects will be read vertically. 
 
 Correlation and concentration of studies. — The 
 terms correlation and concentration as applied to
 
 90 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 defined. 
 
 a course of studies are sometimes used inter- 
 changeably — but in the meaning of the two 
 words there is a technical difference which should 
 and concentra- ^® ^'^P^ ^^^ mind. Correlation of studies may be 
 tion of studies defined as the process of bringing related sub- 
 jects into such relation to the mind that they 
 may be comprehended and used together. Con- 
 centration of studies goes one step further. It 
 combines with correlation a study of several 
 subjects in relation to a common subject as a 
 centre. It is the process of focussing related 
 subjects so that emphasis may be placed upon a 
 central subject, the focussing to be made from 
 the parts of a subject, from the subjects of a 
 group, or from all subjects of the course. 
 
 The practice of some schools in recent years 
 suggests possible dangers of over-correlation — 
 dangers of restrictive limitations on the one 
 hand, and of the forcing of unnatural relations 
 on the other. But some of the practices also 
 suggest lines of correlation which every course 
 of study should indicate. 
 
 If the desired correlation of studies signifies 
 nothing more than a means of remembering cer- 
 tain facts of a subject, it may be limited to in- 
 cidental references which any good teacher makes 
 in his teaching, and no mention need be made 
 of such references in the course of studies more 
 than to state the fact that in every study the 
 teacher should bring together in the recitation 
 certain related ideas for the purpose of fixing 
 those ideas more firmly in the pupils' minds. 
 
 It is asserted by some that a correlation of 
 
 Uses of corre- 
 lation.
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 91 
 
 studies means only a sequence of studies such as 
 would be made with the ends of education clear- 
 ly in view. According to others, these views of 
 correlation are insufficient as a guide to educa- 
 tion. The mind, they say, naturally unifies the 
 knowledge it receives, and it is the function of 
 the course of studies, as it is of the teacher, to 
 assist nature in this work. 
 
 With the notion of incidental association of 
 ideas only in mind, or that of a proper sequence 
 of topics in the study of a subject, the teacher 
 finds it difficult to " assist nature " in following 
 some of our present courses of studies. With 
 these courses only as guides, he might lead his 
 l^upils to learn the commercial cities of Europe, 
 the history of Mexico, the names of the planets ^^^^ dangers of 
 and the distinguishing characteristics of an or- anaSation of 
 chid, to conjugate the verb "to be ", to write studies. 
 a composition upon perseverance, to read about 
 the exploits of John Smith, to perform problems 
 in partial payments, and to spell the names of 
 the diseases, — all to be studied and recited on 
 the same day. This many teachers will say is 
 not an exaggerated record of what they are ex- 
 pected to do in a single day. In other words, 
 the course of studies in many cases is simply an 
 aggregation of subjects put together with no 
 reference to their natural relations. Moreover 
 the burden is becoming more heavy and the 
 trial more perplexing as year by year new stud- 
 ies are added to the curriculum. 
 
 A true correlation of studies will help to solve 
 the difficulty by furnishing to the teacher helps
 
 92 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Result and 
 ways of cor- 
 relation. 
 
 Subjects to be 
 arranged in 
 groups. 
 
 both in the unification and in the co-ordination 
 of studies. To accompHsh these ends it will be 
 necessary to select the parts of all subjects for 
 a given term or month that have a close relation 
 to one another, and to arrange them in groups 
 that are in some degree co-ordinate ; i. e. equally 
 essential as a means of gaining the chief ends of 
 education. There are parts of literature, history, 
 science, mathematics, and the language arts that 
 are clearly connected, logically and psychologi- 
 cally. These subjects should be arranged in a 
 course of studies so that they may be carried on 
 together. It will not be necessary to confine the 
 work of the school to these related subjects, but 
 they should constitute both in kind and in 
 amount the essential work to be done in a given 
 time. That the education may be harmonious 
 or many-sided, at least one subject of each of 
 the great co-ordinate groups of studies must be 
 pursued during the entire school period. 
 
 The wise teacher's practice and needs in his 
 daily work may well determine the character of 
 a course of studies. As has been said, the good 
 teacher always and everywhere recognizes in 
 teaching any subject the importance of bringing 
 to the attention of his pupils all scraps of re- 
 lated knowledge, and of appealing to their ex- 
 perience of every kind which has a vital con- 
 nection with the subject in hand. 
 
 In teaching reading for example the teacher 
 recognizes the fact that reading is but a means 
 of learning history, literature, and science, and 
 therefore these subjects are early brought into
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 93 
 
 service as a means of securing the immediate 
 
 ends of the subject which he is teaching. More- Examples of 
 
 ,, .. ... (»Tij^ 1 correlation. 
 
 over the proper mterpretation of hterature de- 
 mands a minute and widely extended knowl- 
 edge of many things which are made the sub- 
 ject of study at the time of reading. In geog- 
 raphy there are presented constantly the related 
 subjects in various fields of knowedge not com- 
 monly regarded as geographical. Even in the 
 teaching of mathematics there are repeated ap- 
 plications which incidentally open to the pupils 
 increased acquisitions in science and art. In all 
 this work the course of studies should be of ma- 
 terial assistance — both by leaving the teacher 
 free to teach in the best way and also by help- 
 fully suggesting related material. 
 
 It will be observed that this method of cor- 
 relation implies a method of concentration by 
 which each subject taught is made in turn a '. ^*^'^^'^"^''^- 
 
 '' '^ tion of studies 
 
 central or focussing subject. Many educators desirable. 
 while not discouraging such work would carry 
 the idea further by making one subject of study 
 a focussing centre of all others, the central sub- 
 ject being determined by its relative importance 
 as a means of attaining the highest ends of edu- 
 cation. The most conspicuous example of this 
 kind of correlation is that furnished by some of 
 the followers of Herbart, who, in making moral „ . .. 
 
 ' ' '^ Ilerbartian 
 
 and religious culture the supreme end in educa- i,iea of concen- 
 tion, place special emphasis upon history and tration. 
 make that subject the central one to which all 
 others refer. In the laying out of a course of 
 studies upon this plan, the effort is made to place
 
 94: 
 
 ScJiool Organization and Supervision 
 
 Histo]-y a basis 
 of correlation. 
 
 Industrial 
 work a basis 
 of correlation. 
 
 the national and religious stages of development 
 in agreement with the corresponding stages of 
 the child's mental development. 
 
 The same parallelism of racial and individual 
 development is recognized in recent courses 
 which make the history of our country the basis 
 of correlation. Thus in the early years of the 
 child's life in school or when he is 6 or 7 years 
 of age, primitive conditions of life are talked 
 and read about. Stories of exploration and dis- 
 covery become the centre about which lessons 
 in natural history, geography, and even arith- 
 metic are given. Later, accounts of early set- 
 tlements are made the centre of interest and of 
 study. Thus in the middle grades the early his- 
 tory of the thirteen colonies is made the basis 
 for the study of North America and of the plants 
 and animals peculiar to that locality, while all 
 help to illumine such masterpieces of literature 
 as Hiawatha and Evangeline. 
 
 Akin to the above idea of correlation is the 
 uniting of the home and neighborhood life with 
 the work of the school so zealously advocated by 
 some educators. Thus useful occupations which 
 represent the products of civilized life are made 
 the basis of the course. In connection with 
 gardening, and making of baskets, rugs, cloth- 
 ing, etc., there is joined much incidental instruc- 
 tion in drawing, measuring, casting accounts, 
 etc., while the pupils are brought into close re- 
 lation with genuine conditions of spiritual cul- 
 ture. 
 
 In all these various schemes of correlation
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 95 
 
 there will be seen two distinct features: first an 
 appeal to the child's natural interests, and sec- 
 ondly an aid to the preparation for life in the 
 world. The two aspects of life with which edu- 
 cation has chiefly to do are the life of the indi- ^^^"striai oc- 
 
 .j 1 1 . p 1 11. -, c'lipations and 
 
 vidual as a worker in some useful calling and history the two 
 the life of the individual as a member of society, centred 
 With the former or vocational end in view we 
 shall make the industrial occupations of the 
 school a centre of study. With the latter, or 
 social end in view, history will take the leading 
 place. But in both aspects there will be recog- 
 nized the necessity of unifying knowledge as 
 far as possible, and of bringing it into a close 
 relation to service which is alike the end of edu- 
 cation and the end of life. 
 
 The making of a course of studies. — The fea- p^^^j. ^ , 
 tures of a course of studies which superintend- of a course of 
 ents should especially consider are: first, the studies. 
 scope or aim and range of subjects to be pre- 
 sented under each group; second, the relation 
 which the subjects of a group bear to one an- 
 other and to the subjects of other groups ; third, 
 the sequence or order in which the various sub- 
 jects or parts of subjects should be presented; 
 and, fourth, the limitations both in time and 
 substance which should be made in each branch 
 of study. 
 
 The aim or purpose of a given subject of study *,("sui'-'^,ets"^^ 
 may be general and remote, or specific and im- 
 mediate ; a course of studies has to do mainly with 
 the former, the latter aim belonging more to a 
 statement of methods which are supposed to be
 
 96 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Relation of 
 subjects. 
 
 Sequence of 
 of subjects. 
 
 known by teachers. The range of topics out- 
 lined in each branch of study will be determined 
 partly by the aim and partly by the conditions 
 under which the school is carried on, — these con- 
 ditions being the number of pupils, the number 
 of classes, the length of the course, the number 
 and character of the teaching force. It is un- 
 derstood, of course, that, as " preparation for 
 complete living " is the end of education, so all 
 subjects and parts of subjects that do not con- 
 tribute to this end are to be excluded from the 
 course. 
 
 The subjects of study should be so placed in a 
 course as to assist the teacher to correlate them 
 in teaching, that is, to present them in right re- 
 lations, so that each fact of knowledge or in- 
 formation acquired shall be fortified and en- 
 riched by others, and so that good habits of 
 thinking shall be encouraged. As far as possi- 
 ble, the relation of each subject to its use, and 
 especially to its use in life, should be indicated. 
 
 The sequence or order in which the various 
 topics should be presented is determined by 
 their relations of dependence one upon anotner, 
 and by the natural order in which the mind acts. 
 The sequence of subjects in a course should not 
 be so marked or finely drawn as to cause the 
 teacher to think more of the relation or depend- 
 ence of subjects one upon another than of the 
 relation of each subject to the mind and life of 
 the child. 
 
 The limitations of any branch of study in re- 
 spect to time and subject-matter will be deter-
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 97 
 
 mined largely by the relative importance of that 
 branch or of the subjects of that branch as a , . . . 
 means of accomplishing the ends to be desired, subjects. 
 Other limitations are those which are determined 
 by the length of the school session and school 
 year and by the number of classes and pupils to 
 a teacher. 
 
 Course in language, including readiiig, writing, 
 compositioyi and spelling, ynemory tvork, EyigUsh 
 grammar, and one foreign language. 
 
 Language is the expression of thought. The 
 term as used in the school curriculum is in- ^.\y^^\^^^\ iVian- 
 tended to mean the expression of thought in gnage. 
 words. As a subject of instruction, it relates to 
 acquiring thought by means of the printed or 
 written page, and to expressing thought both by 
 speaking and by writing. Language, therefore, 
 includes upon the practical side reading and 
 composition. Upon the theoretical side it in- 
 cludes grammar, rhetoric, and logic, the ele- 
 ments only of which should be taught in the 
 grammar school, and always in close connection 
 with reading and composition. In some schools 
 a foreign language may be taught during the 
 last years of the grammar school course, the sub- 
 ject being offered as an elective for those who can 
 carry on the regular English branches. 
 
 1. The immediate aim in language is the power , . 
 
 ^ '^ ^ Aim and scope 
 
 to gain and communicate ideas through written „f language 
 or spoken words. This will involve (a) power iL-aeiiing. 
 to read intelligently and (b) power to speak and 
 write correctly and effectively. 
 
 The reading must include, first, a mastery of
 
 98 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 the symbols, that is, learning to read ; and, sec- 
 ond, such companionship with and study of good 
 literature as shall develop power to understand 
 and appreciate it, to the end of inculcating a 
 strong and lasting taste for the best reading and 
 of developing a fine artistic and moral sense. 
 The power to speak and write correctly and 
 Ends in teach- effectively involves, first, the mastery of written 
 ing anguage ^^^ spoken fomis in accordance with accepted 
 
 and grammar. '^ "^ 
 
 usage; second, analysis of language to discover 
 the rules of usage ; and, third, constant practice 
 in speaking and writing, both before and after 
 such analysis. Effectiveness in writing includes 
 clearness, conciseness, force, grace, and origin- 
 ality. 
 
 While the elementary course in grammar has 
 for its chief end correctness of oral and written 
 speech, it may also include some features of effec- 
 tiveness, such as clearness, conciseness, and force. 
 The most important fact to be kept in mind is 
 that the study of this subject in the grammar 
 school should be elementary and very practical, 
 the aim being to teach principles by which the 
 pupil is enabled, first, to understand the language 
 of literature ; and, second, to express his thoughts 
 in some measure as they should be expressed. 
 An incidental but by no means unimportant end 
 in the study of grammar is mental discipline, — a 
 power of the mind to generalize, to make rules 
 from facts, and to apply principles and rules to 
 practice. 
 
 2. It is evident that all forms of language 
 as branches of study are closely related to one
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 99 
 
 another and to nearly all other branches. The 
 forms of expression in the reading books become R^^iations of 
 models for imitation in all departments of ::^f^ ^^ ^" 
 composition work, which serves as a means of 
 practice in grammar and rhetoric. The relation 
 of the theoretical side of language to the practi- 
 cal side both in reading and in writing should be 
 indicated by prescribing practice in analysis of 
 sentences and in constant application of the 
 rules of syntax most frequently violated. 
 
 The work in composition should be closely re- 
 lated to the pupils' thinking; and as the regular 
 subjects of study are supposed to occasion 
 thought, they therefore constitute a good basis 
 for language in the recitation. Moreover, the 
 regular studies, especially geography, history, 
 science, and reading, should constantly furnish 
 topics for composition. 
 
 Some of the most obvious relations which the 
 branches of this group have with one another 
 and with other subjects of study are matters of 
 apperceptive teaching, which every good teacher 
 understands, and which therefore need not be 
 indicated in a course of studies. 
 
 3. To secure a mastery of forms in language, a 
 certain definite order should be followed. Thus in 
 learning to read, the order is governed by a well- sequence of 
 known principle of "proceeding from a vague subjects in lau- 
 knowledge of the whole through analysis and s"^'sc- 
 synthesis to a clear knowledge of the whole." 
 While a course of studies may not give the steps 
 by which this principle is observed, it may prop- 
 erly state that the teaching should begin either
 
 100 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 with words alone or with words in sentences, 
 and that analysis and synthesis should follow 
 in natural order. It may also state that the first 
 words and sentences should he read from the 
 blackboard, and afterwards from the chart and 
 first readers. The order to be followed at 
 this stage in the selection of reading material 
 is well indicated by the ordinary first and second 
 readers. The order of selection after the pupils 
 have acquired skill in reading should be deter- 
 mined by the tastes and abilities of the children, 
 the selection to be made from given lists of books. 
 
 The sequence to be followed in the technique 
 of writing may be sufficiently indicated by stat- 
 ing that during the first two years there should be 
 much copying of good texts, beginning with 
 words whose letters are easily made, as man and 
 cow, and proceeding by degrees to words more 
 difficult to write. Some courses prescribe much 
 practice with single letters to be taken up in the 
 order of complexity. 
 
 In spelling, it appears to be the custom in the 
 best courses to prescribe some oral work for 
 the lower grades, but the main attention, 
 is given to writing words in sentences. The 
 words selected for drill in these grades are to be 
 found in the regular reading books. Beyond the 
 third grade, in addition to the words used in the 
 composition exercises, lists of words such as are 
 found in a good spelling book may be used with 
 profit for dictation, the words to be written both 
 singly and in sentences. 
 
 English grammar may be regarded as one of
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 101 
 
 the few strictly sequential subjects of the ele- 
 mentary course. Each topic should lead up to Outline for 
 the next, and all should have distinct reference ^^ *^ gram- 
 
 ' mar. 
 
 to the ends already pointed out. The following 
 general outline shows the order which may be 
 pursued in an elementary study of this subject : — 
 
 (1) the sentence and kinds of sentences de- 
 fined 
 
 (2) subject and predicate, simple and com- 
 plete 
 
 (3) parts of speech 
 
 (4) limiting phrases and clauses 
 
 (5) nouns — kinds and forms 
 
 (6) pronouns — kinds and forms 
 
 (7) rules of syntax, respecting the case of 
 pronouns 
 
 (8) verbs — kinds and forms 
 
 (9) rule of syntax, respecting the form of 
 the verb 
 
 (10) adjectives — kinds, forms and uses 
 
 (11) adverbs — kinds, forms and uses 
 
 (12) prepositions — uses 
 
 (13) conjunctions — kinds and uses. 
 
 4. The amount that can be done in the various 
 
 language subjects will depend largely upon the 
 
 grade and natural abilities of the pupils. In some , ™ita*i^2sjii 
 ° ^ ^ language.sub- 
 
 subjects the exact amount to be done should jects. 
 not be prescribed, while in others the amount 
 prescribed will indicate the least that should be 
 done in a given period, with a provision for 
 sufficient time to permit classes or individual 
 pupils to do as much as they are able to do. 
 At the end of the second year the pupils
 
 102 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 should have so far mastered the symbols of read- 
 ing as to read easily at sight any ordinary second 
 reader. To accomplish this, several first readers 
 and several second readers should be read through 
 during the two years. After the second year the 
 reading should be carried on in the two lines al- 
 ready indicated, an average of at least ten pages 
 a week of each kind being required in all grades. 
 It should be understood that this is the mini- 
 mum required, and does not include the amount 
 of reading to be done at home or the extra read- 
 ing by individual pupils. In most schools prob- 
 ably the limit set is not more than half of what 
 can be well done. 
 
 Except in special instances, no set exercises in 
 writing should be given after the fifth year. 
 Whatever is needed to secure legibility and 
 rapidity of writing after this time should be 
 done in connection with the composition and 
 dictation work. 
 
 Most of the special instruction in spelling 
 should be given during the first six years. With 
 the exception of occasional reviews, the work in 
 this branch during the last two years of the 
 course should be confined to the correction of 
 words mis-spelled in the composition and other 
 written exercises. 
 
 The limits in written language are difficult to 
 define. It is understood that more depends upon 
 the quality of work done than upon the quan- 
 tity ; and yet it is manifestly the latter feature 
 only that can be presented in a course of studies. 
 An average of 10 lines a day of carefully writ-
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 103 
 
 ten original work during the entire course be- 
 yond the second grade, and an equal amount of 
 dictation for instruction in punctuation, spelhng, 
 etc. , from the third to the sixth grades inclusive, 
 should be the minimum of written work re- 
 quired, it being understood that monthly com- 
 positions are to be written by all pupils in the 
 three highest grades. By original work is meant 
 letter writing, descriptions of pictures and ob- 
 jects, narration of events real or imaginary, and 
 all reproductions in which the pupils use their 
 own arrangement of words. 
 
 In designating the subjects of this group, no 
 mention was made of memorizing choice selec- 
 tions of poetry and prose. While such an exer- 
 cise may be classed under reading and dictation, 
 particular mention of it should be made in the 
 course. An average of at least 10 lines a week 
 should be required to be memorized by pupils of 
 all grades, it being understood that the selec- 
 tions memorized shall be of a high order of liter- 
 ary merit, and adapted to the capacity of the 
 children. 
 
 Reference has been made to the necessity of 
 limiting the study of grammar in the grammar 
 school to the elements of the study and to its 
 use in analysis and syntax. Only those proper- 
 ties of the parts of speech should be required to 
 be learned that are needed for analysis of sen- 
 tences and for a proper understanding of the 
 rules of syntax. These rules should be limited 
 to rules which are most commonly violated. 
 Not more than 10 rules should be made and
 
 104 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 learned, but they should form the basis of con- 
 stant practice in the construction of sentences. 
 These and other limitations of the subject appear 
 in what has been said upon the sequence of top- 
 ics to be studied. 
 
 Where there are so many branches in a group 
 as are included in this group, it may be well to 
 designate approximately the amount of time to 
 which the recitation in each branch should be 
 limited. If, for example, the amount of time 
 allowed for the language group of studies in the 
 various grades ranges from one-fourth to two- 
 fifths of the entire school time, the allotment for 
 each branch of the group might be as follows : 
 
 Time programme, showing the number of min- 
 utes a tveek spent in recitation by a pupil in 
 reading^ ivriting^ spelling, composition and 
 grammar. 
 
 SUBJECT 
 
 Sub- 
 pri- 
 mary 
 
 Grade 
 
 1 
 
 Grade 
 
 2 
 
 Grade 
 3 
 
 Grade 
 4 
 
 Grade 
 
 5 
 
 Grade 
 6 
 
 Grade 
 
 7 
 
 Gr'd 
 8 
 
 Reading . . 
 Spelling . . 
 Writing . . 
 Comp'tiou 
 Grammar . 
 
 198* 
 
 I- 100-1 
 
 50 
 
 190 
 50 
 60 
 
 78 
 
 . . 
 
 190 
 50 
 60 
 
 78 
 
 150 
 50 
 75 
 96 
 
 120 
 50 
 60 
 90 
 
 120 
 50 
 60 
 90 
 
 120 
 [200 
 
 120 
 160 
 100 
 
 120 
 160 
 100 
 
 Totals . . 
 
 348 
 
 378 
 
 878 
 
 371 
 
 320 
 
 320 1 320 
 
 380 
 
 380 
 
 * Including story-telling. 
 
 It should be understood that the above figures 
 are only tentative and approximate, and are 
 given merely to show how an apportionment 
 may be made under given conditions. It should 
 be understood also that the time given is the 
 recitation time only of a pupil or group of pu-
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 105 
 
 pils, and that the time occupied outside of recita- 
 tion in copying or composing is not counted in 
 the above schedule. One advantage in the way 
 of time saving v^hich composition, spelhng and 
 writing have over some other subjects should be 
 taken into account, and that is the practicability 
 of having all the pupils of a school recite to- 
 gether. 
 
 Course in mathematics, including arithmetic, 
 form and geometrical exercises, algebra, and 
 bookkeeping. 
 
 1. Mathematics, or the knowledge of quantity 
 and space relations, is taught both for its practi- Scope of math 
 cal and for its disciplinary value. In the ele- ^^^'ics. 
 mentary schools it is taught mainly as an art, 
 although the foundations of mathematical 
 science are laid throughout the grammar school 
 course, and in the upper grades something of 
 the science itself is taught. The department of 
 mathematics chiefly pursued in the elementary 
 schools is that of arithmetic, — the elements of 
 geometry and algebra being taught in the upper 
 grades. To these is added a simple form of 
 book-keeping, which may be regarded as an ex- 
 tension of the practical side of arithmetic. 
 
 Arithmetic is a knowledge of numbers, their 
 expression, relations, and operations. The num- Arithmetic 
 hers to be learned are integral and fractional, 
 simple and denominate. So much of this knowl- 
 edge should be acquired as will help the pupils 
 to solve all the ordinary problems of daily life, 
 and at the same time serve as a means of 
 mental discipline. The scope of arithmetic in
 
 106 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 successive grades will be determined largely by 
 the power of the pupils to grasp new relations 
 and conditions. In recent courses a broad basis 
 of subjects has been prescribed for the lower 
 grades, including fractions (both common and 
 decimal), percentage, and measurements. The 
 two kinds of work, — computations with abstract 
 numbers and work in practical problems,— should 
 be presented in all grades, the amount of the 
 former decreasing and of the latter increasing 
 in successive grades. 
 
 The aim of geometry in the grammar school 
 is chiefly to supplement the course in arithmetic, 
 
 Oeometry. and to furnish a good basis for instruction in 
 mechanical drawing and manual training. The 
 work required should be both constructive and 
 inventional, supplemented by as many simple 
 demonstrations as circumstances will permit, 
 the aim being to make the work as practical as 
 possible. 
 
 The design of algebra in the grammar school 
 is to give pupils a general idea of numerical re- 
 
 Alffebra lations and operations. Besides furnishing short 
 
 and easy solutions of problems which are by 
 arithmetic quite difficult, algebra gives pupils 
 the power to state in general terms the condi- 
 tions of a problem and the process of its solu- 
 tion, and thereby to deal with formulae and rules 
 more easily than by arithmetic. Moreover, the 
 elementary work in algebra may be so arranged 
 as to give support to the higher form of the 
 study in the high school. 
 
 Bookkeeping may be regarded as only one of
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 107 
 
 the many practical applications of arithmetic. 
 Its end in the grammar school is ability to keep Bookkeeping 
 accounts which would be ordinarily needed by a 
 farmer, mechanic, or small retail shopkeeper. 
 Incidentally there will be acquired in the study 
 some knowedge useful in higher forms of book- 
 keeping. 
 
 2. The close relations of the various depart- 
 ments of mathematics to one another are ap- 
 parent. So close are these relations in the early „ , ,. 
 
 ^ *' Relations of 
 
 stages of algebra and geometry that the subjects the various de- 
 may be said to be continuous rather than dis- partments of 
 Crete. This is especially true in many kinds of "mathematics, 
 practical work in which arithmetical processes 
 are shortened by the use of algebraic symbols, 
 and are practically applied in geometrical meas- 
 urements. 
 
 The relation of the subjects of this group to 
 other subjects of study is not so close as to make 
 it necessary to bring them together constantly. 
 Yet the facts of geography, history, and elemen- 
 tary science may be sometimes employed in 
 arithmetical operations, to the advantage of all 
 the subjects involved. 
 
 3. Wliile it is true, as has been said, that there 
 should be a broad basis of subjects in the lower 
 grades in the operations to be performed with 
 numbers, there is a progressive order which 
 should be prescribed in a course of studies. 
 This order has to do with the relative complexity 
 of processes and also with the size of the num- 
 bers. In integral numl)ers, the work prescribed 
 should be in successive steps, as follows: (a)
 
 108 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Sequence of 
 work in arith- 
 metic. 
 
 from 1 to 10, (6) from 1 to 20, (c) from 1 to 100, 
 (d) from 1 to 1,000, (e) from 1 to 1,000,000, (/) 
 unlimited. lu fractional numbers, the fractional 
 parts of numbers should be taught almost 
 from the beginning, and proceed in the third 
 grade with fractional units, using in succession 
 halves, fourths, eighths, thirds, sixths, twelfths, 
 ninths, fifths, sevenths, and elevenths. Deci- 
 mals begun as early as the fourth grade should 
 be taught by steps from tenths, hundredths, and 
 thousandths, which are the only decimals used 
 for one year, to decimals of a lower denomina- 
 tion. Denominate numbers should be taught 
 from the very beginning, the order of instruc- 
 tion being generally from measures most famil- 
 iar to those that are less familiar. 
 
 The order of teaching numbers of all kinds 
 should be first with objects and afterwards with- 
 out objects, and also first without figures and 
 afterwards with figures; the warning being 
 given that too much dependence should not be 
 placed upon aids, either by using the objects too 
 long or by employing figures unnecessarily in 
 the solution of problems. 
 
 The sequence of steps in algebra and geome- 
 try will be indicated later, when their limita- 
 tions are treated. 
 
 ■l. The time allotted to arithmetic should be 
 given mainly to what may be called the essen- 
 tials of the subject, or to such work as will be 
 found useful in everyday life. The following 
 topics will indicate the degree of restriction that 
 may be made:
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 109 
 
 (1) correctness and rapidity in adding, sub- Limitations of 
 tracting, multiplying and dividing; arithmetic. 
 
 (2) ability to work without the aid of figures 
 in all operations, to 100 in whole numbers, to 
 twelfths in common fractions and to thous- 
 andths in decimals ; 
 
 (3) knowledge and skill in the use of such de- 
 nominate numbers as are used ordinarily in buy- 
 ing and selling and in keeping accounts ; 
 
 (-1) knowledge of percentage and of the simple 
 applications of percentage, such as are needed 
 in ordinary business affairs ; 
 
 (5) knowledge of geometrical measurements, 
 so far as to perform problems involved in the 
 ordinary affairs of life. 
 
 It should be understood that if more is done 
 than is comprised in the above outline, it should 
 not be at the expense of thoroughness in these 
 subjects. It is believed that a large part of this 
 work can be done in the first six grades. Dur- 
 ing the last two grades one or two lessons a 
 week might be given to the' more difficult prob- 
 lems involved. 
 
 The geometrical exercises of the grammar 
 school should be limited to work in mensuration Limitations of 
 carried on in connection with arithmetic, and to S«o"ietiy. 
 exercises of a concrete and experimental kind. 
 The following outline in mensuration, followed 
 in the Springfield, Mass., course, sufficiently in- 
 dicates the needed limitations of this part of the 
 subject : 
 
 A. Surfaces. — (1) Parts, (a) number of sides,
 
 110 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 (6) relative direction of sides (whether parallel, 
 perpeDdicular, etc.), (c) angles. 
 
 (2) Comparison with other surfaces as to (a), 
 
 (b) and {c). 
 
 (3) Length of perimeter or circumference. 
 (4) Area. 
 
 B. Solids. — (1) Parts, (a) number of faces, (6) 
 kinds of faces, (plane or curved), (c) number of 
 edges, id) relative direction of faces (whether 
 parallel, perpendicular, etc. 
 
 (2) Comparison with other solids as to (a), (6), 
 
 (c) and {d). 
 
 (3) Length of all the edges. (4) Surface area. 
 (5) Volume or solid contents. 
 
 ^■^'The limitations of work prescribed in experi- 
 mental and constructive geometry should not be 
 too strictly drawn. The better way will be to 
 present an outline from which teachers may 
 select work adapted to the ability of their pupils. 
 Such an outline may include : 
 
 (1) definition of volume, surface, line, angle 
 
 (2) definitions of various kinds of lines 
 
 (3) definitions of various kinds of angles 
 
 (4) division of line into any number of equal 
 parts 
 
 (5) construction of angles of various magni- 
 tudes 
 
 (6) definitions of various kinds of triangles, 
 parts, etc. 
 
 (7) problems relating to angles and sides of 
 triangles 
 
 (8) definitions of quadrilateral and kinds of 
 quadrilaterals
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 111 
 
 (9) problems relating to angles and sides of 
 parallelograms 
 
 (10) definitions of pentagon, hexagon, hepta- 
 gon, etc. 
 
 (11) problems relating to the construction of 
 polygons 
 
 (12) problems relating to the division of poly- 
 gons 
 
 (13) problems relating to the construction of 
 similar polygons 
 
 (1-4) definitions of circle and parts of circle 
 
 (15) problems relating to diameter, circumfer- 
 ence, arc, chord, secant and tangent 
 
 (16) definitions of various kinds of volumes 
 
 (17) problems in relation to the surfaces of 
 volumes 
 
 (18) problems in relation to the solid contents 
 of volumes. 
 
 The problems indicated in the above outline 
 may be either concrete and constructive, or 
 demonstrative, depending upon the ability of a 
 class or of the individual pupils of a class. 
 
 If the purposes of algebra in the grammar 
 school are as indicated in a previous paragraph, 
 its limitations might be somewhat as follows: 
 
 (1) algebraic notation 
 
 (2) simple arithmetical problems, solved by Limitations of 
 
 algebra algebra. 
 
 (3) addition, subtraction, multiplication and 
 division 
 
 (4) factoring of simple algebraic quantities 
 
 (5) reduction of fractions
 
 112 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 (6) resolving of equations containing one and 
 two unknown quantities 
 
 (7) practical problems involving the foregoing. 
 Course in eleiiientary science, including nature 
 
 study, geography, physiology and hygiene, infor- 
 mation lessons relating to science, geography, and 
 physiology and hygiene. 
 
 1. The immediate end of all the studies of this 
 group is a knowledge of nature, including man 
 and all that is below man. The term nature 
 study in recent years has been made to cover the 
 study of plants, animals, and minerals, and the 
 elementary work done in physics and chemistry. 
 This group also includes physiology and hygiene 
 and geography. 
 
 While it may be necessary in nature study to 
 What is in- lead the pupils to learn through observation the 
 
 eluded m facts of nature, they will learn them not for 
 
 nature study. ,, . , • -, r- ji ,i 
 
 their own sake, nor mamly tor the use they will 
 
 make of them later in the study of science, but 
 for the habits of observation which the lessons 
 will help to form and for the abiding love of 
 nature which they will help to arouse. These 
 ^ two ends, therefore, the formation of habits of 
 observation and the arousing of a love for nature, 
 will determine largely the character and extent 
 of the study. It will include in their appropriate 
 season the observation of minerals, plants and 
 animals, and some of the more apparent physi- 
 cal forces. 
 
 These observation lessons will fail to produce 
 the desired ends if they stop with a knowledge 
 merely of what is observed. The interpretation
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 113 
 
 of phenomena is of more value than the mere 
 observation of them as facts. The adaptation 
 of parts of animals and plants to the uses they 
 perform will early become an object of inquiry. 
 It should be observed that while a love for nature 
 is the primary end of nature study, it cannot be 
 reached by simply talking about the objects ob- 
 served. Such lessons may drift into mere senti- 
 mental reflections of httle value. The facts 
 must be learned not by reading or hearing, but 
 by observing, and those facts should be reviewed 
 frequently enough to be readily brought to mind. 
 The study of physiology and hygiene includes 
 in its scope such knowledge of the anatomy of Scope of physi- 
 the body and the uses of the various parts as ^^^^/ '^^ ^ 
 
 study 
 
 will help the pupils to have respect for the body 
 and to keep it in health and strength. Practical- 
 ness of aim in this study should be paramount, 
 especially in the direction of forming good hab- 
 its and of preventing bad ones. 
 
 Through the study of geograph}' the pupils 
 acquire a knowledge of the earth as the home rp^^.^^ elements 
 of man. There are two elements, therefore, of in geography. 
 this branch of study; first, nature, in making 
 the earth suitable for human habitation; and, 
 second, the people, in making it a place in which 
 all the activities of life are carried on. So far 
 as possil)le, the pupils' knowledge of the earth 
 should be interpretive knowledge, or knowledge 
 by which they may understand the relations to 
 human life of its various features, such as cli- 
 mate, surface, soil, etc. 
 
 2. The facts acquired in nature study are
 
 114 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Relations of 
 the subjects in 
 elementary 
 
 Comparative 
 anatomy and 
 physiology. 
 
 closely related to the primary facts of geogra- 
 phy; indeed, many of the facts of nature study 
 and geography are identical. The subjects of 
 study in these two branches should therefore be 
 arranged in the course with reference to pur- 
 poses of correlation ; and where it is possible the 
 relations should be made to appear, as, for ex- 
 ample, the effects of running water as a topic of 
 nature study, and the study of relief forms as 
 a topic of geography. 
 
 The relations also of one or both of these 
 branches to arithmetic and history should be in- 
 dicated. Probably no subjects in the course 
 will be found to be more serviceable for compo- 
 sition and for drawing than these. If such re- 
 lations are not indicated in the course, oppor- 
 tunity at least should be afforded for abundant 
 practice in expressing by various ways the facts 
 acquired. 
 
 In the lower grades' resemblances and differ- 
 ences of the human structure and that of the 
 lower animals should be objects of study, and 
 in the higher grades the connection of the facts 
 of anatomy and physiology with those of chem- 
 istry and physics should be made to appear. In 
 all grades the relation of parts of the body to 
 their uses and of the uses to health and strength 
 should be shown. 
 
 3. The allotment of work in nature study to 
 be done in a given time, whether it be for a year 
 or a day, should be determined by the pupils' 
 natural powers, both of observation and of in- 
 terpretation. With young children, little is
 
 The Superintendent as Organize!' 115 
 
 gained by establishing a fixed- order of presenta- 
 tion. In general, it may be said that the obser- ^^[i^^^^^of 
 
 1111 1 X subjects HI 
 
 vations should be made first ' ' m the large ' ' and nature study 
 afterward more minutely; but if children are ^nd geogm- 
 interested in the parts of an object very early in ^^^^^" 
 their observations attention should be given to 
 them, especially if the interest centres in the 
 uses of the parts. It is always a safe rule to 
 teach those things which will best serve as inter- 
 preters of other things of value for the child to 
 know. On the same principle, a clear and defi- 
 nite knowledge of home surroundings is neces- 
 sary to a proper knowledge of distant features 
 and conditions. A knowledge by observation of 
 a hill range will be the means of interpreting the 
 distant mountain range described in the book. 
 As far as possible also the logical order should 
 be followed in teaching the various topics. The 
 situation and surface of a continent or country 
 may determine to some extent the climate and 
 rainfall, — a knowledge of which helps the pupils 
 to infer what the productions and the occupa- 
 tions of the people are. 
 
 In anatomy and physiology, the practice in 
 the best schools of deferring the teaching of the "P'^^'" ^"'\- 
 
 ^ ^ omy ana pliysi- 
 
 internal structure of the body until the later „]„gy for iiigh 
 years of the grammar school seems wise ; as also <'r grades, 
 is the practice of making domestic and public 
 hygiene a prominent feature of the course in the 
 upper grades of the grammar school and in the 
 high school. 
 
 4. In determining the amount to be done the 
 two chief ends of nature study should be kept
 
 116 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Ends and limi- 
 tations of 
 nature study. 
 
 Limitations in 
 the study of 
 anatomy and 
 physiology. 
 
 Place and 
 scope of 
 history. 
 
 in mind. To form good habits of observation 
 and to acquire a love of nature, there should be 
 no forcing of acquisition. In no study will it be 
 found more necessary to be led by the natural 
 aptitudes and desires of the children than in the 
 study of plants, animals, and minerals. While 
 it may be well to lay before the teachers a wide 
 field for observation, it should be understood 
 that such selection of the work assigned may be 
 made as will be best suited to given conditions. 
 Again a broad range of topics will furnish the 
 needed extra and optional work for some pupils 
 aready spoken of. 
 
 Strictness in limiting the study of anatomy 
 and physiology to practical ends should be care- 
 fully observed. No subjects should be taught 
 which are not clearly seen to have some bearing 
 upon every-day life. 
 
 Course in history, including biography and 
 civil government. 
 
 1. The place and scope of history as a branch 
 of study have materially changed in recent 
 years. Instead of occupying, as it once did, 
 a small part of the last year or two of the gram- 
 mar school course, it is now in the best schools 
 begun in the first year and carried on throughout 
 the course; and, instead of being a dry and 
 profitless study of wars and dates, it has come 
 to be regarded as a study both pleasurable and 
 useful as a means of culture. According to this 
 later view of the subject, its purpose from the 
 first should be to inspire the pupils with high
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 117 
 
 ideals of life, both as citizens and as members of 
 society. 
 
 Moreover, to lead the pupils to acquire a taste 
 for history, the subject should be made interest- 
 ing from the first. Myths, fairy stories, and 
 stories of semicivihzed and colonial life should 
 be told to and read by the children in the lower 
 grades, to be continued each year by the reading 
 of stories of biography and of American history 
 in chronological order in the middle grades, and 
 by the studyof English and American history in 
 the higher. All phases of social, civil, and insti- 
 tutional life are to be presented to the children in 
 forms suited to their interest and capacity. 
 Thus we see that history, which is a record of 
 the growth of a people from their earliest to their 
 present state, includes biography and civil gov- 
 ernment as well as history proper. 
 
 2. As history teaches all sides of life, it stands 
 in close relation to all the other studies of the 
 
 1 T 1 • 1 T 1 i. • Relation ot 
 
 school which are supposed to be a preparation iiistoryto other 
 for life: to arithmetic, in furnishing material for studies. 
 computations ; to science, in showing the analo- 
 gies of the evolution of the race and that of the 
 individual; to geography, in the use of charts 
 and maps, and in furnishing a basis of compari- 
 son whereby the present conditions of social and 
 civil life are better known; to literature, in pro- 
 viding the basis of much of the finest forms of 
 the oration, the ballad, the drama and the 
 epic; and to drawing and language, in awaken- 
 ing thoughts that deserve the pupils' best efforts 
 of expression.
 
 lis School Organization and Supervision 
 
 While most of these relations cannot appear 
 in a course of studies, they must be considered 
 in giving history its proper place. In literature 
 especially should the close relation of history be 
 recognized in the course of studies. There are 
 phases of history that can best be known through 
 literature, as there are forms of literature that 
 can be fully interpreted only by a knowledge of 
 history. 
 
 3. While the order of topics will depend some- 
 Sequence of what upon the interest and capacity of the pu- 
 subjects. pils, there is now a generally recognized order of 
 
 presentation which should be embodied in a 
 course. The first year or two may be given to the 
 telling and reading of folk-lore and fairy stories, 
 myths and fables. These should be followed by 
 reading stories of Indian and early settlement 
 life, supplemented by biographical stories. As 
 soon as the pupils are ready for it, and before the 
 consecutive reading and study of American his- 
 tory are begun, attention should be given to in- 
 teresting facts of local history, such as scenes of 
 celebrated events, early settlers, and well-known 
 traditions. Consecutive topical study in connec- 
 tion with the reading of both American and 
 English history should be prescribed for the last 
 years of the course. 
 
 4. The limitations of subject-matter in history 
 should be determined largely by the limitations 
 of time and by the demands of other subjects. 
 Not even a minimum of requirements should be 
 prescribed, so far at least as such requirements 
 are made a basis for marking or examinations.
 
 The Superintendent as Organize)' 119 
 
 In this, as in no other subject, may the amount 
 read and studied be adapted to the abilities of Limitations of 
 each individual pupil. If the work required to -rhistorr"'' 
 be done be given out and recited by subjects or 
 topics, each pupil may learn as much of each 
 subject or topic as time and abihty will permit. 
 The course therefore should be so arranged as to 
 permit the greatest degree of freedom in teach- 
 ing the subject. If this is done, and examina- 
 tions have their proper place, the teachers alone 
 will be responsible if the pupils have not a lov- 
 ing interest in the subject, not only while they 
 are being taught, but also after they have left 
 school. 
 
 Course iu drawing, industrial training, singing 
 and physical culture. 
 
 1. In no branch of instruction has there been 
 a greater change of place and scope than in 
 drawing. Twenty-five years ago the number of 
 public schools in which drawing was systemati- 
 cally taught was very small. Now the schools 
 in which it is not taught are as rare as were the 
 schools formerly where it was taught. 
 
 At first the cultivation of the aesthetic sense 
 was considered the only end to be sought, and r'urposc and 
 it was in some way thought to be reached ,i,.,j^yiug ^g ^ 
 through drawing endless castles and rustic mills study. 
 from flat copies. Later, the dominant purpose 
 seemed to be to make the subject as practical as 
 possible. This was effected by the introduc- 
 tion of mechanical drawing, which had little 
 relation to practical mechanics, and which was 
 generally a laborious and tedious process to all
 
 120 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 concerned. Gradually these two ideas of the 
 purpose of drawing as a branch of study have 
 been supplemented by a third, which is that 
 drawing is educational, and serves to train all 
 the powers of the mind. 
 
 As such the subject has its strongest claim for 
 a place in the programme. With this later idea 
 of the function of drawing have come improved 
 methods of teaching the subject, which serve to 
 accomplish in good ways the ends that were for- 
 merly sought : of aesthetics, by leading the pupils 
 to draw and to use colors in imitation of nature 
 and to appreciate by observation and study the 
 most beautiful works of art; and of practical- 
 ness, by drawing free-hand from objects, and by 
 connecting closely the mechanical part of the 
 subject with the work of manual training and 
 with the every-day uses of life. 
 
 If by industrial training is meant the careful 
 observation of and practice in the various indus- 
 tries of the home and community we can readily 
 Claims of in- ggg j^g extended scope as including all those sub- 
 
 dustrial train- .. />jt i-i • ix-ii 
 
 ^ jects of study which are m any way related to 
 
 vocational service, especially to service that can 
 be rendered with the hands. The best manual 
 training is no longer confined to working in wood 
 nor is its end merely discipline or dexterity in 
 the use of tools. As a school study it is preemi- 
 nently practical, helping alike to train the mind 
 and to prepare for life. Its claims to a place in 
 the course of studies are : 
 
 (1) it teaches dexterity of hand 
 
 (2) it trains to habits of order and neatness
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 121 
 
 (3) it cultivates a sense of truth and right by 
 demanding exactness of details 
 
 (4) it cultivates the will in its requirements of 
 persistence until an object is completed 
 
 (5) it serves as a valuable aid to drawing and 
 art studies 
 
 (6) it cultivates the ethical sense in enabling 
 pupils to make useful objects 
 
 (7) it serves to offset the strain of intellectual 
 work 
 
 (8) it encourages respect for manual labor. 
 The reasons for making singing a regular and 
 
 systematic subject of instruction are that it ^^''P*^^^, °f 
 affords rest and recreation, is a means of healthy singing, 
 exercise, and cultivates the aesthetic, ethical, and 
 religious sense. Governed by these ends, the 
 aim and scope of singing as a subject of instruc- 
 tion are clearly (1) to train the ear so as to ap- 
 preciate and enjoy good music ; and (2) to under- 
 stand and be able to sing at sight any ordinary 
 secular or sacred piece of music. 
 
 2. The relation of drawing to manual training 
 is so close that each may be said to be incom- 
 plete as a subject of instruction without the ,i,^,^^!^i,"" ^o 
 other. Both subjects also are closely connected other subjects. 
 with geometrical measurements. Drawing as 
 a form of expression is closely related to every 
 other subject of study: to literature in illus- 
 trated sketches, to arithmetic in plans and work- 
 ing drawings, and to history and geography in 
 diagrams and maps. In fact, it may be used as 
 other forms of expression are used, and in some 
 cases it may be used profitably when other means
 
 122 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Relation of 
 singing to 
 other subjects. 
 
 Sequence 
 of steps in 
 drawing. 
 
 fail to express the thought or feehng. The 
 broadened scope of industrial training as a sub- 
 ject of study gives it a central place in the school 
 programme. Other subjects like arithmetic, lan- 
 guage, geography, and elementary science may 
 be closely related to it and be enriched by it. 
 
 In the lower grades the placing of singing in 
 close relation to the reading and nature exercises 
 and to the morning talk is made very effective. 
 
 The use of singing tones has come to be recog- 
 nized as a valuable means of securing good 
 speaking tones, just as the phonic exercises in 
 spoken tones have been found helpful in develop- 
 ing a good singing tone. Singing is also benefi- 
 cial in connection with some of the physical ex- 
 ercises in the lower grades. 
 
 3. Skill in the subjects of this group, as in all 
 technical subjects, will depend upon the fidelity 
 with which the successive steps are taken. No- 
 where is a close application of the maxims 
 ' ' from the known to the related unknown ' ' and 
 " from the simple to the complex " more neces- 
 sary than in connection with these subjects. 
 
 In the early stages of drawing as at present 
 pursued there is a free expression of ideas 
 through illustrative sketching without reference 
 to principles. Attention is then given to form 
 with special reference to correct proportion and 
 outline, succeeded by exercises which give skill 
 in rendering characteristic detail. Finally, there 
 is sought to be secured a full and free expres- 
 sion of grace of form and harmony of color.
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 123 
 
 In the mechanical side of drawing the succes- 
 sive steps are: 
 
 (1) exercises in precision, as paper folding and 
 cutting 
 
 (2) exercises in accurate measurement 
 
 (3) accurate drawing of surfaces of given di- 
 mensions 
 
 (4) conventional grouping of figures to express 
 solidity 
 
 (5) drawing to scale. 
 
 So far as the occupations of the kindergarten 
 are educative, they are but the beginning of a Progressive 
 series of manual exercises which should have exercises iu 
 no break throughout the elementary school ™^°"'^ 
 course. In the earlier stages of the course, 
 paper and card board should be extensively used, 
 and always in close connection with drawing, 
 for the purpose mainly of developing manual 
 dexterity. In the later stages exercises to teach 
 the use of tools should be given, and applications 
 of what has been learned should be made in the 
 manufacture of useful objects. 
 
 In singing, care should be observed that the 
 steps of technique be taken in a natural order, A natural order 
 and that the demands upon the children keep '^ ^' 
 pace with their vocal powers and musical ap- 
 preciation. 
 
 4:. Within the scope and time already kiid 
 
 T ,, T , . T -i i- ■ A iniiiiinum of 
 
 down, there need be given no hmitations m ^voriiin draw- 
 drawing and manual training beyond what is ing ami manual 
 necessary under a class system of instruction, inunuig. 
 Here, as in other branches, the minimum of 
 what is expected to be done may be prescribed,
 
 124 ScJiool Organization and Supervision 
 
 Limitations in 
 singing. 
 
 The advan- 
 tages of class 
 instruction. 
 
 Two ways of 
 classification. 
 
 together with extra or extended work to suit the 
 circumstances. 
 
 Limitations in singing should be made in two 
 directions : first, in respect to the time of learn- 
 ing the language of music; and, second, in re- 
 spect to reach of tones. Before the language of 
 music is learned the child needs to acquire a 
 musical sense ; that is, a love for and apprecia- 
 tion of music. For this reason two or three 
 years of careful practice in simple phonic exer- 
 cises and rote songs should be spent before sign 
 reading is begun. Such exercises are also needed 
 for a proper development of strength and sweet- 
 ness of tone. The danger of overstraining 
 young children's voices is avoided by confining 
 the exercises during the first year to the lower 
 tones. 
 
 The classiflcjition and promotion of pupils. — The 
 classification of a school is made upon the theory 
 that a group of pupils of nearly equal ability 
 can be taught more effectively together than 
 separately. There is an undoubted saving of 
 time in the presentation of facts or in a teaching 
 exercise with a number of pupils together over 
 the same exercise repeated to individual pupils. 
 In addition to this advantage of classification 
 there is the benefit of increased interest which is 
 always felt in the contact of pupils with one an- 
 other. 
 
 There are in general two ways of classifica- 
 tion — first, that of measuring off what it is 
 thought pupils can do in given periods of time 
 and putting them into corresponding groups;
 
 The Superintendent as Organizei- . 125 
 
 and secondly that of separating the pupils ac- 
 cording to ability into groups of a desirable size 
 and allotting the work of each group. By one 
 method there is a fitting of the pupils to the 
 work required and by the other there is an ad- 
 justment of the work to the pupils. 
 
 It can be readily seen that a formal following 
 of the first named plan both in classification and 
 promotions from class to class may be very sim- A faulty 
 pie and smooth in its working. To the school niethod of 
 official whose eye is upon the machine only it is ^^^^° '°°- 
 all that can be desired. If there are eight or 
 nine classes each with a year's work to do, the 
 method of promotion is simply to put forward 
 those who have passed the requirements, and to 
 *' keep back " those who have not passed the 
 requirements. 
 
 The ideal of mechanical smoothness is reached * 
 when the test of fitness for a higher class consists 
 solely of passing an examination given by the 
 school board or superintendent. Those who 
 have attained the standard set of seventy or 
 eighty per cent may go on and take up the sub- 
 sequent work. Those who have fallen short of 
 such a standard by one-half of one per cent must 
 repeat the work of the year. Such formerly 
 was the method pursued in many places and in 
 some essential features is still pursued. 
 
 The possible unfairness of the test of a single 
 examination has caused many superintendents i''o">o*'0"« 
 to modify and extend the test so far as to give ^j,,^,,,. ,.3.,,,^. 
 the pupils a better opportunity to prove^their fit- inations. 
 ness to do the required work. In recent years
 
 126 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 other serious defects of prevailing methods of 
 promotion have become apparent and many at- 
 tempts have been made to meet the difficulties 
 of adjusting the work to the needs of individual 
 pupils. But under the best plans of pronaotions 
 there are such inequalities of attainment in every 
 large class that it is found very difficult if not 
 impossible fully to meet the needs of individual 
 pupils. The duller or slower pupils of a class 
 are either unduly stimulated or discouraged by 
 the demands placed upon them, while at least 
 some of the brighter or quicker pupils are being 
 repressed and insufficiently employed. The fol- 
 lowing brief statement of plans taken in part 
 from actual experience will' indicate how the ob- 
 jections to class promotions may in a measure 
 be overcome and will illustrate ways of adapta- 
 tion to circumstances. 
 
 Plan A. — Two sections, six months apart in 
 attainments are placed in a room under a teacher, 
 the advance section being designated A and the 
 other B. These sections recite together in some 
 subjects, such as singing, drawing, and nature 
 study, while other exercises are given to the sec- 
 Two sections tions separately. If thought best by the teacher, 
 
 five months ,i -i r iu i i.- -j^x t 
 
 worthy pupils of the lower section are permitted 
 to do some of the work of the upper section with 
 the expectation of passing into the next higher 
 class with the latter named section. In some 
 instances also, for the purpose of gaining time, 
 pupils of one room are permitted to recite in one"* 
 or two subjects with the pupils of a higher grade 
 or class. 
 
 apart.
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 127 
 
 One month before the close of a semester, 
 teachers are asked to give to the superintendent 
 of schools or supervising principal a list of pupils 
 of whose promotion there is no doubt, another 
 list of pupils v^hose detention in the section for ^^'^ ^^^e of 
 another half year is also unquestionable, and a Ljpjisonlv 
 third list consisting of those whose place during considered. 
 the next semester is, in the opinion of the 
 teacher, uncertain. During the last month of 
 the semester the superintendent or principal gives 
 special attention to the last named list of pupils, 
 questioning them upon important points, and 
 under his direction all the teachers of each grade 
 prepare examination questions for the doubtful 
 pupils. The results of this test, together with the 
 impressions of the teacher and superintendent, 
 help the latter to determine whether the doubt- 
 ful pupils shall be promoted unconditionally, or 
 be required to repeat some or all of the last semes- 
 ter's work, or be permitted to pass into the 
 higher section on probation for one month. It 
 should be said that throughout the course special 
 notices are sent to the parents of those pupils 
 who are falling behind in their work. By this 
 means the active assistance and co-operation of 
 parents are secured. It will be seen that pupils 
 under this plan are given an opportunity to do 
 their best, and that not all the pupils are made 
 to fear examinations which have to be passed by 
 a few only. 
 
 Plan B. — The interval between the grammar 
 grades is one year in length, each primary grade 
 being divided into sections according to the abil-
 
 128 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Intervals be- 
 tween gram- 
 mar grades 
 one year. 
 
 Allotted work 
 for year gone 
 over in five 
 months. 
 
 Progress in 
 sequential sub- 
 jects, the basis 
 for promotion. 
 
 ity of the pupils. As there are three or more 
 sections in each primary grade, the intervals be- 
 tween the classes there are so short as to permit 
 frequent transfers from one class to another, 
 the section rather than the grade being the unit 
 of promotion. The nominal time for the com- 
 pletion of the primary school course is three 
 years, but many are able to complete it in much 
 less time. 
 
 In each of the grammar grades the essential 
 features of the entire work prescribed for the 
 year are taken during the first half year, and 
 those pupils who have successfully performed 
 the work, especially in sufch sequential subjects 
 as arithmetic and grammar, at the end of the 
 half year are promoted to the next higher grade. 
 During the second half year a? more minute study 
 of the topics in language and arithmetic already 
 pursued is made, by which an opportunity is 
 afforded for new pupils to do the work of the 
 grade, and for those who have done it imper- 
 fectly to review it. By this plan bright pupils 
 are given the opportunity of passing through 
 two grades in one year. All promotions, special 
 as well as regular, are made under the super- 
 vision of the superintendent, the teacher's judg- 
 ment being a large determining factor. 
 
 Two characteristics of this plan are noticeable 
 — first going over the allotted year's work in 
 some subjects during the first half year, and 
 secondly making the sequential subjects the chief 
 guide in determining promotions. 
 
 Plan C. — The sub-division of classes men-
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 129 
 
 tioned in plan B is carried into the grammar 
 grades, so far as to enable pupils in all schools 
 to pass easily from one grade to another. The Short intervals 
 yearly programme of studies is placed before 'between 
 each teacher, mainly as a guide to the order of 
 work to be followed. If one of the sections is 
 able in a given time to take up a portion of the 
 work allotted to a subsequent year, it is permit- 
 ted to do so, the teacher into whose hands the 
 section goes beginning after necessary reviews 
 where the previous teacher left off. Reliance is 
 placed almost wholly upon the teacher's judgment 
 as to the amount of work to be accomplished in 
 the given time and also as to the ability of pu- 
 pils to take up the subsequent work. By this 
 plan a greater or less departure is made from . "^'^ /^ ""'•^ 
 
 i^ <=> ^ in grades. 
 
 the yearly standards of work allotted, and in- 
 creased opportunity is afforded for individual 
 promotions. 
 
 Plan D. — Each grade of the primary school, 
 covering three years, is separated into groups as 
 in Plan B. The grammar school course covers 
 six years' time of pupils of average ability. A Three rates of 
 few weeks after the pupils enter the grammar ^p^'^' "^ p*''- 
 
 ^ ^ ° forming the 
 
 school, in September, they are separated into same work, 
 two divisions, according to ability, one division 
 called grade A, and the other division called 
 fourth grade. The pupils of grade A move for- 
 ward with the aim of completing the prescribed 
 grammar school course in four years, succeeding 
 grades being called B, C, and D. The pui)ils of 
 the fourth grade go forward more slowly, aim-
 
 130 School Organization and Sujjervision 
 
 ing to do each year only one-sixth of the work 
 prescribed for the grammar school. 
 
 The grades of these pupils in succeeding years 
 are known as fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and 
 ninth.* At the beginning of the second year 
 the pupils of what was grade A, now called 
 grade B, go into a room with pupils of the sixth 
 grade. During the first part of the year the pu- 
 pils of the sixth grade are in advance of the pu- 
 pils of grade B, but, owing to the superior ability 
 of the latter division, they all come together 
 during the latter part of the year. At the be- 
 ginning of the third year precisely the same 
 conditions exist as existed at the beginning of 
 the first year. The pupils of grade C recite with 
 the pupils of the seventh grade for a few weeks, 
 when a readjustment is made, the abler pupils 
 moving on at a pace sufficiently rapid to finish 
 the course in two years, leaving the others to 
 finish it in three years. 
 
 The fifth grade pupils are alone in a room 
 under one teacher during an entire year; the 
 same is true of the eighth grade pupils. In all 
 other rooms there are two grades or divisions, 
 one belonging to the four years' course and the 
 other to the six years' course. 
 
 A pupil who begins with the fourth grade and 
 remains in the slower division to the end of the 
 course will graduate in six years, unless he has 
 
 *If there is a sub-primary class consisting of 
 two or three groups of pupils, the grades in the 
 primary and grammar school will be numbered 
 from one to egiht.
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 131 
 
 to repeat. A pupil who begins with grade A 
 and remains in the more rapid divisions to the 
 end of the course will graduate in four years. 
 A pupil at the end of the sixth grade or of grade 
 B may go on with a division which will enable 
 him to complete the course in five years. 
 
 All promotions both from the grammar to the 
 high school and from grade to grade are made 
 by the class teachers, under the direction of the made by class 
 principal and superintendent. No pre-announced teachers baso»i 
 examinations are given, but there are frequent "^''^ ^''^'"'^ "^ 
 written reviews given by the teacher, the results 
 of which help to determine the fitness of pupils 
 to go forward. One feature of the plan which 
 has helped it to succeed is that of the employ- 
 ment of a special teacher in each building, whose 
 business it is to assist pupils who are behind in 
 their classes in any studies, or who are trying to 
 get into an advanced class. This assistance, how- 
 ever, is no essential part of the plan. It may 
 properly be used with advantage in carrying out 
 any plan. 
 
 By this plan it will be seen that the entire 
 grammar school course may be' finished in four, 
 five or six years, depending upon the stiength 
 or ability of the pupils, and all without the omis- 
 sion or repetition of any part of the course. 
 The plan can best be carried out in large schools ; 
 but the essential features of it may be adopted in 
 a school of two or three hundred pupils of the 
 grammar grade. 
 
 Plan E. — Each class or grade of pupils is di- 
 vided into three or four sections in the jnost iin-
 
 132 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Class divided 
 into tliree or 
 four sections. 
 
 Grading and 
 thoroughness 
 applied to but 
 few subjects. 
 
 The needs of 
 individual 
 pupils met. 
 
 portant subjects only. In all other subjects the 
 sections of a room are heard together in recita- 
 tion. The sections go forward as rapidly as they 
 are able to go independent of grade require- 
 ments. Indiv^idual pupils are placed at any time 
 in such sections as will enable them to work to 
 the best advantage to themselves, especially in 
 such sequential subjects as reading and arithme- 
 tic in the lower grades and grammar and arith- 
 metic in the upper, grades. 
 
 By this plan grading and thoroughness are 
 made features of a few subjects only, all other 
 subjects being taught quite independent of grad- 
 ing or of amounts required. This plan affords 
 great opportunity for individual promotions. 
 
 Plan F. — Promotions in the primary school 
 are made without regard to fixed dates. The 
 half yearly interval between classes exists after 
 the fourth year, two classes being admitted into 
 the high school each year. Much dependence is 
 placed upon class management to meet the needs 
 of individual pupils. Minimum requirements 
 are made for each class in every subject. When 
 these requirements are met by a pupil in any 
 subject, he is excused from recitation in that 
 subject for a longer or shorter time with the un- 
 derstanding that he will spend the time thus 
 gained in meeting the requirements of other 
 subjects in which he is interested. 
 
 In many cases the responsibility of deciding 
 how the extra time shall be spent rests upon the 
 pupils, their needs as well as their interest being 
 considered. The amount of time taken from a
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 133 
 
 given subject varies from a part of a recitation 
 to a dozen or more recitations. In some cases, '^™^ t^^^° 
 notably when a pupil enters from another school '.c^amr ^iv 
 in which he has covered a part of the required to another. 
 work, he may be excused from an entire term's 
 recitation in a given subject, the extra time 
 being given to working up some subject in which 
 he is behind the class. 
 
 Besides offering a good opportunity for fre- prequeut 
 quent special promotions the plan gives addi- special promo- 
 tional study time in school to some pupils, allows ^'""^• 
 time for the teacher to give special attention to 
 pupils who most need attention, affords oppor- 
 tunity for pupils to develop their latent powers, 
 and helps to encourage independence and a feel- 
 ing of responsibility in pupils. 
 
 Depjirtment.ll instruction. — By departmental 
 instruction is meant the instruction by one teach- 
 er of the pupils of two or more grades or schools 
 in one subject of study or in one group of sub- 
 jects. This plan, which is quite extensively fol- 
 lowed in high ischools, has been tried to some ex- 
 tent in the elementary schools, with varying 
 degrees of success. 
 
 - Among the advantages claimed for it by those 
 who have tried it are (I) better adaptation of Advanuvgesof 
 work to the tastes and abilities of teachers, (2) '^'^^.''J^'"'"^''* 
 a better preparation for and greater intelligence 
 in the work on the part of teachers, (3) increased 
 interest in the studies on the part of pupils. 
 
 The disadvantages of the plan as viewed by 
 some observers are (1) a tendency to narrowness 
 and irresponsibility on the part of teachers, (2)
 
 134 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Disadvan 
 ta":es. 
 
 Departmental 
 instruction in 
 special liranch- 
 es. 
 
 Grammar 
 soliools and 
 high schools 
 compared. 
 
 laxity of discipline, (3) a decreased opportunity 
 and inclination on the part of teachers to cor- 
 relate the studies, (4) lessened opportunity for 
 teachers to become acquainted with individual 
 pupils and to meet their needs. 
 
 Present experience seems to indicate that de- 
 partmental instruction is more generally ap- 
 proved in such subjects as drawing, singing, and 
 physical culture than in the so-called regular 
 studies. But as this preference is due largely 
 to the fact that regular teachers are not as a 
 rule well qualified to teach the subjects named, 
 there is reason to believe that all subjects of the 
 curriculum will be treated in the same way 
 when teachers become thoroughly prepared for 
 their work. 
 
 From a theoretical standpoint, it would seem 
 that some of the advantages of departmental 
 teaching which are (jfuite generally admitted to 
 exist in high schools must be gained by such 
 teaching in the grammar schools. It is claimed 
 by some that the difference of conditions in the 
 two kinds of schools ought not to be so great as 
 to warrant a v> holly different plan of classifica- 
 tion and teaching. It is true that the treatment 
 of subjects should be very broad in the lower 
 grades and that increased specialization is de- 
 manded in the higher grades. From this it might 
 be argued that it would be better for one teacher 
 to give instruction in several branches to pupils 
 of the lower grades than for the subjects to be 
 apportioned among several teachers. But this 
 argument would not prove that there can be no
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 135 
 
 profitable specialization in the elementary schools. 
 Certainly it cannot justify a sudden and radical 
 change of plan in the beginning of the high 
 school course. 
 
 There is little doubt of the desirability of hav- 
 ing one teacher for all subjects in the lower one teacher 
 grades of the elementary schools. By continued for ail sub- 
 contact only can the teacher become thoroughly i^^*^ ^" ^''^®*' 
 
 "-rades 
 
 acquainted with the children and their needs. '^ 
 On this account the teacher should be with the 
 same class of pupils if possible a longer time 
 than one year, a plan quite as useful for the 
 regular teacher as for the departmental teacher. 
 As the pupils advance they might gradually 
 come under departmental instruction. For ex- ^^ limited 
 ample in the fifth or sixth year one subject ''^'"^"" ^ 
 
 ^ ^ J partracutal 
 
 might be taught by a teacher other than the u-aching in 
 regular teacher, and in the following year one or "ppei" grades 
 two more subjects might be treated in the same " s'^^™**'' 
 
 '' ° schools. 
 
 way. By such a course the regular teacher 
 would have a gradually lessened charge of his 
 pupils, until in the highest grade a minimum of 
 seventy or seventy- five percentum of time is 
 reached in which he is in his own room. 
 
 It would seem that a proper adjustment of 
 work would warrant a teacher's having only one 
 subject or two closely correlated subjects to I'ossiiJ'i- 
 
 . , , ■ T n ^ ■ rni i. IlH-thods of 
 
 teach outside of his room. The one or two ,i,,pnrt,ucnt«i 
 special subjects might very properly be given in instruction. 
 grades quite near to the grade of pupils over 
 whom the teacher has regular charge. For ex- 
 ample the teacher of a seventh grade might have 
 charge of the geography in the sixth, seventh and
 
 13(5 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 eighth grades; or the teacher of an eighth grade 
 might have charge of the drawing in the three 
 highest grades. 
 
 As to a choice of subjects for speciahzation 
 e , . ... several circumstances should be considered, the 
 
 bub]ecls tor 
 
 specialization, fii'st being the Special choice and ability of the 
 teachers. In a large building or in a gi'oup of 
 schools, the teachers are likely to differ greatly 
 in natural and acquired ability, and therefore 
 each teacher should be given as far as possible 
 that subject to teach in two or more grades 
 which he can teach best. 
 
 Again those subjects should be selected for de- 
 partmental instruction which are the most tech- 
 nical, especially if there are no special super- 
 visors for those subjects. Such subjects as mu- 
 sic, drawing, penmanship, nature study, and 
 physical training involve points of difficulty 
 which can be worked out to best advantage by 
 one who gives special attention to them. 
 
 Again it is sometimes advisable to select those 
 subjects for departmental instruction w hich are 
 not closely graded and which may be taught 
 to two or three grades of pupils at once. The 
 subjects above named are, on this account, to 
 be preferred for special teaching to those subjects 
 which may have to be taught by grades or sec- 
 tions. Moreover if the special teacher takes an 
 entire school or room of pupils to teach, there 
 is less likely to be laxity of discipline than when 
 the same class of pupils have to be taught in 
 sections. 
 
 To prevent a too great specialization of teach-
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 137 
 
 ing and to facilitate the needed correlation of 
 
 studies, there should be frequent consultations of ^^*^^^f^ ^^®" 
 
 guards. 
 
 teachers for the purpose of laying out the cor- 
 related subjects and of apportioning the time and 
 work so that each subject shall have its proper 
 share of attention. 
 
 Child study. — Every superintendent and school 
 board feels obliged sooner or later to consider 
 how far the pupils of the schools are to become 
 subjects of inquiry respecting their condition of Theueedof 
 body and mind and the circumstances under ciiiid study. 
 which they are carrying on the work of the 
 schools. There can be no question as to the de- 
 sirability of making such inquiry on the part of 
 teachers as will enable them to reach most effi- 
 ciently the needs of each pupil. It may be said 
 that this is already done by good teachers, but 
 even good teachers need the direct assistance and 
 cooperation of the supervising authorities fully 
 to accomphsh the ends most desired. 
 
 The most obvious need of individual inquiry 
 is in respect to the physical condition of the pu- "^j^^ respect- 
 pils. Extended investigations have revealed the ing the physi- 
 most alarming physical defects in the pupils of ^^i' condition 
 all grades of schools, especially defects of sight *' '*"^'' *^' 
 and hearing. * Without a knowledge of hygienic 
 conditions and physical defects, teachers-cannot 
 properly meet the needs of their pupils either of 
 body or of mind. To such ignorance mon* per- 
 haps than to any other cause may be attributed 
 the continuance and too frequently the increase 
 
 *For reports of investigations respecting the 
 sight and hearing of pupils see Appendix F.
 
 138 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 A record of 
 pupils' inter- 
 ests and char- 
 acteristics. 
 
 Separation of 
 all abnormally 
 defective chil- 
 dren. 
 
 of physical ills, while on account of it some of 
 the modern mistakes of both over and under 
 pressure may be due. It becomes advisable 
 therefore for provision to be made whereby 
 all the essential facts shall be ascertained re- 
 specting the sight, hearing, and general health 
 of all the pupils. This should be done by the 
 teachers under expert direction and the facts 
 should be carefully noted and preserved.* 
 
 While the physical condition of the pupils 
 should be definitely noted, a knowledge of their 
 mental characteristics is scarcely less important. 
 Such facts as each pupil's deepest interest and 
 chief characteristic and the extent of his mental 
 power in various directions occasionally recorded 
 by the teacher will be a valuable aid not only to 
 the teachers making the observations but also to 
 the subsequent teachers. The Life Book made 
 in the schools of France and the record of cer- 
 tain facts pertaining to each pupil which is kept 
 in some of the schools of this country indicate 
 a kind of child study which may well challenge 
 the attention of progressive teachers. f 
 
 Special schools and classes. — Schools for defec- 
 tives. — It ought to be assumed that no child 
 shall be allowed to attend the regular public 
 school whose presence in the school has a deter- 
 rent or demoralizing effect upon the other pu- 
 
 * Notes respecting school hygiene, the meth- 
 ods and means of ascertaining the physical con- 
 dition of pupils are given in Appendix F. 
 
 t Some of the records used for these observa- 
 tions are given in Chapters IX and XII.
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 139 
 
 pils. For the sake of all concerned, abnormally 
 defective children, such as the blind, deaf-mute, 
 and feeble-minded, should be educated in special 
 schools supported either by the state or by the 
 municipality in which such children live. 
 
 For blind and deaf children and for the milder 
 cases of feeble-minded children, special local Special local 
 schools may be established in places where the schools. 
 number of such children warrant it, the chil- 
 dren living at home. Attendance upon these 
 institutions should be obligatory on the part of 
 all defectives not otherwise provided for. The 
 home school for defectives should be so organized 
 that no teacher will have more than twelve or 
 fifteen pupils to care for at any time, a large 
 part of the work being with individual children. 
 A fuller treatment of this subject will be found 
 in chapter XI. 
 
 Provision for individual instruction. — For 
 simply backward pupils or for those who need ex- \'^'^"'^ *^^ ""'5 
 
 ^ "^ ^ ^ tlie needs of 
 
 tra mdividual assistance to enable them to work backward chii- 
 profitably with a given class, special schools or dien and to 
 classes may be formed. In a school building or g'^emoreat- 
 
 T . 1 T M ii tention to indi- 
 
 district consistmg of three hundred pupils there viduai pupils, 
 are likely to be fifteen or twenty of such pupils as 
 need the special attention of a superior teacher. 
 No attempt at grading these pupils should be 
 made unless there are enough for two or more 
 schools in a building or neighborhood, in which 
 case the division might be made on lines of pro- 
 ficiency in reading and arithmetic or in reading 
 and writing. 
 
 One means of giving special assistance to in-
 
 140 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 dividual pupils is the employment of an extra 
 teacher who hears no recitations but passes from 
 seat to seat to give pupils such assistance as 
 they need.* 
 
 Vacation schools. — The demoralizing influence 
 of idleness or want of regular occupation is no 
 where more apparent than among children in 
 cities and villages during the long summer vaca- 
 tion, and the demoralization is scarcely less ap- 
 parent in some of the seaside and mountain re- 
 sorts. To remedy the harm in some degree, a 
 few cities and large towns have maintained 
 vacation schools with most excellent results. 
 The programme of these schools is usually 
 The pro- quite different from that of the ordinary school, 
 
 gramme o va- ][3gJQg gjyen largely to nature study, reading, 
 industrial exercises of various kinds, and physi- 
 cal exercises, including interesting plays and 
 games. It is also found useful in some vacation 
 schools to offer opportunity for a limited amount 
 of study in some such sequential branches as 
 reading, arithmetic, and grammar, by means of 
 'which pupils may work into a higher grade in 
 the fall term of school. These schools may also 
 afford opportunity for good field work in geogra- 
 phy as well as in geology and botany. 
 
 So popular have summer schools become that 
 it has been found difficult in some places to meet 
 the demand for them. The hope is that they 
 will become universal, and be as vital a part of 
 
 * This is known as the Batavia plan, having 
 been introduced in the schools of Batavia, N. Y., 
 by Superintendent John Kennedy.
 
 The Superintendent as Organizei^ 141 
 
 the public school system as the more strenuous 
 sessions of other portions of the year. 
 
 It is a fair question whether these schools 
 should not be placed upon the same basis of 
 compulsory attendance as other schools. No Attendance 
 doubt the promise of such work as the above "^'''" '"'"T'" 
 
 ^ session might 
 
 programmes offer will be sufficient inducement be compulsory 
 for a large majority of the children to attend 
 school during several weeks of the summer. 
 For the protection of the community and of a 
 few idle and disorderly children, the summer 
 session of the schools might very properly be re- 
 garded as a part of the compulsory school year, 
 but in this case the school officials should be 
 given full authority to excuse from attendance 
 at the summer session all children who are pro- 
 vided with regular employement, or who are 
 looked after with a reasonable degree of care by 
 parents or guardians. 
 
 Evening schools. — The notable response of 
 the people in some of the large cities of the 
 country to the proffered evening use of school 
 buildings for educational purposes suggests the 
 advisability of a universal adoption of the plan. 
 In New York and Boston thousands of persons 
 l)eyond school age during certain seasons throng 
 nightly the school-rooms for the purpose of 
 receiving instruction in various lines of study 
 and practice. There is no reason to suppose 
 that the response would be less marked in many 
 smaller places if the same or similar advantages 
 were offered. 
 
 There is probably no other outlay from which
 
 142 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Outlay for 
 evening 
 schools justi- 
 liable. 
 
 Evening 
 schools for 
 ordinary' 
 branches. 
 
 Evening 
 drawing 
 schools. 
 
 Evening high 
 schools. 
 
 there are so many immediate and direct results 
 as that which is made for well administered 
 evening schools. Of course the money for their 
 maintenance must not be diverted from revenues 
 needed for the support of the ordinary day 
 schools. The relative cost of the evening in- 
 struction in many subjects may be made consid- 
 erably less per pupil than that of the day schools, 
 while some of the expense for evening instruc- 
 tion may very properly be borne by those who 
 receive its benefits. 
 
 There are four kinds of evening schools to 
 which attention may be given. 
 
 (1) evening schools for instruction in the ordi- 
 nary branches to persons beyond the school age. 
 These schools have been in existence for a 
 long time in many of the larger places, and have 
 been found very useful when properly conducted. 
 Much of the work done in these schools is neces- 
 sarily individual, although in large cities a classi- 
 fication somewhat similar to that of the day 
 schools may be made. 
 
 (2) evening schools for instruction in drawing. 
 These schools are best patronized in manufactur- 
 ing places by apprentices and artisans who need 
 assistance in direct connection with their work 
 
 (3) evening high schools. These are estab- 
 lished only in large cities where there are many 
 graduates of the grammar schools who have not 
 found it possible to continue their studies in the 
 day high school. There are also others not 
 graduates of the grammar school who can profit 
 by the instruction in high school subjects.
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 143 
 
 (4) eveDing industrial schools in which various 
 kinds of industries are taught. It is to these Educational 
 schools that the term " educational centre " has ^^'^*^^^- 
 been applied and in which the unusual interest 
 above alluded to has been manifested.* 
 
 The qnalific<atioii and appointment of teachers. — 
 There is little need of urging the desirability of 
 securing for the schools teachers of the highest 
 possible qualifications. Every one is ready to 
 assent to Emerson's oft quoted estimate of the 
 importance of the teacher as compared with 
 other conditions of education; but not all are 
 agreed as to what requirements for teachers 
 should be actually made. Few of our American 
 states are yet ready to adopt the standards set 
 by the requirements of Germany and France 
 while there doubtless are many people who fail 
 to see that such requirements are either neces- 
 sary or advisable. 
 
 All are agreed in theory at least that the first ^ , ^^^^^^-^ 
 and necessary qualifications for a teacher is a character 
 good moral character, coupled with a refined essential. 
 and cultivated personality. 
 
 All too would insist upon a fair degree of 
 scholarship as a necessary part of the teacher's 
 equipment. In actual practice however, as shown Seiioiarsiiip 
 by examination requirements, there are varied 
 notions as to the extent of knowledge needed 
 for a teacher, from the idea that a teacher needs 
 to know only what he expects to teach to the 
 idea that he should have a thorough knowledge 
 
 *Some account of the work carried on in edu- 
 cational centres is given in Appendix E.
 
 144 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 of subjects far in advance of the immediate needs 
 of his pupils. Well estabhshed systems of edu- 
 cation abroad demand the last named standard 
 of acquirements for the teachers, and the trend 
 of sentiment and practice in America is in this 
 direction. 
 
 The acquiring of knowledge presupposes a 
 knowing mind, and the power of imparting 
 Professional knowledge is enhanced by a knowledge of how 
 ^ '^r^k"!!^^ it is best acquired. The teacher therefore must 
 add to his knowledge of subjects a knowledge 
 of mind and its processes. This knowledge of 
 psychology to be effective must be not merely 
 general and theoretical; it must be particular 
 and practical, a kind of knowledge which will 
 furnish a basis for a good philosophy of method 
 which all teachers should possess. 
 
 Whether we agree with the report of the Com- 
 mittee of Fifteen, which assumes that the prin- 
 ciples of education " are rational inferences from 
 psychological laws ",* or with Professor James 
 in the thought that it is not possible for definite 
 programmes and methods of instruction to be 
 deduced from psychology, f few will now deny 
 that the teacher will be a better teacher for 
 ^^hoio knowing something of the "science of the 
 
 mind's laws ". Even Professor James admits 
 this when he says that although the methods of 
 teaching are not derived from psychology they 
 
 *Report of fhe Committee of Ffteen, pub- 
 lished by the American Book Company, 1885, 
 p. 25. 
 
 fTalks on Psychology and Life's Ideals, p. 7.
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 145 
 
 must agree with it, and that " psychology ought 
 certainly to give the teacher radical helps."* 
 
 In recognizing the worth to a teacher of a 
 knowledge of psychology, we need not in any 
 way disparage that individual " inventiveness 
 and sympathetic concrete observation " which 
 Professor James makes so much of. Add to this 
 equipment of a teacher those other features of 
 professional training mentioned in the Report of 
 the Committee of Fifteen, and we have a stan- 
 dard of quahfications which is everywhere rec- 
 ognized as complete. 
 
 Recognizing this threefold standard of quali- 
 fications for teachers, viz. : a high personality, 
 good scholarship, and efficient professional abili- 
 ty, the superintendent asks with much concern 
 how persons possessing such quahfications may 
 be secured. Upon the assumption that the peo- 
 ple are interested in the schools to the extent of ^i^^^^^^^ ^f 
 giving freely to their support and of electing securing good 
 only able and disinterested persons on the school teachers, 
 board, the problem ought not to be a difficult one 
 to solve. The minimum qualifications of teach- 
 ers needed should be clearly set forth, and the 
 superintendent by personal examination or by 
 inspection of their work should make his nomi- 
 nations, froin which alone teachers sliould be 
 selected by the board. Sometimes a sin-^le nom- 
 ination may be made for a given vacancy, the 
 board either confirming or rejecting the nom- 
 ination. 
 
 The least which should be demanded of candi- 
 
 *Ibid, p. 9.
 
 146 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Minimum 
 qualifications 
 of teachers 
 defined. 
 
 The most 
 diflicult prob- 
 lem in country 
 districts. 
 
 Examinations. 
 
 dates for positions in primary and grammar 
 schools is the equivalent of a two years' normal 
 school training, and for positions in high schools 
 the equivalent of a four years' course in college 
 or normal school. At present the standard of 
 qualifications for teachers here mentioned is fully 
 met in many cities and large towns, and the re- 
 sults fully justify the extraordinary efforts that 
 have been made by the people and school officials 
 of these places. 
 
 The most difficult problem is to be met in 
 country districts, where the means of carrying 
 on the schools is generally quite limited and 
 where the expectations and demands are fre- 
 quently of a low order. Mention has been made 
 of the duty of the state to provide liberally for 
 the support of schools and to encourage a liberal 
 policy of local taxation.* Mention also has 
 been made of the necessity of designating in 
 some way a minimum of qualifications for all 
 the teachers of a state. f If all this is done and 
 if the system of supervision is at all adequate, it 
 ought not to be a difficult matter to bring the 
 schools of country districts up to the standard of 
 the schools now maintained in the larger towns. 
 
 The state may materially assist the authorities 
 of both larger and smaller municipalities by in- 
 augurating a system of examinations such as is 
 maintained in Germany and in one or two of 
 our American states ; and by requiring that this 
 standard of qualifications shall be maintained by 
 all the cities and towns. 
 
 *Pp. 17-20. -fP. 15.
 
 The Superintendent as Orgayiizer 147 
 
 Of course the best test of a teacher's abihty 
 is actual work in the schoolroom. Instead of a , 
 formal examination upon the professional side, the schoolroom 
 whenever it is convenient candidates for posi- the best test. 
 tions may be asked to take a class or school for 
 half a day or to serve as substitutes for a time. 
 Superintendents also will find it helpful to visit 
 the schools in which candidates are teaching for 
 the purpose of ascertaining their ability as teach- 
 ers. There are few duties of the superintendent 
 more important than that of making a wise 
 selection of teachers, and he can well afford to 
 go long distances to be sure that no errors of 
 judgment are made. 
 
 As a practical measure of precaution it is well 
 in the selection of teachers, especially in the case 
 of untried teachers, to place them on probation 'I'e'npoiary 
 for a limited time, and when they have proved '*'^^^'^'" ™^° ^- 
 their competence to elect them for an unlimited 
 time subject to removal only for cause. 
 
 Text-books and supplies. — If the rule is followed 
 as suggested (see page 43) that " no books shall 
 be selected by the board in opposition to his [the 
 superintendent's] recommendation" the respons- 
 ibility of having good text-books in the schools 
 rests upon the superintendent. 
 
 While a superintendent may be able by a 
 careful inspection to see the good features of a '^Q\Qf,^\^„ ^yxt- 
 text-book, he will always welcome the advice of hooks. 
 his best teachers. If therefore a change in text- 
 books seems desirable it will be found helpful to 
 give to one and another a text-book under con- 
 templation and to ask their opinion of its merits.
 
 148 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Few changes 
 of text-"books 
 should be 
 made. 
 
 Objections to 
 free text-book 
 system. 
 
 There need be no haste in making the decision, 
 and plenty of time should be given for a com- 
 parison of views. It may even be well to put a 
 set of books into the hands of a class of pupils 
 for trial under one of the teachers, and watch 
 the result. It may be found that a text- book 
 whose selection and arrangement of topics are 
 to all appearance good is not under ordinary con- 
 ditions found satisfactory in actual practice. 
 
 It should be borne in mind by school boards 
 and superintendents that frequent changes of 
 text-books are to be avoided. The teachers 
 should be made to realize that the value of their 
 work depends more upon them than upon the 
 text- book. This precaution is especially needed 
 in places where the parents have to purchase the 
 books. The expense of text- books in a large 
 family is sufficiently burdensome when there are 
 no changes of books, and when they may be 
 passed on from the older to the younger children. 
 If changes must be made it seems but right that 
 some method of exchange be resorted to, and that 
 the extra expense if any be borne by the city or 
 town. 
 
 As to the question of free text-books some- 
 thing may be said upon both sides. The objec- 
 tions most commonly heard are : 
 
 (L) the books are likely to be used too long 
 
 (2) the books are carriers of disease 
 
 (3) the plan of free text-books prevents the 
 gathering of educative books in the home. 
 
 Among the advantages claimed for the plan 
 are the following :
 
 The Superintendent as Organizer 149 
 
 (1) a necessary condition of a free and compul- 
 sory system of schools Advantages of 
 
 (2) an increase of attendance upon the schools hook^^* 
 
 (3) economy of time and money 
 
 (4) training of the children in the exercise of 
 care of things not their own 
 
 (5) the removal of a serious burden of ex- 
 pense from parents 
 
 (6) convenience in having books on hand when 
 needed. 
 
 It must be confessed that the arguments in 
 favor of the free text-book system are more 
 weighty than those upon the other side. Some 
 of the objections raised may be met by letting 
 the pupils as far as possible have the same books AVaysofavoid- 
 from term to term and even from year to year, "'g objections, 
 by frequently disinfecting the books, by letting 
 the pupils have full possession of the books after 
 using them for a certain time, and by ])ermitting 
 parents to buy individual text-books for their 
 children when they desire to do so. 
 
 Some of the advantages claimed for the fur- 
 nishing of free text-books may also l)e claimed Free supiiiics. 
 for free supplies, such as paper, pens, pencils, etc. 
 
 The cost of supplying text-books and supplies 
 to all the pupils will of course be greater during 
 the first year than it will be afterwards. It will Piobahio cost 
 vary in the different grades; the average annual <>f fiw text 
 expense for all the schools, high schools as well ''o"?^" '""• 
 as elementary ought not to be less than !? 1.2 5 per '■"''i"*^- 
 pupil, and will not be likely to be more than *? J .75.* 
 
 *The average annual amount paid for text- 
 books and supplies in Massachusetts for the ten 
 years ending 1902 was $1.()2 for each pupil.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Relative im- 
 portance of 
 supervision. 
 
 The superin- 
 tendent's 
 duties as 
 inspector. 
 
 THE SUPERINTENDENT AS SUPERVISOR 
 
 Reference has been made to the double duty 
 of a superintendent of schools — that of organ- 
 ization and that of supervision. Important as 
 the duties of organization may be, the duties of 
 oversight and wise direction of school work are 
 far more so. 
 
 That these more important duties are most 
 frequently neglected is a matter of common ob- 
 servation. One possible reason of the neglect of 
 this part of the superintendent's duties is the fact 
 that they are more professional in character than 
 his other duties, and demand a greater degree 
 of skill in their successful accomplishment. It 
 is comparatively easy for a superintendent to 
 allow his time to be wholly absorbed in matters 
 relating to the course of studies, attendance of 
 pupils, classification, and the like, not to speak of 
 the duty of attending to details of repairs, sup- 
 plies, and business accounts, which some superin- 
 tendents seem wiUing to assume and which some 
 school boards are only too willing to put upon 
 them. 
 
 School iiisppctiou. — The duties of a superin- 
 tendent of schools as supervisor are those of in- 
 specting, examining, advising, and directing. 
 As inspector, the superintendent should ascer- 
 tain, through observation and inquiry 
 
 (150)
 
 The Superintendent as Supervisor 151 
 
 (1) the condition of the buildings and premises, 
 and the character of the ventilation, heating, 
 and lighting of the schoolrooms 
 
 {•2) the attendance of pupils 
 
 (3) the condition of the school, including the 
 teacher's personahty and method of teaching, 
 the school equipment, and the work done by the 
 pupils. 
 
 Enough is said elsewhere respecting the con- 
 struction and care of school buildings and inspectiouof 
 grounds * to show the part which the superin- school build- 
 tendent mav assume in the inspection of what *"=^ *°*^ 
 
 icrounas. 
 
 maybe called the "externals" of the schools. 
 ■"Without permitting this part of his duties to 
 absorb much of his time, he will find it neces- 
 sary to have enough direct knowledge of the 
 condition and needs of the buildings and their 
 equipment and surroundings to co-operate with 
 all concerned in the securing and maintaining of 
 convenient and healthful accommodations for 
 the schools. 
 
 In matters of school attendance the superin- 
 tendent will work mainly through teachers and Cases of uon 
 attendance officers. Needed information of this -^"^'"'lan*^^ "f 
 
 pupils to be 
 
 kind will be gained by means of records and re- „oteii. 
 ports. He will however need to take frequent 
 note of cases of non-attendance and their causes 
 so as to advise intelligently as to a proper course 
 to pursue, both in general and in particular cases.f 
 
 * See pp. 6 1-64 ; also Chapter IX and Appen- 
 dix F. 
 
 + For the duties of truant officei-s and the ti-eat- 
 ment of truants see pp. -iT-ii* and Appendix E.
 
 152 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 It is perhaps needless to say that the element 
 of a well-defined purpose is as important in the 
 A well defined inspection of schools as it is in teaching. The 
 purpose neces- superintendent who in his visits wanders from 
 ^^^' school to school with no definite purpose really 
 
 accomplishes little. He may by chatting pleas- 
 antly with the teachers and pupils have a happy 
 time and perhaps make himself a welcome vis- 
 itor, but these ends can be quite as well attained 
 in a wise effort to make the work of the school 
 more effective. This is done by inquiry and ob- 
 servation along definite lines, with such sugges- 
 tions, directions, and advice as will lead both 
 teachers and pupils to work together with a 
 common purpose. 
 
 In a given week or month the superintendent 
 may wish to give special attention to a branch 
 of study that is to be treated at the monthly 
 teachers' meeting. At times he may desire 
 especially to follow up certain suggestions he has 
 made either to the teachers together or to a few 
 teachers separately. Again, certain points of 
 observation of use to the school board at its 
 regular meeting may claim his attention. In 
 all his visits he should not forget that the con- 
 ditions of the school require him to bring to it 
 chTr'andhei) ^Iways a spiHt of checr and inspiring enthusi- 
 fulness needed, asm. Whenever he find himself in a despond- 
 ent state of mind or in a condition of physical 
 discomfort, or in any way unfitted to appreciate 
 the good efforts and intentions of the teachers, 
 he should, if he works at all, perform other 
 duties than those of inspection. We may go
 
 The Superintendent as Supervisor 153 
 
 still further and say that if the superintendent's 
 habitual attitude toward this part of his work is 
 not that of courage, helpfulness, and unbounded 
 sympathy, he would better turn to some other 
 field of labor. 
 
 The superintendent's chief duty as inspector 
 will be of course in relation to the actual work Questions to be 
 of the school. The following questions should constantly 
 find frequent and definite answers in his mind in ^^^^^ ^'"^ 
 respect to every school which he visits. Are the 
 pupils constantly and profitably occupied in their 
 study or ' ' busy wort ' ' ? Are the tasks assigned 
 such as keep every pupil at work when not re- 
 citing V Is the teaching such as to lead the pu- 
 pils to acquire clear ideas of the subject or topic 
 presented ? Is the questioning of a kind to lead 
 the pupils to think for themselves and to express 
 themselves in an original way ? Is opportunity 
 afforded in the recitation for the pupils to express 
 fully what they have to say of the subject in 
 hand ? Is self-reliance encouraged in the study 
 as well as in the recitation of pupils ? Is the writ- 
 ten language carefully done, and is it such as to 
 encourage habits of clearness, correctness, force, 
 and originality of expression ? Are habits of 
 self-control being formed in the life of the 
 school from motives of a regard for the rights 
 and feelings of others ? These and other well- 
 defined questions should be constantly asked and 
 answered by the superintendent as he inspects 
 the work of the schools. 
 
 As the information thus gained will be not for 
 his own benefit alone, but for the use of the
 
 154 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 How notes of 
 inspection 
 should be 
 taken. 
 
 A 'notebook in 
 the teacher's 
 desk. 
 
 teachers and school board, it may be necessary 
 for him to take notes of what he sees. Some 
 objection has been made to the takmg of notes 
 in the schooh'oom by the superintendent. It is 
 true that teachers may be embarrassed by such 
 note-taking if it is done openly and frequently, 
 and if they do not understand the use to which 
 the notes are to be put. If, however, the notes 
 are taken quietly at the close of a visit or dur- 
 ing three or five minutes of his visit, some of 
 the objection will be removed. If in addition 
 to this precaution the superintendent makes it 
 known that the notes are to be used mainly for 
 the teacher's benefit, either directly in a private 
 conference or in a teachers' meeting, there is 
 likely to be little objection to the practice by the 
 teacher, A good method will be for the super- 
 intendent at first carefully to observe the work 
 of the school without taking notes. After a 
 time he may go to the teacher's desk, and, after 
 examining the register of attendance and the 
 written work of pupils, write in his notebook 
 such observations as he wishes to preserve for 
 reference. This may be done quietly, and with- 
 out attracting attention. 
 
 Some superintendents find it useful to have a 
 notebook in a given place at the teacher'.s desk, 
 and to make such notes in it as the teacher needs 
 to know, such as his opinion of the good and 
 poor points of a given recitation, or what better 
 method of teaching or examining might be used. 
 The teacher uses the same book for any questions 
 or remarks she may wish to note. It can be
 
 The Superintendent as Supervisor 155 
 
 readily seen that a judicious use of such a note- 
 book may be of great value to both teachers and 
 superintendents. 
 
 A word of warning is needed for some super- 
 intendents who are inclined to be too analytical 
 in their inspection of the personality and work 
 of teachers. While the inquiry should be upon rpj^g inquhy 
 definite lines, it need not necessarily be upon not to be too 
 many lines or upon very minute ones. If the "lii^te- 
 results of an over-refined inquiry become known 
 to the teacher whose work is inspected, there is 
 likely to result a sensitiveness and attention to 
 particulars which will seriously interfere with 
 her work. 
 
 Two outlines issued by reputable superintend- 
 ents will illustrate the possible dangers of this 
 kind of inquiry. The first outline is an " un- 
 classified Isit of one hundred suggestive questions 
 for self -examining teachers ". Some of the 
 questions are undoubtedly good ones, and may Examples of a 
 at one time or another be asked by conscientious ^^,^ ^^^ 
 
 •^ analysis. 
 
 teachers; but it is doubtful if so many as one 
 hundred or even ten questions, however good 
 they may be, should be put before teachers for 
 constant reference. Teachers above all persons 
 need to be as free as possible from the mechan- 
 ism of their work, and much introspection is of 
 doubtful value. 
 
 The other outline referred to is for the guid- 
 ance of superintendents, and consists of one 
 hundred and seventy questions to be answered 
 by them in their inspection of the work of teach- 
 ers. Here again there is danger of over-analysis
 
 156 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Danger of 
 over-estimat- 
 ing unimpor- 
 tant features. 
 
 Three parties 
 concerned in 
 the superin- 
 tendent's in- 
 spection. 
 
 in estimating the worth of a teacher. Some of 
 the questions must necessarily be trivial and 
 comparatively unimportant, and some of them, 
 it must be granted, are too severe a test even for 
 the best teachers. The standard of qualifica- 
 tions for teachers should be high but it should 
 stop far short of perfection. 
 
 In rating the work of teachers there is danger 
 of over-estimating those features which are not 
 satisfactory or of making comparatively unim- 
 portant features overshadow the important ones. 
 If for example the sole test of a teacher's worth 
 is his manner in the class or the order he secures 
 in his school, unmindful of the way it is secured, 
 an injustice is likely to be done to that teacher; 
 or if he is judged only by the intellectual attain- 
 ments of his pupils or by their attainments in 
 only one or two directions the same error may 
 be made. 
 
 The effectiveness of the superintendent's in- 
 spection will be determined both by the charac- 
 ter of his observations and by the use he makes 
 of them. The three parties most intimately 
 concerned in such observations are the school 
 board, the teachers, and the superintendent. 
 What the school board most needs to know for 
 its guidance is whether the work of a given 
 teacher is efficient ; and that, after all, is what 
 the teacher himself most needs to know, but 
 with this difference, that the teacher needs to be 
 told such details of judgment as will best assist 
 him both by supporting him in good ways and by 
 helping him to improve in ways that are not good.
 
 The Superintendent as Supervisor 157 
 
 Great care should be taken in making personal 
 criticisms or suggestions to teachers, lest there be 
 misunderstanding and friction between them and 
 the superintendent. The three elements which 
 should characterize criticism of any kind are tact, 
 fairness, and kindness. In recognizing the good sonal criticism 
 points of a teacher's work, and in always sug- 
 gesting another and better way than the way 
 criticised, the superintendent gains the teacher's 
 respect and confidence. In most of this con- 
 structive criticism the teachers should not be 
 made to feel that they are directed to teach in a 
 particular way. The better way should be in- 
 telligently and freely followed, or not at all. Of 
 course, if the neglect or the poor method em- 
 ployed is of a serious nature, and is persisted in, 
 there is little that the superintendent can do but 
 to report to the school board the nature of the 
 neglect or error, always avoiding the appearance 
 of anything like an exercise of arbitrary au- 
 thority. 
 
 It is needless perhaps to say that the visits of 
 the superintendent should disturb the school as 
 little as possible. It is doubful if anything be- 
 yond a pleasant, quiet greeting to the teacher ^'.^'^^ mtcnup- 
 upon his entrance into the room is desirable, regular work. 
 Even the kindly " Good morning, children ", by 
 the superintendent, and the children's response 
 in concert, may become perfunctory and mean- 
 ingless. 
 
 Few interrruptions of the recitation by ques- 
 tions or remarks from the superintendent should 
 be made, especially if the questions or remarks
 
 158 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Record of 
 each teachers" 
 work in par- 
 ticular lines. 
 
 are purposeless or without meaning to the 
 teacher. Individual work with the pupils at 
 their seats is also no part of the superintendent's 
 function unless for any reason he needs to know 
 the ability of certain pupils along special lines. 
 
 Record of inspection. — While it is true that 
 in most instances a general opinion of a teacher's 
 efficiency is all that a school board will care to 
 hear from the superintendent in determining 
 their action as to his retention as a teacher and 
 while it is also true that a too close analysis of a 
 teacher's work is not wise, it will be found desir- 
 able for the superintendent occasionally to make 
 a careful estimate of each teacher's work in par- 
 ticular lines. The following outline may suggest 
 points of inquiry in observing a class recitation. 
 Besides furnishing to the superintendent valuable 
 data for reference the observations and conclu- 
 sions will be a direct test and challenge of his 
 professional ability. 
 
 1. Name of teacher, grade and subject. Num- 
 ber in'class. Time given, etc. 
 
 2. What is the general aim or purpose of the 
 lesson ? (a) Instruction, (b) examination, (c) drill. 
 
 3. Does the teacher seem to have clearly in 
 mind a specific end ? If so what ? 
 
 4. If (a) [see 2] is too much or too little pre- 
 sented V 
 
 5. Is the arrangement of material good ? 
 
 6. Is there a connection with previous lessons ? 
 If so what ? 
 
 7. Is there correlation with other subjects ? 
 What and how ?
 
 The Superintendent as Supervisor 
 
 159 
 
 8. Are the questions such as to encourage orig- 
 inality and self activity ? 
 
 9. Are the important points emphasized ? 
 
 10. Is the recitation of pupils such as to en- 
 courage comprehensiveness, conciseness, clear,- 
 ness, and correct uess of expression ? 
 
 11. Is the manner of the teacher animated 
 and interested ? 
 
 12. Are the pupils attentive and interested in 
 the lesson ? 
 
 For more frequent and general note-taking of 
 results of observation some such blank as the General record 
 following may be used, intended only for per- ^^^' reference, 
 sonal use of the superintendent. The marks are 
 made on a scale of five, 1 being " very poor" 
 and 5 ' ' excellent ' ' . 
 
 Names of 
 teachers 
 
 Industry 
 of ]nipils 
 in study 
 
 Attention 
 
 of pupils 
 
 in class 
 
 Method 
 
 of dis- 
 
 •I cipline 
 
 Skill in 
 teaching 
 
 Manner 
 
 of 
 teacher 
 
 General 
 impres- 
 sion 
 
 Mary Brown.. 
 Sarah White.. 
 Emma Smith. 
 
 4 
 .5 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 3 
 
 
 
 2 
 b 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 ■i 
 1 
 
 
 
 4 
 4 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 2 
 
 
 
 In marking, the supervisor of course may use 
 any symbols he desires — letters, figures, or ar- 
 rangements of dots. There is an obvious ad- 
 vantage in having a record whose key is known 
 only to the maker of it. 
 
 If the purpose of the record is to furnish data 
 for the giving of individual advice to teachers, 
 special notes of work observed will doubtless be g^ggij^j „(, 
 better than either of the forms above noted, of work 
 Such notes also may be more satisfactory for observed, 
 reference in case the supervisor's rating as pre- 
 sented to the school board is challenged by ag-
 
 160 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 grieved parties. The following form of rating 
 teachers by supervisors has been suggested as 
 reasonable, comprehensive, and simple. Features 
 marked: (1) Personality, including character, 
 p,ppearance, manner, voice, etc. ; (2) instruction ; 
 (3) discipline: each feature to be marked a, b, c, 
 or d; a, meaning very good; b, good; c, fair; 
 and d unsatisfactory. 
 
 Exaniinations. — Although the superintendent's 
 visits are primarily for the benefit of the teacher 
 there are times when the direct work of the 
 superintendent with the pupils will be most de- 
 sirable. Sometimes the most effective way of 
 suggesting to the teacher desirable work to be 
 done or of ascertaining whether desirable work 
 has been done is by way of short oral or written 
 examinations given at the time of the regular 
 visits 
 
 Thus, for example, the superintendent may 
 desire to impress upon the teacher the import- 
 Short oral or ance of giving to the pupils much oral practical 
 written exam- work in arithmetic. He might advise or even 
 direct this to be done, with little effect. But a 
 brief examination will open the teacher's eyes 
 to the importance of such work, especially if the 
 results are poor, and the examinations along the 
 same line are repeated in succeeding visits. 
 These examinations, if oral, may also illustrate 
 to the teacher a method of questionmg by which 
 the maximum of thought and clear expression 
 on the part of pupils may be gained. 
 
 Occasionally of course the questions will be 
 quite impromptu, being suggested by what the 
 
 inations.
 
 note-book. 
 
 The Superintendent as Supervisor 161 
 
 teacher or pupils have done in recitation; but 
 generally they should be carefully made out with 
 direct reference to the possible use which the 
 results will serve and thev should always have a 
 
 . , » • 1 , . : . , - Designation of 
 
 point. Aimless questioning is worse than none, questions in 
 
 For convenience of noting and of reference, 
 the groups of questions may be designated by 
 letters of the alphabet. The following questions 
 will suggest the form and kind of examinations 
 which may be made in the various grades. The 
 Roman numerals in parenthesis indicate the 
 grades of pupils for whom the examinations are 
 intended. For example (III-Vj means that the 
 questions are intended for pupils of the third, 
 fourth, and fifth grades or years in school. In 
 ungraded schools the divisions may be indicated 
 by the letters l, m and u, which stand for the 
 loiuer, middle and upper divisions. 
 
 Oral arithmetic A (III-V) 
 
 1. Cost of half a dozen bananas at the rate of 
 three for five cents ? 
 
 2. Cost of thirty eggs at twenty cents a dozen ? 
 
 3. How many times will a pail containing 1 
 gal. 3 qt. of water fill a quart measure ? 
 
 4. Cost of 2 gal, 1 pt. of milk at 8 cts. a quart/? 
 
 5. If 4 lb. of cheese cost 50 cts., what must 
 be paid for 20 lb.? 
 
 Oral arithmetic B (VI-VIII) 
 
 1. At the rate of 2 for 5 cts., how many 
 oranges can I buy for $4 ? 
 
 2. Cost of 1 gross of buttons at I cts. apiece ? 
 
 3. Cost of 3 lb. 4 oz. of cheese at 12 cts. a 
 pound ?
 
 162 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 4. A man earns $1| a day. How much does 
 he earn in a week ? 
 
 5. At I of a dollar a peck, what must I pay 
 for 2 bushels of apples ? 
 
 Geography A (VII-VIII) 
 
 1. Give reasons for extensive manufacturing 
 in Great Britain. 
 
 2. Compare the area of France and that of 
 some parts of our country. 
 
 3. Compare the degrees of rainfall in the 
 countries of Spain and Holland and explain the 
 cause of the difference. 
 
 4. What are the industries of Norway ? 
 Why do they not include other kinds ? 
 
 Geography B (III-IV) 
 
 1. Water from the eaves of our schoolhouse 
 flows towards — — (name the brook or river). 
 
 2. The slope (east, west north or south) 
 
 of our schoohouse slopes to the (east, west, 
 
 north or south). 
 
 3. A divide crosses the road (east, west, 
 
 north or south) of our schoolhouse. 
 
 4:. The right bank of (brook or river near- 
 est to the schoolhouse) is the bank (next to, far- 
 thest from) the schoolhouse. 
 
 In taking notes of results of any of the above 
 
 examinations, the superintendent may write in 
 
 his notebook the school or class examined, the 
 
 Notes of results ^^^^ ^^ ^j^^ examination, the set of questions 
 
 in note-book ,. ', -n 
 
 given, and the per cent, ot correct answers. For 
 example : the note •' Miss Brown, V Oct. 2. Arith. 
 A. 65 " means that the pupils of Miss Brown's 
 fifth grade were examined on the second day of
 
 The Superintendent as Supervisor 
 
 163 
 
 October in Arithmetic, using a set of questions 
 marked A , and that there were 65 ^ of correct 
 answers. For purposes of ready comparison the 
 results of the examinations might be given in 
 tabular form thus : 
 
 School or 
 teacher 
 
 Titne of 
 
 examin- 
 
 ation 
 
 Class 
 examined 
 
 Subject 
 
 Set of 
 ques- 
 tions 
 
 Per cent 
 of correct 
 answers 
 
 Remarks 
 
 Mary Brown. 
 Sarah White. 
 
 Oct. 2 
 Nov. 3 
 
 V 
 IV 
 
 Arith. 
 Geog. 
 
 A 
 B 
 
 65 
 70 
 
 1 Great ex- 
 ■; tremes-Sper- 
 I feet papers. 
 
 A convenient method of tabulating the results 
 of a given examination is to write a set of ques- 
 tioDs on a page of the superintendent's notebook 
 and on the opposite page the name of the school 
 or class, number examined, and number of cor- 
 rect answers. Thus, opposite a page of three or 
 five questions in geography the results might be 
 given as follows: 
 
 School 
 
 Time of ex- 
 amination 
 
 Class 
 examined 
 
 Average 
 per cent 
 of correct 
 ansivers 
 
 Re7narks 
 
 Washington... 
 
 Nov. 9 
 Nov. 10 
 
 VI 
 
 M 
 
 of) 
 
 65 
 
 Most failures in 
 2a question. 
 
 6 pupils. 
 
 
 Much depends upon the way in which the 
 examinations are given. Two points of prime 
 importance should be kept in mind by the super- Conditions un- 
 intendcDt, or for that matter by any one who <J<^''bi"gtiH> 
 
 .,„ ,.,. • i.1 r> . 1 examinations. 
 
 examines, ihe conditions, m the first place, 
 should be such as wiJl insure the greatest degree 
 of freedom on the part of the pupils. The fear 
 of failure should as far as possible be removed
 
 16i School Organization and Supervision 
 
 from their minds. They should be encouraged 
 to give all they know of a subject, and especially 
 all that is the result of their own thinking. 
 
 In the second place the examinations should 
 be so conducted that the pupils will be entirely 
 free from the temptation to receive any outside 
 help. This should be done not merely because 
 a true record of each pupil's attainments is de- 
 sired, but chiefly because it gives no opportunity 
 or temptation to deceive. By degrees the habit of 
 honest speaking and writing will be so fixed that 
 there will be no thought of deception whgn later 
 there may be an opportunity to practise it. The 
 absence of a spirit of honor in examinations so 
 common in some schools is a sad commentary 
 upon the neglected opportunities of moral train- 
 ing. No amount of advice in respect to honor 
 is at all comparable in effect to the daily and 
 hourly guidance in the practice of it. 
 
 As a rule ample time should be given the pu- 
 Time allowed pils, both in Writing and in speaking their an- 
 for answers. swers. Sometimes, however, rapid responses may 
 be called for, especially in those matters which 
 should be quickly called to mind, as in some 
 foundation facts of arithmetic. In some examina- 
 tions the pupils may be given time to think their 
 answer and be allowed but a brief time for writing 
 it. Thus in a test of oral or mental arithmetic 
 the pupils may be given a question at a time 
 with a signal for writing it. 
 
 The following orders will illustrate this point: 
 (I) " Ready " — with pencil and paper (or slate)
 
 The Superintendent as Supervisor 165 
 
 (2) "Price of 10^ lb. of beef at 16 cts. a 
 
 pound?" A method of 
 
 ^ examining 
 
 (Pupils keep answer in the mind till next suggested. 
 order is given) 
 
 (3) " Write answer" (pupils quickly write 
 figures only of answer in the upper right-hand 
 corner) 
 
 (4) " Pencils down " 
 
 (5) " Those who have 168 hold up the paper " 
 (or slate). 
 
 The answers may be quickly inspected and if 
 needed note may be taken of the result. Quick- 
 ness, accuracy, and freedom from collusion char- 
 acterize such an exercise, serving the double pur- 
 pose of ascertaining what the class has done and of 
 indicating to the teacher work which either has 
 been well done or ought to be done more thor- 
 oughly. 
 
 Considerable space has been given here to the 
 methods of brief occasional examinations in the 
 hope of showing their superiority over the longer Formal written 
 and more formal examinations sometimes given exammatious 
 by principals and superintendents. The latter temieut should 
 kind of examinations may be occasionally given, be few. 
 but if they are frequently given and especially if 
 they are given as a full or partial test of the 
 ability of the pupils to go into a higher class, 
 they are open to grave objections. The inevit- 
 able result of such examinations is to force the 
 teacher into the employment of means and 
 methods which are now deprecated by the best 
 teachers. 
 
 In the first place, while a general examination
 
 166 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Objections to 
 examinations 
 for promotion. 
 
 furnishes a basis for comparison it is unjust in 
 not being given with reference to the needs of 
 any particular school or teacher. It may be 
 needed in some schools while it is for other 
 schools unnecessary and even harmful. 
 
 But the greatest objection to the formal ex- 
 amination for promotion given by a superin- 
 tendent or principal lies in its cramping effect 
 upon teachers and pupils. The questions so 
 given are a test of information only and of such 
 information as may be found in the text-book. 
 Not many outside or general questions are in- 
 cluded in the tests because it is seen to be mani- 
 festly unfair to ask such questions with conse- 
 quences so mometous as are involved in the pro- 
 motion of pupils. Superintendents who would 
 not scruple to blame teachers indirectly by 
 giving questions whose answers cannot be found 
 in the text-book v>^ould hesitate to punish the 
 children in that way. The result is that in 
 schools where the promotions depend in full or 
 in part upon tests given by an outside examiner 
 the work comes to be largely that of the verbal 
 memory, a kind of loading-up-process of informa- 
 tion in anticipation of the unloading process 
 of an examination. 
 
 It is this loading and unloading process which 
 has prompted some one to define the examina- 
 tion as a " permission to forget ", a definition 
 which is recognized in the preparation for col- 
 lege, where the requirements for admission de- 
 mand an examination upon certain books. The 
 limited capacity of the pupils in respect to the
 
 The Superintendent as Supervisor 167 
 
 information load is recognized by the college, 
 and the difficulty is met by the ingenious plan 
 of preliminaries in which the overburdened 
 candidates are permitted to forget on the instal- 
 meut plan. 
 
 But these strictures upon examinations can in 
 no way apply to examinations given by the 
 teachers themselves, or to the examinations by some examina- 
 superintendents or principals when the main tions desirable, 
 purpose is to test the power of the pupils and to 
 give a hint to teachers of the kind of work 
 which it is desirable to do. Good teachers 
 everywhere recognize the helpfulness of such 
 examinations and welcome them. 
 
 Written -examinations upon special lines of 
 work may also be given to a certain school 
 whenever it is found that wrong lines are fol- 
 lowed or wrong subjects are emphasized. For 
 example if the pupils of a sixth grade are 
 acquiring too few facts in history or are acquir- 
 ing unimportant facts, a set of questions care- 
 fully prepared by the superintendent should be 
 given to the school, and the teacher be asked to 
 mark the papers. If it seems desirable ques- 
 tions may be given to the same grade of pupils in 
 other schools for the purpose of a comparison of 
 results. 
 
 Teachisig. — The superintendent, if sure of his 
 ability as a teacher, might in addition to exam- 
 ining pupils give model lessons in teaching. He The supcim- 
 
 ^ ^ '^ » n , -1, , i • i teudent togive 
 
 ought at least to be ready to illustrate a pomt „^^,|^,i icggons. 
 of teaching or questioning which he may have 
 made in the teachers' meeting or to teachers
 
 168 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 individually, by taking a class of pupijs. He 
 may not be able to teach all subjects as well as 
 some of his teachers, but he should be able to 
 illustrate by example any principle he has given. 
 This may be done in response to a teacher's re- 
 quest, or at his own instance. If for any reason 
 however, he desires to conduct a recitation, it 
 would be well to ask the permission of the teacher 
 rather than assume it as a right and thus appear 
 to the pupils to dictate. It is needless to say 
 that all appearances of criticism of the teacher 
 before his pupils should be avoided. 
 
 The two classes of teachers who ought espec- 
 ially to feel the influence of the superintendent 
 are the poorest teachers and the best? ones. The 
 former are to be made better, if possible, by 
 judicious assistance, and the latter are to be sup- 
 support as ported by judicious praise. Those who stand be- 
 weii as advice, tween these two classes will undoubtedly be 
 greatly assisted by both kinds of influences 
 named. It may not be the superintendent's busi- 
 ness to fit untrained persons for the profession 
 of teaching, but it is undoubtedly his duty to 
 correct as far as possible the poor methods of 
 teaching which he finds, while it is equally his 
 duty to encourage in all possible ways the wise 
 efforts of good teachers. 
 
 The removal of iuefficieut teachers. — All this 
 suggests a matter of great importance to the 
 schools and of no little concern to the superin- 
 tendent, viz., how to get rid of incompetent teach- 
 ers. A teacher may fail from one of two causes, 
 — either he is unable to improve on account of 
 
 Teachers need
 
 The Superintendent as Supervisor 1(19 
 
 existing conditions, or he is unable to improve 
 under any conditions. In the former case, the 
 conditions might be changed by transferring him 
 to another school, or by giving him special assist- 
 ance; in the latter case, the teacher should be 
 dismissed, or be allowed to resign. In any case, 
 it is assumed that the superintendent has pointed 
 out to the teacher his faults, and has tried all 
 the means in his power to correct them. 
 
 To insure wise and firm action on the part of 
 the board in respect to the transfer or removal ^^j^^^ ^^ ^^ 
 of incompetent teachers, it is advisable for the with incompe- 
 superintendent to explain to individual members tent teachers, 
 what he has done, and perhaps to show them 
 the difference between the work of poor teach- 
 ers and that of good ones. By such means 
 members of the board whose interests lie in the 
 schools will not be influenced to retain incompe- 
 tent teachers from personal, political, or senti- 
 mental motives. As a matter of fact, however, 
 there are likely to be some teachers retained in 
 service who are not approved by the superin- 
 tendent. In such cases, the issue should be 
 squarely made, wholly on the ground of the well- 
 being of the schools. If there is no disposition on 
 the part of the board to act in the interests of 
 the schools, and there is a persistent effort to 
 elect and retain teachers on other grounds tlian 
 those of efficiency; and if, further, there is no 
 sign of a disapproval of such action on the part 
 of the people, then the superintendent is justi- 
 fied in moving to another field. 
 
 There is one powerful agency in the retention
 
 170 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 The influence 
 of division 
 committees 
 pernicious. 
 
 Local teachers' 
 associations. 
 
 as well as in the election of poor teachers which 
 may be spoken of here, although it has no direct 
 relation to the duties of the superintendent — the 
 agency of division committees of the school- 
 board to whom is committed the duty of recom- 
 mending the election .or re-election of teachers. 
 There could be no plan devised better calculated 
 to encourage a spirit of log-rolling than this, for 
 the recommendations of each committee are ex- 
 pressly made with the understanding that its ac- 
 tion will not be questioned. Each committee 
 practically says that it will interfere with no other 
 committee so long as it is not interfered vrith. 
 If such committees exist, their powers ought to 
 be limited by the rules of the board according to 
 which their action must receive the sanction of 
 the superintendent. 
 
 Teachers' meetings. — One important if not es- 
 sential means of raising the work of the teach- 
 ers to greater efficiency is the teachers' meet- 
 ing. There are several kinds of such meet- 
 ings which may be held either directly or in- 
 directly under the auspices of the superintendent, 
 viz. : — 
 
 1. Meetings of local teachers^ associations, in 
 which papers are read and discussed. These 
 meetings should be directly in charge of the 
 teachers, with such assistance as the superinten- 
 dent may be able to give. It may seem advisa- 
 ble at these meetings to consider matters of 
 general as well as professional interest, and to 
 invite one or more specialists to present papers 
 for discussion. The following programmes sent
 
 I he Superintendent as Supervisor 171 
 
 to members of a local association indicate the 
 possible character of the meetings : 
 
 1 heading of records 
 
 2 Special business: reports of committees, etc. 
 
 3 Address by of 
 
 Subject: — Practical ways of correlation 
 
 Discussion opened by Miss A. and Mr. B. 
 
 Small meetings 
 
 1 Opening exercises 
 
 2 Miscellaneous business 
 
 3 Educational progress of the nineteenth 
 century. 
 
 4 The art of study 
 
 Sup't 
 
 5 Discussion 
 2, Meetings for reading and study, in which 
 
 some particular topic or book is made the sub- for study' 
 ject of discussion. The superintendent may or 
 may not have the direction of these meetings, 
 although his advice will be likely to be needed in 
 making a choice of subjects. On some accounts 
 it will be found best for the membership of these 
 circles to be limited to a small number. 
 
 If a book is made the subject of discussion 
 the portion assigned for discussion should be 
 read beforehand by every member of the circle. 
 Definite questions may be assigned for members 
 to consider, or the assignment may be made by 
 pages. If a special topic is to be considered, sub- 
 divisions of the topic may be assigned to differ- 
 ent members to discuss. The announcement of 
 the topic may include suggestions in the form
 
 programm 
 
 172 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 of questions. The following embodiment of 
 this idea is copied from an actual programme:* 
 Subject for discussion: '^Motives and in- 
 stincts as bases of discipline.^ ^ 
 
 SUGGESTIONS 
 
 study the article on this subject in the June 
 ^ (1901) number of " Educational Foundations ". 
 The following questions are based on the arti- 
 An actual (.jg named: 
 
 What is meant by disci pine ? 
 
 What do you consider the chief motives which 
 a teacher should use ? 
 
 What value do you give to love of approbation 
 and fear of censure as motives ? 
 
 Should emulation be used as an incentive for 
 the child's best work ? Give reasons. 
 
 Discuss : 
 
 (1) " The value of rewards and punishments 
 is in inverse ratio to their number " 
 
 (2) " Rewards and punishments should be 
 given not for the possession or absence of facul- 
 ties but for their use and non-use " 
 
 (3) " The justice of the awards must be un- 
 questionable " 
 
 What value has suspension as a form of pun- 
 ishment and how should it be used ? 
 
 How may the curiosity of children be made 
 effective as a school incentive ? 
 
 If the number of members is small and it is 
 
 *Prepared by Superintendent Asher J. Jacoby, 
 Milton, Mass.
 
 Ihe Superintendent as Supervisor 173 
 
 not desired to study or read in advance of the 
 meeting, the reading may be consecutive, each 
 topic being discussed after the reading. 
 
 3. General teachers'' meetings, in which mat- 
 ters of common interest to all the teachers are 
 piesented. These should be directly in charge Meetings for 
 of the superintendent, and a large part of the ^^a^jjiei's of aU 
 time should be occupied by him. The most im- 
 portant and prominent subject for consideration 
 at these meetings should be the suggestions of 
 the superintendent, based upon his notes of in- 
 spection. These notes should be carefully ar- 
 ranged, with abundant illustrations. Following 
 this in importance is the consideration of some 
 vital subject connected with teaching, in which 
 there should be a free and full discussion by the 
 teachers, preceded by a short address either by 
 the superintendent or by some other person in- 
 vited for the purpose. 
 
 For the illustration of any principle or method 
 of teaching, a class of pupils may be brought 
 before the meeting taught either by the superin- 
 tendent or by one of the teachers. In any case it 
 should be regarded as a model lesson to illustrate 
 a special point, and to furnish the subject for 
 discussion in which all the teachers are expected 
 to take part. 
 
 Ji-. Grade meetings, in which only topics of 
 special interest are considered, such as the lim- 
 itations respecting the work of a given grade, or '""'^'"^^ '"6* 
 the most important subject to be taken uj). The 
 superintendent, of course, will take a prominent 
 part in the discussion of these subjects, and see
 
 1Y4 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 that each teacher clearly understands the con- 
 clusions reached. 
 
 Occasionally in grade meetings a model lesson 
 may be given to illustrate some method of pre- 
 senting a new subject or of reviewing a subject 
 already studied, but care should be taken that 
 the exercise has a jDoint or points which will fur- 
 nish the basis for suggestions by the superin- 
 tendent or for a discussion by members of the 
 section. 
 
 With few exceptions, the attendance of teach- 
 ers at teachers' meetings should be entirely vol- 
 Attendance by ^j^^ary. Of course the aim should be to make 
 
 teachers vol- '' 
 
 untaiy. the meetings so attractive and profitable that no 
 
 teacher will wish to miss a single one^ but there 
 need be few meetings which teachers should feel 
 obliged to attend. If possible, the times of 
 meetings should be so arranged that no one will 
 feel overburdened if he attends them all. An 
 average of one meeting a week should be the 
 maximum. Two meetings a month will be 
 likely to be as many as most teachers will be able 
 to attend conveniently. Consideration especially 
 should be had for those who are obliged to hire 
 a carriage or to walk a long distance in order to be 
 present. 
 
 Training of teachers. — Superintendents may 
 heartily agree with what has been said as to the 
 needed qualifications of teachers and still be con- 
 fronted by a condition of affairs which forces upon 
 them an undesirable alternative : that is to say, 
 instead of electing only well qualified persons to 
 positions as teachers the school board may persist
 
 TJie Superintendent as Supervisor 175 
 
 in employing untrained and inexperienced teach- ghaii local 
 ers. When such teachers are employed the training 
 question persistently presses itself upon the ^^^^^^^ ^^ 
 superintendent whether he will make the best 
 of the situation by training as best he may the 
 teachers in service or whether failing to induce 
 the school board to elect teachers having the de- 
 sired qualifications, he will endeavor to establish 
 a training school in which local high school 
 graduates may receive some preparation for 
 teaching. 
 
 There can be no question as to the inferiorit}^ 
 of an ordinary city training school to n good 
 state normal school as a means of preparing 
 teachers for their work; neither can there be 
 any doubt as to the inadequacy of the training 
 which any local training school can give to young 
 women just out of the high school. The altern- 
 ative sometimes presented lies between such 
 preparation as the local training school can give 
 and no professional preparation whatever. 
 
 It will not be necessary for the superintendent 
 to plead urgently for the establishment of a 
 training school. The scheme will appeal at once 
 to those members of the school board and com- x^t difficult to 
 munity who see in it an easy means of securing establish a 
 without great expense places for their own towns- ''i'^'>»"fe'«'^'^*'"'- 
 people. Besides it can be easily made to appear 
 that the carrying on of a training school will be 
 attended by an actual saving of expense. But 
 before recommending such a course, the superin- 
 tendent should exhaust every argument for the 
 adoption of a standard of qualifications for
 
 176 School Orgmiization and Supervision 
 
 teachers distinctly higher than that which is at- 
 epan or a ^^^^jj^g^j jj-^ ^ local traininar school as ordinarily 
 
 small training '^ •' 
 
 school. conducted. If however it seems advisable to 
 
 establish a training school nothing short of a 
 good two years course with competent instruc- 
 tors should be considered. The following plan is 
 suggested as effective and feasible for a small 
 city. 
 
 Plant : A building or buildings having ten 
 or more school rooms with recitation room 
 facilities. 
 
 Teaching force : Five or six excellent super- 
 vising or Clitic teachers whose function it is to 
 teach in the grades and to supervise the teaching 
 of the pupil teachers, a special teacher of draw- 
 ing and of industrial training, and one or two 
 teachers of the history, theory and practice of 
 education. 
 
 Course : Two years — First year — Study of the 
 history and principles of education; obser- 
 vation and practice of teaching under super- 
 vision. 
 
 Second year — Study of theory continued, with 
 Purpose of increased amount of practice with and without 
 training school direct supervision. 
 
 The course of study as above outlined aims (1) 
 to inculcate by lectures and study of books the 
 most important theories and principles of educa- 
 tion ; (-2) to test those theories and principles by 
 means of observation and practice; and (3) to 
 familiarize the students by responsible practice 
 with the art of teaching and management. Thus 
 the laboratory and apprentice ideas of training 
 
 course.
 
 schools and 
 colleges. 
 
 The Superintendent as Supervisor 177 
 
 will be as fully developed as circumstances will 
 permit. 
 
 A training school 'of a higher order — one , . . 
 
 1-1 • 111- T -^ training 
 
 which presupposes superior scholarship and pro- school for grad- 
 fessional ability on the part of the students may uates of norma 
 be established after the following plan : 
 
 Plant : School-rooms sufficient in number for 
 each pupil teacher to have a room. 
 
 Membership and duties : Only graduates of a 
 normal school or college to be admitted, each 
 member being expected to teach most of the 
 time, with and without supervision. 
 
 Teaching force : A principal and one critic or 
 supervising teacher for every four pupil teach- 
 ers, the principal and supervising teachers to 
 give instruction one hour a day in each class in 
 the principles of teaching and to inspect and over- 
 see the work of the j^upil teachers. A com- 
 paratively small salary should be offered the 
 pupil teachers for services rendered in teaching. 
 
 The superiuteiuleiit's report. — Reference has 
 been made to the desirability of the superintend- 
 ent's making to the board a monthly statement 
 of the condition of the schools and such recom- , '<^^"i|*^""' 
 
 tcndent s 
 
 mendations as need to be made. This report monthly report 
 should be carefully and judiciously made. It to the school 
 should contain such facts as members of the ^'^"''^■ 
 board need to have for an intelhgent appreciation 
 of what is being done in the schools and what 
 ought to be done by the board. Minute details 
 of administration or a long array, of statistics 
 will not be needed, neither will it be advisable 
 to present many theories of administration or
 
 178 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 The superin- 
 tendent's an- 
 nual report. 
 
 teaching in the monthly report. The confidence 
 of the school board will be won more by a state- 
 ment of what is actually done than by a repeti- 
 tion of fine-spun theories. The following items 
 are suggested as worthy of attention in the 
 monthly report: 
 
 (1) Facts in relation to school buildings w^hich 
 are needed to carry out the superintendent's 
 recommendations for permanent repairs or new 
 buildings 
 
 (2) facts of school attendance, especially facts 
 of such increase of numbers as will make neces- 
 sary increased accommodations 
 
 (3) report upon the business committed to him 
 by the board 
 
 (4) resignations of teachers and recommend- 
 ations for supply of vacancies 
 
 (5) other recommendations for board's action 
 
 (6) plans of work in progress and in contem- 
 plation. 
 
 If the superintendent has the business affairs 
 of the board to look after, it will be necessary 
 to include in the report such items as approved 
 bills and unexpended balances for the various 
 departments. 
 
 Scarcely less important than the regular month- 
 ly report is the annual report, which, with the 
 report of the school board, should be bound in 
 pamphlet form and distributed to the citizens. 
 This report although it is addressed directly to 
 the school board should be made with reference 
 to the needs not only of the members of the
 
 The Superintendent as Supervisor 179 
 
 board but also of every parent and taxpayer. 
 What the people most need to know is the exact 
 work that has been done in and for the schools. 
 Statistics should be limited to the items called 
 for by state and national boards, and may be 
 placed apart from the rest of the report in the 
 appendix. The body of the report may contain 
 a more or less elaborate treatment of the follow- 
 ing topics : 
 
 (1) Comments upon the statistics contained in 
 the tables, with such comparisons as may be 
 needed to bring out clearly certain results or 
 needs of the schools. For example if it is de- 
 sired to call attention to the increased attendance 
 in the higher grades, a comparison of present 
 and past percentages of attendance in those 
 grades might be made, together with a compari- 
 son of such attendance with the attendance in 
 other places. Or if more money is needed for 
 the salaries of teachers it may be shown that 
 not so much is done in the city or town for 
 which the report is made as is done in other 
 places similarily situated. 
 
 (2) A record of school accommodations with 
 reference to present and furture needs. That 
 part of the record should be especially empha- 
 sized which relates to sanitation and health. If 
 the lighting and ventilation of any of the school 
 rooms are poor, the fact should be pointed out, 
 with such evidence of the needed changes as can 
 be offered. 
 
 (3) Any new plans of administration which 
 have been carried out ; as for example methods of
 
 180 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Relative 
 amount of 
 time for super 
 vision. 
 
 promotions, individual instruction, or stamp 
 savings. 
 
 (4) Account of plans referred to in previous 
 reports. 
 
 (5) Resignations and appointments during the 
 year. 
 
 (6) Discussion of general questions in which 
 the parents are interested, e. g., home study, 
 physical training. 
 
 (7) Desirable changes; e. g., medical inspec- 
 tion of the schools; establishment of one or 
 more schools for backward children; introduc- 
 tion of the kindergarten. 
 
 (8) Educational agencies other than schools; 
 e. g., the local educational association; the pub- 
 lic library ; art collections. 
 
 (9) Reports of special teachers: manual train- 
 ing, drawing, etc. 
 
 Occasionally there may be given in the report 
 a detailed account of exactly what is done in the 
 schools in special subjects as reading or arith- 
 metic. Some superintendents take up in this 
 way one subject each year and treat it exhaust- 
 ively, making their report not only a matter of 
 local interest but also a contribution to educa- 
 tional theory and practice. 
 
 Amount of time for supervision.— The relative 
 time which a superintendent should give 
 to the duties of supervision will of course 
 depend upon circumstances. In a large sys- 
 tem of schools many of the duties outlined 
 above may well be performed by principals.
 
 The Superintendent as Supervisor 181 
 
 under the immediate direction of the superin- 
 tendent. In small places where most of the 
 teachers are untrained a large part of the super- 
 intendent's time should be givea to actual in- 
 spection of the schools and to such direction of 
 the work of teachers as will give to it the largest 
 measure of efficiency. But as already indicated, 
 the teacher's efficiency is determined more by the 
 self-direction of his own intelligence than by any 
 dictation from others however inteUigent it may 
 be. A wise direction of the work of teachers 
 therefore does not mean arbitrary dictation or 
 the imposition of methods upon teachers that 
 can not be made their own but it means the 
 adoption of such means as will increase their 
 professional knowledge and help them to apply 
 it in skilful ways.
 
 CHAPTER A'lII 
 
 THE SUPERDfTENDENT AND COMMUNITY INTERESTS 
 
 The uniting of the home and school in bonds 
 . of mutual helpfulness and the extension of the 
 school so as directly to benefit all members of 
 the community are ends which all agree to be 
 most desirable. Amono- the wavs of reachins; 
 these ends in which the superintendent mav 
 well take the initiative are using the school 
 buildings for parents meetings and social gath- 
 erings, and estabhshing e^-ening and Saturday 
 classes for those who cannot attend the regular 
 day school. These means of culture have 
 already been referred to in treating of educa- 
 tional centres and vacation schools.* 
 
 Parents' meetings. — There are various ways of 
 :^i:eetmg of bringing the parents and school authorities to- 
 parents gether for the purpose of talking over matters 
 
 of mutual interest. Oneway, perhaps the sim- 
 plest, is for the superintendent to invite the par- 
 ents to a teachers' meeting in which subjects of 
 general interest will be discussed, such as home 
 study, school hygiene, or school discipline. After 
 the superintendent has presented such points as 
 he desires to make, opportunity should be 
 given for a free interchange of opinions by per- 
 sons present. 
 
 Another good way of reaching the parents is 
 
 *See pp. 140-143. 
 
 (182) 
 
 Parents' meet- 
 ing in connec- 
 tion with visit 
 inar day.
 
 The Superintendent and Community Interests 183 
 
 to call a meeting of parents in connection with 
 
 the school visiting day. It is the custom of 
 
 some schools to have it known in the community 
 
 that there is a day or half day every month upon 
 
 which parents and all others interested in the 
 
 school will be especially welcome. For such 
 
 occasions special invitations aie sent to parents 
 
 through the pupils, it being understood that with 
 
 little variation the regular w^ork of the school 
 
 will be seen. After the afternoon session of 
 
 these days while the work of the school is fresh 
 
 in mind, many of the visitors will be glad to 
 
 hear from the supeiintendent and teachers some 
 
 explanation of the exercises given and a state- ^ 
 
 ment of plans and purposes of the work of the j^d^ipatiouai 
 
 school. Opportunity for questions should be i)ians aud uews 
 
 given and for such comment as any of the visi- '" the local 
 
 tors care to make. Some superintendents and "^'^^^P^i^^'' 
 
 teachers have found it pleasant for all concerned 
 
 to spend a portion of the time afforded for these 
 
 meetings socially, light refreshments being 
 
 served. 
 
 Educational associations. — One of the best 
 means of securing the coiiperation and support 
 of citizens in the w^ork of the schools has been 
 found to be the local educational association. 
 The membership of the association consists of 
 parents and teachers and all others interested in 
 the schools. Tlie organization and work of the 
 various associations differ quite materially on 
 account of a difference of conditions, but in 
 all of them there are sought the arousing of 
 public interest in the schools through addresses,
 
 184 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 discussions, and conferences, and the bringing to- 
 gether of all the educational forces of the commu- 
 nity. In some of the associations efficient com- 
 mittee service has been rendered in accomplishing 
 such purposes as the establishment of kindergar- 
 tens, and the decoration of schoorooms. There 
 is great opportunity in such associations to 
 awaken a public sentiment in needed reforms 
 such as better ventilation and lighting of school 
 rooms, a greater degree of attention to physical 
 training, the introduction of industrial training, 
 home reading, conditions of health, home study 
 recreation for children, etc. 
 
 The local neivspaper. — Among the agencies 
 which may be employed in awakening an interest 
 n the schools and in furthering progressive plans 
 of administration is the local newspaper. Edi- 
 tors are generally willing to open their columns 
 to educational matters of public concern, and 
 for the good of the schools such matters should 
 not be confined to complaints. In many in- 
 stances complaints of the schools by parents 
 and citizens arise from a misunderstanding of 
 actual conditions or of what the purposes of 
 Illustration of ^^^ g^j^^^j authorities really are. Such com- 
 
 the use of a *^ 
 
 newspaper in plaints would therefore be prevented by a 
 the interests of regular and systematic presentation of 
 the schools. -^hat is actually being done in and for the 
 schools. 
 
 It is evident that the information given should 
 be under the direction of some one who has an 
 interest in the schools, and who has a full knowl- 
 edge of what they are doing. Naturally the
 
 The Superintendent and Community Interests 185 
 
 superintendent is the person best fitted to do this 
 work. As the executive of the school commit- 
 tee he knows fully the plans of administration ; 
 and as supervisor, he is familiar with what is 
 going on in the schools. He is able, therefore, 
 as no one else is, to give a true and judicious 
 account of what is being done for the good of 
 the schools. 
 
 As an illustration of the possible usefulness 
 of this service the following instance is given 
 of what appeared in a newspaper which had a 
 circulation in several county towns. The editor 
 had assigned a column of each issue for the use 
 of the schools, giving it the heading "School Local educa^ 
 Department ". It was in charge of the superin- ^|""'^' associa- 
 tendent of schools of a union district comprising 
 towns in which there were many subscribers. 
 In one issue the following items were given : 
 
 (1) Plans of the superintendent for securing 
 a regular attendance of pupils, and a statement 
 as to which schools in the district had the best 
 attendance during the month 
 
 (2) an account of the Thanksgiving exercises 
 in two of the schools 
 
 (3) names of pupils in one town who were not 
 absent during the term 
 
 (4) notice of the discontinuance of the schools 
 of one town for two weeks 
 
 (5) details of plans concerning penny collec- 
 tions for a yearly subscription to a paper which 
 gives a weekly statement of current events 
 
 (6) plans for collecting pictures for the schools. 
 In another issue of the same paper there was
 
 186 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Superintend- 
 ent's letter to 
 parents. 
 
 printed a long letter from the superintendent to 
 the teachers, a letter which was of special inter- 
 est to parents. 
 
 Superintendents are sometimes able to make 
 an arrangement with the editor by which the best 
 compositions of various grades of schools are 
 printed. 
 
 Such means of making known to the public 
 what -the schools are actually doing, and thereby 
 helping to create a good public sentiment in 
 their favor should be more widely adopted in 
 the country towns and with some modification 
 might be used with advantage in cities. 
 
 SiiperintendenV s letter to parents. — One means 
 of reaching parents other than those already 
 mentioned is the circular letter sent by the super- 
 intendent to the parents of every child attend- 
 ing school. Such a letter will be more likely to 
 be read by parents than the annual report and 
 its statements and suggestions respecting mat- 
 ters of mutual concern will have the force of a 
 personal message. 
 
 An example of this method of reaching par- 
 ents comes to mind. It was a letter sent at the 
 beginning of a school year in which four matters 
 were treated viz., physical health, .home study 
 and recreation, punctuality and regularity of at- 
 tendance, and attention and diligence in school. 
 The character of the letter may be seen by the 
 following detached sentences quoted at random. 
 
 ' ' As the home holds the school responsible for 
 what is done there, so the school must look to 
 the home to do its part in keeping the children
 
 The Superintendent and Community Interests 187 
 
 in such physical condition that they are able to 
 put forth their best efforts." 
 
 " All school childi 3n even those in the high 
 school, need plenty of sleep." 
 
 " There is no hope of meeting the exacting 
 requirements of the higher institutions on the 
 part of youth who are permitted to attend par- 
 ties and entertainments that involve late hours, 
 neither can they be dismissed from school to 
 attend places of amusement." 
 
 '' Whenever a pupil knows that the teacher is 
 sustained by the confidence and cooperation of the 
 parent, he is a better and more hopeful student. ' ' 
 
 Such a message coming in this direct persoual 
 Tvay must have great weight with parents, and 
 must help to create that spirit of cooperation 
 which is essential to the highest success.* 
 
 *For a superintendent's letter in full touching 
 vital matters of interest to parents see Appen- 
 dix F.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 Duties of 
 organization 
 and supervis- 
 ion delegated 
 to principals. 
 
 Supervising 
 principals 
 should teach 
 
 THE PRINCIPAL AS ORGANIZER AND SUPERVISOR 
 
 Some of the duties already outlined as belong- 
 ing to the superintendent of schools will, under 
 some circumstances, naturally fall to the princi- 
 pal. In large systems of schools the superin- 
 tendent is likely to delegate to principals certain 
 duties both of organization and of supervision 
 which in smaller systems are performed by the 
 superintendent alone. Thus the details of 
 classification and promotion and of directing the 
 work of teachers in some cities are likely to de- 
 volve upon the principal who has to teach but 
 a portion of the time. Such a principal may be 
 called a supervising or superintending principal. 
 Sometimes the supervising principal may have 
 charge of the schools of a district; in which case 
 much of his time may have to be given to super- 
 intendence and little to regular teaching. It is 
 a question however whether even in the largest 
 districts, the supervising principal should not 
 have some regular work as a teacher to do. 
 This statement may well apply to city high 
 schools as well as to elementary schools. The 
 principal of highest price and presumably of 
 greatest power as a teacher ought not to spend 
 all his time upon the petty details of organiza- 
 tion which might well be delegated to subordi- 
 nate teachers. 
 
 (188)
 
 School Organization and Supervision 189 
 
 In case the principal has direct charge of a 
 room with no assistant, he will be expected to 
 teach most of the time and have few supervisory 
 duties beyond the government of all the pupils principals 
 ■of a building at recesses and before and after with few 
 school. Occasionally the duty is put upon supervisory 
 such a principal of attending to cases of dis- 
 cipline occurring in the various school rooms — 
 a duty which should be assumed not because 
 he has superor physical strength or better judg- 
 ment than others in the management of refrac- 
 tory pupils but because he has for the time being 
 a position of greater authority than that of 
 other teachers or because it is desirable to have 
 some one near at hand to sustain the teacher in 
 her decisions. But in any case the principal Tiie principal 
 should be more than a policeman or judge. He '"'■,'^' ^'''^" ^ 
 
 '■ o o policcmau. 
 
 should inaugurate and help to sustam all agen- 
 cies that will tend to encourage a high profes- 
 sional spirit on the part of the teachers, a cordial 
 cooperation of parents, and a fine sense of loy- 
 alty and high ideals among the pupils. 
 
 In directing the conduct of pupils outside of i>,i,Kipies of 
 the school room, the principal should use the op- comiuct. 
 portunities presented for cultivating in the pu- 
 pils a respect for one another's rights, for giving 
 them free and healthful exercise, and for leading 
 them into habits of self control. It is hoped 
 therefore that many disturbing restrictions, 
 and especially a spying by monitors, will not be 
 found necessary. 
 
 Suitable plays and games for all classes of 
 children should be provided for, to be carried on
 
 Self control 
 
 190 The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 
 
 under the direction either of chosen leaders or of 
 the teachers. In these exercises and in going in 
 and out of school, every pupil should be made to 
 feel that he is to control himself to the extent of 
 living up to his ideas of what is right. If he 
 the watch- knows that it is not right to cheat or to abuse 
 word. another in a game or to play in the files, he ought 
 
 not to feel that it is necessary for him to be- 
 watched or to be reminded of any remissness in 
 these respects. If he does not know this or if he 
 is found to need watching or reminding, he ought 
 to be denied the privilege of having his recess with 
 others or of filing with them. 
 
 It is believed that if tlie exercises of the re- 
 cess are properly provided for^ and if appeals of 
 the right kind are made, there will be very few 
 pupils who will care to take their recesses by 
 themselves or under special oversight of a 
 teacher. They will be made to feel a sense of 
 pride in controlling themselves, and will have a 
 feeling of pleasure in freely entering into the 
 games with others. The principal's po^ver for 
 good will be greatly enhanced if he enters into 
 the spirit of the games and has a personal inter- 
 est in every pupil. He should, if possible, know 
 each pupil by name and make them all feel that 
 he is their friend, ready at all times with a kind 
 word or look. All this he certainly can do if he 
 has frequent opportunities of visiting the rooms 
 in which the pupils are at work and especially if 
 time and opportunity permit him to give instruc- 
 tion or to examine classes in the various rooms. 
 
 * For list of games see Appendix F.
 
 School Organization and Supervision 191 
 
 What has been said of the government of pu. 
 
 pils on the play ground suggests a possible duty ^^^^ govem- 
 
 of the principal to inaugurate and encourage in '"'^"^^^^^ 
 
 ° encouraged. 
 
 all possible ways self government in the school 
 room. Some principals have found it well in 
 the middle and higher grades to establish a kind 
 of pupil government in which the forms and 
 practices of municipal governments are imitated. 
 Others have interested the teachers in more di- 
 rect and simple means of reaching the same end. 
 In all plans of self government the principal, 
 by showing a personal interest in the work and 
 conduct of the pupils, may be of invaluable ser- 
 vice to both teachers and pupils. His kind 
 recognition of the ability or efforts of pupils to 
 control themselves will be found a most effective 
 aid to teachers. If, for example, a teacher has 
 adopted the device of putting upon a '' roll of 
 honor " all pupils who are never spoken to for 
 disorder or carelessness, the principal by occa- 
 sionally referring to the roll may be of great as- 
 sistance. 
 
 Arrangement of programmes. — In schools hav- 
 ing special teachers of music, drawing, or man Programmes 
 ual training or in schools having departmental •'"schools 
 work by the regular teachers, there is needed meutai work 
 some one to adjust the programme in such a way 
 as to maintain a proper balance and to avoid con- 
 flicts. This the principal is in better position to 
 do than are the teachers collectively or even the 
 superintendent. The time table will be deter- 
 mined by circumstances, including the character 
 of the subject and the convenience and prefer-
 
 192 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 ences of the teachers. The maximum amount 
 of study demanded may also have to be adjusted 
 in the interests of all concerned. It frequently 
 happens that pupils are overworked or that an 
 undue amount of time is given to a subject of 
 study by reason of improper requirements. Some 
 of the points of difficulty may be met by occa- 
 sional conferences of teachers under the direction 
 of the principal. By this means harmony of 
 effort and purpose will be preserved and such a 
 spirit of cooperation be maintained as is needed 
 for the best interests of the pupils. In no bet- 
 ter way can a proper correlation and balance of 
 the various studies be effected. 
 
 The testing of text books. — It is frequently 
 found advisable for text-books to be tested by 
 actual use in the school room. This the superin- 
 tendent and principal may do by placing the 
 books in the hands of the pupils and afterwards 
 asking the opinion of teachers as to their practi- 
 cal merits. The principal has the added advan- 
 tage of seeing frequently the results of their use 
 by various teachers and thus is able to give valu- 
 able testimony as to their adaptability to exist- 
 ing conditions. Many apparently excellent 
 text-books would doubtless fall by the way if 
 they were subjected to such a trial made under 
 direction of a supervising principal. 
 
 Co-operation of Parents. — Probably the most 
 
 Ways by which unique and most powerful influence of the principal 
 
 the co-opera- upon his schools lies in his ability to secure the 
 
 is'seciir d^^^^ ^ interest and co-operation of the parents. This 
 
 is accomplished (1) by interviews with parents in 
 
 Text-books to 
 be tested by 
 actual use.
 
 The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 193 
 
 the homes and in the school, (2) by visiting days for 
 which parents are especially invited, (3) by special 
 exhibitions of the pupils' work in each grade, 
 (4) by parents' meetings at which the principal has 
 an opportunity to explain what the teachers are 
 attempting to do and to suggest ways by which 
 parents may give needed aid, and (5) by local edu- 
 cational associations in which a healthy interest 
 in the schools may be awakened through the 
 frequent discussions of educational questions by 
 teachers and citizens. 
 
 School Extension. — One effective means of 
 awakening the people's interest in education is 
 through direct instruction. Upon evenings and Evening 
 Saturdays for at least a portion of the year the ^^^'"^^^ ^^'-^ 
 
 lectures 
 
 school rooms and halls should be opened to all 
 beyond school age for practical lessons and lec- 
 tures of various kinds. Naturally the instruc- 
 tion desirable for persons in active life will be 
 somewhat different from that which is given to 
 children This difference lies mainly in the 
 kind of work attempted. Thus in some com- 
 munities there will be classes in dress-making, 
 cooking, carpentry, mechanical drawing, stenog- 
 raphy, type- writing, etc, all with special refer- 
 ence to immediate needs. Popular lectures, with 
 and without the stereopticon may also be given 
 in this school extension course. Experience 
 has shown that both class instruction and lec- 
 tures will be fully attended if they are of tlie 
 right kind. * 
 
 * See appendix E for examples of active work 
 in educational centres.
 
 savings. 
 
 194 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 School Savings Bank. — Among the educational 
 interests not directly connected with the pur- 
 poses of the school which the principal may 
 A simple plan have occasion to look after is the School Savings 
 of school Bank. In one form or another this object- 
 
 lesson and encouragement of thrift has been 
 given in a large number of places both here and 
 abroad. The plan of operation should be such 
 as will require from teachers the least possible 
 care and time. If there is a local bank an ar- 
 rangement might be effected by which small 
 deposits could be made for safe keeping through 
 the teacher and principal. An account might 
 be taken by teachers of all deposits until the 
 amount for each pupil is sufficient for a bank 
 book entry. Probably the simplest and most 
 effective plan is that of the Stamp Savings. By 
 this plan cards are provided upon which stamps 
 are placed corresponding to the amount deposit- 
 ed.* 
 
 Child Study. The principal of a building or 
 district is in a peculiarly favorable position to 
 make a study of and provision for defective, 
 backward, and refractory pupils, t He may 
 
 * This plan has been adopted in most of the 
 large cities of the country, from which informa- 
 tion as to how it is carried on may be obtained. 
 Information and material may also be ob- 
 tained from J. H. Thiry, Long Island City, N. Y., 
 who introduced the system into this country. 
 
 t See what was said upon Special School and 
 Classes and Schools for Backward Children pp. 
 138-140. Also Chapter XI, and Appendix E.
 
 The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 195 
 
 also do much to encourage and carry out on 
 good lines profitable child study, in which a 
 comparison of certain features of the pupils' per- 
 sonality and work is made and recorded. The 
 purpose of these observations and records is 
 two-fold, first in leading teachers to discover 
 
 J, , ■ T J- ± J.T • -1 1 • 1 J.1 Profitable child 
 
 facts m relation to their pupils which they ^^^, 
 should know; and secondly in providing useful 
 information for subsequent teachers. The rec- 
 ords should be kept in permanent form, either 
 in books provided for the purpose or in card 
 catalogues. The facts sought and noted may 
 be such as relate to the health, efforts and at- 
 tainments of pupils at intervals of six months 
 or a year. The outlines which follow will sug- 
 gest both the kind and the form of records to be 
 kept. Most of the items of the first outline may 
 be supplied by the teachers, but in the interests 
 of accuracy the principal may be called upon 
 to assist in some of the measurements. * 
 
 The following blank is intended for a card cat- 
 alogue, each card being 5 in by 3 in. The 
 marks may be indicated by letters or figures, 
 their interpretation being placed on the back of 
 the card. 
 
 * Other Outlines for Observation Records are 
 given in Chapter XII and Appendix F.
 
 196 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Outline of 
 observations 
 for card cata- 
 logue. 
 
 
 K
 
 The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 197 
 
 An illustration of a kind of child study most 
 profitable to all concerned and quite easy to 
 conduct is shown in the following plan 
 devised and carried out in a large high school. * 
 
 Memorandum of Priricipal of Grammar School 
 from which the pupil came. 
 
 Name of pupil. School attendance. Gen- 
 eral health. Temperament. Character. Gen- 
 eral Scholarship. What Course ought to have 
 
 chosen ? Ought to be allowed to take up 
 
 extra work first year ? Greatest strength ^ .^ ^^ ^j^jj^j 
 
 and interest. Greatest weakness. Outside inter- study iu which 
 ests. (What steady hkes are shown?) Home con- ^^^ co-opera- 
 ditions. (Outside influence in general). In ^'"" ^fP'^'^'its 
 
 . ^ o / and teachers is 
 
 case of difiiculty in learning or fault in behavior secured. 
 what method of instruction or discipline have you 
 found most helpful ? 
 
 Memorandum of Parent. 
 
 1. What has been general health during 
 
 the past two years ? 
 
 2. Does have any trouble with eye 
 
 sight ? 
 
 3. Does sleejj weU ? How many hours ? 
 
 Does take time enough to eat a good break- 
 fast before going to school ? 
 
 4. Eoughly, how much time does spend 
 
 in recreation and exercise ? In what way ? Do 
 you think is out in the air enough ? 
 
 5. Do you think we teachers require too much 
 
 * This plan was arranged and carried out by 
 Dr. Fred W. Atkinson when he was principal of 
 the Springfield, Mass., High School.
 
 198 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 of ? Do you think might do more 
 
 studying just as well as not ? 
 
 6. Roughly, how much time does spend 
 
 at home studying ? Does need to be urged 
 
 to study or not ? 
 
 7. Does take books from the library for 
 
 self ? Roughly, how much time does 
 
 spend in reading books (not connected with 
 school work) ? What is the character of this 
 reading ? Does read magazines ? News- 
 papers ? 
 
 8. What steady likes and dislikes has in 
 
 school and out ? What study, if any, does 
 
 complain of as hardest ? 
 
 9. State any other things (concerning temper- 
 ament, character, etc.) which we ought to know 
 to be of greatest help and encouragement to 
 
 Pupirs Memorandum 
 
 1. What books have you read since ? 
 
 2. Which of these books do you especially Uke 
 and why ? 
 
 3. What character in these books do you 
 especially like and why ? 
 
 4. What kind of literature do you prefer, flc - 
 tion, history, biography, books of travel, essays, 
 poetry, etc. ? 
 
 5. Who is your favorite author ? 
 
 6. What newspaper (daily or weekly) do you 
 habitually read ? 
 
 7. What magazines do you read, and which 
 do you like best '?
 
 The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 199 
 
 8. Do you draw books from the City Library 
 — if so, about how many each month ? 
 
 High School Teacher^ s Memorandum 
 
 Name. Date of beginning of this study. 
 Date and place of birth. Height. Weight. 
 Sight. Hearing. Health. Temperament. 
 Character. General Scholarship (chief mental 
 characteristics. Character of this pupil's men- 
 tal development). Greatest strength (interest). 
 Greatest weakness (difficulty). Application 
 (studious? Stimulus needed, etc.) Attention. 
 Ability to express (a) orally {b) in writing. 
 Ability to think (influence and reasoning). 
 Ability to memorize. Imagination. Attend- 
 ance (a) regularity {h) punctuahty (c) dismissals. 
 Interests (a) in school (6) out of school. Con- 
 trolling motives (why does this public attend 
 school, etc.) General deportment (most success- 
 ful treatment, etc.) Additional data. 
 
 Such records of the physical and mental char- 
 acteristics of pupils must be regarded as a valu- "y^^.'^a >ons 
 
 ^ ^ ® not injurious 
 
 able aid to teachers of all grades of schools, to children. 
 They are moreover entirely within the power of 
 teachers to make, with not the slightest danger 
 of injuring the child, as some seem to fear. A 
 simple observation and record of a child's inter- 
 ests, inclinations and powers ought not to be 
 attended by a harmful " prying into his soul " , 
 any more than a recitation in geograpby or his- 
 tory. Of more doubtful value and policy are 
 the investigations of child study which seem to 
 be made in the interests of science. If such in- 
 vestigations are ever allowed, they should be
 
 20i) School Organization and Supervision 
 
 conducted only by trained psychologists and then 
 only with the greatest care. 
 
 Supervision by 
 
 principals Supervision. — What has been said elsewhere 
 
 closer than by respecting the duties of supervision by superin- 
 superinten- tendents will apply equally to the supervisory 
 duties of principals. The difference between 
 supervision performed by a superintendent and 
 supervision performed by a principal is more a 
 difference of degree than of kind. The princi- 
 pal is supposed to*have a more intimate ac- 
 quaintance with the pupils than the superinten- 
 dent, and can more frequently visit the schools 
 for all the purposes of supervision — viz. — inspec- 
 tion, examination, and teaching. He may be 
 able therefore to guide the work of teachers 
 more closely than the superintendent can. 
 
 Care should be taken however that there be 
 not too much supervision. If the system of 
 schools is not large and the superintendent is able 
 to visit the schools frequently, there should be 
 little supervision of any other kind. In any 
 case the supervision should not be in kind or 
 amount such as will be burdensome to conscien- 
 tious teachers. For good teachers the super- 
 vision will be largely in the nature of support ; 
 for poor ones it will be suggestive and helpfully 
 directive. If both supervisor and teacher have 
 a true professional spirit, that is, if they are in 
 the effort to reach the pupils in the best way and 
 seek to be guided by true educational principles, 
 there need be no friction between them. If 
 added to the conditions just named there is in 
 both the sympathy and open heartedness which
 
 The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 201 
 
 always exist among those who are working to- 
 gether in a great cause, not only will there be 
 no friction but there will oe a happy and en- 
 thusiastic co-operation in all that is done. r»- * 
 
 ^ Direct service 
 
 In this brief statement of the duties of organ- the watch- 
 ization and supervision which properly fall to a ^^'o^*^- 
 principal, no allusion is made to the means em- 
 ployed for securing the right kind of order in 
 the lines and at recesses, nor to his function as 
 arbiter in severe cases of discipline for recalci- 
 trant pupils. Nothing has been said either of the 
 multitudinous clerical duties which frequentlyare 
 put upon principals of grammar schools in large 
 cities. In all these duties direct service should be 
 the watchword. No rule should be made, no re- 
 port or record called for, no statisticsrequired that 
 have not a direct purpose of helping to educate 
 the children. Measured by this standard rules of 
 discipline and clerical work will be much more 
 limited than they are in many city schools.* 
 
 A principal must of course faithfully perform 
 the clerical and other duties of administration 
 that are required of him by the school board or 
 superintendent ; but if such duties interfere with 
 his highest efficiency as a principal it is his duty 
 to protest against them in the hope that he may 
 give his time only to such means of supervision 
 and teaching as will most directly lead to the 
 great ends for which the schools exist. 
 
 * In the New York School Journal of Oct. o, 
 1901, there is given a list of 157 separate fmd 
 distinct kinds of clerical work performed by 
 principals of the city grammar schools.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 Duties of 
 organizations 
 devolving 
 upon the 
 teacher. 
 
 Porms of or- 
 ;ganization not 
 to be imposed 
 Crom without. 
 
 THE TEACHER AS ORGANIZER 
 
 While the organization of the schools and 
 classes belongs mainly to the superintendent 
 and principal, there are features of organization 
 which must be left wholly or in part to the 
 teacher, such as the making of the daily pro- 
 gramme, the division of the class or classes into 
 sections whenever such division seems desirable, 
 the placing of pupils in classes, and the assign- 
 ment of work in such a way as to protect the 
 rights of all, the formation of plans of govern- 
 ment by which the largest measure of self con- 
 trol on the part of pupils is assured, and in 
 general the adoption of means by which the 
 purposes of the school may be most effectively 
 reached. 
 
 All these matters involve plans of organiza- 
 tion which have an important bearing upon the 
 welfare of the school. They are no less matters 
 of organization on account of the fact that they 
 are closely connected with the work of instruc- 
 tion and training. Indeed they belong mainly to 
 the teacher because they are so closely connected 
 with instruction and training. Those schools in 
 which the daily programme, the division of 
 classes, the assignment of work, rules of gov- 
 ernment and kindred matters of organization 
 are imposed from without are likely to be 
 
 (202)
 
 The Teacher as Organizer 203 
 
 mechanical and superficial, devoid of that elas- 
 ticity and originality which are marks of a good 
 school. 
 
 The daily programme. — In making the daily xhe daily pro- 
 programme the teacher should take into account gramme to be 
 the relative time needed for the various subjects ^^^'^Pt'^'^ to cir- 
 as well as the special needs of classes and indi- ^"™* ^^^^^' 
 viduals. In respect to time limits for the var- 
 ious subjects reference must be had to the re- 
 quirements of the course of study * , but the 
 adaptation of the programme to actual condi- 
 tions must be left largely to the teacher. There 
 are classes of pupils also who for various reasons 
 are deficient in a certain subject and need some- 
 what more time given to it than would ordi- 
 narily be given. For these and other reasons the 
 programme may have to be changed from time 
 to time. A fixed programme for all the schools 
 is therefore not to be expected or desired. 
 
 Effort should be made to allow the pupils 
 opportunity for one or two hours daily of in- 
 dependent study. There are many schools at 
 home and abroad whose programmes do not giamme to 
 permit the pupils to have more than three min- allow time for 
 utes at a time of uninterrupted study. The '"•i<'P''"^'ent 
 pupils are either spending their time in recita- 
 tion or else they are constantly being inter- 
 rupted in a so-called study hour by pupils asking 
 questions from their seats about their lessons or 
 by teachers making explanation of some diffi- 
 cult point which all the pupils desire to hear. 
 
 * For plans ' based upon certain theories of 
 time limits see pp. 77-85.
 
 204 
 
 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Here perhaps is the weakest point of our graded 
 school system — the failure to lead the pupils 
 into habits of concentration in study or inty 
 habits of independent work. 
 
 This is the danger of our graded system of 
 Class to be schools, but happily it is a danger which can in 
 divided in some a large degree be avoided. Two or three short 
 
 subjects. 
 
 Advantage of 
 short intervals 
 between class. 
 
 periods of study may be allowed in the pro 
 gramme for all the pupils to study and for in- 
 dividual pupils to go to the teacher for assistance, 
 always in a way so as not to attract attention. 
 In graded schools two or three study periods of 
 twenty- five or thirty minutes each may be 
 secured by dividing the class iato two sections, 
 one section reciting while the other is studying. 
 In such studies as writing, drawing, language, 
 and elementary science all the pupils of a class 
 may recite together, but in other subjects the 
 division of a class may be made with advantage 
 on account of more fully reaching the needs of 
 individual pupils, besides affording greater 
 opportunity for study. In the lower grades the 
 school or class may be divided into three or 
 four sections, the pupils at the seats being given 
 written and other worn of various kinds. 
 
 In those graded schools whose plan of classifi- 
 cation embodies the idea of short intervals be- 
 tween classes and frequent promotions there will 
 of course be no difficulty in giving pupils ample 
 opportunity for study. * Two or more classes 
 in a room will be heard separately in all sequen- 
 tial subjects such as arithmetic, grammar, and 
 
 * See pages 126-133.
 
 The Teacher as Organizer 205 
 
 elementary reading, thus giving pupils at least a 
 
 third of the school time to silent reading or study. 
 
 In ungraded schools care should be taken lest 
 
 the number of classes in the various subjects be 
 
 L J.J.1 i^ 3- ^ -ii?! Classification 
 
 too great, thus anordmg lesson periods of only j^^ uncrraded 
 five or eight minutes each. In some subjects hke schools. 
 arithmetic and reading it will be advisable to 
 have several grades, possibly four or five, but in 
 other subjects like geography and language two 
 or three grades of work are quite sufficient. If 
 possible the number of recitations daily should 
 be kept below twenty, and there should be no 
 recitation period of less than ten minutes in du- 
 ration, however few the pupils reciting may be. 
 
 The following suggestions respecting the class- 
 ification of ungraded schools made by the author 
 several years ago may be found helpful. 
 
 " The classification of ungraded schools will 
 ■depend upon circumstances. If there are two 
 teachers (as there should be in schools of more Classification 
 than twenty-five pupils) more minute classifica- ^* ungraded 
 tions may be made than if there is only one. In 
 some ungraded schools the older pupils predomi- 
 nate; in others the younger. In some places the 
 older pupils are taken from the ungraded district 
 schools and placed in a central grammar or high 
 school; in other places no higher school of any 
 kind supplements the work of the ungraded 
 school. No exact rule, therefore, for classifying 
 ungraded schools can be laid down. 
 
 "But in general it may be said that no close ^'^^''T P'>pii to 
 classification should be attempted in ungraded J,',p\viii('h )..• is 
 schools, but that every pupil should recite in the best iiitcd.
 
 206 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 class for which he is best fitted, whatever the 
 subject may be. For instance, a pupil may be in 
 the second class in arithmetic and in the first in 
 reading or vice versa. 
 
 " Again, there should be as few classes as possi- 
 ble consistent with the good of all. The false- 
 pride of pupils and the ignorance of parents as. 
 to Avhat is best for their children should not 
 prevent the teacher from doing his duty in this, 
 regard. . Too often the pupil and parent alike 
 measure progress in education by the number of 
 pages of the book that are 'gone over'. And 
 too often, also, there is some disgrace attached 
 to the pupil who is put into another class. 
 
 "All these hindrances to good classification 
 
 p]fm of datsifi- ^^^^^^ t)e met and overcome in one way or another. 
 
 cation. The parents may be made to see that the older 
 
 pupils should recite only two or three times a 
 week in some studies and that there may be a 
 less minute classification in some studies than in 
 others. In geography, for example, they may 
 see that a knowledge of one country does not de- 
 pend upon a knowledge of another, and that drill 
 in one part of the spelling book may be as useful 
 as drill in another part. The following classifi- 
 cation might be made in many ungraded schools, 
 consisting of pupils from five to fifteen years of 
 age : four classes in reading, including one class 
 in the reading of history ; five classes in arithme- 
 tic; two classes in geography, besides the class 
 of younger pupils who are reciting orally lessons 
 in home geography; four classes in spelling, two 
 of which may be heard at the same time ; one
 
 The Teacher as Organizer 207 
 
 class in physiology, — the rest to be heard orally ; 
 one class in history ; one class in English gram- 
 mar; and one in language. The singing, draw- 
 ing and observation lessons may be taught as 
 general exercises to all the pupils at once. 
 
 "It may not be well for a new teacher to make 
 such a classification at once, nor carry out all at 
 once the plan of hearing the older pupils recite on 
 alternate days. It might be better for him to 
 adopt for a time the classification which he fiods, 
 in the hope that he may gradually change it for 
 the better. ' ' * 
 
 How tu meet the needs of iiuli vidua] pupils. — ^^^^ ^^ ^^^j. 
 A common defect, perhaps to some extent in- present system 
 evitable under our present system, is the failure ^^ gi^aded 
 of teachers to meet the individual needs of pu- 
 pils. It is fouDd to be the common tendency of 
 young and inexperienced teachers, and some- 
 times the tendency of teachers not young or in- 
 experienced, to mechanize the work of instruction 
 and training,— to make all the pupils of a class 
 do the same thing in the same way and fre- 
 quently at the same time. This tendency is 
 shown in the concert exercises, in the models for 
 parsing and for arithmetical analysis or explana- 
 tions, in uniform requirements for all, in exami- 
 nation for promotion or rank and in the custom 
 of requiring pupils to "makeup" their work 
 after school or at recess, — unmindful of whether 
 that work is important or not as a basis of sub- 
 sequent study, and sometimes unmindful of the 
 
 * Courses of Studies and Methods of Teaching 
 pp 309-311
 
 208 ScJ\ool Organization and Supervision 
 
 health of the pupils. So common are these prac- 
 tices that there may be a measure of truth in 
 the charge so frequently made against the public 
 schools, — that of turning out the pupils after 
 the same model. 
 
 One remedy proposed is to abolish the graded 
 Purely individ- and class system and to follow the individual 
 uai teaching, niethod exclusively, by v^hich each pupil is to re- 
 cite as much as he has learned while the others 
 are studying. The encouragment of memoriter 
 work which such a plan involves, the absence of 
 that stimulation which is occasioned in class work 
 by the friction of mind upon mind, and the loss 
 of time involved in the necessary teaching of new 
 and difficult topics, all condemn this means of 
 effecting the desired reform. 
 
 To retain all the benefits of the graded and 
 Number of class system, and at the same time to avoid the 
 pupils to a tea- dangers which are incident to it, is a difficult if 
 
 smaii^'''^"^*^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ impossible task ; and yet much may be 
 done in several ways to meet the difficulty. The 
 first way which suggests itself is the reduction 
 of the number of pupils to a teacher to the point 
 at which each pupil may receive such individual 
 attention from the teacher as he needs. Twenty - 
 five or at most thirty -five pupils ought to be 
 the maximum number for each teacher to have, 
 in a graded school, with the understanding that 
 the school shall be divided into two or more sec- 
 tions. In some subjects of the primary school 
 as in reading and number there may be several 
 divisions or groups of six to ten pupils each. 
 Instruction in drawing, language, and nature
 
 The Teacher as Organizer 209 
 
 study in all grades may be given to the school as 
 a whole. 
 
 The needs of individual pupils may be further ^^sis for indi- 
 met by putting them in grades or classes where ^'f^^^^ '^"'^ 
 
 ,, ^ 1 ji -, , -, , Class promo- 
 
 they can work to the best advantage. Careful tious. 
 attention should be given to both individual and 
 class promotions, — the only consideration being 
 the welfare of each pu[)il. On every day of 
 school the teacher should be ready to answer the 
 question whether every jvjpil is placed where he 
 can do the most for himself. The health, future 
 jDlans, habits, and home surrouDdings of the 
 pupils, all may help to determine the classes in 
 which they are to be placed and the subjects 
 they are to take. So much at least of child study 
 should be pursued by the teacher as to make him 
 acquainted with the above named conditions of 
 each pupil. 
 
 Occasionally there may be a pupil who by a 
 little extra work in one of the sequential studies 
 like reading in the lower grades or arithmetic in 
 the higher, may be transferred on trial to a 
 higher grade with a view of doing full work 
 later. 
 
 The subject of class promotions has been dis- 
 cussed in another place * and need not be con- 
 sidered here further than to say that the standard 
 of judgment above stated as requisite for individ- 
 ual promotioiis should be established for class 
 promotions. 
 
 The adaptation of work to individual pupils Optional nn.l 
 may be still further made by indicating in the ^"""^'^ ''*"" '^''''" 
 
 * See pp. 124-126.
 
 210 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 course of studies the essential or important 
 matter which all the pupils shall acquire, and 
 the non-essential parts of the course which may 
 be learned with greater or less thoroughness, de- 
 pending upon the ability of the pupils. The 
 matter of optional studies also has an important 
 bearing upon this subject. It may be found 
 advisable to bring down to the upper grades of 
 the grammar school, in a limited way, the 
 elective system which has been adopted gener- 
 ally in our best high schools. When a number 
 of pupils are clearly benefited by the pursuit of 
 any subject of study it is only fair that they 
 shall have the privilege of taking it. It should 
 be possible also to permit a pupil to drop one 
 or more studies, when it is clearly seen by the 
 superintendent and teacher that such omission 
 of studies will be for his best interests. 
 r, . ., Reference has been made thus far to those 
 
 Care in the as- 
 signment of means of adaptation which are chiefly adminis- 
 
 tasks trative in character and which are used jointly 
 
 by the superintendent and teacher. There re- 
 mains to be mentioned a way of meeting the 
 needs of individual pupils which belongs to the 
 teacher alone; and that is, a plan of tasks and 
 recitations by which all pupils shall be permitted 
 to do the most that they are capable of doing. 
 Instead of giving uniform tasks, as is generally 
 the case, in which the pupils are expected to do 
 the same work or acquire the same amount, 
 the teacher should adapt the tasks to the 
 varied capacities and powers of the pupils, 
 the essential or important parts of a given sub-
 
 Extra work in 
 
 The Teacher as Organizer 211 
 
 ject or topic to be learned by all, and other parts 
 to be studied by such pupils only as have the 
 necessary time and power to learn them. Some 
 subjects, like history, geography, and language, 
 lend themselves readily to such treatment ; while 
 others, like mathematics and science, may re- 
 quire care and skill to accomplish the desired end 
 of providing work of such kind and amount as 
 will Stimulate every pupil to do his best. 
 
 connection 
 
 The recitation also should be conducted with with regular 
 the same end in view. Of course, under the best lessons 
 circumstances and with the utmost skill on the 
 part of the teacher, there will be some waiting 
 by the best and brightest pupils for those who 
 are slower; and yet, with care, the recitation 
 may be conducted in such a manner as to make 
 it profitable for all to attend and take active part. 
 
 For example, in all information studies in 
 which lessons are assigned and recited by topics, 
 all the pupils may be held responsible for what 
 is in the regular text-book, while a few will 
 be expected to consult reference books or other 
 text- books found in the school or public library. 
 The fact that this extra work is entirely optional 
 will be found to be no bar to effort on the i)art 
 of the brighter pupils, who will be glad of the 
 opportunity to get and to give this sui)plemen- 
 tary information. 
 
 In connection with the reading and literature 
 work there will be abundant opportunities for 
 the encouragement of extra reading by recom- 
 mending books to be taken from the public 
 library, or by lending books from the school li-
 
 212 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Special topics 
 for extra 
 work. 
 
 An assistant 
 for aiding indi- 
 vidual pupils. 
 
 brary. In these days of the pubHcation of the 
 best books in cheap form there is httle excuse 
 for the absence from the school h brary of an 
 abundance of good hterature. In mathematics 
 and science the simpler application of principles 
 should be given to all, and the more difQcult ones 
 to those only who are able to take the advanced 
 work. 
 
 In addition to the daily supplementary work in 
 the various studies for the brighter and quicker 
 pupils, there may be given them occasionally 
 special subjects to report upon, either orally or 
 in written form. This is done with success in 
 the college, and there is no good reason why it 
 may not be profitably done in high and gram- 
 mar schools. In history, geography, science, and 
 hterature subjects are constantly arising upon 
 which much of an interesting nature may be 
 obtained and given in addition to what is found 
 the regular text-book. In addition to an 
 
 in 
 
 awakened interest on the part of all, there will be 
 gained in the giving of special topics much good 
 practice in language and in the use of reference 
 books. 
 
 In some schools an assistant teacher is em- 
 ployed whose only duty is to go about the class 
 or school assisting pupils who need assistance. 
 This is an expensive plan and unless the teacher 
 is especially judicious in her treatment of pupils 
 who seek assistance it is likely to discourage 
 proper independence on the part of some pupils. 
 A better plan is for one teacher to have a small 
 number of pupils and to provide times in the
 
 The Teacher as Organizer 213 
 
 daily programme in which needed assistance can 
 be given for a few minutes at a time. Better 
 than having an assistant in a room would be an 
 assistant in a building to whom backward pupils 
 or pupils who are trying to work into a higher 
 class might be sent for assistance in certain sub- 
 jects. * 
 
 The feasibility and use of plans for meeting 
 the needs of individual pupils are not confined to piexibiiitj- of 
 the graded schools. In rural or so-called un- classification in 
 'graded schools the opportunity to carry out such ™^*^ schools. 
 plans is even greater, provided the folly is not 
 committed of forcing the graded system of class- 
 ification upon them; and provided also the 
 schools consist, as they should, of a small num- 
 ber of pupils, — never over twenty-five to a 
 teacher. Here pupils should be assigned in any 
 subject to the class in which they can do the 
 most for themselves, — to the third class in read- 
 ing it may be, and the first class in arithmetic, 
 or, if necessary or best, to two classes in reading 
 and to no class in geography. The chief value 
 of the rural or mixed school lies in its elasticity 
 of organization, and this should be preserved in 
 the interests of individual pupils. What was 
 said above of the assignment and recitation of 
 lessons and of the giving of special topics in 
 graded schools will apply equally to the un- 
 graded schools; with the added argument that 
 in the latter schools there is, as a rule, more time 
 for independent study than in the former. 
 
 * For plans of special classes see p. 139 and Ap- 
 pendix E.
 
 214 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 School goveriimeiit. — lu a work of this kind 
 Self control obviouslv Only such parts of the subject of school 
 government should be treated as relate to orga- 
 nization. Is there any organized plan of pro- 
 ceeding which will aid teachers to secure the 
 chief end of school government, viz. — self 
 control ? Much has been said of the possibilities 
 for good, especially in the direction of self 
 government, in the adoption of some 
 plan by which the pupils themselves will 
 have a large share in respect to both 
 making the rules of conduct and carrying them 
 out. 
 
 The form of self-government about which most 
 is reported is that which is secured in imitation 
 The'' school of existing forms of civil government. Perhaps 
 ffovernmmit ^^^ so-cahed " school city " is the most ex- 
 tensively used means of pupil government. 
 In this plan the school is regarded as a separate 
 municipality having most of the officers usually 
 serving in cities, including mayor, city clerk, 
 city treasurer, city attorney, a board of aldermen, 
 jndges, policemen, etc. The officers are nomi- 
 nated and elected in much the same way as 
 is customary in cities and the method of admin- 
 istrating justice to offenders is in the main simi- 
 lar to the method employed in real life. The ad- 
 vantages claimed by many who have tried this 
 plan are (I) the awakening of a strong civic sense 
 through a clear knowledge of municipal govern- 
 ment and actual practice in it; (2) the mainten- 
 ance of order, which enables the pupils to per- 
 form their work well ; (3) the " training in cooper- 
 
 governmeut.
 
 The Teacher as Organizer 215 
 
 ation and kindness and emulation to serve the 
 general good." 
 
 Another and less tried plan is the " Citizen and ,^, ., .,. 
 
 '- The citizeu 
 
 Tribune " plan by which the pupils elect officers and tribune" 
 from their number whose duty is to look after plan- 
 the conduct of all the pupils. The claim is 
 made that the teacher is relieved of much dis- 
 agreeable "disciplining" of unruly pupils and 
 that the pupils develop a power of self-control. * 
 
 A full account of the " School City " plan to- 
 gether with opinions of those who have tried 
 it, may be found in ' ' The Gill System of Moral 
 and Civic Training ' ' issued by the Patriotic 
 League, New Paltz, N. Y. For objection to it by 
 Dr. Wm. T. Harris, Commissioner of Education, 
 see The School Bulletin, March, 1906. 
 
 Still another and simpler plan of self-govern- 
 ment is that plan by which pupils sign an agree- 
 ment to obey certain well defined rules of con- 
 duct, made by the pupils themselves. The plan 
 includes the election of a committee who have 
 supervision of the order everywhere except 
 when the teacher has charge of a room. The 
 results claimed are (1) a happy spirit among the 
 pupils, and a cordially pleasant relation between The co-opom 
 teachers and pupils; (2) excellent order; (3) a 
 good moral tone ; (4) relief of care to the teacher. 
 
 There is no doubt that that order in school is 
 best which is secured with few rules and with 
 little dependence upon an exercise of external 
 
 * The plan is fully outlined in a booklet writ- 
 ten by John T. Ray, Principal of the John Crerar 
 School, Chicago.
 
 216 School Organization and Sii2')ervision 
 
 Little organ- 
 ized effort 
 needed to se- 
 cure the best 
 order. 
 
 Separation of 
 pupils on lines 
 of honor and 
 self control. 
 
 •'Roll of 
 honor." 
 
 The probation 
 list. 
 
 authority, and that that school is accomplishing 
 ranch in character building whose pupils habit- 
 ually recognize their obligation to respect the 
 rights and feelings of others and to live to the 
 truth as they see it. It is a question how much 
 of organized effort is needed on the part of 
 teachers to bring up a school to this condition. 
 Doubtless it is accomplished by many teachers 
 with no conscious effort, or if there is effort it is 
 exerted without much machinery of rules, re- 
 wards and punishments. With others some 
 devices may be found useful as an encourage- 
 ment to all concerned. 
 
 One such device which has been used effect- 
 ively in some schools is that of the teacher sep- 
 arating his pupils into grades or hsts on the basis 
 of self-control. First is the " roll of honor ", 
 consisting of all whose ideas of justice and honor 
 are high and who are willing and able to live up 
 to their ideas of what is right. The members of 
 this list may be given special privileges, such for 
 example, as being allowed full fredom to leave 
 the seat or room at any time. No charge 
 of unfairness or partiality could be made 
 for the bestowal of such priviliges by pupils not 
 upon the roll of honor; for the priviliges are 
 clearly seen to be a natural result and not an ar- 
 bitrary mark of favor — and they are freely 
 offered to all who deserve them. 
 
 The list below that of the " roll of honor '^ 
 consists of those whose ideas of right are 
 fairly good and clear but whose powers of self- 
 direction and control are limited. They are
 
 TJie Teacher as Organizer 217 
 
 among that large class of children who have been 
 so long under a faulty method of oversight and 
 direction, that self-dependence in matters of con- 
 duct is well nigh unknown to them. A major- 
 ity of children seem to be victims either of a con- 
 dition in which there has been no curb to their 
 impulses and wishes, or of a method of constant 
 reminders and checks by which an exercise of 
 independence has been denied them. All that 
 these children need is practice, first in choosing 
 for themselves the better of two courses of ac- 
 tion, and secondly in living up to their choice. 
 All that is required of the pupils of the second 
 list is a willingness to try to take care of them- 
 selves. 
 
 It is essentially a proving period for the pupils 
 — a time of attempting to prove their strength, 
 and therefore the pupils of this list may properly 
 be called Probationers or members of the Proba- 
 tion list. If properly approached most of the pu- 
 pils of any school are ready to be placed in one or 
 the other of the lists named. The probationer will 
 necessarily be treated somewhat differently from 
 the honor pupil, — but both will receive the confi- 
 dence and assistance of the teacher. There may 
 be occasional slips with members of both lists, 
 but the only question is in the one case complete 
 ability, and in the other effort and sincerity of 
 purpose. 
 
 But there may be a small number of pupils, '^''^ "'\^''''' 
 probably never more than five per cent of the *' ' 
 whole number, who are not willing even to try 
 to take care of themselves. These pupils delib-
 
 218 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 erately make a bid for the kind of control which 
 some teachers seem to be only too willing to 
 accord to the whole — the spying out of disorderly 
 acts and the correcting of them. Of course 
 these pupils cannot be treated as the pupils of 
 either of the other two classes are treated. The 
 attitude that the members of this third list as- 
 sume demands that there be over them a con- 
 stant watching — lest some rule of order be 
 violated. For the other pupils there are no 
 rules but one and there is no special oversight. 
 But for these pupils there are as many rules as 
 they demand and there is no time during which 
 they are out of sight of a teacher. There may 
 be some difficulty in naming this list of pupils. 
 The term Oversight list has the advantage of 
 being a reminder of one of the chief charac- 
 teristics of it. 
 
 In extreme cases the pupils of the third list 
 may be subjected to the penalty of being separ- 
 ated from their fellows and of having all social 
 privileges taken from them. They may be obliged 
 to have their recesses alone and be forbidden to 
 speak to their mates at any time. But 
 even for this class of pupils there should be 
 opportunity and encouragement offered for 
 improvement. As soon as they signify their 
 willingness to try to govern themselves 
 and show by their actions ability in this 
 direction, they should be placed in the Pro- 
 bation list and be given a fair trial. 
 
 The success of this plan as that of any plan 
 will depend largely upon the way in which it is
 
 The Teacher as Organizer 219 
 
 carried out. The full value of self direction and Success of any 
 self control in conduct will be understood by the plan dependant 
 pupils as they see the earnest and persistent "P°" ^ \^ *'*^'^ 
 
 ^ ^ . , '^ and patience 
 
 emphasis which the teacher makes upon it day of the teacher, 
 by day, and as they realize the feeling of satis- 
 faction experienced in successful achievement. 
 Great tact and patience will be needed on the 
 part of the teacher to maintain the continued 
 interest of the pupils. The result need not be 
 feared so long as the teacher thoroughly believes 
 both in the principle and in the children. * 
 
 * See the author's Courses and Methods, pp. 
 328-344.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 Education for 
 the sake of so- 
 ciety and the 
 state. 
 
 The duty of 
 the state to- 
 ward defect- 
 ives and delin- 
 quents. 
 
 SCHOOLS FOR DEFECTIVES A^'D DELINQUENTS 
 
 Public school education is maiutained for the 
 sake of society and Education for the sake of 
 society and the state, as well as of the in- 
 dividual. It is at once constructive and pre- 
 ventive — constructive in helping to create high 
 ideals and intelligence, and preventive in help- 
 ing to hinder pauperism and crime. For the 
 normal bodied and minded child the work of 
 education is mainly constructive, and for this 
 reason the duty of the state to foster education 
 for that class^ and even to make it obligatory up 
 to a certain point, becomes evident to all. We 
 see that it is a wise provision of statute law for 
 the upbuilding of society and for the happiness 
 and usefulness of individuals that every normal 
 child shall be assured of a common school 
 education. 
 
 But if we keep in mind the need of the state 
 to protect itself and the dangers to individuals 
 of physical and mental degeneracy, we may see 
 that the duty of the state toward abnormal or 
 defective children is even more imperative than 
 it is toward the normal or sound ones. It is 
 incumbent, therefore, upon the state to provide 
 means of education for all classes of children 
 who are capable of education, and to provide 
 care for ail who are not. With the law upon 
 
 (220)
 
 Schools for Defectives and Delinquents 221 
 
 the statute book making " such education and 
 care mandatory, it becomes necessary to define 
 the means of carrying the law into effect. 
 
 It is said by good authority that from one-fifth special treat- 
 to eight per cent of the children are what may be ment needed 
 called abnormal children, i. e., children who are fo\;^'i°oi™ai 
 
 . children. 
 
 defective either m body or mind so as to need 
 special care or treatment, — the smaller per cent 
 indicating the proportion of children who are 
 feeble minded, and the larger per cent includ- 
 ing the children who are abnormally dull as well 
 as those who are physically defective. At present 
 a good proportion of these children are either in 
 the regular schools blocking the progress of 
 others, or else they are outside the pale of the 
 schools waiting to commit some crime before 
 they can be brought to the notice and protection 
 of the state. * 
 
 In general, there may be said to be two 
 
 * Dr. Edward M. Hartwell, of Boston, in a 
 computation recently made for the writer, re- 
 ports as follows: "1,38-1-, or 0.324: per cent of 
 the population of school age (5 to 15 years) in 
 Massachusetts in 1895, were non-educable in the 
 public schools; 384, or 0.09 per cent, were men- 
 tally defective, i .e., insane or idiotic." Dr. 
 Walter E. Fernald, Superintendent of the 
 Massachusetts School for Feeble-Minded, said in 
 an address before the Boston Homeopathic 
 Medical Society Feb. 6, 1902, "I am confident 
 that if every case was included there would be 
 at least two [feeble minded persons] to every 
 thousand of the population of the states. "
 
 TJiree kiuds of 
 institutions. 
 
 222 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Two classes of classGs of defectives: (1) those that need scien- 
 defectives. tific or institutional treatment, such as the 
 feeble-minded, the blind, and the deaf-mute; 
 and (2) those whose education may, with some 
 modifications, be conducted on lines similar to 
 those of normal children, such as the dull or 
 backward children, and those whose sight or 
 hearing is but partially impaired. 
 
 Upon the assumption that the state must as- 
 sume the education of the first class of children 
 named, there will be needed three classes of insti- 
 tutions located at convenient places in the state — 
 those for the blind, the deaf-mutes, and the 
 feeble-minded. All of these institutions, with 
 the exception of the non-educable portion of the 
 latter class, should be conducted with the view 
 of making their pupils self-supporting. Indus- 
 trial or technical training of various kinds will 
 therefore be a prominent feature of the educa- 
 tion carried on in these institutions. As they 
 are supported by the state, they will be free to 
 all its citizens, and will afford accommodation 
 and facilities for all who can profitably take the 
 training offered. 
 
 Attendance upon these institutions will be 
 compulsory ; that is, the state will assume the 
 same authority over its weak subjects which it 
 assumes over its sound ones, by obliging all de- 
 fective children of a certain age who are not 
 otherwise cared for to take the training it offers 
 in one or another of its institutions. This should 
 be done on the principle that it is the duty of 
 the state to protect the child from the neglect of
 
 Schools for Defectives and Delinquents 223 
 
 the parent or guardian. This principle of pro- Education of 
 tection from neglect is to be applied to all classes iicfectivcs 
 of children. But in the case of mentally or obligatory, 
 physically unsound children there is an added 
 reason for making education obligatory — the 
 reason that has already been given for estab- 
 lishing schools for defectives — namely, that of 
 the protection of society and of the state. The 
 state schools here refered to are for that class 
 of educable defectives who need scientific or 
 institutional treatment. They may be said to 
 be a part of the public school system of the 
 state, because they are free to all residents of the 
 state, and are under the direction and control 
 of the educational authorities of the state. 
 
 The other class of educable defectives are 
 those which should be educated directly in con- 
 nection with the city or town public schools. 
 This will be done by separating them into small 
 groups, and by placing over them skilled teach- 
 ers, with the expectation that they will be 
 treated for the most part individually with special 
 ends in view. 
 
 In cities or large towns in which there is a ^ , 
 sumcient number of defectives to form into f^,. defectives, 
 groups, the plan will be simply to separate 
 those of school age — say from seven to 
 fourteen — into groups of ten or fifteen, and 
 place the groups in convienient localities. If the 
 number to be trained is large enough, there 
 should be a classification according to attainm<'nt 
 and capacity ; but it should be understood that 
 the treatment of this class of pupils will be
 
 224 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 chiefly individual. The experience of Provi- 
 dence, R. L, and other cities with the schools of 
 weak-minded and backward pupils shows what 
 can be done with a class of children whose 
 neglect means degradation and crime. So great 
 is the menace to society of a continuance of this 
 neglect, that the state is justified in obliging 
 towns and cities to properly train in special 
 schools all abnormal children who do not need 
 the institutional treatment of which I have 
 spoken. For the cities and large towns this will 
 not be a difficult matter, as has been shown by 
 experience. 
 
 For country districts provision may be made 
 for carrying the children to a central school, or 
 for establishing small home schools in conven- 
 couutry dis- i^nt localities. These schools should be under 
 tricts. the charge and superintendence of the local 
 
 public school authorities. In states like Massa- 
 chusetts, where district supervision prevails, the 
 schools may be under the direction of the super- 
 intendent and district committee, the expense of 
 the schools being borne by the towns from which 
 the pupils come. In country districts whose 
 unit of government is the county, the schools 
 may be organized and controlled by the county 
 board and county superintendent, and the ex- 
 pense of carrying them on will be borne by the 
 county. 
 
 It is then, to summarize what has been said 
 in this chapter, both right and feasible for all 
 educable children to be included in the scope of 
 the public school system, and to share in its ben- 
 
 Provision for
 
 Schools for Defectives and Delinquents 225 
 
 efits and its obligations. It is also right and 
 feasible for the state to place all educable chil- 
 dren of a certain age under the statutory re- 
 quirement of compulsory school attendance, to 
 the end of giving all its citizens the benefits of 
 intelligence and self-support, and of guarding 
 itself and society against the dangers of ignorance 
 and crime.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 RECORDS AND REPORTS '^ 
 
 Only useful The first and most important consideration in 
 
 recousto e determining- the character and amount of records 
 
 made. ^ 
 
 to be made is that of use. The time has gone by 
 for records of any kind to be made that are not 
 distinctly serviceable in the interests of the 
 schools. Traces of useless records of examina- 
 tions and deportment of pupils and of fine book- 
 keeping are found in some places ; but generally 
 it may be said that teachers and superintendents 
 are too busy with the processes of education to 
 spend much time in recording the supposed re- 
 sults of it, or in keeping an elaborate system of 
 account for show. 
 
 The legal requirements with reference to school 
 attendance, certification of teachers, course of 
 studies, etc., differ in the various states and 
 therefore the required records are correspond- 
 ingly varied. Efforts have been made to estall3- 
 lish a plan of statistics in this country which 
 will be uniform and at the same time be limited 
 in their scope to items that are useful for com- 
 parison. 
 
 The most helpful scheme that has been made 
 is one that was prepared by a committee of the 
 National educational association in ISi^ii. This 
 report with a supplementary rejDort made the 
 following year has been adopted to a greater or 
 
 (226)
 
 Records and Reports 227 
 
 less extent in several states. The following out- Piau of statist- 
 line was recommended for general adoption, ifsiecommend- 
 The items are arranged in three classes. The v,*'" ^v^^ 
 first list includes the essential facts which should cationai Asso- 
 be gathered every year. The second list contains ^'ation. 
 statistics, to be furnished every second or 
 third year. The third list consists of less essen- 
 tial items which may be collected at still rarer 
 intervals. 
 
 I Fundamental Items 
 
 1. Number of children of legal school age, 
 classified by race and sex (school population) 
 
 2. Number of pupils enrolled on the school 
 registers (excluding duplicate registrations), 
 classified by race and sex 
 
 3. Average daily attendance, classified by race 
 and sex 
 
 4. Average length of school year (days) 
 
 5. Number of teachers, classified by race and 
 sex 
 
 6. Number of pupils receiving kindergarten 
 instruction, classified by race and sex 
 
 7. Number of pupils receiving elementary in- 
 struction (including kindergarten pupils), classi- 
 fied by race and sex 
 
 8. Number of pupils receiving secondary in- 
 struction, classified by race and sex 
 
 9. Number of students receiving higher in- 
 struction 
 
 10. Number of students in special schools 
 
 1 1 . Number of buildings used as schoolhouses 
 
 12. Total seating capacity of such l)uildings
 
 228 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 13. Value of all property used for school pur- 
 poses 
 
 14:. Average monthly salaries of teachers, class- 
 ified by race and sex 
 
 15. Total school revenue, (1) Income from 
 productive funds and rents, (2) State school fund, 
 
 (3) Local taxes, (-1) Other sources 
 
 16. Total expenditure, (1) Salaries of teachers 
 (including supervision), (2) Other current ex- 
 penses, (3) Permanent expenditure (for build- 
 ings, grounds, etc.) 
 
 17. Amount of permanent invested funds 
 
 II Less Essential But Desirable Items 
 
 18. Age classification of pupils enrolled. (1) 
 Number of pupils under six, (2) Number of 
 pupils between six and seven, etc., (3) Number 
 of pupils between fifteen and sixteen, (4) Num- 
 ber of pupils over sixteen. 
 
 19. Number of cases of tardiness 
 
 20. (1) Number of pupils born within the state 
 
 (2) Number of pupils born in other states 
 
 (3) Number of pupils born in foreign coun- 
 tries 
 
 21. Occupation of Parents (I) Agents, (2) 
 Bankers and brokers, (3) Clerks and salesmen, 
 
 (4) Domestic servants and waisters, (5) Draymen 
 and teamsters: (and fifteen others) 
 
 22. Average number belonging, including, tem- 
 poraiy absentees 
 
 23. Number of pupils in each branch of study 
 
 24. Average age of pupils. Kindergarten, 
 elementary, secondary, higher and special,
 
 Records and Reports 229 
 
 25 Normal schools (1) Number, (2) Enroll- 
 ment in normal department, (3) Average attend- 
 ance, (4) Number of teachers, (5) Expenses 
 
 /// Occasional Items 
 
 26. Number of teachers who have taught less 
 than two years, from two to five years, over 
 five years 
 
 27. Number of applicants for teachers certifi- 
 cates, number who are certified 
 
 28. Number of teachers graduates (1) of normal 
 schools, (2) of universities and colleges, (3) of 
 high schools, academies, etc., (4) who have 
 received only an elementary education 
 
 29 Number of pupils dropped and readmitted 
 in the course of the year 
 
 30 Number of hours in each school session 
 
 31 Length of recesses or intermissions and time 
 of beginning 
 
 32 Number of cases of corporal punishment 
 
 33 Number of pupils in each grade promoted 
 to next higher grade 
 
 Teachers^ Annual and Monthly Reports. — It Tiir danircr of 
 should be obser^^ed that the conditions differ ■'■.luirin,- u>o 
 widely in the various cities and towns, and that 
 what is advisable or necessary in a large system 
 of schools may not be needed in a small one. 
 The danger hes in requiring of teachers too many 
 records rather than too few. The question 
 should always be asked, before auy new statis- 
 tics are required, "Are they actually needed to 
 make more effective the work of the schools?" 
 If intelligent teachers and superintendents can- 
 
 luaiiv ret-
 
 230 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 not see any possible connection between the ends 
 they desire to reach and the records they are re- 
 quired to make, the requirements may well be 
 reconsidered and revised. 
 
 No reference is made here to the registers, 
 returns, and certificates whose forms are either 
 designated by law or determined by the require- 
 ments of state or national authorities. The 
 forms of records are usually designated by blanks 
 sent out from the central offices. Sometimes 
 additional information is needed for the report 
 of the school board for superintendent, such as is 
 called for in the following set of questions : 
 
 Eeport for the School Year ending 
 
 school teacher. - 
 
 This blank and others which follow, are 
 made from blanks in actual use. No credit is 
 given, however, for the reason that in most cases 
 some changes have been made. 
 
 1. Number of pupils tardy, ; once, ; 
 
 twice, ; three times, ; more than three 
 
 times, . 
 
 2. Whole number of cases of tardiness, . 
 
 3. Number of pupils absent, ; one half 
 
 day, ; two half days, ; more than one 
 
 day, . 
 
 4. Names of pupils neither absent nor tardy: 
 
 * This blank and others which follow, are 
 made from blanks in actual use. No credit is 
 given, however, for the reason that in most cases 
 some changes have been made.
 
 Records and Reports 231 
 
 5. Number of cases investigated by the truant 
 officer, . 
 
 6. Xumber of cases of truancy, . 
 
 7. Number of pupils who have been truants, 
 ; once, ; twice, ; three times or more, 
 
 8. Number of cases of corporal punishment, 
 
 9. Number of pupils who have been corporally 
 punished, ; once, ; more than once, , 
 
 1(). Aggregate number of days' attendance of 
 all the pupils, . 
 
 11. Number of days in which the school was 
 in session, including legal holidays, . 
 
 12. Number of seats, . 
 
 13. Number of visits during the year: 
 
 By members of the school committee, . 
 
 By the superintendent of schools, . ^ 
 
 By all others, . 
 
 Monthly or term reports containing facts Mouthly or 
 which the superintendent desires to know or to ^'■''"' leports- 
 have at hand are sometimes required from 
 teachers, such as are called for in the following 
 blank : — 
 
 Eeport for the month ending 
 
 school teacher. 
 
 1. Enrolment, . 
 
 2. Average meml)ership,- 
 
 3. Average attendance,- 
 
 4. Per cent, of attendance, . 
 
 5. Number of cases of tardiness, - 
 
 6. Number of pupils tardy, . 
 
 7. Dismissals, .
 
 232 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Teachers' 
 monthly or 
 quarterly 
 record of what 
 has been done. 
 
 8. Number of pupils neither abs^ut nor 
 tardy, . 
 
 9. Number of cases of truancy, . 
 
 [On the back of this sheet write the name, age and residence of 
 each truant, and time of truancy.] 
 
 10. Number of cases of corporal punish- 
 ment, . 
 
 11. On the back of this sheet give the follow- 
 ing facts concerning non-resident pupils : Name, 
 
 ; name and residence of parent or guardian, 
 
 ; number of weeks attendance since begin- 
 
 ing of school year, . 
 
 Teachers^ Special Reports. — A superintendent 
 needs to have as intimate a knowledge as possi- 
 sible of what each teacher and school is doing. 
 This knowledge he gets in part from personal 
 inspection and in part from special reports of 
 teachers, giving somewhat in detail the subjects 
 that have been treated during a given period. 
 The monthly or quarterly record of what has 
 been done by each class is also useful to new 
 and substitute teachers. It serves as a guide to 
 such teachers in taking up the new work, and 
 enables them at once to meet the needs of every 
 class and pupil in an intelligent way. To aid 
 teachers of graded schools in- making the desired 
 record, the following blank might be furnished 
 them: — 
 
 School record 
 
 for the ending 
 
 school teacher 
 
 [To the teacher: Please fill this blank in duplicate at the close of 
 the term, sending one copy to the superintendent of schools and 
 leaving one copy in the desk of the school. If you are to leave 
 the school in the middle of the term, please fill the blank for a
 
 Records and Reports 
 
 233 
 
 part of the term, disposing of the copies as before mentioned. On 
 the other side of this sheet, under the head of remarks, give the 
 kind of scholarship, characteristics, etc.] 
 
 Subject 
 
 Grade 
 
 Grade 
 
 Reading 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Space is to be given in the blank for each 
 branch of study. 
 
 On the reverse side of the sheet the blank will 
 be as follows; — 
 
 Pupils of grade 
 
 Remarks 
 
 In ungraded schools the work done might be 
 outlined by subjects and classes, as indicated in 
 the following blank : — 
 
 Town of 
 
 school teacher 
 
 Class Record in [subject to be written here] 
 
 [Here may be inserted directions to teachers, as given in 
 
 l)revious blank] 
 
 Class 
 
 Number 
 of pujnls 
 
 Record of worl< d<>iii> 
 
 First, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 On the reverse side the name, age, etc., of the 
 pupils will be written, as provided in the pre- 
 vious blank.
 
 234 Sc?iool Organization and Supervision 
 
 Daily prog- 
 ramme of ex- 
 ercises to be 
 sent to tlie 
 superinteQ- 
 deat. 
 
 The information given in the school and class 
 records is supplemented by a knowledge of what 
 each school is doing daily and houily. Such 
 knowledge enables the superintendent to know 
 when he may go to a school to hear any given 
 exercise which he wishes to hear. The teacher 
 should therefore send to the superintendent a 
 carfully planned daily programme at the begin- 
 ning of each term, or whenever a change in the 
 programme is made. For purposes of clearness 
 and definiteness, as well as of assistance to the 
 teacher, forms similar to the following might be 
 provided : — 
 
 Order of exercises 
 school 
 
 grade 
 
 teacher 
 
 [Make two copies, one to be kept on the desk, the other to be sent 
 to the superintendent's office.] 
 
 Recitation 
 
 Studv 
 
 Another form might be as follows : 
 
 Time 
 
 Recitation 
 
 Busy work and Study 
 
 Begins 
 
 Length 
 
 Grade I 
 (lowest) 
 
 Grade II 
 
 Grade III 
 
 Grade IV 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Still another form is suggested which will in- 
 clude a statement of the amount of time given
 
 Records and Reports 
 
 235 
 
 to recitation and to study for each grade of pu- 
 pils. For the assistance of teachers a suggested 
 apportionment of recitation time for the various 
 subjects might be printed on the blank. The 
 following blank is designed for an ungraded 
 school. It mav be modified to suit circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Programme of daily recitations 
 
 for the ending 190 
 
 school teacher 
 
 
 Time 
 
 1st 
 
 2d 
 
 3d 
 
 4th 
 
 5th 
 
 6th 
 
 7th 
 
 8th 
 
 Subject 
 
 
 Year 
 
 Year 
 
 Year 
 
 Year 
 
 Year 
 
 Year 
 
 Year 
 
 Year 
 
 
 From To 
 
 1 2 
 
 1 2 
 
 1 2 
 
 1 2 
 
 1 2 
 
 1 2 
 
 1 2 
 
 1 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total time iu school day miu. 
 
 Openlug exercises, miu. 
 
 Recesses " 
 
 Physical exercise, " 
 
 Total, mill. 
 
 Time left »for recitations, iiiiii. 
 
 For first year pupils mlii. 
 
 For second year pupils luin. 
 
 For third y^ar pupils miu. 
 
 For fourth year pupils, luin. 
 
 For fifth year pupils, niin. 
 
 For sixth year pupils niin. 
 
 For seventh year pupils, niin. 
 
 For eighth year pupils, niin. 
 
 Total ...... "lin.
 
 236 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 Suggested Apportionment of Time to the Several Subjects of the 
 Several Years 
 
 GROIPS OP SUBJECTS 
 
 1st 
 
 2d 
 
 3d 
 
 4th 
 
 5th 
 
 6th 
 
 7th 
 
 8th 
 
 I Language: including reading, 
 writing, spelling, memory work. 
 English, grammar, foreign lan- 
 guage 
 
 .42 
 
 ,42 
 
 .38 
 
 .32 
 
 .32 
 
 .32 
 
 .32 
 
 .33 
 
 II Mathematics: including 
 arithmetic, algebra, book-keep- 
 ing, geometrical exercises 
 
 .12 
 
 .12 
 
 .15 
 
 .16 
 
 .16 
 
 .16 
 
 .16 
 
 .20 
 
 Ill Elementary Sciencb: in- 
 cluding nature study, physiology, 
 geography, etc, 
 
 .12 
 
 .12 
 
 .15 
 
 .20 
 
 .20 
 
 .20 
 
 .16 
 
 .12 
 
 IV History: including biography, 
 history, civil government 
 
 .10 
 
 .10 
 
 .10 
 
 .12 
 
 .12 
 
 .12 
 
 .15 
 
 .15 
 
 V Miscellaneous : including 
 drawing and arts, industrial 
 training and singing 
 
 .24 
 
 .34 
 
 .22 
 
 .20 
 
 .20 
 
 .2-) 
 
 .20 
 
 .20 
 
 EXPLANATION:— The 1 and 2 in columns marked 1st year, 
 2d year, etc , may refer to divisions of the same class; or, in 
 schools where promotion occur twice a year, may refer to First 
 Half Year Pupils and Second Half Year Pupils. To indicate which 
 division ofa class isreciting at a certain time, put a cross (x) under 
 1 or 2 in the proper Year column, on the line opposite the subject. 
 If the class recites as a whole and not in divisions, put the cross- 
 (x) in the middle of the space, on the dotted line, in the proper Year 
 column. Where the exercise includes the whole school, put a 
 cross (x) in dotted line in such Year column as there are classes in 
 the school. 
 
 Corporal pun- The teacher should send to the superintendent 
 ishment report, the details of any important event of the school, 
 such as a case of truancy or of corporal punish- 
 ment. To aid him in giving full and exact infor- 
 mation, blanks should be furnished in which the 
 desired points are indicated. For example, in a 
 case of corporal punishment such questions as the 
 following might be given in the blank: — 
 
 1. Name and age of person punished 
 
 2. Date of punishment 
 
 3. Manner and extent of punishment 
 
 4. Witness
 
 Records and Reports 237 
 
 5. What was the offence ? 
 
 6. What do you know of his general charac- 
 ter and home surroundings ? 
 
 7. What previous offences has he com- 
 mitted, and what means of correction were em- 
 ployed ? 
 
 8. State other facts of importance, such as 
 responce of parents to reports, times of previous 
 punishments, with results, etc. 
 
 Reports to Parents. — To secure the co-opera- Reports to 
 tion of parents, occasional reports should be sent P^^'^^^s should 
 them of the character of the work done in school simple 
 by their children. It is not necessary to send 
 elaborate reports by percentages, nor is it neces- 
 sary to send them very often. It is sufficient to 
 send monthly or bi-monthly such information in 
 respect to attendance, conduct and work in each 
 subject as would be elicited in answer to the 
 questions : How is my child doing in each branch 
 of study ? What is his beliavior ? This infor- 
 mation should be given in the briefest possible 
 form, cases requiring explanation being " left 
 to special reports, which will be referred to later. 
 
 The report may be made upon a card of con- 
 venient size or upon a stiff paper folder, and en- 
 closed in a stiff paper envelope addressed to the 
 parent. Letters may indicate the character of 
 the work done, as A for excellent, B for good, C 
 for fair, D for poor, and E for very poor. It 
 would be well if the report for each l)rancli of 
 study could be given in a double column, so as 
 to indicate both attainment and effort. Pro- 
 vision should be made either upon the face or
 
 238 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 back of the report for the teacher's signature and 
 also for the parent's signature to be made every 
 time the report is sent home. There should be 
 a careful explanation of the meaning of the let- 
 ters, and a statement of what is desirable for the 
 parent to do in the interests of the child. 
 
 The following form of report is suggested as 
 practical. With some variations, it is used with 
 success in many schools. If thought best, the 
 statement to parents could be made in the name 
 of the superintendent of schools, on the reverse 
 side. In this case it might be well for a fuller 
 statement to be made, embodying the aims and 
 purposes of the schools, and the desirability of a 
 co-operation on the part of the parents. 
 Public Schools 
 
 Report of 
 
 school class 
 
 For 
 
 THE 
 
 MONTH 
 
 OF 
 
 5 
 
 
 ■a 
 
 V 
 
 •11 
 
 M 
 
 O 
 
 3 
 
 a 
 o 
 
 >> 
 
 ■3 
 
 
 "C 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 1 
 S 
 
 
 
 U 
 as 
 
 5 
 
 s 
 cs 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 £ 
 
 < 
 
 j= 
 a 
 
 CO 
 
 fct 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sept., . 
 Oct., . 
 Nov., . 
 Dec, . 
 Jan., . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Signature 
 of parent 
 
 or 
 guardian 
 
 To the parent or guardian: A means excellent ; B, good ; C, fair ; D, poor ; 
 E, very poor ; If the scholarship or deportment continues to be poor, will you 
 please call at the schoolroom for further particulars, especially if health or any 
 other circumstance prevents from doing more work. Irregularity of at- 
 tendance greatly interferes with the progress of the pupil, and may oblige 
 
 to rejjcat the work of a term or year. You are cordially invited to visit the 
 school at any time. Please sign and return as soon as possible. 
 
 , teacher
 
 Records and Reports 239 
 
 For cases of pupils who are thought to be able Various forms 
 to do a greater amount of work, and who may ^^ imports to 
 with extra effort be entitled to a special promo- ^^^'^" ^' 
 tion to a higher class, a form of letter may be 
 furnished the teacher to be filled out of some 
 such nature as the following : — 
 
 does the work of the class so well and so easily that I am 
 
 led to believe will be able with some extra work to go into a 
 
 higher class before the regular time of promotion. If in your 
 
 opinion health will warrant taking up extra work, and if 
 
 you think it desirable for to do so, will you kindly inform me. 
 
 or call at the schoolroom soon for considtation. 
 
 If for any reason a pupil does the work as- 
 signed to him so poorly as to render his reten- 
 tion in his class doubtful, his parents ought to be 
 informed of the fact in sufficient time for them 
 to co-operate with the teacher in securing from 
 the pupil a greater degree of effort if deemed 
 desirable. At least two months before the reg- 
 ular time for promotion a letter in some such 
 terms as are expressed in the following blank 
 will be found useful both in securing the co- 
 operation of the parents and in preventing possi- 
 ble complaints : — 
 
 You will see by monthly report that is not doing tlior- 
 
 oughly the work assigned. Thus far this term neither tiie daily 
 work nor the written examinations indicate that it will be best 
 
 for to go into a higher division next , but that it may be 
 
 necessary for to review the present studies another term. 
 
 If, however, you think it possible or best for to do more work, 
 
 will you please call here at the schoolroom or drop me a note, so 
 that we can have a better understanding of needs and capa- 
 city, and arrange the work with reference to tliem.
 
 240 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 A coutinuous 
 record of the 
 condition of 
 children. 
 
 The co-operation of parents is especially 
 needed in dealing T\ith unruly pupils. It may 
 be secured by the teacher sending a letter in the 
 following terms: — 
 
 You will see by monthly report that deportment hai 
 
 not been good. I am sorry to inform you that it is still uusatis- 
 tory. I think it best to inform you of the fact before any seri- 
 ous form of punishment is resorted to. 
 
 In all the blanks for letters here mentioned it 
 will be understood that dotted lines for the date, 
 address and subscription will be printed, also 
 lines for special explanations by the teacher. 
 
 PupiVs record. The recording of a general 
 statement of each pupil's characteristics men- 
 tioned above suggests the desirability of extend- 
 ing the record so as to give details and to cover 
 a period of years, somewhat after the manner of 
 the life book kept in the schools of France. The 
 record may be made periodically, as at the close 
 of a term or year, or it may l)e made whenever 
 a noteworthy observation is made of any pupil's 
 conduct or work. The following blanks suggest 
 the simplest method of following the former 
 plan: —
 
 Records and Reports 
 
 241 
 
 Born iu- 
 
 ; on- 
 
 Name , 
 
 Parent's name,- 
 
 Address,- 
 
 Gradb 
 Year . 
 
 Quarter . . . 
 
 Days present 
 Scholarship. 
 
 Efifort 
 
 Conduct — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1906-1907 
 
 1907-1908 
 
 1908-1909 
 
 1909-1910 
 
 1910-1911 
 
 1 3 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A means excellent : B, good ; C, fair ; D, poor ; E, very poor. 
 
 ,Name, - 
 Parent, - 
 
 Place and Date of Birth,- 
 
 .2 
 O 
 
 "o 
 o 
 
 ■§ 
 
 so 
 
 D a 
 < 
 
 >> 
 
 1! 
 s 
 o 
 a 
 
 3 
 PL, 
 
 
 Weak Points 
 
 in 
 Scholarship 
 
 t- 93 
 
 H 
 
 O P. 
 
 r. 
 
 0) 
 
 a 
 
 2 « 
 
 la 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 A more elaborate and in some respects a more 
 useful record would- be that made in small note- 
 books, one notebook being devoted to each pu- 
 pil, and being intended for a series of years. 
 The record could be made at regular or irregular 
 times. The pages of the book might be l)lank
 
 242 School Organization and Supervision 
 
 for staments of any kind that the teacher is dis- 
 posed to make, or have printed upon them topics 
 or questions to indicate* to the teacher desirable 
 points of information. The following blank 
 page is suggested: — 
 
 1. Date of observation 
 
 2. Age of pupil, years, months, days 
 
 3. Sight (good or defective) 
 
 4. Hearing (good or defective) 
 
 5. General health (good, fair, poor) 
 
 6. Temperament (nervous, equable, sluggish) 
 
 7. Power of observation (good, fair, poor) 
 
 8. Power of attention (good, fair, poor) 
 
 9. Power of application (good, fair, poor) 
 
 10. Memory: verbal, ; thought 
 
 11. Imagination: reproductive, ; creative^ 
 
 12. Language: ; originality ; fluency 
 
 13. Reasoning (good, fair, poor) 
 
 14. Leading feeling through which to govern 
 
 15. Self-control (good, fair, poor) 
 
 16. Industry (good, fair, poor) 
 
 17. Obedience 
 
 18. Truthfulness 
 
 19. Trustfulness 
 
 20. Subject of deepest interest 
 
 21. Objectionable habits 
 
 22. General remarks 
 
 The study and knowledge of individual chil- 
 dren such as is implied in a proper filling out of 
 the above blank two or three times a year may 
 not be possible under conditions which now ex- 
 ist in most places; but in time to come, when the 
 largest number of pupils that one teacher will be 
 expected to know and teach is thirty, not only
 
 Records and Reports 243 
 
 will it be possible for such a study of individual 
 children to be made, but there will grow out of 
 it (if good teachers are pei mitted to teach) such 
 corrective and constructive individual work as 
 will enable each child to do the most that he is 
 capable of doing and be the most that he is cap- 
 able of bein g. Then will be accomplished the 
 purpose of education, which Plato declared tTTbe 
 'jthe giving to the body and to the mind all the 
 beauty and all the perfection of which they are 
 capable".
 
 APPENDICES
 
 The Evolution of School Supervision 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 The evolution of a system of public education, or Conditions 
 of any function of it, is best seen where the will of niost favorable 
 the people has had full and free opportunity to ex- ^"^ *^^ ^^' 
 press itself, and where sufficient time has elapsed to gygtem of nub- 
 allow experiments to be tried and mistakes to be Hc education, 
 corrected. The place in this country in which these 
 conditions have been most fully met must be ad- 
 mitted to be Massachusetts. In that State, whatever 
 may be said of the mistakes and failures that have 
 been made, they were the results of conditions for 
 which the people themselves were responsible, 
 and which the people only, either directly or in- 
 directly, could permanently improve. Moreover, 
 when the conditions were improved, the improve- 
 ments were not superimposed from without, upon an 
 unwilling or an unthinking people, but were made 
 the basis of still further improvement. Only in this 
 way does a democratic state avoid the dangers of 
 frequently changing legislation. 
 
 In speaking of the experience of Massachusetts, 
 Dr. William T. Harris says:* "In studying the 
 records of this State one is impressed by the fact 
 that every new movement has run the gauntlet of 
 fierce and bitter opposition before adoption. The 
 ability of the conservative party has always been 
 
 * Martin's Evolution of the Massachusetts public school 
 system, p. viii. 
 
 (247)
 
 vision in 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 248 Appendix A 
 
 conspicuous, and the friends of the new measure 
 have been forced to exert all their strength, and to 
 eliminate, one after another, the objectionable fea- 
 tures discovered in advance by their enemies. To 
 this fact is due the success of so many of the re- 
 forms and improvements that have proceeded from 
 this State. The fire of criticism has purified the 
 gold from the dross in a large measure already, 
 before the stage of practical experiment has begun." 
 Four epochs of There have been up to the present time four quite 
 school super- distinctly marked periods or epochs of school 
 supervision in Massachusetts. The first period was 
 a time in which supervision consisted only of such 
 oversight and direction of the schools as each com- 
 munity or municipality saw fit to provide, with no 
 legal limitation or obligation beyond the duty of 
 providing teachers and places for schools. 
 School super- This period dates from the passage of the or- 
 vision, from dinance of 1647, by which all towns of a given 
 number of householders were obliged to support 
 schools of a certain kind. No provision was made 
 in this law for the appointment of officials to see 
 that the schools were established and maintained or 
 to oversee them. As a matter of fact, these func- 
 tions of supervision were performed in various ways 
 by the towns. In some towns the school or schools 
 were established and controlled by the electors 
 themselves in town-meeting. In others these duties, 
 or a portion of them, were committed to the resi- 
 dent ministers of the gospel and selectmen — or to 
 the ministers alone. In some cases special commit- 
 tees were appointed either alone or in conjunction 
 Avith the ministers and selectmen to employ the 
 teachers and superintend the schools. The election 
 of teachers was determined in part by the law which
 
 Evolution of School Supervision 249 
 
 provided that the master of the grammar school 
 was to be approved by the minister of the town and 
 those of the two next adjacent towns.* 
 
 As may be supposed, the methods of supervision 
 in this early time varied quite as much as did the 
 means of organization, depending largely upon the 
 interests and disposition of the persons employed 
 to look after the schools. As these persons were 
 quite generally clergymen, and as the importance of 
 their function in education was universally recog- 
 nized, it may be presumed that the religious or theo- 
 logical interests of the children were carefully 
 guarded by all directive agencies possible. Thus 
 it was that the ministers examined the children 
 regularly upon the catechism and Bible and upon 
 the sermon of the preceding Sunday. This might 
 be done by the minister alone, or by him in con- 
 junction with his colleagues in their regular formal 
 visits. 
 
 The beginning of a new period in the history of School corn- 
 school supervision was marked by the passage of a ™itf<?('s luithor- 
 law in 1789, which authorized the employment 
 by the towns of a special committee to look after 
 the schools. This Avas the first legal recogni- 
 tion of any function of supervision beyond the em- 
 ployment and examination of teachers. It mark«Ml 
 the beginning of that system of town and city sujier- 
 vision by school committees wliii-li now so cxti-n- 
 sively prevails. The practice, under the new law, 
 of placing the schools in the charge of school com- 
 raittees, increased, until in 1826 it was uiiidi' ol)!!-:;!- 
 tory by law. 
 
 The same law which authorizr-d the einpioyiiKiit 
 
 * Ads and resolves of the province of Massachusetts lUty, 
 
 i., p. 470.
 
 250. 
 
 Appendix A 
 
 The begiuning 
 of the district 
 system. 
 
 Faults and 
 weaiinesses 
 of the district 
 system. 
 
 of special town committees sanctioned the already 
 common practice of dividing the towns into districts 
 in which schools might be established. The enact- 
 ment of this law was the beginning of the celebrated 
 district system, which was destined to test to the 
 uttermost the benefits and dangers of extreme local 
 government in the direction of school affairs. In 
 rapid succession the districts grew in importance 
 in relation to the management of the schools, from 
 the possession of power to hold meetings of citizens 
 and decide upon schoolhouse sites to that of raising 
 money for buying land and for building and furnish- 
 ing the school buildings, until in 1827 each district 
 was authorized to be represented by a man— elected 
 either by the town or district— who was endowed 
 with authority to employ the teacher. 
 
 It is hardly possible to conceive a plan of super- 
 vision which has more elements of weakness than 
 law just referred to. Two different and frequently 
 hostile agencies were employed — a prudential com- 
 that which prevailed soon after the. adoption of the 
 mittee and a town committee jealous of their pre- 
 rogatives as examiners and supervisors. When 
 there was not collision between these two agencies 
 there was likely to be collusion— and it is difficult to 
 say which wrought most confusion and mischief to 
 the schools. "The passage of the law providing for 
 the creation of the office of prudential committees," 
 says George H. Martin in his Evolution ofjhe Massa- 
 chusetts scJiool system, "marks the utmost limit to 
 the sub-division of American sovereignty— the high- 
 water mark of modern democracy and the low-water 
 mark of the Massachusetts school system."* 
 
 The third period, which may well be called the 
 
 *Page 92.
 
 Evolution of School Supervision 251 
 
 dark period of supervision, extended to the time The dark 
 
 when towns in large numbers, seeing the disastrous P^""'^ilc)fs"pt'i- 
 
 '". . visiou. 
 
 consequences of this dual system, voluntarily abol- 
 ished that part of it— the district system— which 
 prevented the securing of the best teachers. If 
 there were apathy, ignorance, and misdirection in 
 respect to supervision during this period, there were 
 also signs of a real awakening of popular interest in 
 the common schools. The existence of wrong 
 methods of supervision and consequent results in 
 poor schools aroused a group of enthusiastic re- 
 formers who were most diligent in pointing out the 
 necessity' of a more adequate provision for the 
 schools. Horace INIann, James G. Carter, Charles 
 Brooks, Edmund Dwight, and other leaders, each 
 in his own way, set to work for a better order of 
 things. And although they did not immediately se- 
 cure all the results they hoped for, enough was done 
 to give an impetus to education whieli was most 
 potent in forming our modern system of common 
 schools. 
 
 Through the efforts of these men normal schools Progressive 
 were founded, a general school fund was raised, niid '"''' 
 a State Board of Education was established. All 
 these formative measures had a powerful and direct 
 effect upon the administration of tlic public schools, 
 first in helping to abolish the district system, and, 
 secondly, in leading school committees to improve 
 their means and methods of supervision. Ever after 
 the establishment of the State Board of Education 
 in 1837 the board and its secretary and agents wert> 
 most assiduous in their efforts to induce the towns 
 to maintain the town system alone, and to secure Hi'- 
 
 lislied.
 
 252 
 
 Appendix A 
 
 Work of the 
 state board of 
 education. 
 
 Members of 
 school com- 
 mittees ap- 
 pointed as 
 supervisors. 
 
 passage of a law which would forbid the district 
 system to be adopted in any town.* 
 
 "While it was rendering this service it was at the 
 same time in various ways helping the school com- 
 mittees to improve the character of their supervision. 
 Two circumstances seemed to contribute to this end : 
 first, the necessity of having a number of well- 
 educated men on the school committee able to ex- 
 amine candidates presented for teachers' places, 
 and, secondly, the ever-advancing standard of re- 
 quirements for teachers. While the normal schools 
 aided not a little in encouraging a demand for better 
 teachers, it Avas largely to the constant and eloquent 
 appeals of Horace Mann, through addresses and 
 reports, that the people came to recognize the im- 
 . portanee of securing the best teachers possible. 
 It is a significant fact that with the improvement 
 of the teaching there grew up an ever-increasing 
 need of more and better supervision on the part of 
 school committees. It was by the various school 
 committees, as expressed in their reports, that the 
 demands for what is now called skilled supervision 
 were most urgently made. At first one and another 
 board of school committee selected one of its own 
 number to perform the duties of supervision, on the 
 plea, doubtless, that even an unprofessional super- 
 visor employed all the time could do the work more 
 intelligently than could several men in odd times of 
 a busy life. Thus the school committees of Cam- 
 bridge in 1836 and of Gloucester in 1850 had each 
 
 * The district system was abolished in 1859, and the act of 
 abolition was repealed the same year. It was again abolished 
 in 1869. A law was passed in 1870 allowing any town by a 
 two-thirds vote to re-establish the system. It was finally abol- 
 ished in 1882.
 
 Evolution of School Supervision 253 
 
 delegated to a member certain supervisor}^ duties, 
 and had designated him superintendent of schools. 
 
 The first instance of the appointment of a superin- The appoiut- 
 tendent of schools other than that of a member of ^^^ut of super- 
 the school committee was in Spring-field in 1840. ^.^tendents iu a 
 mi ■ 1 T . 1 • -, . , . few towns. 
 
 Ihe superintendent who was appomted remained in 
 
 office but two years. The first permanent appoint- 
 ment of such an official was made in Boston in 1851. 
 From that time the experiment was regarded as a 
 success, and in 1854 a law was passed, amended in 
 1857 and 1860, authorizing towns and city councils 
 to require the school committee "to appoint a super- 
 intendent of public schools who, under the direction 
 and control of said committee, shall have the care 
 and supervision of the schools. ' ' Under this law the skilled super- 
 cities and large towns, one after another, adopted vision authoi- 
 the plan of supervision by superintendents, until in ^^^'^ '^7 ^'^^• 
 1879, twenty-five years after the permissive bill was 
 passed, thirty-five cities and large towns had em- 
 ployed superintendents for full or nearly full time. 
 
 During all these years in which the cities and Supervision 
 large towns were providing themselves with skilled ^"'" ^^^ smaller 
 superintendents, the desirability of making some "^"^P''"^"- 
 provision by which th(^ smaller towns of the Com- 
 monwealth could have the benefit of this supervision 
 was constantly urged by the Board of Education 
 and its executive officers. It is not necessary here 
 to give in detail the history of the struggle in behalf 
 of this extended supervision. Suffice to say that in 
 1888 a laAV was passed by which two or more towns 
 were permitted to join together in employing a 
 superintendent of schools, the expense therefor to 
 be largely borne by the State. This l;i\v was 
 amended at various times, and under its i)n)visi()ns 
 during the following twelve years a large majority
 
 254: 
 
 Appendix A 
 
 Skilled super- 
 intendents 
 made manda- 
 tory. 
 
 The superin- 
 tendent an ex- 
 pert advisor 
 and director, 
 not an over- 
 seer. 
 
 The law of 
 1888 strength- 
 ened and im- 
 proved. 
 
 of the towns concerned accepted the provisions of 
 the law and formed themselves into districts. 
 
 So strong- Avas the sentiment in favor of the meas- 
 ure that, following the time-honored practice 0/ 
 allowing mandatory legislation to wait upon the 
 results of permissive laws, the legislature of 1900 
 passed a bill obliging the school committees of all 
 towns and cities to employ a superintendent of 
 schools after July 1, 1902, those towns having a val- 
 uation of less than two and a. half million dollars ta 
 be governed by the law relating to union districts. 
 This bill was passed in full recognition of the great 
 principles that teaching and training children need 
 the direction of trained experts, and that what 
 affects for good or ill one part of the State affects all 
 parts. 
 
 It took the liberty-loving people of ^Massachusetts 
 more than a century of tribulation and effort to 
 learn these great truths, but the end attained was 
 worth all it cost. So long as teaching was a trade^ 
 an overseer only was needed— someone to see that 
 the quantity of service was w^hat it should be: but 
 as soon as it became a profession the service of an 
 expert adviser and director was demanded to make 
 sure that the quality of the work done was of the 
 right kind. 
 
 Under the law of 1888 all unions were made by 
 the volmitary action of the towns, each town elect- 
 ing what district it shall join. To prevent the 
 possibility of towns being left without a superin- 
 tendent, a law was passed in 1903 making it the duty 
 of the State Board of Education to form or readjust 
 union districts w^henever it is necessary to do so. 
 A change in the law was soon after made whereby 
 district superintendents must receive from the State
 
 Evolution of School Supervision 255 
 
 Board a certificate of qualification before they can 
 be elected. * 
 
 It is difficult to contrast the supervision of seventy- The kind of 
 five or fifty years ago w^ith that of the present day, supervision 
 as there is no record preserved of w^hat was done ty years ago. 
 in the earlier time. It is safe, however, to assume 
 that in most places not much directive or even sug- 
 •gestive influence was exerted upon the schools be- 
 yond the formal visits of the school committee, at 
 which their superior knowledge was aired, the pupils 
 surcharged with platitudes and advice which they 
 could not understand, and the teacher flattered by 
 the assurance that most excellent progress had been 
 made. 
 
 The annual reports also of former times cannot 
 be said to have greatly affected the schools or public 
 interest in them, for they were generally filled with 
 glittering generalities concerning education, and 
 fine-spun commonplaces respecting the virtues or 
 faults of youth or the duties of parents. In many 
 instances the repo-rts are found to contain such state- 
 ments respecting the condition of the schools as to 
 give assurance that perfection was reached, or 
 from repeated statements of continued improvement 
 that the schools at one time must have been in a 
 deplorable condition. When called upon to descend 
 to particulars in their report, the school committee ' 
 made a running commentary upon each school of the 
 town, or tried to show the importance of giving 
 more time to spelling and arithmetic. 
 
 While there are vestiges remaining in modern 
 practice of these archaic remains of innocent official 
 diversions, there are positive evidences of a distinct 
 
 * The details of supervision under district ph'ui are given 
 in Appendix B. .
 
 256 
 
 Appendix A 
 
 advance on all lines of active professional direction 
 of school affairs. Where superintendents are em- 
 ployed the schools are inspected and examined by 
 persons who have made a lifelong study of education, 
 and who have won the right to lead the teachers, by 
 years of successful practice. They are given by the 
 school committees large powers in all the details of 
 school administration which require professional 
 knowledge and experience. The extent of those 
 Present pow- powers is shown by answers to recent inquiries sent 
 ers of supeiiu- to the superintendents of schools in 233 cities and 
 towns of Massachusetts. The following table shows 
 the degree and extent of authority given to these 
 superintendents. 
 
 tendents of 
 schools. 
 
 DUTIES 
 
 Selection of text-books 
 
 Selection of reference books 
 
 Selection of apparatus 
 
 Making of course of studies 
 
 Nomination or certification of 
 
 teachers 
 
 Appointment of teachers 
 
 Suspension of teachers 
 
 Dismissal of teachers ', 
 
 Inspection and direction of teachers' 
 
 work 
 
 Calling and conducting teachers' 
 
 meetings 
 
 Promotion of pupils 
 
 Number of Towns in which 
 Certain Degrees op Authority 
 ARE Exercised by Superin- 
 tendents 
 
 
 
 
 
 i. a 
 
 
 >. 
 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 -g 
 
 _ 
 
 lot. 
 
 c 
 
 -a 
 
 
 3 
 
 a ®5 
 
 iz; 
 
 <! 
 
 1-5 
 
 fe 
 
 Ij t) 
 
 8 
 
 85 
 
 44 
 
 92 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 88 
 
 38 
 
 93 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 81 
 
 35 
 
 103 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 41 
 
 21 
 
 164 
 
 4 
 
 re 
 
 67 
 
 40 
 
 95 
 
 12 
 
 45 
 
 89 
 
 60 
 
 21 
 
 18 
 
 41 
 
 104 
 
 56 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 48 
 
 102 
 
 61 
 
 15 
 
 ' 
 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 218 
 
 4 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 224 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 19 
 
 187 
 
 ' 
 
 The figures cited make a remarkable showing. 
 They show that to a large majority of the superin- 
 tendents practically full power is given in the in- 
 spection and direction of the teachers' work and 
 in calling and conducting teachers' meetings. If
 
 Evolution of School Supervision 257 
 
 their powers stopped here, their appointment would 
 be justified. But they are given further duties 
 which bear directly upon the welfare of the schools. 
 About 40% of them have full authority in the nom- 
 ination of teachers and in the selection of text-books, 
 reference books, and apparatus, while nearly all the 
 others have advisory or joint authority in perform- 
 ing those duties. In over 70% of the places reported 
 the superintendent has full power in making courses 
 of studies, and in over 80% of them he has full 
 power in all matters of promotions of pupils. 
 
 The significance of these facts may be more fully 
 realized when it is considered that they relate to 
 persons who, with few exceptions, give their entire 
 time to the business of supervision,* and whose work 
 extends over all the schools of the State. 
 
 The professional character of their work is further The profession- 
 assured by the fact, shown in the returns, that about ^i' character of 
 
 three-fourths of them are college or university grad- ' "' "'^'^]' '^ 
 
 , supervisor, 
 
 uates, and have had an average of over 12 years ex- 
 perience in teaching. Of the remaining number 
 nearly all are either graduates of normal schools or 
 have been students in college from one to three 
 years. 
 
 This statement of present conditions does not take Supervision of 
 into account the supervision that is quite generally priixipals mu) 
 placed in the hands of grammar-school principals in ^1^^''"'' ''"'*''' 
 the cities and large towns. There are at least one 
 hundred municipalities in which the grammar-school 
 principals, under the direction of superintendents, 
 have from eight to thirty schoolrooms to visit for 
 
 * Of the 162 professional superinterxlents now engaged in 
 265 cities and towns, 2.3 are principals of high or grammar 
 schools. Three others are em])loyed oidy a i)orti()n of tho 
 time.
 
 258 
 
 Appendix A , 
 
 No exact 
 measure of im- 
 provement in 
 supervision 
 possible. 
 
 Work actually 
 accomplished 
 by superin- 
 tendents. 
 
 the purpose of suporvising- the work done. The 
 supervisory duties performed by special teachers of 
 manual training, singing, physical culture, and draw- 
 ing ought also to be considered in making up a 
 record of what is now done in supervision. Nearly 
 all of the 143 special teachers of drawing, and a 
 large proportion of the 186 special teachers of sing- 
 ing, have more or less supervision of the work done 
 in these branches by the regular teachers. 
 
 A complete statement of the changed character of 
 supervision in Massachuestts would involve a de- 
 scription and comparison of detailed methods exist- 
 ing at various times. That, however, is manifestly 
 impossible on account of the meagreness of data 
 concerning past methods now attainable and the 
 great variety of methods employed at the present 
 time. No two superintendents, for example, will be 
 likely to agree upon the precise methods employed 
 in conducting teachers' meetings or inspecting 
 schools; yet in these respects, as in all other duties 
 that have been noted, the tendency in recent years ^ 
 toward what may be called professionalism in super- 
 vision has been most marked. 
 
 Instead of commending merely formal and memo- 
 riter work, and examining in such a way as to en- 
 courage such work, as was formerly the case, super- 
 intendents have become more and more urgent in 
 requiring thoughtful and original work from pupils. 
 
 The teachers have been helped by superintendents 
 in an increasing measure to employ rational methods 
 of teaching rather than imitative devices. They 
 have been more fully supported in an exercise of 
 freedom and individuality in their work, and have 
 been assisted to learn in good ways the principles, 
 of their profession. In short, there have been no
 
 Evolution of School Supervision 259 
 
 great progressive movements in public-school educa- 
 tion in which superintendents have not had a prom- 
 inent part, both in shaping and in fostering them. 
 No more convincing testimony to the value of skilled 
 supervision could be offered than that which is freely 
 given by our best teachers, who invariably prefer to 
 teach where such supervision exists, by which they 
 are supported in their best efforts and are led to 
 greater proficiency in their profession. 
 
 Broadly speaking, the history of public education Two periods of 
 in Massachusetts may be said to have had two P"l»lic educa- 
 periods— one in which the people in their fidelity ^k'" ^n ^I«ssa- 
 to local self-government kept the immediate manage- 
 ment of the schools in their own hands, and the other 
 in which the people with a control of the schools 
 no less strong than before, sought in increasing 
 measure to give into the hands of educational ex- 
 perts the direction of that part of the work of the 
 schools which required professional knowledge and 
 skill. It is the tendency of this later period which 
 helps us to forecast the school supervision of the 
 future. It may be assumed with confidence that 
 the schools or their management will not be widely 
 separated from the control of the people. It is safe 
 also to assume that the schools will be so far re- 
 moved from such control as to warrant independence 
 and wisdom of action on the part of school commit- 
 tees and superintendents. 
 
 If these assumptions are correct, the school com- Desirable eon- 
 mittees will not under any circumstances be ap- ditions respect- 
 pointed officials, but will be elected directly by the ,',7memhe"oT 
 people. The number of members constituting a ^^.i,,,,,, ,„,^rd 
 board will be small— not in any case over twelve, and and iiieir term 
 generally less than seven. Their term of office will <>f service, 
 be sufficiently long for them to acquire a good knowl-
 
 260 
 
 Ap2^e7idix A 
 
 The respective 
 duties of 
 school boards 
 and superin- 
 tendents to be 
 defined. 
 
 A business 
 agent in cities 
 and large 
 towns. 
 
 edge of their duties, and will expire at such times 
 as to enable a majority of the members to remain in 
 continuous service. 
 
 Following the best practice of the past, we shall 
 expect to find in the supervision of the future a unity 
 of service and at the same time a well-defined line 
 of separation between the duties of the general 
 supervisory board on the one hand and those of the 
 expert supervisory force on the other. The school 
 committee as a board will have general charge of the 
 schools, all matters of detail being left to ex- 
 ecutive officers who will be held responsible for 
 results to the general board. In all matters relating 
 directly to the work of the schools the superintend- 
 ent will take the initiative, and in some of these 
 matters he will have full power. He will take the 
 initiative in the selection of teachers and choice of 
 text-books, and he will have full power in the 
 making of courses of study, in the placing of pupils 
 in school, and in the direction of the teachers' 
 work. The school-attendance officers and directors 
 of hygiene will be under his direction, and such 
 other executive officers as have to do directly with 
 the work of the schools. 
 
 In cities and large towns there will be a business 
 agent who will attend to all matters of buildings 
 and of supplies other than school equipment. In 
 towns where such an agent cannot be exclusively 
 employed, the work will be delegated to such per- 
 sons as can perform the service most effectively and 
 economically.* 
 
 * Full details of the history of school supervision in Mas- 
 sachusetts and the duties of superintendents of schools are 
 given in a special report upon, city and town supervision of 
 schools, printed in the Sixty-third annual report of the Massa- 
 chusetts board of education, p. 291-330.
 
 Evolution of School Supervision 261 
 
 When the respective duties of the school commit- District com- 
 
 tee and its superintendent are determined, and both ™ittees and 
 
 parties trust each other, there will be no need of any '"'^"^ specia 
 : . „ , . committees to 
 
 intermediary agencies, of district committees, com- 1,^ jriven up. 
 
 mittees on text-books and supplies, and on nomina- 
 tion of teachers. These nesting-places of jobbery 
 and trades will exist only in memory of the time 
 when the people permitted their schools to become 
 a prey to political ambition and selfish greed. The 
 school board of the future will act as a whole in all 
 matters of business, and as a whole will meet such 
 recommendations of the superintendent, relating to 
 educational questions, as need its action. 
 
 In large places some supervisory duties will be Assistants to 
 delegated to assistant superintendents, principals of ^"P^"_° ^'^' 
 schools, and, in rare cases, to special teachers. But, pieces, 
 in any case, there will be bift one superintendent, 
 who alone will be held responsible to the board, and 
 who, therefore, must see to it that all supervisory 
 agencies under him are in full accord with his policy. 
 
 As has been intimated, the functions here outlined Assurance of 
 are confidently regarded as belonging to the school Progress m 
 supervision of the future because they are the logical 
 outcome of past and present tendencies. With 
 equal confidence, and for the same reason, they 
 may be expected to be universally adopted through- 
 out the State by such legislation as will make thorn 
 compulsory. 
 
 When the present law, compelling all towns to A forecast of 
 
 employ professional superintendents, has been tested, wlmt may be 
 
 , / ,. • 1 f expected, 
 
 and when the present practice, in many places, ot 
 
 giving large responsible powers into tlw hands of 
 
 the superintendent becomes well-nigh universal, 
 
 protection from the possible dangers of charlatanism 
 
 and politics will be asked for all towns an<l cities of
 
 262 
 
 Appendix A 
 
 Needed 
 features in 
 statute laws re- 
 lating to school 
 supervision. 
 
 the Commonwealth which are not disposed to pro- 
 tect themselves— and it will be granted by the 
 passage of a law defining the duties of the general 
 supervisory board and of the superintendent. When 
 that time comes, place-seekers for the sake of gain 
 or of bestowing favors upon friends will no longer 
 press their claims for membership upon school 
 boards, and only those persons will be elected to 
 that office Avho take a strong interest in the schools 
 and who are willing to give their best energies for 
 them. 
 
 Thus far in this statement matters of local super- 
 vision only have been referred to. The fact that the 
 'authority and duties of the State Board of Educa- 
 tion in Massachusetts have remained essentially 
 the same for upwards of sixty years is warrant for 
 believing that the supervision of the future will 
 not be centralized to the extent of having large 
 responsibilities in the hands of officials far removed 
 from the people. There will doubtless be in the 
 future, as in the past, an increasingly high standard 
 of educational effort and attainment required 
 throughout the Commonwealth; but that standard 
 Avill be set by the people, through their representa- 
 tives, and be embodied in statute law. 
 
 This law will define a minimum of qualifica- 
 tions for superintendents and for teachers, whose 
 professional preparation will be assumed by the 
 State free of cost for all who desire it. The chief 
 functions of the State Board of Education will be 
 to provide this preparation by the maintenance of 
 normal and training schools for all classes of 
 teachers, to see that all State aid for schools is 
 wisely distributed, to see that the responsibility of 
 maintaining a high degree of effort on the part of
 
 Evolution of School Supervision 263 
 
 the towns is fully met, and to advise school officials 
 
 as to good means and methods of keeping their 
 
 schools up to a high standard of excellence. Besides 
 
 all this, it will continue to be the duty of the board 
 
 and its executive officers to arouse the interest and 
 
 enthusiastic devotion of the people in behalf of the 
 
 public schools. 
 
 What has been said thus far pertains to conditions The duties of 
 
 which exist in Massachusetts. It may be assumed, state and local 
 
 therefore, that the conclusions reached belong only ^^oardstobe 
 
 to that state. But if the principles stated as to the ^ , 
 
 . ^ ^ states. 
 
 relation of the people to the schools are true, and if 
 
 the process of growth outlined is a natural process 
 of evolution, the conclusions reached will apply, not 
 only to Massachusetts, but to every other state as 
 well. The duties of the state and local boards of 
 administration will be so adjusted that the fvinctions 
 of the former will be only general and advisory, 
 while the functions of the latter will be limited only 
 by wise general laws. Administrative boards will 
 not be given skilled supervisory and executive duties 
 which belong to the superintendent alone. Superin- 
 tendents will not be burdened with financial and 
 judicial duties which belong either to the administra- 
 tive board or to a court of law, nor will the field of 
 their work be so extended that they cannot have 
 an intimate knowledge of each school under their 
 charge and be able to direct wisely the work of 
 each teacher. 
 
 The exact form of legislation and administration Forms of legis- 
 in other states is not likely to be the same as it is 1"^'"" '"»| '•'!- 
 
 or will be in Massacliusotts, nor need the steps load- '"'""/* ^^ '°" 
 
 . . not to be the 
 
 ing to a well-adjusted system or supervision else- same in all 
 
 where be so slow or difficult as they have been in states. 
 
 that State, but the features of both ornfanization and
 
 264 Appendix A 
 
 means of applying it will be eventually quite alike 
 in all states. That is, there will be maintained 
 throughout the country that true equilibrium of 
 central and local processes which will insure steadi- 
 ness of purpose in establishing and maintaining high 
 ideals of public education. Moreover, there will be 
 that '^ peaceful, concerted action throughout the 
 whole, without infringing upon local and individual 
 freedom in the parts" which John Fiske declares to 
 be the "chief aim of civilization viewed on its polit- 
 ical side."* 
 A forward When that time comes the dangers of centralized 
 
 ^^^^- authority on the one hand and of misguided self- 
 
 government on the other will no longer exist ; school 
 boards will not be found wrestling with educational 
 theories and their application for the purpose of 
 winning the applause of an admiring constituency; 
 school superintendents will no longer be forced to 
 exhaust their energies in keeping records and sta- 
 tistics for purposes of show, or in doing the errands 
 of school boards; teachers Avill not be prevented 
 from doing their best work by unwise or conflicting 
 directions from superior officers; and the people, 
 regarding the schools as the surest protection from 
 the dangers of individual and social degeneracy, 
 will not be willing to give them into the hands of 
 unworthy persons who would use the trust for selflsh 
 or political ends. Finally, and in a word, when the 
 duties of supervision become properly adjusted, the 
 evolutionary lines of progress will no longer lie in 
 methods of administration merely, but in the de- 
 velopment of the powers of the child in the light 
 of an ever-growing sense of his nature, his needs, 
 and the great ends for which he is placed in the 
 
 world. 
 
 * American political ideas, p. 6.
 
 The Supervision of Rural Schools 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 The difficulties in the way of carrying out in rural Difficulties of 
 districts the principles of administration as defined of school super- 
 in preceding pages will be readily acknowledged. '^J^|^° ^° ™'* 
 In fact up to a comparatively recent period, few 
 attempts have been made to do more in the way of 
 supervision than to make provision for the necessary 
 beginning and continuance of the schools. 
 
 It is true that in some of the newer sections of 
 the country efforts were made almost coincident 
 with the establishment of the schools to maintain a 
 certain kind of supervision which was thought to be 
 superior to the non-professional supervision formerly 
 exercised by school committees in the country towns 
 of New England. But it must be admitted that 
 the results of these efforts have been very meagre. 
 
 County supervision in most states does little be- County supti 
 yond preventing the employment of grosslv incompe- '^''s"*" '"' 
 
 , T 1 • i. -1 adequate. 
 
 tent teachers and the maintenance ot a certani low 
 standard of work in the merely formal subjects. In 
 some places it is difficult to see, from the character 
 of the organization, how even these ends can be 
 aecomplfshed. The inadequacy of salary offered to 
 superintendents, the wide extent of country over 
 which they have to pass in their visits to the schools, 
 the amount of non-professional duties put upon 
 them, all conspire to prevent the adoption of that 
 system of skilled supervision which is found easy to 
 organize in cities and large towns. 
 
 In general it must be said that clianges of school 
 (265)
 
 266 
 
 Appendix B 
 
 Changes to be 
 gradual and 
 agree with ex- 
 istinir political 
 organization. 
 
 Plan of super- 
 vision in Rich- 
 mond Co., 
 Georgia. 
 
 School tax 
 levied and 
 collected by 
 county board. 
 
 School fund 
 distributed ac- 
 cording to the 
 needs of each 
 ward and dis- 
 trict. 
 
 organization should be effected gradually and agree 
 in spirit at least with the existing political organiza- 
 tion. It would seem necessary, however, for some 
 radical changes of organization to be made before 
 skilled supervision can be introduced into those 
 portions of the country' where the political unit is 
 the county. 
 
 Some helpful experiments have been made in a 
 few counties of the south in attempts to overcome 
 the difficulties in the way of securing skilled super- 
 vision. One of the most hopeful of these experi- 
 ments was tried several years ago in the county of 
 Richmond, Georgia, and the plan there followed 
 has been adopted in several places. A summary of 
 this plan as given by Superintendent Lawton B. 
 Evans in the Educational Review'^ is as follows: 
 
 "One board of education, composed of representa- 
 tives elected by the people for a term of three years, 
 one-third of the membership expiring every year, 
 has charge of the entire school interests of the city 
 of Augusta and of the county of Richmond. This 
 board of education has the unique power of levying 
 a school tax directly upon the people of the county, 
 without revision by any other authority and without 
 any limit as to rate or amount. The school tax is 
 levied and collected as a uniform rate upon all 
 property of the county, whether it is in the city or 
 out of it. This forms the general school fund of 
 the county, supplemented by the state appropriation. 
 
 ' ' When it comes to the distribution of this fund no 
 regard is paid to the amount raised by any ward of 
 the city or any district of the county, but the fund is 
 distributed according to the necessities of each ward 
 and district, determined by the number of children 
 
 *Volume ii, page 371-373.
 
 Supervision of Rural Schools 267 
 
 to be educated. The school fund of the whole 
 county is raised by a tax on all the property of the 
 county and is distributed upon the basis of the school 
 population of each community. Thus it happens 
 that a community rich in naught else but children 
 will get a flourishing school paid for by its wealthier ■ 
 but less fortunate neighbors. 
 
 "As a matter of fact, a large part of the money Rural schools 
 paid by the city is annually spent in the rural given a fair 
 districts, for the city has nine-tenths of the taxable ^^^i"^ of 
 property, but only three-fourths of the school popula- '"^"^J'- 
 tion. So it happens that the rural schools pay one- 
 tenth of the school tax and receive the benefit of 
 one-fourth of it. Augusta has spent in the past 
 twenty years the sum of $200,000 in building school- 
 houses and paying school teachers for the children 
 who live in the country districts around her. 
 Augusta has shown her faith in the proposition that 
 every city needs to be environed by an intelligent, 
 industrious, and contented population. 
 
 "When it comes to the teachers the same qualifica- xho same 
 
 tions are demanded for rural schools as for city standard of 
 
 schools. Upon the regular examination terms, and qualifications 
 
 upon issuing of licenses to teach, an applicant does ' ^' ^ .^^ , 
 
 " '^ . . rural schools. 
 
 not know whether he will teach in the city or out 
 
 of it, and to many it is a matter of indilference. 
 And I know whereof I speak when I say that there 
 are young women graduates of normal colleges doing 
 high-grade work in country schools ten miles beyond 
 the limits of the city, and doing it happily and 
 cheerfully. "We believe firmly in the further prop- 
 osition that a country school is entitled to as good 
 a teacher as a city school, and that those who live 
 in the fields are as deserving of education as those 
 who dwell beside the asphalt. Carlyle must have
 
 268 
 
 Appendix B 
 
 Salaries of 
 rural and city 
 teacliers to be 
 the same. 
 
 A nine months 
 school year for 
 all schools. 
 
 School houses. 
 
 Supervision 
 alike for rural 
 and city 
 schools. 
 
 had a country child in his mind Avhen he said: 'This; 
 I consider a great tragedy: that one soul should 
 remain in ignorance that had capacity for higher 
 things.' 
 
 "The teachers are treated as nearly alike as can. 
 be. City and country teachers are paid about the 
 same salary. They get it at the end of every month, 
 and on the same day. The certainty and the regu- 
 larity of a fixed compensation create a sense of 
 security, safety, and comfort for a teacher, and 
 accordingly increase his efficiency. No teacher can 
 do his best work when he works at starvation rates^ 
 is paid once every three or four months, and often in 
 script that he must discount. There is much phil- 
 osophy and also economy in the maxim that advises 
 us to pay a public servant well and watch him 
 closel.y. So we draw no distinction of locality. 
 First-class work is worth as much twenty miles from 
 town as it is in the heart of the city. 
 
 "The schools of the county all run nine calendar 
 months. They all begin at the same time and close 
 at the same time. During the last year every child 
 of the county, regardless of where he lived, was 
 offered nine months of actual tuition. 
 
 "So far as schoolhouses are concerned, these are 
 located in rural districts so as to be on an average 
 of four miles apart. No child is out of walking dis- 
 tance of a school open nine months in the year and 
 taught by a good teacher. These houses are owned 
 by the board of education and cost from $300 to 
 $2,500 each, according to size and equipment. 
 
 "One superintendent has charge of all the teachers 
 in the county. .The same degree of efficiency that 
 should attend the supervision of city schools is like- 
 wise extended to the country schools. An expert
 
 Supervision of Rural Schools 269 
 
 teacher for all is the theory, and, so far as human 
 ■effort can avail, it is carried out in practice. The 
 same course of study is prescribed for the pupils, 
 and the same course of professional reading is re- 
 quired of the teachers. The teachers of the city 
 •schools meet for instruction once a week, the teachers 
 •of the country schools meet once a month, and in 
 addition have a two-months' institute in the summer 
 months. ' ' 
 
 In parts of the country where the town or town- Plan of super- 
 •ship is the unit of government a different plan will vision whea 
 
 have to be pursued. Here the unit of school ad- ' ^ ^ . 
 ^ government is 
 
 ministration must be smaller than the county but ^jj^ ^^^^ ^j. 
 the ends desired may be accomplished by combining township, 
 several towns for purposes of supervision, the ad- 
 ministration of the schools in all other respects 
 remaining as they are. This has been done effectu- 
 ally in some of the New England states. 
 
 The plan is found in greatest efficiency in Massa- The union 
 chusetts where it originated in 1888. By this law 'listiict plan of 
 
 11- supervision in 
 
 as amended at various times the school committees jyiassachusetts 
 
 of two or more towns, each having a valuation of less 
 
 than 2y2 millions, must form a union for the purpose 
 
 of employing a superintendent of schools. The 
 
 union district must consist of two or more towns 
 
 having in the aggregate not more than 50 schools 
 
 and not less than 25. If the union district consists 
 
 of more than three towns the minimum limit of 25 
 
 schools need not be adhered to. 
 
 The union thus formed cannot be dissolved for Condition of 
 
 three years after the date of its formation except ™^'"f'""'"« '^ 
 •^ . . union district 
 
 by a vote of the majority of the towns constituting j^j. 9„p,.,.vi. 
 
 the union; nor can it be dissolved for the reason sion. 
 
 that the valuation of any one of the towns shall have 
 
 so increased as to exceed 2i/2 millions, nor for the
 
 270 
 
 Appendix B 
 
 The sdiool 
 committees in 
 joint conven- 
 tion to choose 
 the superin- 
 tendent. 
 
 Payment of 
 superinten- 
 dent's salary 
 by state and 
 towns. 
 
 The state 
 board author- 
 ized to form 
 and readjust 
 districts. 
 
 reason that the number of schools shall have in- 
 creased beyond 50, or in a union of less than four 
 towns, shall have decreased below 25. 
 
 The school committees of the towns forming a 
 union must meet in a joint convention to choose a 
 superintendent of schools, determine the relative 
 amount of service to be performed by him in each 
 town, fix his salary, apportion the amount thereof to 
 be paid by the several towns and certify it to each 
 town treasurer. 
 
 For all other pui'poses the school committee are 
 the agents of each town of the union district, that is, 
 the school committee of any given town determine 
 the duties of the superintendent for that town. 
 
 At the close of each year when the fact is certified 
 to that the towns constituting a union, in addition 
 to an amount equal to the average amount paid for 
 schools during the preceding three years, have raised 
 by taxation not less than $750 for the support 
 of a superintendent of schools and that a superin- 
 tendent has been employed for one year, the towns 
 receive from the state $1,250, three-fifths of which 
 is paid for the salary of the superintendent and the 
 other two-fifths to the towns for the salaries of 
 teachers. 
 
 The law also provides that smaller towns may 
 unite with a city or large town to form a union, but 
 in that case the smaller towns only receive money 
 from the state on accoimt of being in a union. 
 
 The State Board of Education is authorized to 
 form and readjust unions of towns whenever in its 
 judgment it becomes imperatively necessary to 
 include a town which is otherwise unable to comply 
 with the law. 
 
 Thus it is that over two hundred towns of the
 
 vision. 
 
 Supervision of Rural Schools 271 
 
 Commonwealth are imder skilled supervision in O'^er 200 
 
 imion districts, while every other town is obliged ^'^'"'"^ under 
 
 . , , skilled super- 
 
 either alone or m conjunction with one or more 
 
 towns to employ a superintendent. As the minimum 
 
 salary of the union superintendent is $1,500 and as 
 
 the position is a favorable one for promotion, good 
 
 service as a rule is secured, and through its means 
 
 the schools of the towns of low valuation have been 
 
 greatly improved. This will be even more manifest 
 
 when the towns get the increased aid promised them 
 
 from the state.
 
 Consolidation of Rural Schools 
 
 Conveyance of 
 pupils author- 
 ized by law in 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Extent and 
 growth of 
 school consoli- 
 dation. 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 In 1869 the legislature of Massachusetts passed a 
 law authorizing towns to raise and appropriate 
 money for the conveyance of pupils to and from the 
 public schools. At the same session in which this 
 law was passed, it was voted for a second time to 
 abolish the district system. There may be no con- 
 nection between these two events, but behind them 
 both was a spirit of unrest. The people of the 
 country towns had at last come to realize that a too 
 close adherence to the principle of local self-govern- 
 ment in education was working an injury to the 
 smaller towns, and that the remedy lay in adopting 
 a policy by which the town at large would share the 
 obligations and privileges of school control. The 
 rapid depopulation of country towns and the in- 
 creasing inability of these towns to support their 
 schools, helped to encourage the movement of con- 
 solidating the schools, and thereby of making the 
 rural schools to share in some degree the privileges 
 of a graded system. 
 
 There is no record available to show how much 
 the rural schools were immediately affected by the 
 passage of the transportation law just referred to. 
 We only know that within twenty years after the law 
 was passed, upwards of two hundred towns had to 
 
 * A paper read before the Department of School Adminis- 
 tration of the National Educational Association in Boston, 
 July 8, 1903. 
 
 (272)
 
 Consolidation of Rural Schools 273 
 
 a greater or less degree availed themselves of the 
 provisions of the law and were spending in the 
 aggregate more than $20,000 annually for the con- 
 veyance of pupils. From that time to the present 
 the idea of consolidating the schools has been con- 
 stantly kept in mind by the people, as shown by the 
 increased amount appropriated each year for the 
 transportation of pupils. The total expenditure 
 for this purpose in 1901 was $165,596, which ex- 
 ceeded the expenditure of the previous year by 
 $13,823, showing that the conveyance of pupils to 
 and from school at public expense is still going on. 
 The extent of the practice is shown by the fact that 
 only 59 of the 353 towns and cities of the Common- 
 wealth reported no expenditures for the conveyance 
 of pupils last year, and that a good proportion of 
 these 59 towns neither have rural schools nor are 
 likely to have them. It should be said that not all 
 the money reported as appropriated for the con- 
 veyance of pupils, was expended for carrying pupils 
 from closed schools ; but the sum expended for any 
 other purpose is comparatively small and therefore 
 the amounts given are an approximate measure of 
 the extent to which the schools have been brought 
 together. 
 
 No statistics have been gathered as to the exact Ten per cent, 
 number of rural schools which have been consoli- of rural schools 
 dated thus far, but a careful estimate indicates that ' '"^^" "'"^' ' 
 (^t least 10% of the so-called ungraded schools have 
 been discontinued and that the pupils of the dis- 
 continued schools are being carried at public expense 
 either to central graded schools or to other un- 
 graded schools. 
 
 There is yet another way of ascertaining the 
 strength of the present movement in the coiisolida-
 
 274 
 
 Appendix C 
 
 Growth of sen- 
 timent iu favor 
 of school con- 
 solidation. 
 
 Plans of con- 
 solidation 
 adopted in 
 various states. 
 
 tion of rural schools, and that is through the testi- 
 mony of persons who have tried the plan or who 
 have seen the effects of a fair trial of it. In a special 
 inquiry made a few years ago by an agent of the 
 Massachusetts State Board of Education, the fact 
 was brought out that in a large majority of the 
 places where the experiment of consolidation had 
 been tried there was a pronounced sentiment in favor 
 of its continuance. Several reasons were given for 
 this opinion, among which were increase in the 
 regularity and punctuality of pupils, an improved 
 character of school buildings and equipment, en- 
 hanced interest on the part of pupils and a reduction 
 in the cost of school maintenance. The inquiry 
 brought out another fact, although it was an inci- 
 dental one, and that was the evident need of mak- 
 ing the educational conditions in the State at large 
 more nearly equal, a need which has been recently 
 met in part at least by a substantial increase of the 
 State grant to the more needy towns of the Common- 
 wealth. 
 
 In view of all these facts, it is fair to conclude 
 that in Massachusetts at least the plan of the con- 
 solidation of rural schools is no longer an experi- 
 ment, but is recognized in most of the towns of the 
 Commonwealth as a helpful means of raising the 
 standard of education in rural communities. 
 
 "What is true of Massachusetts is doubtless true 
 of several of the twenty states which are reported 
 as having adopted in one form or another the plan 
 of consolidation. In Iowa the plan which has been 
 in operation for some time is favored by 95% of the 
 County Superintendents and by the State Superin- 
 tendent. In Connecticut the law permitting the 
 closing of schools and transportation of pupils as
 
 Consolidation of Rural Schools 275 
 
 reported by the State Superintendent "has been 
 immensely advantageous to the State." In Ohio 
 the State Commissioner is loud in his commendation 
 of the plan which has been in operation several 
 years. In Vermont over 700 schools were closed in 
 a single year and the amount expended for the con- 
 veyance of pupils more than doubled in six years. 
 In New Hampshire the advantages enumerated in 
 favor of discontinuing small schools and conveying 
 the pupils are (1) economy; (2) better teachers and 
 equipment; (3) better supervision; (4) regularity 
 of pupils' attendance, and (5) a better educational 
 spirit. 
 
 Commissioner Harris in his last report, in speaking views of Com- 
 of the consolidation of rural schools, says : ' ' Upon missioner 
 the success of this movement rests the chief hope for Hams, 
 the improvement of the rural school. It is fortu- 
 nate that a device which changes the ungraded 
 school into a graded school involves a saving of ex- 
 pense. The improvement is well worth trial, even 
 were it to double the cost of the rural school, but 
 as will be seen by statistics it is secured with an 
 actual saving of expenditure. Better teachers, more 
 sanitary buildings, less personal exposure on the 
 part of pupils, better classification, and many lesser 
 advantages are commending this reform over the 
 country. ' ' 
 
 Added to the advantages enumerated above Consideratiou 
 may be mentioned the improved facilities for breadth °^ ^^^'^^ 
 and fineness of social culture. Life in many rural 
 communities is circumscribed by unavoidable limita- 
 tions which may in part be overcome by extending 
 the associations of the children and so enriching 
 their lives. The dangers, of course, of a too great 
 extension of associations must be recognized, but it
 
 270 
 
 Appendix C 
 
 Various feat- 
 ures of con- 
 solidation. 
 
 Why extended 
 legislation is 
 not desirable. 
 
 is assumed that in any plan of union, the conditions 
 of contact will be carefully guarded in the interests 
 of all. Experience has shown, however, that the 
 dangers of certain kinds of contamination are far 
 greater in small country schools than in larger 
 graded schools, where there is protection in numbers. 
 
 Being assured of the possibilities for good in the 
 consolidation of rural schools, we have next to 
 inquire how best it may be accomplished. Shall 
 the local school board as in Massachusetts, Ohio and 
 New Jersey, be given full authority to consolidate 
 the schools and to transport the pupils, or shall it 
 be subject to certain legal restrictions, such for 
 example as exist in Indiana, where the trustees of 
 a school district may act only upon petition of a 
 majority of the voters, or as in New Hampshire 
 where only a certain percentage of the school money 
 may be expended for the conveyance of pupils, or 
 as in Rhode Island where schools only may be closed 
 that have an average membership of less than twelve, 
 or as in Iowa where the boards are limited in their 
 appropriation for transportation to five dollars for 
 each person of school age? Shall the law governing 
 the transportation of pupils designate the minimum 
 distance at which pupils may be carried to 
 school as in Vermont and Kansas? Or shall the 
 towTiship or district be allowed, as in some states, to 
 offer a mileage to pupils living at a distance from 
 the school as an alternative to free transportation. 
 
 However meritorious some of these features of 
 consolidation may be in themselves considered, it is 
 a matter of grave doubt whether they should be 
 made subjects of legislation even upon the basis of 
 suggestion or permission. The conditions of a single 
 state, even of the smallest state, are so varied that
 
 Consolidation of Rural Schools 277 
 
 no general policy or line of action can be defined by 
 law, without doing a possible injury in special 
 localities. Take for example the designation l)y law 
 of the minimum distance at which pupils may be 
 conveyed to school. Everyone knows that what is 
 a proper distance for pupils to walk to school under 
 some conditions is quite too great under others. The 
 circumstances of companionship, of the character 
 of the roadway and of the age and sex of the pupils 
 all help to determine what the maximum walking 
 distance for the pupils should be. The designation 
 of two miles as a minimum distance for free trans- 
 portation of pupils, as in Kansas, would work a 
 severe hardship in the case of young girls who 
 might be obliged under the law to walk a mile or a 
 mile and a half over a lonely road, while on the other 
 hand the offer of free rides for all pupils living over 
 three-fourths of a mile from the school, as in Ohio 
 and Pennsylvania, might have in certain districts 
 a somewhat demoralizing influence upon healthy 
 boys of twelve or fifteen years of age. 
 
 Again the designation of a minimum sum, as in The designa- 
 lowa, for the transportation of each pupil, must work tion of a fixed 
 . . • , • -1. 1- V, 4.1 -, sum for traas- 
 
 an mjury in certain cases, quite as much when the ^^^.^.^^j^^^ ^^t 
 
 sum named is too great as when it is too small. In desirable, 
 the one case there would be the temptation to ex- 
 travagance and excess ; in the other, there might be 
 discomfort and neglect. 
 
 The danger is especially manifest when school 
 boards find it necessary to strike a bargain with the 
 carriers. The smallness of the amount, which the 
 driver or proprietor of a school carriage is some- 
 times forced to accept, is an indication of the pos- 
 sible meagreness of service rendered in the form of 
 unfit carriages and poor oversight. Such bargain-
 
 278 
 
 Appendix C 
 
 Decision in 
 
 New York. 
 
 Few specifica- 
 tions in the 
 law should be 
 made. 
 
 Shall consolida- 
 tion be univer- 
 sal and obliga- 
 tory? 
 
 ing and results are a reminder of the old time prac- 
 tice of auctioning off the teacher's board to the 
 lowest bidder. 
 
 • But perhaps the saddest results of sharp bargain- 
 ing come from the practice followed in some places 
 of paying a small sum for each pupil or family 
 living at a distance from the school, with the under- 
 standing that the father may or may not perform 
 the service of transportation for which he is paid. 
 In too many cases it is feared the children are 
 forced by the parsimony of the father to endure 
 much hardship and perhaps loss of school privi- 
 leges—a result of small moment compared to the 
 pauperizing influence of the transaction upon all 
 concerned. 
 
 These are some of the conditions of the consolida- 
 tion of schools which the state may well avoid, at 
 least by any specification of statute requirement. 
 There may be others equally objectionable. The 
 point that I would urge is that few specifications of 
 organization should be made in the law providing 
 for the consolidation beyond the giving of large and 
 responsible duties to local boards. 
 
 Among the first questions to decide in considering 
 a possible scheme of legislation in relation to the 
 consolidation of schools is whether it is best to make 
 the plan universal and obligatory. While it must 
 be admitted that great good has been accomplished 
 in the past by the closing of small schools and the 
 transportation of the pupils to other schools, and 
 while the testimony seems to favor an extension of 
 such a plan, it may well be questioned whether it 
 is desirable for all the rural schools, even for all the 
 small rural schools, to be consolidated. 
 
 In this age of reform we must not insist upon
 
 Consolidation of Rural Schools 279 
 
 making the number of schools fewer only for the 
 purpose of making the number of pupils in each 
 school larger or of decreasing the expense of school 
 maintenance. The truth is, our schools will be more Danger of 
 rather than less expensive in the future and they making the 
 will also be smaller rather than larger. While we schools too 
 are urging that our graded schools of forty and ^^^^' 
 fifty pupils must be reduced to twenty and thirty 
 that better individual work may be done, we can 
 hardly agree with some superintendents in the 
 assumption that the country imgraded schools of 
 fifteen and twenty, or even ten pupils, are too small, 
 or that on account of their size alone they should be 
 closed. And when we get over the notion that a 
 plan is good because it is cheap, we shall not make 
 so much of the argument of economy. The only 
 or chief determining factor of any plan of organiza- 
 tion is efficiency. Judged by that standard a school Efficiency the 
 of twelve or fifteen pupils who are under twelve determining 
 years of age and who live within a mile of the school, ^^**^^- 
 may possibly do better service for the children than 
 could be done under some conditions of consolida- 
 tion. 
 
 In such a comparison of conditions, it must be 
 understood that the teachers in both classes of 
 schools are equally good. One weak point in our 
 comparison of ungraded and graded schools has 
 been that we have had in mind a teacher for one 
 class of schools who is dear at six dollars a week, Teacliors of 
 
 and a teacher for the other class who is cheap at S™\''''J '"",^ ".^■ 
 ^, „ . . Lrraded schools 
 
 six hundred a year. The test of our argument m g,„,^j,j ^^, 
 
 favor of transportation will appear when we think equally good. 
 
 of the six-dollar teacher in the central school, or 
 
 better when we think of the six-hundred-dollar 
 
 teacher in the small isolated one.
 
 280 
 
 Appendix C 
 
 Be it remembered, I am not now arguing in favor 
 of the ungraded over the graded school, much less 
 am I urging the wisdom of keeping the rural 
 schools as they are. I am trying only to show that 
 the principle of consolidation should not be applied 
 to all ungraded schools and that therefore no general 
 law should be passed by any state enforcing its 
 No general adoption. The most that I would urge is the pas- 
 rule or law for sage of a law permitting schools to be closed and 
 
 any state. 
 
 Large dis- 
 cretionary 
 powers for 
 local boards. 
 
 the pupils conveyed at public expense whenever, in 
 the estimation of the township or county board, it 
 is desirable to do so. I would put few restrictions 
 upon the action of this board, believing that an 
 elective body to which is given large powers will 
 act wisely in the interests of the people. 
 
 In the law authorizing boards to carry pupils to 
 and from school, the provision may be made that all 
 precautions shall be taken to protect the pupils from 
 harm or injurj' of any kind. It might be well also 
 to give all persons who have a grievance of any 
 kind the right of appeal to the State Board of 
 Education. In placing so much power and latitude 
 of action in the hands of the township or county 
 boards, the assumption is that there are no small 
 district boards, or if there are such boards that they 
 will be abolished. If the state is not yet ready to 
 abolish the district system and must for a time en- 
 dure its blighting effects, the better course perhaps 
 is for each district or district board to arrange for 
 the transportation of the pupils in case the school 
 is closed, each board to retain its organization. 
 
 With few requirements and restrictions beyond 
 what I have named, and with ample means at its 
 command, the local school board will have the oppor- 
 tunity of generously meeting the educational needs
 
 Consolidation of Rural Schools 281 
 
 ■and wants of the more sparsely settled sections. It 
 will recognize the limited social and educational 
 opportunities of the children of these sections and 
 and will do all in its power to overcome those limi- 
 tations by providing the best service and the most 
 ample accommodations possible. 
 
 Whenever it is seen to be best for the social and Ways and 
 educational well-being of the children of a neigh- means of the 
 borhood to close a school, the safest and most con- conveyance of 
 venient arrangements for the conveyance of the 
 pupils should be made. As far as possible the plan 
 should be followed of taking the children from their 
 homes to the central school. The vehicle provided 
 for the conveyance of the children should be safe 
 and comfortable and the driver should be carefully 
 selected. So important is the matter of a proper 
 care and oversight of the children in transit, that the 
 entire project of consolidation and conveyance 
 ought to depend upon whether a suitable person 
 may be found for the service. Provision should 
 be made for caring for the pupils during the noon 
 intermission, a precaution by the way which should 
 be taken in any school where the pupils remain at 
 noon. 
 
 In some neighborhoods and towns it may seem 
 wise to apply the principle of consolidation only 
 to the older pupils, the younger pupils being left 
 in small ungraded schools. In such cases the pos- 
 sible increase of expense attending the transporta- 
 tion of pupils should not stand in the way of effi- 
 ciently meeting the needs of the pupils. 
 
 What has been said thus far applies especially to Consolidation 
 the elementary schools. The practice of consolida- of small high 
 tion may be quite wisely followed in high schools. 9«l»<>i>ls. 
 Whenever circumstances seem to make it desirable
 
 282 Appendix C 
 
 or feasible to close the small high schools of two or 
 more towns, and to provide for the transportation 
 of pupils to a strong central school, it should be 
 done. This may be done by placing the manage- 
 ment of the central school in the hands of one or 
 more representatives of each local board, each board 
 to provide for the transportation of its own pupils. 
 
 It is hoped that the following points have been 
 made clear: 
 
 1. That the advantages attending the consolida- 
 tion of rural schools have been shown by experience 
 to be so great that the plan should be extended to 
 all communities where it can be conveniently carried 
 out. 
 Summary of 2. That the consolidation of schools should not 
 
 conclusions. be uniform or compulsory throughout all sections 
 of a state, but depend upon lojeal needs and condi- 
 tions. 
 
 3. That in the law providing for the consolida- 
 tion of rural schools few specifications of organiza- 
 tion should be made, beyond the giving of large 
 and responsible duties to local boards. 
 
 4. That in any plan of consolidation, especial 
 attention should be given to arrangements which 
 will insure the greatest degree of convenience, 
 safety and freedom from contamination.
 
 School Revenues and their 
 Distribntion 
 
 APPENDIX D 
 
 Nearly all of the states have permanent funds 
 from which an income is derived for the partial 
 support of the schools. This sum varies greatly, 
 being less than 2% of the total amount expended 
 in Massachusetts and nearly 30% in Texas. 
 
 The balance of the sum expended is raised mostly Differences of 
 
 by taxation, either state or local. Here again there financial condi- 
 
 are great differences. In some of the states nearly *'°"^ "^ ^^^ 
 ^, , , ^ -, T n 11- -1 various states. 
 
 the whole amount expended tor schools is raised 
 
 by state tax, while in others upwards of 90% is 
 
 raised by local tax. A comparison of statistics 
 
 shows that the increase in the income from local 
 
 taxes in the United States is relatively far greater 
 
 than the increase in the income from a state tax. 
 
 For the 21 years ending 1900-1901 the increase in 
 
 state revenues for the support of schools was about 
 
 46%, while the local taxes for the same purpose had 
 
 increased about 65%. 
 
 It is of course impossible to establish a uniform Report of the 
 
 and equitable ratio of the state tax to the local tax, committee of 
 
 yet it is safe to say that in some states that ratio is ^"^^^""^ "P^"^ 
 '' • 11 rnu school rcvcn- 
 
 far too great while in others it is too small. Ihe ues and their 
 
 following extracts from the Report of the Committee distribution. 
 
 of Twelve appointed by the National Educational 
 
 Association bear upon this and other points of in- 
 
 (283)
 
 284 
 
 Appendix D 
 
 Units of taxa- 
 tion. 
 
 State aid 
 necessary. 
 
 terest connected with school revenues and their dis- 
 tribution. 
 
 Revenue 
 
 ^Manifestly such areas or units of taxation should 
 be created, or continued if already in existence, as 
 will fully develop the sound American principle, that 
 the whole wealth of the state shall he made availahle 
 for educating all the youth of the state. This is 
 both right and necessary, for it must be remembered 
 that, in the United States, education is a civil, or 
 state, function, to be supported like other similar 
 functions. What shall these units of taxation be? 
 The subcommittee names those following as coming 
 under the principle just stated : 
 
 1. The State. — A liberal provision of funds from 
 the state treasury, to be distributed according to 
 some rational method, is indispensable, as a rule, 
 to the maintenance of a good system of state schools. 
 Formerly the burden was mainly or wholly thrown 
 upon the local units. The old Massachusetts plan 
 was to throw upon the towns the whole burden of 
 maintaining their own schools. But the greatly 
 increased cost of schools, growing out of enhanced 
 salaries, longer terms, and improved material equip- 
 ment, long ago demonstrated that this plan must 
 be materially modified. Many local taxing units are 
 too poor to carry such a load, and they must either 
 abandon all hope of good schools or they must 
 receive assistance from the state or social whole. 
 
 2. In all states, where, for other local purposes, 
 the county is the sole unit of taxation, a liberal 
 county tax should be levied for the schools. This 
 proposition applies especially to those states where 
 the county system of local government prevails.
 
 School Revenues and their Distribution 285 
 
 In states where, for such purposes, the county is a a county 
 large unit of taxation, it may be wise to levy a school tax 
 county school tax ; that circumstances must deter- a^l'^isable for 
 mine. This remark applies to the states having 
 the mixed system of local government. Under the 
 town system county taxation for schools would be 
 out of harmony with the social and political tradi- 
 tions of the people, and could be accomplished only 
 through a change of habit; perhaps this end is 
 attainable. For the year 1894-95 the Commissioner 
 of Education shows that 67% of the total school 
 revenues of the country came from local taxes. The 
 scale ran from 1.7 per cent, in North Carolina to 
 98 ^ % in Massachusetts. Unfortunately we have no 
 statistics showing from what sources the local taxes 
 come; how much from districts, towns, and counties 
 respectively. The point must, however, be strongly 
 pressed that local supply for public education should 
 be forthcoming as well as state supply. It is a 
 great mistake to teach the people to look altogether, 
 or mainly, to the state treasury for school mainte- 
 nance. They should rather be taught to depend in 
 due measure upon themselves. It is the confident 
 opinion of the subcommittee that some states are 
 now committing this mistake. ]Many states having 
 the county system of local government have in the 
 counties a resource for school maintenance upon 
 which they have never adequatel.y drawn. 
 
 3. In those states where the town or township Tlicdcsii- 
 is a large taxing unit for other local purposes, it !il»ility of local 
 should also be made to contribute liberally to public g^^,^|JJ,g" 
 education. This recommendation it would be idle 
 to urge in most of the southern and in some of the 
 western states, because the civil town or township 
 does not exist, and it would be vain to iii-gi' its
 
 286 
 
 Appendix D 
 
 creation for school purposes exclusively. But in 
 those states where the town and mixed systems of 
 local government exist, a township school tax would 
 be congruous with the general social and political 
 habits of the people. The desirability of local taxa- 
 tion for school purposes w^as urged under the last 
 head. Such taxation develops self-reliance and 
 local character, and tends to awaken and keep alive 
 the interest of the people in the schools. The town 
 was the sole school-taxing unit in old New England, 
 and it is still a prominent, sometimes almost an ex- 
 clusive, one throughout the northern states. The 
 local school taxes of New England are town and 
 district taxes, and, taken together, they range from 
 the minimum of 69.2 per cent, of the whole in Maine 
 to 98.2 in Massachusetts. It can hardly be doubted 
 that the New England states, as well as some others, 
 now throw the burden too heavily upon the towns 
 and districts, and that they will find it advantageous 
 considerably to raise the ratio which state taxation 
 bears to local taxation. The other New England 
 states will probably follow, sooner or later, the ex- 
 ample of Maine, which raises nearly one-third of her 
 school money by state taxation. In some states, no 
 doubt, the townships should carry a heavier weight 
 than at present, at least as compared with districts; 
 at all events, the township should bear a reasonable 
 part of the cost of its own education. 
 
 Help to be 
 given to those 
 communities 
 which help 
 themselves. 
 
 Distribution 
 1. The assistance that the large political and 
 social units render to the small ones, as the state to 
 counties, townships, and districts; or the county 
 to townships and districts; or the township to dis- 
 tricts, should be made contingent, in part at least,
 
 School Revenues and their Distribution 287 
 
 upon what the small units do for themselves. No 
 community, it is believed, is so poor that it cannot 
 do something towards educating its youth. Again, 
 a state educational system should be so organized 
 and administered as to stimulate, and not repress, 
 local spirit and effort. It is a great mistake to re- 
 move the burdens of public education so far from 
 the people that they forget, or tend to forget, their 
 existence. The principle here involved is a vital 
 one. History shows conclusively that popular edu- 
 cation has flourished most in those states of our 
 Union where government is most democratic. 
 
 It is difficult, or rather impossible, to lay down a No general 
 general rule that shall govern the division of taxa- rule for the 
 tion between the state and the local communities. ^"^^^1™ of 
 Two things are to be considered. One is the 
 political institutions that exist in the state. If 
 government is largely centralized at state capitals 
 and county seats— that is one thing; if it is largely 
 decentralized, as where the principle of local self- 
 government is fully developed— ^/lai is quite another. 
 Por example, it would be idle to expect that the same 
 results would obtain in the southern states that are 
 found in New England, or even in that great group 
 of states where the mixed system of local govern- 
 ment prevails. The governmental machinery and 
 the traditions of the people will assert themselves 
 in such matters. The other factors to be considered 
 are social, and particularly economical conditions. 
 
 2. Funds raised by the large taxing units should tik; rich and 
 l)e distributed in such a manner as to bring the sup- strong to help 
 port of the rich and strong to the poor and weak. ^^"^J^^'^'" *"'' 
 "The only reason for taxing these units at all for 
 general purposes is to secure this end. On no other
 
 288 
 
 Appendix D 
 
 principle can a state school tax, or even a county or 
 township tax, be defended, unless indeed the county 
 or township is a single district. The practical ques- 
 tion is, How shall such funds be distributed so as 
 not to defeat the end in view? 
 
 Objection to 
 distribution 
 according to 
 school census. 
 
 Distribution 
 according to 
 enrollment not 
 advisable. 
 
 A fixed sum 
 based upon an 
 arbitrary unit 
 or units the 
 mostecj[uitable. 
 
 (1) Distribution according to the school census 
 or enumeration is open to a serious objection, viz.^ 
 it does not carry the money where it is most needed. 
 For example, two districts lie side by side, one 
 having twenty and the other forty youths of school 
 age ; the second district draws twice as much money 
 as the other, but the cost of keeping up the two 
 schools is practically the same. The same would 
 be true of two township units, unless the schools 
 were consolidated. The result is that the district 
 or township that needs the most help receives the 
 least. The rule is simple and easily worked, but 
 it tends partially to defeat the end of state or county 
 aid. 
 
 (2) The same objection holds against rules based 
 on the school enrollment or on attendance, only with 
 somewhat diminished force. Again, if the enroll- 
 ment is followed, or attendance for a brief time, 
 there is danger that some children will go to school 
 long enough to be counted, and then drop out. 
 Besides, such rules of distribution work in favor of 
 the graded schools and against the rural schools, 
 on account of their larger enrollment and more regu- 
 lar attendance. 
 
 (3) Taking everything into account, the subcom- 
 mittee is inclined to think that a fixed sum or sums, 
 based on an arbitrary unit or units, is most equitable. 
 Examples of such rules are furnished by the states 
 of jMassachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New
 
 School Revenues and their Distribution 289 
 
 Jersey, and California. The most serious objection 
 to such rules is that they are necessarily compli- 
 cated; some of those given above are quite com- 
 plicated. Then, if the fixed sum is so much a 
 teacher, as in New York, or so much a district, as in 
 Rhode Island and New Jersej^ there is a temptation 
 to the undue multiplication of schools or teachers. 
 But this point can be safeguarded by fixing statu- 
 tory limitations, as in California. No rule can be 
 devised that will not be open to objection. The 
 subcommittee does not believe it possible to invent 
 any rule of distribution that will well accomplish 
 the purpose of taxing large units for the benefit of 
 small ones, unless it rests on the school or the teacher 
 as a unit, with the necessary qualifications. The 
 Massachusetts rule is open to the objection that the Various objec- 
 sehool needs of towns cannot always be measured by tiouscou- 
 low valuations of property assessed for taxation, as ^" *-' 
 the number of pupils to be educated is also a factor. 
 If the method of distribution now recommended is 
 objected to as an exclusive one, then it may be sup- 
 plemented by basing a part of the appropriation on 
 the school census, enrollment, or attendance. The 
 resort to the United States census is most objection- 
 able, as great changes of population occur in the 
 course of ten years.
 
 Special Schools and Classes 
 
 APPENDIX E. 
 
 If, as is generally done, the state assumes the 
 duty of caring for extreme cases of the defective 
 classes such as the blind, deaf, and feeble-minded 
 there will be left a large number of defectives of a 
 milder form whose education ought to be carried on 
 by the community in which the defectives live.* 
 
 Special Schools for the Mentally Weak 
 
 Within the past twenty years much attention has 
 
 been given in this country and abroad to the care of 
 
 children who are mentally weak but not idiotic. 
 
 The formation of special classes for this class of 
 
 children is made not only for the benefit of the 
 
 weak-minded or mentally slow pupils but for the 
 
 relief of the ordinary schools. In Prussia there 
 
 were in 1896, 27 cities maintaining 38 schools for 
 
 Schools for the ^Yiis class of children. Such schools are an integral 
 mentally weak . £ .^ ii- ii , i .i 
 
 • T. • 1 P^rt 01 the public school system and are reported 
 
 m Prussia and f ^ ^ / ^ 
 
 various Ameri- ill the public school statistics of attendance, 
 can cities. In the United States several cities, including 
 
 Providence, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, 
 have made a good beginning in the maintenance of 
 schools for this class of children. The following 
 extracts from reports give some interesting facts : 
 
 [Providence, R. I. Extract from a report of 
 
 Mrs. Rhoda L. Esten, Supervisor of Special Schools.] 
 
 The first school for backward children in Prov- 
 
 * For a treatment of the subject of ' ' Schools for Defectives 
 
 and Delinquents" see Chapter xi, page 220. 
 
 (290)
 
 Special Schools and Classes 291 
 
 idence, R. I., was opened December, 1896 ; a second, Report of 
 
 December, 1897, and a third December, 1898. From schools for 
 
 the organization of these schools to June 29, 1900, iJackward 
 . -i • £ ^ £ J. children in 
 
 was a period varying irom nearly tour years to a p. ., 
 
 year and five months. During this period 82 differ- r j 
 ent pupils have been enrolled, and of this number 13 
 have been transferred to other schools, 16 have left 
 to work, being beyond school age, 3 have moved out 
 of the city, 2 left, cause unknown, 1 left, unim- 
 provable, 1 has died, 1 has gone to a parochial school, 
 and 45 remain under special instruction. 
 
 The principles and methods obtaining in these 
 schools have been as follows : As physical develop- 
 ment must precede mental with these children, daily 
 exercises have been given tending to train their 
 muscular systems to a regular and ready response 
 to commands given by the teacher, the object of 
 this drill being to strengthen the muscles and im- 
 prove their co-ordination. Other exercises have 
 been given that required judgment and choice on the 
 part of the pupils, simple at first but gradually in- 
 creasing in difficulty as the pupils were able to re- 
 ceive them. Care has been taken to find out their 
 likes and dislikes and so to arrange the work that 
 each subject presented should, as much as possible, 
 bear on something in which they were interested, 
 thus encouraging expression on their part. Simple 
 stories relating to dear and familiar objects, or 
 events in real life, illustrated, if possible, by the 
 teacher, have been told them, at first following them 
 simply to listen; afterwards talks were given upon 
 these stories, and by skillful questioning the pupils 
 were led to see the beautiful pictures or thoughts 
 contained in the story, or the good or evil as the case
 
 292 Appendix E 
 
 might be, and to give expression to their wishes and 
 desires. 
 
 The above training carried on patiently and per- 
 sistently has been followed, except in a few cases, by 
 a perceptible growth in their physical and mental 
 powers. In connection with the above has been 
 given the instruction of the school, consisting of a 
 modified course of kindergarten and primary work. 
 Care has been taken to present each step or principle 
 in a clear, simple and interesting way, appealing to 
 as many senses as possible, also to avoid taking the 
 second step until the first has been firmly fixed in the 
 minds of the pupils. 
 
 These pupils advance very slowly and can bridge 
 no gaps in instruction, hence patient, persistent and 
 sympathetic teachers are necessary. It has been 
 encouraging and gratifying to note that, with five 
 exceptions (one a ease of paralysis, one of epilepsy, 
 two too old to be improvable, and one too low grade), 
 all have made some improvement, and, in many eases, 
 improvement in a marked degree. Five have been 
 returned to the regular schools and are novr doing 
 regular work; seven, able to do the grade work, have 
 been transferred to the schools for special discipline 
 and instruction, as, on account of some peculiarity 
 of disposition, they could be better cared for in these 
 schools than in the regular schools : sixteen are earn- 
 ing their living, wholly or in part, being over fifteen 
 years of age. Some have shown special aptitudes, 
 which, owing to a lack of proper accommodation and 
 facilities in these schools, we have been unable to 
 cultivate as a means of support. 
 
 The discipline of these schools has been of a pa- 
 rental character. The more capable of the pupils
 
 Special Schools and Classes 293 
 
 have been helpful in caring for the less, and a har- 
 monious spirit has prevailed. 
 
 Although much has been done for these children, 
 yet, with better schoolro'om accommodations, with 
 better facilities for physical and manual training, 
 and with teachers experienced in this work, better 
 and more far-reaching results could be obtained. 
 
 Educational Centres 
 
 In various cities there has been an extended use of 
 the school buildings in so called "Educational 
 Centres." These are really a kind of evening school, 
 differing from that school only in the fact that its 
 exercises are of a practical nature. The character of 
 these "centres" may be judged from the following 
 extract from a report made by the Committee on 
 extended use of school buildings in Boston when five 
 centres were in operation during the winter of 1903- 
 1904. The report refers to the first term of one of 
 the centres : 
 
 "The Centre began with a registration of 810. Report of ed- 
 From the first night until the school closed the regis- ucational 
 tration was constantly gaining, until at the end of centres in 
 the twelve weeks' term it had reached 4,384. 
 
 "The week was divided into two parts, one set 
 of people coming Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the 
 other Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In this 
 way the opening registration of 810 gave a maximum 
 possible attendance of 405 each night, except per- 
 haps for a few who came every evening for the sake 
 of taking two courses. 
 
 "Within a few weeks after opening, the building 
 was filled to the limit of its capacity, there being 
 present a thousand members each evening, this, 
 under the dual system of classes, meaning that two
 
 294 Appendix E 
 
 thousand people of the neighborhood were attending 
 the Centre every week. 
 
 "The Centre began with a single class in dress- 
 making, but the facilities 'had to be increased im- 
 mediately, and toward the close four separate dress- 
 making classes were maintained, the rooms being 
 crowded every evening. In fact, it has not been 
 an unusual thing to go into one of the dressmaking 
 rooms and find the seating capacity of fifty-six ex- 
 hausted, so that some of the members of the class 
 were standing. 
 
 "In like manner, it was necessary to increase the 
 instruction in millinery until at the end there were 
 four classes. 
 
 "The same increase was noted in the class in em- 
 broidery. 
 
 "In cookery, the number given instruction was 
 only limited by the capacity of the school kitchen. 
 One night a week this room was devoted to a large 
 and enthusiastic class of married women. 
 
 "A successful class in bookkeeping for men and 
 women was conducted. 
 
 "For the first time, at least in the history of our 
 Boston schools, except for the class started a short 
 time previously in the Lowell Centre, classes in- 
 tended expressly to fit for civil service examinations 
 were opened. These proved very successful and 
 popular, and were joined by some two hundred men. 
 
 "In stenography there were two elementary 
 classes and one speed class, composed almost en- 
 tirely of young men and women working in com- 
 mercial establishments during the day. 
 
 "Four carpentry classes for men were conducted 
 in the two manual training rooms. Two of these
 
 Special Schools and Classes 295 
 
 classes were for beginners and two for advanced 
 pupils. 
 
 "A successful class in mechanical drawing and 
 drafting, made up of men drawn from a variety of 
 trades, met three times a week." 
 
 Several additional features were included in the 
 work of the following season, such as steam en- 
 gineering conducted by the superintendent of the 
 steam-engineering department of the Institute of 
 Technology ; a reading room furnished by the aid of 
 the Boston Public Library; study rooms for the 
 pupils of the two upper grades of the grammar 
 schools of the district ; a gymnasium for classes of 
 young men and women; lectures upon literature, 
 geology and civil government. 
 
 Of the general success of these Centres the com- 
 mittee above referred to says : 
 
 ''One of the characteristics of these Educational 
 Centres which has been most remarked upon by 
 many of the hundreds of visitors since they were 
 opened is the general atmosphere of friendliness 
 which pervades all the rooms. The people of the 
 neighborhood seem to realize that not only are the 
 intellectual advantages of the school at their dis- 
 posal, but beyond this there is a warm and friendly 
 welcome awaiting each person who enters the build- 
 ing. In the rooms where conversation is possible, 
 such as the dressmaking and millinery rooms, for 
 example, the members of the class carry on a neigh- 
 borly chat with each other whenever the teacher is 
 not addressing the class as a whole. It is pleasant, 
 when the closing hour comes, to see the members of 
 the school reluctant to leave the building, lingering 
 about the rooms and halls conversing with each 
 other. Not onlv has this atmosphere been com-
 
 296 Appendix E 
 
 merited upon repeated^ by visitors, but the same 
 thing has been indicated in many other ways. One 
 young woman recently made the remark to the 
 principal of one of the Centres that she had been 
 living in the locality more than a year, supporting 
 herself by working in the city during the daytime 
 and living by herself in a small room, and up to the 
 time the Centre opened she had been leading a 
 lonely life without a friend, but as a result of attend- 
 ing one of the millinery classes at the Centre she now 
 had many good friends. Numberless other interest- 
 ing incidents connected with the work of the Centres 
 might be related if there were space. For instance, 
 the principal at one of the Centres found that two 
 of the young women who had attended his dressmak- 
 ing class were married in dresses which they had 
 learned to make, and in fact had made, at the Centre. 
 It is interesting to note that these young ladies also 
 took the course in cooking. The resident physicians, 
 clergymen, and others having occasion to be familiar 
 with the lives of the people have repeatedly spoken 
 of the good effect -which they saw resulting from the 
 establishment of a Centre in their locality. ' ' 
 
 Vacation Schools 
 
 Popularity of Probably no feature of educational work has 
 
 vacation met with a more surprising response on the part of 
 
 schools. ^jjg people than the vacation school. When it was 
 
 first alluded to as a possibility, many doubted the 
 
 wisdom of even offering it, while all supposed that 
 
 as attendance upon it must be voluntary its benefits 
 
 would be shared by but few. But in the opening of 
 
 every vacation school whose programme consisted 
 
 largely of industrial and physical exercises, the 
 
 response has been greater than was expected. In
 
 Special Schools and Classes 297 
 
 some cases there was an actual waiting list. Thus 
 vacation schools of various sizes and kinds have been 
 maintained for several seasons in Chicago, New 
 York, Boston, Hartford, Providence and many other 
 places. 
 
 The following lines have been followed with vary- 
 ing degrees of emphasis in the various vacation 
 schools : 
 
 1. Manual or industrial training, including work Kinds of work 
 in wood, raffia, cane, and metal ; sewing, hammock done in vaca- 
 making, cooking, gardening, etc. ^^^^ schools. 
 
 2. Nature study, including the naming of the 
 common plants and trees. 
 
 3. Drawing and painting, including mechanical 
 and free hand exercises, study of pictures, etc. 
 
 4. Physical exercises, including gymnastics, 
 games, and plays. 
 
 5. Music. 
 
 6. Excursions. 
 
 7. Kindergarten exercises. 
 
 8. Common branches.
 
 School Hygiene 
 
 Two classes of 
 hygienic con- 
 ditions. 
 
 APPENDIX F. 
 
 [The greater portion of these notes are taken 
 from the author's special report made to the Massa- 
 chusetts State Board of Education in 1901.] 
 
 Hygienic Conditions. The hygienic conditions of 
 schools may be separated into two classes, one class 
 consisting of those for which the public authorities 
 are responsible, and the other class consisting of 
 those for Which the parents or pupils are responsible. 
 Among the former class of conditions are: (1) the 
 location of buildings, (2) construction and plan of 
 buildings, (3) school equipment, (4) composition 
 and adjustment of the school programme. The con- 
 ditions for which the parents or pupils are re- 
 sponsible are those which relate to (1) home require- 
 ments, (2) social diversions, (3) food and rest, (4) 
 personal habits of pupils. These conditions will be 
 treated briefly in order. 
 
 Location of School Buildings. The ground upon 
 which the schoolhouse is placed should be high, and 
 
 *The figures in parentheses refer to the numbered titles of 
 reference books and articles which are printed at the close of 
 this report. For a more full bibliography of the subjects con- 
 nected with school hygiene, see Kotelmann 's School Hygiene, 
 pp. 353-382 ; also Journal of Proceedings of the National 
 Educational Association for 1898, pp. 506-523. The last- 
 named compilation, made by Dr. Biirnham, consists of 436 
 titles of books and articles published in this country and 
 Europe. 
 
 (298)
 
 School Hygiene 299 
 
 the soil gravelly or sandy, so as to allow good drain- Desirable 
 age and a dry cellar. Clayey soil and soil in which features of 
 there is refuse or organic matter are to be avoided. ^^^*"^^' 
 The building should not be located near a swamp or 
 standing water, or any place whose odors are offen- 
 sive. It should be so retired that the school shall 
 not be disturbed by noises from without, and so far 
 removed from the boundaries of the lot upon which 
 it is placed that no building upon an adjoining lot 
 can shut out the light from the schoolrooms. In 
 choosing the lot upon which the building is to be 
 placed, let there be generous provision made for 
 play and exercise grounds, and, if possible, room for 
 shrubs and flowers. 
 
 Schoolrooms and Corridors. The size of the school- Size of school 
 room should be determined by considerations of lO'^Qis. 
 health as well as of convenience. Authorities differ 
 as to the amount of space needed, probably owing to 
 the fact that the amount of fresh air breathed de- 
 pends less upon the size of the room than upon the 
 wa}^ it is ventilated. It is safe, however, to assume 
 that, on account of proper ventilation, a minimum 
 of 16 square feet of floor space and 250 cubic feet of 
 air space per pupil should be required.* 
 
 The pupils' eyesight should also l)e considered in 
 determining the size of the room. If, as is assumed 
 by some authorities, ordinary writing upon a black- 
 board cannot be easily read beyond 80 feet, this 
 distance or a little more should be the limit of the 
 length of the room. The width of the room should 
 be limited to the extent at which satisfactory light- 
 ing can be had from the windows on the side of the 
 
 * These amounts are somewhat larger than the requiremeuts 
 in several European States, as quoted by Dr. Buruham (4, 
 p. 2.5).
 
 300 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 Corridors and 
 cloak rooms. 
 
 Play and exer- 
 cise rooms 
 
 Facilities for 
 washing and 
 bathing. 
 
 Mateiial and 
 place for 
 blackboards. 
 
 room. This distance has been generally regarded to> 
 be 24 feet. For purposes of ventilation and lighting, 
 the room should not be less than 12 feet, and need 
 not be more than 13 or 14 feet high. 
 
 Ample provision should be made for corridors 
 and cloak rooms, placed in such relation to air and 
 sunlight as to provide for good ventilation. Under 
 no consideration should the outer clothing be hung- 
 in the schoolroom, as is sometimes the case. 
 
 Every school building should have one or more 
 rooms that can be used for play in cold or stormy 
 weather, and for physical exercises at any time. 
 These rPoms should be well ventilated, and, if pos- 
 sible, exposed to the sun a portion of the day. They 
 should be so situated as to be easily accessible from 
 all rooms, and so constructed that noisy exercises 
 shall not disturb the schools when they are in session. 
 
 In the construction of school buildings, provision 
 should always be made for the pupils to wash their 
 faces and hands, and whenever it can be done, facili- 
 ties for plunge or shower baths should be provided. 
 This is especially important in schools whose pupils 
 have not bathing facilities at home.f 
 
 The best material for wall blackboards is natural 
 slate. They should be built into the walls at such 
 parts of the room as will be most convenient for use 
 and least harmful to the eyes. As a rule, they 
 should not be placed where the reflection of light is 
 such as to make it difficult for pupils at their seats 
 to see what is Avritten upon them, and in no case 
 should they be placed between windoAvs. 
 
 t Baths have been introduced in a number of American and 
 European schools. The reports of their use are very favorable 
 to their continuance. For reports from Germany, see (4, p. 
 38; 11, p. 470).
 
 School Hygiene , 301 
 
 The most Difficult Problem 
 Ventilation and Heating. By far the most impor- 
 tant as well as the most difficult problem in the con- 
 struction of schoolhouses is the method of their 
 ventilation. The problem consists in keeping the 
 air of schoolrooms as nearly as possible in the con- 
 dition of pure outdoor air, which consists of oxygen 
 and nitrogen in certain proportions, with a small 
 quantity of carbonic acid gas and water. After it 
 has been through the lungs, the air is changed by an Character of 
 increase of about 4 per cent, in volume of carbonic "Vitiated air. 
 acid gas and by a decrease of about the same 
 quantity of oxygen. There is also found in vitiated 
 air more or Jess of organic matter and an increased 
 amount of watery vapor. Authorities differ as to 
 the causes of the effects of breathing what is called 
 *'bad air," some averring that the organic matter 
 from the skin and lungs is the cause of the deleter- 
 ious effect, and some that the dangers lie not from 
 the existence of any poison in the respired air, but 
 from an excess of carbonic acid and a deficiency 
 of oxygen. But all agree, for one reason or another, 
 that the amount of carbonic acid in the air is the 
 measure of its impurity.* 
 
 The relative amount of carbonic acid in the air is x^.^ts of purity 
 ascertained in various ways, the simplest test being of air. 
 made by means of Wolpert's air tester, which con- 
 sists of a test tube filled with lime water, and a rub- 
 ber bulb with an attached glass tube for pumping the 
 air to be tested into the lime water. The numl)er of 
 bulbfuls of air used in the test to make the lime 
 
 * For statements as to the cause of contamination in breath- 
 ing respired air and for making the amount of carbon dioxide 
 in the air the measure of its impurity, see (1, p. 69; 3, p. 34; 
 12, p. 124; 27, pp. 18, 23; 20, p. 741).
 
 302 Appendix F 
 
 water opaque, indicates, as shown by the table, the 
 vitiated character of the air. This instrument, at 
 best, can give but an approximate test of the charac- 
 ter of the air, but sufficient, it may be, if found very 
 bad, to warrant an accurate analysis or to provide 
 better means of ventilation. f 
 
 The quality of air may also be inferentially deter- 
 mined by estimating the amount of fresh air that is 
 forced into or out of a room in a given time. This 
 may be done by means of an anemometer placed in 
 the current. The rate per second or minute multi- 
 plied by the number of superficial feet in the opening 
 will give the volume, which may be compared with 
 the amount needed. 
 
 Authorities are agreed that air containing 10 parts 
 of carbonic acid to 10,000 is unfit to breathe, and that 
 for healthy respiration air should contain not more 
 than 7 parts of such gas to 10,000. Measured by 
 such a standard, the air of most schoolrooms not 
 provided with modern methods of ventilation would 
 be regarded as bad or very bad.* 
 
 The amount of air required for each child varies 
 from 1,800 to 2,500 cubic feet per hour. If there is 
 for each child the amount of space previously indi- 
 
 t Sold by Codman & Shnrtleff, Boston, Mass. More ac- 
 curate testers are those of Pettenkoflfer and of Smith-Lunge, 
 both of which are fully described by Kotelmann (1, p. 73). 
 The method , given by Dr. Cohen is described by Professor 
 Burrage (3, p. 37). Other methods of testing the air are 
 described by Eichards and Woodman (27, pp. 33, 35). 
 
 * Many tests made of the air in schoolrooms in this country 
 and in Europe show most alarming results. From 20 to 50 
 parts of carbonic acid gas to 10,000 have been frequently 
 found in schoolrooms, and sometimes the proportion has been 
 found to be 70 and even 90 to 10,000. For a record of these 
 tests, see (4, p. 27; 2, p. 85).
 
 School Hygiene 303 
 
 eated (16 square feet of floor space and 250 cubic Ventilation 
 feet of air space), the air should be changed every needed. 
 10 or 12 minutes, — that is, each pupil should be pro- 
 vided v^ith at least 30 cubic feet of fresh air per 
 minute.* This amount of air, having a temperature 
 of not less than 60°, may be introduced and dis- 
 tributed by properly located flues without producing 
 dangerous draughts. 
 
 When the outside temperature is above 60° F., Ventilation by 
 ventilation is easily effected by means of open windows and 
 windows and doors. To avoid dangerous draughts ''^^^■^• 
 of the incoming air of a low temperature, boards are 
 sometimes placed under the lower sashes of the 
 windows, so as to allow the current of air to pass 
 upward and away from the heads of the pupils. 
 To effect the same end, the upper segments of win- 
 dows are made to turn upon hinges. Open doors 
 into large well-ventilated hallways have also been 
 found useful means of ventilation. 
 
 To effect ventilation that is at all adequate in Two methods 
 weather having a temperature below 50° F., the of artificial 
 natural currents of air should be supplemented by ventilation, 
 artificial means, either by heated flues which eject 
 the air from the room or by fans which force air 
 into it. By the former method, called the vacuum 
 or gravity system, fresh air takes the place of the 
 air which is forced by gravity from the room through 
 the heated flues. By the latter method, known as 
 the plenum system, the forced current of inflowing 
 fresh air drives the vitiated air from the room 
 through flues provided for the purpose. 
 
 In regulating the introduction of air, great care 
 
 * This amount agrees with Dr. Billings 's estimate, and is 
 not far from the carefully wrought conclusions of De Chau- 
 mont, based upon the investigations of Pettenkofifer (4, p. 24).
 
 304 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 Source of 
 supply of air. 
 
 Size of venti- 
 lating shafts. 
 
 Situation of 
 flues. 
 
 should be taken respecting the source of supply. 
 The air should not be taken from the basement, but 
 from the outside, where there are no offensive odors 
 or dust. Some means of furnishing moisture to the 
 air should be employed. 
 
 Attention should be given to the size, situation 
 and number of ventilating shafts. The size of the 
 inlets must be large enough to supply fresh air 
 sufficient to compensate for the air that is taken 
 out, and the outlets must be of sufficient size to 
 make the desired change of air* 
 
 The flues should be so situated as to provide for 
 the fullest circulation of air in the room. Experi- 
 ments have shown that good if not the best results 
 are attained by placing the inlet in the middle or 
 upper part of the wall and the outlet near the floor 
 upon the same side. It is also advisable to have 
 two or more outlets, so as to avoid draughts oc- 
 casioned by rapidly moving currents. f 
 
 In rooms where the warm air enters onlv in the 
 
 * Prof essor Clark (6, p. 66) estimates that a shaft 20 feet 
 high, with a difference in temperature of 20°, should have a 
 sectional area of 5^ square feet to carry off 48,000 cubic 
 feet per hour. This estimate is made upon the basis of 
 supplying 1,000 cubic feet per hour for each pupil. To 
 supply 2,000 cubic feet per hour, the sectional area of the 
 outlet should be 10| square feet. 
 
 t The matter of location of inlets and outlets is discussed 
 fully by Professor Burrage (3, p. 43) ; also by Mr. Carpenter 
 (7, p. 55), who says that much depends u})on existing con- 
 ditions. He says: "It has been proved practically that with 
 rooms of about the proportion shown in diagram [15:32] 
 good residts in the diffusion of heat and air are obtained 
 by introducing the air at a point two thirds of the distance 
 from floor to ceiling and near one corner, and locating the 
 register for discharge of air on the same side of the room 
 but near the floor and near the lower diagonal corner."
 
 School Hygiene 305 
 
 upper portion, and where there is no direct radia- Direct radia- 
 tion, extra provision should be made for warming ^ioQ in balls, 
 feet and drying clothing. This may be done by 
 placing radiators or registers at the floor of the 
 halls, where heating rather than ventilation is the 
 main desideratum. 
 
 An open fire is a poor means of heating, but an The open fire- 
 excellent means of ventilation. I\Iany modern l'''^^*^ ^^ ^ 
 
 school buildings have fireplaces in every room, in "'^^'^f ^. 
 
 „ . ^ J J ventilation, 
 
 most of which no fire is ever made. Doubtless the 
 
 unused fireplace may serve as a means of ventila- 
 tion, but not nearly so efficiently as a fireplace with 
 even a little fire in it. Apart from possible dangers 
 of drafts, there is probably no better means of 
 carrying away the vitiated air than an open fire. 
 The excuse usually offered for not having a fire in 
 the fireplace is entirely insufficient. There is no 
 good system of ventilation that does not require care, 
 trouble and expense. 
 
 This may be a good place to say that skill and Management of 
 good judgment are necessary in looking after any 'M'Pi"'atus. 
 appliance designed for ventilation. It should not 
 be intrusted, for the sake of economy or any other 
 reason, to ignorant or unreliable persons, since 
 ordinarily as much depends upon the way in which 
 a system of ventilation is managed as upon the 
 system itself. Nor should a knowledge of the system 
 used be confined to the engineer or janitor. For 
 the sake of needed co-operation, the superintendent 
 of schools and the teachers— especially the principal 
 —of the school in which the system is used ought to 
 know the construction of the system and the best ,, 
 
 J' r('(iuent 
 
 method of working it. su.cp of winds 
 
 In the best systems of ventilation flusliing of the ihrou^'li looma 
 schoolroom by natural air currents is necessary to necessary.
 
 300 Appendix F 
 
 carry off the organic dust and condensed vapors 
 which cannot be fully taken away by the ventilat- 
 ing flues. Upon this point Professor Clark says 
 (6, p. 63) : "Nothing can take the place of aeration 
 by means of open windows. Artificial ventilation 
 though required for changing the air when the 
 windows are necessarily closed, is insufficient, even 
 under the best circumstances, unless the room is 
 from time to time thoroughly refreshed and purified 
 by the sweep of the free winds through all its win- 
 dows widely opened. Such an atmospheric washing 
 should be secured three or four times daily in all 
 weathers; at recess, particularly, it should be in- 
 sisted on, banishing teachers and pupils from the 
 room meanwhile, if necessary. " 
 Direct radia- In the choice of means of heating schoolrooms, the 
 
 tion not desir- necessity of bringing into them the needed supply 
 ^' of warmed fresh air must be kept in mind. The 
 
 direct radiation from stoves and from steam and hot 
 water pipes does not accomplish this end, and is 
 therefore not a desirable means of heating. This 
 statement applies only to schoolrooms where there 
 is not an adequate supply of warmed air by furnace 
 or indirect radiation. Heating by direct radiation 
 alone may be permitted in dressing rooms and halls, 
 but not in schoolrooms. If, however, air from with- 
 out is introduced behind the stoves and radiators, 
 some of the objections are removed. The loss of 
 heat by supplying air in this way is shown by Profes- 
 sor Woodbridge (8, p. 19). The method of supply- 
 ing fresh air in rooms where stoves are used and 
 of constructing outgoing air ducts will be referred 
 Hot water as a to later. Hot water as a means of heating is to be 
 means o ea - pj.gfgpj.ed to steam, for the reason that in moderate 
 weather the heat can be better regulated by hot
 
 School Hygiene 307 
 
 water than by steam, and that in very cold weather 
 
 the air is not so likely to be overheated or 
 
 "burned."* 
 
 The objections nrg-ed against heating by the hot- Objections to 
 
 air furnace are: (1) An unequal distribution of heat ^*^^"^"" 
 
 ,1 . i p 1 1 -1 T T . , furnaces, 
 
 m the various parts oi a large building and m the 
 
 upper and lower parts of each room ; (2) the pro- 
 duction and dissemination of offensive gases; (3) 
 the occasioning of dryness of the air, already re- 
 ferred to. Makers of modern furnaces have sought 
 to overcome all these objections, and in some meas- 
 ure have been successful, so far as small buildings 
 are concerned ; but for large buildings the hot-air 
 furnace is not to be recommended. 
 
 Perhaps the most unsatisfactory means of heating Jacketed 
 schoolrooms is the ordinary wood or coal stove,— stoves for heat- 
 
 the means most generally employed in countrv dis- |"^^" venti- 
 
 . ^ x- ^ V lation, 
 
 tricts. To avoid the unequal distribution of heat in 
 
 rooms heated in this way and to promote in some 
 degree ventilation, the stove should be enclosed by 
 a metallic jacket, the enclosed chamber being con- 
 nected with the outer air by means of a shaft of 
 sufficient size to admit the needed amount of air. 
 In addition to this, flues should be so constructed as 
 to carry away the vitiated air in sufficient quantity 
 to keep the air of the room in good condition. To 
 avoid radiation from overheated surfaces, two 
 stoves should be provided for use on very cold days. 
 A more detailed description of this method of heat- 
 ing and ventilation will be given later. 
 
 By far the best method of heating schoolrooms is I'nlircct radia- 
 by indirect radiation, by which coils of pipe are 
 
 * The burning or dry sensation, as explained by Kotelmann 
 (1, p. 113), is frequently due to the scorching of dust 
 particles which come in contact with overheated surfaces.
 
 308 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 The fan 
 system. 
 
 The best ven- 
 tilation of one 
 and two room 
 school houses. 
 
 heated in chambers, from which the warmed air is 
 taken into the rooms. This is done either by the 
 plenum or by the gravity system, already referred 
 to. On many accounts the plenum system is to be 
 preferred, by which the warm air is forced into the 
 rooms by fans propelled either by electric or water 
 motors or by steam. But in the opinion of good 
 judges this plan works best when the foul-air flues 
 are heated so as to draw the air from the rooms or 
 when these flues are connected with exhaust fans. 
 The only objection to the fan system is the first cost. 
 When the system is once established, the cost of 
 maintaining it is said to be less than the cost of 
 maintaining a simple gravity system. This is es- 
 pecially true when the steam used in operating the 
 fans is used for heating the rooms. 
 
 It is not necessary to give in detail the plans of 
 heating and ventilating by the method just de- 
 scribed. It is used now in most of the larger modern 
 buildings, and its merit may be easily tested by 
 actual observation. The greatest difficulty is found 
 in ventilating and heating small one and two room 
 country schoolhouses. Respecting this difficulty 
 Dr. Edward E. Shaw says (29, pp. 106-108) : "In 
 order to ventilate the rural schoolhouse, the stove 
 should be placed in one corner of the room and near 
 the chimney. The stove should be enclosed by a 
 sheet-iron jacket, leaving a distance of from 18 inches 
 to 2 feet between the stdve and the inside of the 
 jacket. The jacket should be about 6 feet high, and 
 should extend to the floor. The opening in the 
 jacket for the purpose of supplying the stove with 
 fuel should be as narrow as feasible. A cold air 
 duct should be constructed to lead from the outside 
 of the building underneath the floor, and to open
 
 School Hygiene 309 
 
 beneath the stove, so that pure, fresh air will flow 
 in, be warmed by the stove, and rise to the ceiling. 
 
 "The point to be secured in the heating and 
 ventilating of the rural schoolhouse is the quick 
 and uniform distribution of the heat to all parts of 
 the room. . In the opposite side of the room from the 
 stove, a tin or galvanized-iron ventilating duct should 
 be constructed, oblong in shape, having its cross- 
 section dimensions 12 x 6 inches. The open end of 
 this duet should be within 1 foot of the floor. The 
 flue should extend to the ceiling and run along the 
 ceiling to the chimney. There should not be any 
 sharp angle in this duet, but a curved bend where 
 the upright section unites with that which runs along 
 the ceiling. The ventilating duct should discharge 
 into 'a large chimney flue at least 14x20 inches of 
 cross-section area. In the middle of this flue there 
 should run a sheet-iron pipe of sufficient capacity to 
 the smoke and gases from the stove. The heat 
 radiated from this pipe when there is a brisk Are 
 in the stove will cause a strong draft in the flue 
 and draw the air out of the schoolroom through the 
 ventilating duct. 
 
 "The plan already described is the simplest and 
 most economical for etfecting some degree of ventila- 
 tion in rural schoolhouses. A better plan would be 
 to place the stove in one corner of the room sur- 
 rounded by a sheet-iron jacket, and to construct a 
 flue opening underneath the stove and connecting 
 with the outer air, as has already been recommended. 
 Three openings might then be made in the floor, one 
 in the corner opposite that in which the stove is 
 placed, and the other two on the sides of the room 
 equally distant from the stove. These outlets 
 through the floor, which are to be fitted with regis-
 
 310 Appendix F 
 
 ters, should have tin ducts running from them and 
 uniting into one duct just before opening into the 
 ventilating flue, which is to be constructed as already 
 described. This would secure a more even with- 
 drawal of the vitiated air from the schoolroom, and 
 at the same time a more equal distribution of heat 
 than by the employment of a single duct. ' ' 
 Requirements The standard of requirements made by the state 
 in Massacliu- inspectors of public buildings in Massachusetts is 
 ^®**^ shown by the following statement which is sent to 
 
 all the school committees of the state : 
 
 "In the ventilation of school buildings the many 
 hundred examinations made by the inspectors of this 
 department have shown that the following require- 
 ments can be easily complied with: 
 
 "1. That the apparatus will, with proper manage- 
 ment, heat all the rooms, including the corridors, to 
 70° F. in any weather. 
 
 "2. That, with the rooms at 70° and a difference 
 of not less than 40° between the temperature of the 
 outside air and that of the air entering the room at 
 the warm-air inlet, the apparatus will supply at 
 least 30 cubic feet of air per minute for each scholar 
 accommodated in the rooms. 
 
 "3. That such supply of air will so circulate in 
 the rooms that no uncomfortable draught will be felt, 
 and that the difference in temperature between any 
 two points on the breathing plane in the occupied 
 portion of a room will not exceed 3°. 
 
 "4. That vitiated air in amount equal to the 
 supply from the inlets will be removed through 
 the ventiducts. 
 
 "5. That the sanitary appliances will be so venti- 
 lated that no odors therefrom will be perceived in 
 any portion of the building.
 
 School Hygiene 311 
 
 "To secure the approval of this department of 
 plans showing methods or systems of heating and 
 ventilation, the above requirements must be guaran- 
 teed in the specifications accompanying the plans." 
 
 Lighting 
 
 The two chief considerations in reference to light- 
 ing schoolrooms are the amount of light and the 
 direction from which it enters the room. In several 
 European states the ratio of window surface to floor Ratio of win- 
 surface in schoolrooms is fixed by law, at 1 to 6 when 'iow surface to 
 the building stands free, and 1 to 4 when the light ^o^^' surface, 
 is obstructed by neighboring buildings (1, p. 47). 
 In Prussia the least amount required is 1 to 5— a 
 ratio now generally accepted as the least amount of 
 lighting surface schoolrooms should have. This 
 amount should be increased if the light is obstructed 
 by high buildings or trees. 
 
 Many authorities agree with Dr. Cohn, that there The minimum 
 cannot be too much light in a schoolroom (12, p. 99). of light needed. 
 The test of brightness certainly should be applied to 
 places farthest away from the windows, and upon 
 cloudy days. The standard usually recognized in 
 Germany (4, p. 34) is that of a minimum brightness 
 on dull days of 10 normal metre-candles, i.e., of 10 
 spermaceti candles, 1 metre distant, each candle 
 weighing ^ of a pound. 
 
 Where photometric measurements cannot be made, 
 Von Hoffman's method of testing the amount of 
 light might be followed. He says that the light is 
 insufficient when a normal eye cannot read the Snel- 
 len type No. 6 at a distance of 6 metres (4, p. 34). 
 Other tests suggested by Dr. Burnham are to ascer- 
 tain if every pupil can see some portion of the sky, 
 or if every normially sighted pupil can, upon a cloudy
 
 312 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 Distance of 
 seats from 
 windows. 
 
 which light 
 should enter 
 the room. 
 
 day, read Diamond type at a distance of 30 centi- 
 metres.* Dr Biirnham further says: ''The light in 
 schoolrooms is very apt to be deficient, because 
 officials do not realize that light diminishes, not as 
 the distance, but as the square of the distance."' It 
 seems reasonable to place 20 feet as the greatest 
 distance from which any pupil should be seated from 
 a well-lighted window. 
 
 As to the direction from which the light should 
 enter the schoolroom, authorities are divided. Pro- 
 fessor Forster, Dr. Young (2, p. 261) and others urge 
 that schoolrooms be so situated that no direct rays 
 Direction from of the sun can enter them ; while Dr. Cohn, Dr. 
 Burgerstein (12, p. 11) and many others advocate 
 a southern exposure for the rooms. Perhaps a com- 
 promise may be made by having the room exposed 
 to the sun's rays a small portion of the forenoon or 
 afternoon. Dr. Kotelmann (1, p. 36) has this view, 
 and says a southeast exposure is to be preferred. 
 
 Again, there is some difference of opinion as to the 
 proper direction of light in respect to the pupils at 
 their seats. The weight of opinion, however, seems 
 to favor admitting the light from the left of the 
 pupils, or from the left and rear, provided the former 
 light is the stronger. Nearly all authorities are 
 agreed that lighting from both the left and right 
 sides is not advisable. In no case should the light 
 come to the pupils from the front. The windows 
 should consist of large panes of glass of good quality. 
 They should extend as near as possible to the top of 
 of the room, and be placed close together. 
 
 Venetian blindsf and curtains of a dark color are 
 
 [* This footnote is printed in Diamond type. 
 
 fProfessor Forster (3, p. 55) and Dr. Kotelmann (1, p. 
 50) both condemn the use of Venetian blinds in schoolrooms.
 
 School Hygiene 313 
 
 not favored, on account of their obstruction to light. 
 Fixtures should be used which will permit the cur- Kind of 
 tain to be raised from the bottom, or so that it may curtains 
 be raised or lowered from the middle of the window, "<^^f^^*^- 
 as circumstances require. It should be remembered, 
 however, that the upper part of the window is much 
 better for lighting purposes than the lower, and that 
 it should not be covered by a curtain unless to shut 
 out the direct rays of the sun. 
 
 In rooms that are insufficiently lighted, the ceilings 
 and walls should be light, but not dazzling. A light 
 gray or green color for the walls is recommended by 
 good authorities. The light of such rooms is in- The use of 
 creased and diffused by the use of prisms and reflec- P"^™^ ^^" 
 tors. Hennig's daylight reflector is described by the rff ' of 
 Kotelmann (1, p. 46) and recommended by him. In lio-ht. 
 our own country the products of the American 
 Luxfer Prism Company of Chicago and New York 
 have been in successful use in stores, factories and 
 schoolrooms. From tests recently made in the 
 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under the 
 direction of Mr. Charles L. Norton, the following 
 conclusions were reached, as stated by Mr. Edward 
 Atkinson : 
 
 ^' First. — "Windows of the customary height, but 
 of one-third the width commonly adopted, when 
 glazed with ribbed or suitable prismatic glass, will 
 give on a bright day as much effective light as the 
 full width of window glazed with plane glass; on a 
 cloudy day, or in a position where the light from the 
 sky is derived from a limited area, even a greater 
 ratio. 
 
 ^^ Second. — Windows of the common type now in 
 
 Dr. Kotelmann estimates that only .6 to 1.5 per cent, of the 
 daylight passes through the slats inclined 45°.
 
 314 Appendix F 
 
 mills, workshops or schoolrooms, now fitted with 
 plane glass, if reglazed in the upper half only ^vith 
 ribbed or prismatic glass, will yield on a bright day 
 more than fifty per cent, excess of effective light, 
 or on dark days a larger ratio. If reglazed down to 
 but not including the lower panes (in which we ad- 
 vise plane glass), the increase in effective light will 
 be much greater." 
 
 Water-Closets and Outbuildings 
 In places where there are systems of sewerage and 
 water supply, there ought not to be any difficult}^ in 
 keeping the water-closets in a perfectly good con- 
 dition. The problem of preventing an offensive and 
 unsanitary condition of the premises is especially 
 difficult in places where there are no water system for 
 flushing and no sewers to carry off the refuse matter. 
 TheJ^danger of Where there is a water supply without sewers, the 
 cesspools. temptation is to empty the refuse into cesspools. 
 
 But this should not be done. The cesspool Professor 
 Burrage regards as "one of the greatest of sanitary 
 evils" (3, p. 60), and as "more dangerous than the 
 badly constructed sewer." 
 
 Where circumstances do not permit the erection 
 of water-closets, or the ventilating, drying or fire 
 closets (3, p. 61) which are now successfully used 
 in many places, separate sanitaries must be provided, 
 and cared for in ways which will prevent the dangers 
 of infection or the annoyance of bad odors. To 
 Location and accomplish these ends, (1) the privies should be 
 management_of placed at a good distance from the school building; 
 
 qo rji fo T»ipo 
 
 (2) the privy vault should be entirely above the sur- 
 face of the ground, the catch-basin being constructed 
 so as not to leak; (3) provision should be made for 
 the storage of dry earth or sifted coal ashes, and
 
 School Hygiene 315" 
 
 for sprinkling the catch-basin daily with this mate- 
 rial. "Nothing less commendable" than these ac- 
 commodations for sanitaries, says Dr. Young (2, p. 
 253), "should be tolerated." 
 
 Water Supply 
 
 The purity of water supply for schools is no less 
 important from the standpoint of health than that 
 of the air supply. Under the laws of the state there 
 seems to be ample protection from the harm in the 
 case of public water supplies. The greatest danger The use of 
 lies from the use of water taken from wells in remote ^^'"^^'^ ^" 
 country sections, and especially wells that are used ^""" '^ o-vmis. 
 only a portion of the year. Respecting these sources 
 of water supply for schools Dr. Prank Wells says 
 (26, p. 17) : "During the vacations no water is taken 
 from them, and hence it becomes stagnant. In the 
 autumn, when the term commences, the water in this 
 condition is drunk by the scholars, thereby, either 
 alone or in connection with the unsanitary condition 
 of the surroundings, tending to produce sickness, 
 which may be wrongly attributed to the houses in 
 which the children dwell." 
 
 Unfortunately, the purity of water, unlike that of 
 air, cannot be ascertained by simple tests (27, p. 80). 
 The only safe course for school authorities appears Examination of 
 to be to examine carefully the surrounding condi- <<"i<l'tions 
 tions, nearness to privy vaults, cesspool, drains, etc., * ^^^^^ ^' 
 and, if there are possible occasions of contamination, 
 to call the aid of the State Board of Health or an 
 expert analyst. 
 
 Baths 
 The great use of baths in coiniection with the 
 schools is becoming to be recognized, both on accoimt 
 of the means they afford for cleanliness and for tlie
 
 316 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 SchooH)atlis ill 
 Germany. 
 
 Baths in the 
 Paul Revere 
 school, Boston. 
 
 habit which frequent hathing' tends to form. 
 School baths have been introduced in several cities 
 of Germany with great success. Dr. Burnham 
 describes briefly the plan pursued in these cities, and 
 further says (4, p. 38) : "The reports from those 
 schools where baths have have been introduced are 
 uniformly favorable. The bathing is usually volun- 
 tary, but it is generally approved by the parents. 
 Some of the children have a sort of hydrophobia, 
 at first, but generally after a little time enjoy the 
 bath. In Gottingen, after a half year, ninety per 
 cent, of the pupils voluntarily shared in the school 
 baths. The children return to their study refreshed 
 in mind and body. There is an improvement in the 
 air of the schoolroom. It is maintained that the 
 bath has an educating effect upon the children, in 
 giving them a sense of cleanliness. Much stress is 
 placed also upon the educating influence that the 
 introduction of school baths has upon the parents, 
 in making them care for the children's undercloth- 
 ing and the like. In many cases great improvement 
 in the health of children has resulted from the habit 
 of regular bathing." 
 
 In Boston, one of the schools— the Paul Revere — 
 is supplied with baths whose use is thus described 
 by the principal, Mr. Button: "Since the baths have 
 .been opened, an average of 175 pupils have had a 
 bath every school day. This gives every pupil in 
 the school over 8 years of age an opportunity to 
 bathe once a week, and 95% improve the privilege. 
 The baths are in charge of a matron ; each class is 
 assigned a time to bathe, as they would for a recita- 
 tion. 
 
 ' ' The scheme works smoothly and beautifully, and 
 is a blessing to the children physically, mentally and
 
 School Hygiene 317 
 
 morally, and a blessing to the teachers, too. I am 
 inclined to think that, if a child bathes once a week 
 from 8 to 14 years of age, he will always seek to be 
 clean and wholesome. 
 
 "The city furnishes towels and soap. The 
 average expense thus far, per bath, has been about 
 31/2 cents. I think and trust that the time is at hand 
 when all of our schools will be equipped not only 
 with shower baths but with swimming pools. As 
 educational agents they cannot be surpassed." 
 
 The expense given above is much greater than 
 that of the school baths in Germany, which are 
 vStated to be about one-forth of a cent apiece. In 
 Germany, however, "the pupils bathe by classes, the 
 bathing is carefully supervised, pupils come in divi- 
 sions like soldiers and follow each other every five 
 minutes, and thus a large number of pupils bathe in 
 a very short time" (4, p. 38). 
 
 Furniture and Furnishings 
 Investigations have clearly shown that there is a 
 close relation between certain phj^sical deformities 
 and wrong habits of sitting occasioned by contin- 
 uously constrained and unhygienic positions in 
 school. As a consequence, the importance of provid- DcsimhU' 
 iug proper' desks and seats in the interests of health features of 
 is now generally recognized. The width, heigth 
 and shape of the seat, the shape, height and slope of 
 the desk, the distance between the seat and the desk 
 and the distance between the height of the seat and 
 that of the desk, are considerations which have re- 
 ceived the closest attention of specialists bolli in 
 Europe and this country.* 
 
 * For the detailed records of iuvcstigations and ('onclii.siona 
 of specialists see (12, p. 55; 1, p. 128; 2, p. 270). 
 
 desks and 
 seats.
 
 of seat. 
 
 from seat to 
 desk. 
 
 318 Appendix F 
 
 The following- statements may be said to fairly 
 
 summarize their conclusions : 
 
 Height of The height of the desk should be the distance from 
 
 desk and size the sole of the foot to the knee, equal, according to 
 
 careful estimates, from -jy to -f of the height of the 
 
 pupil. The width of the seat should be about % of 
 
 the length of the uper leg or \ of the height of the 
 
 pupil. It should be sloped gently backward, and 
 
 its edge should be rounded. The back rest should 
 
 be such as to give support to the back under the 
 
 shoulders and above the hip bones. The distance 
 
 The distance from the front edge of the seat to a perpendicular 
 
 dropped from the rear edge of the desk should be 
 
 for writing a minus distance : that is, the edge of 
 
 the desk should overlap the seat from one to two 
 
 inches. For all other purposes the distance should 
 
 be zero, but never plus. 
 
 Relative height These conditions imply that either the top of the 
 
 of desk and (^esk or the seat must be movable. The difference 
 
 or perpendicular distance from the seat to the upper 
 
 edge of the desk should be such that the pupil sitting 
 
 erect can easily place his forearms upon the desk 
 
 without changing the natural position of the 
 
 shoulders. Some authorities say that this distance 
 
 should be about \ the height of the pupil. The 
 
 slope of the desk should vary from that of about 
 
 80° for writing to that of about 45° for reading, 
 
 which again implies a movable desk top. 
 
 Movable desk The desirability of having some arrangement by 
 tops and seats, ^j^-^j^ p^^p- ^^ ^^^ g^^. j^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^.^ 
 
 seats and stand in recitation is an added reason for 
 providing more room between the desk and the seat 
 than is permitted by the above-mentioned measure- 
 ments. Many inventions have been made to supply 
 these needs, as well as to secure a varying slope of
 
 School Hygiene 319 
 
 the desk top ;* but, apart from the common- hinged 
 seat, few of them have as" yet been adopted by Ameri- 
 can school furniture makers. Where the small seat 
 is used there is less need of movable desk tops and 
 seats than where the seat is long and is of uniform 
 width, as it is generally in Germany. 
 
 The minute studies from which the above general 
 statements are derived were made with reference 
 mainly to stationary desks and seats. A large num- 
 ber of measurements and estimates have been made, 
 so as to ascertain the average size of the bodies of 
 pupils for pupils of a given age. While the tables 
 embodying these, estimates are of great value to 
 school authorities who desire to know the approxi- 
 mate sizes of desks and seats needed, they are of 
 comparatively little value to those who secure for 
 the schools adjustable seats and desks. Such furni- Adjustable 
 
 ture will come more and more into use, in spite of ^^^^^ 
 
 uGsks. 
 its increased cost over the stationary kind, as the 
 
 necessity of a constant adjustment of the school 
 
 seat and desk to the corresponding measurements 
 
 of the child's body becomes obvious. 
 
 While the measurements and directions above 
 given are of special value to the authorities who are 
 selecting and putting down stationary desks and 
 seats, they will also be found useful to those who are 
 setting up and adapting to pupils the adjustable 
 desks and seats. Some of these seats are constructed 
 with reference to changing not only the height of the 
 desks and seats but also the slope of the desk top. 
 
 Of school furniture, other than desks and seats, 
 
 * A full description of these inventions in Germany is 
 given by Burgerstein (12, p. 75) and by Kotelmann (1, p. 
 147). An interesting essay upon school seats, by Drs. Brad- 
 ford and Stone, is printed in (13, p. 611).
 
 320 Appendix F 
 
 which should be selected on hygienic grounds, may 
 be mentioned movable blackboards, crayons, erasers, 
 outline maps and drinking cups. 
 
 The material to be preferred for a movable black- 
 board is natural slate, both because it can be erased 
 with a moist cloth or eraser, and thus reduce the 
 amount of dust raised, and also because it has not a 
 Blackboards shiny surface. Artificial applications that have not 
 and crayons. these objectionable features may be used. The dust- 
 less crayons are likely to raise less dust than the 
 ordinary crayons, and for that reason are to be pre- 
 ferred ; but when they are so hard as to give faint 
 lines, they should be used sparingly. Crayon 
 holders, especially for colored crayons, arg recom- 
 mended. 
 
 Outline maps should be selected that have clearly 
 drawn lines, and should be placed for use upon map 
 stands in a good light near to the pupils using them. 
 Charts and Care also should be taken to select only those books 
 text-books. for pupils' use which have clear and well-defined 
 print, and whose pages have a plain, dull surface. 
 This is especially important in the selection of text- 
 books, or those books which are in constant use by 
 the pupils. The best authorities advise for young 
 children books printed from "Pica" or "Great 
 Primer" type, and condemn, for pupils of any grade, 
 the use of books printed from type smaller than 
 "Long Primer." 
 
 The following are illustrations of these types: — 
 
 Long Primer 
 Pica 
 
 Great Primer 
 
 IMuch attention has been given of late to the 
 dangers of the common use of drinking cups in
 
 School Hygiene 321 
 
 school. To avoid all possible dangers of infection, 
 either individual cups or the drinking fountain Drinking cups 
 should be used. By the latter plan, pupils are en- ^^^ fountain, 
 abled to drink from a constantly flowing jet of 
 water rising three or four inches, thus avoiding all 
 possible danger of contamination. The fountains 
 are used with success in Boston (Roxbury), and 
 Webster, Mass., Plainfield, Asbury Park, and "West- 
 field, N. J. 
 
 The common use of penholders and pencils by the Penholders and 
 pupils, though less objectionable than the common pencils, 
 use of drinking cups, is nevertheless to be avoided 
 as far as possible. Each pupil of the schools of 
 Springfield, Mass., is provided with his own pen- 
 holder and pencil at the beginning of the year, as 
 well as with a drinking cup. 
 
 The Care of School Buildings and Appliances 
 What has been said of the importance, from a 
 hygienic point of view, of care in connection with 
 ventilation, may be said with equal force of the 
 school building in general. It should not be neces- 
 sary to say that the schoolrooms should be kept as 
 free from dirt and dust as good homes, and yet the 
 fact is quite forgotten by many persons who have 
 the management of schools. 
 
 In the first place, the thorough cleaning wliich 
 every good housekeeper deems necessary for her 
 home at least once a year should be done for the 
 schoolhouse. A few days before the end of the The wasliing, 
 summer vacation the floors should be thoroughly sweeping and 
 scrubbed and all other parts should be washed and ' "'^*"'J^' " 
 Wiped, The windows should be washed irequentiy." 
 
 * Eiilenherg and Bach (11, p. 544) say tliat the windows 
 should be washed every month. When windows are washed,
 
 322 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 Oiled floors. 
 
 The care of 
 water closets 
 and urinals. 
 
 During the school year the floors in all parts 
 should be swept, or, if oiled, carefully wiped three 
 times a week, the more exposed parts being brushed 
 up daily. The rooms should be carefully dusted 
 daily with a damp cloth. The sweeping and dust- 
 ing should be done at such a time and in such a way 
 as to leave no floating dust in the room while the 
 schpol is in session. The best time and way of 
 sweeping is after school at night, with open windows, 
 the floors being sprinkled with damp sawdust. 
 
 One method of allaying the dust in schoolrooms, 
 to which much attention has been given recently, is 
 that of oiling the floors. If the material is wisely 
 selected and carefully put on, great good from a 
 sanitary point of view will result. But the floors 
 so treated must be wiped off frequently, to accom- 
 plish fully the desired results. Annoyance from 
 oiled floors on account of their soiling dresses will be 
 slight, if too much oil is not used and the floor is 
 frequently cleaned.* 
 
 The sanitaries need careful attention daily. 
 Water-closets and urinals should be thoroughly 
 flushed two or three times a day, and all traces of 
 uncleanness be wiped away. Occasionally simple 
 disinfectants and deodorizers, such as superphos- 
 phate and lime, should be sprinkled in the vaults 
 and about the urinals: but it should be understood 
 
 as they frequently are, only in July, they are likely to be- 
 come dusty before the school begins in September. The 
 better time for washing the windows is September or October. 
 
 * The desirability of keeping the schoolrooms free from 
 dust, especially those rooms in which gymnastic exercises are 
 given, is shown by a scientific treatment of the dangers of 
 breathing dust, written by Dr. Schmidt and quoted by Dr. 
 Young (2, p. 225).
 
 School Hygiene 323 
 
 that nothing of this kind can take the place of a 
 liberal application of Avater. In places Avhere there 
 is no plumbing, corrosive sublimate, bleaching 
 powder, or copperas may be used as a deodorizer. 
 
 If the sanitary drinking fountain, such as has 
 been referred to, is not used, or if individual drink- 
 ing cups are not provided, the cups used for drink- Care of drink- 
 ing should be washed frequently with hot water and '"S ^'"Ps- 
 soap. If the building is supplied with public water, 
 the cups should stand under running water all 
 the time during school hours. In some quarters 
 the custom has prevailed of using each night 
 sulpho-napthol in disinfecting the drinking cups. 
 It has also been used about doors, hand rails and 
 sanitaries. 
 
 One possible cause of infection is the common use 
 of pencils, penholders, erasers, etc. This danger has 
 been prevented to a large extent in Everett, Mass., 
 by a simple means of disinfection devised by Dr. r^j^^ disinfec- 
 Whitehill of that city. It is thus described by tion of 
 Superintendent Condon : apparatus. 
 
 "The danger of contagion through the distribu- 
 tion of pencils, penholders, drawing models and 
 other articles which are used by several pupils, has 
 long been recognized by the medical profession. We 
 believe it has been left for a member of your board 
 Dr. G. E. Whitehill, to devise a simple, inexpensive 
 and yet effective piece of apparatus for thoroughly 
 disinfecting supplies of this kind. The apparatus 
 consists of a tin chest, with a tightly fitting cover, 
 in size 12 by 12 by 15 inches. In this is room for 
 trays 1 inch in depth, with wooden sides, and the bot- 
 tom covered with wire netting of a small mesh. The 
 bottom tray rests upon a narrow shelf at each end, 
 having a space 21/2 inches below the lowest tray.
 
 324 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 Rules for 
 avoiding in- 
 fection. 
 
 Care of win- 
 dows and 
 management 
 of curtains. 
 
 The other trays rest upon each other. In the free 
 space at the bottom is kept a sponge saturated with 
 formaldehyde. Each class room is supplied with a 
 tray, and as the pencils, penholders, erasers or other 
 articles are collected, they are placed in this tray, 
 to be left over night in the tin chest. The forma- 
 line gas evaporates and comes in contact with all 
 the articles in the different trays, destroying any 
 germs which may have adhered to them. 
 
 The danger from infection is partially met in the 
 recommendations of the Marlborough, Mass., board 
 of health: (1) That the teachers in the schools shall 
 require each pupil to keep and use his own individ- 
 ual books and school apparatus, desk and chair in 
 the schoolroom, and hook for outside clothing; (2) 
 that only such apparatus be used in the schools as 
 can be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected by being 
 dipped in boiling water; (3) that the drinking dip- 
 pers in the school buildings be boiled as often as 
 once a week. 
 
 Next in importance to providing windows and 
 shades of the right kind in schoolrooms, is the proper 
 care of them. The windows should be kept clean by 
 frequent washing and wiping, and the curtains 
 should be so managed that all the pupils may receive 
 the most and best light that the windows will afford. 
 
 It is safe to say that in a majority of rooms whose 
 windows are furnished with curtains the latter in- 
 junction is not followed. The curtains generally are 
 drawn from the top, and in far too many rooms they 
 cover during the entire day— and sometimes during 
 cloudy days— the upper third or half of every win- 
 dow. Sometimes also the curtains upon the windows 
 placed in front of the pupils are not drawn, while
 
 School Hygiene 325 
 
 much work is required to be copied from black- 
 boards situated between two windows. 
 
 There can be little wonder at the large number 
 of pupils in the middle and higher grades having 
 diseased eyes, when the prevailing conditions and Defective 
 practice in the schools are considered. In almost ^iglit. 
 every one of the scores of investigations which have 
 been made within ten years in Europe and America 
 the results were most alarming,— from 20% to 60% 
 of children in the elementary schools having defec- 
 tive sight, and even a higher percentage in high 
 schools.* 
 
 Some investigations have shown that, while many 
 cases of impaired sight may be traced to inheritance, 
 a large percentage of cases is directly due to an over- 
 strain of the eyes in school. f Teachers should 
 constantly guard themselves against requiring 
 written work to be done during cloudy days. Exercises on 
 especially during the last hour of the day. Upon dark days, 
 very dark days very little reading or study should 
 be required. In schools which have more than one 
 grade there should be at such times oral and general 
 exercises for all the pupils. 
 
 In no respect are complaints of neglect more Faults in the 
 frequently heard from superintendents than in con- ^'«^re of heatiug 
 nection with the care of the heating and ventilating J[7 aratus*^ ^"^ 
 apparatus. In rooms heated by stoves it is not 
 
 *For details of some investigations, see 3, p. 151 ; 1, p, 
 241; 2, p. 100; 12, p. 353; 4, p. 7. 
 
 t Dr. Kotelmann cites several instances (1, p. 112) in 
 which great differences in the soundness of pupils' eyes were 
 shown to be due to differences of school conditions and re- 
 quirements. In one case the percentage of myopia had in 
 eight years decreased three to fifty jier cent, in the various 
 rooms of a high school whose hygienic conditions had been 
 improved.
 
 326 Appendix F 
 
 uncommon to find the temperature below 60° during 
 the first hour of the morning session, because the fire 
 was built late, and 75° or 80° later in the day. The 
 all too small aperture for letting out the impure air 
 is frequently closed \fy janitors, and allowed to re- 
 main closed by carelessness of teachers. 
 
 Even the best apparatus for heating and ventila- 
 tion does not escape the results of carelessness and 
 ignorance. The stack heater for the exhaust flue 
 frequently remains unused for days and weeks to- 
 gether, simply to save coal or kerosene, or possibly 
 a little trouble. Janitors are inclined to close the 
 fresh-air inlets in cold weather, and permit air to 
 enter from the basement, with the result of having 
 the air circulate through the schoolrooms and water- 
 closets in common. So many and various are the 
 ways of neglecting the ventilating apparatus, that 
 nothing short of a complete automatic attachment 
 will suffice to keep the room unfailingly at the 
 desired temperature of 68°. 
 
 Composition and Adjustment of the School 
 Programme 
 
 Thus far among hygienic conditions for which 
 school authorities are alone responsible, I have re- 
 ferred only to those of* an external kind. Other 
 conditions of the same class affecting the health of 
 the pupils are those which relate to the composition 
 and adjustment of the school programme. These 
 will be treated briefly under the following heads : 
 (1) course of studies, (2) daily programme and in- 
 struction, (3) intermissions, (4) school sessions, (5) 
 length of recitation, and (6) amount of work re- 
 quired of pupils.
 
 School Hygiene 327 
 
 Course of Studies. — It is easy enough to say that 
 
 the school programme should have such an extent, 
 
 variety, and arrangement of studies as will conduce 
 
 to the physical as well as mental well-being of all 
 
 the pupils ; to make and apply such a programme is 
 
 quite a different matter. The difficulty of arranging Difficulty of " 
 
 a course of studies suited to all is realized when anauging a 
 
 it is known that all pupils, the bright and the dull, ^^"^^^^ ^ " 7 
 ^ ^ ' " suited to all. 
 
 the strong and the weak, should have enough pro- 
 vided for them fully to tax their powers without 
 injury either to the body or to the mind. 
 
 The task, however, of laying out a general course 
 of studies is considerably lessened if it is kept in 
 mind that the adaptation of subjects to pupils lies 
 largely with the teacher. To give her sufficient An elastic 
 freedom in this regard, the course which she has as course needed, 
 a guide must be general and elastic ; that is, it must 
 be such that the work required of pupils will be 
 subject to conditions of temperament, health and 
 outside demands, as well as to those of intellectual 
 ability. 
 
 So important is this principle of adaptation, and 
 such is the difference in pupils, that, if the require- 
 ments of any course of studies prevent one pupil 
 from doing much more than what another pupil of 
 the same class will be able to do, or if they force one 
 pupil to do much less than what another pupil of 
 the same class ought to do, they are not what they 
 should be. 
 
 Again, the importance of protecting the chiklren 
 during the transition period from the kindergarten Tmnsition 
 to the school or from the home to the school should P'''"od. 
 be recognized by giving a large proportion of obser-
 
 328 Appendix F 
 
 vation, manual and physical exercises during the- 
 
 first year or two of the course.* 
 
 Anxiety at- It is well known that it is not so much the amount 
 
 tending exam- of work that one has to do as the worry occasioned 
 
 inations and jjj doing it that causes physical and mental collapse. 
 
 ■ And so it is not so much the number of studies, or 
 
 even the amount of work given to them, as the strain 
 
 of anxiety in preparing for examinations, and fear- 
 
 of not being promoted, that most injures the pupils. 
 
 So far as the course of studies has to do with these 
 
 occasions of exhaustion and ill health, it should be- 
 
 made so as to protect both teachers and pupils from. 
 
 possible excesses or mistakes.f 
 
 Allowance of In the interests of health, there should be a liberal 
 
 time for allowance of time provided in the course of studies*. 
 
 physical train- £qj. physical and manual exercises * and for instruc- 
 inc 
 
 tion in physiology and hygiene. The amount to be 
 
 done in these subjects and the place in the pro- 
 gramme they should take will be referred to later. 
 
 The course of studies of the larger cities should 
 
 make provision for all defective or weak-minded 
 
 children that are not provided for by the state, 
 
 giving the utmost freedom and opportunity to 
 
 Treatment of teachers of small classes to adapt the work to the 
 
 defectives. needs and capacity of individual pupils. Of this 
 
 * The reasons for limiting the formal work of the first 
 year in school and a detailed plan of exercises for that year 
 are given in the sixty-second annual report of the Massa- 
 chusetts Board of Education, pp. 409-413. 
 
 t Matters of grading and promotions of pupils are dis- 
 cussed in the sixty-first report of the Massachusetts Board' 
 of Education, pp. 297-314; also in (13, pp. 303-356). 
 
 t For a careful estimate of the proper proportion of time- 
 which should be given to drawing, manual training and sing- 
 ing, see pp. 457-479 of the sixtieth report of the Massa- 
 chusetts Board of Education..
 
 School Hygiene 329 
 
 class of children Dr. Lincoln (16, p. 83) writes : "Out- 
 side of the class returned in statistics as feeble- 
 minded, there exists a much larger class (perhaps five 
 in a thousand) of 'backward' children, a type with 
 which all primary teachers are familiar, who are so 
 deficient as to be incapable of profiting by ordinary 
 school methods. They constitute a distinct type, 
 differing from the grosser types only in degree of 
 defect; they display all the cardinal features of 
 imbecility in a lesser degree. Few classes are with- 
 out some specimen, hopeless under existing condi- 
 tions, yet fondled and defended by parental love, 
 which can see no inferiority in its own offspring. A Special classes 
 movement for the education of these children in for weak mind - 
 special classes imder trained inspectors has just 
 begun in the United States, which up to the present 
 includes the cities of Providence, Worcester, Spring- 
 field, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago." 
 
 The children here referred to belong to what has 
 been called the "abnormally deficient" class,— a 
 class separate and distinct from the class consisting Special treat- 
 of merely dull children of normal type. These chil- ment of dull 
 dren should also have special provision made for children, 
 them, not only on account of the better progress they 
 will make in their studies, but also on account of the 
 desirability of preventing tendencies to moral and 
 physical degeneracy. In many places, at present, 
 small ungraded classes are formed for the benefit 
 of children who are slow, or who for other reasons 
 need individual attention. Such classes generally 
 consist of not more than twenty pupils, and the work 
 done is mainly with individual pupils. Transfers 
 are constantly made to and from the class, as occa- 
 sion demands. 
 
 Daily Programme and Instruction, — There is a feel-
 
 330 Appendix F 
 
 ing abroad, occasionally expressed by physicians and 
 newspaper writers, that there is "over-pressure" in 
 the schools to such an extent that many children are 
 falling by the way and made invalids for life. There 
 Opinions re- is another feeling abroad, expressed quite frequently 
 lating to "over- ^y opponents of the "new education," that teachers 
 pressuie . ^^^ doing too much for their pupils, and are thereby 
 
 helping to create a race of degenerates, — "soft 
 pedagogics" is the term sometimes given to desig- 
 nate the process. 
 
 Widely divergent as are these criticisms of present 
 practice in the schools, there is perhaps enough truth 
 in both charges to put teachers on their guard in 
 respect to the demands they make upon their pupils 
 Viewing the matter solely from the standpoint of 
 Hard intellect- health, we may agree that hard intellectual work of 
 ual work no in- ^^g right kind, done within proper limits of time, can 
 in no way be injurious to children. It must be as 
 healthful for them to exercise the brain actively as it 
 is for them to exercise the legs actively. It is not 
 hard work that is harmful or repugnant to the 
 normal child so much as work which is not suited to 
 his needs and powers. 
 
 Of course a discrimination must be made between 
 the natural tendencies of the child and those tenden- 
 cies which have been imposed upon him. The 
 former may lead and point the way of the best train- 
 ing, while the latter may indicate the course to be 
 resisted. 
 The problem— "What is needed for health 's sake is not necessarily 
 
 not less work ^^ \q^sqy^ the work of children, but to lead them to 
 
 l)u,t less 
 
 fatlffue work in such a way and at such times that the largest 
 
 results in mental strength and alertness will be 
 
 gained with the least fatigue. This is not done by 
 
 carrying on the same subject or kind of work too
 
 School Hygiene 331 
 
 long at a time, or by giving work that is uninterest- 
 ing. The duration of effort is not always the meas- 
 ure of fatigue attending it, and neither time nor 
 fatigue necessarily determines the amount or inten- 
 sity of effort exerted. There is some study which 
 cheers and invigorates, while there is other study 
 which palls upon the mind and wearies it to the point 
 of stagnation. No one will say that the former 
 study, although alert and active, is nearly as harmful 
 physically as the latter. The two states of mind Interest aiul 
 needed for the physical as well as for the mental freshness 
 well-being of pupils are interest and freshness; the , _, 
 
 former depending largely upon the subject and the 
 way it is presented, and the latter upon the times 
 in which the recitation or study is carried on. 
 
 One means of determining the proper place and 
 and order of recitations in the day's programme is 
 the condition of the pupils in respect to fatigue. 
 While work of any kind must be accompanied by 
 fatigue, and while fatigue in itself is not harmful 
 (17, p. 144), it becomes harmful when long-continued Fatigue harm- 
 or heavy demands are made upon the mind whicli f^i' when long 
 lead to exhaustion and disease. Both experienge ^^^ ^^^^ ' 
 and fatigue studies have shown that the branches of 
 study which most tax the mind should be given in 
 the early part of the day, while the children's minds 
 are rested, and that those which make the least de- 
 mands should be given later. The sub.iects upon 
 good authority which are most fatiguing are mathe- 
 matics and foreign languages, and those which are 
 least fatiguing are singing and drawing (IH, j). 81). 
 If the school day of five hours is dividiMl into two 
 sessions, it would seem best to havr a thi-ci'-lioui' 
 session in the forenoon, oceuj)i('d by roeitations and 
 study that are mo.st taxing to tli<> pupils; and a two-
 
 332 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 A liberal al- 
 lowance for 
 intermissions. 
 
 hour session in the afternoon, occupied by singing 
 games and manual exercises. What has been said 
 of the desirability of placing the most taxing recita- 
 tions early in the day will apply to written examina- 
 tions which have been fonnd to be very fatiguing.* 
 
 Intermissions. — Results of investigations have 
 shown that the time of the short recess and even 
 that of the long noon intermission is not long enough 
 fully to rest the pupils; that is, at the beginning of 
 the period after the intermission the available 
 strength for mental work is not as great as at the 
 beginning of the morning session. The extended 
 scientific observations of Burgerstein in Germany 
 (12, p. 237) and of Key in Sweden (1, p. 227) all go 
 to prove that a liberal allowance should be made for 
 intermissions during the school day, — an allowance 
 even greater than is made in Germany,f and far 
 greater than is made in any of our American schools. 
 Thus Kraeplin (1, p. 194) says that recesses should 
 be longer than they generally are, and should follow 
 one another at shorter intervals; and Kotelmann 
 (1, p. 195) approves the programme proposed by 
 Hakonson-Hansens, in which, in a six-hour school 
 day, from 8 A. M. to 2 P. M., there are six intermis- 
 sions,— five of ten minutes each and one of twenty 
 minutes. 
 
 These recommendations, based upon the most 
 
 * Dr. Newsholme and others (28, p. 66) would diminish 
 fatigue by change of subjects; alternating language or history 
 with mathematics, and mentally fatiguing subjects with pen- 
 manship or manual training. 
 
 t In Prussian secondary schools the total time given to 
 intermissions daily must be not less than forty and not more 
 than forty-five minutes. In Bavaria the same class of schools 
 are obliged to have a recess of ten minutes every hour.
 
 School Hygiene 333 
 
 careful investigations and the most universal prac- 
 tice of German schools, may well lead us to question 
 the wisdom of our school authorities in limiting the 
 time of recesses as much as they do. Especially 
 should they attract the attention of those who are 
 inclined to abolish the recess altogether, or to sub- 
 stitute gymnastic exercises for the games of the old- 
 fashioned recess. More will be said upon the sub- 
 ject, when the general hygienic treatment of pupils 
 is discussed. 
 
 Scliool Sessions. — As to the desirability of having Arguments for 
 two school sessions or one in the day, there is, as ^'"^ against the 
 there well may be, a difference of opinion, for there 
 are good reasons as well as objections that may be 
 urged upon either side of the question. 
 
 The arguments usually given in favor of the single 
 session are: (1) the shortness of the days in winter, 
 and consequent limited period of daylight; (2) the 
 saving of an extra walk to and from school; (3) the 
 greater opportunity for needed recreation in the way 
 of games, excursions, etc. 
 
 The arguments opposed to the single session and 
 in favor of the double one are: (1) There is less 
 danger from over-exhaustion, when there is* an entire 
 break of one or two hours in the work of the day, 
 than when the work is continuous or Avhen it is in- 
 terrupted by only a recess of twenty or thirty min- 
 utes; (2) there is more likelihood of a good breakfast 
 and dinner being eaten under the two-session i)lan 
 than under the one. 
 
 If the above-named arguments fairly represent all 
 that can be said upon both sides, it will be admitted 
 that for hygienic reasons the two sessions should be 
 preferred. This, however, does not in any way 
 imply that the single session tnay not be so managed
 
 334 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 Periods of 
 study and 
 recitation. 
 
 as to conform thoroughly to the best hygienic rules ; 
 as, for instance, if pauses of ten minutes are given 
 for recreation at the close of every recitation and 
 study period, and if hot soup or some other nutriti- 
 ous food is supplied the pupils in a half-hour inter- 
 mission. 
 
 Length of Recitation. — There is substantial agree- 
 ment among specialists as to the proper length of 
 the recitation and study period. This agreement is 
 summarized in the following statement, made by Dr. 
 Kowe (18, p. 167) : "The longest period which a 
 child of 5 to 7 years should be expected to have for 
 a given exercise should not exceed 15 minutes. For 
 a child of 7 to 10 years, it should not exceed 20 
 minutes ; for a child from 10 to 12, not over 25 ; and 
 from 12 to 16, not more than 30. These figures have 
 been approved both by experiment and experience. 
 They are maxima for all confining exercises. ' ' 
 
 Amount of Work required of Pupils. — European 
 and American standards of what should be required 
 of pupils differ considerably both in theory and in 
 Requirements practice. Dr. Kotelmann points out (1, p. 212) that 
 of home study in the Prussian and Bavarian secondary schools from 
 6 to 12 hours a week of home study is required from 
 pupils of the lower classes, and from 12 to 18 hours 
 of such study from pupils of the upper classes. 
 Some of the secondary schools of other parts of 
 Germany make even more severe requirements than 
 these. The requirements of the people's schools 
 are doubtless less than are those of the secondary 
 schools ; but it is safe to assume that the older pupils 
 of the former schools have not less than 12 hours of 
 home work weekly. 
 
 When it is considered that the number of hours a 
 week in which the schools are in session in January 
 
 in Germany.
 
 School Hygiene 335 
 
 is at least 20% more than our schools require, we 
 can appreciate the enormous pressure that is put 
 upon the pupils there. The specialists in hygiene 
 recommend that the requirements of home study 
 be lessened, as is shown by the following tables, the 
 first being the recommendations of the expert com- 
 mission for the secondary schools of Elsass-Lothrin- 
 gen (1, p. 213), and the second recommendations 
 of Dr. Key, as quoted by Dr. Burgerstein (12, p. 
 289): 
 
 Table I. — Showing the maximum hours per week recommended for 
 
 school instruction and home study by the expert commission for 
 
 the secondary schools of Elsass-Lothringen. 
 
 School instruction. 
 AGE. Class. Home 
 
 Studies. Singing. Gymnastics. Total, work. 
 2 4 5 6 
 
 7,8 IX., VIII. 18 - 21— 21i 
 
 2 4 5 
 
 9 VII. 20 - 23—23^ 5—6 
 
 2 2 2 
 
 10,11 VI., V. 24 2 2 — 3 28—29 8 
 
 12,13,14, IV., III. 26 2 2 30 12 
 
 15,16,17,18,.. II., I. 30 2 2 34 12—18 
 
 Table II. — Shotcing the number of hours per week recommended 
 by Br. Key for school instruction and home study. 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10, 11 
 12, 13 
 14... 
 1.5, 16 
 17, 18 
 
 WHOLE 
 
 NUMBER OF 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 hours' work required 
 
 NUMBER 
 
 OF 
 
 NUMBER OF 
 
 WEEKLY 
 
 , INCLUDING 
 
 HOURS 
 
 WEEKLY 
 
 HOURS OF 
 
 
 SINGING AND GYMNASTICS 
 
 REQUIRED 
 
 FOR 
 
 HOME STUDY 
 
 In the 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 chool and 
 
 In the school 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 home. 
 
 alone. 
 
 Singing 
 
 Gymnas 
 
 ics Weekly 
 
 Dai 
 
 12—18 
 
 12—18 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 18—24 
 
 15—21 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 24—30 
 
 18—24 
 
 1 
 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 36 
 
 29 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 li 
 
 42 
 
 32 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 lif 
 
 48 
 
 35 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 
 13 
 
 U 
 
 51 
 
 35 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 
 16 
 
 54 
 
 35 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 
 19 
 
 H 
 
 American practice varies greatly, but it is doubtful 
 if the requirements of any school are as great as 
 those recommended above. Practice in the best 
 schools at present seems to favor a short divided
 
 tendance in 
 America 
 
 all grades. 
 
 336 Appendix F 
 
 period of 3 hours ' attendance for the younger pupils, 
 Requirements and an attendance of 5 or 5I/2 hours for the older 
 of school at- pupils. This amount of time spent in school, with 
 St well-arranged programme, having the proper num- 
 ber of manual and physical exercises and recesses, 
 ought not to be harmful to any well child. 
 
 But the proper length of a school day cannot be 
 considered apart from the requirements of home 
 The maximum Study. The time given above ought to be all the 
 amount of time needed for study by pupils below the 7th 
 
 home study in gj-^de, upon the assumption that children are ad- 
 mitted to school at 5 years of age, and that there are 
 9 grades below the high school. The maximum 
 amount of home study for pupils of the 7th grade 
 might be half an hour daily, and for pupils of the 
 8th and 9th grades from one hour to one and one- 
 half hours daily. For pupils of the high school the 
 maximum amount of home study daily might be ex- 
 tended to two and three hours. 
 
 These figures are given upon the assumption that 
 no study of any kind shall be required or permitted 
 at recess or after school. 
 
 The following table embodies the suggestions 
 which I have made as to a proper amount of school 
 and home study. It will be seen that the require- 
 ments are far less severe than those recommended 
 by Dr. Key, but it is believed that they more nearly 
 fit American conditions than his do.
 
 School Hygiene 
 
 337 
 
 School arid home study. 
 
 NUMBER OF HOURS WEEKLY GIVEN TO 
 
 School 
 GRADE OR Attendance Recesses 
 
 YEAR (including and 
 IN SCHOOL recesses) gymnastics 
 
 Singing 
 
 9. . 
 10. 
 11. 
 12. 
 13. 
 
 15 
 
 2 
 
 20 
 
 2 
 
 27i 
 
 2i 
 
 27* 
 
 2* 
 
 27i 
 
 2i 
 
 27i 
 
 2i 
 
 27* 
 
 2i 
 
 27 i 
 
 2* 
 
 27* 
 
 2* 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 
 Recitation 
 
 
 
 and Study in 
 
 Study at Home 
 
 school (not 
 
 
 
 ig including 
 
 Min. 
 
 Max. 
 
 gymnastics 
 
 
 
 and singing 
 
 
 
 1 11* 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 1 15J 
 
 — 
 
 - 
 
 1 22 
 
 — 
 
 _ 
 
 1 22 
 
 _ 
 
 _ 
 
 1 22 
 
 _ 
 
 - 
 
 1 22 
 
 _ 
 
 _ 
 
 1 22 
 
 U 
 
 2i 
 
 1 22 
 
 2* 
 
 5 
 
 1 22 
 
 5 
 
 7A 
 
 1 20 
 
 7i 
 
 10 
 
 1 20 
 
 10 
 
 124 
 
 1 20 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 1 20 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 The recommendations contained in the above The require- 
 table are made with confidence, since they agree with ments to meet 
 the practice of the most carefully managed American ^.^^^ '"^ ^^^ 
 schools. Of course, it is understood that the amount 
 of time indicated for home study is intended only 
 for those pupils who are well. The time given is 
 subject to change for those who for any reason can- 
 not do the full work of the school without impair- 
 ment of health. If children have to practise upon 
 the piano one or two hours daily, or if by fulfillment 
 of social functions they are unable to meet all the 
 requirements of the school, they should stand pre- 
 cisely where the weak-bodied pupils do in relation 
 to the school. Neither class is to blame for the 
 obstructing conditions, and neither class should be 
 made to suffer by too great exactions. But it should 
 be understood that under such circumstances the 
 work of a class or year is incomplete, and must be 
 made up before full credit is given. 
 
 In one respect the recommendations of require- 
 ments above given differ from the requirements 
 usually made, and that is in reference to the amount 
 of home study. Two standards are set, one for the
 
 338 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 Minimum and 
 maximum re- 
 qtiirements to 
 be made. 
 
 least amoimt of time which should be spent in study, 
 and one for the greatest amount of time so spent. 
 These separate standards of requirements are fixed 
 in the belief that the bodily as well as the intellect- 
 ual welfare of the pupils is enhanced by an accom- 
 modation of demands to ability. 
 
 The ordinary practice is to state one period of 
 time for home study, which is supposed to be the 
 time suited to the "average pupil." The result is 
 that some of the pupils far exceed the amount 
 named, while others stop far short of it. Both 
 classes of pupils may be injured, one from doing too 
 much and the other from doifig too little. The plac- 
 ing of a minimum for home study means that the 
 bright pupils must not be deprived of the advantage 
 of a certain amount of strenuous effort. The maxi- 
 mum limit is placed for the benefit of that class of 
 pupils— generally girls — who conscientiously do 
 more than is required of them, and who, for the sake 
 of their health, need the restraint of a fixed standard 
 of time for study, beyond which they shall not be 
 permitted to go. 
 
 Outside Conditions 
 In tracing the causes of ill health among school 
 children, no one will deny that there are likely to be 
 some causes for which the school authorities ought 
 Private lessons not to be held responsible. When we consider the 
 close connection between one's state of health and 
 one's habits in respect to eating and sleeping, and 
 when, further, we consider the extent of control 
 which the parents have or ought to have over their 
 children in these respects, we cannot leave the in- 
 fluences of the home out of consideration in any 
 treatment of the health of school children. 
 
 and social 
 diversions
 
 School Hygiene 339 
 
 This consideration is all the more imperative on 
 account of the fact that the school must take the 
 child as it finds him, and must in the interests of 
 the child conform to all the conditions imposed upon 
 him from without. If his strength is given largely 
 to private lessons or social diversions, or if his 
 system is weakened by insufficient sleep or nourish- 
 ment, there must be a certain degree of conformity 
 of opportunity and demands to his impaired powers. 
 The conditions cannot be fully met by the teacher 
 without a knowledge of the child's impaired abilities 
 and the occasions of them. A wise conformity to 
 conditions means more than a mere acceptance of 
 them and adaptation of the school programme to 
 fit them; it involves an effort on the part of the 
 teacher to remedy as far as possible the faults which 
 obstruct the work of the school. 
 
 The causes of physical and mental weakness for Causes ofj'phy- 
 which parents and pupils are responsible have ^ifal and ment- 
 already been hinted at. They are want of attention ^^ weakness, 
 to diet and sleep, social diversions, uncleanliness 
 and other bad personal habits. It is vain to suppose 
 that these obstructive conditions can be fully con- 
 trolled by the teacher, or even appreciably so, in a 
 large number of cases. It is hoped, however, that 
 every teacher will make an effort to urge upon 
 parents and pupils alike the importance (1) of a 
 large amount of restful sleep every night,* (2) of a 
 
 * Dr. Key, who has given much attention to the subject, 
 says that children from seven to nine years of age need eleven 
 hours of sleep daily, that children from ten to thirteen years 
 of age need ten or eleven hours, and that children beyond this 
 age up to eighteen need from eight and one-half to nine and 
 one-half hours (12, p. 289). He found in his investigations 
 in Stockholm that those pupils who had an insufficient amount
 
 340 Appendix F 
 
 sufficient diet of nutritious food taken at proper 
 times, t (3) of abundant recreations that will in- 
 vigorate and refresh both body and mind, (4) of a 
 careful attention to cleanliness by frequently brush- 
 ing the teeth and bathing the body, and (5) of pure 
 personal habits which will in no way injure the body 
 or debase the mind. 
 Bad personal To be successful in checking the evils of bad 
 
 habits among personal habits among boys, such as the use of 
 ^^^' tobacco and secret vice, demands the utmost efforts 
 
 of teachers, who first of all must realize their prev- 
 alence and the enormous injury done by them to 
 the body and mind. "While the chief reliance for 
 success must be made upon constructive lines, such 
 as giving the pupils instruction in physiology, and 
 
 of sleep had from five to eight per cent, more sickness than 
 their schoolmates who had sufficient sleep. Dr. Dukes (23, 
 p. 124) would allow the following number of hours per night 
 for sleep: children five years of age, thirteen and one-half; 
 six, thirteen; seven, twelve and one-half; eight, twelve; nine, 
 eleven and one-half; ten, eleven; eleven, ten and one-half; 
 twelve and thirteen, ten; fourteen, nine and one-half; fifteen 
 and sixteen, nine; from seventeen to nineteen, eight and one- 
 half. 
 
 t The attention of parents and pupils should be especially 
 called to the importance of eating a substantial breakfast, 
 and of taking plenty of time for it. This advice is par- 
 ticularly needed for pupils of high schools, who frequently are 
 found attending a five-hour school session after a hasty and 
 insufficient breakfast. School luncheons should also be made 
 a subject of careful attention. In many places food of a 
 very nutritious kind and at little cost is provided at recess by 
 the school authorities or by some one authorized by them. 
 Dr. Newshohne (28, p. 96) recommends the giving of penny 
 dinners, such as are given in some of the London Board 
 Schools. He also recommends giving to each child in the 
 poorer districts a mug of milk and slice of bread before the 
 morning's work begins.
 
 School Hygiene 34:1 
 
 leading them into orood habits of industry, the pre- 
 ventive and personal means must not be neglected, 
 in which courage and tact will be required. For 
 the fullest success in many cases, the co-operation of 
 parents will be needed. 
 
 Dr. Burgerstein (21, p. 257) urges the great need Instruction for 
 of a systematic effort to spread hygienic knowledge ^^^ people in 
 among the people. The means recommended are *^^^^°^' 
 as follows : distribution of brief tracts, courses in 
 normal schools and secondary schools, university 
 extension lectures, associations, popular lectures, 
 reading rooms, portable exhibits. 
 
 Some superintendents have found it useful to send 
 to parents at the beginning of the year a printed 
 letter or circular, giving a few suggestions relating 
 to the habits and health of the children. An example A circular let- 
 of what is needful for parents to know is shown in ^^^ ^^ parents 
 the following letter, prepared by Dr. Wm. H. Max- ^ "ifh"'"! 
 well, and sent to the parents of all the pupils in habits of 
 Brooklyn when he was superintendent of the schools children, 
 of that city. It follows, in the same circular, a letter 
 addressed to teachers respecting the requirements 
 they should make of the pupils. 
 
 To Parents 
 1. The health of your children is paramount to 
 every other consideration. "When children, par- 
 ticularly girls, between the ages of ten and seven- 
 teen, exhibit evidence of nervous disorder, such as 
 twitching of the face and hands, or extreme irrita- 
 bility, it is a sure sign either that the scliool work is 
 too severe, or that they are not living under pro]jer 
 hygienic conditions, or both. In all such cases 
 school work should be either materially lessened or 
 be intermitted until there is a restoration to health.
 
 342 Appendix F 
 
 2. In the majority of cases, to conquer the diffi- 
 culties of arithmetic and grammar or the intricacies 
 of a new language is harder work for the child than 
 are, for the business or professional man, his every- 
 day avocations. Hence, children need constant care, 
 sympathy and encouragement. 
 
 3. Children should spend not less than two hours 
 every day in the open air, and, if possible, should 
 engage in games requiring both skill and activity. 
 
 4. Children should spend at least twenty minutes 
 every day in practising at home the gymnastic ex- 
 ercises they learn at school. 
 
 5. Children should not be permitted to attend 
 social parties or public meetings or entertainments 
 on evenings preceding school days. 
 
 6. Children should spend in sleep not less than 
 nine, and, if possible, ten, hours out of every twenty- 
 four. 
 
 7. The following practices should be prohibited, 
 as being injurious to health : study before partaking 
 of food in the morning ; the rapid reading of lessons 
 just before the beginning of a school session ; study 
 during the noon intermission; study immediately 
 after the close of school, before mind and body have 
 been rested by play or other suitable change of 
 occupation ; study immediately after eating a hearty 
 meal. 
 
 8. When children study or read either by sunlight 
 or by artificial light, care should be taken that the 
 light is sufficient, and that it falls upon the page 
 from the left. 
 
 9. Children should have fixed hours for study, 
 never exceeding the time specified in the rule of the 
 board of education, and nothing should be per- 
 mitted to interfere with these hours of study.
 
 ScKool Hygiene 343 
 
 10. When parents find that their children, after 
 conscientious effort, cannot accomplish the work 
 assigned by the teacher in the time specified in the 
 rule, they should at once communicate the fact to 
 the principal of the school, and ask diminution of 
 the tasks assigned. 
 
 11. Parents should never urge children to make 
 ■extra efforts to obtain promotion, nor show annoy- 
 ance if they fail to obtain promotion. What chil- 
 dren need for intellectual and moral progress is 
 systematic, not spasmodic, work. If, for any good 
 reason, a child is not promoted or graduated at the 
 end of term, he should not be reprimanded, but 
 encouraged to try again. Nor should parents, by 
 finding fault with the teacher, weaken her influence 
 for good. 
 
 12. Cigarette smoking by growing boys is danger- 
 ous alike to the physical, the intellectual and the 
 mojal well-being. Parents cannot be too vigilant 
 in preventing their sons, who have not yet reached 
 maturity, from using tobacco in any form, and 
 particularly in that of the cigarette. 
 
 Inspection and Supervision 
 In what has been said thus far it has been 
 assumed that all the circumstances relating to the 
 health of pupils should be known by the school Professional 
 officials, and that no adverse conditions be allowed "'ly'ce and 
 
 ! I SSI Sl Alice 
 
 to exist. The hygienic conditions of the school re- ' ' 
 late, as we have seen, to the location, construction 
 and plan of buildings, school equipment, and the 
 composition and adjustment of the school pro- 
 gramme. The effects of adverse conditions must 
 also be recognized before they can be properly pre- 
 vented or treated. It is hardly supposable that all
 
 344 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 Medical in- 
 spection of 
 schools. 
 
 Plan of medic-al 
 inspection in 
 Boston. 
 
 these eirciimstanees and the means of correction can 
 be fully known and understood by the teachers in 
 charge. It is desirable, therefore, that they shall 
 have such professional assistance or advice as will 
 enable them to correct existing faults and to prevent 
 disease and contagion. 
 
 The circumstances concerning which advice and 
 assistance will be most needed are those relating to 
 the ventilation and lighting of the schoolroom, the 
 desks and seats, the amount and kind of mental 
 exercises needed to keep the pupils in good physical 
 health, the detection of incipient forms of disease, 
 and the method of treating each pupil not in a 
 normal condition of body or mind. 
 
 The most apparent need of advice is in the. detec- 
 tion of the first stages of contagious diseases, such 
 as diphtheria, scarlet-fever and measles. The laws 
 of Massachusetts provide for the careful exehision 
 of all pupils from school who are sick with or who 
 have been exposed to infectious diseases :* but a 
 careful observance of this law cannot prevent the 
 spread of disease which appears in such incipient 
 form as to escape the detection of parents and 
 teachers. "What is needed, for the sake of the com- 
 munity as well as of the persons afflicted, is some 
 form of inspection which will keep from the school 
 all pupils from whom there is any danger of con- 
 tagion. 
 
 This is accomplished to a very satisfactory degree 
 in so-called medical inspection, which is carried on 
 in New York. Boston, Cambridge and several other 
 American cities. 
 
 The plan which has been foQowed in Boston for 
 the past six years is as follows : By a special 
 
 * Chapter 496, section 11, Acts of 1898.
 
 School Hygiene 345 
 
 arrangement with the school committee, inspectors 
 are appointed by the board of health to visit each 
 day all the schools soon after the opening of the 
 morning session. If any of the children appear not 
 well, they are examined by the inspector; and if he 
 finds any child with sjTnptoms of an infectious dis- 
 ease he exercises his authority as agent of the board 
 of health and orders the child to be sent home. He 
 at once reports the case to the board of health, and 
 follows it up. seeing to it that the child is either 
 properly isolated or sent to the hospital. Later, he 
 makes another visit, to see if all danger of infection 
 has ceased. 
 
 If a child is found to be ill, but without symp- 
 toms of an infectious disease, "the teacher is ad- 
 vised to send the child home, with a message, written 
 or oral, as may seem best, stating what the trouble 
 may be, and suggesting, if medical care seems to be 
 needed, that the family physician be called." 
 Further particulars and results of the plan are given 
 in Superintendent Seaver's report for March, 1900, 
 (19, p. 38).* 
 
 It is entirely feasible for any city or town to 
 follow the plan above indicated. Some idea of the 
 cost will be gained from the following statement of 
 Dr. Durgin, chairman of the Boston board of health 
 (21, p. 1500): "The board of health divided the 
 city into 50 districts, giving an average of about 4 
 schoolhouses and 1,400 pupils to each district. Xo 
 difiSculty was experienced in finding well-qualified 
 
 * Plans of general medical inspection are contained in the 
 report of the board of school visitors, Hartford, Conn., March 
 31, 1900; also in (5, p. 17; 9, p. 54; 21, p. 1489). The last- 
 named reference has accounts of inspection plans and results 
 in Massachusetts, New York, Philadelphia, Berlin and Paris.
 
 346 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 Medical in- 
 spection of 
 schools in New 
 Jersey. 
 
 Inspection of 
 sight and hear- 
 ing. 
 
 and discreet physicians who would undertake the 
 duties prescribed, and the board secured and ap- 
 pointed one physician for each district, mth a 
 salary of $200 a year." 
 
 The laws of the State of New Jersey (chapter 96, 
 article XXX., of the laws of 1900) provide that any. 
 local board of education may employ" a competent 
 physician, who shall visit the schools at stated times 
 and examine pupils referred to him by the teachers, 
 and, "at least once during each school year examine 
 every pupil, to learn whether any physical defect 
 exists, and keep a record from year to year of the 
 growth and development of such pupil, which record 
 shall be the property of the board of education, and 
 shall be delivered by said medical inspector to his 
 successor in office." The law further provides that 
 he "shall lecture before the teachers at such times 
 as may be designated by the board of education, in- 
 structing them concerning the methods employed to 
 detect the first signs of communicable disease, and 
 the recognized measures for the promotion of health 
 and prevention of disease." 
 
 The above law provides for one form of medical 
 inspection which has been adopted with success in 
 several cities and towns, and that is inspection of the 
 sight and hearing of pupils. As would be ex- 
 pected, the results of investigations differ as to the 
 percentage of pupils having defective sight and hear- 
 ing, depending upon the age of pupils, conditions 
 under which pupils have used their eyes, and the 
 character of the examination; but all the tests that 
 have been made thus far reveal the fact that the eyes 
 of from 10% to 45% of the pupils of the schools are 
 defective and that a good proportion of those who 
 have defective eyes need special treatment.
 
 School Hygiene 347 
 
 The cases of defective hearing are less common 
 than the cases of defective sight but they are found 
 sufficient in number to warrant a careful inspection 
 in every school. 
 
 The following results of investigations indicate Results of in- 
 the extent to which defective sight and hearing have vestigations. 
 been found under various conditions and show 
 clearly the urgent need of systematic and general 
 inspection. The difference of results is due in part 
 to the difference of defects reported, some of the 
 reports indicating serious defects only^. 
 Passaic, N. J.— 538 children out of 1,630 examined 
 
 are reported as having defective vision. 
 Lowell, Mass.— The sight of 45% of 300 children 
 examined is reported as being defective, "a little 
 less than two-thirds of the defects being serious 
 enough to need correction." In another examina- 
 tion of 524 pupils 165 or 31% were found to have 
 defective vision. The number of these who were 
 recommended to have medical treatment was 137 
 or 26% of the whole number. In still another test 
 2,081 pupils of the grammar and upper primary 
 grades were examined and 44% of them were 
 found to have defective sight, 27% of them need- 
 ing special treatment. 
 Chicago, III. — From 32% to 41% of 4,765 pupils ex- 
 amined are reported as having defective sight, 
 from 7% to 16% of the whole number being re- 
 garded as serious. In another investigation in 
 the same city 6,729 pupils were examined with the 
 following results: Defoctive in one or both ears, 
 1,080 or 16% ; defective in both ears, 437 or 6.6%. 
 Cleveland, Ohio. — Whole number of pupils ex- 
 amined in 1900-1901, 32,939. Number with de- 
 fects of special senses 6,169, of whom 359 are
 
 348 Appendix F 
 
 reported as defective in hearing. In another ex- 
 amination the following year the sight and hearing- 
 of 17,017 pupils were tested with the following- 
 results: Number of pupils with defects of special 
 senses 5,806, of whom 342 are reported as defect- 
 ive in hearing. 
 
 MiLiTON, Mass.— Out of 709 children examined 195^ 
 or a little less than one-third of the whole num- 
 ber, were recommended for further examination 
 for glasses. 
 
 Wellesley, Mass.— Number of pupils examined 685, 
 of whom 23% are reported as needing treatment 
 on account of defective vision. In this examina- 
 tion only 30% of the children were found to have 
 normal sight and 89% of them with normal hear- 
 ing in both ears. 
 
 Everett, Mass.— Of 2,345 pupils examined 1,167 are 
 reported as having perfect vision in both eyes. 
 Of the others 539 were advised to consult an oc- 
 ulist. 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y.— Number of pupils examined, 
 50,000. Of these 28% were found to be deficient 
 in eyesight and 10% in hearing. 
 
 Some of the above reported tests were made by 
 specialists, some by teachers under the direction of 
 a specialist and some by teachers with no directions 
 other than those that were given with the Snellen 
 test cards. Of course the tests made by or under 
 the direction of an expert oculist are more accurate 
 than those which are made without special super- 
 vision, but for the purpose of ascertaining defective 
 sight and hearing and of reporting for treatment 
 the more serious cases, the tests made by teachers 
 are quite satisfactory.
 
 School Hygiene 349 
 
 The ' ' instructions for examination ' ' accompany- How tests may 
 ing the Snellen test cards obtainable from publishers ^^ ^^^^ ^y 
 and oculists are sufficiently full to enable the teacher 
 to designate those whose sight is but slightly 
 affected and also those whose eyes are so seriously 
 affected that they need to consult an oculist. 
 
 Teachers can also detect defective hearing so far 
 at least as to know what pupils need professional 
 treatment. The rule sometimes is for the pupil to 
 stand 20 feet away from the examiner and to pro- 
 nounce the word or words given by the examiner 
 either in a whisper or in an ordinary conversational 
 tone of voice. Some prefer to make the tick of a 
 watch the test of hearing, the watch being four feet 
 away. 
 
 One kind of investigation made by tha physical Investigation 
 training committee of the Brookline, Mass., Educa- °^ the physical 
 tion Society deserves attention, on accomit of its ^j^^ puniis lu 
 unique character and the practical results it prom- Brookline, 
 ises. The investigation was of the physical coudi- Mass. 
 tion of the children and the hygiene of the class 
 rooms, and was carried on with the assistance of the 
 teachers and medical inspectors. The questions 
 asked were in relation to the pupils' nutrition ajid 
 condition of spine, and the ventilation, lighting, and 
 temperature of the schoolrooms. 
 
 The results of the physical examination were as 
 follows (22, p. 22) : Out of 2,594 children, the nutri- 
 tion was considered to be excellent in 1,603, or 62% ; 
 good in 605, or 24%; fair in 262, or 10%; poor in 
 104, or 4%. 
 
 In the same number the following di^foi-niities 
 were observed: of the spine, 4; of the chest, 7; of 
 the extremities, 9; of the head, 4. 
 
 A more individualized physical examine lion was
 
 360 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 made by the same committee through the co-opera- 
 tion of some physicians. Sixty-one boys were ex- 
 amined, with the following results, in part (22, p. 
 23) : Percentage of pupils having poor preservation 
 of teeth, 29.5; abnormal condition of throat, 54.1; 
 abnormal condition of heart, 24.6 ; abnormal de- 
 velopment of chest, 16.4. 
 
 As one result of the investigation, the committee 
 strongly recommended that certain vacant land be 
 left an open space for a playground for the children 
 of the neighborhood. 
 
 Instruction 
 Instruction in From the beginning of the course to the end of it, 
 hygiene careful and systematic instruction in hygiene should 
 
 throughout the ^^ given, .first independent of anatomy and physi- 
 course 
 
 ology, and later in close connection with those sub- 
 jects. 
 
 It is not the place here to suggest methods of in- 
 struction, and yet it may be proper to state that 
 instruction in hygiene will be effective only as it 
 is made concrete and applicable to everyday ex- 
 Instruction to perience. Pupils may be told or they may read 
 be practical. from the book all the rules of hygiene, and after- 
 wards be able to repeat them, and yet not be able 
 to see their application so far as their own lives are 
 concerned. If they do not see this clearly, and do 
 not know the reasons why the laws of health should 
 be obeyed, they may as well remain in ignorance. 
 For example, in the higher grades of the grammar 
 school and in the high school pupils should be led 
 not merely to learn the fact that rapid eating is 
 harmful, but to know why it is harmful ; not merely 
 to say that pure air is necessary to health, but to 
 ascertain from measurements whether their own bed-
 
 School Hygiene 351 
 
 rooms or sehoolrooms are sufficiently supplied with 
 it. 
 
 There is not a fact of hygiene connected with 
 school conditions or home conditions which might 
 not be profitably worked out by the pupils them- 
 selves. If this practice of applying in our teaching 
 to everyday life the principles of hygiene were uni- 
 versal, there would be in time less reluctance on the 
 part of school authorities to provide all the means 
 possible to insure conditions of health, and parents 
 would not be so willing as many now are to defy all 
 the principles of dietary science. 
 
 Speaking of the ignorance of parents respecting 
 food, Mrs. Richards says (25, p. 17) : "To my mind, 
 there is but one efficient remedy for this gross 
 ignorance and misapprehension of the office of food, 
 and that is, to have the science of food taught in ^he science -of 
 all our public schools. Make the simple, fundamen- food to be ' ' 
 tal, well-known principles of diet a part of the taught, 
 natural science training in the school, add interest 
 and point to the teaching by classes in cooking, not 
 for the sake of the dishes prepared, although they 
 should be well done, but for the sake of the illustra- 
 tions they give of the principles taught." 
 
 General Hygienic Treatment 
 Having considered the dangers to health to which 
 pupils in school are exposed, we ought next to 
 ascertain exactly what teachers can do to avoid those 
 dangers, and to correct faults which already exist. 
 The first means which suggests itself is physical 
 training. The use of 
 
 The chief direct ends of physical training are gymnastic ex- 
 
 Grcisos fl>ii(i 
 
 health and symmetry of body and grace of bodily ^jj^jr iimita- 
 movements. That these ends are promoted to any tjons.
 
 352 Appendix F 
 
 degree by the prevailing gymnastic practice in the 
 schools is seriously questioned by many people. 
 There are doubtless gained by the exercises a certain 
 degree of muscular strength ^nd increased circula- 
 tion of the blood ; but these are not the only nor are 
 they the chief conditions of health most needed for 
 our pupils. 
 
 "What they most need is recuperation or rest from 
 mental fatigue, and this, it is believed, is not gained 
 by the tenseness of mind required in sharply follow- 
 ing the orders of a leader in gymnastics. Teachers, 
 in response to the question as to whether they or 
 the pupils are rested by such exercises, almost in- 
 variably answer in the negative; and yet they have 
 grown in favor to such an extent in some places as 
 to constitute the only exercise which the pupils are 
 permitted to have. 
 Dissatisfaction The growing doubt as to their use as a means of 
 with prevailing promoting health is shown by the changed character 
 methods. of i\^q exercises recommended by directors of 
 
 gymnasiums. The dissatisfaction with prevailing 
 methods is voice(i in the following statement, 
 recently made by a prominent director of physical 
 culture in one of our state normal schools respecting 
 the system in common use: "I believe the classifica- 
 tion of exercises in this system to be the most 
 scientific and effective, but I want to protest most 
 earnestly against their application, as so often seen, 
 by which such exercises are a dose of repulsive 
 medicine, instead of the natural, voluntary, joyous 
 response of the child." In other words, the rec- 
 reative elements of exercise are wanting in many of 
 the gymnastic exercises. 
 
 These elements, it is believed, may be supplied in 
 part by a more intelligent application of the prin-
 
 School Hygiene 353 
 
 ciples underlying the best systems of gymnastics, 
 and in part by substituting for many of the gym- 
 nastic exercises recreative games and plays, in which Recreative 
 the response of the children is "natural, voluntary games and 
 and joyous." To meet successfully the desired ends, 
 the games should be such as to enable all the pupils 
 to join in them voluntarily. They should give 
 abundant opportunity for free, joyous and fre- 
 quently emulative action. They may be educational 
 in character, or such as will exercise the pupils' 
 powers of observation, imitation, memory and judg- 
 ment. 
 
 To accomplish the best results, it will be necessary 
 for the teacher to direct and oversee the games,* 
 and, if she is sympathetic enough, to participate in 
 them. The games will afford the best opportunity 
 for profitable child study, and for creating in the 
 teacher sympathy with and interest in the children. 
 
 It is a cheering sign that in many places the recess, 
 so long abandoned, is being restored, to be spent, not The recess 
 as formerly in rough-and-tumble sports or in aimless being restored, 
 idleness, but in well-directed, joyous exercise, which 
 sends the children back to their studies refreshed 
 and ready for work. 
 
 The following carefully selected list of gamesf 
 
 * Miss Brown, of the Washington, D. C, Normal School 
 (10, p. 631), recommends dividing the class into two or three 
 sections, thus freeing the children from apparent direction by 
 the teacher, and giving her an opportunity to do individual 
 work. 
 
 t They are selected from the list of games given and describ- 
 ed by Superintendent G. E. Johnson in Vol. III. of the Peda- 
 gogical Seminary and from "One Hundred Gymnastic Games" 
 prepared by ten members of the alumni of the Boston Normal 
 School of Gymnastics. These are very valuable contributions 
 to educational literature, and should be witliin roach of every 
 teacher.
 
 354 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 A list of good 
 games recom- 
 mended. 
 
 will suggest what may be played by children of 
 different ages. Some of them, as will be seen, are 
 appropriate for the school yard alone, while others 
 can be played in the schoolroom or gymnasium, or, 
 if there is no gymnasium, in the basement playroom. 
 Those marked S. may be played in the schoolroom, 
 and those marked G. in the gymnasium or playroom. 
 The figures indicate the grade of pupils for which 
 the games are best adapted, 1 standing for the pri- 
 mary grade, 2 for the lower grammar, 3 for the upper 
 grammar and 4 for the high school. 
 
 Bean bags in a circle, S., Gr., 
 
 1, 2, 3. 
 All lip, S., G., 2, 3, 4. 
 Ball hunt, S., G., 2, 3, 4. 
 Beast, bird or fish, S., 3, 4. 
 Call tag, S., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
 Birds, S., G., 1, 2. 
 Follow the leader, S., G., 1, 2, 
 
 3, 4. 
 Ducks fly, S., 1, 2. 
 Going to Jerusalem, S., 1, 2, 
 
 3, 4. 
 Catch ball, S., G., 1, 2, 3. 
 Guess ball, S., G., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
 Herr Slap Jack, S., G., 1, 2, 
 
 3. 
 Observation, S., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
 Basket ball, G., 3, 4. 
 Ball and bases, G., 3, 4. 
 
 Ball stand, G., 3, 4. 
 Bears and cattle, G., 3, 4. 
 Black and red, G., 3, 4. 
 Cat and rat, G., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
 Hunt the fox, G., 1, 2. 
 Steeple chase, G., 3, 4. 
 Dodge ball, G., 2, 3, 4. 
 Garden scamp, G., 2, 3, 4. 
 Hanging cats, G., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
 Jump the shot, G., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
 Lame fox and chickens, G., 1, 
 
 2, 3, 4. 
 Last couple out, G., 3, 4. 
 Ninepins, G., 2, 3, 4. 
 Stealing sticks, G., 3, 4. 
 The billed cat, G., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
 Three deep, G., 2, 3, 4. 
 King's castle, G., 2, 3. 
 Fox and geese, G., 2, 3. 
 
 All of the above-named games marked "G. " and 
 many others, like "I spy," "tag," "duck on the 
 rock," may be played on the playground. There 
 are many games like "geography," "assumed char- 
 acters," and "authors," which will be found a
 
 School Hygiene 355 
 
 valuable help in connection with the regular work 
 of the school.* 
 
 In what is said of the importance of games and 
 plays as school exercises, it is not meant that gym- 
 nastic exercises have not a distinctly constructive The true value 
 
 and corrective value, nor is it meant that they should ^^ gymnastic 
 
 exercises 
 be excluded from the school. Emphasis is here 
 
 placed upon exercises of recreation and relaxa- 
 tion, because they have to some extent been discon- 
 tinued in the abandonment of the recess, and because 
 in the strain of school work they are especially 
 needed. 
 
 In the thirty minutes allowed daily for recesses, 
 fully two-thirds of the time should be given to the 
 wholly recreative exercises. If any more than the , 
 
 remaining time is needed for gymnastics, let it be 
 taken from the time which has been assigned for 
 recitation and study. In school buildings provided Time for recre- 
 with a gymnasium, regular semi-weekly or tri- '^*^^^ exercises, 
 weekly periods should be set off for systematic ex- 
 ercise in gymnastics, — periods sufficiently long to 
 give opportunity for carefully graded class and 
 individual work. 
 
 That the effects of systematic physical training are 
 felt in other ways than in promoting bodily health 
 should be realized by every teacher. Dr. Hartwell 
 says (21, p. 510): "If we once admit, as we must 
 admit, that thought and feeling, judgment and 
 volition are inexpressible and ineffectual except 
 through motor acts, and that motor acts are ani- 
 
 * In an interesting test, given recently to over 2,000 children, 
 by Mr. Monroe of the Westfield, Mass., Normal School, it was 
 found that 32 per cent, of the favorite games mentioned were 
 ball games; 31 per cent., chase games; and 10 per cent., motion 
 games. Further details of the test are given in (24, p. 1084).
 
 350 
 
 Appendix F 
 
 Intellectual 
 and moral ef- 
 fects of physic- 
 al training. 
 
 Ways of meet- 
 ing the needs 
 of individual 
 pupils. 
 
 Treatment of 
 
 individual 
 
 pupils. 
 
 mated and controlled by the central nervous system, 
 the inference is clear that physical training is an 
 essential element in the development of mental 
 health and power." Of the beneficial effects of 
 games in the intellectual and moral development Dr. 
 Lincoln says (16, p. 71) : "These games are well 
 suited to bring out some of the basal traits of charac- 
 ter and intellect, — quick sight, dexterity of hand, 
 agility, lung power, voice, speed, endurance, with 
 love of fairness, self-assertion, will-power, social 
 instinct and general experience of unveiled human 
 nature." 
 
 Special and Individual Treatment 
 It is a well-known principle of education that the 
 needs of individual pupils should be met as far as 
 possible. This principle is especially important 
 when applied to physical training. It is applied in 
 every case of eye or ear defect that is observed and 
 treated, and in the case of children who are sent 
 home from school on account of illness. The same 
 principle is recognized in placing defectives in 
 separate schools and classes. In our state institu- 
 tions for the blind, deaf and feeble-minded it is 
 found very important to give individual treatment 
 to the inmates, especially to those of the feeble- 
 minded school. The same is true with the "abnor- 
 mally defective" schools and classes already alluded 
 to. 
 
 In these classes special and individual physical 
 treatment of the pupils, such as manual exercises, 
 baths and gymnastics, is found to be very useful. 
 
 As time goes on doubtless the treatment will be 
 still more individualized, with the view of prevent- 
 ing possible moral as well as intellectual ills. We
 
 School Hygiene 357 
 
 maj^ well carry this process of individualization still 
 further in the physical treatment of normal-minded 
 pupils who have signs of physical defects, as shown 
 in wrong postures, awkward movements and mal- 
 formations. A recent movement in Brookline bids 
 fair to do much in this direction. Here those pupils 
 who are found to need corrective exercises are ex- 
 amined by the instructor of physical training, with 
 a view of prescribing daily home and school exer- 
 cises. In the clinic, which is held for an hour once 
 a week, a careful examination is made of the pupils 
 who are taking the special treatment, for the purpose 
 of ascertaining what progress is made and what 
 change of treatment is needed. 
 
 It is on such special and preventive lines of 
 treatment for abnormal children that the schools of 
 the future will more and more work. It will not 
 be, however, until the people believe in a policy of 
 prevention rather than mere restraint and punish- Prevention 
 ment in respect to crime. It may be that society better than 
 for many years to come will seek to protect itself 
 by means of the pound of retributive cure meted out 
 to criminals; but more and more apparent as time 
 goes on will become the effectiveness of the ounce of 
 prevention in the special treatment of children 
 and youth before the crimes are committed. 
 
 Already there are signs of an awakening realiza- 
 tion of the value of reformative measures in the 
 quite general approval among thinking people of the 
 great work which Mr. Brockway has done during 
 the past few years with the prisoners in.Elmira. 
 Here for several years men were treated according Experience in 
 to their individual needs by giving them baths, mas- Elmira, N. Y. 
 sages, physical and manual exercises, and by provid- 
 ing for them study and useful occupations, with the
 
 358 Appendix F 
 
 resvilt, as Mr. Sanborn has pointed out,* "of securing 
 the astonishing percentage of more than seven refor- 
 mations out of every ten persons." If the vahie of 
 special hygienic and educational treatment of 
 criminals is thus marked, what cannot be said of the 
 value of such treatment when given to young persons 
 before fixed habits are formed? 
 
 To carry out the needed -corrective and preventive 
 treatment for abnormal children, as well as the 
 regular constructive work for all, there should be 
 employed, in addition to the usual force, a health 
 A health officer officer, called the school physician or director of 
 for all the hygiene, whose duty will be to examine from time 
 
 schools needed, ^q time the pupils^ for the purpose of ascertaining 
 which of them need special treatment, and to pre- 
 scribe what that treatment shall be. His diity also 
 will be to inspect the hygienic conditions of the 
 schools, and to recommend needed improvements. 
 In addition to these duties, he will direct and assist 
 the teachers in carrying on the physical training of 
 the school, both in its educational and in its hygienic 
 aspects. 
 
 Thus will be assured in education the same con- 
 sideration for the body which is now believed to be 
 necessary for the mind. Physical training in its 
 broadest sense will become the business of the school 
 no less in the special correction of existing ills and 
 the prevention of greater ones than in the more 
 Health of bodj- general building up of the body. Health of body 
 and^of mind. will be regarded not only as coequal in educational 
 importance with health of mind, but as inextricably 
 bound lip with it, both in the processes of education 
 and in the ends of efficient service in the world. 
 
 * Papers in Penology, February, 1900, p. 29. Elmira, N. Y.
 
 School Hygiene 359 
 
 List of Books, Reports and Articles to which 
 Reference has been made in the Preceding Pages 
 
 1. Kotelmann, Ludwig: School Hygiene. Syra- 
 cuse, N. Y., 1899. 
 
 2. Seventh annual report of the Maine State Board 
 of Health. Augusta, Me., 1892. 
 
 3. Burrage and Bailey: School Sanitation and 
 Decoration. Boston, 1899. 
 
 4. Burnham, "William H. : Outlines of School Hy- 
 giene in Pedagogical Seminary, Vol. H., No. 1, 
 Worcester, Mass., 1892. 
 
 5. Report of the Public Education Association of 
 Philadelphia, 1900. 
 
 6. Clark, T. M. : Rural School Architecture. 
 Washington, D. C, 1880. 
 
 7. Carpenter, R. C. : article in the Brickbuilder for 
 March, 1900. Boston. 
 
 8. Woodbridge, S. H. : Schoolhouse Warming and 
 Ventilation. Connecticut. School Document, 
 No. 13, 1898. 
 
 9. Cambridge, Mass., school report for the year 
 1899. 
 
 10. Proceedings of the National Educational Associa- 
 tion for 1898. 
 
 11. Eulenberg and Bach: Schulgesundheitslehre. 
 Berlin, 1900. 
 
 12. Burgerstein and Netolitzky: Handbuch der 
 Schulhygiene. Jena, 1895. 
 
 13. Report of the Commissioner of Education for 
 1898-99. 
 
 14. Whitcomb, A. K. : An address upon the Physical 
 Defects of School Children. Lowell, Mass., 1900. 
 
 15. Report of the Chief of District Police and in- 
 spection department of Massachusetts for 1891.
 
 360 Appendix F 
 
 16. Lincoln, D. F. : Sanity of Mind. Boston, 1900. 
 
 17. Warner, Francis : The Study of Children. New 
 York, 1897. 
 
 18. Rowe, S. H. : The Physical Nature of the Child. 
 New York, 1899. 
 
 19. Annual report of the superintendent of the 
 Boston public schools. March, 1900. 
 
 20. Text-book of Physiology, edited by E. A. Schaef- 
 er. New York, 1898. 
 
 21. Report of the Commissioner of Education for 
 1897-98. 
 
 22. The Brookline, Mass., Education Society Year 
 Book for 1899-1900. 
 
 23. Warner, Francis : The Nervous System of the 
 Child. New York, 1900. 
 
 24. Proceedings of the National Educational As- 
 sociation for 1899. 
 
 25. Richards, Ellen H. : Sanitary Science in the 
 Home. Philadelphia, 1888. 
 
 26. Six lectures upon school hygiene, delivered 
 under the auspices of the Massachusetts Emer- 
 gency and Hygiene Association. Boston, 1885. 
 
 27. Richards and Woodman: Air, Water and Food. 
 New York, 1900. 
 
 28. Newsholme, Arthur: School Hygiene. Boston,. 
 1901. 
 
 29. Shaw, Edward E. : School Hygiene. New York^ 
 1901.
 
 General Plan of Studies for Elemen- 
 tary Schools 
 
 APPENDIX G. 
 
 It is not feasible in a work of this kind to present 
 a plan of studies which can be fully and universally 
 used. The most that may be done is to offer sug- 
 gestions in respect to helpful programmes of pre- 
 scribed work and to submit a general scheme which 
 may be a guide for superintendents and others in 
 making definite courses. 
 
 It will be the aim here first to give some statistics 
 to supplement and support the theories given in 
 previous pages and afterwards to bring together a 
 few suggestions as to the possible arrangement of 
 studies on lines already laid down.* 
 
 In discussing the general features of a course of 
 studies it was said that "the questions involved in 
 making a course of studies are determined by con- 
 siderations which relate to the child's nature and 
 capacity, and by the ends which are sought to be 
 secured in education." It is fair to presume that Considerations 
 
 these considerations have been the guide of persons determining 
 
 , . . , £ ^ J- • 1 a course of 
 
 m makmg the courses oi studies now m use, and any ,. 
 
 intelligent presentation of a new course or revision 
 
 of an old one should be governed, in some degree at 
 
 least, by the opinions of wise educators everywhere, 
 
 as embodied in the courses which they have made. 
 
 * For discussion relative to the making of a Course of 
 Studies see pp. 68-124. 
 
 (361)
 
 362 Appendix G 
 
 With this thought in mind the author caused to be 
 sent to various places in this country blanks calling 
 for significant facts in relation to the courses and 
 programmes then in actual operation. A few of the 
 results of this investigation are given below for the 
 purpose of supporting some of the statements pre- 
 viously made relating to the making of a course of 
 studies.f There are also given some of the results 
 of other investigations made upon the same lines as 
 well as some of the conclusions embodied in well 
 known reports upon courses of studies. 
 
 The investigation referred to above related to the 
 courses of studies pursued in sixty cities and towns 
 which might fairly be considered as representative 
 cities and towns of the country. The following 
 table shows the number of cities and towns in which 
 the various subjects are taught and in what grades 
 the subjects are taught. It should be said 
 that in 44 of the 60 places reporting there were 9 
 grades and in the other 16 places there were only 8 
 grades. 
 
 Table I. Showing the subjects taught in various 
 grades in sixty cities and towns : 
 
 TABLE I Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. 
 
 BRANCHES 12345 6789 
 
 reading 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 59 43 
 
 writing 60 60 60 60 60 59 55 52 36 
 
 spelling (lists) 34 46 53 58 58 58 56 54 38 
 
 J anguage and composition .. . 51 57 60 60 58 55 51 47 41 
 
 grammar - - - 2 4 15 34 51 40 
 
 Latin -----145 12 
 
 French or German - - - - 1 1 3 2 3 
 
 arithmetic 53 59 60 60 59 60 59 57 41 
 
 algebra - - - - - - 6 11 22 
 
 geometry - - - 2 4 5 6 8 6 
 
 history and biography 9 12 15 22 29 32 47 57 39 
 
 geography* 9 14 23 38 40 40 41 39 24 
 
 elem. sci. or nature study ... 50 51 52 52 52 51 50 47 37 
 
 singing 57 58 59 59 59 59 56 56 42 
 
 drawing 58 58 58 58 59 59 59 58 43 
 
 manual training or cooking .7 5 5 10 13 14 15 13 38 
 * 41 places reporting, 29 of them having 9 grades. 
 
 f A full report of this investigation is given in the Sixtieth,
 
 General Plan of Studies for Elementary Schools 363 
 
 From the above table it appears that the three R's 
 still hold the most prominent place in all the grades. 
 Singing and drawing are taught in nearly every Suljjects gen- 
 grade of all schools reported, while spelling and erally included 
 language have almost as good a showing. Geog- ^" * ^ course, 
 raphy and history are almost universally taught in 
 the upper grades, and their elements are not neg- 
 lected in a large proportion of the lower grades. 
 If the supplementary reading in these subjects had 
 been counted there would doubtless have been a 
 better showing in all the lower grades. 
 
 The most surprising figures are those given in con- 
 nection with elementary science or nature study. 
 That more than five-sixths of all the grades below 
 the 8th and a scarcely less proportion in the 8th 
 and 9th grades are receiving instruction in this 
 branch is mose gratifying. It will be remembered 
 that elementary science was one of the so-called 
 high school branches recommended in the report of 
 the Committee of Ten. It is believed that it has 
 found its way into a large number of the best schools 
 since the report was made. The other branches 
 recommended, viz., Latin, French or German, 
 algebra and geometry, have not fared so well, and 
 yet more than one-half of the whole number of 
 courses reported have in them one or more of these 
 subjects. 
 
 Accompanying the replies from which the above 
 table was made were expressions of opinion from 
 superintendents of schools or principals relating to 
 the success or non-success of the introduction of 
 •extra studies in the grammar grades. With few 
 
 Sixty-first and Sixty-second Reports of the Massachusetts 
 State Board of Education.
 
 364 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 Course follow- 
 ed in English 
 elementary 
 schools. 
 
 Course in 
 French elemen- 
 tary schools. 
 
 exceptions the testimony is all in favor of a retention 
 of the studies. 
 
 As is well known, the subjects of instruction in 
 England, France and Germany are determined by 
 the central government, and are followed, with 
 minor exceptions, in large and small places alike. 
 
 In England the public elementary schools receive 
 children at the age of 7 years. The course of 7 
 years following the infant school course includes 
 the following subjects: reading, writing, arithmetic, 
 English, and geography. 
 
 English, geography, elementary science and needle- 
 work (for girls) are class subjects, but only two of 
 them can be taken, one of which must be English. 
 Drawing and singing may also be taught. 
 Any two of the following subjects may be taken by 
 pupils of standards V., VI., VII. (last three years 
 of the course) : algebra, Euclid and mensuration, 
 mechanics, Latin, French, animal physiology, botany, 
 principles of agriculture, physics, domestic economy 
 (for girls). 
 
 In France the subjects of instruction in the ele- 
 mentary schools {ecoles primaires elementaires) are 
 as follows: 
 
 1. Subjects and exercises which pertain to phys- 
 ical education, including hygiene, gymnastics, mili- 
 tary exercises (without arms), manual training. 
 
 2. Subjects which pertain to intellectual educa- 
 tion, including reading, writing, French language, 
 history, geography, civics, arithmetic, geometry, 
 drawing, elementary science (animals, plants, 
 minerals, physiology and the elements of physics 
 and chemistry), agriculture, singing. 
 
 3. Subjects pertaining to moral education, includ- 
 ing the memorizing of poems, and regular talks and
 
 General Plan of Studies for Elementary Schools 365 
 
 lessons upon duties in the family, in society, and in 
 the state. 
 
 The above course covers 7 years, from the age of 
 6 to 13 years. 
 
 The courses of higher schools, the Scales primaires 
 superieures and the cours complementaires, are based 
 directly upon the work done in the lower schools. 
 The first year of these courses corresponds with the 
 8th or 9th year of our schools and adds algebra and 
 either German or English to the above subjects. 
 
 In Germany there are, in general, two kinds of 
 elementary schools, the first and by far the most 
 numerous being the public schools, which are free 
 in most parts of the empire. These schools, known 
 as the people's schools {Volkschulen) or community 
 schools (Gemeinde-schulen) , have a course from 6 to 
 8 years in length, generally 8, comprising the follow- Subjects of 
 ing subjects: religion, language (German), reading, "j^^ p^^p^^^g '^ 
 writing, arithmetic, history, geography, natural his- schools of 
 tory, geometry, physics, drawing, singing and gym- Germany, 
 nasties. In some places a foreign language (either 
 Latin, French or English) and algebra are added to 
 the course. This course, unlike the elementary 
 school courses in France and America, is not directly 
 connected with the high school courses, inasmuch as 
 the latter courses demand much more foreign 
 language study in the first six or eight years of 
 school life than is given in the common or people's 
 school. 
 
 The second kind of elementary schools are in- 
 cluded in the lower grades of the various kinds of Courses in 
 high schools and the preparatory schools ( Vorschul- i>"'P!iratory 
 
 en), which generally have a course 3 years in length. , '^*^'*''"" 
 
 " o ^ -J - ^ l()W(!r classes of 
 
 Upon the supposition that the elementary course ni i,j^,|, schools in 
 
 these schools covers a period of 8 years, 3 years in Germany.
 
 366 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 Report of the 
 Committee of 
 Ten. 
 
 Report of the 
 Committee of 
 Fifteen. 
 
 the preparatory school and 5 years in the high school 
 proper, the time given to Latin is 5 years ; to French 
 or English, 2 to 4 years; and to Greek, 2 years, in 
 addition to the subjects mentioned above. The 
 lower grade of high schools does not teach Greek 
 and the girls' high schools do not teach either Latin 
 or Greek. 
 
 The committee appointed by the National Educa- 
 tional Association, known as the "Committee of 
 Ten," recommended in its report of 1893, in respect 
 to subjects not ordinarily pursued in grammar 
 schools, (1) that Latin be begun in the grammar 
 school, (2) that German or French be begun in the 5th 
 year of school and continued through the course of 8 
 years, (3) that algebraic expressions and symbols be 
 used in simple equations in connection with arithme- 
 tic, (4) that concrete geometry be studied from the 
 5th to the 8th year inclusive, and (5) that natural 
 history and elementary science be taken throughout 
 the course. 
 
 The report of the Committee of Fifteen, read at 
 the Cleveland meeting of the Department of Super- 
 intendence, in 1895, recommended that the following 
 subjects be taught (the figures denote the year of 
 school): reading, 1-8; penmanship, 1-6; spelling 
 lists, 4-6 ; language and grammar. 1-7 ; Latin or 
 French or German, 8; arithmetic, 1-6; algebra, 7, 
 8; geography, 2-8 ; natural science and hygiene, 1-8 ; 
 history of United States, 7, 8 ; Constitution of United 
 States, 8; general history and biography, 1-8; 
 physical culture, 1-8; vocal music, 1-8; drawing^ 
 1-8 ; manual training, sewing and cooking, 7, 8. 
 
 From a review of the courses pursued in the 
 English, French, and German elementary schools and 
 the courses recommended by the Committee of Ten
 
 General Plan of Studies for Elementary Schools 367 
 
 and the Committee of Fifteen, it will be seen that 
 there is practical unanimity in respect to carrying 
 on, during the whole or a part of the time, reading, 
 language, penmanship (including spelling, composi- 
 tion, writing, and grammar), arithmetic, elementary 
 science or nature study, physiology and hygiene, 
 geography, history. 
 
 The points of agreement or disagreement in all 
 other subjects appear in the following table : 
 
 Tabic II. Years given to a foreign language, alge- Comparative 
 bra, geometry and manual training, in English, table. 
 French, and German courses and in courses recom- 
 mended by the Committee of Ten and the Committee 
 of Fifteen. 
 
 [Letters used to denote the courses are used as follows: E. 
 English Public Elementary School. Fr. French Elementary 
 School. G. V. German People's School. G. G. Lower classes 
 of the German Gymnasium and the Preparatory Department. 
 G. R. Lower classes of the German Eeal-Gymnasium and the 
 Preparatory Department. G. 0. Lower classes of the German 
 Oberrealschul and the Preparatory Department. T. Eeport of 
 Committee of Ten. F. Report of Committee of Fifteen.] 
 
 Latin, ... E* 5th, 6th, 7th. 
 
 G. G. 4th to 8th. 
 G. R. 4th to 8th. 
 T. Time not given. 
 
 F. Either Latin, French or 
 
 German, 8th. 
 One or more mod- E* 5th, 6th, 7th. 
 ern languages. G. G. 7th, 8th. 
 
 G. R. 6th to 8th, French; 8th, 
 
 English. 
 G. 0. 4th to 8th, French; 7th 
 8th, English.
 
 368 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 T. 5th to 8th, German or 
 French, optional. 
 
 F, 8th, either Latin, French 
 
 or German. 
 Algebra . . . E* 5th, 6th, 7th. 
 
 G. G. Custom varies as to time 
 
 and extent. 
 G. R. Custom varies as to time 
 
 and extent. 
 G. 0. Custom varies as to time 
 
 and extent. 
 T. With arithmetic in latter 
 
 part of the course. 
 
 F. 7th, 8th. 
 Geometry . . E* 5th, 6th, 7th. 
 
 Fr. All grades. 
 
 G. V. 7th, 8th, constructive and 
 
 demonstrative. 
 G. G. Custom varies as to time 
 
 and extent. 
 G. R. Custom varies as to time 
 
 and extent. 
 G. 0. Custom varies as to time 
 and extent. 
 One period a week during 
 
 last 4 years. 
 Needlework for girls re- 
 quired in all grades. 
 All grades, — cardboard 
 and woodwork for 
 boys ; needlework for 
 girls. 
 G. V. Sewing required in higher 
 grades of girls' schools. 
 Optional. F. 7th, 8th. 
 
 T. 
 
 Manual Training E. 
 
 Fr.
 
 General Plan of Studies for Elementary Schools 369 
 
 Time Limits 
 
 In the inquiry alluded to above, information was 
 
 sought respecting the time devoted in recitation to 
 
 each subject pursued in the elementary schools. 
 
 From the daily programmes of 76 schools in as many 
 
 different municipalities of this country ten typical Recitation time 
 
 programmes were selected for careful study and ^^^ ^^^^^ group 
 
 _, . „ . -.1 of subjects in 
 
 comparison. For convenience or comparison with ^^^^ tvnical 
 
 the results of other investigations the subjects were programmes. 
 
 grouped as follows: 
 
 1. Language, including reading, writing^ lan- 
 guage lessons, grammar, Latin, French, German. 
 
 2. Mathematics, including number work, arithme- 
 tic, algebra, and geometry. 
 
 3. Literature— history, including literature, civil 
 government biography, and history. 
 
 4. Natural science, including nature study, ele- 
 mentary science, and geography. 
 
 5. Miscellaneous, including singing, drawing, and 
 manual training. ^ 
 
 The following table shows the average percentage 
 of recitation time given in each grade to each of the 
 first four groups of subjects as outlined in the ten 
 typical programmes mentioned above. 
 
 TABLE III Gr. Gr. Gr. • Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Aver- 
 
 ORODPS OF 8T0DIE8 1 13456789 age 
 
 I. Language 65.7 56.0 49.1 34.7 31.5 32.0 34.3 32.5 27.1 40.3 
 
 II. Mathematics.... 14. 4 18.5 17.1 17.6 17.4 18.1 18.5 20.0 25.9 18.6 
 
 ill. Science 12.4 12.1 12.8 21.6 24.5 23.6 22.7 19.4 18.2 18.5 
 
 IV. Literature-history 7.4 13.1 20.8 25.8 26.2 25.8 24.2 27.7 28.6 22.1 
 
 The percentages contained in the above tal)le may 
 be regarded as a fair average of allotments made in 
 the designated groups of studies in our best schools, 
 and represent some of the best thought of the 
 country respecting the relative value of these groups.
 
 370 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 Time for each 
 group in 
 various schools 
 of this and 
 other 
 countries. 
 
 In the report from which the above table is taken 
 a careful review was made of the recommendations 
 in respect to time allotments of the Committee of 
 Ten, and of the Committee of Fifteen. Reference 
 also was made to the Elementary Courses of France 
 and Germany, and to an investigation in California 
 in which the conclusions of educators were sought 
 as to the proportion of time which should be given 
 in each grade to each of the four groups of subjects 
 named above. Several separate tables were made 
 embodying these recommendations and practices, 
 and upon them a careful estimate was made as to 
 the relative time which should be given to each 
 group of subjects in a proposed course. The follow- 
 ing table summarizes all the results given in per- 
 centages of time allowed for each group of subjects: 
 
 TABLE IV 
 
 pupil's age and grade 
 
 CALIFORNIA 
 REPORT 
 
 
 ^ a 
 
 O O 
 
 j3 « 
 S ° 
 
 as 
 
 
 a3 
 
 o o 
 
 ( I 65.7 50.0 85.0 - - -X I 45 
 
 Age 5 to 6, called Grade 1 ...) II 14.4 16.6 5.0 - - -?-3lO 
 
 in Nine Year's Course 1 III 12.4 16.6 5.0 - - -5)30 
 
 ( IV 7.4 16.6 5.0 - - -tc ( 15 
 
 ( I 56.0 50.0 50.0 60.9 50.0 55.5 55 
 
 Age 6 to 7, Grade 1 or Grade ) II 18.5 16.6 15.0 9.7 14.2 16.6 15 
 
 2 ) III 12.1 16.6 15.0 19.5 14.2 16.6 15 
 
 ( IV 13.1 16.6 20.0 9.7 21.4 11.1 15 
 
 ( I 49.1 50.0 50.0 60.9 50.0 50.0 50 
 
 Age 7 to 8, Grade 2 or Grade ) II 17.1 16.6 25.0 9.7 14.2 22.2 15 
 
 3 ) III 12.8 16.6 10.0 19.5 14.2 16.6 15 
 
 ( IV 20.8 16.6 15.0 9.7 21.4 11.1 20 
 
 1 I 34.7 33.3 50.0 50.0 41.1 52.3 35 
 
 Age 8 to 9 Grade 3 or Grade ) II 17.6 25.0 20.0 16.6 23.5 19.0 20 
 
 4 J III 21.6 25.0 15.0 23.3 23.5 14.2 20 
 
 ( IV 25.8 16.6 15.0 10.0 23.5 14.2 25 
 
 { I 31.5 33.3 50.0 40.0 26.3 31.8 30 
 
 Age 9 to 10, Grade 4 or Grade ) II 17.4 25.0 20 14.2 21.0 18.1 20 
 
 5 ) III 24.5 25.0 15.0 22.8 21.0 13.6 25 
 
 ( IV 26.2 16.6 15.0 22.8 31.5 36.3 25
 
 General Plan of Studies Jor Elementary Schools 371 
 
 ( I 32.0 33.3 40 37.7 26.3 32.0 30 
 
 Age 10 to 11, Grade 5 or ) 11 18.1 25.0 25.0 15.7 21.0 16.0 20 
 
 Grade 6 ) III 23.6 25.0 20.0 23.2 21.0 16.0 25 
 
 ( IV 25.8 16.6 15.0 23.2 31.5 36.0 25 
 
 ( I 34.3 25.0 40.0 37.7 26.3 28.0 30 
 
 Age 11 to 12, Grade 6 or ) U 18.5 25.0 25.0 15.7 21.0 20.0 20 
 
 Grade 7 1 III 22.7 25.0 20.0 23.2 21.0 16.0 25 
 
 ( IV 24.2 25.0 15.0 23.2 31.5 35.6 25 
 
 ( I 32.5 25.0 35.0 18.5 - 28.0 30 
 
 Age 12 to 13. Grade 7 or ) II 20.0 25.0 25.0 18.5 - 24.0 20 
 
 Grades ) III 19.4 25.0 20.0 18.5 -16.0 20 
 
 ( IV 27.7 25.0 20.0 44.4 - 32.0 30 
 
 ( I 27.1 25.0 35.0 18.5 - 30.4 30 
 
 Age 13 to 14, Grade 8 or ) II 25.9 25.0 25.0 18.5 - 26.0 25 
 
 Grade 9 ) III 18.2 25.0 20.0 18.5 -17.3 15 
 
 ' IV 28.6 25.0 20.0 44.4 - 26.0 30 
 
 It will be seen that the above table has no refer- 
 ence to the fifth group of subjects which includes 
 singing, drawing, and manual training. To this 
 group of subjects the following percentages may 
 perhaps fairly express the relative time which should 
 be given in each grade : 1st grade, 24 ; 2d grade, 24 ; 
 3d grade, 22; 4th grade, 20; 5th grade, 20; 6th 
 grade, 20; 7th grade, 20; 8th grade, 20. 
 
 A readjustment of percentages so as to express 
 the relative percentage of time which should be 
 given to each of all groups of subjects in all the 
 grades gives the following table: 
 
 Showing the approximate percentage, in a proposed Approximate 
 course of studies, of the entire recitation time of a po'centagc of 
 pupil or group of pupils spent in I. Language {includ- 
 
 rt'citatiou'time 
 
 ill a proposed 
 mg reading, writing, spelling, composition, English (.omse for 
 
 grammar and a foreign language), II. Mathematics tlomentary 
 (including arithmetic, algebra, geometry and book- sc^iools. 
 keeping), III. Elementary science (including nature 
 study, physiology, hygiene and geography), IV. His- 
 tory (including English literature, civil government, 
 biography and history proper), V. Miscellaneous 
 exercises (including singing, drawing and manual 
 training).
 
 372 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 Actual time to 
 be spent in 
 each group of 
 subjects. 
 
 TABLE V Sub- Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. 
 
 GROUPS OF STUDIES prim. 123.456 78 
 
 I. Language 29 40 37 28 24 24 24 24 24 
 
 n. Mathematics 6 12 12 15 16 16 16 16 20 
 
 III. Science 20 12 12 15 20 20 20 16 12 
 
 IV. History 10 12 15 20 20 20 20 24 24 
 
 V. Miscellaneous 35* 24 24 22 20 20 20 20 20 
 
 ♦Including physical exercises, games, manual training, form study, etc. 
 
 The above percentages may be said to represent 
 fairly the present relative value in education of the 
 given groups of subjects as expressed in the most 
 carefully planned courses of study in this country. 
 Besides serving as a basis for further investigations, 
 it is hoped that they will serve a tv^^ofold purpose, 
 first, in testing time programmes in present use, and, 
 secondly, in assisting superintendents and teachers 
 to make new programmes. To show a possible use of 
 the table in the latter direction the following time 
 programme is given, in which the number of minutes 
 a week of recitation time is found after subtracting 
 from the entire school time the time given to open- 
 ing exercises, to study or busy work and to recesses 
 and physical exercises, the school day being 51/2 
 hours long and there being 5 days in the week. 
 
 Time programme, showing the number of minutes 
 a tveek spent in recitation by a pupil or group of 
 pupils in five groups of subjects; also the number of 
 minutes a week given to opening exercises and recesses 
 and to study in school. 
 
 TABLE VI Sub- Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr 
 
 GROUPS OF STUDIES pri. 1234 56 7 8" 
 
 I. Language 325 360 333 273 234 240 240 276 276 
 
 II. Mathematics.... 75 108 108 146 156 160 160 184 230 
 
 III. Eiem. Sci 225 108 108 146 195 200 200 184 138 
 
 IV. Hist. & Lit 125 108 135 195 195 200 200 276 276 
 
 v. Misc 450t 216 216 215 195 200 200 230 230 
 
 Opening exercises, 
 physical exercises 
 
 and recesses — 250 250 225 225 200 200 200 200 
 
 Study in school — 500 500 450 450 450 450 300 300 
 
 Total school time. 1,200 1,650 1,650 1,650 1,650 1,650 1,650 1,650 1,650 
 
 ♦Figures in this column indicate the number of minutes spent in 
 recitation and busy work taken together. 
 
 tincluding physical exercises, games, kindergarten occupations, etc.
 
 General Plan of Studies for Elementary Schools 373 
 
 The recitation time indicated in the above pro- 
 gramme is intended to include the time more or 
 less of which is spent under the direction of the 
 teacher, or which is spent in quiet work by the pupil, 
 as in some language work, nature study, drawing 
 and writing. The study time includes only the time 
 that is spent by the pupil without direction or aid 
 from the teacher. 
 
 Of course the time allowed for busy work or study 
 will depend upon the number of sections or groups 
 in which the recitations are heard. The above time 
 programme is made on the supposition that the class 
 or school is divided into three sections in the first 
 and second grades and into two sections in all other 
 grades, and that in some of the exercises the three 
 or two sections recite together. 
 
 A re-arrangement of the above table so as to in- 
 clude literatur in the language group changes the 
 percentages in the first and fourth group as shown 
 in the following table : 
 
 Showing the approximate percentage, in a proposed Percentage of 
 
 course of studies, of the entire recitation time of a time with 
 
 pupil or group of pupils spent in I. Language {includ- literature in- 
 . ,. ... „. -,• Ti 7- 7 eluded m the 
 
 mg reading, writing, spelling, composition, Lngiish ]^^„„^lage 
 
 grammar and literature and a foreign language), g,oup. 
 //. Mathematics {including arilhmdic, algebra, ge- 
 ometry and bookkeeping), 111. Elemcntanj science 
 {including nature study, physiology, hygiene and 
 geography) , IV. History {including civil government, 
 biography and history proper), V. Miscellaneous 
 exercises {including singing, drawing and manual 
 training). ^
 
 374: 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 TABLE VII. Sub- Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. 
 
 GROUPS OF STUDIES pri. 1 3 3 4 „5 „ „'^„ „7„ „„^„ 
 
 I Language ...29.0 42.0 42.0 38.0 32.0 32.0 32.0 33.0 33.0 
 
 II' Mathematics. 6.0 12.0 12.0 15.0 16.0 16.0 16.0 16.0 20.0 
 
 III Science 20.0 12.0 12.0 15.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 16.0 12.0 
 
 IV.' History 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 12.0 12.0 12.0 15.0 15.0 
 
 VI. Miscellaneous 35.0* 24.0 24.0 22.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 
 
 *Inc!uding physical exercises, games, manual training, form study, etc. 
 
 It should be understood that the figures in the 
 above tables indicate the average for the year, so 
 that if, as is likely to be the case, it is desired to 
 limit the number of studies pursued at any one time 
 to three or four, the aggregate number of minutes 
 and the average percentage of time for the year 
 will be the same as indicated although at a given 
 time there may be a greater or less number in given 
 studies. For example, if it is decided to carry 
 on geography in the 6th grade only fifteen weeks of 
 the year, (40 weeks) the average weekly time spent 
 upon that subject will be determined by multiplying 
 the number of minutes spent a day by 15 and 
 dividing the product of these numbers by 40. 
 
 Suggested 
 course for a 
 sub-primary 
 class. 
 
 Suggested Course of Studies for a Sub-Primary 
 Class Admitting children five years of age 
 
 Language and Literature.— {Time spent daily in 
 recitation and busy work for a single group of 
 pupils, about 90 minutes.) Story telling,— selec- 
 tions from kindergarten stories, myths and fairy 
 tales. Reading of words in sentences on blackboard 
 and chart and on picture slips. Reading sentences 
 from blackboard and chart and on picture slips. 
 Phonic drill. Some analysis and synthesis by sounds. 
 Writing on tracing slips, blackboard and paper. 
 Large movements. 
 
 Number and Form. — (Time spent daily, about 15 
 minutes.) Fourth and fifth kindergarten gifts for 
 counting and combining.
 
 General Plan of Studies for Elementary Schools 375 
 
 Nature Study.— (Time spent daily, about 45 rain- 
 "utes.) Recognition of common plants and trees, and 
 their principal parts. Observation of and talks 
 about familiar domestic animals and birds. Some 
 resemblances and differences noted. Adaptation of 
 parts to uses observed. 
 
 Physical and Manual Exercises.— (Tirae spent 
 daily, about 90 minutes.) Plays, games and calis- 
 thenics. Kindergarten occupations, including sew- 
 ing, weaving, cutting, folding, peas-work, clay-model- 
 ling, bead-stringing, chain-making, drawing, paint- 
 ing, sketching from memory and imagination, 
 kindergarten and nursery songs. 
 
 OuTiJNE OF A Course of Studies for Primary and 
 
 Grammar Schools 
 
 The following outline suggests a possible adjust- Outline of a 
 
 ment of primary and grammar school work to the course for 
 
 conditions indicated. While it is probably in- P"™ary and 
 
 grammar 
 sufficient to meet fully the needs of any system oi gdioois. 
 
 schools, it is hoped that it will fulfill in some degree 
 the requirements of a general course, upon which 
 more detailed courses may be constructed suited to 
 various localities and conditions. The absence of 
 repeated directions to review previous work and 
 to follow proper lines of teaching indicates the pre- 
 sumption of professional ability on the part of 
 teachers. A course of studies is not a manual relat- 
 ing to methods and theories of teaching, however 
 useful such a statement of methods and theories 
 may be for some teachers. Happy is it for those 
 schools whose courses of studies may presuppose the 
 employment of teachers whose knowledge of the 
 principles of teaching is undoubted, and whose 
 judgment is fully trusted in the selection of mate-
 
 376 Appendix G 
 
 rials within the bounds of an outline not greatly 
 extended. 
 
 It should be understood that this course is in- 
 tended for pupils who enter school at six years of 
 age, and who come either from the kindergarten or 
 sub-primary class. Some pupils who have taken the 
 course outlined for the sub-primary class may be 
 able to take the work outlined for the 1st grade in 
 less than a year. 
 
 The figures in the left-hand column indicate the 
 year and semester during which the work in parallel 
 columns is supposed to be done. For example, 2' 
 means the first-half of the second year. The 
 figures in decimals above each year's outline of work 
 denote the approximate percentage of recitation 
 time which a pupil or group of pupils should give 
 to the allotted group of subjects. These figures are 
 taken from Table VI., page 372.
 
 Conrse of Studies 
 
 for 
 
 Primary and Grammar Schools
 
 378 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 GROUP I. (.42) 
 
 <;jrade (a) Reading and literature (b) Writ- 
 and ing 
 
 Semes- . . 
 
 ter. (c) Oral and written Composition and 
 Spelling. 
 
 (d) Memory work. 
 
 (e) Grammar., 
 
 GROUP II. 
 
 (a) Arithmetic. 
 
 (b) Form and geometrical Exercises. 
 
 (c) Algebra. 
 
 Xd) Book-keeping. 
 
 (a) Words and sentences from black- 
 board, chart and reader. 
 
 Analysis and synthesis of words by 
 sound. 
 
 Careful selection of folklore and fairy 
 stories told by the teacher. (See list 
 of books) 
 
 (a) Combinations of numbers to ten 
 with and without objects. Oral 
 work only during first ten weeks Or- 
 iginal story problems Use terms one- 
 half and one-fourth as fractional parts 
 of numbers. Teach quart and pint. 
 
 (b) Copying words and sentences from 
 blackboard and slips. Copying sin- 
 gle letters. 
 
 (c) Telling of stories told or read. 
 
 (d) Learning and reciting of short pieces- 
 a minimum average of two lines a day. 
 
 (b) General comparison of blocks in 
 size-blocks being from one to ten 
 inches in length and one inch square 
 at base. 
 
 (a) Reading easier pieces of four or more 
 first readers. 
 
 Analysis and synthesis of words by 
 sound and letter. 
 Stories continued. 
 
 (b) Copying sentences from models and 
 writing from dictation. 
 Correct forms of single letters taught. 
 
 (a) Combinations of numbers to twenty 
 with and without objects. 
 
 Teach dozen, quart, gallon, pint, gill 
 dime, foot, inch. 
 
 Fractional parts of numbers (one- 
 half, one-third, etc.) 
 Original and fractional problems. 
 
 (b) Comparison of edges and surfaces of 
 inch cube with those of other blocks 
 (one-half, one-third, etc.) 
 
 (c) Telling of stories told or read. Dic- 
 tation of short sentences. Teach 
 pupils to write their name; school; 
 town; father's (Mr.) name; mother's 
 (Mrs.) name; teacher's name. Period 
 and question mark. 
 
 (d) Learning and reciting of short pieces. 
 Review first half year's work fre- 
 quently — minimum as before.
 
 Outline of a Course of Studies 
 
 379 
 
 GROUP III. (.12) 
 
 GROUP IV. (.10) 
 
 GROUP V. (.24) 
 
 (a) Nature study and Ele- (a) History and biography (a) Drawing and art. 
 mentary science 
 
 (b) Geography (b) Civil Government. (b) Manual training 
 
 (c) Physiology and hygiene. (c) Singing. 
 
 (a) Recognition of common 
 plants and trees. Teach 
 principal parts. 
 Observe flesh-eating ani- 
 mals (dog, cat) for habits 
 and adaptation of parts to 
 habits; pictures of un- 
 familiar animals for com- 
 parison. 
 
 (b) Uses of plants and their 
 parts. 
 
 Uses of animals and their 
 parts to man. Animal 
 productions, 
 
 (c) Simple talks upon play- 
 ing, sleei)ing, eating; also 
 upon clothing and home- 
 life. 
 
 (a) The telling of carefully (a) Free illustrative sketch- 
 selected folklore and fairy ing from memory and im- 
 stories in connection with agination. The solar spec- 
 the work in literature. truni for c<ilor study of 
 pictures for story. 
 
 (b) Paper folding and kin- 
 dergarten weaving. 
 
 (c) Breathing and phonic 
 exercises. 
 
 Dictation and memory 
 exercises. Tone building on ' 
 music ladder (not above 
 fifth tone). 
 Rote singing 
 
 (a) Recognition of common 
 rocks. 
 
 Buds observed. Naming 
 of common plants and 
 trees. 
 
 <b) Uses of rocks to man. 
 
 Mineral productions. 
 
 Uses of plants and trees 
 
 and their parts. 
 
 Vegetable productions. 
 <c) Talks upon school life 
 
 and streets. 
 
 Talks u[)on body as a 
 
 whole, parts, habits, etc. 
 
 (a) The telling of carefully 
 selected folklore and fairy 
 stories in connection with 
 the work in literature. 
 
 (a) Blackboard drawing, free 
 nu>\eiiit'nt . Straight lines 
 aii<l cupM's. 
 
 Drawing from nature sim- 
 ple gra.ssos and flowers 
 n«ing colored crayons. 
 Six standard colorn 
 
 (b) Tape and rug woaviiig. 
 Rafiu braiding and sewing 
 
 (r) Breathing and phonic 
 F.xcrci^cM 
 Tone builrliiig 
 Rote singing
 
 380 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 GROUP I. (.42) 
 Grade (a) Selections in the order of difficulty 
 
 and 
 Semes- 
 ter. 
 
 2 
 
 from several first readers. Telling 
 and reading of carefully selected 
 folklore and fairy stories. 
 Analysis and synthesis of words con- 
 tinued. 
 
 (b) Copying and writing from dictation. 
 Practice upon forms of single letters, 
 if needed. 
 
 Oral and written compositions (repro- 
 ductions, etc.) daily. 
 Common abbreviations Uses of Cap- 
 itals. Dictations for correct forms 
 words, of spelling, etc. 
 Memory work reviewed and con- 
 tinued. 
 
 GROUP II . (.12) 
 
 (a) Numbers from one to one hundred :- 
 
 (1) Combinations of tens and of tens 
 with other numbers. 
 
 (2) All combinations to fifty, no 
 added or subtracted number or multi- 
 plier or divisor to be greater than ten. 
 
 (3) Application to familiar weights 
 and measures. Comparisons in prob- 
 lems. 
 
 (4) Fractional parts of numbers. 
 
 (5) Original problems. 
 
 (6) Volumes and surfaces of inch 
 cube and two inch cube compared. 
 Perimeters of inch cube and of other 
 cubes compared. 
 
 1 
 
 (a) Easier portions of several second 
 
 Telling and reading folklore and fairy 
 stories continued. 
 
 Daily phonic drill for enunciation and 
 v/ord building. 
 
 (b) Copying and writing from dictation 
 with pen and ink. 
 
 Teach correct forms of single letters, 
 if needed. 
 
 (a) Numbers from 1 to 100: — 
 
 (1) All combinations, the added or 
 subtracted number or multiplier or 
 divisor to be at first not greater than 
 10 — afterward greater than 10. 
 
 (2) Applications to familiar weights 
 and measures. Comparisons in prob- 
 lems. 
 
 (3) Fractional parts of numbers 
 
 (4) Original problems 
 
 (b) Comparison in size of prisms each 
 of whose bases is one inch square. 
 Comparison of surfaces of same prisms 
 
 (c) Oral and written compositions 
 (reproductions, etc.) daily. 
 Dictation for teaching use of capitals, 
 common abbreviations, period, inter- 
 rogation and exclamation mark. 
 Spelling of common words. 
 
 (d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
 tinued.
 
 Outline of a Course of Studies 
 
 381 
 
 GROUP III. (.12) 
 
 (a) Common plants and 
 trees recognized and 
 named; 
 
 OVjserve grass eating an- 
 imals (cow, horse, sheep) 
 for habits and adaptation 
 of parts to habits. 
 Use pictures of unfamiliar 
 animals of same class for 
 comparison. 
 
 GROUP IV. (.10) 
 
 (a) Telling and reading of 
 stories adai)ted to matur- 
 ity and needs of children. 
 Select with reference 
 to season and to what is 
 done in nature study and 
 reading. (See list of 
 books.) 
 
 GROUP V. (.24) 
 
 (a) Illustrative drawing 
 Study of pictures for story 
 Memory and imagination 
 sketches with help of live 
 objects, (birds and an- 
 imals) 
 
 Six standard colors with 
 water colors. 
 
 <b) Useful vegetable and 
 animal productions. Lo- 
 cation of plants observed. 
 Position, direction and 
 relative distances 
 
 (b) Paper folding and cut- 
 ting. 
 
 Rafia weaving, braiding 
 and sewing. 
 
 (c) Simple lessons continued 
 with playing, eating, 
 sleeping, clothing and life 
 in the home and school 
 room. 
 
 (c) Breathing and 
 exercises. 
 Tone building 
 Rote singing. 
 
 phonic 
 
 (a) History of plant life 
 from seed to seed. Ob- 
 serve bean and pea. 
 Plant .several kinds of 
 seeds for observation and 
 comparison. 
 
 Observe and name com- 
 mon plants and trees of 
 neighborhood and culti- 
 vated plants. 
 
 (h) Plants and parts used 
 for food and clothing. 
 Use of seeds to man. 
 Forms of water. Direc- 
 tion and distance applied 
 to familiar bodies of land 
 and water. 
 
 Animal and vegetable pro- 
 ductions of the town. 
 
 (c) Lessons upon use and 
 care of five .senses. Spec- 
 ial exercises to develop 
 each sense. 
 
 (a) Telling and reading of 
 stories. Select with ref- 
 erence to capacity of 
 children, to the season and 
 to what is done in nature 
 study and reading. (See 
 list of books.) 
 
 (a) Blackboard drawing; 
 related curves and straight 
 lines. 
 
 Drawing from nature sim- 
 ple grasses and flowers, 
 using water colors. 
 
 (b) Ruling lines of definite 
 lengths and division.-s. 
 Cutting to line with scis- 
 sors. 
 
 Rafia weaving, braiding 
 and sewing. 
 Garden work. 
 
 (c) Breathing and 
 exercises. 
 Tone building 
 Roto .singing 
 
 phonic
 
 382 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 GROUP I. (.38) 
 
 Grade (a) Difficult portions of second readers 
 and and carefully selected folklore, fairy 
 
 Semes- tales and myths. 
 ter. . 
 
 (b) Copying and writing from dictation. 
 
 GROUP II. (.15) 
 
 (a) Numbers to 1,000. 
 
 (1) Addition, subtraction, multipli- 
 cation and division, with and without 
 objects. 
 
 (2) Applications to familiar weights 
 and measure.?. 
 
 (3) Comparison of weights and meas- 
 ures with different units. 
 
 (4) Original problems 
 
 (b) Comparison of surfaces of cubes and 
 prisms with surface of inch cube. 
 Comparison of perimeter of known 
 surfaces with perimeter of square 
 inch. 
 
 3' 
 
 (c) Daily composition (oral and written) 
 and dictation exercises. Attention 
 given to abbreviations, spelling, 
 punctuation, use of correct words and 
 correct forms of words. 
 
 (d) Pieces of previous year reviewed. 
 Carefully selected prose and poetry 
 continued. 
 
 (a) Third readers and books of cot- 
 responding grade. Selected stories 
 continued. (See list of books.) 
 
 (a) Numbers to 1,000. 
 
 (1) All operations. 
 
 (2) Applications in common weights 
 and measures with comparisons. 
 
 (3) Original problems. 
 
 (b) Copying and writing from dictation. 
 
 (b) Measurements of familiar surfaces 
 and practical applications. Com- 
 parisons with various units. 
 
 3' 
 
 (c) Daily composition and dictation 
 exercises. Attention given to spell- 
 ing, punctuation, use of capitals, 
 choice of words and forms of words; 
 also to clearness and originality. 
 
 (d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
 tinued.
 
 Outline of a Course of Studies 
 
 383 
 
 GROUP III. ( 15) 
 
 ^a) Recognizing and naming 
 common plants and trees 
 and grouping according to 
 habitat. 
 
 GROUP IV. (.10) 
 
 (a) (1) Stories connected 
 with history of town and 
 neighborhood, pioneers and 
 traditions. 
 
 (2) Thanksgiving and 
 Christmas celebrations 
 
 GROUP V. (.22) 
 
 (a) Free-hand drawing of 
 plants and other common 
 objects. Hues of color by- 
 means of colored papers- 
 and in washes. 
 
 (b) Home geography in- 
 cluding local surroundings 
 and industries. 
 
 Facts relating to surface, 
 soil, and productions. 
 Primitive peoples and oc- 
 cuiiations. 
 
 (c) Previous work reviewed. 
 Lessons connected with 
 playing, working, resting, 
 eating, clothing and clean- 
 liness. 
 
 Comparison of parts of 
 body with corresponding 
 I)arts in lower animals. 
 Adaptation <A each part 
 to special use. 
 
 (b) Garden work 
 
 Rafia work in baskets, 
 mats, dolls' hats, etc. 
 
 (c) Breathing, phonic dic- 
 tation and memory exer- 
 cises continued. Tone 
 building in music ladder. 
 All tones of scale. Rote 
 singing. 
 
 (a) (1) Study birds for hab- 
 its and adaptation of parts 
 to habits. Comi)arative 
 study of feathers. 
 
 (2) Changes in plant and 
 animal life in spring. 
 Grouping of plants ac- 
 cording to habitat; time 
 of appearance, etc. Life 
 history of corn compared 
 with bean and pea. 
 
 (b) Home geography con- 
 tinued. Study of the 
 world as a whole, in- 
 cluding land and water 
 surfaces. 
 
 Weather record 
 Making oi plans and maps. 
 To|)ics relating to history 
 and nature wtudy re- 
 quirements. 
 
 (c) As in first half 
 
 (a) (1) Stories of local 
 history and pioneer life 
 continued. 
 
 (2) Celebration of Wash- 
 ington's birthday and bat- 
 tles of Lexington and Con- 
 cord. 
 
 (a) Illustrative drawing 
 Drawing of animals in ink, 
 silhouette or color. 
 Harmonious arrangement 
 of one color with black, 
 white or grey. 
 
 Drawing of grasses, leaves 
 and flowers from nature in 
 color. Use of floral ele- 
 ments in borders or surface 
 patterns iti color. 
 Original designs 
 
 (b) CuttiiiK units of design 
 Hufia work in baskets, 
 napkin rings, mats, dolls' 
 hats etc. 
 
 (i) Rreathing, phonic and 
 tone exercises continued. 
 Roto singing. Study of 
 notes, rests, etc. Keys of 
 C and (;. Two part ex- 
 ercises and songs.
 
 384 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 GROUP I. (.32) 
 
 Grade (a) Literature and information read- 
 and ing suited to the interest and capacity 
 
 Semes- of pupils. (See list of books.) 
 ter. 
 
 GROUP II. (.16) 
 
 (a) (1) Integers to one million. Addition, 
 subtraction multiplication and divi- 
 sion. 
 
 (2) Common fractions; halves, 
 fourths, eighths, thirds, sixths, 
 twefths. 
 
 (3) Simple business transactions. 
 
 (4) Common weights and measures 
 
 (5) Comparisons with various units. 
 
 (b) Instruction to pupils who need it. 
 
 (b) Angles, and areas of rectangles and 
 other parallelograms. 
 
 (c) Daily and weekly (*brnposition and 
 dictation exercises, giving attention 
 to spelling, punctuation, use of capi- 
 tals, choice and forms of words: also 
 clearness conciseness, originality and 
 fluency of expression. 
 
 (d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
 tinued. 
 
 (a) Literature and information reading 
 suited to the interest and capacity 
 of pupils. (See list of books.) 
 
 (a) (1) Integers unlimited. 
 
 (2) Common fractions to twefths* 
 decimal fractions to hundredths. 
 
 (3) Applications in simple business 
 transactions and in common weights 
 and measures. 
 
 (4) Comparisons in examples and 
 problems with various units. 
 
 (b) Instruction to pupils who need it. 
 
 (b) Areas of triangles and practical 
 applications. 
 
 (c) Daily and weekly composition and 
 dictation exercises continued. 
 
 (d) Memory work re\'iewed and con- 
 tinued.
 
 Outline of a Course of Studies 
 
 385 
 
 GROUP III. (.20) 
 
 (a) (1) Plant and its parts: 
 parts of leaves and flowers; 
 change of flowers to fruit 
 and seed. 
 
 (2) Animals: recogni- 
 tion, habits and adaptation 
 of parts. Cycle of animal 
 life as shown in frog :group- 
 ing of known animals. 
 
 (b) Local physiography and 
 local commerce. 
 Topics of home life; man- 
 ufacturing plants. 
 Topics suggested by na- 
 ture study and history 
 requirements. 
 
 (c) Previous work reviewed 
 and continued. Lessons 
 upon occupations in va- 
 rious kinds of climate and 
 need of ipure air in sleep- 
 ing rooms. 
 
 Lessons upon good and 
 bad kinds of food and 
 drink. 
 
 GROUP IV. (.12) 
 
 (a) (1) Telling and read- 
 ing of stories connected 
 with discoveries and ex- 
 plorers, especially of the 
 home state and neighbor- 
 ing states. 
 
 (2) National stories con- 
 nected with history of 
 Judea, Egypt and Greece. 
 
 GROUP V. (.20) 
 
 (a) (1) Free-hand drawing 
 in any apiiropriate med- 
 ium of plants, fruits and 
 other objects (spherical). 
 Analysis of leaves and 
 flowers for color schemes. 
 
 (2) Study of famous 
 paintings for center of 
 interest and emphasis. 
 Tint and shades in water 
 color 
 Original designs. 
 
 (b) .Accurate drawings with 
 ruler involving i", i", 
 i", and cutting in card- 
 board. 
 
 Simple constructive de- 
 signs 
 
 Card picture frames and 
 the like, of good propor- 
 tions 
 
 Basket, hat and rug mak- 
 ing 
 
 (c) Breathing and tone ex- 
 ercises. Exercises and 
 songs in key of C. G. and 
 F. 
 
 Two part songs. 
 
 (a) (1) Pebbles, sand and 
 clay with reference to life 
 history of rocks. Observe 
 crystals and show how 
 they may be found. 
 
 (2) Effect of heat on 
 ■water and air. 
 
 (3) Kecognitionfof plants. 
 Changes in nature and 
 their relation to plants, 
 animals and man. 
 
 (4) Movement and 
 changes in moon. Observe 
 star grou|)S. 
 
 (b) (1) General topics upon 
 North America. 
 
 United States as a whole 
 and in -secticjris by topics. 
 State and town by topics. 
 Topics related to history 
 requirements. 
 
 (2) Special lessons on 
 climate. 
 
 (c) Previous work reviewed 
 and continued 
 
 Lessons ut)on proper kind 
 of clothing, ventilation, 
 heating, lighting, water 
 8up[)ly and sewerage. 
 Lessons u[)on good and 
 bad personal habits, and 
 avoidance of di.sease. 
 
 (a) (1) Stories connected 
 with early home history 
 continued. 
 
 (2) National stories con- 
 nected with history of 
 Rome and England, 
 
 (a) Drawings in mass of 
 animals and children in 
 interesting attitudes. 
 Drawings in any appropria- 
 ate medium of leaves and 
 flowers from nature. Ap- 
 })licati(>n in border and 
 surface patterns in color. 
 Study of tints and shades 
 of one color in design. 
 
 (b) Cutting of geometric 
 forms in thin wood. 
 Making of useful articles 
 in cardboard 
 Garden work 
 
 (c) Breathing and (one ex- 
 ercises and songs in key of 
 C. G. and F.
 
 380 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 GROUP I. (.32) 
 
 Grade (a) Literature suited to the interest and 
 and capacity of pupils. (See list of books.) 
 
 Semes- Information reading with reference to 
 
 ter. requirements in history, geography 
 
 and nature study. (See list of books.) 
 
 GROUP II. (.16) 
 
 (a) (1) Common fraction: — Addition, 
 subtraction, multiplication and divi- 
 sion; decimal fractions to thousandths 
 all operations. 
 
 (2) Applications and comparisons 
 with common weights and measures 
 and in business transactions. 
 
 (b) Kinds and areas of polygons. 
 
 5' 
 
 (b) Instruction for those who need it. 
 
 (c) Daily and weekly composition and 
 dictation exercises continued. (See 
 outline for grade IV.) 
 
 (d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
 tinued. 
 
 (a) Literature suited to the interest 
 and capacity of pupils. (See list of 
 books). 
 
 Information reading with refer- 
 ence to the requirements in his- 
 tory, geography and nature study. 
 (See list of books.) 
 
 (a) (1) Common and decimal fractions: 
 all operation-i unlimited. 
 
 (2) .\p|ilications and comparisons 
 in business transactions. 
 
 5' 
 
 (b) Instruction for those who need it. 
 
 (b) Areas of surfaces of cube prism and 
 square pyramid. 
 
 (c) Daily and weekly composition and 
 dictation exercises continued. (See 
 outline for Grade IV.) 
 
 (d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
 tinued.
 
 Outline of a Course of Studies 
 
 387 
 
 GROUP III. (.20) 
 
 (a) Plants and parts con- 
 tinued, emphasizing roots 
 and stems. 
 
 Study of leaves and barks 
 
 of trees. Grouping of 
 
 plants. 
 
 Study of rock forming 
 
 minerals, quartz, mica, 
 
 feldspar, etc. Building 
 
 stones. 
 
 Motion and pressure in 
 
 solids, water and air. 
 
 (b) Topics upon the United 
 States Types of moun- 
 tain, lake and river sys- 
 tems. Types of natural 
 productions 
 
 Topics related to history 
 and nature study require- 
 ments. 
 
 (c) Use and care of ski», 
 nails, hair, and sense or- 
 gans. Effects of alcohol 
 and tobacco. 
 
 GROUP -IV. (.12) 
 
 (a) (1) Spanish and Portu- 
 gues e."iplorers and settlers 
 in .\merica. 
 
 (2) Stories connected 
 with history of Spain and 
 Portugal. 
 
 GROUP V. (.20) 
 
 (a) (1) Free-hand drawing 
 any medium of plants, 
 fruits and simjile spheri- 
 cal and cylindrical objects. 
 Analysis of leaves and 
 flower.* for color schemes. 
 
 (2) Study of famous 
 paintings for centre of in- 
 terest and emphasis. Sub- 
 ordination accessories. 
 Hues in water color. 
 
 (b) Modifications of poly- 
 gons for objects of silk 
 reel, badge, etc. Con- 
 struction in appropriate 
 material. 
 
 Making of common use- 
 ful articles in card, wood 
 or iron. 
 
 (c) Breathing and tone ex- 
 ercises continued. 
 
 Work in chromatic inter- 
 vals. 
 
 Exercises and songs in all 
 keys. 
 
 (a) (1) Minerals continued. 
 Continue study of changes 
 in heat on water and air. 
 Apply to phenomena of 
 seasons. Changes in posi- 
 tion of sun. 
 
 (2) Insects: study of one for 
 type of insect life, — grass- 
 hopper or butterfly ; ada|)- 
 tation of parts to habits; 
 metamorphosis. Relation 
 of known insects to man 
 as useful or injurious. 
 
 (b) United States con- 
 tinued. 
 
 Types of climate, trade 
 centres, occupatif)ns and 
 manufacturing centres. 
 Topics related to history 
 requirements. 
 
 (c) Previous work reviewed. 
 Description, use and care 
 of muscles, bones, joints, 
 nerves and brain. Effects 
 of alcohol and tobacco 
 
 (a) (1) English and Dutch 
 e.xplorers and settlers in 
 America 
 
 (2) Stories connected 
 with the history of Eng- 
 land and France. 
 
 (a) (1) Drawings in mass of 
 animals and children in 
 interesting attitudes. 
 
 (2) Illustrative drawing 
 in other studies. Study 
 of analagous coloring; re- 
 lated hues in design. 
 
 (3) Drawings of plants 
 and insects from nature in 
 any apprr)pri!itc medium. 
 Arrangement in spaces, 
 applications in borders, 
 surface imttcrns and ro- 
 settes in color. 
 
 (b) Development of surface 
 of pyramids in cardboard. 
 Applications in thin wood. 
 Wood or metal working 
 in making common useful 
 articles. 
 
 (c) Breathing and tone ex- 
 ercises Continued. 
 Exercises and songs in all 
 keys.
 
 388 
 
 « 
 
 GROUP 1. (.32) 
 
 Grade (a) Literature suited to the interest and 
 and capacity of pupils. (See list of books.) 
 
 Semes- Information reading with reference to 
 
 ter. requirements in history, geography 
 
 and nature study. (See list of books.) 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 GROUP II. (.16) 
 
 (a) (1) Metric system of weights and 
 measures and applications. 
 (2) Percentage and simple applica- 
 tions in' business problems. 
 
 6' 
 
 (b) Instruction for those who need it. 
 
 (b) Solid contents of cubes and rec- 
 tangular prisms, with application in 
 practical problems. 
 
 (c) Daily and weekly composition 
 and dictation exercises continued. 
 (See outline for Grade IV.) 
 
 (d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
 ' tinned. 
 
 (a) Literature suited to the interest 
 and capacity of pupils. (See list of 
 books.) 
 
 Information reading with reference 
 to requirements in history, geography, 
 and nature study. (See list of books.) 
 
 (a) (1) Practical problems in denom- 
 inate numbers, using the common 
 and metric systems. 
 
 (2) Business transactions and ac- 
 counts. 
 
 6' 
 
 (b) Instruction for those who need it. 
 
 (b) Measurements of circles. 
 Areas of surfaces of prisms 
 cylinders. 
 
 and 
 
 (c) Daily and weekly composition 
 and dictation exercises continued. 
 (See outline for Grade IV.) 
 (d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
 tinued.
 
 Outline of a Course of Studies 
 
 389 
 
 Group III. (.20) 
 
 (a) (1) Study of trees, fruits 
 and dispersion of seeds. 
 Grouping of plants 
 
 (2) Study of common 
 metals and their ores — iron, 
 copper, etc. 
 
 (3) Observation of birds 
 as to habits, etc. 
 
 (b) Historical associations 
 and commerce of the great 
 cities of United States. 
 Great traffic routes 
 Industrial and commer- 
 cial development of va- 
 rious sections of U. S. 
 Topics related to history 
 requirements 
 
 (c) Uses of food. Proper 
 foods and drinks. Habits 
 of eating and drinking. 
 Digestive tract — parts, use 
 and care. Effects of al- 
 cohol and tobacco. 
 
 GROUP IV. (.12) 
 
 (a) (1) Colonial history of 
 Virginia, New York and 
 Pennsylvania. Chief 
 events and stories of prin- 
 cipal persons. 
 
 (2) Persian Wars 
 Greecian history. Stories 
 of Marathon, Platea and 
 Salamis. 
 
 GROUP V. (.20) 
 
 (a) (1) Drawing in any me- 
 dium of plants and common 
 objects. Analysis of leave 
 and flowers for color 
 schemes. 
 
 (2) Study of famous 
 jiaintings for centre of 
 interest and emi)hasis, 
 grouping of accessories 
 for leading lines. 
 
 (3) Working drawings in 
 connection with indus- 
 trial work. 
 
 (b) Wood and card work for 
 boys from working draw- 
 ings. 
 
 Sewing and cooking for 
 girls. 
 
 (c) Three part exercises and 
 songs. 
 
 Introduction of minor 
 scales. 
 
 (a) (1) Combined effects of 
 heat and gravity on water 
 and air, absorption, trans- 
 fer and radiation of heat 
 by solids and liquids. 
 
 (2) Comparison of parts 
 f)f birds with correspond- 
 ing parts of vertebrates. 
 
 (3) Clusters of flowers 
 in maple, elm, horse chest- 
 nut, oaks and birches', 
 tree fruits. 
 
 (b) Canada and Mexico 
 Distribution of races in 
 North America; glacial 
 period in N. America 
 Mathematical geography 
 relating to change of 
 seasons, day and night, 
 isothermal lines, tides. 
 Topics relating to history 
 requirements. 
 
 (c) Description of parts 
 and uses of lungs and rf- 
 lated organs Jircathing 
 exercises ventilation. 
 Effects of tobacco and al- 
 cohol 
 
 Description and uses of 
 heart and V)lood vessels. 
 (Circulation Effects of 
 
 air. I'^xercise and cloth- 
 ing. Cuts and woun<is. 
 Effects of tobacco and al- 
 cohol. 
 
 (a) (1) Colonial history of 
 Massachusetts: chief 
 events and stories of prin- 
 cipal persons. 
 ]Curoi)ean wars related to 
 America. 
 
 (2) Roman history: 
 The Punic Wars 
 The Scipios 
 
 (a) (1) Drawings in mass of 
 animals and children in 
 interesting attitudes. Il- 
 lustrative drawing in other 
 studies. Study of analo- 
 gous coloring, related lines, 
 in design. 
 
 (2) Plant forms in ap- 
 propriate medium. Ar- 
 rimgeinents in spaces of 
 different shapes. Appli- 
 cations in borders, surfaces, 
 rf)scttes, etc., in color. 
 
 (b) Wood and card work for 
 boys from working draw- 
 ings. 
 
 Sewing and cooking for 
 girls. 
 
 (c) Previous exercises con- 
 tinued.
 
 390 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 GROUP I. (.33) 
 
 Grade (a) Literature suited to the interest 
 and and capacity of pupils. (See list of 
 Semes- books). . > r 
 
 ter. Information readmg with reference 
 to requirements in history, geo- 
 graphy and nature study. (See list 
 of books.) 
 
 GROUP II. ( 16) 
 
 (a) Insurance, commission, profit and 
 loss, taxes, duties, interest. 
 
 (b) Measurements and problems re- 
 lating to angles and areas of surfaces 
 of pyramid and cone. 
 
 7 
 
 (c) Daily and weekly composition and 
 dictation exercises. (See outline for 
 Grade IV.) 
 
 (d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
 tinued. 
 
 (e) Ideas and words. Thoughts and 
 sentences. The Sentence. Kinds of 
 Sentences with respect to meaning 
 Parts of speech: General uses, defi- 
 nitions and applications. 
 
 (a) Literature suited to the interest and 
 capacity of pupils. (See list of books.) 
 Information reading with reference to 
 requirements in history, geography 
 and nature study. (See list of books.) 
 
 (a) Business transactions and accounta 
 involving problems in banking, stocks, 
 and bonds, etc. 
 Ratio and proportion. 
 
 (c) Daily and weekly composition and 
 dictation exercises. (See outline for 
 Grade IV.) 
 
 (b) Solid contents of cylinder, pyramid, 
 cone, sphere and frustrum of pyra- 
 mid and cone. 
 
 (d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
 tinued. 
 
 (e) Subject and predicate: objects and 
 complements. Phrases, clauses and 
 sentences. Kinds of sentences in 
 respect to form.
 
 Outline of a Course of Studies 
 
 391 
 
 GROUP III. (.16) 
 
 (a) Composite family of 
 grasses and grains. 
 Coal ; combustion and can- 
 dle flame products. 
 
 (b) Topical study of Ger- 
 many, Holland, Austria 
 and british Empire and 
 colonial possessions. 
 Topics related to history 
 requirements. 
 
 (c) Home hygiene in respect 
 to bathing, clothing, care 
 of eyes, sleep and recrea- 
 tions. Emergencies in 
 bandaging and splinting, 
 convulsions and uncon- 
 sciousness. 
 
 Structure of lungs. Ef- 
 fects of respiration upon 
 air and blood. Generation 
 of heat in body. 
 
 GROUP IV. (.15) 
 
 (a) Topical study: 
 
 (1) Colonial history of U. 
 S. Causes of revolution 
 traced from the beginning. 
 
 (2) Chief events of ref- 
 ormation in Continental 
 Europe and puritan refor- 
 mation in England. 
 
 (b) Local town and county 
 governments Officials by 
 whom chosen, duties, etc. 
 State government: 
 Branches; function of each 
 branch; 
 
 Officials; — by whom 
 chosen, terms, duties, etc. 
 
 GROUP V. (.20) 
 
 (a) (1) Drawing in any me- 
 dium of plants and com- 
 mon objects. 
 
 Illustrative drawing in 
 other studies. 
 
 Analysis of beautifully col- 
 ored objects for color 
 schemes. 
 
 (2) Study of famous paint- 
 ings for composition of 
 line and of light and shade 
 or mass. 
 
 (b) Wood working for 
 boys from working draw- 
 ings. 
 
 Needle work for girls. 
 
 (c) Previous exercises con- 
 tinued. 
 
 (a) Typical marine animals: 
 starfish, oyster or clam, 
 lobster or crab. Compare 
 with vertebrates (fish). 
 Rose family 
 
 Composition of air, water 
 and various foods. 
 Some principles of acous- 
 tics. 
 
 (b) Topics upon Russian 
 Empire, Norway, Sweden, 
 Denmark, Italy, France, 
 liclgium 
 
 Topics related to history 
 reriuirements. 
 
 (c) Home hygiene in respect 
 to prei)aration of food, 
 habits of eating and drink- 
 ing, caro of lungs. I^fTects 
 of dii.it. standing water, 
 refu.w and noxious gases. 
 Disinfection. 
 
 Care of invalids 
 Emergencies in choking 
 and accidental ixiJMotiing, 
 drowning, sufTocation, etc. 
 
 (a) Topical study in U. S.: 
 
 (1) Chief events from 
 177.5 through Madison's 
 administration 
 
 (2) Chief events of Ro- 
 man Empire and French 
 revolution. 
 
 (b) Topical study of State 
 government continued. 
 Topical study of I'liitcd 
 States government: 
 branches; function of each 
 branch; officials, qualifica- 
 tions, terms, duties, etc. 
 
 (a) (1) Drawing in any me- 
 dium of children in inter- 
 esting attitudes and of de- 
 tails of interior of room. 
 Free-hand ix-rspectivc 
 Story of Christian archi- 
 tecture and ornaiiiont. 
 
 (2) .Vdaptation of nat- 
 tural forms to j)Uri)oses of 
 decorative designs. Apjili- 
 cations to initials, head and 
 tail iiiecps, etc. in black 
 and while and color. 
 Complementary colors in 
 designs. 
 
 (b) Wood working for boys 
 from working (Irawings. 
 Needle work for girls. 
 
 (c) Previous oxerci.ses con- 
 tinurd .
 
 392 
 
 Appendix G 
 
 GROUP I. (.33) 
 
 Grade (a) Literature suited to the interest and 
 and capacity of pupils. (See list of 
 Semes- books.) 
 ter. Information reading with reference 
 
 to requirements in history, geog- 
 raphy and nature study. (See list of 
 books.) 
 
 GROUP II. (.20) 
 
 (a) Definitions, rules and formulas. 
 Miscellaneous exercises. 
 
 (b) Definitions, problems and theo-. 
 rems relating to angles, lines, and 
 sides and areas of triangles and of 
 parallelograms. 
 
 8' 
 
 (c) Daily and weekly composition and 
 dictation exercises. (See outline 
 for Grade IV.) 
 
 (c) Algebraic notation and simple 
 problems. Addition, subtraction, 
 multiplication, division and factor- 
 ing. 
 
 (d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
 tinued. 
 
 (e) Kinds, forms and uses of nouns, 
 pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, 
 prepositions and conjunctions. 
 
 (a) Literature suited to the interest 
 and capacity of pupils. (See list of 
 books.) 
 
 Information reading with reference 
 to requirements in history, geog- 
 raphy and nature study. (See list 
 of books.) 
 
 (a) Definitions, rules and formulas. 
 Miscellaneous exercises. 
 
 8' 
 
 (o)Daily and weekly composition and 
 dictation exercises. (See outline 
 for Grade IV.) 
 
 (b) Definitions, problems and theo- 
 rems relating to circles and similar 
 polygons, and to prisms, pyramids, 
 spheres, cylinders and cones. 
 
 (c) Reduction of fractions. Resolv- 
 ing of equations, with two un- 
 known quantities, involution and evo- 
 lution. 
 
 (d) Simple form of accounts. 
 
 (d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
 tinued. 
 
 (e) Rules of syntax and applications. 
 Analysis of sentences.
 
 Outline of a Course of Studies 
 
 393 
 
 GROUP III. (.12) 
 
 (a) (1) Poisonous plants and 
 trees 
 
 (2) Cohesion, gravity and 
 heat 
 
 (b) (1) Topics upon coun- 
 tries and colonies in Africa 
 and South America. 
 
 (2) Comparative study 
 of climate and climatic 
 influences and of vegata- 
 tion in different latitudes 
 and conditions. 
 
 ('•'' Public hygiene: Rela- 
 tion of personal, home and 
 school hygiene to public 
 h e a 1 t h. Requirements 
 of pure food, water and 
 air. Protection from dis- 
 ease, alcohol and other 
 poisons. Boards of health. 
 Protection and adultera- 
 tion of food supply. Pro- 
 tection of water supply. 
 Means of prevention of 
 water from pollution. 
 
 GROUP IV. (.15) 
 
 (a) (1) Topical study of U. 
 S. history from 1815 to 
 present time. 
 
 (2) English in India and 
 Africa. Revolt of Span- 
 ish American (iroviuces. 
 Greek wars of independ- 
 ence. 
 
 (b) Topical study of U. S. 
 government continued. 
 Election and aiirioiutment 
 of officials. Terms of 
 office and duties of officials. 
 Civil service. Principles 
 and basis of local govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Duties of citizens 
 Local questions discussed 
 
 GROUP V. (.20) 
 
 (a) (1) Drawing in any me- 
 dium of common objects. 
 Illustrative drawings in 
 other studies. 
 
 Analysis of beautifully col- 
 ored natural objects for 
 color schemes. 
 
 (2) Study of famous 
 paintings for composition 
 of line and of mass. 
 
 (b) Gardening and work of 
 previous grades continued. 
 
 (c) Previous exercises con- 
 tinued. 
 
 (a) (1) Sight, Sound and 
 Electric-it y 
 
 (2) Injurious insects; 
 time and method of exter- 
 mination. 
 
 (b) (1) Topics upon coun- 
 tries of Southern Europe. 
 Japan and Chinese Em- 
 I)ire. 
 
 Comparative study of 
 winds and their effects — 
 and of states of society. 
 
 (c) Public hygiene: Dangers 
 from im[)ure air. Pro- 
 tection from impure air. 
 Sanitary regulations for 
 tiublic buildings. Plvimb- 
 ing. Removal of garbage 
 
 (a) (1) Topical general re- 
 views such as American 
 Indians: negro slavery; 
 political parties; inven- 
 tions; growth of territory; 
 the tariff; growth of in- 
 dustries; territorial ex- 
 pansion; civil service re- 
 form. 
 
 Questions connected with 
 current events. 
 
 (2) Union of German 
 and Italian .States. Re- 
 volt of Spanish .\mcrican 
 j)rf>vinces. Greek wars of 
 independence. 
 
 (b) Principles of state gov- 
 ernment: basis; object 
 of laws; relation of each 
 branch to each other; 
 duties of citizens and of 
 officials; state questions 
 discussed. 
 
 Principles of national (gov- 
 ernment : the cotistitut Ion ; 
 national question.s; rights 
 and duties of nations; war 
 and arbitration. 
 
 (a) (1) Drawings in any me- 
 dium of children in inter- 
 esting attitudes, and of 
 details of interiors of 
 buildings. Freehand per- 
 s|)ective. Story of pre- 
 Christian architecture and 
 ornament. 
 
 (2) -Vilaptation of nat- 
 ural forms to purposes of 
 decorative ilesigii. Appli- 
 cations in book covers, 
 title pages, etc. Comple- 
 mentary groui)s of colors 
 in design. 
 
 (b) Work of Seventh grade 
 continued. 
 
 (c) Previous exercises con- 
 tinued.
 
 394 Appendix G 
 
 aad sewerage. Regula- 
 tions concerning stables, 
 etc. Dangerous and of- 
 fensive employments. 
 Protection from contagion. 
 Care and isolation of the 
 sick. Special school hy- 
 giene. Protection from 
 alcohol and other poisons. 
 
 List of Books 
 
 Following are the list of books to which reference 
 has been made in the foregoing course of studies. 
 It is difficult to draw the line between books of 
 literature and books of information. Some of the 
 books classed as literature may not properly belong 
 there by a strict definition of that term, and some 
 belonging under both heads are for the sake of 
 brevity placed under only one. Many of the books 
 assigned to one class of pupils may with profit be 
 used in other classes. Those books designated for 
 the first three grades are books which may be read 
 to the pupils of those grades by the teacher or be 
 read by the pupils themselves. 
 
 Selections to which allusion has been made in the 
 course of study may be found in the books recom- 
 mended. 
 
 Books of Literature (Grades I, II. and III) 
 
 ^sop's Fables 
 
 Adventures of a BrowTiie (Mulock) 
 
 Alice in Wonderland (Carroll) 
 
 Bailey Book (Bailey) 
 
 Bible Stories, 2 vols. (Modem Readers' Bible Series) 
 
 Blue Fairy Book (Lang) 
 
 Child Life in Prose and Verse (Whittier) 
 
 Children's Garlands (Patmore) 
 
 Child's Garden of Verse (Stephenson) 
 
 Christmas All the Year Round (Howells) 
 
 Classics in Baby Land (Bates)
 
 A List of Books 395 
 
 Classic Myths (Gayley) 
 
 Doings of the Pansy Family (Peck) 
 
 Dream Children (Scudder) 
 
 Fables and Folk Stories (Scudder) 
 
 Fables and Rhjones (Thompson) 
 
 Fairy Tales (Anderson) 
 
 Fairy Tales (Grimm) 
 
 Heart of Oak Series I, II 
 
 In the Child's World (Poulsson) 
 
 In Mythland (Beckwith) 
 
 K^indergarten Stories (Wiltse) 
 
 King Kindness (Walls) 
 
 Miscellaneous Stories (Ewing) 
 
 Nature in Verse (Lovejoy) 
 
 Nature Myths (Cooke) 
 
 Old Greek Stories (Baldwin) 
 
 Old Stories of the East (Baldwin) 
 
 Old Stories Retold (Binner) 
 
 Old Testament Stories (Houghton) 
 
 Open Sesame, vol. I 
 
 Poems for Children (Ewing) 
 
 Poetry for Children (Eliot) 
 
 Poetry for Children (Lamb) 
 
 Poetry of the Seasons (Lovejoy) 
 
 Rainbows tor Children (Child) 
 
 Southerji Stories for Little Readers (Harcourt) 
 
 Stories for Children (Wiggin) 
 
 Stories for Children (Lane) * 
 
 Stories of King Arthur (Hansen) 
 
 Story of Milo (Kuck) 
 
 Sunshine Land (Thomas) 
 
 Books of Information (Grades I., II and III) 
 
 All the Year Round, 4 vols. (Strong) 
 
 American Life and Adventure (Egglcston) 
 
 Aunt Martha's Comer Cupboard (Kirby) 
 
 Big People and Little People of Other Lands (Shaw) 
 
 Brooks and lirook liasiiis (Frj'e) 
 
 Child's Book of Nature, Vol. 1 (Hooker) 
 
 Friends in Feathers and Fur (Johonnot) 
 
 Geographical Nature Studies (Payne) 
 
 Grandfather's Storie.s (Johonnot) 
 
 Historic Boys and Girls (Brook.s)
 
 396 Appendix G 
 
 Home Geography (Long) 
 
 Learning About Common Things (Abbott) 
 
 Little Folks in Feathers, etc. (Miller) 
 
 Little Folks of Other Lands (Chaplin) 
 
 Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe 
 
 Little People of Asia (Miller) 
 
 Madam How and Lady Why (Kingsley) 
 
 My Saturday Bird Class (Miller) 
 
 Nature Stories (Bass) 
 
 Nature's Byways (Ford) 
 
 Queer Little People (St owe) 
 
 Rab and His Friends (Brown) 
 
 Seed Babies (Morely) 
 
 Snow Baby (Peary) 
 
 Stories for Children (Hale) 
 
 Stories of Animal Life (Bass) 
 
 Stories of Plant Life (Lane) 
 
 Stories of Colonial Children (Pratt) 
 
 Stories of Massachusetts (Hale) 
 
 Stories Mother Nature Told (.\ndrews) 
 
 The Wide World 
 
 Books of Literature (Grades IV, V and VI) 
 
 A Ballad Book (Bates) 
 
 Adventures- of Ulysses (Lamb) 
 
 Among the Hills (Whittier) 
 
 Arabian Nights, Stories from 
 
 Ballads and Tales (Golden Rod Books) 
 
 Ballads of New England (Whittier) 
 
 Bible Readings (Schaeffer) 
 
 Bible Stories (Modern Readers Bible Series) 
 
 Biographical Stories (Hawthorne) 
 
 Book of Legends (Scudder) 
 
 Children's Hour etc. (Longfellow) 
 
 Children's Treasury of English Song 
 
 Child Life in Prose and Verse (Whittier) 
 
 Choice English Lyrics (Baldwin) 
 
 Cricket on the Hearth (Dickens) 
 
 Cruise of the Dolphin (Aldrich) 
 
 Fairy Life (Golden Rod Books) 
 
 Fairy Tales (Anderson) 
 
 Fairy Tales in Prose and Verse (Rolfe) 
 
 German Household Tales (Grimm)
 
 A List of Books 397 
 
 Gods and Heroes (Francillon) 
 
 Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics (Palgrave) 
 
 Grandfather's Chair (Hawthorne) 
 
 Greek Heroes (Kingsley) 
 
 Gullivers Travels (Swift) 
 
 Heart of Oak Books (III) 
 
 Heroes of Asgard 
 
 Hiawatha (Longfellow) 
 
 Household Tales (Grimm) 
 
 Jackanapes (Ewing) 
 
 King Arthur and His Court (Greene) 
 
 King of the Golden River (Ruskin) 
 
 I^ights of the Round Table 
 
 Lays of Ancient Rome (Macaulay) 
 
 Little Daffydowndilly (Hawthorne) 
 
 Little Lord Fauntleroy (Burnett) 
 
 Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Pyle) 
 
 Myles Standish, The Courtship of (Longfellow) 
 
 Nature in Verse (Lovejoy) 
 
 New England Legends (Drake) 
 
 Nurnburg Stove 
 
 Old Greek Folk Stories (Peabody) 
 
 Old Greek Stories (Baldwin) 
 
 Old Stories of the East (Baldwin) 
 
 Old Testament Stories in Scripture Language 
 
 Open Sesame Vol. II. 
 
 Our Country in Poem and Prose (Persons) 
 
 Pied Piper and Other Poems (Browning) 
 
 Pilgrim's Progress (Bunyan) 
 
 Popular Tales from the Norse (Dasent) 
 
 Profitable Tales (Field) 
 
 Rab and His Friends (Brown) 
 
 Robin Hood, Adventures of (Pyle) 
 
 Robinson Crusoe (Defoe) 
 
 Round the Year in Myth and Song (Holbrook) 
 
 Six Tales from Arabian Nights (Eliot) 
 
 Squirrels and Other Fur-Bearers (Burroughs) 
 
 Stories of the Iliad and Odyssey (C'hurch) 
 
 Stories from Old English Poetry (Richardson) 
 
 Swiss Family Robinson (Wyss) 
 
 Tanglewood Tales (Hawthorne) 
 
 Tales of a Grandfather (Scott) 
 
 Tales from Shakespeare (Lamb)
 
 398 Appendix G 
 
 Tent on the Beach (Whittier) 
 
 The Birds' Christmas Carol (Wiggin) 
 
 The Building of the Ship etc. (Longfellow) 
 
 The First Jungle Book (Kipling) 
 
 Ulysses, Adventures of (Lamb) 
 
 Water Babies (Kingsley) 
 
 Wonder Book (Hawthorne) 
 
 Books of Information (Grades IV, V and VI) 
 
 A Hunting of the Deer (Warner) 
 
 American History Leaflets (Hart and Channing) 
 
 American Indians (Starr) 
 
 American Leaders and Heroes (Gordy) 
 
 Animals Wild and Tame (Davis) 
 
 Around the World (Carroll) 
 
 Biographical Sketches (Hawthorne) 
 
 Birds and Bees (Burroughs) 
 
 Bird Ways (Miller) 
 
 Bird World (Stickney-Hoffmann) 
 
 Black Beauty (Sewall) 
 
 Book of Legends (Scudder)) 
 
 Boy's Froissart (Lanier) 
 
 Boy's Percy (Lanier) 
 
 Boys of '61 (Coffin) 
 
 Boys of '76 (Coffin) 
 
 Boys of Other Countries (Taylor) 
 
 Building of the Nation (Coffin) 
 
 Cast Away in the Cold (Hayes) 
 
 Children of the Cold (Schwatka) 
 
 Children's Life of Abraham Lincohi (Putnam) 
 
 Children's Stories of American Literature (Wright) 
 
 Child's Book of Nature Vol. 2 (Hooker) 
 
 Claws and Hoofs (Johonnot) 
 
 Coal and Coal Mines (Green) 
 
 Colonial Children (Hart) 
 
 Colonial Massachusetts (Dawes) 
 
 Curious Homes, etc. (Beard) 
 
 Each and All (Andrews) 
 
 England's Story (Tappan) 
 
 English Historical Tales (Morris) 
 
 Explorers and Travelers (Greely) 
 
 Fairy Land of Flowers (Pratt) 
 
 Fairy Land of Science (Buckley)
 
 A List of Books 399 
 
 Few Familiar Flowers (Morley) 
 
 Fifty famous Stories retold (Baldwin) 
 
 First Book in Geology (Shaler) 
 
 First Book of Birds (Miller) 
 
 Five Little Peppers (M. Sidney) 
 
 Four American Explorers (Kmgsley) 
 
 Four Great Americans (Baldwin) 
 
 Four Handed Folk (Miller) 
 
 Friends and Helpers (Eddy) 
 
 From Flower to Fruit (Newell) 
 
 From Seed to Leaf (Newell) 
 
 Geographical Reader (Scribners) 
 
 Geographical Readers (King) 
 
 Geographical Readers (Philips) 
 
 Girls who became Famous (Bolton) 
 
 Grandfather's Chair (Hawthorne) 
 
 Greek Heroes (Kingsley) 
 
 Greeks and Persians (Cox) 
 
 Hans Brinker, etc. (Dodge) 
 
 Heroes of History (Towle) 
 
 Heroes of the Middle West (Catherwood) 
 
 Historical Readers (CJilman) 
 
 History of England (Cooke) 
 
 History of Rome for Beginners (Shuckburgh) 
 
 How Our Grandfathers lived (Hart) 
 
 In Brooks and Bayou (Bayliss) 
 
 Indian History for Young Folks (Drake) 
 
 Information Readers 4 vols. 
 
 Little Flower Folks (Pratt) 
 
 Little Folks of other Lands (Chaplin) 
 
 Old South Leaflets 
 
 Old Stories of the East (Baldwin) 
 
 Old Times in Colonies (Coffin) 
 
 Our Own Birds (Bailey) 
 
 Our Fatherland (Carver and Pratt) 
 
 Pilgrims and Puritans (Moore) 
 
 Pioneers of Land and Sea (McMurry) 
 
 Pioneers of the Mississippi Valley (McMurry) 
 
 Pioneers of the West (McMurry) 
 
 Rome and Carthage (Smith) 
 
 Seaside and Wayside (Andrews) 
 
 Seven Little Sisters (Andrews) 
 
 Sharp Eyes (Burroughs)
 
 400 Appendix G 
 
 Short Stories from' English History (Blaisdell) 
 
 Source Book of American History (Hart) 
 
 Source Book of English History (Kendall) 
 
 Squirrels and other Fur Bearers (Burroughs) 
 
 Stories from English History (Church) 
 
 Stories from Plato (Burt) 
 
 Stories from Old Germany (Pratt) 
 
 Stories from the Bible (Church) 
 
 Stories of American History (Eggleston) 
 
 Stories of Animal Life (Holden) 
 
 Stories of Bird Life (Pearson) 
 
 Stories of Colonial Children (Pratt) 
 
 Stories of Great Americans (Eggleston) 
 
 Stories of Greece (Guerber) 
 
 Stories of Our Country (Johonnot) 
 
 Stories of the Old World (Church) 
 
 Stories of the Romans (Guerber) 
 
 Tales of Troy (DeGarmo) 
 
 Ten Boys who lived on the Road from Long Ago till Now 
 
 (Andrews) 
 Ten Great Events in Histoiy (Johonnot) 
 The Children's Crusade (Gray) 
 The Geograpical Story (Dana) 
 The Story of the Birds (Baskett) 
 True Stories from New England History (Hawthorne) 
 Young Folks' History of England (Yonge) 
 Young Folks' History of France (Yonge) 
 Wigwam Stories (Judd) 
 
 Books of Literature (Grades VII and VIII) 
 
 Age of Fable (Bulfinch) 
 
 A Man without a Country (Hale) 
 
 As You Like It (Shakespeare) 
 
 Ben Hur (Wallace) 
 
 Bigelow Papers (Lowell) - 
 
 Birds and Bees (Burroughs) 
 
 Bunker Hill Orations (Webster) 
 
 Cape Cod (Thoreau) 
 
 Character (Smiles) 
 
 Chirstmas Carol (Dickens) 
 
 Cotter's Saturday Night (Burns) 
 
 Courtship of Miles Standish (Longfellow) 
 
 Cricket on the Hearth (Dickens)
 
 A List of Books 401 
 
 Enoch Arden (Tennyson) 
 
 Evangeline (Longfellow) 
 
 Giles Corey (Longfellow) 
 
 Golden Treasury (Palgrave) 
 
 Greek Heroes (Kingsley) 
 
 Gulliver's Travels 
 
 Hamlet (Shakespeare) 
 
 Heart of Oak Books IV-VI 
 
 Homer's Iliad 
 
 Hunting of the Deer (Warner) 
 
 Idylls of the King (Tennyson) 
 
 Ivanhoe (Scott) 
 
 Jason's Quest (Lowell) 
 
 Julius Caesar (Shakespeare) 
 
 Kennilworth (Scott) 
 
 Knickerbocker's Stories (Irving) 
 
 Lady of the Lake (Scott) 
 
 Lay of the Last Minstrel (Scott) 
 
 Light of Asia (Arnold) 
 
 Magna Charta Stories (Gilman) 
 
 Mannion (Scott) 
 
 Midsunmier Night's Dream (Shakespeare) 
 
 Mill on the Floss (Eliot) 
 
 My Hunt after the Captain (Holmes) 
 
 Open Sesame vol. Ill 
 
 Patriotic Reader (Carrington) 
 
 Peasant and Prince (Martineau) 
 
 Poor Richard's Almanac (Franklin) 
 
 Rasselas (Johnson) 
 
 Selections from the Alhaml)ra (Irving) 
 
 Selections from Ruskin 
 
 Self Help (Smiles) 
 
 Sesame and Lilies (l{uskiii) 
 
 Seven American Classics (Swinton) 
 
 Silas Warner (Eliot) 
 
 Sir Roger De Coverley (Addison) 
 
 Sketch Book (Irving) 
 
 Snow-Bound (Whittier) 
 
 Sohrab and Rustum (Aniold) 
 
 Stories from Classic Literature (Palmer) 
 
 Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) 
 
 Tales from ShakcMi)earc (Laml>) 
 
 Tales of a Grandfather (Scott)
 
 402 A List of Books 
 
 Tales of a Wayside Inn (Longfellow) 
 Tales of the White Hills (Hawthorne) 
 Toilers of the Sea (Hugo) 
 The Seasons (Thompson) 
 The Second Jungle Book 
 The Talisman (Scott) 
 Tom Brown's School Days (Hughes) 
 Twice Told Tales (Hawthorne) 
 Two Years Before the Mast (Dana) 
 Uncle Tom's Cabin (Stowe) 
 Vicar of Wakefield (Goldsmith) 
 Vision of Sir Launfal (Lowell) 
 Webster's Orations 
 
 Books of Information (Grades VII and VIII) 
 
 Adrift in the Ice Fields (Hall) 
 
 American Boys' Handy Book (Beard) 
 
 American Explorers (Higginson) 
 
 American Girls' Handy Book (Beard) 
 
 American History Told by Contemporaries (Hart) 
 
 Among the Law Makers (Alton) 
 
 Arctic Alaska and Siberia (Aldrich) 
 
 A Trip across the Continent (Lummis) 
 
 Autobiography (Franklin) 
 
 Benjamin Franklin (More) 
 
 Boyhood in Norway (Boynton) 
 
 Boy Travelers (Knox) 
 
 Building of the Nation (Coffin) 
 
 Bulfinch's Age of Chivalry (Hall) 
 
 Bulfinch's Age of Fable (Hale) 
 
 Camp and Firesides of Revolution (Hart) 
 
 Captains of Industry (Parton) 
 
 Child's Book of Nature Vol. 3 (Hooker) 
 
 Child's History of England (Dickens) 
 
 English History for Beginners (Higginson) 
 
 Ethics of Success (Thayer) 
 
 Feats on the Fiord (Martineau) 
 
 Fifteen Decisive Battles (Creasey) 
 
 Footprints of Travel (Ballou) 
 
 Great American Industries 
 
 Hawaii and its People (Twombly) 
 
 Life and her children (Buckley) 
 
 Life of Washington (Fiske-Irving)
 
 Appendix G +03 
 
 Life of Washington (Scudder) 
 
 Madam How and Lady ^^lly (Kingsley) 
 
 Marco Polo (Towle) 
 
 Modem Europe (Badlara) 
 
 My Summer in a Garden (Warner) 
 
 Old Stories of the East (Bakhvin) 
 
 Our American Neighbors 
 
 Paul Jones (Hapgood) 
 
 Pepacton (Burroughs) 
 
 Plutarch's Lives 
 
 Sea and Land (Shaler) 
 
 Sharp Eyes (Burroughs) 
 
 Side Lights on American History (Elson) 
 
 Stoddard's Lectures 
 
 Stories from Classic Literature (Palmer) 
 
 Stories of the War (Hale) 
 
 Story of a drain of Wheat (Edgar) 
 
 Story of China (Van Bergen) 
 
 Story of the Chosen People (Grueber) 
 
 Story of the Iliad (Church) 
 
 Story of the Odyssey (Church) 
 
 Story of Siegfried (Baldwin) 
 
 Tales of Charlemagne (Plutarch) 
 
 Tales of New England (Jewett) 
 
 Ten Great P> vents in History (Johonnot) 
 
 The American Citizen (Dole) 
 
 The Making of New England (Drake) 
 
 The War of Independence (Fiske) 
 
 Type Studies of the United States (McMurry) 
 
 Under the Southern Cross (Ballou) 
 
 Under Sunny Skies 
 
 Views Afoot (Taylor) 
 
 Walden (Thoreau) 
 
 Washington and his Country (Irving) 
 
 Wake Kol)in (Burroughs) 
 
 Whaling and Fishing (Nordhoff) 
 
 Winners in Life's Kace (Buckley) 
 
 Winter in Central America and Mexico (Sanborn) 
 
 Zig-Zag Journeys (B\itterwor1h)
 
 General Plans of Studies for High 
 Schools 
 
 APPENDIX H. 
 
 The difficulties in the way of making a course 
 of studies for a single high school that will meet 
 the needs of all the pupils are very apparent. 
 
 In Germany and in some of the larger cities of 
 this country, the difficulties are partially met by 
 separating the instruction offered into two or 
 more departments and by designating each de- 
 partment as a separate school. Thus we have 
 in some places two or more of the following 
 kinds of schools: English high school, Classical 
 high school. Manual Training high school, Com- 
 mercial high school. In the smaller cities and 
 large towns but one high school is maintained, 
 having several departments or courses such as : 
 General, English, college preparatory, scientific, 
 mechanical, commercial. 
 
 In the smallest schools it will be found necess- 
 ary to limit the courses to two or three. In such 
 schools it may be found best to offer as many 
 subjects as possible, with the understanding that 
 pupils may select a given number with a max- 
 imum and minimum limit. 
 
 All of the following plans except the first are 
 based upon plans in successful operation in var- 
 
 (404)
 
 General Plans of Studies for High Schools 4:05 
 
 ious kinds of high schools. If adopted they 
 should in each case be supplemented by brief 
 bulletins for the guidance and assistance of teach- 
 ers. The bulletins should be in the form of sug- 
 gestions relating to the order and kind of topics 
 to be presented, together with some hints as to 
 the purpose and means of carrying on the work 
 of each subject. Some statement of methods of 
 teaching might also be made including such sub- 
 jects as topical teaching, methods of questioning 
 and giving of tasks.
 
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 INDEX
 
 Abnormal children 321 
 
 Administration, city and town 32-51; different in various states 
 
 221; district and county 52-58; duties of 33, 34; kinds of 32; 
 
 state 21-31 
 Algebra in course of studies 106, 111, 112 
 Apparatus, kind and amount needed 63, 64 
 Apportionment of time 235-237 
 
 Arithmetic, limitations of 108; sequence of worlv in 108 
 Atkinson, Edicard on ribbed glass for lighting 313 
 Atkinson, F. W. on a plan for child study 197-199 
 Attendance ('see ScJiool attendance) 
 Attendance officers, appointment of 14, 15; duties of 47-49; state 
 
 27 
 Baths in school buildings 315-317 
 Blackboards, construction 320 
 
 Board of education, see ScJvool board. State administration 
 Books, list of for pupils 394 et seq. 
 Bookkeeping as a branch of study 107 
 Branches of study 10, 84, 96, 99, 107 
 Buildings, see School buildings 
 
 Business manager , duties of, 47; in cities and large towns, 46, 260 
 Centralization, advantages 3, 22; disadvantages 22 
 Changes in organization 4; to be gradual 266 
 Child study, need of, 137; needed safeguards 138; observations and 
 
 records 194-199; 240-242; physical condition 137; record of 
 
 interests 138 
 Clark, T. M. on ventilation 306 
 
 Classification of pupils 40, 44, 124-133, 205-207, 213, 214 
 Committee of Twelve, extract from Report relating to school rev- 
 enues 284 
 Community interests 181-186 
 Committees of school boards 37, 261 
 Compulsory school attendance 7, 141, 222, 223 
 Concentration of studies 93, 94 
 Condon, It. J, on disinfection, 323 
 Conduct, prin('ip]es of 18H, 189 
 Consolidation of schools, advantagcis 275; dangers 278: Dr. Harris's 
 
 opinion 275; high sclioois 281; in Massacliusetta 272-282; in 
 (417)
 
 418 Index 
 
 New Hampshire 275; in Vermont 275: limitations 278, 279, 
 no general law for 280; power of local boards 280; undesir- 
 able legislation 276, 277; various features of 276; waj's of 
 conveyance Si 81 
 
 Co-operation of parents and teachers 192, 193 
 
 Co-ordination of studies ^2; examples of 93 
 
 Corporal punishment, report on, 236, 237 
 
 Correlation of studies 90-95; basis of 94: concentration 95 
 
 County supervision, see Supercision 
 
 Course of studies, 85-124, 361 et seq. 
 branches, 362-368; character of, 6S, 69; Committee of Fifteen, 
 366; Committee of Ten, 366; criticism of teachers, 157 
 drawing, 119-123; elementary science, 114; elastic, 327 
 England, 364; extended, 73; four features, 95; France, 364 
 geography, 113, 114; Germany, 365; grouping of subjects, 
 92; history, 116, 119; hygienic conditions of. 327-334; indus- 
 trial training, 120, 121; method of making, 89; minimum of 
 work required, 88; nature study, irill6; outline for elemen- 
 tary schools, 375 et seq. ; outline for high schools, 405 et seq; 
 physiology, 113; separate pamphlets, 89; singing, 121, 123, 
 124; sub-primary class, 374, 375; supplementary bulletins, 
 88; superintendent's duty in relation to, 39,63; time limits 
 78-84, 369-374; transition period, 327; two views of, 70-73 
 
 Curriculum, aim and range of, 95, 97, 105 
 
 Daily programme, 234, 235, 329, 330 
 
 Defectipes, schools for, 139, 220-225; separation of, 13S, 139 
 
 Defects of graded schools, 207, 208 
 
 Delinquents, see Defectives 
 
 Departmental instruction, advantages, 133; disadvantages, 133, 
 124; grammar schools, 134-137; possible method, 135, 136; 
 special branches, 134 
 
 Disinfectants, 322, 323 
 
 Distance of pupils from schools, 5 
 
 Distribution of funds 288, 289 
 
 District supernsion, 16, 26, 27, 52-55, 250, 269 
 
 District systems, history of, 249-252 
 
 Durgin, Dr. on medical inspection, 345 
 
 Duties, of superintendent, 38-44, 59-181, 256; of school boards, 
 32-38, 50, 56-58 
 
 Educational centres, 293-296 
 
 Educational institutions, 24, 25, 183 
 
 Electives, 76-78 
 
 Elementary course, duration of, 66
 
 Index 419 
 
 Elementary science, course in. 11:2-116 
 
 Equalization of privileges and taxation, 3, 19 
 
 Eaten, Mrs. Rhoda L., on schools for backward children, *291-29:j 
 
 Evans, L. B., on county plan of supervision, 266-269 
 
 Evening schools, 141-143, 193, 293; for common branches, 14'2; for 
 drawing, 142; for higher branches, 142; industrial classes, 143 
 
 Evolution of school supervisiort, 247-264 
 
 Examinations, \QQ-\&1 , Z'i'S; examples of questions, 151-162; for 
 promotion, 166; method of tabulating results, 163 
 
 Fatigue of pupils, 330, 331 
 
 Feeble-minded children, 221 
 
 Fiske, John, on central and local legislation, 264 
 
 Foreign language in elementary course, 75 
 
 F'eedom of teacher, 86 
 
 Furnald, W. E., on number of feeble-minded persons, 221 
 
 Firniture and furnishings, 39, 42, 62 
 
 Games andplays, 188, 189, 353, 354 
 
 Geometry, in the course of studies, 106, 109-111, 368 
 
 Gi'oded schools, defects of, 207, 208 
 
 Grades and courses, 85 
 
 Graduation, age of, 86 
 
 Grammar, outline for study, 101 
 
 Grammar sc/iool course, 67 
 
 Gymnastic exercises, 355 
 
 Harris, William 2\, on the experience of Massachusetts in educa- 
 tion, 247, 248 
 
 Hartwell, E. M , on moral effects of physical training, 355 
 
 Health officers, appointment of, 15; duties of, 358 
 
 Heating, 305-310, 325, 326 
 
 Hig?i schools, courses, 84, 85, 405-413; maintenance of, 17; provision 
 for, 8, 17; state aid for, 8, 9 
 
 History, a ba.sis of correlation, 94; course in, 118-119 
 
 Ho}ne study, 334-338 
 
 Hygiene, instruction in, 350, 351; see Scfwol hygiene 
 
 Individualinstruction, 139, 140, 211 
 
 Individual needs of pupils, 207 
 
 Individfud treatuieid of pupils, 207-213, 356-H58 
 
 Individual xuork, a basis of correlation, 94 
 
 IndijLstrial training, 119-123 
 
 Ineffi/iient teachers, 168-170 
 
 Inspection, by tiiesuperintendent, 153168; examples of too close 
 analysis, 155, 156; note taking, 154, 155; j)arlies concerned, 
 156, 157; personal criticism, 157; record of, 158 160
 
 420 Index 
 
 Institvtions for defectives, 222 
 
 Intertals heticeen classes, 804 
 
 Isolation of studies, dangers of, 91 
 
 Jacketed stows, 307 
 
 Language studies, limitations of, 101-103; time programme, 104 
 
 Language teacJdng, aim and scope of, 97; ends, 98 
 
 Legal requirements, 7 
 
 /legislative provisions relating to school organization, 6-^0 
 
 Life iooh, 196, 241-243 
 
 lAgMing of scJiool-roorns, amount and direction, 311, 312; curtains,. 
 
 313; prisms and reflectors, 323, 314 
 Lincoln, B. F. , on moral efEects of games, 356 
 Local and central authority, adjustment of, 2 
 Local newspapers, use of, 183, 185 
 Local school hoards, 12-14; duties of, 21; selection of, 19, 13: 
 
 number of members of, 13 
 Lx>cal taxation for schools, 18, 19, 285, 286 
 Local training schools, 175, 176 
 Manual training, 120, 121; 368 
 Martin, George H., on the district system, 250 
 Mathematics, course in, 105-112; scope of teaching, 105 
 Medical impection, 137, 344-350; duties of, 49, 50; examples of. 
 
 344-346; tests by teachers, 349 
 Meetings of parents, 182-186 
 Meetings of school hoards, 44, 50, 51, 173 
 Meetings of teachers, 170-174; programme, 172; general and grade, 
 
 171-173, local associations, 170, 171 
 Normal schools, supported by the state, 24 
 Numher of pupils to a teacher, 7, 208 
 Ohstacles to teachers' success, 69 
 Optional studies, 76, 77, 209 
 Organization, see School organization 
 Outhuildings, 314, 315 
 
 Parents, letter to, 341; meetings of, 182, 183; reports to, 237-240> 
 Partizanship, protection of school from, 2 
 Physical director, 36 
 Physical training, 328, 351-355 
 Plays and games, 188, 189, 353, 354 
 Powers of school boards, 2, 33-35, 249 
 Primary course, 67, 375-393 
 Principal as organizer and supervisor, 187-201 
 Pi'ivate schools, controlled by state, 25 
 Professional supervision, 35, 45, 46, 50, 150, 253, 257
 
 Index 421 
 
 Programme of daily exercises, 190, 191, 203, 234, 235 
 
 Promotions 40, 44, 125-133, 209; fault}' methods of, 125, 126; plans 
 of, 126-133 
 
 Protection of schools, 2 
 
 Public sentiment, the awakening of, 28, 41 
 
 Qualifications of teachers, 15 
 
 Becords and reports, 226, 243; annual and monthly reports of 
 teachers, 229-232: common for all states, 227-229; of work 
 done, 232,^33; jflipil's record, 240-243 
 
 Reformations, 10 
 
 Reports, forms of, 237-240; of teachers, 230-243; of superintend- 
 ents, 177-180; to parents, 237-240 
 
 Revenues, 283-289 
 
 Richards, Mrs. Ellen H., on science of food to be taught, 351 
 
 Rules of school bofirds, 42 
 
 Rural schools, supervision of, 52-56, 265-271 
 
 Sanitaries, 314, 315 
 
 ScJwols, maintained at public expense, 6-10; Evening, 141-143, 
 193, 293; Rural, 52-56, 265, 271; Special, 220-225; 290-297; 
 support of, 17, 57, 283; Training, 175-177 ; Vacation, 140, 
 141, 296, 297 
 
 School administration, functions of, 32; kinds of, 32; city and 
 town, 32-51; district and county, 52-58, 265-271; state, 21-31 
 
 Sclwol attendance, 7-10, 41, 151 
 
 Schoolboards,(}iuWesoi,2%Q; executive officials of , 35,37; powers 
 of, 2, 33-35, 249; sub-committees of , 37, 38, 261; in France 
 and Germany, 11; number of members, 259 
 
 School huildiwis, construction and care of, 38, 42, 00, 61; inspec- 
 tion of, 151 
 
 School desks and seats, 317-320 
 
 Scliool extension. 193. 293-297 
 
 School funds, distribution of, 18 
 
 School government, plans of, 159, 190. 211-219 
 
 School hygiene, 298-300; avoidance of infection, 324; bathing 
 facilities, 300; Ijlackboards and crayons, 320; books and arti- 
 cles upon, 359, 360; care of school room, 321 ; cause of weak- 
 ness, 339, 340; conditions of, 298; course of studies, 320 et seq. ; 
 disinfection, 323; drinking cups, 321, 323; examinations, 328; 
 defectives, 328, 329; eyes, 325; fatigue. 330, 331 ; furniture, 
 317etseq. ; health officer, 358; home study, 331-338; inspec- 
 tion and supervision, 343-350; intermissiouH, 332; lighting of 
 school rooms, 311 et se<i. ; location of buildings, 29S, 299; 
 outside conditions, 338, 339; over pressure, 3:U); pirsonal
 
 422 Index 
 
 habits of boys, 340; physical training, 300, 328, 334, 351-854; 
 school sessions, 333; size of school-rooms, 299, 300; tests of 
 purity of air, 301; ventilation, 301 etseq., 325, 326; water 
 closets and out buildings, 314 et seq., 322; water supply, 
 315; windows and curtains, 324 
 
 Seliool arganization, city and town, 32-51; district and county, 
 52-58; nature and source of, 1-5; legislative proceedings relat- 
 ing to, 6-20; principal, 187-201; state, 21-31; superintendent, 
 59-149; teacher, 202-219 
 
 School revenues, 283, et seq. 
 
 School rooms, size of, 62 
 
 School savings, 194 
 
 School supervision, see Supervision 
 
 School systems, changes in, 4 
 
 ScJiool year, length of, 7 
 
 Secretary of school board, 36, 37 
 
 Self control, ways of encouraging, 189, 190. 214-219 
 
 Sessions of schools, 333 
 
 Shaw, Edward E., on ventilation of rural school houses, 308-311 
 
 Spelling, 100 
 
 Special supervisors, 35, 36 
 
 Special classes and schools; defectives and delinquents, 138, 139, 
 220, 225; educational centres, 293-296; evening schools, 141- 
 143; individual instruction, 139, 140, 212; maintenance by 
 state, 9, 10; mentally weak, 223, 290-293, 328, 329; vacation 
 schools, 140, 141, 296, 297 
 
 State administration oi schools, 2l-d\; state board, 10-12, 22-24, 
 28, 251, 252, 262, 263; state superintendent, 28-31 
 
 State aid, 54, 284 
 
 Statistical blanks, 27 
 
 Statistics, 226, 532 
 
 Study, school and home, 334-338 
 
 Superintendent of scJwols, as organizer, 59-149; as supervisor, 150- 
 181 ; powers and duties of, 38-44 
 
 Sub-pi'imary class, 65, 66, 374, 375 
 
 Supervision, amount, 180, 181, 200; benefit of, 150, 258; by princi- 
 pals, 200, 'Z0\; by superintendent, 150-181; evolution of, 247- 
 264; favorable conditions, 247-264; ideals of, 261-264; in 
 cities, 45; in counties and riu'al districts, 14, 16, 26, 56-58; 
 565-271; laws relating to, 15, 16, 262; principles of, 52; pro- 
 fessional, 35, 45, 46, 50, 150, 253, 257 
 
 Support of schools, 17, 57, 283 
 
 Supervision of pupils, 44
 
 Index 4:23 
 
 Tasks, assignment of, 210, 211 
 
 Taomtion of schools, 283-289; difficulties of, 17; equalization of, 
 3, 19; local, 18 
 
 Teachers, as organizers, 202-220; certification of, 26; examination 
 of, 146; method of securing, 145; nomination by superintend- 
 ent, 40, 145; training of, 174-177; trial test of, 147; qualifi- 
 cations of , 15,25,143-147, 279; reports of, 219-232; superin- 
 tendent's relation to, 43 
 
 Teachers' meetings, 170-174 
 
 ^gxt-books, free, 148, 149; selection of, 191 
 
 Text-books and supplies, 147-149 
 
 Time limits of various branches, 78-84, 369-374 
 
 Training schools, 175-177 
 
 I'ruant officers, see Attendance officers 
 
 Truant schools, maintenance of ^ 9 
 
 Union district, plan of supervision, see District Kiipervision 
 
 Vacation schools, 140, 141, 299, 297 
 
 Ventilation oi sc\\oo\ rooms, 301-311, 325, 326 
 
 Water supply, 315
 
 7^ '^^ 
 
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 LB2805 .P93 
 
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