UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN, 1912, NO. 15 WHOLE NUMBER 487 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS ‘ . No. II Abstracts of Papers presented at St. Louis. Mo.. February 26-29. 1912, befoi Ibe National Council of Education of the National Education Asaccialion The E^partment of Superintendence of the National Education Association The Department of Normal Schools of the National Education Association The National Society for the Study of E.^ucation ^ The Society of College Teachers of Education The National Committee on Agricultural Education ABSTRACTS PREPARED BY FREDERICK K. NOYES CONTENTS. National Council of Enu< ation, Natjonai. Education AsporiATin\, Economy of time in education: I -- liy JaiiiCH H, Baker II. — By JamoH M. Green., Ef'onomy of lime in elementary elprei>araUon'of eandidales for normal schools: I. -- By David I'Vlmley ' , II.— ByJ, U. Phillips* - ^ " III. — Byllomer II. Seerley • — By l.'harlesS’. (.'hapin.' Uigh-school preparatioa of nomjal-srhool camlKlalc.., from the high-Nohml point of view. J. Stanley Brown Health problems in education, Thomas D. Wood, M l) Securing public support for health work in schools. William H. Allen Status of the country school. K. T. Kaimhild Consolidation of rural schools. Adelaide Steele Baylor...'.../., Standardization of the country schart of the pupil? (leorgo Platt Knox Tho education of girls. I.. D. Harvey • ■ • ^ho educative value of tho study of agriculture. Earl Barnes V . . The next stop in teaching agriculture in rural schools. K. ('. Hishop Typ<'s of special schools in the larger American ci\ ios. Andrew \V. Kdson A definite propaganda to imprcBS upon the American mind the necessity of an cxpaijsionof the field of education to provide as ample fa<‘il it ies for education by work and education by play jw are now provided for education by «tud> . M. (i. Hruinbaiigh • • The scdentific study of arithmetic' work in sc‘h(K>l. J. T. JiIoh The utilization of the Hchool plant. William Wirt Voc'ational guidam e. Meyer Bloomfield ^he schoolhouse as the civi(’ and Btx’ial center of the c'ommunity. F.dward J . Thi^Mikman in his relation to the textbook problem. I rauk A. Htzpatru k . . Effec t on educat ion and morals of the moving-picture pHowh. Joseph R. Bulk.. Standardization of janiUir service. G. M. Wilson Relativecottlof education of high and elemenUr\'BC‘honl pupils. K. O. Holland. 47 49 r>0 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 5f) 60 62 63 63 64 Departm?:xt of Normal Schools, National Education Association Attitude of the normal schools toward education. W . J. Hawkins 66 1 Work of the normal scIkxiI in the reorganization of the cloioeh^iry school cur- riculum. Eugene W. Bohannon - Place of the normal whool in agricultural edu<’ation. E. E. Bincomb 69 Pla< e of the State normal whool in agricultural education. W. M. Stewart 72 A plan of normal whool statistics. Homer II. Seerje^j^t^fc. ... 4 National Society for the Study of Education. 'i Classification of plans for industrial training. Frank Mitchell l.oavitt Prevocational industrial training in the .seventh and eighth grades. George A. Mirick - ; The separate or independent induntrial school. M . W . Murray The separate technical high school . James F. Barker . Industrial training in the cosmopolitan high schoois. H. B. Wilson ... The public trade w’hool. Charles F. Perry • • The partitime coopemtive plan of industrial education. Adolbcrt E. Safford. The Cincinnati continuation schools. Pliny Johnston. Vocational guidance. Meyer Bloomfield • Training of teachers for secondary courses in agriculture. A. C. Monahan The vocational agricultural school. With special emphasis on part-timo work in agriculUire. R. W. Stimeon y.: Slate aided departments of agriculture in public high schools. Dick J. Crosby . High -school agricultui-e without State subsidy. W. H. French ... In public high schools should agriculture be taught as agriculture or as applied ifCience? L — By \^lliam R. Hart n.—*By G. F. Warren CONTENTS. ^ 5 tiociETY OF College Teachers of Education. ’ Pa«e. WTiat should be tlio dilTerenco between graduate and undergraduate work in education. Edward K. Buchner 91 Discussion: By Charles De Garmo 92 Helation of normal schools to departments and whuols of ucation. Definiteness in agrict^ure. A. B. Hess kkj What Uncle Sam carries in the second-class mail: Dues this help tlie farmers or other industrial workers? J. W. ^Heston and Manley J. Wix.stm 107 Business Meetinq of the Defartme.nt of Superintendence. Place of meeting and oflh-ers HO Resolutions^ jjq Index 113 ' ♦ . o CURRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATION, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION. . ECONOMY OF TIME IN EDDCATION. I — Ky Jamks H. Bakkk. Pregident of rnivenitu of Colorado. It is important to remember that this is not a question of short- ening tlie ix)llege coiu'se"; that phruse does not give the signiHcanee of the inquiry, which is upon tlie length of the whole period of general education. We ih> not advocate lowering the standard' of American edu(*ation, or crunnning and hurry, or lessening the period fpr those who early turn to vocations, . It is the aim rather to strengthen sc*hol:i^hip, to educate without worry or waste, to keep a class of pupils in school h)Uger than is done under presieut condi- tions. We believe that by a more economic use of material and methods twoyeai’s at least ctfn Ik* saved in the whole period of educa- tion, including the college, and better results secured than now. James M, ^ I*rincipal of State \ormal School, Trenton, ,Y. .7. How can we discuss intelligently economy of time unless we define a specific thing to In? accomplished and the length of time it takes to accomplish it under given circumstances? . ’ The term education is too general; it means too much. It seems to me that it would l>e better to discuss economy \ti terms of the curriculum; for* instance, what of geometry or pltysics, general and special, should we teach in the schools, and how mu:h time will each require? • * Every principal- knows how large are the clal^ of each specialist for his depat^tment, The teacher of penpianship wants to secure not only good letter forms, but the illation of good penmanshif) fS the development of gjood English ; the teacher of English wants not only to secure good forma of expression, but wants to review , all causes .. , .V T. f ' \ ' 8 CUBRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. of expression. He is unwilling to recognize the fact that the eriod^of education. We readily admit the re- sponsibility of the elementary school for a share of this saving, but in accepting 20 as the age at which the college course should be completed, weTinve in mind the abler students, not all students. We can not go far until we can agree upon the essentials of a course of study and common standards ofimeasiireinent, for ecOnonry time in education must be relative tor the results which we wish to secure. Irf determining the .essentials of a course of study and adopting measures of accomplishment, there is danger that too naVrow a defini- ' tion of “essentials’’ will be* adopted. Fixed knowledge of funda- mental processes is no more and no. less essential Uian mwital atti- tude, habits of thought and emotion, and working ideals. Something mor^ than drill is needed to get. these ingrained. The selection of suitable subject matter for work and ^udy in the grades; the organi- zation of this material with reference to the periods when important instincts, interests, powers, and capacities become prominent; the ** • development of desirable4deals, motives, and habits in the pupils — tiieee things must be considered when we imdertake to say what are Ae • - T NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATION. g Recent iftudies in retardation have involved the fallacy that the proper place of a child in school can be determined by age .alone. , hat is needed to put education on a scieiitihc basis is an exUniinS' tion of eacli child s physical state and n^ntul power at the begriming of school life, on the results of which all the work shouhl be based. In consideriilg ^waste in education, no problem looms larger than the prelinainary and after training of suitable principals. Gii^n a salary that will enable the su|^>erintcndent to select peisious of tested strength and charactej^ for-'th^se positions, no etfort is expended to bettei^ advantage in cliecking waste than ^at wliicli the superin- tendent devotes to conferences with pals, d'lio principal make or mar the most canTf ally planned schepie, and in^ his; hands rests tlie success or failure of any plans that may be formulated for economizing time in eleineiitaiy education. HIGH-SCHOOL PREPARATION OF CANDIDATES FOR NORMAL SCHOOLS, L— By I)AViu Kelmlkv* President of Stale yormal Vnivcrsifit, \'ortna1. W. It appears that thrSughout the country nornujkfrool faculties are generally not satisfied with the tjuality of the hi^^^Riool preparation ri>cvi\ed by norinal-scliool students. The character of the ^istructiou is almost even* where dominated by college tr ml it ions an^ ideals. Hence it apjiears that the fundamental cause of the defective prep- aration of our students is in the conscious aim of the high school. This conscious aim of the high school detcnnii>es the choice of teachers. If the one functioit of the high scdiool is to fit for college, what more sensible than to secure as teachers men and women who have been through college . and know wlmt prepa^tion will be needed? In this way the circle is closed and the intru^on of foreign elements effectually prevented. ■ Another evil result of this ideal is a tendency in the organization ^ of the high school to depreciate all student activities that do-not ' directly fit for college. ^ The first need of the high school is a change of aim. It must front the actual needs of life as found in shop and store, in fann and home. This does not mean ikat all instruction diull be voc^itional; the physioal, social, and cultural needs of men and women are facts of Jife, But it does mean that we must assess the actual educational value of every study in the curriculum, of every detail of organiza- tion and method, and conduct our schools in siich a wav as to secure the^ maximum of useful loiowledge, slcill, power, app^iation, a^ character. To make such an assessment of values is no easy mattS! We lack a universally accepted standard. We ar,e likely to be misled CURRENT EDUCATIONAL. TOPICS. J 10 by prejudice, by habit, by Iraditioual doctrines of formal discipline, intangible and unpfovable. Then our organ ization'*’must be in close articulation with the total environment of the student. Thus, if the high school does not offer instruction in instrumental music, it must finT a way to supervise add credit private instruction and count it for graduation. If the student of domestic science has regular home duties in this field for which the school instruction affords direction, some means should l>e found for rating the excellence of the performance and crediting the same in the high school. The school must not set itself Up as the one institution that shall bend everything else to its calendar and needs. Such a change of conscious aim is not easy to bring to pass, for the university looms large above the horizon of the country town. The second need of the high school is a change in the curriculum not merely in tl>e interests of future teachers but of all the students. The question arises, Do high-school students decide to become teachers early enough to affe/?t their choice of studies? The general opinion is that they do not. hut I am not sure that this opinion is in many cases ba:ed on actual iuj-estigation. In one large normal school 23 of tlie 2() women of the faculty had decided to ^conie teachers before they were 10. A majority of the students in the same institution had decided at that age. In another State normal school .all the high-school graduates were polled with this result: . 37 per cent decided In become tencbt?rf^ before entering the hljch school. 4 per cent during: tbelr tlrsL year. 4 per cent dtiriiv^ their second year. 14 per ('em during their third yeirr.- - 22 per cent during their senlor^yt^tV. 19 per cent after graduation. From this it appears that by the middle of the high-school course enough students have chosen to become teachers to make it worth while to offe'r any needed courses. From the reports received it appears that the high-school cur- riculum throughout the country contains substantially the same elem'ents, but varies somewhnt’in the .relative time devoted to the different branches of study. The standard graduation requirements are usually 10 units, each unit being a year’s work in a subject with daily recitations. An approximate ewnposite of the various pro- grams actually completed by the high-school graduates in thejiormal schpols reporting is as follows : BnffUth, Includtng gTarainar. rhetoric and composition. Etiglisb llternture, reading, and public speaking — Foreivn Loap««ce»— I-atln, Greek, German, French, and Spanish. Bocial fletence— History, ecpnomlcs, civil government— Mrtthemortos— Algebra, geometiy, trigonometry, and arithmetic — — • Fhyikai fictence^Phyalca and^chemlstry.. »— - 3.8 8.4 2.6 2.0 1.2 NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATION, ‘ H • Unitt. Biolofficol JSdefk’f— Zoology, botany, nod human physiology .8 Enrih Science — Geography, physiography, geology, and astronomy ,8 Music — Vocal or instrumental ^2 Draxcing — Design, inamial training 3 AgricMliure and Household JScierw'C Tn the East foreifrn language has a hrger place, often constituting a*full thir3 of the cmricnlnm. Tn the South the ancient languages and mathematics recetve largest relative attention. Tn the Middle AVest and also in the Mountain and Pacific States larger attenticm is paid to tlie biological sciences. Drawing and design seem best developed in New England; agricMiltnre and the household arts are just beginning to appear in ratable amount in the high-school curri- culum of a fe\^ students. The normal-school faculties reporting are pretty^well agreed that for future elementary teachers there should be less foreign language, less algebra and 'geometry, more arithmetic, more biological science, more geograjdn*. irum» of drawing and the other manual arts, more music, reading, and public speaking than we ordinarily find in the high-school course. Our students before completing the normal- school program are usually of the same opinion. The following course is suggested : Three years’ work in English, four in science, two in mnlhematic,<, two in history and civics, two in rierman or h'rench. two in industrial lines, one in music and drawing. . , The third need of the high school from tl»e standpoint of the nor- mal school is that the instruction in the various branches be more thorough and more vital. The fundamental difficulty seems to be tliat the high-school study is largely a thing apaijt from daily life experience. The sciences should be so taught tluit the student will feel every day that his health, his happiness, and his success in life depend^'npon the truths they contain. They should explain natural phenomena and industrial processes, fuels, foods, sanitation, and the rules of right living. The matheinatic.s of the high school needs thorouglv-Tevision. T^o other branch is so universally studied as algebra and with so little profit. The time devoted to it should be reduced to one year, its topics limited to those that generalize and extend arithmetical pro- ces.ses. Alyear of plane geometry, with many practical arithmetical problems involving geometrical elements, should suffice in this branch. History shoilld undertake to answer this question : How did our present instif^itions come to be as they are? Only in so far as they answer this are events or the lives af men worth knowing. Civics is a study of rights and duties in society. It deals with the coopera- tive efforts of men in the State to secure justice, protection, health^l cduditions, education, and sundry other things of everyday value. 12 OtmUEKr EDUCATIONAL. TOPICS. It should emphasize function rather tlmn structure and machinery. No study in the curriculum is of higher value than economics. With- out it the organization of modern iiidustr}' can not be understood or | rightly adjusted. But to be of value it must be taught in terms of { the student’s environment. I \Miere the norm a I -school course is only two years in len^h, it is best in the high scl|ool to omit foreign language altogether and in- clude in the last two years a study of the common brandies — not a review /in the sense of going over gnim mar-school textbooks, but a fresh study 6f these subjects from u higher standpoint, a study that will enlist the best energies of advanced students. A year of physi- cal and commercial geograjdiy will set fortli, the conditions and purpose of human industn*. Grammar is rarely appreciated by the 14-year-old. It really belongs in the senior year of the high school. The fourth need of the high school is a different standard of prep- aration for its teachers. Our students usually come from the smaller high scliools, where salaries ar^ low. Most of the tbachers there are ytjung women recently graduated from college. Few of them have had any professional training of any sort. Those wlio are successful remain but a short time. Consequently our high schools are taught by a shifting corps of young, inexperienced, and untrained teachers. All high-scho(Ht^j|diers need as thorough pro- fessional preparation as element a ry-scl^W teachers. We therefore hold that in selecting high-sciiool teachers scdiool ! authorities should give due weight to professional education and training as well as to character and scholarship, and that teachers of extended experience, acknowledged skill, and ain’j)le scholarship gained tlirough private study should not be. excluded from the high- ^hool because of the lack of a degree. Although this report has set forth what your committee believes to be certain shortcomings of many high schools, it must not be inferred that we hold the high scliool chiefly responsible for poor work done by graduates of normal schools. These institutions need to examine their own organization, curricula, faculty, and methods. • II.— fly J H. PuiLurs, • • , BuperintendenLof Bchooltt, Birmimjham, Ala. The chief function of the high school in our educational system is to provide such facilities as shall enable the pupil to discover himself. The graduates of normal schools wdio become teachers in our ele- mentary schools may be readily divided into two groups: First, tho.se who have graduated from a good high school prior to Ihoir entrance upon a professional course in a normal school, and, second, those who have received both their academic and professional training in the NATIONAL, COUNCIL OF EDUCATION. 13 normal schools. It seems to me that a comparison of these two groups in practical school work may l>e helpful; it will enable us by ^ observation and experiment to ascertain the results of high-school training when that training is controlletl hy the normal-school ideal, and to coni]>are these results with those of |he regular high-school course conducted without specific regard for (he normal school. The danger incurred hy the special preparation for the normal school in the high school is twofold: It necessitates the selection of a vocation and consequent difTerontiation in work at too early a stage, before the pupil has had adequnte opportunity for sel f -discovery ; it further tends to narrow the academic work of the pupil to those studies deemed of pract i<’al use in the vocation +;elec(ed. These objec- tions apply equally to sjK'cial preparation for the law school, or any other type of school requiring scholarship and culture as a basis for technical and professional training. 1 1 1 . — By TIomkr II. StKJ overage normal schex)!. * Then there is another supreme difficulty when viewed from the nation-wide standpoint. Normal schools can not be standardized as educational institutions, because they arc provincial and statutory in their status and in their scope of endeavor. 14 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL, TOPICS. IV.— By rnAt;i.E8 S. Chapin, Principal 0 / diate Sormal School, Afontclnir, ff. ./, • I disagree T\ith Dr. Felmlev's report in into. He has two main propositions, neither of which applies to normal-sciiool conditions in the East. 1. He seems to me to disparage scholarship, or, at least, to draw too sharp a distinction ^between tlie scholar and the teacher. The standing reproach on normal schools has l)een and is the lack of ^ scholarly attainments of the iiicmlxT.s of tluir facultie^. The con- flict between scholarship and teaching ability is largely fictitious and artificial, and it does not become us of the normal schools to allow this report to plac <5 us in a false position on so vital a matter scholarship. 2. The report calls for special high-school preparation, for admi.s- sion to the normal schools. We need no such special course as this report calls for. Such a course will give pupils poorer preparation than they are getting now. 3. I dissent also from the idea expressed in the report that the* normal school shall dictate the course of study in the high school. We of the normal schools are self-goveniing. taking oiir orders from . no higher institution. It is not only just, hut it is very’ good policy to respect the autonomy of the high schools.. HIGH-SCHOOL PREPARATION OF NORMAL-SCHOOL CAITOIDATES, FROM THE HIGH-SCHOOL POINT OF mW- J. Stanley Brown. ^ rrinripol 0 / 7’oirnnArp liiuh tichnal, JnWri, 111. . •> \ It is my judgment that it islx)th unfair and unwise for either tlie norpial school or the college to dictate to the high school what sub- jects shall appear in the course of study, what place tliey shall have in the course of study, or in what quantity they shall appear. I believe the high scliool ouglit tal>e as largely autonomous as the elementary school or as any dlher .school, and tliat its supreme pur- pose ought to be, and in a large measure is, the interpretation of life in terms of the community’s highest need: « I do not believe that the higher institutions of lenniing are to-day in any considerable degrtee dictating either the course of study or the supply of the teachers to the high school. AMiat is true in this respect to-day was not true 10 years ago. The growth of the modem high school, its place in the community, and its importance as an institution in itself have given it such a V NATIONjUL council of education. 15 unique place in education that it ill becomes any other ectween the element - ary school and the high school sho!ild not also exist between the high sch(X)l and any other institution doing work beyond it. The function of any public high K'hool is to interpret life in. terms of the needs of the local coinnumity, whose it is, by whom it came into being, and for whose supreme service it exists. It therefore can not change its aim in order to satisfy the wishes of any other institution. " HEALTH PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION. Th()M.\s D. W(Kii). M. I)., Professor of Ph)tniro} FtiurnUnn, Tcorhrrti* CoUfQf, CnJumhUi I'nirmfity. The most important of all our national resources is the health of the people. The most valuable assi't in onr capital of national vitality is the health of the children. Piiblic educatif)!! is the logical, the strategic, and the responsible agency of the Nation, of each State, and of each comm unitv for the conservation and enlinnconient of child health. ,To become nii effective instrument for the protection and promo- tion of child health, it is essential that the school sho!ild not only be a sanitary, healthful place for children, hut that the various agencies in public ediicatioii should l>e so organized that each pupil niav be given the best possible opportunity to escape weakness and disease and far more to realize the attainable In'st \u growth, in development of bi()logic, intclb'ctunlj moral, serial, and economic power. It can not lx? takciiTor granted that school children are healthy. The ina^lSrity of them are not as healthy ns they should or may 1:^. There are iii the schools of the United States to-day approximately 20,0dl[),000 pupils. Careful study of stat istics and estimation of ail conditions leads to the following personal conclusions: ^ (a) From to 2 per cent, or 400,000, of these have organic heart disease. ^ (5) ’Probably 5 per cent, 1,000,000 at least, have now or have had tuberculous disease of the lun^. (c) About 5 per cent, or 1,000,000, have spinal curvature, flat foot, or some other moderate deformity serious enough to interfere*to some degree with health. (d) Over r> per cent, or 1,000,000, have defective henrijgg. (c) About 25 per cent, or 6,000,000, have defective. vision. j 16 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. (/) About 25 per rent, or r).000.(K)0, are suffering from malnutri- tion, in many cases due in part at least to one or more of the other defects enumerated. {(f) f)ver 30 [>er (‘ent, or (hOOO.OOO^ have enlarged tonsils, adenoids, or enlarged cervirai glands which need attention. Over 50 per cent, or 1().(K)0,000 (in some schools as high a> 08 per cent), have defective teeth which are interfering with health. / Several millions of the children j)osses>,, ench, tvvo^or more of the ' ha ndicai)ping defe(‘ts. (/) About 75*i>er cent, or 15.000.000, of the school children in this country need attention to-day for physical (refects which are prejudi- cial to health and which are i)artially or completely reniediabla About 100 cities in the I’nited States ]ia\e as many different kinds of organizations for the cart* of health in the sehools. , need more definite and uniform standards of work in this field. ^V e need uiore conviiu'ing demonstration of the value of various methods employed for the proiuotioii of child health, so that sufficient money may he apiiropriaied for school hygiene by those who control public, funds. Scliool hygiene includes much more tluwi health exam- inations for contagions di>cas<' and chronic physical defects, although ^ such examinations inake the basis for all individual care and adjust- ment. / Other factors of essential importance in the health field are the following : ((?) Maintenance of sanitary, healthful sclmol environment, with clean schoollumses. ahundant light, good air. etc. (M Hyg ienic instruction and school management, with particular attention to influence of teaclltn’ upon nervous health of pupils. (r) Effective teaching of health and lu’giene to all pupils in the schools. (('O Rational supervision and direction of play, games, athletics, and all healthful and satisfying forms of physical education. Special features in the schools, or closely related to the schools, which have direct hearing on liealth include the following: (a) Homes of the pupils; (5) playgrounds and gymnasiniirrT't^rt^i^^®! clinics and other medical clinics for children; (d) classes for defectives and crip- ples; (e) open-air schools. Improvement in school hygiene involves prominently these factors : 1. Recognition of extraordinary value of work of school nurses and employment of nurses in the schools. 2. More comprehensive and thorough training in school hygiene in all normal schools and other institutions for professional education of teachers. 3. Better technical training for school physicians, school nurses, teachers pf hygiene and physical education, and/other special offiqers in this field. NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATION. 17 4. Requirements of tests of kno^vled^e and skill in varloiis phases of school hygiene for teachers in general and certification of hygiene specialists of different types. SECURING PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR HEALTH WORK IN SCHOOLS* W'lLLIAM H. ALLKN. Director uf \otiunnt Trainint; Uchnn! for PubUr ^rn irr, \rn . More kituis of ntort trork of a ktruK a^I nwre money for Hs 'H'ork is a slogan for the United States Bureau of h^ffucation which should be ])opiilarized. To back it up with letters to (Congressmen and Senators is the most important step which can lx» taken in 1012 toward educating communities to support health work for their -own school children. Comprehensive, efficient, aggressive service should and could be given by existing agencies; to all sUfiool children under the Stars and Stripes. To suj)port the United States Bureau qf Edtvcation, which is in touch with one-half million .sc1uk)1 -teachers and twenty million school pupib, and to interest the general public in supporting that bureau's requests for more money to do more work are concrete responsibilities of the National Council of Education and school superintendents. Eveiy^ community has the right “to be shown" !>efore it spends money on school health. It is vastly more important that the com- munity outside of school should understand the need fpr health work at school than that this health work he done. It is worse to have obstructions to ventilation in a school building than to have obstruc- ^ tions to breathing in a child’s throat. Better to have myopia in the eyes of 20 per cent of school children than to have myopic public sentiment regarding the schools’ duty to discover each child’s physical need and to guarantee each child a physical environment while at school conducive to health. Any community which thinks “ sweat- ing ’’'school children in ill-ventilated, insanitary, overcrow^ded school- rooms is more respectable and more safe than sweating similar children in factories and cranberry bogs is not likely to support school health work. No public expenditure makes a stronger appeal to the imagihation, conscience, and pocketbook of a general public than expenditure for school health. The puWic should not be expected to come to the school to get its inforrriation. The schoob should be giving out information to the public every week in the yeat. The health needs of 100 per cent of a city’s school children should ,be explained to *the public. Therefore a health program of work 'and of education should incluiie private schools. 4e6d6*—12 2 . • 18 CURBENT TOPICS. Education of the public should be by means of charts, uniform sanitary surveys, photographs, ‘‘befor^and-after” contrasts, exhibits, moving pictures, house-to-house explanation, circulars of instruction, newspaper stories, special emphasis at budget time, and reporting methods which guarantee the efficient use of|money allowed. STATUS OF THE CfOUNTRY SCHOOL. . K. T. Kau^iiu). F1(itr Supenntrndrnt of Puhlir InAtrurtion^ KatmnM. The rural school is th'e one laggard in the educational procession. Not ttnly has it failed to keep step in the march of educational progress, but there are those who declare that, taken as a whole, it is less efficient than it was y*ears ago. - Many reasons may be ad- vanced for thi^s lack of development. However, no study of the situation will l)e complete that does not recognize as a definite factor the great change that lias taken place in ('oininuiHty and social con- ditions. The ever-iiuTensing trend of rural population toward the cities, and the growing per cent of tenant farmers, have had a dis-^ tinct and det<^rrent effect upon our country schools. The educational thought of our age has h(‘en directed toward the improvement of the city srhool system, of die Irigh school, the effi- ciency of college, normal school, and university. And the emphasis of onr thought has l>een j)la(’od long and devot-odly on these educa- tional agencies at the expense of our tnral schools. We rejoice in the great things that have been done for higher education, but sub- mit that the time has now come when the same generous support and the same ardent labor should be dcvoled^to the improvement of the rural schools. Although they serve directly the interests of the great- est per cent of our population, and though they are admittedly the fnost inefficient part of our educational system, yet they are utterly lacking that generous and unselfish support so freely given for the advancement of the high schools and colleges. The fbllowing is a true, though not a full indictment. Of the 12,000,000 rural school children, constituting a clear majority of the whole number of the youth of schqol age, less than 25 per cent are completing the work of the grades. The teaching body is immature and Ikcks proper training. Terms ara^^sh^rt. School buildings are ppor, insanitary, and ill equipped. The school enrollment is eon- stantly decreasing. The supervision is wholly inadequate. Cost of instruction is higher than in the grades. High-school privileges are denied the great majority of these boys and girls. strong, virile, rural school of a generation ago has gone, and in its pIace||B a primary Bchool^eak in numbers and lacking in elSciency. The country boy NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATION. 19 and girl of, this strenuous and jomplex twentieth century are not afforded equal educational opportunities.' A vital weakness in our rural school system is the lack of a genuine demand for properly ^trained teachers. I have knowledge of one State that bears m excellent reputation educationally where, out of 8,000 rural-schoolteachers in 1910, 4,400 w^ere found to have had no training beyond the eighth grade. The most constant and most im- perative requisite of any plan of school instruction is an adequate supply of competent teachers. No other provisions, however ample, can be substituted successfully fof capacity in this respect, nor com- pensate for the want of it. Not liberal appro]>riations, nor costly buildings, nor well-framed theories, but instruction that execuAe^J^e purpose of all these. and touches the mind of the scholar aiyim- prints thereon its own character and qualities is the demaiBlthat must l>e met, and yet it is just at thijj point that our commoMjRi^ls, particularly our country scliools; exhibit their greatest we^iess, Jt is a well-known fact that a large majority of the rural teachers go into the work with UH)e or no special preparation. Notwith- standing the multiplication pf normal schools, it is rarely that a graduate o^ these institutions is to be found engaged in teaching in the country. It is a striking anomaly that thj lawyer w'ho"^looks after our material . interests,, ' or tlie physician who cares for our bodily health, even the veterinary wdio doctors our horses and dogs, the carpenter who builds our houses, or the machinist wdio repairs our automobiles, must go through a long professional training or practical apprenticoship Iwfore he is regarded as tit to ply his trade. ^*et, every year thousands of inexp^rieowd and.untrain^ bovs and girls are allowed— even encouraged— to step out of the ranks of the common schools and to take their places as the counselors and guides of the plastic minds and immortal souls of our dearest possessions — our children. "Hi is condition falls w*ith greatest severity upon our rural popu- lation, for the school boards in all our cities and in most of our smaller towns have firmly established the rule not to employ a teacher who has not had practical teaching experience or special profe^ional training. So, the only place w'here the untrained tyro, with no education beyond' that furnished hr the eighth grade, may begin is some country school. But the beginners must teach and the schools must have teachers. As a consequence, our rural schools l)ecome the only training school that the vast body of our teachers ever know, and here these teachers learn — by expepience and ex- periment, by practicing upon the tender intellects of the most hope- ful and virile youth of the land— those pedagogical principles and educational truths which they should have learned as' a part of 20 " CURRENT EDUCATIONAL TDPTCS. their preliminary professional training before ever entering the schoolroom “ as one having authority.” No sooner has one of these journeymen or raHier journeywomen teachers by virtue of quick insight and ready acquisition — by reason ^of the born teacher's birthright — grasped the fundamentals of her great problem and proved herself capable in the application of them than the superior inducements of t>l^ graded ‘jchool and the ever- alert city scdiool board allure her from ^he ^ount|0^ to the town. And the rural school must begin over again the training of another teacher to go the same way; or, it may be,^ this time to experiment with one who was intended to have been a hewer of w-ood and a drawer of water instead of a teacher of men. The only relief lies* in requiring better -preparation and some professional training for all our teachers. Until the normal schools address themselves, to the problem of preparing rural teachers, the plan" of devoting the last year of a Hi^h-school course to normal preparation seems to be most desirable. Authorijty and money nnist l>e giveq the United States Bureau of .Education that it may undertake a campaign for the reorg^inization of the rural school. Other agencies now devoting time and money to social uplift should be invited and urged to join in an etfort to in- vestigate thoroughly rural school cf)iulitions, to propose remedies, to direct public attention, to suggest remedial legislation. Withal, there miLst be a nation-wide campaign of publicity and organized help. Under the wise and capable administration 'of Commissioner Claxton the niral schools are to be helped'as hever l>efore. We are earnestly hoping that some of the great foundations* will add to their other activities the promotion of education in tho rural schools. These boards, with theb?^corps of skilled workers and their great financial resources, coiud accomplish more ^han any other agency. This problem is perhaps the greatest in America Certainly it is the greatest educational probleri^. It is nothmg short of attempting. to secure to 12,(K)G,000 children their natural birthright-— equal educational opportunity. If we want to get more out of thej rural schools, we must put more into them. We can never have rural schools until we have aroused public interest i n them.^ 'he national life an(J character of to-morrow is set and direefeJiBy the schools of to-day. The country is the Nation's great recruiting ground. To it the city has alw'ays looked for its supplyof men who do the great things, who command armies, build industries, take ^he initiative. It is true that the cities are the centers of organization, j^ut they are not self-sustaining. The rural population must always be the bone and sinew of any countiji More than one-half of our school* population is trained in the rural schools. The^ schools are inadequate. 21 NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATION, CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS. Adelaidk Stkelk Haylok, , Department o/ t'duvuUun^ Indiannpoliit^ hut. Although tl^ matter of consolidating rural ^^lools in the United States has been under consideration since 1801), rapid strides have been made in recent years. To-day alrtiost every State ha^ taken some .^teps toward consolidation, and in many States the one-rtKnn district school will soon be a thing of the past. The advantages promised by consolidation are numerous, and wlien the transition has been carefully made they are all in e\*i^' dence. They include larger schoid plants; sanitary buildings with modern ccniveniences; laboratory facilities; industrial education, in- clutling practical agricnltuie by inearN of farms ii^cpnnection with the centralized plant; cloM*r super^*ision ; a new conimimit aroust*d by tiie new conditions ; and the utilization of the j)rarit as a social center where parents a mb teacheis come together to discuss mutters of comiuon interest. Through consolidation the high .s(.-hool is brought to the rural coimuunity with the same completeness that chaVacterizes it *in the cit}\ Tlie country boy and girl ai*e not coni' pelled to adapt themselves— many times to their detriment— to the city life in order to obtain a secondary education. The peaceful establishment and progress of the consolidated scliool have bei'ii aided greatly by railroads— both steam, and electric- motor cars, and other improved methods of transportation. Our thoughts and energies must center not upon the annihilation of the old, but upon the building of new. The consolidatei^ school is not lui experiment, but a necessiiry step in the evolution of school machinery, and that it may fultill its purpose in the s(K‘ilil scheme it .must be estabILshed with care and consideration. STANDARDIZATION OF THE COUNTRY SCHO^OLS, • Thomas H. Harris,'^ Superintendent of Schools, Louisiana. Records of school enrollment and attendance kept in Louisiana reveal, among other facts, that three- fourths of the children com- posing the first grade are hold-ovei‘s from, previous sessions, but tliat from tl; ^ ^cond grade to the seventh there seems to lie no alarming loss of chudreii by dropping out of school, and no excessive numbers of hold-ov^ers in the different grades. From the seveiitK grade to^ tlie eleventh, on the other hand, about half of the children fail of promotion or quit school. ' " y It i^.,^so noted, that the highest enrollment and attendance are reaohed during the early months of the session, usuaUy the sechbd, ^2 CtJEEENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. and that the average attendance in the d^i^erent grades falls far below the enrollment for corresponding months. >The State-approved high schools, which are required to meet certain standards as to build- ings, equipment, and teachers, and are regularly inspected by the high-school supervisor, lose fewer children and have more regular attendance than the other schools. I am expected to state how the standardization of the country schools w’ould prove an important factor in preventing some of the waste to which I have called attention. Many of the small country schools throughout this country^ are taught in poor, inadequately equipped buildings, the teacliers being inexperienced, poorly educated boys and .girls, who are burdened with a larger number of classes than they can properly teach. Thus the parents see but few’ evidences of progress on the part of their children; therefore their interest does not keep up to wliite^eat, and they allow tl^eir children to attend school irregularly or to drop out altogether. *> ^ To^mprove these conditions it would seem wise to classify country schools, fixing certain standards as to building, equipment, char- acter of^rnstruction, length of term, nuinbe^ of grades, and qualifica- tions of teachers, and to stimulate local interest and effort by offering each school maintaining the required standard a .small special State appropriation in addition to its share of the regular sdiool funds. RURAL-SCHOOL FUNDS— THEIR SOURCE AND DISTRIBUTION. ^ * Edwabd C. Elliott, Proft»9or 0 / Education^ L'MUer/Uy of U*i«con«jn. . One portion qf our task is to discover ways and. means that will guarantee to every rural school a constant sufficiency of support. Just wh^t this sufficiency should be is fairly well established \o-day '' in the standards of educational economists ‘and engineers. We know within reasonable limits of variability what sum should be expended on a rural school, whether it be a 1-room, ‘2-room, or 10-rooiu school, in order that ^ther^s may be a fair chance of producing those results that approximate the needs of our civilization and typify the idealism of our education. * One aspect of this extraordinarily cni\d schoolrooms. Ordinfiriiy the '^h<^l grmmds in rural districts are too small. There should be eno^itgh land to allow for lawn, playgrounds, school gardens, and experimental farm. TreeSj shrubs, plants, vines native to the locality should be planted. Such a rural school site should contain at least 2 acres. Teaching the elements of agriculture in rurat schools should be required by law. The ordinarj’ rural-school teacher is not prepared to teach the subject. Until we have a larger unit of otganization,* either the county or township, and wdth that the country high school, we can not Hope for great efficiency in the teaching of the science of agriculture. 24 OTJBKENT 'EDUCATION Ali TOPICS. In the schoolroom each child should have ^ least 15 square feet , of floor space, not less than 20(f cubic feet ^ir space, and a fresh- air supply of not less than 30 cubic feel per minute. The light must come from windows grouped on the left ^de of the pupil, or on the left side and rear, or on the left Side, rear, and rear right,, or in the ceiling— never through f^ont windows. The total glass area in the windows of each study or recitation room must equal at least 20 per cent of the floor space of the room. .All the seats in any row in a study room must be of the same size number; that is, there must not be a No. 4 desk in front of a No. 3 seat. The space between the back of the seat and the -^ge of the desk should vuvy from 9 to 13 inches. Blackboards should be placed from 18 to 28 inches from the floor. Every schoolhouse should be provided with one of the sanitar}^ drinking fountains. No better educational in- fluence can surround the child than clean, well-kept, and beautiful surroundings. Schoolrooms must be as carefully cleaned as homes — floors, windows, walls, and furniture. Unless they are so kept the schcK)l house may beeome a breeder of disease. For $350 it is possible for the rural sclioohto have "satisfactory toilet rooms. The ordinarv school outhouse is a great menace to the moral as well as physical life of the child. The walls of the schoolhouse should be properly tinted and deco- rated. The subtle, silent influence of good pictures can not be over- estimatetf. ^ Emphasis should be placed on the value of good reprints of the masterpieces. Gaudy chromos and advertising cards should have no place on the schoolroom walls. Beauty can not be taught by preaching it or praising it. Beauty must be taught by creating it, by living in the midst of it, by having beautiful things come into the experience of the individual. . ^ ^ : Because the habit of reading good books is a most valuable adjunct to an edueation, a librarj^ supplied with interesting reading of the better cla«r1fe an essential part of the ideal school plant. This habit should be formed.as soon as a child learns the mechanics of reading, and he should be encouraged to read books that he will enjoy and at the same time be benefited by. ' ^ ^ THE PROBLEM OF RURAL EDUCATION. - D^viu Snedden, of Sducatjon fir MotoachHieitg. , It seems that the problem of ruraV education has been ^greatly com- ■ plicated by certain traditie included in tlie discussion of tests of organization and administration. In measuring the achievement of individual pupil dasM^s or ^hools in the subjects commonly taught a beginning has already been made in this direction in sc’ales or units of measurepient which have been derived in some of these fields. . ^ II.— By Carroli. (J. Pkarsk, irintrntlent of f^cUoul}<, M Hu ICg*. I recognize, as we ail do, the great value to come from these splen- did detailed studies which are made for the purpose of showing us how to test the eflfectiveness of our work. Hut there are also cer- tain different signs in wliich we may read our success or failure as teachers or as administ ratois of scliools. ^ One of these tests, which any of ns can apply, is to note whether or not the teachers and pupils in our schools are experiencing the “joy of life.” A very gcx)d test of our success, in at k*ast one direc- 4;ion, nlav also be re»\d in the street manners and lH‘ariiig of our pupils. It is possible for us to judge without (]uantitative measure- ments whether the pupils and the teac'hers are doing their best, working up to their capacity, getting out of themselves the best that is in them. We may judge our success also by noticing whether or not our pupils remain in the school and sliow some interest to receive all it« benefits, or whether, at the earliest possible moment when^ the law or the parental authority will permit, they leave our instruction to enter upon some other occupation. The school may also measure its effectiveness by the attitude to- ward life which its pupils- have after leaving the school. We, as teachers, are advertised by our product ; unless the school implants \ti the majority of its pupils good ideals of conduct and of life, a good disposition toward fellow men, and a high standard of duty to and resfxmsibility for the welfare of the State, we JpAy know .that something, a very important part of our opportunit^as teachers and school administrators, has been lost si^it of or tSat we have failed in its realization. III. — By C*hari.i:b H. Judd, Dirtetor of the School of Education. Vniver$iiu of Chicago* lU. One very common method of judging the efficiency of a school is to observe the w^rk which the students do inr the advanced school to which they pass after leaving the lower sdiool. The question NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATIO*N. 27 which should be a.sked can be formulated as follows: Does a student maintain in the school to which he is promoted the same relative rank that he held in the lower school ? That is, Does the student ^ho stands in the higher third of the high-school class succeed in \ maintaining himself in the higher third of the college classes, or does he fall to a lower position ? If the National Council or the Department of SiifxM*intemlence could l>e interested in this kind of information it Mould lx‘ possible to develop t)ie plan so as to include elementary schools as well as s(‘comlarv schools and colleges. I\'.— Ky If roKFMANN. •S'upfrnwor of Trainitw. stutr So, null Srhouh. Charlrstofi. HI Advancements in education, arcade hy varying the emphasis upon the ]>rohlenis of education. Many of the, standards, in educa- tion have l>een arrived at and have Uvn j)racticed so unconsciously that they liave lx‘coine a part of the viovt^s of the teaching popula- tion. Anojher tyi)e of standard is that which is created by definition, generally registered in hnvs. In addition to those standards which have been established by legi.<^lative enactment there are still others that have been formulated by organizations, ofx'rating under private initiative, or by educa- tionaj institutions aiding under a cooperative agreement. The difficulty in handling hy scientific measurement problems that he within the field of teaching method is found in the fact Hiat they deal directly with hmnan nature. This makes them far more subtle, complex, and variable than thosi» that pertain to school finance. Aariable quantities can he ineasun>d by employing the statistical technique. The time Mhen ^ve shall have sfandards for testing schools de-" twined by fhorouglily scientific methods is near at liand. Tntro- ^p^fion can never in any true sense give us an u])plieAl service. The ^real advance must come from an acquaintance wdth experimental technique, ' ' STAin)ARDS AND TESTS OF RURAL SCHOOL EFFICIENCT, C. l*i.UOTT. ^ Professor of Pditvatiun. VnirW^ifti of There- IS a generally recognized standard for urban elementary ^ and secondary schools. We need also to know the constitution of a standard rural school, and by this standard to develop among our country teachers, school officials, and people a consciousness of the coipparative worth of their own schools. This standard rural school n^ds to exist m reality, not merely in abstraction. 28 S CUKRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPIc6. It has seemed to some of ua that the recent movements to secure ‘ Federal aid for agricultural and other vocational education in the several States might better have re(x>gnized the principle of in- direct, rather than direct aid, in so far as these movements were calculated to better rural schools. The establishment and main- tenance by the Federal Government of one or more demonstration ^ rural schools, both one-room and c*entralized, in each of our States % would render incalculable service for the elevation of the staIlda^d^ of efficiency for rural schools, far more jierlmjis than direct appro- a/, priations in aid. A standard of value in education, whether it be in finance, organization, or instruction, must exist as a living ob- f jective value before it will serve to stimulate our people and our educational workers into an active desire to reconstruct the rural school. The layman is as sensitive the expert to the demon- stration of rural values. The ordering of these values yet lies before us as one of our great tasks. I r DEPARTMENT OF SUPERINTENDENCE, NATIONAL E’^UCA- TION ASSOCIATION. WASTE AND EFFICIENCY IN SCHOOL STUDIES. w. II, Kt.SON, formir Supn inlrndrnt of Kchnnlt of Clfrelani, Ohio. New criteria of efficiency turn the center of administrative interest from the needs of the few and tlie strong to the needs of the majority. The failure of tlie .sc1uk)I to liolc} its pupils is one of the great sources of educational waste. In a typical city it was found that for a 10-year perioion that the school is addressing itself lo the strongtM* group, and sotting its standards of attainment beyond the range of the average clnldnui. Methods and standards of promotion must also l)e made more flexible. There is urgent need, top, for standardizing subjects, de- partments, and schools. A study of educational waste forces the conclusion that in the col- lection and use of data to guide in measuring (he efficiency of the school and in delcnuining administrative action, a mere beginning has been made; that if the efficiency of the school is to be definitely measured careful record of school josses must 1 h‘ kept, t<‘ the end that .study courses and promotion schemes may he adapted to the abilities, needs, and interests of all the children, and the school itself be thereby enabled to check its own waste. DEPARTBfENTAL TEACHIliO Hi THE ELEMENTARY GRADES. ‘ W. L. STtXHKNH. ffuprrlntcntlrnt nf HrhnuiM, hinvntn, Vrh»*. The tendency throughout the country toward departmental teach- ing in the more advanced grades of the elementary school is pro- nounced. This tendency has in the main rfesulted from the following generally prevailing conditions: (1) The difficuHji,,^©! securing effi- cient teacher^ for the upper grammar grades; (2) the de^jirability of preparing pupils to assume more easily and successfully the larger freedom and responsibility ,of ’ the high school; (3) the vitalizing of department of superintendence. 31 instniction by tlie ^cialist to the end that thewa.ste resulting from unskilled teaching may be lessened. ‘ ^ l*hc influence of these condit ions led to the introduction of depart- mental teaching in the elementary ^hools of Lincoln three years ago. Four of the ten grammar .schools are u.sing the plan, the es.sen- tia! features of which, as adapted to our work, are as folloms : 1. The sixth, seventh, ajirl eighth trades nre included in the dejiartmentnl scheme. 2. Four clearly defined departments have been created. I. e.. matheniatics/ peopraphy and history, grnmmiir and coiui>oBltion. literature. Music is ussipned ^to one of these departments, arf to a scK-ond. and writing to a third. Each teacher gives Instrih tlon In sjielling. civic and mornl training, and hygiene. Furthermore, e;ich teacher is held responsible for the instruction of the r>nplls In the chrnH’t use of TOngltVh in stKUiking and in writing. r::ffch cluss has a teacher, ternietl the class sponsor, with whom it spends In recitation and study about one-third of the time, and who Is responsible for the genenU conduct and attejidance of th(#f class. 4. No pupil redtf's to more than four teachers. This number does not in- clude teachers of niandal trnlulug. cooking, and sewing. 5. Weekly <*onferences of the departmental teachers witli the principal are held, to milfy and correlate the work and to discMiss the m*eds of individual pnpilH. Iliis plan has l>een in operation for a lime siifticionlly long to jus- tif\ the drawing of certain ('o pel ii.'' ions with n’fcrence to its dangers and weaknesses as well as with reference to its advantages. If the ana pt at ioi) of depart ineiilal tetudiing’ to the upper grammar •^grades is mnde with the following necessary ])rovisions — avoidance of overdepartnicntnlization, frequent conferences to determine the needs of the indivie found that the old system of “ know so much l>efore promotion exactly reversed this order? Under such an idea attention, interest, and intellectual activity existed for the accumulation of facts and knowledge. Overthoroughness and accuracy have been made an imioen^ hurdeii without sufficient after results in life to justify tlieiiu Tntel- ligenco. not meinors'. is the most precious thing in tlie universe. V(»u are doing a rank injustice if you make pupils mark time or keep tliem back in anytliing. To allow the child to make the most of every ffioment of life in our public schools is not impossible. It is being d^*ne. AVhen shall wo learn to teach children and not subjects and textbooks: to look into the soul of the child and lealize Imw far above our machinen' it might soai- if only wo would not care more for the machinery than for the growing soul of the child ? SOME AbjUSTMENTS AND CHANGES IN THE COURSE OF STtJDY AND SCHOOL ORGANIZATION SUGGESTED BY THE NEEDS AND THE CAPACITIES OF CHILDREN THAT VARY FROM THE STANDARDS SET FOR AVERAGE PUPRS. D. II. V'llRIRTKNRF.X, Superintendent 0 / Sf^ooh, Salt l^akf CitUf Utah. Tt is manifest to all students of the school ctirriculuni that the diffi- culty of meeting the needs of the individtial child in class instruction increases as he moves upward in the grades. Tlie nature of the pre- soril>ed work in primary grades and in the lower part of the grahimar department is such as to ajipeal Ho the intere.sks of practically every child and tojneet his general reqtiirements. His marked personal tendencies and aptitudes begin, however, to assert themselves as he passes through fifth and sixth grades, which in so many respects represent a transition period in his life, and when he 4ntei*s the seventh grade his natural ^>ent is likely to be easily discerned In some cases, perhaps, the quality of his previous teaching may be a factor in predetermining this inclination, but most likely it is an expression of his own individuality developed under proper environ- ment — the home and the scliool — and it may be that heredity has played its part. At any rate this condition arises, and who will say 46506 *— 12 3 34 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL. TOPICS. / that the disinclination to attend school manifested by .so many fifth and sixth grade boys, yvhich all educators recognize, and which has had voluminous discussion from many loadei's in educational thought, is not cine in part, at leastfto the fact that the prcscribc'd ^<*ork in seventh and eighth grades^ which under presen^’ouditions has so little regard for hidividual aptitudes and inclinations, is too restrict- ive in its scope and fails to appeal to them? Gerrnany in her splen- didly organized system has long since taken cognizance of individual proclivities and needs and has providiMl elective work with certain, well-gna rd(‘d rest ric't ions as early as tlie third year, AAV c!m not hope to begin .so low in the grades, oven if it were desirable, l)iit the oppor- tunity for some degree of choice should be given at the beginning of the .seventh year. Tn the regular eliissrooni ail elTort is made, under c‘onditions not altogether favopabV, to provide a coin I it ion that will permit tlife toaclier i<) eliminate in a measure, at least (he exclusively group or class plan of instruction, Ibis tendency finds expression in her conseious effort to adajit her insi ruction to individual needs in the course of the development of a subject. The difficulty i^ greatly en- hanced when some of the childi’en, l)v reason of exceptional native ability ar of development or bet*ause of limited capacity, are much above or behjw tin* class standard, d’he jnijnls of a cla>s, a month or two after flie bcgnnningof (he semester, may then Iw resolved into three grroups, at least two of which are foiiiul in inoms: I. The middle p’onp, including those that are of average rank and also the ones just below and immediately above the class standard. TI. Tliose further Ix'huv the class standard than the ones already listed. III. The f 5 upils ill advance of Group I. The cause of the multiplicity of .such clas.elong tn the mental ho^pilal. and justice forbids that they 1 k^ excluded fronWhe benefits (if the public sciKxtl, until such time at least as the State pro\ides for their care ami (raining. llo\ve\er. these* children have no place in tlu» regular classi’ooin. All are a direct hindrance to the progress of the otiiei childv(*ii, and a f(*\v are a inenaev to the gimeral welfare of the other pupils, bor their o^^■n saki* and for the sake of their asso- ^ cuires, they sliould he si^giTgaled and placed in an environment espe- ti.dl\ suited to flunr own needs. The course oT instruction for such eliildrcii must 1 h‘ (piile narrow in its scope, and it should iriin largely to giv(* motor and sensory training. Whether the lower types should he taught reading, e^’en if possible, is open to grave doubt. In (he (’onsideration of tlu^ environmental cau.sejs of some lighter typos of mental d(dieion(’v. (V)iu])arat iv(*ly few in number and prac- tically all iTsponsive to (he right kind of training. J am constrffined to plac(» an indi(’tniont against the scliool. - Is mentid deficiency a hv-product of the American school? To s(^ie d(‘gi‘(‘e at least, ami in a very serious way. this siHmis to be true. First, in a m‘gative way. as a kind of sin of omission, the schools seem to ho ivsponsihle, by failing to provide possible and piHitieahle educative luoaiis r(*adily at hand for the elimination and lessening of imaifal deficiency; and s(M*ojjdIy, in a positive way, as a Kind of sin of commission, thescliools seem to he responsible, first, by refusing in an aggressive way to i>ennit the child to obtain at will ' the kind of training which might stimulate normal mental develop- ment, and, second, by ff.rcing upon the child a kind of training which - > by its very nature is inentally stunting in its necessary effects. ^ .ihc first phase of the proidem here suggested has to do wdtb the child who ia of recognized normal mental capacity, hut who is just enough l>elow the average in mental ability as to*be habitually un- sat isfactoiy in .scholarship and occasionally failing to pass in his (’lass or grade, although at the same time' he m1iy show continual progress under n^gulnr class instruction, however slow or even sluggish it may, l>e. Many of such children, who possess normal jnenttd capacity but display subnormal mental ability, haveSjeen er|c S6 OUBBBNT EDUCATIONAL TOPIOd, V brought up to grade, to a standard of ^tisfactory scholarship, by means of individual instruction and attention. The second pha^ of our proposed problem has to do with the child, not of Recognized normal mental capacity, but with the child who is apparently subnormal in mental capacity, the child who is not only mentally deficient but who is seemingly mentally defective, the cliild who is practically at a standstill in school progress and who is in- ! of being restored to normality even by the individual instruc- tion of the ungraded class. Be it obsen^ed'that this reasonable possibility is not claimed for all cases of mental deficiency in the schdtfls,, nor is it claimed, at present, for anv particular percentage -of the subnormal children. On the contrary, it is readily to be admitted that there is unquestion- able and abundant evidence that ‘certain cases of mental defectiveness in the schools, particularly those bordering on imbecility, are the products of hereditary influences, or generative conditions, or trau- matic injuries, or other causes entirely foreign to the school, and that the defectiveness thus caused continues incurable, whether the child attends school or not. * Mental deficiency in any individual is evidently not integral : it is fractional. Thatds to say, contrary’ to the general!}’ accepted theory, it is found that the mind. is not defective as a unit in its sociological* reactions," a nS that, orr^^e contrary’, the mind might be extremely defective in one field of sociological reactions ai;d at the sjune'tiine entirely normal in other large and complex fields of sociological . reactions. For example, a child might be arivsted in school progress and be extremely defective in scholastic ability, but at the same time such child miglft normal, or even supernonnal, in social developm^t or in vocational ability, or in ethical habits, religious sentiments. ^ In conclusion I may say, with propriety, that school systems which still hold exclusKely to the method of mass instniction, and provide no rfieans for individual attention for the pupil of habitually un- satisfactory sAolarship, are responsible for an educational waste, __ ^tlTey fail to utilize the practical and inexpensive means '^adily at hahd for the elimination, or partial elimination, of this milder type of mental deficiency. In the process of adaptation necessary for effective teaching the course of study must adjust itself to the child and not the child to the course of study. j DEPAETMENT OF 8UPEEINTENDENCK. . 87 A REORGAinZAtlON OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. J. H. Francis, (iupfrint^ndent of SchooUt Lot Angeles, Cal. , The plan toward which we are working in our city, broadly speak- ing, follows: ' * j * -1. One to two years' in the kindergarten. ' 2. Six years in the elementary schools ussuniiiig res|>onsibilit>" for iHC physical, mental, and spiritual deyelopmeyt of the child l^tween t lie ages of 6 and T2. i3. Three years in the iiiterinediate or junior high scJ||Ool, which may be completed at the age»4lf 15, covering nine years of soKbl work. 4. -Five years in the high school, which hidings the student to the - iige of 20, a good average age to bc^gin the business of life. This general outline of work designed to meet the needs of .the largest number of American Ixiys and girls is supplemented by — 1. The trade school admitting pupils according to physical devel- opment, irrespective of academic attainments.^ ^ ^ 2. Continuation schools open l>efore and after school hours, offer- ing work in manual subjects and optional with the pupil. This work. \\^ hope, soon will include music, art, inene or more sub- jects, as agawst 42 ])er cent in the same grade of our high scliool. 3. To conserve his time and interest. 4. To offer an ecjuipment and organization not ])ossil>le undt^^^ie grade plan, such as science labora1o^ie^:^ W(‘ll-e(iuipped shops, art and mechanical drawing rooms, cooking and sewing rooms, commer- cial rooms, music halls, gymnasiums, auditoriums, etc, 5. To develop in the individual social and self responsibility at an age when responsibility to society and to self l>ecoiye most imiK)rtant. 6. To offer instruction by male teachei*s. / 7. To do for the boy and girl not going to hig^ii sc1um)1 what the high school is now doing for the boy and f^*l not going to college. Ill the next decade the intermediate s<'hool will surpass the high school in importance, l>ecaus(» of numbers Umefited. The high school, in itsicfforts to care for the boy lUul girl not going to college, lifts increased the number of college' students manyfold. So will fhe intermediate school increase the liigh school enrollment. 8. To offer opportunities for the child to find himself. The young people of this country must know earlier what they aix? lo do in life and prepare to do it> The intermediate has distinct advantages over the six-year high schpoh which proposes to admit pupils in the seventh year and carry ^ tbeiri through the twelfth. At least this is true in the larger cities. .The intermediate school assumes its true significance only when considered in connection with the extended high school. With but six year& given to the mastery of the arts and the remaining eight years to the develo]Mneiit of the individual and his preparation either for junior college work or for a definite vocation in life, our system department of superintendence. 39 of education opens up treineiuloiis opportunities and possibiTiVies for the school chihlren of the country and will make njtnrns for the Nation out of all propoi-tron to the additional cost necessary to operate it. . • f THE VALUE OF THE EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION IN DETERMINING THE EFFICIENCY OP A CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM. Calvin N. Kkndall, ^ ('ommiHuian^r of Eductitiou for .\>ir Jcritetf. Eniciency tests which excite in<‘i*eased public interest, confidence, and snpj)ort are likely to be demaniled in pid)lic education at a tiu*e wlien “ efficiency seems to l>e the popular catchword. In this pnicti- cal age there is sure to be a search for tangible results of educational processes. But is it too much to affirm that there must remain some vagueness and uncertainty'' in ascertaining the n^snlts of edilcatip a ? In the n*alm of the intellectuifl and sj)iritnal, with which has so much to clo, there is u very large residuum, the value of which can not l)c measured by figures and tables. As a result of ihy'' observation of teacliers in action in many schools, I am skeptical of finding, by any known test or commission report, a definite inensuro of the value of much of the teacher’s real work. Tlj| factoiw is one human institution, the school is another. The value of the output of one may be deteiTuined in the office, but tlie whole measure of the other institution — the s<*hool — can not be so measured. \\ ith this qualification the educational commission affords a means, available to every crunipunity of considerable size, of^reacliing c-on- clusions regarding the efficiency of its schools, 'measured, first, by what figures iiml tables may show: second, by the extent the ad- inini.strativfe metliods, the organization, tlie course of study, the ‘ schoolhouses ami their equipment, are in accord with what has come .to be widely accepted as the standard for Aineric4in schools, so far as there is a standard; third, by observation of the teaching, and, six?aking somewhat viignely, but nevertheless confidently, of the gen- eral spirit of the schools. Investigation may be of constnictive value in two wdys: In the first place, it may reveal to the school board and to the public the ' strong points of the schools— features which are locally unknown or unappreciated. In the second place, it may point out the de- sirability of certain improvements or clianges which the superin- tendent ha^yjerhaps urged in vain* upon callous boards or an in- different pi^ic. The report of the commi^ion may be valuable, in the third place, by pointing out the nee^ of more money for the 40 CUBRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. irchools. The investigation should also include a consideration of political condition^. The activities of a system of schools are now so varied, so complex, so extensive, that some of these are in the best schools imperfectly earned on. This same imperfection is true of railroads, inanufactur- ing^tablishinents, d< partment stores, scientiHc fanning, and every organVed human endeavor. It is true of the l>est of these, and niaiv- ngerp/are on the lookout for improved methods. So, likewise, it should be with the schools. In fact, an increasing number of super- intendents are studying the problems of increased efficiency. The coinniission, from its independent study of conditions, with an unprejudiced point of view*, may be able to enlarge the vision, ^darfry the views, ^nd recast: the opinions .of superintendents in re- to some of the many-sided activities of his work. Much de- *''P^ds upon the "manner in which the commission is appointed, or, rather, at whose instance it is appointed. THE RELATION OF AN URBAN COMMUNITY TO ITS PUBLIC-SCHOOL SYSTEBfc Mabtin Brumbaugh, Suptnntrndent of PhUadtlphia huhUr f^choolt. Public education is the|State's eflort to piomote and to provide efficient citizenship. It best accomplishes this nece.ssa^y result by training each separate individual in its citizenry to cooperate most freely and fully with all other individuals. The State, for the ends of democracy, commits to the school the solemn and sacred service of fitting the child to do his part for life in that gieat social and civic activity which we usually think of us government in its broad sense. The essence of school training is cooperative and not competitive. So long as the* school is the only social ageneV broadly at work in a community and the life outlook of its pupils is only to a career of individual indu.stry, one has a rural situation. Education here is a relatively .simple process. But when the school is set in a great urban community, in which all, activities the individual are trenched upon by a rpultiform and highly organized economic situation, edu- cation becomes a vastly more complex process. Th^ legal and financial limitations which circumscribe thj; si(ho<)l ahoiilcT always be considered bys?itizens who in their zeal to broaden and, as they believe, enrich the work of the school, insist upon in- corporating into the school's activities certain reforms that are either legally or financially impossible, . . These limits upon the school tend to make it oonservat w. Private initiative frequently outruns public policy anc> the school is rankle to DEPARTMENT OF SUPERINTENDENCE, 41 appear as hostile to the progressive spirit of many good citizens. This situation is always possible in a great city, with its many diver- gent educational ideals and with its nonhomogeneous comnuinitie.-i. It is, however, wiser and better to be b^T^by some as conservative than to be held bySMjvj^isiderablpj^bniber in the urban ffroiip ns extravagant and visionary. Tlie issues of public education are too "WiHonientous to allow of radical experimentation. A\Tiat then fis the ^uitlook? The school plant, its physical appointments, belongs to the jx?ople and shouUKbe fnndy used by the people for all sorts of edncaiional aetivities that are not yet demonstrably within the range of the school. e are pa>sing rapidly from the old and nan^v idea tl/af the school building is mendy a place to educate chffdfen^ a certAin age in a defined way to an understanding of .Uw^fact th W i ^T l iu ol- houses are tlie jieople's forum— to be n>ed by them for ever)’ whole- some intellectual, social, recreationaf, and moral purjiose that ir.akes for the common good. We are coining rapidly to the opinion that the school building should be o]jeii day and night for every legitimate use that the coinimmity as a whole ^n vision. Private initiative is thus given a definite relation to constructive educational procedure. It is. saved the unfortunate relation of destructive criticism — a rela- tion that in general distorts and dws not jiromote tlie -stable eluca- fjonal |U'ocednre of a great city. Privat(> initiative can promote iinpo^ant agencies on the intellec- tual, jiliysical, social, andjnoral side.s. HOW MAY A COMMUNITY LEARN ITS UNMET SCHOOL NEEDS? Wn.LiAM II. Allen, ra.l). hhrrt^,r nf tfu \afiunat Training Rrhoul for Vuhlir itt'rrice, Vocit. By six lines of attack must a oomninnity learn its unmet school neers to report what the schools do and need. (4) By denying that the .schools are l>etter than the health depail- inent, police department, tax asse^isonor the politics with which school children must learn to cope, Schools are weakened, not helped, by being separated from the main currents of community life and being protected against problems which play upon and educate tlie child before going to school and after his few short years at school. 42 CUBRENT EDUCATlONAIi TOPICS. (5) By encouraging school teachers, principals, superintendents, and commissioners to tell cunently what they want, what they need, and. what they dislike, and where they fail. This means adequate comparative statements, first by supervisory officers for schools within each community and then by county and State superintendents, by •the United Slates Comniissioiter of Education, and by national com- paring agencies sucli as the Russell Sage Foundation. (0) By making individuals so proud of tlieir schools and so inter- ested in school problems that they will paraphra^Louis the Great and feel and say ; "‘L'wrole — c'esl nioi ! ” (The school^t is 1 !) * The comnuiiiity which would see clearly its educational needs shouhl have 0 comprehensive system of records and reports and ,should develop a more definite standard for the I'Csponsibilities of the school trustee. Because familiarity, breeds a-tiginat isin, nivopia, despair, or at least procnistimititui in dealing with unmet needs, it is necessary now and then to bring in some outside light. One metluxl of tearing aw^ay cobwebs in to send trustees, superintendents, principals, or teachei*s to J^sc'liools of other coininnnities. Another method of getting out^^[light is to bring in outside investigators. The opportunity o\ a generation now confronts it in the applica- tion of the United States Commissioner of Education for u big enough program, big enough staff, and big enough appropriatioi!. T^secure funds for this wider program of coiiipanitive study is to taice trennuulous strides in helping every comiuunity in the country answer for itself thi question, “ What are our unmet school needs ^ QUANTITATIVE TESTS IN EDUCATION. Oeorck H. Chatfieu), ftrcrrtary of Permonrnt Cennus Board, Srir York, X. V. rhe^ efficiency of our school systems is questioned. Commerce, inrtW yy pc^l itica. philanthropy, and other great Helds of endeavor are similarly agitated. Klimination of waste is the fiiudamontal doc- trine or^ie innovators — of waste in matertal, in effort, in energy, in lives, ii^roperty, in justice. Wien th^^fficiency of school systems is in question, tlje material of discussionVis largely opinion. A technique of investigation and measurement Is slowly arising, but its development is retarded by the absence of a generally accepted and recorded basis of fact. ' How shall tie State measure quantitatively its fundamental prob- lem? This is the function of the continually recurrent census— in mote" concrete (form to know who all the children are, where they are, and the conditions under which they live, what they have done in school and after leaving ^ool, until it inay be fairly inferred that 43 department of, 6UPERINTENDENCE. the aims of the State have been realized. If the underlying theory is correct, a child can no more be lost to the appropriate training process in one part of the State than in another, and whether the coinmunity lx* large or small such may l>e the result unless the respon- sibility for continuously recording each individual child be defi- nitely located. The woriiL^f the permanent census boards of the State of New York— th^re are three, one for each fi^st-^la^s city. New Vork.’^Ruf- falo, andiEochester— is founded upon this cdtiception. The existence of these boards is justified l>ec^nse of the immediate concern of the State for the future citizen and taxpayer. THE FUNCTION OF THE KINDERGARTEN IN THE PUBLIC-SCHOOL ^ SYSTEM, LCCV \VHKKI,0('K, Whreloik Kinderparten Trainint; tressible impulse. Tlie advocates of the theory that the young child is a “little ani- mal and should be left free to carry out his animal impulses in some convenient back yard forget t^ie scarcity of back yards in a congested city district. They also Wore the world-wide proof of the assertion that those %vho guide the lirst seven years of a child s life may make of him what they will. They fail to see that a civilization which desires to “let the ape and tiger die,;' must view the child as father to the man. As figure.s indicate, the Stale may later have to i>ny $‘200 a yetir per convict in onlcr to protect itst»lf from the neglected child, who may 1 h‘ initiated in his formative peri(xl into the standards aiu^ ideals of the social group at a tenth of that cost. For the MO years of its existence in this country, the kindergarten has held to s|H»cial educational materials designed to aid and abet the child's self-activity. These niat(‘rii\ls are used to develop the powers of observation, comparison, investigation, experiment, and inven- tion. They are organized into a series, that there may be progres- sive guidance and consecutive exercisers. They otfer means of seuvse' training, but this is not their final purpose. Neither is motor train- ing or manual training the chief end. Their goal is efficiency, which is the power to do, to produce. The aim of pnalnclive activity distinguishes the kindergarten at once from the Italian system now so much before the public, *The theory of education through pla\' is cotniuon to the two systems, hut the use of play luatorials to provide a quick and easy ai)])ronch to the arts of writing, n*ading, and arithmetic, which is a characteristic oLA< 3 Iontes.sori method, does not form n pai 1 of the kindergarten f^‘heme^?fT^«iaterinls 111*6 developiaental, not “didactic.’' It makes sense tflfining and motor training a parrt)f its educatioual plan, but not the whole. Nor docs it limit its production to handwork. To make a city is well ; to makfe a city l>eautiful is Ix^tter. The song, the rhymie, and the story appeal to feeling and influence the imagination, that faculty which rules the world. The scientific pedagogy by Dr. Montessori places emphasis on practical life, and disclaims any appeal to the imagination. But it is most unpractical to ignore the faculty which has built cities and adorned them, bound continents togetluir, and given to man the bread of life. - Finally, we must consider the function of the kindergarten as a place for social training, which seems to be excluded from Dr. Mon- tessori’s system. It would 1 m? dilReult in a public-school system to promote any theory of education which did not recognize the value of DEPARTMENT OF 8UPERIN.TENDENCE. 45 group and cooperative work. The i’deal citizen is the neighbor. Who is my neighbor? is a question the school is to answer, if it meets the demands of the society which supports it. School is not prepa- ration for society. It is society. Here as in. the greater world the law of membership holds: “ AVe are all members one' of another." The preliminary to working together is playing. together, and at all stages we mus't live together. Free play gives scope for the development, of individuality. It originates. It discovers. It explores. It gives freedom and power. Orpnized and guided pla-y give.s collective power. It enforces the virtues of tlie group — loyalty, a seii.se of law and order, ol)edience, seIf'SiibordiD|hon, and cooperation. It is a druina in which each must act part. Organization a^nd Ilfrection of the piny impulses, control and obedience to the law of“thc whole, are abso- lutely essential in any group of diildren where educational and social motives are considered. Our Arnericanv Republic is founded on the belief that " Unitefl w^ stand, divided wc fall." Men are willing to bleed and die for this l>elief. To fail t6 demonstrate it in .school training would be a serious defect. Ikcause of its ad- herence to basic principles of education and life the kindergarten (da inis its place in a piddle- school system. By its industrial training it makes the beginning for practical life, 1«* its culture training .for a gO(xI life, and by its character training for-n righteous life. In the past its task has been to leaven (he sch(K>I with its spirit; to demonstrate the educutional value of play, resulting in the piunicipal playgrounds: to show the impor- tance of the story and dramatic game in education; and the signifi- cance of group work in ndation to community life. Its task to-day is to improve itself by better practice of its own ideals. DUTY OF SUPERINTENDENTS IN THE ENFORCEBIENT OF CHILD-LABOR LAWS. Owen R. Lovejoy, General Secretary Sntional Child- Labor Commiffrr, X>tr Vorilc. The schools and not child-labor committees must bear the responsi-. bility of children who are thrown ^ into idleness by child-labor laws. School superintendents can. help enforce child-labor laws by making it clear to the public that the school is neither a misfit nor a failijre and by pushing compulsory education into every part of the country. Most children leave school to go to work within a few weeks of the age limit set by law. If the law lets them work at 14, they go to work at 14: if at 12, they leave school at 12. AATiere laws protect children .^.to 16 years the school holds an increasing number to that 46 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. V ajre. It is the duty of the superintendent to pret all the children in school. The public school is public, gnd the taxpayer has a right, as a matter of business, to see that every child, not Almost every child, is educated. * '' A complete niid accurate school census^and an adequate truancy department are essential. The truant officer now is a sorry joke in inaiiy cities, lie must.be held ivsponsible to (he State for every child Fn his community. The school is a sckmuI agcimy and must recognize that the prol)lem 'of education can not be >oparated from family problems of food and clothing, cmpdoyment, recreation and rest, ventilation and siuilight. No other puhlic official can so well appre- ciate the needs of stdiool childien lie fore o’chK’k in the inondng and after 1 in the c\Tihng. Children are led out of s(‘liool aiul forced into industry frecjuently l)ecau>e teacliers want to rid their classes of backward and imiuly children. The develuf>ment of public interest in the^' children hy mean.s of teachers' and parents' asscK'iatrions, 4Uid adequate treatment • of the speciaT children, is the only way to save them. Driving poor students into mines and factories docs not solve the problem, it only makes room for more poor ones. Every teaclier in every city school .should he compelled by the superiiitcnchent to know the child-labor law of his State. Education must l>e practical fortius industrial age. We should hold the childi’en in sch(x>l, win thedoynlty of panuits, and eventually win the wholesome respect of tiu* forces tliaT now want to employ childVen according as we link courses of study to living . firoblems. C^hiht labor e.\isty*(o-day because eiri|)loyers, parents, ami children want it. If the sc1um)1 can win the loyalty of the children, we can afford to ignore the desir*es of the few employers who feed on the product of child labor. Ix*t the Inst two years of the primary grades be filled with work that will so win the enthusiasm of the child that he will not automatically fall in the present cleavage between this and the higli school. But leaders in vocational guidance and industrial training are resisting the tendency to make the school an adjunct of tlie factory. The school ma^^ properly be so used with, youth of 1(> or 18 years, hut with those of 12 or 14 years anotJier factor is involved. Our dtity is not to try to fit these children into industries. The tragedies of child labor are not so much dneio the poor training of children as to the poor opportunity offered them by industry. The pressure of family poverty and the pressure of demand for cheap labor are the chief factors for drawing children away from school and into itidus- tr}'. Hence if the school men understood local industries they could often dissuade children from leaving so early to enter them. Three-fourths of the jobs offered young children are unfit for tfieui under any'cqndition—blind alleys from which they back out in a few 47 DEPARTMENT OF SUPERINTENDENCE. w \eiirs to join tlio riinks of industrial misfits. I3v brinj^ing^ industrial (•onsiderations into our school course; by making children intelligent as to the, history', significance, and opportunity of various occupa- tions; by the development of school gardens and other outdoor labora- tory work; by teaching the dignity of honest labor and the economic sin of milking bad gocxls out of good material and the twin economic sin of paying wages that will not sustain life in regard for labor, w(> shall enrich and enlarge the school curriculuinj making it so attractive that children will volunturily remain in school one or two years longer than at jireseiit. ami we shall save just that much of childhood to a richer, fuller biatiirity. V — HOW FAR SHALL THE PUBLIC-SCHOOL SYSTEM . FEEBLE-MINDED ? * CARE FOR THE Jamks H. Van Sickik. Hvboalti, flprinufieftt. Mans. I 'Ihe opinion is gaining groiiml that the care of the positively feeble-minded, like that of the insane, is a..‘state function and not one i for local communities. iMu^States have yet made adequate provi- ; /,ion for the^care of the feeble-minded ; .consequently for the present I most cities and towns must do what they niii independently till the I .'^tate is ready to cany the full burden.' The public is slow to realize. ! the e.xteht and gravity of the prohlenr. One of the most competent I authorities places the number of feebleminded “in any community at ! 1"000 (d the general pojiiilation. These are iiidividnnis who can not siistimi themselves in coiij^petitive industry. They re- main children all their lives — children intellect and will, though adults in stature and in instincts. ' hoys of this class, if left to ^liein. selves, are likely to drift into criminality. But whether out of prison or in prisoli they are a ]uiblic charge. The feebleminded girl, if unprotected, is n still greater menace to the community, ^^hile there are feeble-minded children bom into good families, such ca.ses are sporadic. They amount to less than 20 pep cent of the whole number; 80 per cent of the feeble-minded- are so by inheritance. To prevent the marriage of feeble-minded girls and to shield them from temptations to which they are noto- riously easy prey is oftviousl.v the duty of sqciety as a plain matter of self-defensp. A\Tiile feeble-minded boys are within the usual compulsory-attend- ance age, they are not a menace to school or society if taught in" separate clas.ses. Moreover, when so segregated iff the public schools . they may be studied, with the demonstrated ’result that a number will 48 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPrCS. prove to l)e only backward and can safely be returne necessary in a very large majofity of tho cases. It has been suggested that, if parents are unwilling to hare their children transferred to such a colony after they have exhausted the resources of the special public-school classes and have left school, the feeble-minded may be guarded by teachers or i)rob!UU)n oilicers, who keep watch of them at their homes, and upon any indication that they are going wrong or .becoming in any way a menace Ip > society take immediate steps to have the State interfere and take such childten to the colony home. Should society adopt this plan? of self-protection, the school might properly be called upon to aid, since th^ teachers of the special classes are the only ones who kitow intimately the characteristics of the children in (|uestion. The teacher of the special class should be equippwl not only with technical knowledge of mental defects, but with ability and will- ingness to enter into sympathetic and friendly relations with parents of feeble-minded children, gradually and gently acquainting them with the child’s real condition apd with the advantages which' the State colony offers and finally securing their consent to a transfer to the institutions; The school physicians and other physicians of the community- and social agencies of various sorts should be drawn into cooperation so that each child may be put into as good physical coTidition as pos- sible. The public school will render its ^eatest service in fittiiW these positively feeble-minded children, as far as may be, for seln supporting under close supervision in senne of th^ sipiplest in- dustries that can be carried on in colony horrfes and in sifting the human material that.it handles so that the various elements willH;*each their proper goal, this goal being life in society for the curaWle cased, life under protected conditions for the incurable. Another service which the public school can perform is that of aoc^uainting the public with the granty of the situation and the need of greatly increased facilities for dealing with the growing^ DEPARTMENT JOF SUPERINTENDENCE. - 49 inenaeo of tlio, fiTlile-niiiidwi. To Jlils cud it is important tliat per^ niaiiciiP l•c(■(Jl•.ls lie k('j)t, tWiicIi will afford cimmlative evidence of li (.‘Oil V ^ici 1 ch:i racfcT. ♦ ^ ^ DO SCHOOLS OF TRADES MEET THE NEEDS OF CITY CHILDREN FOR ' • VOCATIONAL TRAINING? Caukoll G. Prahsk, .Suj)>.r{ntvutlf*nt of t^rhoolit, ililtrnukec, Once (’oiiuiuM'cial niid iiHliisIrial (*>t!il>lislniK*iils (loiiiiindc'd sorvi(v and trained their yoimg employees for it; to-day ii m the rule tliut such plants demand service; they do not train for i(. I he Stale maizes doctors and lawyers and en^ine<*rs and farmers iu schools; it even makes bookkeepers and sleno^M‘a pliers in hi^h schools- It must also now make mecluuiics, skilled artisans, in schools— trade schools: for nol all youii^ jieople swk the t>rofessions orylesiic to work in coininercial establishnrieiits. Iiuluslrial or^aiiiza- tictfi is such that*, if the supply of craftsmen of the be,st quality is not ' to fall, trade sc'hools must teach them. The quality and \aluc of the product ' of ^ood trad(' st*hooIs is no longer in. question : only thos(' who are not informed now main- tain that a trade school can not give a youlh an apprenticeship train- ing as val liable and make him as etroctivc as the commercial shop. Trade schools arc criticised because they arc expensive; because it costs more to school a boy for a year in one of them than in a school of the ordinary type. . A report made to the Xatiomil Education Asso- ciation sonic veal's ago sliowed that Ihe co>t of liigh-scliool and nor- mal training education in many cases approaches or equals the cost of go(Hl trade school in>truction ; and the eaiiiing ability of the trade- school graduate far surjiasses that of the high-school boy. But assuming that to educate a boy in a good trade st‘hool costs $300 a year — $G(X) for the course of two year's — an unskilled laborer, a man without n trade, can earn $o0p, maybe $000, a year; a g(X)d mechanic can earn $800, $‘m, $1,000 a year. Tlie value of a man earning $500 or $000 a year, capitalized nt 4 [>cr cent, is $12,500 or $15,000 ; the capitalized value of a man wdio can earn $800 to $1,000 is $20,000. to $2.1,000. If by paying out $600 for two'yenrs*^ spooling, a niai^arniiig power can be raised from $600 to $1,000, and his capi- talizen\’alue from $15,000 to $25,000, it looks like a very good in- vestment. Trn(\e scliools are not the solution of all oiir industrio-vocation problems, but they meet the need of an imfK>rtant part of the young people who are leaving our elementary schools at the end of the course, and are meeting that need effectively, ' 40606"— 12 i . , 60 OTJBBENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. HOW SHOULD THE SCHOOL SYSTEM COHTRIBDTE TO AN INTELLI- GENT CHOICE OF VOCATION ON THE PART OF THE PUPIL ? " Gtobgk I*latt Knox, f K«p(’Krtfrn(/c>/ of JSchooU, Ft. LouiH^ Mo. We must nM bo content simply to direct the cliild, find a place for^ him, and launch him forth on his life >vork, althou«rh this process is easy conjpnred with the better way. Our aim must be brin^. the cliilJ to understand the real value in his environment and to detw't the b&st opportunities open to him for a life work, and then, so far as possible, lead him to choose intelligentfy which calling he w ill follow. It should not Ik*, our Jtim to determine for the child and his parent what he should do or into what vocation he should enter. Workers in vocational guidance should stand most fiiTuly against the sugges- tion that we are to force the youth of our land into certain established occupations or trades acconling to a predetermined schedule or pre- arranged s<:'heme. If we are true to our. democratic ideals, we shall not permit any group of men or any authority to dictate what shall be the occupation of the child, nor should we ourselves make such an attempt. Vor any organized effoil' whatsoever to say that so many children may be taught a certain trade, or that this child may learn it and his neighbor may not, is usurpation of function which must not be tolerated. • To choose wi.s(*ly, one's vocation, an appreciative knowledge of the immediate environment is essentinl. We must help him to understiind the vocational opportunities open to him. It is pitiable to what’ a large extent choice of vocation is made quite, in the dark. If we can only give to our youth a fair "understanding of the nature of tWopportunities open in professional and indn.strial and commercial lines, we shall make a great advance over present lamentable conditions. We must help the child to under- stand also the responsibilities involved in his vocational life. We must also urge the value of preparation. Wfiat, and how, should the public school contribute to an intelli- gent choice of vocation on the part of the pupil? In the organiza- tion of the work very large attention must bo paid to investigajtion, both preliminan' and continuous. Investigation to be adequate must co\*er three great fields: The child, his environment, the vocations. ’ Unorganized social influences, which come under *Uie head of en- vironment. have tremendous weight on the growing child. One scarcely knows where to begin. The street influences, in which all too often ih'te child moves from school until bedtime, vary all the way from legitimate occupatjon, such as paper selling, down to loafing and gang rowdyism. Then the heap amusement places,claim their great, army, and with or without proper sUparvds^ our school chil- DEPARTMENT OF SDJ>EBINTeNDENCE. 61 dren frequent popular amusements and absorb tlioir not carefully chosen lessons so vividly presented. At ell down in tli'e pi-ades, even in the kindergarten, the life-work -r interests must be dovelo])ed in ki*eping with the advancement of the child. One of the best results whigh it is hoped will acenie from •vocational guidances is that children .shall lie held longer in school, and better still, with an added interest in their work. Investigation, organization, cooperation, devotion— these four', and the gr^test of these, devotion. The youth of our land call us to ever-renewed effort in their behalf. TTie wide-open door of oppor- tunity for us public-seh(M>l workers is to-duv labeled “Vociitioual guidance." Let us thoughtfully, carefully, bravely, and devotedly enter in. THE EDUCATION OF GIRI-S. % ^ L. r>. IIakvey, ^reBuifnt of HtCfUt InBtUutr, Mrnomoni^, TTM, Girls and women con.^titute one-lmlf the population of the country. ITome yiiikiiig is, and will bt*, the principal vocation for more than ^ per cent of thi.s number. No other vocation can named which it •is absolutely certain that so large a percentage of the population will enter upon. No other vocation is so important for the welfare of Gu‘ iiuli\ idiial, society, and the nation as this. No other .demands a wider range of^sporinl and general knowledge, nor greater skill in its use in order to achieve success. Eight million girls aud womon are wage earners outside the home. Si>ecial cdiic-ation is needed for them for increased efficiency, result- ing in {^aler earning capacity ami better social and industrial t lit ions. But, it nuist not Ix' forgotten that for the great niajoritv of these workers their present work is but a matter of temporary cdioiee or necessity, to be given up when opportunity comes to enter the home an^l assume its resimiisibilities, and that a majority of them will sooner or later assume these responsibilities, and that without even the beginnings pf adequate preparation for their proper dia- cluirge. - Two million children are bom every year. One-sixth of them die within one year, and one-third of them within five yearS. A large percentage of tliis death ratals due to the ignorance of the mother, t he home maker. Special education will largely reduce the death rate. The care and nurture of the children are very important parts of the work for the woman of to-morrow, the girl of to-day. * At no other the life of the individual are wise care and proper nurture 'sqimpdrtant, and neither is the. result of instinct or accident 52 CURBENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. Girls can be taught and trained in the public schools, in continua- tion schools, and in the higher educational instituticjns for eliiciency in this work. Efficiency in the home is, the one thing' for which every girl should be educated, no matter what other fields her education may cover. It is the one field of educational effort which we have hardly begun to work. We can not enter upon its cultivation too soon, nor can we continue its cultivation too assiduously. THE EDUCATIVE VALUE OF THE STUDY OF AGRICULTURE. ^ Kabi. IUrnes. Lecturer on I'ducniinnal Topics, Pa. Education is everywhere to-day turning from an exclusively intel- lectual training to the development and discipline of all the individ- ual’s powers. As a subject of study for children, agi’iculturc has an evil reconl which it must outgrow. But we are not here discussing the evils associated' with fanning for profit. We are discussing the effects of lessons planned for educational results, not for farm profits, con- ducted in pleasant sclux)l gardens, and on neighboring farms, and stopping short of the empty weariness that mates many of us re- meml)er our childhood with pain and i*egiTt. Such a study of agriculture' commands a wide range of interests common to children. It satisfies the child’s a; into man's heart through history, hiogmphy, and literature; into his dreams through j)hilosophy. music, and the art.s. Our trouble in the i)ast has been that we have tried to take our school children directly into this abstract world of c.\act thinking and e.xalted feeling without pa.ssing them through the preliminary stages of conm'te e.xperience, elemental virtues, and active self- cxpre.s.sions. Lessons in agriculture will give this fundamental liiiining on which all the higher development of thP faculties must rest. THE NEXT STEP IN TEACHING AGRICUltDRE IN RURAL SCHOOLS. 4 K, (’. Hisiioi*, In,chijfyc of KxttnMian Mark, Stuff Aaricutturai Coliruf. Amc», lotra. 1 hero is no common next stop in tcnching agriculture, although in general the ne.xt progrt^ivc move for which the most advanced com- iminities arc now rcacly niuj' l>e indicatecl. This relates to the better pre])nration of teathers fof agriculture in the rural .schools and the high schools, -lliis is the opinion expressed by much the greatest miinl)er of educators wjjjiee Opinions I nought. The .demand for the teaching of agriculture in the communities where the preliminary work has l)een done is already much greater than tlie supply of iiropcrly prepared teachers; We, can not, and would not if wc could, stifle the demand for agrictiltiiml teachers. I\o must provide the. teachers^- The sii])ply of higli-school and nor- mal-school teachers of agi'iculture must come from' strong depart- ments of agricidtural education in colleges of agriculture. The supijly of grade teacliers in towns and cities and village high schools must come from normal schools. The supply of teachers for the rural schools must come from the nonnal fcrainin'g high schools. While we are preparing these needed' teachers, we may weU be work- ‘64 i CUBBENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. ing out' better courses of study in agriculture, not only for rural s<*lu)ols but for all public schools. Agriculture as a subjtx’t 1ms not yet settled down into its proper place in the liigh-sc‘hool curriculum. A shifting of the entire science coui'so and a blotter correlation with other branches aiv tlie movements under way which will requirt* tla^ second next step in the better preparation of teachers for tlie rural schools. \ TYPES OF SPECIAL SCHOOLS IN THE LARGER AMERICAN CITIES. It is a fundamental proposition, thougli not yet fully recognized in many coininunilits, that every child is cut.it led to all the cdiicutitm he is capable of receiving. Tins, proposition implies that it is the duty of the State to educate tlie suhnonniil, physically handicajiped, tniant, and incorrigible child as well as tlie nonnal child, irrespective af cost. The birthright of ever}" child is a place in the ^yorld and a training that will fit him to fill that jilacc ns successfully ns possi- ble — to be happy, solf-res{>ecting, self-supporting. The argument for the segregation of truants, incorrigihles, and tuberculous children is bascnl upon the protection and good of the other children. This argument will not hold in the case of other special classes. In the .case of mental defectives — and by this term is meant those children who arc somewhat subnormal and yet capable of mental improvement (all imbeciles and idiot.s being institutional cases) — the advantages of providing for their instruction and train- ing in regular public school buildings are many. The great argument in favor of having the blind and deaf in- structed in the regular school buildings is that parents may not be obliged to make a choice for their children lx*tween ignorance and institutional life. The training that they get in their intercourse with normal children is of the highest value. When parents under- stand the matter they invariably prefer the public schixd to an in- .s^itntion for the education and training of their handicapped children. It would seem that the child rather than the subject is the center of interest, and rightly so. What a fine thing it would bo to have this idea prevail in grades with normal children ! Time will not permit even a summaj^v of the development of trade schools, commercial schools, manual training and technical schools as a part of the public school system. Andrew W. Kuson, Annoi iat€ fif S* iiuuJH, n- Ytn k , V, 3 *. DEPARTMENT OF SUPERINTENDENCE 55 In any city of 10,000 or more inlinbitinits tliere are pupils enougli f(»r classas in all the groups naiued, save ]K)ssibly cpile])tics, ])upils tluit should be segregated and Lk» given attention and instruction that will b<’st meet their needs. > - For thost* boys ami girls who iiinst leave scIkm)! at an early age to engage in some line of i^idustrv the city should establish vocational schools that will othu' practi(M»l courses in various lines of industrial activity to all who ai*e 14 years of age without regard to tludr aca- demic training or to the fact of graduation from any sclKxd. If th(» hoard of education can not siM-ure th(‘ nec(‘ssarv funds for the siii>pt)rt of any of these speeial activities, tliere are. thank (iod, people of means and warui lieails in any eomimmity who will respoml to any reasonable appeal for finamdal support of the schools named al)ove. All that is needed is a sujierintendent of positive ideas, warm licai t, g()(ul sense. And in iimlertaking work along any of these lines, we supiu'in- temlents shouhl do more than he satislied to care for the few e\<'ej)- tional cliildivn on our hands at the time. We should .study caust's, iiu’tliodsj trcatnuMit. pi'ogn*ss, i*csult>. and inform tlu‘ jmhlic of the same, as well as pass along our experiences to our neighboring fellow workers. • _ A DEFINITE PROPAGANDA TO IMPRESS UPON THE AlffiRICAN MIND THE NECESSITY OF AN EXPANSION OF XHE FIELD df EDUCATION TO PROVIDE AS AMPLE FACILITIES FOR EDUCATION BY WORK AND EDUCATION BY PLAY AS ARE NOW- PROVIDED FOR EDUCATION BY STUDY. M. (I. lUtCM BAUCH, BujwriHtrmlrnt of Scfutoin, PbiUitldphia^ ra. In one city with which I am familiar I found that the wise propa- ganda is the direct appeal to the people. Solme years ago-the suiH>r- iiiteiulent called to his assistance a group of unselfish and ca])able citizens to consiilcr the iiupoiTance of proviiling play and ivereation f(»r tin* chihlren of the city. In four years this propagaiul^^secured above 1^0 idaygroumls. iniiintaiiied summer camps, secu’retl fmur coun- cils funds for a coninii.ssion to study and ivjiort upon neeiled play provisions for the city, had an act jmssi^l by the assembly creating a Ixninl of recreation, and influenced the city government, to make provision in its loan it tans to the amount of $2r>0,000 for play activi- ties. To-day this city is well on tlio. way to ns ample provision for play ns it lia.s for study. All this was don«rby npi>ealing directly to the pet)ple, and the iieople demanded and secured the splendid results indicated. v I take it tliat sof%such propaganda for industrial training in the schools will produce equally desired r^ul^ • " 56 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL ^PICB. THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF ARITHMETIC WORK IN SCHOOL. J. T. tiiLKS. fyuprrintfndent uf Srhnuh, Morhni, Inti. I desire to propose briefly a fomiulii by Avliich any teacher may at any time measure, within I'cnsonable limits, the ability of any school , or pupil in the fundamentals of nrilhmetic and in reasoning power with abstract numlHTS. The coo]>eration of a number of siiperin- teiulents would be necessary to make such a formula valuable for comparison of different schools of the same grade. The object of the formula is to detei’inine the average rate j)er minute of attempts and the average j)ercontage of accuracy, together with a measure of the variation in the various fundamental openitions and in I'casoning. The conditions under which the proj^sed tests are tA be given are as follows: 1. Time for each test, from 4 to 8 minutes. 2. The tests are to be j)reviously Avritten oh the blackboard; plainly, in a gocnl light, and covered by a sm*eii or curtain until the tests Ix^gin. 3. The tests are to be arranged in rows and columns, each row containing 10 j^roblems, and a snflicient numixT of rows given to supply more problems than can be worked by ally pupil in the time allowed. ’ 4^ Pupils Avrite oji papers previously prepared in emss sections 10 wide to correspond with the arrangement of pi*oblems on the lx>ard. All pupils to lx*gin writing, giving answers only, as soon as the curtain is drawn and continue until curtain falls, G. The numbers composing the test to l)c drawn by the teacher by lot in the following manner: Fifty strips of pajx?r are ])reparcd of unifonn size, on each of which is written at regular intervals the natural series of digits, omitting 0 and 1. These strips are then cut into pieces of uniform size, eadi j)iecc containing a digit of the series 2-9. These digits are then placed in a bag and drawn out one by one, as needed in formulating the test. This arrangement insures an equal number of each of the digits to draw from. Zero and 1 are omitted to avoid the possibility of .chance combinations of exceptional ease of solution. Tests four minutes lon^ and over, formed in this w^ay, w’ould vary but slightly in the degrt*e of difficulty. ' 7^ Where a diance drawing would result in an absurdity, as in the subtraction of a larger from a smaller number, the order of the S^ast two digits drawn should be reversed. 8. The operation to be tested in each exei'cise is to be explained to the class by the teacher before drawing the curtain. It should also be written above the test as well as indicated by placing the ' digits iu the positions usually adopted for performing the various DEPARTMENT OF SUPERINTENDENCE. 57 operations, i. e,, one above the other, with a line below in addition, subtraction, and multiplication, and the usual arrangement for short division, omitting all the operation signs +, — , Xi 9. Pupils may grade and mark Uieir own papers, which should be checked later by the teacher. PYom these marks the average or median accomplishment of the schocd can be quickly obtained and a measure of the variation easily derived. The subject matter of the proposed tests is as follows: (1) Addition in single conl^iiations, also double coluiuh with two figuresdn column. (2) The same arrangement for subtraction. (3) ilultiplication in which lx)th factors are single digits, also when the multiplicand is composed of two digits. (-1) Short division in which the divisor is u single digit and the dividend two, also with three digits in the dividend. The reasoning te.sts include (1) three-quantity one-step abstract problems and (2) four-quantity two-step problems. Tlie formuhe may be expressed by letters which are to Iw re- placed with the digits drawn from the bag. Two lettei-s written together mean a number of two digits, not multiplication as in algebra. The order in which the reasoning problems are given is also to be {leterinined by lot, two or moi*e sets 1 km ng used if necessarv’ to pro- ^•ide sufficient problems for the time allowed. Problems formed from the.se fonnuhe by chance drawing and given to classes under the uniform condition.s named above are open to the criticism that the results obtained from them are only ap- proximate. It is the belief of the author of this, paper that they would be sufficiently accurate for the purpose in hand and that they would have the tremendous advantage of easy availability and of universal application. The schools as well as other business insti- tutions must submit to the test for efficiency. THE UTHI2ATION OF THE SCHOOL PLANT. Wiu.iAM Wirt, BuptrinfrnOfnt of Bvhooia, Oury, Ind, * The twentiot]i-centur}" public school saves the taxpayers money by pro'^iding: First, classrooms and libraries, .where the child can study books and recite from books; second, playgrounds, gymnasiums, and swimming pools, where the child can play and secure a general physi- "caTtraining; third, shops, gardens, drawing rooms, and laboratories, where the child can. work and learn to dp ^ciently many things by 68 CURRENT EDUCATTONAX* TOPICS. doin^r them; fourtli, ait auditoiiuin, wliert* hy lectures, recitals, dranm- tizatit)!!. j)hono^*a])h. playtM* piano. st(Tt^>])ticon lantern, and motion |)i('hir(*K tlu‘ visual and f^nditorv (‘duration of the child may lx* done efficiently. Four sepniate and distinct places^ are [ti-oyided ior each child, l)ut the total j>ei' capita cost is not inerwtsed fourfold, d'lu*. per capita cost for classiaxtin study undei' ^ood conditions is from $100 to $200, for play and physical traininjr from $10 to $2o, for woi k frean $20 to $125. for an auditoiiuin from $10 to $25. d'he total pt‘r capita cost foi' the four depai’tiiu*nts is fi'oin $140 to $100. oi' from 40 to 100 ]HM* rent greater than tlu* ])ei* capita cost for the study and reoitat ion room alone. Hut eacli child can he in only one of the four jilaces at the saint* lime. Tlu* new scliool ^o ari’aiiot*s tlu* class(*s that dill'erent sets of (‘hildren are in tlie four separate (h*partnu*nts all of tlu* time. l\v this [ilan the new sehool arromnuxlates fom* times as many (hildren, :|^ul at !i per (*apita cost of $^15 to $100. Hy ju’ovidjn^ facilities for tlu* child's play, work, and rccn^ation, as well as facilities foi* study, the per eai)ita cost of tlu* srltool plant is only H5 to 50 p(*i* (M*nt that of the traditional study classi'oom school. Thei(* is a cori'espondiii^ sa\ ’ in animal maintenanre cost. Extra tcachcis ami s]x*cial sn]H*i'visois are also elimiimt(*(l, and the pei' capita cost for instruction is less than in the exclusively study school, * - A much more important fejiture of the new sehool is that tlu* chil- dren want to go to such a. school (*v(*i'v day in tlw' year aiul 8 to 10 lunirs each day. The universid jirohlem of keeping the children in school has lK*en solved. The school provides a real liu*. so that the. child wants to educate himself at the very moment that he has the opportunity. The play impuEe is transformed into a work impulse, so that the real pleasure is experienced in work ; tlu* school lif(* creates a need and desire for the academic- and cultnrajjwork of'tlu* school. There is no' attempt to remove tlu* dilliculties. The sujiposed distaste- ful work of tile school is U(>t sugar-coated with sentimentalism. 4’hc wR.sted time and the Tnisdirecri*d (*n(*rgy of the stre(4 and all(*y arc utilized to awaken amhition. de\Qlop initiative, and create power in .the child, so that he can find real joy imthe mastery of (lilliculties. The cliild is busily and actively engaged the year round educating himself. The worst pos.sible form of an educational plant is a massive brick and stone building with every device perfected for keeping children r.. - quiet in a strait-jacket school seat all day long. ChildiTU are anni- hilated in .such a school, not educated. The traditional classroom demands the study of textl)ooks. Ilut reareducation demands much more. The new^ school gives t|ic child one-fourth of his time for the formal study of textbooks and for the formal organization oT what DEPARTMENT OF SUPERINTENDENCE. 59 lie 1ms learned during the reniHinin)^ three- fourths of his time in real activities. The addition of real activities in a conihined workshoj). play^rround, and school makes real, genuine education possible. The school does not dispense with hooks or culture. It provides for a more eftici(*nt use o^|^»oks and a more puiuine and thorou^hjicqui- >ilioii of cidlure. Tlu\ \ventieth c(*nturv scIkkiI is jihinned to assure the hi^lu'st J'^o^sihle eflicieiicy from buildings, grounds, and equip- iiieiii and the time and energy of teachei>; and pupils. VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE. MkVKR ni.OOMKIKI.h. of Ihi* Vnrittifin lUirttni, lion hut, Mokk. A" ^^o(‘lltional guidance is not a new tllin^^ What is new about it is the intelli^'cnt and (aier^etic elfort now ^oiiig on throufrhout the country to or;rani/e such counsel, “information, and safe^uanlft as shall adt'quatf'ly protect the yoiin^ peojile of our land during: the (Titical ]>assiiur from school to work'. ^ At the time in life when our children nio^t nc(*d watcliful care and wis(» assistance a vast number of our hoys and ^irls leave sc1um)1 in the various grades and take their plmi^^* into workinir life. d’liat thousaiuls of children tlrop out of school, through no eco- nomic pressure, to ^o to work as soon as the law allows we wall know. In many caises the parents have had no voice* in ihis decisive step. Indeetl, we all know of instances where the parents did not e.v(Mi know that th(‘ir childr(‘n had left school and were at work. If any fair number of thos<» so leaving: were in occupations where they could develop, learn somethin", amount to somethin", matters would not be sr> serious. Hut this is not the case. How can untrained and un"uided children tind their best oj^portunity ? How can they possibly know where they are ^oin" to come ont in a few years, tber(* bein^ nowluu’c at hand the information which can s]>are them y(*ars of drifting, waste, luul too often tragic de!nornlizationV\ ► What 1ms vwational ^nidanee to siij^t^^st as a ])raetieal way to eojH* with this situation? Kvery intelligent school official, panmt, and teacher admits the value of scioHti^c educational and vcK*ational information. Then' is no arpiinent as to the need of wise and well- informed assistance. Tn Boston we have made np our minds, first of all, that the public school is the logical startin^^ point for vocational advisinj;. The first step taken was to appoint in each schooKsoine, teacher or assistant principal as the vocational adviser foi* that school. This did not necessarily make one Df^t hem. But it fixetl a ertnin res])onaibility and made a point of contact between our bureau, a philanthropic body, and the teacher. Supple- 60 CUEBENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. meriting this work we began 4^0 put into IxHiklet form ohr studies of the typical vocations open to Boston boys. Actual ]ilaccinenl is not yet attempted because it will take some years for these principles underlying vocational giiidaiice to find themselves in such conunoii practice; that there will I>e little danger of opening tlie doors to a new form of child exploitation. Three picked teachers from the group of counselors are detailed this year to give their time to the needed investigations preparatory to such a vocational-guidance department. One is planning a new organization of tiie cmployinont-cert iticatc department. The otiicr two^are investigating the cai'oers of tiiose who left certain schools five years ago, and those now leaving, and why. Vocational guidance dws not proclaim itself as a. solution of all tlie serious problems confronting the child at work. But it has within its jmssihilities hitherto n 11 used relationships Ix'twecn the em- ])loyer and the school. Tlie changes going on iji schools are no more significant than are those in the field of employment. AVe stand witli the employer in a demand upon the individual for efficiency; let it be social as well as individual. The employer will ask more and more of the school; the school will ask more and more of the employer. School life and wol’king life must cooperate to make of the student an efficient prcHliieer, to make of the efficient producer a responsible consumer and a serviceable citizen. THE SCHOOLHOUSE AS THE CIVIC AND SOCIAL CENTER OF THE • COMMUNITY. . Edward J.*Waru. It is only through the use of tiie school building as a civic conter - that is, through its use as a citizens' council chamber, a legislative assembly place, and a final supreme court room — that this common institution can serve America's greatest need in the development of a positive consciousness of democracy. The responsibility tqr the use of the schoolhouse for the develop- ment of civic capacity can nftt fie shouldered off upon the childt^ We shall not cease to regard the Government as being located at Washington, at^the State capitol, or at the city hall— wo shall not get the democratic point of view and sense of responsihility except as we make the schoolhouse the headquarters of an organized citizen- ship where men frequently assemble to discuss together and with their public servants the problems of democracy. Second only to the need of developing the citizens’ capacity for intelligent government in the great enterprise of Aimerica’s making DEPARTMENT OF SUPERINTENDENCE. 61 froo(l is the clevolopmont of a strengtli-buildin^ recivational life, *' the ciipaeity to have fun without doiii^ wroii^/’ Tlie pnl)lic school ns simply Hie education center for the child does not ami (’.an not meet this need, liecause in its nature it is iTstrictive. 'I’lie (*hild in tin*- sc’hool is not free to do wrong. The attendance is rompiilsorv. Theiv‘ is little or no training , in spontaneous play Impression. On the other band, the opening of the scltool building as u center of enteOainnient to wiiich one/^ f i> »m Jo come or not ns he will, the f(»stei’ing there, of flic individnal’s free^lf-realization in re(‘rentioiial activiti(‘s, in nmsical and dramatic ex})rcssioii, does directly and powerfully meet this need. And finally, does or can the ])uhlic"s(‘hool, used simply as an educa- tion center for childi'en. develop that social consciousness, that luvadth of hnnum sympathy, that sense of solidarity and po\ver of collective action upon which all those who do not accept the doctrine of " the class struggle base tlu’ir hope of human progress? The iiulividualistic training is v itally important, but it is also vitally iinimrtant that there sfioiild Ihj training in, or at least an opportunity for, the development of the community spirit, the social conscioii^'iiess. 'fhe community huildiiig used only as an education l)lace. for the child is a i)aternal training place. Used as a gathering ]»lace for adults foi* self-education throng) i discussion, rttcreation to- gether, and ac(|n:Untarice. it is a fraternal training place. Both are nccessaiw; each supplements theother, and neither can t#ihe the place of the other. Not only the fighters against political evils, but those who are inter- ested in various spcrillc measures of improvementr are turning to the idea of the establishment of the use of the school house as a citizen- " shij) orgaiiizat ion center and civic flic problems iir America. It is the expression of the ^reat fact that the tide has turned. The dominant force of this evntury is not centrifugal, hut centripetal. We have plissed the time of social analysis and are entered upon the time of socdal synthesis. THE BOOKMAN IN HIS RELATION TO THE TEXTBOOK PROBLEM. . Fkank a. Fitzcatuick, ' ilamti/er Amcrinin lUmk <'o., UttMton, 4 The hookman, in his first relation to the schools, exists, directly, to point out and exploit the aims and methods of the author of the textl>ook that he is trying to sxdl ; imliiectly, to help the schools through l>ettcrinent of metluMls of teacliing. For these purpo^i^lie rieeds qpportujiity to lay his facts and points before teacliers and superintemTeirts; otherwise, it might Ih? months and years heforx^ tliese busy peoj)le would discover what this author has to tell them. The cost of textlK)oks of all descrif^^ui does not excec’d ]>ei’ cent of the appropriation for running expenses of the schools. to the j)upils in the schools it may be a ([uestion of fiO per cent of their time and op])ort unities to have this pi’oblem thoroughly studied and sohed, to the end that the tools used by them shall 1m* of the U'st (juality and latest pattern. Tlierefore, toueliers and superintendents must and do take all the time tliat they ean spare from- their other duties to acquaint thein.'^l ves with the ’contents, methods, and aims of texlbook.s. The hookman, coming into contact with the schools at various points, is quick to find >xcelUnt teachers, teachers with inventive minds, and to encourage them to express their jKnvers in the line of authorship. Through the bookman a very large number of the best textbooks come to be written and published. He is, therefore^ an important factor in the growth and maintenance good teaching and the consequent uplift in the schools, even though thh immediate results of his work are not so visible as those resulting from the ef- forts of others. Another function of the bookman is to secure and insure a high quality of workmanship in the manufacture of text- ' tooks. He is an important factor ir. this., because he witnesrf5es in tlie and tear of bck)ks in the schools shortcouiin^ in binding a^ud DEPAETMliNT OF SUPERINTENDENCE. ' 63 » ! printing, niul lotirns of (U*fi*ds in. methods of treatineiU from the eritii’isms of leaeliers and patrons. These faults lie is more anxious to convrt than anyone else. This causes him to be alert at all times in the interest of his customers — the seluKils, EFFECT ON EDUCATION AND ^ORALS OF THE MOVING-PICTURE SHOWS. .JosKiMi n. Ki;lk, Safftiufcjulriit of tirhunjn, i.|)ent in the publii’ sc hools by children from 15 to 18 jH*ai>; of aj^e. Authorities estimate that at least ii.") per cent of tho^^who attend ai(* chiidren. A careful investigation of the attendance in dl> towns and cities of Nebraska shows that 35 iK*r cent of those attending arc cliildnm under 15 years of age. Children and aihills of all classes sit side by side in the dim light of the moving-picturp theater. The . jMiblic st'houl and the moving-pii'tnre show seem to ho the only truly tlenuKTai ic institutions in the rnited States. My general -study of the moving-picture'*prol)lem and the special study of coinlition^ in Nebraska st*em to justify these conclusions: 1. The moving-picture show has come to stay and will inc reuse in iiuinhers and intlnencc. . * , ‘J. d’he i-haracter of the films shown and tlie general iuflpence of the s+rm\> have iinproWal much in the lust thiTo yeai^. ^ ■ 3. 'Uiere aru important possibilities in the educational film, but I be public motion-picture tbcater Has veiy little, if any, edmauional \aln;*, Tlie peojile want to be thrilled and amuscnl, not instructed. 4. The moving'j)ioture show yielUCATION OF HIOH AND EtBMENTARY SCHOOL PUPILS, B. O. Hollani>, Superintendwt of ^ohcoUt LouiovUttt Kp. » What proportion of the sdiool revenue should be devoted to the cate and instruction, oi^ thh elementary pupils, and what proportiem to the educatiot^pf secondary pupils? 65 OF SUPEEINTENDENCnB. At one time, not many years ago, a more careful analysis of the relative expenditures of public money devoted to the elementary ' and th(f secondary divisions of a public-school system was not of grt»at importance^ since these expenditures could be roughly esti- mated and a fair i)roportion maintained. But to-day, with the e^ablisliment of .many special types of schools, the task of main- taining the proper efpializati^ in expenditure is much more diffi- cult and requires a more cnrefid analysis. lliis is obvious, since nuKst of the special typers of schools recently established care for chiltlreii that beJong to-the general elementary held. ConstH]uently there is a decided tendency to maintain, all these special schools from the funds that have usually been set I aside for the maintenance of the elementary schools alone. Anotlier additional drain on the elementary-school funds wliich should be ; considered here* is een able to leani, there is no schooL system in this country that to-day is spending* too much money on its graded schools, but il is not difficult to give the names of several large cities that are si>eiHling entirely too largo aqiounts on their secondary schools. Fortunately, it will not. l>o long until we shall have $ome definite .standards to set up in estimating the relative amount of money that rJioukl he spent for elementary and stH>ondur>’ eout it? In both ele- mentary lUid stH*oiularv schools there must In* elimination, iiitegru' lion, and correlation. Tliese can not be done at, random or on mere opiuion. lai-ts must Ik* determined. The State noi'inal schools have the burilen of this woiU upon tliem. The State normal si'hools are the servants (d the pcoi)le‘w!io luiiintain them. They must meet the jU'ople s needs. 'I'liey must lead rather than follow in the changes ilemanded in our public-school curriculum. The State normal school js the only school at once in toucli with the object and cmitent of edu- cation as they^ ali'ecl j>ul>lic-sc‘hool t*flicie.ncy. One who-^ias givt*n ^ the.^e problems careful stmly holds that to enaide the prospective f: teacher to know the value of a course oi study the Slate normal school will need to ^^lpport a tlepartineiil of rt*M*arcb work. In this depart- ; mciit aiul under the direction of a skilled investigator tlie fai'ts, laws, S and piiiiiij)kis of I'diicatioii ami j)e(lagngw will he iliseovered and ivdisco\’i*i*ed. Material in the ehanicler of investigators and in- smictoi's eonhl lie secni*cd from the i*tlucatiunal lahor.ato!*it*s of onr great nnixTisit it-s. ami thus the iiominl schools wmdd ailicnlate wiUi these inslitutitms, Miilt-rial in the shai)e of mental problems couhl Ik* sccnretl from tin*. ])uhlic schools, jyul the researtdi department would connect with the future hold of the prospecti\e teacher. Every I; Slate norinal school maiiitaiu;^ a training and model .school depart- i ment which in a wa\\ is a pedagogicnl !alx)ratory ami might as well ser ve in a th'give at U*ast to demonstrate the scicntiiic attitude and metlunl of pi(H-edui‘e in detennining values of elementary and sccond- ai*y school problems. 'i'o my miml sueh an enlargement of the ,s(»r\'iees of the State nor- • mal school is not oidy a possii>ililv hnt is an obligation. With a hope ^ (hat this Ixuly may st*t* its way to appoint a connnittec to consider ways and means of ciitering upon such work, the program ft>r thi.s nu*t*linglm.s been aiTanged. I*am aware that it is a work which will require many years, hnt I believe it .should be undertaken. There can he no cpiestion that therv is nn iiiciTasiiig demand on the part of the public for a critical survey and evalmdion of.exi.sting methoart of children in clcmcnbuT and st*condarv schools is appartmt to the ina.ss of the l)eoplc, and they arc giving expn*ssion to their dissatisfaction with existing conditions. The people are fully acqii4inted withdhe prog- > ro.ss^that has Jx*on made within the past dmide in ewry condition of life, material, moral, and spiritnul. They know they have a right to cx|k*( 4 for tlieir children conditiolis of mental development fuWy in keeping with the times in which they live. They believe tliat 68 OXJKRENT EDUCATIONAL. TOPICS. scientific principles applied in determining values in educative proc- esses will insure the desired conditions. Their confidence in the educators of to-day will not be maintained unless this is done. The State normal schools are closest of all schools to the public pulse, and to them the public looks' for a new order of things. WORK OF THE NORMAL SCHOOL IN THE REORGANIZATION OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM. Err.ENE W. Bohannon, President o/>7u/r Sormal Duluth, J/mn. There is n growing conviction among those engaged in the work of normal schools that they shonld eoine to a clennM* understanding of thoir tlutios aiul opportunities in respect to the cmTicnhnn of the elementury school and that they shonld assume a greater share of ntsponsibility in that connection. Suchudoiuand for a reorganization of the curriculum as exists is mainly uT behalf of a more liberal recognition of the value of indus- trial educiition and vfX’idional training, a In^tter grounding iu the fundamentals of hygienic and sanitary living, and a better oppor- tunity to develop a siuier social life. As a preliminary to this, Vhen* ’ is, by implication, ii demand for the elimination of more or less ust^- less featnre.s of existing* curricula. The mod iheat ions here suggested should be regarded ns favoring the children who will never have any other school experience than, fnay be had in the elementary school, but as none the less desinible for those who expect to have a more extended and varied school life. These results, however, shoidd be a consequence, rather than the main object, of the work done; and so they will be when the school and other experience arc proiHudy integrated; when the completion of the work of the school is only * nominally the commencement of life. The equipment of the teacher is the 'primary con si delation. The course of study must be an expression of her conception of the t‘ourse be pursued rather than that she be regarded ns an instrument for the administration of the course. \ Because it is the special function of normal schools to prcpan' \ teachers of all of the children iu the elementary schools, tluy must. \thoroughly understand their needs. It should lx* aii invariable re- \uirement thattho.se who tench in them have that training and exi)e- rfence which combine to make such knowledge a necossaiy* result. It would be a mean and ignoble conception of the function of the nor- mal school that limits it to tin* duty of supplying teachers tniined to meet a demand which the school had neither the ability to appreciate I nor any sbare.in defining and interpreting, DEPARTMENT OF NORMAL BOHOOL6. 69 It does not matter so much, as we sometimes think, whether the (‘urriculum provides for this or that as it does that the teacher be a livin^r (Miibodinient of the things which should be included in the curriculum. If they are in the teacher they will be in the school, and if they are not in the teacher they will not be in the school, even though they are in the course of study. If it w'ere as easy to make irforms in the work as in the coursos of study, the sohition would be (Misy enough. Tlie substance of the curriculum should be &n inherent pail of the knowledge and experience gained at the normal school and should he so thoroughly inlt^rated with tliem as to make any special effort at adjustment iinnetvssnry. For that reason tlie curriculum of the uoniuil scliuol itM'lf is of tlie greatest consequence. It is incumbent upon ns to -tlevisi* luoiv effective ways and means for coopeniting with the s(M*ei‘ul ageiudes which piH'scrihe the work in the olemcntary seiiuol. I PLACE OF THE NORMAL SCHOOL IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. K. K. Halcomb, ncjxirtmrnt of Ktlni'ntian, Soruuti nrut hulunt rial ('ultrtfe, ^ S. (\ 1 The’ nioNcinent for agricultural education is broader, and more j conipreJiensive than the mere adding of a recitation once a day from I a textbook telling in a brief way how soil is fornu\l, how plants [ should be raised, and giving a few uictures of fancy poultry and l)igh-brcB stock. If the 5j;ul)ject of agriculture is mentioned at all among the older and niore'tinie-hgnorod studies of tiio cun'iculimi, it is in a slighting , . and aj>olom*tic way. Fmjihasis is laid on studying, ^lot on Ihiuking and obser^ng — esjieeially outside of the school house. According to til is conce| 4 ion, know lodge must Ik* s()inethiiig that cun be measured by the textbooks. But as it matter of fad agrieulturul tHlnnition Is more than a eollcction of uninteresting fads. It is an nttitiide, it is a fc*Hng, it is^ different point of view, a new method of presentation. Every normal school should have a sharp lookout, for teachers wjjjj are doing excollent work in the nmd schools; those tcadicrs who are not merely doing gotnl teaching, but who are really getting hold of the people and' raising the standard of living in the conuininlfy whei’c they teach. There ai*o a number of agencies by whidiThis may be done. Then' is no rtmson why. proper selection and encoiinigcment in the field of teadiing slioiild .not give us many more excellent teachers of agriculture and ^jiral life in geneiRl. Teacher who come from 70 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. rural soliools should take traininfr in normal schools which haw an environment that will encourajre them ami stiinulaU* their nnihilion for this kind of teaching:. One dithculty is that most normal scluiols -have- an atmosphere which not only dtira^e. teaching in this field, but makes teacho.i*s feel that it is ii matter of social stand- ing as well as finance to tench in the city strhools. It is like a very lar^e State university which 1 know, wliere all the stiulents in the . ap'icuUural department arc referred to aslK*in^ in the 'N*ow college.'’ The result is that while'maiiy students enter this department. mi)st of them before finishing the four years’ course have transferred to s6me other department. The agricultural education for schools is more than the getting of ■ new facts, more than the ndding of a new* study to the cnrriculuni. Agriculture ns studied in the agricultural colleges has three ohjects: First, that of discovering now truths and new methods of attack on old problems; sei'ond, that of presenting these in such a way that farmers (the adult individuals in the rural coinimmitics) will he induced to liecil them; it includes, of course, training for the wi\es and motliers: thinl, that of spimding much time and etfort in making the farmer familiar with the facts and inclluxls that, an* already well established. The chie'T battle is against ignorance. This battle the teacher and the normal scIkk)! should Ix' prepared to help lu’cvont in the next generation. The children they train should he aide and anxious to u])ply all -knowledge of common methods of fanning as fast as the agricultural college puts its stamp of approval on them, Agi’icultural ediU'Ution for m'1i(x>1s ditTers from that of the agricul- tunil college in that it doc,s not attcmid to dis(*over now truths, docs not try to add to the sum total of human knowledge, Imt only endeav- ors to touch the vonng jxxiple tlie things that, have lK.*en dcinon- strated, and moans of applying this knowdiMlge. This knowlodge is inteiidod for the children, the immature^ and not fm* the adults. Agricultural ediinition is preventive niodicine, while agricultural collegt* work is curative. Tf agi*icultui*al odm*ation can ho properly taught in all public schools, there will Ix' a dearth in the crop of ignorant farmers. The agricultural college can then devote its ener- gies to discovering new truths, putting the frontier of knowledge l^tfnrther into the vast wilderness of the unknow n, well knowing that ^ they will have an army of scientific farmers behind them eap*r to apply each new discovery and hold every foot of advance gi*onnd the colleges have l)oen able to take. ; . But how can the students of the normal s^iools l>e prepared to do ' this unless they have some means of getting this knowledge at fii'st hand? Tliis calls for equipment^ and fearless, well-prepared .t<'ach- ers.in the normal schools. A few are doing this, but behold the lack of equipment and the infantile eiforts of the vast* majority of the DEPARTMENT OK NORMAL SCHOOI^, 71 normal soliools. Tlioy ha ve four brirk walls, tla* oominon drr^ks, cliildivn satnrnl(*fl with the old ideas of (*diu*atirm. :i l(*\tl)ook \vi*itt ii hy a eolle^e professor who never taught a day in tin* I'lii-al s('hool>, and a teaeln*r who (Kk*s not know a Diiror from a PKiiionlh Ko(*k. In striking eontrast to this is the erjiiipmeiil and woi k of sneh normal schools as the Kii’ksville (Mo.) Xorinal. ihit. a^rieiihiiral ediuation as it shoidd In* ])i*eseiited hy tin* normal srhools. and as it is tau^dit hy the lust teachers, is a ])oint of view, a met Inal of attack, aiMittitude toward life. It means tiuit nil studies sin .Id Ik* tan^rht- in a different innimer. It should enable the chii- heu to live a fuller, richer, nobler life. It should show them That iiia>iterin^ j)roblein.s of rai^iit^ crops, baking bread, and sewintf pu*r ments is just as truly cdncational as the sohin^ of a ])rohlem in al'ifi'bra or learning a conjnpition in ^naumnar. In :fddition to hav- 111*5 an c(pial (*dii(aitional and cultural value, it aho has a hodv of tacts that po.sscss a nlilitarian value, which will cnabh* tin* childrt*n of tin* i-ural communities to live a life on a hi^dier mati>ri:distic i)hme. 1 hey will, as a r(*sult of this knowledge, ^et lH*ttcr I't'tuiais from the soil, have more tinn* foi' culture and 's(*if-impro\u*nn*nt, will U* lH*tter prcparetl to compete with the otln*r classes, ami ^n*t ji "square dral/' In the training of teachers of a^ricidturc at a State normal school, I would emphasize thost* ])oints: hirst, (.andidates shqnhl be stdected win) have a natural liking and aptitude for rural life. Second. The attitude of mind which tin* normal students should be tauglit to im]);u*t to the futiue.pupils is that of contentment with rural life, rather than a d(*sii*e for urban life. Moivov(*i*. tliev must be lirought to realize that tin* .studies of inyiiediatc value in luiinan M*rvit-e are as ;iood as any other studies' for mental discipline imd culture, 'riiird. In Jeaeliin^r the stuences onterinp: into a study of agri- culture, the normal school slnadd not ^ive tlie subj(*el for its own sakt‘, but for the sake tif its lM*aring on the course. Thus, for practical purj)os<*s botany hecoinos a division, of farm and gardmi crops, and iuology" turns itsi*lf into a ex)iieretc study of pnietioal l)!U'terioIogv. honrth, Ii<*ss time should l>o (lovoted to the dcae so adjust ed that ‘ those with rural tastes and training have ail opiwtunity to pass which is equal to that of the city-bred girl. 72 OTJUBENT EDUCATIONAL. TOPICS. PLACE OP THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. A W. M, Stewart, of ftchooX of Bduca/ion. of Vinh, Holt Lake City. The point of view of social efficieiKy us the end of cducution has brought about a reconstruction of tlie sc1hk)1 curriciiluin. Disci- j)liiiarv subjects are replaced by the practical. Tlie function of the school is determined by the needs of society in the pro<*ess of its/ evolutionary adjustment. What society and the indivitlual need \lMit can be best done in the school inust Iw done there, no matter what Ik* the tniditions ast.. In responst* to this ideal, the school tmday, as never l>efore, is studying its own particular social setting witli the view t>f its own individual adjustment; so the scliool, for the first time in history, is assuming a really scieutilic attitude. The })rohIein under discussion is to find the ])lace of agritadture in the new scheme of education and especially with respect to the })n>fesfiional t ruining of the teacher. 1 f ugritadture has an im- portant plaw in the sclux)! ciirri<’uliim, it follows without further prgnnuMit that it 1ms a similar importance in the curriculum of the normal school or teachers* adlege. Using agriculture in its broadest sense as emhrueing, especially in the elcinentarv curriculum, nature study, I am ready to make the assertion that \vith its practical activitie^s it is fundamental, and hence extremely rich in educational resource. The st»ci(dogical exj)ert tells \ih that the ])resent-day inemu^e to oui' civilizatit)n, which seriously impedes our pix)gi*ess and perhaps threatens our downfall, is the instahility of the family. T am ready to nmlvc the assertion that no suhjoct can do more foi’ the sluhility of the home than agi’iculture in the schools. I do not na^iii the rural schools alone, but also those of the city. 1 regard agricultural training as funda- mental in the common schools and lun.'ded by every child. Ihen, if **mv contention is correct, and 1 (diallenge proof of the contrary, it is the special and necessijry function of the school that is training teachers to teadi this subject in some, of its phases to every pros[)ectivo teacher. I um nuuly to concede that there are difficulties in the way which may make it for the ])iv.sent impractitaible to tench agriculture in some normal schools and tenchens’ colleges, and that probably the agricultural colleges will need teinimrarily to train teachers of agri- culture. This, however, will be necessary only in the training of high-school teachers of aginculture, domestic science, and domestic art. But ultimately and ideally the agricultural teachers, as well as all others, must be ti'ained in a professional school for teachers. It was once held by many, and especially by high school and university DEPABTMENT OF NORMAL SCHOOLS. 73 jpeople, thal to know a subject was to be able to teacli it, but this idea is now only a tradition. The constantly increasing complexity of education, the social function of ''the sc-hool, and its ndation to the (oiuplex problems of our civilization make the pRfessional ti*ain- ing of the teacher imi>erative; no amateur can Ih' trusted to do so important and difficult a work. It may readily l>e shown that it will Iw vastly moH". economical to place in the teachers* (ollege the agi’i- cultural subjects necessary for the training of teachersdhaij to dupli- cate the lionnal schools in agricultural colleges. * Teaching can only be made more efficient by teaching in terms of the child's life and interests. We are coming to realize that educa^ tion should grow out of the lives of the ])e<)i)le and back into their lives. Practical nature study aims to phu^ the child in a syiu[)a- llietic relation with his eiivinmmcnt and give him a bimder basis of knowledge whereby he may interpret his actions. Nature study should civate a syinpatliy for the industrial activities of the counfry. In brief, our sole aim is to give a child a training which will fit him for life in its broadest sense. AVe are not believers in the trade st'hool ; hut we do believe that this practical work can not only he dqne \iloiig with the fundamentals, but that it will strengthen them. A PLAN OF NORMAf SCHOOL STATISTICS. ■ - I IIOMCB II, SE>:RtKY. J'rcHiOrnf lutro in)ba^ly more essential and more appreciated than any other kind of State educa- tional institutions. They ileal with vital problems, they return im- mediafe results, and they arc more detinitely n*sponsive to. jiublic opinion than other educational movenientis can Ik\ Their organiza- tion is sim|ile, their siippoi’t is direct, their nmnagement is executive in most instances, and their ctinoeption of their jirovince is definite and distinct. They spein to be prevented from having an insti- tutional conception of education, despite their standards of ex- cellence, and they are not likely to hive a national status or to seek national recognition. AVith all their popularity, with all tlieir practicality, wilU all their success, with all their i>rosi>ects an^l privi-, leges, the majority of them do not seem to seek to enlarge their importance as jniblic, organized efforts for improving civ^zation, and they nw- therefore not ai«iing to develop^heir field of activity, or to increase their usefulness, or to demand their part in the national and State opport unities that all other higher education inherits. The efforts that have been made to pass S. 3 (the Page Bill) and its predecessors, ^as to include the Statg normal schools as a factor in fcL.. 74 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. . the great imtiuiml niovoincnt for rf srnsibh*, \ ocationiil otlueatisibililies that would entible them to partieipate in the remaiknble develo|anent that the United States is riH'oiving. They would thus keej) pace with the progress and the largeness that thes(» days of intenst* thought amt application permit, and continuous development and improvement would be the result. Without this view of conditions ami undeitak- iiigs, without this knowledge of what is actually going on (dsewhere, without this touch with comparative >taiuln!*ds and undertakings, 'Jilfhout this chance to keej) ai>i’ej»st with tl»e times, this kind of edu- ciitional work will remain provincial, tlieoi'et ical, and indeterjninate, when its very opporinnities indirate that it ought to l)o tfic broatlest, the largpi^t, and tlmlWt that tlie age affords. With thosi' re(lecti(ms in mind four types IrF^iorrinnl schools may be disting*ished. A proposed pliin of statistics would include tigures on income, expenditure, faculty, students, ti-aining dc*partment% graduating class, per, capita expense of instruction, coui^se of study, ' libniry, and plant and equipment. These points for staftslmal information would not be considered as a[)plying very siif isfaetnrily or generimlly to all tlie different classes of State normal schools. I’liere remain, therefore, sev(*nil solutions to the problOins involved if the work j>roposed is at all worth doing. A few of these nrc suggested 1, Classify the State jiormal isehools on some acceptai)le basis of differentiation, and then worlv out a systcun of suitable an^ reasonable statistics for each of the cIhsms designated. 2, Adopt a very fow points that seem to he in common and be satis- fied with the very mtffiger infonnation thus given ns all that can l>e dewrvedly said and recorded concerning this kiml of State education. 3, Drop the entire propo.sition as of not sufficient importance and value to deserve either attention or interest, let alone the large amount of committee and personal work that such an investigation must regularly and systematically deni and department. NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF EDUCATION. CLASSIFICATION OF PLANS FOR INDUSTRUL TRAINING, Fuank MiTnii'.u, l.i:AVirr. A§imriatr rrnfrttMnr of Utt tUlncatis^n , thv I' niinxit of ('hivnf}o> IVrhups sctvos l)(;tter to disl ingiiish all \ooaiional schools fi’ixm our Uailit educational institutions tliiin tlic sin^^lcncss of |)iir]'K)sc with wliicli thev arc admini>teml, ami tlu* classification lu‘re is baM*d on the fuiul a mental |)ur])Oses of the di lie rent types of st'hools studied. Tn attcinjit in^ to me(‘t the vmposo. two rather disiinct ty]n*s of (md(*avor are to Ih' ol)snd. The ]mr])ose 'of^ jirevocational industi iid trninin<^ in tlic si^’cntli and ei^Iitli ^rad<*s seems to he to secure tlu* r(*vision of the eourst* of study in the iippei* el(*meutarv praties, both as to eontejit and inetluxl, in ordi*r that the work ^dven tlieiein may a])]ieal to tlms(* chihli'(*n whosi^ ,vocat ional inten*sts ai’e drawin^r them away from the scliool altogether, imd at a time when their eduaition is cxtivmely limited nntl fra^nentary. ' . A\'hiIo intermediate, indeixHidont, or separa|^ industrial schools* have much in eoinmon with the prevocational schools, there is <>ne radical difference. They do not commonly prejun-e their pupils for hi<^h schools. The vocational hiph school retains many if not most of the fcature-s of the traditional h\p\\ school, jnviufr. however, the maximum amount of training in voentionarsuhjeiot^ possible without jeopardizing the pupir.s opportunity for odvariced training in higher institution.s of learning. Neither the prevocational school, the separate industrial^sohool, nor the^vocational high school claims to teach a trade. The trade schoo^, genemlly s|>eaking, does not claim to teach anything else. : ‘ 76 76 dtJRBENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. V The part-time cooperative i)lan m-ognizes the fact thi^ one may be educated by his work us well as, for his work, and furtlier recognizes that tli^re is nothing more uii fortunate iiwour social order tlian the necessity which confronts so many children of choosing between all adwol all ivoric at an^eurly age. The pbiWoTT+i‘m plates an arrangement of school program and shop employment whereby the' pupil gains practicjib shi>p experience by working f4)i* an einpIttVer and .systematic instruction in the science and art of the imlustry \n tlie courses oti'erod in the school. The ■pupils work in the scliool and in the shop during alternate and. espial peiaods, usually weekly, and receive wages from their eiii])loyers while in thVshop. The contimiation §chool also depeiuls upon cooperation between the employer and the school. A minimum amount of time, however, is devoted to the school work, generally from four to eight hoiirs u week. ’ The co^crat ive .schools organized on the half-time basis are planned fpr those who arc still in the school system hut who are feel- ing the pressure of economic conditiont* or the urge of real life. The continuation school, on the other hand, is planned for those outsiile ot the system, aiul alirudy engtigeil in gainful occni)ations. Vwational* guidance is a necessary corollary of vocational educa- tion, and the ultimate, siia ess of either one will depciul upofi llu* abilit}^ibf the scltool system.to furnisri'^ome measure of the other. PREVOCATIONAL INDUSTRIAL TRAINING IN THE SfVENTH >ND EIGHTH GRADES. (UxjkOklA. Mi kick, iit'Orif;* uf fichouJB, ImUanatmUH, I ml. • Different policies in prevocati’onal work in the upper gi’ammar- school grades are applied in Indianapolis, Boston, neveland, St. ' Paul, and Newark. In some particulars all flie ^chools under con- sideration are iiTagreenieiit. One point of agreement is in the “ call " for the industrial activity, or to put it dilTerently, in the schoolman’s motive for introducing industrial activities into element ai7-school grades. The most’ fundamental motive appears to lie in the unmet need of tfie boy and girl who does not or can not find education -aixd culture (assuming that these t\YO^words are not synonymous) through and by books alone. A se^nd point of agreement is in the choic^e^of material for educa- tional jpurpeses. The uniform rea«oning seems to have been this: NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR STTfOY OF EDU ERIC Ir 77 “ If a child’s iniiid Joes not react by dealing with the ^bsiract and the svmb(d, let us try tlie reality.” - • . ' A third point of agreement is the introduction of a secondary aim in element a rv training. ' A fourth point of agreement lies in the aanvietiOn thni the book is imlispt'iisahle in any fonu of elementar>’ training, that at least half time .should be given to the b(M)k, but that the book and the activity should be so related as to vitalize each other. A fifth poiiil of agi'eeiyent *elates to method and to quality cf jn- (Ipstrial product. School ])ractice should U‘ *\shop praetieo “ as far as is piaet icable. However, there jfppears to be ^inivet>;ul convict ion that in tl'ii.s eleineidarv field the educational values must alwavs doini- nate rather than the industrial values. ‘ * A sixth jioiiit of agreement is that the elementary industrial courses must he so j)laiined that a boy or girl completing them may at his o])tio^ enter advanced courses of stuvly or enter industrial life. A seventh jxunt <»f agreement is’ that these children neetl eunt (u the ex|>ens(^ of tlie building and its t‘C|uipmont. starting thest* schools has bi^en difficult, and it has>d?h the almost universal practice to take huihlings which have lx*en dis- cardeil for regular st them to the needs of the industrial scluad. If lln*s<‘ schools are to be a smxess, they must receive adeipiate housing anil iMpiipinent. THE SEPARATE TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL, .l.VMKS J*. HaKKKR. Ilf the Huht TerhnirnJ Hit/h SWioo/, C/r*T/nn TOPICS. shops And factories, except in rare instances. One of ih'e^nctions of the technical schools should be to train the men who, with ade- quate additional shop experience, can in turn take the positions in the technical hiph schools, or who will be fitted to organize the work of the grammar grades. Technical schools are iWw suffering as much from a lack of trained men for the teacjiing staff as from all other causes. In re<^^ulfttion, these points should be noted: (a) /Pro]>er training must be available" in-graminiir grades — first, for the trades; second, for the academic 9*lJiool; and, third, for the separate technical high school. ^ (Zf) Proper training ^must be available in the ^separate technical high school for — first, the^rade foremanship; second, for high-school engineering courses and technical nonnal courses; and* third, for technical colleges. The^e are to he some of the developments in the larger cities in public secondary education in the immediate future. * INDUSTRIAL TRAINING IN THE COSMOPOLITIAN HIGiS SCHOOLS. H. B. Wilson, of SchooU^ Decotur, /II. A cosmopolitan high school may be defined, from the vocational standpoint, as a high school which provides various kinds of voca- tional education. In such n school arc combined the advantages which some communities seek to provieje by establishing special types of high schools. Such a school offers many courses, and trains for many vocations in one plant and under one management. Ideally, sudh a school will provide equal or proportional representation of all ^pes of vocations which the children of a given community may .wisn to puVsue. ^ " ’ The problem of the public schools in providing industrial training is essentially one of pro^iijiing skilled labor. The school must seek to render efficient and rrttelligent all those who are to serve society through participation in the industries. It should proceed in the solution of this prqblem, however^ consciously guid^ by the fact that skilled labor ismf t^(/widely different kind&^that which de- ;'pends mainly ^n habit ■‘and that ^ehich 'depends mainly *hpon initia- ‘ tive.' Between tW extremes of these types 6f labor we find a large ilgVBriety of ability with various combinations of habitual action and kdtiative, of course.'^ ' » Ko public high school which 1 have been aMe to study attempts to; provide industrial' training* 4or the first type, o^aborer. The achflol niay d6 much, to be sore^ in fendering ^ese laborers indust >, '7 ' ^ ' ■ • " . ■ ; ' / ■■ *• . i '.T . .A. NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR STUDY OF EDUCATION. 81 trially intelligent, but the training essential in securing this end is largely of the type which emphasizes the development of initiative rather than habitual action. ' . THE PUBLIC-TRADE SCHOOL. (.'lIAELKS K I'KRKY, , Superriior 0/ Industrial Education, Puiilie ^choola, llituaukee, irtji. Two basic questions propounded to the tnulo school are: Can a lx)v serve a successful apprenticeship in a trade school? If so. what does it cost tlie taxpayer? These seem to l>e the. main questions. Those who are interested in educatiffnal work have many more ques- tions in detail to n.sk. The cost of the higli-school student per year in Mihv.iukee is ap- proximately $t’0, or $240 for his four^year course, ^hc cost of the trade-scliool graduate is approximately twice this nmolint for' two years, butstlie trade-school graduate is worth* on leaving school, be- tween thre^nd four times the amount of the high-school graduate who has not hnd-special vocational training in his- se<'ondary school work. ^ The city which is fortjjnate enough to have a municipal trade school in its public-school system can hold before e^erv boy,- ere he reaches the age of 14, the incentive to remain in school and make the moet of himsidf while he has the opportunity. The best place fof trade schools is in the public-scluK)l sA’stem, and its specific place in tluit^ystem is where it can lielp directl,V 2 i)d in- directly the boys and girls who feel tlie desire or need to go to work, and its influence should be available wdien that desire or neeil pre- sents itself. Its strategic position can be used as a power for voca- tional inspiration equal to, if not greater than, its opportunity for* actual trade teaching, , , THE PART-TIME QPOPERATIVE PLAN OF mDUST^L EDUCATION. • * * ■ ' . ADRLUKBT li. SA>TOftO, 'Originator of Berertu (i/oM.) ^(pop Superintindcnt of BchooU^ Chclsbat Mats. In all industrial education there are |everal paVtics in interest— the manufacturer, the vrorltmen, the pupils, and’ the public. For tlife purposes of bar diacussi^,. t^ interest^of the pupilg may be con- sidered as part of tlio interest of the puh^. In the puhjic cooperative industrial ^hool the three principal parties in interest may becomp active participants in the management of the school. It is. in the harnionithig and fuMlbg of the legitimate upirajfions bf th^ 82 CUBRENT EDTJCATICWAL TOPICS. three parties in interest that thp cooperative school encounters its ' greatest difficulties and achieves its greatest excellence. The parties in interest have much in common, but each places greatest stress on some feature that beyond a certain point becomes antagonistic or prejudicial to the interests of the others. v ^ In the managometit of such a school the manufacturer, the work- men, and the'public should all be represented, but the degree of suc- cess of tjie administration will be largely determined by the extent to which they merge their interests into one control for both factory work and sch^ool work. In order to show the relation of the shop work of the cooperative scliool to that of other school^ it is convenient to classify the various forms according to the purposes they serve, as: (a) Cultural, (b) pre- liminary fra^e training, (c) trade training. ‘While the cooperative school plan has its elements of danger, never- theless it possesses advantages which can not be claimed to an equal extent for any other, type. One week in the school followed by one week in the factory is t-heuisnal plan of alternation. Although continuntion schools were originally intended to con- tinue the regpilar elementnry-schooP‘*subjocts. they arc now chiefly . devoted to'teaching the technical and ‘theoretical subjects required in the trades practiced. The plan of devoting the cooperative school' wdiolly to the acquisition of technica l know ledge and trade efficiency was greatly encouraged by the example oTTlT^^pprentrceship schools* maintained by the large corporations, by the^emands of manufac- -turers not maintaining their own schools, unjby the desires of the pupils themselves who lioped to increase their wages by this study. The philanthropic trade schools have also for Uie most part limited themselves to satisfying the demands of the trade, and give no sepa- rate place on the'program for the cultivation of pei'sonnl, social, and civic obligations. May not the Jove of creative, .work that enables youths to take so kindly to shopwork serve to motivate the personal, social, and civic bettefment subjects? Mav we not wdth profit change our require- ^ ments from memorizing l^ks to right actions; from book* civics to intelligent participation in civic life; from formal 'physrology to gienic •living; frop economics to social service;, from grammar d composition to shop records and business and social documents? B need less formality^ but more concentration, effort, and self- controL - • Making aiwHonest living contains the elements of living an honest life. Industrial efficiency, functioning in the person, implies such • fund^enW virtues as diligence, resf^nsibility, self-control, and co- pperiatiopv Ii^ustry' apd ri{^t ^ fellow-workm^ ai*e NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR STUDY OF EDUCATION. 83 pn excellent approach to right relations to the community and the State. ► ^ Finally, there is n culture resulting froiUi doing and being, more vital than the culture derived from books alone. Industrial educa- tion makes this vital culture possible in greater or less degree to a class of individuals for the most part hopelessl}’^ out- of reach of the traditional streams of liberal education. THE CINCINNATI CONTINUATION SCHOOLS. Pr.i.^Y Johnston, * Woodward High Fchool, Cinrinnofi, Ohio. A certain sanitarium gave a test for insanity which it always claimed was absolut-ely conclusive. It was very simple. The patient was given a large dipper and was set to emptying a tub of water set under a hydrant with the water turned on. If the patient continued trying to empty (he tub without turning tJie w^ater off he was de- clared to he hopelessly insane. We, as schoolmen, are undertaking a similar task in our battle against igiorance, as long as we allow a stream of ignorant children to len\*e our schools, simply beca VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE. MkYF.R In.OOMKi I.D, Dirrctor of the Vocntion Itureau of Bo$ion, Mase. AMiat has given rise to the nation-wide interest in the subject of vocational guidance? Advising with young peftple as to their future is notV new thing. Reflection must convince one that personal and individual effort, however invaluable, can not deal uideqiiately with modern .conditions. Tenement homes, a large *ij|jfnigrant population as yet unacquainted with the possibilities of the ne^Y country, large school classes, and complex conditions of commerce and industry give rise to a situation which, besides friendly sentiment, needs facts, organization, and even science to understand and rope with. AMiose business is it to fdllow up the results of the transition from school to work? Whose business is it to audit our social accounts and discover how far our costly enterprises in education, the pain, the thought, the skill, and the sacrifice we put forth with the growing generation are well or ill invested in the field of occupation? The higher training schools are as profoundly concerned in this prob- lem as ai*e the elementary schools, . The well-to-do are no less affected than the poor. Until society faces the question of the life careers of its youth, the present vocational anarchy will continue to beset the young work seeker^ Vocational guidance presents itself as a community problem: To lessen the social waste, to furnish necessar}^ information about various occupations and their^advantages and disadvantages and the training necessary for efficiency in them, to broaden the range of choice, and to deepen the “ life-career motive” in education and in employment, .the vocation bureau was organized in Boston, the first of the kind in the country. The main interest of the bureau is not the employment of youth, however favorable and pleasurable the oppwtunity, but its best social investment. Underlying all its endeavors is the realiza- tion that a ihnger period in school and continued training are funda- mental to acnievement in every desirable occupation.^ In accordance with this plan 117 teachers ^erc appointed to serve as vocational opunselors, and the opportunities op^n to boys and giris were fully diiKUssed.in a course ot lectum and discussions conducted by the vdcational director* f NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR STUDY OF EDUCATION, ■ 86 Vocational ^lidanc^is a s**rvice in be^ialf of efficient democracy; for iTork and school must join hands in fitting the future citizen for the highest and best achi^veitients. TRAINING OF TEACHERS FOR SECONDARY COURSES IN AGRICULTURE. \ A. 0. Monahan. SpecinlUt in Agricultural Education. United Stairs Bureau of Education. Some idea of the present demand for instructors qualified to teach agriculture in sccoiularv schools may be deri\"ed from the fact that in the United States at present there are over a hundred' special agri- cultiiral schools, located in 17 different States, sup|iorted in whole or m part by the States, and that agriculture was taught in 1910 as a separate subject in more or less complete courses to over 37,000 pupils in 1,800 public and 140 private high schools, according to the reports submitted by these schools to the Bureau of Education. Of these special atgricultural schools and the 2,000 public and pri- vate high schools teaching agriculture only, a very few besides the institutions giving four-year courses in (he subject have instructors with a college or normal -school training in scientific agriculture, an4 a large percentage of the active teachers with such training have had . no training in psychology or pedagogy. Probably no one factor has had greater influence in retarding the introduction of substantial courses in agriculture in all high schools whose pupils are drawn in large nuhibers fi’oni farming districts than the shoi*tage of properly .. qualified teachers. It will be several years before the supply of men available as instructors in agriculture will be sufficient to fill the demand. Although the salaries pnid.are from 50 to IQttper cent higher than those paid for instructors in other subjects t^pcondary schools, the State colleges of agrig^ture are finding difficulty in persuading men to qualify specially for teaching, becayse even these salaries are not equal to those paid in the agricultural industries to the graduates of these institutions. It is important, however, that properly trained men be obtained. Agriculture as a high-school science has not yet been developed into good pedagogical form, and until such deyielop- ment has taken place a higher grade teac^jer is neided for the agri- cultural subjects^ than for any other subject in the high-school curriculum. , Men for Ihis Work need ajiberal education in the general cultural subjects and special training: Fi^, in the physical and natural pjtfiKses, particular!^ in their relwion to the science and art of agri- culture; second, in tfi^^i^l apd i4^t*actlcal agriculture and farm pi^- tice; third, in rux^lloSqC^^ agricultural econcmiics; fourth, in i: 86 CXTBEENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. general psychology and pedagogy; fifth, in special agricultural peda^ gogy, including the history^ of agricultural and industrial education, the place and purpose of agriculture in the high school, tlie function of the agricultural high school, sj>ecial methods of teaching agricul- ture, and other similar aspects of agricultural teaching. The oppor- tunity for such preparation in whole or in pari is offered by 1^0 of the 50 State colleges of agriculture. THE VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL: WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON PART-TIME WORK IN AGRICULTURE, U. W. Stimson, Aucnt for Attriculturol fCrlucation, Board of EduiQtion vf HusMarhuaetta. Vocational education in the usage of the State of Massachusetts includes all forms of specialized education the controlling purposes of which are to fit for ust^^ul occupations. Agricultural education, as a phase of this subject, means that form of vociitional education which fits for the occupatij)ns connected with the tillage of the soil, the care of domestic anihials, forestry, and other wage-earning or productive work on the farm, ^ Productive work of a high order of efficiency is timing to be con- sidered the real test of all system^of vocational education of second- ary grade. .Particularly in vocational agricultural education .it is ^coming to be accepted that the training niust be sucli as to develop both skill and managerial ability.' The competent farmer must be not .only expert in the varied teclinique of his calling, but also a sound and progressive business manager. . Neither skill nor business ability can be learned from books alone^ nor merely from observation of the work and management of others, Bpth require active participation during the learning period in productive farming operations of real ecrtTanon and experiment. Most schools appear to have adopteSTHus view. The problem, then, of providing for actual participation, both as manager. anM as worker, in productive farming, simultaneously with his clasardom instnitcti(Mi, on the , part of th/boy in the agricultural school^ may fairly brooked upop as the^^post startling and stupen*' dous problem in fhis field of vocational education. How shall* it be: solved!. " ' It is bebeved that home farm work, supervi^d by the school, where , are at all like those in Massachusetts, might well be sub^ NATIONAL SOCIETY FOB STUDY OF EDUCATION, 87 stituted us far as possible for the present methods of much work^ little work, or no work at all of u productive and managerial nature, now found in connection with vocational agricultural school train- ing; and that the project method of bringing agricultural science iinniediafely to bear on actual farm practice, in giving commercial agriculturul enterprisers conducted by the boys themselves, is a prom- ising solution of our most pressing problem in this field of vocational training. Most boys, like most men, learn best by being told and shown on the field of action. This method offers the boy, all too eager to quit school for work on reaching his fourteenth birthday, 11 strong incentive to continue in school; because it bids fair to make him an earmu' while still a learner. Boys like to fepl that as mem- bei*s of the family the\^ are at least able to pay their own way, i ( STATE-AIDED DEPARTMENTS OF AGRICULTURE IN PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS. i Dick J. C'hosby, tipecialist in AyricultutaJ Ft/lotiflort of the States 0/Jtre of Experiment Stations. Eleven Stated have appropriated funds to encourage the teaching of agriculture in existing public high schools. Several other States have, made provision for special agricultural sj^hools or given money for conducting teachers’ training courses in wdiich agriculture is one of the subjects of instniction, but- these are not coiisiderei^ in this paper. State aid varies in the different States from $250 to $3,000 to each school. The number of schools receiving. State aid is usually limited by the size of a lump-sum appropriation, and this ap- propriation varies from $10,000 in Massachusetts to $125,000 in Minnesota. \ . * The requirements to be met by tbfe schools receiving State aid vary greatly in the different States, but in the main they include the employment of teachers having special training for their worje, provision for suitab!e lalioratories* and faboratpry equipment, land for educational work in agriculture, and Ihe giving of courses of study approved by the State authorities in charge. As a system for the ^velopment of agricultural and industriaU education, State aid p^sesses many advantages over any system depending solely upon local initiative. In the first place, it usually insures ’ better Muipinent, especially lab<»*atories. Secondly, State aid carri^ witlH^n^ certain amount of State supervision, and this can more eamly be made expert supervision than where everything concerning courses of study /and methods of teaeriod. If it is true that the pei iod from 14 to -18 years is the formativ^ period, then it would seem perfectly logical that duping such time he should be introduced to the activities of human l^fe; and his true development would consist tin relating his knowledge of literature, mathematics, science, and art Vo the activities in which men and wmmen engage. Probably the ]^atest function of the high bchool is to open the door af opportunity bMore boys and girls and give them somewhat of a vision of their posaibili ties. t . Ifjha^been clearly shown in each State that there is an interest on the part of the people in agriculttire as a subject of Mudy ; second, that agriculture correlates nicely with other science subjects; i^ird, that we develcfp intellectual power through it; fourth, thflit the lives pf imany young men arei redirected and turned toward a^icub national society FO'ft STUDY OF EDUCATION.' 89 lure; fiftli, tluit jjractical results in {nriuin^ pnx'esses in the eoin- miiiTity ui’o sxH’ured. If agriculture is to bt‘ pnisented in the most successful way, the* coui*ses should be introduced slowly, hacked by j>roperly organized public sentiment, and without such a forcing process as would be entailed by the offering t^f a State siil)sidy to the high .schools taking up this work. Moreover, the teachers should be adequately trained; the course must be long enough to devHop some definite results, logical in its arrangement and proj)or in its content. "I he intellectual element has always lK*en duininant in education; and while we may give physical, moral, intelfectiial, and industrial instruction — am] in my judgment all these coui'ses slH)uld be given — >till in the work of ])ublic education the intellectual element mnst ront inimlly lx* dominant. We am not introducing^ courses in agri- culture nieiady in order to turn out trained farmers, but we are intro- ducing these courst's in order that the student inav relate general science to agricultural science and leave the scIkhiI with an intelligent knowledge of the application of the scientific principles and with a vision of what he can do in the application of those priii(*i])Ies in actual fiinu activities. What the country needs is intelligent fann- ers, professional farmers, or men who are artists in their line. In public high schools should agriculture be taught as AGRICULTURE OR AS APPLIED SCIENCE ? ^ I — By Wu.LiAM U. Hart. Profetmor of AfjricMlturaJ J-'tlucatmti, Hassachum-ttH A;fricuUural ColJetJc, Amhmt, Tlie conflict bi»tw(^n theory and practice is inevitable. Theory, on the one hand, is only a way of expressing in general terms one’s idea about a group of facts or the^r^asons for a course of ucrion. On the t>ther hand, practice is only the customary way of doing things. The method finds its chief justification in tradition. Instruction in agrieulture has two distinct phases. One involves the process of learning the ait of doing things connected with th^ field, the gurd^^n, *he barn and feed yard, the orchard, the meudo\v the wood lot, and the t(K)l house. The other phase of agpiculturul in- struction relates to the sciences on wliich these several arts depend for their explanation. Art and science, instead pf being oppos^, more intimately connected in the study of agriculture than in other subject now offered 'm the schools, unless it is language. Sihality of language* as a school study through the centuri^ is due to^e intimate blending of the two arts of speaking and wri|pg^ with the two sciences of grammar and logic. When we once be- come conscious of this indissoluble tie between the urts of coinmu- ‘ an The^ 90 CURBENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. nicatiOn.snd the ^‘iencey of huinui^ thinking, no sohool reform will ever Uy violent hands on gruinmar and logic. Agriculture is much more complex. Instead of embracing only two, it has a large group of arts. Instead of being explained by ' only two sciences, agriculture lays tribute on nearly every science known to man. And wheji the teacher of either* apiculture or of science once becomes conscious of this ganglionic tie betweeit the agricultural arts and all of the sciences he will teach science less for the sake of science" and more "‘for the sendee of man." The hiinian- interest as|x*ct of the physical and hfo logical sciences is what inaj hy having a new subject. This argument may sound logical, hut it is utterly iinpracrttable. Our textbooks of science are not written by persons who* know much about agriculture. As soon as they go b^ond a few very general ; illustrations they are more likely to emphasize some popular fallacy fhpn to give real scientific principles. Agriculture is a new and A rapidly growing science. To keep all the textbooks up to date would be an impossible task. It will be difficult enough to keep the textbooks on agriculture tip to 'date without having to revise the agricillture in the science books every year. Perhaps no etfor is Viore prevalent than the idea that agricul- ture is nothing but the application of other sciences. .. Even some agricultural colleges still fail to grasp the jjdea that agriculture is it^lf a science. Probably' half ^j^f'lfflTjess^aching of agricultuiW is not the application of any science-exceTt the science of agricul* tuje. The laying of a tile drain is not physics..,. The training of a colt is not zoology. The grading and packing of'appl^ is not botany. • • ' - Any scho61 course that pretends^ to prepare for farming must , teach the. usual sciences an(| ought to include in thgse as many agri- /i^hural lllustratifljw, as possible, %ut to try to 'gjv#* agricultural thiintngW^out. agrirtilture as a separate subject^Js uke Itamm left out.-’" SOCitoY OF COLLEGE TEACHERS^OF EDUCATION. WHAT SHOin,D M THE DIFFERENCE Bt^'WEEN GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE WORK IN EDUCATION. ^ Euwabu F. Ruchner, ’ . Pro/fSHor of EiluroHon untl PhUoiophy, Johns ffopkina I’niifmltj/f naltiwnre, Md. 1 * • < ~ ' The? phrasing of the subject implies that our attitude toward the \opic is deliberative rather tluin legislative. Graduate work and educati€m as a subject of advanced instruction largely char- acterized the university developments of the lasJNpmrter of the nineteenth century; but while the two moveiiienis are cftu'oinitant, they are liot necessawly con^>leinentary. | Teach ing\ as an* art, and education as* a body of knowledge pel*- taining to that art, are in many I’espects quite’ unlike te<’hnica1 pro- fesions, such as engineering, law, and medicine. In the latter, the jStudent may not practice before he has completed his training, while at' the same time the standards of this training are con- stantly 'raised, On the contrary, the student who has ente'red col- lege may inteiTupt the couise of his training at aliiiQSt any point to go out to teach in some fashion. The irregular and accidental experience thus gained is a large part of the unoontrolICtl^ factors enterin^n the training of the teacher. < . Viewed from ektreine angles, there is ground for the conviction entertained by some Ihat teaching and research are directly opposite nujtivations in students. Thfr.college graduate teqdw to go at oncl? into teaching, and trusts'jto chance for success.* If education^ has appeared in his college wdrk, it should have aimed to secur^ direct beneficial resulftfor^the* student,- and not to have been measured by any less utilitarian standards.,* ‘ Grad^iate ^ork, on tl^ other haffd, trains in Technique through subject m^^r, in additWh to demanding a jworking knowledge u>f facts, and an additfbn by the student to the sum of knowl^^dge,^ tr^ genius of graduate work consists in the ability to weigh evidence, r But at time all graduate work 'is not entirely research. : We §hoiJld recogqm a . differAce -between graduate and under- graduate work-in education in the rcsuli^^o be obtirined, the scope of the subjeft, matter, and the mtithbds pf pVtK^ui'ei /th^ three . 91 . 9 ^ CURRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. points become six when it is remembered tlm’t we should include them twice over in our consideration of the bearing of education on the training of teachers and the attempt to hold education as a field of knowledge as objectively as possible. Education as undergraduate work helps the teacher in training anticipate school problems as well as prepares the futura citizen in his collegiate youth to think clearly on the public and individual values of schooling. In a restricted and^quasi-professional way the'* undergraduate work should include as 'much about education at> a teacher should know. Everything that will throw light on the prob- lems of those who have to bring constructive influences to hear upon i beings normal Iv Indongs here. In graduate work the aim be the advance of education directly through a further train- teachers. Otherwise educational inquiry could bo carried on ! who arc not teachers, as* has been done in some instanet^s. The practical bearing of this result is iio more direct and extends no further than the general connectioi>fLK‘tween all knowledge and all practice. AVhat is known alxuit education is the excuse for teach- ing it, ami it is because of the' ignorance of the undergraduate (as future citizen ov teacher) that this teaching shoidtl he performed. What we do not know about education is reiison enough for graduate work, in the that advance in instruction iimdly becomes research. / It is imperative that V# discern clearly the^nity in all edueatu^i. despite the variable, foimis and changes win* it is constantly ex- hibiting. The detailed work, W’hether nndergiauliujte or gradiude. but particularly the former, should tlierafore he so well balancinr with respect to the tlm^efold know'I^e of history, stance, and tech- nique ns will guarantee to the student, within the range of ordinary probability, an intellectual appreciation of this unity ami {x conse- quent transfer thereof into profes.sional ability. Every teacher needs, • therefore, a working knowledge of the history of educational theory and practice, of the conditions of healfliy human development, and of the technique involving practice and public adminisfnition. Varying distinctions are made between graduate and uiulergrad- uate work, while 'education has been slowly making its way as a subject 'for research. Statistics compiled *by the United States Bureau of Education and by the autlu»r indicate, among other things, a recognition in practical school administration now given the collegt* graduate as a teacher. D1SCUB8ION, [In discussing Drh Budiner’s paper, Charles D^Garmo, Profe,ss( r of ,the Science and Art of Education, Cornell Univeraity, nriade tlK' folli^wing points, in.iJirt:] *• . SOCIETV OF COLLEGE TEACHERS OF EDUCATION. 93 Grnduate h«( 1 imilcr^raduato s^dies may 1)0 identical; they may differ in degree only ; or they inay The type of work to la.' (lone by a ‘student in eduoation will varyTni^l^Tlt'nirTlillg to leading purposes; aiuh second, according to conditions of time, knowledge, and experience. (iraduate work in education for the M. A. degree slioidd he an ex- tension of undergradimte study in this dejiartineiii. The \\ovk for the doctor's degree in t'ducation ,';:liould he apportioned 'as follows : One-third in cdueati(m propel’; onc-third iu psychology* and bio- logy; one-tliird in tlu* socud scieiu’es. (iraduate work in ediu’Ht ion .^liould 1 k' doniinatedyi>y the idea of research, hut of a conni'cted ilither than of a detached character. The miik)rs should, so far as possible, ho studied with their ciliu’at it>nal aj)]ilicat ioii'' in view, ratlior than as pure science>; c, g., race psychology and modern logic in tlieir hearing upon tlie rironstruction of Hngli^h granimHV. The (ioctor's thesis should, of cour>e, he upon an educational theme, hut, so far as possible, be based upon one or more of the fundamental sciences. The coiii-se of a grailuate student in education should, a>ide from the the>is, he fairly well (li>trilmtod o^•e^ the important ficld> and focused upon siudi studies as hi>tory and principles of education, udmini>trat ion^ etc. Uefore U'ginning their graduate >tudy in eilucatioH, stud(^iits who ha\e never taught should ho ad- viseil of the many advantages of tit least a hrivf teaching ex])orieuce. RELATION OF NORMAL SCHOOLS TO DEPARTMENTS AND SCHOOLS OF EDUCATION IN UNIVERSITIES. M ✓ * ^ I. — Hy (IKOROK K Drfin of^tha College of Fthnatinn^ I'nirrr^ltjt nf Minnesota, Hinnrapnlfu. To discuss this problem clearly it is convenient to think of the .• normal school, with a two-year course for high-sclu>ol graduates and of the university department, or school of education, with n four-year course of general and s])ecial study, of whii’h mie year inayl)e professionaTwork in the field of education and allied sciences. The staiulards liere proposed are immediately workable and that extent fall below the ideal. The hnv and prai'tieo of certifii'ation of teai'hers iiwd revision. * The fundamental problem in the relation of normal schools and tlepartnionts or schools of education in colleges and universities con- cerns the preparation of high-school teachers. The, general qne.stion of the training of teachers for public high schools is one of"the most • vital educational problem.s of the country. ^ 'The teaching in higher institutions is admittedly miicli inferior to what it should bo. Never- 94 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL. TOPICS. theless the average instruction’ in the college is at least respectable; partly because the number of candidates is .gi*cater than the demand, therefore a selective process is constantly functioning; partly be- cause a knowledge of subject matter tends to balance the lack of teaching ability, since the students are relatively mature, and able, therefore, to make progress in the face of odds. The best teaching- in the public schools is found in the kinder- garten and in the primary grades, ('areful investigation ?^ems to in- dicate a greater efficiency In* the elementary schooklhan in any other part of the system'of public education. The teaching in the high school represents too often a training which is not much beyond that of the pupils in the same school in respect to years of study and is not infrequently almost lacking in the qualities of special professional discipline. Even4hc rural-school situation, bad as that is, does not seem at the moment quite as difficult as is the problem of efficient high school teaching. In a word, then, trte country school, the graded school, and the college are all in a more hopeful position, as far as teaching is concerned, than is the secondary school. The men who are in charge of school systems have come to demand three things of all candidates: First, a reasonable amount of native teacliing ability: second, a fair acquaintance with the subjects to Ik* taught: third, a deTinite idea of the nature of the school and some acquaintance with schoolroom management and the ordinary routine of instruction and government. Each of these is a |>erfectly legiti- mate demand, and no one need b<^ypcrcritical in asking on which of them tlje greatest stress is or shmild he laid. Public opinion sup- ports to-day, in theory if not always in practice, the proposition that both scholarship and professional training are necessary for the teacher. The opportunity for twining should be adequate, organized economically, and accessible. -The function of the normal school is primarily to prepare ele- mentarv’-school teachers. The function of a department or school of education in a college or university is to give a professional training of higher grade. According td^he soundest theory and practice, no serious overlapping of scope or field need develop, if higher institu- tions of learning care to undertake this type of vocational discipline and will gi\^e to it the same support which is now extended to prepa- ration for other lines of social sehvica .If colleges and universities do not equip themselves to train high-school teachers effectively, the normal college idea is sure to spread and the Statq^will be called upon to maintain a training school for higher teachers apart from its university^ at a certain loss in efficiency, ^onomy, and accessibili^.^ The relations of normal schools to departments or schools oi education in universities will be worked out fiiet of all in respect to field or SOCIETY OF COLLEGE TEACHERS V>F KDCCATION. 95 function in State system of public instruction. When this funda- mental problem is solved other questions at issue will easily; be answered. II. — By Charles H. Johi^ston. Dran 0/ f/ip f^chool of Education, the Cnircr$ity of Kan»as, Lntcrence. All discussions of our qucstioiu Nvhether administrative or purely educational, must be predicated upon the as.sumptions that the prepa- ration of teachers is essentially analogous to other professional prepii ration: that the public school men cai>not do without the teacher of erotest, or who generally make a inisnomei’ of some acndomic course^ has dampened the jirofessional atmospliere Ixith for ourselves and our .students. A genuine professional organization practically within the present resources of our universities is 'possible; Then hard but harmonius uninterrupted Svork for teachers will be, as it ought long ago to have been, one of the specific aims of universities. If the above account is correcl. the normal-school 'insinuations that the universities are not equipped for training teachers will no longer hold. Consequent!}" some plan for the coordination of the 'pedagog- ical functions of these two institutions l>C(’omcs evidently necessary. III. — By Klmf.k K. Joses. Profet^or of Iii»tnrif and PhUo$ophy of Education, VniveraUg of Indiana, Btoomington. The marvelous de\"elopment of interest in t^e scientific study of education, which has developed in the past deca^de, has had a marked eflTect upon the institutions devoted to the Gaining of practical educator?, I * 1 would indicate some of the important fields for investigation which appear to me to belong logically to the normal school, though 96 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. I would by no means limit these fields to the nornuil schools. First of all, there is tJie whole field of method as applied to the instruction of youth. Second, no institution is l>etter fitted to ^ive us informa- tion concerning chihl growth and developinciit than the normal school. Here is one of the largt'st and most important fields of investigation in edticat ion to-day . and yet how few of the normal scliools are devot- ing theinselv(‘s to it. Third, there is no institution which is so well eqtiippe^ to initiate the novi(’e into actual practice of tem’hing chil- ilren as the normal school. No institution has so great an immediate^ responsihility as that of tlie normal st'hool, l>t^:ul^e its giadnates aio s(‘t at oiK’O to tlu* task of teaching tdiildren — developing childhood for the gi*eat complexity of adult life. There may he situadons in certain Stat(\s wherein it is wis<.’ for the normal scIum)! to undertake the training of seeondarv teacluM’s. Thit it would s(»vm pivfiu’ahle to do a ininimmu t>f such work. Skill- ful teaehers in the two fields of work can not successfully cx(’lia nge positions. Knowledge of t*hild life th>es not mean knowledge of adoleseent life, nor vice versa. Depart mont.s and seliools of education i incorporate in their cni*ri- ctila IkkIIcs of knowledge as extensive and as profound as are to be found in other similar departments, siieh as law, philosophy, or medieine. The j)ractieal problems considered are certainly as rich in sigiiificaiiee as those to l>e found els(‘wlu*i'e. hor example, '■it is as complex and difticnlt a problem scientifically to superintemd a large city system of schools as, to he governor of a State; yet, imtii recently, it has not, been deemed necessary for the city sup(U‘intendent to have the broad scholarship •and the profe.ssional training that was expected of one who looked for gnhernatorial honors. . ' The relationship existing between normal sch(»ols and departments and schools of education is thus rather clearly defined. Kach has its own special field of work, which, of course, is not ironclad and never should l>e, but which is a product of evolut.ion and no arbitrary mechanism. The normal school has evolved in America* and in foreign countries lK?cause educators felt the need of definite and ‘ specific training for teachers in the elementary schools. Here is the great function of the normal schooh and its field is largo and pro- found enough to engage the. best thought, of our iK'st s<’hohirs, .Schools of education in conne.ction with colleges and uhiversit ies should supply the proper amount of professional training to those who are regular students of other departments and who may wish to teach. They should also furnish opportunity for research. SOCIETY OF COLLEGE TEACHERS OF EDUCATION. 97 UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES IN EDUCATION IN VARIOUS COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. Jamls K. Ix)C(.h, \f(C York I'niiyiHk u According to the l^ejK)rt of the (’oniiiii.-sioner of Kclucatioii for 14*10, 1(() universities and colleges are ori’erinj^ coiir>e.s. in |)edap)gy. The first eliair of pedagogy in the United States \vas established in the Lniversity of Michigan in 1^7S. I'he tardy m’Ognition hv colleges of the importance of pedagog'v is due largely to the belief, still prevalent among college |)i‘ofessors, that the mastery of a subject carries v. ith it the ability to teach the subject, all pedagogical study being therefore useless or worse than iisele>s. The fal>itv of this theory is now generally accepted, even in collegiate circles, and I believe the time will soon come when onr giauhiate sthmils, which are all largely professionul schools for the training of teachers of collegiate sni)jects, will not merely admit pedagog;^' to the gradnate rating, hut will actually make tlie study of pedagogy a requirement for advanced degrees. The Ph. D^will .then stand not only, for the mastery of a subject, hut also for ^me acquaintance M‘ith tlte prin- ciples and methods of teaching it. A study of the courses offered hy the different departments shows such a diversity of subject master and method that T feel justified in suggesting at this time the advisability of establishing a certain stantlard course in cdtn^itit)H i\> a minimum requirement for the undergraeeu forced upon me in st^ven yt‘ai>; of study and cfliiipu i^niuir. as I ha\e IxM/oit^ie nioi'e aiftl nu>re astonished at the ignortriu'e or neglect . hy teai*lu*rs, priiu'ipals, superinttMulent s, and even j)i*ofess(Ji*s of (alucation. of tin* child s health as the basis of education. Iiappiness. and micci'ss. Vou would I’cadily iv^nn.* with ini* (1) tlial health is the lir>t con- sideration of cilueation; (' 2 ) that many coirditioiis in our si’luuds do not promote but even militate against tlTi* healthful development of chihlhood: (d) that (»ther problems must iu»t crowd to the rear those inimetl iate ones a risi iig out of these iiond.itioiis 5 ami ( 1 ) that the most elTectiv'e way to maki^ the advances now demanded hy liealth eon- sidenitions is to edueate our |)n*seiit, ami es]>eciall\ oui future, tenehers of all grades in the iuiportanee and in the practical methods of school hvgieiie’ It iielioovcs me, therefore, only to outline a ten-, tative coume.that might meet some of the pre>ent needs. The school of hygititie may conveniently he iliviiied into six di* visions : ^ ^ . I. Inspection for contagiiuis iliseases. Ihe responsibility for this work falls upon the nualical professron. II. Jn 5 :peH-tion (and treatment) for develoi>mental defects. In this division are inelndel day for each grade, the length of recitation perioc. The relations of thi.s division a^ect every part of school worlfe,^ That we have evolved so few principles to guide u(? here, other than t^ditional and empirical rules, is not to the credit of our profession. ■ \ SOCIETY OF COLLEGE TEACHERS OF EDUCATION. 99 -V. Exerdse, play, games, and g>'nmastics. Here we have the division of ))ln^sieal education ii> the iiaiTOw'sense. Intelligent, in- terest' in and enthusiasm for all-round physical education should lie kindled at our normal schools and colleges. ^ VI. Teaching of hygiene in elementary and secondare schools. Hygiene — persona l.Mloniestie, eivi^>--^Tdi%>u!d l)c the hjH^kground sub- '^jt‘ct of all the courses in- the elementary ainLsiM’ondarv curriculum, and all teachers slioiild l)e prepared to teach its essentials, ' ^undergradi/ate .degrees in education in v^ious colleges AND UNIVERSITIES: THEIR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL RE- QUIREMENTS. Anna .Tank McKkao. ^ . Pn-sUlent of U i/xy/j ('oUr;/c, ChatnhrnfhurUr Pa, Departments of (alueation will prolit greatly l>y aiv attempt at standardization of re(|uircments and courses, I'his can l>e l>ia)iight about ordy by coju’crt (,*d act ion anu>ng those of us who teach education. Indeed, until there is greater uniform it v in the content of the chief ^^ouim's ojiVred in deparinionis of education all discus- sion of the minimum requirement for degnvs in ees Prof. Lough. To Prof. Lough’s minimum recpiirements I should atld a good pre- liminary course Ml general psychology, whitdi is a desirable prempii- site to the study of both educafional psychology and principles of education. Our present educational,assets in the domain of special methods to he more valuable than in that of general method. In colleges which oiler any considerable number of courses in edu- cation connf'Mig toward t he liacca laureate degree, a course in sec- ondai’v education should be a part of the niinimunl re(juirenient for any kind of certification of graduatt's for toaHiing positions. J • THE PRESENT STATUS OF EDUCATION ASA SCIENCE; THE PROBLEM OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY. 4 V. A. C HrriMoN. Astofciate Profettor of .Education, iJnircrsity of * • Jn none of the divis*ions of education is*there gi*eatcr difference of opinion as to its aim and subject, matter than in educational psy- ohology. The artici^atiou of this branch with general psychology in 100 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. niiiny institutions prosiuits ii difticult problem. Educationiil psy- chology in its '\vide-"t sense enilinu'es the study of those phiiws of meiitiil life that concern eduoition. It would thus inclmlo pertinent facts from gmieral, genetic, social, and indi\ idttal jisyciiology.^ Docs it, however, not have a more detinite and s]X*c'ilic field of its own? If we define education in its sini])lest tei nis a> tlie proces,s of in ing- ing an iiuhvidual from where lie is to will've* he ought to fie, its tiii<*e main [irofilenis etuerge: L 'Where he ought fo he— the end or aim of edneatioii— is tliC problem of iii;itwiples of education to lie worked out for the various types of schools and curricula and for the various periods into which mental life falls. ‘2. 'Where he is— the nature of the individual at every stage of his prowtli — is the prohlcm of biology, .sociology, and psychologv'. gen- eral. genetic, individual, ,aiid social. ^ 3. How lie is to he hrouglit from where he is to wliere he ought to be gives the prohleni> of methods of learning, on the one hand, aiid means and methods of teaching, on the other. Isducational ps\ - diology seems to be legitimately concerned not with the second pnd)- lem, hilt with the third. Its essential field is methods of learning, especially during school years and under school conditions. The problem of ediicatii^nal p-ychology is distiiicfy^’ different from that of general or genetic psyclinjogy. Each has a common object — the knowledge of mind and its law^but the point of view is differ- ent. To borrow a distinction made by MAistiier, psychology i.s'con- . corned with mental procai^s. educational psychojogv- with mental wtorlc. That educational j^cliology lijis li^re an important field for investigiifion is shown by’ the •recent studies of nietliods of loarniiig both by aihilts and by cliildren. 'Waste in education appears to be due more to inefficient methods ofiminiiiig than to iiieflicicnt metluxls of tenehing. , . The art of learning iit nowhere adequately taught, though it is ttie most vulmible art one oin*aoqiiirc. Educational literature teems witli b. C. ; Avtimj of Hthifutionnl /Vyrmifou'/, llonurd L nivnttiti/, W'n/tfnni/hfnt IK t' ^ Kdnoalion is not ii j)uiv soioiu’o. lint ;i |>rofo>sion;il ('silling, juul ns siudi it involves bot^^ 4 ^urp iiiul scioiioos wliit'h ditlVr in tho fjK't, inter ulu'reits the pure sciences s('loct facts and jH’inciplos on tlie l^isis of their logical con^niity. the applied si iences .-(*Iect tliein on the ha.^is of tIl^ iis(vjjj wLiicIi tlu\v are put* t^us i*'f;i|)lisliin^' a oyns.s classification. So far as teaching has a theoreti- cal a^])oct. this aspect is repia^sented hv a pronp of ajiplied ^<*ienees, and thes(* in turn are rt'lateu to a ^roup of |>nia‘ s(’i(aice>. Fhesf* pure sciences a’jay that from one-fourth to one-hnlf of the -tudentV 4ime in teachers’^ cresent .chaotic state of educat ional theory. In definin': the term '^principles of education.’’ the twofold nature .of the teaeher'’s proldein should he eon^ideivtl. On the one hand is the ehild. iimnature. inexperieneed, Imt’\)lastie and active: and on ^he other hand is the cnrrieidnm. representing the mature and sifted knowkulp*. iileals. ami ijexterity of the race. The snUJeets of study resulting from tlui^dunl nature of the teacher's ])rohlem are educa- tional psychology for a seieht ihc knowhaltre of the (Jiild* and prin- ciples of education and ju'inciples of teaching for an adequate eom- prehension of the curriculum. The word ‘Meaeliinp" is commonly applied to the process of the teaeher's work: “education" to (he broader social relations and consequences of that work. AVhat are the topics that the princijdesi «of education should in-» elude, and in wdiat order .should they be presented? The following is a suggested outline: 1. /ntrodfirtion to the field of edoeafion. For. the purpose of orienting the student, an introductory chapter would seem to be bet- ter Uiap an introductory coni*se. The idea of a brief, general, diver- sified course for general culture is not worthy otentettninment. ‘ * ''1 1Q2 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL TOt*TCS. ^ 2. Conduct coidroU. Human life in a broad «;ensc imiy be repnled as sv non vinous with com hut, aiul it may thereto n? be truly^aid that it is the fnnctiiiii of education to siipi)ly conduct controls, d hese are two in nuinbe^ bored it ary a ml acquirod. The etfects of educa- tion, to which the expression “ac^piiriHl controls of conduct may 1k' applied, may he grouped under tlie heads of habits, knowledge, and ^ emotional dispositions. Tn a geiuTal way we may say that these three rubrics of education are imparted res|H*ct ively by training, b^ instruction, :mu1 by inspiration. ^ ?j. The (jenendtzed effects of education. Most, if not al4, of these conduct controls are to a certain extent generalized in their etfects. It may, indeed, be asked if it is not about tiine to relegate the phrase^ doctrine of formal discipline to tlu^ historical side of educational theory. This e\*pre>sion, 'together with the conception underlying it, rests on false psychology, and it should go the way of that psy- chology. In the modern conception of i)syehology the old notion of formal discipline causes confusion. It is out of harmony, and the expression “the generalized etfects of cdilcation ’^rves the })urposo much bettor. ^ 4. The aim- of ed a vat ion. 5. The elemental edavatiOn’ upon tho methods em- ployed but also ui)On the goal in the teacher's mind. Moreover, for social purposes the teacher slnudd be an educational engineer, able to give advice on the selection of studios %i us thoroughly scientific a manner ns that in which the chemist gives advice in his fieUU In nrraiig'ing these elemental values of education we must answer two questions, and ask and answer them in succession : U^^f what use is it to me to be educated? and (2) of what^^tsc isdx to others to ♦have me educated? With certain omissions we may answer the first question by saying that education is of value*to jne bt^causc (1) it helps me Jo gain the reeds and conveniences of life — practical or utilitarian value ; (2) it helps me to get along more harmoniously with iny fellows — swial- izing value; (3) it helps me to gain .social standing or prestige- conventional value; and (4) it aids me in gifting pleasure ;ind satisfaction (a) by opening up new avenues of ^joyment— senti- SOCIE-n' OF rOlJLEOE TEACHERS OF EDUCATION. " 103 rnontnl valiu* — iiml (/>) Ity ^rivin^ mo or insijrlit — lilMTalizinp or inlor])retative vnliio. ^ * With tlu* aim ami the elomontal val*ios of odiioution loading up to the (Mii’.rionlum,. tlu* presentation of those prin(‘ij)los that underlie the <'onstniot i(ui of <’onrsos of .study slunihl lead down from it. riu* <*lass is then n*ady to proceed to tin* ]U’iiutiple*'^of teaehing. Here educational ]>rogress on the side of the curriculum and the course of study, and ])ari [)assii in the pi‘inci]>l<*s of education* can be contrihutelogy,' socit>logy (including ethics), ^economics, and ])oliti( ;d sci(*nces. In connect ion with formal experimentation it woidd Ih» well, indeed, if^ every school system of considerahle ^-ize would set nfuut oiu* of its stdiools tis a moile^or l;d)orat(U‘v school with a well -trained education e\iK*rt in charge. THE PRESENT STATUS OF EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE: THE PRIN- CIPLE'S OF EDUCATION, { A . IUki> T. ItAuaviN, ProfCHfor of fCtiuraf (tut , the VnirrrKift/ of Tt'tnn, Aufiin, If I intei; 4 )ret cont(‘iuporary educational tcmlcncii**- correctly, the assertion (*an b(* nuule that the science of education is most effect ively ^ developed ami forninlateil throagh the efforts of ^ouIul fundamental * .research in the ])rol)Iems of education as sucli, rather tlian through the w*ork of men in other lields. I Tliat the other afiplied scieuees will imt haml over our data definitely' for tuulatvd may he i 11 ii>t rated more in detail by my own problem in this class- — the rclation,of mental development to pliysit*al growth ami physical defects,' The life luj-tory of gOO hoys and girls, ]>resented In tUH) individual (’iij'ves, ha.sed on over 5,000 measurement-ts, 'gives, amoijp other things a v-ivid picture»f the relationship Ix'tween physical devel opine nt^ul chromdSy^ieal age, showing^luit.^tall ehil- * dren are fppin^jua>^to four or even fn> yeai*s older tlian short one,s; that they have their x'haracterisjtic ]>ulK‘scent changes: Earlier, and therefore they should be treated physiologically ns ohleu children than their age in years woulddnilicate; The high variability of this group indicates that (Averages are almost useles^ in studying physical grow th, since each child is governed by his own inherent laws, exT pressi(ig physiological agt*. It would follow (hat we are justified in making averages only wh^n we base t^'average on the physiological' W4 CURRENT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. *age instead of the clironological or. in other wordt. when we find the average .dironological age at which rapid acceleration btgins instead of when wo find the average heiglit. weight: or Inng capacity at a given age ba>ed on date of birth. This evokes a new and very iinporfanl educational problem: llow may we formulate a measuring s^^Ile for (h'terniinipig the physiologi- cal age of the child now' that we have the Rinet tests for his mental age? The individual-growth curves furnish splendid material for the study of this prol)h*m. The curves will also enable \)s in the future to prophe>y with considerable accuracy how tall a normal child will lx* between 4 years- of agi* and adult life, provitling the height is, known at any given interim. The same is true in general weight, lung capacity, and weiglit- ght index, though' there are more fluctuations herq. The results alSo ^demonstrate that chiltliTii from the wealthier class of peojile are better develojved than those reported by other investigations, and that those chihlrens height, weiglfl, and lung capacity have actually Iweir increased during their scholastic age through systeirnnic metlicad ins})ectiou and pliysioal tniining. To recapitulate very briefly: We have come to a stage (\f develop- ment in our field wdien it is i|ecessary to ditTc'centiate hetween the. pliilosopliy of education and the scientific priflcijiles of education, since the subject is not merely a critical tli>^*ussit)ii of facts and principles gathered from oth.eJ' 'SCMcnces, neither is it merely a pro- fession. It is an empirical stuence, with its o\vn data, its own view- point, its own problems and situations, its own history, niul its owui practices and opjairt unities for experimentation. Tt i'^ largely through scientific experimentation that principles are established and tried out, as indica^Hl by the alx>ve type problems, the organ- ization of coui-si's in experiinenlai education, and the estahlislunent of cxpcrhucntal schools. "THE PRESENT STATUS OF EDUCATION AS A SCIENCE: EDUCATIONAL BfETHODS. ‘ ^ (^tlKHTKR PARKKR. AsMochiti^ Pmfrit^or of Kilucatton, the Vnircr${ti/ of Chivaijo, lU. Thia^ discussion wull conceni primarily principles rather tlian practices, - * ^ , For purposes of discussion, current principles of eilucational method tftty be divided, from the standpoint of source or origin, into four groups, as fdllows: / 1, Those principles which have become current the result of-a^ long historical tradition, which is characterized by more or less sys- teq§|ic A pricMci analysis and argument. 105 ^CIETY OF COLLEGE TEACHERS OF EDUCATION. 2, Those derived from more recent developments in general j)sycho- logical theory, such as the work of James and I>ewev. Those wliich are«^orollaries of the results of 'experimental psychology*. I ^ 4, Those which have been reached ])v direct ex])erimontal and statist ical invest i gat i^n of act ual school room pTocess(*s, Wiile many of the traditional a priori principles of inethc^ may he traceil hack almost indefinitely, their currenev during the nine- teenth century and since is due largely to the Ih)usseau tradition. The IVstalozziiih 'ImncipleS nmpy of which are current to-day, were to a consitlerahle extent simply applications of Hou$seau s pr inciple of real experience as the starting point of instruction, combined with the nietliCKl of simultnneotis oral cl ass^ instruct ion. A second Pestalozzian princijde, namely, proceeding from the simple to the comjdex, has hoen at tlie basis of methods of teaching many ^ tlie suhjtH’ts.'fHid tiiQse niethoils ni’(^ still donjinant in many places. AVhen we consider the Ilorhartian elemciits in contemporary metluMls, we find two of the most distinctive to Ik* formal steps of ii'isfruction and the principles of correlation. Finally, when we come to th^Vcndie- lian^lcinent- in contemjmnirv i^^ods, we find the most d* nctive I ones to be, first, the emphasis (^|K>tor expression for general edu- cative purposes, mid. second, the emphasis on participafion- in a co- operative social situation as a ha.sis of. \erimentnl and sta- tistical investigation of actual schoolroom processes, such as writirtg, ' ' s|>elling, reading, nrithmetie, composition, etc. Th^ investigations may be divided into two classes: First, those which involve a luimite analysis of the psychological processes in- volved in the school activities; and, second, those which involve a. .statistical study of the correlations wdiich exist between certain edu* * i cational methods and* ediicatfonal results, often without any veiiy ; definite l)sychological analysis or explanation of this correlation, ' f NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON AGRICULtURAL EDUCATION. • ^4 • y / DEFmrrENKss m agriculture. A. It. Ukss. n/ Schnnlf. ('ttmkMtnn . ,V(nn. Agricultf. which is so closi‘ly linke^l witli the otluT that wc can not know much of one without knowing something of the others. Science is classified, Systematized knowledge. Agriculture, being a group of sciences, is easily taken to mean a group of subjects of geiuTal in- formation rather Tlian that systematized knowhnlgi* of subjects inter- related and interdepeubaiulrv. . If these subjects an' nuuie e.onerete. it will vitalize all school work,, create interest, develop strength, and ju'cpare the student for the real problems of life. It hns bt'cn siiid that all linos of activity in the Tnited States have made wonderful udvniuYs, but agrieulture during the past forty or fifty years has not kept pace with the advancement in otiier lines. Wiy Ls this? lyt us see. IIow’ long have we Imen teaching agri- culture in our higdier Institutfons? IIow many high scluxds have been tenching'it for 10 years? And yet \vc expect this, phase of pub- lic-school education to have made equal advancement with other lines of inve,stigation. How long have we l>een teaching physics, dienns- try, ancient, medieval, and modern history, algebra, geometry, T^iatin, German, and kindred subjects? Is it any wonder that agriculture h& not kept pace? Have we had in mind the^me motives, tlie same definite residts^ to be acedmplished here as^l^whefe in our liigh-school curriculum t NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON A^RICULTUI\AL EDUCATION, 107 In 1010 the United States produced 005,000,000 bushels oi wheat, or B per capita production oi' about 7.7 buslu'ls. Twenty years from now our population will number 200,000,000. The demand then for bivad will he 1.540,000,000 l)usliels, or we shall l)c cotjipcllcd to substitute other foods. This will mean that we shall protluce 2.22 limes as much Q ' eat. We must produce 2.22 tinu*s as much per aciV or inerease • acreage. We caii iu)t increase (iur aiTea^e to that cKtent ; we must increase our ' prodm*t ion per acre, I'lu* average yield per acre in the I’nited States for the past 10 years has been but 14.2 bushels, while Knghnul produtvd an average of Ibi bushels, (Jevniany 30 bushels, arul Denmark 47 hudieU per acre. Shall we permit the ^ Unitetl States to remain so far In'liiiul tlie^e counU’ies, when wc have the richest >oil,the lincst climate, ami the jrreaiest etlucation^ system in the wt)rhT^ These count rie^ ha vt* hcfui^dit ahoui this result through Ix'tter metluhls of seed stdiudiou. U'tter cult i^’ntion, Indter soil man* ngement, aiul ;rrcater e(‘oiiomicaI metlmds of marketing. Does this. N motive stami out piatminently in our system of a^rituiltural etiuca- tion ? (loos, lot US 1)0 (lolinito in oiir purpose aiul bring about this result. AVo can. if wo will. WHAT UNCLE SAM CARRIES IN THE SECOND-CLASS MAJL: DOES THIS HELP THE FARMERS OR OTHER INDUSTRIAL WORKERS? J. \\ , lUsTOS, rrmutmt Sfntr \ortnnl Schfu,J, UfaniMnn, f:. Dnk., and ManT-kt J, Wixrok, n/ oj Knlrt fu inr, AtiUR, m The Post Oflice Department of the Tiuted States is the largest, the^ most far-i’eachin^, and tlie m<»>t HHUieliidal (lovemmentycnterpris^ in the world. Practically cverv citi/.on and ivsident of the country • ‘ R I comes in daily contai't with some of its ajjmu'ics. Tlu> second-class mail constitutes aUmt (U» f^c^ cent by weight of all mail matter. Therefore a carefid >tiuly of the cont(*nt and value of this class of mail is of s])cciul interest. The problems of the Post Ofticc Department are truly the problems of the jx'ople. In preparing this paper wo .^viimUcopics (tf rejirescntativc news- t pa})ci*s and other periodical from every part of the counby. In tho case of newspapers, farm papers, and cheap mapt/.ines^ all the mat- ter contained was car(Ttdl\\('l^ssinod and tlu* iiui^Ihu* of eoluinn ^ inches, of enclu class measured. The |>eriodicals of the ordinary' magazine form were carefidly disw^'ted, and the percentage of each class of matter found hv weight. The total number of copies cir- \ ciliated by the |)eriodicals whicli wcit measured reached 1.710,000,000 per year. More thafi half of these copies do no^ get into the mail. ; However, the ones measured constitute something like 15 per cent of the total weight of the second-class mail. Such an investigation J certainly ought to give authoritative, data. ^ .. J 108 CURREXT EDUCATIONAL TOPICS. Of the newspapers examined, 11 came from towns of 2,000 or less population; 12 more came from towns of from 2.000 to 10.000; 8 came from cities of from lO.(KX) to 2o,000; 10 came from cities of from 25.000 to 75.000; and 2:rk*n!tural nrtlrlos__ Instructive articles . 4.0 Ilhistrotlon? ninl cartoonV i. i. Fiction juilccMl ns of literary \ 111. ic o ’ Honsekee))iia:. care of chlUlrt'n. fitshlons. . '2. 2 Rensntloiml news. cb(*np sti)rlcs. eic-^ . 'i. o ^IlBcellniiiHuis in. o^ ."iV 4 Advertising matter ^ . .Ti, r. Patent medicine ndvcrtisim:. X?> riasslfled ndvertlsing . . • i\.2 Llqintr advertising 7 ,0 Average weight |K‘r cnpy ( minces 1 3-S2 Not more than 40 per cent of all newspaper matter is really w'o^ ih while. The. percentage of space in the country newspapers used for advertising is greater than in city papers, being about 45 \)or cent. The patent or ready-print sides of the country' weeklies contain a larger percentage of, patent medicine advertising than any other part of the st'ctind-class mail, and the readirig n^Aer there printed is very trashy. * ” Ten farjn pifpers were measnixMl and 48 per cent advertising found. The average weight per copy of the fnnti papers is 4.44 ounces per copy. The rending matter contained in this class of periodicals is fairly free from trash. The snh.wription prices of th^ farm papers are very low, showing that the publishers do not depend at all on the merit of their sheets to secure h large circulation, but prpbably the majority of subscriptions arc obtained through the aid of prizes and clubbing offers. vMore than 95 per cent of the revenue of this class pf papers comes from the advertisers. NATIONAL, COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION, 109 Agricultural paptus contain iniicli information that in of interest to the fanners. Their editors seem to f per cent advertise^ nients. The other matter, is divided as folloMs: Fiction. per cent: instructive articles, 21.0 per cent ; miscellaneous, Ki.T per cent. These ID magazines cironlate over 2()4,000,(K)0 copies annually, and average 432.000 copies per periodieal j)er issue. The average weight of each coj)V is 0.74 ounces. The liction is mostly of n high grade, some of the best of our current literature. Certainly no class of American periodical is more deserving of praise and encouragement than these hig-her-class magazines; they contain so much that is valuable and so little that is objectionable. On the whole, the second-class mail matter contains too much that is valueless and e\eii harmful to the public. My subjt^t directs at- tention to its value to fanners and other industrial classes. AVhat is valuable to this class is valuable to the entire Americim public, and wh,at is harmful to them is.aUte harmful to the ei\tire public, except/ that this class may not have the time, or take the time, carefully Iff select their periodical literature.. Of course, our farmers and other working f)eople should be protected from advertisements of spurious goods or goods on which they will spend money without securing adeqiiate returns. 'U'ith this idea in mind 1 would advocate that every publisher be made definitely responsible for all that appears in the columns of his publication. He should be under bond to make gd any loss sustained by readers because of quack goods advertised in his columns, I do not know how* ,sens»itional new articles, cheap fiction, and other trash can be eliminated, l.Tnfortunately there is a . demand for this stuff, nnd as long as ,this demand exists there will be a supply. A BUSnfESS MEETING OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SUPERIN- , Tpp'ENCE, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION. St, Louis, February 28, 1912. ’ , The following cities extended invitations for the meeting of the department in 1013: Boston, Mass.; Detroit, Mich.: Oklahoma City. Okiti.: Palm Reach, Fla.: Riclimond, Va., and Wasl^nnin»lttPO on rosohitiouR i>ros«;rxts the resolutions, wliioh It eonniilerH worthy of the a (tent Ion nml approval of the Ueimrtnient of Sni>er- Intenileuce : 1. licsolvcd. That we express our hearty npiireelntion of the hoI^ earliest, professlounl character of the propmiu presented before this, UtUlWireHt lueet- ing in the history of the dcpiirtment, 2. Kcsolvrd, That this depurnnent rocogidze the Tnnatiin-rudflc International EiiMisttlon, to be hcM in San Francisco In 1015, ns n fTeat opiKirtiinlty to exhibit our educntlofiul progress, and .that we urge the State. ci>unty, nntl city systenm of rHiooIs to promote ninl semi sucli of their work ns wdll reveal the develoi)- ment of ail plinses of etlucatlou throughout the Nntion. 3. Hesoh'td, That the members of this department who are chargetl with the administration of publlc-sch« 4 ^>! systenis welcome nud euoourage lill fair and ; , ’ eandid Investigutionb througli coimnlsslous or other agencies Into the soundness • and effectiveness of the i>oltcies uud methods used and (he results obtained, but m DEPAKTMENT OF SUPERINTENDENCE. Ill thnt we ('ondeiiiu niid rcHoiit nil investi^Miou; obvious pur]X)seR nre to di'b:iRo Iho pystoms or exalt llu* ln\ (‘stlptiors. 4. Ui ftoirrd, 'J'lmt we approve the work contem])l:it(Xl in the bill now pemling in ('oMKi'ess ]>rovi(liim for the ereation of a ('liildren's Hurt^ui. I>ut that we believe tliat It eaa be done more (‘fllrlently aiul CHoiicinienliy by the P.ureau of iMhication and that we hert*by rinpiest ('impress to approjaiate Milfirient funds to tlie Ilureaii of Ivlueation to enable it to do the work s^tt isfaeturily. o. Kt'xol fi t}, furt fn-t\ That this I>epartinent of SuiH*rimendeiiee of the National IMiii-aiion Ass(M‘i:ii ion use e\ei'y honorable means to stsain* from Conpress a rivomiiliou of ihp nation-wide iuhhI for a jrreat enhir^eniem R)Moins, 2.'>-3-. ur:il (’.liiiMi tun, ainl normul 72-7:!; • lcriniirno.'''t. Ii*'r-lii7. liivrli .nt1u>o|>. ''T of luirniiil ';<‘iu>oU, (•‘>71; rural srluH>N. -jV. '!'<•- on'liirv rnur'W’s. traiiinu; of ii’nrlu*rs. M 'Ji. witlt- st.lti'. suli^itl)'. Vi-.S'.l, AvT;i't;l(ur:il lli^;h srlumb. >'‘.*-‘.'<1. At;r:i-i!hunil s-'linijN, \ ix-ai itmal. m'-j s7, A>;nruHur* . nlutMiiM' \ulu(' ufsiU'l>'. .72. 7:1; jiiui- li;ai' work , '•7 Ailn;. \\‘, II , liu\\ may a runuimiiMv it*arn u-^ uiuart M'hool Ju'r'K’’ +1. 42. Mviirmn [Uililii* pan far lifallh work m m1uk»U. 17- 1*^, Ariilmn't ir, s( uTihrn- ^tialy uf wurk in s<*liiKtl. .V.-.77, n. H.iM’r. .1, II ., Ktununn uf tunr in talui’aiiun. 7,^^ Halntiiili, K. K., riiirc uf thr tu.nnal m-1io»)I m iu:n- culi Ural r< luranoti. |■i‘.^-7 1 . I laid w in. H , T.. Tin* prr.'U'ut .■sialii.'* of nlia alUfi) a sc ii’ urn tbr principlivs of nliicat um. Iii.!-lu4 Harkrr, J. K., Tin' '^p, irate tixhiik'al ln>;li school, 7'<-.si). Hanii's, Kurl, The t'llut nt i\c value of the .suiil\‘ of n^;neult lire, .72, .7,1. ■ ItajKir, A4- k'j. riuhamion. K, \V.,\\*ork of llie minimi x IiihiI m tin* ns)r;;aiuzat urn of thr elrinrntary ,s<*1uhi 1 eiirneu- luin, 17*1, iih. IJtJitkmiui, ami thr textbook prohleui. i-2. ii.1. Itrown, J. S , Mij:li-sfhool [>reparation ef noriiml- sthool camli'liites, Iroiu the tii>:h-.sl iMilut of view, 14, l.a. IJnmihaiiffh. M. t:.. A tlellmir projtapunla to im- prr.vi uinm flu* Amerlran miml tlir m'cr.'Wity of mt r\pan.sion of ttie fiehl of ('•luotUiun to provitle a.sftinplr fi«aliUo-s foretbu'iUKm by work ami ethi- ration liy play tis upr now proviiltnl for eilueat ipn hy stuiiy. 7.7; Tho rrlatioii o1 an urban runinm- iiity to Its iiublic-srhool ., li , Suiiie :i' Ijost uii'ilt s mill ('ll inprs III the course uf study tunl m hovil orpanirat ion, ete,. ,i!-:ic., ritK iMluAi, 1 (llio, ruiitiima; ion ,s(Ti(mi1s, S.'l~x4. Cit>' .School syslriiis. S(( School .systems, ( it\ ('l\ ic Ci'liters, .sehortb ;Ls, f(lt-i 71 . I'ulTmaiin. I., . Tin' prnhlenis of st.imlar'K or tesi.a of the ellieiene) uf .h IhxiIs or systrtiK of .s('hiHiLs, t olle^es ami imi\ ctmi le-, Course m scliool In'KieitCj • '.is-'.ri. iimlei pr.itiu.iie ilcpri'c.s m ('iluciit iaii. IC-W. roiummiiiy interests, .iml puliliu scliouN, 11-42. ('oiisoii')at iun uf m Iux'K. 21 . t imi iimai imi M'hmjU. rmcimui i, i hun, .Sl-M . t our.s^'s uf .stinl>'. adjust mciiLs .iml ch mpe.s, aprieulture. 10ii lu7. elementary scIukiLs, rrxn'- paim.aiion, ns-t.h; nurtnal seliool.s, liSt2. m hool li\ pieiie ‘,)x- in, rrosh.\. 0 * ,r. .-^tatr-aided Lli jiariniciits of npricul- lure III imhlir hiph s< liix)Is,'S 7 -NS, Cun ieiiliuii .''((■ Courses i^f study. I>. pe i;artuo,.t'harU's. on pr.ailuab' nml nndrrpmdiiato si udies. u;t Pepris ,s. nuuster of .vts. pradnair work for, 03; un- derpraduale, in education, collop's ainl imU M Tsihe;. ti7-mi. Pepartniem uf Nurnial Scluvl.s, 'al'stracts of papers, 11-74, Pepiirt meiH of Sui’HTintemience.uhst ractsuf paixTS, AMo, liijsiiirxs luts'iiup, no Itl, Pepariim'ntal tem-'.iiiip, 4'lrinrntary pr.ules, ;V>-31. K. ' Fds^m, \V,. T>)vsuf .s*]*ei uil Si houlsiti thelarper ,\inrriean eitU's. .'*4 .7.7. Kthicution, metluxls, ItM-Uki; pnneiples. ItM-HH; s^-iemv, Sff I’olupopy. I KdnrtUionul eomniLsslon.s. elllcioney test.s. city ; sehihil .systein.s, 30-4ti. ! Kdtie:ttiom#wa.stc. 5« Waste in ed neat Ion. Kloinentary eduoitkm, wonomy of time (Van Sickle), so. . • Klcmentary ^'IukiIs, mrricntmn. work .^Horftiol M hools, ftS, (iO; ilepurtineiitui teaehlhp, Klliott. K. t*.. Uuralsi htKii fiimls--lhetr source and dLslrihut ion. 122 - 2 : 1 ; Stuitdurds nml lests of rural I scliooi eniciciiey, 27-2S. , Kbon.W, H , Waatoandeincioncyipachoolstudlftsi, 20-3U. i EnglUh Ittnfptapc, aim of work, Newton Indciwud- ent Indnstriul School, 78. ! ExoepUmtal children, provisions 35^ 36. ua 46696°— 12- -8 114 INDKX. F. \ Fairchthl. K. I'.. Stilt ns of t lu* tximiiry s< Iuh>1, KinUtuI niil to i'dmaliun. nsvnl ninviMnciiis, Krt'lih'-mimlt'il I'liiMn'ti. ami luwl J‘\'Inil('y. n:ivi»|, 1 1 ivli*=i't)ix>i pri’piii lUioii of ninili- I(ir fuirnul .m IumiK. '.i 12 Flizimirirk. F. lM>okimin in liis rrlaiioii i ttu' tr?ulKKik pr^lyrn. )‘i2-ii.'s, Fnuicis. J, IF. A rri>rjrutil7.iiiiun of uiir m IkriI s Irtii, Frflticli. ^\^ II,, llit:li xluxil ak'rit'ulliire Slate suljsidy. S.s-S’.i Fulk, J. IF, F.lToi't un imIiuiiIUiI) uihI uioi of itir inoviUK-pirturo ill, Funil.s, rural ,'JeIui^s. source utul ilbtriliniinti. t2 Zl. u iU.s, source irfilidi' stinlv of uritlimi’i If uork (lUfVi, J. T.. Tlip S( in s<’hool, ,Vi-7i7- i;s. Health prabloms, odaeation. l."> is, , Hock, ^V^F. rnderpraduatc deprees in rtiuration In various and universitu^ ■■outlitio of a course In school hyirletie. Honmon, V. A. 'Fho present .status of educatioa as a sdenoo— the proFleni of edueat iotmb^sy- chology, etl-ion. Ho8s, a. B., DoF litcnexs in BKrienlture. lOtV-107, Heston, J. W-, WhoL rndo Sam eurries hi the socond-eLkss mall: docs this t)eJp the farmers ui other Industrial workers? 1(»7- IhO- Uh5h schools, akTlttiliural e. ‘i. F.. Uel:Uin;i nf iinrinal mIiihpIs ltMl» part • anti .s< hiHi|s of edueaiinn hi uui\ er^ii ie.s, 3 ti*., Jatill Ul r-erx uv, ,sl lUidardi/iU mn. ii:t - ii4, Junes. IF K.,'Uelaiiun uf nuniial scIuhiF^ lotli’purt- lueui.s and si.huuls uf edueaiiuii in iiiiiwr.'.jtie.s, tk*)-Uli, Jiiluisi.uii, t , H.. Helalum of nuiinal st hnuK tu di^ ]>:irt menlsiunl .seluxib uf ediicai ion ill iiniviT.sd le.s, '.i;t' to. Johii.sUjM, Fliiiy. The I iiieiniiaii eoutinuatiun m Iiuoi', Judd, i’. II . The protileiivs of stand. ird.s ur u.'i.s of the %ifififui'\‘ I'f ur s>sti'ins of si liouU, :ndall, F. N.. Tlic value of the ediicntiotial cuni- "mlssiuii III determmiiiL' the eitiiieMcy uf^a city hind system. 3'i , Kindergarten, fuiniiun in puhlie .schuul ^y^U*m, 43 17 ) . Kliu\, (i. 1’., lIuW r'huiild the ,srli(K)I .'lyslflll etill- tnlmle lu :m iiiii'lheent ehinro uf \ ueni iuti on llie ])un of the pupil? j, liigh si)u>uls. 1 1 , \Fea\ilt, F, M.. um of plans fur indiir'irial j traiiihig. 7.*>-7ii. Fineotn, J^hr. . erfmentat \- sehouls, di paitmemal tenehinp, 3F Fough, J. R., I'nilergradiitite »legr(’<‘s in edmutlun in various '.-ollcges and iinixersiiif's. ti7. Fovejoy. ' U. . Duty of supcrinleinhMits ui the en- furit'tntMit of eiiild-lalwr laws, 4.V-47. M. MeKcag. Anna J.. Fndcrgradiiale depr^ fn cduen* lion ill various colleges and unlvefttie.s- their aemlemle and rirofivssional reipuremcnt.s, W. Mathenmties. high .sehools. need ofre\i.sion, IF j Mctvliil defect ive.s. seliools. .. u\5; ijrovLstons for, ; .V>-3li. j Miqhtgun, F’nlverslty uf. first dialr In ix’dapogVi 97. I Sllrick, C. A., I’revocalional Indn.'.trial tmining in ; the seventh niid eighth grades, 7(i 7S. , Mdluituin, A. C.^Truinijig of loachers for .secondary courses in agriculture, 85-80. Mon tcssorl system, emphasis on practical fife, 41-4.5. Mavlng*pletui*o s^iows. efTcct oti e*lueallon and ! morals, 63. 1 Murray, M. \V., The separate or indei>ejuleiiL Ln> i dosirial school, 78-79, N, National Committee on AgrUnilturol KdiHutlon, abstracts of papers, lott- 1()9. National Council of Education, al»tracts of [>apen, 7 - 38 . ' INDEX. 115 Nallonal Sooiely for the Study of Educalioti, nln ' strarts of i)a[»ors, rfi ‘Kl. Newspapers, miml>er t arried in miilli. lOS, Ncwion Intlcpendrm Imltistria! ScIuk)!, cotirscs. 7v ' Normal stdtools, iind uLTieultuml cilncntion, 69-71, ' 72- 7.1; nltiiiidc lounrtl edntal inn, (VmTs; wiiool pn’ptimiion of (‘tinditla'es, 9 lo. Normal srhooUi, ndaiitHi fodcpnrtmetusnnd soluails of e'liU'Mi ion in imiviTsilifs. IM-W; slut istii jt. 73- 74: work in iln' p'or^niniziition of eli'inentury setuKd ntrrit'tilnm, Us-^v.i, I’arker, S. (*., The pn:srnl status of edueation at a Sfientt' -otjuiaijonat nii'tliod.'!, UV4- laV I’enrse, < l. Po srtiools of tnidrs ini-et tlu^ luvds of city fliililri’ii for \ tK’aliotnd tminirik'? 49; 'Nio proiili'iiKs of .tiandiirds or.Irsis of tlie efri(’i(?nov of selioolsor systemsof soliools. 2i’>. ^^'tlll^;u^;y, iindiTiTuduatt', H7-!iy. Peiry, f, K,, TliepiiMir tradi’ yfTiMd, M. riiiltips, D. K-, Ttic rliiM r 'prurnot ion mtirliuHTy. }'hilli|»>, J. II., lla’ti-S('ti(Kj| pn'paraliun of randi* diiti’Sfor nurni^tViiiitKd.-t. 12-) t. riny. edut’utHin I'V. 44, .Vf. Tost OlVicr I)''par!nn'in. l^'Micfleinl t'lTerts, til7-l(»0. I’ronii'dion.s. HK^^luin rv t)f, dl-iid; meilioda uiid stmidnrds, :io. I'.syrliulo^y , o'ltrtuion;il, dffinil ion , ‘ffi-UKK I'iddif S( hotila. ;TT)'I roiMltnimlv ijitorvsl>, 41-42. rupils. lioalt li pn^'lems. stati-slies, KVlli. Q. Quantitativt' te.st.s in odin at ion. 42-4:i. ReUrdai ion. cli-mi'ntary pupils’. .'10; mvnt stud* k*a. II- Uuedij;er. W. (*., The preaentstatus of education as uscieni‘1* -ttiepriuriplfsofodiicatian. lni-ni:i. Eural education, prohiton, 24-25. Runil schoois, iiyTieuUuml ediiculion, .Vl-54; and • ei^rhttl-^;^utU‘ t-Tiduat ion, .'12; consol ulated, 21, 2(- 24; funds, souree and distrilmtion, 22-23; Rland- , ardizaliou, il-22,27-2!>; status, lS-2«. Bnotldon, Paviil, The problem of rural eduention, 24-20. Stx ial centers, sctmols as, (jo-fil. St>eiety of (blletu Tenrtii'rs of KtiunitioD, abstracts of paiK'rs, ul-bW. SiM-cial stTuHils, t>'jw’S, 54 .5,'). Stiiiulardstdediifution, prol'lcms, 2.V2S, Sti phons, \V. L.. Itepartinoniiil tm'hinK In the ele- mentary yrades :ni ;il Slewiiri.W. .VI., riiiM- of th.- .State normal scluwl In ncriniltural edueatitm, 72 71 Stimson. It. \V., T he voent mnnl aKnnilluralscbooU^ with spot’iai cinpha''is on jmrl-tmu* work in a^rrl-- cultun'. sn-S7. St tidie.s, a luMd, wa.steand ctricH’iiey, 20-30. S> ^tein.s, » Sirayer. C the enic 2.'i-2*i. Teoehers. tniinini:, 9; (upricuHim'. 71; 8eeonv5: and publie-sdhool byslcin. 50, 51. ^ ^ Vo<’alional schools, opricuHural, S6-S7; Ines^ptng uHctiduni'e. ;to. Salford, 1.-. The part-time coopcrallvo plan of j Industrial cdunithm, St-M. ' ) School ndnrvinistnu ion. See Admltiislrutk)n,s<'hool School chiltIn.'n.'diseaso.H, statistics, 15-19. School housi‘3. civfewid socialc'cnia^rs, 00-62. " School needs, nnmel, 41M2. School plant, utiliniHon, 57-59. School studica. .Srr Studies, school. School systems, rlty, and edneatkmal commissions, 39-40; elTicictify teats, 25-27,42-43; funetion of kindciyarlcn, 43-45; nd^tion of an urban cbm* munity, 40-41; rcorpanUat kin, 37-39. fioericy, XI. H-, A plan of Dormal-aebool statlstlra, 73-74; high-school preporatioa of candidates Jor normal achooU, 13. \ W. Ward. K. J.. The .vhoolhou.se as thcclvlc and social WMilrroflheeomimmlty, tVMVi. ^ Warren, G. F.. In public hiph schools should agri- culture U' laiiRlU as apriniltum or os applied acl- enco, 90. WaaU* in edncal ion,.29-;jO. Whoeloek, Lucy, The function of ttie klndergartcQ in the publu'-schooUyatcni. 4;i- 45. Wilson, 0, M., Standardization of Janitor a*rviro, 63-64. Wirt,