"What is the song power possessed by these singers, evidenced not in vocal pyrotechnics, but in simple ballad? Is it the birthright of the few, or our common heritage, latent powers not rightly understood? Is it a power that may be used in education? Certainly it is something which exists apart from music notation and text-books. I know many who have thoroughly informed themselves in these, who can answer correctly as to the flats, sharps, clefs, keys, notes, intervals, etc., but who are not musicians. And many there are who have practiced diligently in vocal work, who sing with range, power, fluency, agility, and all outward forms of expression, to whom song power has not come-to whom, alas! it may never come, for the letter killeth.' "The High School, the College of the People," was the subject of an evening. address by Prof. E. J. James, of the University of Chicago, in part as follows: "The most important question in the field of higher education in the United States to-day is the relation of the high school, college, and university. The colleges disregarded the growth of the high school for a long time, then they opposed it, now they are trying to make it subject to their own purposes. It has, however, already passed in its development the stage when it can be merely the preparatory school for admission to college. This is certainly true if the college is to remain what it is in theory-a school for merely liberal, disciplinary training, leading to university work in the true sense. It is unreasonable to expect young men to spend four years in the high school and then four years in the college, making eight years in all, as a mere preparation for professional study, especially when this eight years' curriculum is not entered upon until the boy is fourteen or fifteen years of age. This means that the future lawyer, physician, clergyman and teacher shall take a course of study extending over twenty or twenty-one years of continuous study from his sixth year, in order to begin to learn his business practically. This scheme is unreasonable. It has broken down completely, and rightly so. It is not justified either theoretically or practically, either on grounds of pedagogy or economy. How it works in practice may be seen from the fact that only a very small per cent. of the members of the so-called learned professions ever enter the college at all, while one class-the teachers utilizing the college-do not go to the university, much to the injury of our educational interests. "The method of solution is for the high school to expand its work so as to cover the field of secondary education, and thus prepare for the university instead of for the college. The content of the first two years' work in college should be pushed down into the high school, thus permitting the college, where feasible, to expand into the university. Such a plan will allow the development of the university as a special school for persons who have an adequate degree of preliminary education. It will allow the high school a perfectly distinct sphere-that of secondary education. It will, moreover, make possible a much-needed advance in high school standards of work along these lines where it serves as the only higher school open to the general public. There are many signs of such development. Our best high schools now offer sufficient work in this connection to enable the student to take advanced standing in some of our best colleges. As the equipment is made more nearly what it should be for work in science, language, and mathematics, this possibility will be widely expanded. Popular education will gain by an advance in the standard of high school training, and the true university will be made possible as a normal institution of our national life, which it is not at present. All our universities are still largely colleges." "The Province of the Supervisor" was disscussed by Supt. L. H. Jones, of Cleveland. Two of the chief duties of the supervisor are the setting of standards of work, and the creating of ideals. Examinations were discussed, and shown to be valuable when properly conducted, and the practical child study which can be carried on by every teacher was earnestly commended. "Supervision as Viewed by the Supervised" was the subject of a valuable and suggestive paper by Sarah L. Brooks, of St. Paul, which is given in full in the present number of The Journal. The discussion was continued by Supt. C. F. Carroll, of Worcester, Mass., who called special attention to what he considered too much conservatism on the part of teachers and superintendents; by Sarah L. Arnold, of Boston, who dwelt upon the valuable lessons learned from children, and the necessity of making teachers' meetings so helpful and interesting that attendance need not be made compulsory; and by Supt. John W. Carr, Anderson, Indiana, who outlined in a very humorous but instructive manner, the "province" of supervision, and then dwelt upon the importance of high ideals in the life and practice of the superintendent. "The Correlation of Educational Forces in the Community" was the general subject for consideration at the Thursday morning session. The first paper was read by Samuel T. Dutton, of Brookline, Mass. He spoke at some length of the different forces at work in education and made very plain the great importance of making the school the centre of local interest and usefulness. Several examples were given showing the work accomplished in the interest of public education by local organizations in different towns and cities. The discussion was continued by Dr. Ida C. Bender, of Buffalo, who treated of the "Relation of Citizens and Teachers." She called attention to the excellence of early schools, and the great changes in social conditions which make changes in educational policy necessary, and made some very pointed suggestions regarding the difficulties which are connected with the management of schools in many localities. In the solution of all these problems the teacher and citizen must work in harmony. Thursday evening, Dr. Wm. T. Harris, U. S. Commissioner of Education, delivered a lecture on "Art in Education." He spoke only thirty minutes, but his audience would have been glad to listen much longer. He rose above small technicalities, and discussed the subject from the standpoint of Grecian, Roman and Christian art. Supt. Aaron Gove, of Denver, discussed "The Proper Use of School Houses" in a very practical, suggestive manner and advised that public halls be connected with school buildings for the use of the people in holding educational meetings, lectures, etc. The next meeting will be held at Chattanooga, with State Superintendent N. C. Schæffer, of Pennsylvania, as presiding officer. The Ohio Educational Monthly is good enough to say that "his election makes certain that no backward steps will be taken in the management of the Department." We trust there may be no mistake in this. from Pennsylvania were Supt. C. A. Babcock, Oil City; Drs. T. B. Noss, California; E. O. Lyte, Millersville; Charles De Garmo, Swarthmore; Herman T. Lukens, Bryn Mawr; Harry M. Trask, Philadelphia; George L. Holliday, Pittsburgh; Wm. Riddle, Lancaster; and State Supt. Nathan C. Schaeffer. The Rev. F. E. Dewhurst, pastor of Plymouth Church, Indianapolis, in which the sessions of the Department of Supertendency were held, in his sermon on the Sunday after the meeting, paid the following tribute to the teachers' profession: "We have had in this city, and assembled in this church, during the last week, a notable convention; notable not only on account of the men and women who composed it, not only in the nature and range of subjects under discussion, but most of all, as it seemed to me, in the spirit and purpose pervading the discussions. And I want to say, as an expression of personal conviction, that the most hopeful and encouraging sign in our entire republic, at the present time, is the spirit and purpose which appear to be controlling our leading educators. There is much to dishearten and dismay the most hopeful and courageous in our present condition in this land, but I feel that one has a right to gather fresh hope and faith from the attitude to life which was indicated last week by the leading speakers on this floor. If our senators fail us we may turn with confidence to our schoolmasters. If salvation is to come to our republic, I am persuaded that it must come, in a great measure, from our common schools. Now, of course, one knows that there is pedantry and professionalism there and everywhere else, but the very first notes that were sounded here were notes from the Pauline trumpet, calling out the more excellent way.' When the schoolmasters begin to talk more about the child than the curriculum; more about the soul than the system; one feels very sure that personality and sympathy can not perish under professionalism. "An incident related by one speaker, Dr. Schaeffer, was very impressive-impressive and instructive so far as his own thought was concerned, and in its bearing upon our thought to-day. I was in the university,' he said, 'in the day of Tischendorf, the renowned Biblical scholar; I followed him to the grave; I saw the flowers heaped upon his coffin, Those in attendance at the meeting and the badges of honor which he had But in when honors were bestowed because pride forbade the pleading of his own cause. It is, however, the teacher's province "to reason why." She is urged on all occasions to put thought into her work, and attempt to comprehend the end as well as the beginning, before undertaking a series of exercises. She is not placed between the superintendent and the child simply to transmit power, but to interpret and apply in an intelligent manner the plans of the one to the needs of the other. Her critical interpretation should tend to modify the former in the degree that the richness of her intellectual attainments and her personality influence the latter. received from emperors and from learned | judgment and devotion, but neglected societies were upon his breast. those days no one cared to hear Tischendorf lecture, for he dwelt continually upon his own attainments and his distinguished contributions to Biblical learning.' Ah! how sad it all was! how pathetic! I could seem to hear these words of Paul come echoing down the centuries: Though I know all mysteries and have all knowledge, but have not love, I am nothing.' To lose this sympathetic contact with life, to forget for one moment what one's learning is for, to think of one's attainments and not of one's deepening accountability because of one's attainments-how it empties life of its interest and glory; how it makes it nothing. I could not help thinking, however, that if the conception of the teacher's profession that was voiced in this address, and which was expressed, directly or indirectly, in many othersif this conception generally prevails, we have everything to hope for this republic from our public schools; we must look to them to leaven the people and to establish the ideals which shall determine the perpetuity of the republic." SUPERVISION AS VIEWED BY THE BY SARAH C. BROOKS. HE action of the Superintendents in giving a place on their programme for the consideration of a few sentiments from the supervised is in line with the custom of successful generals of noting, although in a surreptitious way, the opinions of their soldiers concerning the day's action and the plan of campaign. Baron Thiebault, of Napoleonic fame, says it was his custom to pass from group to group of men about the camp fires at night, to hear their comments, and that he frequently was surprised at the accuracy of their judgments, tersely stated. Whether these judgments had any effect upon the plan of campaign, we have good reason to doubt, because Thiebault himself was "a man under authority," appreciated in the hour of necessity for his * Read before the Indianapolis meeting of the Department of Superintendence by Miss Sarah C. Brooks, Supervisor of Kindergartens and Primary Schools, St. Paul, Minnesota. By accepting a position in any system of schools, a teacher tacitly accepts a certain form of government about which, in the main, she need not trouble herself. Her freedom lies not in changing the existing order of things, but in devising ways and means of applying plans of instruction, and methods of discipline to the development of the individual child, for whom the whole system exists. This freedom, wisely used, will insensibly react upon the whole plan, just as in any other department of life the best efforts of the individual react upon his environment for its improvement. The more comprehensive and liberal the conditions under which one labors, the greater the opportunity for individual progress, and the more rapid the general advancement. It is therefore important that those who control these conditions lose no opportunity of acquainting themselves with the workings of the system, and with all due speed to modify the same, when necessary, to suit conditions, and thus encourage general progress. By viewing the matter of supervision from the standpoint of the intelligent teacher, that which seemed liberal and helpful, or necessary under the circumstances, may be seen to have the contrary effect from the one intended, and a readjustment be found necessary. The teacher is encouraged to be critical while standing as interpreter between the child and the plan of instruction; she is also expected to be able to pass judgment upon the plan as a whole. By this means is she able to put life into dead form, and to apply the same to the development of the child. Therefore for heads of departments to heed the criticisms madethoughtful, shrewd, witty-with a mind open to conviction, is to be still "plucking the grass to see where sits the wind." From the mass of material at hand, I have endeavored to select a few of these criticisms which I consider legitimate and worthy of the consideration of the supervising force, because they have a direct bearing upon the efficiency of the schools, and by their very nature suggest the means whereby the customs and regulations of the system may be improved. The points touched, briefly stated, are dates of entrance into the kindergarten and first primary room, the course of study, meetings, the supervising force, and the teachers' tenure of office. I. The first of these may be local, but the criticisms are of so fundamental a nature that they seemed to me to deserve mention. Where admissions are made to the high school twice a year, it is necessary to rearrange classes in the district schools at the close of the first semester. This rearrangement leaves some one or more rooms without its quota of pupils. To fill these rooms, children are removed from the kindergartens to the primary rooms, and new pupils admitted to both places, according to age and conditions. The weather being inclement at this season, comparatively few new pupils enter. most important sequence of work is broken in the kindergarten by the change. The kindergarten children enter the new field under circumstances detrimental to a successful beginning, because they must cope with pupils who undertook the grade work five months previously. Nature and the child are not in accord, so far as topics for observation are concerned, and both pupil and teacher are placed at a disadvantage. In April, when the world is again new, when weather is propitious and all things in harmony, another class enters, necessitating another change of classes, and a loss of much precious time results to the children in the efforts at readjustment. By this clumsy and illogical method certain classes pass through the hands of three teachers in one year, at an age when, timid and shrinking, they need the most careful nurture and the most skilled instruction. II. Comments made upon the course of study are of a more general nature, and have a wider significance. Selection and arrangement of topics frequently prove impracticable because they lack the verification of test before adoption. A study of the whole plan reveals a lack of unity which should result from a continuous and critical consideration of the whole field of instruction by the entire supervising force. Instead of the one mind evident through all subjects, evidence too frequently points to a compilation of the work of separate individuals working in isolation and without reference to the whole plan. Aside from this, plans are too vague and indefinite; and are subject to a variety of interpretations and applications in the various schools, individual principals and teachers being frequently a law unto themselves in the matter. As a result, when classes change teachers and pupils change schools, results are most unsatisfactory. III. Criticisms of meetings come from great numbers of teachers, touching number of meetings, time of meetings, and matter presented. The greater the number of supervisors and special teachers, the heavier falls the burden of meetings, making grievous inroads upon time, strength, and money. If the justice of this comment is doubted by any one present, perhaps a term's trial of teaching fifty children at forty-five dollars a month might convince the doubter, especially if he should reside a few miles away from the school, and from the points at which meetings are held. As a final touch, let the meetings be held between the hours of four and five, when body and soul are at the lowest ebb, from the day's strain upon mind and body. "Still," the faithful say, "we would not care so much for the cost in time, strength and money, if the assistance and the inspiration given were equal to the outlay." In vain we urge that the city offers this assistance gratis, furnishing skilled instructors to supply the same, and teachers should be glad of the opportunities afforded. There is something materially wrong, in spite of all this, when our best teachers make open demonstrations of dissatisfaction. IV. Springing from the same root, are two comments made upon the supervisor, or special teacher, in the regular visits from school to school and their remedy is the same. The teachers say criticisms are in many cases destructive and discouraging, leaving the teacher without clearer views of what should be done, and too frequently without inspiration to seek a better way. It is also frequently claimed that special teachers give no help outside their immediate work, and make such exactions upon time in preparation and upon the programme as are impossible to be granted. The last note of "disharmony" is reached when the teacher asks, "In case the principal objects to this plan, whom shall we obey?" V. My last topic is that of appointment and advancement of teachers, and the dismissal of the incompetent from service. Principals and supervisors have cause to regret the appointment of teachers to a grade without sufficient inquiry as to their fitness for the place, and sometimes without fitness for any grade. This makes special trouble in the first year's work. There is also a feeling that the probationary period should be extended to a greater limit than is usually assigned. Many faithful teachers feel that promotion is not so dependent upon effort and excellence as it should be, and the inference is universal that influence is the greatest thing in the world, recalling to mind perhaps, the remark of the Unjust Judge, that not for fear of powers above nor below would he grant the woman's petition, but lest she weary him. The perennial complaints of the inefficient are that no one tells them they are failing, and no one criticises them! Further comment is unnecessary. A case diagnosed calls for treatment, but the physician whose diagnosis is excellent is not always the one whose practice is to be commended. It is easy enough in the present instance to point out existing causes of friction and discontent. Suggestions by which the same are to be remedied may seem impracticable in many cases. If Dates of Admission. Bearing in mind that the first subject of criticism was the dates of admission to kindergartens and first primary rooms, there seems but one suggestion. Admit in September and April, when conditions are right, because nature and the child are in unison. possible, arrange to have the teacher who receives in September, keep her pupils through the following June, giving the April classes to another teacher who will give them over to the care of some one else the following April. This arrangement will save from two to three months to the child in uninterrupted progress, and give him time to have many habits. fixed under the guidance of skilled teach ers, before he is compelled to form the acquaintance and learn the ways of another. In the kindergarten, pupils entering in September would remain for the year, as, also, those in April, provision made for both divisions, in double sessions, as is necessary in any case in the crowded portions of the city. The Course of Study. This should have three points considered in its construction, in order to reduce friction to the minimum in its application. It should represent the united efforts of the supervising force in council. The theory of the supervisor should, in all grades, be tempered by the practical suggestions of the best teachers in those grades. It should embody no plan which has not been previously tested in the school room, and for which ample arrangements have not been made to help teachers to a clear understanding of the same. It should be a growth from within outward, susceptible to change from year to year from its very vitality, and not from whims and fancies. Once presented to the schools, it should form the basis of many meetings in which principles and plans are first discussed by superintendent, supervisors and principals, and then by principals and teachers in the separate buildings. New plans of work presented in this way, would remove a source of misunderstanding between supervisors and principals, and do away with a whole series of meetings at a central building, thus annihilating two fowls with a single pebble. Formulated and duly discussed, it should be enforced equally in all schools. Without this last, we have anarchy, and not system, and must contend with the discontents and jealousies aroused by unequal distribution of burdens. The doctrine of States' rights did not die with the rebellion, nor is it confined to any one locality, nor to government in a political sense. The highest good to the greatest number is by no means a popular theory, and must sometimes be enforced. In this case, what, say you, will become of the progressive and ambitious teacher with genius and originality? Is there not danger of suppression and consequent discouragement? Will not this result in deadness and monotony? The private citizen is restricted in nothing so long as he lives within the requirements of the law; and if the law needs modifying, he even has power by his force of character, by his influence, to change the same. So |