IV.

CONDITION OF CROPS, SEPTEMBER, 1868.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

As this Department has been only recently established, and will hereafter be looked to by school officers, teachers, and students of educational progress, at home and abroad, for the most recent and most reliable information respecting the whole subject of Education and Schools in this country, we give the following account of its organization and its modes of operation and practical results for the first year, drawn from the following documents: (1). Official circulars of the department of Education, Numbers I to XIII. (2). Report of the Commissioner of Education, dated March 15, 1868. (3). Special Report on the condition and improvement of Public Schools in the District of Columbia, with an account of the System, Digest of the Regulations and the Subjects and Courses of Instruction of Public Schools, in the principal cities of the United States, dated July, 1868.

(4). The American Journal of Education-National Series, Vol. I, 1867–68. This quarterly publication has no official character, and although under the editorial supervision of the Commissioner, is published without any expense to the Department.

The Act creating a National Department of Education approved March 2, 1867, is as follows:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be established, at the city of Washington, a Department of Education for the purpose of collecting such statistics and facts as shall show the condition and progress of education in the several States and Territories, and of diffusing such information respecting the organization and management of schools and school systems, and methods of teaching, as shall aid the people of the United States in the establishment and maintenance of efficient school systems, and otherwise promote the cause of education throughout the country.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Commissioner of Education, who shall be intrusted with the management of the department herein established, and who shall receive a salary of four thousand dollars per annum, and who shall have authority to appoint one chief clerk of his department, who shall receive a salary of two thousand dollars per annum, one clerk who shall receive a salary of eighteen hundred dollars per annum, and one clerk who shall receive a salary of sixteen hundred dollars per annum, which said clerks shall be subject to the appointing and removing power of the Commissioner of Education.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Educa tion to present annually to Congress a report embodying the results of his investigations and labors, together with a statement of such facts and recommendations as will, in his judgment, subserve the purpose for which this department is established. In the first report made by the Commissioner of Education under this act there shall be presented a statement of the several grants of land made by Congress to promote education, and the manner in which these several trusts have been managed, the amount of funds arising therefrom, and the annual proceeds of the same, as far as the same can be determined.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the Commissioner of Public Buildings is hereby authorized and directed to furnish proper offices for the use of the department herein established. On the 11th of March, HENRY BARNARD* was nominated by President Johnson, and on the 16th was confirmed by the Senate, Commissioner of Education. Rooms were provided by the Commissioner of Public Buildings for the *Dr. Barnard, at the time was President of St. John's College, at Annapolis, Maryland, but since 1837 has been connected with the administration of public schools in the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island, and in varied efforts to advance the work of educational reform and improvement in different parts of the country.

Department; the three clerks provided for were appointed, and the following plan of operations was adopted by the Commissioner.

The first step taken was to make known the provisions of the Act, establishing the department, and at the same time to map out the field of inquiry into which the Commissioner was about to enter.

SCHEDULE OF INFORMATION SOUGHT.

I. GENERAL VIEW OF SYSTEMS, INSTITUTIONS, AND AGENCIES OF EDUCATION.

A. GENERAL CONDITION (of District, Village, City, County, State).

(Territorial Extent, Municipal Organization, Population, Valuation, Receipts, and Expenditures for all public purposes).

B. SYSTEM OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.

C. INCORPORATED INSTITUTIONS AND OTHER SCHOOLS AND AGENCIES OF EDUCATION.

II. DETAILS OF SYSTEM AND INSTRUCTION.

ELEMENTARY OR PRIMARY EDUCATION.

(Public, Private, and Denominational; and for boys or girls).

2. ACADEMIC OR SECONDARY EDUCATION.

(Institutions mainly devoted to studies not taught in the Elementary Schools, and to preparation for College or Special Schools).

3. COLLEGIATE OR SUPERIOR EDUCATION.

(Institutions entitled by law to grant the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Science).

4. PROFESSIONAL, SPECIAL, OR CLASS EDUCATION.

(Institutions having special studies and training, such as-1, Theology. 2, Law. 3, Medicine. 4, Teaching. 5, Agriculture. 6, Architecture, (Design and Construction). 7, Technology -Polytechnic. 8, Engineering, (Civil or Mechanical). 9, War, (on land or sea). 10, Business or Trade. 11, Navigation. 12, Mining and Metallurgy. 13, Drawing and Painting. 14, Music. 15, Deaf Mutes. 16, Blind. 17, Idiotic. 18, Juvenile Offenders. 19, Orphans. 20, Girls. 21, Colored Freedmen. 22, Manual or Industrial. 23, Not specified above-such as Chemistry and its applications-Modern Languages-Natural History and Geology-Steam and its applications -Pharmacy-Veterinary Surgery, &c).

5. SUPPLEMENTARY EDUCATION.

1. Sunday and Mission Schools. 2, Apprentice Schools. 3, Evening Schools. 4, Courses of Lectures. 5, Lyceums for Debates. 6, Reading Rooms-Periodicals. 7, Libraries of Reference or Circulation. 8, Gymnasiums, Boat and Ball Clubs, and other Athletic Exercises. 9, Public Gardens, Parks and Concerts. 10, Not specified above.

6. SOCIETIES, Institutes, MUSEUMS, CABINETS, AND GALLERIES FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE, LITErature, and THE ARTS.

7. EDUCATIONAL AND OTHER PERIODICALS.

8. SCHOOL FUNDS AND EDUCATIONAL BENEFACTIONS.

9. LEGISLATION (State or MUNICIPAL) RESPECTING EDUCATION.

10. SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE.

11. PENAL AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.

12. CHURCHES AND OTHER AGENCIES OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION.

13. REPORTS And other PUBLICATIONS ON SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION.

14. MEMOIRS OF TEACHERS, AND PROMOTERS OF EDUCATION..

15. EXAMINATIONS (COMPETITIVE, OR OTHERWISE) FOR ADMISSION TO National or StaTE SCHOOLS, OR TO PUBLIC SERVICE OF ANY KIND.

MODES OF OBTAINING INFORMATION.

The sources of information respecting Educational Institutions relied on, are: (1). The annual reports and special replies of officers charged with their administration in the several states, or personal visitation of institutions by the Commissioner, or inspectors qualified to judge and report upon subjects in regard to which information is sought.

(2). The annual meetings and published proceedings of national societies

devoted to general or special educational objects, and similar meetings of state, county, and town Teachers' Associations.

(3). Correspondence with the active school men of the day, both at home and abroad, respecting systems of public instruction, and institutions of learning of every kind.

(4). A library and cabinet of education, based on a collection commenced thirty years ago, of text-books and school documents, giving the results of the experience of states, institutions and individuals, in the work.

(5). The daily and weekly press for current information of all important educational movements and discussions.

MODES OF DISSEMINATING INFORMATION.

The several agencies employed for collecting information, viz: The annual meetings of educational associations, national, state and municipal; correspondence with officers, teachers and friends of educational improvement, the press, as well as personal interviews, have been resorted to, to disseminate information as to the objects and needs of the department. In addition to these, the following plan of publication has been adopted.

PLAN OF PUBLICATION.

"As at present advised, the following plan of publication will be pursued: 1. Monthly Circular. To be issued monthly-each number to be devoted to such special subject as the correspondence or investigations of the Department may require; and if the requisite clerical labor can be devoted to its preparation, to a monthly summary of Education Intelligence and Statistics in different States and Countries.

These Circulars will not be printed for general distribution, and as a general rule will be mailed, in answer or inquiry, to correspondents, or to persons known to be, or who may write, that they are specially interested in the subject.

The matter Contained in them, in addition to the official, will not always be new, but such articles will be introduced from former publications of the Commissioner, or of others, as he may think illustrative of the special subject to which the Circular is devoted.

2. A Quarterly Publication. It is proposed to begin a National Series of the American Journal of Education, with a view of completing the encyclopediac view of Education-its History, System, Institutions, Principles, Methods, and Statistics; begun several years since, and prosecuted thus far with a special reference to the condition and wants of our own schools, and with a studious avoidance of all matters foreign to the main object. The range and exhaustive treatment of subjects can be seen by the Classified Index, which will be forwarded if desired. Although the Journal will remain for the present under the editorial supervision of the Commissioner, who will receive no compensation for this service, it will be entirely the private enterprise of its publisher, who will soon announce his plan and terms.

The Department will be in no way responsible for the matter or the expense, but will avail itself of this mode of printing documents prepared by, or at the request of the Commissioner, which it may be desirable to issue in advance or aside of any other form of publication.

The numbers will be sent only to subscribers, or to special orders addressed to the Publisher, Hartford, Conn.

3. Educational Documents and Tracts. The Commissioner, with such coöperation as he can enlist, will at once begin the preparation or rather the revision and completion of a series of Educational Documents (A) begun several years ago, after consultation with several of the most eminent educators of the country; each of which will be devoted to an exhaustive treatment of a particular subject, and at the same time be so prepared as to give a brief summary of the general principles and statistics connected with the same for circulation by itself. The plan of publication (B) will be set forth in his first Annual Report.

4. An Annual Report. As is provided for in the Act establishing this Department, a Report will be submitted to Congress annually, in which, after the preliminary arrangements have been completed for obtaining full and reliable information, the progress and condition of Education in different States and countries during the year will be presented.

The following is the series of Educational Documents referred to above (A): 1. A Catalogue of the best publications on the organization, instruction and discipline of schools, of every grade, and on the principles of education, in different languages, which can be consulted in the Library of the Department of Education at Washington.

2. A History of Education, ancient and modern, with reference to the original authorities, where the systems and institutions of each country can be more fully investigated. 3. An Account of Elementary Instruction in Europe.

4. National Education in the United States; or contributions to the history and improvement of common or public schools, and other institutions, means and agencies of popular education in the several States.

5. School Architecture; or the principles of construction, ventilation, warming, acoustics, seating, &c.; applied to school rooms, lecture halls, and class rooms, with illustrations.

6. Normal Schools, Training Schools, Teachers' Institutes, and other institutions, means, and agencies, for the professional training and improvement of teachers.

7. System of Public Education for large cities and villages, with an account of the schools and other means of popular education and recreation in the principal cities of Europe and in this country.

8. System of Popular Education for sparsely populated districts, with an account of schools in the agricultural portions of different countries.

9. Schools of Agriculture, and other means of advancing the special instruction of persons engaged in agriculture.

10. Schools of Science applied to the mechanic arts, civil engineering, &c.

11. Schools of Trade, Navigation, Commerce, &c.

12. Female Education, with an account of different systems and seminaries in this country and in Europe.

13. Institutions for Orphans.

14. Schools of Industry, or institutions for truant, idle or neglected children, before they have been convicted of crime.

15. Reform Schools, or institutions for young criminals.

16. Houses of Refuge, for adult criminals.

17. Secondary Education, including a, institutions preparatory to college, and b, institutions preparatory to special schools of agriculture, engineering, trade, navigation, &c.

18 Colleges and Universities.

19. Schools of Theology, Law, and Medicine.

20. Military and Naval Schools.

21. Supplementary Education, including adult schools, evening schools, courses of popular lectures, debating classes, mechanic institutes, &c.

22. Libraries, with hints for the purchase, arrangement, catalogueing, drawing, and preservation of books, especially in libraries designed for popular use.

23. Institutions for the Deaf and Dumb, Blind, and Idiots.

24. Societies for the Encouragement of Science, the Arts, and Education.

25. Schools and Academies of Art, Public Museums and Galleries.

26. Public Gardens, and other arrangements for popular recreation.

7. Educational Tracts, or a series of short essays on topics of immediate practical impor. tance to teachers and school officers.

23. Educational Biography, or the lives of distinguished educators and teachers.

This series will embrace the most important institutions and agencies by which the education of the country is secured."

WORK DONE OR IN PROGRESS.

1. National Land Grants for Educational Purposes. In pursuance of the requirement of the Act, establishing the department, an investigation into the history "of the several grants of land made by Congress to promote education, and the manner in which these several trusts have been managed," was the first step taken after organizing the Department. A preliminary report giving the legislation of Congress, and the action of the several states, in regard to 66 the public lands devoted to the several states to provide colleges