Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

one errand of beneficence, at the instant, if we can, we must send them out upon another. With what pride, indeed! with what heavenly glow of satisfaction, might librarian or custodian hold up before us to-night some tattered and tear-marked volume, the gift to us of prophet or of sage, and say, "This ragged book has comforted ten thousand mourners! I dare not tell you of the tears which it has consecrated. No man can speak to you of the blessings which from that volume have been set flowing over the deserts of the world." It would be sacrilege to compare that glow of satis faction with the vanity of the collector when he unlocks his safe and with dainty fingers hands to you the morocco and the paper which his particular agent, having carte blanche to draw from, bid in at the Apthorp sale.

Books are made to read! They serve no other use under heaven.

Do we indeed prize them as the marvels which they are? You and I go to a longdistance telephone; we listen, it may be, to a sweetheart's whisper, it may be a brother's laugh; we catch the very accent. We recognize the tone, its humor, or its pathos. Well may we wonder; well may we thank God that we live in this day. She was with me in this little office; space was annihilated! Yes, and what is that marvel to the more familiar marvel! Mr. Crunden gives me this printed volume and I am sitting with Homer on the heights of Chios, and without a sound he whispers to me of the rage of Achilles or the tears of Andromache. Or I lie on the bank of anemones in Sharon, and David tells me how the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Let me enter Mr. Crunden's halls, and for me there is no space, there is no time!

If we highly resolve that for this generation, and the generations which follow, reading of the best books shall be the luxury and blessing of all sorts and conditions of men, the effort, the study, and the prayer which have combined to make this birthday of our library possible are answered and rewarded. If we know that books are made to read; if we highly resolve, as we love God and hope for heaven, that all men and women shall one day come to read them, why, the future is sure! The details will determine themselves. And each new invention of Mr. Crunden, each new victory of your trustees, will bud and blossom in a hundred more. Of these I dare not prophesy. In the legends of that fabled city of Sybaris, it is said that there were no locks on the library doors; they could always be opened; and the reading room was open from midnight to midnight, from New Year to New Year, from century to century. Mr. Crunden knows, your trustees know, whether such matchless success be possible in St. Louis.

I am sure of this, because you people here are practical. I am sure no holiday will be too good for men to read in. In my own dear city, alas, we open the library for every day in the year when the people are at work, but we shut it in their faces on their few days of leisure. We let them read on Sunday, but not on their days of independence, fasting, or thanksgiving. I can not think you will imitate us. My parting wish for you shall be, that from the beginning you shall know that no day is too good a day to read of God's Word or His works; that no festival is so sacred to independence but men may reap of the triumphs of the fathers; that no holiday of thanksgiving can be better spent than in praising God for the poets and the prophets. Surely it is not too much to ask of this central city, in that nation which is the central nation in the world, which is for our purposes the center of the universe. So fast as the choicest treasures of that universe are collected here you will give the fullest opportunity for each man, woman, and child to enjoy them and to bless you.

We give our child his name on his birthday. He has two names-he is called "Public Library." road, not for four hundred, not for the upper ten. to each and to all.

He is not only called "Library."
Not for one is he sent on his
He is a messenger to the public,

But, as I said, my mission is not one of advice, but of congratulation. When, in 1803, Robert Livingston, in many respects the first statesman, as he was the wisest prophet of his time, bought for $15,000,000 all the country between the Rocky Mountaing and the Mississippi, he wrote thus to his prudent and careful master, Jefferson: "I know that the price paid is enormous. I have said to them that in a century we should not send ten thousand people across the Mississippi River.”

Your fathers-nay, some of you-were among the first to disprove that prophecy. Their privilege and yours has been more than most men can boast to show what America is and is to be. Give her an object lesson, gentlemen and ladies, in the central matter, in the central work of education. Establish here the freest and best public library in the world.

NEW JERSEY.

[From the report of State Supt. Addison B. Poland, for 1892-93.]

STATE FUNDS SHOULD BE APPORTIONED ON THE BASIS OF NUMBER OF TEACHERS.

It is clear that some steps should be taken to secure a larger percentage of increase in the teaching force of the State.

I would suggest here that a remedy can be found in adopting a different basis for the distribution of the State appropriation than that of school census, as now prescribed.

l'or instance, a district having a school population of 45 children or over draws from the State a sum not less than $375. One teacher only is required. Now, an increase, say, of 45 more children in the district will largely increase the amount of State appropriation received.

But no additional teacher is required; hence, the larger the number of children and the smaller the number of teachers the cheaper the cost of maintaining the schools of a district.

Now I beg to recommend that the law be so amended as to make it for the interest of a district having 50 or more pupils attending school to employ an additional teacher.

This can be casily effected by apportioning a part of the school tax on the basis of so much per teacher employed. The State money is now appropriated wholly on the basis of number of children to be taught; how many are actually taught or how they are taught, whether by tens or by hundreds per teacher, makes no difference. This is essentially wrong. The school law needs to be remedied at this vital point.

THE NEW JERSEY SYSTEM OF GRADING RURAL SCHOols.

Under the New Jersey school law county superintendents have the power, by and with the approval of trustees, to prescribe a uniform course of study for their respective counties. For this reason, among others, a uniform State system has never been adopted. It has been thought best by my predecessors to leave the matter of grading entirely in the hands of the county and city officers, and to discourage the adoptiou of a uniform State system, on the ground that a uniform State system for rural schools is no more needed than a uniform State system for city schools. The county superintendent stands, mutato nomine, in the same position as the city superintendent. A careful comparison, then, of the several county systems will show the following to be the essential features of them all:

(1) A course of study consisting of five grades. The first four covering all the work usually done in the primary and grammar schools of our best city systems; the last grade, the work of the first two years of the ordinary high school. This course is little more than a general outline of studies. It does not go into details in any subject. In no case does it give more than the proper sequence of topics. It aims also to fix only approximately the time at which the work of any grade may be completed. This latter is important, since to fix definitely the time for the completion of a grade would be fatal to the system; it would not leave sufficient latitude for the special needs of particular schools. So also a detailed programme would tend to narrow and mechanize the work, as in some cities, where it is the bane of the system. By creating few grades it becomes possible for both rural and city schools to work together under the same course, since any subclassification may be made within three grades that the local conditions or exigencies of each district or city demand. While thus serving in a measure to unify the schools of a county, this system of grading does not reduce them to the inflexible, cast-iron classification which is so objectionable in many of our city systems.

In my opinion, this happy division of the course into five grades (four below the high school and one high school), each representing about two years' time for the average pupil, is the fundamental and saving feature of the New Jersey system. Eight or nine annual grades, as in the cities, would be impossible in rural schools; a greater number still more impossible. Such a classification would give rise to annual or semiannual promotions, which are entirely out of the question in rural schools. But five grades, on the other hand, with no stated time for completion, break up this system of periodic promotions. Bright pupils not infrequently cover the whole four grades below the high school in six or even four years' time. So, also, a pupil may be at one and the same time in two or even three grades, according to his scholarship and capacity. It will be seen, therefore, that this grading by biennial periods interferes in nowise with the proper classification of pupils; it leaves the door open for all the intermediate grades or classes which local or accidental conditions make desirable or necessary. It is not necessary, for example, to find

two or even three classes doing second-grade work in arithmetic or grammar; this will depend wholly upon the number of pupils in the school, their comparative proficiency, and the time at the teacher's disposal. So far from holding back bright pupils, the chief danger of the New Jersey system has been found to lie in its enabling them to get on too rapidly. To counteract this tendency to complete the course too early, it has been found necessary in nearly every county to adopt a rule that no pupil shall be allowed to graduate under the age of 13 or 14 years. The point to be clearly apprehended is this: That the system of grading under discussion is not for the purpose of reducing to a minimum the number of classes, but for directing and especially for vitalizing the work of a school by the additional incentives that it introduces, as will be seen hereafter. In theory, at least, every pupil is working wherever he can to the best advantage; if otherwise, it is not the result of the system, but of the natural and unavoidable conditions that limit the time of the teacher and consequently the number of recitations she is able to hear. It may be said, however, that the tendency of the system is to reduce somewhat the number of daily recitations common in ungraded schools.

(2) The second essential feature of this system is that it broadens the work of the county superintendent.-The success of a school depends largely upon the ability and intelligence of the teacher; the success of any system of grading, whether city or rural, depends also in a great measure upon the superintendent. This does not imply, however, that some systems are not better than others. Some may be run with less friction; some produce better results than others. The graded system under discussion needs just as careful supervision to make it efficient as a city system. Many, if not most, of the evils that attend the closely graded city system also appear in the ungraded rural schools. Thus, for instance, "marking time" will be found in its worst form not in the city, but in the ungraded country schools.

I well remember how the district school teacher of my boyhood days always started the advanced class in arithmetic at common fractions. This enabled us to get on to percentage, say, at the end of the term. At the beginning of the next term it was the same old story-"The first class in arithmetic will begin at common fractions." But in rural schools this evil of "marking time" is not due, as in the city systems, to annual or semiannual grading, but rather to no grading. The tendency of rural schools is always toward too many classes for economy in teaching; of city systems toward too few. There is a point where the two extremes meet. I believe it is found, so far as rural schools are concerned, in the system under discussion. But no system will make careful and intelligent supervision unnecessary. One of the chief advantages claimed for uniform grading is that it compels and encourages the county superintendent to live in the saddle, so to speak; to visit, inspect, and supervise his schools with indefatigable industry and untiring zeal.

(3) Uniform county examinations.-It was early found in the history of the New Jersey system that uniform examinations could be made an important and valuable accessory. These are held annually at or near the close of the school year. The questions are made out by the county superintendent. The examinations are conducted in the several schools by the principal or regular class teacher, by whom also the papers are all first examined and marked. The results are tabulated and sent to the county superintendent. In most counties, also, the papers of the three upper grades are submitted to the county superintendent, who is assisted in reviewing them by a county board of examiners.

By all who object to stated examinations this feature of the New Jersey system will be regarded as a defect. We must not, however, lose sight of the fact that examinations in rural schools are less frequent than in city schools, and for that reason are looked upon with much greater favor by both pupils and teacher. Properly conducted they are not only a great incentive to pupils, but are anticipated with pleasure. The demoralizing effect of examinations as ordinarily conducted is due to the fact that a pupil's promotion depends thereon. Remove this feature, as may be done under this system, and examinations are no longer a bugbear. A pupil's promotion at the end of any given period will depend, under this system, upon the conditions that prevail when new classes come to be formed. The county examinations will be only one factor of many to determine this result.

It is not improbable, however, that under certain conditions a system of county grading, just as a city system of grading, could be carried on successfully without examinations. Where, for instance, principal, teacher, and pupils are doing the best they can, the spur of an examination is not necessary. But it is not true, in my opinion, that examinations are always and necessarily an evil. They have their proper place in the school system; not their use but their abuse is to be deplored; they can be made so comprehensive as to render cramming impossible; they may be so carefully and discreetly conducted as to reduce deception and fraud to the barest minimum.

(4) Permanent and systematic records are indispensable to this system.-One of the most common defects to be noticed in ungraded schools is the lack of permanent records. The frequent change of teachers in rural schools makes them especially

ED 93-105

necessary and desirable. Without them a new teacher, usually a novice, is compelled to make a reclassification of the school. The result is a woeful loss of time, both for those who are imprudently set back in their studies and compelled for the second or third time to go over the same ground, and for those also who are quite as unfortunately pushed into water beyond their depth and left to flounder as best they may. A properly graded system will make necessary two sets of records-one, the class records of each school, showing its peculiar classification and the proficiency of each of its pupils; the other, the county records, which certify the results of the official inspection and examinations made by its superintendent. The former will enable a new teacher to organize her school with ease and dispatch; the latter will enable her to compare her school with others of the same class in a town or county, and will serve also as a general guide for framing a suitable programme. Promotions, as a general rule, will be made upon the local class records; the official county records will enable pupils removing to other districts in the county to be more readily classified.

(5) Certificates for each grade and a final diploma.-Pupils who complete any grade receive a certificate bearing the signature of the county superintendent, district clerk, principal, or teacher. Those who complete the four grades below the high school receive a diploma; the fifth or high school grade a special diploma. I need not say that these certificates are highly prized in rural districts. To the child who at the age of 7 or 8 years receives his first certificate it is the greatest experience of his life. Nor does the desire to gain these paper honors grow less until the age of 14 or 15, the last in the series to be secured. Some moralists will doubtless decry the practice that supplies to the children and youth motives so base. But are wo not all of us chasing madly after some supposed good, as useless and ephemeral when we get it as the paper on which the child's certificate is written? It is the present or immediate and not the remote good that appeals to the child of interest. Time may come when these farmer boys will "Seek honor, e'en at the cannon's mouth," but now the height and breadth of their ambition is a roll of parchment. Who shall say which is the more laudable ambition, this or that? But, moralizing aside, the influence of the county certificate on the rural schools is an incentive to effort which can hardly be overestimated.

(6) Recognition of diplomas by higher institutions.-All graduates of the county graded course are admitted to the State normal school and to many city high schools without a reexamination. So, also, several colleges accept these county examinations in lieu of their own in the same subjects. This is an advantage not to be lightly estimated.

Such, then, in brief, are the essential features of the New Jersey system of grading rural schools. A few words now as to the general working of that system. It was devised to correct certain evils and to secure certain definite ends. It should be judged, therefore, by its specific results.

The principal evils which it aimed to reach and correct are the following:

(1) The short period of school attendance.-The entire school attendance of most children in the large cities does not exceed upon the average three to four years. In rural districts pupils attend through a longer period of years, but for fewer months in a year and with frequent lapses of one or more terms. The cause of this short period of school attendance is not infrequently the actual need of the child's labor at home; but quite as often it is due to an indifference on the part of the pupil himself. The value of an education is not realized by him. The end is too remote. Some more immediate end, such as securing a county diploma, is a more powerful incentive. Take a single county. For instance, in Atlantic County, prior to the introduction of a graded system fifteen years ago, not one person pursued advanced studies where twenty or more are doing so now. So, also, of matriculants at the normal school and colleges; the number has increased at least twenty times in the same period.

(2) Irregularity of attendance.-This is due to many causes, such as sickness, bad roads, need for pupils' work at home, etc. Experience has abundantly proved, however, that the principal cause of irregular attendance is lack of interest on the part of pupils. When deeply interested in the school nothing but absolute necessity will keep them away. The county grading, with its system of examinations, certificates, and diplomas, furnishes the necessary incentive to keep pupils in school. (3) Untrained and inexperienced teachers.—The small salaries paid in most rural districts compel the employment of untrained and inexperienced teachers. They need every help that can be devised. It is impossible for the county superintendent, owing to the extent of his district, to visit and advise with great frequency; hence, reliance must be had upon some general directions. These are furnished by the course of study and the regulations that govern it.

(4) Frequent change of teachers.-The average term of service of the country district teacher is less than two years just time enough to undo the work of a predecessor, and not enough to establish a new régime. Hence, chaos is likely to prevail without the guidance and help afforded by some uniform system of grading. Grant that the

most important need is the personal supervision of an intelligent and enthusiastic superintendent. In lieu of such supervision the county graded system is a necessity; with it, an additional help.

(5) Large number of classes.-This must always be an obstacle in the way of improvement of rural schools. It is the opposite extreme to the city system, where, by reason of a large number of pupils and the employment of a greater number of teachers, advantage can be taken of the economic principle of "division of labor." There is a compensation, however, even in a large number of classes; individual work, so rare in cities, is made obligatory. Pupils are necessarily thrown upon their own resources. Hence, the two principal evils attendant upon the city system of grading, to wit, mechanical routine and "marking time," are less likely to arise. There is a happy mean to be found between too many classes and too few. The system of grading under discussion aims to find it.

(6) Lack of esprit de corps.-The preceding conditions that I have mentioned, tend, without some corrective, to reduce the esprit de corps of the rural schools to the lowest ebb. There is little in the ungraded school to fire the ambition or excite the love of the average boy or girl. True, history affords many examples of illustrious men and women who have flourished upon such a soil. But history fails to record the achievements of that far greater number whose buds of promise never opened in that ofttimes cheerless atmosphere. Next to the intelligent, enthusiastic, skillful teacher, the system of county grading, with its awards and diplomas, will be found the most effective stimulus to arouse and foster a love for school.

In conclusion, it may be said that the conditions prevailing in rural districts are so unlike the conditions that prevail in cities that any a priori judgment, based on a knowledge merely of city needs, must be carefully scrutinized. The contention of Dr. Harris, that the greatest need of all schools, city or rural, is a frequent reclassification, in order that all pupils may at all times find their normal level in the school curriculum, is not traversed by this paper. On the contrary, this need of frequent readjustment of classes is admitted. It is claimed, however, that the New Jersey system of grading rural schools makes this frequent reclassification possible, while affording certain additional advantages, such as comparative standard, proximate uniformity, and stimulus, so essential to intelligent organization, profitable instruction, and effective supervision.

MANUAL TRAINING.

Under an act of the legislature passed in 1881, and under another act passed in 1885, the State may appropriate, in any one year, any sum not exceeding $5,000 to introduce and to maintain manual training in any school district of the State raising by donation or taxation an equal amount. It might naturally be expected that so liberal a State subsidy would tend to increase rapidly the number of manual training schools. The fact that no large and immediate increase has taken place is due to the general belief that manual training is still to some extent a matter of experiment; that its adaptation to existing courses of study is not yet complete; that it is wiser to await the outcome of its trial where already introduced than to undertake its introduction and maintenance without sufficient knowledge. Moreover, no effort has been made by the State department to hasten its introduction. On the other hand, it has been thought wiser, safer, and more economical to strengthen the existing schools by exacting better and more extended work; to carry on the necessary labor of adaptation and coordination in a few schools only until the experimental stage is over than to encourage the broadcast introduction of a form of education the limitations and value of which have not yet been fully determined.

Attention is called to the detailed reports of the several schools which have undertaken to carry on manual training, for an opinion of its merits and successful operation to date.

To summarize briefly these reports, it may be said:

(1) That without exception all the schools referred to report favorably.

(2) That so far from abridging the time devoted to this species of instruction, all, without exception, are disposed to extend it.

(3) That wherever taught by capable and competent instructors the manual training studies are very popular with girls and boys alike.

As the result of my personal observation and experience I incline to the belief that all of the following results flow naturally from manual training when rightly taught:

(1) A greater interest in school, especially on the part of boys approaching the high-school age. The desire to do something with the hands, to engage in some form of labor such as they witness adults engaged in, to become men in the sense of being able to perform acts that look toward gaining a living; these and other considerations of a similar nature seem to give school life a more real and attractive character to boys at an age when book study is becoming irksome.

« AnteriorContinuar »