certainly no position demands special preparation, peculiar tact, and the ability and fitness which come from successful experience, more than that of the primary teacher. "The trite saying, 'the teacher makes the school' is so readily understood that its truth needs no special argument to prove it. But its truth applies nowhere with so much force as in the primary grades. The primary teacher, more than any other, must draw from her own resources to awaken and keep alive an interest in the minds of the children who are yet incapable of prolonged study from the text-books, and have not acquired the power of independent, patient investigation.

The fact also has come to be recognized that our primary schools are really the foundation of our educational structure. In them are commenced the formation of those habits which, gaining strength during the various stages of intellectual, moral, and physical growth, influence thought and action during the whole course of subsequent school training. Nor is this all. As 'first impressions are the most lasting,' so the habits thus early formed will not only affect the entire course of training to be acquired in the schools, but also will characterize, in a large measure, the person of mature years. "The impression to which I have referred gave rise to the practice-which still prevails in connection with your schools-of grading the salaries according to consecutive stages in the classification of the schools, assigning the minimum salary to the teachers in the primary grades. This practice has the tendency on the one hand, to cause the work in primary schools to be regarded as an inferior order of service, from which the teachers gain promotion when they succeed in obtaining a transfer to the grammar grades. On the other hand, its influence is to discourage the competent and faithful whose increased and superior ability and skill in their chosen line of work, have been shown by the sure test of experience; or else, perhaps, its effect is to lead them to accept similar positions in other localities where better remuneration is given for the effective work which they have become able to accomplish.

"The principle of grading the salaries with reference to qualifications and experience is right; but when the promotions to higher grades of salary are on the ground of successful experience they should be made for the double purpose of encouraging the teachers to aim at progressive efficiency, and of inducing those who have achieved a success to continue their service in our schools, in the very kind of work in which they have become adepts. A gradation of salaries on this principle need not involve great additional expense; because, while the salaries for the experienced primary teachers would be considerably larger than now paid, those for the inexperienced would be less." [From the report of Superintendent W. W. Waterman, Clinton, Mass.]

The force of arguments similar to those set forth above is generally recognized, and several cities have already recast their scheme of salaries in accordance with the plan which Mr. Waterman recommends for adoption in Clinton. The school directors of Portland, Oregon, say: "Our experience has demonstrated that we are obliged to pay our eighth or primary grade teachers a higher salary than some of the more advanced grades. The reason of this is obvious; it requires greater experience to handle and properly teach children of six years than to teach those a little older."

At Chelsea, Mass.: "The scale of salaries received a new adjustment and adoption by the board to take effect in September (at the beginning of the school year), by which the majority of assistant teachers now receive an increase of $50 per annum. Instead of maintaining longer a distinction in the salaries paid in the higher grades, it was thought that the duties and responsibilities of all were equal, and should receive like compensation, the high school and special teachers excepted."

In summing up the recent improvements made in the Philadelphia schools, the president of the board of education uses these words: "The compensation of teachers was so modified as to lessen the distinction formerly existing among the assistants, caused by the wide differences in their salaries. The tendency has been towards an equalization of salary, and therefore in the direction of equal rank and honor. The plan of increasing the salary upon the basis of the term of service has become thoroughly established, and has yielded many excellent results."

A difference yet remains, however, in the salaries of the teachers between the lower grades and those in the higher. President Steel further says: "I trust that at the earliest opportunity this discrimination against primary and secondary teachers may be removed. The board will pardon me for reiterating my conviction that it is the duty of this board to equalize the compensation of assistants in every department of the schools. We shall never be able to get the kind of service that is needed in the lower schools until the salaries are made the same as those in the higher. No one can blame capable and ambitious teachers, employed in primary and secondary schools, for seeking promotion to the grammar schools. The higher salary paid in the latter is the just reward for the better service which they are able to render; and the constant drain upon the primary schools must go on until a position in them is made equal in rank and salary to one in the higher department. I believe that culture, training, and experience are needed quite as much in the primary as in the grammar school; but

we shall fail to secure these qualities in the latter until the pay is made the same as in the former. Make the salaries of all grades of teachers alike; and teachers will then seek employment where they feel they can do the best and most satisfactory work, regardless of other considerations. The rules of this board require the same ac quirements for primary teachers as for grammar school teachers. Taken all in all, no one can fairly say that the work required differs essentially as to difficulty or amount in any of the departments; and there is no just reason why the position of a teacher in a primary school should not be equal in honor and profit to that in any other department of the public school system. No duty of the board seems to me more imperative than this, and I trust that some action upon this important matter may be taken at an early day."

WOMEN AS PRINCIPALS.

In August, 1886, the board of education of Columbus, Ohio, resolved that thereafter in case of a vacancy in the principalship of a building of twelve or more rooms, a man be employed. Since women had previously filled these positions, this action was an innovation of considerable importance, and provoked a great deal of discussion. Three such vacancies have occurred since the passage of the resolution, and in accordance with the determination of the board, men have been selected to fill them.

For a number of years only lady teachers have been employed in the schools of Macon, Ga. The superintendent says: "Five years of close observation and a careful comparison, as opportunity offered, of the work done by these ladies with that done in similar grades of public schools in other cities, have not made me feel that in the matter of instruction our pupils lost anything by the substitution of ladies for men in the highest grade of our grammar schools. * But in the general administration of these schools the directing hand and the personal presence of a man are also absolutely necessary." He therefore asks for "the appointment of a man whose duty it shall be to supervise these schools and make himself felt in every room and class."

* *

Mr. Alvin F. Pease, superintendent of the Pawtucket, R. I., schools, believes in the superiority of male principals, for these reasons:

*

"They have usually more executive ability than women. They have a larger acquaintance with practical business and a better knowledge of 'the world.' * * Besides, it usually occurs that boys of 13 to 15 years of age need the strong influence and restraining power of a man; and where that influence is felt, the occasion for special discipline is largely removed. In some of our best grammar schools it frequently happens that there is no necessity for the infliction of punishment for weeks or even terms at a time; and the same influence over the larger pupils extends to the other rooms of the building, so that a majority of the cases of insubordination and serious difficulty occur in smaller buildings where there is no male principal."

SCHOOL SAVINGS-BANKS.

"The importance of teaching children to save, not so much for the amounts hoarded as for the educational value of the weekly lesson, has for many years been recognized with more or less earnestness by the managers of charitable and mission schools. In most of our cities various simple and practical methods have been used, in connection with voluntary school work to help the waifs of our population to acquire habits of thrift; but it is a rather curious fact that the first public school (Third Ward Grammar School of Long Island City, N. Y.) in the United States to adopt as part of its weekly drill the savings-bank plan only did so in 1885, and that during 1836 but six other public schools followed suit. Now, however, many school boards are moving in that direction, and there seems no reason to doubt that during this year more than one hundred schools will have introduced the plan into their curriculum.

**Such an absolutely new departure in the education of American children must interest all mothers, and it behooves them clearly to understand what school banks are, the drift of their teaching, and its effect on character.

**Fortunately school banks are no experiment, although a novel addition to the public school system of the United States; therefore those who advocate their general adoption in this country can support the demand by pointing to the experience of a great nation, France. The economic training of the French people was proved to the admiration of the civilized world in 1870, after the Franco-Prussian War, when the war indemnity was subscribed several times over, mainly by the bourgeoisie and peasantry, and this stupendous act of patriotic thrift, M. Gambetta said, was largely due to the industrious and saving character of the French women; therefore any national teaching in economy adopted by France must claim our serious investigation.

Cntil this year no special book or treatise on school savings-banks was published in English, and except in government reports little information was available in any

language; but Miss Agnes Lambert, of London, has just published a small School Bank Manual, and Mr. J. H. Thiry, of Long Island City, has issued a History of the Penny School Savings-Banks of the Public Schools of Long Island City, N. Y. Timely as such directions are for educators and school boards, reports and pamphlets do not tempt the general reader, who is almost always a busy, often tired, man or woman; so we propose for the benefit of all those interested in children, to state briefly what school banks are, and why they are valuable helps to national education.

"The modus operandi of a school bank is as follows: Having arranged with some savings-bank to receive deposits, the principal of a school gives notice to the several classes that every Monday morning their teacher when calling the roll, will receive their small savings (from 1 cent up to 50 cents). On making the first deposit, a pupil is given a card with his or her name, date, and amount deposited, receipted by the teacher; this card the pupil keeps, presenting it every time a deposit is made, the card having dates for the whole school year.

"After the first few collections, when, like any other new drill, children are awkward, 'fifteen minutes is sufficient to receive the savings of a class of 50.' The teacher appoints some bright pupil 'collector,' who takes the card and money from each child and hands it to the teacher, who counts the money, receipts the card, and returns it to the scholar. The ordinary roll-book serves as a record book. For instance, a name is called— 'Jane Smith.' She makes answer, Three cents,' and three cents is entered in the savings column opposite Jane Smith's name. If nothing has been saved, a cross so indicates, and merely 'attenda nce' is marked. The principal, who is the de facto treasurer, requires a special book for names of depositors and amounts saved, as the savings of all classes are handed to him, and he sends them each day to the savings-bank, getting a receipt for the whole amount. When a pupil has saved 25 cents (or any other sum agreed on) he is given a bank-book, and becomes a regular contributor-although interest is rarely paid on very small sums-and until he receives a book his name does not go on the journal of the savings-bank, but his savings are kept to the credit of the principal in what is called a 'general fund.' These pupil bank-books, kept by the principal, are sent to the bank monthly to be balanced. They can be taken home at regular dates to be shown to parents; and during vacation, or when a pupil leaves, he receives his book. Money can bedrawn out at any time with the consent of parents or guardians, by procuring the principal's signature. After leaving school permanently a scholar can still continue to use the school bank-book for other savings.

"This simple plan, insuccessful operation in several American schools, differs slightly in some of its details from that used in Europe; but it has been carefully worked out to suit our own school system, can be modified by any intelligent set of teachers or school directors to meet local views and needs, and fulfils the essential requisite of a school bank-that it should form part of the school course.

"On January 1, 1887, 7 schools in the United States had adopted' school savingsbanks, 6 of these being in or near Long Island City, and 1 in McCook, Nebr. What had they added to their curriculum? Strictly an object lesson in thrift, industry, self-deniala practical lesson which, without pushing any theoretical instruction out of its way, can do more to undermine the dangerous communistic spirit of the age than any amount of mere book learning.

"A woman is principal of the first American school with a school bank, and out of 450 scholars 403 are depositors, having saved from March, 1885, to January, 1887, $2,382; of this amount $602 was withdrawn for use, and $1,780 remained 'due depositors,' an average of $4.16 per child.

"Before passing to our second point-the educational value of school banks-a few facts in connection with their encouragement and growth in Europe may meet and answer in advance objections which will occur to many to whom the question of juvenile thrift is new and objectionable.

"France, the only country with a national system of school banks, between 1874 and 1886 established 24,000 of these banks, with nearly half a million of depositors, whose savings aggregated a trifle less than 12,000,000 francs, or about $2,400,000.

"Spurred by this marvelous example, the educators of other nations turned their attention to school banks. Italy has 3,456, Hungary 700, and various Belgian cities have adopted them with success. Great Britain, with 19,000 elementary schools, teaching 4,000,000 children, has only 2,000 school banks, but their unprecedented success in towns like Liverpool, Birmingham, and Manchester shows that where school boards and teachers understand the matter their growth is certain. In 1885 the Board schools of Liverpool had 74 banks, numbering 10,000 depositors, who that year deposited $20,000, drew out $15,000, and left $5,000 in the Liverpool Savings-Bank. In that same year English educators showed their estimate of school banks in a circular for instruction of the Education Department, addressed to school inspectors, where it was expressly stated that where circumstances permit, a school must have a savings-bank if it desires the aid granted to schools that are reported as "excellent."

"It has been well said that school banks are to the lesson in thrift what pen, ink, and paper are to the lesson in writing, and although much abuse has been heaped on our over-education of the masses, few would seriously curtail the facility with which every child born on American soil can learn to read and write. When the equal value of the other lesson is understood, we will be no less reluctant to deprive our children, the men and women who are to complete any good works begun by us, of instruction in that high human office, economy, said by Emerson to be 'a sacrament when its aim is grand."" [Catherine Baldwin in Harper's Bazar.]

To this it may only be well to add the following, from the report of the superintendent of the Rutland, Vt., schools for 1886-87: "The savings-bank feature continues to operate satisfactorily, the total average deposit being about $75 per month. are now 453 accounts among the scholars and an aggregate deposit of $1,323.26."

There

PHYSICAL TRAINING.

This subject has not yet been accorded the attention it deserves. In a few instances gymnasiums have been provided for the students of high schools, but beyond the general calisthenic exercises that obtain in some localities, no provision has been made by any city for the systematic training of pupils of the elementary grades. An occasional recommendation or reference to the matter by some superindendent or school committee is the only evidence that the necessity of such training in the schools is felt. The following extracts are taken from recent reports:

*

"Too many principals and teachers mistake for physical culture the performance of a few dilatory movements once or twice a day. * * Beyond all other things, attention should be paid: first, to the preservation of the functions, afterward to their development; yet the unnatural focus, the cramped hand, folded arms, and contracted chest are not hard to find, though they have no place in the economy of nature and certainly not in the school room. After these have been carefully remedied, it is time enough to think of training the eye, the hand, and the ear, to expand the chest, and to strengthen the back muscles; but to attempt to undo in five minutes the harm that has been done in five hours is manifestly useless. Above all considerations develop a sound body, if possible, and then a sound mind, and 'mens sana in corpore sano' will be no longer a mere formula." [From the report of the superintendent of schools, New York City.]

"In any system of education worthy of the name, physical culture must be a prominent factor. Muscle needs to be developed as well as brain. Indeed, mental power is, to a great extent, dependent upon a robust physical development. To cultivate one to the exclusion of the other is to disjoin things which the Creator never intended to be separated.

* * *

"It is too much to expect that our regular teachers, who have had no special instruction in this subject, will be able to lay out and pursue a well arranged course of instruction in physical culture for the children in their schools. It needs an expert, a specialist, one who has had a thorough drill in physical movements and who can direct the kind of exercises to which children should be subjected from the time they enter the primary school till they are graduated from the high school." [Superintendent Wm. Connell, Fall River, Mass.]

"As the games are to the kindergarten course so ought calisthenics to be to the distriet school, namely, a timely alternation to physical training from mental application, which in the young may easily be pushed beyond the limits of unflagging interest. Not only ought this exercise to be given a regular place on the programme of every school, bat its occasional omission from the actual work of the day ought not to be excused except for very good and sufficient cause. [Report of Board of Public Schools, Saint Louis, Mo.]

The pupils of the Rochester, N. Y., Academy three years ago obtained the permission of the board of education to fit up an unused chapel as a gymnasium. An advantageous arrangement was made by which the services of an instructor were secured without cost, and thus the benefits of physical culture were obtained almost without effort on the part of the board.

It appears that the instruction has been extended in a measure to the children of the lower grades, since a late report states that "physical exercises are carried more or less into every grade of our schools. * * *The exercises are varied in the upper grades, both with dumb-bells and swinging clubs. The competition in the several schools is great, and each school is trying to excel the other. The result of this training is such that the muscles are greatly strengthened, the body better developed, the mind increased capacity, giving the whole system a tone of healthfulness heretofore almost unknown Among school children."

The question of introducing general systematic instruction in gymnastics in the schools

of Cleveland, Ohio, is thus discussed by the president of the board of education in his report for 1885-86:

"The object of educational training is the general preparation for life. Man possesses a dual nature, soul and body; general and harmonious education therefore must embrace the body as well, and demands of the educator the furtherance of physical development and culture. In practical life a strong and well trained body is indispensable; labor and effort are abortive, when the spirit has not a storm proof physical instrument— when the shock that smites the spirit also prostrates the body. General culture and practical fitness for life both require gymnastic training, and therefore gymnastics have a just claim to our recognition in our system of public education."

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT.

"The most important change, which these later years have brought, has been the coming in of more sympathetic relations between teacher and pupil; in less show of authority and more real power; in letting down the formal barriers of restraint, and letting in a sweeter and truer control; in bringing the teacher's platform nearer the pupil's desk, and the teacher herself closer the pupil's mind and heart. In furnishing a mellower light and a purer air for the school room the teacher has fully kept pace with the architect." [Superintendent George Howland, Chicago.]

"One of the most important steps taken by the board of education—a step taken, as I believe, in good faith and in the interest of humanity—has been the permanent abolition of corporal punishment in the schools of our city. The resolution passed to this effect by the board was a general surprise to the faculty of teachers as well as to the citizens of Cleveland. There have been not wanting warning voices in the public prints and among the people condemning the action of the board as premature, inconsiderate, and even demagogical. It is a matter of special pleasure and satisfaction to me to inform you that the discipline of the classes has not suffered through the abolition of corporal punishment. The question whether it will ever again be desirable may safely and calmly be submitted to posterity." [President E. A. Schellentrager, of the Cleveland, Ohio, school board.]

"The by-law prohibiting corporal punishment of any kind is still an essential part of the system of discipline. The severest punishment that may be inflicted is suspension or expulsion, and the efficiency of the system is clearly apparent in the constant diminution of the number of these suspensions." [Report of New York City school board.]

"The abolishment of corporal punishment has not added to the number of mischievous or backward pupils. The unlimited use of the rod is certainly not desirable. It may be, however, that its use under some restrictions, to be devised by the board may be advisable, for it seems there are mischievous and ill-behaved pupils, who undoubtedly would be benefited by the application of it." [Superintendent John Miller, Newburgh, N. Y.]

"Corporal punishment will be allowed only in exceptional cases, and then it must be inflicted in the presence of the superintendent." [A rule of the Atchison, Kans., board.]

"No corporal punishment is permitted, except by request or consent of parents or guardians. While many object to the use of corporal punishment as a means of discipline in school, I would not recommend its abolition. Cases are likely to arise in any school in which corporal punishment, if applied in the right spirit and in the proper manner, is the best and most effectual means to which a teacher can resort." [Superintendent John Cooper, Leavenworth, Kans.]

"As the State law explicitly forbids the infliction of corporal punishment in schools, suspension or expulsion must be resorted to when moral suasion fails. Cases occasionaily arise where it seems as though this prohibition was a mistake, where Solomon's admonition, 'Spare the rod and spoil the child,' should be heeded. However, as long as the present law remains in force, parents should be the responsible parties in the question of 'spoiling the child.' No law forbids their use of the rod." [Mr. A. W. Edson, city superintendent, Jersey City, N. J.]

Your committee would report that in its opinion the law prohibiting corporal punishment by the principals of our schools has had a bad influence on the pupils; that the ill-disposed scholars take advantage of it, knowing that the greatest punishment that can be meted out to them for their disobedience is either suspension or expulsion, which in many cases is more of a gratification to them than a punishment. [Committee on visitation, Paterson, N. J.]

HALF-DAY SESSIONS.

This plan, originally devised as a temporary expedient to be utilized only in the absence of accommodations sufficient to permit the attendance of all pupils during the