ciencies is obvious: The schools are taught before the money to pay teachers' salaries has been collected. One way to remedy these deficiencies would be to postp we the opening of the schools for one year, from September to January 1. This should, however, be done only as a last resort, as it would be depriving the children of schools in order that money might accumulate in the State treasury. The other method would be to sccnmuiate about $500,000 in the treasury at the opening of the scholastic year." This amount will be a cumulated during the year if the overdue interest which has been increasing for more than ten years can be collected. Authority should also be given the State superintendent to withhold approval of requisitions for school moneys from cities and counties not then needing the funds. SCHOOL-HOUSES. The number of country schools in operation during the year 1887-88 was 8,826, while the number of school-houses belonging to the school authorities was only 3,286, the remaining schools being taught in church-buildings, barns, etc. "In many counties the value of the common jail exceeds that of all the school property in the county." If a school-house is built with public funds no additional money will be granted that community during the year to pay the salary of a teacher, and as the people are taxed for the benefit of schools they do not feel disposed to build a house at their own expense and then donate it to the public, especially as they may move to some other locality the next year and so get no further benefit from it. The average value of the country school-houses, with sites and furniture, is $300, while the average value of those in cities is $8,000. This great difference is explained by the fact that in cities the municipal authorities are allowed to issue bonds to obtain money to erect school-buildings, the bonds being paid gradually, while the county authorities are not permitted to raise money in the same way. It is thought that this authority should be granted the county authorities, as it would also serve as a safe investment for the permanent school fund, would enhance the value of property, and would attract desirable immigrants to the State. TEACHERS. The State should provide for a uniform standard for teachers' qualifications by requiring the questions for the examinations to be prepared by the State superintendent. The requirement of written examinations and that boards of examiners shall report under oath has already served to elevate considerably the grade of teachers. As the real success of a teacher can only be determined in the school-room, licenses should at first be only probationary, and, after some experience, might be granted for longer terms, and those persons who show eminent ability and skill should be granted licenses for life. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS. During the last two years the experiment has been made in several counties of having all the schools of a county placed under one superintendent, and it has proved highly satisfactory in every respect. The school term was usually lengthened, although the amount of funds per capita was less, and the quality of work done was much better. Supervision by the county judges was an entire failure, as not more than one-fourth of the schools were visited by them, and the State superintendent could not thoroughly instruct the thirty thousand trustees as to the school work. "I am clearly of the opinion that it will be found to be wise economy to provide county superintendency in all the organized counties of the State. The quality of the work required of the schools will be greatly improved in most counties, and the school fund will be more effectively ased," TEXT-BOOKS. The State superintendent issued a circular to the school trustees that it was their duty to adopt a series of text-books for their respective districts and to prohibit the use of others. In some of the counties the trustees held a joint meeting and adopted a uniform system for the whole county. In this way parents can be saved the heavy expense neurred by every change of teacher or residence, and the teacher will be saved a great deal of unnecessary labor. State uniformity of text-books would be better still, if it can be adopted without risk of corruption in the selection of books and the centralization of tomach power in the hands of a few. While it would not be advisable to adopt free text-books for the country schools on account of the impossibility of securing proper care in the use of them, it would certainly prove satisfactory in the cities and larger towns. SCHOOL DISTRICTS. The plan of having separate districts for each school proves liable to the same objections as the community system, and it is recommended that districts be made large enough to include quite a number of schools-five to fifteen-the boundaries being determined somewhat by surrounding conditions, creeks, rivers, good roads, etc. CLASSIFICATION OF SCHOOLS. The school law requires instruction to be given in the ordinary branches, and such studies as the trustees or State superintendent may direct. This authority is often used by the trustees to the great detriment of the schools, when they allow two or three pu pils to be taught in the higher branches and to consume as much time as any large class of the thirty or forty pupils. To avoid this difficulty the schools should be divided into primary, intermediate, and high schools. In the primary schools should be taught spelling, reading, writing, primary arithmetic, history, geography, etc. In the intermediate, these studies should be carried further, so that the pupils could enter the high schools; and in the high schools should be taught such branches as are necessary to admit students to the State university and normal schools, and to enter the ordinary vocations, the course being limited to three years. The great majority of the schools should be of the first kind, one high school to a county being sufficient. UTAH. [From Report for 1885-86 and 1886-87 of Commissioner of Schools P. L. Williams.] PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF UTAH NOT FREE. The most striking feature connected with the public school system of Utah is that it is not a free-school system. Tuition fees are charged in every county of the Territory, and a little more than one-third of the total amount raised for schools was from this source. By section 3 of the "Act for the establishment and support of district schools," it is left optional with the district trustees whether or not they shall charge tuition fees and they are authorized to prescribe the rate of tuition. As a matter of fact the trustees heretofore have seen fit to charge tuition, and consequently the schools have not been free. Every other State and Territory in the Union has a free-school system, and it is urged by Commissioner of Schools Williams that Utah also place herself abreast of them in the cause of education. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS. "It is made the duty of the county superintendents to visit the schools at least twice in each year, to examine the trustees' records, audit their accounts, and see that they properly discharge their duties. In many counties of the Territory, where the population is large and there are many districts, this imposes a heavy burden upon the county superintendents; yet it is necessary that this duty should be faithfully performed in order to secure a steady improvement in the schools, and to obtain satisfactory results in the accounts and reports of the trustees." The law provides no compensation whatever for their services, and the only pay they have received has been a very meagre sum allowed them by the county courts. The county superintendents are usually men of small means and can not afford to take time from their regular work to look after the interests of the schools without receiving adequate compensation therefor. NEW TEXT-BOOKS ADOPTED. As there was considerable dissatisfaction with the books used in the public schools, and as all of them, with the exception of the readers and spellers, had been in use for five years, the time required by law before a change could be made, the commissioner of schools called a convention to adopt a new series. The convention met in June, and after full discussion adopted a new list and secured very satisfactory terms for their exchange and introduction. The books adopted were found to give very general satisfaction. INADEQUATE SCHOOL ACCOMMODATIONS. Although only about fifty per cent. of the school population are reported as attending school, yet the school rooms were often overcrowded with pupils, causing great discomfort and in some cases even endangering the health of the pupils. This was generally true throughout the Territory, but particularly so in Salt Lake City and County, where the commissioner of schools thinks the accommodations are sufficient for only one-third of the school population. Many districts in Salt Lake City do not own a single building, but the basements of ward meeting houses or other such rooms are used for school purposes. REMEDY PROPOSED. Heretofore buildings have been constructed to meet immediate necessities, and in a few years, when the population had increased, additions have been made to them. Consequently the districts now have buildings without that symmetry, unity of design, and convenience in arrangement which they should possess. It is recommended by the commissioner of schools that large and commodious buildings be erected which would not only serve present purposes but be sufficient to meet future demands. As this, however, would necessitate the immediate outlay of a large amount of money, more than could be raised in two or three years by reasonable taxation, it is recommended that districts be authorized to obtain the necessary means by issuing bonds which could be redeemed by gradual taxation. POLYGAMY COUNTENANCED IN THE SCHOOLS. * It is stated that while there has been no affirmative teaching of polygamy in the public schools there have been many evidences of a respectful silence with reference to violations of the law against it. The commissioner says: "Perhaps the tendencies to which I refer cannot be better described or defined than by the statement made to me within the last few months by the president of the University of Deseret, that if in the course of instruction imparted in that institution generally or to the classes in civil government (where perhaps it would be most naturally presented), it should be inculcated that good citizenship exacted obedience to those laws enacted by Congress against the polygamous condition and kindred vices of Utah, it would break up the school." PRIVATE SCHOOLS. In Salt Lake City and other large towns of the Territory there are quite a number of private or denominational schools, which are very largely attended and which are becoming more popular and more generally patronized every year. Many of these schools are superior to the public schools. Their establishment is likely due in great part to the tuition fees charged in the public schools; the parents preferring, if they have to pay tuition, to maintain a school exclusively under their control and where they can any religious belief they desire. While their establishment cannot be said to injare directly the public schools, yet unless the people patronize the public schools they will not give them that earnest and active support which can be manifested in so many only to be tolerated as a kind of public necessity. ms other than by the payment of school taxes, and these will be regarded as a burden teach NEW LEGISLATION. The office of Territorial superintendent of district schools abolished.-The Forty-ninth ent of district schools created by the laws of Utah is hereby abolished; and it shall be the daty of who shall possess and exercise all the powers and duties heretofore imposed by the laws of said Territory upon the Territorial superintendent of district schools, and who shall receive the same salary and compensation, which shall be paid out of the treasury of tion and appointment of such Territorial superintendent of district schools are hereby said Territory; and the laws of the Territory of Utah providing for the method of elecsuspended until the further action of Congress shall be had in respect thereto." ber of teachers who are Mormons, the number who are so-called Gentiles, the number of The commissioner of schools, in addition to the regular statistics, must state the "numchildren of Mormon parents and the number of children of so-called Gentile parents, and their respective average attendance at school." Instruction in physiology and hygiene.-Instruction as to the nature of alcoholic drinks other Territories and the District of Columbia, by the act of Congress approved May 20, and narcotics, and their effects upon the human system, is required in Utah, as in all the 1986. It is required, also, that teachers shall pass a satisfactory examination as to the effects of alcoholic drinks and stimulants upon the human system before receiving a cerlation of over twelve hundred, when authorized by a majority vote of the property taxGraded schools may be established.-"The trustees of any school district having a popupayers resident in the district present at a meeting called for that purpose, may establish and maintain a graded school, or a graded department in a school in such district, in which pupils may be instructed in higher branches of education than those usually taught in common schools, and pupils over 18 years of age may be admitted to and instructed in such school or department, on such terms as to tuition and otherwise as the tificate to teach. The trustees may collect a tax of one-fourth of one per cent. trustees may prescribe." Stight changes in the former law. -The school census is now required to be taken on or before the second Monday in July in each year, instead of in June as formerly, and reports are to be made to the county superintendents by the 10th of August. Certificates are no longer granted to graduates of the University of Deseret without their having passed an examination. The property of non-residents, formerly exempt from taxation for the payment of teachers, is now taxable for such purpose. The county assessors and collectors are made the assessors and collectors for school taxes, and all school taxes become a lien on the property assessed from the date of assessment, and are collected as the Territorial and county taxes. [From the Report of the Commissioner of Schools to Congress in 1889.] MAINTENANCE OF SCHOOLS. The amount of funds collected by the three-mill tax imposed by the law of 1878 is scarcely sufficient to pay one-half of the salaries of the teachers employed, consequently it has been necessary and customary to charge tuition fees at such rates as the trustees may think necessary. In about eight or nine districts local district taxes have been levied in order to supplement the Territorial fund and thereby furnish free schools to all classes. The schools are not required to be kept up for any definite period, and there is no provision for withholding Territorial funds from districts making no provision for schools, and as no one can attend school without paying the tuition fees, many children of indigent parents are deprived of all means of acquiring an education. ACTION OF THE LEGISLATURE. At the twenty-eighth session of the Legislature, a bill was prepared and passed the lower house making provision for the establishment of schools on about the same plans as are found in most of the States, but in the legislative council a substitute was offered and finally passed both houses imposing a tax of eight mills on the dollar, the funds arising from which were to be distributed to the district and private schools in proportion to the attendance, the private schools not being subject to any public supervision or control whatever. This bill met with very little opposition, except from the nonMormon members, but, as was expected, it received the executive veto and consequently the schools have no greater amount of funds than formerly. SCHOOL ATTENDANCE. The tables show that only 18 per cent. of the children of non-Mormon parents, and 40 per cent. of the Mormon children, making 58 per cent. of the school population, attended the district schools. This is to be attributed to a lack of public interest in the schools, the establishment of private schools, defective legislation, and charges for tuition. For somewhat similar reasons a sufficient number of school-houses has never been provided, and although the attendance at district schools has never been so large as should be expected, there has been a great lack of comfortable accommodations for those who did attend; and it is probable that if good school-houses were provided there would be much better attendance notwithstanding the other unfavorable conditions. PRIVATE MORMON SCHOOLS. There has been great interest manifested lately in the establishment of private schools by members of the Mormon Church in which instruction could be given in the religious beliefs of the denomination. Efforts have been made by the leaders of the Mormon Church to secure funds for this purpose, as they are anxious to establish one or more private schools in each "stake," the stakes generally corresponding in territory to the several counties. This movement has received the earnest support of Wilford Woodruff, who is chairman of the church board of extension and also president of the Mormon Church. VERMONT. [From Report for 1886-87 and 1887-88 of State Superintendent Justus Dartt.] GENERAL CONDITION. The enrolment for the two school years was smaller than it had been for ten years, but the average attendance was greater than for the three previous years; consequently it would seem that the pupils had been more regular in their attendance, but the State superintendent complains of great irregularity in attendance still. The average duration of schools for the two years 1886-87 and 1887-88 was one hundred and thirty-nine and one hundred and thirty-seven days respectively, but the average number of days' attendance of each pupil enrolled was only eighty-eight for the first year and ninety two for the second-showing a loss of more than one-third of the time the schools were in session. As a census of the school population is not taken annually, it is impossible to ascertain the number of children not attending school. Although there is a law for compulsory attendance, it seems to have fallen into innocuous desuetude. GRADED AND HIGH SCHOOLS. The total number of these in the State is forty-seven, and during the year 1887-88 there were 14,647 pupils attending them. These schools are the most prosperous ones in the State and are making great improvements. The salaries of the principals range from $700 to $2,500, which is much more than that received by teachers in ungraded schools. About four-fifths of the children can not attend the graded schools, however, but must receive all their education in the ungraded country schools, which are poorly supplied with charts, globes, blackboards, etc., and where the teachers are frequently priy qualified to discharge their duties, and perhaps have only taught a year or two, as is shown by the recommendation of town superintendents that no person under eighteen years of age be permitted to teach in the public schools. TEMPERANCE INSTRUCTION. The Legislature in 1886 passed a law requiring all the pupils in all the public schools to be taught physiology and hygiene with reference especially to their effects upon the system, and that the books on this subject should be furnished the pupils at the expense of the State. A committee appointed by the Governor to select such books decided upon the following: (1) Child's Health Primer, known as Pathfinder No. 1; (2) Hygiene for Young People, known as Pathfinder No. 2; (3) Lessons on the Human Body, by Orestes M. Brands; 4) Hygienic Physiology, by Prof. J. D. Steele. Each town superintendent in the month of January annually makes an estimate of the number of books of each kind which will be needed in his town and notifies the secretary of state, who has them forwarded to him. If pupils wantonly destroy or injure the books, the town superintendent shall take steps to collect damages for the same. The number of such books furnished from January 1, 1887, to May 31, 1888, one year and five months, was 75,779; and the cost to the State was $25,554.48. A very considerable difference of opinion is manifested as to the advisability of the measure adopted; the State superintendent regarding the length of time the pupils are required to devote to the subject as unreasonable, some town superintendents that the study should be optional, others regarding the measure as the hardest blow ever given the common schools, while others state that both pupils and parents have been very much interested in it, and that it will prove of great value. Such diversity of opinion is to be attributed in great part to different interpretations of the law; some holding that the pupils are required to devote one-fourth the time of their whole school life to the subject, while others think they have complied with the law when they have used the books as supplementary readers. FREE TEXT-BOOKS. Superintendent Dartt again urges the adoption of the free text-book system, which he states has been in operation in Philadelphia nearly seventy years, in New York City more than fifty years, and in Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and New Brunswick, in New Jersey, for many years, and has now been adopted in many other places. Some of the objections urged against it are that it increases taxation, that the ownershipof books by the pupils cultivates in them independence and self-reliance, that the sobool-books are convenient for study and reference after one's school days are ended, and in many cases are the only books in the child's home. Bat it is claimed that while it increases taxes, it is a legitimate tax; that since the State requires the use of certain books, it necessarily follows that the books should be free; that the system of free text-books is no longer an experiment, but has given general satisfaction; that it effects a saving of time and expense, secures uniformity of textbooks and better books, a better classification of pupils, cultivates in pupils respect for public property, increases school attendance, and removes caste distinctions. Many of the town superintendents also urge free text-books. TOWN SYSTEM. The town system of management of public schools, or township system as it is called throughout the West and South, prevails in twenty-six towns, while sixteen towns tried It is very strongly advocated by the State suof the town superintendents, and by the teach it, but after a year or two abandoned it. ers generally. |