APPENDIX A.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION FOR 1877.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION FOR 1877.

FIRST SESSION-TUESDAY MORNING.

WASHINGTON, D. C., December 11, 1877.

The Department of Superintendence met in the lecture room of the Congregational Church, December 11, 1877, and organized by electing Hon. J. P. Wickersham, of Pennsylvania, President.

The President thanked the Department for the honor done him in making him President, congratulated the members on the unusually full attendance, and proposed that work be begun.

He appointed Hon. J. Ormond Wilson of Washington, D. C., Hon. J. H. Smart of Indiana, and Hon. M. A. Newell of Maryland an executive committee to arrange and present all business for the consideration of the meeting.

After thanking the proprietors of the Ebbitt House for their kind offer of two parlors for its use, the Department proceeded to consider the proper representation of American education at the Paris Exposition of 1878.

President Wickersham was in favor of making an educational exhibit at Paris if a suitably qualified gentleman should be appointed to prepare and display it, and if a sufficient quantity of the appropriation should be set apart for the expenses of it.

It was moved and carried that President Wickersham be chairman and Messrs. E. A. Apgar of New Jersey, John Hancock of Dayton, Ohio, A. B. Lemmon of Kansas, and Neil Gilmour of New York the other members of a committee to consider the whole subject.

Hon. Ambrose E. Burnside, United States Senator from Rhode Island, then made a few remarks to the Department.

THE SCHOOL ORGANIZATION OF A STATE.

The executive committee announced "The best school organization for a State" to be the first subject for discussion, and called on Dr. John Hancock for the opening remarks.

Dr. HANCOCK deprecated criticism of extemporaneous talk such as his would be. Continuing, he expressed his individual wish to see a national university established in Washington City, and a national system of education organized and represented in the Federal Cabinet. Public instruction, in his opinion, needs unification and the stimulus

the nation can give. Every State should have a board of education, the members of which might be the governor and other high officers of the State. This board should select the State superintendent, and he should appoint a county superintendent for each county, and possibly the superintendents of the city schools. He would not carry unification so far that the school service would degenerate into a mere mechanism, but only far enough to keep up the standard both as to quantity and quality of instruction. Twenty years ago country schools in his State often taught algebra, geometry, physics, even Latin, and sometimes Greek. This was an incitement to pupils to go higher after leaving school; now pupils are occupied for the whole school curriculum in the same rudimentary branches, and receive no incentive to pursue the higher subjects. He thought nothing more important than the improvement of country schools, in which three-fourths of the people receive their whole scholastic training.

Mr. BARRINGER, of Newark, N. J., said that in New Jersey the State board of education appoints the State and county superintendents. He believed the State school organization should be permanent as well as comprehensive.

Mr. JOHN C. HERVEY, of Wheeling, W. Va., said that Dr. Hancock had described, substantially, the school system of West Virginia. The State board appoints the State superintendent and subordinate officers. Public school trustees are now appointed by electoral boards.

President WICKERSHAM would like to see this matter thoroughly examined. He did not doubt that educational interests will be organized by States: but State organizations differ greatly; some of them are composed of the State officers ex officio, and others of the State officers elect. The State officers are appointed sometimes by the governor, and the county officers sometimes elected by the people or elected by school boards as in Pennsylvania. Then in townships we have all sorts of organizations. He thought it a great question, one even of the first importance, what is the best school organization for a State and what the best method of appointing State officers, what the best way is of organizing the school force in counties and also in townships. Those schools that are best supervised are the best all the world over, and where we have a good organization the fruits of it will be apparent.

Mr. APGAR, of New Jersey, agreed with Dr. Hancock, but would go further; it is all important that the State board of education should be absolutely non-partisan. Another element of possible weakness is in the present division of counties into school districts, each having a district board and one school. The smallest school unit should be the township, and the township board should work directly with the county superintendent on one hand and the schools of the township on the other; the township schools compared with district schools can be much better graded, more economically supported, and far better supervised. Furthermore, Mr. Apgar thought that the State should raise by tax and

distribute an amount sufficient to meet the average expenses that are incurred, thus relieving most of the districts from local taxation; many districts are too poor to raise the necessary sum under the usual rules. He would in this, as in other matters, have the supreme authority of the State raise, disburse, and supervise the expenditure of the money.

Mr. GILMOUR said that all the gentlemen who had spoken seemed to be in favor of a State board of education; why, unless they think that such a board would select for State superintendent a man without political opinions, he did not know. He thought any one without decided opinions in politics would probably have no decided opinions respecting education. At the same time he would not select a man for superintendent simply because he is a politician. In the State of New York there is a board known as the Regents of the University. The gentlemen who form this board are charged with the supervision of the academies and colleges of the State and with other duties relating thereto. The regents are elected by joint ballot of the senate and assembly, and the legislature has invariably chosen gentlemen of much personal worth, distinguished for learning and ability. The gentlemen who have been so elected regents have discharged their duties with as much earnestness and fidelity as if they had been elected by a State board of education. The State superintendent of public instruction is elected in the same manner as the regents. When it is remembered that this method has given to the cause of education Victor M. Rice, whose whole soul was in his work, and who did much for the advancement of public instruction, and Henry H. Van Dyck and Abram B. Weaver, whose names will long live as earnest advocates of public schools, he thought it would be admitted that the legislature of New York had chosen its chief educational officers with as much good judgment and had made as good selections of men as could have been done by any State board of education. While only about twenty men in that legislature can be found who would cut off the normal school portion of the educational system of New York, he was willing to trust the interests of public instruction to such a body. The State superintendent of public instruction is directly responsible to the legislature and reports to that body. If at any time a State superintendent unworthy of the position or negligent in the discharge of his duties should be elected, the legislature can make provision in such a case. In New York school commissioners have supervision of the schools in the rural districts; in the cities, superintendents are charged with the duties of supervision and other matters relating to the schools under their care. School commissioners are elected by the voters of their respective districts. There is on the average outside of the cities more than one school commissioner to each assembly district. This is the best system of supervision that has yet been devised in New York, which has the school district system. He was satisfied that the township system is preferable, and looked for its adoption at no distant day.