TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE

CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.

CHAPTER I. Introductory Remarks

CHAPTER II. Consolidation of Schools and Transportation of

Children ..

Recent School Legislation in Other States.
Iowa State Teachers' Association

School Architecture...

The Education of Iowa Teichers

125

133

State Certificates and Diplomas.

177

DEPARTMENT OF

Public Instruction.

THIRTIETH BIENNIAL REPORT

OF THE

Superintendent of Public Instruction.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

These prefatory lines are written as the people of our country stand with bowed heads, mellow hearts, and tear-bedimmed eyes, shocked at the tragic death of our third martyred president, William McKinley. But ten days ago he stood among his people. greeting with a glad, warm hand all who came to him. Joy and gladness abounded. Today from mountain, hill and valley come the memorial songs and addresses in his praise and in his memory. Eloquent lips tell of his boyhood struggles; his bravery upon the battlefield, in defense of his country; his distinguished services as statesman and president; his many qualities as a citizen; his considerateness as a husband; and his high character as a man. By his life and works he placed himselt among the greatest of earth's noble men, and in the last hours of his earthly existence he showed all men how to die.

"God still reigns and the government at Washington still lives." These were timely words spoken by James A. Garfield, our second martyred president, to an angry mob on hearing of the assassination. of Abraham Lincoln. But this is not enough for citizens to know. It is not enough that the government still lives. Is it strong? Is it backed by the great moral strength of those who enjoy its peace and protection? Are the agencies which it supports and encourages, financially and otherwise, giving back to it their best. thought? Is the school, the home, the pulpit, the press, seeking to develop the BEST that is in men?

May teachers everywhere instruct our children in those things which are highest and best. May they be spiritualized more, if

not intellectualized less. May they be taught more of self-control, order, justice, diligence, obedience, and patriotism; and may such vices as lawlessness, disorder, injustice, profanity, and disloyality be condemned. Pupils possessed of good morals make

a moral government in school, and, in later life, a greater moral government in the nation.

May our schools, our teachers, our citizens, our state, and our country be kept from lawlessness and license; and may liberty, love, and a righteous moral government ever prevail.

THE COMMON SCHOOL.

In affirming that, all things considered, the children of the state enjoy better educational advantages today than ever before, I am not unmindful that there is still much that can be improved. Well did Horace Mann say sixty years ago:

"We can never fully estimate the debt of gratitude we owe to our ancestors for establishing our system of common schools. In consequence of their wisdom and foresight we have all grown up in the midst of these institutions and we have been conformed to them in all our habits and associations from our earliest childhood. A feeling of strangeness, of the loss of something customary and valuable, would come over us, were they to be taken away or abolished. How different it would be if these institutions were strangers to us! If, every time we were called to do anything in their behalf, we should violate a habit of thought and action instead of fulfilling one! How different, if every appropriation for their support were a new burden! If every meeting for their administration were an unaccustomed tax upon our time, and we were obliged to await the slow progress of an idea in the common mind for the adoption of any improvement! Emphatically, how different, if the wealthy and leading men of the community had gathered themselves into sects and cabals, each one with his head against all the rest, unless when they should temporarily unite to resist the establishment of a system for the equal benefit of all! It is in consequence of what was done for us two hundred years ago that we are now carrying on a work with comparative ease, which, in many of our sister states, as well as in some foreign countries, must be accomplished, if accomplished at all, with great labor and difficulty. Can there be a man amongst us so recreant to duty that he does not think it incumbent upon him to transmit that system, in an improved condition, to posterity, which his ancestors originated for him?"

True, there may be localities where material things are placed above the advancement of educational interests, but with each succeeding year the boundaries of such are narrowed. The degree of improvement from year to year cannot, I think, be given with certainty. The general advancement of any great public enterprise rests with the people. The improving of a school system is no exception. Whatever the improvement in the past, the

people themselves and the school officers who represent them must be given credit for it. This will be true in the future. While I would not place myself in the attitude of a critic, I may be permitted to say that our people have too long rested upon a record, that of having the lowest percentage of illiteracy, given us by the federal census in 1870. Some, I think, erroneously thought that because of this record our state had the best school system extant. Doubtless there are some who are of the same opinion, though for more than twenty years we could not truthfully claim the distinction of having the lowest percentage of illiteracy.

That legislative enactments often stimulate educational interest and zeal, I most heartily believe. Statutory provisions relating to taxes, assessments, municipalities, private corporations, etc., are not infrequently modified or repealed and others enacted. Experience teaches that as time passes conditions change, making necessary new laws. This is true of school systems and of school work in general. To illustrate: In the earlier history of the state, before the opening of factories and mines, it was unnecessary to enact laws relating to child labor, but with the opening of scores of mines and the establishing of factories throughout the state, all demanding laborers, the child labor problem becomes a most vital one. So it may be in other matters. Laws enacted a quarter of a century or more ago may be good, and yet not be the best, or be at all suited to present day conditions.

LEGISLATION.

Many of the laws governing school interests no longer serve the purposes for which they were passed. I have in mind the law relating to the holding of normal institutes. While in some instances the institutes are properly conducted within the lines. intended for them, in a larger number they have become academies in a small way and are attempting to do the work that should be and is done in many cases in the high schools. The institute should be conducted for the benefit of the teachers in active work, and those intending to teach should obtain their academic training in regularly established schools. The institute has been a valuable factor in the training of teachers, but the law regarding it is in need of some modifications. The teachers are the servants of the state, and while they are compensated for their work in one sense, in a broader one they cannot be repaid. So highly are the services of teachers held in some states, and so desirous