History of Education, Levi Seeley [short novels in english txt] 📗
- Author: Levi Seeley
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Administration. 1. General.—Under the provisions of the law of 1899 the general administration of educational affairs is committed to a board of education consisting of a president, appointed by the crown, lord president of the council, the principal secretaries of state, the first commissioner of the treasury, and the chancellor of the exchequer—not less than five nor more than fifteen members. By means of a sufficient number of royal inspectors who are trained educators, whose duty it is to visit the schools and report thereon, the board of education is able to reach every school in the kingdom. There is also a consultation committee, two-thirds of whom are "persons representing universities and bodies interested in education," whose office is to advise the board of education.
2. Counties and County Boroughs.—By the terms of the law of 1903 the council of every county and of every county borough are constituted a "local education authority," which controls secular instruction in all elementary schools within its district, and performs the duties of former school boards and school attendance committees. They may also establish high schools. In boroughs of over 10,000 and cities of over 20,000 inhabitants a special board or "local education authority" is allowed.
3. Local Managers.—All public undenominational (board) schools have a body of six managers, four of whom are appointed by the "local education authority" and two by the minor local authority. All public denominational (voluntary) schools shall also have six managers, four of whom are foundation managers and two are appointed by state authority. A greater number of local managers may be chosen, but the above proportion of members must hold.
School Attendance.—The school age is from five to fourteen, and the local authorities are required to compel attendance for that period excepting in case where the pupil has obtained the educational certificate of exemption, which cannot be given before the child is twelve years of age. The average attendance in 1902 reached nearly 83 per cent of the enrollment. England has stringent laws in regard to the employment of children in factories, mines, etc., which are well enforced.
The Schools.—We have already mentioned the board and the voluntary schools which supply the principal means of elementary education. The voluntary schools are under the fostering care of the Church, and their enrollment includes more than half of the children. Secondary education is carried on chiefly in private schools, though the law of 1903 permits the establishment of high schools to follow elementary education. The private secondary schools are of two general classes, "grammar" and "public" schools. The former are intended for the middle classes, their main purpose being to prepare for civil service, while the latter are the great endowed schools like Rugby, Eton, etc.
Support of Schools.—The expense of the elementary schools is met by parliamentary grants, by local taxes, and by endowments. Parliamentary grants cover about 62 per cent of the total, and the balance is made up from the other sources. Formerly both denominational and undenominational schools participated alike in the government grants, but the former were compelled to make up the balance needed by private subscriptions, school pence, etc., while the latter were allowed to levy a local tax for this purpose. Under the law of 1903 both may share alike in the local tax, thereby removing the necessity for private subscriptions.
The Teachers.—The training of teachers is as peculiar as the other features of the English system. Lancaster and Bell introduced the monitorial system, by which one teacher could take charge of a large school, the older pupils teaching the younger ones. This idea has been perpetuated in the "pupil teacher" scheme. Children fifteen years old are apprenticed to a school to assist in the work, and in return receive instruction and a small stipend. At eighteen or nineteen they enter the teachers' college for a two years' course. They may instead at this time take an examination for the teachers' certificate, and if successful, they are known as "assistant teachers." That the "pupil teacher" idea has lost its force is shown by the following facts: From 1876 to 1893 the increase of graduate teachers was 114 per cent, the increase of "assistant teachers" 691 per cent, while there was a decrease of 15 per cent in the number of "pupil teachers." This would seem to indicate that England is demanding better prepared teachers. The 131 teachers' colleges graduate about 1900 students each year, which is about two thirds of the number of teachers needed.
Teachers' positions are practically permanent, and the salaries are good, being in 1901 an average for certificate teachers of $644 a year for men and $432 for women.
Each teacher is entitled to a pension at the age of 65. This amounts to at least $330 for men who have been in the service from their twenty-first year, and $225 for women. If obliged to retire earlier on account of breakdown, the amount of pension will be proportionate to the length of service. Men teachers contribute three pounds annually and women two pounds to this fund, while the State appropriates the balance needed.
When one considers the traditions that have controlled English education for centuries, and recalls the conservatism that rules English life, one can only marvel at the tremendous strides taken by England during the last third of a century. Victor Hugo says: "The English patrician order is patrician in the absolute sense of the word. No feudal system was ever more illustrious, more terrible, and more tenacious of life." England has had to overcome her patrician ideas in regard to education, and her growth in the last thirty years has been more rapid and more effectual than for a thousand years before. Although she still has many problems to solve, her recent educational enterprise places her in the front rank among the nations of the world in school matters. The law of 1903 consisted of many compromises which satisfy neither party. It will doubtless be followed by still further changes in the near future.
FOOTNOTES:[179] The total enrollment in 1902 was 5,881,278, or 18.08 per cent of the population.
[180] Report of the United States Commissioner of Education for 1896-1897, Vol. I, p. 12.
Literature.—Boone, Education in the United States; Williams, History of Modern Education; Barnard, American Journal of Education; Horace Mann, Annual Reports; United States Commissioners Reports, especially the more recent ones.
Each state in the United States has its own independent system of education; there is no national system. In 1867 Congress established a National Bureau of Education, the function of which is "to collect statistics and facts showing the condition and progress of education in the several states and territories, and diffuse such information respecting the organization and management of schools and school systems and methods of teaching as shall aid the people of the United States in the establishment and maintenance of efficient school systems, and otherwise promote the cause of education throughout the country." The bureau issues an annual report, which is replete with information concerning the educational interests of our own and other lands.
The United States government has given vast tracts of the public domain, as well as large sums of money, to the various states, out of which have been created, in some cases, large school funds which yield a permanent income.[181] Up to 1876 the United States had granted nearly eighty million acres of land for educational purposes.
The Bureau of Education is obliged to rely on such statistics as its correspondents are willing to give, yet its work has been so valuable, its information so extensive and accurate, and its educational purpose so high, that cordial coöperation is generally given. This annual report is the finest issued by any nation in the world.[182]
THE STATE SYSTEMS
Administration.—At the head of each state school system, there is an executive officer usually called the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He is chosen for from two to five years, sometimes by popular vote, sometimes by the joint houses of the Legislature, sometimes by the State Board of Education, and in some cases is appointed by the governor. His duties are to make reports, to examine teachers, to inspect schools, to distribute school moneys, to hear appeals in school matters, and to have general oversight of the educational interests of the state. In some states there is a State Board of Education that coöperates with the State Superintendent. The interests of education seem to be best conserved when there is a non-partisan State Board of Education, which appoints the executive officers and has general charge of the schools.
The second administrative unit is the county, over which is placed a Superintendent of Schools. He is chosen by popular vote or is appointed by the State Board of Education, and holds office generally about three years. He must visit the schools, examine teachers, hold institutes, distribute school moneys, and oversee the educational work. The number of schools under the inspection of the county superintendent is often so great, and the territory so large, that his work cannot be well done. In many cases the compensation is so small that he is obliged to devote a part of his time to some other occupation. The work is of sufficient importance to demand the full time of a competent man; and the salary ought to be proportionate to such needs.
The next division is that of the township, though in most states the school district is the next unit. The so-called "township system" has been adopted in several states, and recommended in others. This system has a board of education which appoints teachers, purchases supplies, and manages the schools of the whole township. The district system has outlived its usefulness. It maintains more schools than are warranted by the small number of pupils. Many of these could be abandoned in favor of better schools in neighboring districts, to which the children could be sent. It often secures for its trustee a man of limited education and narrow views, who conducts the school on the cheapest plan possible, while the larger territory of the township furnishes better material from which to choose; it limits its educational plan to the most elementary course, whereas the "township system" contemplates a central high school open to all children of the township. The "township system" also admits of the employment of a special school inspector or superintendent if desired. In some instances, two or more townships unite in the employment of such a superintendent.
School Attendance.—The school age commences at from four to six and extends to from eighteen to twenty-one, varying greatly in the different states. The United States Commissioner's Report now covers the period of from five to eighteen. On this basis he reports that 71.54 per cent of the children who are of school age are enrolled in the schools, while the average attendance is about 69 per cent of the enrollment. This is a very low percentage as compared with that in Germany, France, and England. The longer period covered by us (five to eighteen) thus acts unfavorably. The natural period of the child's life to be devoted to education is from six to fourteen.
School attendance in the United States is by no means so regular as it should be, even during the period (six to fourteen). To remedy this, compulsory education laws have been passed in most states. They cover periods varying from eight consecutive weeks and a total of twenty weeks during the year, to the full school year. These laws are
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