and warms the whole human race must be trained. The question how, and to what ex-tent, can manual training be engrafted on our system of public schools, is not to be answered in thirty minutes, nor at all by a layman. Upon school superintendents rests this responsibility. Until work instruction shall have been widely introduced it cannot be systematized. Many exercises will be tried; some will be found to possess greater pedagogic value than others. The best will be retained, the poorest discarded. So the new methods will be organized.

Labor is as sacred as manhood, and hence a fit basis for education. Labor is not a commodity, because no power can reduce it to possession in the hands of the alleged purchaser; it is a spark of divinity. Work, then, being divine, is a worthy foundation on which to build the educational structure. All men ought to be made familiar, experimentally, with the toil and thought that enter into the construction of those things of use and beauty which contribute to the welfare of the human family. So only can we realize the social and economic value of the men and women who perform the hand labor of the race. The labor question has been raised, and it must be settled justly. It will press more heavily upon our children than it does upon us. Let us prepare them for the discussion by making the schools the workshops of humanity.

The question of questions remains: How shall all children be gathered into the schools and kept there, from the kindergarten age to the age of physical maturity? The progress made in product-multiplying machinery permits us to dispense with the labor of children. It is the shame of the age that pale-faced, hollow-eyed children should toil, that men and women may rest and feast. Against this I protest and say, without reserve, that it is the duty of the great army of educators of the country to enter upon a crusade for the rescue of the millions of innocents from the neglect, the stupidity, and the brutality of man.

Supt. A. P. Marble, of Worcester, Mass., followed Mr. Ham, and opposed the views advanced by those who proposed to engraft such training on the public schools. The apparent demand for this kind of training lacks unity. Its advocates do not agree in its purpose. This demand rests upon a widespread denunciation of the aims and results of the public schools: 1st. That pupils acquire a contempt for honest toil. The very opposite, Mr. Marble claimed, was true; and the chief obstacle to the usefulness of the schools is the desire of the children to leave and go to work. 2d. That the high schools, especially, beget an ambition for literary or professional pursuits. On the contrary, statistics prove that no undue proportion of the pupils engage in these pursuits. The speaker denied also the charges that under the present system the faculty of observation is not cultivated, and the as

sumption that pupils have not the use of their hands.

The mind chiefly needs training, and the bodily activity least requires it as the child enters school. Such training, he said, would not cure all social evils, strikes, failures, and political dishonesty. Good teaching, and not manual training, is necessary for right mental culture. Special training schools, like those at Chicago and St. Louis, are useful. Manual training should not be engrafted, except in the general form of drawing and elementary modeling. Special schools should be created as fast as they are needed. The tendency is to include too much in the public school course. This training should be provided for outside. Like the wooden horse in ancient Troy, the carpenter's shop in the public school would prove destructive. We do not need engrafting, and we do not wish to uproot the tree. What we need, if anything, is more shrubbery and trees in the vacant spots in the field of life—that is, special schools.

H. H. Belfield, Director of the Manual Training School of Chicago, said:

No system of culture is worthy of the name that is not broad enough to cover the idea of discipline and utility. The best educated man is he who has been harmoniously developed in the physical, mental, and moral powers. In different countries the training of pupils for the work of life varies. The well-educated man has many fields open to him, while for the lower grades of elementary education the opportunities are comparatively few. There should be trade schools, and the public schools should fit the young by teaching the alphabet of this culture for admission to these schools. The Training School at Chicago was founded by an association of merchants, men who knew the practical needs of our age. It was first advocated in the public press by a lawyer, Col. Augustus Jacobson, and by Charles H. Ham, neither of the two being a teacher. The school was organized and is owned by the Commercial Club of Chicago, an association of sixty merchants and manufacturers, mostly merchants, not a professional man of any kind among them. Some of these sixty men are not what we call educated men; others are college-bred. Not the style of college-bred men, however, who decry collegiate training because it does not produce ready-made bookkeepers or railroad men, but men who advocate the study of Latin and Greek from a business point of view. These men founded the Chicago Manual Training School; and there was not a schoolmaster among them.

To these facts may be added another, viz., that the great majority of visitors to the Chicago Manual Training School are business men, lawyers, and doctors, and they all regret that it was not their good fortune to have such training.

of instruction that will give us some practical basis of action. The motion was adopted and the committee announced at a later session.

Dr. Jerome Allen, of New York, thought the resolution of Mr. Anderson was a move in the right direction. The kindergarten is essentially manual training and has been widely adopted. Among others who took part at the discussion were Nicholas M. Butler, president of the Industrial Education Association of New York City, and Supt. W. B. Powell, of Washington, D. C.

Mr. Ham, of Chicago, closed the discussion, devoting his time to the paper of Mr. Marble. The discussion was listened to by the audience with intense interest, and it was evident that this subject is one engaging the earnest attention of the educators of the country.

COUNTY INSTITUTES.

The first paper was read by Hon. Jesse B. Thayer, State Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin. His topic was, "What is the Purpose of County Institutes, and How is it Best Secured ?" As the basis of discussion Mr. Thayer outlined the system in operation in Wisconsin.

The present function of the Teachers' Institute is not for detailed instruction to teachers. Its work is to stimulate the general work of the teachers. The first stage is to gather teachers at the great centres of population to listen to lectures. The second is devoted to more detailed discussions of pedagogical principles and methods; and the third object is to give more or less instruction bearing upon the branches to be taught in the schools. The institutes are sustained by State law, under the supervision of the Board of Regents and of the State Superintendent of Instruction. One of the professors of each of the State Normal Schools is specially employed in Institute work a portion of each year. The Institutes are held at two seasons of the year; one of two or three weeks in April, and longer terms in July and August. These Institutes are managed by a plan made by a Committee of the Board of Regents. The Institute work is developed by means of a syllabus provided by the committee for use of the instructors. It includes school economy and management, and professional training of the teacher, and its aim is not to do academical work. What to do, and how to do it?" should be the great work of these aids, to stimulate the great body of teachers to do better work, and indirectly to awaken an interest in the public mind. The purpose of the Institute is best met by organizing it on the plane of intellectual improvement in the work of teaching.

Referring to the historical facts that mark the development of the Institute in Wisconsin, he said that during the initial stage it was characterized by large and enthusiastic meetings of

teachers and patrons, for a brief period, who sat silently in admiration of the eloquence of the distinguished educators from abroad who addressed them, or were interested by local talent in the discussion of corporal punishment and moral suasion, word-method and alphabetic method of teaching reading, oral and written methods of teaching spelling, the purpose being temporary and preparatory only. During the second stage it was characterized by a tendency to extend the time of the Institute from a few days to as many weeks, and to substitute the idea of school for that of convention and the stern realities of ignorance of teachers upon the subject to be taught for the enthusiasm of eloquent speeches and interesting discussions. The institute served the purpose of establishing, in a general way, a standard for qualification for teachers in the branches required to be taught, and its results in this respect were of great value. The teacher ought to expect to obtain from institute instruction ideas that will suggest better methods, and enthusiasm in his work, and, in fact, he ought to obtain additional knowledge in the subjects to be taught. That the institute may be organized with a view of accomplishing this comprehensive purpose, it is necessary that there should be a local superintendent to whom the teachers are responsible for their legal qualifications. The superintendent should be assisted in the work of the institute by one or more persons who are something more than successful teachers, assistants who see clearly the laws of mental growth and power and the unfolding of the branches to be taught in harmony with these laws. They should see the evolution of the child's moral nature, and know what management will guide it from the condition of obedience to authority and external requirements, to the condition of self-control and obedience to moral law. They must know the attainments of the teachers whom they instruct, must understand the conditions under which their work is done, and be apt in turning to account varied experiences as a means of lifting into consciousness the idea and principles that underlie successful teaching and management.

State Supt. M. A. Newell, of Maryland, followed, sketching the method of conducting institutes that tends to leave the teachers with a mass of unassimilated matter and want of harmony in the instruction given in them. Much contradictory instruction is given by hobbyists, tending to confuse the teachers rather than to aid them to better work. He closed with the suggestion that the institute could be combined with teachers' reading circles.

State Supt. Harvey M. La Follette, of Indiana: The evolution of the County Institute has varied greatly in different states. Many have passed the point in which mere text-book and elementary instruction is given, and in which progressive professional work is being done. In Indiana there are fourteen thousand teachers, many of whom

are more or less incompetent to do their work. In regard to the length of institute terms he thought they should be longer than one week. He favored two, three, or even four weeks, as the length of an institute. The reading circles are doing a great work in Indiana. One of the obstacles to institute work is the ignorance and incompetency of county superintendents. Manuals are issued for guidance by a committee of the State Board of Education, that cover the general ground of Institute work. Natural method work is an important part of the work. Supplementary work, such as the information of reading circles, is another mission of the institute.

State Supt. Richard Edwards presents the following as to the Institutes of Illinois:

1. They are conducted under the direction and authority of the county superintendents of schools. But the instructors, employed must be licensed by the state superintendent. In all other respects the entire responsibility comes upon the county superintendent. He fixes the course of study, appoints the conductor and the instructors, with the qualification just named, and determines every question that arises concerning the management of the institute.

2. The law requires that the institute shall continue at least five days. As a matter of fact, in most cases, it continues from two to four weeks. As a rule the county superintendent prolongs the meeting as long as his funds will permit.

3. The course of study is commonly, and perhaps always, both academic and profes sional. In this matter a judicious superintend ent considers the local wants of the teachers and of the schools. In some of the counties few persons ever apply for situations as teachers who are not well prepared in the academic studies. For such the most valuable training will be in the principles and methods of educa tion. In many counties this part of the work is emphasized, and by far the larger part of the time is devoted to it. But in some counties the preparation of teachers is less perfect, and drill in academic work is really necessary. This, however, is so conducted, academic instruction is so given, as to illustrate the best methods and to exhibit the truest principles of teaching. Probably in no institute held in this state is the work exclusively professional or exclusively academic.

4. The cost of conducting the teachers' institutes in this state varies greatly. In some cases it does not exceed $50, in others it amounts to $600. This depends largely upon the size of the county, the number of persons who apply for teachers' certificates, and the liberality of the county board of supervisors.

5. The funds for the support of the institutes are derived from: a. The fees paid by candi dates for teachers' certificates. Every applicant for an examination for such certificate, and for each renewal thereof, is required to pay a fee

All of the States have provided some statutory method for determining and certifying the qualifications of teachers. Each State has a way peculiar to itself. The school laws of the different States indicate that examinations are held and licenses issued by or under the direction of State Boards in the West, by county boards in the South, while in conservative New England the old-fashioned, time-honored school committee-men inspect the schools and license the teachers. I presume I am not wide of the mark in saving that there are three classes of authorities for granting licenses in the different States, viz., a state board or superintendent, normal schools, and county or district boards or commissioners in the country, and city boards or superintendents in the cities. In many cases where licenses are issued by state authorities, they are predicated upon the action of local boards or officers. In most cases these local officials are elected by popular vote. Ordinarily they are not required to show that they possess qualifications for determining the qualifications of others. They do not follow any systematic or open-handed procedure, except in cases when a capable man with a stiff backbone establishes one for himself. Frequently they are incapable of holding examinations. In other cases the forms of an examination are gone through with, but it is only a farce. The opportunities for corruption are open, and instances thereof are not unknown. We have in this country no proper system for determining the qualifications of teachers; there are no adequate safeguards against the issuance of certificates to persons having neither the intellectual qualifications, nor the moral fitness, nor the practical common sense, essential in an instructor of youth.

The educational problem in the United States is continually becoming more and more difficult. Our population is advancing rapidly, and the accretions are not in all cases desirable. We have yet no adequate system for compelling attendance upon the schools, and our uneducated class is not getting smaller. The full and permanent success of our form of government depends upon a school system which shall be established upon so firm a foundation that it will be able to cope successfully with the situation of the future, no matter how troublesome or difficult it may become. Such a school establishment must be an entirely different affair from the one we have employed in the earlier development of the republic. It can result only from more general governmental aid and more direct and complete governmental control of the schools.

It is an accepted doctrine in this country that governments shall exercise only such powers as are necessary to attain the ends of government, that the general government shall not trench upon the prerogatives of the states, and that the states shall not undertake to control affairs which may as well be left to localities. It is vital, however, that there shall be enough of governmental support and direction in all school affairs to insure the accomplishment of the purpose for which schools are maintained.

We have come to learn in the course of time that we must not only have schools, but that we must have a comprehensive, harmonious, and progressive system of schools. By almost common consent in our generation, there must be firmly established a general system of education which shall be adequately supported and wisely directed, which shall be free to all, as a common right.

If states may rightfully take charge of a gen. eral educational system among their people to some extent, then they may and must do so to an extent sufficient to accomplish the end for which an educational system is maintained, and states must more thoroughly and effectually supervise and direct school affairs in the future than in the past, if they would make sure of universal education, to an extent which will justify general taxation for the support of schools. The qualifications of teachers in the public schools should be determined under the supervision and control of state authorities acting pursuant to general and well-known regulations. If experience has taught anything, it is that normal training is necessary to the equipment of a good teacher. If all our teachers could be required to secure their certificates only at the end of a regular course of professional work in a Normal School, maintained and directed by the state, it would be well, but that is clearly impracticable.

If teachers could be licensed directly and exclusively by state boards or state superintendents, pursuant to stated and public examinations governed by published regulations, the work would undoubtedly be well done, and the interests of the school system would unquestionably be protected. But it is better and more in accordance with the ideas of government to which we have been schooled, for states to control and direct the matter through local officers, than exclusively through officials so far removed from the people. What is necessary is that the official, whatever his grade or station, shall be the agent of and be made to carry out a system, rather than be left to his own judgment or caprice. Examining and licensing teachers by one man or by a small body of men will never have public confidence unless the action is open-handed and above-board, governed by a fixed and well understood system of procedure which will do away with any likelihood of things being done about which the public do not know. Good systems work well and save a great deal of wear and tear upon men; there is a possibility of bad or weak men getting into official stations, and even good men go astray now and then.

How is the state to determine the qualifications of teachers over a wide expanse of territory, embracing great cities as well as sparsely settled country, if not through normal schools, or State officials directly? It may do so through city superintendents or county or district commissioners. In that case it should make sure that they are able to show proper qualifications. It may provide that certificates shall be granted only after stated public examinations, which shall be conducted, at least in part, in writing. The question papers should previously be pre