CONNECTICUT

COMMON SCHOOL JOURNAL.

PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION

OF THE

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF COMMON SCHOOLS.

VOLUME II.

HARTFORD.

PRINTED BY CASE, TIFFANY AND BURNHAM, PEARL STREET.

1839-40.

Examination of schools, 160.
Examination of teachers, 64, 158, 154.
Fellenberg, 106.

Female Seminary, 195.

Female teachers, dignity of their calling, 15: employment of in Winter schools, 53; in Summer schools, 158; fine specimen of, 61; in Ohio, 155; Gov. Seward's tribute to, 168.

Field, Dr., meetings by, in Middlesex Co., 49; Haddam, 49.

France, infant schools in, 50, 131.
Geography, 32, 110, 161.

Graduation of schools recommended, 36, 121, 159.

Litigation in school districts, 114.

Local history, 97.

Lowell, Mass., excellent school of, 116.
Lyceums, 81; State, meeting of, 83, 177.
Management of Schools, by R. C. Waters-
ton, 49.

Mann, Hon. H., tribute to female teachers
by, 15; on pronunciation, 77; on private
schools, 79; co-operation of parents, 117.
Manual for teachers, recommended in Penn.,
193.

Marcy, Gov., message of, respecting school libraries, 195.

Marsh, Capen, Lyon & Webb's Com. school library, 174.

Massachusetts, summary of school law, 156;
Gov. Morton's message, 156; abstract of
school returns, 157; Report of Board of
Education, 173; Secretary of the Board,
174.

Means and Ends by Miss Sedgwick, extracts
from, 12, 39, 56, 128.
Mechanics' Institute, 177.

Method of instruction in Summer Schools,
189.

Michigan, progress of Common Schools in, 19; system of public instruction, 168; extracts from report of Superintendent for 1839, 169.

Monkeys, diseases of, on account of bad air, 74.

Moral discipline, 107, 121.

Music, in French public schools, 10: in
Switzerland, 51; in schools, 90, 161.
New Canaan, school in, 148.

New Haven, Lancasterian school in, 116;
new school house in.

New London, County Commissioner for, 5; school meetings in, 67.

Newtown Academy, influence of on teachers, 145.

New York, Common Schools in 1838, 19; Gov. Message, 132; educational policy of, 132; condition of schools in 1838, 170; report of Superintendent, 170; school fund, 171; progress of 171; district school libraries recommended in, and established, 195-6.

Normal Schools, benefit of, 9; in England,

17; plan of by Prof. Stowe, 61, 87; course of instruction in, 87; reasons for and against, 103; at Lexington, 99. North Carolina, school system of, 51. Norway, common schools in, 115. Oberlin, Memoirs of, 133, 151.

Ohio, Gov. Shannon's message, 131; Superintendent of common schools report, 154. Oral instruction, 96, 113, 161.

Orthography, 91.

Page, D. P., Lectures by, 14.

Parents, duties of to teachers, 41; co-opera-
tion of in improving schools, 7, 29, 38, 55,
61, 85, 86, 163; indifference of, 194.
Paris, schools in, 51.
Peers, B. O., quoted, 101.
Pennsylvania, report of Superintendent in,

192; progress of education in, 193; condi-
tion of education in, 192, 193; common
schools in, 18; report of Sup. of common
schools, 189.
Pestalozzi, 106.

Prospectus of Conn. Common School Jour-
nal, 5.

Prussia, late school report from, 51; referred
to by Gen. Dix, 98.
Public meetings of schools, 167.
Public libraries, 176.

Public schools, public blessings, 29.
Punctuality, 123.

Punishments in schools, 45; domestic rules
respecting, 46; of children, 97.
Read, what to and how, 12.
Reading, Dunn on, 16; in the district school
as it was, 75; by author of Confessions,
76; to be taught like music, 91; series of
articles on, 124, 140; in Mass., 161.
Reports of school committees, 162.
Registers, 162; to be kept by teachers, 27.
Rich and poor, 129.

Salisbury, school meeting in, 68; Youth's li-
brary, 68, 148.

School books, 68, 69, 160.

School Committees, dignity of their office, 30.
School Convention in Mass., 173.
School districts, how established, 22; with
not less than 40 children, 26; boundaries
of, 26; powers of, 26; taxation in, 27;
meeting how warned, 26; power of taxa-
tion for libraries.

School houses, new, 45; care of by teachers,
43; old ones repaired, 37; the old, 59; in
Portersville, 67; in New London, 67; by
Dr. Humphrey, 73; in Newington. 147;
in Ohio, 155; in Mass., 157-175; in New
Haven, 155, 179; in Chelsea, 179.
Schools, laws and acts concerning, in Conn.,
21-28.

School libraries, 114, 172, 175, 177.
School meetings, notices of, 52,
School master, dignity of, 17.

School returns for 1839-40, 52, 149, 164.
School society, how constituted, 23, powers
of, 23, 26.

School teachers, by whom examined, 27;
qualification of, 28; must keep a Regis-
ter, 27.

Secondary schools, 145.

Sedgwick, Miss, extracts from, 56, 128.
Self-culture, 81.

Seward, Gov., annual message of, 132; ex-
tracts from message of, 132; on female
teachers, 168.

Shannon, Gov., message of, 131.
Sigourney, Mrs. L. H., essay of, read at State
Convention, State Lyceum, 83; on the cul-
tivation of the perception of the beautiful,
117.

Silvio Pellico, noble sentiment of, 17.
Singing, 51, 161.

Slates, uses of, 78; in writing, 93, 182-3.
Small children, appropriate methods of gov-
erning and teaching, 38.
Small districts, 178, 162.

South Carolina school system, 156.
Spelling, by Dunn, 16; method of, in Borough
road school, London, 16; in the district
school as it was, 75; by author of Confes-
sions, 76; by Mr. Mann, 109; in Mass.,
164.

Spiritual influence in schools, 47, 78, 143.
Stowe, Calvin E., on Teachers' Seminaries,
61, 72, 87, 103; tribute to, 65.

Philadelphia, public schools in, 19; high Studies, too many, 160.
schools in, 19.

Physical education, 58.

Physicians and common schools, 149.
Poor, education of in Ohio, 154.

Popular education in England, 17.

Porter, Gov., extract from annual message
of, 116.

Portersville new school house, 67.
Practical exercises, 142, 184-5.
Prayer recommended, 47.

Primary branches first to be attended to, 48;
neglect of, 160.

Private schools, origin of, 79; influence of
OR common schools, 79, 152, 159, 161.
Progress of society, 180.

Pronunciation, 77.

Supplication by the English Language, 12,
33.

Summer, first, in school, 61.

Summer schools, improvement of, 85, 167,
158; method of instruction in, 180.
Switzerland, vocal music in, 51.

Teacher and pupil, 137; teacher and parent,
138.

Teachers' department, 172.
Teacher's manual by Dunn.

Teachers, moral and intellectual habits of, 47;
qualifications of, 121; examination of, 67,
114, 158; want of well qualified, 158; pro-
visions for their better qualification, 7; edu-
cation of in Lafayette College, Penn., 19;
in Hartford Grammar School, 52; in Hart-

ford Female Seminary, 116; in Winsted
Academy, 52; in New York, 172: in
Penn., 193; frequent changes of, 162.
Teaching, dignity of, 129.
Tennessee, school system of, 19.
Text books, 136.

Tolland county school meetings, 49; Com-
missioner for, 5; town report of school vis-
iters for 1839, 166.

Truth, 146.

Uneducated children in New York, 172.
United States, education in, 192.
Union districts, how formed, 27; powers of,
27; committee of, 28.

Union of intellect and labor, 178.
Utterance, power of, to be cultivated, 41.
Vacations, 123.

Ventilation of school houses, 37; method of
doing, 37.

Vermont, extract from Gov. message, 153.
Virginia, education in, 131.

Visible illustrations, 127.

Visiters, school, how they can improve Winter schools, 69.

Wadsworth, Gen. James, author of the library system, 11.

Waldo, L. P., member of school board, 5 school meetings by, in Tolland county, 49. Wallace, Gov., message of, 192.

Waterston, R. C., lectures by, extracts from,
47, 78.

Wayland, President, extract from, 13.
War and education, 191.
Webster, Noah, appointed orator before His-
torical Society, 100; tribute to, 100; gifts
by, 100.

Wethersfield, Rocky Hill Society,

ington Society, 147.

141; New

Windham county, Commissioner for, 5; school meetings, 66; school books recommended in, 68.

Winter schools, improvement of, 37, 53, 69,

85.

Wisdom and knowledge, 189.

Woman, value of books to, 191.

Words often mispronounced, 77, 92, 111, 126
Working men, address of, 117.
Worthington, 1st Society, 147.
Wright, T. L., provision of, for the education
of teachers in the Grammar School, Hart-
ford, 52.

Writing, 93; on slate, 93; in the district

school as it was, 94; in Mass., 161. Young children, management of, 182. Young Men's Institute, Hartford, 81.

CONTENTS

Of the Second Annual Report of the Board
of Commissioners.

Report of the Board, 197.
Report of the Secretary, 199.

Account of his proceedings.

I. Condition of the Common Schools in 1839 -40, 200.

1. Evidence of improvement, 200.

2. School Societies, 201.

3. School Districts and number of chil

dren, 201.

4. Attendance, 203.

5. Non attendance, 204.

6. Length, 206.

7. Teachers, 206.

8. Course of instruction, studies, books, apparatus, methods, registers and reports to parents, 207.

9. School-houses, 209. 10. Union schools, 210. 11. High school, 210.

12. School Libraries, 210.

13. Examination of Teachers and Visita-
tion of Schools, 210.

14. Co-operation of Parents, 211.
15. Support of Schools, 211.

II. Other Means of Popular Education, 214. 1. Colleges, &c., 214.

2. Private Schools, 214.

3. Libraries, Lectures, &c., 215.

III. Means and Plans of Improvement, 216. 1. The spread of information, 217.

2. Common School Libraries, 217.

3. Gradation of Schools, 217.

4. Education of Teachers, 218. APPENDIX.

1. Abstract of School Returns, 219.
A. Specimen of Returns, respecting
Summer and Winter Schools, 220.

System of primary instrnction and schools, Statistics, 327.

VOL. II.

Published under the direction of the Board of Commissioners of Common Schools.
HARTFORD, AUGUST, 1839.

PROSPECTUS TO VOL. II.

THE CONNECTICUT COMMON SCHOOL JOURNAL will continue to be published under the direction of the Board of Commissioners of Common Schools, and the editorial charge of the Secretary of the Board.

NO. 1.

friends of education, patriotism, benevolence and religion, with which the State abounds, a sufficient number will subscribe for the Journal to defray the expenses of publication, and extend its circulation into every school district.

As this is the only occasion on which this subject will be referred to, the individual entrusted with the management of the Journal would It will be employed, in connection with the public prints, respectfully remind those who have kindly pledged their assistance in as an organ of communication between the Board and extending its circulation, that now is the time to do so. Let those who their Secretary, and the public. It will contain the have professed themselves ready to share the risk of such an enterprize, Laws of the State in reference to Common Schools.-It assume it now. Let those who are willing to place the Journal in the will assist School Committees and School Visiters in the hands of those who are not prepared, or do not feel able to pay for it at discharge of their duties. It will help to form, encourage, this time, forward their orders now. Let such teachers, and others and bring forward good Teachers. It will furnish some who are willing to communicate the results of their experience or matter adapted to the capacity of the children in our reflections in any department of popular education, commence Schools, and to their instruction and rational entertain- their labors now. The experience of the past proves that the real ment. It will be one means of ascertaining the real friends of this cause will act promptly. deficiencies that may exist in the schools, and of suggesting the suitable remedies.-It will aim to give information of what is doing in other States, and in other countries, with regard to Popular Education.-It will endeavor to excite and keep alive a spirit of efficient and prudent action on the subject, and introduce upon its pages from time to time such other topics as will subserve the promotion of this important end.

All communications intended for the Journal, may be addressed to HENRY BARNARD, 2d., Secretary of the Board of Commissioners of Common Schools, Hartfordpost paid.

After much hesitation, the Secretary of the Board has undertaken the labor and responsibility of conducting the Journal for another year, as well as of discharging the other duties imposed by law and the Board upon this office. He deems this periodical, humble as it is in its pretensions, too important an auxiliary in the work of "increasing the interest and promoting the usefulness of common schools," to be abandoned until the experience of another year shall demonstrate that the enterprize to which it is exclusively devoted, is the only one which cannot enlist a sufficiently generous and general co-operation to sus tain it. The terms for this year are advanced. The reason is, that it cannot be sustained at the former price. It remains to be seen, whether out of the three or four thousand teachers engaged in the public and private schools of the State-the seven or eight thousand officers employed in the administration of the common school system-the parents of the eighty-five thousand children, a large majority of whom are dependent on the common schools for all the early instruction they will receive-and the "noble army" of philanthropists and christians who contribute willingly, from year to year, many hundred thousand dollars, and what is far better, their personal co-operation, to carry for ward other good causes-in fine, whether out of all the professed

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF COMMON
SCHOOLS, 1839.

His Excellency WILLIAM W. ELLSWORTH.
SETH P. BEERS, Commissioner of School Fund.
HENRY BARNARD, 2d, for the County of Hartford.
DENISON OLMSTED,

ANDREW T. JUDSON,
SAMUEL CHURch,

66

SAMUEL D. HUBBARD, 66
LORAIN P. WALDO,

New Haven.
Windham.

66

THOMAS S. PERKINS,
DAVID H. SHORT,

New London

The Board met at Hartford on the 13th of June, and appointed HENRY BARNARD, 2d, Secretary. Committees were appointed to consider, and report to to the Board by the General Assembly. an adjourned meeting, on the several resolutions referred

The subject of common school libraries was considered, and a committee raised to report on the best plan to facilitate the execution of the law authorizing their

establishment.

The Secretary was directed to pursue in the main the same measures which were adopted last year," to ascertain the condition, increase the interest, and promote the usefulness of common schools."

He proposes to visit every section of the State, and as far as possible the several school societies.

A State Convention of the friends of school improvement will be held in the fall at Hartford, at which several gentlemen from other States have engaged to be present.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF 1839
RESPECTING EDUCATION.

Assembly, in regard to the efforts now making to improve our system
The interest manifested by almost every member of the last General
of education, especially of common schools, was truly encouraging.
We will here make a brief record and review of all that was done or
proposed to be done.

The subject was thus introduced by Governor Ellsworth, in his annual communication to the Legislature:

"Soon after the rising of the Assembly, the Board of Commissioners for Common Schools adopted measures to carry into execution the designs of the Assembly. The law which creates the Board defines the various and important subjects of inquiry, to all of which the Board have given their attention, chiefly through Henry Barnard, Esq.