LBlWf .7? 5 1110 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ■■■■■■■■■■■■;-. 019 740 324 A Hollinger Corp. pH8.5 : ; : Rhode Island Education Circulars i::!;i::v RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE Rhode Island Institute of Instruction. ■I October 29, 1910. Printed and Distributed by the Department of Education, State of Rhode Island. Resolved, That the thanks of the Institute are hereby tendered to the speakers for their inspiring- and informing - addresses, to the President, to other officers, to the heads of departments, whose well-directed efforts have made especially noteworthy the sixty- sixth meeting of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction. Resolved, That our appreciation is hereby recorded of the gen- erosity of Brown University, Rhode Island Normal School, and of the city of Providence, in placing at our disposal various buildings for meetings of the Institute. Resolved, That our thanks are hereby given to Brown Univer- sity for providing for the teachers of the State the admirable list of extension courses ; furthermore we desire to express the hope that it may be practicable for the President to arrange soon for a Summer School at the University. Eesolved, That our thanks are hereby expressed to the Ehode Island College for the Summer School courses which it is offering to the teachers of the State. Resolved, That the Institute endorses most heartily the efforts of the State Board of Education to provide extension courses for teachers at the Normal School, and expresses the hope that such courses be permanently established in the near future. Resolved, That we heartily approve of the system of Travel- ling Libraries for Teachers as put into operation by the Commis- sioner of Public Schools, and that we express the hope that means may be provided for the extension of the plan. Resolved, That Rhode Island should place herself in the line of progressive states of the Union in having laws for the proper ventilation and sanitation of all public school buildings ; and to this end, that no new school building be erected in the State un- less the plans for the said building have the approval of the State Commissioner of Education so far as these matters are concerned. Resolved, That specific legislation should be enacted requiring adequate medical inspection of pupils throughout the State. We further recommend that the eyes, ears, teeth, and throat of all pupils should be inspected at least once a year, believing that such procedure would save children needless suffering and teed to secure their more rapid progress through the school curriculum. Resolved, That we condemn the use in public schools of the State, of the common drinking cup, of the common towel, of the common soap, and the exchange of pencils and other utensils as dangerous to the health of the pupils. Resolved, That we approve the effort for the prevention and cure of tuberculosis in this State. We commend particularly the work of the Rhode Island Anti-Tuberculosis Society for the vig- orous and sustained war which it is carrying- on against this dis- ease. We endorse also Open-air Schools which have been organ- ized for the children of weak constitutions, and recommend that the number of such schools be increased. Resolved, That the prevalent habit of excessive theatre-going on the part of school children deserves and receives our disappro- bation. We especially condemn the unsupervised Moving Picture Exhibitions and so-called " cheap " theatres as harmful to the morals, manners, and health of the youth of this State. Resolved, That the Institute believes that more adequate pro- vision should be made for the instruction of sub-normal children through the establishment of a greater number of special schools and the better equipment of the teachers. Resolved, That Rhode Island should follow the example of Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio, California, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Oregon, and Vermont in providing legislation prevent- ing the formation and prohibiting the existence in the public schools of the State of secret societies, such societies having been proven to be inimical to the interests and government of the schools of a republic. Resolved, That we favor the teaching of scientific agriculture throughout the State especially in rural schools, we heartily en- dorse also the principles underlying the making of gardens by school children. Resolved, That this Institute urges the General Assembly to enact legislation providing for the establishment in such sections of the State as seem best adapted to the purpose, of public day and evening schools which shall give instruction in the arts and practice of trades to persons who have attained the age of four- HHHBq LIBRARY OF CONGRESS teen years, and that the Committee on Legislation asked to use their influence to this end. 019 740 324 A % Resolved, That we repeat and emphasize the resolutions of preceding- years favoring a law for tenure of office preventing the removal without cause of public school teachers, superintendents, and supervisors after they have completed a reasonable period of satisfactory service, and that we request the Committee on Legis- lation to use its influence to secure the passage of a State tenure of office law at the next meeting of the General Assembly. Resolved, That we approve the plan to promote Educational progress through the United States Bureau of Education as for- mulated by the Commissioner of Education, Elmer E. Brown; we heartily endorse his request for $75,000 and the purpose for which the sum has been asked; and we furthermore resolve that the Secretary of the Institute be directed to send a copy of the above resolution to the Honorable Richard A. Ballinger, Secretary of the Interior, and to the senators and representatives of this State at Washington. Resolved, That, as an additional incentive to the study of Rhode Island History, and to awaken and to stimulate patriotism, every schoolhouse should be provided with, and should display a State Flag. Resolved, That we heartily welcome the National Religious Educational Association to this State and that we hereby express our interest in, and sympathy with its work.