Oak Street 
 UNCLASSIFIED 
 
 Vfniv.of Ill. Library 
 
 54 
 
 \JJtl 
 
 ■^no v 4 
 
 Education AND Industry. 
 
 JF'v 
 
 A REPORT 
 
 EDUCATION ADAPTED TO THE WANTS OF COMMON 
 MADE BY THE EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE 
 
 -OF THE- 
 
 4 ^, iMkd&p 
 
 AND READ BY F. G. ADAMS, OF TOPEKA, AT THE 
 
 A N NUAL M EETING, 
 
 AT MANHATTAN, 
 
 December 13tli, 1S7’6. 
 
 TOPEKA: 
 
 KANSAS FARMER PRINTING HOUSE 
 1877 . 
 
-'Vv 
 
 A Report made by the Educational Committee of the Kansas State 
 Grange, and read by F. G. Adams at the Annual Meeting at Manhattan 
 December 13th, 1876. 
 
 The Declaration of Principles of the National 
 Grange contains the following among the specifica¬ 
 tions of the objects of the order of Patrons of Hus¬ 
 bandry: 
 
 •“We shall advance the cause of education among 
 ourselves, and for our children, by all just means 
 within our power. We especially advocate for our 
 agricultural and industrial colleges, that practical 
 agriculture, domestic science, and all the arts which 
 adorn the home, be taught in the course of study.” 
 
 The Preamble to the Constitution of the National 
 Grange declares, that “the ultimate object of this or¬ 
 ganization, is, for mutual instruction and protection; 
 to lighten labor by diffusing a knowledge of its aims 
 and purposes: to expand the mind, by tracing the 
 beautiful laws the Great Creator has established in 
 the universe, and to enlarge our views of creative 
 wisdom and power.” 
 
 Thus it is seen that the founders of the organiza¬ 
 tion of Patrons of Husbandry included in its objects 
 a wide scope of educational work. 
 
 The emphatic statement of this as one of the ob¬ 
 jects of the organization, was, in part at least, an ad¬ 
 mission of special educational needs. It was an ad¬ 
 mission that farmers, as a class, are peculiarly lack¬ 
 ing in educational privileges, and that as a conse 
 quence, they are lacking in intelligence, in a greater 
 degree than other classes: at least in some of the 
 elements of intelligence which go to qualify men to 
 discharge well their part in the world's broad field of 
 battle. 
 
 This inferiority of intelligence among farmers as a 
 class, does not come from any degradation in the 
 farmers’ occupation; it does not come from the fact 
 that, instead of being environed by brick walls, and 
 of having the privilege by night and by day of snif> 
 fing the oders of the sewer and the sink, he has but 
 the surroundings of nature for his hamperings, and 
 the uncontaminated air of heaven for his respira- 
 tion. Not from such circumstances, come vacancy 
 of thought, absence of information, and incapacity 
 in action. 
 
 This admitted inferiority of intelligence comes 
 largely from the isolation of members of farming 
 communities ; compared with the more closely knit 
 neighborhood relations of the denizens of the town. 
 The farmer’s social privileges are scanty. Widely 
 separated as he is from his neighbors, there scarcely 
 comes more than a weekly or even a monthly con- 
 tact—mind with mind—in the interchange of infor¬ 
 
 mation, and the discussion of views in respect to the 
 affairs of life, of society, of politics, of trade and of 
 the world's progress. 
 
 In town, he who will, may have almost daily in¬ 
 tercourse with the more intelligent of the communi¬ 
 ty, and, by conversation, have his information ens 
 larged, his ambition stimulated, his wits sharpened, 
 and his narrowness of soul broadened into a just ex¬ 
 pansion. Of this sort of stimulating, encouraging, 
 and energizing influence the farmer is in a great 
 measure deprived. 
 
 In his isolation the farmer is deprived of the ad¬ 
 vantage of the daily newspaper, which brings to all 
 in the town, every day, fresh subjects of discourse, 
 relating to the progress of the events of the world, 
 and even of the changes, which effect the various in- 
 dustries, the prices of products and the mutations of 
 trade. 
 
 The farmer is deprived of the advantages of public 
 libraries and reading rooms ; where books of litera- 
 ture, of history, of science and of political economy 
 are always put within the reach of the merchant 
 and mechanic resident in all our considerable towns. 
 He is deprived of public lectures, which otten come 
 in as a valuable means of education. 
 
 But, chiefly, the educational deficiencies of the 
 farmer come from his lack of that ground work of a 
 good education which, in the common school,should 
 be made accessible, in youth, to all, of every class; 
 the sehool, which should qualify the farmer’s boy to 
 become, in manhood, a careful and accurate keeper 
 of his own accounts ; to be prudent and correct in 
 estimates of expenses and profits ; as, from year to 
 year, and from season to season he makes up his 
 judgment as to what branch of husbandry, what se¬ 
 ries of crops, or what line of stock should engage 
 his attention and employ his labor; a ground work 
 of education which should make him an intelligent 
 observer of _the facts in nature- which his occupation 
 gives him superior advantages for observing ; which 
 should give him some knowledge of political insti- 
 tutions and civil government, enabling him to be¬ 
 come an intelligent citizen, capable of understand'- 
 ing the bearing of, and of expressing his views con¬ 
 cerning this measure or that effecting taxation and 
 the principles of human rights:— 
 
 The school which should qualify the farmer’s girt 
 to have some sense of what food and raiment cost, 
 and to have the practical ability to set down in writ- 
 ting, in plain words and figures, items of such cost, 
 
0 
 
 and to throw such items into orderly and appropri¬ 
 ate forms of account; the school which should store 
 her mind with such facts concerning social life, do- 
 mestic science, household economy, and general 
 womanly duty, as will lead on to such future self- 
 culture, after school days, as shall prove the common 
 school course to have opened up a life of study and 
 thoughtfulness, leading on to that development of 
 true womanhood, which, in all ages, has been the 
 brightest adornment of civilization. 
 
 It is chiefly,as I have said,because of the inferiority 
 of the farmer’s common schools, compared with the 
 common schools of the city, that city children have 
 the advantage over country children in matters of 
 education. The city school is kept nine months in 
 the year,—the country school six months; skilled 
 teachers are employed in the city, instead of novi¬ 
 ces. Intelligent and watchful supervision is had 
 over the ri^y schools. The aggregation of numbers 
 in the city, admits of a grading into classes for in¬ 
 struction, giving the teacher personal power over the 
 pupil two-fold greater than can be exerted by the 
 country teacher. The city school is supplied with 
 libraries, cabinets of specimens, and apparatus, of 
 which the country school is deficient. 
 
 It is but a ground work of education, which can 
 be laid in any school. The ground work of the farin'- 
 er’s school education, should be such as to lead him 
 to become, throughout his whole life, after leaving 
 school, a thoughtful student of books, and of pass¬ 
 ing events ; and an intelligent observer of nature’s 
 teachings. With such an educational outstart, he 
 has, in important respects, vastly the advantage of 
 his brother whose residence is in the town ; for, 
 coupled with the educational privileges I have men¬ 
 tioned as belonging to the town, are disturbing and 
 demoralizing elements; frivolities, temptations and 
 allurements to dissipation and vice, not in the farm¬ 
 er’s way ; and which in far too many instances make 
 shipwreck, not only of all educational acquire¬ 
 ments, but of moral character and of life itself 
 
 The placid life of the farmer whose early educa¬ 
 tional privileges have opened wide before him the 
 book of nature, through the eyes of elementary 
 science, is one of thought and observation, of study 
 and contemplation which fall to no other employ¬ 
 ment, and which should, and I am proud to be able 
 to say, often does, under all disadvantages lead to 
 such development of mind as to bring to its possess¬ 
 or the highest attributes of wisdom ; and, to add to 
 character the best and noblest traits allotted to man. 
 
 It was that the farming class might meet the edu¬ 
 cational disadvantages, to which I have referred,and 
 by co operative effort overcome them, that the 
 founders of the order of Patrons of Husbandry so 
 emphatically put in contemplation systematic ed¬ 
 ucational work; educational work to be organized 
 and carried forward, by all just means within the 
 powe.s of the members of the order. 
 
 The carrying out of this part of our declaration 
 has hitherto remained in abeyance ; it stands too 
 much as a dead letter upon our ritual. 
 
 I do not say that the order of Patrons has done 
 nothing educational. Far from it. Incidentally, ed¬ 
 ucational results have come from the organization, 
 valuable beyond estimation. The ordinary worKof 
 
 the order, the formal work, the business routine.and 
 incidental discussions, all tend to educate ; while in 
 some granges, libraries are established, instructive 
 essays are read at meetings, and discussions are held 
 upon practical topics relating to the farmer’s work 
 and that of his household. The admission of women 
 to membership in this order, has lead to social re¬ 
 sults of an educational character, which all recognize 
 as having well compensated for all the organization 
 has cost its membership. 
 
 But,so far as relates to systematic and well organ¬ 
 ized work for the advancement of education among 
 ourselves and for our children but little has been 
 done. The grange in Kansas has done as much of 
 such work as that of any other State; possibly more. 
 As a step towards such organized work, and for the 
 object of obtaining information which should lead to 
 well directed effort, especially as regards the educa¬ 
 tion of our children, the Kansas State Grange, at 
 its last annual meeting appointed an educational 
 committee, under the following proceedings: 
 
 “We your Committee, on Good of the Order, 
 would recommend: 
 
 “That a Committee of three on Education be ap¬ 
 pointed by this Grange, to investigate the Common 
 School System, and course of instruction pursued 
 in our High Schools and Colleges, with a view to 
 recommending any changes that in their judgment 
 may be needed, and devising a course of instruction 
 and course of study best suited to bring practical 
 knowledge and useful information within reach of 
 the children of the agricultural classes, and to report 
 at the next annual meeting of the State Grange.’’ 
 
 The members of the committee appointed under 
 the above proceedings are F. G. Adams, of Shaw¬ 
 nee county ; S. M. Wood, of Chase county, and H. 
 G. Reynolds, of Marshall county. 
 
 I am before you now to give an account of the 
 work of the committee. We have pursued our in¬ 
 quiries in such manner as we could : not being en¬ 
 gaged in educational occupations, but following pur¬ 
 suits of industry. We have had access to the infor¬ 
 mation contained in national, state, and local edu¬ 
 cational reports. We have observed in some meas¬ 
 ure the inside work of schools, as they are now con¬ 
 ducted in the State. We have consulted, in a direct 
 manner, the views of many leading educators in the 
 country, as we have also the views of leading mem¬ 
 bers of our order throughout the country. We 
 have endeavored to bring into our report the best 
 views of the foremost educators and educational 
 thinkers in the land. 
 
 It is due to the other members of the committee, 
 and proper that I should say, that circumstances 
 have prevented much co-operation on the part of 
 the members in gathering the materials and in the 
 preparation of the report. While, through corres¬ 
 pondence the other brothers appointed on the com¬ 
 mittee have given full expression in support of the 
 general views embraced in the report, they cannot 
 be properly charged with any responsibility for its 
 details. 
 
 I shall now present to you the practical points 
 which the investigation has brought under observa¬ 
 tion, and shall largely illustrate them by a presentas 
 
 tion of the testimony and the views of others. 
 
3 
 
 EDUCATIONAL INQUIRIES. 
 
 The testimony presented comes in considerable 
 part in the form of answers to inquiries presented 
 by us, based upon the following explanatory state¬ 
 ment, contained in a circular employed by us : 
 
 “ In making up the required recommendations 
 the Kansas Grange Educational Committee have cho 
 sen to invite the opinions of others, upon some prac¬ 
 tical points involved in the subject of inquiry. Add¬ 
 ed to the views of persons eminent in educational 
 experience, we seek to obtain the opinions of others 
 outside of educational employments, who, from their 
 occupations and business intercourse have so come 
 in communication with agricultural people as to 
 have obtained a knowledge of the results of, and the 
 defects in the education imparted in our common 
 schools. 
 
 ‘‘We find that, of the children attending the com¬ 
 mon schools in Kansas,—and the same must be 
 measurably true in respect to other states,—fifty- 
 nine per cent, are of the agricultural class. Taking 
 the children of all industrial classes together, agri¬ 
 cultural, mechanical, manufacturing and laboring, 
 these children constitute eighty-eight per cent, of all 
 the children of the state. Common School educa¬ 
 tion should therefore be adjusted to the needs of 
 these classes ; making up as they do so great a pro¬ 
 portion of the people. Under existing conditions 
 the basis of Common School education must be es¬ 
 sentially the same for all classes. 
 
 Children do not attend the Common Schools for 
 an average period of more than five and one-half 
 years, of six months each year. In other words the 
 children of the industrial classes do not receive more, 
 than an average of thirty-three months of school ed¬ 
 ucation altogether. The maximum period is but lit¬ 
 tle more than twice that length of time The course 
 of study is confined almost wholly to reading, wri¬ 
 ting, spelling, arithmetic, geography and English 
 grammar. + 
 
 The inquiries which we present for your considers 
 ation, bear upon the following suggestions: 
 
 That the educational work now done in these 
 schools, is, 
 
 ist, Superficial in its character. 
 
 2d, Defective in method, and 
 
 3d, Narrow in its scope. 
 
 That, in respect to arithmetic and geography, the 
 range of particulars is too broad; taking in, in de¬ 
 tail, unimportant subjects and necessitating a super¬ 
 ficial study of important ones. 
 
 That penmanship, and study calculated to impart 
 an ability to speak and write the English language 
 correctly, are sadly neglected. 
 
 That the study of English grammar, so-called, is 
 carried to great lengths, in a manner but little ealeu 
 lated to induce correct expression in speaking and 
 writing the English language. 
 
 That the whole time occupied with the branches 
 taught, is much greater than should be; and that if 
 such studies were brought within proper limits, time 
 would be afforded for the study of the elements of 
 such useful branches as book-keeping, drawing, and 
 some of the branches of natural science, some 
 knowledge of whieh i§ essential to an intelligent pur¬ 
 
 suit of agricultural and mechanical employments,” 
 
 This circular was addressed to the officers of the 
 National Grange, to the Masters and most of the 
 Secretaries of the State granges, to quite a number 
 of St^te and other Superintendents of Public In¬ 
 struction, and to editors of Agricultural and Educa¬ 
 tional publications. 
 
 The responses to our inquiries surprised us by evi- . 
 dence of a very general educational awakening 
 throughout the country in support of the views indi¬ 
 cated by us,—evidence that a very lively shaking up 
 oi effete educational dry bones has, in many quar¬ 
 ters, for quite a period been going on in the interest 
 of a useful and practical education, in place of the 
 dull memorizing, disciplinary, routine methods in¬ 
 vented and fossilized in a former educational age. 
 
 The responses come more from educators than from 
 agriculturists. The agriculturists forcibly state their 
 dissatisfaction with existing systems. Educators ac¬ 
 knowledge the impeachment, and exhibit too, a 
 most earnest thoughtfulness and study in respect to v 
 the remedy. 
 
 GENERALLY DEFECTIVE. 
 
 As to the fact that education, in our common 
 schools, is generally defective, the testimony from all 
 quarters affirms the charge : the testimony is over¬ 
 whelming and conclusive. And I quote first from 
 the highest authorities found in educational reports. 
 
 Says the Board of Education, of the State of 
 Massachusetts, in its annual report to the Legislature 
 for 1870,—“ The public school system of New Eng¬ 
 land, so well adapted to a former state of society 
 fails to meet the demands of our modern civiliza¬ 
 tion.” 
 
 Hon. John Eaton, U. S. Commissioner of Edu¬ 
 cation, commenting upon this declaration, pronoun¬ 
 ces it to be “ the indictment of the thinkers of to¬ 
 day against the present school system.” 
 
 Says the Massachusetts Board of Education, again, 
 in 1872: 
 
 “ How to educate our children and secure the 
 best results, with the greatest economy of time and 
 expense, is the great problem of the day, and de¬ 
 mands the best thoughts of all our educators. 
 There is an opinion prevalent among such educa¬ 
 tors that, while our schools are doing a great and 
 noble work, they, are not accomplishing all that 
 might reasonably be expected of them, 
 
 If a portion of the time wasted, and worse than 
 wasted, in the attempt to memorize the endless and 
 senseless details of geography and history, the tech¬ 
 nicalities of grammar, at an age when they cannot 
 be understood, and long examples in mental arith' 
 metic, which, with their complicated solutions, must 
 be given with closed book, and in precise, logical 
 terms, could be given to some studies that would 
 really interest the children, develop their perceptive 
 powers, accustom them to the correct use of lan¬ 
 guage, and be of real practical value to them in af¬ 
 ter life, more satisfactory results than are now at¬ 
 tained would be exhibited at the close of the child’s 
 school life.” 
 
 The following is of recent date, from a member of 
 our own order, Brother Z. E. Jameson, chairman of 
 the Educational Committee of the State Grange of 
 Vermont; 
 
4 
 
 He says in a letter to your committee dated 
 
 Irasburg, Vt., Dec. 3d, 1876. 
 
 Worthy Brother: Your educational circular 
 with your letter is at hand. 
 
 It would seem reasonable that, the newer fettled 
 States should receive valuable aid and ideas from 
 those which have been settled alongertime. Yet the 
 reverse is likely to be true; as the old and stupid stay 
 in such a State as Vermont, and an army of young 
 men and women have gone West, right from the 
 schools, and have, with their higher ideas, found a 
 more favorable place to work, and aid in moulding 
 growing institutions. 
 
 You ask what we are doing in Vermont. I do 
 not know of a common school in Vermont that has 
 much furniture besides a water pail, tin cup and a 
 rickety chair, except the immovable desks and black¬ 
 board. Occasionally outline maps are hung upon 
 the wall. 
 
 Writing, in some schools, in not taught at all, 
 some terms, while with the change of teachers it will 
 be taught other terms so far as . to have a time to 
 write,for those who buy copy books,and to set copies 
 for those who bring paper. 
 
 The schools are small in this county, averaging 
 less than twenty scholars in daily attendance in each 
 school. These are of all ages from four to twenty 
 years old, and of various grades of ability and natur¬ 
 ally make many classes, so that ten minutes or-so 
 are all that can be allowed each class. They read, 
 spell and recite geography, arithmetic and grammar. 
 Nothing is taught of music or drawing, or of the 
 soil, stones, vegetation, birds, insects oranything re¬ 
 lating to any craft or vocation. The better the 
 teacher is educated, the less inclined she is to con¬ 
 sider industrial pursuits worthy of being taught. I 
 say she, as a majority of teachers in common schools 
 are females. 
 
 The education the common people get does not 
 enable them to exercise that fearless, independent 
 action that should result from independent thought 
 and a consciousness of existing wrongs. 
 
 That is, in caucuses, conventions, and legislatures 
 the best farmers are no match for the .ordinary law¬ 
 yer ; and the mass of farmers are as helpless to de¬ 
 mand and secure their rights by speaking or writing 
 as children in swaddling clothes. There are about 
 80,000 children in the State and the cost of schools 
 is annually about $ 600,000, yet from this great tax¬ 
 ation and this number of scholars, if there are a 
 dozen farmers manufactured that can exert the influ¬ 
 ence of one second rate lawyer, the fact does not 
 appear. Our present system does not allow of a 
 thorough education, without driving from the mind 
 a love of the farm, and a respect for all manual la¬ 
 bor.” 
 
 *—So much from the east as to educational de- 
 fects. I now turn to the West. Having received 
 into its population largely of the activity and intelli¬ 
 gence drained from the East.it is, as Brother Jameson 
 suggest, taking the lead in bringing forward educa¬ 
 tional views in the interest of agricaltural industry. 
 
 Hon. Newton Bateman, Superintendent of Public 
 Instruction for the State of Illinois, in his annual 
 report for 1876, makes a most forcible arraignment 
 of the defects in the common schools of the coun¬ 
 try, 
 
 This Report is a very able one, and has attracted 
 the attention of the educators and thinkers of the 
 whole country, and with almost universal commen¬ 
 dation. Says the editor of the Atlantic Monthly 
 Magazine, for February last, in a lengthy review of 
 this report: “Mr. Bateman discources in a manner 
 after our own heart upon the great subjects of what 
 the common schools should do for the masses of 
 their pupils, and what should be their course of study 
 to this end. 
 
 I quote briefly from Mr. Bateman's report: 
 
 “Look at the facts as they have existed in this 
 State from the beginning of the free-school system 
 and for years before. What have been the studies 
 prescribed by law ? Spelling, reading, writing, arith¬ 
 metic, grammar, geography and United States his¬ 
 tory. Who first marked out this course of study,or 
 what consideration led to its original adoption and 
 subsequent tenacious retention, does not appear. 
 But if the author ef this common-school curriculum 
 is still living, a contemplation of its results will hardly 
 induce him to come forth and claim the honor of 
 his achievment. * * * If it were distinctly pro¬ 
 
 posed to devise a scheme whereby the schools might 
 be rendered the least profitable, that which compels 
 the youth of the State to spend the whole of their 
 school going life upon the famous seven branches of 
 the old Illinois law, to the total exclusion of 
 everything else, must be regarded as a "reasonably 
 successful solution of the problem. * It is not to 
 be denied that the confidence of our people in that 
 great American institution, the public school, is in 
 danger of being disturbed, nor is this state of things 
 peculiar to Illinois, but is substantially common to 
 •all the States and to the whole country. Doubts, 
 questionings, murmurs of discontent, mingled with 
 voices of direct opposition,or appeals for reconstruc¬ 
 tion and improvement, are coming up from every 
 quarter of the Union. 
 
 And in illustration of his position Mr. Bateman 
 gives extracts from an extensive correspondence 
 with parents of different classes and occupations, in 
 which are described the miserable failures of the 
 public schools as regards individual children of 
 the individual writers. 
 
 Hon. J. M. McKenzie, State Superintendent of 
 Public Instruction of Nebraska in an able educa¬ 
 tional paper addressed to this committee, in response 
 to our inquiries, says: 
 
 “My observation amply proves to my own mind, 
 that the schools in Nebraska, are not above criticism 
 i on the three specifications: “Superficial, defective 
 in method, and narrow in scope.” 
 
 Hon. D. Burt, State Superintendent of Minneso¬ 
 ta, says : 
 
 “ I think there is need of the inquiry and investi- 
 1 gation proposed by your committee. We must 
 have shorter and more practical courses of instruc¬ 
 tion in the fundamental branches for our common 
 schools, less of minute details, and more of the gen¬ 
 eral and substantial.” 
 
 Says J. M. B. Sill, Superintendent of the Detroit 
 public schools: “I am in deep sympathy v^ith the 
 efforts you are making in behalf of a more uselul 
 and practical education in our common schools. I 
 believe there is ereat force, and much truth,in your 
 
5 
 
 objections to the prevailing mode of instruction in 
 arithmetic, geography and grammar.” 
 
 Says Prof. William F. Phelps, President of the 
 National Educational Association, the highest edu¬ 
 cational authority in the country : 
 
 “ No more important subject can engage the at 
 tention. either of your particular organization, or of 
 the people generally, than that which is covered by 
 your very searching and intelligent inquiries. Upon 
 the proper practical solution of the questions raised 
 in your circular, largely depends the real success of 
 our great common school system, and the prosperity 
 and well-being of the citizens of this republic, more 
 than 80 per cent, of whom belong to the industrial 
 classes whose school period is limited to the brief 
 space of five or six years. Having been for more 
 than thirty years engaged in the work of elevating 
 and improving our common schools, and having be¬ 
 stowed the best thought of a long professional life 
 upon the problem of the ways and means to that 
 end, I am prepared to announce myself as in hear¬ 
 ty sympathy with the views expressed in your cir¬ 
 cular, except perhaps in some minor particulars. 
 Indeed it has been the chief aim of my public la¬ 
 bors, writings, and speeches, for many years to advo¬ 
 cate the reforms suggested in the communication of 
 your committee, and I am about assuming edito.ial 
 charge of a weekly educational journal whose lead¬ 
 ing object it is to press these conclusions upon the 
 attention of the American people, and to secure a 
 thorough reformation in the organization, course of 
 study, and methods of teaching in our common 
 schools adapting them more completely to. the needs 
 of the great industrial classes of the country.” 
 
 Prof. Phelps, besides occupying the prominent po¬ 
 sition of President of the National Educational As¬ 
 sociation, an organization which embraces in its 
 membership the live educators of the whole-coun¬ 
 try, state superintendents, > editors of educational 
 journals, presidents and professors of colleges and 
 universities, etc., is also, president of one of the 
 best State normal schools; that at Whitewater, 
 Wisconsin. The communication addressed by him 
 to our committee is an able and eloquent appeal in 
 behalf of education for the industrial classes. Brev¬ 
 ity compels us to make but brief extracts from it as 
 from other like responses to our inquiries. 
 
 Says J, B. Merwiri, editor of the American Jour¬ 
 nal of Education: 
 
 “ If your committee shall be able to meet the de¬ 
 mand upon it, by so adjusting the curriculum of the 
 common school studies, as that the 88 per cent, shall 
 be set forward—as thev ought to be, and might be— 
 by improved ‘methods,’ Kansas will again lead oft - , 
 with an inspiration, so strong and grand, as to bring 
 unexampled prosperity and progress now, to the 
 people, as she did in historical times, by gone ” 
 
 Says G. Sprague, editor of the Western Home 
 Journal, Des Moines, Iowa: 
 
 “ There is no denying the fact that our system of 
 education is too much confined to a rut. Teachers 
 become enthusiasts not in the direction of making 
 education simple and practical, but in aiming at the 
 greatest attainable evidences of the strain to which 
 the young mind is susceptible, overlooking useful 
 results, and practical applications.” 
 
 Thomas Meehan, editor of the Gardener’s 
 Monthly, thus addresses us: 
 
 “ Our system of common school education is too 
 diffuse, I wish itxiould be simplified. The difficul¬ 
 ty is to do better. To teach in a more practical way 
 requires a different order of teachers, and fewer 
 scholars to each teacher. I have never been satis¬ 
 fied with our present system.” 
 
 Says Gen. John Fraser, State Superintendent of 
 Puplic Instruction for Kansas: 
 
 “Time required for giving instruction in added 
 branches can be easily found by restraining within 
 proper limits, arithmetic, English gratnmar, and 
 Geography; which have run wild in our common 
 schools.” 
 
 Says H. D. McCarty, late Superintendent of Pub¬ 
 lic Instruction for Kansas: 
 
 Your educational inquiries, are undoubtedly in 
 the right direction and to the point. I believe with 
 you “that the educational work now done in the 
 schools, is ist, superficial, 2d, defective in method 
 and 3d, narrow in scope,” arising no doubt from 
 the faulty manner in which the school text-books 
 are written and the slavish adherence of teachers to 
 the printed page.The great trouble with text-books in 
 general is, they are too voluminous. If school books 
 were condensed into one-half the number of vol¬ 
 umes and one-fourth the quantity of matter, better 
 scholars would be made in much less time than at 
 present. The child’s mind is overburdened with too 
 much uni eportant matter, which crowds out the es¬ 
 sentials of a good education.” 
 
 Says Mrs. Olive E. .Stout, the able Superinten¬ 
 dent of Public Instruction for Jackson county, Kan¬ 
 sas : 
 
 “ I do think that too much time is given to the 
 study of arithmetic, geography and grammar. Pu¬ 
 pils in the district schools do not take up any of the 
 higher branches of study, and seldom reach the 
 practical parts of either arithmetic or grammar.” 
 
 Says Brother M. E. Hudson, Master of the Kan¬ 
 sas State Grange: 
 
 “ The subject you have in hand is one that needs 
 probing to the bottom. Our educational system is 
 sadly at fault somewhere. Our common schools 
 cost four times what they did forty years ago, and 
 yet, pupils at the age of twenty-one years, leaving 
 the common schools, had a better practical educa¬ 
 tion than now:—anjJ that, notwithstanding the 
 further fact that our children attend school twice as 
 long, on an average, now. as then. Wtiy is this?” 
 
 Master Hudson adds: “We hope your committee 
 will be as thorough as time will permit, in your re¬ 
 port. Ventilate the present system. Give the edu¬ 
 cators a bone to crack, and the farmers and work¬ 
 ers of your country, some new food for thought on 
 this vital question.” 
 
 Says Prof. M. V. B. Knox, of Baldwin Universi¬ 
 ty, Kansas : 
 
 “ I am thoroughly of the opinion that there should 
 be a radical change in our school couise of study. 
 From the common schools, students come to us very 
 deficient, especially in grammar, composition and 
 penmanship. Geography is better reached, but 
 arithmetic is spread over far too much ground.” 
 
6 
 
 Prof. Wm. K. Kedzie, of the Kansas State 
 Agricultural College, says : 
 
 “ I believe your work will result in most substans 
 tial good for the common school system of this State. 
 There can be no doubt that the curriculum of our 
 common schools is unnecessarily narrow in its scope; 
 and the amount of time spent on certain branches of 
 study, to the utter exclusion of others of equal ims 
 portance, is little better than wasted. This is espe¬ 
 cially true of some studies; in particular: English 
 grammar for instance; which, if a better method 
 cannot be found for teaching it, it should be thrown 
 out bodily from our school studies.” 
 
 Prof. F. H. Snow of the Kansas State University 
 says; 
 
 “ Allow me to express my full and hearty sympa¬ 
 thy with you in this movement to reform the course 
 of study in our public schools. I have long been 
 convinced that more than half the time spent by our 
 children in the common schools, is worse than wasts 
 ed in the attempt to make a curriculum which is in 
 direct opposition to the natural order of develops 
 ment of the faculties of the human mind. It seems 
 to me that there should be a radical change in our 
 methods of instruction for children between the 
 ages of five and fifteen. They should no longer be 
 required to devote their chief attention to the mem¬ 
 orizing of abstract rules in arithmetic and grammar, 
 and of unimportant geographical facts. The time 
 now squandered in this way should be devoted to 
 studies which not only furnish a valuable training to 
 the power of observation but also impart informa¬ 
 tion of great practical value to the masses of our 
 people.” 
 
 AN APOLOGY FOR TEACHERS. 
 
 As the strictures here made, reflect with a consid¬ 
 erable measure of severity upon the teachers of our 
 State, and point to the fact of their lack of essential 
 qualifications for their important duties, it is due to 
 them, that I should point also to the greater respons 
 sibilty and greater lack of duty on the part of those 
 who make the laws of the State governing the 
 schools:—of those who are responsible for the edus 
 cation of teachers, for the framing of courses of 
 study and the direction and supervision of the school 
 work. As the children of farmers and other indus¬ 
 trial classes comprise 88 per cent, of the children of 
 the State, so do the fathers of the children, comprise 
 88 per cent., or ninestenths of the voters of the 
 State. We then who make the complaint of the ins 
 capacity of the teachers of our children, must not 
 forget that the representatives in the legislature 
 whom we elect, make the laws governing the schools; 
 and the laws which provide for the education ot 
 teachers. We must remember that it is from our 
 portion of the population that a large majority of the 
 teachers come. It is our sons and daughters, and 
 the sons*and daughters of our neighbors whom we 
 condemn, when we condemn the teachers of our 
 State for their improper, and valueless methods of 
 instruction. We have not provided for their edu¬ 
 cation as teachers. In most cases their only educas 
 tion has been, in the very schools we condemn. 
 Their only models, as instructors, have been the 
 book memorizing teachers whom we have employed 
 to teach them. How then should they do better 
 
 than those faulty instructors whose examples, only 
 we have permitted them to observe ? 
 
 Let us then be charitable towards the teachers of 
 our children:—remembering that one-half of them, 
 at least, are but children themselves; scarcely hav* 
 ing arrived at the age of majority, with immature 
 and uncultured minds, with no means of proper ob¬ 
 servation and instruction in their duties and with no 
 well directed experiences in their work. Let us ap¬ 
 ply to ourselves the condemnation which so justly 
 falls upon our school methods; and let us, if we 
 really mean to fulfill the obligations we have taken 
 upon ourselves as patrons of husbandry “to advance 
 the cause of education for our children by all just 
 means within our power,” inquire what are our du¬ 
 ties, individually, and collectively, in the work of re¬ 
 forming the methods of instruction employed in the 
 schools where our children are educated. 
 
 SPECIFIC DEFECTS. 
 
 As to arithmetic, I appeal to the observation of 
 all, if it is not a fact that it is rarely the case that the 
 boy or girl from our common schools exhibits any 
 practical ability to perform operations in numbers, 
 in the common transactions in business? This is 
 true, as almost ever parent knows who has sought 
 the aid of his boy in computations relating to sales 
 or purchases. Neither proficiency nor accuracy 
 marks any effort made in such computations. Yet 
 the boy has gone through his arithmetic. He has 
 memorized, and, if fresh from school, possibly can res 
 peat the rules for the most difficult operations. He 
 has performed all the examples under every rule in 
 his book; of several hundred pages. But set him to 
 add a ledger column of dollars and cents, and, after 
 much labor he will get an incorrect footing. Ask 
 him to make for you a statement, from your books 
 of an account, for use in a settlement you may desire 
 to make, and he will be utterly unable to do it. He 
 neither knows how to head the statement, how to 
 set out the items, how to place the credits, nor how 
 to show the balance. Ask him to compute the in¬ 
 terest on a promissory note you may have falling due, 
 and. though hfc remembers to have studied the sub¬ 
 ject of interest, he has no recollection of what rule 
 applies to the matter in hand, and he gives it up as 
 something not taught in his arithmetic. Yet he has 
 gone through his arithmetic ; and has memorized a 
 hundred rules and definitions, and, of course the 
 very rules which apply to the cases in hand. He 
 has skimmed over,—all that he should have thor¬ 
 oughly learned, and tasked his memory, infinitely, 
 oyer that which he should never have been asked to 
 learn. 
 
 Possibly all who hear me do not know that such 
 results come from existing and prevailing methods 
 of teaching arithmetic in our common schools. 
 Some may not have observed—may not have in¬ 
 quired of those who have observed. Business men 
 will tell you that our boys from school are good for 
 nothing; wholly unreliable in computati >ns until 
 they have gone through a business experience and 
 practice out of school. Educators, the more intelli¬ 
 gent, all who have come to really consider the subs 
 ject, are now admitting that such results come from 
 existing methods. 
 
7 
 
 Let me read some testimony on the subject: 
 
 Says Hon, Newton Bateman, State Superinten¬ 
 dent of Illinois. 
 
 “ Much precious time is also wasted upon ariths 
 metic. It is believed that the average common 
 school textsbook contains double the amount of 
 matter necessary or advisable, and hence that half 
 of the time spent thereon, if not wasted, could be 
 much more profitably devoted to other studies. 
 
 There lies before me a popular school arithmetic, 
 of about four hundred pages. It is deservedly pop¬ 
 ular, one of the best of which I have any knowl¬ 
 edge—in some important particulars, the very best. 
 It is in use in hundreds of our common district 
 schools—probably in thousands. It was made for 
 common schools, the title-page so declares. Turn¬ 
 ing the leaves of this book, I note, at random, among 
 the topics discussed at considerable length, the fol¬ 
 lowing useful and practical matters: Least common 
 multiple of complex fractions; duodecimals; re¬ 
 peating decimals; average of accounts; conjoined 
 proportion; alligation, medial and alternate; square 
 root and cube root; arithmetical and geometrical 
 progression; casting out the 9’s in multiplication 
 and division; the metric system; commutation of 
 radix, &c., &c. 
 
 The list given of topics which are of no actual, if 
 imaginable, benefit to one common school pupil in 
 ten thousand—viewed from the utilitarian stand¬ 
 point—might be more -than doubled. They abound 
 in all the practical arithmetics of the country. They 
 have come down to us, some of them, by a kind of 
 inevitable literary descent, from a period 1 know not 
 how remote. And these are the very subjects that 
 require the most- time. Among those enumerated, 
 there are several the mastery of any one of which 
 demands more time and effort than all fundamental 
 principles and operations of arithmetic put together; 
 and, for any practical use, ninety-nine district school 
 children out of every hundred might as well be set 
 to guessing conundrums. I knew a boy who spent 
 all the spare time he could command for an entire 
 term—more than an hour each day—upon circula¬ 
 ting decimals and alligation ; and when he had mas¬ 
 tered them, the poor child thought he knew some¬ 
 thing ! and so he did, but what? He completed the 
 district school course, shouldered his implements of 
 toil, and went bravely out to earn his bread by the 
 sweat of his face. Of Nature and her works, her 
 protean changes, her laws and forces, her glories 
 and harmonies, he was ignorant: the 
 “ Primrose by the river’s brim 
 A yellow primrose was to him, 
 
 And it was nothing more.” 
 
 But then, he knew all about repeating decimals, and 
 alligation, medial and alternate ! ” 
 
 Says Hon. J. M. McKenzie, State Superintendent 
 of Nebraska, from whose communication I haye al¬ 
 ready quoted: 
 
 "In regard to arithmetic I am confident much 
 time is wasted because of the defective methods em? 
 ployed and the haste in passing over the elementary 
 principles. Pupils wander over a dreary waste in 
 worse than Egyptian darkness because the teacher 
 permits tlim to pa§s Qy§f principles tie does not un¬ 
 
 derstand and cannot apply. Rapid and accurate 
 combination of numbers should be the leading ob¬ 
 ject of the teacher. Daily mental drills should be 
 given the whole school in addition and subtraction : 
 so long as the pupil remains in our common school 
 he should never be considered sufficiently expert in 
 these. I have long been of the opinion that there is 
 too much abstract theory in our arithmetical teach¬ 
 ing. Whether our text-books contain more ex¬ 
 amples or not the intelligent teacher will find them 
 and give them to the pupil. Square and Cube root— 
 Alligation—Arbitration — Annuities — Permutation, 
 &c., should only be noticed if at all in the appendix 
 of the common school arithmetic. While the pupil 
 should be taught precision in the use of language in 
 stating principles clearly and definitely, he should 
 not be forced to memorize any special formula as a 
 cast-iron frame work for the solution of examples. 
 Constant application of principles to the solution of 
 practical problems arising in the transaction of busi¬ 
 ness, with all the forms of notes, receipts, bills, and 
 book accounts, should engage the pupil’s time and 
 attention.” 
 
 Says Hon. C. W. Van Ceolln, State Superinten¬ 
 dent of Public Instruction of Iowa: 
 
 "In arithmetic, educators and authors seem to 
 have overlooked, to a considerable extent, that it has 
 to do with practical life, and they have taken pains 
 to puzzle, with curiously worded rules,the scholar and 
 the teacher. I agree with the course indicated in your 
 questions; and enforce them, by saying, that a child 
 well trained in addition, substraction, multiplication 
 and diyision, with a proper amount of common 
 sense, is superior as an arithmetician to the average 
 scholar trained, by our present system of teaching 
 arithmetic.” 
 
 Says Brother H. E. Huxley, Secretary of the 
 Wisconsin State Grange: 
 
 " I agree with you in every respect on the subject 
 of arithmetic. As to the number of examples in 
 our text-books, I think they should be largely in¬ 
 creased and all answers to problems should be omits 
 ted : A pupil is apt to use less reasoning when the 
 answer is before him. I also think the first four 
 fundamental principles in arithmetic ought to be 
 very thoroughly taught until perfect accuracy and 
 rapidity are acquired. Your ideas of memorizing 
 rules and definitions are I think excellent. Schol¬ 
 ars often quote long rules with no understanding of 
 the same.” 
 
 The views expressed by us to which Brother Hux¬ 
 ley refers and which he so fully endorses are indica¬ 
 ted in the following inquiries from our circular: 
 
 "In Arithmetic, should not the subjects of study be 
 limited to those in which are found, only, examples 
 of such operations as enter into the common trans¬ 
 actions of business ? 
 
 Should not the memorizing of rules and defini¬ 
 tions in arithmetic, be, for the most part, dispensed 
 with ? In lieu of such memorizing, should not a 
 thorough familiarity with practical operations be 
 taught: as a better means, 
 
 ist, Of mental discipline, and 
 
 2d, Of storing the mind with useful kqowled^q 
 
 wd experience? 
 
8 
 
 Should not the number of arithmetical exercises 
 be largely increased: 
 
 ist, As calculated to induce habits of rapidity 
 and accuracy in computations ? 
 
 2d, For the object of familiarizing the pupil with 
 the best mode of performing common practical 
 business operations?” 
 
 Says Dr. Marvin, Chancellor of the State Univer¬ 
 sity : 
 
 “ I have long held and often expressed the opin¬ 
 ion, that all of ouroommon scnooi text-books were 
 too voluminous. In arithmetic, we find the whole 
 scope of applied mathematics even to the calculus 
 of series, and computations of higher roots.—Pa¬ 
 rents purchase, and feel defrauded when teachers 
 suggest the omission of any parts of these books in 
 their course of instruction. Much in these books is 
 never applied in ordinary practice and is too care¬ 
 lessly passed over to secure any good purpose as 
 mental discipline.” 
 
 Says Prof. M. M. Campbell of the Indiana State 
 University: 
 
 “ Arithmetic too, though an essential study, might 
 well stop with fractions, provided the subject of 
 Proportion, under which falls nearly all the practi¬ 
 cal ciphering of common life, were fully mastered.” 
 
 Prest. Wm. F. Phelps, of the National Educational 
 Association, and Wisconsin State Normal School, 
 thus epitomizes his views: 
 
 “ In Arithmetic, the principal objects in the com¬ 
 mon schools should be, ist, to familiarize the pupil 
 with the power of numbers; 2d, to give facility and 
 accuracy in writing, reading, adding, subtracting, 
 multiplying and dividing them; 3d, to impart a 
 thorough knowledge and skill in handling fractions 
 and decimals; 4th, to acquaint the child with the 
 weights and measures of the country and their appli ¬ 
 cation, and with per centage and its applications 
 to the problems of daily life. Accuracy and rapid¬ 
 ity here are all important, leaving reasons to be 
 sought in the school of life by those who have the 
 capacity, dispositio'n, and leisure to pursue them.” 
 
 GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 In geography, by prevailing methods, there is 
 far too much abstract memorizing; too much 
 forced effort to load the memory with definitions 
 and descriptions so unconnected with events and 
 narrative, as that the study is divested of all interest 
 and, consequently, no lasting impressions are left 
 upon the pupil’s minds. The facts are imposed upon 
 the memory repulsively, and are therefore soon for¬ 
 gotten. Definitions of natural divisions, and long 
 descriptions of countries and their physical features 
 are required to be memorized in a manner so disso¬ 
 ciated from every thing within the pupil’s knowledge 1 
 or within the scope of his reading and conversation, 
 that no thought or consciousness is elicited that that 
 upon which the mental effort is expended has any 
 relation to the world in which we live. 
 
 We subjoin the experience and views of brother 
 C. C. Post, worthy Secretary of the Indiana State 
 Grange, given our committee on this subject. He 
 says: 
 
 ‘‘When I was 14 years old I could look on the | 
 map and tell the name of nearly every stream, lake, , 
 
 city, or mountain in the United States. Ten years 
 afterwards I only remembered such as I had con¬ 
 nected with some idea or fact. I remembered the 
 position of New Orleans because of its connection 
 with the history of the country. And I remembered 
 cities, towns and rivers in America, and Europe, and 
 Asia, not, as I verily believe, because I had learned 
 them from the map, but because I had learned to 
 connect them with some fact in history, gleaned 
 from book or newspaper that fell in my way. And 
 if I were to attempt to teach another I would select 
 for his readihg a history of the country of which I 
 wished to teach the geography, and wifh that and a 
 globe, and the newspaper, carefully selecting articles 
 descriptive of life , and chronicling passing events 
 in the country to be studied, I believe the pupil 
 would fix more firmly in his mind the geography of 
 a country in a month than he would in a year in the 
 way usually employed. He would, too, be acquir¬ 
 ing a love for study and reading. The occasional 
 searching of the map for places of which he read, 
 would give a knowledge of all countries, and the re¬ 
 lation they bear to each other,, geographically, 
 commercially and politically, and would make ?«- 
 teresting to most minds, what is generally of very 
 little interest.” 
 
 Says Prof. M. M. Campbell, late of the Indiana 
 State University : "In geography, too, too much 
 time is spent In useless details. After the grand di¬ 
 visions and great features of the earth are learned, 
 and the pupil is shown how to use his maps and 
 globes aright, he has no need to study the details 
 and minuter features pf any country but his own. 
 Should pleasure or profit lead him, in after life, to 
 travel or traffic abroad, then is the time to hunt up 
 the details in geography that he expects .to need. 
 Such details would now be forgotten and thus would 
 have to be all learned again if they had been learned 
 at school twenty years before, or even ten.” 
 
 ENGLISH GRAMMAR. LANGUAGE. 
 
 ?n respect to the study of English Grammar, the 
 methods prevailing are open to still greater objec¬ 
 tion. As taught in most of our common schools, 
 considering the time wasted, it would be better if 
 the entire study were abolished. We speak from ex¬ 
 perience and observation ;—and we appeal to your 
 experience and observation, of those of you who 
 have committed whole grammar books to memory, 
 have learned to parse 11 Milton’s Paradise Lost ” all 
 through, have learned to analyze the most com¬ 
 plicated sentences according to the modern meth¬ 
 ods, if you know of any advantage justifying the la¬ 
 bor expended in acquiring such accomplishment; 
 if that can be called an accomplishment which per¬ 
 forms no service in this busy world of ours ; which 
 he who acquires never thinks of, or hears spoken of 
 after having left the school-room in which he sought 
 to memorize it ? 
 
 The object of instruction in English Grammar 
 should be: To inculcate habitual expression in 
 speaking and writing the English language in accor¬ 
 dance with correct usage. 
 
 It is a subject of practice, and not of abstract 
 study. As men learn to plow by plowing, and 
 
women learn to make bread by kneading and baking, 
 so no one ever did or ever can learn to write the 
 language he speaks, except by writing. And he 
 cannot acquire the habit of correct speaking, 
 except by practice in speaking as others speak, who 
 speak correctly. 
 
 But the method prevailing in our schools does not 
 consist of such practice. On the contrary, it con¬ 
 sists of the memorizing of definitions, rules, excep¬ 
 tions, distinctions and formulas, without practice in 
 speaking and writing, according to correct usage : 
 without an application of that which is memorized. 
 
 Effort is made by this irrational method to have 
 whole volumes memorized by the pupil without any 
 proper ractical application, in speaking and writing 
 according to the memorized rules. As a conse¬ 
 quence, the study is as wholly void of useful results, as 
 it is void of interest to the pupils who pursue it. It 
 is indeed pursued under protest. The subject is 
 never thought of out of school except with repug¬ 
 nance. If, in after life, practice in writing is under¬ 
 taken, or if, from pride, or any other motive, effort 
 is made to correct bad habits in speaking, the rules 
 of grammar, memorized at school, have been for¬ 
 gotten, or rest so vaguely in the memory that their 
 application to the sentence or phrase in hand is be¬ 
 yond all discovery or recognition. 
 
 Systems of parsing and analysis are employed in¬ 
 volving mental ability and mental effort far above 
 the powers of pupils in these schools to master, or 
 to have have any just appreciation of To the old, 
 and sufficiently difficult and objectionable ones, new 
 systems have been supplemented, till the study has 
 really become one, more difficult of comprehension 
 than are the systems of logic employed in the col¬ 
 leges and universities. The founders of these ab¬ 
 stract, memorizing, analytical schemes for torturing 
 the brains and wearying the patience of our children, 
 seem to have projected them under the apprehension 
 that they involve a disciplinary study of considerable 
 value: that such study develops the intellectual 
 powers, sharpens the mind to criticism, and opens 
 up to the pupil the philosophy of language. But 
 this claim has no foundation, neither in fact nor in 
 philosophy. On the contrary, grammar by these 
 methods is a study hurtful to the intellect. It is a 
 study so loaded down with unapplied, and to these 
 pupils unmeaning terms, definitions, rules, excep¬ 
 tions a.id distinctions, and its facts and principles 
 are so far beyond comprehension, that it is not in 
 the least disciplinary. It involves mental toil with¬ 
 out mental appreciation to such a degree that it 
 checks mental development rather than stimulates 
 it. It is mental drudgery of a very hurtful charac¬ 
 ter, because it tends to create in the mind of the pu¬ 
 pil a distaste for all study, an aversion for the pur¬ 
 suit of all learning. The failure to comprehed and 
 retain in the memory the long list of definitions, 
 rules, excentions, distinctions and formulas brings to 
 the mind of many a child a disheartening conviction 
 of mental incapacity ; a mental sensation, a soul 
 crushing conviction, we might almost say, which no 
 school requirement should ever bring home to the 
 mind of any youthful human being. No course of 
 study should be prescribed in any school which does 
 
 not carry with it constant encouragement to the pu¬ 
 pil, which does not keep alive self-respect and self- 
 confidence, and bring home to the mind, day by 
 day, a feeling that progress is being made* that new 
 thoughts in nature have come into possession, and 
 that new powers of action are being acquired, pre. 
 paratory to the discharge of duty in the actual affairs 
 of life. 
 
 It is a little difficult to explain how this irrational 
 method of teaching grammar has come to be so 
 nearly universally prevalent. It may be said to have 
 come, however, from the combined ignorance, 
 thoughtlessness, cupidity and stupidity, of book ma¬ 
 kers, book publishers and bookish teachers* 
 
 Under the hallucination that by memorizing book- 
 made rules and formulas, correct speaking and writ¬ 
 ing can be imparted scores and scores of school 
 book authors have tried their hands at grammar mak¬ 
 ing. Almost every teacher has his favorite author 
 on this subject, and between the persistency of the 
 agents of book sellers, and the diversity of choice 
 among teachers, changes are constantly made in the 
 text book ou this subject till our houses fairly be¬ 
 come lumbered up with with rejected books on 
 English Grammar. 
 
 It is true that there arc some thinkers among the 
 authors of these books of grammar, who have made 
 their books with no intention that they should be 
 memorized, and have plainly £o said in their instruc¬ 
 tions to teachers. Such books have been made for 
 use solely as guides to practice. Yet in the hands of 
 most teachers practice is omitted, and the books are 
 required to be memorized by pupils without prac¬ 
 tice. 
 
 I hold in my hankl a book of this character, which 
 has been, as you see, worn out in memorizing. The 
 author in his suggestions to teachers plainly says: 
 
 “ Keeping in mind the main purpose of these 
 lessons, namely the teaching both of correct and 
 improved expression, and that in its immediate con¬ 
 nection with thinking the teacher will see how 
 important it is to encourage the children to speak 
 | and write with the utmost freedom. Let them 
 narrate any incident occurring in their dally expe¬ 
 rience, in their reading, or in their lessons. Let 
 them learn to use paper and pen or slate and pencil, 
 almost as readilyas they use the tongue. Let them 
 answer questions for review on any of their studies 
 in writing. Let them express their requests to the 
 teacher in a neatly written form. Let them write a 
 description of the most common occurrences —not 
 as a task, but as a pleasant way of talking silently. 
 
 The teacher should participate in these exercises, 
 entering with interest into their thoughts and feel¬ 
 ings, as the surest way to acquaint himself with their 
 scanty resources oflanguage, not forgetting that he 
 who elevates the thoughts of children is sure to ele¬ 
 vate their expressions. 
 
 In the processes of pruning and correcting let all 
 participate, remembering that what may be regard¬ 
 ed as odious criticism forms but a part of the work. 
 One may suggest a better word, another a better 
 combination, another a better arrangement, and still 
 another a more refined and elsvated turn of the 
 thought, while the teacher acts as umpire, giving 
 
10 
 
 words of commendation and encouragement, and 
 judiciously employing the assistance of the class in 
 every criticism. A general sentiment in favor of a 
 correct use of language should be encouraged 
 throughout the whole schoc 1 . It is well to put the 
 defective and the improved expressions in contrast. 
 For a time these contrasted expressions may be 
 kept in a book by each of the class. They should 
 often be put upon the blackboard. 
 
 It would seem that the use intended for this book 
 is plainly enough stated by the author. It is in¬ 
 tended simply as a guide in the hands of the teacher 
 and his pupils; to point out the applications of 
 grammar, in the practice of speaking and writing. 
 Writing is to enter into the entire school work ; 
 the pupils to "learn to use paper and pen, slate and 
 pencil almost as readily as they use the tongue.” 
 
 Yet this book was gone through with, and worn 
 out by a boy whose class was kept down to the 
 drudgery of committing the book to memory, with 
 no practice whatever in writing, and with no applL 
 cation of what was memorized to the spoken lan¬ 
 guage of the pupils, in or about the school room. 
 
 And notwithstanding the well-established fact, of 
 which I have spoken, that city schools are far in 
 advance of country schools in general educational 
 methods, I am obliged to tell you, that this book 
 was worn out in the manner in which I have ex¬ 
 plained, by use in the public schools of one of the 
 chief cities in Kansas. In the schools of that city 
 the abstract, memorizing, analytical method of 
 teaching grammar is in full blast. Four years of 
 such study are employed in the course, and pupils 
 come out of it with no more practical knowledge of 
 the use of grammar, with no better habits in speech 
 and in writing, than when they commenced the 
 study ; so far as such study has been concerned. 
 
 I call your attention to one other remark made 
 by the author of this book, in his preface. He 
 says: "It is believed that the matter contained in 
 this little volume will be sufficient for the majority 
 of pupils who take only the common English 
 branches.” 
 
 Yet, the pupils in the schools of that city, in the 
 grades below the high school, pursuing nothing but 
 the "common English branches", are put through, 
 not only this book, but through one other twice as 
 voluminous: and that too, by the same memorizing 
 method, and with results such as 1 have stated. 
 
 If such criminal waste of youthful brain force is 
 imposed by the intelligent school board and Super¬ 
 intendent, upon the children of a Kansas city of 
 the second class, how much more may we expect 
 to find defective educational methods prevailing in 
 the schools of the rural districts. 
 
 Truly we may say in the language of our brother 
 of the Iowa Western Farm Journal "our system of 
 education is too much confined to a rut.” 
 
 I will now quote some authorities on this subject. 
 
 Says the Hon. John Montieth, Supt. Pub. In¬ 
 struction of the State of Mo.: "The teaching of 
 grammar should have a better substi'ute; the pres¬ 
 ent system fails of any practical result.” 
 
 Says Prof. M. A. Newell, principal of the State 
 Normal School, Baltimore: "Among modern 
 
 writers of distinction, not one in a hundred, ever 
 
 studied English grammar as such. We learn to 
 sing by singing, and to draw by drawing, and in 
 the same way, we must be taught to speak and 
 write correctly: by speaking and writing. Text 
 books in grammar should be abolished in all grades 
 below the high school.” 
 
 Says Hon. Edgerly, Supt. of Public Instruction, 
 Manchester, N. H.. 
 
 "How vague and unsatisfactory the ideas which 
 our pupils gain from such terms as auxiliary, 
 antecedent, correlative, co-ordinate, proposition, 
 passive, impersonal, infinitive, logical, synopsis, &c.” 
 He says that more oral instruction should be given 
 and time devoted to practical exercises in compo¬ 
 sition and conversation; in learning to "speak and 
 write the language correctly.” "Our pupils must 
 be taught that it is important to acquire a good use 
 of language, and that success in business does not 
 depend entirely upon mathematical knowledge: as 
 often-times young men fail of desirable positions on 
 account of the misuse of their mother tongue. 
 
 The practical exercises in learning the correct use 
 of language should commence in the lower grades, 
 and no pupil should be led to suppose he has mas¬ 
 tered the subject because he can. repeat rules like 
 the following: "A noun or pronoun used for expla¬ 
 nation or emphasis, by being predicated of another, 
 or put in apposition with another, must be ia the 
 same case,” The system is wrong and should be 
 corrected." 
 
 Says Col. D. F. DeWolf, Supt. Pub. Instruction, 
 Sandusky, Ohio, one of the best educators in the 
 country : 
 
 "Let me also say, what I find cannot be too 
 often reiterated, that writing much in school exer¬ 
 cises, if carefuily done, affords a n.ost excellent 
 means of fixing in the mind a systematic knowl¬ 
 edge of the subject, and is the only means of learn¬ 
 ing to construct English sentences, to capitalize and 
 punctuate, and also to spell. In all German schools 
 much more use is made of the pen than in America, 
 The good results are manifest in many directions.” 
 
 The following is the Plan of instruction in the 
 Cincinnati Public Schools: I quote from a report: 
 
 "A distinguishing trait of the Cincinnati schools is 
 the prominence that language culture occupies in 
 their course of study. In arranging this course, 
 the truth lias been prominently borne in mind that 
 correct expression is not only valuable in itself, but 
 has a powerful reflex influence in promoting cor¬ 
 rect thinking. 
 
 "Having long felt that technical grammar, as 
 usually taught, is of little practical value, the com¬ 
 mittee on course of study set to work resolutely, 
 some three or four years ago, to bring about an 
 entire revolution in the method of teaching gram¬ 
 mar. Instead of reserving grammar as a study for 
 the highest grades, a course was constructed, tc be¬ 
 gin with the child's first day in school, and keep 
 him company through every grade until he reaches 
 the high school, where it is expected that rhetoric 
 and a critical study of some of the best English clas¬ 
 sics will finish the solid and symmetrical structure. 
 
 The teacher is not to aim at a recitation of gram¬ 
 matical rules and definitions, but at a ready and 
 correct <?f the language itself, tlie latter alone 
 
11 
 
 having a real and practical value in the future ca¬ 
 reer of the scholar. To this end mere technical¬ 
 ities are to be avoided as far as practicable, but 
 when used to be thoroughly explained in terms to 
 be readily comprehended by children. All text¬ 
 books are excluded from the district schools, and an 
 elaborate syllabus was prepared for the use of 
 teachers. This plan has been thoroughly tried, and 
 its success has been all that could have been ex¬ 
 pected. The knowledge gained by pupils through 
 its workings has been no heap of “dry grammat¬ 
 ical compost,” but a knowledge which has rendered 
 them more familiar* with the use of language in a 
 practical way, and which is also leading them 
 gradually up 10 an appreciation of the beauty and 
 power of the highest expression of thought. 
 
 In the primary schools, object-lessons form the 
 basis of language-lessons, the child acquiring the 
 habit of ready and correct expression as he ac¬ 
 quires the habit of observation.” 
 
 Dr. Edward Jarvis of Dorchester, Mass., con¬ 
 tributed the following to the Report of the U. S. 
 Commissioner of Education, for 182: 
 
 A sagacious teacher of a country-school required 
 each child to make or write something on a slate 
 every day—a mark, a letter, a word, sentence, or a 
 composition, according to his or her capacity. 
 One morning a girl of ten years wrote a history of 
 her journey from her home to the school-house. 
 She wrote this as rapidly as her pencil could form 
 the words, for her mind was filled with the things 
 which she had noticed on the way, and the reflec¬ 
 tions and emotions that they had excited. The 
 journey was full of interest, and observation of the 
 people, cattle, dogs, birds, insects, fields, corn, rye, 
 flowers, wagons, &c., that she had passed in the 
 few minutes’ walk from her home. 
 
 She said, coming by the grist-mill, she noticed 
 the pond, which was full the day before, was 
 now empty, although a plenty of water was 
 running through the channel, and through a sluice¬ 
 gate in the dam. She concluded that it was drawn 
 down by design. Seeing men at work with axes, 
 saws and hammers under the mill, she inferred that 
 they were repairing the water-wheel. Soon after 
 she met a farmer going toward the mill with some 
 large bags, well filled, in his wagon. She then 
 thought that he was carrying grain to the mill to 
 be ground, and felt a pity for him, as he would be 
 disappointed, for that day, at least. She carried 
 her sympathy to the farmer’s home, and hoped that 
 he had not, waited until they were out of meal, and 
 that the family would not have to wait for bread 
 until the water-wheel should be repaired. Passing 
 a house, she saw bundles of shingles in the yard, 
 and a ladder raised to the eaves; she concluded 
 that the roof was to be shingled, and, soon meeting 
 a man with a hatchet in one hand, and a box of 
 tools in the other, she supposed he was the car¬ 
 penter going to do this work on that house. 
 
 Seeing a hen in a farmer’s yard with only five 
 chickens, she remembered that she had seen six the 
 day before, and suspected that the fox, skunk, or 
 other wild animal that was supposed to have de¬ 
 stroyed some of her father’s and other neighbors’ 
 chickens, had been at work here also, and was still 
 
 too cunning to be caught in the traps that had been 
 set for it. Seeing a robin fluttering about a tree, 
 manifesting by her manner and her cries great dis¬ 
 tress, she looked under the tree and saw a cat look¬ 
 ing very intently upward; she inferred that the 
 bird had a nest with her young there, and was fearful 
 that the cat had a design to destroy them. 
 
 With these and other observations and reflec¬ 
 tions on the things and events which she had seen 
 on the way, she filled two sides of a large slate. 
 She was an observer and a reasoner. Her mind 
 and its elements had been quickened into life, and 
 had found a plenty of occupation in this simple 
 way. But another, with more torpid reasoning and 
 duller perceptions, might have passed over the 
 same road at the same time and seen little or noth¬ 
 ing. With few or no facts, and no conclusions, the 
 whole history of the journey would be that she 
 walked from home to the school. 
 
 Boys and girls who are thus educated and train¬ 
 ed to observe and reflect by the studies of the 
 school carry their power and habit of mental action 
 with them wherever they go. In the sports of 
 childhood and youth, in the various employments 
 of maturer life, whether they are laborers, farmers, 
 mechanics, or workers in any other sphere, what¬ 
 ever may be the material on which they may oper¬ 
 ate, whatever may be the changes they may desire 
 to effect, or results they may attempt to produce, 
 they enlist the co-operation of their sharpened per¬ 
 ceptions and disciplined reason in the plan and 
 performance of their undertakings.” 
 
 The following is from Hon. C. W. Van Coelln, 
 Supt. Public Instruction of Iowa, in reply to our 
 inquiries : “English Language should be studied as 
 soon as the child commences to speak, and it is 
 learned in a certain sense. When the child begins 
 to go to school, all wrong expressions and forms 
 should be corrected, not by giving reasons or rule 
 for such correction, but by simply insisting on the 
 correction. This should extend to the play-ground, 
 and, if possible, to the home. Written language 
 should be moie largely cultivated in our schools, 
 This would involve a great reform in our old sys¬ 
 tem of teaching spelling.” 
 
 J. M. McKenzie, State Supt. of Public Instruction 
 Nebraska, says : “I cannot here elaborate in 
 detail a plan that seems to me natural, rational, 
 and pleasing, as that would consume too much 
 time and perhaps not give what is desired, but I 
 may say in a word that I am heart-sick with the 
 unnatural and inverted methods generally pursued 
 in the study of language, from first to last. 
 
 There is no other study on which we spend so 
 much time with such poor results. Grammar as 
 taught, and as set forth in our text-books, should 
 have no place in our common schools; it is worse 
 than a waste of time, as generally studied ; as the 
 student is led to think himself a good grammarian 
 while in fact he is a miserable botch in the right use 
 of language.” 
 
 Says Hon. Wm. F. Phelps, President of National 
 Educational Association: “That the study of Eng¬ 
 lish grammar is irrationally and comparatively 
 speaking, unprofitably pursued, all must admit. 
 
 What we need is less grammar, and more language; 
 
 university of lumois 
 
12 
 
 less rules, definitions and analysis, and more ex¬ 
 pression at the end of the tongue and the end of the 
 pen. The art of expression should be begun and 
 continued, but not ended, with the first, and every 
 succeeding lesson upon every subject taught at school. 
 Every lesson upon every subject should be, and un¬ 
 der proper teaching will be, a language lesson, and 
 as such will aid to develop expression; a leading aim 
 of all true teaching.” 
 
 Says Prof. H. D. McCarty, late State Supt. of j 
 Public Instruction fur Kansas: “Grammar should 
 be taught orally (using slate and blackboard) for 
 one or more terms before taking the text-book in 
 technical grammar, which should be confined to 
 some primary work. I say technical grammar, for 
 I would have practical grammar taught at every step 
 of the pupil’s progress, from the time he first enters 
 school, till he leaves it altogether. I would make 
 every exercise an exercise in speaking and writing 
 the English Language correctly.” 
 
 Says Mrs. H. A. Monroe, Principal of the Atch¬ 
 ison, Kansas Institute, and an experienced examiner 
 of teachers: “Your letter received some time since 
 requested me to give some of my experiencies in 
 the deficiences of those presenting themselves to me 
 for examination as teachers or students. I find the 
 greatest lack in spelling, penmanship and language. 
 
 The old fashion of teaching spelling without 
 meanings, although far from the best way, is better 
 than not teaching it at all. We have no use for 
 words whose meanings we do not know after we 
 leave school, therefore, no student under sixteen, or 
 over six should fail to, learn less than five new words 
 with their meanings and to make sentences giving 
 the correct use of each, every day he is in attend¬ 
 ance in the public school. 
 
 Not one tn ten of those who graduate from the 
 public schools can make a correct manuscript. 
 
 1 he art of composing is almost totally neglected. 
 
 Few thoughts are available in business life that 
 cannot be clearly stated in writing, and no man can 
 excel in the professions who cannot readily express 
 himself in writing; indeed. I doubt if any one ever 
 becomes a good thinker without much composing. 
 
 Geography is entirely too much taught. 
 
 I would recommend, that in the Institutes held by 
 County Superintendents it be ascertained that each 
 teacher can express his thoughts in writings legibly, 
 correctly and fluentl., and then in turn he be re¬ 
 quired to give his students daily exercise in com¬ 
 posing, beginning with the most simple exercise, 
 and carried forward until it include business and 
 friendship letters, notes of invtation, acceptance and 
 refusal: In fact, every kind of writing that ordinarily 
 enters into daily life. 
 
 Much general information may be permanently 
 impressed on the minds of older students by a judi¬ 
 cious selection of subjects, for essays. 
 
 Take such subjects as Etiquette, Harmony of 
 Colors, Early History of Kansas, Mineral resources 
 of Kansas, &c., put an analysis of the subject on 
 the blackboard, and appoint a student to read up 
 and discuss each division of the subject before the 
 school every morning for a week, also call on others 
 beside the appointees for any information they may 
 have, and then require each student to present the 
 
 entire theme in writing, and I can scarcely see how 
 a teacher can fail to produce enthusiasm in the 
 preparation of essays. On the last two subjects 
 students will work hard for several weeks, and then 
 feel that the time is too short. After the essays 
 have been corrected by the teacher they should be 
 carefully copied into a book kept for that purpose. 
 
 We find great need of an elementary geology 
 suited for Kansas. 
 
 I would say in conclusion, that we, the teachers of 
 Kansas, are doing our best to make our work prac¬ 
 tical, to teach for life, and not for the day. and if you 
 can offer us any suggestion! that are available, 
 they will be gratefully received. 
 
 Mrs. Olive E. Stout, Supt. of Jackson County 
 says: “My observation would lead me to say that 
 pupils begin the study of Grammar at the average 
 j a je of ten years, and continue it while they attend 
 | school. But the grammars which are used are not 
 j adapted to the common schools, and the consequence 
 j is, the pupils leave school unable to speak cor¬ 
 rectly or write intelligently.” 
 
 Says Prof. B. F. Mudge: “Memorizing definitions 
 and rules is to be avoided as much as possible. But 
 the great obstacle to a reform, in this respect, is 
 found in the want of qualification in teachers. The 
 I small salaries are not sufficient to induce young men 
 j and women to go to a Normal School and take a 
 I thorough training for teachers, And until that is 
 j done we must expect them to lean much on the book. 
 
 “This is more particularly seen in teaching Eng¬ 
 lish grammar. In that branch, more than any other, 
 
 | much time is spent on formal rules and definitions. 
 
 “No branch in our schools is taught more imper¬ 
 fectly, yet if commenced in the right manner, none 
 I can be taught more easily. If the teacher 
 | would begin with the child, as soon as it is able to 
 write simple words on the slate, written exercises 
 would be easy. Every child that can write half a 
 dozen words in sucsession, should I e. required to 
 have a regular written exercise. If nothingmore.it 
 should be in the shape of a written request to be dis¬ 
 missed, half an hour before any of the other scholars. 
 This will call f >r correct grammar, including the use 
 of capitals, punctuation and spelling. Every county 
 superintendent should see that some such simple 
 exercises are practiced. Then grammar will take 
 care of itself.” 
 
 Says Prof. M. M. Campbell, of the Indiana State 
 University: “Many a man who has never committed 
 a word nor tried to learn a lesson in technical gram¬ 
 mar, has nevertheless by a large acquaintance with 
 good authors and by intercourse with good society, 
 acquired both a wide range of thought, and, through 
 insensible imitation, an almost universally correct 
 mode of expressing his thoughts. He can give you 
 no rules or reason for his modes of expression. And 
 yet they are grammatical, forcibly clear, and often 
 elegant. Now, such a man is far better educated in 
 practical grammar, though he is himself insensible of 
 it, and would probably deny it, than is the rude peda¬ 
 gogue who has memorized the whole etymology of 
 grammar, and can repeat by rote every rule of its 
 syntax, but who, in speaking always violates these, 
 rules except when, like a parrot, he is merely re¬ 
 peating the thoughts and language of some one 
 
13 
 
 else. And such pedagogues we have here, in rich(? 
 abundance.” 
 
 W. Sec., C. C. Post, of Indiana State Grange, 
 says: “The remedy would seem to be in employing 
 only teachers who make use of their knowledge in 
 their every expression and in assisting their pupils to 
 do so; not by teaching to memorize rules, but by 
 correcting ungrammatical expressions, whenever 
 and wherever they observe them in those they are 
 employed to teach. I believe that this alone would 
 be better than the present mode of teaching gram¬ 
 mar to those who are never to teach it to others 
 again.” 
 
 Says Prof. G. S. Albee, President of the State 
 Normal School, Oshkosh, Wisconsin ; “ My views 
 regarding English grammar are that it would be 
 better taught without a text-book. In its very na¬ 
 ture there is evidence that the pupil should be led to 
 examine it in a mode like unto its use . Language 
 should be taught in every branch ; every recitation 
 by vigilant regard to correctness, clearness, and di¬ 
 rectness in statement. This strict regard for good 
 language in all work will not answer in lieu of a for¬ 
 mal study of grammar, but the study of grammar will 
 have a more direct bearing upon the pupils practice 
 if the teacher is the text-book. Discard the “solemn 
 style” entirely in the common school course; take 
 every day language or selections from any reader, 
 and give abundant practice. I do not think the 
 “time spent is greater than it should be,” but that 
 the results are altogether less than they should be, 
 because of senseless memorizing of words which 
 have no application in the pupils mind.” 
 
 Says G. Sprague, Esq., editor of the Iowa Home¬ 
 stead and Western Farm Journal; "This journal 
 recently offered a prize for the best correction of a 
 purposely incorrectly written story, which was pub¬ 
 lished as written, in a recent issue. Up to this time 
 fifty answers are on file, accompanied by as many 
 efforts to correct the errors, these being from young 
 people of both sexes, from the ages of eleven to 
 eighteen years: possibly some applicants are older 
 than stated. Thus far, we find but one, out of the 
 fifty efforts made, absolutely correct, one other is 
 nearly so. Forty out of the fifty are loaded down with 
 errors. These answers are supposed to be from 
 young people who pride themselves upon their attain¬ 
 ments, and are from Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, 
 Michigan, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas.” 
 
 Does not the array of testimony here presented, 
 conclusively establishes the charge that a good-for- 
 nothing sysiem of teaching English grammar pre¬ 
 vails in most of the schools of the country. One 
 other bit of testimony may be read conclusive of the 
 fact that the teachers themselves make no better 
 application of the rules of grammar, in habitual 
 use than do the pupils whom they educate. I read 
 from the New England Journal of Education, pub¬ 
 lished in Boston. There is no better authority 
 among Educational Journals in the country. I 
 read, of date April 20th last, an editorial paragraph 
 headed, “Writing Letters;” 
 
 “Nearly all letters received at our office are writ¬ 
 ten by teachers. One would suppose that by going 
 
 through a file of our letters for a month, that there 
 would be found a collection which would excel in 
 penmanship, composition, spelling, punctuation, 
 and general appearance of neatness, any collection 
 to be found in any business house in the country. 
 We doubt if any one who preserves letters to the 
 number of 500, from as many correspondents, 
 would have a collection more inferior than one of 
 our files for a month. On an average, one letter in 
 ten received at our office has no name of the State 
 given. As to penmanship and composition, many 
 of the letters would be a disgrace to a child of ten 
 years. These may seem too hard expressions to use 
 about letters of teachers. We consider it such a 
 disgrace to any teacher not to know how to prop¬ 
 erly write a letter and superscribe it, that we feel that 
 we ought to speak plainly.” 
 
 A member of a Kansas board of examiners, one 
 of the best educators in the State, told us of an in¬ 
 cident occurring in an examination, conducted by 
 him, of a company of sixty applicants for teachers 
 certificates, a large proportion of them teachers long 
 in the seryice. He asked them to prepare a news 
 paragraph for the press. . He gave them, briefly, 
 the outlines of a murder, supposed to have taken 
 place, and directed an account of the affair to be 
 written out for the local newspaper. But two or 
 three of the whole number of sixty teachers,prepared 
 the item in such a manner as that it would be fit for 
 publication. In nearly all cases the editor would 
 have been obliged to re-write the article before put¬ 
 ting it into the hands of the compositor. 
 
 Yet these teachers had memorized their grammars 
 through and through. The editors who are obliged 
 to rewrite such paragraphs, not one half of them ever 
 looked inside of a book of grammar. They 
 have learned to write correct English by 
 practice in writing,—the only way in which any 
 body ever did learn to write crrectly. We speak from 
 long experience and association with editors of 
 newspapers when we express the opinion that not one 
 half the writers for the press in Kansas, ever studied 
 grammar at all, and not one fourth part of these who 
 did study it in their school days, derived any profit 
 from such study. 
 
 We have no prejudices on this subject, we have 
 memorized grammar, and taught it very much accor¬ 
 ding to the method wenow so emphatically condemn, 
 we have learned from observation and experience in 
 the school of life of the vexation and the utter waste 
 of precious time and of the precious brain force of 
 the children of this land in this study as it is now 
 carried on. It is an incubus upon our school sys¬ 
 tem, which should be thrown off and utterly ban¬ 
 ished. 
 
 RECAPITULATION. 
 
 It will be observed in what has been presented, 
 that the testimony introduced, with great unanimity 
 points to improvements in methods of instruction, in 
 Arithmetic, Geography, and English Grammar, such 
 as may be stated as follows: 
 
 In Arithmetic it is proposed to abandon the mem¬ 
 orizing of those numerous definitions, rules, and 
 principles, so-called, which are valueless in the ap¬ 
 plications of numbers ; and are never thought of in 
 
14 
 
 t 
 
 such applications. Instead of such memorizing, 
 practice is to be substituted;—practice, so thor¬ 
 ough that high attainments shall be made as regards 
 rapidity and accuracy in all the computations enter¬ 
 ing into ordinary affairs of business. Practice, till 
 habit shall obviate all necessity for rule. 
 
 Beyond those simple operations which enter into 
 the keeping of common accounts, the computations 
 in interest, the making of ordinary estimates, etc., all 
 else shall be left to professionals in numbers. 
 
 In Geography, it is proposed to have our children 
 taught to map their own school district their town¬ 
 ship, county, State and country; enough of this to 
 fix in their minds clearly defined descriptions of such 
 local geographical divisions ; so as to bring intelli¬ 
 gence to their newspaper and other reading; an en¬ 
 lightened sense of Jthe situations of localities in which 
 current events of their own country occur. Besides 
 this much.of local geography, just enough of the 
 mapping and study of foreign countries, as to enable 
 the pupil to refer to his maps to find the localities of 
 all impoitant events, the subjects of reading and 
 conversations, and, generally, such a handling of 
 the subject . as to habituate the pupil to the use of 
 a book of maps, which he should be taught that he 
 must take with him from school as a life companion. 
 
 In Engljsh Grammar, it is proposed to abandon 
 the whole memorizing and analytical business, and, 
 by actual practice and training in correct speaking, 
 and writing, to habituate pupils in the expression of 
 their thoughts in the English language, according to 
 good usage. 
 
 Children learn to speak the English language from 
 their mothers, Intelligent mothers teach their chil¬ 
 dren to speak correctly, by pointing out right usage 
 and pruning out vulgarisms. Transferred to the 
 school-room the teacher should, and in the new ed¬ 
 ucation will aid such intsruction in the same man¬ 
 ner and carry language study forward by pointing 
 out whatever of grammatical rule comes within the 
 comprehension of the pupil, and is applicable to the 
 practice exercises of the school-room, and to .he cor¬ 
 rection of all errors in language heard, or written in 
 or about the school-room. Thus those children 
 who do not acquire correct speech at home will fall 
 in with the current of correct speaking at school and 
 all will receive alike that culture in speech which 
 alone comes from association with those whose aim 
 is, in language as in all things else, to imitate and 
 conform to the usages of good society. 
 
 The practice of writing should enter largely into 
 the school work ; in the study of orthography, read¬ 
 ing, geography, arithmetic, as a means of engaging 
 attentien, and of inducing actual and systematic in¬ 
 dustry in the preparation of lessons, and at the same 
 time of bringing pupils into a ready skill in the use 
 of the pen and pencil, and in the execution of varied 
 forms of written composition. Writing should con¬ 
 tinue to be practiced, among advanced pupils, till an 
 ability shall be acquired to write letters, of friendship 
 and business, correctly and neatly, and to execute 
 with readiness and propriety all forms of written 
 composition which enter into the discharge of the 
 ordinary duties of life and of citizenship. This and 
 this alone is the character of instruction in English 
 grammar, suited to common school education. 
 
 THE NEW STUDIES. 
 
 Now it must be obvious to all, that the proposed 
 new system, is in a leading respect a cutting down 
 system. It will, not oniy relieve the pupils of an 
 infinite ameunt of valueless drudgery, and give thor¬ 
 oughness in practical arithmetic and geography, but 
 it will make good spellers, good readers, good wri¬ 
 ters, and correct speakers; and at the same time will 
 so cut down and shorten the entire school work in 
 these studies as to give room for other branches of 
 study, such as have relation to the occupations of 
 agriculture and other industrial pursuits. 
 
 And I now come to present to you the testimony 
 of the best thinkers and best teachers of the country 
 who have considered the subject and have had expe¬ 
 rience in such instruction, going to show that in 
 these common schools a very considerable measure 
 of instruction may bg imparted in the elemeuts of 
 the natural sciences, without in the least lessening the 
 progress of pupils in the time honored and always 
 needful branches of education, but rather increasing 
 the interest and progress in all such studies and giv¬ 
 ing additional life and zest to the whole school 
 work. 
 
 Under such instruction, farmer’s children will be 
 taught something concerning the nature and com¬ 
 position of the soil which they are to till, and of its 
 adaptation to the growing of this food plant or that. 
 They will be taught something of the formation of 
 the' rocks with which they build, and of the great 
 system of rocks with which God has constructed the 
 basis upon which the soil rests: systems too, which, 
 through the disintegration, pnlverization and com- 
 menutives brought about by the various changes 
 which the forces of nature have wrought upon 
 their substance, have contributed to, and in 
 a great measure make up, the composition 
 of the soil itself. The farmers’ children 
 will have unfolded to them the subtle laws 
 by which the plants they are to cultivate draw their 
 sustenance from the mineral kingdom, and create 
 the food upon which man and animals live. They 
 will be taught, and led te love to investigate Nature’s 
 works around them. God himself has implanted a 
 love of investigation in the natural mind. It is be¬ 
 cause their teachers, and we, their parents, are 
 ignorant of the way to direct their youthful search¬ 
 ings after Nature’s teachings that our children do 
 not grow up in continued research, and become 
 very masters of the sciences connected with agri¬ 
 culture ; the materials for the study of which are 
 everywhere spread out before them from their ear¬ 
 liest existence. 
 
 I present the following testimony on this sub¬ 
 ject: 
 
 In 1871, the State of Illinois introduced the 
 study of the natural sciences as branches of in¬ 
 struction in the common schools of the State. 
 In his Annual Report for 1872, Hon. Newton 
 Bateman, StateSupt.of Public Instruction referred 
 to this subject as follows: 
 
 THE NATURAL SCIENCES. 
 
 State Superintendent Bateman, of Illinois, in his 
 report for 1872, says: 
 
 “The law making the study of natural science a 
 
15 
 
 condition of licensure produced a great awakening 
 in the host of torpid and lethargic teachers. The 
 common-school elements of society, so to speak, 
 were profoundly stirred everywhere, and a free- 
 school revival, of extraordinary extent and power, 
 was inaugurated. From the time the new law was 
 promulgated in April last till the schools opened in 
 the autumn the whole State became, as it were, one 
 great camp of instruction. Special institutes were 
 convened for the purpose, and the annual session of 
 the State Teachers’ Institute was chiefly devoted to 
 the same work. 
 
 These new studies are in harmony with the in¬ 
 stincts and tastes of children, and awaken their in¬ 
 terest. In declaring that the elements of the natu¬ 
 ral sciences shall be taught in the public schools, the 
 legislature has recognized, and sought to utilize, the 
 fact that the senses are the pioneers of all knowl¬ 
 edge, and that their cultivation and training should 
 be made, for several years, the chief work of educa¬ 
 tion. The value of a habit of quick, sharp obser¬ 
 vation; the extent and certainty of development by 
 proper training in early youth; the impossibility of 
 fully securing it in after life, and the mariifold bene¬ 
 fits and pleasures accruing all through life from its 
 exercise, are among the forcible arguments in favor 
 of the method of primary training which, it is hoped 
 and believed, will be introduced into our schools in 
 connection with the natural sciences.” 
 
 In 1874, two years after the law went into opera¬ 
 tion in Illinois, the State Superintendent called on 
 the County Superintendents to state in their reports 
 for that year their observations as to the workings of 
 the new studies. Of the fiftyseight County Super¬ 
 intendents reporting, forty-seven responded favor¬ 
 ably, in most cases giving very decided expression 
 as to the good results. The following from the re¬ 
 port of the Superintendent of Grundy county is an 
 example: 
 
 “I have no doubt of the beneficial effects of the 
 law requiring these branches. Teachers are stimu¬ 
 lated to a higher effort and a more thorough prep¬ 
 aration. As the “new branches” must be taught, 
 chiefly orally, and in the most elementary way, for 
 the present, the work of the school room requires 
 more study and greater activity on the part of in¬ 
 structors; the minds of the pupils are aroused and 
 excited to intenser diligence, the time is better occu¬ 
 pied, discipline is more easily maintained, better 
 work is reached in the common branches, besides 
 the elementary knowledge obtained of the natural 
 sciences. The schools assume a healthier condi¬ 
 tion.” 
 
 Says Hon. Thos. W. Harvey, State Superintend- 3 
 ent of Public Instruction of Ohio, in his annual 
 report for 1873: 
 
 “The authors of our public school system un¬ 
 doubtedly thought that our schools ought to furnish 
 such an education as would enable the youth of the 
 country to act intelligently as citizens, to fill places 
 of trust and responsibility, and to transact the ordi¬ 
 nary business of life readily and accurately. From 
 the fact that they made adequate provision for the 
 establishment and maintenance of schools of a 
 higher grade than the common or primary school, it 
 is inferred that they fully appreciated the value and 
 
 importance of liberal culture, and that they consid¬ 
 ered the encouragement and support of all practica¬ 
 ble schemes tor the dissemination of knowledge 
 among the people a proper function of government. 
 
 “A practical knowledge of the so-called common 
 branches can be obtained by the average pupil be¬ 
 fore he ought to be removed from school and its 
 restraining influences. Hence, in our best schools 
 some provision is made for instruction in other 
 branches. Oral lessons in botany, chemistry, phys¬ 
 ics, &c., are now given in the lower departments of 
 most of our graded schools. Being continued 
 through successive years, they afford opportunity 
 for teaching many things of great practical value to 
 the farmer, mechanic and business man, of which 
 pupils unable to complete a high school course of 
 study might otherwise remain ignorant. Instruction 
 of this kind ought to be given in every school in the 
 State. The unwisely conservative, who cling with 
 such tenacity to the ‘good old ways,’ should remem¬ 
 ber that progress pays no respect whatever to myths 
 and traditions. While thought is reforming abuses 
 in government, sweeping away antiquated systems 
 that have outlived their usefulness, and science is 
 revolutionizing the industries of the world, it is not 
 probable that the ’school room, with its traditional 
 methods of instruction and managment, will be let 
 alone.” 
 
 Says Hon. Newton Bateman, State Superintendent 
 of Illinois, in his report for 1874. 
 
 “It is remarked with emphasis that the time for 
 the study of the elements of natural science may be 
 secured by a thorough revision of the old seven 
 branch course of common school studies. Not 
 more than one or two of them can be dispensed 
 with, and not one of them need be, in order to make 
 room for the new studies. How, then, is the neces¬ 
 sary time to be gained for the elements of natural 
 science? By eliminating or discarding all useless or 
 superfluous matter from the text -books, and thereby 
 saving waited time. This, with improved methods 
 of teaching, will effectually solve the problem.” 
 
 “Says Hon. EzraS. Carr, State Superintendent of 
 Public Instruction of California, and who is a zeal¬ 
 ous member of the Patrons of Husbandry: 
 
 “I am with you heartily in every word expressed 
 in your excellent circular. For the last thirty years 
 I have been urging these things in higher and lower 
 schools, and I have great hope that the unanimous 
 effects of the grange will result in a reform. 
 
 “Four years ago, the State Grange of California 
 took action upon the subject of education and labor. 
 We have a standing committee on this subject, and in 
 connection with their first report the following 
 among other resolutions were adopted. 
 
 Resolved: That it is the opinion of the State 
 Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry that all our 
 public institutions from the private school to the 
 University should be developed in the direction 
 of practical and technical education. 
 
 Resolved: That to this end elementary studies 
 in botany and other branches of natural history, in 
 their relations to agriculture and horticulture should 
 be introduced into our district schools.” 
 
 President G. S. Albee, of the Wisconsin State 
 Normal School at Oshkosh, says; 
 
16 
 
 “Of all classes of the community, the farmer 
 should be best informed regarding the natural sci¬ 
 ences. No other industry calls for such varied and 
 exact knowledge of nature’s laws. No person can 
 claim to be a “good citizen” unless he understands 
 and obeys the laws of health; hence all classes of 
 pupils should be trained in Physiology. That far¬ 
 mer who twenty years hence is ignorant of the chem¬ 
 istry of soils and grains, and of the habits of plants 
 and such animals as are a help or a hindrance to 
 their successful growth, will find himself pushed to 
 the wall. While experience and thought, quickened 
 by interest, may do much, still every farmer finds 
 much in his agricultural paper that is unintelligible 
 unless he is trained in the rudiments of natural sci¬ 
 ence. As to the feasibility of obtaining even a tol¬ 
 erable basis of knowledge in several of these, during 
 a common school course, I have grave doubts un¬ 
 less two conditions are complied with; first, that a 
 recitation room be attached to each school building, 
 in which the younger pupils may be taught by one 
 or more of the older pupils under the direction of 
 the teacher; thus giving the trained teacher oppor* 
 tunity to impart the higher knowledge; second, that 
 teachers thoroughly educated in these branches be 
 employed for the purpose. By “thoroughly educa¬ 
 ted” is not meant, necessarily, a graduate of a tech¬ 
 nical school, but one who has an experimental 
 knowledge rather than a cursory knowledge of the 
 literature of science. In Europe, France in partic¬ 
 ular,all rural (district) schools have a piece of ground 
 tilled by the teacher and pupils as an “experimental 
 farm” on a small scale, and the agricultural and 
 horticultural societies of the neighborhood unite 
 with them in observation and suggestion. In this 
 country, as wages in other employments range, a 
 teacher, fit to teach a common school of the kind 
 needed, will command $100 a month; but it would 
 be the best investment a father ever made for his 
 children, that, instead of error and dislike of 
 study being implanted, fruitful truths may be sown 
 which will certainly bear perennial harvests. 
 
 ‘'One of the sad features of society, to-day, is the 
 large number of farmers who are leaving their 
 homes, and, abandoning the employment which has 
 taken the best part of their lives to learn, removing 
 to some town “to educate their children.” If they 
 were wise they would bring talent and culture into 
 the district by the payment of liberal salaries, and 
 stay in the home endeared by the interests and 
 memories of a score of years by-gone, remain at the 
 work for which they have become fitted. 
 
 “I trust that your order may induce a wiser course 
 in this all important matter, and inaugurate meas¬ 
 ures that the entire West will gladly adopt.” 
 
 Hon. C. W. Van Coelln, State Superintendent of 
 Public Instruction of the State of Iowa, says: 
 
 “The development of the power to express thought 
 is closely connected with instruction in the elements 
 of natural science and history, including the civil 
 institutions of the country. This instruction should 
 be given orally, and to a great extent be the result 
 of the observation of the children. The observa¬ 
 tions thus obtained should be reduced to writing, 
 and a composition would be the result. 
 
 “All the scholars in our public schools should be 
 
 taught to keep accounts, in a simple but correct 
 way, and they should also be taught correct forms 
 for all business papers, and how to write business 
 letters. 
 
 “For purposes of use as well as entertainment, 
 drawing and vocal music should be taught in our 
 schools. Vocal music may not be worth as much 
 in dollars and cents as drawing, but it is recognized 
 now as an acquirement without which society would 
 lose some of its greatest attractions.” 
 
 Prof. M. M. Campbell, of the Indiana State Uni¬ 
 versity. says: 
 
 “And now, with competent teachers, and with 
 improved modes of teaching, I fully believe that all 
 these common branches can be as well taught as 
 heretofore, and even better, and yet time enough 
 saved, especially from the speller, the grammar and 
 the geography, to learn music and to make some 
 progress in botany, geology, natural history, ento¬ 
 mology, &c., one or all of them. And with nature, 
 and a ready field of observation all around him, and 
 ever forcing its facts upon his view, a very slight 
 start in any of these interesting and most practical 
 studies would suffice to develop many a gifted Au¬ 
 dubon or Agassiz.” 
 
 Says Prof. A. O. Wright, Principal of Monticello 
 Academy, Florida, to whom was referred our circus 
 lar of inquiries addressed to Brother Geo. W. Tays 
 lor, Worthy Master of the Florida State Grange: 
 
 “Too much time is wasted in the subdivisions 
 above alluded to, in many schools, which, in my 
 school, is devoted to bookkeeping, drawing, and to 
 the general principles of the natural sciences; ever 
 keeping in view those facts, which will be of future 
 service to the young agriculturist and mechanic. 
 
 “I take several approved periodicals for my school, 
 among them I mention the Scientific American.” * 
 
 Says President Wm. M. F. Phelps: 
 
 “Next in importance to the preparatory discipline 
 resulting from a careful and thorough teaching of 
 reading, writing, the elements of drawing, arithmes 
 tic, the English language, the geography and history 
 of our own country, with their immediate connec¬ 
 tions, must be ranked the elements of those physi¬ 
 cal and natural sciences upon which the great indus¬ 
 tries of life depend. That the industrial classes 
 should thoroughly understand their business, is a 
 proposition admitting of no dispute. That a proper 
 understanding of the pursuits by which they live, 
 demands a mastery of the elements of the sciences 
 is equally evident. Some of the leading facts of 
 these brances may be, and should be incidentally in¬ 
 troduced into the preparatory course hereinbefore 
 suggested, to the end that a taste for the study of 
 nature may be fostered and strengthened, and a rea¬ 
 sonable guarantee afforded that their further pursuit 
 may become a part of the life study of the future. 
 That such a plan alone is feasible in a great majoris 
 ty of cases must be evident from a consideration of 
 the limited duration of the school period already re¬ 
 ferred to, and conclusively shown by your investi¬ 
 gation. It is true however that if we can secure to 
 the masses of our children the very best style of 
 teaching during the first two or three years of school 
 life, we shall greatly increase their capacity and their 
 desire to learn, and thus lead many of them to seek 
 
17 , 
 
 more extended school privileges, as well as to en¬ 
 large their knowledge by private study amid the 
 pursuits of active life. For this class, the higher 
 grades of schools will be open, and in these the 
 courses of study should be wisely adapted to their 
 future callings as constituents of the industrial class- 
 es. In fact, the grand principle which should gov¬ 
 ern the choice of studies in all our institutions of 
 learning should be their adaptation to the wants of 
 the many, rather than of the few. So far as the 
 needs of all classes can be met in one and the same 
 course let that course be so adjusted. But if a 
 choice must be made let it be made in favor of the 
 industrial classes, the bone and sinew of the coun¬ 
 try.” 
 
 Hon. John Fraser, State Superintendent for Kan¬ 
 sas, in his annual report for 1875, says: 
 
 "A knowledge of the elements of the sciences 
 which, during the last quarter of a century, have 
 wrought wonderful changes in the processes and 
 products of the world’s industries, is daily more and 
 more widely, felt, even by the masses, to be necessa- 
 ry to enable youth to meet intelligently and success¬ 
 fully the requirements of industrial life; and indeed, 
 it may be added, of every condition of life. The els 
 ements of at least some one of these sciences have 
 been, for years past, taught in many of the common 
 schools of our State. Many of the applications of 
 these sciences so intimately and widely affect every 
 day life, that a knowledge of their principles is rap¬ 
 idly receiving recognition as an essential part of a 
 good common education.” 
 
 F. H. Snow, Professor of Natural Science in the 
 University of Kansas, says: 
 
 “It seems to me that there should be a radical 
 change in our methods of instruction for children 
 between the ages of five and fifteen. They should 
 no longer be required to devote their chief attention 
 to the memorizing of abstract rules in arithmetic and 
 grammar and of unimportant geographical facts, 
 The time now squandered in this way should be de¬ 
 voted to studies which, not only furnish a valuable 
 training to the power of observation but also impart 
 information of great practical value to the masses of 
 our people. A knowledge of the structure and hab¬ 
 its of plants, insects, birds and other animals, should, 
 in my opinion, be communicated in every school 
 room, and may be communicated not only without 
 weakening our educational system, but with the imx 
 portant result of immeasurably increasing its strength 
 and efficiency.” 
 
 Says Dr. Jas. Marvin, Chancellor of the Kansas 
 State University: 
 
 ‘‘The elements of natural science are demanding, 
 rightfully, more attention. Our State is emphatical¬ 
 ly agricultural. The popular drift of education will 
 be in that direction. This will require careful mans 
 agement lest it should run to an extreme and our 
 people conclude that all education worth having by 
 farmers must be especially adapted for farmers. Stu¬ 
 dents in the rural districts will be induced to study 
 Botany and Natural Philosophy so as to apply them 
 more readily than city pupils. But the interest in 
 such studies as subjects of thought is often in favor 
 of the student pent within city walls.” 
 
 Prof. Wm. K. Kedzie, of the Kansas State Agri¬ 
 cultural College, says; 
 
 “ I am especially interested in the work of your 
 committee, because it looks to the introduction of 
 elementary scientific studies into our schools; which 
 seems to me from every point of view most desira¬ 
 ble. When we consider how small a percentage of 
 the school children of the State ever go beyond the 
 common school, it seems emphatically wrong to de¬ 
 ny them the means of becoming familiar with, at 
 least the elementary principles of those sciences 
 which would add zest and enjoyment to their school 
 days, and contribute so much toward making them 
 intelligent men and women in after life. 
 
 ‘‘But in all these changes and improvements great 
 care should be taken to impress upon all concerned 
 that thoroughness—both in instruction and study, is 
 the one thing needful, both to teacher and student. 
 
 ‘‘My little text-book upon Agricultural Geology 
 is now ready for the press.” 
 
 A step was taken by the Kansas Legislature at its 
 last session, towards bringing into our schools, in¬ 
 struction in some of the branches in natural science, 
 and also in those useful branches,—U. S. History, 
 industrial drawing and book-keeping. The new law 
 awards an additional year’s certificate to such teach¬ 
 ers as may exhibit qualifications to teach the new 
 branches. 
 
 The law prior to the act of 1876 provided for the 
 issuing of certificates of qualification to continue in 
 force for one year only, and required an examina¬ 
 tion in the following branches only: Orthography, 
 reading, writing, English grammar, geography and 
 arithmetic. 
 
 The act of 1876 authorizes boards of examiners to 
 issue certificates to hold for two years, in cases where 
 applicants exhibit qualifications to teach, in addition 
 to the branches mentioned above, the following: “U. 
 S. History, Book-keeping, industrial drawing, the 
 elements of entomology, the elements of botany, 
 and the elements of geology so far as relates to the 
 manner of formation of soils and their adaptation to 
 purposes of production.” 
 
 We are able to state that this change in the law is 
 generally well received by teachers, some of whom 
 in most of the counties have set about the work of 
 studying and teaching the new branches. In most 
 f the teachers’s institutes, required by law to be 
 held in every county, instruction in these branches 
 has been sought for and provided. The educators 
 of the State have accepted the law as a definite es¬ 
 tablishment of an educational policy. It has led to 
 a movement which is already bringing a manifest 
 new life and vigor to the common school work in 
 Kansas. 
 
 As has been shown elsewhere, State Superinten¬ 
 dent, John Fraser, in his annual report tor 1875 
 recommended the introduction of the natural 
 sciences as branches of instruction to be required 
 to be taught in the common schools ef the_ State. 
 
 The particular provision which was incorporated 
 in the law and which I have explained, was framed 
 by the Grange Committee on Education; and by the 
 co-operation of Superintendent Fraser and other 
 influential educators, and by the very effective aid 
 of members of the Grange in the legislature its pass¬ 
 age was secured. 
 
 RECOMMENDATIONS. 
 
 The recommendations of your committee, in re- 
 
18 
 
 spect to courses of study in the common schools, 
 are: 
 
 That instruction be required, of the most thor¬ 
 ough character in those portions of the old studies 
 useful and necessary to all classes. It is recommen¬ 
 ded that portions of the old studies which have come 
 into the schools under the plea for mental discipline, 
 and which could never have had any higher claim 
 for - consideration than that they are disciplinary, 
 should be discarded: and, in lieu tnereof, that there 
 shall be employed studies calculated to impart 
 knowledge respecting those things which enter into 
 the common affairs of life;—into the business and 
 the pleasures of life: studies which explain the ob- 
 jects with which we are surrounded, which explain 
 the laws of plant and animal life and growth, which 
 explain the insects and the flowers, the rocks and 
 the soils, the birds and the fishes, the water and the 
 air, the clouds and the sunlight, the stars and, I 
 might almost say, which explain the great Creator 
 himself, who made all these things for man’s use, for 
 his study, contemplation and enjoyment. In place 
 of the dry and soulless discipline of old abstractions, 
 it is proposed to supply the study of those things 
 which awaken thought, inspire a love of nature and 
 lead the minds of our children up to a contempla¬ 
 tion of the greatness and wisdom and goodness of 
 creative power. 
 
 HOW TO BE BROUGHT ABOUT. 
 
 Now as to how these changes are to be accom¬ 
 plished. How is the Grange to perform its part 
 in the work of inducing the needed changes? Here 
 is the practical question for our consideration. 
 
 The members of the order must consider and aps 
 prove a policy of action, and then by all just means 
 in their power seek to make such action effective. 
 
 Let us first go home to our own neighborhoods 
 and our school districts, where our teachers obtain 
 their qualifications,—three-fourths at least of all the 
 teachers,—in the very schools where we find the 
 methods and courses of instruction which we con¬ 
 demn. We find there advanced pupils, and bright 
 ones, approaching manhood, and womanhood, aspi¬ 
 ring to become teachers. We must, by legislative 
 action, such as we, who have eight-tenths of the vot¬ 
 ing power in the State can influence and bring 
 about, institute measures to directly improve these 
 schools. Legislative action may be secured by 
 which the State, through its Superintendent of Pub¬ 
 lic Instruction, or State Board of Education, or by 
 direct legal prescription, may establish courses of 
 study, and place a limit upon instruction in the com¬ 
 mon branches, in the primary classes, so as to ad¬ 
 mit of thoroughness in essential portions, and at 
 the same time to give room for elementary instruc¬ 
 tion in new branches. 
 
 COUNTRY HIGH SCHOOLS. 
 
 But at best these district schools will afford poor 
 facilities for advanced pupils preparing to become 
 teachers. Country High Schools must be provided 
 for the needs of those advanced pupils who are to 
 become teachers, and indeed for the needs of all the 
 children in the country, who aieto receive a good 
 education; such an education as the State has under¬ 
 taken to give every child,—and such as is afforded 
 
 to those in the city, but which is absolutely withheld 
 from those in the country. 
 
 It is impossible that, at the very best the primary 
 district schools should give that breadth of educa¬ 
 tion, that culture and discipline of mind, which is 
 so important as a ground work of education for ev¬ 
 ery young person who is to enter upon a prepara¬ 
 tion for the important duties of school teacher, or of 
 the higher duties of citizenship. 
 
 Let us now take a more particular look into one 
 of these district schools and see how poor are the 
 facilities there given for the education of school 
 teachers. 
 
 The law admits all the youth between the ages of 
 six and twenty-one years, and during part of the 
 year, at least, nearly all are in attendance. Little 
 fellows who have just touched the line of eligibility 
 are there, for the first time, with their primers and 
 spelling books, intent upon mastering the mysteries 
 of the alphabet. There, too, are young men and 
 misses, for the last time, having traversed agairf and 
 again the advanced ground of the scanty curriculum, 
 yet hoping to gather up some additional crumbs of 
 knowledge before saying good bye to school. Be¬ 
 tween these extremes are all the gradations of age, 
 aptitude and attainment—the dull and the bright, 
 the fast and the slow, the gentle and the rough, the 
 strong and the weak—all to be instructed and cared 
 for, in innumerable ways, by the one teacher. He 
 does the best he can. If he can find four or five 
 near enough together in knowledge and capacity to 
 be formed into a class in any one of the branches 
 taught, he is glad to do it. And so of still smaller 
 numbers, down to even two. But after exhausting 
 all possibilities in this direction, he finds that the re¬ 
 maining number of individual ones, exceeds the 
 whole number of his classes. To each of these indi- 
 yidual pupils he must give such occasional and hur¬ 
 ried assistance as he can. He works hard, but at a 
 fearful disadvantage. Systematic teaching is out of 
 the question—concentration of effort is impossible. 
 He has but single minutes where he should have 
 five, ten or fifteen—but seconds often, where he 
 should have minutes. Instead of that smooth, quiet 
 and sequential movement of school life and work 
 which, reacting, produces mental tranquility and 
 steadiness in the pupils, there is confusion, hurry, 
 disorder, friction. No fixed time-table or schedule 
 of school exercises is possible—no pupil knows 
 just when he will be called upon to recite, or when 
 he can have needful assistance. The order of work 
 is never the same for two consecutive days unless by 
 chance—cannot be. Individual pupils often go, in 
 emergencies, a whole day or more without being 
 able to secure a moment's attention from the teach¬ 
 er, and in the meantime they may be at a standstill 
 for lack of light upon some obscure point in the les¬ 
 son, or a hint of the way out of some tangle, or over 
 some obstacle. And when the favorable moment 
 for explanation comes, the teacher may be called 
 away just at the critical point where a few words 
 more would make everything clear. Discontent, 
 listlessness, loss of interest, indifference, inevitably 
 ensue. The tone of the school is lowered; a sort of 
 weary spiritlessness settles down upon it; duties are 
 performed in a careless mechanical way, and the 
 
19 
 
 hours drag heavily on. There is nothing beyond, no 
 other school to go to, no outside incentive to effort, 
 no fresh breeze from any quarter to stir the surface 
 of the sluggish waters. 
 
 An existing provision in the laws of Kansas, acts 
 of 1876, chapter 7, sec. I, provides for union or gras 
 ded school districts; as follows: “Whenever the ins 
 habitants of two or more school districts, [or an en-> 
 tire township, or even more] may wish to unite for 
 the purpose of establishing a graded school in which 
 instruction shall be given in the higher branches of 
 education, the clerks of the several districts shall, nps 
 on a written application of five voters of the respec^ 
 tive districts, call a meeting of the voters of such 
 districts, at some convenient place, by posting up- 
 written notices thereof, in like manner as provided 
 for calling district meetings; and if a majority of the 
 voters of the two or more districts shall vote to unite 
 for the purpose herein stated, they shall, at that 
 meeting or at an adjourned meeting, elect a board 
 of directors, consisting of a director, clerk and treass 
 urer.’’ 
 
 COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Other sections of th§ law provide for a distribu¬ 
 tion of school monies to such country high schools, 
 and for their general management. 
 
 Now let a good country high school, such as is 
 contemplated in this law, with fresh and advanced 
 studies, superior teachers, improved methods, regu¬ 
 lar classes, progressive steps, and thorough and sys¬ 
 tematic instruction, be opened in a township, and 
 what a transformation would be wrought in those 
 sluggish schools. What an awakening and quick¬ 
 ening breath would reanimate those tired and torpid 
 boys and girls. There if something to work for now, 
 an qbjective point to be gained, a prize to be reach¬ 
 ed. The high school becomes a topic of absorbing 
 interest to all who expect to continue their studies, 
 and their enthusiasm, is communicated to all the 
 rest. The new school, its teachers, classes, disci¬ 
 pline and internal arrangements, are eagerly dis¬ 
 cussed, morning, noon and evening; and especially 
 the conditions of admission and the chances of suc¬ 
 cess. Those who are to go to the high school be¬ 
 gin at once, with zest and spirit, the work of prepar¬ 
 ation for the examinations that will crown or disap¬ 
 point their hopes. Early and late they are at their 
 books, which are suddenly invested with a new in¬ 
 terest and importance. .As the decisive day ap¬ 
 proaches, knots of boys and bevies of girls gather in 
 all sorts of out-of-the-way places, to review the sub¬ 
 jects on which they are to be examined—each in turn 
 questioning the others thereon. Those district 
 schools, lately so dull, glow with healthful excite¬ 
 ment, and become very bee-hives of industry. Those 
 who pass to the high school add to the interest al¬ 
 ready awakened, by their stirring accounts of their 
 new duties and experiences. Meeting daily with the 
 pupils of the lower schools, they answer innumera¬ 
 ble questions, and seek to satisfy the tireless curiosity 
 of their less fortunate companions. Strong bonds of 
 friendship are thus established between the schools, 
 and good feeling prevails on every hand. Such as 
 failed at the first examination try again, and many 
 who had expected their days of pupilage to end with 
 the common school, are induced, by the contagion of 
 
 example, to reconsider their purpose, and press on 
 towards the high school. Thus is the whole aspect 
 of school affairs in the township changed for the 
 better. 
 
 . The provision of our law for union, graded, or 
 township high schools, has thus far been inopera¬ 
 tive ; doubtless, mainly because of the additional 
 expenses attending the establishment and keeping up 
 of such schools. The present sparse population of 
 large portions of the State has made such schools im¬ 
 practicable in those portions of the State. But in 
 the older sections, the establishment of such schools 
 would be practicable; and, where established, the 
 State should bear a portion of the burden of sustain¬ 
 ing them. The State should encourage the form¬ 
 ing of such schools, by paying a certain per centage 
 of the cost additional to that allowed the same school 
 population not establishing such schools. Such pre¬ 
 mium should be confined solely to country high 
 schools ; or possibly might be allowed to include 
 small towns, below the rank of cities of the second 
 class; which might b,e made the nuclii of such high 
 school districts. 
 
 If it is objected that such would be an unequal ap - 
 plication of the State school funds to the people of 
 the State, it must be remembered that exact equality 
 in benefits derived from the distribution of these 
 funds is impossible. Every dollar of public money 
 now employed in sustaining city graded schools has 
 three times the educational power of the same money 
 expended in ungraded country district schools. The 
 State is under obligation to do something towards an 
 equal distribution of educational advantages. 
 
 One of the direct results of country high schools, 
 one of the first and best to be noticed, is the imme¬ 
 diate relief afforded to the district schools. The 
 high school pupils are of course drawn from the dis¬ 
 trict schools of the townships, and the attendance in 
 the latter is reduced accordingly. This reduction 
 will, in many instances, enable the people to discon¬ 
 tinue one or more of the district schools, thereby, ma¬ 
 terially diminishing the expense. In fact,such will be 
 the general effect, when the readjustment of districts 
 consequent upon the establishment of the high 
 school, is fully accomplished ; so that the aggregate 
 expense teethe townships having high schools will 
 not in the end, be materially greater than it was be¬ 
 fore. But whether the number of lower schools is 
 reduced or not, the withdrawal to the high school of 
 all the more advanced scholars will at once dimin¬ 
 ish the number of classes and of unclassified pupils 
 in the several district schools, and thus very greatly 
 lessen the burdens of the respective teachers and im¬ 
 prove the efficiency of their schopls. The remaining 
 pupils may, to a great extent, be formed into classes 
 securing in part, at least, the benefits of the graded 
 system. 
 
 But the chief and crowning benefit of a free 
 country high school would be that it would bring 
 the means of an advanced education to the very 
 doors as it were, of every farmer in the State. It 
 would obviate the expense and the risk of sending 
 to distant places those sons and daughters who hun¬ 
 ger and thirst for what the common district school 
 can not give them. At home, the best and safest 
 place on earth for our boys and girls, under the 
 
20 
 
 watchful guardianship of parents and friends, sur¬ 
 rounded by helpful and wholesome influences, they 
 may quietly and happily pursue their studies, till, 
 fitted, by thoughtful habits and enlarged intelligence, 
 either to take their places in the industrial walks of 
 life, or to enter still higher institutions of learning, 
 as inclination or circumstances may suggest, or to 
 take their places in the army of district school 
 teachers; now so sadly in need of recruits from 
 schools of a better training than those which at 
 present furnish most of our country teachers. 
 
 COUNTY NORMAL INSTITUTES. 
 
 It is obvious that the most important reform to be 
 brought about in our common school system, must 
 be through the education of our teachers, in respect 
 to their duties as instructors. Besides having a bet¬ 
 ter ground work of education given them than that 
 now afforded in our poorly taught country schools, 
 they must be educated in improved methods of im¬ 
 parting instruction, and thoroughly imbued with an 
 understanding of the character of instruction adapted 
 to the wants of industrial people. The State must 
 set in operation a thorough system of normal in¬ 
 struction, which shall reach, in its benefits, every 
 portion of the State. 
 
 The most feasible means of distributing normal 
 education, in an equitable manner, over the whole 
 State, is through the encouragement, by the State, 
 of county normal institutes. Such institutes, as 
 now established by law in this State, have proven a 
 valuable means of qualifying teachers,and of prompt¬ 
 ing them to strive to excel in qualifications. The 
 law provides that teachfrs institutes shall be held by 
 the State Superintendent, annually in every judicial 
 district; making fifteen such institutes in all. Be¬ 
 sides this, the county superintendents are required, 
 in the more populous counties, to hold such insti¬ 
 tutes annually. These institutes, many of them, are 
 held, as the law provides, usually extending through 
 a session of one week. Such short sessions, however, 
 accomplish comparatively, but little good. Attend¬ 
 ants scarcely get down to work in so short a time. 
 There is a sad lack of competent instructors, too, in 
 these institutes. The State should provide for pay¬ 
 ment of the services of competent instructors in 
 these teachers institutes; and should provide for 
 sessions of several weeks duration. In quite a num¬ 
 ber of the counties, during the past year, sessions 
 have been voluntarily held, through a period of one 
 or two months. 
 
 The small contribution which would be required 
 to be made by the State to provide competent in¬ 
 structors in these institutes would lead to their being 
 very generally held in all the counties. Such aid 
 need scarcely incur an expense to the State greater 
 in the aggregate, than that required for the support 
 of one or two normal schools. Money expended in 
 this way would very effectively distribute normal ed¬ 
 ucation over the whole State. 
 
 Instructors in such institutes, to entitle them to 
 compensation from the State, should be properly ac¬ 
 credited as to their qualifications as instructors of 
 teachers. This should be attended to through State 
 supervision. The State should have it in its depart¬ 
 ment of public instruction a sufficient working force 
 to effect a complete supervision of normal institute 
 
 work throughout Ihe State ; to organize normal in¬ 
 stitutes and approve competent instructors and to 
 superintend the work of county superintendents, so 
 far at least as relates to their duties as visitors of 
 schools and their competency as managers of nor¬ 
 mal institutes. 
 
 Says Bro. Stephen M. Wood, a member of our 
 educational commmittee, on this subject: 
 
 “I think we should have county institutes, lasting 
 from one to four weeks,' for the training of actual 
 teachers; and that to make them effective, certifi¬ 
 cates should be given only to those who had attend¬ 
 ed a certain length of time. Probably the better 
 plan would be to make the institute the examination, 
 and combine the two. 
 
 Let the county employ competent instructors. 
 The expense would be light, and the benefit gen¬ 
 eral. I would suggest this in lieu of all of our high 
 toned State Institutions. 
 
 In our Elmdale school we have forty-five scholars, 
 of all ages, and a young lady teacher. The school 
 is graded into three grades. And of the more ad¬ 
 vanced scholars, she has taken some six aspirants that 
 hear the classes in the primary and intermediate 
 grades, thus benefitting them and relieving her. 
 
 She has her spelling class made up of eight and 
 ten years old children, to write their spelling lessons, 
 putting your ideas into practical use. 
 
 A history class of larger scholars are required to 
 write out a synopsis of some subject; again working 
 out your ideas as to practice in writing and com¬ 
 posing. Our school is really run on advanced 
 principles : and any school ip the State might be, if 
 we had some system like county institutes to train 
 teachers.” 
 
 A County Normal Institute system has been well 
 matured in the State of Iowa, and the State super¬ 
 intendents, and the best educational workers gener¬ 
 ally, declare that experience has proven that these 
 institutes afford the best of all means for the diffu¬ 
 sion of effective normal instruction over the whole 
 State. The State contributes to their support, pre¬ 
 scribes courses of instruction, and takes general su¬ 
 pervision. 
 
 As early as 1863, the Secretary of the State Board 
 of Education said : “We know of no other agency 
 that can reach so many teachers with so little ex¬ 
 pense to the State and so great profit to the people. 
 Of the 8,500 teachers in the State, more than one 
 half have attended teachers institutes during the past 
 two years. 
 
 During i874,normal Institutes were held in eighty- 
 nine counties in that State. Thirty-five of them 
 continued four weeks ; 26, three weeks; 20, two 
 weeks, and eight one week. 
 
 In his report for 1875, the State Superintendent 
 says: “Judging from a large number visited, and 
 from the reports which have been received from all, 
 it is safe to say that these normal institutes have 
 awakened much enthusiasm among teachers, and 
 given a great impetus to the school work in the 
 State.” 
 
 Says Hon. C. W. Van Coelln, in a letter to our 
 committee referring to the working of these institutes 
 for 1876 : 
 
 “Ninety eight institutes were held during the year, 
 
21 
 
 only one county failing to hold one. About 9,500 
 teachers were iti attendance and $27,000 were ex¬ 
 pended; less than $3 per head. The State paid 
 $50 to each institute, or $4,900 to all, while the teach¬ 
 ers contributed nearly all the rest. A few counties 
 aided with small sums. I agree with my predeces¬ 
 sor that in most instances great good was accom¬ 
 plished.” 
 
 NORMAL SCHOOLS. 
 
 The State, under constitutional provision, has es¬ 
 tablished a normal department in connection with 
 the State University at Lawrence. At large expense 
 it has erected a normal school building at Emporia, 
 and has set apart a landed endowment for the sup¬ 
 port of a normal school,which has for years occupied 
 the building, and was supported directly by the 
 State, the land remaining unsold. 
 
 Normal schools, as hitherto conducted, have been 
 essentially local in their benefits. Fifty-five per 
 cent, of the students attending them have come from 
 the counties in which the schools have been located; 
 and nearly all of the remainder from adjacent coun¬ 
 ties. Circumstances of a pecuniary nature easily ex¬ 
 plain this fact. The problem of so organizing these 
 institutions, and indeed the University itself, and the 
 Agricultural College as well, in such manner as to 
 make them really State institutions in their benefits, 
 as well as in the expenses of their support, is one ex¬ 
 tremely difficult of solution. 
 
 Some legislation is demanded which shall at least 
 carry from these institutions, one and all of them, 
 some instruction in science as applied to industry, 
 and some instruction in improved methods, to every 
 county in the State. Teachers should come out 
 from these institutions to instruct the teachers in 
 every county in the State, in improved methods of 
 instruction and in domestic and agricultural science, 
 and thus give evidence to the entire people ol the 
 State of their usefulness as State institutions. Sta¬ 
 tistics show that now but one in five hundred of the 
 children of the State are enabled to set foot within 
 these so-called State institutions. Statistics further 
 show that this one in five hundred comes frum the 
 neighborhood of the institution itself. 
 
 I do not touch upon this subject to suggest un¬ 
 friendly legislation as regards the support of these 
 State institutions of learning. I only suggest that 
 reason, justice and common sense demand that, as 
 State institutions they should be so organized as that 
 instruction shall come out from them for the benefit 
 of the whole State. The terms, agricultural science, 
 domestic science, applied science, domestic and po¬ 
 litical economy.science as related to agricultural and 
 the mechanic arts,industrial science, technical science 
 etc., have now become well nigh stereotyped in ed¬ 
 ucational nomenclature. Can not these people,con¬ 
 nected with these State institutions of learning.come 
 out once in a while among the people in all parts of 
 the State and explain the meaning of these terms, 
 and put those of us who have banded ourselves to¬ 
 gether in such educational organizations as the 
 grange, upon the track at least of studyiug some¬ 
 thing of interest and of use embraced within the sub¬ 
 jects which these terms designate? 
 
 Some scheme should be, and eventually must be 
 devised by which all these institutions shall become 
 
 in some sense, not only normal schools, but schools 
 for the diffusion of educational benefits among all 
 the people. 
 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENCY. 
 
 This office has been dwarfed in importance and 
 usefulness, by recent unfortunate legislation, cutting 
 down the duties and compensation of superintend¬ 
 ents. So sadly are the important duties of the office 
 of county superintendent neglected, in many in¬ 
 stances, under the existing management that a re¬ 
 vision of the law on the subject is imperatively de¬ 
 manded. The State should take it in hand to bring 
 such influences and such incentives to bear, as to 
 wholly reform the work of the county superinten¬ 
 dency, and make the office, as it should be, one of 
 the most effective of the agencies for the improvement 
 of the schools of the people. 
 
 EXPENSES INVOLVED. 
 
 The measures of legislative action suggested would 
 involve expenses: 
 
 The expenses of premiums for the establishment 
 and maintenance of country high schools. 
 
 The expense of payment of instructors in teachers’ 
 normal institutes. 
 
 And the payment of better wages to county su¬ 
 perintendents. 
 
 But look at what the State does now expend for 
 education, and see if, out of this expenditure, or by 
 adding a little to it, sufficient should not be used to¬ 
 wards making the school work doubly effective. 
 
 The amount of State school money disbursed from 
 the State Treasury to the school districts of the State 
 last year, 1875, was $264,683.30. Of this sum, $107,- 
 556.18, came from taxes, the one mill tax annually 
 levied by the State, The balance came from your 
 school land fund, from estates of deceased persons 
 dying without will or heir, and from insurance com¬ 
 panies ; chiefly from the school land fund. 
 
 Now this 107.000 dollars of State school taxes, is 
 but a small part of the school taxes paid by the peo¬ 
 ple; The great bulk of school taxes are local dis¬ 
 trict taxes. The State levy is one mill. Your dis¬ 
 trict levies average 12 mills. The State raises by tax 
 and disburses for you $107,000. You raise and ex¬ 
 pend in your districts $1,128,000. 
 
 The one mill tax, is but a dollar a year paid on a 
 thousand dollars of property. If $25,000 were ex¬ 
 pended by the State for the additional purposes I 
 have mentioned, it would add but 25 cents on a 
 thousand dollars to your taxation, or diminish your 
 receipts from the State for present school district 
 purposes in that proportion. It would be no appre¬ 
 ciable amount whether added to or taken out of ex¬ 
 isting funds from State taxation. 
 
 It is a plain proposition, which only needs to be 
 examined to be understood, that a sufficient amount 
 of State school money can be used in such ways as I 
 have pointed out to bring about a thorough educa¬ 
 tion of our teachers, a higher class of common schools 
 and a thorough supervision of school work ; with 
 such results as will give to the agricultural classes a 
 two-fold benefit from the entire State school money 
 expended. 
 
 Now when I tell you that out of your taxation in 
 the year 1875, Y ou paid for the support and equip- 
 
22 
 
 age of your five State institutions of learning,the sum 
 of $56,415, an expenditure which distributed its ben¬ 
 efits in a very unequal and partial manner to the 
 people of the State, have you not a right, you who 
 represent nine-tenths of the population, have you not 
 a right to demand that a like sum shall be expended 
 in an equal and just manner for the benefit ol your 
 entire class. 
 
 These views as to needed school legislation in the 
 State, in the interest of country schools are not 
 crude and indigested views. They are such as come 
 from the best educators and thinkers in the land. 
 They are such as are going into the legislation and 
 school work in other States. They are such as, in a 
 considerable measure come from well tried expe¬ 
 rience. 
 
 EDUCATION IN THE GRANGE. 
 
 Now one word as to the work we can do in our 
 local granges, in the promotion of adult education ; 
 and auxiliary to the education of our children in the 
 common schools. I refer to systematic educational 
 work in the grange, in the nature of grange schools, 
 embracing methodical courses of instruction; courses 
 of reading and instruction which shall engage the 
 attention and bring into active study the younger 
 members of the grange; and the more studious of 
 older years ; all those who shall have the ambition 
 and desire to make themselves masters of practical 
 agriculture; and in some measure at least of scientific 
 agriculture. The farmer’s winter days and winter 
 evenings afford opportunity for reading and mental 
 labor. If prompted and stimulated to pursue meth¬ 
 odical studies by the aid of lectures, the guidance of 
 instructors, and the intercourse of companionship, 
 study would find attractions and helps which would 
 dispel monotony, and cause such work to go on with 
 zest and enjoyment. 
 
 Agricultural education has received great acceler¬ 
 ation during the past few years, and in some meas¬ 
 ure, has been brought into simple method. Schools 
 for the education of farmers’s sons and daughters in 
 their business of life have been established in almost 
 every country, and in almost every State in this 
 Union. The practical sciences are, in these schools, 
 receiving such adjustment and arrangement as is in¬ 
 tended to adapt their study to the wants and the 
 comprehension of the farmer. Our own State has 
 one such school, endowed by the nation, for the 
 benefit of the farmers of the whole State. But its 
 
 direct advantages have not as yet been reached by 
 the adult farmers, and are in fact within the reach of 
 but few of the children of the n.any thousand mem¬ 
 bers of the order of Patrons of Husbandry within 
 the State. The Patrons of Husbandry in Kansas 
 should consider the State Agricultural College their 
 institution ; and they should see that, in some meas¬ 
 ure, it be made to enure to the advantage of all, and 
 not be left to benefit the one in a thousand of their 
 sons and daughters who may be enabled to become 
 pupils within its walls. The Patrons should inquire 
 what there is of science and practical truth which 
 has been eliminated for their advantage at the Agri¬ 
 cultural College and State University,and they should 
 bring it into the grange and study and appropriate it. 
 
 We, in America, have been too busy in material 
 enterprise to study plans of education. Never, till 
 the organization of the Grange, was there an institu¬ 
 tion established in this country having for its object 
 the promotion of the welfare of a majority of the 
 people, and having as one of its leading aims the ed¬ 
 ucation of the people whom it is intended to benefit. 
 Ours is the first voluntary organization of a great 
 mass of the people of this country in a grand educa¬ 
 tional movement. 
 
 In Germany there are, at the present time, more 
 than 150 agricultural colleges. Besides, there are a 
 great many schools of a lower order where instruc¬ 
 tion is given in special branches of learning of a 
 practical character, for the education of farmers’ 
 sons in scientific agriculture, in its practical applica¬ 
 tion to the farmers work. In addition to this, a 
 large number of the graduates of the higher agricul¬ 
 tural colleges are specially commissioned as traveling 
 lecturers, paid by the government to instruct farm¬ 
 ers’ classes in the more remote districts ; to instruct 
 adult farmers and young persons unable to attend 
 the agricultural schools. In Austria, Switzerland 
 and Italy a like system is in full operation. And all 
 this supported by the government. King craft looks 
 after the education of the bone and muscle of the 
 empire. It is not in the nature of things that the 
 farmers of America, having taken their destinies into 
 their own hands, and having the power to mould the 
 machinery of education into right working capacity, 
 will not in brief time so shape it as that it shall ac¬ 
 complish as much for the right instruction of the 
 agricultural class as is done for their subjects by the 
 monarchical powers of Europe. 
 
INDEX 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Albee Pres , G. S. Wis. State Normal School..13, 15 
 
 Am. Ed. Journal, Editor of. . 5 
 
 Apology for Teachers. 6 
 
 Arithmetic. .3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13 
 
 Atlantic Monthly Magazine... . 4 
 
 Bateman, State Supt., Newton.4, 7, 14, 15 
 
 Book-keeping . 3 
 
 Burt, State Supt , D. 4 
 
 California State Grange . 15 
 
 Campbell, Prof. M. M.8, 12,16 
 
 Carr State Supt., Ezi’a S. 15 
 
 Cincinnati Schools, Grammar in . 10 
 
 Country High Schools . 18 
 
 County Normal Institutes. 20 
 
 . County Superim endency. 21 
 
 Defects in educationil methods, general. 3 
 
 Defects, specific. 6 
 
 DeWolf, Supt., D. F. 10 
 
 Drawing.. 3 
 
 Eaton, John, U. S. Com’r. of Education.3, 1.1 
 
 Edgerly, Supt. 10 
 
 Education in the Grange. .. 22 
 
 Educational Inquiries. 3 
 
 Expenses from needed legislation. 21 
 
 Farmers, educational deficiencies of. 1 
 
 Farmers’Girls, education of . 1 
 
 Fraser, State Supt., John.5, 17 
 
 Gardenei’s Monthly, Editor of. 5 
 
 Geography.:. 3,8 
 
 Grammar.3, 8, 10 
 
 Granges, Subordinate, education in. 22 
 
 Harvey, State Supt., Thos. W.. 15 
 
 High Schools, country. 18 
 
 Hudson, Master M. E. 5 
 
 Huxley, Secretary, H.E. 7 
 
 Illinois, State Supt. of..4, 7, 14, 15 
 
 Improvements suggested.13, 14, 17 
 
 Institutes, County Normal . 20 
 
 Inquiries, Educational. 3 
 
 Iowa, State Supt. of.7, 11, 16, 20 
 
 Iowa, Normal Institutes in. 20 
 
 Jameson, Z. E., Chairman Ed. Com. Vt. State 
 
 Grange. 3 
 
 PAGE . 
 
 Jarvis, Dr. Edward. . H 
 
 Kansas State Grange, educational action taken by 2 
 
 Kansas, State Supt. of.5, 17 
 
 Kedzie, Prof. Wm. K.6, 17 
 
 Knox, Prof M. V. B.. 5 
 
 Marvin, Dr. James, Chancellor Kansas State 
 
 University. .8, 17 
 
 Mass. Board of Education, testimony of.. 3 
 
 McCarty, Supt. H. D .5, 12 
 
 McKenzie, State Supt. J. M...>..4, 11 
 
 Meehan, Thos. 5 
 
 Merwin, Prof. J. B. 5 
 
 Monroe, Mrs. II. E. . 12 
 
 Montieth, John, State Supt. . 10 
 
 Mudge^Prof. B. F . 12 
 
 National Ed Association, Pres, of.5, 11, 16 
 
 National Grange, educational declarations of .. 1 
 
 Natural Sciences.3, 14 
 
 Nebraska, State Supt. of.4, 11 
 
 New England, education in. 3 
 
 New Studies . 14 
 
 Newell, Prof. M. A. 10 
 
 Normal Institutes, County... 20 
 
 Normal Schools. 21 
 
 Penmanship. 3 
 
 Phelps, Pres. Wm. F.5, 11, 16 
 
 Post, Secretary C. C.8, 13 
 
 Recapitulation. 13 
 
 Recommendations.13. 17 
 
 Sill, Supt. J. M. B. 4 
 
 Snow, Prof. F. H.6, 17 
 
 Sprague, G., Editor Western Farm Journal_5, 13 
 
 State Agricultural College. 21 
 
 State University. 21 
 
 State Grange of California. 15 
 
 Stout, Mrs. Olive E.5, 11 
 
 Taylor, Master G. W. 16 
 
 U. S. Commissioner of Education..3. 11 
 
 Van Coelnn, State Supt. C. W.7, 11, 16, 20 
 
 Vermont State Grange Ed. Committee. .. 4 
 
 Western Farm Journal, editor of.5, 13 
 
 Wood, Stephen M. 20 
 
 Wright, Prof. A. O. : 16 
 
 Kansas Farmer Printing House. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBAN A 
 
 
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