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it kept the freight and passenger rates low; the result was a deficit
amounting to about a billion dollars, which had to be made good out
of the public treasury. The taxpayers carried a burden which should
have been borne by the shippers and passengers. Second, public
ownership would mean poor service; the utilities 2. Means retention
would not keep up with modern methods; the of obsolete
public would be put to great inconvenience by methods.
reason of incompetent management. Private companies are alert, on
the look-out for new economies, and always ready to adopt improved
methods. The incentive to all this is their desire to make greater
profits. They do not hesitate to spend money upon improvements if
by so doing they can obtain more business and increase their
earnings.[241] Remove this incentive, as is done when the
government operates a public utility, and everybody takes his job
easily. Third, municipal ownership would merely 3. Would not
substitute the influence of organized labor for improve political
that of organized capital in politics. The nation, conditions.
states, and cities would have an enormous number of officials and
employees on their respective pay rolls. The employees would also
be voters. They would stand solidly for whichever political party
offered them better wages, fewer hours of labor, and other
advantages. The interests of the public would have scant
consideration in the face of organized political pressure from this
huge array of government workers. Even today the city employees
are an important factor in municipal politics. What would they be if
their numbers were doubled or trebled? The railroad employees of
the country number many hundred thousand. Count in their wives
(who are also voters), their relatives and friends, the voters whom
they can personally influence, and you will see that they would form
no negligible factor in national politics. Fourth, 4. European
although public ownership has been moderately experience not
successful in European countries where the applicable.
governments are highly centralized it does not follow that it would
have the same success in this country. In the United States, where
government is conducted on a democratic basis, with short terms of
office and strong partisan forces at work, with the spoils system still
flourishing in many states and cities, public ownership would result in
gross mismanagement and extravagance. If the government is to
engage in business it should first put itself on a business basis.
Before it undertakes to operate the railroads or the telephone service
it should introduce efficiency into its own governmental functions.
Summary.—In balancing these various Weight of the
arguments, one against the other, and in foregoing
comparing the relative merits of public regulation arguments.
with those of public ownership, much depends upon local conditions.
It cannot be said that either policy is the better one at all times, in all
communities, for all utilities, and under all circumstances. Where
public regulation has been satisfactory there is a good deal to be
said for the policy of letting well enough alone. Where the policy of
regulation has not been successful the arguments for trying the
experiment of public ownership become stronger. It ought to be
remarked, however, that if local conditions are such as to make
regulation a failure they are not likely to make public ownership a
success. A state or community which cannot hold capital under
effective control is not likely to be much more successful in its
dealings with a large body of public employees. No great weight
should be attached to the fact that public ownership has succeeded
in one city or failed in another. The success or failure of public
ownership, as a policy, cannot be fairly judged from this or that
adventure in it, any more than we can judge the outcome of a
campaign from the winning or losing of a single skirmish. Banks
sometimes fail, yet our banking system is sound. Speculators
occasionally succeed, and make fortunes, but that does not prove
speculation to be a profitable form of business.
So far as can be judged from the figures of profit and loss, public
ownership is less economical than private management. The
community which owns and operates a street railway or a lighting
plant or any other public utility will not make a profit, in most cases,
unless it charges higher rates than would be charged by a private
company. The books may show a profit, but this is because not all
expenses which ought to be charged to the plant are put down; they
are saddled upon the taxpayer in some roundabout way. Public
ownership cannot be justified as a matter of pennies and dimes. But
profit and loss are not the only things to be considered. The question
as to which plan is better for the public is much The question is not
more than a question of surplus or deficit. The one of profit and
fair treatment of labor, the reliability of the loss alone.
service, the removal of sinister political influences—these should be
reckoned with as well. And that is where people with different points
of view fail to agree. The advisability of public ownership is an
intensely practical issue which cannot be solved by appealing to any
set rules or principles. It is entirely logical for one to favor public
ownership of the water supply while opposing its extension to the
street railway. One is closely related to the public health; the other is
not. In a well-governed community, where the service rendered by a
private company has proved to be unsatisfactory, the policy of public
ownership may be entirely justified. This does not mean, however,
that the people of boss-ridden cities, with the spoils system in full
operation, should take over public services which are doing well
enough under private management. Conditions, not theories, should
determine which is the wise policy.
Guild Operation.—In recent years another alternative to private
ownership has been put forth. It is known as guild ownership.
Knowing that many people are disinclined toward public ownership
because they fear that it would merely mean the mismanagement of
the public services by politicians, some labor leaders have proposed
that the utilities should be owned and operated by the organized
employees. In brief they suggest that the government should supply
the capital (receiving interest on it, of course,) and that the
employees should operate the utilities through officials chosen by
them, or chosen by themselves and the government jointly. The
Plumb plan, put forward in 1919 as a solution of the railroad
problem, was a proposal of this nature. Some advocates of guild
operation believe in applying this policy not only to public utilities but
to all industries.
General References
F. W. Taussig, Principles of Economics, Vol. II, pp. 397-418;
Clyde L. King, The Regulation of Municipal Utilities, pp. 3-55;
H. G. James, Municipal Functions, pp. 246-281 (Public Utilities); pp. 282-295
(Municipal Ownership);
 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, 1917-1918, Bulletins, No. 22
(Municipal Ownership in the United States);
E. M. Phelps (editor), Government Ownership of Railroads (Debaters’
Handbook Series). Contains material on both sides of the question. See also K. B.
Judson (editor), Government Ownership of Telegraphs and Telephones, and J. E.
Johnson, Municipal Ownership, in the same series;
F. C. Howe, The Modern City and its Problems, pp. 149-164.
Group Problems
1. Government ownership of telegraphs and telephones. History of the wire
services. How the telegraph and telephone companies are organized. Present
methods of regulation by the national, state, and local authorities. Public
ownership of telegraphs and telephones in Europe. The results of European
experience. American experience during the war. Summary and conclusions.
References: K. B. Judson (editor), Government Ownership of Telegraphs and
Telephones (Debaters’ Handbook Series); A. N. Holcombe, Government
Ownership of Telephones in Europe, pp. 441-463; H. R. Meyer, Public Ownership
and the Telephone of Great Britain, pp. 239-268; W. W. Willoughby, Government
Organization in War Time, pp. 191-198.
2. State regulation of public utilities. References: H. G. James, Municipal
Functions, pp. 246-281; C. L. King, Regulation of Municipal Utilities, pp. 253-263;
G. P. Jones, State Versus Local Regulation, in Annals of the American Academy
of Political and Social Science, LIII (May, 1914), pp. 94-107; Proceedings of the
Conference of American Mayors, 1915, pp. 123-162; H. M. Pollock and H. S.
Morgan, Modern Cities, pp. 225-249.
3. Municipal ownership in Europe. References: G. B. Shaw, The Common
Sense of Municipal Trading, pp. 17-42; Leonard Darwin, Municipal Ownership,
pp. 33-66; Douglas Knoop, Principles and Methods of Municipal Trading, pp. 95-
106; F. C. Howe, European Cities at Work, pp. 37-67; Yves Guyot, Where and
Why Public Ownership Has Failed, pp. 55-71; W. H. Dawson, Municipal Life and
Government in Germany, pp. 208-259; C. D. Thompson, Municipal Ownership,
pp. 15-25; National Civic Federation Report (1907), Part I, Vol. I, pp. 261-302.
Short Studies
1. Franchises. Cyclopedia of American Government, Vol. II, pp. 44-48.
2. A model street railway franchise. C. L. King, Regulation of Municipal
Utilities, pp. 165-181.
3. Gas and electric lighting franchises. W. B. Munro, Principles and Methods
of Municipal Administration, pp. 247-257.
4. Germany’s experience in public ownership. W. H. Dawson, Municipal Life
and Government in Germany, pp. 208-259.
 5. Great Britain’s experience in public ownership. Douglas Knoop,
Principles and Methods of Municipal Trading, pp. 306-365.
6. Municipal ownership in the United States. Massachusetts Constitutional
Convention, 1917-1918, Bulletin, No. 22; National Civic Federation, Shall the
Government Own and Operate the Railroads, the Telegraph and Telephone
Systems? The Affirmative Side; Ibid., The Negative Side.
7. Guild ownership. G. D. H. Cole, Guild Socialism, pp. 42-77.
8. Public service commissions. S. P. Orth, Readings on the Relation of
Government to Industry, pp. 308-343.
9. The danger of giving government too much to do. Otto H. Kahn,
American Economic Problems, pp. 235-275.
10. The Plumb plan. Public Ownership League, Bulletin, No. 12, pp. 86-100;
Ibid., Bulletin, No. 14, pp. 59-74; 127-130.
Questions
1. Name all the principal public service industries of the present day. Would you
say that the following are public utilities: abattoirs; grain elevators; coal mines; pipe
lines for conveying oil from city to city; wireless telegraph establishments; airships
carrying passengers; automobiles; taxicabs; jitney busses; hotels; steamships;
docks; banks; hospitals? Why or why not in each case?
2. Make a definition of public utilities which will square with your answer to the
previous question.
3. If a merchant should install an electric generator to provide light for his own
store, would he be then engaged in a public service and would he require a
franchise? If he desired to sell current to his neighbors (without crossing a street)
would he then require a franchise? Give your reasons.
4. Certain industries are particularly suited to public management (for example,
the postal service and water supply). Name some others. Why are they suited?
5. What provisions should be made in a street railway franchise as regards term,
fares, service, contributions by the company to the public treasury, disposal of the
plant when the franchise expires, and regulation during the franchise term?
6. Can you give any reasons why the government should carry mail but not
telegrams? Parcels by post but not by express?
7. Name some reasons why the effective regulation of public utilities is difficult.
8. What public utilities are operated in your city? By what companies? When do
their franchises expire? Who regulates them? Would any of them be better
managed under public ownership?
9. Which of the arguments for municipal ownership seem to you to be the
strongest, and why? Which of the arguments against?
10. Would it be consistent for an Englishman to favor municipal ownership of
street railways in London but to oppose it in New York after becoming a resident
there?
 Topics for Debate
1. Street railways should be (a) owned and operated by private companies, or
(b) owned by private companies and operated by the government, or (c) owned
and operated by the government.
2. Guild operation should be applied to all public utilities.
 CHAPTER XXV
EDUCATION

The purpose of this chapter is to explain why education is made

compulsory, how the schools are managed, what they cost, and what they are
trying to do.

Education and Democracy.—No matter In a democracy

where one may go, in any part of the world, it education is
will be found that political democracy and public essential.
education tend to keep pace with each other. In despotisms one will
rarely find a system of universal, free, public education; or, if it is
found, one can be sure that the despotism will not last very long.
Education is the friend of democracy and the foe of despotism.
Indeed it can fairly be said that without a system of public education
no democracy can be sure of its own permanence. This is because
the maintenance of democratic government depends upon the ability
of the people to think straight and to see things clearly. The more
political freedom you give a people the greater is their opportunity for
abusing it.
In a real democracy the only safeguard is the Free government
common sense of the people, and a system of depends on
free, public education will do more for the intelligence.
diffusion of common sense among the people than anything else can
do. It is unsafe to place the ballot in the hands of people without
giving them the opportunity to acquire that degree of enlightenment
which is necessary to enable them to use the ballot intelligently. The
voter who cannot read a newspaper or understand the public
questions which he is called upon to decide is a poor foundation
upon which to build a government. More than fifty years ago, when
England practically adopted manhood suffrage, some of the old-
fashioned statesmen bemoaned the fact that the multitudes of the
people would be “masters” of the government. “Well, then”, said a
certain member of Parliament, “educate your masters!” That is the
only way to keep a democratic government honest, intelligent,
orderly, and capable.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE BOOK. By John W. Alexander

From a Copley Print, copyright by Curtis & Cameron,

Boston. Reproduced by permission.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE BOOK

 By John W. Alexander
These three mural paintings are in the East Corridor
of the Library of Congress.
The first depicts the spread of knowledge by oral
tradition. A seer, or wise man, narrates by word of
mouth to his tribesmen the story of the race. This was,
in earliest times, the only way of imparting knowledge.
Then, after many centuries, came the making of
manuscript books on parchment. The monks of the
Middle Ages, as shown in the central picture, spent
much of their time in the laborious task of making
books—each letter being printed by hand. Finally came
the invention of printing. In the third picture Gutenburg,
the inventor, is inspecting one of the pages just
completed by the primitive press which the boy is
turning by hand.

But someone may interpose to ask this If so, why are

embarrassing question: If education helps to intelligent men
make people more intelligent in political matters, sometimes corrupt
why is it that well-educated and intelligent in politics?
people are often found among corrupt and selfish politicians, and
that even college graduates sometimes become notorious political
bosses? The answer is that in this, as in other things, a general truth
does not cease to be a general truth because there are exceptions to
it. Many well-educated men are unable to earn a living, but would
any sensible person argue that education, as a general rule, renders
no aid toward the gaining of a livelihood? As well might one urge that
newspapers render no service in disseminating the truth because
some of them occasionally print lies. It is quite true that men are not
politically wise in exact proportion to the extent of their education.
The man or woman who is only a grammar school graduate may
have more political wisdom than the most finished scholar in the
land. But this does not impair the fundamental truth that knowledge
is preferable to ignorance in all countries, at all times, and in every
field of human activity.
Education and Personal Efficiency.—To The general
make men and women intelligent in matters of purpose of
government is not, however, the only purpose of education.
education. The general prosperity of the country depends, in the long
run, upon the individual ability of its citizens. Every individual who
proves able to earn his own living, establish a home, bring up a
family, and by his savings add something to the nation’s capital is a
contributor to the national prosperity. Every individual who fails to
make his own way and becomes dependent, either in whole or in
part, upon the efforts of others, is a drag upon the community. In its
own interest, therefore, it is the duty of the whole people to see that
everyone is not only enabled but encouraged to become personally
efficient, able to make his own way in the world, and capable of
pulling his own weight in that many-oared boat which carries the
progress of society along.
The Purpose and Value of Education.—The The specific
purpose of education therefore is three-fold. purposes of
First, it aims to give young 1. Economic. education:
men and women the sort of
training which will enable them to earn a living. This is a primary and
fundamental purpose, because earning a living is one of life’s great
problems. But it is not the only purpose of education; an educational
system would be very defective if it confined itself to this and nothing
more. The second purpose of education is to 2. Personal.
develop the personality of the individual, his own
resources and mentality, so that he may enjoy those durable
satisfactions of life which are not directly connected with the work of
earning a livelihood. The enjoyment which men and women derive
from life is not entirely dependent upon the amount of their incomes;
one need only to look about the community to realize that this is so.
Even a large fortune does not of itself guarantee happiness. To live a
full and contented life it is necessary to know what is going on in the
world, to appreciate its significance, and to understand the many
things which, to the uneducated man or woman, are hidden
mysteries. Education helps an individual to know himself, to know
what is going on around him, to understand the motives which
govern the actions of his fellow-men, and to adjust himself to the
environment in which he lives. Knowledge is power. It is power in the
hands of everyone who possesses it. The third 3. Social.
purpose of education, the social purpose, is also
of great importance. Education aims to train the individual so that he
may better serve his fellow-men. Democracy, as has been said, rests
upon the intelligence of the people. A democratic government exacts
from its citizens a sort of service which education alone can teach
them to give.[242]
The Growth of Public Education.—For The illiteracy of
many centuries in the history of the world the bygone days.
masses of the people were afforded no opportunity for even the
elements of education. Not one person in ten thousand could read or
write. Even kings on the throne were illiterate. There is a well-known
picture of King John, with a crown on his head and a quill pen in his
hand, signing the Great Charter. It is an altogether fanciful picture,
because John Plantagenet could not write a single word, not even
his own name. No copy of Magna Carta or any other document has
ever been found with his signature on it. The only persons who could
read or write in those days were the monks and other officers of the
Church together with a very few laymen who were educated by
them. Even after the invention of printing, education spread slowly
and it was not until the nineteenth century that the desirability of
providing free schools for the masses of the people came to be
generally recognized. Prior to that time education was almost
everywhere regarded as a luxury to be bought and paid for by the
relatively few individuals who could afford it.
In the United States free education goes back The first American
to colonial days. As early as 1647 the colony of schools.
Massachusetts Bay provided that a schoolmaster should be
appointed and paid out of the taxes in every town of more than fifty
families and that this schoolmaster should teach all the children “to
write and reade”; but this example was not generally followed in the
other colonies. It has been estimated that not more than half the
population in the colonial days could read and write. The proportion
of illiteracy among women was especially large because very little
provision was made for educating girls. Even after the Revolution the
system of free, public schools spread slowly and not until the middle
of the nineteenth century did it cover the greater portion of the
country. Since the Civil War, however, the policy of making education
not only free but compulsory has been adopted in virtually every part
of the United States. The total enrolment in the public schools is now
more than twenty-two millions, and the cost of educating the vast
array of young citizens is considerably over a billion dollars a year.
The Control and Management of The function of the
Education.—As the national constitution gives state in education.
the federal government no power to control education the
responsibility rests with the several states. Every state has
established a system of free, public education, but the methods of
control and management differ greatly from one state to another.
Some states have centralized the management of the schools in the
hands of the state authorities; others leave this very largely to the
school officials of the counties, cities, or districts. Everywhere there
is a state department of education, with a board or a superintendent
in charge, some states having both. The local educational unit may
be the city, town, township, school district, or (especially in the
Southern states) the county. A school board, usually elected, erects
the school buildings, chooses a school superintendent, appoints
principals and teachers (on the recommendation of the
superintendent), and appropriates money for the support of the
schools. The detailed work of managing the schools rests primarily
upon the superintendent.[243]
Central vs. Local Control of Schools.—To Where should the
what extent should the public schools be under chief control be
the control of the state authorities? Is it lodged?
advisable that local school boards should be left free to manage the
schools as they think best, without interference from the state?
These are questions upon which the opinions of educators differ. It is
argued that the school board, in every city, town, or township knows
best the needs of its own community and hence ought to be given a
free hand in meeting these needs. This policy, moreover, affords
each school a chance to try experiments and it is through
experiments that progress in education, as in everything else, is
usually made. On the other hand it is logical to assert that if the state
laws make education compulsory and if the state treasury grants
money to local schools it is the right of the state to see that the
money is properly spent. If every city, town, and village were left free
to manage its schools without any central control there would be no
uniformity in the subjects taught, in the qualifications of teachers, or
in the organization of the schools. It would be difficult in that case for
a pupil to transfer from one school to another, outside the same
community, without finding himself a misfit in the new institution. A
certain amount of central control seems therefore to be desirable,
but it is not for the best interests of education that every school
throughout the state should be conducted in exactly the same way. A
system of that sort tends to deaden the whole process of education.
There is a great deal to be said for home rule in education, provided
there is a sufficient amount of state supervision to keep the schools
up to a proper standard.
School Boards and Politics.—It is generally Keeping the
agreed that party politics should have no place schools out of
in the management of the public schools. There politics.
may be justification for party politics in lawmaking bodies; but in
school boards there is none. There is an efficient way of managing
the schools and an inefficient way; but there is no such thing as a
Republican way or a Democratic way. Yet elections to school boards
are, in many communities, contested upon party lines. Men and
women are nominated and elected, very often, because they belong
to one or the other political party, not because they have good
judgment or a deep interest in school affairs. In this, however, public
sentiment is gradually changing. In many places the school board
elections have become non-partisan; party designations have been
taken off the ballots, and it matters little which party a candidate
belongs to. Why should it? What relation is there between a man’s
views on the tariff or the league of nations and his ability to serve his
own neighbors acceptably as a member of a local school board?
There is no visible relation. Taking the schools out of politics means
that the taxpayers get greater value for the money which is spent in
maintaining the schools, that all questions are decided upon their
merits and not by political favoritism, and that every pupil gets the
benefit of better schools, better teachers, and better educational
methods.
Educational Work of the National Government.—The national
government, as has already been pointed out, possesses no formal
powers with respect to education in the states. Nevertheless it has
done a good deal to promote the interests of public education by
publishing the results of investigations into educational problems,
and by rendering advisory assistance to the state authorities. It
maintains a Bureau of Education which is now The national
within the jurisdiction of the Interior Department. Bureau of
At the head of this bureau is a Commissioner of Education.
Education appointed by the President. The functions of the bureau
are almost wholly of an informal character; it collects data for the use
of educators and publishes this material in annual reports and
bulletins.[244] There has been a strong movement to make this bureau
a regular Department of Education, with a member of the cabinet at
its head, and to increase its powers considerably; but this movement
has not yet been successful.
Federal Aid to Education.—Within the last few years there has
been a good deal of controversy, both in Congress and outside, over
a proposal to appropriate further funds from the national treasury for
the promotion of general education in the states, particularly in those
states where the common school system needs toning up. This
proposal is embodied in a measure which has The Towner-
been before Congress for some time but upon Sterling Bill: its
which no favorable action has yet been taken. merits and defects.
[245]
In favor of the measure it is argued that public elementary
education is a national necessity and that if any state cannot raise
sufficient money to keep its common schools up to a proper standard
the interests of the whole nation will suffer in the end. There is just
as much reason, and more, it is asserted, for federal aid to state
schools as for such aid to state roads. On the other hand it is
objected that the policy of large federal subsidies to education would
involve the taxing of the populous and thriving states of the East, the
Middle West, and the Pacific Slope for the benefit of those other
states, especially in the South, where the school system has
heretofore been backward through lack of funds. Most of the federal
government’s income is provided by the taxpayers of states like New
York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Massachusetts. But in these
states the public school system has already been brought up to a
standard where there is no urgent need for federal assistance. The
chief gainers under the new plan would be the states which
contribute very little of the revenue. In other words, we should be
taxing some states for the benefit of others. A somewhat more
weighty objection, to some minds, is found in the possibility that if the
national government begins the practice of making large annual
grants to the states for educational purposes it may, in due course,
undertake to exercise control over the public school systems of the
entire country. When a government grants money for any purpose it
has an undeniable right to make sure that the money is being
properly spent. To do this it must create some system of inspection.
Inspection leads to supervision, and supervision sooner or later
merges into actual control. It is feared in some quarters that this
would be the ultimate outcome of federal aid to common school
education on any large scale.

THE PUBLIC

BOARD OF EDUCATION

CLERK SUPERINTENDENT COUNSEL

SECRETARY

PRINCIPALS

ENGINEERS
SUPERVISORS
JANITORS
 TEACHERS

PUPILS

HURON PLAN OF SCHOOL ORGANIZATION

THE CONTROL OF EDUCATION
This diagram illustrates a common type of municipal
school administration. The voters choose a Board of
Education, or School Board. This body, in turn,
appoints a Superintendent of Schools who has
supervision over all matters of school management. In
some cities the members of the Board of Education are
appointed by the mayor. In the larger municipalities
there are, as a rule, one or more assistant
superintendents.
Make a similar chart showing the organization of the
school system in your own community.

Some Problems of School Organization.— A series of present-

Several problems of great importance are day questions.
engaging the attention of the school authorities at the present time.
The more conspicuous among them may be indicated by a series of
questions which are under discussion wherever educators come
together, but which are also of direct interest to the pupils and to the
community. To what age should school attendance be made
compulsory? How can pupils be kept from leaving school before they
have received a sufficient amount of education? How should the
school course be divided? Should we have junior high schools and
junior colleges as well as regular high schools and regular colleges?
How may the training of teachers be improved? Can the work of the
schools be brought into closer and better contact with the resources
of the public library? Is it possible to use the school plant, after
school hours, for various forms of community service? Can greater
use be made of the school plant during the school day? And where
are we going to get the money with which to carry on all these new
enterprises if we ultimately agree that they are desirable? This list of
questions may seem to contain some that are not related to one
another, but they all point to different aspects of the same great
problem and may be summed up in the one broad query: What
changes in school organization will better enable education to fulfil
its three-fold purpose?
The School Age.—To what age should Compulsory school
attendance be made compulsory? In most of the attendance.
states this age is now fixed at fourteen years (or grammar school
graduation) although some Southern states still maintain the twelve-
year limit. Many believe that even the fourteen-year limit is not high
enough and are urging that it be raised. In some states a step in this
direction has been taken by requiring that all persons under sixteen
years of age who engage in any form of wage-earning employment
must either present a certificate of graduation from grammar school
or must attend continuation classes for so many hours per week.
More urgent than any raising of the school age, however, is the need
for more strictly enforcing the rules which now exist. In some
communities the present age limit of fourteen years is not insisted
upon, with the result that many thousands in the backward rural
sections and in the crowded districts of cities are growing up in
illiteracy. Whatever the age limit it ought to be enforced to the letter.
[246]

Re-arranging the School Divisions.—But The present school

we should not depend wholly upon the stern arm divisions.
of the law for the solution of a problem like that of keeping pupils at
school. When normal boys and girls strongly dislike going to school,
when they stay away at every opportunity and leave school as soon
as they can, we may well suspect that there is something wrong with
the school system itself. Graduation from grammar school has
hitherto been looked upon as the natural point at which to break off.
The majority of pupils leave the schools at that stage; only a minority
go on with the regular school course. Our whole system of school
divisions has therefore brought it about that there is no logical
breaking-off point between the ages of thirteen or fourteen on the
one hand (grammar school graduation) and seventeen or eighteen
(high school graduation) on the other. It is believed by many
educators, moreover, that the last two grades of the grammar
schools have not been so organized as to awaken in the average
pupil a desire to go further. The upper grades of grammar schools do
not differ essentially in their methods of instruction from the lower
grades although the much greater maturity of the pupils would seem
to warrant the use of different methods.
To improve this situation it is now proposed to The junior high
divide the school course into three parts by school system.
establishing junior high schools, and many communities have
already adopted this plan. The junior high school as usually
organized takes the last two grades of the grammar school, adds on
the first year or the first two years of the regular high school course,
and thus provides a three-year or a four-year program which carries
pupils through to the ages of fifteen or sixteen. The methods of
instruction are those of the regular high school.[247] This plan is said
to have two marked advantages: it induces pupils to continue their
schooling one or two years longer, and it gives them a type of
instruction which is better suited to their age and interests. Objection
is sometimes raised against the junior high school system on the
ground that it involves the introduction of elective studies and hence
may result in the neglecting of fundamentals. It may also result in
bringing all the customary social and athletic diversions of the high
school into the lives of younger pupils. Whether this is an advantage
or a defect may be regarded as an open question.
What becomes of the regular high school if its The junior college.
first year or two years are lopped off? There are
two alternatives. It may become simply a senior high school with a
three-year or a two-year course, or it may add on two additional
years covering work which has hitherto been done by freshmen and
sophomores in colleges, thus providing what has come to be known
as a junior college course. Where this policy is pursued the pupil can
be carried two years beyond the old high school graduation and
enabled, on entering a college or university, to obtain a degree in
less than the usual time. All this involves a considerable increase in
the expense of maintaining the school system, of course; but it also
increases the service rendered to the community.
The Training of Teachers.—In the last analysis the success of
education depends upon the teacher. Suitable buildings, a well-
planned curriculum, good text books, all contribute their share
towards the efficiency of a school; but these are inanimate things.
Without capable teachers they are of little avail. Now effective
teaching requires two attainments on the part of the teacher, a
knowledge of the subject and ability to impart this knowledge to
others. Both of these things are essential and both are in large
measure the result of training. It is for this Normal schools.
reason that all the states maintain normal
schools in which prospective teachers are trained in the art of giving
instruction. For teachers who are already in service many of these
normal schools provide courses during the afternoon and evening
hours so that teachers may keep abreast of the most modern
methods in education. The universities also Extension courses.
provide extension courses and summer
instruction with the same end in view. All this is highly desirable and
should be carried even further. We are inclined to spend our school
appropriations on buildings, books, supplies, and facilities for the
pupils and to feel that the community discharges its full obligation to
the teachers when it pays them salaries that are by no means
proportionate to the importance of the work in which they are
engaged. But human knowledge is moving forward at a rapid pace
and anyone who does not keep close on its trail is sure to be left far
behind. Unless the teachers are afforded the opportunity of keeping
in touch with everything that is new it is difficult to see how their
instruction can keep pace with the times.
The School and the Public Library.—The public library is an
institution of great educational value and its relation to the schools
ought to be more intimate than is usually the case. Too often the
public library is merely an ornate building with a miscellaneous
assortment of books (mostly fiction) on its shelves. It is regarded as
a place for adult readers primarily. But the way to enlarge this circle
of adult readers is to bring them into touch with the resources of the