The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-11-15
WORK OF THE HIGH-SCHOOL
Interesting Resume of the Quarterly
Examination This Week.
What Has Been Done and Is Being Done by
Scholars and Observation-Disclosures
and Useful Education.

terly examination, in which over 600 pupils
took part, there being total enrolment of 639,
an average attendance of over 95 per cent
There are 62 seniors, IL graduating in Deem
Der and 81 in June 80 and IL B juniors, 80
advanced and $50 beginning second, "a adj
vapced and 2l9 beginning first year. There
are also thirteen Indies taking postgraduate
work, mainly in French, German and Greek
The Junior and sen1ur classes attend from $50
to IL NJ, and the first and second year classes
from to 4:30 p. NJ The teaching corps con-
ssts of W. W. Grant, 4. M, of Harvard College,
principal assisted by sixteen special and gen.
eral teachers. While the majority of the teach
ers are college graduates and professional
teachers. ne titles except Mr., Mrs. or Miss are
heard, it being deemed advisable to suppress as
far as possible the meaningless title of 'pro-
fessor," which is the common property of proba-
bly, five thousand teachers in the State of
Indiana, of whom about 10 per cent are worthy
of it.
The course is four years, and includes twenty
four hatyears' work. Each pupil must take
three subjects daily unless excused for i'll health
"a rare thing. An occasional student takes four
subjects, and completes the course in three
years. OF the twenty-four half-years' work,
representing nearly as many subjects, thirteen
| fall in the compulsory English course and eleven
electives.
Principal Grant furnishes the following state
ments as enbodying his views of the changes
introduced into the high-schoOl within the last
two years: First, The English course has been
expanded and made the principal course in the
school. This course now includes thirteen
branches: Three in NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
algebra and plain geometry; four in sciences
physical geography, botany, chemistry and
physics; and six in English studies proper.
French, Latin, Greek, advanced botany, Ger
man, trigonometry, surveying and analytical
chemistry are elective studies, also the
brief courses in civil government and political
economy of the senior year.
Second-The experimental method of teaching
physics and Chemistry meets with the approval
OF both teachers and pnpils By this plan the
pupils themselves perform the experiments,
make notebook record of what they observe,
and draw the Inference the experiment. is de-
signed TO illustrate. To this end Eliot & StOr-
er's textbook OF chemistry president Eliot of
Harvard College, ls used the student perform
ing tire numbered experiments, ana reciting on
alternate days There are eiyhty-eight chemi-
cal students in five classes doing over one hun
dred experiments in the half year, and cOnsum-
ing not TO exceed 800 worth of chemicals and
apparatus annually, The classes are made
small in bOtony, physics and chemistry so that
each pupil in class of fifteen may
receive personal aid and supervision
careful manipulators, and receive
far better discipline than by the Landscape
meth0d" OF table experiments performed and
explained by the teacher while the pupil is sup
posed TO look on, listen and acquire. small
class of twelve students are separating the
bases ana acids, in elective analytical chem
istry. Much interest centers about the Ill
pupils OF the second year, whn. in ten classes,
are attempting to learn physics by the expert
the same used in Asbury University is
plOyed. Mr.. Joseph p. Naylor, of Columbus o.,
the laboratory Of Professor Mendenhal of Co
1unbus, has been put in charge of the work
Mr.. Naylor is sRiIlful mechanic i'll either wood
or metals, and makes MANY pieces
amount to half his annual salary.
He is assisted by Miss Nellie Thompson, an
thnsastic teacher of natural science. Mr.. Nay
Tor is now making six sets of apparatus. TO be
placed on as many tables, so that class of
eighteen may work at the same time on the same
experiments. They perform the experiments in
electricity, note What they do, what they OBJ
serve, and the law Illustrated. II is hoped that
the experimental and nfereatial method of
teaching natural philosophy will meet the sue
GEES that has followed for the last ten years this
same method Of teaching chemistry, Botany and
zoology in all tirstclass high schools.
In botany over 100 pupils have completed
Grays Lessons and analysed upward of 100
species of the native flora, while the thirty
students who elected fall botany have identified
from 300 to $50 native and cultivated plants.
OF these, hfty-slx were antnmnal composite,
and over twenty were ferns and mosses
Third-For the benefit of those who wish to
enter into the commercial pursuits, q conrse in
bookkeeping, penmanship, and commercial
in English, has been devised, and is under care
of Mr.. Jesse H Brown. Pupils taking this
course. first complete the first-year work in the
English course.
IN regard to the elective system, which is
dominant in most of our colleges and which has
been made prominent in the High school, Prin-
cipal Grant says:
Three years work in English, two in science,
and one and half years-thirteen of the twenty
four halfyears-are required of all pupils Most
subjects Taught in hlgh-schoOs, with the
ception of languages, occupy half year. or
ninety rectatons of forty-tive minutes each,
and these subjects have no intimate connection
one with another and on this account may be
made elective. When pupils elect subject
which extends more than hall year they are
not allowed to exchange except for the most
urgent reasons Under this restriction the
languages are proper elective branches and are
SO considered in the High-school."
French was made optional two years ago,
with sixty students in three classes, under Mr..
Arthur Jaillet. or this number twenty-six are
still continuing French IN the High-school, and
twenty-six others have since joined thu classes,
making total OF ffty,two. Latin takes the
the principal, assisted by Mr.. G. W. Hufford and
C. E. Emmerich The latter has charge also of
III pupils, over half of whom are of English de-
scent in the study OF German. OF twenty
six pupils who commenced Greek, two
years ago, ten stlh continue IN the senior class
and recite Greek TO Mr.. HuffOrd. Probably two
thirds OF these could pass the entrance examlna
ton TO Harvard next summer, taking the maxi
mum of science and the minimum of classics
High school graduates usually enter the sophie
more year OF Indiana colleges. None have as
vet PASSED the Harvard or Yale entrance exan-
nations because of deficiency IL French and
Greek The Chicago high-sch0ol has a three
years condensed course i'll classics, and out of
its LOO students sends annually from thirty to
to forty to Eastern colleges. There is no He
brew, Scandinavian, Spanish, Choctaw, Chinese,
Gaelic music, moral or mental philosophy,
zoology. geology. calisthenics, cooking or
aeWin0 or dramatic elocution taught
in Inc Hig-sehoo although there is no expressed
or harbored desire on the part of the faculty or
! hoard to restrain the youth of the city in the
/ Of languages
yided, only, there IL "a public demand for them
/ sufficient to warrant the formation of classes
and the employment OF special teachers.
| The Hgh-schoul is the peoples college. In this
city one out of every 40 people In the city is a
pupil OF it; from il come three-ffths of the ward