Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-03-18
EDUCATIONAL.
Report Of the sup.rv,.
schools.


Inc supervisor of schools, DR.. J. O wah
'er' mas made his annual report. and FINN, :,
We gather the following: '' !"
The number of scholars in n.
.s'' 1850, was 1892 of whom there -. H 'o,n
a: .ue village district, 467 in the W;l,;.'
districts. "ineteeh suburban
.,h me total amount of money available 10,
SCHOOL purposes was as follows: 'of
Appropriated for common scboo,.
Ineceaved from the State, 1870 20
Rss s.Penoed balance March a, 1885. ''SS s II
atom " village district BY special tax. Il
Raised by William. d,,t,,,. 7.7ss 80
Ra Ep,opnsteo Tor Cony High School. AZ % %
0s Sch, March II. 1855. In favor Hieh 0O' 70
Received from State for High School, a 1sS % %
IT, -. 10, 'cnool purposes, t2s.lo2 80
Inc number of pupils registering in Tho
::pr,ng schools was 276; attending, gao. Roc.
is'ered IN the fall, 227; attending, l79
report from each school district is given
me CONDITION of the graded schools. the
supervisor holds, is not creditable to the citv
ana does not compare favorably with those ~
o'her towns around. The superiority of rho
SCHOOLS IN the chartered districts is attrihut.d
~ -. 'ae Iact that they are managed by a board
directors VINO combine all the powers of
scnooi committee and school agents, while in
tne country districts the district agents EN-.
plTy .he teachers, while the supervisor can
ohiy REJECT the employe if found unqualified.
nn average scnool agent, it is held, has no
X Knowiedee OF the special needs of his school
To remedy this state of thing. two ohano o
are suggested. First, by abolishino tho
school districts as has been done nv many
other towns and putting them all under one
management. Second, by placing the mower
OF employing the teachers in the hands Of tho
supervisor, as the city council has right To
90 under the law. A consolidation of schools
Is recommended where the pupils are few in
number -
ieachers' meetings were held during the
1aii ana early winter as a partial remedy for
oenclency In knowledge of methods of Nor.
mai school training which might exist The
supervisor considers these meetings of great
practical benefit to the teachers, and belle YES
they should be continued. He is under obi.
cations to Prof. R. B. Capen and Mr.. G. A.
Robertson for valuable assistance in conduct.
ing them
considerable change in text books il
needed in all the schools. The arithmetics
IN use are regarded as totally unfit for their
purpose. After careful confederation the
supervisor has adopted Colburn's First Les,
sons as primary, and Greenlief's Complete
Arithmetic as an advanced book The former
can be exchanged for old books for 20 cents
per copy, and has already been introduced
into about half of the schools. The latter
can be exchanged for the Practical at FORTY
cents. The exchange should be completed in
all the schools during the spring term.
In geography the text books are uniform
and satisfactory.
Upon no other subject in the common
school has there been so much time wasted az
on grammar If the object of studying
grammar is ''to learn to speak and write cor
rectly,' it is within the experience of every
teacher that the instruction hitherto in vogue
has failed of its object. The way to teach
grammar is to lead pupils to put words to-
gether perfectly into sentences, gradual =
teaching them the few simple principles of
our language as the cases arise in which they
are to be put into practice.
There is not a uniformity of readers, but
that is OF little consequence, except so far as
it causes an additional number of classes, as
both kinks OF boz ks are satisfactory.
Oral in,,rnction~in physiology has been
given in all the >cltmi during the fall and
winter terms, and in several of them classes
have been formed in the text book adopted.
"BlaisdelPs Our Bodies and How We Live"
Is regarded by the supervisor to be the best
book of the kind published Some teachers
have made the mistake of spending time in
teaching the technical names of the bones,
that should have been employed in more in
teresting and useful subjects.
The number of schools in which United
States History is taught, has increased, but it
should be in every school.
Every district has been furnished with a
copy of Maine School Laws of 1885.
A new feature of the report is the publica-
ton of "Instructions to Teachers in Regard
to Contagious Diseases, similar to those pub
lshed by Bangor last year. The subjects OF
mumps, whoopirg cough smallpox, chicken
pox, measles, diphtheria and disinfection
are treated.
A list of the text books adopted for use in
the Augusta schools is given.