Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-23
PRICES PER PUPIL
Paid in City Schools is Much
Too Cheap.
PROF, A. NJ. KELLOGG TALKS
BE is a Noted Authority on Educa-
tional Matters,
A FLATTERING SHOWING LOCALLY
But He Still Finds Several Things to
CriticiSe.
HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES TOO LARGE
HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES TOO LARGE

AlUOs NJ hSl1OSSs SuAAoA Va bhO ~"
York School Journal. and one of the best
authorities in the country on school subjects,
ou the close of visit of inspection to Pitts
burg gives a very fattering account of the
schools of the city, in which little whole
some criticism is mixed. He says:
1 found the city had changed very much
since my previous visit The dirt and gloom
occasioned by the bitumnous coal fires had
disappeared: brightness and activity were seen
on every side. George J. Luckey. the superin-
tendent of the schools for nearly Is years, is
very popular and level-headed man, and has
done a good work. He courteously opened the
school doors and cheerfully gave me much val
liable information. There are $50 teachers,
5000 pupils are enrolled, and $4,000 is ex-
pended for teaching and superintendence-a
little over SO per pupil. and at the outset this
strikes one unfavorably-it is too cheap.
A visit was made to the Grant School, Miss
N. ]. Graham, principal. About 600 pupils at
tend, and l6 teachers are employed. There was
aclass of Is pupils in cooking-this is the only
manual training given IN the city. About 800
pupils receive instruction in this useful art"
would be the neat way the old school of educa-
tors would put it, The new school looks at this
more broadly. and Tvs: They are taught TO
OOSefpe GaTe1 1ullV Lfliflk with purpose IN view,
do for usefulness, and create pleasure by means
of cooking" One thing l noticed; it may not
be worth speaking of, but no class gave such
undivided attention to the teacher. no class
seemed so happy in all my rounds. There was
one boy in the class and he was as active as the
rest.
The entire building was surveyed. The prin-
cipal certainly is an unusually bright woman.
Some of the teachers were doing superior work.
Iespecially'remember one who was teaching a
class of little children to read. There was
life, an aptness an employment of objective
methods that made it apparent the new educa-
tion had a true disciple in the person of this
woman. The regular teachers give instruction
in music, and it is well done; all the pupils in
the classes saw sang by note the simple pieces
selected OF course in the hasly visit made /
could not sample the school with exaetress,
but the teachers were plainly down among the
pupils not up above them. 1t seemed as though
they said, Come with me-" The spirit of
Frebel who said, Let me live with the chill
dren,n seemed abroad. 1t is educational Skill
and not the rod, that is coming to be the effec-
tive force here.
OBJECTS TO CLIPPINGS.
Criticisms could be made Some had but
partial hold of the pupils in their classes. In
one class (third reader) slips cut from the
newspapers were used in the reading class
this here, and l believe everywhere else. must
prove failure. The newspaper is not con-
room
Superintendent Luckey's report shows the
course of study: it does not seem to me TO ad-
dress the whole boy" in the spirit of those
Pestalozzian truths that are beginning to
spread over the continent. The spelling book
has been taken down from Its lofty pedestal;
and OBJ jectlve methods are somewhat employed,
but not enough l Learned that here, In most
parts OF the country, there is little power in
the hands of the superintendent; and then again
he has no one to back him in attempting
advance movements SunODSp he desires n m
forward, will the fossils always aboundIng in
city schoos) be found at his heels? or the
Young and inexperienced girls who enter upon
teaching as Centeel business? For this reason
we urge the plan of Superintendent MacAlister,
of Philadelphia-an organized system of in
struction for the whole body of teachers. Su-
perintendent Luckey is well qualified for this
am afraid there is little study of the science
and art of teaching by the Pittsburg teachers.
In the library at the rooms of the Board of
Education, l saw no shelf of pedagogical
books; thinking had made mistake, l looked
again. This has been true of every city once.
1t is not true of New Haven, Providence,
Springfield Philadelphia. Washington. and
many other cities now. In time all will have
their hbrories of pedagogical books and use
them, as the lawyers use their law libraries.
In the afternoon a visit was made to South
Pittsburg to the school of the veteran princi-
pal, Cargo. was glad to see, few blocks
away, new and commodious building in pro-
cess of erection, for every room was crowded
to the utmost. A spirit of earnestness was Wis
ible everywhere; it was very hive of boys and
girls.
Twas met by the principal of the High School,
Prof. c. B. Wood, and looked upon the assem-
bled students, some 500 in number: it was an
inspiring sight. After visiting several rooms |
and learning the plan of the school, must con- !
Tess was both surprised and pleased. The |
PRINCIPAL is no ordinary man. He is not only
desirous of advancing, but knows what to do
GOOD MAN MISSED.
Instead of making the school machine to
fit his pupils for college, he is running it on
broad lines. He has lost a valuable man in !
Prof. Jackman, who has been taken away by |
Colonel Parker The interest created by him |
in biology is well attested by visit to his old |
quarters. The appointment of Prof Gutten-
berg, from Erie in his place is a good one: |
such men as Jackman and Gutenberg are |
hard to find. And then it is hard to find nigh |
schools that appreciate them. There was an |
energetic commercial department.: the rooms |
and apparatus for chemistry are Inadequate,
Here found an old colleague Prof. B. G. Jill |
son, who was reckoned most able man in |
chemistry In the Albany normal school while |
was there.
/ believe it will not be long before manual !
training viii be taken up in Pittsburg; Super |
lntendent Iuckey has put three letters in his |
report about this; one from Superintendent A. |
p. Marble; one from Prof. Harris; one from |
Principal John d. Ford, of the Baltimore man
ual training school, esteem Prof HARRISON
some subjects his opinions valuable; on !
this, really worthless Still, IN this he indorses
cooking. Superintendent Marble is bright
man. but no authority on this subject what
ever.
A visit to the High School yesterday and
chats among the senior pupils corroborated
Mr.. Kellogg's GLOWING account of its ad-
vantages bat they think the classes are too
large, especially in the higher branches, for
the teachers to do justice to the pupils and
themselves.
TUE noO
They think it absurd that the classes in
the ward schools, preparing for High School.
will not average more than 10 to Is. while
the class in classics alone at the High School
numbers 40 or over. This they say is unfair
both to the teacher and her charges.
An extra teacher to assist in all the de-
partments will shortly be appointed for the
High School, and some fears are entertained
by the scholars that the appointee will pos
sess only the qualifications for a ward school
teacher. This, they say, would be worse
than to let matters remain as they are, as
she could not relieve the overworked
teachers in the higher mathematics, classics,
biology, ETC. The scholars are as rule am
bilious in the Pittsburg High School, and
wish for the very best instruction possible to
aid them in completing their course, with
both pleasure and profit. The extra teacher,
therefore, they naturally desire to have had
an scademIcal course of instruction herself,
so as to be properly qualified to impart the
necessary instruction.