St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-11-07

mittee on Fuel and Janitors, with au-
th0rity TO enforce the regulation
device Indicated; and. ii necessary. EN-
pI0y an engineer competent to perform
the duties Of SUCH position.
Adopted by
as-lnsbectors Cook, Croonquist,
Dobner, Foley, Giesen, Kuhles, Postle-
thwaite; Thomson, Wright and Mr..
Presidential.
From the Corporation Attorney
Submitting detailed report or his ex-
animation of title to lots /. q, and !,
block ], Haller's addition, recently pur-
chased by the Board of Education for
a school site.
Received and referred to Committee
on Real Estate.
Requesting extension of time allotted
by their contract for completion of Man
ual Training school building, rendered
necessary by certain changes ordered
made iD foundation and plans.
Received and referred to Committee
OH Real Estate.
From Thomas Cochran ,Jr.-
Inviting attention of the Board of
Education to the fact that certain
changes in the plat of Manchester Park
are made necessary by the building OF
the electric railway line into and across
that section of the city. and asking the
cooperation of the Board in the pro-
posed modification of the present plat
in order that the full benefits may be
derived by all owners Of property in
that section from the important grants
made to said railway company by the
City Council.
Referred to the Committee on Real
Estate, together with Inspector Wright,
by
Yeas Inspectors Cook, Croonquist,
Dobner, Foley, Giesen. Kuhles, Pos
tlethwaite, Thomson, Wright and Mr..
President-10.
From the Corporation Attorney
Submitting detailed report of his ex
animation of title to lots 81, %, 20 and
80, block 2, brakes Encouragement of
blocks 2, 8, 9 and 10, and lots l to IL of
block IL of McLean's reservation.
Received and referred to Committee
on Real Estate.
REPORTS.
From the Superintendent of Schools
To the Board of Education of the City
of st. Paul.
ST. PAUL, Nov. 4. 1889.
GENTLEMEN: have the honor here
with to submit my report for the month
of October.
The entire number of pupils admitted
into the schools thus far this year is
12.16S. as against 11,149 in the same
month last year. This, with 1901 en-
rolled in the night schools, makes a
total enrolment for the year thus far of
1859. 1t is noteworthy that some OF
the central schools, such as the Frank
lin, the Madison and the jefferson, have
a somewhat smaller enrolment than a
year ago, while the districts which have
room for expansion, such as the Web
ster, the Adams, the Cleveland and the
schools of West st. Paul and those in
the suburbs, have increased at a
more than compensatory rate. The
enrolment in the night schools
has been 1901, with an average attend
ance of 697. 1t is expected that with
the coming of colder weather both the
enrolment and the average of attend
ance will be greatly increased. We
have attempted to force out of these
schools the unruly element who have
been in the habit of attending them as
places of cl0wnish recreation, and to
make them attractive to the studiOusly
inclined. l am disposed to think that
an evening drawing school would be
popular and of great value to the arti-
san classes.
Thanks to the energy of this Board,
and its Real Estate Committee in partic-
ular, our children are becoming better
housed. The several anneXeS have re-
lieved some of the most crowded schools,
and the opening of new buildings fur
nishes still further relief. The Harri
son school, on Arlington Hills, and the
Fisher Ames school, at Hazel Park,
both opened to-day.
+ In internal matters we have been oc-
cupied chiefly in bridging chasms. In
the past complaint has been made fire.
quently that the step between the Gram
mar schools and the High schools was
/ too great. too abrupt. A careful read
Justment of the course of study and the
. establishment of branch High schools
/ has in great measure closed this chasm.
Others. however, wider and more dam
gerous to the development of the chill
dren than ever existed between High
school and Grammar school, are found
in the lower grades. The worst of all
is that between the Second and Third
grades. The primary school is sui gen.
eris as to its methods and materials.
In it the methods of the kindergarten
largely prevail. The child is taught to
handle things. The teacher is the me-
diator between him and the world. The
book is her instrument. He uses it for
reading only. His instruction is all
concrete. He is not supposed to be able
to abstract. except very little in num-
Der in the Second grade.
From the moment of entering the
Third grade, however, he is supposed to
be another being, capable at once of abb
stractiOn, generalization, and other of
the higher processes of thought. He is
now expected to draw his intellectual
pabulum from books. Instead of his
teacher leading him Oh to the compre-
henSiOn of numeral relations by simple,
concrete methods, he is given book
which he cannot even read, and is sup
posed to find out from it both what to
do and how to do it. The result is that
the poor child is all at sea: he does not
know what to do. For long time he
cannot find himself, and when he does
it is very much depleted self that he
finds. His development has been ar
rested He has gained nothing by the
change, while he has lost the best of
what he has acquired in the primary
room. In particular, he has lost his
love for school. The attractive, concrete
presentations of truth which drew him
to the primary school, as to a magnet,
are fond memories only. The dull, in
comprehensive book offers no attrac-
ton The soul has gone out of his
school life, not to return until, after
long years of drudgery, he finds in the
higher grades again a natural, spOn-
taneous and concrete method. Hence
the truant playing and all the difficulty
in keeping children in school through
ont tho orp1pdiatn GRADES
The remedy which We are trying to
put into operation is very simple. 1t is
to extend primary methods as far as
they are available through the third and
other intermediate grades; to keep the
child interested by the use of things all
through the course; in each case to lead
up to the abstraction, not to pound
the child over the head with it.
A child should not be given