The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1893-03-10
EDUCATIONAL.

Chess is taught in all the Australian
public schools.
II is said that the demand for colored
teachers in Maryland exceeds the sup
ply.
There are 13, 2S3, 10 enrolled pupils
in American schools, 1863, ,922 teachers
and S14S,173,4S7 are expended an
nually
Gov. Flower of New York has given
$1,000 to the university extension
movement, which he thinks should be
supported wholly by private benef.
oence.
Professor Z. 8. Dana, of Yale, is
quoted as saying, in regard to the at
tendance upon chapel: The whole
thing resolves itself into the question
% to whether Yale is a college or uni
versity. If it is college it may be a
proper thing to compel students to Mt
tend religious exercises but a univer-
aity demands a more liberal spirit.
Beside the system of common schools,
attended by over 100000 pupils, the
city of New York supports two col
leges. the Normal College for girls, one
of the best institutions of the kind in
the country, and the College of the
City of New York, in which l, 100 young
men are educated. These institutions
are controlled by the Board of Educa-
tion and are supported by taxation tho
same as the common schools are.
The results given in the annual state
ment of the United States Commits
sioner of Education for the school year
1912 show that never has the sup
port Of the people to the public schools
been 30 strong rs now. Defects which
have been disclosed by trial are being
corrected all the time. Every year
more attention is paid to the construc-
sion Of buildings, to sanitation, to heat
ing and the like, so that the health Of
the pupils may not be injured, and es-
pecially to improve methods ofinstruo.
tion. Especially gratifying is the
marked progress of education among
women. Colleges for women are
steadily raising the grade oftheir work.
The influences Of these agences will be
strongly marked in the children. The
stream can not be clear and pure and
strong if the fountain is allowed to be.
come defiled. The American people,
especially those of moderate incomes,
owe it to their children to jealousy de.
iend the public schools from the as
saults of their enemies in any quarter,
and especially from the deba sing in.
anence of the small, narrow minded
politician. = Baltimore American.
OF the sixteen American cities with q
population of over 5000 in 1890,
only four-Philadelphia, Boston, Mil
waukee and st. Louis-have incorpo.
nted the kindergartens on any large
scale in their public-school systems.
Four more-New York, Chicago, Brook
lyn and Buffalo-have kindergarten
associations organized to introduce the
new method as q part Of free public
education. In San Francisco kinder.
gArtens are maintained with no appar-
ent expectation Of uniting them to the
free-school system. Only Baltimore,
Cincinnati, Cleveland and Detroit,
among the seven cities left-the other
three being Pittsburg, Washington and
1NoW OIlcuuo- TetuTueu Us having
charitable or religious associations sup.
porting kindergartens. In 1SS6-8S,
forty-six lesser places were named as
having one or more kindergartens,
mostly experimental, connected with
public schools. The entire work of
providing special education for chill.
dren from three to six years of age is
still in this stage in this country. Con-
trast this with France, whero the ecoles
mate,meiles, begun by Oberlin in l771,
and given new life in 1926 by Nine.
Millet, have substantially adopted the
Frobelian principle and practice, and
had in lSS7-88 IN attendance of 741,-
IA between the ages Of three and six
IN population only two-thirds that Of
the United States, and having far
smaller proportion Of fyoung children.
Talcott Williams, in Century Magazine.