Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1897-06-05

bryant school lot. having n frontage of
2o feet by n depth of 1915 feet.
Ordered. That the Mayor and City
Comptroller he and they are hereby
authorized to purchase for the use of
schools the north 90 feet Of Sub. Lot II
of the sub. of lot 12 and part of lot II
I'm block 4. United states Bank Addn. to
Chicago. being the W. Y of the w. "A s.
L. 4 Sec. 90. {. 80 ~. X. IA L. Sd =. NJ.
adjoining the Ward School on the
south at a cost not exceeding $1,000.
The prices are said to be exceedingly
high for the property mentioned.
This Is the Board of Education that
reduced the teachers salaries ) per
cent. this year on account of '"hard
| tines
These have been soft tines for the
grafters.
The penitentiary Is yawning for some
members of this school board.
The crooked dealings of the School
Board In real estate transactions are
not the only things which have brough.
rcproacl upon the fame of that body.
1t Is owned. body. soul and breecbcs.
by the hook Trust. as The Eagle vii!
prove before 1t gets through with its
exposures.
Ninety per cent of the school prin-
cipals will tell you, If you ask them
that the pupils Of our public schools
are compelled to use the most obsolete
and valuclcss text books.
They are compelled to pay good prices
for these books and In every instance
their parents are robbed.
Robinson's Arithmetic. now used by
order of the handy men on the School
Board. Is book that Is antiquatcd. OBJ
sOlctc and obsolcsccnt in q large part
of It's makeup.
II is very poor work and more than
one.third of IL IL never used at all!
The beginning Of the work treats Of
the fundamental rules In such an idiOtic
and ridiculous way that It Is skipped
and the first subject taken up In the
school Is fractions.
The first third of the work Is never
used ut all.
Yet the children have 10 buy 1t.
The parents have to pay for 1t.
And the Trust wakes fat on the pro-
cceds of the robbery.
Jugglery with textbooks II to begin
again In the Board of Education. Trust
book agents and the less favored ones
not In the trust are to he aroused and
the squabblc Of two years ago resumed.
No particular reason appears to exist
why a radical change In textbooks is
necessary ut this time. but the teachers
are already being prodded on the sub.
ject. Superintendent Nightingale, hav.
Ing charge Of the high schools. hns sent
out to teachers the following letters:
May 20. 1897. TO the Teacher Of His.
tOry--1 am requested to ask your Opiil-
lon OF different general histories.
> Personally. ! am not In favor Of a
general history" at all. hut do not
think II Ii wise to make a change Just
: ut present. as by so doing we may
fisten u book upon us for four years.
ana since there IL a prospect Of grpat
changes In historical study In higl,
schools In the near future, I think II
better to wait little.
The four most prominent general his.
tories now are probably Anderson,
= Barnes. Fisher ana Meyers. Fisher II
: new. Is II adapted to our work? Please
write cOnii,lentlally and frankly NJ
once.
\. J.. NIGHTINGALE.
AMI signature II:
To the Teacher of GcOmetry-A
change In geomctrlcs Is contemplated.
, l am requested to ask for your opinion
Of the new book by Phillips Il Fishes..
, published by Harper Brothers. White
. frankly and fully ana state your prefer.
!, encc for this or for any other book. or
= the present one, If you think 1t best.
: Write at once.
The third letter of same date AMI sig
nature is:
To the Teacher of Clvics-In view OF
the great evolution going on touching
2, this subject n II wise tn make c,angC
= In our textbook just now: Is Bycc's
= .thr.dgmcnt or Hinstlalr's American
Government adapted to our work. VIII
u not something better appear soon
Write cOniidentlally ana frankly.
The letters have been 80 wordcd
IprOhably unintcntl0nally) that odd.
were being offered of 10 to I that
among nine-tentls of the teachers nd
y dressed IN immense preference would
] he Immediately developed for Fishers
; history, Phillips h Fishers new 80
omctry ana Hinsdalt's American GOV
y ernment.
: Nearly two years have elapsed since
0 II. j. ROsenthal made his great fight IN
D the board of education against the man
= ner In which textbooks were selected
I the prices paid ana the influence which
!. certain book agencies appeared to hav,
over the STAFF Of highly paid superin
t tendents headed by Mr.. Lane.
One effect of this battle was that Il
I Chicago firm publishing flrst-class
geography did get u chance to intro
duce Its books at home. Now that Il
sweeping change In three Textbooks
Z used by high school scholars IL con,
, templated, adding not only expense to
{ the parents Of pupils. but the mastery