The Newtown bee., 1898-08-12
Editorial Notes.
The Schools of Connecticut.

POINTS BROUGHT OUT BY BY THE
 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD.
 A copy of the annual report of the Board of Education of the State of Con nectlcut has been laid upon our desk and as usual r Is an interesting document. A valuable addition for reference is a list of the school visitors of the state and also the enumeration by districts.
 In the report of the Board is the follow Ing emphatic declaration on the subject Of town management
 While we dwell with persistence upon the necessity for trained teachers, there is need of a modern and workable school organization to enable us to secure such teachers. The law has put the towns to sleep, and the district which was originally planned and syOwedly intended to assist the town in the building of gchOolhOuses
 
 has come to be an engine for hiring teachers without regard to their qual. itlcations. The failure to secure trained teachers is, in mos. cases, the inevita ble result of system which admits of no thorough school organization. The ed ucation of children is stretched upon the rack Ofa dcfcIent aud Outgrown system. While 1t is not well to provide too much system, we have a collision of system with system, the town and the district No satisfactory organization can exist without the uniform control of the town, the town becoming the unit for school purposes, as it is for all other purposes.
 The position taken by the Board on the subject of trained teachers is emi- nently sensible, and one we heartily en- dorse. They say;
 The present supply of trained teachers Is inadequate. This Is not evident from any explicit outcry from those who man. age schools and employ teachers, for they in deplOrable number of cases shut their eyes to merit aud fix their gaze on friends and relatives. Nor are expectant teachers themselves eagerly clamortnR for preparation. Tue convin- cing proof is that the number who an. nually begin to teach is 400, and not more than 200 of these beginners have ever given momeat's time or thought to the matter of teaching. Of the POO train cd beginners the normal schools supply l6O, and of these an increasing number arc willing to go and find their way into the country schools of the state.
 That the active crusade against pupils irregular in attendance by the secretary and his agents is showing resultq, ia at tested by the statistics. On this point they say
 The Board has again to record con- siderable increase in the number of children on the school registers of the state. There Is also a very satisfactory improvement In the regularity of attend ance. The statistical returns which are presented show that in the year ending | August 3l, 1891, the increase of school 1 population was per cent. The nun Der of scholars on the registers has in- creased l.7 per cent, and there was rise of 4,2 per cent in the average attendance. This increase in attendance was made in spite of withdrawals to private schools. The interest in school libraries. we are glad to see on the increase; and this is question which might we'll be advo- cated locally. They say
 We have to record an increasing interest in school libraries. Since the year 1884, there has been A rise in the number of libraries from 240 to 6S8, and in the number of volumes from 2s, O35 to l36. .S99. It is also satisfactory to note that in addition to the $6,S3O granted by the state in the year 1S96.7 there was con- tributed for library purposes by the dis tricts and by individuals SIS, OPS. 70. Since 1883 the State grants for school li- braries Lave amounted to $77,4l5. and the district and individual contributions to STA, $50 36.