The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-10-31
COUNCIL OF EDUCATION.
10 Convene at the State
Normal School, Trenton,
Nov. II and L..
THE CENSUS SYSTEM INADEQUATE.
Open Discussions On Statis-
tics and the Licensing
of Teachers
THE CENSUS SYSTEM INADEQUATE.

The Council Of Education of the State
of New Jersey will convene at the State
Normal School of Trenton, on Friday and
Saturday. November II and II, when the
report of the Standing Committee on Sta
tistics and the Special Committee on the
Licensing OF Teachers in New Jersey, will
be submitted. An interesting programme
has been arranged, beginning at a quar-
ter to four O'Clock Friday afternoon,
when the various committees will meet
subject to the call of their chairrnen. On
the evening Of the same day there will
mitted by Principal Augustus Scarlet,
An Analysis of the School Census for the
Decade, 1s8e-1S9e,s' by Superintendent
ohn Enright of Freehold. G. O.. Ryan of
New Brunswick and ]. M. Ralston of AS
bury Park. Also by Professors A. G.
Apgar and Elias Carr, of Trenton and
State Superintendent C. J. Baxter.
On Saturday, beginning at nine o'clock
In the morning, the report of the special
committee on 1.-THE Licensing Of Teach
ers in New Jersey by Superintendent
Randall Spaulding. of Montclair, chair
man, followed with a discussion on the
subject by Superintendent v. L.. Davey
of East Orange and Principal f. H.
Hanson of Newark. There will also be a
continuation of the discussion on An An
alysis of the Schoo Census carried over
from Friday evening.
A correct school census is Of the great
est Importance, first because it is essential
to an equitable appointment of the
amount of school tax to be raised and a
-a4 ds-+,;b-+;a ~ tha q a i, Tho ama41n1
of money to be raised thereby being de-
terrnined by the number of children be-
tween five and eighteen years OIL age, as
shown by the next preceding school ceil-
sus: second, because on the census is
dependent the wise location OF scnool
houses, and, third, because Il is, or should
be, the basis for determining the actual
school accommodation necessary. W nile
the impression that a seat for each cnIid
in the school census should be provided
seems to be prevalent. the fact IS tnat q
considerable number have been enrolled
in Ell parochial or private SCHOOLS,
while another considerable number lave
completed their education and gone u
work or business.
With these and many other reasons why
the school census should be correct, still
the system now in vogue TOR taxing that
census is inadequate. The scnool autnorl-
ties, as well as the entire are
interested in having every child between
the ages of five and eighteen years attend
school,, and the enumeration OF the cen
SIS mas a DGcuH1dT} lllQCSikSit LIZ O0t1t
as large a numbe of lame as possible,
his remuneration being determined there
by. Should the excess in the gross num-
Der of names be so great as to arouse
suspicion the State superintendent q
Schools is required to return the report 70
the enumerator for correction, and III
case this enumerator neglect or refuse TO
do this, it then becomes the duty OF the
State superintendent to appoint anotnef
enumeration, n the work had to De lone
all over. 1t is with a view 10 befIerln2
the system of the school census, II pos
sib1e, that the discussions OF FRIDAY anu
Saturday, evenings have been arranged.
The system of licensing teachers IN this
State is also inadequate. Heretofore L
has been done more from a OF
scholarship than anything else, while a
teacher needs much more than merely a
hign scholastic standing to become sue
cessfuf in educating the coming genera
1ion. Personality and experience must al
SO be taken into consideration, as well
al moral qualities. Now, personality, al
though of the utmost Importance IS elu-
sive and difficult of definition n almost
impossible to test and regulate unless the
various characteristics which go to make
m The whole be noticeably lacking.
Scholarship, it IS easy to test, and 4
Teacher must, of course, be examined for
that. but Judgment must also be passed
upon the personality of the teacher, n
the object of Saturdays discussion VIII
be to find some means OF a better sys-
tenn of school teachers.
The officers of the Council of Eduea-
ton are. President. Superintendent of
Schools Henry Snyder, of Jersey city;
Vice-PresEdeht. Austin c.. Apgar, state
Normal School. Trenton; Secretary. 5. ".
Arrowsmith, Principal Of Public Schools,
Red Bank, and Treasurer, H. Brewster
willis. County Superintendent OF Schools,
NaW brunswick,