The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-10-06

school, on the whole, where the nstruc- ton is intelligent and systematic and where the children make constant prog ress in their work day by day. As children grow older and reach the grammar schools and the high schools, lessohs are given from books more than is possible in the primary schools, and although the children are older, yet in some respects to teach them proper ly is not so difficult matter as in the lower grades, where they are younger and where they cannot rely so much upon themselves as they can in the older grades. Moreover on account of the salary schedule in vogue ill the prl- mary schools, schedule which 1t IS lrn- possible to change without increasing the expense of the schools change which the board has not had power to make, most of the young and ineXperi- enced teachers are to be found ill the primary grades and not in the grammar schools. This present year nearly twen- ty of the new teachers are in the prl- mary schools and only seven in the grammar schools. Now on account of the inherent difficulty of the work of the primary schools and because of the ldCI llldl lllulE llldii pA SAAS children are in the primary schools, and because of the great importance of doing the primary work intelligently, and because of the fact that ineXperl- enced teachers are found in the prl- mary schools in city the size of New | Haven, a person constantly llvlnG Tn | the primary schools, studying thelr needs and aiding teachers is essential. | If she be an intelligent woman, skllful in her work, intelligent in her views or primary education, she Is person who | can make herself of great value III pro" noting the efficiency of the schools. | This fact is recognized not only in New l Haven but in numerous other cllles. There are primary supervisors In Cam bridge and Providence, In Providence there are two supervisors Of primary schools. The citizens committee in Providence appointed year ago to ln- vestigate the schools, spoke in the hlgh- est praise of the work of the superVls- ors of primary schools in that city and were very earnest in their recommenda- ton that these supervisors be retained. There are supervisors of primary schools in Newark, N. J., Washington D C.. Troy. N Y., Rochester, N. r., Syracuse, N Y., Buffalo, N. r., Indian apolis, Cleveland, Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Louis and other cities.
 There are in New Haven at present upwards of 440 teachers. The schools are in session practically 900 hours wear. and if the superintendent or schools could spend all of his tune Tn the visitation of schools. ne coulu manifestly spend about two hours With l each teacher during the year Mani festly it is impossible with all his other | duties to spend a great amount or tune in the schools Probably not more than | tvo-fifths of his time can be gwen to actual school visitation or observation. | Although the superintendent Is re- snnnsible for the work of the schools | although he appoints the teachers and has the power of dismissal, subject to the ratification by the board, yet by the very necessity of the case ne must iudga of the work of the schools partly by the judgment of his subordinates or | assistants supervising principals and supervisor of primary schools. At the utmost he cannot spend more than one hour a year with each teacher. 1T he could visit the primary and gram mar schools alike this is not sufficient l time to judge of the merits of teach- CTS. He must know of his school in city the size of New Haven largely by means of the judgment and observation of other people The supervisor of pri- mary schools is the only person aside from the supervisors of drawing, music and sewing, who gives all of her time to the work of the schools The su- pervisor of primary schools has no of flee duties whatever. She spends no time at the office of tte board of edu- cation during school hours. Before and after school hours she meets teachers. She gives all of her time to actual school visitation, and there is no one else, according to our present plan, who is at liberty to do this,
 The present supervisor of primary schools is a graduate of the New Ha- ven High school and of the Welch Training school She is thoroughly conversant with the spirit of the schools. Before she came to New Ha- ven she taught at a salary of $l,6o0 in the Rhode Island State Normal school. She is a person who has devoted her time to the study of primary schools, she IS an expert on tfldl SuDJecl ana IS recognized as such in all southern New England Making a study of it, natur- ally her opinion of the primary schools is worth something. She goes into the primary schools as the representative of the superintendent of schools He would go himself into the schools if time permitted, but for the reasons giv- en before time does not permit, and he must necessarily delegate this work to some one else.
 The supervisor of primary schools holds meetings with the primary teachers based upon the results of her observations as to the needs of the teachers. She keeps in touch with the work in reading, for example, in all the first grades of the city; by observing the large number of teachers she is enabled to know the strength and | weakness of the course of study in reading and methods of teaching. No person who observes only a small num- Der of teachers can possibly have the breadth of view or intelligent compre- hension of the work as a whole, as a supervisor of primary schools. We have for example, new course of study in number or arithmetic for he primary schools. She gives her atten- ton to the question as to how this