The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-04-20
CITY SCHOOLS DISCUSSED
SPECIAL SUPERVISOR DECLARED
 TO BE UNNECESSARY.
At the Hearing Before the Special Conn mittce on Transfers of Money Last Nf%ht-ChairmaM DeweI1 Says 1t Is 1n- justice to Children to Teach Them Things Not Necessary.
Things Not Necessary.

| justice to Children to Teach Them Things Not Necessary.
 The special committee of the court of 1 common council to which was referred the recommendations of the board of finance for the transfer of $7,50O from
 the special expense account to the ac-
 count for current expenses in the de-
 partment of education and for the
 transfer of $1,500 from the crushed stone
 pavement account to the stone crusher and road-roller account, met last night
 in rooms 10 and II city hall. The ses-
 sion lasted until nearly midnight, and
 after hearing members of the depart
 ments concerned the majority of the
 committee decided to recommend that
 the transfer in the department of edu-
 cation be allowed, minus the amount
 months from September i to January 1
 next to pay salaries to the supervisors
 now employed to attend to certain de-
 partments of instruction in the city
 schools.
 The minority of the committee favor
 ed allowing the transfer of $7,500 asked
 for to meet obligations imposed by con-
 tracts already entered into, but, thought
 that it would be well to recommend
 that no supervisors be hired next year.
 The supervisors which the committee
 thinks are unnecessarily in the city
 schools are the supervisors of drawing,
 music and of the primary schools, with
 the assistant supervisors.
 James T. Moran of the board of edu- cation appeared before the committee in
 favor of the transfer of s7,500 asked for in that department. He submitted a statement to show that there would be in that department deficit of $S,63779 for the present year. This deficit sis claimed to be due to the fact that the board of finance cut down the appro- priation asked for by the board of edu- cation.
 Chairman Dewell of the committee questioned MT. Moran as to the salaries paid to the supervisors of music, pen- manship, drawing, and of the primary schools, and brought out the fact that the salary for these supervisors for the four months, September, October, Mo- vember and December next, would amount to about $3,S0O MT. Dewell thought that the salary for a supervisor of penmanship was a legitimate ex- pense, but thought that teachers who come from the normal school should be able to teach writing, and that the sala- ries for the other supervisors named above were useless expenses. He said that if he thought the board of educa- tion would stop the nonsense of hiring he would vote for the trans fer now asked for but he believed that if this transfer was allowed the board would go out and hire supervisors again next year.
 MT. Moran said that no one wanted to take the responsibility of saying what supervisors were not needed, but that if the court of common council would say that there was no need of super visor of music or of supervisor of drawing the board of education would let Professor Jepson and Miss Skinner go. In reply to a question by Council man Hall of the committee as to wheth- er or not the board of education was at the bottom of the proposition to do away with the classical course at the nigh school, MT Moran said that the board was not responsible for it. He said that if the classical course was abolished and other scholars were put n the building the cost of it's main .enance would be about the same as it s at present, and that there would be 10 saving of any account.
 MT. Dewel remarked that in advocat- ng the abolishing of supervisors he considered not so much the money in- yolved as the positive injustice to the children to teach them things not nec- ,ssary. He said that he could bring an | lrtist who would tell the board of edu- ation that the drawing taught in the drawing--was all non- ense. He thought that no child could | earn animal drawing before having tudied anatomy. He thought that | eachers who come from normal schools ] hould be able to teach not only pen but drawing and music, a few minutes each day without having su- ,ervisors, special teachers, in, those branches. He thought that the super ntendent of schools should attend to he duties now performed by various assistants.
 Messrs. Hooker and Betts of the board f education also appeared, with MT. Ioran, to favor the transfer asked for. llexander Troup appeared and opposed he transfer. He said that the educa- ion now received in the New Haven chooIs was superficial and not practi- al. He related an instance of mem- CT of the board of education calling up" Il a school in the city and inspecting ome composition books, and said on andling him the composition books the sacher apologized for the spelling and -riting contained in them. He referred ) the dissection in the schools of oys- ITS, clans and bugs, and said that it as rank nonsense net so good as Inc which was given in the old sd school -houses.s He thought that if { oney was being used for such things
 was time the citizens got down to ard-pan and stopped it. He had noth- g to say against the members of the bard of education, but thought that le whole system was wrong. He ask if it was true, as he had heard, that le superintendent of schools had time
 take a postgraduate course at Yale, hile supervisors and other assistants ere hired for him. MT. Hooker replied l lat the superintendents name did not ,pear in the Yale catalogue and he