The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-10-18

| Continued from First Page.)
with because 1t was an interference
with duties which should be discharged
by the supervising principal. Under the
| present system there Is one supervisor
| OF the primary schools, the first foul
grades with more than half the pupils
OF the city schools, and ten supervising
| principals for the four higher grades
| with less than one-half the pupils of the
lower four grades. Comparative argu-
| ments as to other cities do not amount
| to much. Teachers and other profess
sional people suffer from bias.
Cooking, he thought, should be
taught in the schools and that three
extra teachers in cooking should be APP
pointed Manual training and cooking
Is help to the child to earn its own
living.
Mr. Fox said that he desired to dis
cuss nature study. but the committee
thought that it did not come under the
matter before the committee. BY
questions to Mr.. Moran, Mr.. Fox
showed that Miss Reynolds, the pri-
mary school supervisor, had supervision
of that branch of school work and Mr..
Fox was therefore allowed to speak
upon it. Mr. Fox thought that elemen-
tai subjects. such as reading, arith-
methic, geography, etc, all essential
subjects, should be taught, but the
school authorities attempt to inject in
wide range the elements of science,
anatomy of grasshoppers, about rains,
the moon, Indians, stars, ETC., in the
first grade. He said: Frankly the
boys eleven years of age who come to
me don't know about these things. /
have been told by men who have visited
the schools that the grossest errors in
elemental science are taught He re-
ferred to some of the things taught in
the nature study such as the anatomy
of frogs and tadpoles. flowers and
fiowerless plants, about spiders, grav-
ity and heat study. etc, taught in the
lower grades under nature study and
said his attention had been called to
the matter by the parent of pupil
coming to him and saying that he was
tired of having his young son who
could not read and write well come
home and repeat chemical formula.
If nature study taught the child to
see, the study should be confined to
some one subject, as botany, not these
big doses. He thought that teachers
were distracted by teaching these nom
essential things, and told Of one teacher
who had told him that she was able to
instruct in grammar only fifteen min
utes. He asked; "If nature study Is
decided not to be necessary, should Miss
Reynolds be retained as supervisor of
primary Instruction."
He charged that Superintendent Ken
dall's salary had been raised $1,000 by
Miss Reynolds as supervisor
of primary instruction, she being, ac-
cording to testimony by members of
the committee on schools, an assistant
to and representative of the supern-
tendent. He said: "Mr. Kendall has
lessened his duties by so much as the
assistant superintendent takes Off" He
brought out the fact that over the pri-
mary grades there are practically three
the superintendent the SUI
pervisor, so-called, and the supervising
principal, and this was admitted by Mr..
Moran of the board of education.
Mr.. Fox did not think that the addi- |
tion of a supervisor at cost of $1,000 |
made up for the loss Of men principals, |
L
and that the economy figured out that |
way did not pay: In answer to q ques-
ion by Mr.. Fox, Mr. Moran said that |
t depended on the superintendent |
Judgment as to the decision when there
vas a conflict between the Judgment of
he supervising principals and the SUI
,ervisors as to the efficiency of teach
r. Mr. Fox thought that such conflict
discipline In the schools He
aid: II should say that with Mr.. Ken
Ialls salary he could devote at least
our hours a day to supervision" Mr..
FOX was still speaking when at 10
clock the committee decided to ad-
ourn.
Walter Leigh, ex-member Of the beard
f education, said that the supervising
Principals had no more to do now than
,hen he was a member of the board of
ducation, and that when he was on the
GARD the principals took care of the
anne schools that they do now.
The committee at this point decided
D adjourn to next Tuesday night, and
hat each citizen would then be allowed
, speak fifteen minutes. Mr.. Fox will
ontinue his very interesting statement
t the opening of the hearing Tuesday
light.