Evening star., 1900-07-09
difficult question for any one to determine.
he said.

he said.
Admissions to High Schools.
Continuing, Mr.. Stuart said:
1.-THE average number of pupils admitted
to high schools throughout. the country is
21 per cent; in Washington 1t Is per
cent That has been used as a criticism of
our schools. 1 do not look at it that way.
l would say, In correction of what DIR.
Lane said. that there Is no examination
for admission to the High School, and there
Is no examination for promotion anywhere
in our schools. The whole question Of ex-
ing that the teacher is just competent
to say whether child is qualified to go
from the eighth grade to the High School
as she is to say that he is qualified to go
in the High School there was demand for
examinations from the people. l think
that admission to the High School without
examination has been rather favorably re-
mitted more pupils. By that 1 do not
mean to say that those pupils are not
qualified. and | do not mean to
to go to the High School. I think they
have. 1 think the child who has COM
pleted the eighth grade has the right to go
to the High School, if the parent can af-
ford IT.
When children are not qualified to go to
the High School. Mr.. Stuart said. they are
given another year in the eighth grade.
hhl lstue VI was ueSlSheu " bS
two years course, in view of the diff
culties of the High School work. and many
children remain there two years. Probably
it might average half Of the children who
go out into life-a great majority stop be-
fore they reach the eighth grade or seventh
about the sixth grade, 1 think. The
largest number of pupils in our schools is
about the fifth grade"
Stopping at the fifth grade. under the
system in vogue at present, the education
would depend upon the boy. Mr.. Stuart
said he would know how to read and write;
he would know how to spell the words that
occur in his text books; he would have a
wider vocabulary Of spelling, but he would
words. because the spelling book is not in
the fourth grade. Understand" said Mr..
Stuart. "all the teaching Of reading in the
primary schools is not done In the way
That is to say, words are not always
taught as wholes. Children in the first
grade begin to spell naturally after they
have learned words wholes. They begin
to spell words phonetically, but, of course.
later they spend a good deal of time IN
spelling words by syllables. But 1t still
remains that. in broadening the course of
instruction and widening the studies, the
amount of time given to spelling in the
spelling book is smaller than it formerly
was"
And is not as thorough suggested the
chairman of the committee.
Not as thorough along that line; more
thorough along other lines, replied Mr.
Stuart.
any complaint of superior correcting the
teacher in the presence of the SchoiarS, so
as to impair his her influence with them.
Mr.. Stuart said it was not his habit TO 40
such a thing. He said of course there Is
more or less complaint of superior officers
Any man in authority, he said, Is hkeiy 10
disappoint those under him. He did not
think II wise for a superior omcer 10 cor-
hefOra the children.
The Pay and Duties of Teachers.
Referring to the work and pay OF teach
ers Mr.. Stuart expressed himself rather
strongly. Said he:
1.-The man or woman known as the prin-
cipal of the building in other places in the
country does not teach. or else only teaches
a mart of the day. or has an assistant, and
he or she is able to devote much of the time
of the day supervising the schools IN that
building. In Washington we have no such
system; the teacher at the head or the
school has her own school to teach. she
should have more time and more money.
The supervising officers. the heads OF the
departments In Washington, are aii under
paid. / am comparing them with other
great cities. The people who have respon-
sibilities are underpaid In washington.
That can be shown by comparative tables
The principals of buildings are underpaid.
and they are not only underpaid, but they
should have assistants. The middle-grade
teachers and primary grade teachers are,
some of them. underpaid-well, yes; they
are all underpaid. | was looking at an APP
preparation act the other day. and found
an item something like this: For ten coal
passers, $500 In the District of Columbia
appropriation bill you will find this item:
For forty-five teachers. 400 each. You
pay coal passers better than you pay
teachers. The appropriations made are
equitably and reasonably fairly divided.
You would not think Of paying apprentices
as much as you would skilled workmen
The teacher who has just come out of the
normal school should not get much
money the teacher who has been teach
ing twenty years. The graduate from the
normal is found where the young children
are. The question is whether that Is
proper thing to do. Yet II is done every
where. The teacher being just from the
normal school has not that disciplinary
power that would enable her to control
large boys and girls. and probably has not
the education which would enable her to
teach the higher branches, and she natu-
rally drops into the primary school. We
are trying to Offset the difficulty by holding
in the first and second grades a woman
here and there who has developed special
ability, and giving her a higher salary"
Mr.. Stuart spoke of the lack Of school
room accommoda ations in the District and
the need Of additional buildings.