Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-09
EDUCATION STATISTICS
GATHERED FROM THE SECOND
VOLUME OF REPORT.

Statistics and general information about
public schools and higher educational in
situations are to be found in abundance in
the second volume of the report of the
commissioner of education for the year
1904, which has just left the government
press. The volume contains over 1900
pages, Is substantially bound In cloth and
we'll indexed 1t includes a complete sur
vey of the educational exhibits at the st.
Louis exposition by experts in charge of
the exhibits from various countries, tables
of figures galore, covering almost every
conceivable phase of the question. and
number of interesting papers on educational
topics by prominent educators, of this
country.
An interesting table is that which shows
the total length Of service Of teachers male
and female, in twenty-seven Of the thirty
nine cities in the United States of 100000
inhabitants and over, regardless of where
the service has been performed. The totals
in this table show that 2.068 per cent of
the teachers serve less than one year. and
1850 per cent one year. When twenty-five
years of service is reached only I21 per
cent of the total number in service have
reached that limit.
In 1904 Washington had enrolled 1,374
teachers OF these ,ea . eleven had served less
for two years, etc. Twelve had served
twenty-five years.
A unique discussion of the measure of
teachers efficiency Is contained in the pub
lication. The author of the paper is Supt.
Edwin P. Seaver Of the Boston schools.
Prof. Seaver says In the course of his
paper: o.,o.. . ...o,,.
err. like any other natural power, physical
or spiritual, can be known and measured
only by it's effects. The efficiency of a ma
I~ry% I,A - ,-l~
1t will do in a given time against given
amount of resistance-as when we say that
steam engine or dynamo is of so many
horsepower. our unit being accurately y de- de-
pounds one foot in one minute against the
force Of gravitation.
1.-THE efficiency Of a source Of heat is
measured by observing the rise In tenn
perature Of a given quantity Of water to
which the heat is applied The efficiency
| of a source OF light Is measured by count
| ing the number Of candles required to pro-
| duce the same illumination. These are
physical powers, and 1t has been a leading
| task Of physical science to devise methods
and instruments OF precision for the accu-
rate measurement Of their effects.
Teaching power, on the other hand, is a
| spiritual power, mind operating on mind;
and mental science has not yet devised
precise methods OF measuring the effects
Of such operations. Therefore quantitive
expressions applied to teaching power
must needs be metaphorical and vague, not
precise and literal.
We do indeed know that the resistance
against which teaching power works IS
often very great: but we also KIN W that
| 1t is variable, not constant and measurable
/ like the force of gravitation. An idea may
perhaps be conveyed by describing man
| or a woman as "a thirty-three- boy power
| teacher" but only vaguely to the minds
| Of persons not acquainted with the boys
! '"There Is no ascertainable fixed ratio be-
| tween the enthusiasm of the teacher and
| the degree of warmth with which given
number of pupils interest themselves in
their studies; although there is no doubt
| that relation of cause and effect here
| exists