■
SCHOOL ORGANISATION
SCHOOL ORGANISATION
BY
S. E. BRAY, M.A.
RESPONDENT OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN ; BARRISTER-AT-LAW
INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS TO THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL ; AUTHOR OF
"BRITANNIA'S REALM," ETC.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
Sir JAMES YOXALL
Second Impression {Second Edition)
BALTIMORE, MD., U.S.A.
WARWICK & YORK, INC.
Wilveteity tutorial fl>ress XD.
ENGLAND
•
PREFACE.
The first edition of this book, intended primarily for
students in training, showed many signs of the haste with
which it- was written ; but notwithstanding its defects, the
work has been appreciated beyond the author's expecta-
tions. The present edition, re-arranged, and to a large
extent re-written, in no way departs from the purpose of
the first edition. Its empirical character still remains the
chief feature ; but roanv additions have been made and
revisions carried out in order to bring the work into line
with the most recent official requirements, and into closer
touch with the more advanced educational thought.
The changes of the past few years show in a marked
degree, the great progress made in all that concerns the
care and education of the child. From empiricism, from
psychological investigation and medical inspection, is grad-
ually emerging a more exact and comprehensive science
that must ultimately bring within its scope every phase of
educational work and fix the principles that should govern
each series of steps in the educative process : and this up-
ward tendency and the advancement alreadv made have not
been lost sight of in the present work. Indeed the author
has not been content to specify only what must be done ;
he has sought to point out also what should and can be
done, in the way of organisation, and within the limits of
the elementary school, to further the development of the
333$5G
VI PREFACE.
whole child. He hopes, therefore, that this new edition
will not only meet the wants of the student in training,
but will also prove of real assistance to the practical
teacher.
The writer is especially indebted to Lyster's School
Hygiene, published in the same series as the present
volume, for much valuable information on school premises
and general hygienic conditions of school life.
For the sake of brevity and simplicity, the teacher in
these pages has generally been referred to as a " Master."
The book is, however, intended to apply to the conditions
of teaching and organisation in all departments of the
school. The word " Mistress " may therefore be read
everywhere for " Master " or " Teacher " except where the
contrary is implied or distinctly specified.
The Author is conscious of the honour of being asso-
ciated, in this work, with Sir James Yoxall, M.P., who has
contributed the Introduction, and who is eminently fitted
to deal with such a wide and important question as the
position of the Elementary School in a national system of
education.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
The Plage of the Elementary School in a
National System of Education xv
Introductory Chapter 1
CHAPTER I.
The Premises, Fittings, Furniture, etc., in relation
to Organisation and School Hygiene.
The Premises in General 7-33
Educational Effect of Good Premises
General Plan of Building for an Ordinary Graded School
The Small School
The Hall
The Class-rooms —
Number and Distribution ...
Movable Partitions ...
Curtains, etc.
The Extra Room
Rooms for Art Instruction and Practical Work
generally ...
Infant Rooms
Accommodation of Rooms...
Premises for Special Purposes —
The Higher Elementary School ...
The Central School
Rooms for Cookery, Manual Instruction, etc.
Day Schools or Classes for Defective Children
The Playground ...
vii
7
9
15
16
17
18
18
19
20
23
24
25
26
26
29
30
VI11
CONTENTS.
School Hygiene
Site and Foundation
Floors and Roofs ...
Internal Walls
Entrances, Staircases, and Corridors . .
Cloak-rooms and Lavatories
Lighting, Natural and Artificial
Heating and Ventilation
Sanitary Arrangements...
Desks —
Board of Education Rules
Dangers from Improper Desks
" Sheffield System "
General Conditions for Good Desking
Infant Furniture .. .
Wall Boards, etc.
Blackboards, Cupboards, etc. ...
The Teachers' Room
Oiled Floors
PAGE
33-61
. 33
.. 35
.. 37
.. 38
.. 39
. . 40
.. 43
.. 50
.. 51
.. 52
52
.. 53
.. 57
.. 58
... 59
... 60
... 00
CHAPTER II.
The Class.
The Class as a Working Unit
Size of Classes and Variations
Large Classes ...
The One-Teacher or Ungraded School
Time-tables
The Class as Unit in a Department
Promotion
Age and Classification —
Backward Scholars : Promotion
The Ungraded Class
Promotion on a One-subject Basis
The Highest Class
Specialisation ...
Departmental Teaching ...
02
04
71
74
81
83
86
92
93
94
94
95
100
CONTEXTS. IX
PAOE
Ungraded Room ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 103
The Class-room 104
The School Hall 106
The Class Teacher from the point of view of Organisation ... 107
Preparation of Lessons ... ... ... ... ... ... 108
Correction of Class and Home Work ... . . . . . . 109
Athletics: Playground ... ... Ill
Class Examinations ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 112
Class Discipline ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 114
Class Registration ... ... ... ... .121
Class Excursions ... ... ... 121
Conferences ... ... ... ... ... 122
Sex of the Class Teacher 123
CHAPTER III.
The School and its Divisions.
School Departments ...
Necessity for Differentiating between Infancy and Childhood
The Pubescent Period .
oize of Departments ...
The Infant School ...
Ecoles Maternelles ...
Classes Enfantines ...
Ecoles Gardiennes or Jardins d'Enfants ...
Kinderhorte, etc.
Infant Schools in this Country
The Kindergarten
Inter-departmental Promotion
Co-education v. Separation ...
Pros, and Cons.
Principles of Staffing
Staff Difficulties in Schools of Old Type
Special Classes
Problems and Experiments...
Some Merits and Defects of the Class System ...
The Bata via System .. .
126
129
130
130
137
138
139
139
140
141
144
145
148
149
151
155
157
158
159
162
X
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
Organisation in Various Types of Schools. The
Work of the Staff. Some Time-tables.
PAGE
The Ordinary Graded School 166
General Plan of Procedure followed by the Head Teacher in
keeping a small Combined School going ... ... ... 172
... 173
The Younger Infants
Elementary Schools serving a Special Purpose
Partial Exemption Schools and Scholars
Industrial Schools
Vacation Schools
" Special Schools "
The Blind and Deaf
Open-air Schools
Higher Grade Schools ...
The Higher Elementary School
" Central Schools "
The Contributory School
The Continuation School
Day Classes
Evening Schools ...
Some Means of linking the Day with the
School
Some Continuation Schools abroad
The Ordinary Elementary Day School
Teachers giving Partial Time or Visiting Teachers
Pupil Teachers ...
Student Teachers
Absences of Teachers . . .
Supply Teachers
The Head Teacher
School Examinations ...
178-216
178
179
180
181
186
188
191
192
195
204
205
205
209
Evening
211
214
216-232
216
216
219
221
222
223
228
CONTENTS.
XI
CHAPTER V.
Time-tables.
PAGE
General Remarks 233
Time-table of Infant School 239
Analysis of Time-table (Infant School) 240,241
Time-table of a Combined Girls' and Infants' Department
(Non-Provided School) facing
Analysis' of Time-table (Girls' School)
Summary of Time-table (Girls' School) ...
Analysis of Time-table (Boys' School)
Time-table (Boys' School), in a very Poor District
Time-table of a most interesting Boys' School in an ex-
tremely Poor District ... ... ... ... ... ... 246
Time-table (Mixed Department) — Non-Provided School facing 246
Time-table of a Senior Mixed Department of Ten Classes ... 247
Time-table of a Berlin School of Eisrht Classes ... ... ... 248
242
242
243
244
245
CHAPTER VI.
Discipline.
Introductory Remarks
Attendance
Rewards
Badges
Banners, Flags, School Ladder, etc.
Ethics of Rewards ...
Punishments ...
Forms of Punishment —
Censure ...
Deprivations
Impositions
Corporal Punishment and its Ethics...
The Law of Corporal Punishment
Expulsion
251
258
260
261
262
265
269
273
274
275
275
282
284
Xll CONTENTS.
PAOE
The Punishment Book
... 284
Parents' and Managerial Aid
... 284
Other Aids to Discipline
...
... 286
Reports to Parents
...
... 287
Open Sessions ...
... 288
Home Lessons ...
... 289
Meals for Children
... 290
The School Library
... 291
League of Mercy, Guild of
Courtesy
... 293
School Lists
... 294
Office Routine ...
... 294
The Hall Address
... ... ...
... 295
The Honour and Merit Board
... 295
The School Journey
... 296
The School Motto
... ... ...
... 299
Fire Drill
... 299
The May Queen Festival
... 299
Clubs
... 300
The School Journal
... 301
The Tooth-brush Club ...
... 302
The Flower Show
... 302
Visits of Nurses
... 303
Medical Inspection
... 303
The " School City" Method of Government
... 304
General Remarks
• • ■ ••• . • • •
... 304
CHAPTER VII.
School Records and Registration.
General Remarks
Registers
General Rules for the Use of Registers
Special Rules for Admission Register
Rules as to the Provision of Attendance Registers
Registers for Special Classes ...
Special Rules for Attendance Registers
... 306
309-319
309
310
312
312
313
CONTENTS.
Xlll
Registers, continued —
Rules for the Use of the Partial Exemption Register
Rules as to the Register of Summaries
Verification of the Registers ...
Records
Weekly Records
Quarterly Records
Yearly Records ...
Bye-law Returns
Records of School Progress ...
The Child's Book
P. T. and S.T. Records
Medical Inspection and Records
Ophthalmic Records
Aural Records ...
Defectives' Records
Thermometric Records
Board of Education Regulations re School Boards
School Conference Records
The Three Years
PAGE
.. 316
.. 317
.. 318
319-331
319
320
321
321
322
323
324
324
327
327
328
328
328
330
330
CHAPTER VIII.
The School in relation to Local Administration.
Need of Exceptional Treatment of Children in Two Direc-
tions— The Talented Scholar ; the Backward Scholar
The American Ladder
Home Administration
Elementary Education
Higher Education
Reservation of Places
Scholarships ...
Children's Care Committees
Consultative Committees
332
335
338
339
343
346
348
351
356
XIV
CONTENTS.
Combinations of Schools for Purposes other than Co
ordination ...
Interchange of Letters
Relation of Schools to Centres
Nature Study, Gardening, Drawing, etc
Circulation of Books and Pictures
A School's Secondary Function . . .
Index
PAGE
Soi
360
362
362
364
365
367
THE PLACE OF THE ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL IN A NATIONAL SYSTEM
OF EDUCATION.
BY
Sir James Yoxall.
I.
What in a rational scheme of national Education is the
due place and scope of the elementary school ? No official
answer to that question has ever been given in England.
A whole volume of the " Special Reports " has been
devoted to " Preparatory Schools for boys : their place in
English public Education" -,1 but where is the companion
treatise, on the place and scope of English elementary
schools ? It is still to seek : we possess no constructive
plan, no reasoned thesis to go by ; in this vastly important
department of education we go haphazard, blundering
along. Who in this country has from a seat of authority
discussed philosophically or scientifically determined the
true role and function of the Voluntary and Council
Schools ? What President of the Board of Education,
or what Secretary? What Matthew Arnold among the
Inspectors? Too much "cumbered with serving," they
have found no time to lay down the ground-plan on
which the typical elementary school should be built.
1 Special Reports on Educational Subjects, Vol. 6 : Board of
Education, 2s. 3|d.
xv
XVI THE PLACE OP THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
The first " Special Report" to the Board of Education
ever published had for title " Public Elementary Educa-
tion in England and Wales, 1870-1895 " ; but confessedly
it aimed " at showing in a statistical form the progress
which was made towards a general provision of elementary
education in England and Wales during the first quarter
of a century from the passing of the Elementary Education
Act, 1870 " : enumeration and quantities, not quality or
fitness, were the theme.
That is largely true of Education Blue-books also.
Many pages of statistics, chronicles, and records of Acts
and facts concerning elementary education in Tasmania,
Ireland, Malta, and so forth, can be found in the long row
of volumes of " Special Reports," but they do not help
much in the search for a reasoned basis and criterion for
an English public elementary school. In this regard, at
least, the department of Special Inquiries and Reports has
been an unintelligent Intelligence Department. So in-
veterate is our English habit of dealing only or mainly
with facts, the concrete, and the obvious, that even the
Special Reports from abroad do not enlighten us as to
what the spirit, essence, and conception of an elementary
school in Holland, Sweden, Austria, or France are sup-
posed to be.
Prefatory Memoranda and Introductions appear as
frontispieces to school Codes, but, admirable as they are
so far as they go, they are didactic and exhorting, not
philosophical ; they hint, suggest, or command what a
public elementary school may do, and how it may be done,
but they do not answer the question " What in a national
scheme of Education is the place of the Elementary
School ? "
The Introduction to the Day School Code appears to
open hopefully in that respect. " The purpose of the
IN A NATIONAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. XV11
Public Elementary School is" — it begins; — but it con-
tinues, " to form and strengthen the character and to
develop the intelligence of the children entrusted to it."
Yes, yes, but what children should be entrusted to it, is
what one wants to know ; and there is no answer except
the implied, the English answer, "The children who are."
Another aim of the public elementary school is "to make
the best use of the school years available," this Intro-
duction goes on. Yes, yes, again, — but what school years ?
Which, and how many, ought the school years of an
elementary school child to be? "The Education Acts
answer that " would be the characteristic, English, official
reply. Yet Education Acts ought to be shaped by, and
not to shape, the English idea of an elementary school.
In the " Suggestions for the consideration of Teachers
and others concerned in the work of Public Elementary
Schools " it is said that " the work which the Nation
expects its Public Elementary Schools to do has been
stated with general acceptance in the Introduction to the
Code" — the very document which has just been criticised !
And further, " that the regulations of the Code are
designed in the first instance to serve the necessary pur-
pose of setting forth the conditions which an elementary
school must satisfy in order to obtain the Parliamentary
grants available for Public Elementary Schools." Was
ever anything more blank and wooden ?
We are searching round a " vicious circle " when con-
sulting official documents to discover what is the true
place and scope of the elementary school. The writers of
these documents appear to take the elementary school for
granted. " We know what it is, you know what it is "
they seem to say to the reader. " What need for words
about what it ought to be or might be ? " So far as I can
discover, nobody has ever attempted to discuss the " idea "
s. o. 2
XV111 THE PLACE OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
of a public elementary school in the way a great writer
discussed "The Idea of an University." Yet perhaps the
public elementary school ought to be made the University
College of the young and poor.
We have gone for four and twenty years without any
inquiry into this matter by a Royal Commission : the
Royal Commission on Secondary Education in England
did not profess to enter that field. Indeed, I might say
we have gone for fifty years, because the " Commissioners
appointed to inquire into the Elementary Education Acts,
England and Wales," who reported in 1886, considered
everything except the idea, the place, the scope, the aim,
the proper purposes and dimensions of the work of a
public elementary school. There was only one section of
their Report which touched upon this subject : it was
headed " Elementary Schools and Higher Education," an
illusory title ; the sub-heads indicate what really was
discussed. They are these : Varieties in local circum-
stances— Grouping of small schools — Grading of schools.
The Commissioners reported that " In theory, every
elementary school is looked upon by the Education Depart-
ment as conforming more or less to one well-defined type."
But which type ? Did the Commissioners ascertain, con-
sider, criticise, and intelligently deal with that " well-
defined type"? They did nothing of the sort. This is
how they described the " well-defined type" : — "If it is not
an infant school, then it is one in which, as far as the
Department is concerned, the children may be presented for
examination in the fullest possible curriculum of the Code."
Could anything be more circular in reasoning, more chaffy
in grain ? The real question surely was, " Is ' the fullest
possible curriculum ' too full, or too meagre, — is it a curri-
culum suited to what should be the scope and purpose of
a public elementary school ? "
IN A NATIONAL SYSTEM OP EDUCATION. XIX
But, leaving that alone, and the elementary school where
it was in 1886 — still in the Egyptian thraldom of " Pay-
ment by results," — the Commissioners went on to maunder
amiably about Higher Elementary schools, exhibitions
and scholarships to Secondary schools, and " candidates
ignorant of Latin." Nebulous at the top and infirm at
the base, that Report soon sank into neglect and nothing-
ness ; it died early, unlamented. Out of its ashes I
dig the following flinty piece of stupidity about educa-
tion : — " The instruction to be paid for out of the rates
and taxes should be fixed by the Legislature. Until this
is done the limits of primary and secondary education
cannot be defined." Of course they can ; but who is
certain that they ought to be, or that " overlapping," as it
used to be called in Parliamentary debates, is not to some
degree inevitable, and even desirable ?
Narrow-eyed, unintelligent, dense, the official volumes
stand in rank before us like a row of cloddish children in
a class-room. We ask them for educational bread and
they give us a stone. Need I further prove that when a
mere unofficial observer and amateur educationalist like
myself is asked to write, in this book, about the place of
the elementary schools in a national system of Education,
though he may have the whole range of the House of
Commons library and official records at his disposal, he
searches the shelves of authority in vain ?
II.
Or almost in vain. In Volume IV. of the " Special
Reports" one gets some illumination, from abroad. That
volume contains the text and translation of a paper by
Professor Rein on " Tendencies in the educational systems
of Germany," and affords some glimpse of the " idea" of
XX THE PLACE OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
an elementary school. Dr. Eein goes to theory ; he gets
away from the actual, unsatisfactory facts towards a
partly realised ideal. " Our schools," he writes, " have
been rightly called centres of spiritual nourishment.
Among them the primary school takes the most important
place, since ninety per cent, of the nation gain their
spiritual food therefrom."
So that at last we find it stated, indirectly, in an
English official publication, that the place of the elemen-
tary school is the most important place in a national
system of education. Upon that basal statement one
could found a theory, and call for an edifice of practice.
That is what Professor Rein goes on to do (I amend the
English wording here and there) : " We must therefore
insist that the elementary school shall be well appointed
and formed on an appropriate model. It must be so created
as to promote social well-being. Even to-day the primary
school is, in many ways, regarded as only a sort of school,
merely for the poor, just good enough for imparting a
necessary minimum of knowledge and ability, to the chil-
dren of the masses."
But " we must break once and for all with this inhumane
and non-Christian conception ' Dr. Rein goes on. " We
must demand to have one and the same primary school
for all children, of every social class. Let it form a
common foundation, and be the broad support of our
whole educational system, giving living expression to the
idea of unity among all the members of our nation.
Schools, at any rate, are not called on to encourage class
distinctions, and intensify such divisions. Like the
Church, the first duty of the school is to try to affirm our
common humanity, to act as a reconciler, to check the
tendency towards divisions, and to proclaim the idea of
national unity aloud. For these reasons we demand a
IN A NATIONAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. XXI
common, general, primary school. The preparatory de-
partments attached to secondary schools must be abolished."
These be " brave 'orts " to utter, even in the land of
Stein and Humboldt; but Professor Rein went on to
declare that " I can count on complete agreement with
these views in Germany. The Prussian Minister of Edu-
cation is a warm supporter of the idea of a common
primary school, the whole body of German elementary
school teachers have inscribed this demand upon their
banners for the last ten years " — 1887 to 1897 — " and the
common primary school is already a reality in Bavaria."
That, no doubt, is why the elementary schools which I
have seen at Munich are such splendid monuments of
communal provision and general educational efficiency ;
but we are dealing with England here. So that next door
to these exalted quotations from Dr. Rein I must needs
place Professor Sadler's reluctant judgment, expressed in
the volume of Special Reports on Preparatory Schools.
At page 83, dealing with " the place of the Preparatory
School for boys in Secondary Education in England," he
tells us that " Opinions differ as to the degree in which
social distinctions might be lessened or removed by re-
quiring, at least for the first stage of their education, the
children of all classes in society to attend the public
elementary schools. It is unlikely that such a require-
ment could be enforced unless public sentiment were
overwhelmingly in favour of it."
Professor Sadler evidently regrets -that public senti-
ment is not inclined that way, and he thinks that few will
doubt that the preparatory boarding-school system " tends,
far more than any day-school system can ever tend, to
keep together in rather isolated communities boys drawn
from the wealthier kind of homes," and so in some measure
to deprive such lads of the experience of mixing habitually,
XXU THE TliAOE OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
on equal terms, arid measuring themselves intellectually,
with boys who " have felt the spur of poverty." But, he
adds, " it would be misleading to imply that fashion and
social prejudice are the chief causes of the present practice.
Careful sifting of comrades, and protection against indis-
criminate influences, especially during childhood, are
regarded by English parents generally as an advantage
for their sons, as well as for their daughters."
That discreetly but exactly states the English position
in this respect. And English parents "of the wealthier
kind " will defend that position successfully for many a
year to come. The Board of Education regulations there-
fore recognise differences between "elementary," "primary,"
and "preparatory " schools and classes. Scotland used to
be a democratic land in this matter ; it was long a Scottish
boast that the son of the laird sat upon the same bench as
the son of the herdsman, in a school that was neither
" elementary ' nor even " primary ' alone, and " Public
elementary " is a prefix to a school name unknown in
North Britain yet. But the last decade has witnessed a
tendency towards separatism even there, and the Lords of
the Committee of the Privy Council on Education in
Scotland determined early in the year 1910 to use the
following distinctive nomenclature, which bears on the
subject of this chapter : —
Primary School. — A school, or a department of a school,
giving an education based entirely upon English to pupils
who are, as a rule, below the age of fourteen. A primary
school may contain individual pupils or small sections of
scholars who are being instructed on the lines of an inter-
mediate school.
Intermediate School. — A school providing at least a
three years' course of instruction in languages, mathe-
matics, science, and such other subjects as may from time
IN A NATIONAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. XX111
to time be deemed suitable for pupils who, on entering,
have reached the stage of attainment in elementary
subjects which enables them to pass the qualifying ex-
amination.
Secondary School. — A school providing at least a five
years' course of instruction as aforesaid beyond the
qualifying examination stage.
So that the particular " place " of an elementary school
in a system of national education, for which Professor
Rein began to strive successfully in Germany some twenty-
five years ago, is a " lost cause " in Great Britain ; if
indeed it was ever a " cause ' at all. Alone, or almost
alone in this country, the National Union of Teachers
champions it, as the German Teachers' Union does in
Prussia, Baden, Saxony, and Wiirtemburg. It is a
" counsel of perfection " too high for British reach.
III.
Our search through official documents, bearing the
imprimatur of the Board of Education, has discovered this
much, directly or indirectly, therefore : —
(a) Educationally the elementary school ought to be,
but for social reasons in England and Wales
cannot be, the primary school for all children
in its area.
(b) "Elementary" schools, "primary'1 schools, and
"preparatory" schools and classes cannot be
treated on similar lines.
(c) The elementary school is a primary school with a
particular field, and must receive a special
treatment, as the " preparatory " function of
an elementary school has reference, in the
main, to a period when school-days have
ended.
XXIV THE PLACE OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
For the rest we are driven back upon " common know-
ledge," and ourselves. And still, at the end of this already
lengthy preamble, the question poses itself: " What, in a
rational system of national Education, is the ' idea,' place,
and scope of an elementary school ? "
The temptation to a writer is to consider that query in the
abstract, and to build an educational chateau en Espagne.
But not in Spain, nor, so far as I know, elsewhere, except
in some parts of Germany, can the ideal elementary
school be realised ; and what is to the purpose here is the
" place "of an elementary school in England and Wales.
To the degree in which ex- scholars of elementary schools
in Wales enter Welsh secondary schools — a higher propor-
tion than 'is the case in England — the problem is not the
same in England as in Wales. But the difference is slight,
after all, and for practical purposes we may disregard it.
So we may say that in South Britain,
(1) The elementary school is, and is still to be, the
institution for educating children who come
from other than " the wealthier kind of
homes " ;
(2) The elementary school is to deal with children of
ages between three and fifteen years ;
(3) Only a very small percentage of them will proceed
to secondary, or any day continuative schools ;
(4) For years to come only a small part of the total
of such children will proceed to evening schools
and technological institutions ;
(5) the products of the elementary school will be
almost wholly ranked — at first, even in the case
of exceptions — among " the working-classes " ;
(6) It is the elementary school or none, therefore, for
the commonalty as a whole.
These are the conditions and circumstances which
IN A NATIONAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. XXV
official documents take for granted ; so much for granted,
indeed, that even to mention matters so obvious did not
seem to be necessary. Parliament, the Board of Educa-
tion, and Local Education Authorities take them for
granted. So let us too take them for granted, since we
must. But let us also endeavour to perceive what " idea "
of a public elementary school arises from these data, like
an emanation and an aura. What should be the model
of a public elementary school in these conditions ? To
what criteria may it reasonably be expected to conform ?
IV.
From the circumstances, limitations, and other con-
siderations already mentioned, it follows, I think, that
the place, scope, and function of an elementary school
consist in —
(a) Giving to the great majority of its pupils all
the direct and specific scholastic teaching and
training which they will ever receive;
(b) Preparing a fraction of its pupils to enter
secondary or other continuative schools by
day;
(c) Enabling a part of its pupils to proceed to even-
ing schools and classes :
(d) And, of course, also, scholastically preparing all
its pupils, either solely as in (a), or partly
as in (b) and (c), for entrance into the full
responsibilities, opportunities, and duties of
industrial, political, moral, intellectual, and
spiritual life.
Therefore Professor Eein inevitably claimed chief im-
portance for the primary school ; its great " place " is
allotted to it by the very circumstances and prejudices
XXvi THE PLACE OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
which seem to limit and minify it. Its function is to
school the masses ; as the man who did most to hinder
the popular education which he controlled is said to have
said, "We must educate our masters." A new meaning
and definition is gradually being given to the phrase " the
governing classes " : les classes dirigeantes are ceasing to
consist of the few, they are becoming the multitudinous
classes in the nation. With this political change, the kind
of school which educated a Canning and a Gladstone is
ceasing to be the most imoortant kind of school, considered
nationally ; elementary schools bear such responsibilities
towards the millions that the responsibilities of Public
Schools to the upper myriad seem, by comparison, small.
Compulsory education of the people has been decreed —
" longo post tempore venit " ; the people are ceasing to be
the has peuple, and their education can no longer be treated
de limit en has.
It is not mere enthusiasm — it is mere justice — to claim
that the elementary school ought now to be magnified and
ennobled therefore. Not paltry, not starven, not inefficient
should be the only schools which the bulk of the nation
will ever know. Moreover, the elementary school ought
not to be merely and coldly efficient ; it should be honoured
and inspiring. The best that has been thought and done
about other schools should be applied to the elementary
school, so far as may be. Emotions and inspirations such
as centre around the names cut in the wainscot at Eton, or
on the School Memorials at Rugby, ought to be, and
might be, evoked by past or present membership of a long-
established elementary school. The school-motto and the
school-song ought to be features there too : " Forty
years on " need not exclusively appeal to Harrovians.
The esprit de corps might be the same in essence, if not
in degree.
IN A NATIONAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. XXVll
I am not sure that it might not be something higher,
indeed. The boys of a Public School are not so early to
become breadwinners, and in that sense men, as are those
who quit an elementary school at thirteen or fourteen ; the
pathos, and the stern duty, of the working-class lads'
lives in the immediate future ought to be present to
the mind at every school-meeting, an inspiration to the
teachers in their work, and a special bond of sympathy
between the children. A particular kind of " solidarity ';
is therefore possible in the elementary school.
Y.
Two small books, in fawn-coloured binding just touched
with gold, stand on the " shelf of favourites " in one of my
bookcases ; they are Edward Thring as Teacher and Poet
and Uppingham School Songs and Borth Lyrics. Every
teacher ought to be a poet in his way ; inarticulate in
verse, may-be, but imaginative and perceptive in his soul.
Reverence and compassion are due to be taught, and
Turing's favourite motto, next to his " ova et labora" was
Wordsworth's well-known line, " We live by admiration,
hope, and love." Hapless the school where the teachers do
not comprehend that " admiration, hope, and love ' are
the great psychical levers. " Light up the magic lantern of
common words and things," Thring counselled. " Work
from the inside outwards. ... A teacher is one who
sows seeds of life and fosters them. Have done with
dry bones ! " These adjurations do not apply to Public
Schools alone. And again, —
' ' Each morn they meet, the young, young feet ;
They lightly come and go,
A changeful stream, that still doth seem
The same, and still doth flow.
XXV111 THE PLACE OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
The stream shall run while shines the sun,
And still the buttressed stone
Shall hear the beat of young, young feet,
And count them all its own, "
Need this, and all that it stands for — the historic con-
tinuity of school life, its elders and the youngsters, the
" old boys," the genius loci, the fraternal spirit of the
place, the carrying on the torch — have reference to Upping-
hams alone ? Schools do not live by grants and rate-aid
only, — wealth cannot make a noble school, or poverty in a
slum alone make a school ignoble. In many an elementary
school this Uppingham spirit lives : it ought to dwell in
all. Nothing of what is best in the Public School spirit
need be foreign to its humbler congeners. If the chief
virtue of a Public School is the preparation it gives for
life, all the more need for that spirit in an elementary
school, because no University years follow upon its pre-
paration. And I say again, that in the national comity
we ought to magnify, ennoble, and glorify the place and
function of the public elementary school.
VI.
Since the elementary school cannot be " preparatory " in
the technical sense of the word, except for a few of its
children yearly, it should be self- complete. Its curriculum,
aims, and methods ought not to be subordinated to those
of a Higher Elementary or a Secondary school. A peril of
the scholarship system lies in its modifying the elemen-
tary schools unduly. An elementary school should be an
independent entity, not parasitic, not ancillary even, but
living with a life of its own in a place of its own ; it should
be a complete and integral educative entity, so far as it
goes or can go. It should therefore be considered and
IN A NATIONAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. XXIX
treated as a self-contained institution, not correlated with
any " finishing school." For it is in itself the only " finish-
ing school " which eight out of every ten of its children
will ever know.
Trade Union Congresses and Labour Parties stand alone
in demanding that Secondary Education shall be provided
for every child, and I do not see any near prospect of that
requirement becoming effective. It is therefore more prac-
tical and timely to consider what can be done for the
millions of children who will never enter a Secondary
school. This consideration profoundly affects the ele-
mentary school's "place" and function. Part of that
" place " and function is, no doubt, the preparation of a
few children annually for examinations which frank them
into Intermediate or Secondary places of ii/structiou, but
these will be youngsters seldom more than twelve years
old. The great work and principal "place" of the ele-
mentary school must consist in educating the others.
So that curricula and tests for Junior or Minor Scholar-
ships ought not to be permitted to condition the teaching
of upper classes in an elementary school ; those upper
classes should not be improperly affected by circumstances
and plans which govern schools to which the children in
those classes will never go. Part of the ennobling and
magnifying which I advocate lies in the treatment of the
upper classes as a top and crown to the whole school. If
the school is to be an entity, a complete and integral
whole, it must not be reft of the classes which give,
or should give, the tone to the whole school. The
hero-worship of Smith minor for Brown major is a
considerable asset in the influence of a Public School ; it
should have its counterpart in the humbler institution.
An elementary school ought always to include a full
" upper form."
XXX THE PLACE OP THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
I think it follows, therefore, that, for these reasons ex-
pressly—I go no further than these — the Higher Elemen-
tary or higher- standard schools are not desirable appendages
to an elementary school system; an elementary school
cannot be organised to the best purpose if it is truncated,
at the Fifth or other class level. And, similarly, the
creation of Senior departments — Mixed, Boys, or Girls — is
to be deprecated : they rob the whole institution of unity ;
an elementary school cannot beneficially be cleft in twain.
And there should be a continuity and organic connection —
a sequence and prolongation of personality, so to speak —
between the Infant Department and the other sections ;
children should feel themselves members of a School, not
of a department merely. A school should throb with the
same life throughout ; for out of this corporate life arises,
like an aura and emanation, the " idea " of the elementary
school.
VII.
That "idea" has now become more clear to the reader
of these pages than official Keports and documents had
made it, I hope; at last we apprehend, in outline, what at
their best are the true place, scope, function, duty, privi-
lege, and glory of a public elementary school. But there
is still one important respect to consider, — the invitation
to study in years when school-days are done.
It is good for an elementary school to induce in its
pupils a liking for handiwork, house-work, readiness and
neatness with tools or utensils — a knack for drawing,
measuring, sewing, planning out, constructing, contriving
and arranging — a love for gardening and Nature-lore — a
delight in music, pictures, recitations, folk-song— a pleasure
in bodily exercises, drill, gymnastics, journeyings afoot,
and organised games for adults— a power of intelli gent and
IN A NATIONAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. XXXI
accurate observation, and so on ; these, and the lessons in
temperance, modesty, the causes and preservation of health,
civics, morals, and the Bible will prepare the children for
after life. But more useful than all (because it will help
in all) is the inducing of what the Introduction to the
Day School Code calls "a taste for good reading and
thoughtful study," so that the ex-pupils may increase and
deepen their knowledge during their after-years.
The flourishing of evening continuation schools, techno-
logical classes, schools of art, Polytechnics, and so forth
largely depends upon that. So does the flourishing of
literature rather than the " yellow press," of the concert-
hall rather than the music-hall, of the Free Library and
Art Gallery more than the public-house. So does, in every
respect and particular, the flourishing of the nation as a
whole. The place and function of an elementary school
particularly include this duty and responsibility to the
village, the county, the borough, the State.
Thinking of this after- study, how it can be induced, and
with it the flourishing of the things just mentioned, I am
conscious of two currents of thought — one towards ampli-
fication of the curriculum of the elementary school, and the
other towards simplification of it. To amplify the course
of study seems, at first sight, the way to ennoble and
magnify the school, and make it fertile of after-fruit. But
second thoughts demonstrate the contrary. Wisdom tends
to simplicity — it is only mere knowledge which makes for
complexity. "The deeper the content the simpler the
form " is almost a maxim in the arts ; it should be, I think,
a maxim in teaching also. In respect of curriculum, the
function of the elementary school is to induce a delighted
use of the mental tools, more than to teach the subjects
upon which the mental tools are to be used. Awaken
curiosity, train observation, and induce a love of reading in
XXX11 THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
children, and we have put them in the true way to be self-
educators all their lives.
What is called an " ambitious " curriculum is therefore
not in place in an elementary school ; the function there,
in relation to after-life, is to persuade to learn, not to
instruct to know. And what is called a " practical " curri-
culum is equally misplaced. " Truly educated " is not the
same as " highly educated '' ; it is something far better.
There are many vehicles of education, and " all roads lead
to Rome," but one need not try to travel by them all.
Education consists in spirit and essence, not in lexicons,
encyclopaedias, tools, or calculating-machines. " Simplify
and intensify the curriculum " is, I think, the true maxim
for an elementary school.
Wordsworth, the teachers' poet, himself knew the
" sleepless nights he passed in sounding on
Through words and things, a dim and perilous way" ;
but it was when knowledge had been assimilated and
digested into wisdom that he could write of
"one in whom persuasion and belief
Had ripened into faith, and faith become
A passionate intuition."
Into a place and function which may inspire, aid, and guide
towards that we must enncble the elementary school.
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
INTRODUCTORY.
"The problem of education is the eternal problem of human
nature." — Mazzin i.
"Let us grant that, as fur every other art, there is also a
technique for Pedagogics which can be learned only in a practical
way." — Waitz.
To establish clearly the meaning of the term Organisa-
tion, it is desirable to go back etymologically to the
original Greek : — the tool or instrument L with which
work" is performed. Applied biologically, organ desig-
nates a part performing a given physiological function.
Again, as the life of an individual is, in a physiological
sense, the sum of its functions, so the aggregate of its
organs is called an organism. Finally, an artificial or-
ganism, in which a variety of members and instruments
are disposed in order to secure a desired end, is termed
an organisation. As often happens, the same abstract term
signifies both an act and an effect, or an act and a state —
so in this case organisation covers both the arranging and
the arrangement. The application of this word pedagogi-
cally is a wide one. The co-ordination of the schools of a
1 opyauof (Latin, orgdnum) — tool or instrument.
2 ipyov = work.
S.O. 3
Z .SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
county, town, or district; the division of a school into
various departments ; the working plans laid down by a
head teacher for the effective teaching and proper govern-
ance of his scholars — all these come legitimately within
the meaning of " school organisation."
It is, however, the last-named phase of organisation
that will be principally considered in these pages — the
foundations upon which instruction and discipline may
and do rest.
The working plans must necessarily be influenced by the
character of the building, especially by the number, size,
and distribution of the class-rooms ; by the number and
quality of the staff ; by the age, sex, and attainments of
the scholars ; by the subjects of instruction and the
methods by which they are taught ; by the character of
the discipline ; and, lastly, by the specific aim which the
organiser has in view.
The nucleus of school organisation is sound classifica-
tion. The fitting of the teacher to the class, the adjust-
ment of the class to the room, the adaptation of the
subjects and methods to the scholars, the proper distribu-
tion of time, etc., are the additions that assist in making a
coherent and unified whole.
The true basis for educational method is the individual ;
but its application is almost invariably collective — that is,
adapted as far as practicable to groups of scholars ap-
proximately possessing equal attainments, but necessarily
varying in ability and character.
It is manifest that the best organisation is that which,
ceteris paribus, will produce the maximum of educational
effect in a given time. The essential condition precedent
to sound organisation is clear and distinct educational
aim. The end of education is not the theme of this
book, but so far as it affects organisation and the choice of
INTKODUCTOI4Y.
studies some remarks are permissible ; especially as the
training of the child, under the teacher's guidance, is
largely a question of self -organisation, of self-adjustment
in the course of the various stages of development. No
person can be said to be educated unless his experiences
have been organised or carefully noted, sifted, and adjusted
for future use.
All true knowledge implies organisation of experience.
Practice makes for perfection. If the effect of the third
attempt to do a thing is compared with the first, it will be
seen under ordinary conditions what a great advance has
been made : and this advance is really due to an organisa-
tion of the experiences of the individual during the first
and second attempts. The mental operation involved in
this kind of organisation is implied by Herbart in his
"circles of thought," and when expressed in action leads
to the formation of habits — the groundwork of character.
" All action springs out of the circle of thought."
It is considered that the dominant characteristic of
educational aim should be ethical ; that it should point to
moral training, not by mere words, but through the heart
and intellect, through example, through forces that are
part of the energies of a child's nature and enter into the
very essence of its soul. In the words of Euskin, let the
children get their " breastplate of truth first aud every
earthly stone will shine in it." A fine character will
satisfy all the theories as to the ends of life : a mere
intellectual prodigy will satisfy none.
The intellectual side must, of course, have its due share
of attention. Its development naturally occupies the major
portion of the time devoted to school life : for it is through
the proper training of the intellect and will power that
moral height and stability are attained. Mental alertness
must be encouraged, reasoning power must be trained,
4 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
and an intelligent curiosity developed. It is well, too, for
the theory of to-day to become the practice of to-morrow.
" The value of knowledge culminates in its use."1
Physical culture must also have its claims recognised.
Rousseau's ideal on this point is a beautiful one, viz. that
all parts of the human body, when in motion, should
harmonise with each other, like the sounds of a musical
chord.
As the school is State-aided and guided by State regu-
lations, and as, too, it is a unit in State organisation, so it
must be in touch with public sentiment and be limited by
the public purse. Hence a multitude of forces converge
upon the school, and streams of influence surround it. If,
therefore, the teacher, bound, as he must often find himself,
by invisible chains, is not always able to organise on what
he considers to be the best lines, he ought not to allow
his educational faith to be weakened or his ideals to lose
their guiding power ; for there is still an immense field for
the play of personality and the operation of initiative, both
within and beyond the school premises. No school is
bounded by its four walls. Discipline in its best form
Calls for teachers who are students of the endless problem
of human nature, particularly of child nature, and bids
those associated with the training of infants especially to
remember that young children spend most of their lives in
fairyland.
As a nation finds it necessary, from time to time, to
make new laws and to repeal or modify others, so it is
necessary for a school, if it is to preserve its health and
vitality, to be sometimes throwing oft' or modifying old
practices and adding new ones. Change is a law of nature.
Change must also, in a modified sense, be part of the
practice of the school. It is impossible for any institution
1 De Garmo.
INTRODUCTORY. 5
O
to thrive permanently unless new ideas are occasionally
given play in its constitution. New conditions must arise
with the advance of time. Stagnation is death. Non
progredi est regredi. Knowledge is " a world whose margin
fades for ever and for ever as we move." Conformity to
the law of progress is imperative.
Change, however, must not be introduced for the sake of
change. When introduced it should he like the change
of an organic body, "not that of a cloud." Before any-
thing is discarded or anything added, mature consideration
should lead the way.
The assistant teacher's interest in the school ought not
to be limited to his class. His horizon, theoretically at
least, should be as wide and extended as that of his chief.
Everything that concerns the school as a whole should
excite his interest and bring his help if desired. Loyal
co-operation with the head teacher and devotion to his
scholars are the sum of his duties.
On the other hand, the wise head teacher extends a
tactful consideration to each member of the staff, and
remembers that all are not to be influenced and directed
by the same means. He bears in mind, too, that it is
mainly through the agency of the class teacher that each
individual is reached, and the law of the school upheld.
The empirical character of much of the following disser-
tation will be manifest. In many respects, when dealing
with the social sciences (and in pedagogy, perhaps, no less
than any other), experience is the chief guide. The variety
of circumstances, the variation of character and the differ-
ence of local aims, are so great as to render a purely
scientific treatment an impossibility within the limits of a
small volume. However, a good school possesses the same
essential features wherever found. " It always nourishes
the same interests ; it always leads to thinking as well as
6 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
observation ; it always points to the beautiful in the world
and to the sublime above it ; it always awakens sympathetic
participation for domestic and civil weal and woe."1
This quotation indicates the character of the work to be
accomplished. It is clear that a sound organised basis is
essential. Personal enthusiasm, an insight into child
nature, a knowledge of the procedure adopted by the
best educationists and of the principles underlying this
procedure will probably be the teacher's most suitable
outfit.
1 Herbart.
CHAPTER I.
" The excellence of every art must consist in the complete accom-
plishment of its purpose."
THE PREMISES, FITTINGS, FURNITURE, ETC.,
IN RELATION TO ORGANISATION AND
SCHOOL HYGIENE.
The Premises in General.
Educational Effect of Good Premises. — Suitable rules
for the planning and equipment of schools have been
drawn up by the Board of Education for the guidance of
local authorities. These rules represent a minimum of
requirements, and apply to all new buildings unless it is
made clear that exceptions should be allowed.
The educational effect of good premises is undoubted.
A simple, dignified, and, if possible, artistic exterior, sug-
gestive of the purpose for which the building exists, is
calculated, apart from other considerations, to make the
scholars proud of their connection with the school, and to
exercise a constant and impressive influence in the neigh-
bourhood concerning the ideals of education.
A really artistic school building — and it can be artistic
in simplicity — radiates its beauty day and night. It is a
permanent expression of spiritual things ; it is sculptured
stone and masonry embodying a great aim ; it is a silent
8 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
power for good to all who look upon it, or dwell within the
spell of its presence. In poor and squalid neighbourhoods
especially such a building exercises a continuously whole-
some influence. One might properly say to the local au-
thority, " Costly thy buildings as thy purse can buy, but
not expressed in fancy."
It is an architectural canon that the exterior of a build-
ing should suggest the character of the interior ; and the
interior should of course be planned for, and adapted to,
the work it is proposed to do therein. First and foremost
the building must be planned in conformity with hygienic
laws. The child's extreme susceptibility to injury from
a noxious environment demands that this shall be the
primary consideration. The building should be so situated
that the sun can reach all its class-rooms without filtering
through foliage or being obstructed by house-tops, that the
air may be able freely to play round it, and that the natural
drainage can be effected without saturating the sub-soil
with moisture. It is well, too, to have the building remote
from factories and offensive odours, and standing back some
distance from the main arteries of traffic, so that the work-
may not be disturbed by external sounds.
There should be a commodious playground, evenly warmed
and well lighted rooms, and a thorough system of ventila-
tion. Other considerations are the number of entrances
and exits, a sufficiency of cloak-room accommodation, the
number and distribution of class-rooms, facilities for
adequate supervision and for the speedy passage of the
pupils from one part of the building to another.
It is evident that the interior of a building will, if suit-
ably planned, give material aid to the work of organisation,
and assist in many ways to produce the best educational
results. Pupils cannot be expected to work and develop
in accord with their natural tendencies and abilities unless
PREMISES.
good light, fresh air, change of position and of exercise,
daily and hourly companion their studies. Without a
healthy environment and facilities for free development,,
there is a tendency for the intellectual forces to wane and
for the moral power to deteriorate.
General Plan of Building for an Ordinary Graded
School. — From the nature of the work to be accomplished
and the number of children that must be duly classified
and instructed, it is clearly desirable that a building
proposed as a school-house should be specially designed
for that purpose and that purpose only. Too often in the
past educational claims have been subordinated to other
considerations. It is undesirable, however, to have a rigidly
uniform standard in school buildings, since education should
be progressive, and changes in method and procedure
demand the construction and alteration of buildings in
conformity with those changes. The character of the
building too must, to some extent, be determined by the
number of children it is intended to accommodate and by
the special aim involved in their training. As there is
no finality in method, so there can be no finality in the
standard of school buildings.
The best type of building, so far as the interior is con-
cerned, is one with a hall having the class-rooms grouped
near it, each room also having its independent entrance ;
and this type is the more advantageous when both hall
and class-rooms are on the ground floor. It is not alwavs
practicable, where space has to be strictly economised, to
prevent some class-rooms from opening into the hall ; but
when this can be avoided, it should, for two reasons : —
(1) cross ventilation is desirable, and this cannot be secured,
as a rule, without using the hall for purposes of that venti-
lation ; and (2) the sounds proceeding from the hall when
10
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
HALL.
Fig. 1.
games and other exercises are in progress there — and this
should be often — are likely to disturb the studies in the
adjoiDing rooms.
As far as possible, the class-rooms should open into
corridors ten feet wide, situated at one end, or at opposite
ends, of the hall. This type of build-
ing is found in New York, where
it assumes the shape of the capital
letter H. In London the ground
plan in recent buildings assumes
the form of a quadrilateral figure.
Most of the class-rooms open into
corridors ; but two rooms usually
open into the hall, and this necessi-
tates the use of the hall for cross ventilation. Again, in
Fig. 16, showing the plan of an American school, the same
kind of connection exists between class-rooms and the
larger space for general assembly, though in this case some
pro vision is made for good ventilation (diagonal mostly)
without necessarily using the hall for that purpose.
Some American educationists maintain that all school
buildings should be confined to the ground floor, and that
the illumination of the rooms should come from above,
as designed by nature, the eye being naturally adjusted
to such light. Through milk-white translucent glass the
light should be flooded into the rooms by ceiling areas
sufficiently large and well distributed to reach equally
every portion of the interior, without the possibility of
shadow.1 There should be no side windows for illumin-
ating purposes ; but on the side opening into corridors
1 " Skylights are objectionable. They cannot be approved in
school-rooms or class-rooms. They will only be allowed in central
halls having ridge or apex ventilation." — Board of Education's
Building Begiilat ions.
TYPES OF BUILDINGS. 11
windows should be placed, overlooking the school garden.
Thev further maintain that ventilation should be effected
through " walls that breathe," as in Dr. Richardson's
Hygeia.1 It is claimed, under this system, that ventilation
difficulties would vanish, and that other great problems in
connection with school buildings would be solved.
The best type of building already referred to is only
regarded as such with certain qualifications. Something
must depend on (1) the size of the hall in relation to the
number of scholars, (2) whether there are other rooms
besides the ordinary class-rooms in which work of an
essentially practical nature can be efficiently carried out,
and (3) whether the building is used as a self-contained
department.
A hall measuring 40 ft. by 50 ft. would reasonably
accommodate 500 scholars.2 The number of children for
whom provision must be made should generally be the
determining factor in deciding whether a school-house
shall have a hall or not. The hall is so useful an ad-
junct to the work of the class-room that, on purely educa-
tional grounds, it must be regarded as essential to every
school building, unless by some mechanical device class-
rooms can be converted into a quasi-hall for temporary
purposes, or unless one of the rooms is commodious enough
to accommodate all the scholars of the school at one time ;
but even conveniences like these only confer one of the
many benefits which a permanent and spacious assembly-
room is able to give to the life of a school.
1 See ^4??. Ideal School, by Frof. Search, pp. 88-90.
2 Halls — not more than 4 sq. ft. of floor space for each scholar is
recognised. "About 3£ sq. ft. for each scholar will be sufficient. " —
Board of Education's Building Regulations. "For large depart-
ments containing from 350 to 600 places, the most suitable plan is
that of a central hall with the class-rooms grouped round it." — find.
12 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Iii many large towns the cost of sites has compelled
local authorities to erect three- storey buildings, the infants
occupying the ground floor and the senior boys and girls
the floors above. But many of these " three-deckers " have
a central hall in connection with each department, especially
when the accommodation of the whole school covers a
thousand or more places.
Medical testimony now strongly supports the construc-
tion of buildings not more than two storeys high ; for the
effort required to ascend many flights of stairs, in march-
ing order, four or five times a day, must severely tax the
energies of the delicate child. When the site is sufficiently
large and open, and also fairly level, the most economical
plan is that in which all the rooms are on the ground
floor ; and this arrangement is preferable on educational
grounds. It is desirable that a building for use as a
public elementary school should be on not more than two
floors. " A building on three floors is open to many
objections, though it may be necessary in special circum-
stances." ]
Small schools will meet official requirements if the plans
arrange for the class-rooms to open from a corridor, or if
there is "a schoolroom with one or more class-rooms";
one class-room is imperative " except in special cases," and
the schoolroom in this case should " never be designed for
more than 100 children."
In this connection it is well to note an experiment now
in operation in Staffordshire, taking the form of what is
called " Pavilion Schools." In these buildings there is
no central hall, mainly because of ventilation difficulties.
All the class-rooms are on the ground floor, and the one
hall, adjoining the infants' school, serves for the use of all
departments. The class-rooms are designed in pavilion
1 Board of Education's Building Regulations.
GIRLS
Ground Plan of School.
Fig. 2.
The Staffordshire Tvte of Elementary School.
Ground Plan showing Relative Arrangement of the Three Departments.
13
-"W
SECTION.
Fig. 3.
The Staffordshire Type of Elementary School. Ground Plan of Infants
School, with Drill and Play IIall. Also Section of Class-room.
14
TYPES OF BUILDINGS. 15
form communicating directly with a verandah which, in
the case of the infants' department, leads directly into the
hall in question. The promoters of this experiment claim
that (1) the pavilion type of building marks from the
hygienic standpoint a distinct advance in school archi-
tecture, ample provision being made for cross ventilation
by both hopper and sash openings of the windows, (2) it
costs one-third less than buildings of the central hall type,
and (3) it is at least as conducive to educational efficiency.1
The first two claims are justified : the third, however,
is extremely doubtful.
The principal factors for consideration in determining
the type of building for an ordinary elementary school are
(1) the number of children to be accommodated, (2) the
distribution of these children, having regard to both sex
and age, (3) whether provision is to be made for children
under five years of age or not, (4) the correlation of the
work of the school with other institutions (if any) in the
locality, (5) the need for compactness to secure a smoothly
working organisation and supervision, and (6) the two
official limitations,2 viz. («.) each department must have its
own head teacher, and (b) no department must contain
more than 600 places.
The Small School. — There are cases in which a single
school-room or small hall becomes a necessity. In many
sparsely populated districts there are village schools with
twenty to fifty pupils representing probably almost as
many grades of attainments as are to be found in much
larger urban districts. Small schools like these are
generally organised and taught by one certificated teacher.
It is, therefore, a practical necessity of the situation to have
1 See Lyster's School Hygiene.
2 Board of Education's Building Regulations.
16 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
all the pupils ill one room, so that while the teacher is
giving oral instruction to one section he may have the
remainder of the scholars under supervision. In cases of
this kind a separate class-room would be next to useless
unless it accommodated the whole of the scholars. It
would then be useful for purposes of practical work, or of
change and fresh air. A single-roomed school should not
exceed 600 square feet in floor space.1
A convenient form of building where two or three
teachers (including the head) are on the staff is one with
a corridor 15 or 16 feet wide, the class-rooms, cloak-room,
and lavatory opening into it. Such a corridor, if the floor
is wood-blocked, serves for physical exercises in inclement
weather and many other purposes for which a hall is
generally used.
The Hall. — The hall is common ground for all the
classes. If used as an ordinary class-room, permanently
or temporarily, such use throws a great burden on the
teachers, subtracts from the efficiency of the work, and
seriously interferes with the purposes for which a hall is
primarily intended. The hall should, of course, be suffici-
ently large to accommodate all the children in the depart-
ment of which it forms a part, and be as well warmed,
lighted, and ventilated as the other parts of the building.
It occasionally happens that a hall has to serve for the
joint use of two or more departments. The Board of Edu-
cation raise no objection to this provided it is reasonably
accessible to all the scholars. Sometimes this joint use
causes much inconvenience to the department the class-
rooms of which open directly into the hall. Besides the
general advantages that a hall confers, it is particularly
useful for physical training in the winter months, and at
1 See Board of Education's Building Regulations.
CLASS-ROOMS. 17
all other periods of the year when open air space is not
conveniently available. The hall mast not, as a rule, be
included in the accommodation, except as a temporary
measure, and then only by special sanction of the Board
of Education.
The Class-rooms. — The number of class-rooms must
be determined to a great extent by the accommodation of
the department. Generally one room for every fifty
scholars is regarded as a fairly satisfactory arrangement.1
No class-room should accommodate less than thirty pupils
on the ten square feet basis. The Board of Educa-
tion Regulations, which have to be framed to meet every
variety of circumstance, limit the size of a class-room to
one accommodating sixty children, " but in special cases
somewhat larger rooms may be approved." It is not
always desirable to have all the rooms of the same size,
since the lower classes are generally the largest and the
highest class is often very large at the beginning of the
year and small towards its close.
In a department accommodating 352 children a suit-
able distribution would be found in eight class-rooms
with the following accommodations — 40, 40, 40, 40, 48, 48,
48, 48 ; or, better still, an accommodation of 368 might well
be represented by nine rooms — 2 (36), 5 (40), 2 (48). A
well-balanced school of three departments — boys', girls',
and infants' — would be represented by the respective accom-
modations of 352, 352, 380, supposing children under five
years of age are admitted.
Class-rooms that must be used as a means of reaching
any other part of the building, public thoroughfare, or
playground — " passage rooms," as they are called — are not
1 For new buildings in the County of London, 40 is the maximum
limit for the senior departments and 48 for infants.
S.O. 4
18 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
satisfactory, as interruption of work and strain on the
teacher's powers, especially his patience, are involved. It
is important, when class-rooms are separated by movable
partitions, that the separation should be reasonably com-
plete as regards both sight and sound. It is often found
convenient in emergency and other cases to be able to
convert two class-rooms into one. A room that accommo-
dates seventy children, for example, which is too large for
one teacher, could be suitably divided into two parts of
thirty and forty for the use of the upper standards, and be
re-converted into its original size as occasion requires.
• (1) Movable Partitions. — In some of the older school
buildings, containing only one or two large rooms, collap-
sible partitions of a substantial kind, glazed in their upper
parts in order not to intercept light, have been found a
means of creatine; or increasing class-room accommodation,
while still retaining the advantage of being able to restore
the rooms to their original sizes when desired. This kind
of partition effects a complete separation from floor to
ceiling, and is easily folded like a drawing-room screen, its
support strains being chiefly borne by the lateral walls to
which it is permanently attached. By these means a hall
becomes converted into two, three, or more class-rooms
according to the number of partitions, and can still be used
as a hall for assembly, dismissal, and other purposes.
This arrangement, however, has its disadvantages, often
in the resultant ill-shaped class-rooms, the absence of inde-
pendent entrances and exits, and the frailty of the material,
which permits the passage of sounds from one room to.
another ; but the gain, nevertheless, is considerable.
(2) Curtains, etc. — The use of curtains to separate one
part of a room from another has advantages ; they should,
not, however, be used when other and better means of
isolation are possible, and should always be regarded as a.
CLASS-ROOMS. 19
temporary expedient. Curtains are, perhaps, less objection-
able when made of washing material ; but they almost
invariably obstruct the light and do very little towards
deadening the sound. Dwarf portable screens of wood and
cathedral glass are sometimes used instead of curtains.
When curtains are deemed necessary, they should be
thoroughly shaken or cleansed weekly.
Class-rooms of the same superficial area and of equal
height are not necessarily suitable for the same number
of children. The kind of desks and the possibilities of
arranging them satisfactorily in regard to the light, the
position of the doors, radiators or fireplaces, the shape of
the room, etc., are factors for consideration in determining
the accommodation. As to shape, the Board of Education l
express approval of a room approximating to that of a square:
but this can scarcely be considered the best standard.
(3) The Extra Room. — Besides the desirability of having
a marginal accommodation for each room of a department,
there is need for an occasional or extra room, which should
not, as a rule, be included in the official accommodation : or,
if included, it should only be recognised for 20 or 25 places,
though on the 10 sq. ft. basis it might accommodate at least
50 or 60 children. Such a room could be put to a variety
of uses, all pointing in the direction of increased efficiency.
It might, too, assume many forms according to local
needs. It might, for example, be utilised as an ungraded
room either permanently or intermittently. If permanently,
the room might be a comparatively small one ; if inter-
mittently, it should be of sufficient size to accommodate
any of the ordinarv classes. Grenerallv a commodious
1 "The proportions of class-rooms should vary with the kind and
arrangement of the desks ; but a long and narrow room should
always be avoided, and a room approximating to a square is the most
satisfactory."- — Board of Education's Building Regulations.
20 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
room of this type is best, since it could then be utilised for
a variety of purposes as occasion requires.
Again, a demonstration room is most useful- — especially
for the science work of the upper classes or the object-
lessons of the lower ones, and for lantern lessons generally.
A room of this kind is usually fitted with a well-equipped
demonstration table or bench ; a double vertically sliding
blackboard, the framework of which is fixed to the wall
nearest the table and facing the class ; and also with floor-
ing so terraced that each row of desks rises above the
one in front of it, giving every scholar an easy and unin-
terrupted view of any experiment that is being performed.
It is not uncommon to have a smooth white surface of
cement behind the sliding blackboard, to take lantern
pictures. The Board of Education will not, however,
approve of a special lecture-room of this kind, outside
the accommodation, in any ordinary public elementary
school. Apart from the visual facilities Avhich a room of
this kind confers, the opportunity for occasional change
that it affords is one that promotes both bodily health
and mental alertness.
With certain exceptions, every class-room should be
stepped. Usually three flights of stepping are deemed
sufficient — the three back rows of desks then assuming
terrace form.
(4) Booms for Art Instruction and Practical Work
generally. — There is in educational circles a growing
demand for specially designed and equipped rooms, suit-
able for general practical work and instruction in drawing.
It is recognised, however, that some practical work is
already done in the class-room, though more could well be
carried out there.
Nevertheless, there are some kinds of experimental work
that need a wider field for scholars than the ordinary
SPECIAL ROOMS. 21
class-room can give and a more intimate supervision on the
part of the teacher — work of a systematised nature calcu-
lated to train the child in habits of close observation,
reasoning from that observation, and recording his im-
pressions in fairly exact language. Theory can only be
vitalised by practice. Every step in the educative pro-
cess is imperfect, unless the cycle of observation, thinking,
and expression or application is made complete within a
reasonable time. The claim for at least one practical work-
room may be justified on the following grounds : —
(a) School education is intended to train the child for
complete living. Life is essentially practical. The work
of the school shoidd therefore approximately correspond
to the character of the activities external to it.
(b) The adjustment of the hand and the due co-ordina-
tion of other parts of the body, to carry out the behests of
the mind in experimental work, is a branch of physical
culture ; and this applies equally to the co-ordination of
hand and eye in drawing. Physical training apart from
mental must be defective that does not include this type
of individual application — group exercises, games, and con-
tests being assumed.
(c) The cycle involved in every phase of the educative
process cannot be complete without proper facilities for
practical work.
(d) The moral influence that naturally flows from
serious independent effort directed to ends either immediate
or remote is a most important element in the creation of
will power and therefore in the formation of character.
(e) The need for occasional change of immediate environ-
ment, and of emancipation from the sedentary restraints
of the ordinary class-room by which circulation is retarded
and the vital processes to some extent arrested, is impera-
tive if free development is to be secured.
22 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
(/) The change from the class-room to the fresher air
and freer atmosphere of the practical work-room energises
both body and mind, and gives rest to the tissues fatigued
by sedentary positions. Change is eminently desirable when
fatigue is local and nut also general.
Of course economic claims must put some limit to these
special rooms. When therefore it is not possible to pro-
vide both a practical work-room and an art room — the hall,
if there is one, might well take the place of the latter, if
satisfactorily lighted — one commodious room could be made
to serve the double purpose by fitting collapsible ledges to
the walls and by utilising for practical work, when neces-
sary, the adjustable desks usually supplied to art rooms.
It is assumed that manual training involving the use of
wood would, in existing centres as in the past, be confined
to the upper classes of boys' departments. For boys aged
eight to eleven, manual work involving the use of paper,
cardboard, and stripwood, clay modelling or modelling in
plasticene seems admirably fitted. Much of this manual
work is also suitable for girls : and it would correlate
excellently with History, Nature Study, Geography, Arith-
metic, Geometry and Drawing.
Making the above assumptions as to the nature of the
work to be attempted, and keeping also in view the
necessity for teaching arithmetic and other subjects as
practically as possible, a room of dimensions approxi-
mately 30' x 24', supplied on three sides at least with a
flat desk running around the walls at a height of 3 feet
from the floor, would prove most useful. Narrow tables,
or benches not fixed to the floor, could occupy the
middle of the room when art desks are not present. A
supply of stools would be necessary, as the pupils would
occasionally be seated for drawing (not art), and also
during talks on theory by the teacher.
INFANT ROOMS. 23
Such a room could also be used by girls for needlework
and cutting out, and some of the other subjects or'
instruction.
General equipment should follow and conform to the
gradual organisation of the work, especially if it is proposed
to make such a room a centre for two or three schools.
It is not intended that this practical work-room should
necessarily be used, to the exclusion of the ordinary
class-room, for work of the manual training type. It is
rather intended as a room to supplement, in a specialised
form, the manual work that can, under existing con-
ditions, be carried out in the class-room, especially among
the lower classes.
(5) Infant Rooms. — All rooms for infants must be on
the ground floor, the means of access to which should, as
a rule, be independent of those for the senior children.
In village areas, however, where it is not uncommon to
find infant classes in the same department with the older
scholars, separate entrances are not always practicable.
A hall or some other free space for inarching and games is
essential to an infant department or infant classes. There
is a division of opinion among teachers and others as to
the value, for the youngest children in infant departments,
of flat floors on the one hand, and stepped flooring on the
other. It used to be a general practice to provide galleries
for the babies : but these terraced masses of woodwork are
doomed to extinction. In some areas they are gradually
being removed in favour of flat floors and miniature tables
and chairs. The gallery, though useful in many ways,
especially if so arranged that the teacher can easily get
behind each child, is yet open to many objections, among
which are the following : —
(a) It occupies a large space in the room which is needed
for the free circulation of air.
24 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
(b) Dust and organic matter pass through the spaces
between the boards and accumulate below, where the air
is almost stagnant and necessarily impregnated with
gases injurious to health.
(c) The high stepping causes some children to stumble
occasionally and to injure themselves.
These objections more than outweigh all the advantages
that could be possibly cited in the gallery's favour.
In order to economise space the seats or kindergarten
desks are placed close to the walls on three sides of some
babies' rooms, and thus most of the floor space is available
for exercises and games. In this case all the floor space is
flat. There seems to be little doubt that the level floor
is most suitable for children up to five years of age.
Again, it has been advocated that the best relative
positions for teacher and taught are for the former to be
on a slightly raised platform and the latter on the level
floor. This arrangement is objectionable, since it causes
the children to raise their eyes above the horizontal, and
this throws a strain on the levator muscle which it is not
well adapted to bear.1
When practicable, a nature-study room for the infants
is very desirable. If this is not possible, inside ledges to
the windows, whereon seeds and plants may be developed,
are a fairly good substitute. Each class-room, indeed,
ought to be a miniature nature- study room in itself.
A suitable height for a class-room is 14 ft. Any height
over that is considered waste, since it serves no useful
purpose.
(6) Accommodation of Booms. — A large number of
schools still have their accommodation reckoned on the
9 sq. ft. basis, i.e. the superficial area necessary for each
1 See Report of the Medical Officer of the late School Buard for
London for the year ended March 1904.
PREMISES POK SPECIAL PURPOSES. 25
child. Ill all new schools the Board of Education are
demanding a 10 sq. ft. basis for ordinary senior depart-
ments and a 9 sq. ft. for infants. This basis is by no means
ideal. Growing children, and especially infants, require
more fresh air even than adults. To keep the air pure at
all periods of the year, under existing official conditions,
and under too some of the best systems of ventilation, has
been found practically impossible. It is therefore most
desirable to raise the accommodation basis. Halls and
special rooms for cookery, laundry, housewifery, manual
training, science and drawing, must not be included
in the official accommodation of the school.
Premises for Special Purposes. — Some additional
points concerning premises other than those of the ordinary
school : —
(1) The Higher Elementary School.1 — The principles
governing the plans of ordinary schools should have a
general application to those of higher elementary and
other similar schools. The special aim of every proposed
school of this type should be definitely settled before the
building is designed. For a higher elementary school
accommodating from 300 to 350 scholars, eight to ten
class-rooms will generally be required, since every class
should have its own room, and no room should accommo-
date more than forty scholars.
The class-rooms may be furnished with single or dual
desks. If single desks are adopted, a class-room should
have an area of about fifteen square feet per scholar.
Class-rooms fitted with dual desks need not be so large,
but a minimum of about twelve square feet per scholar
will be requisite.
1 See Board of Education's Bides for the 2ylcmniwj and fitting up
of Public Elementary Schools.
26 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Special rooms, other than ordinary class-rooms, must, as
a rule, be provided : their nature will naturally depend on
the general method to be applied and the curriculum
adopted — they must, in any case, be reasonably com-
modious and suitably equipped. If a laboratory is pro-
vided or drawing taught, then the rooms sanctioned for
these purposes should afford thirty square feet of floor
space for each scholar in accordance with the accommo-
dation. If suitably lighted, however, the hall might suffice
for drawing purposes.
(2) The Central School.1 — On all material points the
buildings erected for this purpose correspond to those
built for higher elementary and certain higher grade
schools. The class-rooms are, for example, designed for
not more than forty scholars, and special rooms are
provided for drawing and general practical work. A hall
that will accommodate the whole of the pupils at one time
is included.
Itoonis for Cookery, Manual Instruction, etc. —
As a rule a single room each for cookery, laundry- work,
manual instruction, science, or drawing, will serve for
more than one school if provided as a centre in a con-
venient position. Every such centre should have its own
lavatory and cloak-room.
Large schools, or schools of an exceptional type, such as
a higher elementary school, may sometimes require special
rooms for their exclusive use.
Cookery. — A cookery room should be capable of accom-
modating from twelve to eighteen scholars engaged in
practical work. Provision for instruction in scullery work
is also necessary.
The sink should be placed in full view of the teacher
1 Recently established by the L.C.C.
PREMISES FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES. 27
and pupils, and should be fitted with a cold water supply
and a waste pipe.
The floor space for practical work shoidd afford about
25 square feet for each scholar, and should not be en-
cumbered with desks, cupboards, or stoves.
In cookery rooms the ventilation needs special arrange-
ments. Where a gas stove is used, it may be necessary
to have a pipe fixed to carry off noxious fumes. The
temperature should not be allowed to rise above seventy
degrees.
The apparatus for lessons in cookery should include
such stoves and other appliances as are usually found in
the homes of the scholars, and are sufficient to meet their
needs in actual practice. Indeed all fixtures and other
appliances should be so arranged that every pupil may
receive the full benefit of the instruction given.
Laundry. — A laundry should be of simple construction,
and entirely apart from the ordinary school buildings.
On the accommodation basis it should provide at least
25 square feet of space for every pupil.
The benches or tables should be large enough to allow
at least three feet of space for each child when ironing.
In the ventilation of the rooms special arrangements
should be made for the removal of steam.
Housewifery. — A housewifery centre ' usually consists of
an ordinary five- or six-roomed cottage such as the
ordinary parent of a child attending an elementary school
would occupy. It is, therefore, furnished simply and
comfortably, and with such household appliances as are
deemed necessary to efficient domestic management.
Manual Instruction for Boys. — " In its plan, arrange-
ments, construction, lighting, and ventilation, a manual
1 The Board of Education has not, up to the present, laid down
rules for the planning and fitting up of housewifery centres.
28 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
instruction room should be modelled on a workshop rather
than on a school. The construction should accordingly be
simple. The roof may be either of lean-to or other
ordinary form, according to circumstances. Its height at
the windows in front of the benches need not be more
than ten feet. The light must be ample. The tempera-
ture should not be so high as in an ordinary class-room.
A flat ceiling is not, as a rule, necessary. Ample ventila-
tion should be provided by inlets at a height of five feet
from the floor, and by outlets at the highest point. A
manual instruction room for twenty scholars should have
a floor space of about 700 square feet."1
Science or Practical Work Boom. — A room suitably
fitted for elementary practical work in science may be
provided for the use of one large or several contributory
schools. Such a science room should not, as a rule,
contain more than 600 square feet of floor space. It
should be fitted with plain strong tables, sinks, cupboards,
shelves, and where necessary, a fume closet. A proper
supply of gas is necessary.
In addition to a science room, one of the ordinary
class-rooms may be fitted with a simple demonstration- table
and gas and water supply. But a special lecture-room
cannot be approved in an ordinary public elementary
school.
Art Booms. — " A drawing class-room can only be sanc-
tioned where it is likely to be used for a reasonable
time every week by the scholars from one large or several
contributory schools. A suitable size for such a room is
600 square feet of floor space. Light should be admitted
at a suitable height and angle from the north, north-east
or east."2 G-enerally a drawing class-room's accommoda-
tion should not exceed twenty-five.
1 Board of Education Regulations. 2 Ibid.
PREMISES FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES. 29
Rooms for Defective Children. — -N.B. These rules must be
read in conjunction with the general rules for the planning
and fitting up of public elementary schools. Each build-
ing designed for defective children should be " structurally
separated" from that approved for each type of defective
child.
Day Schools or Classes for Defective Children. —
(a) Each class-room must provide 18 square feet per
child for physically defective children. In all
other defective cases, 15 square feet at least
should be the basis of accommodation. The
minimum floor space of any class-room might
vary from 300 to 360 square feet, the latter
being the minimum for physically defectives. It
is desirable that all rooms should be furnished
and equipped for occupations or manual in-
struction.
(b) All playgrounds, offices, cloakrooms, lavatories,
entrances, and passages must be so constructed
as to admit of easy supervision by the teacher
of the school, and must, as a rule, be kept
for the sole use of the children attending that
school.
(c) All rooms for physically defective children must be
on the ground floor.
(d) Where the premises are intended for the use of
more than one class, they must, as a rule, include
a wide and well-lighted corridor or hall, which
can be used for drill and assembly.
(e) Each child must, as a rule, be provided with a
single desk of suitable size, and sloped at an
angle, except in schools for the blind, of from
ten to fifteen degrees.
30 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
(/) The playgrounds must have an area of not less
than thirty square feet per child and should be
separate for boys and girls.
(g) There should be a room for the use of the teacher
and for the medical examination of children.
It is perhaps needless to say that the general principle
applied in the construction of all special premises and in
the supply of furniture and equipment is that they shall
completely fulfil the purpose of their existence.
The Playground. — There are many schools without
playgrounds.
The Board of Education now wisely demand that every
newly planned school shall have an " open airy play-
ground," proportioned to its size and needs. All play-
grounds should have a sunny aspect, approximate to the
square in form, be enclosed, levelled and drained, and be
as far as possible free from dangerous corners and but-
tresses : a part should be covered in so as to afford pro-
tection from rain. An infants' playground must always
be on the same level as the school and have a sunny
aspect.
Roof playgrounds for senior boys or girls are found
here and there in large urban centres. Where suitable
play-spaces exist organised effort is fairly generally made
to keep the children from the streets and to interest them
in games supervised by teachers and voluntary workers.
Berlin and Charlottenburg,1 for example, organise games
in the summer months, at least twice a week from 4 to
6 p.m., in play and recreation grounds. An experiment,
too, in providing a course of games during the summer
holidays, under various superintendents, has proved ex-
1 See Report of Mr. G. Andrew to the Scotch Education Depart-
ment, 1904.
THE PLAYGROUND. 31
ceedingly popular — an occasional excursion to places of
interest giving to these courses an added charm. Winter,
too, has not been left without its organised recreation ; for
parts of the recreation grounds have been converted into
skating rinks, upon which the children, boys at one
time and girls at another, have been able to disport
themselves.
Similar private effort is in operation in London —
perhaps on a more extended scale — and other large towns,
the object being at stated times and at particular centres
to teach the children the ideals of play under able super-
intendents, and further to demonstrate to the older
children how fascinating work can become when interest
prompts and sustains it. As an arena for moral training
the playground has few rivals, for there the social instinct
is dominant and ready to put forward those fine qualities
associated with it in its best form. Cheerfulness, resource,
prudence, justice, sacrifice, delight in the pleasure of others,
and the satisfaction that activity gives are taught, culti-
vated, or strengthened by play under proper conditions.
Indeed, the playground affords one of the best oppor-
tunities for the teacher to study the characters of scholars.
His presence there is essential at all reasonable times.
Knowledge is always power, and the kind of knowledge
that can be acquired in this way is the key to sound
progress and the moral betterment of every scholar in the
school. Good and bad traits of character exhibited in the
playground the teacher can utilise as an object-lesson in
the class-room later, and especially employ them to illus-
trate the weekly hall address. Of course, all such references
should be impersonal.
Play is instinctive, and nature intends it to serve useful
ends. For very young children it is the most important
of all means of learning. It is indeed the chief agency in
32 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
development at this period of life ; it is the resultant of
forces that infants are powerless to resist. The sum of a
teacher's efforts as revealed by effects in the process of
education is almost infinitesimal compared with the know-
ledge a child acquires through the instruction of nature's
teachers, play and necessity.
With infants, therefore, up to about five years of age,
the playground should be, in spirit, the school, and the
class-room the accessory. Rapid growth and development,
until seven summers have passed, demand a freedom of
movement and excite a desire for activity, to which the
child naturally craves to respond. The variety of employ-
ment that play gives is doubtless one of the best responses
to nature's call.
In summer and on other favourable occasions, therefore,
every opportunity should be seized to utilise the infants'
playground for games and other kindergarten instruction.
In the words of Pestalozzi, " Neither book nor any product
of human skill, but life itself, yields the basis for all
education." Again, "Dumb yearnings, hidden appetites
are ours ; and they must have their food. Come into the
light of things, let Nature be your teacher."1
"The essential things in education are intellectual
interest, freshness of teaching, human sympathy, devotion
to high aims. These are spiritual things, and the spirit,
like the wind, bloweth where it listeth." 2
The teacher ought, therefore, to enter upon his work
with the spirit of an artist, — led, as it were, by that
spirit into the schoolroom (which might often be under
the open sky), where, with the aid of discipline framed
on wisdom's firm lines, but softened by sympathy and
tempered by genial moral warmth, he will endeavour to
1 Wordsworth.
2 Mr. Michael E. Sadler, Special Reports, Vol. 9.
SCHOOL HYGIENE. 33
mould or train into the fullest life the plastic material
committed to his keeping.
School Hygiene.
Matters already discussed in this chapter have of course
a bearing on school hygiene, but the following have a
special reference to this subject.
From the purely health point of view, serious attention
should be given to three points in selecting a school site :
(1) natural drainage — including the general level of the
ground water; (2) the nature of the soil — a dry soil is
essential ; and (3) position, i.e. aspect, elevation, and
immediate surroundings.
A south or south-west aspect is desirable. This usually
ensures a plentiful supply of sunlight, and possibly shelter
from north and east winds. It is important that every
class-room should receive, at some time during the day,
the direct rays of the sun.
It is perhaps unnecessary to say that the teacher should
be acquainted with some of the essential principles that
underlie the construction of school buildings. The nature
of his office demands this knowledge. Faults of construc-
tion, any defect likely to impair the efficiency of the school
work or to jeopardise the health of scholars are matters
that directly concern him. Some Education Authorities,
too, wisely concede the need of submitting plans to head
teachers when new buildings are to be erected, or old ones
remodelled.
Next to the site, the first consideration naturally belongs
to the foundation. This should always be of virgin earth,
and covered with a layer of concrete extending several
inches beyond the footings of the external walls. Imme-
diately beneath these walls the concrete should be much
s.o, 5
34
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
deeper than elsewhere, the depth being proportional to the
weight of wall it has to support. Without this layer of
concrete, the moisture and ground air in the soil below
would find a passage into the building, with probably
disastrous results to the scholars.
135
inches
27 inches.
/■^■^i v' V/ v
-. "»
A > \ / - \ ■ » ; ,
/ 0 '"CONCRETE.: '- \"
Fig. 4.
Footings of Wall, and Concrete Foundation.
"All walls, not excepting fence walls, should have a
damp-proof course just above the ground line."1 Air-
bricks should be inserted in opposite walls to ensure a
constant current of air under floors for the ventilation of
joists ;2 and the damp-proof course should extend from at
1 Board of Education's Building Regulations.
2 Or the building might be erected on arches of solid masonry as
suggested by Dr. Richardson in his Hygeia,
SCHOOL HYGIENE. 35
least 6 in. above the ground to a depth below the level of
any timber forming part of the building. The damp-proof
course serves a double purpose : it ventilates and keeps dry
the spaces beneath the floors and prevents the moisture
ascending the walls by the operation of the law of capillary
attraction. Bricks unless glazed have a great capacity for
moisture. If therefore the glazed brick or glazed stone-
ware is not inserted as in Fig. 5, the bricks nearest the
ground will transmit the moisture collected from the soil
to those immediately above, and thus the whole of the walls
would become damp and dangerous to health.
Floors and Hoofs. — Wood-blocks, laid upon concrete,
should be used for the ground floor. Indeed they are best
for all floors, as they reduce noise to a minimum ' and do
not encourage the accumulation of dust and dirt.- The
ordinary plank floor, after shrinkage has set in, admits into
the spaces between the boards all kinds of dirt and organic
matter which cannot fail to pollute the atmosphere of the
school- room. Rectangular corners and sharp edges should
be avoided, for both concave and convex surfaces facilitate
thoroughness in cleansing. At the point where the floor
joins the wall, for example, a rounded insertion should be
made. It has become usual, in recent buildings, to substi-
tute coloured glazed bricks for the old wooden wainscoting
now condemned as insanitary.
Although the subject of roofs may seem somewhat
remote from the teacher's work, their nature may never-
theless be of great importance to him. If not properly
constructed, teachers and scholars occupying the top
floor will suffer from cold in winter and the burden of an
intolerable heat in summer. Roofs should therefore be
1 "Especial care must be taken to render the floors, as far as pos-
sible, sound-proof." — Board of Education's Regulations,
30
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Glazed air
brick.
SOIL.
Fig. 5.
Damp Course of Perforated Glazed Air Br^ks.
DAMPPBOOP
coorssr
CROU1IO It VfcL '.,
. .
\ O I L' »
H5^a
Fig. 6f
SCHOOL HYGIENE. 87
constructed to prevent extremes of beat and cold. Slates
laid on laths do not give adequate protection to the upper
rooms, but if laid on felt-covered boards they materially
assist in that direction.
As the roof is designed to carry off rainwater as speedily
as possible without saturating the walls of the building or
the subsoil around it, it is essential that the spouting should
be arranged to meet this need. All rain-water pipes or
gutters should therefore be kept away from the walls an
inch or so, in order that, in case of overflow or leakage, the
water may discharge itself into the soil without touching
the walls of the building.
Internal Walls. — These, when the surface is rough or
improperly covered, are a source of danger to health. It
has been found, for example, that ordinary plaster, if not
painted, absorbs moisture and organic matter to an alarm-
ing extent. Fermentation is certain to result from the
presence of such foreign material, and the injurious gases
arising therefrom must inevitably mix with the air of the
class-room. When walls of this kind exist, they should be
cleansed much more frequently than they usually are, and
a disinfectant be added to the fresh colour wash.
The aim should be, in all cases, to produce a wall surface
that is both smooth and non- absorbent. Walls made of
either of the following materials are satisfactory in this
respect, the last being considered the best:1 (1) plaster
covered with a smooth impervious substance (e.g. paint and
varnish) ; (2) impervious hard bricks embedded in cement ;
(3) glazed bricks or enamelled tiles. Occasional cleansing
is, however, necessary in all cases ; and this might well be
done during the three vacations of the year.
In selecting colours for the walls, a tint that will neither
1 See Lyster's School Hygiene.
88 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
offend nor tax the eye, nor unduly absorb light, is generally
best. Red absorbs much light ; but yellow on the other
hand, though it absorbs very little light, yet produces more
nervousness and fatigue than other colours. Pale green is
especially restful to the eye, and it also stands low as a
light absorber. A pale greenish-grey, however, is recom-
mended as the most suitable colour.
All unnecessary ledges and projections, and indeed any-
thing that interferes with thorough cleansing, should be
avoided.
Entrances, Staircases, and Corridors. — There should
be separate entrances and staircases for each department
and sex, sufficient in number or size to allow for the dis-
missal of the scholars in about two minutes. The chief
entrances must not be through cloak-rooms, and all
entrance doors should be made, for obvious reasons, to
open both ways, namely inwardly and outwardly. Fire-
proof staircases in which there are no triangular steps are
necessary. Staircases, the steps of which should be 13 in.
wide and not more than 6 in. high, should be sufficient in
number and breadth (4 feet) to provide for cases of emer-
gency, and upper floors that exceed 250 in accommoda-
tion should have a second staircase. Where steps lead to
an external door, a landing between that door and the
threshold is essential. It is desirable too to have (1) a
landing for, at least, every flight of twelve steps, and (2) a
handrail extending the whole length of the staircase.
Classes ought always to be marched in single or double
file, under careful supervision, both from the playground
to the class-rooms and from the class-rooms to the play-
ground. Accidents are apt to occur unless steadiness is
observed in descending a staircase. Corridors, which
should generally be about 10 ft. wide, or staircases should
SCHOOL HYGIENE. 39
never be used, even for temporary purposes, for storage of
any kind.
Cloak-rooms and Lavatories. — Cloak-rooms should
have double doorways, so that scholars may enter by ono
door and leave by another. They should not be passage
rooms nor corridors, nor directly connected with any rooms
used for teaching purposes. Ample space is needed imme-
diately outside a cloak-room. Thorough ventilation and
good lighting at one end are essential. There should be
gangways at least 4 ft. wide between the rails, and the
pegs should be sufficient for all the scholars in the school,
be 12 inches apart, numbered, of two tiers, and not placed
directly one above the other. There is a disposition in many
boys' departments to ignore the cloak-room in fine weather.
This ought never to be allowed. Considerations of health
forbid this disuse.
It is further desirable to have concrete floors and walls
of glazed brick in cloak-rooms, which should be so tho-
roughly heated and ventilated that wet clothes may be
rapidly dried. Metal frameworks similar to that in
Fig. 7, with its multitude of apertures, through which the
heated fresh air can freely circulate, have been found very
efficient.
One lavatory basin for about every fifty children is
considered sufficient, but this can hardly be regarded as a
satisfactory provision for cleanliness. One basin for every
twenty-five scholars seems necessary. The absence of
proper accommodation of this kind is not only mischievous
in its direct effects, but also in its ultimate tendencies. As
personal cleanliness is of the utmost importance, it ought
to be regarded as one of the chief lessons to be learnt in
school life. It is well, therefore, for the school to begin
this lesson by providing suitable lavatory accommodation.
40
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
A cloak-room is not a proper place for lavatory fittiugs of
any kind.
Fig. 7.
Metal Cloak-room Fittings.
Lighting — Natural and Artificial. — Dark corners or
dark places are harmful. As regards class-rooms, left
lighting is best, that is, light directly striking the scholars'
left shoulders when facing the teacher. Supplementary
Lighting. 41
windows are, however, often necessary for ventilating pur-
poses. When left lighting is impracticable, right lighting
should be secured, if possible. Official approval is not
extended to sky-lights except for halls, and then only when
"ridge or apex ventilation" is necessary. Light that
comes mainly from behind the scholars or immediately in
front of them is of the worst kind.
The ideal light is that which is abundant and well-
diffused. It should be abundant on account of its purifying
qualities, and well-diffused because dark places, shadows,
and the direct impact of light on the eyes are more or less
injurious. The sills of the main windows should be placed
not more than four feet above the floor; the tops of the
windows should reach the ceiling, and the upper parts
of them made to swing. Large wall spaces between the
window heads and the ceiling produce foul rooms. All
kinds of glazing that diminish the quantity of light and
are difficult to clean should be avoided. The glass-line of
the window furthest from the teacher's table should be on
a line with the back of the last row of desks.1 A proper
arrangement of blinds will not allow the direct rays of the
sun to fall on desks — a necessary precaution.
In some urban centres it becomes necessary to improve the
lighting in class-rooms, because the sky line is obstructed
by the height and proximity of other buildings. Devices
for improvement involve the use of (1) reflectors, (2) glass
prisms, and (3) ribbed glass. The prisms are so arranged
in a part of the window that light is deflected to the white
ceiling and thence distributed over the class-room. The
ribbed glass, however, is supposed to give the best results.
It has a smooth surface on one side, and twenty-one ribs
to the inch on the other, the ribs being placed horizontally.
It is claimed for this glass, if fixed to the upper sash,
1 See Board of Education's Building Regulations.
42 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
that it will, on dull days, improve the illumination by fifty
per cent, at least.1
The light on a desk placed in the most unfavourable
position should not fall below the power of fifty candle
metres2 — otherwise eye strain will result.
Interior colouring has an important bearing on lighting.
The colours and tints used for walls, ceilings, and fittings
should be restful to the eyes. In some areas teachers are
advised in good time of the intention to repaint the school
and requested to suggest the interior colouring. It some-
times happens that the happiest choice is made.
In recent buildings, in accordance with the Board of
Education Regulations, the windows are large and numer-
ous, and reach nearly to the ceiling. The " dim religious
light" may be productive of sentiment, but it is inimical
to health when associated Avith schools.
Assuming that rooms are adequately provided with open-
ings, it is extremely important that the glass be kept
clean ; otherwise the passage of light to the rooms will not
only be seriously obstructed, but the dirt and organic
material deposited on the glass may prove injurious to the
health of the children. In any case, such deposits neces-
sarily lower the vital properties of the air, and may, if one
pupil in the class is suffering from incipient disease, be the
means of causing infection.
Illumination by gas with the ordinary burner is oue of
the worst forms of artificial lighting. It uses up large
quantities of oxygen, creates dirt, and charges the air with
many impurities inimical to health. The evils attendant
on gas lighting are, however, somewhat mitigated if incan-
descent burners and mantles are used. The Siemens
•
1 See Lyster's School Hygiene, p. 47.
2 A candle metre is the illumination given by a standard candle
placed one metre distant from a certain spot.
HtiATINci AND VENTILATION. 43
Regenerative G-as Lamp, too, is not only an extremely
powerful illuminant, but lias the further advantage of
carrying off its own fumes, besides rendering material
assistance in the removal of vitiated air that is usually
found near the ceiling. This is an excellent lamp for
large rooms and halls. The Wenham is also another
good burner, the flame being enclosed in glass globes, aud
the products of combustion being forced from the room as
soon as produced.
The electric light appears to be the most suitable for
schools. It is clean ; and if of sufficient candle power and
not hung too high, it renders the most efficient service.
Heating and Ventilation. — Heating and ventilation
are inextricably involved and must be considered together.
Good ventilation consists in driving foul air out of the
room as soon as created, and replacing it, without causing
draughts, by fresh air containing normal quantities of
oxygen. This seems a very simple matter, but it has
proved to be one of the most difficult of all problems. It
is certain that many schoolrooms are poorly ventilated even
when reasonable use is made of the appliances available.
The odor scholasticus, especially during the winter season, is
only too evident. Besides the ordinary means of ventilating
by open windows, Tobin's tubes, chimney extractors, wall
and ceiling gratings, and open fire-places have so far failed
to give that adequate and continuous supply of fresh
air which is desirable. Tobin's tubes, generally placed
in corners of rooms, are a valuable means of inlet, while
separate air chimneys are serviceable in providing for the
outflow of foul air containing such deleterious impurities
as carbon dioxide and albuminoid ammonia.
Fresh air contains four parts of carbon dioxide (C02) to
every 10,000 parts, or "04 per cent. An atmosphere that
44 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
contains about ten parts in 10,000 is injurious to health.
It has been found by experiment that carbonic acid gas
takes up the space of fifteen or more parts in 10,000 in
some school class-rooms just before the recreation interval
— and this, too, when reasonable use has been made of the
means of ventilation at hand. Haldane's apparatus is able
to record the amount of C02 impurity in a room any time
during the day.
It is a singular fact that children give out from their
bodies proportionately a larger quantity of organic impuri-
ties than adults. These impurities, ordinarily consisting
of the tiniest particles of epithelium and fatty matters,
together with COa, etc., ought to find a ready means of
exit from the rooms ; otherwise these small organic par-
ticles get deposited on the walls and their ledges — especially
if the walls are cold — and make demands upon the oxygen
of the rooms that is needed for other purposes. The odor
scholasticus is mainly due to these organic substances in
the air.
This tendency to deposit on the school walls shows the
desirability (1) of never allowing the walls to get abnor-
mally cold even during the night, since they take a com-
paratively long time to get restored to the temperature of
the room's atmosphere again, and (2) of ventilating the
premises thoroughly immediately after the morning and
afternoon sessions. Lofty rooms, though they give extra
cubic space, do not help to maintain a good atmosphere or
to promote sound ventilation. Indeed, it is considered
that a height above 14 ft. may prove baneful unless the
openings are correspondingly high.
Good ventilation should provide at least 1,800 cubic feet
of fresh air per hour for every child and not allow air to
stagnate in any part of the building. It should further
provide that the admitted air be approximately of the
VENTILATION. 4'^
same temperature as that which is in the room, for when
the air is warmed before admission it prevents draughts.
This can, to some extent, be effected by devices in aid of
natural ventilation and also by means of certain forms of
mechanical or artificial ventilation. The Plenum system,
for example, claims to do all this. It drives the warm air
into the rooms near the ceiling and draws out the foul air
on the same side of the room near the floor. In this wav
every room can have a renewed atmosphere from eight to
ten times in an hour.
When, however, natural ventilation, as distinguished
from mechanical, like the Plenum system — which cannot
lie regarded as a success — is adopted, the windows should
be largely used as outlets for foul air in the cold season ;
they should also be used as far as possible at all times for
inlets, especially when the air temperature external to the
school is not much lower than that within.
The value of the recreation interval, from the ventilation
point of view only, is great. As soon as the room is cleared
all doors and windows should be opened, so that the children
may return to an atmosphere as pure as that in the play-
ground.
It is clear that sound ventilation must provide inlets
for fresh air as well as outlets for what is foul. The
latter are usually placed near the ceiling. A valuable out-
let, too, is the chimney itself ; and if to this is added a
separate air shaft carried up in the same stack with the
smoke flues and rendered permanently effective by warmth
or exhaust, the provision for outlets, including gratings
near the ceiling and the use of the upper sashes of win-
dows, is fairly complete.
The chief inlets for fresh air are the windows, Tobin's
tubes, grates like Dalton's, and ventilating stoves. There
are many devices in connection with windows for secur-
46
SCHOOL ORGANISATION".
ing good ventilation without draughts. Among these are
(1) the draught board, (2) Hopper openings, (3) the
Louvre ventilator, and (4) the Chaddock window. (1) is
a vertical board or framework of glass, a few inches high,
fastened on the inner ledge of the window so that the lower
sashes can be raised for the admission of fresh air which
Fig. 8.
Hinokd Toi* to Window.
can flow into the room, taking an upward direction, between
the window plane and the board in question. (2) This
opening is usually effected by means of the upper part of
the window, which works on a hinge and is made to slant
inwards. The triangular spaces thus created at the sides
must be covered in by wood or glass in order to prevent a
downward current, and thus the whole of the incommcr
ajr is forced upward (see Fig. 8). Arrangement (3) con*
VENTILATION.
de-
sists of a few bands of glass (arranged and worked like a
Venetian blind) that form a part of an ordinary window.
The bands in every case slant
upwards from the outside and
thus compel the air to take
an upward direction. (4) The
illustration of the Chaddock
window will speak for itself.
It is easily manipulated and
has proved an unqualified
success.
A Tobin tube provides for
entry of the external air
through a grating in the wall
at the floor level. A vertical
tube then directs the air up-
wards, at the top of which
is a valve which automatically
regulates the quantity of air
coming into the room.
Electric fans are often use-
ful aids to natural ventilation.
Artificial ventilation de-
pends on two processes,
(1) Extraction, (2) Propul-
sion. Extraction depends on
the principle of the vacuum.
Vitiated air is extracted or
driven out and fresh air
naturally flows in through
the channels provided for
that purpose. By Propulsion the fresh air is forced into
the chamber and the foul air is drawn off at the floor
level. The test systems usually combine the two processes,
Fig. 9.
The Chaddock Window.
48
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
It is best, however, to place faith in natural ventilation,
accepting in connection therewith such useful minor aids
as the ingenuity of man can supply. Elaborate artificial
contrivances are pre-doomed to failure.
Heating and ventilation depend on one another. Heat-
ing is ventilation's motive power. Heating is effected by
(1) open fires or closed stoves, (2) gas fires or stoves,
Side \J\evj
m
„
Front inside view
Fig. 10.
Louvre Ventilator.
(3) warm air, (4) hot- water pipes ; or, taking a scientific
principle of classification, by (1) radiation and (2) propul-
sion. Convection, of course, plays an important part in all
systems of ventilation. Galton's grate, which is largely
used, has a warm-air chamber behind it. The chamber
draws the cold air from the outside, and, after warming it,
discharges it into the room through gratings. Whenever
stoves are used they must be fitted with a flue to carry oft
the fumes.
HEATING AND VENTILATION.
49
Stoves give a
Open fires materially assist in ventilation and are cheer-
ful : on the other hand, they are wasteful, only about 15 per
cent, of the heat generated being used to warm the room, and
even then the heat is not well distributed,
fairly equable distribution of heat and
are, as a rule, the least costly of all
forms of heating ; they, however, need
much attention, are liable to get out of
order, and make the atmosphere some-
Fig. 11.
Town's Tube.
Fig.
12.
The G alton Grate.
a, Hot - air chamber
.surrounding flue ; b,
opening fur fresh air ;
c, inlet into room.
what heavy. With regard to hot- water
pipes and hot-air radiators, they usually
secure an equable distribution of heat
and a purer atmosphere than that asso-
ciated with stoves or open fires ; but
the air loses its humidity and freshness unless porous
vessels containing water are present. It is desirable
therefore to have a wet and dry bulb hygrometer in each
s. o. 6
50 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
class-room when the building is heated on either of these
two systems.
The temperature in an infants' school ought not to be
allowed to fall below 60° F., while that for the senior
scholars might vary from 56° to 60° F. In no case ought
the temperature to fail below 50° or to rise above 00°,
that is, of course, if it lies within human power of control.
When the temperatures of the air inside and outside a
school differ by 10° F., a draught will be caused unless
precautions are taken.
In summer time, when the heat is great, sprinkling the
floor occasionally with water helps to keep the temperature
down.
Each class-room should be furnished with a thermo-
meter.
An open lire is desirable, and a temperature of 60° is
essential, for babies' rooms. The Board only approve of
stoves " with proper chimneys and supplied with fresh air
direct from the outside." Further, stoves must not
" become red-hot or otherwise contaminate the air," and
must be so placed as not to interfere with " floor space
necessary for teaching purposes."
All fireplaces and stoves should be furnished with fire-
guards.1
Sanitary Arrangements.2 — Scholars' latrines should
be in the playgrounds and completely separated, and if
possible well removed, from the main school building.
They should, of course, together with their approaches, be
1 On the subject of ventilation the student is referred to Lyster's
School Hyyiene ; School Hygiene, by Newsholnie and Takes ; and
the Report of the Medical Officer (School Board for London) for
the year ended March 1904.
2 See Board of Education Rules for the Planning and Fitting up
of l'ublic Elementary Schools.
t)ESKS. 51
quite distinct for boys and girls. Offices not provided
with either automatic or individual means of Hushing
should be Hushed at least twice a day by the caretaker. It
is essential to have a full and ready supply of wholesome
water for drinking purposes, and, so far as local conditions
will admit, the best possible sanitary arrangements.
Desks. — The rules of the Board of Education in
reference to desks may be thus summarised: (1) Seats
and desks, with backs to them, must be provided for all
scholars suitably to their ages, and must be arranged at
right angles to the window wall. (2) Each scholar should
be allowed at least eighteen inches, and there should be
gangways of eighteen inches between groups of desks
and between desks and walls. (3) Desks should not be
longer than twrelve feet, and not more than six rows deep.
(4) In the case of long desks, the teacher must be able to
pass between the rows; and in the case of dual desks,
behind the back rows. (5) An inclination or slope of 15°
for each desk is sufficient. Flat top desks1 are objection-
able. For writing purposes the " distance " should be
zero. (The " distance " is zero when a vertical line from
the inner edge of the desk exactly meets the inner edge of
the seat. When the seat goes beyond that line, or does
not reach it, the " distance " is respectively minus and
plus.)
Usually desks are made in six sizes, graduated to meet
the needs of scholars of various ages. There is much
variety of opinion concerning " distance," some advocating
the plus, others the zero, and others again the minus. The
first must be condemned, as it encourages, and sometimes
necessitates, stooping. The zero or minus distance is best
for desk work with pen or pencil, since both, and especially
1 TMb does not apply to kindergarten desks.
52 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
the latter, render the erect posture comparatively easy.
The use of the flap in dual desks should not be neglected.
It is not only valuable for reading purposes, but also for
giving freer play to the body during oral lessons. It
further enables the scholars to stand comfortably erect
without leaving the desk.
(1) Dangers from Improper Desks. — The importance of
having desks to meet the needs of each scholar has not yet
been sufficiently recognised. Spinal deformity, cramped
chests, short-sightedness, eye strain, and stooping habits
are, among other evils, the outcome of compelling children
to sit for hours daily in desks unsuited to their physical
proportions.
Preference must be given to the dual, rather than to the
long, desk. The single desk, largely used in the United
States and Canada, is again better than the dual. The
use of the single desk, however, considerably reduces the
accommodation of a room — by about thirty-three per cent. ;
but in all other respects it is eminently satisfactory and
easily takes first rank in all appliances of this kind ; and
this is especially so from the hygienic standpoint.
(2) "Sheffield System:'— The "Sheffield System" of
desks is in favour in many schools in the North of
England. In this system the desk is long and accommo-
dates, as a rule, six pupils, but the seats are isolated and
screwed, like the desk itself, to the floor. It is claimed1
for this system that every pupil is easily accessible, that
the lateral space between the seats enables the pupil to
stand — so that drill, for example, may be taken — that
it becomes impossible to overcrowd a room, and that it
facilitates the sweeping and washing of floors. The desks
are made in various sizes, the seats having corresponding
heights.
1 See Report of Medical Officer (School Board for London) 1904
DESKS.
53
But this system is not without its defects, which may
be thus enumerated: (1) The desks have the plus
distance. (2) The back-rest is too small and does not,
as a rule, support the back in the most suitable place.
(3) Scholars, though seat-isolated, are really nearer one
another than in most dual desks. (4) They induce fatigue
to a greater extent than the dual or single desk. (5)
There is no provision for placing the book in the right
visual position for reading— from 45° to 60°. (6) The
class roll must be strictly limited to the official accom-
modation of the room. This, however, is good from the
purely educational standpoint, though not always so from
the administrative point of view.
General Conditions for Good Desking. — (1) The
desk should fit the child, the nearer end of the desk being
Fig 13.
The "Sheffield System," showing an isolated seat for each scholar.
opposite the navel. (2) Each child in a class having
found a suitable desk should be allowed to retain it for
six months, when seats should be redistributed. Some
54 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
children grow so rapidly that a year ought not to be
allowed to intervene between each redistribution. (3) Each
class-room should be supplied with at least three different
sizes of desks,1 all of which should have comfortable
back-rests. Age is but a small criterion of the physical
proportions of children. (4 1 Each desk should allow of
reasonable freedom of movement and permit of occasional
standing. (5) The scholars should be easily accessible.
Fig. 14.
Common Position for Whiting in a Plus Desk.
(6) The desk should be firm and rigid and have an angle
of 15° to the horizontal. The minor features associated
with suitable desks are presumed.
The fitting of the desk to the child includes also facilities
for securing the upright posture and balance of the body.
This balance can onlv be obtained when the thighs' are
approximately horizontal, the tibia vertical, and the feet
firmly resting on the floor. Further, steadiness is given to
1 That is for Senior Departments. Prohahly two sizes of desks
would suffice for the lower grades of an Infant School.
DESKS AND POSTURE. 55
the bodv if the left forearm rests on or near the edare of
the desk and almost in a line with it. By these means
the chest is free for expansion, the abdominal viscera are
not cramped, there is an absence of physical conditions
calculated to impede circulation, and thus energy is
economised and mental activity promoted.
Fig. 15.
Good Position in Zero Desk.
This position is tiring because there is no support for the back.
It is especially desirable that the desk should allow of
the regulation distance between the eyes and the object.
This varies from ten to sixteen inches.
It is not possible to secure these conditions with the
ordinary long desk unless there are many sizes, and the
scholars are carefully classified before allocating places to
them. It is eiddent that if the seats of desks, which should
£6 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
never be flat but always slightly concave, were made
adjustable, a much larger number of desk sizes would not
be needed, and the necessity for a periodical redistribution
of seats would not be so pressing. Height of children is
not always a guide in selecting suitable desks for them.
Any two scholars, for example, of the same height might
be taken, and they would probably be found to differ in
length of trunk, legs and arms, all of which are factors
in determining suitability of desks. Girls, too, differ in
this respect from boys, for they have generally longer
bodies and shorter limbs. It is important also to realise
that from twelve to fourteen years of age girls grow much
more rapidly than boys.
An excellent dual or single desk, which is only to a
minor degree adjustable, is used in Holland. It has &phig
distance of about two inches, but the slope is a sliding
shutter (beneath which the pupils' books and implements
can be stored) which can be moved towards the sitter and
thus transform the desk into one possessing a zero or minus
distance, as occasion may require. When the shutter is
closed, it covers the inkwell, and thus prevents the dust
from accumulating there.
In Lucerne, experiment has shown the desirability of
having from five to seven different sizes of desks for each
class. In Chicago, measurement of children proves the
necessity for supplying each school with five different sizes
of stationary desks and three sizes of adjustable desks.
The Child Study Committee has, therefore, recommended
that each class or grade be supplied with from 75 to 85 per
cent, of stationary desks suitable to the physical proportions
of children generally found in a particular grade, and also
from 15 to 25 per cent, of adjustable desks.
Most scholars take up the forward sitting position which
usually results from improper desks, and especially those
FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT. 57
that have the plus " distance." The tendencies of this
position are to impede circulation, weaken the eyes, cause
muscular strain, fatfgue, and in the course of time even
spinal curvature.1
The general use of the single desk, made in a variety of
sizes, would solve most, if not all, of the desking prob-
lems. There is, however, no reason why school life should
be so largely affected by the possibilities of the desks.
There is far too much sitting in the class-rooms. Stand-
in £ now and again for a few minutes in reading or oral
lessons, and on other occasions when this position is not
incompatible with work, relieves monotony and tends to
energise the body. But there are proper and improper
ways of standing. Generally the body should be erect, its
weight about equally supported by the legs, the balls
of the feet as well as the heels playing their part in
this support. The head too should be thrown well back
and the chest forward. If standing is prolonged, the
stand-at-ease position should be adopted, subject, however,
to the general conditions already named.
Infant Furniture. — Level floors have already been
advocat-ed for infants up to five years of age. Kindergarten
dual desks are fairly suitable for such children ; but a much
better arrangement is the provision of low tables, at which,
seated on miniature chairs, from two to four children can
find accommodation. The distribution of a class into small
parties, together with the homely suggestiveness of tables
and chairs, encourages the social instinct and excites
self-expression. This arrangement is particularly beneficial
to timid and nervous children. Supervision by the teacher
and accessibility to the scholars are rather improved than
1 See Child Study Report (No. 3) 1 000-1 001 , Chicago Public Schools.
See also Biirgerstein's Schulhygiene.
58 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
otherwise by this plan for kindergarten instruction. With
the chair the child has a freedom of movement that is
most desirable at this age. Change Of position diminishes
the possibilities of fatigue ; fatigue creates fretfulness and
lessens memory power. The sunshine of happiness is best
for growth and development physically, morally, and in-
tellectually. The face to back position necessitated by
groups of desks discourages the social sentiment and really
isolates scholars, though sitting together and forming the
same class.
Wall Boards, etc. — It is well for infant class-rooms to
have a composition wall strip — chocolate colour is probably
the best — within easy reach on every side. Many schools
have this arrangement for free-arm drawing; in others
small blackboards are fitted into grooves attached to the
walls of halls and of one or more class-rooms ; or, when
a hall is available, miniature blackboards and easels are
supplied for the use of individual scholars, who do most of
their free-arm drawing there. Free-arm drawing can also
be done in desks, by means of wire easels affixed thereto,
into each of which fits a large millboard. The instability
of the frail easel is, however, a drawback. The easily
cleansable composition strip is probably the most suitable,
especially as it compels scholars to stand whilst drawing.
Indeed, infants, as well as other scholars, have far
too much sitting in school. Standing occasionally, whilst
at work, for ten or fifteen minutes — and sometimes
even longer for older children — is a wholesome exercise.
The arm has, for example, freer play in drawing when the
scholar is standing, and can therefore work with better
effect. For these reasons the drawing wall strip is a
desirable adjunct to every class-room in both infants' and
senior departments. It has, however, its strict limita-
FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT. 59
tions, inasmuch as only from one-third to one-half of the
scholars of a class can have this form of free-arm drawing
at the same time. The wire easels impose no such limi-
tation, though in other respects they are less satisfactory.
Blackboards, Cupboards, etc. — Wall slates, in addi-
tion to the ordinary blackboards and easels, are a desirable
acquisition to every class-room. Fixed slates are espe-
cially valuable for information which it is desired to keep
before the eyes of the class for some time. It is known
that the larger the number of senses that can be appealed
to, the greater, as a rule, is the educational effect and
the stronger the mental image created thereby. This, of
course, has an important bearing on memory, that plays
a giant's part in the educative process. Memory lends
itself to the perfection of accomplishment by a nicer
co-ordination of forces in the repetition of any act. The
audio-visual memory is, as a rule, stronger than either
the auditory or visual alone. Again, the audio- visual -
articulatory memory is stronger than the audio-visual one;
and so on.1
Blackboards in combination with wall slates often ob-
viate the necessity for eye-straining on the part of the
scholars.
In this connection the teacher should remember that
chalk dust, if inhaled, is injurious. It is well therefore to
have the duster slightly moistened, and thus prevent the
dust from getting into the air of the class-room.
Each class-room should have its own cupboard for
current stock. Cupboards built into wall recesses give
generally a neater appearance to a room than those not so
iixed.
Every scl >ol should have a First Aid equipment, proper
1 See Child Study Report 1900-1001, Chicago Tuhlie Schools.
GO SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
accommodation for ink trays, and a museum case, the last-
named to contain only such objects as are likely to be
generally useful in illustrating lessons. This case should
not, therefore, be used, as it frequently is, for a collection
of curiosities that are rarely moved from their positions,
and occupy space that could be better filled by really ser-
viceable objects. It is well to encourage the scholars to
assist in furnishing a cupboard of this kind, the omnium
gatherum principle being strictly tabooed.
It is scarcely necessary to add that every infant depart-
ment should have a complete kindergarten equipment.
The Teachers' Room. — School premises can hardly be
considered complete without a room or rooms for the
teachers, comfortably furnished and adequately supplied
with lounge chairs, a reference library, and lavatory accom-
modation. As their work is of an arduous nature, an easy
means of rest should be assured to the staff when not on
active duty. A storage room for school material should,
as a rule, adjoin a room of this kind.
Oiled Floors.1 — The presence of dust in the air of
the school-room and its accumulation on ledges, picture
frames, and tops of cupboards are sources of danger to
health. An experiment is therefore in operation in some
areas with the view of eliminating, or reducing to a
minimum, this clanger : it takes the form of oiling the
floors. This plan does much in the way of acconrplishing
its purpose, though the appearance of the floor after the
oiling operation leaves much to be desired. Mistresses, too,
complain of the damage to their skirts, and justifiably so.
However, the present device will probably soon lead to
a better one. A large experience of oiled floors has now
1 See Report of the I,.C.C. Medical Officer (Education) 1910.
OILED FLOORS. 01
been had in Germany, and in an official memorandum the
Prussian Minister of Education discusses the results, and
summarises them thus : — ■
" The experience now obtained shows that the use of oil
for floors is only to be strongly recommended when the
following methods are used : (1) The oil is to be applied
during- holidays, and as early as possible, so that with soft
white wood floors of fir or pine at least forty-eight hours,
and with harder floors, as oak or beech, at least three days,
elapse before the opening of school. (2) The floors must
be thoroughly washed with hot water and soap or soda,
and then completely dried before oiling. (3) The oil is
best applied in a thin and even coating by means of a felt
rubber. (4) To avoid any unpleasant odour, or unsightly
colouring of the floors, only fresh and, as far as possible,
colourless oils should be used. (5) The renewal of the oil
should be proportionate to the amount of traffic ; in little
used rooms, halls, art rooms, and so on, twice yearly, in the
ordinary class-rooms thrice, and in corridors four times
yearly. (6) Stone floors and steps of either wood or stone
should never be oiled. (7) Drill halls and gymnasiums
should not have the floors oiled. If this is done it must
be done with the greatest care. (8) Wet cleansing is not
needed on oiled floors, only a daily sweeping with a broom.
Any occasional wet cleansing should only be done with
thoroughly wrung-out cloths."
CHAPTER IL
"The vitality of any system of education must depend mainly on
the spirit in which it is worked, on the enlightenment, sympathy,
and energy of the teachers, and on the interest and industry of the
scholars." — Pre/. Memorandum, Code 1910.
"For every piece of wise work, so much life is granted." —
RUSKIN.
THE CLASS.
The Size of the Class in the Ordinary School.
The Class as a Working Unit. — Although the indi-
vidual is the unit in a school, yet in the sense of organisa-
tion the class must be taken as the working unit, that is,
an aggregate of individuals grouped together for purposes
of a definite course of instruction and training.
It is manifest that a lecturer engaged in the elucidation
of any subject is in a very different position to that of the
class teacher. In the former case, the number of people
who constitute the audience is immaterial, provided the
speaker's voice is able to reach every person in the as-
sembly. It is not necessarily the lecturer's duty to see
that his audience has profited by his expositions, nor to
apply tests to discover how far each person has acquired
the information he desired to convey. The lecturer's
duties end mostly with his best efforts to interest or
instruct his audience. The teacher's task is much more
62
THE CLASS. 63
far-reaching than this. He has not only to expound,
unfold, and interest, not only to see that everything is
presented in such a way as to cultivate each child's mental
power, but also to see that the information given goes
home, as far as possible, to every member of the class.
In other words, more generally stated, he must apply
David Stow's maxim, " The teacher has not taught unless
the child has learned " — learned, that is, in the sense that
(he knowledge acquired becomes a living thing ; but above
all, he must not assume that the children are empty vessels
into which it is his duty to be continually pouring gra-
tuitous information.
To accomplish this aim, the needs of each scholar,
even the one with the least mental power, must be care-
fully considered. As the speed of a fleet has to be governed
by the slowest vessel comprised in it, so the rate of pro-
gress of a class must, to some extent, be influenced by its
dullest member. There is nothing detrimental in this so
far as mere curriculum is concerned. It is only nature's
way of suggesting the brake. Go sloivly and be thorough
is the best possible motto for the class teacher. Testing,
revision, supplementing, and, as far as possible, attention
to individual scholars, are the necessary accompaniments
to substantial class progress. Moral control must be
inculcated1 and moral stimulus applied. The dull must
have their vision clarified, the idle must be quickened, the
indifferent encouraged, the obstinate subdued, all forms of
resistance removed or minimised ; and the teacher's ener-
gising spirit should reach out to every scholar. From all
this it will be seen how essential it is to place strict limi-
tations on the size of the class, if the teacher's work is to
be wholly and individually effective.
1 "The worth of man depends not upon his knowledge hut upon
his will." — Herbart.
t>4 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Size of Classes and Variations. — These limitations,
however, will vary with circumstances, even supposing
that the standard of efficiency is constant. It is clear that
the size of a class may depend upon the ability of the
teacher — the ease and lucidity with which he is able to
present facts, his moral power, his insight into character,
his energy, the intensity and extent of his capability of
covering the class with his eyes ; it should vary as the
scholars' attainments and receptive powers are more or
less on a level ; it must vary directly as the dimensions of
the class-room, and it may vary according to the character
of the subject of instruction and the way in which it is
taught. A practical science lesson, for example, with only
one teacher in charge, should not, as a rule, be given to
more than twenty scholars. A vocal music lesson, on the
other hand, might desirably include as many pupils as a
hall or room would accommodate, provided the instructor
is capable of holding and interesting them.
The size of a class may, and often does, vary according
to its relative position in the school — whether it is one of
the upper or lower classes. In the upper school, the
necessity for revision, correction of exercises, and general
closer supervision of the work, makes large classes a
practical impossibility if any high standard of attainment
is aimed at. And finally the number of scholars in a
class must vary according to the Regulations of the Board
of Education and those (if any) of the Local Authority,
so far as they concern the accommodation ' of the room or
the status 2 of the class teacher.
There remains, however, one more condition of variation
to be noticed, which is an exception to one cited above, viz.
the special purpose for which a class is formed. It is
1 Art. 14 and Art. 19, Code 1910.
2 Art. 12 and Art. 32, Code 1910.
THE CLASS. 65
evident that children of extremely low attainments and of
exceptionally poor ability should be grouped together in
much smaller classes than those possessing normal powers
of progress.
The limitations to the size of the class have been, in
the past, extremely varied. They have been determined, in
most instances, more by the iron hand of economy than by
educational considerations. Of late years, however, some
enlightened Local Authorities have done much to reduce
the class to reasonable limits, with the indirect result that
this influence has reacted upon others and produced a
general tendency in the right direction. The English
limit for a certificated class teacher works out at 60
children — it may be in habitual attendance. Similarly
an uncertificated teacher is limited to 35 2 and a student
teacher 3 to 20.
It is almost axiomatic to say that these numbers are too
large — certainly so far as the certificated teacher is con-
cerned— bearing in mind the searchingly individualistic
duties that devolve upon the class teacher. They are
faulty in three respects. In the first place, the numbers
are too high absolutely ; in the second place, no allowance
1 "Habitual attendance" is not equivalent to average attend-
ance [see Art. 14, Code 1910, and compare with Art. 12(a)]. The
averages would, of course, be less. The average for the London
County Council area including head teachers is about 41-42. In
these schools the limit for a certificated assistant teacher is about
50 in average attendance. This is based on an xmwritten law which
is often generously interpreted. Pupil teachers are not always con-
sidered in the staffing arrangements Student teachers, however,
are often qualifying factors in fixing the staff.
2 Art. 12 and Schedule L, Code 1910.
3 Art. 12, Code 1910, and Art. 38 (b), Regulations for the Pre-
liminary Education of Elementary School Teachers. See also
Schedule II. of the Code.
S. O. 7
66 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
is made for classes of scholars containing two or more
grades or standards ; and thirdly, no differentiation is
admitted between the upper and lower classes of a school.
The last two points are very important. No staffing
scheme can be considered satisfactory which excludes these
from view, unless it is an exceedingly liberal one based on
general principles.
Some modification of the official rule seems to be de-
sirable.1 The warning note attached to the article in
question points to the need of adjusting the staff to every
variety of conditions. It must be understood that the
Board of Education only lay down the minimum staff as "a
condition precedent to a grant." This minimum " must
not be understood to indicate that a school thus staffed " is
necessarily efficient. In every case the circumstance of the
individual school will be considered in relation to the
educational conditions of the area and the sufficiency of
the staff thus tested.2
In the United States and the Colonies the practice
compares favourably with ours. In New York the limit
for a class is 50 and the average attendance per teacher
is 39 ,3 excluding the head and visiting teachers. In
Queensland the average for a teacher is 29. 4
The class numbers vary greatly in different parts of
Germany. The tabulated statement below represents the
average number per teacher in the Berlin schools,5 Class I.
1 Art. 12 (a), Code 1910.
2 Art. 10, Code 1910.
3 The average roll per teacher, including the head, is 44. Vide
Report of City Superintendent for 1903.
4 Report for 1903.
5 Report of Mr. Andrew, Scotch Education Department, 1904.
The average number of pupils per teacher for the German Empire
was 61 in 1901. Vide " History and Organisation of Public Edu-
cation in the German Empire, 1904," by Dr. Lexis.
THE CLASS. 67
being the highest and corresponding with Standard Ex.
VII. in England.
Class I.... 35. Class V....50.
„ II.. .35. „ VI.. ..54.
„ III.. .41. „ VII.. ..56.
,. IV. ..45. „ VIII... .57.
In Berlin the schools are organised on the " eight- class "
system, the scholars varying in age from 6 to 14. The
classes represent grades similar to the English standards,
now not officially recognised.
Assuming: that the Berlin numbers do not diner mate-
rially from the roll, they may be regarded as a fairly
reasonable compromise between economical and educa-
tional claims, and would present on the whole a satis-
factory working arrangement if the numbers in the three
lowest classes did not exceed 50. Under English conditions,
certainly, especially in some areas, the numbers in the three
lowest classes must be considered too high for thoroughly
efficient work. Something approaching the educational
ideal will be attained when the average number of scholars
per teacher in a department is not allowed to exceed 40,1
assuming, too, that each member of the staff is fully quali-
fied : but as economical considerations have necessarily to
play an important part in education as in all other mun-
dane things, it will probably be some time before this
desirable limit is reached in every part of the country.
It is no more practicable to disregard these considerations
than it is " to leap the world to come."
Eeference has been already made to the accommodation
1 The L.C.C. has accepted this limit for senior departments in the
construction of all new buildings. The Dutch teachers of the Social
Democratic Federation are aiming to limit each class to 24 pupils.
(Schoolmaster, Sept. 10, 1904.)
68 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
of rooms and the status of the teacher as two of the factors
in determining the size of classes, the Code very properly
forbidding overcrowding and overweighting. It is im-
practicable here to deal with all the peculiarities of this
case. The one instance may be taken in which a class is
too large for the status * of the teacher, but not too large
for the room.
Now the status of a teacher is not necessarily a factor
in class management. It is, however, a factor when the
staff is regarded as a whole in relation to the habitual
attendance of all the scholars ; for the grade of each
member of the staff has certain numerical values asso-
ciated with it : but these official values are based on
generalisations and have their application more in deter-
mining the sufficiency of the staff than the suitability of it,
individually considered. The organiser must, however,
see that the teacher is suitable for the work assigned to him,
•and on this condition the question of status does not neces-
sarily arise. An uncertificated teacher might have a class
of 50 or 60 scholars and a certificated teacher a class of 35
or less, provided always (a) the teacher efficiently fits the
class, independently of status, and (6) the sum of the
numerical values attached to each teaching unit covers
the number of scholars in habitual attendance in the whole
school.2 It sometimes happens that an uncertificated
teacher has more effective teaching and disciplinary power
than a particular certificated one. The organiser can
therefore use full discretion in distributing his staff, and
still satisfy official requirements. The status of the
teacher can then be ignored, within reasonable limits :
it would be obviously unreasonable to place a student
teacher in charge of the first class, for example.
There are, however, several phases to this question.
1 Art. 12 {a), Code 1910. 2 Aits. 10 and 12, Code 1910.
THE CLASS. 69
Take the common instance of the combination of two or
three upper classes at the commencement of the educational
year, rendered necessary by re-organisation. It often
happens that over 60 scholars — sometimes over 70 — form
one class under a certificated teacher. The organiser is
aware that these numbers will gradually diminish, bi t
in the meantime the position must be met. He then has
two courses open to him — either to make a suitable selec-
tion from the pupils covering the excess and make separate
provision for their instruction, or to give the teacher such
supplemental aid as will satisfy the Code.1
The New York regulation deals with this and similar
cases, if otherwise incurable, by ti'ansferring the excess
scholars to another school. This, however, has not proved
satisfactory. Another method of dealing with these con-
stantly recurring difficulties and especially that phase of
them which concerns the highest classes in a school, which
are often too large at the beginning of the educational year
and small towards the close of it, is to consider each room
as having a marginal accommodation — that is, both a maxi-
mum and a minimum accommodation, the maximum to be
recognised only as an expedient to meet occasional pressure.
Of course the laws of health must be paramount in con-
nection with this proposal. The maximum would have to
be based on healthy conditions, whilst the accommodation
of the department would remain an invariable quantity
founded on the total of the minimum accommodation2 of
each room in it. Probably the most convenient marginal
1 Art. 14, Code 1910. "The number of scholars on the register of
any class or group of classes under the instruction of one teacher
must not exceed 60, etc."
2 This would prevent technical overcrowding, which is a con-
stantly recurring difficulty. The proposal is only intended to meet
the temporary needs of a class here and there.
70 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
accommodation would be one in the ratio of four to five, or
one additional place for every four on the minimum basis.
As there is no necessary connection between the number
of pupils in a class and the accommodation of a room
or the status of a teacher, ever-recurring difficulties will
arise which the organiser must face and overcome as
best he can. Even the official limit of the teaching power
assigned to a teacher is not always a safe guide, as already
shown. The personal equation must be considered too.
Of these elements in organisation, the organiser is
powerless over two, except in so far as he may have a
choice of assistants of varied status and power. He must
of course take the line of least resistance and make the
class fit the teacher, and, as far as practicable, the room.
It is essential that he should fit the teacher. But even
when this has been done at the commencement of the
educational year, the organiser's troubles are not ended
in this direction. Fresh admissions, especially in the
lower classes, and the uneven progress of groups of children
in the various classes will come as disturbing factors.
Wise readjustments must therefore be occasionally
made ; and these will be rendered all the more easy if
terminal or half-yearly promotions are carried out, on each
pupil's merits.
The annual courses of instruction known as the standards
—theoretically standards of examination and not courses
of instruction — have been valuable on account of their
well-known character, their general acceptance and appli-
cation ; but, being annual, it has been too often assumed
that promotions ought not to be made until the end of the
year, when, as nearly as practicable, equality of attain-
ments could still form the basis for a new organisation.
The rigidity of the standards, coupled with their annual
character, has, no doubt, been partially responsible for the
THE CLASS. 71
unnecessary retardation of many scholars and the want of
more rapid progress of children, especially those above the
average in ability. Now that standardisation has been
officially dropped, except for certificates of proficiency, pro-
bably it will be conceded that there are no cardinal virtues
in the calendar or educational year. The organiser can
now, though a great deal of freedom has previously been
given by the Code, so arrange his courses of instruction as
to meet the special needs of his pupils, and make them
as pliable and adaptable to varying circumstances as
possible. It is not necessary under existing regulations
that the courses should correspond from year to year, pro-
vided reasonable grounds can be shown for fresh or even
radical departures. No wise teacher, however, would
attempt any great change such as would seriously interfere
with the due correlation of studies.
What has been said concerning the standards equally
applies to the steps or grades in the infant school, but this
matter will be considered later when the subject of pro-
motion is discussed.
Large Classes. — It must not be supposed that large
classes are to be regarded only as an unmixed evil. That
such classes leave much to be desired is incontestable :
but they have some advantages, though these are small
compared with the gains on the other side. Sympathy is
a potent educational force. Sympathy of numbers, spring-
ing from each unit in a mass which works with the same
aim and in which each is bound to the other by ties of
class fellowship, makes for friendly rivalry, moral strength,
and intellectual zest. The larger the class, within certain
limits, the greater is the play of competing forces. The
rousing of moral power sharpens the intellectual appetite.
Large classes — and under this head may be included
72 80HOOL ORGANISATION.
the grouping of classes containing scholars of different
attainments ; for such classes, though not necessarily large
in the absolute sense, are nevertheless relatively so — tend
also to encourage and develop individual reliance and
resource. If there is a real danger connected with some
recent educational developments, it is that too much is
being done for the scholars by the teacher. The essence
of education lies in the scholars' doing, not the teacher's.
Froebel's motto applies to the pupil, not to the teacher.
The latter's true function is that of guide, philosopher, and
friend — not a guide who always leads and shows the way,
except by moral example, but a guide who will help the
pupil to find the right path chiefly by exciting his reason-
ing power.
The sympathy arising from numbers acts on the teacher
as well as on the scholars. That peculiar unifying moral
tie that holds an able teacher to his class is alive with
emotional currents passing from him to the pupils and
from the pupils to him with mutual advantage. They
give the teacher an added power, and often enable him to
transcend himself.
But all this presupposes a strong teacher. In the hands
of a teacher of mere average power, or of a weak one, the
position is educationally untenable. This must not therefore
be taken as a psean of praise to large classes. It is merely
an attempt to show the best side of a weak position.1
The advocacy for a class of forty pupils, and even for a
smaller number in the upper classes, stands unchallenged
for all ordinary purposes.
On the other hand large classes, under ordinary con-
1 "In some cases it may even be said that an insufficient staff
has proved a blessing in disguise because the teacher has had no
alternative but to make the scholars work for and by themselves."
— Jieport of the Board of Education, 1908-9, p. 19.
THE CLASS. 73
I
litions, present enormous difficulties and have many grave
defects. The gravest defect is the remoteness of the
individual — near but yet far. The tendency is therefore
for him to become submerged in the crowd and to be
regarded as an "average" child, and hence without his
own peculiarities ; and it is precisely those peculiarities
that should be reckoned with in the educative process. It
is obvious that no training can be effective which is not,
to a considerable extent, based on individual powers and
weaknesses. Known quantities and qualities are so much
more easily dealt with than unknown ones. The first
condition of sound training is knowledge of the individual
to be trained. This is the teacher's side of the position :
he should know his scholars through and through. There
is also the scholar's side. He becomes conscious of his
remoteness : he realises that he is not understood, that he
is only one of a crowd, and thus his sense of personal
responsil >ility to the class and school is not likely to grow,
and possibly it may be weakened.
There are, however, cases and occasions when large
classes are desirable or admissible. A vocal music class,
for example, might be often the better for combining two
or more classes, the only necessary limitations being
physical considerations and the teacher's ability to control
and instruct. Lantern lessons also sometimes lend them-
selves to bigger classes than are admissible under ordinary
conditions. The preparation class is another example.
This is a device practised in American schools, by which
the central hall is utilised for private study. This is done
to encourage resource and independent effort. It also
economises staff, for the teachers thus employed in super-
vision are only qualified to take a smaller number of
pupils under ordinary class conditions. The recital lessons
take place in the adjoining rooms, as seen in the accom-
74 SCHOOL OKGANISATION.
panying plan. This is, however, only economically
practicable in buildings adapted to, and equipped for, the
purpose.
The One-Teacher or Ungraded School. — This kind
of school is usually found in thinly populated and isolated
districts, the teacher being unaided except, perhaps, for
needlework. The one teacher, therefore, constitutes both
the head and assistant staff. Monitors for mere routine
work, however, are usually employed. Organisation, under
such circumstances, might appear to reach its vanishing
point : but in reality it should find, in a limited way, its
highest development, if sound efficiency is to be secured
and maintained.
The teacher has practically to solve the problem of being
corporeally in two or more places at the same time, and
also to impregnate the atmosphere of the school with his
spiritual presence. The difficulties of the position are
apparent, especially if, as sometimes happens, the school
consists of pupils ranging in attainments from Standard I.
to VI. or VII., or occasionally otherwise complicated by the
presence of infants, when the sole teacher is a woman.
Under conditions like these monitorial or some kindred
help becomes imperative, but such help must not take the
form of teaching.1
The question of the unification of such small schools
into a central one, or their absorption into existing larger
and neighbouring centres, has been successfully dealt with
in some countries. Reasonable distance must, of course,
be a factor in any satisfactory solution of the difficulty,
even when the distance is covered by vehicles. In
America this plan is extensively practised. Canada, too,
1 See Arts. 11 (/) and 43 (e) ; also Schedule IV. (21), and par. 13
of the Pref. Memorandum to Code, 1910.
THE CLASS.
75
Fig.
10
Plan of an American School, showing Study Hall and Recitation Rooms.
76 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
has recognised its utility, and is developing on the same
lines.
In this country,1 Devon, Cornwall, Gloucestershire, and
other areas bring children of scattered districts to school
in this way. The attractions of a ride, combined with
protection from rain and other inclemencies of the weather,
have brought about a better attendance: whilst the
advantages of instruction in a large school, meeting in a
healthy, commodious building, possessing a stimulating
esprit de corps, and permitting an organisation on a basis
of sound classification, are too evident to be named.
Assuming, however, that no such desirable conveniences
exist, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to suggest
a satisfactory classification and distribution of teaching
power for small schools of this type, especially as they
vary considerably in different localities. Probably the
best organisation would be secured by the teacher taking
full advantage of the latitude allowed by the Code in the
way of classification. History, geography, grammar, and
other class subjects should be taught, as a rule, in not
more than two sections ; and, as far as possible, subjects
that lend themselves to individual and private effort
should intervene between each oral lesson. It is essential
to encourage individual study to the utmost extent. It is
further essential for the teacher to regard the lessons on
the " class subjects " as one of the chief means of reach-
ing each pupil in the matter of moral and intellectual
training.
Assuming that the school is not complicated by the
presence of infants and it contains six or seven grades of
scholars, it should be divided into two divisions for pur-
poses of class instruction, the lower division containing
Standards I. to III. The syllabuses for the class subjects
1 See Art. by J. C. Medd in School, ii. 88.
THE CLASS. 77
should fit these two sections, composition mainly taking
the place of formal grammar in the lower school. A three
or four years' course must be designed for the upper
school and corresponding provision made for the lower.
It is necessary for each year's course to overlap its
successor in order to provide for the needs of promoted
scholars. Indeed, endless adjustments, after the syllabus
has been drawn up, must be made by the teacher from
time to time, to meet the requirements of all scholars in
each group of a division.
In the 3 R's, the need for the same hind of divisional
treatment does not arise. By careful preparation of work
beforehand, on the lines of the attainments of each group
or standard in a division, the claims of each pupil could be
reasonably met. Since the work under this head depends
almost wholly on the private efforts of the scholars, the
testing of what has been accomplished is, of course,
essential ; and this would necessarily have to be done, to
some extent, after school hours, which terminate at
4.10 p.m. for this purpose.
In order to insure an effective distribution of the
teacher's time, it becomes imperative, while one section or
division is occupied with an oral lesson, that the other
should be engaged in private study ; but this distribution
cannot be always absolute. Suppose, for example, that
the teacher is immediately engaged with the upper section
giving a lesson on geography, while the lower section is
employed in arithmetic, the work having been definitely
apportioned to each group therein ; it is manifestly de-
sirable that the work accomplished in arithmetic should
be tested without undue delay. If therefore the two
simultaneous lessons cover half an hour, the teacher must
devote only about half that time to the oral lesson, and
give the remainder of the time to checking and guiding
78 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
the work in the lower division, while the upper section or
school continues its geographical work on a private effort
basis.
This arrangement must apply generally; though in
some subjects, e.g. history and writing (mechanical),
grammar and composition (written), taken respectively by
the upper and lower schools, the teacher might give most
of the time to the oral lesson, testing the bulk of the
private effort lesson after school hours.
It is further desirable that all books and other necessary
material for the day's work should be given to each
scholar on the opening of the school in the morning.
Besides other advantages, this involves a training in per-
sonal responsibility. Indeed, in a one-teacher school, the
fundamental principles underlying group self-government
must be applied if the school is to work on easy lines.
Each division should therefore elect its own captain,
subject to the veto of the teacher, the senior captain be-
coming the head of the school and mainly responsible for
the scholars' good behaviour, while each would see that
attentive industry in private study was in operation in his
own section.
Of course to keep a school of this kind thoroughly
going, the teacher must not only be full of activity, but he
must be continually interesting his pupils by the novelty of
new methods, bringing into play fresh ideas, and generally
inspiring them with energy and enthusiasm. The school
library should be in active circulation, reaching every
pupil and every home. History must be largely dramatised
and appropriate books throwing side lights on the subject
read in school or at home. Geography must become as
realistic as possible. A whole section might occasionally
be employed in designing the contour of a country, indi-
cating its mountains, rivers, lakes, and large towns by
THE CLASS. 79
means of sand ; groups or individuals might also be
similarly engaged with modelling in clay, or constructing
in relief with moistened brown paper, or filling in contour
maps supplied for each scholar's use.
A useful means of interesting children is to allocate a
corner of the playground to instruction in geography. A
few cart-loads of sand, a little clay, a water supply, and
some simple implements, will enable scholars to learn
more of physical geography in an hour than they would
otherwise learn in months. Pupils should be further
encouraged to collect specimens representing, in turns, the
chief products of the various countries under study.1
Nature study should find its chief expression in field and
forest excursions, notes being taken and rendered into
fuller composition exercises later ; and arithmetic should be
essentially practical — scales, measures, and materials being
in constant evidence and use in the lower division.
But whatever is done, even of the best, something must
remain to be desired in a school of this type. Fortunately,
it is gradually disappearing under the stress of the more
recent official regulations ; and schools with one assistant
teacher or with one or more pupil or student teachers are
taking their place. But even with aids like these, the
principles already advocated for the one-teacher school
must equally operate. A weekly record of the work done
in each division should be kept by the teacher.
1 Collections of Colonial and Indian products may be obtained
from time to time for educational purposes, by application to the
Director of the Imperial Institute, London, 8.W. The commercial
resources of countries within the British Empire may also be
studied in the public galleries of the Imperial Institute, where
pictures, photographs, and other interesting exhibits may be seen.
Arrangements may be made for teachers and scholars to be con-
ducted by members of the Institute's staff, when some guidance or
explanation of exhibits is deemed necessary or advisable.
80 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
In connection with this subject, it is doubtful whether
children up to eight years of age get the fullest benefit by
attendance at school both mornings and afternoons.
Intensive work in the mornings and comparative freedom
for the rest of the day would probably result in more
good. If this principle were applied, the work of the
school under discussion would be simplified, and the older
scholars would probably, by increased attention, be able to
advance more rapidly than under existing conditions.
The Time Tables that occupy the two following pages
are the actual working arrangements of two highly suc-
cessful schools of the type under discussion. The Sum-
mary below refers to the time-table on p. 82.
Summary.
Upper Group.
Lower Group
Scripture
150
150
Arithmetic
200
210
Reading
150
180
English
100
240*
Composition (Written)
90
—
Drill
60
60
Repetition and Literature
75
75
Drawing
120
60
History
80
90
Geography
90
90
Writing or Transcription
60
120
Singing
7<)
60
Map Drawing
60
—
Object Lessons
60
90
Intervals
125
125
1550 1550
* Oral Composition is included. Indeed individual oral expression is cultivated
in all possible lessons.
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82
THE CLASS. 83
Iii the rural schools of north-west France the average
number of pupils in a school with a single unaided teacher
is about forty. Soma such schools, however, have higher
numbers. The law allows an additional teacher when the
number of pupils exceeds fifty.1
The Class as Unit in a Department. — If a depart-
ment is to advance as a whole, unity of educational aim
must find its expression in each class. Consistent method
everywhere is essential to due progress. The teacher
should be attached to that class in which his fullest
powers are likely to be displayed. It is not only mere
teaching ability that has to be weighed in this connection,
but also disciplinary power, grasp of knowledge, and
strength of personality. In other words, the teacher
should fit the class and the class the teacher.
First, the teacher should fit the class in the official
sense, that is, as understood by the Board of Education,-
but this requirement, as explained, is more technical than
real. He should also fit the class in the sense of aptitude.
It often happens that these two by no means correspond.
Officially, a class numbering sixty scholars is suitable for
a certificated teacher. There is no doubt that this number
is too high, under ordinary conditions, for efficient work.
It is especially too high for the upper classes, for the
lowest class, and also in cases in which two or more grades
of scholars are grouped to form one class. But the Board
of Education regulation does not differentiate in this way,
probably because it is exceedingly difficult to make rules
that will equally well apply to various, and sometimes
varying, local circumstances. Generally speaking, however,
forty scholars when there are two grades or standards
1 See " Rural Schools of N.W. France." Special Reports. Vol. 7.
3 Art. 12, Code 1910.
84 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
together, and thirty when there are three, should be
regarded as a reasonable number for one certificated
teacher.1
It almost invariably happens that a class has several
pupils in excess or short of the number that can be allotted
to one teacher. In case of excess, it is necessary to draft
the extra pupils to another class, or to give the teacher in
question supplementary aid in the form of a pupil teacher,
student teacher, or an uncertificated or certificated assist-
ant ; or, again, a sub-division could be formed for which
either the student-teacher or the additional assistant could
be held partially or wholly responsible. To allow teachers
not fully qualified to be solely responsible is undesirable,
not only on educational grounds, but because it throws a
specific duty on the head to be in continual touch with
the sub-division for purposes of direction and supervision,
and this is not always possible.
If, on the other hand, the deficiency in numbers is small,
it can generally be neglected ; and if, again, the excess is
small— one or two — it may be left out of consideration 2 :
for natural adjustments will be sure to come, sooner or
later, to the organiser's assistance.
The class being formed, other difficulties arise in the
admission of new pupils and in the varying rates of
progress. New pupils ought not to be allowed to retard a
class unless the number of admissions is abnormally large
and unavoidable. The thoughtful teacher will find the
means of giving a few fresh scholars odds and ends of
attention, which will in some measure compensate them
for lost ground, without allowing the majority of the class
to suffer. Admissions, however, are necessarily a slightly
disturbing element, and the question arises whether it is
1 But see Art. 14, Code 1910. 2 Ibid.
THE CLASS. 85
not desirable to place some restrictions upon them, espe-
cially when the proposed change of school is due to caprice.
This is done in many secondary schools. In Berlin and
some parts of the United States admissions are only
allowed twice a year. In the interests of migratory
scholars themselves some restrictive rule is eminently
desirable. The head teachers, with a recognised system
of professional etiquette, might do much to mitigate the
evil.
The other disturbing element, viz. the varying rate of
progress, is the more difficult to deal with, considering the
class as a whole. The normal rate in elementary schools is
generally taken to correspond to the annual courses pre-
scribed by the standards for scholars ranging between the
ages of six and fourteen. It has been assumed that the
average scholar could take these yearly steps, commencing
with Standard I., at about six and a-half years, without
undue pressure, and that those who fall behind would be
counterbalanced in number by others above the average
in ability, and therefore presumably capable of advancing
more rapidly than the ordinary child. This assumption
is not consonant with facts so far as some great areas are
concerned, for the number of scholars who fall behind
greatly outnumber those whose advance is beyond that of
the yearly steps. Of course, this raises a question not only
of national, but universal interest. It cannot, however, be
considered here.
It is enough to sav that what was hitherto regarded
as a normal rate of progress has not been realised, and
therefore it is as well to note that the limitations of the
" normal rate " have not yet been fixed. But there seems
to be little doubt that under the svstem which has been
rampant in the recent past, and is still strongly in evidence
in many county areas, the needs of the brighter scholars
86 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
have been sacrificed, to a great extent, either to the fetish
of class advancement in unbroken line, or to the suscepti-
bilities of class teachers, who sometimes regard terminal and
occasional promotions as a serious break in the progress of
their work. Each attitude deserves condemnation.
Departures from the normal are, of course, inevitable.
Percentages on this point in one district will not necessarily
correspond with those in another, because operating causes
might be vastly different. The teacher, therefore, must
not assume that what is possible in one county is equally
possible in another. Over-pressure is, perhaps, more
deadly than sluggish work. The means everywhere must
not only be adjusted to the ends, but also to the individual:
and in this respect the class teacher has shallows and depths
to sound which must tax all his judgment, patience, and
energy if real success is to attend his efforts. No faith
ought to be placed in rules formed a priori in dealing with
this question.1
The head teacher must be prepared to find considerable
divergence in the rate of progress of the scholars. The
class teacher will find it necessary to adapt his pace to
the class as a whole, and to see that every child advances
in conformity with his general ability and his aptitude for
study in any special direction.
Promotion. — The class has necessarily to be remodelled
once in twelve months, that is at the end of the educational
year. All or the great majority of the scholars are then
1 In London Provided Schools for the year ending Lady Day, 1904,
there were in boys', girls', and mixed departments 27 per cent, of the
scholars in the normal stage, 7 per cent, above the normal, and
about 65 per cent, below it. These percentages are based on the
assumption that every child commences the work of Standard I.
at six and a-half years. So that what was regarded as normal
a priori was not found to be so in practice.
THE CLASS. 87
promoted to a higher class. A few perhaps have not
advanced sufficiently to secure promotion at once. In
many schools it is found practicable to promote a com-
paratively small number of scholars at the end of each of
the two or three terms into which the educational year is
divided. Such promotion is usually carried out on the
basis of examination. This, however, is not a necessity.
Promotion could be as efficiently brought about by the
record of a term's individual work, supplemented, if con-
sidered desirable, by examination in one or more subjects.
Most elementary schools have carried out their promo-
tions annually. It would, however, be a mistake to accept
this practice as a safe and proper guide. Indeed, under
the existing freedom of classification allowed to teachers,
it ought not to be rigidly applied to any school. There
are now, happily, signs of awakening in many areas. A
judicious combination of both yearly and term promo-
tions is undoubtedly the best. A clever child who has
reasonably well mastered the major part of the work of
a class in four or six months ought not to be compelled
to repeat that work ad nauseam to the end of the year.
The effect of retention in the same class, under these cir-
cumstances, is mischievous in the extreme ; for the child
loses interest, the mainspring of attention and industry,
and discontent and tedium result. The effects produced
bv this means often cling to a scholar for the rest of his
school life.
The chief objections urged against term promotions are
(1) interruption to a steady and continuous year's work of
the class teacher, (2) the doubtful advantage of promoting
a child into a class that has already completed about one-
half of the year's course, and (3) the dislike of the class
teacher to have the best pupils removed. These are of
minor importance, if they carry any weight at all, com-
88 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
pared with the deleterious influence on the child who is
not allowed to go forward when he is reasonably fit to do
so. Of these three objections the first is more imaginary
than real ; the second is apparently strong at first sight,
but it is really not so, for the work can be easily arranged
on a terminal or half-yearly basis instead of on an annual
one : besides, the clever child is found in practice to be
able ultimately to overtake his class-fellows without undue
strain ; the third is admittedly disheartening to the teacher
who takes a wrong-headed view of the position.
The errors of the past, and to a great extent of the
present, are due to a very restricted vision. The form of
curriculum has stood near, towered to the sky, and partially
shut out the light of day, and the end has been taken for
the means. Training has thus been eclipsed — the process
that should be the alpha and omega of school work. If
teachers and others had always accepted the curriculum as
a mere instrument, to be used and adjusted to compara-
tively remote ends, there would have been no serious
divergence from the true path.
Again, if the smartest children are promoted to a higher
class, equally intelligent scholars are promoted from a lower
class to take their place — assuming, of course, that term
promotions are general for the school — and though these
cannot have the same attainments, yet they will, by natural
ability, ever prevent the class becoming dull ; and the class
teacher should remember that it is his first duty to serve
the best interests of his scholars, and should therefore sub-
ordinate himself to that duty. And he should further
bear in mind a simple law — energy will escape, will dis-
charge itself sooner or later. If blocked by any barrier,
arbitrary or not, t\ie impeded force will find an outlet
elsewhere, in the direction of least resistance, and possibly
therefore into undesirable channels. So it is with the
THE CLASS. 89
pupil who is unnecessarily retained in a class when fit to
go forward.
He needs a further field for his activities : his mental
and emotional battery is at the discharging point; and if
resistance is not removed there must be an outbreak, perhaps
in unexpected quarters, or some injury may result to the
pupil himself. Arrested development is not an uncommon
complaint, and this is usually associated with those who
fail to get the proper stimuli at the right time.
These remarks apply, with some slight modifications, to
the ordinary retarded scholar. At the end of the educa-
tional year every child in a class should be promoted,
notwithstanding terminal advancement, unless there is
overwhelming evidence to support retardation. Generally
speaking, nothing in school life is so demoralising and so
deadening to the faculties as retention of a scholar in the
same class for two or more years. Interest almost
vanishes, and self-respect and self-reliance become less
and less acute, under such circumstances : and this posi-
tion becomes all the more pronounced if the scholar is
already old for his standard or class. " Hope deferred
maketh the heart sick " has just as keen an application
to the child as the man. If, however, there should be
strong reasons for retardation, then the scholar should
be encouraged to improve by the prospect of promotion
at the end of three or six more months, or even at an
earlier period.
As already stated, a judicious combination of both yearly
and term promotions appears to be the best. In order,
however, to carry out this effectively, some changes in the
courses of instruction are necessary. The steps known as
the standards are based upon a year's work for the ordinary
child. The plan commonly adopted by the organiser is so
to arrange the lessons that these steps or courses can be
90 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
completed in about eight or nine months, the remaining
period of the year being spent in traversing the ground
already covered, laying special stress on material points,
making additions and emendations, and generally putting
upon the whole work its finishing touches
This plan cannot be recommended : it bristles with
defects. The organisation of a school should not be rigid,
but kept to some extent in a fluid state. There are at
least two better courses to adopt, either of which, according
to circumstances, will be found to be a sound working basis.
In the first place it is suggested that the educational
year be divided into two terms, each of six months' dura-
tion ; and that the standard courses be divided into two
parts in the ratio of about 2 to 1, or, perhaps better still,
5 to 2, the larger portion of the course being taken in the
first six months,1 and the smaller during the second
together with such essential parts of the first term course
as would make a reasonably graduated syllabus suited to
the child a little above the average in ability, or with
unusual powers of application. This arrangement, it is
thought, would meet the needs of the ordinary scholar in
the way of recapitulation, and would place the child drafted
at the close of the first six months in a position nearly
equal to the one possessed by the ordinary scholar at the
commencement of the educational year, so far as the
graduated syllabus is concerned.2
This would cure the defect, under some existing prac-
tices, of promoting children at the end of six months to a
class that has already done two-thirds of the year's work,
and is at the point of commencing the other third. The
promoted pupil has then to take up the course at a point
1 It would be well to complete the Arithmetic course during the
first term.
2 Generally term syllabuses, and not annual ones, should be applied,
TIIE CLASS. 91
in which some knowledge of what has been taught in the
first half of the year is, if not essential, at least desirable
to ensure satisfactory progress.
Even with the suggested two-term courses in operation,
it would still be necessary to make the majority of the pro-
motions at the close of the educational year ; but the gain
in being able fittingly to promote, at an earlier period, even
a small percentage of the scholars, would be very great
indeed.
Nothing said here is intended to encourage premature
advancement of the child, which only leads to disastrous
results in later life. A scholar's school career should be
one of happiness, in which, however, intensive work should
play an important part ; and happiness is not consistent
with either physical or mental strain. Only those children
should therefore be promoted earlier than usual who can,
without undue exertion, keep pace with the work. An ill-
nourished child,1 for example, although possessed of more
than ordinary mental activity and power, ought rather to
have its activities restrained than stimulated : and pre-
cocious children generally need careful vigilance to see
they do not overtax their strength. The ivhole child is put
into the teacher's keeping.
The Educational Commission of the City of Chicago2
has recommended, inter alia, " That the course of study be
so adjusted as readily to permit of at least semi-annual
promotion from grade to grade."
Again, Section 247 of the Eules and Regulations of the
Public Schools of the City of Boston reads : " The regular
promotion of pupils from grade to grade shall be made in
1 The Central Oare Committee, working under the L.C.C., watch
over and provide for the immediate needs of all ill-nourished and
delicate children.
2 See Report 1900. " Grade " roughly corresponds to ' ' standard. "
92 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
September and February. Promotion of individual pupils
may be made at any time by the Principal of the district
with the approval of the Supervisor in charge."
Age and Classification. — -Something must be said
concerning the bearing of age on classification and pro-
motion. As a rule moral and intellectual power in a child
up to the age of seven is directly proportional to the
number of its years. Age, therefore, ought to be and is a
factor in classification and promotion in infant schools. It
sometimes happens, however, that a scholar of twelve years
is duller than a child of seven.
(1) Backward Scholars — Promotion. — Generally children
who are old for their class or standard have less ability
than their fellows, assuming, of course, that a proper
system of promotion has been in operation and that the
backward pupils have had the benefit of ordinary educa-
tional facilities. Such children, by constant association
with others" so much younger than themselves, tend to lose
their self-respect, and thus become an obstacle to good
discipline. They show this in many ways : there is a lack
of industry, of interest, of tone, and, on the positive side,
a decided tendency to be mischievous and troublesome.
Hence everything should be done to rouse them to a
proper sense of personal responsibility ; and this can
probably be best effected by promotion, within reasonable
limits, to that class with which pupils of approximately
equal ages are associated. Although such children will
not fit the class in attainments, yet it will be generally
found that they will learn, and improve, in other respects,
at a comparatively greater rate than if associated with
children much younger than themselves.
This has been found in many instances to work extremely
well in practice ; and it has a special application in the
THE CLASS. 93
case of those who are, say, within six mouths of leaving
school altogether. If they fail to be brought into teaching
and close social contact with one of the two highest classes
in the school, their school life ends without even the sense,
much less the acquisition, of that fine tone and moral
responsibility that invariably characterise the two upper
classes in any really good educational establishment. If,
therefore, children of this type are not hopelessly remote,
in attainments and mental grasp, from those of the upper
classes, it is eminently desirable that they should be in
close touch with those classes, if only intermittently, in
such occasional lessons as are given in history, geography,
Scripture, literature, and other subjects that lend them-
selves to oral instruction.
(2) The Ungraded Glass. — A special class for backward
scholars — an ungraded or remove class — has been found
very effective. This plan, however, is impracticable in
some buildings, because of the limited number of rooms
available : and it most often involves, too, the employ-
ment of an additional teacher. Generally speaking, the
grouping of dull children for purposes of instruction is a
bad practice. The justification, however, for such group-
ing lies (1) in its being a temporary expedient, (2) in the
special method of teaching adopted, (3) in the small
number of scholars forming the class — not, as a rule, more
than twenty to thirty — and the consequent ability of the
teacher to give a greater amount of individual attention
than is possible under ordinary class conditions, and (4) in
its efficacy in attaining the special end in view.
In some large departments an intermediate class con-
sisting of backward children has proved very successful,
the course of instruction ranging between Standards III.
and IV., and all the teaching being essentially of a practical
nature. Arithmetic is based on shopping, with scales and
94 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
measures ; history largely 011 dramatisation ; geography
oil modelling in clay and plasticine, and on visits to various
places ; and handwork of various kinds plays an important
part. Educational excursions, as encouraged by the Code,
are also largely used.
(3) Promotion on a One-subject Basis. — A third success-
ful method of appeal to the backward scholar lies in
discovering his strong point as well as his weak ones. It
frequently happens that a dullard has a bias — possibly
a gift — in a certain direction. Develop that line for all
it is worth ; promote within that limit, to the highest cla&s
or place, and he will discover his balance and responsi-
bility. Self-respect will be restored in glorified form ; and
he will realise the possibilities of advance in other channels,
having at least one high or comparatively high standard.
All are acquainted with the energising influence of a
fresh consciousness of power, even if that power lies within
a small compass. Depths may be sounded by it that have
never been touched before : and out of them may not un-
reasonably come, in time, an awakening force and a conse-
quent development, that must broaden the avenues of life,
ultimately confer an intellectual grasp of new realms, and
thereby open a wider field for mental activity. A scholar
might, therefore, be in the highest class for, say, drawing
and in an intermediate or lower class still for other
subjects.
The Highest Class.— In the highest class a phenomenon
commonly arises which is very dispiriting to the teacher.
As the scholars reach the age limit that cancels the legal
obligation to attend school, they mostly avail themselves of
the supposed freedom thus offered. This is especially the
case in the poorer districts. The class, probably large at
the comniencement of the educational year, gradually
THE CLASS. 95
dwindles until towards the close of that year there is only
a mere remnant left. If the staffing arrangements permit,
it is best not to disturb the organisation, notwithstanding
this quasi-hour-glass phenomenon. Sometimes, however,
it becomes necessary to blend such a remnant class with
another of similar character, with the result that a further
loss of scholars ensues, besides a break in the continuity of
the work and the necessity for some readjustments of the
courses of instruction to meet the needs of the newly-com-
bined class. The highest class, indeed, is often a most
trying one on account of this leakage. One good pupil
follows another into the world — the poor ones mostly
remain, to justify the Scriptures — in a way that is most
disheartening to the class teacher, who is naturally anxious
that every scholar should have the full benefit of the school's
highest course of instruction.
This leakage is educational waste — both an individual
and a national loss, added to the dispiriting influence which
the disintegrating process has upon all around. A keener
public spirit in educational matters, and particularly a
greater appreciation of the value of education on the part of
the scholars' parents, would do much, in the absence of legis-
lation on the point, to mitigate this evil. In Berlin,1 where
the legal upward age limit is the same as in this country,
pupils who reach the age of fourteen during the educational
year are not permitted to leave school until the expiry of
that year. Thus the gradual breaking-up of the highest
class is non-existent there.
Specialisation. — Previous discussion has shown how
desirable it is that the class should fit the teacher, espe-
cially in respect of the upward limit of numbers. It does
1 See Report of Mr. G. Andrew to the Scottish Education Depart-
ment, 190 L
96 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
not follow from this condition that the teacher will lit the
class. As in the industrial world the division of labour is
found to be efficacious and specialisation valuable, so in
school life there is a growing tendency towards specialisa-
tion in teaching. But before proceeding to discuss this
developing feature of school work, there are one or two
points of general interest concerning the fitting of the
teacher to the class, which will form an appropriate intro-
duction.
The organisation being settled on the basis of fitting the
class to the teacher, it seems a simple matter, assuming
there is no great variation in the numbers, to allow the
teacher to follow his class as it rises higher and higher in
the school. This plan of rotation finds its partial justifi-
cation in the intimate knowledge which a teacher gains of
his pupils ; in the deeper interest he is likely to take in
them through long association ; and in the fixed moral
impress he could impose, assisted by length of time. This
principle of rotation, however, is not sound in general
application. Applied exceptionally, that is, in cases where
the teacher is strong in moral fibre, in tact, and in disci-
plinary power, it has many advantages. Generally it is
open to the following objections : —
(1) The pupils' outlook is liable to become narrowed,
they being only brought into teaching contact with one
mind. (2) Although not equally capable of managing
with thorough efficiency every class in a school, some
teachers can manage the lower classes well, and the upper
ones but indifferently. (3) The effect of a weak or in-
different teacher following his pupils throughout their
school career would probably be disastrous to most of
them. (4) The moral impress of a particular class teacher,
though important, is certainly not the dominant one in a
good school. Moral effect should rather depend on the
THE CLASS. 97
sum of the good influences that converge upon a school in
its entirety.
In some parts of the ordinary school work it is evident
that special aptitudes on the one side and special ability on
the other are desirable in the staff, since they make for the
highest efficiency. The powers and temperaments asso-
ciated with a teacher of an infant school, for example, are
not necessarily those required for the due instruction and
governance of boys and girls in the senior departments,
many of whom are in the pubescent period.
The division of most elementary schools into boys', girls',
and infants' departments has roughly differentiated the
teachers on the same lines. But teachers in the same
department will, of course, be found to display differences
in moral and intellectual force, differences in power of
insight into character, differences in taste, temperament,
and degree of knowledge, which the organiser must care-
fully consider before assigning to each a place. His chief
aim would naturally be to put each teaching unit in that
position in which it will be able to perform the most
effective work.
But there are also other matters connected with this,
to which wisdom should direct attention. Some variety
of work is almost as essential to the teacher as the
scholar. The interest of the teacher should not be lessened
by keeping him year after year to the same standard or
class, except it be to the highest class, for which often one
member of the staff is specially fitted. A teacher's career
might be seriously affected, and his usefulness not ade-
quately applied, by a cabined experience. Some men
and women, indeed, though ostensibly unsuitable for a
particular class, will rise to the occasion in a most extra-
ordinary way, if put to the test. Experiment therefore
with the staff is allowable, within proper limitations,
s. o. 9
98 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
especially when variety of work is deemed necessary or
desirable.
Of course, cases will arise in which it becomes almost
imperative to allocate particular classes or particular sub-
jects to certain masters or mistresses specially qualified to
deal with them. A point is reached in some subjects when
it becomes necessary that the teacher should have a special
knowledge, and sometimes a special aptitude joined thereto,
beyond the general courses of instruction included in the
Government Certificate Syllabus.
This is especially the case in practical science, art,
manual training in wood and metal, domestic subjects
(cookery, laundry, housewifery), and modern languages.
The means employed in giving instruction in all these
subjects, except the last, demand that not more than about
twenty pupils1 be allowed in one class. Practical science
is taught in many educational areas by specialists, and in
well equipped rooms designed for the purpose, in which
every pupil has sufficient space and apparatus for inde-
pendent experiment. Sometimes, however, the pupils work
in twos — a practice that has much to commend it.
Advanced drawing instruction is given under similar con-
1 In the L.C.C. schools the number of scholars per teacher is
limited to 18 in cookery, laundry, housewifery, and combined
domestic subjects ; 20 in woodwork, 16 in metal work. These
numbers are practically the same as those recognised by the Board
of Education, except that the size of the room occasionally makes
it necessary to have a slightly smaller roll for the one teacher. For
instruction in art, the general tendency has been to limit the
number to 25. Most of the art rooms accommodate from 25 to 30.
Similarly the practical science rooms generally accommodate about
24 pupils. The Board of Education, in a letter dated Dec. 11,
1901, stated that a class for practical science should not exceed 25,
unless a second teacher is employed. This letter applied to a
higher elementary school.
THE CLASS. 99
ditions in art rooms, which are sometimes used as centres
by scholars of neighbouring schools : whilst instruction in
wood and metal work and in the domestic arts is carried
on wholly at specially equipped centres, each batch of
scholars attending, as a rule, one session a week for each
subject.
In all these subjects the skill of the specialist, the
suitably equipped room, and individual instruction are
generally recognised to be necessary. It would be imprac-
ticable, even if the regular class teacher possessed the
special knowledge, for him to direct and supervise this
practical work ; for the numbers which form such classes
are probably small compared with the ordinary class of
which he is in daily charge. It must be noticed in connec-
tion with this that the dual demand for small classes and
specialised teaching applies mostly to the older scholars in
the school, usually those from 12 years of age upwards.1
The importance of practical work in education cannot
be overestimated. It has been well said by a distinguished
American that " the hand is the projected brain," for
knowledge acquired by its means becomes a living thing.
In lieu of girls' attendance at the domestic training
centres one session a week for each subject they are study-
ing there, which causes uncomfortable breaks in their
ordinary school work, it would probably be better if each
girl devoted the last six or twelve months of her school life
exclusively to training in the domestic arts. There are,
however, many administrative difficulties to surmount
before this plan can be successfully applied. The general
1 In the "special" schools (for mentally or physically defective
children) similar principles are applied, however. By the Regula-
tions of the Board of Education the average attendance for classes
in these schools must not exceed 20, except in two classes, where
the average may be 25.
100 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
practice is for girls to begin their domestic training at
eleven years of age. Opportunities are thus afforded for
applying and strengthening at home the knowledge acquired
at each step.
There is of course no need of specialisation in the infant
department. The " mothering ': principle ought to find,
and most often does find, its happiest expression there;
for the care and training which the young child needs are
just those which a devoted, cultured, and intelligent mother
would give. Interest should run like a gold thread through
the network of the social, physical, and mental traiuing,
based on the natural order of development of a child's
body and mind, and therefore reasonably within the range
of its potential activities. Indeed this principle should be
applicable to all schools.
Departmental Teaching, — With regard to the senior de-
partments, specialisation in subjects other than those
already named is gradually growing into favour. The
general practice is to have one teacher responsible for the
whole of the subjects taught in one class, with perhaps
exceptions here and there in favour of vocal music. In
this country, and to a much larger extent in America, the
practice is occasionally adopted of making each member
of the staff, not responsible for a class as a whole, but
responsible only for those subjects in each class which he
is best fitted by knowledge and aptitude to teach. Whether
this principle should be applied wholly to the senior de-
partments in primary schools, or only to the upper classes,
or whether it should find any justification at all, is a pro-
blem which can best be determined by experience. There
is no doubt concerning the value of specialisation in secon-
dary schools, especially in the higher forms. Local condi-
tions and circumstances have always to be borne in mind.
The complete application of the principle has not usually
THE OLASS. 101
been a success. Applied, however, mostly to the upper
classes, it might find its true position in the elementary
school. Singing, nature study, and history are the addi-
tional subjects that demand a special knowledge and
aptitude for really satisfactory treatment.
The advantages and disadvantages of this modified
specialisation — departmental teaching, as it is called — may
be briefly summarised thus : — The gains are, (1) A
teacher's work is limited to instruction in subjects with
which he is best acquainted and which presumably appeal
most to his tastes. (2) Interest and special knowledge in
the teacher ensure, as a rule, good method, zealous work,
and breadth of treatment. (3) Scholars become more
interested when facts are presented in bright colours rather
than in sober greys. (4) The pupil has a better oppor-
tunity of finding his true bent. (5) Scholars are likely to
get a more extended horizon by being brought daily into
contact with several teachers. (6) The specialist can
draw out a suitable course of instruction in his subject,
for the whole school, graded to meet every stage in a
pupil's advancement, which should operate independently
of calendar or educational years.
On the other hand, the losses or disadvantages are, —
(1) Diminution of moral control by the teachers because
of the extended field of work ; but when the sum of the
influences of the school is great, this loss is more apparent
than real. (2) Divided responsibility for a class as a whole.
Even supposing one teacher is considered primarily respon-
sible for registration, attendance, punctuality, stock, tone,
and discipline on account of the larger share of time given
to a particular class, still his influence cannot be so great
as if he were in sole charge ; and he may justly urge
that discipline depends on many forces, for only some of
which he is directly responsible. (3) Strain on the teachers
102 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
and little variety in the work. A more liberal staff, there-
fore, is generally necessary. With this staff, however, the
strain would disappear. There is perhaps, too, ample
scope for variety even in one subject — it depends on the
person. (4) Scholars are more likely to take a special
interest in one or more subjects to the neglect of the
others. General knowledge and general training are, as
a rule, desirable. (5) Teachers are not all qualified by
tact or temperament to take every class in the school.
This, however, would not be necessary in a large institu-
tion where there may be more than one teacher for each
subject. (6) There is a possible danger, too, that each
specialist will push his own subject to the detriment of
others. The conflict of claims thus arising is a disturbing
factor. (7) There is also a tendency in many specialists
towards narrowness of vision, which can only be counter-
acted by a broad general culture.
A warning here appears to be necessary. The student
should not be guided by the number of pros and cons in
estimating the value of any device. One simple statement,
say in favour of a scheme, may by its inherent worth carry
more weight than twenty points against it. The true
values lie in quality, in effectiveness, not in numbers.
Within certain limits, there seems to be no cause for
doubt that specialisation is a most effective method for
stimulating interest and activity. The possibilities of its
service in training have not yet been fully realised, particu-
larly in elementary schools. In addition to other subjects
already taught at centres, drawing, music, nature study,
history, English literature, modern languages, and science
demand a precision and breadth of treatment which only
the specialist can supply.
The lessons given by the ordinary class teacher in
these subjects are often very unsatisfactory : they re-
THE CLASS. 103
semble in effects the poverty of the seed that lacks the
vital principle of growth and development ; whereas by the
touch and revelation of an enthusiastic teacher who has
a mastery of his subject, there are few parts of the curri-
culum that cannot be transformed into a series of fairy
tales, the realities of which can hardly fail in their appeal.
Ungraded Room. — In many parts of the United States
there is an ungraded room in each school for children
unable to maintain their standing in the regular class-
room.1 This is a desirable innovation. An ungraded
class should be in charge of a teacher of exceptional powers,
since the children constituting it are, as a rule, those who
by irregular attendance, mental sloth, unruliness of con-
duct, or other causes, have fallen considerably behind the
ordinary scholars, or who need a special disciplinary regime.
It has been already said that such a class should be small
because individual attention is imperative. In many cases
a few months' training, under conditions like these — the
working basis being entirely on practical lines, including
vivid presentation of fact — would enable a pupil to take
his place in the regular class-room. It is important that
assignment to an ungraded room should not be regarded
either as a punishment to the scholar or a reproach to the
parent.
Economical considerations often arise in connection
with this device, since it generally involves the engage-
ment of at least one additional teacher. In large depart-
ments it would probably be desirable to have two ungraded
classes, one for the upper school and another for the lower.
Into either of these classes, according to a rough estimate
of capability, some newly-admitted scholars of doubtful
1 Report of the Educational Commission of the City of Chicago,
1900.
104 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
capacity might be drafted until their attainments point to
a definite place for them in the regular class system.
The Class-room. — It would be refreshing both to
teachers and pupils if class-rooms could be made more
interchangeable than they generally are. Difficulties,
however, present themselves. The room might fit the
class in that its accommodation may not be exceeded by
the habitual attendance. Classes and class-rooms, how-
ever, often vary considerably in size. When, therefore,
at the commencement of the educational year, the class
has been adjusted to the room, it is not always practicable
to effect even a temporary change without a breach of
official regulations.1 When, however, rooms and classes
lend themselves to interchangeability, it would be well to
make use of it as often as possible.
Another obstacle arises in connection with seating
accommodation. It is evident that desks specially sup-
plied for the older scholars are not equally suitable for
the younger ones. The two lower classes might change
rooms occasionally so far as desks are concerned — the in-
termediate classes might do the same, so might the upper
standards. A third limitation to interchangeability comes
in the way of general equipment, each room in this respect
being supplied once a year, in accordance with the grade
of the class assigned to it. On the whole, therefore, unless
there is a spare room designed to meet general needs, class-
rooms, except for a special purpose, may be regarded as
not being readily interchangeable under present conditions.
It has unfortunately become the practice2 in senior
departments to cover the greater part of the floor space of
1 Art. 19, Code 1910.
2 Art. 20, Code 1910, and Section 6 of the Board of Education's
Building Regulations for Elementary Schools.
THE CLASS. 105
class-rooms with heavy desks, movable or immovable.
This arrangement places serious limitations upon the use
of the room, which might otherwise be easily converted to
purposes tending to give greater breadth and reality to
school training. In the rigidity of this practice, in the
absence of less restrictive regulations, and in the want of a
supply of desks either easily removable or readily con-
vertible to the needs of every pupil, lie the impossibility of
obtaining that full freedom of movement which is so
essential to physical development, and also the impracti-
cability of utilising the rooms effectively for handicraft
work. Nothing short of a revolution in ideas as to the
nature of school furniture can bring about the change that
is so much needed. However, matters must be accepted
as they now stand, with the hope that such minor modifi-
cations as are deemed pressing may prove acceptable to
Education Authorities.
Assuming that desks are necessary to each class-room —
an assumption by no means admissible — is there any valid
reason why desks with adjustable seats should not be
supplied ? If this could be done — and the classes and
rooms were not very unequal in size and capacity — the
rooms would thus be interchangeable. This in itself
would be an immense gain, for even a little change of
immediate environment, if not definitely for the worse, is
stimulating. But the greatest advantage would result in
the equipment of each room on a subject basis. There could,
for example, be a room for history, another for geo-
graphy, a third for science, a fourth for mathematics, and
so on, when the school is large enough to admit of a
separate subject differentiation. When the school is com-
paratively small, the rooms might be equipped on a two-
subject basis.
Under easily possible conditions like these the monotony
106 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
of school life would perish and a recurring stimulus to
activity would be kept in almost continuous operation.
A history room, for example, might contain charts,
relief maps and globes, copies of old documents (Magna
Charta) , diagrams, ancient weapons and armour, historical
pictures and photographs, models of various kinds — every-
thing, in fine, tending to give realistic touches to the past
and to bring the imagination to play upon it.
The School Hall. — The hall should not, except under
stress of circumstances, be used as a regular class-room.
In the winter months, and at other periods of the year
when the weather is inclement, the use of the hall for drill
is desirable. It may also be used for such silent lessons
as needlework and model drawing,1 provided the light is
satisfactory. Of course there are other uses to which the
hall may be legitimately applied, but it is only being
considered now from the standpoint of class instruction.
The position of the hall in relation to the class-rooms is
a qualifying factor in the uses to which it can be generally
put. A hall, for example, with class-rooms opening into
it, cannot be utilised for singing lessons — grouped classes
or otherwise — without disturbing studies in adjoining
rooms. On the other hand, if the hall is not in direct com-
munication with class-rooms, the extension of its useful-
ness need only be limited by the time devoted to school
work: and this extension is eminently desirable both on
economical and educational grounds.
1 Not desks but chairs, being easily portable, should be used for
this purpose. In the case of drawing, no support is needed for the
millboards or drawing boards beyond the lap-rest and the hold of
the left hand. In this way, too, the scholar is brought into more
sensitive contact with the paper on which he is recording his im-
pressions.
THE CLASS.
107
The Class Teacher from the point of view of
Organisation.— Some aspects of this question have already
been incidentally discussed, but there are other points that
demand attention. The grading of teachers recognised on
the staff of a school by the Board of Education has
recently undergone revision. The old Article 50 and
Article 68 teachers are no longer so designated. Teachers
are now graded thus : 1 —
1. Head teachers.
2. Certificated teachers. 2
3. Uncertificated teachers (the old Art. 50 teachers,
etc.).3
4. Supplementary teachers (the old Art. 68 teachers,
women only).4
5. Student teachers.5
6. Pupil teachers.6
The head teacher in many small schools, besides directive
and supervisory duties, has necessarily to be a class teacher.
Some local education authorities recognise the position
of head assistant in schools of abnormal size, and in mixed
departments supervised by a master. In the former case,
some of the minor duties which ordinarily devolve upon
the head teacher are taken over by the head assistant ; and
in the latter case, the head assistant mistress generally
becomes responsible for the supervision of the needlework
throughout the school, and otherwise serves in an advisory
capacity on the girls' side.
1 Schedule I. and Art. 12 (a, b), Code 1910.
2 Art. 12 and Schedule I. (A and B), Code 1910.
3 Art. 12 and Schedule I. (C), Code 1910.
4 Art. 12 and Schedule I. (D), Code 1910. Men are not now
admissible ; but if previously recognised, this recognition will not
extend beyond the date on which their present recognition expires.
5 Art. 12 and Schedule II. (A and B), Code 1910. '
6 Art. 11 (a), Code 1910.
108 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Ceteris paribus, the class teachers should rank, in the
mind of the organiser, in the order of seniority of service ;
but nothing should be allowed to interfere with the due
recognition and full utilisation of special ability associated
with a young member of the staff. It is advisable too that
every newly appointed class teacher should be placed under
probation during the first year of service. l
The time which a teacher should give daily to his class
must depend on circumstances. Generally that time coin-
cides with the hours in which the school is in session ; but
it is manifest that, in the case of specialised lessons in
the regular class-room, no teacher ought to be expected to
teach continuously during the day. Some intermission is
necessary both on grounds of efficiency and personal health
— the time not employed in actual teaching being utilised
in the examination and correction of pupils' exercises or in
preparation of future lessons. In the case of the regular
class teacher, there is generally sufficient variety in his
work to give the desired relaxation, without the necessity
for further change and rest.
But no teacher who makes a true estimate of his profes-
sion will regard the actual school hours as the fitting
limitations to his labours. As the successful artist is
absorbed by his art, or is a devotee to it, so the class
teacher should show equal delight in and devotion to his
work. Successful issues for both teacher and taught will
then be assured.
Preparation of Lessons. — The teacher who desires to
sustain the interest of his scholars must be interested him-
self. The interest on his part will keep him ever on the
alert to add to his knowledge, and to give a new presen-
1 The wisdom of this is fairly generally recognised by Education
Authorities.
THE CLASS. 109
tation of facts. Preparation of lessons is therefore neces-
sary. This can be best effected, as a rule, in the quietude
of the home or the privacy of the study. No lesson
however well prepared in the first instance, should be
regarded as theoretically complete or technically perfect.
Some variation ought to be introduced, in form, dress, or
otherwise, each time it is repeated. The new element will
be found to have a considerable vitalising power.
Whatever preparatory work is done, it should take per-
manent form in notes. These will be found useful to all
concerned in the supervision of the school, and especially
so as a guide and reference for the teacher himself. And
as it is not always possible to bring within the scope of one
lesson all that was intended to be included in it, it is
advisable for the teacher to have at his disposal a large
note- book in which he can record the name of the lesson
given, with the date, and all the material points dealt
with. It is a mistake to make elaborate notes. Let
them be as brief as possible consistently with a clecar
mode of presentation. And while brief generalisation in
this respect is commendable, it ought not to be so wide
as to leave two or more deductions open in the mind of
the head teacher or others as to the extent and direction of
the lesson. The notes should be, in other words, almost
as complete a guide to the expert who has not heard the
lesson as to the teacher who gave it.
Correction of Class and Home Work. — The correc-
tion of class work is an ever recurring difficulty which the
good teacher, however, always manages to surmount. It
goes without saying that there is hardly any lesson, no
matter how individualistic in application, in which scholars
should be left entirely without controlling supervision and
helpful guidance. It is, therefore, most undesirable, unless
110 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
a teacher can be relieved from, teaching responsibilities for
a short time — and this is the proper course — for him to
correct such work in school hours when his full attention
is needed for other purposes. But cases arise in which
sessional correction appears imperative. Home lessons, for
example, may need almost daily examination. The books
containing those lessons are usually brought in the morning
and carried home at the close of the afternoon session.
Something, therefore, must be done to meet this and similar
cases that demand prompt attention. Many teachers cut
the Grordian knot by looking over these books during the
two hours' dinner interval ; but this does not meet the
difficulty considered as a part of school organisation.
There remain, however, a few courses for adoption : —
(1) The preparation and reciting system as applied in the
United States. (2) The partial employment of pupil
teachers or student teachers for this purpose — to be re-
sorted to within strict limitations, and only as a part of
their training. (3) The Hall Scripture lesson by the head
teacher once a week, which should for the time relieve
some of the assistant teachers. This, however, is only, in
part, a one-day remedy. (4) In certain exercises that
assume a common form the scholars should be trained to
correct their own work, especially when such correction is
mechanical — a most valuable plan, if effectively carried
out. (5) The combination of two or more classes for a
lesson in vocal music, history, etc. (6) Silent reading and
certain other exercises involving private study, which do
not need close supervision. Much of the work of pupils
does not necessarily call for correction at the desk. The
teacher can therefore move about the class-room and be
both supervising and examining papers. (7) The engage-
ment of such a liberal staff as would enable the head
teacher to organise on the basis of allowing each assistant
THE CLASS. Ill
to stand off from actual teaching for, at least, one lesson
or one hour every day.
Of these devices the first and the last are probably the
best : they are certainly the most complete and efficacious.
But whatever course is adopted, the correction of exer-
cises must be regarded as an important part of the work
of a class teacher, who, if aided in the merely mechanical
side of the examination of the papers, should assess the
value of each exercise himself. Too much care cannot be
taken in this direction. Careless marking will re- act on
the scholars, and produce destructive effects. Indeed
everything that the teacher does, in this and all other
school matters, should be a model of neatness and accu-
racy : and further, the general assessment of the work
should be determined by reference to a high standard that
is perfectly defined in his own mind. Of the seven courses
open to the teacher, (1) and (7) must depend partially on
the education authority ultimately responsible for the
school's efficiency : the remainder can be applied at the
teacher's discretion according to circumstances. If, how-
ever, the class teacher is an enthusiast, he will find the
means of doing all, or nearly all, the detail of correction
himself, for such detail will give him an insight into each
child's attainments and character, which he could not so
surely obtain by any other means. The value of this
knowledge is too evident to be indicated.
Athletics — Playground. — As the professional man's
daily work will not admit of a rigid time interpretation, so
it is with the class teacher, who should consider the school
hours rather as a guide to, than a measure of, his labours
— for duties external to the class-room are necessarily
associated with his office. Not among the least of these
are (1) playground supervision, (2) supervision of scholars
112 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
retained after school hours, (3) supervision of, or co-oper-
ation in, school athletics, represented by cricket, football,
and other clubs.1 The first and second of these, and some-
times the third also, are usually regarded as rota work.
In practice, however, athletics are best left to the direction
of one inspiriting member of the staff, who takes a special
interest therein. The playground has been happily called
the " uncovered school." Teachers should, in turn, exer-
cise supervision over it at reasonable times. During the
recreation interval, every teacher's place is in the play-
ground with his scholars, directing sometimes — the less of
this direction the better — and occasionally taking part in
their games. A touch of camaraderie with pupils assists in
strengthening the moral tie between teacher and taught :
it helps to individualise pupils in the way of clearer cha-
racterisation, without which knowledge real success in the
management of children can never be achieved.
It is notorious that the playground brings out qualities
in the pupil which may never be shown in the class-room.
This alone, apart from other potent considerations, calls
for the teacher's presence there.
Class Examinations. — In conformity with the practice
in every good school, periodical examinations should be held
by the head teacher, and a record of the results preserved.
It is not a rare event on occasions like these, to find that a
class teacher resents certain adverse criticisms which the
head teacher feels it necessary to make, especially when
such criticism is, as it should be, recorded in a book kept
for that and other purposes. It is well to bear in mind in
this connection that the head teacher is only assessing the
value of work for which he himself is ultimately respon-
1 See Article by Mr. G. Sharpies, Special Reports, Vol. 22 ; also
Report of the City Superintendent of New York, 1903.
THE CLASS. 113
sible, and that therefore, in all human probability, he is
the last person likely to underestimate the worth of what
has been accomplished, particularly as the record books
and examination papers are accessible to all inspectors
representing either the Board of Education or the Local
Authority.
The attitude of the class teacher in matters of this kind
should always be one of unqualified acceptance, never
doubting for a moment the justice and truth of the head
teacher's remarks. Indeed this mental attitude is essential
not only to the well-being of the class but to the highest
efficiency of the teacher. The criticisms in question are
intended to serve the threefold purpose of estimating
progress, indicating defects, and giving helpful hints for
future guidance. The teacher's art is a most difficult
one, and the class teacher can only become accomplished
in this art by subordinating himself to the judgment of
his chief much in the same spirit as a disciple follows his
master. That this is so, experience shows by a multitude
of examples. He who wishes to rise in his profession must
not only accept unbiassed criticism of his work as if Truth
herself had descended from her pedestal to give him a
lesson, but he must be a more severe critic of himself, of
his methods, ever undergoing self-examination, than any
higher official could possibly be. Loyal acceptance of the
head teacher's views on the examination and on all other
questions that vitally concern the school is indispensable
to easy working and successful issues.
When examinations are carried out two or three times a
year by the head teacher, there does not appear to be any
necessity for similar formal examinations by the class
teacher. Indeed the latter should be so closely in touch
with his pupils as to be able to estimate their progress
mostly by means of their daily work.
s. o. 10
114 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
It is the duty of the class teacher to preserve all records
in connection with his class. Just as a regiment, a unit in
military organisation, is proud of its deeds, so should a
class, as the unit of the school, be mindful of its achieve-
ments. To this end, a record of successes should have a
place on the class-room walls. In case of any tendency
to fall away from the standards reached, or the ideals
that have led in that direction, the wise teacher will
use these records as a means of arresting depression,
by calling attention to the responsibilities of the class
and of every pupil associated with it. Pride of class
should be a sentiment equally stimulating to teacher and
scholar.
Class Discipline. — Although the personality of the
head teacher should be the dominant factor in the tone and
discipline of a school, which should always possess well-
marked characteristics, yet the tone and discipline of each
class have their own peculiar variations that are mainly
dependent on the personnel of the class teacher. These
variations should never be great ; for they would be likely
to disturb the balance of the school, the sensitiveness of
which is one of the most subtle manifestations in school
life. But the personal equation is inevitable in its effects,
and must be considered.
There is, however, another element besides the person-
ality of the teacher, that is not without its beneficial or
perhaps its sinister influences. Every strong character
among the scholars— indeed one might say every scholar,
whether strong or not — unconsciously contributes some-
thing to the sum of the forces that determines the vis
agendi of the class. Each pupil who voluntarily accepts
the will of the school community and that of the teacher
— these two should be, of course, coincident — as his own
THE CLASS. 115
is a valuable educational asset; ibis acceptance makes for
stability, solidarity, and progress.
There are really therefore a multitude of elements in
the school, and a thousand and one influences both within
and without, that play their part even in class discipline.
The dominant note is naturally struck by the head of the
school ; — and, speaking metaphorically, the assistant staff,
each in his or her own way, have their notes, which must,
however, be in harmony with the dominant one; while every
scholar again strikes his personal note, which should, for
perfect concord and easy working, blend harmoniously with
those of the leaders. Tradition adds its undertones.
Each class should therefore be dominated by the tone of
the whole school. Its own variations should be, so to
speak, in the minor key, but so distinctive that the charac-
ter and forcefulness of the class are easily recognisable.
It may be laid down as an inviolable law, that the lead-
ing ideas that govern the tone and discipline of a school
as a whole should never be disturbed by the class
teacher. He may add to them for his pupils' good, but on
no account should he subtract from them. They should
be accepted as the foundation upon which he desires to
build. With these limitations, he has ample scope for the
display of his talents, and the inductive powers of his
character.
With the improved buildings of recent years, giving
generally a separate room for each qualified assistant, the
class teacher's training influence is likely to increase. It
is, therefore, important that he should be acquainted with
the essential principles that lead the way to the perfection
of discipline — since these give the law that governs the
school, and makes order, right conduct, and good work
possible.
So far as the pupils are concerned, tbe tests of sound
116 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
class discipline are (1) prompt and willing obedience,
(2) close application, (3) pleasure in giving satisfaction to
the teacher, (4) eagerness to answer questions combined
with thoughtful answering, (5) good manners and right
conduct generally, (6) thoroughness in work, (7) good
order without unnecessary physical or mental restraint,
(8) collective and individual self-control.
On the other hand, the class teacher, in order to assist
in creating these qualities and also to maintain them, should
be —
(1) Able to adjust himself to his class. Age of the
scholars is a great consideration in this matter. Sex and
social position also come in as determinants.
(2) Sincere and therefore natural. It is next to im-
possible to convince otherwise. Armour of any kind is
useless. The scholars will see it at once.
(3) Patient and sympathetic. Sympathy is the key to
his perfect mastery over the scholars : the best road to the
head is through the heart, and " patience lies at the root of
all pleasures as well as of all powers." x
(4) Enthusiastic. The zealous teacher loses himself in
his scholars. His " work is like the living seed thrown
into the ground ; it germinates and brings forth harvests."2
(5) Quick in decision. Children intuitively measure a
teacher's strength, and any indecision on his part will be
felt by the scholars instantaneously. The teacher, there-
fore, ought never to be in doubt as to the right course of
action. A firm but kindly exercise of power calls forth a
child's respect.
(6) True to his own commands. It is, as a rule, a mistake
to repeat an order. It is better to watch and wait until it
has been fully obeyed, naming an individual or individuals
if necessary. Nothing is more fatal to discipline than to
1 Ruskin. 2 The Simple Life, C. Wagner.
THE CLASS. 117
allow one act of disobedience to pass — even when that act
is only one of omission.
(7) Careful to husband the voice. Loudness of speech
defeats its own object, and causes a waste of energy that
could be best utilised in other ways. Shouting or noisy
demonstration of any kind creates a bad impression. The
voice of persuasion is always natural and gentle. The
teacher's eyes will aid the voice if they are used to cover
the class. "Grace is economy of force"1: this applies
equally to spiritual grace.
(8) Careful to sustain the children s interest. Every step
ought to be one of progress and the scholars should be
made to feel it. Short periods of intense study are generally
more valuable and interesting than longer periods, into
which monotony is almost sure to creep. Generally,
" pleasure heightens and retards the pulse ; displeasure
weakens and accelerates it."2 A child will exhaust much
more nervous energy in the performance of a task in which
he takes no interest, than in a corresponding one in which
his interest is excited.
(9) Just3 and tactful. Praise of good work or worthy
conduct is valuable. Blame, on the other hand, should be
used sparingly. The children must, however, feel that
the teacher, above all, is just, or they will have but
little respect either for his praise or his condemnation.
A pupil once spoke of Dr. Temple (when at Rugby)
as " a beast, but a just beast." Tact is an every-day
wisdom.
1 H. Spencer.
2 Psychology and Crime, p. 128, Prof. Miinsterberg.
3 " The eye of the passing child will not greet you with the same
unapproachable smile if there lurk within you an evil thought,
an injustice, or a brother's tears." — The Treasure of the Humble,
M. Maeterlinck.
118 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
(10) Definite in aim and consistent in demands, always
busy himself and always aiming at a high standard.
" High endeavours are an inward light."
Abundant energy at one time and slackness at another,
with corresponding demands upon the scholars, are mis-
chievous in their tendencies.
(11) Mindful that discipline is not an end, but a means
to " complete living.'''' If the essential is always in the
forefront, the accessories will take care of themselves.
(12) Firm, self-reliant, and possessed of self-control. It
is important that the scholars should understand that
within the class-room lies the power of complete govern-
ment. The head teacher's authority ought only to be
invoked in disciplinary measures on exceptionally trying
occasions. " If you achieve calmness and harmony in your
own person ... a wave of imitation will spread from you,
as surely as the circles spread outward when a stone is
dropped into a lake."1
(13) Careful to avoid punishment, if possible. " The
instruments of reformation are employment and reward —
not punishment."2 This dictum is, however, only a half-
truth and should be accepted as such.
" Small punishments are simply irritating, and it is far
better to give several warnings and then come down with
all your might. . . . On the few occasions, when I should
have liked to cane a boy, I have never regretted that I was
unable to do so."3
(14) Attentive to the scholars' physical and mental com-
fort. The desk should fit the child. Indeed, general
hygienic conditions are essential. These poiuts are, how-
ever, dealt with elsewhere. A child in a state of fear is
wasting its vital forces.
1 Prof. James. 2 Ruskin. 3 The Schoolmaster, A. 0. Benson.
THE CLASS. 119
(15) Always willing to give reasonable scope for individual'
expression. Without full self-expression the teacher is
working to some extent in the dark ; it is the mainspring
of development. " Human nature obeys fixed laws no less
than the figures of geometry." l Liberty must be respected,
but curbed if it goes beyond its true limits. That kind of
order and discipline need only be secured which is essential
to good work and careful training.
It avails little to tell children to be good : they must be
led in that direction, and have actual experience of what
good means. One of the surest ways into the heart of a
child is to associate oneself with activities that call forth
some of the happiest moments of its life. The value of
athletics in this way has already been touched upon.
Class rambles in town, field, and forest have equally been
proved to be a most valuable aid to good discipline.
It will be seen from this brief reference to class discipline
how important is the personality of the teacher. Through
him the law of the school mostly speaks, and that law will be
operative and effective in proportion to his own strength.
His duty is not fulfilled by a strict attention to the courses
of instruction assigned to the class, nor by exacting prompt
obedience to commands, but rather by keeping constantly
in mind the final end which the school has in view for.
each of its pupils, adjusting himself and his methods to
that end, and using his utmost endeavours at all times
to draw out from the children that habitual and. volun-
tary submission to regulations upon the willing and
reasonable observance of which the highest efficiency of
the class and school depends. If he is strong, his strength
will permeate the class — reach the heart of it — and make
itself felt throughout the school ; if he is weak, there will
be correspondingly depressing effects. The teacher must
1 Spinoza's " Tractatus."
120 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
endeavour to reach each scholar in turn — to understand
his character, to breathe into him the ideals that govern his
own life. Indeed the teacher needs a many-sided power
to be able to accomplish this.1
The impressiveness of an appeal to a class may often
be great, but the gentle voice of persuasion and intense
conviction, addressed solely to an individual, will fre-
quently stir depths that could not otherwise be reached.
The knowledge, too, in a child that he is understood is
both a sweetening and an energising influence.
To summarise, the fundamental principles and condi-
tions— assuming the law of the school is sound — that
must operate or subsist in a class-room in order to secure
good discipline there are : —
(1) The general conditions must be such as to facilitate
the work the pupils are called upon to do ; and this work
must be reasonably within the range of each child's attain-
ments and powers.
(2) The teacher must be able to adjust himself to the
class and its needs, and to influence for good every scholar
in it.
(3) The laws of the school, of which the teacher must
be the recognised exponent and administrator, must be
paramount.
(4) While the corporate spirit of the whole school must
prevail, the class should have its own vis agendi and full
sense of responsibility.
(5) Each pupil must recognise his obligations to the
school as a whole, and to his own class in particular.
(6) The teacher's mind must be firmly set on training
1 The difficulties perhaps will be more fully realised when it is
understood that " to educate a child you must begin back with
his grandfather." — Vide H. Spencer's Education and Galton's Law of
Ancestral Inheritance.
THE CLASS. 121
the scholars in self-control ; and as this self-control in-
creases in power, the reins of government must be pro-
portionately slackened.
(7) Mere class routine must become automatic.
(8) Intense work is the main road to the ideal of duty.
Class Registration. — This demands great care, espe-
cially because it is one of the conditions upon which grants
are paid by the Board of Education. Registration should
be carried out in strict conformity with the Regulations.1
As a rule, the value of a class teacher can be roughly
estimated by an examination of the class register. If it is
kept neatly, accurately, and fully entered up to date, it
implies attention to detail, and this lies at the root of all
success : if it shows that the scholars are more than usually
punctual and regular in their attendance, this is, 'prima
facie, due to the class teacher's influence. Indeed there is
none of the teacher's duties which is more important
than that of forming habits of punctuality and regularity,
since these are not only an immediately valuable asset to
the pupil and the school, but are likely to continue with
him as a law of life to the end of his existence.
Registration generally is dealt with in the chapter on
" school records."
Class Excursions. — Visits of the class to " places of
educational value or interest " 2 as allowed by the Code,
during school hours, should be encouraged. Enterprise in
this direction is generally appreciated by head teachers,
who must, in the first instance, sanction such visits, and
1 The Board "strongly impress upon all concerned in the keeping
or checking of School Registers the vital importance of this work."
— Pref. Memorandum, par. 15, Code 1910. See also Art. 48 and
Schedule IV., ibid. 2 Art. 44 (6), Code 1910.
122 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
then obtain permission from H.M. Inspector. When visits
of this kind are projected, it is advisable to put the scholars
beforehand in possession of the important facts concern-
ing the objective, in order that the greatest educational
value may be derived from the outing. An effective way
of doing this is to give one or more lessons on the place to
be visited, and to summarise material points in a multi-
graphed leaflet, a copy of which is supplied to each scholar.
Maps or plans of the localities to be visited are very
valuable. The scholars should not only be expected to
observe during these visits, but to record their impressions
in a notebook under definite and pre-arranged headings,
afterwards amplified in composition exercises.
The teacher should, of course, be fully prepared on these
occasions to make the best use of the time available, his
plan of operation being already mapped out and recorded
in a book kept for that purpose. The value of these visits
will be chiefly determined, not by the amount of ground
covered, but by the thoroughness with which everything
attempted has been done. When the courses of instruction
for a term have been settled, it is well to determine then
the number and character of the visits to fit those courses.
Conferences. — In conferences of the school staff the
class teacher should take an eager interest. It is advis-
able to hold these conferences at least quarterly or ter-
minally, preferably once a month. Presided over by a
sympathetic head, always open to new ideas and fresh
convictions, they generally prove a great gain to the school
and a source of enlightenment to each member of the
staff. On these occasions each teacher should, as a rule,
contribute something for discussion, and thus have diffi-
culties threshed out and ways cleared for more rapid and
certain progress. Such conferences have been found to
THE CLASS. 123
encourage experiment and to stimulate initiative; and
tliey therefore materially assist in maintaining that living
interest in the teachers which has been already insisted
upon as essential to the interest of the scholar and the
general welfare of the school. Any subject that concerns
the theory and practice of education is a fitting topic for
discussion on these occasions, provided it has a definite
bearing on the particular school.
Pedagogy in this country has too long been regarded as
a known art rather than one possessing grave difficulties
and almost unfathomable depths. The theory of educa-
tion involves, as Mazzini has said, the problem of human
nature. No person could desire a wider field for the
exercise of thought and the practice of research. No class
teacher, therefore, need feel that his profession is a dull
one.
In France conferences pass beyond the school and take
Cantonal or Departmental form. All teachers in the area
are obliged to attend the conferences, held, as a rule, twice
a year, and to send in advance a contribution for discus-
sion, either in the form of a thesis or general impressions
in the shape of notes.1
Sex of the Class Teach3r. — The points to consider in
class management are almost endless. This chapter, how-
ever, must be concluded under the above heading. The
G-erman view is on the side of the employment of men
in certain positions which, in this country, are considered
to be best filled by women. The American practice, on the
other hand, goes to the other extreme, and gives largely
into the hands of women teachers the education of the bo vs.
1 See Inspection de Vemeignement primaire, 1900, which bears
testimony to the value of these conferences. The L.C.C. also holds
an annual conference of teachers to discuss pedagogical questions.
124 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
In England a middle course between these two has
generally been followed, and thus the employment of
women has been mainly limited to mixed, girls', and in-
fants' departments, as well as " special " schools.
It has, however, been long felt that the change from the
methods and environment of the infant department to the
more rigid discipline and severer atmosphere of the senior
schools is too great for young children, and that it makes
in 1he direction of retardation. Experience points to the
advantage of having women teachers for Standard I. in
the boys' department, and probably for Standard II. also.
Instances in which women teachers have had exclusive
charge of boys' classes above Standard II. generally tend
to prove that the combination is not quite satisfactory.
In some mixed departments, however, where the girls
exercise a chastening influence over the boys, women class
teachers have been successful even in the upper classes.
Yet there is little doubt that the elder boys are the
better for being taught and guided by a master.
But this question involves deeper issues than those that
lie on or near the surface. Women are eminently fitted to
train young children of either sex: they have a natural
bent for this hind of work. The spirit of childhood un-
fortunately forsakes the great majority of men; whereas
woman, to a large extent, subtly weaves it into the texture
of her life with wonderful effect. She still sees the world,
as in a vision, " apparelled in celestial light," and brings
the refining influence of her soul power to bear upon her
educational work. But the time comes in a boy's life,
usually about the age of ten, when he silently, and per-
haps sullenly, resents her government. The forces calling
to him from within will not be denied : his development
depends largely on obedience to this call. His whole
nature demands a wider field for movement and mental
THE CLASS. 125
flight, and less detail in restriction. He is conscious of his
growth, of his development — conscious that he is getting
big and important.
The conclusion is that stronger forces are needed to
restrain and to guide him, perhaps to be less often applied
than the smaller ones. The woman, no matter how admir-
able, with her microscopic vision, love of detail and of
self-sacrifice, cannot effectively meet this want ; but the
more selfish and more assertive man can. The typical
boy's idea of order is as remote from the woman's as the
two poles. He despises detail in these matters : he pins
his faith to wholes.
All will admit that training must take strict account of
nature's laws ; and the ultimate object of this training is
to make strong men and inspiring women. Nature has
differentiated the sexes mentally and emotionally as well
as physically — each is the complement of the other in these
respects. The boy needs those manly influences, those
restraints and standards of action which a capable master
can alone supply. He further needs a model on which to
build his own life and to satisfy his instinctive craving to
admire and revere something in the flesh : but it must be
something that appeals to the boyish mind — something to
aim at for himself. Can anyone doubt, therefore, that a
master — and not a mistress — with the living standard of
manhood in him, conscious of the rights and needs of
the older boys, able, to a large extent, to feel with them,
and to enter into the spirit of their lives — occasionally
even as a comrade — is the most fitting person to train them
for life and action ?
CHAPTER III.
"We see most distinctly the vice of our educational system. It
neglects the plant for the sake of the flower. In anxiety for ele-
gance, it forgets substance." — H. Spencer's Education.
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS.
School Departments. — Most elementary schools, pro-
vided and non-provided, are organised in three departments,
for boys, girls, and infants, the basis of separation being
chiefly sex and. age. In Scotland, however, mixed schools
prevail, and in the north of England this type of organisa-
tion is fairly common. The infants' school is invariably
mixed, and the line of separation between it and the senior
departments is one mostly of age, though poverty of
attainments occasionally prevents promotion to the senior
departments at the age generally required for this purpose.1
Eoughly speaking, the senior departments are limited to
1 "The age at which a child should cease to be taught as an
infant depends upon the child's proficiency and upon many local
circumstances. The premature promotion of children who are in
age or attainments untitted for it is greatly to be deprecated ; but
the retention of children whose age much exceeds that at which, on
the average, a child leaves the infants' school is inadvisable, even
though they are backward. Such children require stricter discipline
and longer lessons . . . and are 'not fit companions' for infants
'in the playground,' etc." — Board of Education's Suggestions.
" An infant means a scholar under the age of eight years, and an
infant class means a class in which the majority of the scholars are
under the age of eight years." — Pref. Memorandum, par. 9, Code
1910.
126
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 127
scholars between seven and fifteen years of age,1 and the
infants' school to children between the ages of three and
eight.2
Although the organisations indicated represent the
general trend in different parts of the country, several
other ways of organising schools find expression in most
wide educational areas, some arising from a desire of expe-
riment, others from profound conviction, and others again
from economical considerations. Thus it is that about
seven or eight different organisations are to be found in
all, so far as the ordinary primary school is concerned : —
(1) Boys', girls', and infants' departments — three
departments.
(2) Senior boys', senior girls', junior mixed, and
infants' departments — four departments.
(3) Senior mixed, junior mixed, and infants' depart-
ments— three departments.
(4) Mixed and infants' departments— two depart-
ments.
(5) Boys'; girls and infants3 forming a combined
department — two departments.
1 A scholar on attaining the age of fifteen years should have his
name removed from the ordinary class register, as no fee grant is
claimable for him after that time, except as provided for under
Section 22 (2) of the Act of 1002. He may, however, continue to
receive instruction in the school until the close of the educational
year in which he reaches the age of fifteen. — Art. 43 (a), Code 1010.
"Two registers" are therefore "required for every class which
contains scholars who are respectively above and below the age
of fifteen years." — Pre/. Memorandum, Code 1005.
2 The law of compulsory attendance operates at five years of age.
Local Education Authorities may refuse to admit children under
the age of five years.— Art. 53 (c).
3 In all these cases the infants must form a division, which may
consist of one or more classes, and be taught separately.
128 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
(6) Senior mixed ; junior mixed and infants '
forming a combined department — two depart-
ments.
(7) Boys, girls, and infants,1 forming one department,
usually small.
There are also dual schools or dual departments : these,
under one head teacher, consist of boys and girls who are
arranged into classes on the sex basis — i.e. separate classes
for boys and girls respectively. Indeed, this arrangement
is not uncommon in some mixed schools, where the lower
classes conform to the designation of the school, but the
upper, or some, classes are differentiated on sex lines. It
is often convenient to classify thus when there are suf-
ficient boys and girls of approximately equal attainments
to form two or more classes on the separation basis.
Each department has its own head teacher as a rule.
In Scotland one pedagogic head usually directs all depart-
ments of a school. In the United States the practice is to
have superintendents, each of whom organises and super-
vises a group of schools or those of a whole city, with the
aid of a supervisor or principal over each institution.
The junior mixed departments vary in range from
Standards I. to II., I. to III., or I. to IV.
In a school department children are grouped together
according to attainments in classes varying from twenty
to about sixty, the age of a child being sometimes a factor
in this classification. Though it is generally found that
the majority of the children in a standard or class are
approximately of the same age, yet age ought not to form
the basis for classification, except in infant schools, and
even there it is sometimes desirable to make exceptions.
1 In all these cases the infants must form a division, which may
consist of one or more classes, and be taught separately.
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 129
Necessity for Differentiating between Infancy and
Childhood. — The necessity for differentiation in the educa-
tional treatment of infancy and childhood is based on an
every -day knowledge of children and on scientific data
furnished by physiology and psychology. The infant of
three years differs so much from the infant of five, and
the infant of five from the child of seven, that specially
graduated instruction is necessary. The four years inter-
vening between three and seven represent a much greater
difference in the rate of physical growth than the four
succeeding years, and this is especially true of cerebral
growth.
The brain of the normal child, according to Bain, grows
with rapidity till the seventh year. After that time the
growing process is slower. It is assumed that in the nor-
mally healthy child growth carries with it development,
or the conditions that make for development. It is de-
sirable, when cerebral growth1 is taking place at such a
rapid rate in infancy, and putting, therefore, the child's
whole system to a severe test, that the greatest care should
be exercised by those responsible for the child's training.
During all periods of rapid growth the bodily organs
become weakened : and the brain is as much a part of the
physical organism as the hand. Most of the vital energies
are then needed for the labour of supplying increased
material to the body. If, therefore, the brain be stimu-
lated into activities during the period of diminished
strength arising from this rapid growth, and these activi-
ties severely tax the child's powers, effects inimical to
health are produced. Diseases " are often to be traced
back to an intemperate exercise of the brain functions
1 " Rapid growth should be accompanied, or quickly followed, by
a corresponding change in development." — Fundamentals of Child
Study.
s. o. 11
130 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
in both physical and motor regions during the earlier
periods of development, when the greatest care and
moderation are necessary."1
Again, " The earlier the imperfectly developed central
nervous system is subjected to a strain in a one-sided
manner, or even in a manifold activity, so much the earlier
does it become dulled, and so much the less plasticity it
retains for later use."2 Professor Kirkpatrick also states,
"It is altogether probable that in giving children the
training they will need in later life, at a time when they
are in an earlier stage of development, we are, to a con-
siderable extent, interfering with their natural order of
development."3
Experience shows that mental exercises can be easily
mastered by children over seven years of age which would
be altogether out of place at an earlier age. This has a
special application to such abstract subjects as grammar
and arithmetic. Formal reading, again, should not be
taught to children under six years of age. Several reasons
may be advanced in support of this view; one of these, how-
ever, must suffice here, viz. the long sight of young children.
A very close parallelism exists between physical and
mental development. If growth is not to be retarded and
development impaired, the young child must have a varying
diet suited to its bodily needs as it passes through the
various stages of development. Absence of proper nutri-
tion, improper or over feeding, are certain to lead to
serious organic consequences later: so it is with the brain.
Over-stimulation, or failure to apply the right stimuli
when needed, produces corresponding mental effects.
Inner tendencies must be responded to at the right
1 Dr. T. B. Hyslop, The Clinical Journal, Dec. 7, 1904.
2 See Mental Development in the Child, by W, Preyer.
3 See Fundamentals of Child Study.
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 131
times if natural development is to result. The diffi-
culty lies in knowing exactly what kind of stimuli to
apply and when to apply them, so far as brain build-
ing is concerned. The natural tendencies of the child
must be the chief guide. Psychology is not yet suffici-
ently advanced to be able to state this in exact terms ;
but the knowledge that has been acquired in this direc-
tion will be found most useful, especially when added to
the close observations of the teacher in the class-room.
It is known, for example, that plasticity reaches its highest
point in early life. This, then, is the fittest time to correct
impressions, to form good habits and to lay the founda-
tions of character. It is also known that the basis of
mental power is both sensory and motor activity, and that
will development depends mainly on motor ideas or ideas
of movement.1 These, then, are three fundamental prin-
ciples for guidance in the instruction of infants.
A young child on entering into infant school life is
generally rich in simple ideas. His whole environment is
an endless source of knowledge. Comenius asks, " Are we
not placed in Nature's garden ? Why not turn over the
living book of the world instead of old papers ? " Before,
therefore, attempting to take the child outside his imme-
diate surroundings, and thus, as Froebel says, " damming
up the springs of life," he should be guided to a fuller
understanding and appreciation of that which has come
within the range of his own experience ; for in this under-
standing and appreciation lies the essence of all true edu-
cation. The teacher should bear in mind, too, that " all
speech is in a dead language until it finds a willing and
prepared hearer."2
1 But see the chapter on Will in Principles of Psychology, by
Prof. James.
2 R. L. Stevenson.
132 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
The acquirement of clear definite simple ideas is the first
necessary step in sound mental development. These are the
material with which the young brain works. If it is faulty,
that which grows out of it will be faulty also. " There can
be no system, no order, no relationship, without clearness
in single things."1 If ideas already acquired are not clear
and definite, it is the teacher's duty to endeavour to make
them so, and to create opportunities for fresh perceptions.
The next step involves close observation, the noting of
different and common qualities in various objects. Dis-
crimination is the beginning of mind. Immediately a
difference is self-noted or a relationship self-established
thought is born. The third step consists in expression.
This may of course take various forms — in speech, in
gesture, or in other movements involving a wide range of
co-ordination. These three stages are essential to brain
building or cerebral development. They correspond with
the general order of the educative process, viz. (1) observa-
tion, (2) thinking, (3) application. In this series, however,
observation implies a stock of ideas, and thinking connotes
the higher forms of thought, including logical reasoning.
With elaboration, these processes give a field wide
enough without the introduction of unnecessary abstrac-
tions. Some abstraction is, of necessity, involved. Trained
in this way on the basis of self-discovery, and on the prin-
ciple of things before words, a child is certain to make
greater progress in the ordinary subjects of instruction that
have to be faced later, and to be more capable of indepen-
dent mental effort, than when the elements of the three
K's are prematurely introduced or unwisely applied.
The question arises as to ways and means. There is
some divergence of opinion on this point. Pestalozzi,
Froebel, Herbart, and a multitude of others, however,
1 Herbart.
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 133
briefly give the answer, with Froebel's voice resounding
above the rest. The " gifts " and " occupations," or the
application of the principles underlying them, should be
the chief means — in other words, play and games on an
organised educational basis. These tend to satisfy curi-
osity, the greatest force in intellectual development, and
they respond to the natural desire for social intercourse.
Play l is the preparatory school for what has to be accom-
plished later in the form of work. It teaches reverence for
law, exercises the imagination, gives opportunities for
frequent change — without which attention in young chil-
dren cannot be sustained — and creates little difficulties to
be surmounted. Indeed, play and games, without diffi-
culties, would not be appreciated. It is claimed for these,
rightly applied, that they are a means of training the
senses, directing the instincts, cultivating the tastes,
exciting thought, and using the emotions to brace the will
and thereby form character.
" School games involve a wide range of brain activity.
Most of the senses are called into action. Comparison
and judgment are needed."2 This statement was made
concerning school sports, but it applies almost equally
here.
The best advice that could be offered to an infants'
teacher would be to make full use of the instincts of her
scholars, since these are given for the protection and deve-
lopment of the organism, and lie at the root of all attention
in its simplest forms. From instincts spring knowledge,
emotion, and action. They are the basis of all mental life
and of all human activity.3
1 "During the first five years a child's activities belong almost
wholly to the kind called play." — Fundamentals of Child Study.
2 Sir William Gowers. The Clinical Journal, Dec. 7, 1904.
3 See Social Psychology, Wm. McDougall.
134 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Remote ends cannot be kept in view by young children.
Such ends therefore fail to stimulate them ; but on the
other hand immediate ends are stimuli, and instinctive
movements are designed to reach them. And as every
instinct has a corresponding emotion, each with its own
peculiarity of expression, the young child presents a wide
field for the play of the teacher's skill, without passing
beyond the limits defined by the child's natural order of
development, and the means to be adopted to preserve
that order and to further that development.
The following principles and additional points demand
special attention in connection with the training of
infants : —
(1) Frequent change and variety of work are essential
to the maintenance of the child's interest ; and interest
should be the teacher's watchword;
(2) Change of activity being non-recuperative, some rest
between each lesson is desirable.
(3) Every perception and every emotion tend to express
themselves in movement. To check or repress the ex-
pression of these tendencies is to arrest or retard
development.
(4) A time unit of activity will normally produce three
times as much fatigue in the afternoon as in the morning.
(5) The younger the child, the more susceptible it is to
injury. Each organ has its own mode and time of func-
tioning. Exercise of organs is the nourishment of them.
The harmony of the organism must, as far as possible, be
preserved. If the muscles are unduly exercised, the brain
will suffer ; it cannot respond adequately to the demands
made upon it. If on the other hand the brain is over-
stimulated, nutriment will be largely drawn there, to the
impoverishment of other parts of the system.
(6) To exercise a power once acquired is far easier and
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 135
much less expensive than to build up a new acquirement.
Every new acquirement means a series of nervous growths
and the establishment of a number of beaten tracks in the
cerebral substance. ! This is in accord with the physio-
logical law — the tendency for nervous energy to take the
same cerebral course as before. Hence the need for careful
differentiation of time in new exercises, and hence also the
child's liking for repetition — for going over beaten tracks.
(7) " Most instincts are implanted for the sake of giving
rise to habits. This purpose once accomplished, the in-
stincts themselves, as such, have no raison d'etre in the
psychical economy, and consequently fade away."2
(8) " All acquisitions have for their roots inner tenden-
cies, and all inner tendencies remain undeveloped or
develop slowly, without the action of favourable outer
influences."3
(9) " Detailed analyses and exact definitions, so often
required of young children, are opposed to the natural
order of brain development and therefore destructive of
interest, and disturbing to the natural processes of mental
growth."3
(10) " Imagination usually reaches its climax in the fifth
and sixth vears."3
(11) Unless the lower centres of the brain are functioned
at the proper time, and this depends mostly on motor
activity in which the larger muscles play an important part,
the higher centres upon which intellectuality depends have
their growth impoverished and their development im-
paired.
(12) The instincts that should have a dominant place
in infant education are those of play, curiosity, einula-
1 See Bain's Education as a Science.
2 Principles of Psychology, W. James.
3 Fundamentals of Child Study, Kirkp.itrick.
136 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
tion, construction, imitation, and the rhythmic, social, and
moral instincts.
(13) Infant school life should be devoted almost wholly
to the mother tongue, nature work, and physical culture.
Music is included in language.
The Pubescent Period.1 — From investigations made
by the Child Study Department of Chicago, it appears that
the pubescent age represents the period of greatest ex-
tremes in he:ght, weight, grip and vital capacity. It is a
critical age physically and mentally, because it represents
another period of rapid growth. If at this time the vital
energies are mainly directed to the brain, the other organs
of the body may become impoverished, and consequently
improperly or imperfectly developed. Relaxation of ordi-
nary work does not appear to be absolutely necessary, but
overstrain of any kind at this period is likely to be
attended with more serious consequences than at other
times. Health is dependent on equilibrium in all parts
of the organism.
Size of Departments. — What should be the size of a
school department in relation to directive and supervisory
power is a question essentially administrative. It has
recently been laid down by the Board of Education that
new schools should not, as a rule, exceed 1,200 in accom-
modation, that is, roughly, 400 in each department. In
Berlin the accommodation of a department often ranges
from 700 to 1000. In the United States, again, particularly
in New York, and also in the north of England, there are
schools with about 2000 scholars supervised by one head.
Looking at this question from the purely educational
standpoint, it cannot be denied that a sound knowledge
1 See Adolescence, Dr. Stanley Hall.
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 137
of the chief characteristics of each pupil on the part of the
head teacher would be of the utmost value. This know-
ledge can, of course, be best obtained when the area of
supervision is comparatively small. Scholars in primary
schools do not always possess those home advantages in
general education which pupils in secondary schools gene-
rally have. Frequent opportunities for personal contact of
the head with individual scholars are desirable, too, on
general grounds. Caesar, it is said, could call every soldier
in his legions by name.
On the other hand, the larger the school the greater, as
a rule, is the facility for perfect organisation, especially
sound classification ; it further gives each scholar a wider
field in human experience, though there is a tendency for
him to be lost in the crowd: and assuming that the re-
muneration of the head is proportional to the size of the
school, a teacher of superior attainments and ability is
more likely to take the leading part in its direction.
The Infant School. — As already stated, the law oper-
ates in the way of compulsory attendance when a child
attains the age of five years. It has, however, been a
fairly general practice to admit children when three years
old if the parents so desire, the Board of Education
allowing such children to be registered.1
In Germany and in the Netherlands there are no Mu-
nicipal or State infant schools, infant instruction being
left almost entirely to private enterprise. In the United
1 Art. 43 (a), Code 1910.
Note. — Children under three years of age are allowed to attend
school, but their attendances are not registered. (Parliamentary
Secretary, Board of Education, House of Commons, March 10, 1904.)
The Board leave the question of admitting children under Jive "to
the di cretion of the Local Education Authorities. "—Pre/". Memor-
andum , Code 1910.
138 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
States infant schools such as exist in this country are
not to be found. There are, however, some Kindergarten
schools to which infants are admitted between the ages of
four and six. These have been established in recent years.
In France two institutions take the place of the English
infant school, viz. the Ecole Maternelle and Classes
Enf an tines.
Ecoles Maternelles. — The Ecoles Maternelles l are
State schools for children of both sexes between the ages
of two and seven. The official programme states: "The
Ecole Maternelle is not a school in the ordinary sense of
the word: it is the transition from the family to the
school ; it retains the indulgence and affectionate gentle-
ness of home, while initiating the child into the work and
regularity of school." It further states that the efficiency
must not be judged by the number of lessons and of
subjects taught nor by the character of the instruction,
" but rather by the sum of good influences which are brought
to bear on the child, by the pleasure which he is made to
take in the school, by the habits of order, cleanliness,
politeness, attention, obedience, and intellectual activity
which he acquires, so to speak, in playing." Such schools
do not provide accommodation for more than two hundred
children, and are open, for the convenience of parents com-
pelled to leave home daily, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the
summer, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the winter. The
time, however, given to instruction per day is only three
hours and three-quarters, and no lesson is allowed to
exceed twenty minutes in duration. The subjects of in-
struction comprise (1) moral education, (2) object lessons,
(3) reading, writing, drawing, (4) mother tongue exercises,
1 See article by Miss M. S. Beard, Special Reports, Vol. 8. Also
Special Reports, Vol. 7, p. 66.
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 139
(5) natural history and geography, (6) hand and eye
training exercises, (7) singing and physical exercises,
(8) recitation. This formidable array of subjects is ar-
ranged on the time-table on the principle that change is
restful; it may be locally restful, but is not wholly so.
Change, however, does serve to sustain interest. There is
an intermission of a few minutes between each lesson, and
children under five years of age are not taught reading and
writing.
Provision is made on the premises for giving the children
their meals either on payment or gratuitously, according
to the circumstances of the parents. Women helpers
other than teachers assist in this work and give all
desirable attention to the health and cleanliness of the
scholars. Among the Parisian schools of this type, each
teacher has charge of about 50 children.
Classes Enfantines. — These classes are of two kinds :
one serving to bridge over the gap between the ecole mater-
nelle and the ordinary primary school, and usually found
in large towns ; the other existing in rural districts, and
corresponding mainly in age limitations and subjects of
instruction to the infant schools in this country.
Ecoles Gardiennes or Jardins d'Enfants. — These
are Belgian schools for children between the ages of three
and six. The principles applied in the instruction are
those which favour Froebelian teaching generally. The
work of the children is largely occupational and centres
round the mother tongue, nature study, and the duties
of life — duties to self, to the family, to mankind generally,
and to the country of one's birth. Reading, writing, and
arithmetic are taught to the older scholars in some of these
schools.
140 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Kinderhorte, etc. — In Berlin and Charlottenburg,1 and
other towns associated with the more recent school build-
ings, there are rooms (horte) reserved for children, who
need at least quasi -parental attention. The children may
remain in these rooms from 2 to 7 p.m., under the charge
of superintendents. The institution is mainly intended for
the care of children outside school hours. Play and pre-
paration of lessons are the chief means of employment.
Meals are supplied under similar conditions to those asso-
ciated with the ecoles maternelles. The school authorities,
as a rule, lend the rooms, while the upkeep is provided for
by private benevolence. Of late years the activities of the
horte have been greatly extended. In summer they some-
times expand into vacation schools, and the societies asso-
ciated with them often arrange excursions for the children
and take a general interest in their welfare.
The creche has now become a reality in most European
countries and in America. Its existence, however, in most
places, depends on private effort. Mrs. Hilton's creche,
established in 1871 at Stepney Causeway, showed how
successfully and usefully such institutions could be adapted
to the needs of poor localities. They have accordingly
multiplied and are now to be found in most large urban
centres. The rules that govern these institutions vary;
but, generally, they are open from 7.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.
Children from three weeks to three or five years old are
received daily. Great care is taken to see that all admitted
are free from infection, etc. There is every reasonable
provision for health and comfort, and there are all the
usual accessories for play. Cots are provided for infants.
The staff usually consists of a matron and trained nurses.
From the standpoint of school attendance alone the
1 See Report of Mr. G. Andrew to the Scotch Education Depart-
ment, 1904.
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 141
creche is a useful institution, for boys and girls who ought
to be at school are often kept at home for nursing duties
while the mother is necessarily at work. On humanitarian
grounds, however, the creche' s highest functions may be
said to rest.
Infant Schools in this Country. — The English infant
school is invariably mixed, and classification is based prin-
cipally upon age. Originally these schools were intended
to confine their instruction to purely infant needs ; but
congestion in senior departments and organisation de-
mands have sometimes necessitated the retention of chil-
dren in the infant department after they have reached the
age at which, under more satisfactory conditions, they
should be drafted to the senior schools. Such children
are usually formed into a Standard I. class, and in rare
cases, as a temporary measure, even a Standard II. class
is found.
G-enerally an infant means " a scholar under the age of
eight years."
Accepting this definition of an infant, and assuming that
children enter school about four years of age, it is evident
that a course of instruction extending over three years
would be the minimum of requirement. Indeed, in many
schools children only three years old are admitted, and
then a course extending over four years must be applied,
supposing that in each case the highest class represents
Standard I. Clearly, it is desirable to have separate
classes for each grade; but in small schools this is not
always practicable, and a modified syllabus must then be
adopted, since scholars of various ages would have to
form one class. Supposing, however, a department has
sufficient children to make four classes, each with its own
teacher, the organisation becomes simple, and usually
142 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
assumes the following form, if there is a fairly equable
distribution of children in regard to age : —
sij * i * j General attainments x at close of educa-
Class. at close of educa- ^woj year,
tional year. J
Standard I. Over seven Standard I. attainments or
their equivalent.
Class i. Over six Such as would enable the
children to commence the work
of Standard I. or its equiva-
lent.
Class ii. Over five Such as would enable the
children to commence the work
of Class i.
Class iii. Over four Such as would enable the
children to commence the work
of Class ii. Class iii. therefore
would represent three removes
from Standard I.
In large infant departments there are as many as ten or
twelve classes. The common practice has been — it is now
gradually disappearing — to number these classes from one
to ten or twelve, Class i. being the highest — which in the
absence of a knowledge of the courses of instruction
associated with each class is very misleading ; whereas the
adoption of a suggestive nomenclature like that indicated
below would place everyone in possession of the approxi-
mate position of the class, without necessarily referring
to the curriculum. If there are six classes in an infant
school — and no Standard I. — two containing children who
will be over six years of age at the end of the year, two
1 This arrangement represents the usual practice ; but each head
mistress must judge for herself what the nature of the attainments
should be.
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 143
with those who will be over five, and two with those who
will be over four, a definite nomenclature is one represent-
ing yearly steps, thus —
Class i. (A) Class ii. (A) Class iii. (A)
Class i. (B) Class ii. (B) Class iii. (B)
Similarly, if there are nine classes, —
Class i. (A), Class i. (B), Class i. (C), and so on.
This simple nomenclature will avoid confusion, as it is
constant in meaning, suggestive in form, and capable of
permanent and general application.
Another plan, perhaps a better one, is to call each class
a grade.1
G-rade i. would then be the lowest class ; G-rade ii. would
represent a year's advance beyond G-rade i. ; and Grade iii.
would be the highest class — one remove from Standard I.,
which might well be called Grade iv.
For two or more classes in the same grade the lettering
should be used, as alreadv shown. As the word Standard
is gradually being dropped in its application to classes, so
there is need for the acceptance of the Grade in senior
schools also.
It has already been intimated that there is no necessity
to organise a school on the basis of yearly courses of
instruction. Schemes of work can be equally well de-
signed to cover a term or half-year. The results, however,
cannot of necessity be so appreciable at the end of a few
months as at the close of the year ; but they are, never-
theless, adaptable to both definition and measurement at the
hands of the expert.
Organisation is generally too rigid with its iron-bound
1 This is adopted in the United States, where the grades, begin-
ning with the lowest class (Grade i. ) in the Kindergarten, are
continued throughout the senior schools.
144 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
compartments in the form of classes ; it needs more elas-
ticity or fluidity. Terminal or half-yearly classification
is not designed for pressure, but to facilitate an easy and
natural flow of promotion from one class to another.
There is, however, less need for this terminal classifica-
tion in infant schools — except in the highest classes —
than in senior departments.
If the playground is suitable, every opportunity should
be seized to have some classes under instruction there.
As it often happens that children are admitted to infant
schools over five or six years of age who have had no
previous systematic training, it becomes a difficult matter
to allocate them to suitable classes, especially so when
such admissions take place at an advanced period of the
educational year. This ever-recurring difficulty accentu-
ates the need for an ungraded room to which such children
could be sent, at least for a few months.
From the point of view of general efficiency it is prob-
ably desirable, instead of admitting children at all times
and seasons, only to allow admissions at two or three
stated periods of the year. Certain exceptions to this
arrangement would, of course, be necessary to meet special
cases. It might apply almost absolutely to all children
under five. Those over that age, however, have a statu-
tory right of admission to some school.
The Kindergarten. — The ordinary infant school varies
greatly in regard to the degree and spirit of application of
Kindergarten principles. However, the spirit that underlies
the teaching in many of these schools is admirable ; and
so far as the younger scholars therein are concerned, the
character of the training corresponds with that given in
the ordinary Kindergarten.
The Kindergartens are almost exclusively devoted to the
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 145
principles of instruction underlying Froebel's teaching.
Everything, therefore, is of a practical character, and the
classes are small in comparison with those of the ordinary
infant school. The Kindergartens of Germany are mostly
private institutions. In America, where under State aid
these institutions are rapidly increasing in number, the
children attend school in the mornings only as a rule, while
in the afternoons the teachers devote their time to visiting
parents in order to enlist their sympathy and co-operation
in the work of training. These visits, too, enable the
teacher to obtain, through the mother, an intimate know-
ledge of a child's peculiarities. In the American Kin-
dergartens about twenty-five children form a class. In
like manner, at the Kindergarten School, Froebel Insti-
tute, London, no class is allowed to exceed twenty-five
scholars.
Age is, of course, the chief basis of classification in these
schools. A transition department, between the Kinder-
garten and the regular primary school, is to be found in
various places.
Inter-departmental Promotion. — The general prin-
ciples that should operate in the promotion of infants to
senior departments may be stated thus : —
(1) Drafts should be made terminally or half -yearly.
(2) Age should be the chief consideration in making these
drafts, unless the circumstances are very exceptional. This
applies to both minimum and maximum ages. No child,
for example, should be drafted who has not reached the
sixth year.
(3) Attainments should also be a factor, subject to the age
qualification.
(4) Disposition may also be a determining factor. A
vicious child should be removed from the atmosphere of
s. o. 12
146 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
the infant school as soon as possible after reaching the age
of seven years, independently of attainments.
In "accordance with these principles —
(1) Promotion of pupils should be made either (a) at
the end of each half-year, or (b) at the end of each of the
school terms, if the school should be organised on a ter-
minal system. Promotions may also be made at other
times when desirable.
(2) Pupils who will attain seven years of age during
the ensuing half-year (or school term) should not be
retained in the infants' department beyond the beginning
of that half-year (or term), provided there is no Stan-
dard I. class there.
(3) Where there is a Standard I. or an authorised class
of older children corresponding approximately to the lowest
class of a junior or senior department, pupils who will
attain the age of eight years during the ensuing half-year
(or school term) should not be retained in the department
beyond the beginning of that half-year (or term).
(4) Where there is a Standard II. or an authorised
class of older children corresponding approximately to
the lowest class but one in a junior or senior department,
pupils who will attain the age of nine years during the
ensuing half-year (or school term) should not be retained
in the department beyond the beginning of that half-year
(or term) .
(5) A head mistress who has been unable to meet these
requirements, because certain pupils are apparently not
fitted to enter upon the work of the upper department, or
who desires to promote pupils other than those enumerated
in the above clauses, should, after consultation with the
head teacher of the appropriate upper department, report
the facts to the Managers or Local Education Authority,
giving a list of the pupils affected.
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 147
These rules l should apply in all ordinary cases. Where
conditions are exceptional, mollifications would, of course,
be admissible.
With regard to promotion from junior mixed depart-
ments, the general principles cited above should apply
with some qualifications. (1) would stand. Concerning
(2) and (3) not age, but attainments, should be the chief
consideration. (4) might be ignored.
As junior schools vary so much in their upward limits,
it is not possible to lay down equally general rules for all
of them in regard to promotion to the senior departments
without making definite reference to Standards ; but taking
rule (4) above, that would apply to all schools where the
upward limit is Standard II
Similarly, if the upward limits are Standards III. or IV.,
the rule in question should operate by the substitution of
ten and eleven respectively for nine years. Eule (5) should
apply to all exceptions.
When a head teacher of an infants' or junior depart-
ment has determined the number of pupils to be promoted
to an upper department in accordance with these prin-
ciples and rules, she should forward to the head teacher
of the upper department at the middle of each half-year
(or term) a statement of the approximate number of pupils
to be so promoted ; and towards the end of the half-year
(or term) should send a list of such pupils on the following
official form provided for that purpose.
The head teacher of the junior and senior department to
which pupils are to be promoted in accordance with these
1 In a slightly modified form these rules are in operation in the
County of London ; but they are more imperative in form than is
expressed here. They represent the minimum requirements for
promotion. Obviously, pupils of exceptional ability may be pro-
moted earlier than the age specified.
148
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
rules should reserve places for the approximate number of
pupils who will be so promoted.
If there is not accommodation available in the junior or
senior department for the pupils whose intended promo-
tion has been so notified, the head teacher of such depart-
ment should inform the Managers or Local Education
Authority immediately on receiving the notification in
question.
Inter-departmental Promotion.
Term or half-
year
ending
19
Order of Merit.
Name.
Date of Birth as
recorded.
Class in
Depart-
ment.
Date of
Admission
to Depart-
ment.
Address.
Remarks, if any,
re attainments
or any
peculiarity.
(Surname first.)
Day.
Month.
Year.
(Signed)
.Head Mistress.
Whether prior to actual promotion examination tests
should be applied, under the dual direction of the head
teachers concerned, is a matter for the Local Education
Authority or the head teachers themselves. On the whole,
the wisest course would appear to be to leave the whole
question, subject to the rules already indicated, to the
discretion of the head teacher who has been responsible
for the training of the children to date.
Co-education v. Separation. — Separation of the sexes
versus co-education. Much discussion has taken place con-
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 149
cerning the relative merits of these two systems. In
America co-education has been in operation a long time,
and, it is claimed, with highly beneficial results. In
Scotland mixed schools are common, owing probably to
the influence of Stow. Co-education, too, is the general
rule in Holland and Switzerland. Many other countries
also accept the principle when applied to rural districts
where the population is small ; but economy in these cases
is probably the determining factor.
In this country the application of the principle has been
extended considerably in recent years ; but the separation
of the sexes, as in Germany and Hungary, is fairly general
in the towns, except perhaps in the north of England and,
of course, in Scotland. The curricula of junior mixed de-
partments are similar to the Conrs elementaire1 in France,
but sometimes wholly or partially cover the Cours moyen.
Pros, and Cons. — The advantages of the separation of
the sexes in education are —
(1) Neither boys nor girls are retarded in subjects for
which they respectively show natural aptitudes. (2) There
are fewer breaks in the work of a class as a whole than
when boys and girls are mixed. Cookery, laundry, house-
wifery, needlework take the girls away from the ordinary
school work several times a week — especially the elder
girls.
(3) The discipline that is suitable for a boy is not, as a
rule, equally suitable for a girl. (4) The boy is more
likely to get a virile character under the sole direction of a
master ; and the girl, too, would have a better opportunity,
1 In France the elementary schools have three grades, standards
or steps, viz. Cours ilementaire, Cotirs moyen, Cours supdrieur.
These correspond respectively with the ages 6 to 9, 9 to 11, 11
to 13.
150 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
when trained by a mistress, to develop that sweetness of
disposition which generally distinguishes the best of her
sex.
(5) The curriculum can be better arranged, without give
and take, to suit the needs of boys and girls and the
different ends in view in their education. (6) The field of
a woman's work is, as a rule, very different from that of a
man's. Cultivation of the qualities essential to each is
better secured by separation. (7) Boys in the pubescent
stage are apt to become amorously sentimental, and thus
have their mental equilibrium disturbed.
The advantages of co-education may be summed up as
follow : —
(1) It is an aid to organisation in small schools ; it is
also an aid to classification in general subjects in all
schools.
(2) It produces a spirit of camaraderie between the
sexes.
(3) It exercises a chastening influence on the boys and
makes them less self-conscious. The girls too become more
self-reliant.
(4) The boys show a greater respect for girls and
women.
(5) Discipline is more easily obtained if the staff is
thoroughly efficient. With a weak teacher, however, diffi-
culties are increased.
(6) Boys are put more upon their mettle, as they have
to compete with the girls' natural qualities of patient
endeavour and steadiness of aim.
Co-education is still in an experimental stage in this
country, considered from a purely educational standpoint.
There is, however, a growing tendency to discourage junior
mixed departments. Mixed schools generally are more the
outcome of economical than of educational claims.
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 151
National characteristics must always be a recognised
factor in dealing with this interesting problem, and to a
great extent also the peculiarity of local conditions. In
some large urban centres, for example, there are districts
where poverty appears to be at its lowest ebb. Co-educa-
tion is prohibitive there.
Subject to this latter qualification, mixed schools seem
to find their highest justification in evening classes and
evening education generally. But institutions of this
character are organised as a rule on an entirely different
basis from that of the day school — students are grouped
according to subjects : and this mode of classification wipes
off the slate some of the objections to co-education.
Principles of Staffing. — Every school must have a
" sufficient and suitable staff." In determining the suffi-
ciency and suitability of the staff consideration must be
given to, (1) The nature of the premises generally — number
and size of class-rooms and their distribution. (2) The
number of scholars on the roll or in habitual or average
attendance. (3) The age and attainments of the scholars
and the mode of classification. (4) The character of the
courses of instruction, with special reference to practical
work. (5) The ability of the teachers, their status,1 and
the suitability of the work assigned to them. (6) The
circumstances and requirements of the locality. (7) The
organisation and co-ordination of the various schools in
the area. (8) Whether all the members of the staff are
working whole or part time.2
In most schools, for there is generally but little varia-
tion in average attendance, the staff for any year is
1 See Arts. 11 and 12, also Schedule I., Code 1910.
2 Subject to these qualifications, the staff is determined numeri-
cally by Art. 12 (a) of the Code.
152 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
usually determined, ah initio, on the basis of the average
attendance of the previous year, provided the conditions
have not materially changed.
Special staffing arrangements are demanded by the Board
of Education for schools in areas with a small population.1
The minimum staff scale, as set out in the Code, has
evidently been adopted with many peculiar circumstances
and a variety of conditions in view. It is not necessarily
intended to suit all buildings, but is rather an indication
of the lowest point to which a staff may fall, and is then
only acceptable as a condition of efficiency.
It has been pointed out in the previous chapter how
desirable it is to have a staffing basis much more generous
than this scale demands. Having regard to the warning
note2 in the Code, it is manifestly the wish of the Board of
Education that schools should, as a rule, be staffed more
generously than the scale indicates.
The usual scale applied by the Education Authority for
London, where the Council schools are mostly large, is
roughly one certificated teacher for every fifty children
in average attendance, the head teacher, centre instructors,
visiting teachers, student teachers, and pupil teachers not
being reckoned, as a rule, for this purpose. In practice,
however, for there are cases in which the class-rooms are
sometimes below the average in size — accommodation vary-
ing from thirty to forty, — the staff works out as a whole at
one certificated assistant for an average of about forty-six3
children in attendance. There is no fixed scale in force
for the Non-Provided schools.4 The existing practice has
1 See Art. 12 (6) and Art. 32, Code 1910. 2 Art. 12, ibid.
3 The West Lambeth Teachers' Association requested that classes
in infant and senior departments be limited to a roll of forty and
thirty respectively. See The Schoolmaster, Jan. 7, 1905.
4 Here the average per teacher is below 40.
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 153
grown out of general policy, pointing to an unwritten
law capable of some elasticity to suit the circumstances
of each school.1
It is reasonable, in small schools, to consider the head
teacher, not solely in the light of a director and super-
visor, but also as a class master or class mistress perma-
nently responsible for the work of a definite section of
the school. The limit of school accommodation to deter-
mine such class responsibility must vary with circum-
stances ; but generally it may be said that when the yearly
average attendance does not exceed 140 this class-attach-
ment should operate wholly, or at least to a large extent.
The scale of staffing in the Metropolitan area is, on
the whole, much more liberal than that adopted by most
education authorities. In one or two areas however,
London is surpassed in liberality of staffing arrangements.
Hornsey, perhaps, takes the foremost position in this re-
spect, for there a certificated teacher is limited to forty
scholars ; and the average attendance per teacher works
out considerably below that figure.
In this brief reference to staffing principles it is assumed
that the school is organised on the usual class basis. If,
however, it is organised differently, e.g. wholly or partially
on the principle of specialisation or on a subject basis, con-
siderations would have to come in which have not been
weighed here. Reference to them will be found in another
part of this volume.
1 "The staff of a school is fixed by the Committee, after having
given due consideration to the circumstances of each school. '»
There exists, however, one rule, often generously interpreted, viz.
that where the accommodation of a school or department does not
exceed 150, the head teacher is regarded as a teaching unit. The
application of this rule is necessarily associated mostly with Non-
Provided schools on account of their comparatively small accom-
modation.
154 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
In large departments especially there is a pressing de-
mand— beyond the ordinary staffing scale — for a floating
teacher y who, as the name implies, would work in all parts
of the school as occasion required, assisting those tem-
porarily overweighted with large or otherwise difficult
classes, filling up gaps caused by illness, giving special
attention to backward scholars, and generally rendering
such assistance as would enable the school to move for-
ward on steady lines and preserve the even tenor of its
way.
In small schools, too, the inter- departmental floating
teacher may be most useful. Let us take the case of two
departments (boys' and. girls'), each having four class-
rooms, and each with an approximate accommodation of
150. In cases of this kind it is usual to limit the assistant
staff to three teachers, and thus the head teachers are
tied to a class. In order to give him and her some relief
from this otherwise permanent charge, an additional assist-
ant mistress is sometimes appointed, who gives half time
to each department, and thus the head teachers are set
free for two and a half days a week to give attention to
supervision and other matters incidental to their office.
Of course the same principle could be applied to any two
or three departments according to circumstances.
Similarly, at the commencement of the educational year,
when the senior departments are, as a rule, quite full, and
the infants' is at its lowest numerical strength, one or two
teachers from the latter can sometimes be spared for
a few weeks to work in the senior departments, rendering
help to the ordinary class teachers there, on the Batavia
system. This is generally only practicable in large schools,
but it may sometimes be done in comparatively small ones.
The plan is doubly efficacious. It renders efficient aid to
the senior schools, widens the experience of the teacher,
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 155
gives her power in self -adjustment to another environment,
and probably adds to her skill in teaching. It certainly
leads, too, to a better understanding of the needs of each
division of a school, and helps to put inter- departmental
relations on a sound footing.
The temporary changes indicated here need not have
such definite limitations. It would often, for example,
serve a useful purpose if a girls' mistress were placed in
occasional charge of a class in an infants' department and
vice versa.
Staff Difficulties in Schools of Old Type. — School
buildings of the old type, often with a room eighteen feet
wide and any length, or with one room in the form of a
hall without even the suspicion of a class-room, present
grave difficulties to the teaching staff. Though some of
these buildings are still in existence and in use, most of them
have undergone structural changes that render the work
of education both easier and more efficient. In the absence
of structural alterations, or where such alterations have
not, owing to the original character of the building, been
completely effective, devices for the isolation of the classes
have been adopted, these sometimes assuming the form of
curtains, dwarf portable partitions, roller shutters, or col-
lapsible screens extending from floor to ceiling and making
a complete separation. By these means, and by a careful
distribution of quiet and noisy lessons among the various
classes, strains have been lessened and activities economised.
The evils attendant on these antiquated premises, even
if to some extent remodelled, have been somewhat
accentuated by the general employment of uncertificated
teachers, who, through the comparatively small number
of children they were officially regarded as competent to
teach, have necessarily increased the number of contending
156 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
voices in a school. Many of these teachers, however, pos-
sess excellent powers of discipline and sound instructive
ability ; but when a certain number of children, represent-
ing two or more classes, must occupy one room, even if
comparatively effective screens are used, it is, of course,
preferable to have two teachers talking at the same time
rather than three or four. On this ground only, apart
from other potent considerations, it is desirable to have
certificated teachers employed.
And in connection with this matter it is as well to say
that teachers generally talk far too much. There is such
a thing — and if applied to the teacher's office more often
the better would be the educative effect — as masterly
inactivity or scientific idling. Loud or continuous talking
is no evidence of sound work ; it rather points in the con-
trary direction. Receptiveness in a child is excellent in
its way, but all that is poured into him is useless, unless
it enters into the texture of his life, and is thus ex-
pressed by his own effort. The teacher, therefore, should
talk less and the scholars work more, relying on their own
grit. Comparative quietude might then reign in the
class-room, and a golden harvest be gathered in. Every
achievement of the pupil established by independent
attacking power means an advance in personal force,
which time, under ordinary circumstances, cannot im-
pair or destroy.
In these cases, therefore, as in all others, every en-
couragement should be given to private effort. Silent
lessons will then prevail. The teacher will find all his
or her time fully occupied in helpful direction, super-
vision, and seeking the word that exalts or restrains.
Two other points arise in connection with old type
buildings, whose accommodation is usually small compared
with modern school structures, viz. the general need for
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 157
grouping two or more grades of scholars together to form
a class, and the method to be adopted by the head
teacher, if directly responsible for a class, in the super-
vision of the other classes of the school. The former is
discussed in another chapter in connection with the one-
teacher school, and the other is also dealt with elsewhere.
Special Classes. — There is a tendency, stronger in the
past perhaps than at present, to estimate the worth of a
school by the number and character of its scholarship
successes ; and through this tendency an unfortunate prac-
tice has been fostered and extended. Pupils of apparent
promise, within certain age limits, are sifted out from the
various classes in a school and converted into a section
working on special lines, with the view of securing the
exhibitions or scholarships available in the area. This is
the substitution of an immediate end for the remoter one
of sound harmonious training, which every good school
should have constantly in view for each of its pupils.
To divert the prescribed course of training into the nar-
rower channels that lead to success in mere examinations
of this kind, the shallows and depths of which are well
known to the teachers concerned, is a reprehensible practice,
a breach of a national, local, and parental trust, and a sub-
version of the principles that inspired those who gave the
opportunities for a higher education on a scholarship basis.
The ultimate effect of such classes is not infrequently
disastrous to individuals. The forced pace — to say nothing
of the shallow work — is calculated to disturb the natural
order of development, and often to give to the less able
pupil, who cannot fully profit by them, the opportunities
primarily intended for others. Every weakling that crosses
the scholarship bar is in a false position, and his last state
as a scholar is likely to be the worse for this transition.
158 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Problems and Experiments. — That school only is
really alive that sees and appreciates the many problems
that are incidental to its existence. The approximate solu-
tion of one problem paves the way for the solution of
another, and brings an added light into the class-room.
Without the energising influence of the desire for continual
discovery, a school cannot be strong. To influence child-
hood rightly, the spirit of it must be present. Nearly
every pupil — certainly every boy — is a born adventurer.
Let him therefore, within limits, indulge in his natural
bent, and discover things for himself. Indeed, the atmo-
sphere of the school should be alive with this sentiment or
this attitude of mind. If it is there, it will be felt; if
not there, it will be missed.
To move constantly in grooves wrought by the energy
and wisdom of past generations is good up to a point;
but there is a limit to these acceptances, around which
only the twilight plays. The mind of the unbiassed critic
must be brought to bear upon every phase of school work,
if the machinery of organisation is to move with ease and
be fully adapted to what the school is designed to accom-
plish.
An intelligent appreciation of one's bearings is, of
course, needful in these matters ; but no dread of failure,
or of official censure, when conviction points the way,
should deter the teacher from entering on a reasonable
experimental course, whether it concerns organisation
directly or indirectly. It is better to have experimented
and failed than not to have tried at all. The know-
ledge that springs from a qualified success, or even from
failure, may be a beacon light to show the way to higher
things.
To understand each scholar is an essential part of the
teacher's business — to know strong points as well as weak
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 159
ones. For this purpose mere casual observation and
mental note-taking are hardly sufficient. The research
should move on scientific lines. Medical inspection will
render material aid in this direction ; but it should on no
account be allowed to diminish the responsibility of the
teacher on the intellectual and moral side. Indeed, the
teacher's work in this respect should show its paper
records, at least for each abnormal pupil, much in the
same way as the doctor records his investigations. On
the basis of these records, experiments in classification
and method might sometimes be tried.
Some Merits and Defects of the Class System.
— The class system, which prevails in all schools, was
originally the outcome of economical rather than of edu-
cational considerations : it made education possible to the
masses. Private tuition has much to commend it ; for
the instructor has only to adjust his method and energies
to the needs of one pupil, of whom he should have an
intimate knowledge, considering the comparatively small
field of his work. Private tuition, however, has some
serious defects, and is not without its dangers. It only
represents one relation, viz. that between the instructor
and the pupil, with the rights and obligations attaching
to each. There are necessarilv absent that stimulus which
springs from emulation, and that broad corporate spirit
which animates equals striving for a common end. There
is also an absence of that formative influence which comes
from continual individual and group contact with com-
peers ; and there is the further defect that the conditions
that underlie private tuition bear no real resemblance to
those that must govern the life of the adult. The assist-
ance that is practically always at hand to surmount diffi-
culties encountered by the pupil is the chief danger of the
160 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
purely individual system of instruction ; for without con-
flict with obstacles, or difficulties, self- surmounted or self-
mastered, there can be little intellectual or moral develop-
ment. It may be said that private tuition, wisely applied,
is excellent from a purely subjective standpoint ; but edu-
cation must bring into prominence the objective side also,
and in this respect private tuition is weak.
Class instruction, if the number of scholars does not
pass beyond reasonable limits, has many advantages. The
child has to be prepared for life in all its phases — as a
social being, as a citizen, as a thinker and worker who
should contribute something to the common welfare. It
is desirable therefore that his training should be effected
in surroundings and under conditions that have some
similitude to those under which he must live in the
future.
The school touches the community of men and women ;
it is part of the state organisation ; it is in contact with
national life. The child's responsibilities therefore in
relation to others can be realised to some extent from
training experience : they cannot be realised through mere
abstractions. And these responsibilities are a factor in
the class system, which has its definite interests and
activities, to which the individual contributes and to
which, in some degree, he subordinates his personal
claims if not conducive to the common end. Group
interests and activities give the scholar a broader view
of the obligations of life than the system of private
tuition — for the concept involving them is wider and
stronger in appeal. A healthy competitive element is,
too, usually present, and this is a stimulating force of
great value.
While private tuition represents only one relation, the
class system represents at least three, viz. (1) the relation
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 161
between the pupil and the teacher, (2) the relation between
the pupil and the group or class, and also with each
member of it, and (3) the relation between the pupil and
the school as a whole, i.e. the school community, including
staff, scholars, and everything that the name of the school
connotes. These broader relationships in action, and the
ideals associated with them, lead to the expansion of life.
It will be noticed that some of the other merits of class
instruction have been negatively expressed in connection
with private tuition. It is unnecessary to state them in
positive form.
On the other hand, the class system leaves much to be
desired. When the old Jewish ideal of the size of a class1
is realised, which is the one now considered most suitable
for secondary schools, possibly everyone will be satisfied.
Except under careful and discriminating management,
there is a strong tendency for the individual to become
submerged in the mass, and hence a danger of the in-
struction being reduced to the level of machine work.
Those probably who lose most under the existing practice
are the clever children and the dull ones. There is neces-
sarily a certain amount of waste effort which no foresight
or device can entirely eliminate; it is incidental to the
mechanism of class routine, and to a smaller extent to
class instruction : the larger the class the greater must
be the waste. Instruction must be generalised. It cannot
thus wholly fit in with each child's requirements. No two
children observe, think, and act alike, or have exactly the
same kind or degree of receptive power. The differences
are probably slight in most cases, but their presence is
sufficient to lead to inequalities in development and attain-
ments. What is clearly wanted is a compromise between
class and individual instruction.
1 Twenty..
s.o. 13
162 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
The Batavia System. — It is realised that the class
system is by no means perfect. The individual needs much
more attention than the system, under existing official
conditions, is warranted to give. Some readjustment
seems therefore desirable between the claims of class and
individual instruction. This is to be found in the
" Batavia system," largely employed in American schools,
which, without sacrificing the best features of the class
method, eliminates its most serious defects and recognises
the necessity for systematic attention to the individual.
It consists, in its highest expression, in making one teacher
responsible for a class regarded as a whole, and another
fully qualified teacher chiefly responsible for individual
attention to the members of that class. It is not, however,
essential to have tvjo teachers where one now suffices, if the
spirit of the system is preserved and definite provision
made for training on the individual basis. This individual
basis occupies a prescribed and definite position in school
work, and is moreover governed by the following wise
restrictions and limitations : — No pupil is allowed to show
any conscious indications that he is in need of assistance in
his studies. The teacher, in the course of his investigating
survey, must discover this need and render such help to the
pupil as will enable him to master difficulties for himself.
There must, in other words, be no direct help. The real
power to surmount obstacles must come from the pupil.
The teacher might, for example, call attention to a principle
and leave the scholar to apply it. The broad basis of the
self-development method must always be recognised.
This system must, of necessity, if carried out scrupu-
lously, cultivate individual resource and self-reliance.
But how is the Batavia method to be applied to a one-
teacher class ? In the American schools, where the study
and recitation lessons prevail, the application is not a
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 163
difficult one ; for the two types of lessons are connected on
a subject basis — the recitation lesson being largely, if
not wholly, a test of the efficacy of the study lesson. In
English schools the practice is by no means the same ; but
in any case the one-teacher class must be divided perhaps
quite arbitrarily, except in some cases, into two approxi-
mately equal sections ; and one of these groups or sections
must take private study, whilst the other group claims for
oral work most of the attention of the teacher, and vice
versa.
In some subjects — writing, drawing, singing, physical
exercises, Scripture — the two groups could, as a rule,
combine ; but in others, like arithmetic, reading, geography,
history, etc., the lessons should, as far as possible, alter-
nate between private study and oral lessons, the latter
being partially used as a test of the efficacy of the private
endeavour in these subjects.
It is, however, extremely important that the private
study period, which has both a strongly positive and nega-
tive aspect — positively for good and negatively for evil —
should be individually effective. Waste, in the form of
idleness, dilatoriness, and misdirected energy, will be sure
to creep in unless the assignment of work has been judi-
ciously made and each scholar is conscious beforehand that
his application will be inevitably tested to discover any
weakness in his work or any attempt to shirk his personal
responsibilities.
Most English text-books, unlike the American, have not
been designed to meet private study exigencies. The able
teacher, however, will find means of meeting these defi-
ciencies by carefully prepared questions, either written on
the blackboard or on separate sheets of paper supplied to
each pupil.
A further consideration has weight in this connection.
164 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Lessons in schools, elementary and secondary, are gene-
rally too prolonged for intense work. Shorter periods,
with a greater demand on the energies — even if brief
intervals for rest intervened — would prove far more effec-
tive. If the period devoted to private effort is long — passes
the point where interest flags and the will-power weakens
or fails, or where monotony and tedium set in — the temp-
tation is especially great for the ordinary scholar to lapse
into idleness and possibly mischief. The set-back in cases
like these will demand much strenuousness on the teacher's
part to recover the lost ground — lost not so much in time
as in the incipient process of the formation of undesirable
habits. Indeed, it may be said that there is no side of
school work more likely to be productive of evil than the
private study lesson that has not been wisely organised,
carefully supervised, and thoroughly checked. This, how-
ever, is not a reason for using it sparingly. It is the most
effective educative weapon that can be employed ; but like
all weapons its utility depends on the skill with which it is
put into operation.
It is claimed for this system of "class-individual"
instruction that it is a uniform and unqualified success
when carried out in the right spirit by an efficient teacher ;
that it eliminates the backward scholar — for immediately
retardation appears special attention is given to him, and
he soon rises to the level of the other members of the
class ; that regular promotions can be safely carried out ;
and that many pupils are able to master a two-years' course
iii one year.
It need scarcely be observed that the Batavia method is
based on sound principles. There can be no doubt of the
great value of its application on a large scale, provided it
is safeguarded by the precautions and limitations already
mentioned.
THE SCHOOL AND ITS DIVISIONS. 165
It must not, however, be supposed that the Batavia
method is a modern discovery. It is really an old prin-
ciple with a new name that has been applied in varying
degrees since the class system became a necessity. A
reference to the general principles that must operate in a
one-teacher school1 will show, in conjunction with the
school's time-table, how " class-individual " instruction can
be applied ; but in this instance the method is at work
under most unfavourable conditions. With one class of
scholars of approximately equal attainments,2 the teacher
should experience no real difficulties if he distributes his
time over the two sections of his class, much in the same
way as the sole teacher must do over the two divisions of
the one-class school.
1 See pp. 74-82.
2 It will be found in practice that nearly every class could be
divided into an upper and lower division. Some might prefer the
arbitrary line of separation for this purpose, while others regard
attainments and natural ability as the fitting criteria for a division.
CHAPTER IV.
"Acquirement of every kind lias two values — value as knowledge
and value as discipline.'' — H. Spencer's Education.
"It is a law of human nature that those who are debarred the
higher gratifications fall back upon the lower." — Ibid.
ORGANISATION IN VARIOUS TYPES OF
SCHOOLS. THE WORK OF THE STAFF.
SOME TIME-TABLES.
The Ordinary Graded School. — The constitution of
the various ordinary Elementary Schools has been indi-
cated in Chapter III. On a functional basis they may be
classified into (1) Ordinary Graded Schools, (2) Special
Schools, and (3) Higher Grade or Higher Elementary
Schools.
Schools for higher education may be divided, into
(1) Secondary Schools, (2) Day Trade Schools, (3) Day
Technical Schools, (4) Evening Schools.
It is not possible to consider here every type of school
from the point of view of organisation. It is, however,
desirable to deal somewhat fully with a small elementary
school that is about one remove above the one-class or one-
teacher school. This consists of a combined mixed and
infants' department in which the head teacher is aided by
one assistant mistress or by a student teacher. The prin-
ciples that must determine the organisation of a school of
this type will be found applicable to the majority of rural
166
STAFFING. 167
institutions similar in character but perhaps a little larger
in accommodation. They should also apply, to a consider-
able extent, to all grouped classes.
It is clear that organisation and distribution of the staff
must chiefly depend on the number of teachers as well as
on the number of scholars and their attainments. It will
be preferable to take four fairly definite cases of senior
departments by way of illustration, stating for each the
approximate number of scholars and the quantity of the
staff, assuming also that the following conditions or prin-
ciples are operative: (1) That there is a fairly equal
distribution of pupils over the grades or standards in the
lower part of the school. As a rule the numbers in the
grades diminish, sometimes considerably, above Standard
IV., and Standards I. and II. are usually the largest.
(2) That the ordinary class system is adopted. This will
permit of a limited specialisation if desirable. (3) That
no class must have more than 60 pupils, and that a com-
bined class, as a rule, should not exceed 40 on the roll.
(4) That the class-rooms will admit of the organisation
without overcrowding ; and (5) that each teacher is placed
in charge of that class in which he can render the most
effective service.
Case I. 100 to 120 Scholars. Staff1— H.T. + 2 A.
Organisation: — Sts. I. and II., Sts. III. and IV., Sts.
V. to VII., the H.T. being in charge
of the first class.
Case II. 150 Scholars. Staff— H.T. + 3A.
Organisation: — Sts. I. and II. b2, Sts. II. a and III.,
Sts. IV. and V., Sts. VI. and VII.,
the H.T. taking the first class.
1 H.T. + 2A = Head Teacher + 2 Certificated Assistants.
3 II. b represents a section lower in attainments than II. a.
168 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Case III. 200 Scholars. Staff— H.T. + 4 A.
Organisation : — St. I., St. II., Sts. III. and IV., Sts. V. to
VII. Here the H.T. should not be tied
to a class, but should divide a large
part of his time in rendering sub-
stantial assistance to the teachers in
charge of the first and second classes.
Case IV. 250 Scholars. Staff— H.T. + 5A.
Organisation : — St. I., St. II., St. III.
/ * according to
\ Sts. IV. and V., Sts. VI. and VII.. or / numbers and
j St. IV., Sts. V. to VII. I other circuni-
\ / stances.
Here, as in the previous case, the H.T. should give a
considerable amount of attention to the first and second
classes in the one instance, or the first class in the other.
It is manifest that grouped classes must exist, to some
extent, in every instance where the quantity of the staff
falls below the number of grades in the school. The
above staffing should be regarded as the minimum. When
possible, combined or grouped classes should be avoided,
except for certain subjects that lend themselves to this
arrangement.
With regard to the small combined mixed and infant
school already referred to, the time-tables for each division
are given on pages 170 and 171, together with a few ex-
planatory critical notes. In mixed departments generally,
complications arise on account of needlework and of prac-
tical instruction in domestic subjects. The position is
met by the boys' taking drawing and physical exercises
or organised games while the girls are employed with the
needle. This most often involves a temporary re-grouping.
If the third and fourth classes are mixed, for example, the
THE ORDINARY GRADED SCHOOL. 169
girls in these two classes would combine for needlework,
and the boys similarly for drawing or other subject deter-
mined by the time-table. With regard to domestic subjects,
a well organised system should provide for the training of
the girls at the centres at the same time as the boys are
engaged with their woodwork. The needlework alone in
mixed departments makes it imperative to have at least
half the members of the assistant staff consisting of
women teachers.
The organisation of the one-teacher school has already
been considered in Chapter II. In larger departments
than those indicated above the classification becomes com-
paratively easy, since grouped classes tend to vanish with
larger accommodations. Such classes, however, though on
general grounds undesirable, are not without some ad-
vantages. They necessitate much repetition and over-
lapping of work ; and if this is skilfully and appropriately
carried out by the teacher, nothing but good can result
from it, assuming that there is a rational system of pro-
motion in the school, and that this is operative throughout
the year. The one great fault that lies at the root of
class teaching in many large schools is haste — almost a
feverish anxiety to cover the syllabus as rapidly as possible
and a consequent contentment with scratching the surface
rather than ploughing deep. Every item of instruction is
worthy of a broad base and a firm foundation.
As already advised, when the head teacher must act as
a permanent class teacher, or when much of his time
must be devoted to teaching, it is eminently desirable that
he should devote most of his energies to the first class.
The scholars there stand most in need of the strongest
personality available in the school. In enables him, too,
when time for supervision is practically nil or very limited,
to test the worth of the methods and the general value of
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172 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
the work in the other classes, particularly those of the
class immediately below. If the teaching and training are
sound, indifferent, or weak in the lower classes, the effects
will reveal themselves in accumulated form m the highest
class. This closer touch with scholars will give the head
teacher surer information than examinations can supply.
The infant school, on the whole, presents fewer diffi-
culties in the way of organisation than senior departments.
It is limited to three or four grades, whereas most senior
departments have to cater for seven or eight. The larger
the accommodation, however, the fewer are the difficulties in
each case, provided there is a suitable and adequate staff.
In a small infant school of three grades with only one
teacher the barriers to sound training seem almost insur-
mountable, for the younger children are so helpless and
need constant attention. In this instance there is pro-
bably only one course open, viz. to work the school as one
division for most subjects, and to differentiate Grades
I. and II. from Grade III. when reading and writing have
to be taught to the older scholars. The work in Grades I.
and II. as a grouped class should be confined to nature
study, language, games, free-arm drawing, and practical
instruction in the little courtesies of daily life.
Handwork, in all departments, is most suitable for the
afternoon session.
General Plan of Procedure followed by the Head
Teacher in keeping a small Combined School going.
Time-tables are given on the two preceding pages. —
Teachers and monitors present ten minutes before school
time to give out books, pens, etc., and set up sums and
drawings so that classes can start work immediately.
(The day's work must be carefully planned beforehand or
all the lessons cannot be fitted in.)
THE SMALL SCHOOL. 173
While teacher gives oral lesson to one class the other
has written work, study or silent reading.
Interest is maintained by varying the methods of teach-
ing, by games, competitions, etc.
Correction of exercise books is done after school, but the
teacher goes through them with the class each morning.
Practical work insisted on — the children to be always
doing something.
Special attention paid to enunciation. Slovenly speaking
not permitted. Children taught to express themselves well
by means of oral composition (in the lower standards),
answering at length (in the upper), questioning each other,
story-telling, etc.
Discipline not too rigid : children encouraged to speak
and act naturally. Kept happy and busy. Always some-
thing in hand for odd minutes. Corporal punishment
seldom needed.
5 marks given each Session : — Punctuality, 1 ; Attention,
1 ; Conduct, 2 ; Industry, 1 ; i.e. 100 per week.
A list of marks earned by each scholar is put up in
school every week, and prizes awarded once a year to the
Senior Scholars, but more frequently to the Juniors.
Sts. II. -VII. (taught by mistress) are grouped for sing-
ing and physical exercises.
Sts. IV. -VII. grouped for all subjects except reading and
arithmetic. Sts. II. and III. grouped for oral work.
The Infants and St. I. are taught by a student teacher
in class-room.
A weekly record is kept of work done. An examina-
tion is held at the end of each term, and the children are
not usually promoted oftener than once a year.
The Younger Infants. — The classification in infant
schools was considered in a previous chapter. There is,
174 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
however, one phase of the work which merits special atten-
tion here : viz. that which concerns children under the age of
five years. The Eeport of the Consultative Committee x on
this question deserves notice, especially as it has a definite
bearing on organisation. Some of the views and recom-
mendations of the Committee run substantially on the
following lines : —
1. The best place for all children under five years of age
is a good home. Such a home, of course, presupposes an
intelligent and devoted mother, able and willing to care
for and to train her children in a proper manner. This
natural relationship between mother and child, when the
former recognises her responsibilities, is one the effective-
ness of which no school can supply, and whose power no
State policy should attempt to impair. Under existing
economic conditions, however, the homes and surroundings
of many children are not satisfactory, and this is especially
so in slum districts. It is desirable, therefore, that chil-
dren from such homes should be able to go to places
especially intended for their training, and no obstacles
should be raised to their admission by the Local Education
Authority.
The Committee also consider that the best places
for this purpose are nursery schools attached to public
elementary schools. Private institutions are also desirable
when they form a link in the educational system, especially
in those areas where it might be unreasonable to compel
the Local Educational Authority to provide nursery schools.
Such private institutions, however, should be subject to
public inspection, and have the same educational basis as
the nursery schools, and should be conveniently near public
elementary schools, with which they could work in harmony,
so that the transition from them to the public elementary
1 1908 — issued by the Board of Education.
NURSERY SCHOOLS. 175
school should be made as easy as possible. These private
institutions, if conducted with the consent and approval of
the Local Educational Authority, should be assisted by
public grants.
" Nursery schools " include (a) public elementary
schools which contain properly organised classes for
younger infants (babies' classes and rooms) and where the
methods of instruction applied to such infants are uni-
formly carried out on Froebelian lines, and (6) any other
Kindergarten institutions that cater for the training of
children under five years of age. Special stress is laid on
the difference between the infants' school with the modern
spirit of instruction and the infants' school that still
moves on old-fashioned lines.
2. Premises. — With regard to the nursery school it
is advisable to have special building regulations for the
premises, as younger infants are even more dependent upon
light and air and sunshine than older children. Heavy
desks and galleries should never be used, but small tables
and chairs should take their place, as these can be easily
set aside to make room for games and play. Much more
floor space should be provided for younger infants than is
generally the case at present for older children. There
should be easy exit direct into the playground from all
rooms in the nursery school. The playground should be
partly under cover so that infants can spend as much time
as possible therein. It is desirable that the playgrounds,
too, should contain trees and small plots for gardens. The
offices and washing arrangements should be as complete as
possible. Some simple means of giving the children baths,
as is done in the Ecoles Maternelles, and also in many
elementary schools in various parts of Europe, are desir-
able.
3. Curriculum. — This should be so defined as to give
176 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
the children's natural instinct for movement full con-
sideration. There should be plenty of games and free
play in the open air whenever possible ; it is even desirable
that half the school time should be spent in the open
air. There should be no rigid time-table, and no lesson
should exceed fifteen minutes. Generally, the Committee
would have the curriculum and the methods almost exactly
the same as those in the babies' section of one of the
modern infants' schools. Infants should be allowed to
sleep whenever they are sleepy. The nursery school
should be kept open during the same hours as the school
for senior children, in order that the older ones may escort
their little brothers and sisters to and from school.
Generally speaking, nothing should be done in the nursery
school that prolongs complex operations of the nervous or
muscular systems. All formal lessons in reading, writing,
and arithmetic should be rigidly excluded.
4. Apparatus. — This should be much the same as that
found in good babies' rooms in modern schools, with the
addition of net-beds or other suitable and sanitary pro-
vision for sleeping, and also a piano.
5. Staff. — The best person to have the management of
a nursery school is a well educated teacher trained on
Froebelian principles in the widest sense of the term.
She should, therefore, have made a careful study of the
physical and mental development of childhood. She
should have passed through a course of nature study
and have a knowledge of literature and history from
which she could select what is appropriate in poetry and
story.
She should have knowledge of hand-work, and have
had some training in the detection of physical and
mental fatigue and in the physical condition of young
children in health and disease. The number of little
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14
178 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
children under one teacher should never exceed thirty.
Where, however, a Nurse or Femme de service is appointed
to assist the teacher with a view to attending to the
children's physical needs, the number of children forming
a class might be slightly increased.
6. When there are many imperfect homes in an area,
the majority of children who will eventually attend the
elementary school should be considered eligible for admis-
sion to nursery schools when three years of age.
The time-table on p. 177 is suitable for children be-
tween three and five years old. It is only intended as a
rough guide to the class teacher and may be varied from
day to day according to circumstances, even according to
the weather. A five minutes' rest between lessons is per-
missible, and desirable. The children spend as much time
as possible in the playground. The writing is on free-arm
lines (sand, etc.), and the Scripture lessons are varied by
hymns and by memorising texts. The time from 2.15 to
3 p.m. is devoted to at least two lessons, with necessary
intermissions for rest. From 9.55 to 10.30 a.m. there are
again two lessons. The letters of the alphabet are taught
incidentally through games and make-believe devices.
Elementary Schools Serving a Special Purpose.
Partial Exemption Schools and Scholars. — Under
provisions of the Education Acts and the bye-laws of
Local Education Authorities, children may obtain partial
exemption from school for purposes of employment. Such
children must attend school in accordance with the terms of
the certificate of exemption and receive on each attendance
two hours' secular instruction. To meet the needs of these
children half -time schools were established in some large
VARIOUS TYPES UJb1 SCHOOLS. 179
centres of industry. As far as practicable, one set of
scholars attend in the morning and another in the after-
noon. When partial exemption scholars attend an ordinary
full-time school, separate registers must be kept for
them. The term " partial exemption scholar " means a
scholar certified by the Local Authority to be employed in
conformity with the bye-laws, " or, if not subject to the
bye-laws, in conformity with the Elementary Education
Act, 1876, or any other Act regulating the education of
children employed in labour, and in either case he must be
recognised by the Board as a partial exemption scholar."1
The partial exemption scholar must be over eleven years
of age and be " beneficially and necessarily " employed.
In half-time schools each afternoon's work must neces-
sarily be a duplication of the work of the morning.
Industrial Schools. — These institutions have become
a necessary part of the educational system. They were
established to meet the special needs of children charged
before a magistrate either under (1) the Industrial Schools
Act of 1866, or (2) the Elementary Education Act of
1876. The former Act has now been repealed and the
latter partially so by the Children Act, 1908, which now
operates on all matters of this nature. This Act recognises
three classes of Industrial Schools : —
(1) Ordinary industrial schools where children are lodged,
clothed, fed, and taught; (2) day industrial schools, for
children trained on industrial lines, who receive one or
more meals a day ; (3) special industrial schools for
children suffering from some mental or physical defect.
1 Art. 43 (c), Code 1910, and Sched. IV. 24-26. In the Report of
the Inter-Departmental Committee on Half-Time Employment there
is this recommendation — " that all partial exemption be abolished
from a date not earlier than January 1st, 1911."
180 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
These schools must be certified by the Secretary of State
and. inspected annually by an inspector appointed by him.
Children found begging, or with " no visible means of sub-
sistence," or associated with "unfit" parents or guardians,
or charged with some punishable offence, or disobeying
attendance orders made under the Education Act, 1876,
may be committed by a magistrate to one of these schools
for a definite period. Generally speaking, the provisions in
the Act concerning industrial schools are also applicable to
reformatory schools. It is the duty of the local educa-
tional authority to provide for the reception and main-
tenance in industrial or reformatory schools of any child
resident in its district who is ordeied to be sent to such
schools.
Most of these institutions are residential. They are
really half-time schools so far as the regular elementary
school curriculum is concerned, the other five half-days
being devoted to manual training in wood and metal work,
tailoring, bootmaking, gardening, farming, and other kin-
dred employments of a practical nature.
Institutions of a like character are in existence in the
United States and most European countries. They are
called Parental Schools in America.
Vacation Schools1 are of comparatively recent growth.
Private enterprise, supported by official sanctions, called
them into existence and assisted in their development.
Under the Education (Administrative Provisions) Act,
1907 (S. 13), the local education authority is now
empowered to provide for elementary school children
" vacation schools, vacation classes, play-centres or other
means of recreation during their holidays, or at such other
times as the local education authority may prescribe, in
1 See Report of the Education Commission of Chicago, 1900.
VARIOUS TYPES OF SCHOOLS. 181
the school house or some other suitable place in the
vicinity."
Accordingly many school buildings and playgrounds,
under, of course, proper guidance and supervision, become
a busy hive during the long summer holiday. Manual
training and nature study are the subjects mostly taken
by the boys. The girls, too, take up the latter subject
together with the domestic arts and other manual exercises,
while the infants are happily employed with kindergarten
games.
These employments are supplemented by occasional
excursions into the country. As far as possible, the work
is carried on in the playground or other open air places.
In many of the large cities of the United States the
demand for admission to these schools is so great that it
cannot adequately be met by private enterprise. In New
York vacation schools have been adopted as part of the
school system. "Holiday courses," consisting mostly of
organised games, are also carried out in Berlin.1
"Special Schools."2 — For purposes of these schools
defective children are classified into
(1) Mentally defective.
(2) Physically defective. These again are sub- divided
according as they are
(a) Physically defective other than blind and
deaf.
(b) Blind.
(c) Deaf.
1 See Report of Mr. Gr. Andrew to the Scotch Education Depart-
ment, 1904.
2 "Special Schools" = schools for the blind, deaf, defective or
epileptic children, for which the Board of Education have a special
Code.
182 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
It will be convenient to deal with (1) and (2 a) first.
The regulations of the Board of Education determine the
minimum conditions concerning the school premises, terms
of admission, and general treatment of these children. No
child is admitted under the age of seven or retained after
reaching the age of sixteen, except in the case of physically
defective children, who may be admitted when five years
old.
Most of the children of this type find their way into
these special departments through the agency of the head
teachers of the ordinary schools, whose duty it is to present
defective children to the medical officer for examination
on the occasions of his visits to the " special " department.
Every child, before admission, must be certified by the
local authority's medical officer as defective.
The hours during which a special school is open may
vary from H to 2h each session. The time-table must
provide for instruction in (1) reading, writing, and arith-
metic, (2) singing and recitation, including training in
proper breathing, (3) nature study and observation
lessons, (4) drawing, (5) needlework for girls, (6) physical
exercises, (7) manual instruction — a wide interpretation is
given to this, and not less than six hours weekly must be
devoted to it.
The class-rooms usually accommodate not more than
20 scholars, and are furnished with single desks. Rooms
for manual instruction are also provided in most recently
built schools.
Age is no consideration in classifying the mentally
defective. When there are sufficient children they are
usually classified into three groups for purposes of in-
struction. Under similar conditions the physically defec-
tive are classified in much the same way ; but age comes
in as a minor consideration occasionally. Vivid realistic
" SPECIAL SCHOOLS." 183
presentation, combined with practical work, should charac-
terise all the instruction.
The law demands that the children be examined "from
time to time " by the medical officer, and that proper
records be kept. The practice generally is for the medical
officer to visit twice a year and re-examine the scholars,
for under the Epileptic and Defective Children's Act, 1899,
a parent can insist on re-examination of a child every six
months. When any child, under thirteen years, has made
sufficient advancement and is otherwise fit, he is drafted
to one of the ordinary school departments.
A line is drawn between the physically and mentally
defective in educational treatment. Separate buildings, or
buildings structurally separated for each type, are therefore
provided. In the case of the merely physically defective
(cripples, etc.) whose education has been retarded through
illness, it is generally found that they have normal capacity:
hence the range of work for them need not be so restricted
as in the case of the mentally defective. Specially con-
structed desks and chairs, and all those easy conveniences
in the way of furniture and equipment which a benevolent
foresight can supply, are found, as a rule, associated with
these centres. A trained nurse is usually attached to
each centre ; ambulances bring cripples and invalids from
home to school and back again; and arrangements are
commonly made through voluntary aid, the parents bear-
ing part of the expense, to give these afflicted little ones
some sustaining refreshment at midday, when compelled
to remain on the school building.
When a local education authority has ascertained that
there are within its area some defective children, other
than the blind and deaf, it may — but is not under any
legal obligation to do so — make special provision for the
education of such children.
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—Occupations. Class I. :
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m elder girls go to Cookery
se occupations are not taker
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IS
184
ABSTRACT OF TIME-TABLE OF A SCHOOL FOR PHYSICALLY
DEFECTIVE CHILDREN.
(Top)
Glass
(L
i General Division of Time Table.
1.
n.
UL | 9.35— 9.55.
Scripture, Hymns, etc.
Praet. English
Grammar ...
9.55—10.15.
Singing or Recitation
25
25
25
alternately (Classes
Reading
135
135
140
I. and II. combine
Recitation ...
70
70
80
and take Singing in
Writing and
Dictation ...
the Hall while Class
50
50
50
III. have Recitation,
Arithmetic ...
140
140
1 35
and vice versa).
Drawing
55
,^
G5
10.15—10.45.
First Lesson.
Geography . . .
Singing
25
25
25
25
25
9,5
10.45—11.0.
11.0 —11.5.
Recreation .
Breathing Exercises.
80
100
80
100
70
100
11.5 —11.30.
11.30—11.55.
Second Lesson.
Scripture
Recreation . . .
Third Lesson.
75
75
75
11.55—12.0.
Preparation for
Nature Study
25
25
25
Dinner, etc.
Breathing Ex-
1.30—2.25 p.
m. Handwork.
25
25
25
2.25 — 2.35 ,, Singing and Recit.
Handwork . . .
375
375
o-~
3/o
2.35 — 3.0 ,, Handwork.
Notes. — Registers closed at 10.1.0 a.m., but may be closed at 10.30.
OCCUPATIONS.
Class I.
Drawing.
Painting, Design.
Stencilling.
Card hoard Modelling.
Printing
and Illuminating.
Knitting and
Needlework (Girls).
Embroidery,
Crochet, and all kinds
of Fancy Work.
Cane Work.
Manual Training
for each boy in this
Class — one day a
week.
Class II.
Drawing.
Painting,
Macrame (Boys).
Fancy Work (Girls).
Rug Making.
Wool Mats.
Cane Work
(Baskets, etc.).
Knitting.
Plain Needlework.
Class III.
Drawing.
Painting on Brown
Paper.
Modelling, leading
to
Cardboard Modelling.
String Work.
Needlework and
Knitting.
Elementary Cane
Work.
Cla}' Modelling.
Gardening is taken at intervals with all Classes.
185
186 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
The Blind and Deaf. — By the Elementary Education
(Blind and Deaf Children) Act, 1893, it is incumbent on
every educational authority to provide an " efficient and
suitable" education for blind and deaf children resident
in the district. The same authority must also enforce
the law of compulsory attendance, in the case of blind
children from five to sixteen years of age, and in the case
of the deaf from seven to sixteen years.
Separate schools are provided for these, which may be
either day or residential schools. Both kinds are found in
some educational areas. The children receive instruction
in the ordinary school subjects — except that drawing is
obviously not taught to the blind — particular attention
being given to manual and industrial training, as deftness
of hand and craft knowledge mostly form the only source
of a livelihood when the school career is closed.
As these schools cannot be built within reasonable
distance of every child's home, travelling expenses, in day
school cases, are allowed to children living beyond walking
distance from the school ; and guides sometimes are also
provided for those who are too young to travel alone. The
blind children are now usually taught reading and writing
on the Braille system. The manual training includes work
in mat-making, clay modelling, straw-plaiting, rug and
basket making, chair-caning, typewriting, woodwork, bent-
iron work, and the domestic arts for girls.
In the case of the deaf the " oral " (or speech and lip-
reading) system is generally adopted as the chief means of
instruction. Sometimes the " combined system " is used,
which includes the " oral " with manual signs. The manual
training course comprises cane and cardboard work, stencil-
ling, tailoring, boot-making, woodwork, and the usual
domestic subjects for girls.
It is almost unnecessarv to sav that small classes in all
VARIOUS TYPES OP SCHOOLS. 187
these " special schools " are essential to efficiency. Indeed,
the official class limit for the blind is fifteen, and for the
deaf ten.
An " after care " committee to safeguard the interests of
these defective children, and especially to secure them suit-
able employment, when they have attained the leaving age
lias been found a useful institution.
It is worthy of note that a unique experiment is beiug
carried out in Mannheim, where intermediate schools
have been established — intermediate, that is, between the
" special " and the ordinary school. These have been
founded because (1) it has been shown that nearly ten
per cent, of the children in the elementary schools are
unable to keep pace with the progress of the scholar with
average ability; (2) it is considered that such children
need special educational and hygienic treatment ; (3) it
is further considered that the presence of these children
in the same class with others of higher mental capabilities
and better physique tends to retard general progress.
Accordingly under the " Mannheim system " the school
is organised in three departments : (1) the normal classes
with eight grades, (2) the backward classes — Forderldassen
— with five or six grades, (3) the mentally defective classes
with four or five grades.
There is no necessarily permanent attachment of scholars
to the Forderldassen, as is mostly the case in the
mentally defective department. With advancement in
mental grip, the pupils are promoted from the inter-
mediate classes to the normal department. In the Forder-
ldassen the classes are limited to 30 pupils, whereas in
the other two departments the numbers range from 48
to 50.
Of the few objections urged against this system, one is
worthy of mention here, viz. " There is a tendency to
188 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
differentiate children solely on the basis of their intel-
lectual capacity, and to neglect the other important pro-
blems of school life."1
Open- Air Schools.2 — These schools, for many years a
feature of the German educational system, are now recog-
nised here, both official and voluntary agencies being at
work in some areas to promote their development. All
those immediately associated with elementary schools in
poor localities cannot fail to realise that there are certain
scholars there whose physical condition renders them unfit
to profit fully by the instruction. Debility arising mostly
from insufficient nourishment and impure air, and possibly
also incipient disease, are generally the operative causes,
and these usually imply intellectual retardation. It there-
fore becomes desirable to segregate these children, and as
far as climatic conditions will allow, to give them the
benefit of open-air training under conditions calculated
to stimulate both physically and intellectually.
Accordingly, a suitable building and site being secured,
boys and girls of this type, whose homes are within reason-
able walking distance or tram ride, form, with the appro-
1 Report by Dr. F. Rose.
2 " One of the extractive features of the meetings of the British
Association at Sheffield was a visit to an open-air school.
" The party arrived about three o'clock. ' Hush,' said the guide,
'the children are resting.' In a meadow a hundred deck-chairs
were set out, in each of which sat a little hoy or girl, wrapped in
warm blankets, and looking very comfortable, though many were
pitiably white and thin.
" The results of open air, regular feeding, and cleanliness are
most encouraging. One little boy, who was fading away for want
of food, gained 8 lb. in two months.
" There are 2,000 children in Sheffield schools who ought to be
treated in this way, but at present there is room for only a hundred."
— The Little Paj^er, October 1010.
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190 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
priate staff, an open-air school for a period of four or five
months in the year. Sheds are erected in the grounds
where instruction can be carried on in wet weather, and
where the scholars can take their afternoon siesta on deck-
chairs provided for that and other purposes. The primary
conditions of admission in one large educational area are
(a) a certificate of suitability from the medical officer, and
(b) a parental guarantee that the children shall not take
any paid employment outside school hours. Measure-
ments of each scholar are taken and recorded on entry
and also at intervals.
Similarly, it has been found practicable to have Play-
ground Classes in connection with ordinary schools when
the conditions are favourable. The essential conditions
may be said to be (1) a commodious playground with a
south or south-eastern aspect, as little as possible dis-
turbed by overlooking eyes or street traffic; (2) a covered
shed for use in inclement weather ; (3) recognition of
the limitations imposed by winter, early spring, and late
autumn.
Classes have thus been organised for delicate children
when the full advantages of the open-air school are not
available. These have taken two forms : (1) the collection
of children of approximately equal attainments from neigh-
bouring schools and forming them into a class in one
central playground, and (2) the segregation of scholars
from various classes in the same school for the same
purpose.
Both these necessarily involve the services of an addi-
tional teacher. It has further been found equally practi-
cable, without disturbing the organisation of a school, to
have the playground in almost continuous use, during
favourable seasons, either for one ordinary class, or for a
series of such classes.
VARIOUS TYPES OF SCHOOLS. 191
Higher Grade Schools.— Something has already been
accomplished ill the way of bringing elementary school
aims nearer to those associated with the better class
secondary school. This has been brought about by the
establishment of higher grade and, later, " higher elemen-
tary " schools.
The higher grade schools have not, in many cases, had a
proper opportunity of fulfilling their mission. Instead of
placing these institutions on a solid foundation and making
them capable of development and expansion, some of the
late school boards, treading on uncertain ground, were
content, in some cases, to take one or two senior depart-
ments of an ordinary school and convert them into higher
grade departments without removing the lower standards.
It was thus a conversion more in name than in reality.
This type of higher grade school is gradually disappearing.
Those, however, which started with an independent exist-
ence and gave exclusive attention to selected scholars have,
as a rule, been a success. If higher grade schools are to
continue as one of the crowning points of primary educa-
tion, the following conditions are essential : —
(1) That each higher grade school must have an inde-
pendent existence and be complete in itself, i.e. it must
not form part of an ordinary school, and no particular
department or school should have a special claim upon its
accommodation.
(2) That the higher grade school should admit no
children above twelve years of age, or below full Standard
IV. attainments.
(3) That, as a rule, only those should be admitted to the
higher grade course who show commendable industry and
more than average talent. l
1 Exceptions to this are desirable in poor districts.
192 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
The advantages of higher grade schools of the best type
are : —
(1) It is an incentive to industry for scholars in the
ordinary school to know that successful devotion to work
will enable them later to go to an institution of higher
status and more advanced instruction.
(2) Scholars of ability are able to advance more rapidly
when they are better classified, have highly skilful teachers,
and are not retarded by the presence of children possessing
average or below average capabilities.
(3) The higher grade school increases a child's oppor-
tunities of obtaining a scholarship and thus passing on to
a secondary or technical school. It also improves his out-
look and widens his views.
(4) Generally, the superior tone of a higher grade school,
arising chiefly from the mutually stimulating effect of the
stronger moral power possessed by scholars of firm mental
calibre and previously recognised good conduct, is a most
valuable force in forming character. These scholars must
in turn influence others of their own social status with
Avhoin they are brought into contact.
(5) The higher grade department is a fitting transition
school for those going later to trade or technical schools.
The higher grade school as considered here must not
be confounded with the " Higher Elementary," which has
official recognition as part of the elementary school system.
The Higher Elementary School. — A higher elemen-
tary school,1 limited generally to 350 pupils, must be
recognised by the Board of Education as such, and the
curriculum, time-table, premises, and equipment must also
be approved by the same central authority. The school
must be organised to give a complete three years' course of
1 Arts. 37-42, Code 1910.
VARIOUS TYPES Uh' SCHOOLS. 193
graduated instruction : but a fourth year's course may be
taken if specially sanctioned. Oilier main conditions of
recognition are (1) the provision of special instruction
bearing on the future occupations of the scholars; (2)
special rooms and equipment for practical instruction
(3) H.M. Inspector must be satisfied that each scholar
is qualified to profit by the kind of instruction offered ;
(4) each scholar must, as a rule, commence with the first
year's course and proceed upward year by year; (5) the
number of scholars habitually taught in a class should
not exceed 40 ; ((5) a progressive course of study in
English language and literature, mathematics, history,
geography, drawing ; also manual training for boys, and
domestic subjects for girls ; (7) scholars must, as a rule,
be twelve years of age at the time of admission.
The curriculum of a higher elementary school should be,
in tbc fitting words of Sir liobert Morant in discussing
the " French system of higher primary schools,"1 "at once
more limited in duration than that of the secondary
school, more capable of assimilation by children of ex-
elementary attainments, and more immediately applicable
to actual use at the desk, the counter, or the workshop,
to which the great mass of the scholars are inevitably
bound to go at as early an age as fifteen or sixteen."
The local authority, subject to condition (3) above,
determines what shall be the means of admission to a
higher elementary school. The practice, therefore, in this
respect varies a little. The regular primary schools within
reasonable distance are, as a rule, annually invited to
nominate scholars for the neighbouring higher elementary
school. These nominations usually exceed the number of
vacancies. An examination is therefore held in some
instances, and the most suitable children selected for
1 Special Reports, Vol. I.
s. o. 15
194 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
admission, the parents giving a guarantee that their
children will remain at school to complete the course.
In other cases, the final list of scholars is determined
by an official of the local education authority in consulta-
tion with the head teachers immediately concerned. There
is therefore, in this case, no formal examination.
A similar promise is usually exacted from parents when
children are admitted from contributory schools to a higher
grade department.
It is obvious, since the age and time limitation for each
scholar in the higher elementary school is the close of the
educational year in which he attains the age of fifteen, that
each child should secure admission, as a rule, when not
more than twelve years old, otherwise the conditional three
years' course of instruction cannot be completed.
The advantages previously attributed to education in
the higher grade schools apply with equal force to the
higher elementary school.
Some differences between the higher grade and the
higher elementary school have been already noted. Other
differences are : —
(1) The higher elementary schools are mainly governed
by special official regulations,1 whereas the higher grade
schools are governed by the same Code regulations as
ordinary schools.
(2) The higher elementary schools whose constitution is
determined by the Board of Education are much the same
in character throughout the country ; whereas the higher
grade schools vary more or less in constitution according
to the educational areas in which they are situated.
(3) In a higher elementary school a scholar must take
each year's course in succession, unless the Board of
Education specially sanction individual departures from
1 Code 1910, Chapter VI.
VARIOUS TYPES OF SCHOOLS. 195
this rule. In the higher grade schools a scholar may be
promoted at the head teacher's discretion.
Generally the higher elementary department has proved
a more satisfactory form of superior primary school than
the higher grade department, probably because the latter
has been unduly influenced in some areas by local con-
ditions. It is possible, however, that the latter form may
prove the more suitable in very poor and congested districts,
where children almost invariably leave school at the earliest
opportunity. It would be a gain, when the number of
scholars in the upper classes of each school is small, to have
a higher grade or higher standard department into which
the whole of the scholars in the highest or the two highest
classes could be drafted. If only a two years' course could
be secured in this way, with the opportunity thus afforded
for sound classification and specialised instruction, it would
probably prove extremely valuable to the children concerned.
11 Central Schools." — These have been established in
the metropolitan area to take the place of the higher grade
and higher elementary schools. They are intended to give
an educational course that is not provided for either in
the elementary or secondary schools. The bias of the
curricula must be commercial or industrial or both,
according to the needs of the locality ; and the size of
any class must not exceed 40 pupils. The courses of in-
struction must cover a period of four years ; and boys and
girls must respectively go through an approved course in
manual training and domestic economy.
The managing bodies of central schools must be composed
of (i) persons nominated by the Council ; (ii) persons
nominated by the managers of the contributing schools ;
(iii) one representative from the borough council in whose
area the school is situated.
196 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
The elementary school pupils who will be less than 12
and not less than 11 years of age on 31st July in the year
of admission, and who will be, as a rule, working in the
fifth or higher standard at the time of examination, are
eligible for admission to central schools.
Admission to central schools is based on —
(i) A declaration by the parent of the child seeking
admission of his intention that the child shall remain in
the school long enough to justify the change.
(ii) A recommendation of the head teacher of the con-
tributing school which shall have regard to the whole
school career of the pupil in question.
(iii) The managers' recommendation after interview with
the parents or guardians of the children concerned.
A limited number of bursaries of an annual value not
exceeding d£10, tenable at the central schools, is awarded
if parents of eligible candidates are unable " to meet
the loss of wages and maintenance charges consequent
upon the child's attendance" at a central school. The
bursaries only operate at the age of 14 ; but the circum-
stances of each applicant for a bursary are considered
before entry into the central school, and conditional
promises are made by the Council.
The character of the building for a central school has
been indicated under " premises."
The establishment of this type of school is the outcome
of au attitude which is so well expressed in the following
words : —
" There is a wide-spread feeling that it is of great
importance, in the interests of the community at large, to
give more attention to the development of ' practical '
education in the elementary schools. Both educationists
and men of affairs seem to concur in the view that educa-
tion can be made more effective if the pupils can be taught
VARIOUS TYPES OF SCHOOLS. 197
more by ' doing ' and less by listening. It is considered
that the intelligence of both boys and girls can be stimu-
lated and trained not only by the imparting and acquisition
of knowledge by means of books, but also by the exercise
of hand and eye upon concrete objects. It is felt that a
boy on leaving the elementary school should have had an
all-round training of his faculties, and should have ac-
quired that readiness and adaptability which will enable
him to turn his hand to the task that awaits him in the
workshop or factory. Working-class parents are them-
selves fully alive to the importance of obtaining this kind
of training for their children, as is shown by the recent
formation of the National Industrial Education League,
which has for its object the promotion of a system of
education for boys in the elementary schools which will
enable them to hold their own in the industrial world.
The formation of the various Trade Consultative Com-
mittees, which are now assisting the Council in its work of
technical education, also shows the importance which the
workers in the various trades attach to education. Another
sign of the present trend of thought is given by the fact
that a deputation from the metropolitan borough councils
recently called attention to the importance of making
education in elementary schools more practical."
The Committee regard this movement of public opinion
as " an indication of the method which the Council should
adopt in the organisation of the proposed schools. They
should be schools which will give their pupils a definite
bias towards some kind of industrial or commercial work
while ensuring that their intelligence should be fully
developed, and they should occupy a distinct position from
the secondary school. They should avowedly frame their
curricula with a view to the pupils leaving at an age
between 15 and 16. Their courses should be so framed
198 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
as to provide for the pupil tlie best possible equipment for
entering upon the industrial or commercial world as soon
as be leaves school, while at the same time qualifying him
to enter upon a special course of training for some
particular industry at a polytechnic or similar institution,
if he desires to continue his education further."1
In most of these superior primary schools the instruc-
tion is organised on a three or four years' basis. Generally,
however, comparatively few scholars remain to complete the
fourth year course. The classification of the pupils rests
on these annual courses, which are carefully correlated.
It is usual to allow a fairly liberal staff, one that enables
the organiser to attach a teacher to each class ; and in a
school of about 300 pupils and upwards still to have, at
least, two other members of the staff free for laboratory
work or art teaching. Generally, too, each class master or
mistress is a specialist in one subject which he or she
teaches in every part or some parts of the school : so that
specialisation may be said to play a dominant part in the
instruction. Most schools of this type have a definite bias
which is either wholly commercial or industrial. In some
cases, however, the bias is predominantly commercial, with
a smaller section industrial, or vice versa.
Whatever the bias, the organiser should be guided by
certain general principles in determining the curriculum,
syllabuses, courses, and the proper distribution of time
over the various subjects. Many of these principles are
indicated in connection with the discussion of time-tables
for the ordinary school ; but with regard to the type of
school now under consideration, there is a danger of loss
of balance in the training if the claims of the bias are not
adjusted to general needs.
1 Extract from the Report of the Education Committee of the
L.C. Council, 1910.
THE SUPERIOR PRIMARY SCHOOL.
199
The following principles should therefore operate in
drawing up the time-table : — (1) The education should be
broad enough to enable the scholar to adapt himself to any
occupation. (2) The courses and general method having
been definitely settled and adjusted to the end in view,
disturbing factors, such as preparation for examinations,
should not be introduced. (3) A modern language should,
as a rule, be included in the curriculum, and not less than
three hours a week devoted to it. (4) Every boy and
girl should go through an approved course of handicraft
and domestic economy respectively. (5) Scripture in-
struction should be given daily. (6) Arithmetical opera-
tions in connection with simple account-keeping — but not
set forms of book-keeping — should form part of the curri-
culum. (7) Shorthand and typewriting should not be
included in the courses of instruction, even in schools
with a commercial bias, until the third and fourth years
of training are respectively reached.
The following are abstracts of time-tables in operation
at highly successful schools : —
HIGHER GRADE SCHOOL.— BOYS' DEPARTMENT.
Time-table.
Subjects of Instruction.
1st Year.
2nd
Year.
3rd Year.
4tii Year.
Hr.
Min.
Hr.
Min.
lir.
Min.
Hr.
Min.
Reading
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
English, Composition, \
Spelling, G rammar,
5
30
5
30
4
0
4
0
Literature
History
Geography
French ...
1
1
3
30
30
0
1
1
o
30
30
0
I
1
o
.)
30
30
0
1
1
3
30
30
0
Mathematics ...
5
0
5
0
5
0
5
0
Chemistry, Theoretical
,, Practiced
1
0
1
0
I
1
0
30
1
1
0
30
Drawing, 2 hr. ; Singing, 1 hr. ; Scripture, 2hr. 30 min. ; Physical
Exercises, 1 hr. ; Recreation, 1 hr. 40 min. ; Registration, 50 min.
200
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
HIGHER GRADE SCHOOL —GIRLS' DEPARTMENT.
Time-table.
1st "
i'EAR.
2nd Year.
3rd Year.
4th Year.
Hr.
Min.
Hr.
Min.
Hr.
Min.
II r.
Min.
Arithmetic, inc. Mental
and Practical work
4
0
3
50
3
20
3
0
English Subjects, inc.
Literature and Comp.
6
30
5
20
5
0
5
0
History
1
0
1
10
1
10
1
10
(*eog. and Mapping ...
1
0
1
20
1
20
1
20
Drawing
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
0
Needlework ...
2
10
o
0
2
0
1
30
Science, inc. Hygiene . . .
0
40
0
40
0
40
0
30
Nature Study
0
40
0
40
1
10
1
30
Experimental
in Lab.
1
0
1
0
1
30
French
3
0
3
0
3
0
3
0
Domestic Subjects. — Average 2 hr. 45 min. per week. Deduction
spread over the above subjects according to the day, a.m. or p.m.
Registration ...
30 min.
weckl}'.
Scripture
. 2 hr.
30 min.
>'
Recreation
. 1 hr.
40 min.
) »
Physical Exercises .
. 1 hr.
ti
Singing
. 1 hr.
•>■>
THE SUPERIOR PRIMARY SCHOOL.
201
HIGHER GRADE SCHOOL.— MIXED DEPARTMENT.
Time-table.
Subjects of Instruction.
1ST"?
EAR.
2nd Year.
3rd ^
^EAR.
4th Year.
B.
G.
B.
G.
B.
G.
B.
G.
English
4-45
4-30
4-45
4-0
4-30
4-30
4-30
4-30
Mathematics
4-45
3-45
4-45
3-40
4-30
4-0
3-30
3-30
Geography...
1-30
1-15
1-30
1-20
1-30
1-30
1-30
1-30
History
1-30
1-40
1 -25
1-30
1-30
1-30
1-15
1-30
Science
2-0
1-30
2-45
2-10
3-25
3-0
4-0
4-0
French
3-0
3-0
3-0
3-0
3-30
3-30
4-0
4-0
Drawing ...
2-20
2-20
2-20
2-20
1-0
1-45
1-0
1-20
Prac. Geometry and
Mech. Drawing...
40
45
1-20
50
1-30
1-0
Singing
45
45
45
45
45
Manual Training ...
2-20
2-20
2-20
2-20
Needlework
2-30
2-30
2-15
1-30
Domestic Subjects .
2-20
2-20
Home Work, Exam.
and Setting
1-15
1-15
1-15
1-15
1-15
1-15
1-15
1-15
Physical Exercises, 1 hr. ; Recreation, 1 hr. 40 min. ;
Scripture, 2 hr. 30 min.
HIGHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.— MIXED DEPARTMENT.
Time
-TABLE.
Subjects of Instruction.
1st Year.
2nd Year.
3rd Year.
4tii Year.
B.
G.
B.
G.
B. G.
B. G.
French
3-0
3-0
3-0
3-0
3-0 3-0
3-0 30
English Subjects ...
4-0
4-0
4-0
40
3-30 3-30
3-30 3-30
History
2-0
2-0
2-0
2-0
20 2-0
2-0 2-0
Geography...
2-0
2-0
2-0
20
2-0 2-0
2-0 2-0
Mathematics
4-0
3-0
4-0
30
4-0 3 0
4-0 3-0
Practical Science ...
2-0
1-40
20
1-40
3-0 2-10
3-0 2-10
Drawing ...
2-0
1-0
2-0
1-0
2-0 1-30
2-0 1-30
Music
1-0
1-0
1-0
1-0
30 30
(Choir)
30 30
(Choir)
Man. Training (B.)
2-20
220
2-20
2-20
Needlework (G.) ...
220
2-20
2-20
2-20
Dom. Subjects (G. )
2-20
2-20
220
2-20
Drill, 1 hr. ; Scripture, 2 hr. 30 min. ; Recreation, 1 hr. 40 min.
Note. — The Science for the Girls to be correlated with the Domestic Subjects.
202
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
CENTRAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS.
1st Year.
2nd Year.
3rd Year.
4th Year.
Subject.
Hr.
Min.
Hr.
Min.
Hr.
Min.
Hr.
Min.
Recreation
1
40
1
40
1
40
1
40
Scripture
2
30
2
30
2
30
2
30
Algebra
1
20
1
40
1
40
1
20
Geometry
1
20
1
40
1
20
Arithmetic (a)
3
0
2
40
3
0
3
40
Eng. Gram. & Comp. ...
40
2
20
2
20
2
40
Readg., Rec, & Liter.
1
20
1
20
1
40
1
40
History
1
20
1
20
1
20
1
20
Geography
1
40
1
40
1
30
1
20
French ...
3
20
3
20
3
50
3
50
Science...
1
50
1
50
1
20
Physical Exercises ...
50
50
1
0
50
Singing (6)
40
40
40
40
Manual Training
2
20
2
20
Drawing
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
Shorthand
2
0
2
20
Business Methods
2
0
Writing and Spelling
40
40
40
40
(a) Including business accounts.
(?>) Or Private Study for those whose voices are breaking.
General Note. — In all these Time-tables, whether the subjects are specified in the
abstracts or not, Manual Training for Boys and Domestic Economy for Girls ai-e
taken. Where not specified, they are taken at the expense of one or more other
subjects named in the table.
TIIE SUPERIOR PRIMARY SCHOOL.
203
TIME TABLE » FOR A HIGHER ELEMENTARY PRUSSIAN
SCHOOL (BOYS').
Subjects of Instruction.
Number of Weekly Hours.
(Highest.)
(Lowest.)
1.
2
ir.
ill.
IV.
V.
VI.
3
Religion
2
2
3
3
German, inch Reading and Writing .
4
6
8
12
12
12
Arithmetic
3
3
3
5
5
o
Elements of Geometry
Natural Science
3
2
Q
2
2
2
— -
—
—
Physics (Chemistry) ...
Geography
History ... ...
French (or English) ...
3
2
2
5
2
2
2
5
o
2
5
o
4-1
—
— ■
Drawing
2
2
2
2
—
—
Singing
Gymnastics
2
2
32
2
2
32
2
2
32
2
2
28
2
2
24
2
2
24
Total
The superior primary schools of Germany are similar to
some of the higher grade type (not the higher elementary)
in this country, inasmuch as the lower classes correspond
to those in the ordinary primary school. In France, how-
ever, the Ecoles primaires superieures 2 are built somewhat
on the lines of the higher elementary here. A pupil of the
regular elementary school, having obtained the certificat
(V etudes (leaving certificate), can go to the superior
1 See History and Organisation of PvUic Education in the German
Empire, by Dr. Lexis.
2 See Special Reports, Vol. 7.
204 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
primary school for a three years' course of instruction.
During the first year the instruction is of a general
character, but for the second and third year pupils the
curriculum is divided into three sections or courses, to any
one of which the pupil must give his exclusive attention.
These courses are designated (1) the Commercial, (2) the
Industrial, (3) the Agricultural. Theory and practice are
judiciously blended. There is no attempt to teach a
business or trade. The idea is, in the closing years of
school life, that a child should have an opportunity, under
careful guidance, of developing his powers on the lines
suitable to his particular bent.
In Holland the Burgher and Higher Burgher schools
occupy an intermediate position between the regular
elementary and the higher secondary schools (Gymnasia).
The curricula, however, of the Higher Burgher schools are
generally of a more ambitious type than that of the higher
elementary schools in this country.
The Contributory School. — The Contributory school,
being a regular elementary school with its seven or eight
grades or standards, holds relatively to the superior
primary school a position of remote subordination, inas-
much as the finer material in its upper classes is subject
to requisition. The novelty of this position, when first
created, naturally led to heart-burnings on the part of
some of the teachers of the Contributory schools. On the
whole, however, they displayed a worthy public spirit by
the way in which most of the superior schools were
supported, when time had smoothed away the earlier
apprehensions. It was recognised that though the Con-
tributory system had its defects, the educational gain, by
the transfer of selected scholars to the superior primary
school, outweighed them many times.
THE CONTINUATION SCHOOL. 205
There can be no doubt that the child who migrates from
school to school suffers by the change in many ways ; but
this does not apply to the passage of the older children
from the ordinary to the superior primary school. The
means of minimising the educational loss caused chiefly
through capricious or necessary migration is one of serious
moment. Various partial remedies have been suggested : —
(1) The adoption of a uniform educational year for all
schools ; (2) A practically uniform curriculum for schools
in the same educational area ; (3) An organised system
promoted by the local education authority to prevent
capricious migration from school to school.
The Continuation School.— This term, as understood
here, applies to both day and evening classes that provide
for technical or general training, or for the continuation of
a pupil's education, after leaving the regular day school.
The whole of these classes may be divided into (1) Day
classes, (2) Evening classes, (3) Correspondence classes.
(1) Bay Classes. — The Day classes have mostly been
established at technical institutes for the use of artisans
and apprentices in skilled trades, the employers co-operat-
ing with the educational authority for this purpose. In
England the general and intimate connection between the
industries on the one hand and education on the other, such
as exists in America, is mostly wanting. There is, how-
ever, evidence that this country is awakening to the import-
ance of the link since attention has been so forcibly directed
to the practice of other countries in this connection.
Thus in several large towns certain employers of labour
are allowing apprentices likely to profit by a course of
special training to attend suitable classes during the day
at the technical institutes, attendance at such classes being
deemed practically equivalent to attendance at the works.
20G SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Middlesborough, Birmingham, Swindon, and Woolwich
may be cited as examples. Exhibitions, too, in various
subjects, instituted by some local authorities, provide for
free education in approved evening classes.
The Woolwich Arsenal authorities have co-operated with
the governors of the Polytechnic in the district in order
to insure the proper technical training of lads engaged
in the Royal Arsenal. During the first three years of
apprenticeship a lad receives instruction in prescribed sub-
jects at the Polytechnic during one afternoon and three
evenings a week, the minimum time being ten hours.
Regularity of attendance, good conduct, and sound applica-
tion are insisted upon. Each lad pays a small annual fee
to cover instruction, cost of books, drawing outfit and
paper, such fees being refunded by the Arsenal authority
if attendance and progress have been satisfactory through-
out the year. Attendance is also compulsory in the fourth
year, but is confined to the evenings only and a choice of
studies is then permissible, as seen below.
Fourth Year Course. — Three evenings per week for
forty weeks. Subjects — Lads will make a choice from the
following subjects, the course of study to be approved in
each case by the Principal of the Polytechnic : — Practical
Plane and Solid Geometry, Mechanical Engineering, Elec-
trical Engineering, Mathematics, Mechanics (Theoretical
and Applied), Experimental Physics (Sound, Heat, Optics,
Electricity, Magnetism), Chemistry, Metallurgy, Building
Trades subjects, and such other subjects as may be ap-
proved from time to time.
In the laboratories the lads work in pairs, but each one
must keep, in a book provided for the purpose, a record of
the experiments made. The Principal of the Polytechnic
sends weekly reports on each lad's conduct and work to
the chief superintendent of the Arsenal.
CONTINUATION SCHOOLS. 20?
In order to encourage home work and to insure its being
done under favourable conditions, a room is reserved for
the lads at the Polytechnic and a teacher placed in charge
of it. This supervision, besides quietude of study, secures
assistance to individual students who may stand in need
of help. This work of preparation involved in private
study is compulsory and is included in the ten hours
already mentioned.
It is now recognised that technical schools should get
into touch, and maintain intimate relations, with those
employers whose apprentices and workmen are likely to
profit by a course of technical training. Such employers
can, as a rule, tender valuable advice concerning the kind
of studies desirable for their employees.
In a town in the north of England a number of appren-
tices are set free from their employment at certain times
in order that they may attend classes specially arranged
for them in the local technical school in engineering
and allied trades ; the courses extend over two sessions
of eight months each ; students in their first year attend
for one morning and one afternoon a week, and those in
their second year for two afternoons a week, or four hours
in all. The fees are paid by the employers ; the appren-
tices pay for books and materials, but receive their wages
for the periods of absence from work granted to enable
them to attend the classes. The time spent by apprentices
in attendance at the day classes is counted in their term
of apprenticeship, and preference is given by the employers
in filling vacancies in their works to those who attend the
classes. The employers are represented on the governing
body of the technical school.
The local education authority at a railway centre in the
south of England has provided in the technical institute
classes for engineering apprentices in the employment of
208 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
the railway company. The apprentices are allowed to
attend a four years' course, arranged in the case of the
first year of instruction for 2| hours for one morning a
week, and in the case of the second, third, and fourth
years for 3^ hours a week, spread over two mornings.
Again, at a railway centre in the north of England, the
technical school carries on a course on the construction and
management of the locomotive to meet the requirements of
the engine drivers, firemen, and engine cleaners ; the in-
struction is for two hours on one morning a week.
In a centre of chemical manufacture special arrange-
ments are made for the instruction of trade apprentices of
large engineering and chemical works. In the case of one
firm the employers require that their employees shall
attend an evening school until they are 19 years of age;
but some of the apprentices of this and of another firm
are allowed to attend for instruction for four hours on
two afternoons a week for 40 weeks in the year during
the last two years of their apprenticeship, without loss of
wages during their absence from the works ; the employers
pay the fees for these classes, and attendance there is
regarded by them as a very important part of the ap-
prenticeship.
In a large industrial centre the local education authority
has provided apprentice day courses for engineering,
plumbers' work, and painters' and decorators' work ; the
various courses range over two or more years and involve
attendance for one whole day a week throughout the year.1
Day classes at technical institutes are also available for
those who, before assuming the responsibities of appren-
ticeship, desire to go through a course of specialised in-
struction relating to the trade or technical profession they
propose to adopt.
1 Vide Report of the Board of Education 1908-1909.
CONTINUATION SCHOOLS. 209
Such institutions afford systematic instruction in day
classes in courses extending over two or more years,
and adapted for the preparation of young men for em-
ployment in connection with the trades, manufactures, and
commerce of the country; they also provide the higher
courses of specialised instruction in science in relation to
particular industries. Corresponding provision is made
for advanced instruction in art in the daytime, under
conditions which lend themselves to the arrangement of
courses of instruction aiming at the preparation of
students for work connected with the applications of
art to the industries.
(2) Evening Schools. — These necessarily vary in kind
according to diversity of conditions in various localities.
Roughly, for the larger centres of population, the evening
schools may be classified under —
(i) Ordinary schools, meeting generally three or four times
a week from 7.30 to 9.30 p.m.
(ii) Commercial schools, meeting generally five evenings a
week from 7 to 10 o'clock.
(iii) Science and Art schools, meeting generally five even-
ings a week and on Saturday mornings.
(iv) Technical Institutes and Polytechnics. Day and
evening classes.
(v) Schools of Art. Day and evening classes.
As a condition precedent to the earning of grants, these
schools must conform to the Eegulations of the Board of
Education for technical schools, schools of art, and other
forms of provision for further education. These regula-
tions are to some extent wide in order to enable local
authorities to establish classes suitable to the economical
conditions and industrial needs of the district.
Students may not be registered for grant-earning pur-
s. o. 10
210 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
poses who are under twelve years of age, or who are earn-
ing grant under other regulations of the Board.
The organisation of ordinary evening schools has been
generally based on subjects of instruction, each class being,
as it were, a miniature school in itself. The courses of
instruction have been either mostly directed to the im-
provement of the general education, or confined within the
narrow channels of purely vocational claims, and usually
arranged to cover a session of seven or eight months'
duration. While plans of this nature are serviceable up
to a point, they generally involve much dissipation of
energy, because that sustained interest is missing which
accompanies a broader based and more organised course
of study. Organised courses extending over periods
from two to four years are therefore gradually becom-
ing the dominant feature in evening school organisation.
The one-subject basis is no longer a tenable one, and
must be displaced by the organised course, which may
now be regarded as the unit in evening school classifi-
cation.
The name Commercial schools suggests the subjects
of instruction. They aim at such preparation as will
enable pupils to qualify for commercial life, or at the
extended usefulness of those students already engaged
in it.
The Science and Art schools generally arrange specific
courses of instruction in the various sciences, etc., recog-
nised by the Board of Education. Laboratory or practical
work supplements the theoretical lessons. No provision is
made, as a rule, for technical instruction on the lines of
trade classes.
The technical institutes and schools of art, on the other
hand, generally specialise in the direction of trade classes
and in art training as applied to the industries. Many
LINKING DAT WITH EVENING SCHOOLS. 211
polytechnics, however, include in their curricula such sub-
jects as are taught in the commercial schools, and also, in
a more advanced form, many of the subjects taught at the
science and art schools.
It is interesting to note that Messrs. Brunner, Mond
and Co., of Cheshire, have made it a rule not to employ
any boy unless he has passed Standard VI. and undertakes
to attend an evening school until he is 19 years of age.
This firm's determination has had a salutary effect upon
the youths in the neighbourhood in the way of encouraging
evening education.
There should, of course, in every district, be a complete
link and a well-defined co-ordination between various even-
ing institutions, and provision made for the educational
needs of every section of the community.
Some means of linking the Day with the Evening
School : —
(i) That the first step in linking the day and evening
schools should be to secure effective co-operation from the
head teacher of the day school, who should accept some
measure of moral responsibility for the immediate passage
of his scholars to the evening classes.
(ii) That children in attendance at day schools should
be allowed to attend the ordinary evening schools, pro-
vided they have attained the age of 13 on July 31st pre-
ceding the opening of the evening schools, or are exempt
from attendance at day school, though actually in attend-
ance there, the conditions being —
(a) That they be admitted free of charge.
(6) That the consent of the head teacher be given
to the child's attendance at evening school.
(c) That the time of attendance be limited as a rule
to two evenings a week.
212 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
(iii) That scholars who are legally exempt from further
attendance at day school should be admitted free to an
ordinary evening school on the recommendation of their
head teacher, provided they join that evening school
within one month of the earliest possible date after leaving
the day school.
(iv) That children who have obtained a leaving certifi-
cate from a higher elementary school or higher grade
school having no standard below the fifth, and who are
certified by their head teachers as being qualified to profit
by the teaching afforded in a commercial centre, be ad-
mitted to the centre without payment of fees; provided
application for admission is made within one month of the
earliest possible date after leaving the higher elementary
or higher grade school.
(v) Co-operation should be secured through old scholars'
clubs, brigades, school newspapers, etc., associated with the
day school.
(vi) A list of evening schools in the immediate neigh-
bourhood, with subjects generally taught and conditions
of admission thereto, should be placed on a board to be
fixed in the hall, corridor, or senior class-room of the day
school.
(vii) The head teacher and staff should seize seasonable
opportunities for directing the attention of scholars to the
evening schools.
(viii) A small pamphlet on the evening schools, setting
forth reasons which should induce boys and girls to con-
tinue their education, would be valuable. Examples should
be cited how men and women have become a great force in
the State through continuing their education in the even-
ings. This pamphlet should be placed in the scholar's
hands at the beginning of the last year at the day
school.
LINKING DAY WITH EVENING SCHOOLS. 2l3
(ix) As far as possible scholars should be encouraged
to attend that evening school to which their day school is
contributory.
(x) Day school scholars in their last year might be
invited occasionally to attend lantern and other lectures
on interesting subjects at the evening school.
(xi) At day school prize distribution meetings the atten-
tion of the scholars should be always directed to the evening
classes. The managers should be requested to co-operate
on these and other points concerning the continuance of
education in the evenings.
(xii) The head teacher of the day school should forward
a list of scholars once a month to the responsible teacher
of the evening class, the list to include those scholars
who will be 14 years of age during the following month,
and others who, in the opinion of the head teacher, will
be leaving about that time.
(xiii) The head teacher and the responsible teacher of
the evening school to which the day school is contributory
should endeavour to interview the parent during the last
month of the scholar's attendance at the day school with a
view of securing the parent's co-operation in evening
school attendance.
(xiv) Exhibits of work done in the evening school
should be shown in a case placed in the hall, corridor, or
senior class-room of the day school.
(xv) Each ordinary evening school should be so func-
tioned as to meet generally the further educational needs
of the great majority of the scholars in its contributory day
schools.
(xvi) Monthly popular lectures in connection with each
evening school or group of schools are desirable, to which
parents and day school scholars might be admitted on
certain conditions.
214 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
(xvii) There should be perfect co- operation between the
head teachers of the day schools and the responsible
teacher of the evening school to which the day schools are
attached. Occasional conferences between these officers are
desirable.
(xviii) The responsible teacher should notify the head
teacher of the day school of a scholar's first attendance at
the evening school.
Some Continuation Schools Abroad. — In the United
States manual training and trade schools reach a high state
of perfection. The close relationship between the technical
institutes and the industries, and the determination of
employers to have their apprentices thoroughly educated,
make educational and industrial progress comparatively
easy. The Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia,1
for example, "take apprentices at 17 for four years, who
must have had ' a good common school education ' ; they
are required to attend night schools during the first three
years of their apprenticeship."
An apprentice of the second class must have had a high
school training, including the mathematical courses usual
in such schools. He must attend night schools for the
study of mechanical drawing for at least two years unless
he has already sufficiently acquired the art.
Free evening lectures are given in the public schools
of New York. These are largely attended by adults.
Discussion is encouraged, and the free libraries of
the city co-operate to lend books to the auditors who
desire to enter more deeply into the subject of the
lecture.
In many parts of G-ermany2 attendance at the evening
1 Report of Mosely Education Commission.
2 See Special Reports, Vol. 9, Continuation Schools of Berlin ;
also Board of Education's Educational Pamphlets, No. 18. "At
CONTINUATION SCHOOLS. 215
school is compulsory from 14 to 16, or 14 to 18, years of
age, unless the student has already reached a satisfactory
standard of educational attainment. This compulsion is
of a stern type, for the student must learn, and the em-
ployer is forced to give the time necessary for it. From
the ordinary evening schools of Berlin have grown such
institutions as the " Handwerkerschulen," which, as the
name implies, are schools for apprentices and artisans.
In many of the trade schools there are courses of in-
struction extending over a period of four years. These
courses are so arranged that attendance at the lessons
need not be continuous throughout the year. An artisan,
for example, could attend during the winter months only,
and give up the summer months to the practical work of
earning a livelihood, and so complete the full course of
instruction in this alternative way. The ordinary German
Strassburg, on leaving school at the end of his fourteenth year, a boy
must at once, whether he has already found work or not, join one
of the following, and a statement to that effect appears on his
leaving certificate : — {a) The General Continuation Course (for un-
skilled workers), [b) One of the Technical Courses (gewerbliche).
(c) One of the Courses for Building or other Industries, {d) The
Commercial Course. " — Educational Pamphlets, No. 18.
Also, "as the time for his leaving the day school draws near, the
town authorities and his teachers show their interest in the boy's
choice of a calling. The parents will perhaps have been invited to
an informal conference, to have the intention and procedure of tho
Labour Bureau explained to them, and they will have received a
pamphlet informing them of the various trades and employments in
the district, and the prospects in each. No pressure is exercised on
them as to the choice of an occupation, but the school does sufficient
to awaken them to the evil of letting their children drift into
irregular employment, and the authority of the schoolmaster is
exerted to insist on the children going to the bureau repeatedly till
they have found a post." — Educational Pamphlets, No. 18, Compul-
sory Continuation Schools in Germany.
216 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
evening schools are much the same as those in the large
towns of the north of England.
Holland shows a similar enterprise to Germany in the
establishment of trade schools with day and evening sec-
tions, and of other continuation schools of a commercial
and general character.
The Ordinary Elementary Day School.
Teachers Giving Partial Time or Visiting Teachers.
— Exigencies of school life sometimes demand the employ-
ment of occasional teachers for certain subjects. In the
case of a mixed school presided over by a master and with-
out the permanent aid of an assistant mistress, a woman
must be employed to give the necessary instruction in
needlework. In like manner, a drill instructor is some-
times engaged to superintend the physical side of the
scholars' training.
Of recent years there has been a tendency towards
specialisation in certain subjects. Visiting teachers have
therefore greatly increased in number. These are mostly
employed in giving instruction in science, art, and modern
languages, their work being supplemented by members of
the ordinary staff. This arrangement, however, cannot be
considered satisfactory. The visiting teacher is neces-
sarily too remote to be effective. It would be far better if
each member of the permanent staff specialised in one
subject.
Pupil Teachers.1 — Pupil teachers, who must be over
16 and not over 18 years of age — with exceptions in favour
1 See Schedule II. B, Art. 11 (a), Code 1910, and Regulations for
the Preliminary Education of Elementary School Teachers, Chaps.
I. to V.
PUPIL TEACHERS. 217
of rural districts — are normally recognised for a period
of two years. Tiiey must be (a) trained in teaching in
a public elementary school, and (b) instructed at a
secondary school or elsewhere, as approved by the Board of
Education. They must have one whole day in each week
" free from employment or other requirement." Other-
wise it is the official expectation that the pupil teacher's
time shall be fairly equally distributed between training
in teaching and instruction. Arrangements for the train-
ing and instruction of pupil teachers have varied so much
in different educational areas that it is not proposed to
summarise them here. The practice in large towns has
generally been, however, fairly uniform, the pupil teacher
spending one half of the week in school and the other
half at the secondary school or pupil teachers' centre,
with minor holiday intermissions. In lieu of this plan,
the " block system," by which a term or half -year devoted
wholly to training in school is alternated with a corre-
sponding period given up entirely to academic studies, has
been introduced in some educational areas.
But whatever system is adopted, it is eminently desirable
that theory on the academic side should fit in with the actual
work of training at the school.
The regulations of the Board of Education are intended
to secure for the pupil teacher a more complete and con-
tinuous education, and to make the period of service in an
elementary school a time of probation and training rather
than of too early practice in teaching.
It is undesirable for pupil teachers to be held entirely
responsible for a class. The staff should be sufficient
and suitable without this aid, and the school should, of
•course, be adapted to the requirements of their training.
At the same time practice in teaching is essential. This
can be secured by a systematised course of criticism lessons,
218 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
and by allowing the pupil teacher to have charge of a small
portion of a class for a short time under the direct super-
vision of the head teacher or a certificated assistant.
When not thus engaged, he should have as much
variety of teaching as possible with other classes, the
upper sections being generally excepted, and be brought
into close contact with school routine. Listening atten-
tively to the class teachers and carefully noting their
methods is a valuable exercise — a foundation on which to
build ; but this type of exercise must have strict limitations
put upon it. Without a sense of increasing responsibility
and growing power in the management of children and a
fair knowledge of the conditions of general and individual
progress, the training of a pupil teacher in the art of
teaching cannot become a reality. A properly graduated
course of school training, increasing in difficulty and
scope as the articled time advances, should be a part
of the working scheme of every school having pupil
teachers : " Registers l showing the time spent by each
pupil teacher in employment or training," and full re-
cords of its nature, must be kept by the head teacher of
the school.
Definite times should be assigned for observation ar-
ranged on a consecutive basis. All lessons thus observed
should be analysed by the pupil teacher; and in this
analysis the aim of the lesson, the method employed, and
any other material points should be indicated. In exam-
ining this report of the pupil teacher, the class teacher
should see that the relationship between the different
parts of the lesson is appreciated — the adaptation of
method to aim in its application. Practice in actual
teaching to sections of a class or to a whole class, in the
1 Schedule II. B. (11). See also under " Student Teachers " sug-
gestions for the distribution of time in school.
STUDENT TEACHEKS. 219
form either of a criticism lesson founded on rough notes,
or of the repetition of a lesson already given by the class
teacher, is, of course, necessary : and this practice should as
far as possible represent a connected series. In the earliest
stages of training whole lessons should not be given, but
only parts, the class teacher coming in, at an appropriate
time, to continue the teaching.
Indeed the whole scheme of work for the pupil teacher
must be thoughtfully designed to cover the full course of
training. The parts should be so connected that each will
naturally lead to the other, and both a priori and in their
finality reveal an organised unity.
Pupil Teacherships of Handicraft are recognised in some
educational areas. There are also Domestic Economy
and Art Pupil Teacherships.
Student Teachers.1 — These may form part of the staff
subject to certain provisions imposed by the Board of
Education. Foremost amongst these provisions are: (1) The
local authority must put into operation a satisfactory
scheme for the supervision of student teachers and their
training in the art of teaching. (2) Each student teacher, if
not a bursar, must be over 17 years of age. (3) He or she
will be generally recognised for one year, but this recogni-
tion may be extended to two years. (4) Attendance at
school may not exceed eight meetings in any one week.
(5) The head teacher must keep registers showing the
time spent in training and " full records of the manner in
which it was employed." (6) He or she must have passed
the Preliminary Certificate Examination or " some other
examination accepted by the Board as a qualification for
entrance to a Training College."
1 Arts. 11 and 12, Code 1910, and Chaps. VI. and VII., Regula-
tions for the Vreliminary Education of Elementary School Teachers.
A criticism
lesson at least
once a week, to
be followed by
advisory re-
marks of the
head teacher
on method and
disciplinary
effects.
v..
220 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Distribution of time spent in school might usefully take
the following form for a year's course —
" First Term : — Half time in observation
and the other half divided equally
between practice with the class
teacher and independent ! practice,
Second Term : — One-third of time given
to each of the following — observation,
practice with the class teacher,
independent practice.
Third Term : — One-fourth of time to ob-
servation, half time to independent
practice, one-fourth to practice with
class teacher.
On the academic side, student teachers must attach
themselves to a training college or kindred institution
that becomes responsible for the direction of their studies
and to some extent for the supervision of their training.
It is a fairly general practice to allow the student-
teacher to work, by turns, in nearly every class. Consider-
ing the short period of training, this is not desirable.
There should at least be an anchorage class in charge of
one of the most capable assistants, where the student
teacher should spend about one-half to three-fourths of
his or her time, the remaining time being devoted to other
classes and to the acquirement of a knowledge of school
records and general routine. Under other arrangements
than these the work becomes too diffused ; and accord-
ingly impressions cannot be deep and lasting, nor can the
training be really effective.
1 " Independent " is not necessarily used in the absolute sense.
It refers here to the charge of a complete class under competent
supervision, which may or may not be operative, or to the charge
of a section of a class.
TEACHERS. 221
The distribution of time l over the various phases of
class life suggested above is intended to meet all ordinary
cases. Sometimes, however, a student teacher shows at
once a natural aptitude for teaching and an exceptional
power of control over children. In such cases, less time
should be given to observation in the first term, and more
time to actual working practice.
Absences of Teachers. — The absences of teachers
through illness and other transient causes are generally
disturbing elements in the life of a school. The extent
of the disturbance, however, depends greatly on the
numerical and qualitative strength of the staff. The
department that is staffed only up to minimum require-
ments naturally feels these disturbances most; whereas
generous staffing arrangements enable the head teacher
to fill up the gap promptly. If the head teacher is not
otherwise tied to a class it is his duty to fill the vacant
position, supposing no other qualified member of the staff
is available.
It, however, often happens that the hands of each teacher
are otherwise full ; and as a class must be controlled and
taught, it becomes necessary to devise some temporary
expedient for meeting the emergency. Such expedients
must, of course, vary according to circumstances. In
practice they often involve a departure from the time-table,
which should be avoided if possible. All departures from
the time table, by the way, should be logged and the cir-
cumstances stated. It goes without saying that the wisest
course to pursue is the one that involves the least deviation
from every-day practice, and also fairly meets the needs of
the teacherless class.
1 This might appty equally to pupil teachers, with slight modifi-
cations to meet individual cases.
222 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
This is generally effected by an alternation of private
study (or any quiet individual work such as writing a.nd
drawing) and class teaching in two adjoining classes, the
one teacher, with such minor aids as are ordinarily available
in a school, distributing oral lessons over the two classes,
and also guiding private effort and testing its results as far
as possible. The occasional practice of putting two classes
into one room and overcrowding it, must be condemned.
When, however, a commodious room is available into which
the two classes can be conveniently put, oral lessons might
be given to the combined class in certain subjects, if the
attainments of scholars are not widely different ; or, as in
the other instance, private study and oral lessons might
alternate.
Other devices are sometimes practised, under stress of
circumstances, not always in conformity with the letter of
official regulations. The main thing, however, is the spirit
of these regulations, which should be scrupulously observed.
It is pleaded in these cases that necessity knows no law,
and that an unduly severe view cannot be taken of an
exceptional position of a temporary character that has, all
things considered, been met in a reasonable manner,
Supply Teachers. — The inconveniences caused by the
absences of teachers point to the wisdom — when there is
no organised system of " supplies," prompt to fill up
vacancies, especially sudden and unexpected ones — of
giving each department a marginal or liberal staff. This
is apparently done to a large extent in the United States.
"It is universally recognised that teachers should not
be actually teaching all through the school day : 20 or 22
periods of actual teaching out of 30 seem about the general
rule." l Again, Mr. Gr. Andrew, in his Report to the Scotch
1 Mosely Education Commission Report. — W. G. Fletcher.
TEACHERS. 223
Education Department on the Schools of Berlin and
Charlottenburg, says, "A teacher gives, as a rule, from 24
to 28 hours' instruction in a week, out of a possible 32
hours."
Non-provided schools have suffered more through the
absences of teachers than the Council schools, because the
latter, in most large areas, have the advantage of a system
of " supply " teachers. But now that both Council and
non-provided schools are mostly under the direction of
the same local authority, which is either directly or
ultimately responsible for their efficiency, there is no reason
why both classes of schools should not equally profit by
an organised system of "supply" teachers. Indeed this
is generally so now. In the metropolitan area " supplies"
consist of —
(1) " Unattached " teachers, practically in the permanent
service, who may be sent to any school within the
administrative area to fill a temporary vacancy,
and who are under the direct control of the central
office.
(2) " Supply " teachers casually employed at the instance
of the district correspondent, when unattached
teachers are not available, who may send supplies
to any school within his jurisdiction to fill occasional
vacancies of a temporary character.
The Head Teacher. — The Head Teacher is generally
teacher, director, and superintendent. His opportunities
for good are great and many. His responsibilities are,
therefore, commensurate therewith. No one could desire
a more responsive field for sowing good seed than that
represented, as a rule, by the scholars of a school. The
head teacher's influence must depend primarily on his
strength of character.
224 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
In order that the sum of his influences may be great
over both staff and pupils, the following are the chief
qualities and powers it is desirable for him to possess :
(1) lofty sense of duty ; (2) broad sympathy — not willingly
" to brush the down from a butterfly's wing " ; (3) sound
judgment ; (4) power of insight into character ; (5) love
of his work ; (6) originality or initiative, and belief in
"the continual law of progress"; (7) self-control; (8)
organising power; (9) firmness; (10) persuasive powers
of speech ; (11) general purity of character ; and
(12) ability to breathe the spirit of it into the school.
Of course this array of qualities is somewhat ideal. A
detailed knowledge of school work is presumed.
It should be borne in mind that every head teacher
worthy of the name is generally regarded by his scholars"
as an ideal personality possessing extraordinary know-
ledge, and gifted, too, beyond the run of ordinary mortals.
Honour, justice, truth are presumed to govern all his
actions. This general and illimitable faith, combined with
the reality of his own powers, are forces which he can direct
to perfect the organisation and control of his school. The
greatest care and circumspection are of course necessary if
the scholars' ideal is to remain unsullied and unshattered
amidst the daily provocations to which he is subjected.
Self- watchfulness ought to be his constant sentinel.
The principal duties of the head teacher are included in
(1) organisation, (2) supervision, (3) teaching, and (4)
examination ; or, to use official phraseology, " the general
control and supervision of the instruction and discipline."
The special aim of the school, its size, the number and
capabilities of the assistant teachers, the character of the
building are factors in determining a wise distribution of
time over these various parts of a head teacher's work.
The salient features of organisation are too evident to
THE HEAD TEACHER. 225
be indicated in this connection ; but two or three points
are worthy of note here. Although the word " standard "
has been deleted from the Code so far as it applies to
classification, the standards are still retained in name and
scope as standards of examination for certificates of pro-
ficiency. In practice, however, they are still used to define
courses of instruction applicable to classes, though there
is much evidence of freedom from the trammels they
originally imposed. The liberty of unrestricted classifica-
tion— unrestricted, that is, within reasonable limits — has
been utilised by the adoption, in suitable cases, of interme-
diate courses between one standard and another, and by
other departures from the old lines, making for greater
changes still. But in this respect each school must
discover for itself what courses are best suited for its own
development, as local circumstances vary so greatly.
Sometimes a classification is adopted based on attain-
ments and aptitudes of scholars in one or more subjects,
as distinguished from their general attainments in all
subjects — this latter being the basis on which classes are
usually organised. For example, the school being arranged
in classes according to general attainments, a scholar in,
say, Standard IV. may possess exceptional talent in draw-
ing, and have but poor ability in number. The head
teacher can then, if he pleases, allow this scholar to receive
instruction in all other subjects in Standard IV. and
place him for drawing in Standard VI. and for arith-
metic in Standard II. Indeed the whole school may be
organised on this plan. Time-table difficulties, however,
arise in this connection.
It is generally desirable, for example, to have longer
lessons in the upper than in the lower school ; but if
the above principle were largely or wholly applied, it would
be necessary to have most, if not all, lessons commencing
s. o. 17
226 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
and ending at the same time. In practice, therefore, it is
found not to work well, as a rule, in an elementary school,
if put extensively into operation. Probably the best
application of this principle of cross classification — as it
may be called — is a limited one founded on the few cases
of exceptional ability in a certain direction on the one
hand, and one-sided dulness on the other, which are
invariably present in every school.
Departmental teaching, referred to elsewhere, founded on
the apparently logical basis of subjects rather than classes,
is somewhat allied to this system of cross classification,
inasmuch as both are founded on subjects : in the former
case the subject is primarily associated with the teacher,
and in the latter case with the scholar.
Supervision cannot, of course, be complete, and must
indeed be defective, when the head teacher is solely re-
sponsible for a class. The degree, therefore, with which
this can be carried out must depend on the amount of
school freedom he possesses. An able and liberal assistant
staff will confer all the liberty he can reasonably desire.
It is a mistake, however, to allow even supervision to be
too engrossing — to be a gulf swallowing up most of the
time — for colleagues should be trusted until they are
found wanting, and supervision merely involves a general,
and only occasionally a particular, watchfulness over the
application of syllabuses, methods of instructions, home
lessons, discipline, and degree of observance of organised
plans generally.
It ought not to be necessary for any head teacher,
possessing firmness of decision and ordinary force of
character, to repeat his requests twice, before they are
accepted and applied by every member of the staff.
Besides, excessive supervision is not conducive to that
good relationship between hea/1 and assistants which ought
THE HEAD TEACHER. 227
to characterise every school. Young and inexperienced
assistant masters and mistresses, of course, need more
supervision and guidance than others.
And under direction and supervision comes a possible
phase of the head teacher's work, which, on account of
its limited field, is liable to receive at his hands less atten-
tion than it deserves, viz. the training of pupil and student
teachers, who are to fall into the professional ranks later,
and to take the heavy responsibilities which such action
involves. The standard of training and example that is
set before them will, if high, live in achievement in future
generations, and will bring home to the giver, in its own
time, a beautiful satisfaction ; but if, on the other hand, it
is perfunctory or low, or indifferent, they may fail in their
future work, and will certainly enter the battle with a
broken lance. Indeed, it may be said that the head teacher's
general effectiveness can be accurately measured by the
degree of success achieved in the training of would-be and
young teachers.
One of the most important functions that a head teacher
is called upon to discharge is that which refers to actual
teaching. A certain amount of time per week, about ten
or twelve hours, ought, as far as possible, regularly to be
given to this work. It is inadvisable for the head teacher
to confine his attentions in this respect to one or even two
classes — assuming that there are many classes — but to
distribute his teaching over the whole school from time to
time, giving weak spots and the upper classes, particularly
the first class, a little more of his individuality and power
than the others. The intimate relationship between the
head and the scholars established by this direct teaching
puts him into more sensitive communication with the
pulse of the school. He can better estimate by this means
the value of the training which the pupils are receiving,
228 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
than by mere examination, which, after all, only brings out
the less important side of a good education. These lessons,
too, should serve as models in method, breadth of view,
and fulness of knowledge for the guidance and example of
the assistant staff, apart from their value in extending and
colouring the horizon of the scholars.
In Germany, the United States, and Canada it is a
general practice for head teachers, even of very large
schools, to give about one- third of their time to actual
class teaching. " The Eektor (head teacher), apart from
his general supervision of the school, performs usually
twelve hours' teaching a week. He does not always teach
either the same subject or the same class, but varies his
work every school semester."1
School Examinations. — Examination, essential for
obtaining exact information as to the progress on some,
but not all, important points, should be systematised.
The usual practice is to divide the year into two or three
terms and give an examination towards the close of each,
based, of course, on the work prescribed. Occasional tests
are also advisable in certain subjects, especially if there is
a weak spot in the teaching staff.
The regular term examinations2 assume individual form
in the three R's, and class form, mostly, in the other sub-
jects, except in the upper classes, where it is generally
1 Report of Mr. G. Andrew to the Scotch Education Department
on the Primary Schools of Berlin and Charlottenburg, 1904.
In Kansas City ' ' the head teacher is usually responsible for a class,
and thus exercises relatively little supervision over the work of a
school." — Report of the Rev. A. W. Jephson, issued by the late
School Board for London, 1904.
2 These are in accordance with the Revised Instructions of 1903 to
H.M. Inspectors. See (d) Examination of School Work, Prefatory
Memorandum, Code 1904, &±d also Art. 22.
EXAMINATIONS. 229
desirable to have written tests in most, if not in all, subjects.
Individual viva voce examinations are, too, very valuable,
when they can be carried out under proper conditions.
The possibility of holding these examinations is hardly
worthy of discussion, provided circumstances are normal.
In a liberally staffed school no difficulties need arise ; but
in schools where the head teacher is responsible for a class,
a temporary interchange of classes between the head and
the assistant whose class is to be examined has some
weak points, though it is generally found to work satis-
factorily.
In all these examinations ! it is most important that the
head teacher (1) should set the tests and questions himself :
in some cases, particularly when the class teacher is a
specialist in a certain subject, it is desirable either for the
head teacher to consult him before finally deciding on the
questions, or to allow him to draw up the questions — this
is preferable — and for the head to approve their ultimate
form; (2) should be careful that they are reasonable tests,
having regard to the courses prescribed, the period of the
year, and the attainments of the scholars at its commence-
ment ; (3) should personally and strictly supervise the
examination ; (4) should as far as possible examine all the
papers himself : this will give him a knowledge of the
state of things which he could not otherwise possess ; (5)
should allow each scholar to see his paper after correction,
so that errors may be known and right ideas substituted ;
(6) should record the degree of proficiency by a mark or
symbol, in a schedule or book kept for that purpose,
in the case of all individual tests, and a general assess-
1 It is extremely important that the courses of instruction in
previous years or terms should not be forgotten. If, for example,
a child is working in Standard V., some questions should be given
bearing on the work already done in the lower standards.
230 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
merit and criticism on all subjects ; (7) should see that
his standard of desirable attainments is a reasonably high
one — this is, to some extent, governed by (2) ; and (8)
take immediate steps to remove or remedy any glaring class
or individual deficiencies and weaknesses revealed by the
examination.
Above all, the head teacher must bear in mind the peculiar
position in which he is placed by these examinations —
called upon to judge the work for which he is ultimately
responsible and to record the judgment in writing. It is
therefore a position of great trust, and one that deserves
to be met by corresponding sincerity and candour. The
presence therefore in the head teacher's mind of the true
spirit of justice and a complete absence of self-interest
ought to direct him through every stage of the examination,
and companion him in assessing the results and in recording
his criticisms, which, needless to say, should be fearless
and impersonal. In other words, he ought to weigh the
results and test their educational value like a fair-minded
expert estimating the work of an unknown person. Ultra
sensitiveness of the staff, or any part of it, to adverse
criticism of its work should not be considered. There is,
however, a gentle and a rough way of telling the truth.
The wise head teacher will know which to choose.
A generous or over estimate of the value of the work
accomplished will defeat the object which prompted such
folly ; while any suppression or covering of ngly truths
must prove the sowing of " dragon's teeth," the self-
gathering harvest of which must inevitably come later.
The welfare of the school and the interests of the whole
staff are best served in discovering the truth and telling it
in a plain way.
Curriculum, Syllabus, and Time Table. — In determining
each of these, due consideration should be given to (1) the
CURRICULUM, ETC 23l
Oode,1 the spirit of which will be found to be a valuable
guide. Certain subjects named therein are, to all intents
and purposes, obligatory, though reasonable latitude is
allowed to meet exceptional cases. The Herbartian prin-
ciple2 of possible unification of subjects is recognised.
Froebel's insistence upon practical work and the need of
adjusting instruction to environment also comes in for
broad and desirable recognition. (2) The class of children,
their sex, ages, and attainments. (3) The quality of the
staff. (4) Building and equipment. (5) Times of
meeting. (6) Local circumstances generally. In agri-
cultural districts, for example, it is desirable that the
elementary principles of agriculture and horticulture
should be taught. There is, too, in this instance, a wide
field for Nature study. In the French and German
country schools these subjects receive generally a con-
spicuous share of attention.3
But, apart from local circumstances, there are certain
subjects whose influence upon the scholars' lives, after the
school career has ended, cannot fail to be great and bene-
ficial. Prominently among these stand English literature
and Civics, both of which occupy an important place in
the curricula of American schools.4 A further point to
consider is the desirability of making the instruction in
all subjects, as far as possible, practical — manual dexterity
having an important place. " The School of Education '
at Chicago, formerly presided over by Dr. Dewey, is an
1 See Arts. 1 to 7, Code 1910.
2 That subjects of instruction should be, as far as possible, so con-
nected and associated with one another that the child's ideas should
be bound together in circles of thought.
3 See Special Reports (Mr. Sadler's), Vols. 7 and 9.
* See Reports of the Mosely Educatiun Commission.
232 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
experiment on these lines.1 The theory of to-day should
be translated into practice on the morrow : and if the child
can discover the application for himself, so much the better.
All the great educational theorists from Bacon to Spencer
may be said substantially to have promulgated this view.2
The " Real Schools " of Germany are partially founded
upon it.
Syllabus. — Immediately the subjects of instruction and
their modes of presentation have been generally deter-
mined, the syllabus for each branch of the curriculum
should be carefully drawn up as an organic whole. That
is to say, the organiser must have in view not only one
term or one year's course of instruction, but the whole
range of work designed for the pupil during his school life.
In other words, the syllabus in design should be a static
unity ; and, in application, a dynamic unity. The subjects
should therefore, as far as possible, be correlated with one
another, and adjusted to the character of the environ-
ment and the general requirements of the scholars. Once
framed, the syllabus should not be regarded as necessarily
permanent in form, nor need the organiser wait till the
close of the year to effect revision3 if that is considered
immediately desirable, or imperative. Changes of a minor
character may be advisable from time to time, rendered ne-
cessary by altered conditions, or judged desirable through a
wider experience or the acquisition of some special skill or
knowledge. Visits and excursions4 allowed by the Code
should be projected — they can be modified later if necessary
— as soon as a term's course has been definitely settled.
1 See Report of the Mosely Education Commission, pp. 203 and 356.
2 "The school must encourage to the utmost the children's
natural activities of hand and eye by suitable forms of practical
work and manual instruction." — Introduction to Code 1910.
3 Art. 3 (a). 4 Art. 44 (/>).
CHAPTER V.
"I rose from my knees. . . . The world reappeared.
"I roused myself, drew aside the silk that covered my eyes, and
plunged my bare face into the light." — Kinglake's Eothen.
" All the really important things of life must of necessity be self-
taught." — The Disadvantages of Education, Edward A. Parry.
TIME-TABLES.
With Special Reference to the Ordinary
Graded School.
Ceteris paribus, the easy working of a school will depend
a great deal on the suitability of the Time Table, which
must always be approved by the local education authority
and H.M. Inspector. In the planning of it skill, intimate
knowledge, and forethought are necessary if it is to work
with the minimum of friction, and thus economise both
time and energy. The Time Table is the second school
clock, on the face of which are shown at intervals the hour
of the day, the kind of lesson in progress in every class,
the recreation interval, and the moments for assembly and
dismissal. Its motive power is the spirit of the organiser
pervading every part of the building, working silently and
governing all the material changes that are necessary to a
school's daily life.
In framing or planning the Time Table the following
additional considerations to those already named in rela-
tion to curricula should have their due weight : —
(1) The desirable amount of time to be devoted to each
subject in the curriculum.
(2) The desirable length of each lesson, having regard
to (a) the comparative importance and difficulty of the
233
234
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
subject, (b) whether the lesson is theoretical or practical,
(c) the age and powers of the scholars. This has been
already mentioned, but it is so important that attention
is called to it again.
(3) The proper distribution of the lessons in relation to
(a) morning or afternoon, or early and late parts of
these sessions x ; (5) the character of the subject — whether
it is chiefly mental or chiefly mechanical in its demands ;
(c) the staff — the strain on a teacher being great if two or
three oral lessons succeed one another; (d) the internal
structure of the building. This point becomes accentuated
if more than one teacher be working independently in the
same room. Quiet lessons should alternate with aggres-
sive or noisy ones in the case of adjoining classes.
Concerning (1) the following represents approximately
the distribution of time over the various subjects of in-
struction 2 : —
Humanistic Subjects.
Bible Instruc-
tion
History
Singing
Drawing and
Modelling
English
h, m.
3 20
1 0
1 0
2 0
8 15
15 35
Science and Nature
Study.
Geography ...
Nature Study
or S ience
Mathematics
h.
1
1
4
m.
0
20
0
6 20
Physical Culture and
Manual Training.
Physical Ex-
ercises and
Games
[Recreation
Intervals]
Manual Train-
ing (Boys)
or Domestic
Training for
Girls
h. m.
1 0
2 5
2 30
5 35
These make in all 27 J hours.
1 See Child Study Reports in connection with the Chicago Public
Schools.
2 See Report of the English Conference, 1909, issued by the L.C.C.
TIME-TABLES. 235
It is considered by some educationists that the " time
usually allotted to handicraft and mathematics might, by
a closer correlation of geometry with woodwork or metal
work, be more economically used," l and thus set free time
that could be devoted to English or any other subject.
The time that should be devoted to English has been
recently under consideration by a body of experts,1 and
their recommendation is —
Time per
Week.
Age of Children.
Boys.
Girls.
7- 9 years.
10 hours.
11 hours
i*
9-11 ' „
10 „
11
»>
11-14 „
9 „
10
>>
The hours to be divided thus for boys-
Age 7-9.
Age 9-11.
Age 11-14.
Phonetics
50 m.
30 m.
—
Reading
4h.
3h.
1 h. 30 m.
Writing (mechanical)
1 h. 30 m.
1 h.
30 m.
Spelling and Dictation
1 h. 10 m.
1 h.
1 h.
Grammar
—
30 m.
1 h.
Composition (oral and written) 1 h. 30 m.
2h.
2h.
(mainly oral)
Literature (incl. Recitation)
1 h.
2h.
3h.
10 h. 10 h. 9 h.
The extra hour for girls is to be " divided between grammar,
literature, and the historical study of words."
Of course this additional time suggested for English —
eminently desirable as it is, especially the phonetic train-
ing— must involve the curtailment of the time devoted to
one or more other subjects. Speaking generally, far too
much time is devoted to arithmetic in the lower classes ;
two hours a week for the two lowest classes are ample,
and three hours should suffice for the next two grades
above. The time thus gained should be devoted to English.
1 See Report of the English Conference, 1909, issued by the L.C.C.
236 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
If a modern language is taken, three hours a week
should be devoted to it in the upper school.
With regard to (2), the length of the lessons should
vary in the infant school from 15 to 25 minutes, according
to the ao:es of the scholars.
In senior departments a line must be drawn between
the upper and lower classes for this purpose. In the
lower school lessons should not, as a rule, exceed half-an-
hour in duration, except in needlework. In the upper
school lessons might reasonably range from 30 to 45 or
50 minutes. Certain exceptions, however, must be made
in favour of the following subjects : —
(i) Physical Exercises. — Five minutes' smart drill each
morning and afternoon during four days of the week, and
one lesson of 20 minutes on the remaining day ; the in-
structor to give during the longer lesson special attention
to posture, and position of the arms, hands, legs, and head.
(ii) Needlework — 1 hour.
(iii) Lessons in laboratory or a practical science room —
1 hour at least.
(iv) Handicraft for boys ; cookery, laundry, house-
wifery for girls — generally 2 hours should be the mini-
mum; but where slum localities exist and the physique
and staying power of the lads are considerably below the
average, it is desirable to limit the manual training lessons
to l£ or 1| hours.
(v) Handwork generally, e.g. paper-cutting, modelling,
etc.
In regard to 3 (a) and (b) it is an accepted view that
mental power wanes under the influence of strain or
fatigue. The morning therefore is better than the after-
noon, and the earlier part of these sessions is better than
the later parts, for subjects that especially demand mental
vigour. Mechanical subjects such as writing (mechanical),
TIME-TABLES. 237
drawing, etc., are therefore usually taught in the after-
noon " Extreme fatigue lowers the memory power."1
Points (c) and (d) have been previously considered.
The curriculum, syllabus, and time-table having been
respectively settled and arranged on a fitting basis,
teachers should remember that the mere letter of these
will breed dead monotony, but that the spirit will con-
fer life. They should further bear in mind, with regard
to the scholars, this imperative dictum, " With all thy
getting, get understanding." Professor Armstrong in
an address before the British Association at Belfast in
1902 said substantially the same thing : " We recognise
the 3 R's in primary education, but there is need for
4 B's, the fourth being the development of reasoning
power in the scholar."2
The time-tables submitted below, mostly as abstracts, are
in actual use in schools of high repute. Notes are made
in connection with these tables if they are considered
capable of improvement, having regard to local condi-
tions. With slight modifications to meet local circum-
stances, they should serve the purpose of any ordinary
elementary school. With the aid of the points recom-
mended for the guidance of those planning time-tables,
the abstracts should enable anyone to draw up a satisfac-
tory working arrangement.
The following extract from the Elementary Education
Act 1870 [section 7 (2)] should be carefully noted: —
" The time or times during which any religious observ-
ance is practised, or instruction in religious subjects is
given at any meeting of the school, shall be either at the
1 See Child Study Reports in connection with the Chicago Public
Schools.
2 See Preface to the Mosely Education Commission Reports,
1904.
238 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
beginning or at the end, or at the beginning and the end,
of such meeting, and shall be inserted in a time-table to
be approved by the Education Department [now Board of
Education] and to be kept permanently and conspicuously
affixed in every schoolroom : and any scholar may be with-
drawn from such observance or instruction without forfeit-
ing any of the other benefits of the school."
Further, in determining what shall be the curriculum
and time-table, the quantity of work to be accomplished
should only be considered in relation to its quality. In
other words, the organiser should ask himself not how
much the scholars can store in their memories, but how
much they can really assimilate and transform into living
power. " The creation of a right taste ; occupation of the
hands and minds of children in useful wavs which stimu-
late to industry or to directions which appeal to their love
of beauty or of use; the development of the sense of
wonder at, and sympathy with, nature, — a first ingredient
of worship ; the encouragement of reverence for the
beautiful, the good, the true, — a natural basis for re-
ligion ; these are some of the ends which are kept in view
when choice has to be made of subjects to companion the
three R's in the school courses."1
And again, in regard to limitations of the curriculum :
" You might read all the books in the British Museum . . .
and remain an utterly illiterate, uneducated person ■ but if
you read ten pages of a good book, letter by letter, that is
to say with real accuracy, you are for ever more, in some
measure, an educated person. The entire difference be-
tween education and non-education (as regards the merely
intellectual part of it) consists in this accuracy."2
1 Mr. H. T. Mark on "Moral Education in American Schools." —
Special Reports, Vol. 10.
2 Ruskin, Sesame and Lilies.
TIME-TABLES.
239
TIME-TABLE OF INFANT SCHOOL.
Time in Minutes for each Subject per Week.
Subject.
Time in each Grade.
A.
B.
Gr.
Gr.
Gr.
Gr.
St. I.
St. I.
III.
II.
I.
I.
Min.
Min.
Min.
Min.
Min.
Min.
English —
Composition (W. '
(oral)
}
40
45
70
105
70
60
Reading
Word Building
)
125
65
145
65
1401
40 j
165
145
125
Recitation
30
40
50
45
45
45
Stories
15
15
25
20
25
15
Writing
100
105
110
100
100
90
Number
140
125
—
— ■
—
—
Drawing
70
70
95
105
120
120
Object Lessons ...
60
60
125
125
125
125
Nature Study ...
100
100
100
100
80
60
Physical Exercises
100
75
100
75
100
100
Kindergarten and
Brush work
1
140
140
165
180
215
275
Geography
20
20
—
—
—
—
History (Stories)
. . .
20
20
Singing
75
75
80
80
75
85
Scripture
125
125
125
125
125
125
Recreation
125
125
125
125
125
125
Registration, etc.
...
150
150
1500
150
150
150
150
Total ...
...
1500
1500
1500
1500
1500
N.B. — There are no formal lessons in Number below St. I. Number is dealt
with incidentally, however, mainly through the agency of games.
Physical Exercises take the form mostly of games.
Actual registration does not occupy 150 minutes per week, though so
expressed on the time-table.
240
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
ANALYSIS OF TIME-TABLE (INFANT SCHOOL).
English, including
(1) Reading and
Preparation
(Language)
(2) Recitation
(3) Stories
(4) Oral comp.
X umber ...
Mental ...
Writing, including
Printing and
Drawing in
Lower Grades
Preparation for
Dictation
Conversational
Lessons
Physical Exercises
and Games . . .
Singing ...
Educ. Handwm^k,
inc. Drawing
Scripture, includ-
ing Prayers ...
Recreation
Registration
Trans.
1.
Trans
2
Trans.
3.
Gr.
III. a
Gr.
III. b
Gr.
II. a
Gr.
II. b
3.50
45
35
4.0
55
40
3.0
60
50
3.45
40
50
3.45
5")
55
2.30
55
50
2.30
45
50
Gr.
I.o
2.30
1.15
1.15
See Language Less. — Stories and Conver. Less.
2.15
45
1.55
1.0
30
2.45
45
1-0
1.0
1.0
1.40
1.40
1.50
1.50
2.40
2.35
3.20
2.5
1.40
3.20
2.5
1.40
2.30
2.45
1.0
2.30
2.10
1.40
3.20
2.5
1.40
2.30
2.30
1.10
1.55
2.15
2.45
1.10
2.15
2.5 2.15
2.5 1.25
3.20
2.5
1.40
3.20
2.5
1.40
2.15
2.0
1.10
2.5
2.10
3.40
3.20
2.5
1.40
1.15
1.35
1.0
1.45
3.10
3.40
3 20
2.5
1.40
2.55
3.20
2.55
3.45
3.20
3.45
1.40
Note. — The three Transition Classes correspond roughly with Sts. I. a, 1.6, I.e.
General Notes concerning all Infant Time Tables set out here : —
Reading below Grade III. is not formal reading, but language lessons and
preparation for reading by blackboard and other demonstrations.
Writing. Similarly writing is not formal but freearm drawing of letters,
etc. — sand trays, etc.
Number. Chiefly taught incidentally in the lowest classes.
TIME-TABLES.
241
ANALYSIS OF TIME-TABLE (INFANT SCHOOL).
Time in Minutes for each Subject per Week.
Subject.
Time in each Grade.
St.
St.
St.
La
1.6
l.c
III. a
III. //
III.fi
II. a
II. 6
English — ■
/Composition (W.)
1 „ (oral)
65
55
55
Literature ...
65
50
75
45
50
70
70
—
Reading and Lan-
guage
185
225
200
125
125
150
150
—
Word Building and
Sound Drill
50
50
70
50
50
50
50
125
Recitation (see also
Literature)
—
30
10
25
20
—
—
45
Stories
40
20
20
60
65
75
90
105
Writing and Printing
115
95
105
125
120
115
110
50
Number and Number
Games
135
125
125
125
125
125
125
125
Drawing
95
105
80
100
110
110
100
90
t Object Lessons
' Nature Study
25
25
—
—
—
25
20
See
Chats.
50
50
75
75
100
75
50
20
Physical Exercises ...
85
85
85
90
80
80
80
80
Kindergarten
100
105
120
120
95
115
125
220
Optional Lesson
—
—
—
—
20
—
—
20
Geography ...
20
20
—
—
20
—
—
—
Chats... '
— .
—
—
45
45
45
40
40
Acting (see also Sing-
ing, Games)
15
—
15
25
20
15
15
20
Marching in Hall ...
25
25
25
25
2.-)
25
25
—
Singing
65
80
75
70
75
70
90
100
Scripture
175
175
175
17")
175
175
175
175
Recreation ...
125
125
125
125
125
125
125
175
Registration, etc. ...
65
55
65
i
95
55
55
60
110
Notes.-
S. o
-Q.) 8.50 to 9.5 a.m. Monitors at work— care of class-rooms, plants, etc.
(2) 9.5 to 9.15 a.m. Upper classes in Hall (Mondays excepted).
(3) When lessons are not followed by games or recreation, five minutes'
interval is given for (a) a run or skip out of class-room, or
(b) game in class-room, or (c) free chat, etc.
(4) 11.10 or 11.30 children in the two lowest classes go into playground
for 5 or 10 minutes.
(5) Time-table for Grade I. not shown here. It varies according to
circumstances.
18
242
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
ANALYSIS OF TIME-TABLE (GIRLS' SCHOOL).
Time in Minutes in each Class.
Sts.
VII.
Subject.
St. J.
St. II.
St. III.
St. IV.
st.v.
St. VI.
and Ex.
8th and
(3th and
4th and
VII.
lOtli
9th
7th
5th
3rd
2nd
1st
Form.
Forms.
Forms.
Forms.
Form.
Forni.
Form.
English —
(a)Comp. (W.)
60
60
60
50
60
60
60
(h) „ (Oral)
50
50
50
50
50
30
30
(c) Dictation ...
30
60
60
30
—
—
—
(d) Grammar...
30
30
30
60
90
110
110
(e) Literature
—
—
— -
30
30
30
30
(/) Reading ...
210
210
210
150
150
90
90
(g) Recitation
60
60
60
60
60
60
60
(h) Word Buil.
70
70
40
20
20
—
—
(i) Writing ...
60
30
30
30
30
30
30
Arithmetic
110
110
110
110
110
130
130
,, Mental
60
60
60
60
60
60
60
Drawing
120
120
120
120
120
120
120
Geography
90
90
90
120
120
120
120
History...
60
60
90
90
90
90
90
Observation and
Nature Study .
90
90
90
90
—
—
—
Organised Games
and Physical
Exercises
70
70
70
70
60
60
60
Singing...
60
60
60
60
60
60
60
Scripture
..
200
200
200
200
200
200
200
Recreation
..
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Algebra...
..
60
60
Hygiene
..
—
—
—
—
90
90
90
Needlework
• •
120
120
120
150
150
150
150
H. M.
IT. M.
H. M.
H. M.
H. M.
H. M.
H. M.
Total
27 30
27 30
27 30
27 30
27 30
27 30
27 30
Note. — Specialisation in Singing.
Cookery and Laundry taught at Centres.
Physical Exercises include Dancing and Skipping.
TIME
Class
9.0-
9.10
9.10-
9.40
9.50-
9.55
9.40-10.9 10.0-10.30
10.30-
10.45 '3.55
3.55-
4.0
M
St. I. &
Gr. III.
Gr. I. &
II.
50
-S
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on
3
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ten
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U.40-10.5
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Reading
Reading
Singing
Word Bldg.
T
St. I. &
Gr. III.
Gr. I. &
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Games per
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lder-
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«t.4(i-Ht.5
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Number
Reading .
s5
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St. I. &
Gr. III.
Gr. I. &
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Singing
9.40-10.5
Reading
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35
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Arithmetic
9.40-10.5
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Gr. I. &
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Reading
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95
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St. III., IV.
—
110
60
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—
80
120
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244
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
ANALYSIS OF TIME-TABLE (BOYS' SCHOOL).
Subject.
Time
in each Standard.
Ex.
i.
ii.
in.
IV.
V.
VI.
Vll.
Vll.
Composition (W.)
90
90
120
140
120
120
80
(0.)
GO
Dictation...
—
60
120
120
80
30
30
—
Grammar...
—
— .
—
60
90
120
120
120
Reading and Li ter-
ature
240
210
180
120
120
110
120
90
Recitation
50
50
40
50
20
20
30
■ —
Word Building . . .
110
110
120
90
—
—
—
- —
Writing ...
180
90
90
30
30
30
—
—
Arithmetic
120
120
150
150
150
210
150
180
,, (Mental)
30
50
50
50
30
20
30
—
Drawing ...
120
120
120
120
120
120
120
120
Geography
60
90
120
120
150
150
140
90
History ...
—
- — ■
—
90
90
120
170
120
Object Lessons ...
120
120
120
90
—
—
—
—
Organised Games
—
—
—
15
—
—
60
60
Physical Exercises
70
70
70
55
70
70
60
60
Singing
70
50
50
40
50
50
20
50
Scripture ...
200
200
200
200
200
200
200
200
Recreation
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Examination
90
90
90
90
—
—
— -
—
Colour Work
30
30
30
30
— .
—
—
—
Mechanics
—
—
—
—
90
90
90
—
Algebra ...
—
—
—
—
120
90
90
120
Bookkeeping
120
Euclid
140
Manual Instruc-
—■
—
—
1
1
1
1
1
tion
sess.
sess.
sess.
sess.
sess.
Total
1650
1650
1650
1650
1650
1650
Ib50
1650
TIME-TABLES.
245
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Writing
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§ Silent Reading
Reading Transcription
a
I
CM
VII.
p.m. Domestic Training (Cookery and Laundry): Tuesday, 2-4.30 p.m.
,he Silent Reading gives place to Geography and Composition.
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LOO
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Cookery, and Laundry.
175
55
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175
55
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175
175
55
100
175
140
—
100
175
140
—
To face p.
246
TIME-TABLE OF A SENIOR MIXED DEPARTMENT OF
TEN CLASSES.
Time in Minutes for each Subject per Week.
Time i
n each Standard.
Subject.
3 & 4
B
3&4
G.
5B.
5G.
6 B.
6G.
7B.
7G.
English-
f Composition J
(W.)\
70
70
115
115
115
115
90
90
1
» (Oral)J
Dictation
75
35
30
30
—
—
—
—
i Grammar
80
80
85
85
70
70
100
100
Reading
145
105
150
110
125
85
150
130
Recitation
70
70
80
80
80
80
80
80
Spelling
40
40
^ Writing
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
Arithmetic
180
180
210
210
210
210
210
210
,, (Mental)
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
Drawing ...
120
120
120
120
120
120
120
120
Geography
120
80
70
70
80
80
80
80
History ...
110
110
80
80
110
110
90
90
Object Lessons ...
30
30
40
40
— .
40
—
—
Organised Games
Physical Exercises
70
70
60
60
60
60
60
60
Singing ...
75
95
95
95
95
95
95
Scripture...
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
150
Recreation
125
125
125
125
125
125
125
125
Registration, etc.
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
Needlework
• —
160
—
160
—
160
—
160
Map Drawing ...
40
— ■
40
—
40
—
40
40
Recent Events ...
30
30
—
. — .
30
30
—
—
Elem. Science ...
— .
—
40
40
40
Algebra ...
—
—
40
—
80
—
100
—
Total
1650
1650
1650
1650
1650
1650
1650
1650
Standard 3 boys have reading in place of map-drawing
Laundry..,
Manual Training ... St. 7. Mon. a.m.
,, 6. Wed. a.m. and p. M
Thurs. a.m.
,, 5 and 6. Wed. a.m. ; Swimming .
Thurs. a.m.
Cookery St. 7. Mon. a.m. ; St. 6. Mon. p.m. ; St
247
, St. 7. Mon. a.m.
„ 6. Mon. p.m.
,, 5. Fri. p.m.
, Boys. Tues. 9-10.
Girls. Fri. 2-3.15.
5. Fri. p.m.
248
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
TIME TABLE OF A BERLIN SCHOOL OF EIGHT CLASSES.
Subject.
Hours for
Each Class Per Week.
(Lowest.)
(Highest.)
VIII.
3
VII.
3
VI.
V.
IV.
III.
II.
I.
Religion
3
4
4
6
4
4
German
8
7
7
6
b'
4
6
6
Observation ...
2
2
2 .
History
—
—
—
2
2
2
2
3(2)
Arithmetic ...
4
4
4
4
4
4
4(2)
4(2)
Geometry
3
3(2)
3(2)
Nature Knowledge ..
—
—
—
2
2
4
4(3)
3
Geography ...
—
■ — ■
—
2
2
2
2
2
Drawing
— ■
1
2(1)
2
2
2
2
2
Writing
—
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
Singing
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
Gymnastics ...
2
2
2(1)
2
2
2
2
2
Sewing
~
(2)
m
(2).
28
(3)
32
(4)
(4)
Total
20
22
24
28
32
32
N.B. — The numbers within brackets refer to Girls.
Note especially the blank spaces in the first three columns to the left.
TIME-TABLES. 249
Annual Conferences,1 as well as occasional ones to meet
special cases, between the head teachers of the departments
of a school are desirable with a view of (1) co-ordinating
the methods of instruction in such subjects as arithmetic,
drawing, writing, nature study ; (2) arranging the time for
the recreation interval of each department so as to cause
the minimum amount of inconvenience to the other de-
partments ; (3) having a common policy in the endeavour
to bring the home and the school into harmony ; (4)
making provision for the interchange of visits between the
assistant teachers of the infant and senior departments
during school hours ; and (5) settling, as far as practicable,
all inter-departmental relations.
All these matters may need careful readjustment from
time to time.
The co-ordination of methods in certain subjects is
extremely important. If this is not done the progress of
the scholars will be generally retarded, and some of the
energies of the teachers wasted in every part of the school.
The methods therefore ought to be arranged by general
consent, and those adopted for subjects common to depart-
ments carried out in all loyalty. Writing especially often
suffers through the want of a general agreement on main
principles. In arithmetic, again, it is not uncommon to
find divergent ideas prevailing in different places as to the
way in which it should be taught.
The kind of co-ordination suggested here covers mostly
fundamental principles ; method, in its full sense, is
usually charged with personality, which must generally be
allowed, within limits, to have a wide range of play.
As the views and influence of the assistant staff count in
these matters, the interchange of visits has been suggested
— but not entirely on this ground. Generally speaking,
1 Enforced in L.C.C. schools— Art. 64 L.C.C S.M. Code.
250 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
there is no bond of sympathy existing between the teachers
of infant and senior departments. Indeed it is not
unusual to find some teachers openly expressing their
disapproval of infant methods and infant ways and means
generally, and occasionally there is the suggestion of a
want of proper preparation for the senior departments.
This, it is submitted, results from a wrong conception
of the functions of an infant school on the part of those
not immediately connected with it. In the same manner,
infant teachers perhaps do not always appreciate the diffi-
culties of other departments— difficulties especially felt in
the lowest grades or classes. Hence the desirability for
mutual understanding and intimate individual co-operation.
If an infants' teacher is allowed to spend an occasional hour
in watching the methods and work of the senior depart-
ments and vice versa, it is claimed that a better correlation
of work would result, that many existing difficulties would
silently disappear, and that a clearer vision as to the
functions and relations of all departments would come to
every member of the staff.1
The annual conference should be held two or three
months before the close of each educational year, and a
permanent record of the minutes kept : indeed this pre-
servation of the minutes should apply to all school con-
ferences.
1 See pp. 2 and 135, Mosely Education Committee Reports 1904,
for similar arrangements.
CHAPTER VI.
" Self -reverence, self-knowledge, self-control,
These three alone lead life to sovereign power." — Tennyson.
"Self-government is the object a great school proposes to itself
in its life and laws." — Turing, Education and School.
DISCIPLINE.1
Discipline is the regulation of conduct by the opera-
tion of will-power in the individual. The will must be
trained, directed into right channels ; and this training
can only be effective when applied to daily activities and
the interests associated with them. The will cannot, in
other words, be trained by mere abstractions. Fine
thoughts and feelings are poor stuff unless translated into
worthy actions. An individual is not what he thinks and
feels, but what he does. Conduct is the test of the value
of life. Character results from the link between mental
states and actions : and this link should be voluntarily
forged by the individual himself.
Will represents a relation between ideas and the mind
associated with them. An idea is always the starting-
point of will-power, and therefore the precursor of action.
A condition precedent to the full exercise of discipline is
good feeling and a mental equipment in which some
at least of the ideals that have tended to uplift the race
and mankind at large have found a place.
1 See Welton and Blandford's Moral Training through School
Discipline for a lucid and comprehensive treatment of this subject.
251
252 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Discipline expresses itself externally in conduct. Con-
duct, however, may be determined by rules, regulatious,
and commands, disobedience to wliich may involve pains
or penalties — this is regulation of conduct by government,
when personal liberty would lead the scholar in another
direction. So far therefore as conduct is determined by
• government, and without the pleasurable exercise of the
will by the individual, it is not the result of discipline
properly understood. Where, however, the rules and re-
gulations are willingly accepted by the school community
for guidance, there is coincidence of will between the ruler
and the governed, and then the government may be said
■ to be merged in discipline. When this merging is com-
plete, the ideal has been reached so far as discipline and
government are concerned.
It must be understood, however, that discipline covers a
wider field than government ; that while the latter may be
merged in the former, discipline will still have an inde-
pendent realm of its own ; otherwise what is known as
distinctive personality would cease to exist in school life.
Correspondence between them can never be complete. Dis-
cipline is internal : government is external. The springs
of the one are within the individual: those of the other
are without.
Environment plays a most important disciplinary part in
education. The standard value of the educative process is
the perfect adjustment of the individual to his surround-
ings. The discipline of environment lies in the limitations
imposed on needs and activities, and in the consciousness
of the influence of these limitations. So far as environ-
ment influences involuntary behaviour, it is not educative ;
but when action is controlled or has a consciousness of
purpose behind it, the disciplinary or educative effect is
present.
DISCIPLINE. 253
The ultimate aim of discipline, and of teaching generally,
is mainly moral — preparation for life — for the highest
destiny of which an individual is capable ; but the imme-
diate aim associated with the graded steps in the educative
process is not necessarily moral — indeed it mostly has no
direct connection with morality ; but every step in the
acquisition of knowledge implies discipline, and this is ->
essential to the building up of character. These steps are
the training ground from which the developed personality
should emerge, relatively strong in those qualities which
the wise educator desires to forge : and among those quali-
ties are skill to perform as well as will-power to direct.
Every detail in school work should co-ordinate with the
organisation in order to realise the school's aim, in which
discipline must play the all- important part. Every minute
is a factor in the process of the formation of mental atti-
tudes and habits from which character is finally forged,
and upon which an intelligent activity is founded.
The exact adjustment of government to the needs of all
scholars — if this ever takes place — when perfect training
is necessarily based on individual differentiation — can only
be regarded as a miracle of achievement: and this adjust-
ment sometimes approximates to exactitude, since discipline
in the educator's mind, when other conditions are satisfied,
works so largely by faith.
The two chief powers that help to train and mould
character are therefore government and environment — the
latter partakes of the nature of government, and is here
used in its broadest sense. These two combined should
give the law of life. They are the urging finger-posts that
lead the way to self-direction and self-control.
Discipline then is of two kinds : (1) external discipline,
(2) internal or self-discipline. The education is practically
perfect when the first is transmuted into the second.
254 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
The " law for man is in the first place an external law,
but it may become an internal law. When man has once
recognised the inner law and bowed before it, through
this reverence and voluntary submission, he is ripe for
liberty."1
The end of discipline then is individual self-government,
and its outward expression is conduct. School govern-
ment, on the other hand, is shown in general orderliness
and in the ways and means by which the school as a whole
is rendered efficient. Harmonious development of each
scholar should be its aim. It should teach the child what
to love and reverence, and see that this love and reverence
take dynamic form. As all educative power is discipline,
so discipline in its broadest sense should be the whole life
of the school, the rest being merely accessories.
As the laws of a nation, combined with the public con-
science, give the standard of public morality, so do the
laws of a school, added to the influence of its chief, give
the standard of school discipline. If the government is
sound, the tone is certain to be sound also.
Tone is both the voluntary and involuntary manifesta-
tions of the moral attributes of a school.
Good tone therefore implies sound discipline, which from
the class point of view has been already discussed, and
the main principles in relation thereto indicated. These
principles have a general application. Some points, how-
ever, remain to be stated in connection with the school
department.
There are, of course, certain fundamental principles
which the good disciplinarian always accepts for his guid-
ance in whatever class or school he may be placed. There
are, however, auxiliary aids which have to be enlisted
according to the ages, attainments, and sex of the scholars.
1 The Simple Life, C. Wagner.
DISCIPLINE. 255
There arises also in relation to these the question as to
the degree of application of some of these fundamental
principles.
It is evident that the discipline which often characterises
a good boys' department would not be, as a whole, equally
suitable for a girls' school. Again, the discipline that
might be admirably adapted to a girl's department would
be altogether out of place in a school for infants. Similar
differentiation is often necessary in the treatment of
children in the various classes of a department. The land
of discipline that is suitable for infants between three and
four years of age is not equally applicable to children
between six and seven. Indeed it may be said that as a
child ascends through the three grades of an infant school,
discipline, in its proper sense, should correspondingly rise
in its demands upon him.
These remarks apply with almost equal force, but with
some variations, to the classes in the senior departments.
The children of the lower classes must be made to feel the
irresistible power of external forces, whether they are natural
or conventional. The iron hand, however, ought to be
covered with the velvet glove. But the upper classes, and
particularly the first class, do not, as a rule, need exactly
the same disciplinary treatment. The scholars there have
already passed through the earlier stages of a firm dis-
ciplinary regime, and have, in all probability, been guided
thereby and shaped their habits accordingly. They are
drawing nigh to the threshold of the labour world, and
each must soon play his part without a mentor by his side.
It is desirable therefore that the older pupils especially
should learn to govern themselves collectively and indi-
vidually whilst kindly corrective powers are at hand, of
which, as far as possible, they should be unconscious.
In other words, the ideal is that government should ^J
A
256 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
ultimately be absorbed in self-government. In perfect
discipline there is unconsciousness of the existence of
law; for law ceases to exist when full obedience is ren-
dered to it.
Of course, self-government should be inculcated in every
stage of school life, but its indispensable nature must be
insisted upon within reasonable limits in application to the
older scholars.
Before quitting the essentially spiritual side of this
subject as distinguished from that which deals with mere
routine, it is desirable to state what those fundamental
principles are upon which every kind of good departmental
discipline must rest. These must appeal successfully to
the child's whole nature, without losing sight of his life
as an organic unity, and to his responsibility as a member
of the school community. It may be laid down therefore
(1) That the premises and routine of the school must be
such as to ensure to each scholar reasonable bodily
and mental comfort and adequate 'physical exercise.
Good ventilation, plenty of sunlight, suitable desks,
and change of work and position are therefore neces-
sary. Hygienic conditions are essential.
(2) That natural and moral beauty should be loved and
moral depravity condemned. Opportunities of ex-
citing pleasurable emotions by the contemplation of
moral attributes or the sight of natural beauty
ought therefore to be seized whenever possible. Of
course, it is equally important that vicious qualities
should excite emotions of pain. But this will be
next to useless unless mental states and actions
are connected. The dynamic principle of education
should be always applied whenever possible. Train-
ing consists mainly in the formation of good
DISCIPLINE. 257
habitudes and habits, and the will must be braced
for this purpose in every phase of school work.
" Character is higher than intellect. A great soul
will be strong to live, as well as to think." l
(3) That the intellectual and imaginative faculties be
trained. Imaginative power appears to wane after
a child has passed its sixth year. This is probably
because little or no pains are taken to cultivate this
power, that helps to colour life as the sun colours
the flowers. Imagination makes friends with nearly
everything in the world. Napoleon used to say,
" You can only govern men by imagination : with-
out imagination they are brutes. 'Tis by speaking
to the soul you electrify them."
(4) That the law of the school must be based on moral
law and a knowledge of child life. The ultimate
sanctions of moral law are to be found in natural
law. It should give rewards for obedience and
industry and punishment for neglect. Purposive
obedience is the root of the higher life.
(5) That while discipline is directed to the training of
the scholars as a whole, it should be regulated as far
as possible to meet each child's special needs. A
word of kind reproof will work wonders with one
pupil, while to another severe rebuke or even
stronger measures must be applied. The best
training does not consist in the suppression, but in
the fullest expression, of personality.
(6) That the teachers should be in sympathy with child
nature and respect its natural tendencies and
reasonable desires. "Sympathy is our best friend
in education." 2 It helps the teacher to get into
1 Emerson. 2 Miss Edgeworth.
S. O. 19
258 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
real contact with the whole spiritual being of the
child.
(7) That there should he unity of purpose and a co-
ordination of interests. Group-consciousness, duty,
rights and obligations, and other factors implied in
a commonwealth of units should be realised.
(8) That the interests be many-sided and have corre-
sponding intensive activities. Those who know how
to use time to the best advantage, or even to use it
well, have received a sound training. Close appli-
cation usually implies fidelity in little tilings, and
this is the root of all great achievement.
" The entire object of true education is to make people
not merely do the right things, but enjoy the right things ;
not merely industrious, but to love industry ; not merely
learned, but to love knowledge ; not merely pure, but to
love purity; not merely just, but to hunger and thirst
after justice." *
Esjwit de corps is the child of good discipline. It is the
beneficent spirit that animates the school as a whole. It
symbolises the scholars' devotion to the school's funda-
mental laws, to its interests, and to its honour.
Of all the many ramifications associated with school
organisation, few are more important than the work of
routine and enlisted aids that have for their object the
formation of good habits and the general furtherance of
the high aim which discipline has in view. Brief notice of
these, under various heads, is desirable.
Attendance. — The value of punctual and regular atten-
dance to a school, a class, and the individual scholar is
manifest. A high level of efficiency, uninterrupted progress
1 Ruskin.
DISCIPLINE. 259
in the courses of instruction, and habits of systematic and
punctual attention to duty can only be secured when the
attendance is quite satisfactory.
The minimum of absence should be covered by actual
necessity and those calls from daily routine generally
recognised by the community. It must be borne in mind,
however, that this minimum is a variable quantity. The
age and sex of the pupils, the district, the season, and also
the weather when abnormal, are operative in determining
what this minimum shall be.
Although in educational administration the teacher is
not held directly responsible for regular attendance, yet
it may be generally said that when the sum of the school
influences is good, the regularity of the scholars fairly
corresponds with it. It is, moreover, always considered
creditable to a department when the percentage of attend-
ance is high, notwithstanding the responsibility of the
bye-law officers in these matters. But the punctual side
of attendance is one, perhaps, that lies more immediately
within the range of the teacher's office. If there is any
weakness in this respect, it is generally found that the
regularity suffers also.
The want of punctuality is sometimes due to wilful
dilatoriness : but there are certain children whose develop-
ment is arrested, and who have little or no " time sense."
It is important that the teacher should distinguish
between these and endeavour to apply remedial measures
in each case.
The organiser therefore ought to leave no stone unturned
in the endeavour to obtain that high degree of punctuality
which may lie within the possibilities of the locality in
which the school is situated. Punctual and regular atten-
dance ought to be coveted for its own sake as a duty, apart
from the immediate or ultimate advantages in the way of
260 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
school efficiency. It is, however, a mistake to raise it
almost to the position of a divinity. The " perfect week "
is an ideal institution, its perfection consisting in the
punctual attendance, each session, of every scholar on the
roll during a given week. In other words, the "perfect
week " represents the percentage of attendance as 100.
Such weeks in a large school only come by miracle, or
by overstraining the motives for good attendance and
giving them a glamour which is not naturally their own.
It is conceivable that children, acting under the zealous
and magnetic influence of a strong head teacher, may be
led to attend school under circumstances that make it
desirable they should remain at home, both in the interest
of their own health and that of the scholars with whom
they are brought into contact. The " perfect week " is
excellent as an aim, provided the pupils are safeguarded by
advisory precautions. It is, of course, easier to get a
week's perfection of attendance in a small school than in a
large one, since the adverse possibilities are reduced.
Kewards. — The term rewards ranges in meaning from
words of commendation to valuable prizes of permanent
form. In the United States prizes in the school sense are
extremely rare, whereas in this country their usefulness is
recognised in most schools.
It is a fairly common practice to give cards and prizes
for punctual and regular attendance, provided that conduct
is quite satisfactory ; but each school when under isolated
management, and each educational area, has had its own
system.
Cards, however, are usually awarded for punctual and
regular attendance either weekly or quarterly or both.
Prizes, mostly in the form of books, are awarded annually
on the basis of the year's attendances, a very small margin
DISCIPLINE. 261
of absences being generally allowed, to meet either excep-
tional or well-recognised demands. In some districts the
local authority, limiting and varying the amount per head
to be expended on each standard or class according as it is
the lowest or highest, has allowed the head teacher of each
department to draw up his or her own scheme for awarding
prizes, on the basis of attendance, conduct, and progress.
Such schemes, however, should be approved by the local
managers or the local education authority.
In order further to accentuate the value of exemplary
attendance, some authorities award medals to those scholars
who have attended punctually on every occasion on which
the school has been open during the educational year,
provided the absences do not amount to more than the
equivalent of two whole days. It should be noted that
these medals have, as a rule, little or no intrinsic value.
They mostly consist of either white metal or bronze. A
silver medal is sometimes awarded for a phenomenal
achievement in the way of attendance, covering a period of
about ten years.
Badges. — Some head teachers, acting on their own
initiative, have instituted badges to be worn by scholars
whose exemplary conduct has been considered worthy of a
distinguishing mark. The badge, however, does not become
the personal property of the scholar, like the prizes and
medals, but is liable to be taken away should there be any
lapse from that standard of good behaviour which merited
distinction.
In the hands of a wise head teacher, this system might
work well : but it is necessary to guard against the growth
of priggishness which such a method of distinction is not
unlikely to foster.
If the badge is conferred with the approval of the class
262 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
teacher — as it should be — the distinctive mark should then
carry with it the right-at-will of monitorship. The office
would then probably absorb the " Jack Horner " conscious-
ness of virtue which the badge alone, without the office,
would tend to create and keep alive.
The monitorship only refers to work in connection with
the routine of the class-room and the playground, and not
in any sense to teaching.
Banners, Flags, School Ladder, etc. — It has been
found a useful stimulus to the class to give into its weekly
keeping a banner or flag for meritorious conduct and the
best attendance during any particular week. This induces
a friendly rivalry between class and class which reacts
on the individual scholar who is disposed to be absent
occasionally and unnecessarily from school. Another good
plan, tending in the same beneficial direction, is repre-
sented by the " school ladder," which, hung in a conspicuous
position, indicates, during any one week, the relative
positions of merit, in regard to attendance, of each class in
the school.
Again, the Friday half -hour has proved of value as an
incentive to excellent class attendance, the last half -hour
of the final session of the week being devoted to play in the
case of the class or classes that have reached a certain high
percentage of attendance. The privilege of being dismissed
before other schoolfellows apparently has its charms. Care
must be taken, in connection with this practice, that the
necessary two hours' secular instruction is given in senior
departments. It may become necessary on this account to
reduce the "half -hour" to 15 or 20 minutes ; but even then
experience shows that the charm remains unbroken.
On abstract grounds, this practice is hardly commend-
able, notwithstanding its success. As, however — con-
DISCIPLINE. 263
sidering the short time involved — the privilege is more
technical than real, one is not disposed to cavil at it ; but
it really belongs to the class of immunities in favour' of
which little can be said. All immunities carry the implied
official sanction that temporary exemption from school
duties is a desirable thing ; whereas the teaching in a good
school should inculcate the contrary, and the training
should point emphatically in the same direction as the
teaching. Life has, however, many strange contradic-
tions, and possibly the school also must have its miniature
foibles.
Monday morning and Friday afternoon are, as a rule,
the worst sessions of the week for attendance. Why is
this ? There must be a psychological cause. The pheno-
menon is so constant that it may almost be regarded as a
law. A special appeal to scholars or parents will improve
the attendance on these occasions : but the law constantly
asserts its claim to respect and secures it in the end. A
deviation might arise under temporary pressure, but as
soon as that pressure is removed, reversion or retroversion
is inevitable.
" Monday's cardinal and reprehensible error " consists in
" beginning the business week." " Monday brings a feeling
of revolt." " Friday allows itself to be a little flurried and
excited — to some extent, throws in its lot with Saturday." 1
If this view is correct, as appears likely, though it is
expressed without any reference to school life, the reasons
for departure from the normal seem to be inherent in our
social and religious institutions. However, the phenome-
non, or law, implies some laxity, the result of undesirable
mental attitudes, which in the interests of the children
immediately concerned and the general efficiency of the
school should be changed for better states of mind.
1 Essay on The Town Week, E. V. Lucas.
264 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Some special attractions should be associated with the
school work on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons —
a means to the desired end that has been successfully
adopted in not a few schools. On Monday morning, for
example, when the building lends itself to full assembly,
the head teacher addresses the whole school, reviewing the
past week's work, driving home important points connected
therewith, and calls attention to any public events of
interest — using all as a moral lever to uplift the school
and to send it on its week's way with a strong living
impetus charged with lofty endeavour and the force of
conviction. These occasions are also used to inspire the
assembled scholars with the ideals of life and the need for
the acceptance of them as guides if complete manhood or
womanhood is to be attained.
These addresses should, of course, be always thought-
fully prepared. They should represent at least one occasion
in a week in which the head teacher, touching the highest
plane of life attainable by him, reaches out to, and gets
into real spiritual contact with, every scholar, and also
with every member of the staff. Occasionally an able
assistant teacher might be entrusted with an address of
this kind. Change is stimulating, and different modes of
presentation have their educational values.
With regard to Friday afternoons, myths, legends, fairy
tales told by the teacher — these never lose their charm at
any stage of life — lantern lessons, readings from favourite
books, dramatisation of historical events or of literary
incident (possibly aided by paper costumes and cardboard
weapons) have been found attractive. It is not unusual to
have on the time-table an " optional lesson " on Monday
morning and Friday afternoon. The teacher is thus free
to select whatever attractive subject he considers the most
effective to meet a particular occasion.
DISCIPLINE. 265
Ethics of Rewards.— Is it advisable to give rewards or
prizes either for good attendance or progress ? Although
conduct and progress are generally combined with attend-
ance for this purpose, the rewards in practice really rest
almost exclusively on attendance in elementary schools:
that presupposes to some extent the other two. The
motive for such prizes does not reach the great majority of
the scholars, and probably nearly all those who secure
prizes would attend just as well and work as zealously
without having the prospect of rewards in view. But the
worst feature of the case is that attendance prizes tend
to weaken rather than strengthen the obligation to be
industrious and regular at school.
The community imposes the obligation of attendance :
industry is implied by this imposition, for the one would be
almost worthless without the other. Scholars should be led
to realise at the earliest moment that this double obligation
is imposed primarily in their own interests. As children
delight in little acts of service to their elders, they should
know that the country will expect service in some form
from them later, and that this service cannot be efficiently
rendered unless they are educated. A really strong motive
for attendance and industry is thus forged, which, fostered
by parents and school, can rarely fail to be effective.
An appreciation of prospective personal importance under
reasonable conditions is usually an incentive to activity.
To offer prizes for doing what the community commands
is to weaken the sense of obligation imposed and to starve
the growth of the idea of duty, which demands the
expression of the fullest power in every person. Obedience
is the first duty of childhood.
Although the prospective service to the state is remote,
the child has a present grasp of the meaning of the word ;
and moreover the certainty of service in the future is
26G SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
assured under normal educational conditions and by the
prospect of life. But with prizes, the case is vastly
different. In the first place, a child cannot realise what a
prize in its full sense means until he has received one ;
secondly, there is no certainty that he will obtain a prize
even if he struggles to secure it — indeed, the chances are
generally strongly against success ; and thirdly, there is
not only the remoteness of possibility, but also the remote-
ness of time.
It usually happens therefore that prizes for achievement
appeal more strongly to the older than to the younger
scholars, and far more forcibly to those whose natural
ability and power of application give reasonable assurance
of success than to the ordinary pupils of a school, who
constitute the great majority. Indeed, it may be said
that under the usual conditions of award, the prize system,
applied to achievement, does not appeal to the ordinary
scholar at all. The reason for the stronger appeal to the
older scholars lies in their acquired power to generalise
experience — to organise their experience into concepts.
This ability implies a degree of concentration which
enables ends to be kept in view remote from the present
and consequently further removed from the primitive
impulse of instinct. With young children instinct is
dominant : it teaches them to look to the present rather
than to the future, and hence for them even the prospect
of a prize induces no lasting and reliable stimulus. It is
for this reason that weekly cards for attendance and
conduct are much more effective than terminal or yearly
awards — the ends, not being remote, become constantly
operative.
Prizes possibly tend, it is said, to foster a desire for mate-
rial gain rather than a sense of duty, and to stir up feelings
of pride, envy, malice, and other uncharitable sentiments
DISCIPLINE. 267
altogether opposed to the true corporate spirit of a school.
This conflict of feeling, however, only applies to the few
who run a close race without the sporting spirit. But
there does not appear to be much force in either of these
two contentions. The adverse influence is often unduly
magnified by writers on these points. Every device to
stimulate activity has its positive and negative sides.
Like all other generally recognised school devices the prize
system, it is believed, can be rendered innocuous by wise
application, which would, of course, include adjustments to
meet every possible situation. Generally, however, at-
tendance prizes should not be awarded. Obviously, good
attendance and industry have their own rewards : they
imply progress; and every child delights in the con-
sciousness of power conferred by added physical or mental
strength.
If, however, prizes are awarded in a school, they ought
to be either few in number and relatively difficult of
attainment, sustained effort being indispensable, and con-
fined to particular studies that need special encourage-
ment ; or they should be awarded to all who, to the satis-
faction of the teacher, have shown consistent application,
struggled to master difficulties, and generally made sound
progress. Indeed, if the principle of awarding prizes is
recognised, both these plans might be put into operation
in the same school : but the less material value a prize
has the better, provided it is otherwise good, unless the
prize in question is made subservient to immediate or
projected studies. In some schools prizes are given for
(1) good conduct and (2) proportionate success in studies.
Sometimes each class is annually allowed, with proper
safeguards, to select by ballot one or more of its members
who have distinguished themselves by good qualities
throughout the year. Proportionate success does not
268 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
necessarily enable the cleverest children to carry off the
prizes, but renders it possible for the dullest scholar, by
supreme effort to master difficulties, to receive due recog-
nition in this respect, the teacher of course being the sole
judge. The test in this case would naturally be the sum
total of the records for a term or year, and not a final
examination — making proper adjustments for age, appli-
cation, and degree of ability.
There is so much diversity of view concerning the
question of rewards that it appears almost hopeless to
arrive at any purely academic agreement. The psychology
of the question has not yet been thoroughly established :
but strangely enough, the basis of application of the prize
system is fairly general, and this is especially so in
secondary schools. There are some who think prizes
should be given for character and not for achievement ;
others would reverse this order and make conduct a
qualifying condition. On the other hand, some educa-
tionists would award prizes for voluntary home-work only ;
while a few others refuse to accept such external incentives
to exertion and consider that the good will is the most
effective and only true instrument.
Tbe true value of a prize is measured by the extent and
intensity of the effort to secure it. It is the honour asso-
ciated with the possession of a prize and not its monetary
value that constitutes the real motive for great and pro-
longed exertion, and when that prolonged struggle is ended
and the consciousness of achievement and of a stronger
and a fuller life is made manifest, the true and best reward
is revealed. This motive power could be made to have
a wider application if prizes were mostly awarded on a
"handicap' basis, instead of allowing natural talent to
get all, or nearly all, the spoils of victory.
It is thought that certificates artistically designed, suit-
DISCIPLINE. 269
ably worded, and worthy of permanent preservation would
serve all the laudable purposes which now underlie the
award of prizes. Certificates, of course, would have to be
graded, those of the highest type being few and very difficult
of attainment. They might be classified into (1) certificates
of honour, (2) certificates of merit, and (3) certificates of
proficiency.
The timely and judicious use of praise in the ordinary
course of school work will, however, often effect more good
than the remoter prizes and certificates. Scholarships are
awards of a rather different type to those which have
been considered. No one will be disposed to find fault
with the principle of giving clever and industrious chil-
dren an opportunity of obtaining the fullest educational
benefits that the country's institutions afford.
Punishments. — The true art of discipline lies in the
complete government of children without their conscious-
ness of restraint. The controlling power of the teacher
falls away, therefore, from this ideal in so far as resort to
punishment becomes necessary. Hence every task im-
posed, every censure administered, and every measure of
restraint applied implies some defect in the machinery
of government, or possibly some weakness in the per-
sonality of the staff — each is a confession of failure to
influence a pupil by the best and most lasting means. All
punishment is in itself an evil ; but out of evil good often
comes.
The necessity, however, for some form of restraint or
chastisement to meet exceptional cases is wisely and
generally recognised. Punishment is the lesser evil ap-
plied to avoid the greater one that lives in the future. A
closer study of the individual characters of children would
often obviate the necessity for punishment. The ordinary
270 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
child is charged with potential activities ; his delight is to
give expression to them. Instinct ultimately resolves itself
into movement. Good discipline should keep all active
tendencies adequately and educationally employed. Varia-
tions in disposition account for the different potentialities
shown by children and their tendency to run in certain
directions.
It is these variations, in connection with large classes,
that make a teacher's work so difficult. Under such cir-
cumstances it becomes a practical impossibility adequately
and always to allow for the personal equation in directing
the activities in question; and therefore unless the self-
control of the child is great, or implicit obedience has
become a habit, there must necessarily be some individual
breach of order or instructions. Such breach is a child's
safety-valve for the time being. The child, however, must
be made, for its own sake, to render obedience, to cultivate
will power, and thus keep its activities under proper
control. Self-restraint can only come from experience and
training.
If the tone of the school is sound and the class teacher
has the respect of his scholars, it often happens that the
most effective punishment is the reproof of the teacher
coupled with the disapproval of the conduct of the
offender by the other members of the class. But much
depends on the way in which the reproof is administered.
It is not so much what is said — though that of course is
important — but the manner in which the words are spoken
that strikes home, leaves the lasting impression and gives
the energising power that leads to amendment — for the
ultimate object of punishment is repentance.
Not a few teachers insist on a rigid kind of class
government — no doubt with the best intentions — with the
view probably of avoiding or reducing the possibilities of
DISCIPLINE. 271
offence ; the result is that the scholars tend to become
automata. This is not discipline ; it is rather the negation
of it. A certain amount of liberty — as much as is con-
sistent with the accomplishment of sound work — should
be granted to each pupil ; otherwise there can be no choice
of action and consequently no training of the will.
Liberty is the salt of the school : and it must be given
even if breach or non-observance of rules is practically
certain to follow. Indeed, it will be found that the rigid
disciplinarian not only subjects himself to a constant and
needless strain, but finds it necessary to punish more often
than his colleague who takes a saner view of the teacher's
functions. " A mild and liberal rule so ameliorates the
tone of feeling as to diminish the tendency to trans-
gression.1 An excellent rule for the teacher is pas trop
gouverner.
The sanctions of punishment are to be found in —
(1) The right of every corporate hotly or school com-
munity to compel its members to observe the laws
framed for their common welfare.
(2) The implied trust inherent in a school community to
safeguard and promote the best interests of each of
its subordinate members. This includes measures
to insure repentance in wrong-doers.
(3) Legal sanctions.
(4) Natural and moral sanctions.
The offences that justify penalties of some kind are
either moral or disciplinary. Disciplinary faults include
breaches of the school rules.
Punishment has a two-fold function — reformation on the
one hand, and prevention on the other.
In some American schools trial by jury for moral
1 Education, H. Spencer.
272 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
delinquency Las been introduced, the teacher acting as
judge. The Principal of Theyer Street School, Providence,
says : x " I have made each schoolroom a separate unit of
organisation, on the basis of continual self-government,
with reference not only to the larger matters, but to all
the details of discipline. The pupils in each room choose
each month, by ballot, a committee on self-government,
consisting of five members. It is the special duty of this
committee to take notice of any offences against good order
and propriety.
" At some proper time, usually at the close of the school,
the chairman of the committee presides over the class and
presents the charges against offenders. The pupil charged
is allowed to say what he chooses in defence or explanation,
and the pupils decide by vote what the punishment shall
be. The teacher is an ex-ojjicio member of the committee,
and places in the hands of the committee any complaints
which she may have to make against any pupils. She
reserves a power of veto which she exercises in case the
judgment of the pupils at any time seems to be im-
proper."
This plan, the principal states, has been attended with
the happiest results. " The attitude of the school, as a
whole, exhibits a marked change. In most of the rooms
the notion that the teacher is to watch the children to
prevent disorder and idleness has passed away. There is
quite as good order when the teacher is absent from the
room as when she is present. This plan has seemed to be
especially successful in developing a feeling of social re-
sponsibility"
This Theyer Street scheme of government is a modifica-
tion of the " school city " plan as carried out in some New
York schools.
1 Vol. 10, p. 135, Special Reports
DISCIPLINE. 273
Forms of Punishment. — Punishments usually assume
the form of (1) caution or censure, (2) deprivations, (3) im-
positions, (4) suspension, (5) corporal punishment, and
(6) expulsion.
Censure. — It has been already implied, if not directly
stated, that punishment ought to be used sparingly. Con-
tinual fault-finding does harm. Bona-fide attempts to
eradicate a bad habit by substituting a good one, or to
overcome a difficulty, are materially aided by a kind word
at every successful or half- successful step ; while upbraid-
ings for clumsiness or lack of wit, etc., have quite the
opposite tendency. Some inexperienced teachers are prone,
on the commission of an offence or blunder, to hurl a
battalion of unkind words at the scholar, recalling past
offences and faults. Such action is mischievous. On
the other hand, the love of approbation in children is
strong ; advantage should be taken of this on every proper
occasion.
Reproach for past offences is poison in a child's veins ;
whereas apt praise will sometimes raise a giant beanstalk
in a night. The Bourbons " learnt nothing and forgot
nothing." The world knows their fate ; and failure can
be foreshadowed for every one who does likewise, in all
walks of life.
Private censure is often the best. It is not good, how-
ever, to be absolute on any of these questions, unless
fundamental principles are involved ; for so much depends
on the nature of the fault, the character and disposition
of the offender, the surrounding circumstances, and also
the personality of the teacher — each one a factor in deter-
mining the desirable line of action, — that the teacher,
having himself an intimate knowledge of all concerned, is
most likely to prove the best judge of the course to
s. o. 20
274 SCHOOL OUGANISATION.
pursue in a given set of circumstances. Counsels of per-
fection are not always the best in application, especially
when made to suit abstract situations. The class teacher
therefore should use his own good judgment in these cases,
after reviewing all circumstances and being assured that
he has grasped the material facts. It would probably
be advisable to consult the head of the school when the
circumstances are somewhat unusual. If, however, the
offence is a moral one, committed openly in class, then it
is probably best to denounce the offence, and censure the
offender, openly also. But whatever is done, observance
of the principle applicable to all punishment is desirable,
viz. the censure should not go beyond the minimum neces-
sary to secure the object in view. Excess kills the purpose
of censure, and weak denunciation minimises the nature of
the offence in the minds of the children.
• <
Deprivations. — Deprivations include (1) loss of marks,
(2) loss of place. It is assumed that every school has
its system of good conduct marks. It is needless to say
that misbehaviour ought not, under any circumstances,
to affect the marks given in the ordinary subjects of
instruction. Assuming that right influences are at work
at home, and that the parents are periodically communi-
cated with concerning a child's progress, the loss of marks
for indifferent conduct qua conduct ought to be an effec-
tive weapon.
Loss of place may follow from loss of marks for poor
conduct, and assume several forms, e.g. (1) temporary dis-
grace— a scholar is removed from his usual place in class
for some minor but persistent fault — such removal not
lasting for longer than one or two sessions. (2) Loss of
play at the recreation interval. (3) Deprivation of the
right to play for the school in a sports match. (4) Do
DISCIPLINE. 275
tention after school hours. (5) Loss of certificate or prize
wholly or partially dependent on good conduct. (6) De-
privation of office, e.g. removal from the position of prefect
or monitor. Of these (2) is the least satisfactory. This
should never be put into operation against a class as a
whole, for reasons too obvious to mention, quite apart from
the demands of ventilation.
Detention after school hours should not be allowed to
exceed half-an-hour, with or without impositions. It is
usual to have a rota of teachers for this purpose, for without
close supervision detention is next to useless. This is a
fairly good remedy for careless work or persistent inatten-
tion. Any imposition insisted upon during this time ought
as far as possible to have reference to the loss occasioned
by the offence for which detention is enforced. Generally
speaking, however, enforced inactivity is a great punish-
ment ; but it can hardly be justified if extended to half-
an-hour, if it can be justified at all.
Impositions. — It is well to avoid the meaningless per-
nicious drudgery that consists in writing a word or phrase
a hundred or more times, and also the task of committing
to memory some portion of the Bible. It is not good to
associate the Bible with restraint and compulsion. If
writing is imposed, it is best to associate it with an element
of interest or profit, and not lifeless routine, so that the
maximum good may result.
Corporal Punishment and its Ethics. — Corporal
punishment, next to expulsion, should be the dernier
ressort. Many educationists consider this kind of punish-
ment is more efficacious if administered in private, and
after the lapse of an hour or thereabouts from the
time the offence was committed. Circumstances, however,
276 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
sometimes arise when it is deemed desirable to administer
such punishment before the class or even the whole school,
especially if the offence is a grave one against the school
community. It is manifestly improper for a teacher to
inflict corporal punishment when harbouring feelings of
resentment against the offender. Such feelings might
amount only to righteous indignation ; but the danger
of excess is always present in the absence of calm dispas-
sionate judgment. On the other hand, Mr. Bernard Shaw
says : "If you strike a child, take care that you strike
it in anger. ... A blow in cold blood neither can nor
should be forgiven." Possibly the best comment on this
extraordinary view is — " probably everything which Mr.
Shaw has not said is true." However, much of the value
of punishment is also lost if administered while the
offender is not in a normal condition of mind, that is,
in a state of anger or great excitement. Of course,
every delinquent ought to have a reasonable opportunity
of defence.
In all schools in which corporal punishment is regarded
as necessary — and it is so regarded in most schools, French
institutions being a conspicuous exception — care should be
taken to see that the same standard is maintained through-
out the school, that the offender should understand that
the punishment is a regrettable necessity, and that mercy
is always allowed to season justice.
Herbert Spencer advocates punishment in his doctrine
of " Natural Consequences." As want of obedience to
natural law inevitably brings punishment, so a breach of
rules framed for a child's benefit ought to bring corre-
sponding pain and penalties — they are a foretaste of the
reality of things when laws are violated.
Spencer argues that as self-preservation is the first law
of life, actions that are injurious to the organism tend not
DISCIPLINE. 277
to be repeated, while those that are beneficial call for repe-
tition. Conduct that results in benefit to the organism is
good, and conduct that results in injury is bad-, and hence
the " ultimate standards " for behaviour are to be found
in the happiness or misery that follows it. Whether bodily
conduct is therefore rigid or wrong must depend on the
resulting reactions — whether they are beneficial or detri-
mental.
All transgressions of the law of life bring their penalties
— the " unavoidable consequences " — and these are not
artificial and unnecessary inflictions of pain, but " bene-
ficial checks to action at variance with bodily welfare."
The penalties or " painful reactions are proportionate to
the transgressions " ; they are " natural, constant, direct,
unhesitating, and not to be escaped. No threats ; but a
silent rigorous performance." They further generate
"right conceptions of cause and effect"; they represent
the operations of an " impersonal agency " and the " disci-
pline of pure justice " : they are, too, the " true restraints '
and the " most efficient " remedies.
" No humanely-devised penalty can replace " these
natural reactions ; for " artificial punishments have failed
to produce reformation." The highest disciplinary effects
have only been attained by those who " approximate their
regime to the methods of nature."
In the operation of natural laws lies the " guiding prin-
ciple of moral education."
Spencer maintains, therefore, that artificial penalties
should not be substituted for natural reactions ; but there
is no reason why artificial penalties should not accompany
natural penalties. A secondary kind of punishment, how-
ever, should not usurp the place of the primary.
The word "natural" in this doctrine is used in more
than one sense — as relating to (1) inanimate nature, (2)
278 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
the living organism, and (3) what is acceptable by human
wisdom as desirable or necessary, e.g. a child plays with
hot cinders and burns its fingers ; the burning is a " natural
consequence."
Another child scatters the contents of a box of toys on
the floor and refuses to pick them up and replace them.
The next time the child asks for the box the request
should be declined. This refusal is a " natural conse-
quence" also.
He pleads for an intimate connection between the penalty
and the offence : the former should be the " true conse-
quence " of the latter. In " The Vision of Dante " the
same idea is worked out. Similarly Bentham laid down
the same principle in application to the Criminal law.
It is generally agreed that there are many weak spots
in Spencer's argument. So far, however, as immediate
consequences are concerned, there is no doubt that they
direct or control the initial stages in the process of the
evolution of the will : and this is Spencer's fundamental
point. To sum up, he advocates a close parallelism
between punishments inflicted by human agency and
those penalties or natural reactions exacted by nature's
laws.
Both Arnold and Turing thought corporal punishment
absolutely necessary. Turing, however, opposed its use
for moral offences on the ground that " protracted feeling,
instead of sharpness, is wanted in dealing with a sin."1
He considered the rod should be confined to disciplinary
and wilful offences, other than purely moral ones.
But the oldest and wisest authority on this subject is
Solomon, and his view is still honoured by fairly general
observance. There are, however, many girls' schools of
the highest efficiency in which corporal punishment is
1 Education and School.
DISCIPLINE. 279
unknown; but these schools are dominated by a powerful
and charming personality. Corporal punishment might
perhaps reach its vanishing point, even for boys, when
alt teachers are strong and magnetic, and able by a
sort of ethical induction to neutralise opposing forces
and inspire the scholars with their own ideals of life
and its duties.
In every breach of law many factors are involved. These
should, as far as possible, be determined before punishment
is administered. It is not impossible that the teacher may
sometimes be the chief factor and primary cause. Dull
method, the absence of careful supervision, laxity of aim —
these and others are contributory to breaches of regula-
tions. It is not difficult to resolve a few concrete cases
into their constituent factors — of course they will vary in
each instance, probably in quantity and quality, — and it
will be found by this analysis what a surprising number
of elements there are, and what subtle variations are some-
times present.
The abstract right to inflict corporal punishment is a
great force in itself. Its strength lies chiefly in its silent
reservation and suggestiveness. As a static power it is
frequently greater than when dynamic, and probably is
always so if associated with a strong personality. Indeed,
the oftener the right is set in motion, the less effective it
becomes. When unexercised or unseen in action, it looms
large in a child's imagination and becomes a more coercive
and mysterious power than it actually is. For this reason,
privacy of punishment, as well as the sparing use of it,
appear most desirable. The sympathy, too, of class-
fellows is less likely to be excited in the delinquent's
favour when penalties are exacted in camera.
On the other hand, it is claimed by the opponents
of corporal punishment that it represents brute force
280 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
enthroned, and that in its absence the teacher has the
wholesome discipline of both governing himself and keep-
ing the scholars always fully interested and suitably em-
ployed. They think the teacher should learn " to walk
without a stick."
It is well perhaps to state seriatim most of the objections
to corporal punishment — urged by those who oppose its
use : —
(1) It is degrading to the child, and it brutalises the
person who punishes.
(2) It is arbitrary.
(3) It is unnatural.
(4) There is an absence of a proper standard fcr apply-
ing the punishment.
(5) It appeals only to brute instincts.
(6) It places the child in opposition to authority.
(7) It creates ill-feeling between child and teacher.
(8) It is cowardly.
(9) It is ineffective.
All these, except perhaps (1) and (8), are supported
either directly or by implication by Spencer's " discipline
of natural consequences."
The opponents of corporal punishment fail to realise the
actual conditions of school life and the nature of childhood.
The school must be allowed, without unnecessary inter-
ruption, to pursue the aim of its existence. The machinery
of government is devised to secure this end. Anything
that interferes with this arrangement must be brought
into line or cast aside. Society is protected against the
lawless individual by a graded system of penalties, and why
not the school, which is a preparation for society ? The
penalties of the school are the " milk of human kindness "
compared with those imposed by society. The school, too,
DISCIPLINE. 281
is in a tutelary position in regard to each of its scholars.
If a child will not conform to law as a child, it is less likely
to do so as a man or woman. The iron regime must there-
fore be brought into play to compel obedience, for the
child's own sake, apart from the interests of the other
members of the school community — or his last state will
be worse than the first. " He who has not been chastened
is not educated."
Nature's penalties are often remote. The child must be
trained and cannot wait for their operation. Immediate
penalties, wisely applied, are often immediate remedies.
The child is not naturally a moral being : far from it.
Primitive man dominates him. He is by no means
sensitive to moral distinctions or moral influence. As
mature intellectual power comes later in life, so it is with
moral power : it is a question of gradual development.
Those who think corporal punishment degrading, etc.,
consider the child more angelic than wild, and they further
ignore the great variations arising from the personality of
the teacher. Their premises are wrong ; they see a little
of the truth and regard it as the whole truth. The
fallacies underlying most of the objections, especially ex-
cepting (4) set out above, cannot fail to be discovered by
the thoughtful student.
Bell thought that deprivation was the best kind of
punishment, while Lancaster pinned his faith to ridicule.
In most educational areas rules have been formulated by
the local authority for the guidance of teachers. In some
districts corporal punishment may only be administered
for grave moral offences, and not even then till other
methods have been tried and failed. The head teacher is
usually held responsible for all punishments of whatever
kind ; but he may in some areas, with the consent of the
local authority, delegate the power to inflict punishment to
282 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
those assistants whom he may consider worthy of the
trust.
There is a f ; irl / general agreement as to the conditions
and principles to be observed in connection with corporal
punishment. They are : (1) It should be regarded as
"beneficent checks to actions" at variance with the welfare
of the child and the school. (2) It should be confined
to moral offences, and certain disciplinary faults that
cannot otherwise be effectively treated. (3) It should
be adjusted to the character of the offence and the dis-
position of the offender. (4) There should be a clear
idea as to the cause of punishment, both in the mind of
the child and the teacher ; and the justice of it should, as
far as possible, be recognised by each. (5) It should be
chiefly confined to scholars during the formative period of
their characters — say between six and 'twelve years of age.
(6) The instrument of punishment should be supple, and
light in weight. (7) Neither party should be in anger.
(8) No prolonged period should intervene between the
time of offence and the punishment. (9) It should never
be used as an incentive. (10) It should not, except under
extremely exceptional circumstances, be administered to
highly emotional and delicate children. (11) It should
not be applied to any part of the body readily susceptible
to injury — and of course it should never be applied to the
head. And the writer, siding with the minority, would
like to add : — (12) It should, as a rule, be administered in
private and in the presence of another adult.
The Law of Corporal Punishment. — As the teacher
should be an exemplary citizen and not break the law, it
is well briefly to notice the legal aspect of this question.
By the common law of England, any kind of what is
known as unlawful restraint or punishment applied to a
DISCIPLINE. 283
child by a teacher is actionable, and renders the teacher
liable to fine or imprisonment. Justification can, however,
be successfully pleaded when, in the words of Lord Chief
Justice Cockburn, the punishment is " moderate and reason-
able." Judo-ment in the following cases briefly summarises
the law on this point.
In Begina v. Hopley the Lord Chief Justice Cockburn,
in giving judgment, said : —
"By the law of England, the parent or the schoolmaster, who for
this purpose represents the parent, and has the parental authority
delegated to him, may, for the purpose of correcting what is evil in
the child, inflict moderate and reasonable corporal punishment,
always however with this condition, that it is moderate and reason-
able. If it be administered for the gratification of passion or rage,
or if it be protracted beyond the child's power of endurance, or with
an instrument unfitted for the purpose and calculated to produce
danger to life or limb, in all such cases the punishment is excessive
and violent, and is unlawful."
In Gardner v. Bygrave Mr. Justice Mathew said, in
giving judgment : — •
"The point for the court was Avhether, according to the law of
England, it was criminal for a master to cane a pupil by striking
him on the hand. The magistrate stated that the boy deserved the
punishment, and he did not attack the right to punish corporally
with the view to intellectual stimulation, as the counsel for the
respondent had done. It was clear that no injury was caused in
that case, and the punishment was properly inflicted. The reason
given by the magistrate, ' that caning on the hand, however in-
flicted, was necessarily attended by serious injury,' was not suffi-
cient to justify this conviction. It must, therefore, be quashed."
It was held, too, in Cleary v. Booth —
"That besides the reasonable authority of a parent or guardian
which is delegated to the schoolmaster, the schoolmaster had also
the power to inflict corporal punishment upon a pupil for miscon- <<"
duct on the way to and from the school, and out of school hours."
284 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Expulsion. — Expulsion is fraught with such serious
consequences that it should only be resorted to when the
school's resources have been taxed to the utmost and have
failed, and when the continued presence of the offender in
the school is likely to be a serious menace to its discipline.
It is well for the teacher not to accept sole responsibility
for expulsion, but to enlist the aid and authority of the
managers. The Board of Education has taken up a
definite position on this question, and will support the
managers' action if " reasonable ground " can be adduced
for exclusion. In this connection the " parable of the lost
sheep " should be kept in mind.
The Punishment Book. — The punishment book is a
necessary official adjunct to corporal punishment.1 This
book should contain the following items in connection with
each case — date, name of scholar, offence, instrument of
punishment, mode and amount of punishment, and signa-
ture or initials of the teacher responsible.
Parents' and Managerial Aid. — It is hardly possible
to over-estimate the value of a strong sympathetic link
between the home and the school. The home sentiment
is one of the most sacred things in life — it may be said
to stand next to that of religion. Sometimes, however,
the influences of the home are not favourable to training.
The child's affections are nevertheless centred there. It
is most unwise for the teacher to speak disparagingly of
the home in any case, since that course is likely to alienate
whatever sympathies the child has with school life. To
oppose silently vicious home tendencies, by endeavouring
to form in the scholars good habitudes and habits that will
1 Schedule IV., Code 1910— "All cases of corporal punishment
■*- must be recorded in a Punishment Book."
DISCIPLINE. 285
possibly negate those tendencies, is the best policy. The
wise teacher usually finds the means of ingratiating him-
self into the hearts of the parents, well knowing that even
a small place there will help him in the work of training.
Visits to the parents are recommended whenever
practicable. The personal touch will often clear away
difficulties and create a cordial relationship, in which the
possibilities of future misunderstandings will be lost. The
parents, too, should be encouraged to visit the teacher at
school when any doubt arises in their minds as to the
treatment their children are receiving or the progress they
are making. Courteous and considerate attention to com-
plaints and requests, even when not made in the best
possible manner, is the wisest course always. One dis-
affected parent, with a reasonable ground of complaint,
can do much mischief, while every good and thoughtful
parent, who has not been estranged, can serve the school
in at least two efficient ways. In the first place, each well
home-trained child is a valuable school asset that is not
without its reactions on the school community; and
secondly, the parent gladly proclaims the beneficent work
of the school in the locality, upholds its authority, and
thereby reacts on parents less worthy. The school and
homes are units in an association having a common
interest and, to a great extent, a common aim. The
unexpressed desire characterises both — that the children
may learn to "do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly "
through life.
In many schools the influence for good which the Com-
mittee of Managers would be glad to exercise is not
adequately utilised. Without suggesting anything in the
form of interference with the internal management of the
school, it is submitted that the managers' willingness and
ability to help might be usefully directed. The teacher
286 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
cannot afford to disregard any local force that will aid him
in the consummation of his work. Cases of difficulty with
parents, as well as with children, might well invoke the
individual or collective help of the managers. A visit to
the house, or a letter from the chairman, has often been
found the turning-point in a new and worthy career for a
child, or a fresh and agreeable departure from old ways
on the part of the parent. The managers have proved
especially helpful in some poor districts by adopting a
system of home visitation as school circumstances invited.
This is usually done by the ladies. All school functions
such as annual excursions, prize distributions, open sessions,
book clubs, juvenile friendly societies, and organisations for
underfed children are other favourable oppportunities for
managers to be brought into contact with parents and
children.
Other Aids to Discipline. — Other aids to discipline
are (1) annual excursions, (2) reports to parents, (3) annual
prize distribution meetings, (4) open sessions, (5) savings
bank, (6) home lessons, (7) the school library, (8) leagues
of mercy, of courtesy, (9) school clubs, (10) underfed
children organisation, (11) school lists, (12) office routine,
(13) the hall address, (14) the honour and merit award,
(15) the school motto, (16) the school cap and badge,
(17) public examinations, (18) the school journey, (19) fire
drill, (20) May Queen festival for girls, (21) Fairy Queen
and Maypole fete for infants, (22) the old scholars' club,
(23) the school journal, (24) the tooth-brush club, (25) the
annual flower show, (26) visits of nurses, (27) medical
inspection, (28) the "school city" method of government.
Some of these helps call for brief explanation or expan-
sion. All teachers are acquainted with the pleasurable
anticipation that belongs to a child months before the
DISCIPLINE.
287
annual Sunday School treat takes place, and the almost
delirious joy that is his when the happy day has arrived.
A similar annual outing is a desirable institution for every
day school ; indeed, the practice in this direction is grow-
ing. All agencies for good become the more effective by
being closely associated with happy hours in the lives of
children. Association between parents and teachers on
occasions like these strengthens the link that cannot after-
wards be easily strained or broken.
Reports to Parents. — Periodical reports to parents
should be regarded as a duty. They have the right to
know, from time to time, how far the school is carrying
out its trust, and what progress their children are making.
And this information should have the stamp of authority,
and be exact, sincere, unbiassed. A child, too, has a
natural desire to please its parents : it is the more likely,
therefore, knowing these reports to be inevitable, to put
forth consistent and strenuous effort at school, and to
endeavour to secure the approbation of the teacher by good
conduct and general progress. It is best to avoid long
intervals between reports of this kind. Half-yearly or
term reports are, however, usual. Generalised monthly
reports to supplement these would be valuable for junior
scholars.1 The enormous amount of clerical work in-
volved is, however, regarded as a serious objection; but
labour that will help to give grit to the rising generation
should not be withheld or grudgingly given. The points to
accentuate in these communications are conduct, general
progress, and attendance. The form on p. 288 is a suitable
one when a third column is added for remarks in con-
nection with each subject. Columns (1) and (2) might
then, at the option of the teacher, be dispensed with,
* See pp. 260-269, "Rewards."
288
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
REPORT TO PARENTS.1
Scholar's Attendance, Conduct, and Progress.
For the ending 19
Name_
Standard or Class
Place in Class
No. of Scholars in Class
Number of Times the School was open _
Times absent Times late
Scale of Marks: — Excellent; Very Good ; Fair; Bad.
1
Scripture ...
Reading ...
Writing ...
Arithmetic
Spelling . . .
Drawing ...
Composition
1
2
English . . .
History . . .
Geography
Needlework
Homework
Manual
Training
Conduct . . .
1
2
Additional
Subjects :
1
i
2
General remarks
.Head Teacher.
Class Teacher.
Columns 1. Maximum number of marks obtainable.
2. Marks obtained in each subject.
»>
Open Sessions. — Open sessions, once a year, have been
found useful. During these sessions — two, as a rule, are
ample — the ordinary school work proceeds as usual, and
the parents are invited to visit the school and see its work-
1 The Report Form should be headed by the name of the School,
DISCIPLINE. 289
ing arrangements. It is a general practice on these occa-
sions to exhibit some of the work that has been done
during the preceding twelve months. The open session
is one of pleasure to the parents and of delight to the
children.
Home Lessons. — Home lessons, given with discrimina-
tion, are valuable adjuncts to school work. They repre-
sent more than anything else the projection of the school
into the home. They help to show parents the reality of
the progress the children are making ; they become, under
proper limitations, a unifying power in the association to
which reference has already been made. Home lessons,
further, render material assistance in the direction of private
effort, without which self-reliance and resourcefulness are
an impossibility.
It is well to remember that, under normal conditions, a
reasonable day's work for a child has been done at the
close of the afternoon session. In order to prevent over-
strain, therefore, the home lessons ought to be able to be
mastered in time varying from twenty minutes to an hour,
according to the age and attainments of the scholar. The
work given should chiefly lie within the circle of the year's
course of instruction, and should refer generally to the
application of what has been already taught. What is
demanded should, of course, be reasonably within the
range of each child's powers, and be of such a nature
generally as to compel the scholar to rely entirely upon
himself for its just accomplishment.
The encouragement of home or other effort external to
the school, in the direction of interests outside the scope of
the school curriculum, is also desirable. Teachers can do
much to direct and economise activities on these lines.
Language or history appeals strongly to one child, drawing
s.o. 21
290 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
or handicraft to another, natural history to a third, and
so on. Each bias in action helps to widen the range of
thought and endeavour that must favourably react on the
school community. The main thing is that encourage-
ment should not be sporadic, and that it should find its
chief expression in a system of appreciative tests and
rewards for work thus voluntarily accomplished. And in
connection with this it should be said that no school, while
giving whole-hearted support to games, should fail to give
to the child some little insight into the right use of leisure.
Steadfast work gives an added zest to play.
The kind of work that might well be done is reading,
memorising passages from English literature, drawing,
handicraft work — well, one might almost say, any subject
that excites interest in the individual. Preparation of a
scene or play for a coining school or class-room perform-
ance will sometimes move a whole class to voluntary home
activity. It is generally undesirable to be exacting as to
time for the performance of work of this character. It is
not one effort that is needed, but a series of efforts directed
to a given end. Time therefore must be allowed and all
rush avoided. It is manifest that home lessons are out of
place for infants.
One of the Mosely Commissioners says in regard to
home lessons in the United States : " Each child takes
care of his own set of books, carries them home and uses
them there. Indeed home lessons seem to be general
except among the very young children." 1
Meals for Children. — Underfed children, ill clad and
ill shod, are not uncommon in many urban schools. Sickly
complexions, pinched faces, emaciated limbs, and other out-
ward signs of the need of regular and proper nourishment
1 Mr. H. Coward, Mosely Education Commission Report, 1904.
DISCIPLINE. 291
are often too apparent. A hungry child is necessarily un-
fit to receive all the benefits to be derived from attendance
at school. The seeds of organic disease are frequently
sown through continued ill-nourishment. The demands of
school work are a continual drain on the nervous system,
and when this is already enfeebled by insuilicient nutri-
ment, deterioration of physique is inevitable.
In the absence of voluntary organisations to meet cases
like these, it is the teacher's duty to seek assistance else-
where. The well-to-do children, in some schools, bring
boots and other articles of clothing to aid their less fortu-
nate school-fellows — do it, that is, unobtrusively through
the head teacher ; but the feeding difficulty must be met
by other means. No child receiving help in clothing or
food ought to feel degraded. The food should be the
manna in the wilderness.
The Education (Provision of Meals) Act 1906 now pro-
vides that the local education authority may (1) associate
with themselves any committee on which the authority are
represented, who will undertake to form a " school canteen
committee" to provide food for children; and the said
authority may aid that committee by furnishing land,
building, apparatus, etc., and such officers and servants as
may be necessary for the purpose, provided the authority
do " not incur any expense in respect of the purchase of
food " ; and (2) by the sanction of the Board of Education
" spend out of the rates " a sum that will " meet the cost
of the provision of such food," provided (a) that other funds
are insufficient or not available for feeding the children,
and (b) that the rate levied for the purpose does not
exceed a halfpenny in the pound.
The School Library. — This is indispensable. Its value
in forming character, in encouraging application, in reach-
292 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
ing the home, and in many other ways, is undoubted. " A
school without an easily accessible library of at least a
thousand volumes is really scarcely a school at all — it is
a dispensary without bottles, a kitchen without a pantry."1
In the United States practically every school either
possesses a good library of its own or is directly associated
with the public library, which co-operates with the school
and supplies it with suitable books. The following
extracts from Mr. H. K. Rathbone's report (Mosely Com-
mission) will be found interesting : " A separate depart-
ment for children has existed in the Boston Public Library
since 1895. It occupies two rooms, one for recreative
reading and the other for study, both furnished with low
tables, chairs, and book-cases. Children over the age of
ten years can be card-holders and may draw two books at
a time. In the reference room (study room) lessons are
studied, compositions written, and other preparations for
school are done. One feature of the room which is con-
stantly proving its value is the collection of text-books
used in the Boston Public Schools. Teachers are invited
to come to the Library with classes and themselves to
give instruction or make use of books reserved for them
as they may request." Mr. Rathbone further says that
advice and assistance in the selection of books are given to
the children by the officials in charge of the children's
department.
Similar schemes of co-operation between public libraries
and schools are now in operation on this side of the
Atlantic. Every urban school at least should take advan-
tage of the cheerful willingness of Borough Councils and
their librarians to aid the schools in any reasonable way.
But arrangements of this nature, no matter how complete,
cannot supersede or replace the school library — the larger
1 Mankind in the Making, H. G. Wells.
DISCIPLINE. 293
can only supplement the smaller. No public official can
adequately discharge the advisory functions of the teacher
who has, or should have, an intimate knowledge of his
pupils. The library of a senior department should contain
books suitable for all the children therein and should be
worked systematically on a weekly or fortnightly basis.
In the rooms occupied by the upper classes a list of
books that every boy or girl ought to read might with
advantage be hung on the walls. There should also be
a reference library for teachers and reference books
for each of the upper classes. The latter volumes —
consisting of a standard dictionary and atlas, l a, Whit-
aker's Almanac, the Children's Encyclopaedia, and pos-
sibly a general Eailway Time Table — should be considered
part of the equipment of such rooms and be always ac-
cessible.
League of Mercy, Guild of Courtesy. — Leagues and
guilds of this character are usually associated with wide
organisations external to the school, to which scholars may
belong, a badge being worn by the children to indicate
membership. In order to become a member, a child has
to make a promise to adhere to the principles which the
league or guild was established to foster. It is important
that due care be exercised before admission to membership
is allowed, which should be regarded as a privilege only
to be obtained by a probationary period of good conduct
on the lines upon which the league or guild is founded.
Solemn promises made and soon broken do more harm
1 Dictionaries and atlases should be provided for the scholars
in the higher classes. In cases where the school does not possess a
school library, arrangements should be made to supply books for
the reading of the scholars by co-operation with organisations
existing for the purpose or otherwise. — Art. 20, Code 1910.
294 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
than good. The school that does not train its pupils to
think kindly of, and to act considerately towards, dumb
animals, has lamentably failed in its duty.1 The efficacy
of these institutions might be easily sapped and even
rendered baneful by affectation or pride on the part of its
members. The spirit with which the badge is worn is
everything : it should merely be a symbol of a pledge to
do what is right and dutiful, to do unto others as you would
they should do unto you.
School Lists. — School lists giving the names of pupils
who have distinguished themselves by exemplary conduct,
punctual and regular attendance, close industry, or general
progress, act as a stimulus to some who are not readily
responsive to ordinary school influences. They also serve
to maintain a standard of high aim when that has been
once reached.
Office Routine. — It is usual in most good schools to
have posts of honour for highly deserving pupils, who
perform monitorial duties of various kinds, certain other
privileges being generally attached to office. The circle of
influence is widened, however, by not confining these posts
to a selected few, but by conferring them on all scholars
in rotation who show they are worthy of trust and con-
fidence. Such rotation, too, reduces the possibility of
annoyance which sometimes comes from those who consi-
der themselves permanent tenants-at-will. The duties of
monitors are chiefly confined to routine. These duties
1 Moral instruction should form an important part of the
curriculum of every elementary school. The instruction should be
specially directed to the inculcation of ... . kindness to animals,
etc.— Art. 2, Code 1910.
DISCIPLINE. 295
must not be allowed to interfere with their studies.1 The
election by ballot, once a month or once a term, of a class
captain by the pupils, who is responsible, next to the
teacher, for the proper conduct of the class, especially in
the playground and playing fields, has been found a useful
step in the direction of pupil self-government. But no-
where has this principle of self-government been carried
out so successfully as in America.
The Hall Address. — Both in Germany and America
the hall address is much practised. In the latter country
it is sometimes given daily in a very brief way, usually
preceded by reading some portion of the Scriptures with-
out comment.
Once a week it is desirable for the head teacher to give
an address to the whole school, the chief aim of which
should be moral training.2 It is hardly necessary to say
that cold didactic lectures are quite useless for this pur-
pose. If any good is to result from these weekly addresses,
the incidents upon which they turn should be drawn from
realities — from contemporaneous events, from history,
from the Bible — using these as the vehicle for the praise
of virtue and the condemnation of vice. Unless pleasurable
emotions are excited in the contemplation of right-doing,
and painful or contemptuous emotions by the review of
wrong, ethical training cannot be directly effected.
The Honour and Merit Board. — This usually consists
of a framed board on which are recorded the names of
1 See Arts. 11 {/), 43 (e), and Schedule IV. (21), Code 1910. " The
Board do not, however, prohibit the employment of young persons
... to assist the teachers in matters of class routine, other than
teaching." — President of the Board of Education in the House of
Commons, March 11, 1907. 2 See Art. 2, Code 1910.
296 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
pupils who have obtained scholarships or passed other
examinations worthy of mention. Any noble acts per-
formed by individual scholars should find permanent
expression on the school walls in a similar way. These
records especially serve to stimulate useful impulses, to
impress upon the pupils the corporate life of the school,
and to give it an historical interest.
The School Journey. — The school journey is based on
the idea of a country holiday for the scholars, under the
control and management of teachers, as a combined source
of health, pleasure, and education.
As the journey may vary considerably in length of time
and specific purpose, according to circumstances, it is
probably best here to relate particulars of the journey as
carried out in a London school, rather than give a descrip-
tion by mere generalisations.
In this school the Easter holiday is utilised for the
purpose. The head teacher many weeks beforehand sends
a communication to the parents announcing the objective
of the journey and giving the probable cost, which varies
from 21s. to 23s. 6d. for eight days.
Journeys have been made to Abergavenny, Chepstow,
Malvern, etc., these places being chiefly used as a base for
daily excursions. Generally about forty or fifty scholars,
from Standard III. upwards, accompanied by three or
more teachers, form the party.
Each boy is supplied with a hectographed guide-book
of about forty pages, giving the following informa-
tion : —
(1) The personal necessities for the outing, accompanied
with general instructions. (2) The time-tables of the
outward and homeward journeys from London. (3)
Incidents of these journeys — things to be seen and
DISCIPLINE. 297
observed on the way — e.g. natural phenomena, centres of
industry, public buildings, lines that meet at railway
junctions, etc. (4) Itinerary for each day with brief notes
on objects of interest. (5) Topographical maps, eleva-
tions and sections of hill ranges, geological sections of the
various districts to be visited, sketches of fossils, etc. (6)
Geological notes. (7) A list of the party. (8) Individual
cash account, giving spaces for receipts and expenditure
each day — checked daily by the teachers. (9) A blank
register for the record of marks on conduct, cleanliness,
and local knowledge. (10) An Index.
Al fresco and other lectures are given by the teachers. It
is found that gentlemen of local standing gladly give their
help to the party on matters in which they possess special
knowledge, e.g. a vicar shows the party over his church, or
a dean over a cathedral, pointing out architectural charac-
teristics and beauties, and colouring its existence with
historical fact ; a local scientist gives lectures en mar chant
on the geology or botany of the district ; a retired colonel
accompanies the party to an old battlefield, fights the battle
over again, or explains the mysteries of a fort or a Roman
camp.
To illustrate some of the things accomplished by the
party on these journeys, the following will suffice: (1)
Traced a tributary from its source to entry into the main
stream. (2) Climbed hills over 1000 feet high, and noted
the counties seen, elevations and depressions, towns and
villages, great landmarks, etc. (3) Searched for fossils,
each boy bringing home a small collection. (4) Visited
places of historical interest, such as ancient camps, Roman
and British.
Each lad is examined daily on the knowledge obtained
from his previous day's work, and entries are made in
his guide-book accordingly.
298 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
As to cost, (1) the Railway Company carries the children
at quarter fare ; (2) modest temperance hotels take the
children for 10s. or lis. per week, including board, lodging,
and service.
Many of the boys, as well as the teachers, carry a
camera. At the close of each journey a descriptive photo-
album is made, containing cuttings from the local press
and other descriptive matter, which is preserved as a
souvenir.
Some results : — (1) Cordial relations between teachers,
scholars, and parents. (2) The scholars' exceptional interest
in geography, geology, topography, and local history. (3)
Strong tendency to improve the discipline and tone of the
school.
Day, week-end, and even fortnightly outings of this
character are rapidly growing into favour.
Some of the journeys recently undertaken are to the
point, as they show the main objective, length of stay, and
number of teachers and scholars : — (B.),1 to Darley Dale,
Derbyshire, June 2nd to June 16th (60), 5 teachers ; (B.),
to Stoneleigh Abbey, Kenil worth, July 6th to July 20th
(20), 1 teacher ; (B.), to G-oudhurst, Kent (30), 2 teachers ;
(B.), to Whitstable, June 30th to July 14th (50), 4
teachers ; (B.), to Denton, Sussex, June 18th to July 2nd
(25), 2 teachers; (B.), to Malvern, June 25th to July 9th
(25), 2 teachers; (B.), to Bexhill, July 11th to July 20th
(30), 2 teachers; (B.), to Dymchurch, Kent (36 younger
boys), July 1st to July 15th, 2 teachers ; older boys (36), 1
teacher, 2 part of time; (Gr.)> to Witnesham, Ipswich, classes
of 40 taken for 3 weeks each during May to September,
with 2 teachers.
1 B. = Boys' department ; G-. = Girls' department. Number of
pupils indicated in brackets. See also Educational Pamphlets,
No. 21, A School Week in the Country.
DISCIPLINE. 299
The School Motto. — Each school should have its own
motto — one so simple as to appeal to each of its scholars.
A motto helps to give to a school a well-defined in-
dividuality, and adds to its life another trait that dis-
tinguishes that school from all others. It crystallises the
central point on which the school's moral teaching bangs,
and acts like a strong cement in binding its units together.
History teaches how a phrase giving clear definition to a
great principle will hold a multitude of people together,
and transform them in aim into a homogeneous whole.
In selecting a school motto it is well to request the
parents, through the scholars, to suggest a briefly expressed
sentiment for the purpose. This is practicable in most
districts. The head teacher and staff could then select a
few of those suggestions considered to be the best, and
submit them to the vote of the whole school, with the view
of adopting the one motto which most completely accords
with the views of the majority. " The school should be
the symbol of an eternal unifying spirit."1
Fire Drill.2 — Fire drill is essential. The school must,
at various times, be called upon suddenly and unexpectedly
to go through this drill at a given signal. This signal is
generally the ringing of hand, electric or other bells, and
the object is, of course, to effect a speedy clearance of the
building without undue haste or excitement. Apart from
the value of the drill as a safety measure in case of fire, it
also trains the child to face unexpected and even dangerous
situations with composure. It is an object lesson too in
the desirability of prompt obedience.
The May Queen Festival. — Once a year, in some
girls' departments, the scholars are called upon to select
1 Words of the U.S. Commissioner of Education.
2 Art. 2(9), Code 1910.
300 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
their May Queen. Simplicity and purity of character,
combined with sweetness of disposition, invariably carry
off the palm on these occasions. At the festival which
follows the queen is enthroned and crowned, and the chil-
dren show their deference to her quality and submission to
her authority. The Fairy Queen Fete is a similar institu-
tion for infant schools, the upper classes only taking part
in the selection of the favoured one.
Clubs. — With regard to old scholars' clubs, it is lament-
able to find, in large urban centres, scholars stepping over
the threshold of the school at the leaving age and never
crossing it again. They pass out of sight, like the shadow
figures on the bridge in the vision of Mirzah.
Some provision should be made for keeping in touch
with ex-scholars for at least three or four years, in order
that the spirit of the school — assuming it to be good — may
be kept active within them. This is all the more neces-
sary in poor localities where surroundings are often depress-
ing and where temptations are sometimes rife. The years
from about 14 to 17 are the most perilous in life — more
especially for the boy. " The dawn of puberty is soon fol-
lowed by a stormy period of great agitation, when the very
worst and best impulses in the human soul struggle against
each other for its possession, and when there is a peculiar
proneness to be very good or very bad. As the agitation
slowly subsides, it is found that there has been a renais-
sance of either the best or the worst elements of the soul,
if not indeed of both."1
For these reasons, it is eminently desirable to have an
ex-scholars' club in connection with each school, meeting
say fortnightly or monthly, on a social basis. Such a club
would emerge all the more naturally when societies or
1 Adolescence, Dr. Stanley Hall.
DISCIPLINE. 301
clubs exist in the day school. For pupils, cricket and
football clubs are possible in most places. A rambling
club — occasional Saturday and evening outings — has been
found most valuable too in many schools : photography,
sketching, natural histoiy, according to the bias of indi-
vidual members, can thus come into play. A Shakespeare
society — especially for girls — has also been found practi-
cable, membership being confined to the upper classes.
In this connection home effort takes a prominent part.
Objective: (1) to study one or two plays in each year,
(2) to dramatise certain parts, (3) to have some acquaint-
ance with the poet's life and the places associated with it,
and (4) to grow the flowers mentioned by Shakespeare, and
to learn the sentiments expressed in connection with them.
Clubs should be regarded as indispensable adjuncts to
school life.
The School Journal. — The school journal, issued
monthly, in printed form, is, as a rule, only practicable in
large schools, assuming that it must pay its own expenses.
A journal has, however, been found possible in small
schools, and also in some large ones, when taking hekto-
graphed or typewritten form. It is so useful in a multi-
tude of ways, especially in conveying both necessary and
desirable information to parents and scholars, that the
wonder is it has not been generally adopted. As a stimu-
lus to thought among the scholars, whose compositions
when of exceptional merit should be inserted in the journal,
it has few rivals. But what is equally important is this —
it is the monthly message from school to home.
In districts in which the schools do not lie very far apart
it seems quite practicable to have a room, occupying a central
position, fitted as a miniature printing office, for the use of
the neighbouring schools. The upper standard scholars
302 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
could then have one lesson a week in type-setting and
printing — valuable instruction in itself — and thus be able
to set up and print the journal for their own schools.
The Tooth-brush Club. — The proper care of the teeth
has an important bearing on health. The habit of tooth-
cleansing should therefore be formed early.
" What is known as a ' Tooth-brush Club ' has been
formed in certain day schools, and has been of service in
improving dental cleanliness. The head teacher or the
Care Committee lays in a stock of tooth-brushes which can
be obtained wholesale for 2|d. each; these brushes are
then, after some preliminary dental instruction, sold to the
children for 2|d. each, paid in instalments of ^d. or ^d. a
week, the small profit being used to supply tooth-brushes
to very poor children.
" Precipitated chalk is also sold in halfpennyworths,
and it is found that numbers of the children readily join
the clubs, and some even save their money to buy tooth-
brushes as birthday presents for their parents, and one
boy went on his own initiative into the streets at Christmas
to sell toys in order to obtain money to join the tooth-
brush club. The tooth-brushes are called for inspection
periodically, and on every convenient occasion the necessity
for tooth-cleaning is insisted upon."1
The Flower Show. — The scholars are encouraged to
grow flowers at home, and to exhibit them at the annual
show usually held on the school premises in July, when
prizes are awarded for the best relative efforts in plant
cultivation and also for skill (among the girls) in table
decoration. The infants are expected to grow their plants
from seed, and the pupils of the senior departments may
1 See Report of L.C.C. Medical Officer, 1910.
DISCIPLINE. 303
obtain their plants for cultivating purposes either through
the school by purchase, or from any other source. The
award of prizes at the show is usually based on these
three classes. The usefulness of an institution of this kind
is apparent. There is not only the brightness which the
flowers infuse into the homes, but there are also the
intense pleasure and continuity of effort on the part of
the scholar in cultivating things of beauty which cannot
fail to have their salutary effects.
Visits of Nurses. — A system of school visitation by
trained nurses is in operation in many educational areas.
Children cannot fully profit by school discipline if their
heads and clothing are not clean, and those who are
properly cared for by their parents have a right to be
protected from contact with dirty scholars. The nurses
therefore examine the scholars in some schools. Those
who are not in a satisfactory condition receive a card to
be delivered to their parents, who are instructed thereon
to take certain curative steps for cleansing purposes, and
further advised that, if within a week the cleansing has
not been effected, the children in question will be separated
from their school fellows until the unclean condition is
remedied. There are further measures, calculated to wear
down all resistance, if parents are found obstinate in these
initial stages.
Medical Inspection. — Under section (13) of the
Education (Administrative Provisions) Act 1907 it is in-
cumbent on the Local Education Authority " to provide
for the medical inspection of children immediately before,
or at the time of, or as soon as possible after, their admission
to a public elementary school, and on such other occasions
as the Board of Education direct, and ... to make such
304 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
arrangements as may be sanctioned by the Board of
Education for attending to the health and physical con-
dition of the children educated in public elementary
schools."
The " School City " Method of Government.— This
aims, as the name implies, at governing a school chiefly
by means of its pupils in a similar way to that adopted by
adults in the government of a city. Space forbids details.
This plan is successfully carried out in many American
schools.
General Remarks. — But these devices as aids to disci-
pline will be next to useless unless thoroughness charac-
terises all that are called into use. They are not intended
to curb personal liberty, nor to restrain activities, but to
guide and direct them into fruitful channels, and to serve
useful ends. " All things are moral. That soul, which
within us is a sentiment, outside of us is law." 2
The admirable words in the Introduction to the Code
of 1910 give an immutable standard of aim in all that
concerns the school : " Teachers can do much to lay the
foundations of conduct. They can endeavour, by example
and influence, aided by the sense of discipline which should
pervade the school, to implant in the children habits of
industry, self-control, and courageous perseverance in the
face of difficulties : thev can teach them to reverence what
is noble, to be ready for self-sacrifice, and to strive their
utmost after purity and truth ; they can foster a strong
sense of duty, and instil in them that consideration and
1 See also Board of Education's Circulars 576, 582, 596 ; and the
Board's Minute, dated June 25, 1910, which demands medical inspec-
tion of "all children admitted to the school" in any year ending
July 31, " and all children who are expected to leave school " in that
year. 2 Emerson.
DISCIPLINE. 305
respect for others which must be the foundation of un-
selfishness and the true basis of all good manners ; while
the corporate life of the school, especially in the play-
ground, should develop that instinct for fair play and for
loyalty to one another which is the germ of a wider sense
of honour in later life.
" In all these endeavours the school should enlist, as far
as possible, the interest and co-operation of the parents
and the home in an united effort to enable the children not
merely to reach their full development as individuals, but
also to become upright and useful members of the com-
munity in which they live, and worthy sons and daughters
of the country to which they belong."
s. o. 22
CHAPTER VII.
"The keeping or checking of school registers" is of '* vital im-
portance."— Pre/. Memorandum, Code 19l0.
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION.
Both records and registration, on the lines laid down
by the Board of Education, are necessary to obtain recog-
nition as a public elementary school. The principal objects
of these are to ensure and preserve an historical account
of the growth and development of the school as a whole
or any variations in its numbers, its efficiency, or its staff ;
to have a statement concerning each scholar — his name,
address, date of birth, progress, daily attendance and
date of withdrawal ; to supply the necessary figures and
information to the Board of Education as a basis for
the annual grant; to supply information to the bye-law
authority in order that attendance may be enforced, or
exemption granted ; and, finally, to have a properly authen-
ticated record of reports received and grants allowed.
Every school must have three kinds of registers, viz.
(1) the register of admission, progress and withdrawal,
(2) the class attendance registers,1 and (3) the summary
register. The first and second of these are chiefly con-
cerned with individual scholars, while the last deals collec-
1 Including a partial exemption register if part-time scholars are
in attendance.
306
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION. 307
tively both with the groups of children in the form of
classes, and with the school as a whole.
The general conditions to be observed in regard to regis-
tration are thus laid down by the Board of Education1 : —
" Attendance " for the purpose of ascertaining the
average attendance of a school may be reckoned in ac-
cordance with the following regulations. The rules of
Schedule IV. must govern the registration of attendance.
(a) No attendance may be reckoned for any scholar
(1) who is under three or (2) over 16 years of age at the
close of the school year, provided the latter limit has not
been extended under Section 22 (2) of the Education Act,
1902, or for any scholar while habitually employed as a
monitor. 2
(b) For each infant present at secular instruction during
one school meeting for a period of not less than one hour
and a half there should be reckoned one attendance. The
one hour and a half may include the recreation interval.
(c) For each scholar other than an infant scholar pre-
sent at secular instruction during one school meeting for a
period of not less than two hours — including the recreation
interval — there should be reckoned one attendance ; and
(d) For each such scholar who is allowed partial exemp-
tion there may be reckoned, in addition, half an attendance,
subject to the following limitation: —
" the total of the additional attendances allowed in
the case of any partial exemption scholar may not
exceed the number which, when added to the number
of his two-hour attendances during the school year
(or that portion of the year which has elapsed since
he became a half-time scholar) gives the number of
the school openings in the corresponding period."
1 Arts. 43-49 and Schedule IV. 2 Art. 43 {e)i
308 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
In making up the minimum time constituting an attend-
ance there may be reckoned —
" (i) any time occupied by secular instruction, according
to the approved time-table, given to the scholars elsewhere
than at the school ;
" (ii) any time occupied, with the sanction of the inspec-
tor, and under arrangements approved by him, by school
journeys or rambles, or visits paid during the school hours
to places of educational value or interest ;
" (iii) any time occupied by a central examination (other
than for labour certificates) attended by scholars with the
sanction of the inspector, provided that the time allowed
for examination be not less than one hour and a half ;
" (iv) any time occupied in attending at a training
college or centre for pupil teachers, or other place ap-
proved by the Board, for the purpose of model or criticism
lessons ;
" (v) the necessary period for recreation. The period for
reaction, in the case of infants under five years of age,
must be fifteen minutes, and may be extended to half an
hour ; and in the case of scholars over five years of age
must be ten minutes. More recreation may be given, but
only when the period of secular instruction, inclusive of
recreation, is prolonged beyond the necessary one and a half
or two hours ;
" (vi) a period occupied during the school hours, under
arrangements approved by the Board, in properly organised
games for older children under competent supervision and
instruction. The period so occupied must be confined to
one morning or one afternoon in each week, and must be
not less than half an hour or more than two continuous
hours, exclusive of the time, if any, spent in going to
or returning from the playing field ;
" (vii) any time spent during the ordinary school term
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION. 309
under arrangements and according to a time-table ap-
proved by the Board at an open-air school, school camp,
or other place selected with a view to an improvement of
the health and physical condition of the children. The
Board may at any time require the local education
authority to furnish them with a special report by the
school medical officer on the working and effect of any
arrangements made under this Article. For the purposes
of this Code ' school medical officer ' means a medical
officer named by the local education authority, and recog-
nised as such by the Board. In exceptional cases the
Board will recognise separate school medical officers for
separate parts of one area ;
" (viii) any period occupied by a medical inspection of
scholars conducted by or under the authority of the local
education authority in pursuance of the requirements of
Section 13 of the Education (Administrative Provisions)
Act, 1907, whether such inspection is conducted in the
school premises or (in special circumstances) in some other
place appointed for the purpose by the local education
authority with the approval of the Board.
" The school, department, or infants' division must have
met not less than 400 times in the school year."1
The admission and daily attendance of the scholars must
be carefully registered by, or under the supervision of the
head teacher, and must be duly verified from time to time
— at least quarterly — by the managers or some responsible
officer appointed by the local education authority.
General Rules for the use of Registers.
1. " The names of the school, of the department, and, in
the case of attendance registers, of the class, must be
1 There are three exceptions to this rule. See Art. 45.
310 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
distinctly written on the cover of each register, and on the
title-page there must be the signature of the correspondent
and tli e date on which it was issued to the teacher.
2. "The pages of all registers must be numbered con-
secutively, no leaf must be inserted in or withdrawn from
any register, and no blank spaces should be left between
the entries.
3. " Entries must be original and not copies, and must be
made in ink without erasure or insertion.
"If it is necessary to make any correction this should
be done in such a manner that the original entry and the
alteration made are both clear on the face of the record.
" During any time in which school registers are with the
Board for inspection, under Article 48, the record of atten-
dances made by each scholar must be kept in a temporary
register, and the totals of such attendances must be trans-
ferred to the original registers as soon as these are returned
by the Board. The temporary register must be preserved.
4. " Eegisters should be kept for ten years after they
have been filled.
" The head teacher of a school or department is held
responsible for the proper keeping and preservation of the
records of that school or department, and should not dele-
gate to a subordinate any part of this work except the
keeping of attendance registers.
" Pupil teachers of the first year may not be employed
in registration, other pupil teachers may register the
attendances of their own classes."
Special Rules for Admissio7i Register.
1. "An entry should be made in the admission register
for each scholar on his admission to the school. No name
should be removed until the child is exempt from the legal
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION. 311
obligation to attend school, unless it has been ascertained
that he or she is dead, is attending another school, or has
left the neighbourhood. If no information is obtainable
the name may be removed after a continuous absence of
four weeks.
2. " Successive numbers must be allotted to the scholars
on their admission so that each may have his own number,
which he should retain throughout his career in the school
or department. This number will then serve to identify
him.
" When any scholar whose name has been removed from
the register is readmitted, a new entry must be made, but
the scholar should resume his old number and cross refer-
ence should be made to the entries.
3. " This register must show distinctly for each scholar
who has actually been present in the school —
(a) His number on the register.
(b) The date of his admission (and re-admission) —
day, month, and year.
(c) His name in full.
(d) The name and address of his parent or guardian.
(e) Whether exemption from religious instruction or
from attendance at the school during the time
of religious instruction, where the bye-laws
permit this, is claimed on his behalf.
(/) The exact date — day, month, and year — of his
birth.
(g) The last school he attended before entering this
school. If this is his first school, the word
' none ' should be entered in this column.
(h) If he has left, the date of his last attendance at
this school and the cause of his leaving.
4. " This register should have an alphabetical index."
312 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Rules as to the Provision of Attendance Registers.
1. "In each, school or department in which both infants
and other scholars are taught there must be separate sets
of attendance registers kept for each, and no attendances
may be transferred from one to the other.1
2. " For each class in a school or department there should
be a separate attendance register, containing the names of
all children in the class, including partial exemption
scholars, if any.
3. " Each class containing children above and below the
age of five years must have two registers, one for those
above, the other for those below that age, and similarly for
classes containing scholars above and below the age of
fifteen years.
" The name of a child must be transferred from one of
these to the other not later than the end of the week in
which he attains his fifth birthday."
Registers for Special Classes.
For any class in a subject for which a special grant is
paid under the Code, or for any class in the ordinary
subjects held in accordance with the time-table elsewhere
than at the school, there must be a special register.
In these registers the dates of meetings and the times
during which the scholar is under instruction at the meet-
ings must be accurately shown.
The special classes refer to instruction in cookery,
laundry, housewifery, combined domestic subjects, dairy
work, gardening, and handicrafts,2 which are usually but
not necessarily taught at centres.
1 See Art. 31. 2 See Arts. 34 and 44 (a), also Schedule III.
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION. 313
Special Rules for Attendance Registers.
1. "There must be columns for the admission numbers
and names of the scholars, both of which must invariably
be entered at the same time.
" There must be a column for the attendances at each
meeting in the school year. Each of these columns should
be properly dated before any entry of attendance or
absence is made in it. The columns must be grouped in
weeks, and at the foot of each there must be spaces for
entering the total number of children present when the
registers are marked for the last time, and the total num-
ber withdrawn before completing an attendance.
" There must be spaces for recording the total atten-
dances in the quarter or term made by each child.
2. "If school fees are entered in the register, they should
be kept quite separate from the entries of attendances ; the
best place will be the extreme left of the page before the
names of the scholars.
3. "The approved time-table must provide adequate
time at each meeting of the school for marking the regis-
ters, and this time must end before the commencement of
the minimum time constituting an attendance.
" The attendance registers should be marked for the first
time as soon as the school or department is open according
to the time-table. No instruction received by a scholar
before the register is marked for the last time may be
reckoned towards the minimum amount of secular instruc-
tion required in order that an attendance for the purposes
of grants under the Code may be counted.
u The marking of the registers for the afternoon meeting
may not commence within an hour of the close of the
morning meeting, except on occasions for which the special
sanction of the Board has been given to a shorter interval.
314 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
This proceeding is very undesirable, but special cases may
occur, such as those of country schools in the North during
the winter, where there is good reason for making the
afternoon meeting of the school follow the morning meet-
ing after a short interval.
4. " During the time set apart for registration at every
meeting of the school —
Every scholar whose name has been entered in and
not removed from the admission register must be
marked \ (present) or f^\ (absent).
Before the completion of the time set apart for
registration the number of scholars marked present
must be entered in the space provided, and to ensure
accuracy a count of those actually present should be
made before the number is recorded.
5. " During the minimum time constituting an attend-
ance—
The mark of presence of any scholar who leaves
before completing an attendance must be cancelled at
once by drawing a ring round it thus, f\\.
But this need not be done in the case of a scholar
leaving the school for instruction in a special class
held outside the school, unless it is subsequently
ascertained that such scholar has not completed the
minimum time constituting an attendance.
The number of the scholars whose marks of attend-
ance have been cancelled must be entered in the space
provided, before the end of the meeting.
6. " Any scholar marked absent at any meeting who
is found — when the registers of a central class for cookery,
drawing, science, etc., or the registers of attendance at
museums or other approved places are examined — to
have received at the time of that meeting at least two
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION. 315
hours of secular instruction at such class or partly at
such class and partly at the school, may have the letter
C, D, S, M, A, etc., entered inside the mark of absence,
thus f£\ f£\ r^\ (Jf) r^\. All attendances so registered
should be added to the total attendances of each child
concerned at some time not later than the end of the
school year.
7. " When a child is excluded from the school by reason
of a requirement under Article 57 of the Code, or any
provision of an Act of Parliament, or under the authority
of the School Medical Officer, his mark of absence should
be entered thus, (x), the X being added in red ink.
" At every meeting at which a scholar is employed as
a Monitor, he must be marked thus (z).1
8. " When the school does not meet on an occasion for
which space is provided in the registers, this space must
before the next meeting be cancelled by one or more lines
being plainly drawn through it. The reason why the
school did not meet should always appear in the log-book.
For longer periods ' holiday ' should be written across
the column.
9. " The attendance registers must be marked every time
the school meets, however small the attendance, and the
meeting must be counted in ascertaining the average
attendance.
N.B. — In country districts, where the children have
to come from some distance to attend school, a
meeting of the school may occasionally be abandoned
without previous notice on days when, owing to
inclement weather, the attendance is so small as
seriously to interfere with the ordinary working of
the school.
xArts. 11 (/)and43 (e).
316 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
In such a case, the children who reach the school so
wet that sitting in school for the usual school hours
is likely to be injurious to their health, should be sent
home at once. The children not likely to be injured
by remaining for the usual school hours may be
admitted and allowed to receive instruction without
the registers being marked or the meeting reckoned.
Whenever this is done, an entry must at once be made
on the register to the effect that the meeting has been
abandoned, full particulars of the circumstances must
be entered in the log-book, and a record should be
kept of the numbers sent home and retained in school
respectively."
Rules for the use of the Partial Exemption Register.
1. "A separate register must be provided for partial
exemption scholars. The name of no scholar should be
entered in this unless he is ascertained to be a partial
exemption scholar.1
2. "At the close of each week, the number of the two-
hour attendances made by each of the partial exemp-
tion scholars during the week must be ascertained from
the class registers and posted in the partial exemption
register.
3. " At the end of the year a list must be drawn up and
signed on behalf of the Local Education Authority, certi-
fying (a) the number of two-hour attendances made by
each partial exemption scholar, (b) the addition claimed on
his behalf. This addition may not exceed —
(i) One-half of the two-hour attendances made by the
scholar during the year or that portion of the year
1 Art. 43.
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION. 317
during which he has been a partial exemption
scholar ; nor
(ii) Such a number as, when added to the number of his
two-hour attendances during the year or that
portion of the year during which he has been a
partial exemption scholar, will give a total equal to
the number of meetings of the school during the
same period."
Rules as to the Register of Summaries.
1. " All entries in the register of summaries, whether for
a class or for the whole department, must be given
separately for children below and above the age of five
years and for those below and above fifteen years of age.
2. "At the close of each week or part of the week during
which the school has been open the following entries must
be made in the register of summaries in respect of that
period —
(1) The number of meetings of each department.
(2) The total attendances of each class.
(3) The total attendances of each department.
(4) The average attendance of each department.
(5) The highest number on the roll during the
week.
3. " At the end of the school year the average attend-
ance for the year should be ascertained for each section of
a school or department for which a separate grant on
average attendance is payable, by dividing the total attend-
ances made in that year by the number of meetings of the
corresponding section of the school or department. The
average attendance for children below and above the age
of five years must be separately ascertained.
318 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
4. " The average attendance of scholars above tlie age of
fifteen years must be separately ascertained for the pur-
poses of grant, since no fee grant is payable in respect of
scholars over fifteen years of age.
5. " An entry must be made in the register of summaries
of the classification of the children of each sex according to
their ages on the last day of the school year."
Verification of the Registers.
1. "The Managers are held responsible for the super-
vision and effective verification of the registration, and at
the end of the school year are required to certify —
(1) that the registers have been accurately kept in
accordance with the rules of this schedule ; and
(2) that the accuracy of the registers has been tested
by the managers on several occasions and the
result recorded in the log book.
2. "In order to be able to give this certificate and
properly to check the registration, Managers are expected
to visit the school without notice, at least once in a quarter,
at some time during the period of secular instruction
required in order that an attendance may be counted for
grant, so that they may see that the registers have been
properly marked and closed in accordance with the require-
ments of the Code and of this Schedule.
3. " In the case of a school which, under Section 6 of
the Education Act, 1902, has no Managers, a responsible
onicer appointed by the Local Education Authority must
discharge the duties named in Rules 1 and 2."
Reference facilities will be increased by entering the
surnames first on the class and admission registers. In
the case of the class registers it is best, too, to arrange the
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION.
319
names in alphabetical order. The greatest care should
be taken to see that these registers are closed to time, and
that the total number at the foot of the column corre-
sponds with the number of children present. It is usual
to indicate a punctual attendance by a red mark and a
late attendance by a black one. In lieu of having the
class registers divided into four quarters, it is thought
that a three term division would be a more convenient
arrangement. Such registers are being introduced in
some districts. Class registers should be preserved " at
least ten years."
Admission and summary registers " must never be
destroyed." The kind of information to be obtained from
the summary will be seen from the tabulated forms below.
Weekly Records.
Class or
Standard.
Roll.
Tutal
Attend .nces.
Per-
centage.
Under
15.
Over
15.
Under
15.
Over
15.
Totals
Week
No. present
every
ended
morning
and
afternoon.
Mon. M.
A.
Tues. M.
A.
Wed. M.
A.
Thur. M.
A.
Fri. M.
A.
320
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Quarterly Records (for the whole School or Department).
Week ended.
No. of times open.
No. on Roll.
Total Attendances.
M.
A.
Under 15.
Over 15.
Under 15.
Over 15.
Totals or Averages
for the Quarter.
N.B. — Both the Weekly and Quarterly Records vary slightly for Infant
Schools. The variation consists mainly in the substitution under Roll and
Total Attendances of "over 3 and under 5" and "over 5 and under 15" for
" under 15 and " over 15 " respectively.
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION.
321
The yearly records include the following and also a
table similar to that containing the quarterly records, in
which the corresponding numbers for the four quarters
are set out and summarised in order to give the annual
figures.
Years of age.
Nos.
No. of scholars
Nos.
3 and under 4
4 ,, ,, 5
admitted during
5 „ "2
the year
Total number
6 ,, ,,7
of children
7 ,, ,,8
No. of scholars
on admission
8 „ „ 9
left during the
register on i
9 „ ,, 10
year
last day of
10 „ „ 11
school year.
11 ■„ „ 12
12 „ „ 13
13 „ ,, 14
14 „ „ 15
v 15 and over
Average attend-
ances for year . . .
Etc.
Total
Bye-law Returns. — Bye-law returns have, as a rule,
to be made by teachers weekly, annually, and occasionally.
The weekly returns usually consist of the attendances of
each scholar made on a form which is a " duplicate " of the
class register. In some areas, however, the " slip " system
has been introduced with great success. In this system,
each scholar's name is entered on a separate " slip " of
paper, whereon his attendances for a quarter or term are
recorded week by week.
The annual return is of a more elaborate character and
takes the form of a summary of attendances of the year
for each department, chiefly based upon the ages and
s. o. 23
322 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
classification of the children. Occasional returns sometimes
refer to individual scholars whose parents are about to be
summoned before a magistrate for irregularity of attend-
ance.
Records of School Progress. — Records of school pro-
gress during the educational year are necessary to satisfy
the requirements of the Board of Education and local
education authorities. To secure completeness in these
records, it is desirable to furnish each class with three
books : (1) the progress and report book, printed forms of
which can be obtained from most educational publishers ;
(2) an ordinary exercise book for the teacher to record
briefly the work done week by week ; (3) the teacher's
note-book, intended mainly for such memoranda as in-
volve due preparation of lessons.
Most progress and report books are framed on the basis
of half-yearly or term examinations by the head teacher.
Assuming that periodical examinations are held, then
the book should contain: — (1) For each term or period
and each subject of instruction, a brief resume of the
work proposed to be done, together with a space for
the head teacher's criticisms. (2) A further space in
which the head teacher can at the end of a given period
summarise the value of the work and the conduct of the
class as a whole under such general headings as (a) in-
struction, (6) discipline, (c) punctual and regular attend-
ance. (3) An individual schedule of the scholars, on
which may be shown the progress of each pupil in the
various subjects that constitute the curriculum. (4) Blank
sheets on which may be recorded the tests given at the
examinations, and also the proposed syllabuses for the
year.
It is evident that syllabuses ought to be carefully pre-
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION. 323
pared before the commencement of the year in which they
are to be put into operation. They should, as a rule, be
graded into three courses and made to overlap to some
considerable extent. Above all, each syllabus should be
so elastic as to adjust itself to the needs of the class from
time to time. The head teacher's criticisms should be
reasonably exhaustive, and aim at being especially helpful
to the class teacher.
The progress book should only be used for the first
class in an infant school and might well take a more
general form than that indicated here.
The Child's Book. — Many years ago the Board of
Education instituted a " child's book," which contained
most of the information now recorded in the admission
register in connection with each scholar's name. This
book was intended to be a complete record of the child's
educational progress, and practically to become, when the
time arrived, his leaving certificate. The " child's book ';
was, however, abandoned after a short trial. Some simple
form of certificate similar to this seems desirable. In the
French schools ' a book of this kind exists, for each scholar
enrolled in a primary school receives a caJiier de devoirs
mensuels, or exercise book, in which he records the first
lesson of each month during his school life. This has to
be done entirely without aid. The purpose of this book is
indicated thus in an official circular : " Une chose importe,
et c'est la seule : qu'il existe dans toute ecole et pour tout
enfant sans exception un cahier garde avec soin, qui, d'une
maniere, ou d'une autre, et par un nombre suffisant de
specimens empruntes aux diverses epoques de sa scolarite,
puisse fournir au bout de quelques annees une preuve
1 See "Rural Education in France," by J. C. Medd, Special
Reports, Vol. 7.
324 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
irrecusable de la regularity de ses etudes et la trace de sa
propre assiduite ou de ses absences."
P. T. and S. T. Records. — It is now essential to keep
records of the work done by student teachers and pupil
teachers in the day schools. These records should briefly
indicate for each session the time spent (1) in criticism
lessons, naming the classes or standards in which such
lessons were given ; (2) in work other than actual teaching
— the kind of work to be named and the class or standard
with which it was associated ; (3) in actual charge of a
class or section, the size and grade of the class being given ;
(4) in work done in combination with the class teacher.
The conduct and progress of the pupil or student teacher
should be summed up by the head teacher at the close
of each quarter or term.
Records should be entered in a journal kept entirely
for that purpose — one journal for each pupil or student-
teacher.
Medical Inspection and Records. — In Germany the
school doctor has become a recognised institution. All
primary schools are subjected to periodical medical inspec-
tion. The doctor's duties vary a little according to district,
but, generalised, they may be said to be : —
(1) To examine every scholar as to condition of health
and to take his weight, height, chest, and other
measurements.
(2) To deal promptly with any suspectel cases or
conditions which concern the health of indi-
vidual children or the school as a whole.
(3) To examine periodically the school buildings and
report on any hygienic defects.
(4) To examine children proposed for the special or
defective schools.
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION. 325
In the Charlottenburg schools scholars are medically
classed as " under control " and " normal," the former
being examined periodically by the doctor, and anthropo-
metric figures duly recorded. The resulting health schedules
are carefully preserved.
In America child study departments, in which anthropo-
metric statistics are collected and tabulated, have been
established at some large centres. A similar system of
weighing and measuring children has been adopted by a
branch of the Child Study Association at Liverpool.
Sir James Crichton Browne, M.D., urged in 1884 " the
systematic measurement of the children in all elemen-
tary schools " as supplying " information of the highest
practical and scientific value."1
Under Section (13) of the Education (Administrative
Provisions) Act, 1907, the powers and duties of a local
education authority under Part III. of the Education Act,
1902, shall include the duty to provide for the medical
inspection of children immediately before or at the time of
or as soon as possible after their admission to a public
elementary school, and on such other occasions as the
Board of Education direct, and the power to make such
arrangements as may be sanctioned by the Board of
Education for attending to the health and physical condi-
tion of the children educated in public elementary schools ; 2
provided that in any exercise of powers under this section,
1 See Over-pressure in Elementary Schools, 1884, and Report of
the Third International Congress for the Welfare and Protection
of Children, 1902.
2 The Board must be satisfied that provision has been made for
the medical inspection of all children admitted to the school in the
year, and of all children who are expected to leave school in the
year — the year in each case being the twelve months ending on
the 31st of July. — Minute of the Board of Education, June 25th,
1910. See also Circulars 576, 582, and 596.
326 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
the local education authority may encourage and assist the
establishment or continuance of voluntary agencies, and
associate with itself representatives of voluntary associa-
tions for the purpose.
" There are two distinct purposes in medical inspection.
The children may be inspected in great detail twice, thrice,
or more often in their school life. This method is costly
in time, and scarcely likely to be fully appreciated in the
results obtained. Thoroughly done, it would be of great
value to the community, but from this point of view
equally good results can be obtained, for one-twentieth
of the work done, by random sampling. It is, for instance,
quite unnecessary to weigh and measure all children ; only
very undersized or debilitated children need be weighed,
and children who are not doing their school work well
might have weights regularly noted ; but for statistical
purposes or social investigation, weighing and measuring
need only be done in cases where an intensive study of the
children is taking place, and in these cases as full and
accurate notes as possible should be made. It is necessary
to work with smaller numbers and more accurate returns,
and this might well be confined to the work of the sixteen
school doctors. For the majority of children there is little
value, practically, in all the details of medical inspection
as usually and fully set out ; the purpose is to ascertain
present conditions which require remedy, and for the
majority the sole purpose should be noting conditions
which require medical or educational treatment. The
work of the assistant school doctors should be directed to
this, and all other observations, unless for the doctor's
own satisfaction, might be omitted. The reduction in the
cost of the work would be very considerable, and the
practical results equally good."1
1 See Report of L.C.C. Medical Officer (Education), 1910.
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION. 327
Ophthalmic Records. — It lias been the practice in
many educational areas for the teacher annually to test
the eyesight of the scholars by means of charts supplied
for that purpose. The records of these tests are preserved
and entered on the class registers ; the scholars are
arranged in the class accordingly ; and the oculist supple-
ments the teacher's investigations in all cases in which the
vision is defective, and sends " advice cards " to the parents.
Serious defects in vision are often caused by the habitual
insufficiency of the distance of the scholar's eye from his
work. From five to ten per cent, of the children in public
elementary schools suffer from defective vision. Nervous-
ness, headaches, and premature fatigue are the result in the
absence of remedial measures.
Aural Records. — By investigation1 it has been found
that from thirteen to thirty per cent, of children suffer
from defective hearing in one or both ears. Mouth
breathing, a heavy look, variable powers of hearing,
general dulness, inattention, and variable intelligence are
the usual symptoms of deafness. In minor cases deafness
becomes accentuated by a cold, and varies in degree from
other causes according to the general health. In instances
like these, and also in the case of deafness in one ear only,
defective hearing becomes difficult to detect by the teacher.
Great vigilance and care are therefore necessary, for the
moral effect of condemning children for disobedience or
inattention when these are the natural outcome of sensory
defect, temporary or permanent, is too evident to be
named. Scholars apparently hopelessly dull and inatten-
tive have been found, when the causes of deafness have
been removed, to be very intelligent and obedient. It is
desirable that the teacher should be ever watchful for
1 See Fundamentals of Child Study, by E. A. Kirkpatriek, 1904.
328 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
defects of this kind and keep records of his observations.
A periodical system of testing aural and other physical
defects, by medical men, must now be put into operation
by each education authority ; but this should not lessen
the teacher's care and watchfulness in all such matters.
Defectives' Hecords. — A form similar to that on the
next page, signed by the teacher of the ordinary school
which the child has been attending, has been found useful
as the basis of records by the " special " teacher and of
enquiry by the Medical Officer.
Thermometric Records. — Every central hall and each
class-room should be supplied with a thermometer and the
temperature taken and recorded at least twice a day. The
best times for taking the temperature are considered to be
at 9 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. The temperature external to the
school should also be recorded by means of a thermometer
facing North. It is well for these records to take the form
of a quarterly chart, which should be hung in a conspicu-
ous position on the class-room walls. In case of consistent
insufficiency of warmth, the defect should be reported at
once to the local authority. The temperature of a class-
room should not, as a rule, be below 55° at 9 a.m.
Board of Education Regulations re School Records.
— " Every school must have : —
(a) " A diary or log book which should be a bare record
of the events which constitute the history of the school.
1 ' The log book should be stoutly bound and contain not less than
300 ruled pages. It must be kept at the school under the care of the
head teacher, who should enter in it, from time to time, such events
as the introduction of new books, apparatus, or courses of instruction,
any plan of lessons approved by the Board, the visits of managers,
absence, illness, or failure of duty on the part of any of the school
staff, or any special circumstance affecting the school that may, for
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION.
329
Defectives. — Admission Form. x
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
9.
Name of child
Address in full
Date of birth
How long has the child at-
tended
(a) this School ?
(/>) any other School ?
What is the appearance of the
child — Stupid or bright ?
Is the child : 1. Obedient ; 2.
Mischievous ; 3. Spiteful ?
Are the habits of the child
correct and cleanly ?
Are the propensities of the
child peculiar or dangerous ?
What is the mental capacity
of the child ?
1. Observation.
2. Imitation.
3. Attention.
4. Memory.
5. Reading (equal to
Standard ).
6. Writing (equal to
Standard ).
7. Calculation (equal to
Standard ).
8. Colour.
9. Special tastes.
10. Is the child affectionate or
otherwise ?
11. Has the child any moral sense?
12. Have you any other informa-
tion bearing on the case ?
Signed-
School-
Department_
Date
[Children under seven should not, as a ride, be nominated
for admission to a Special School.]
1 In use in London (under the L.C.C. ). There is another simpler
form in use for those defective other than mentally.
330 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
the sake of future reference or for any other reason, deserve to be
recorded. It should contain statements of fact only and no expres-
sions of opinion on conduct or as to the efficiency of the school,
except as provided by Art. 23.
" Entries in the log book should be made by the head teacher as
occasion may require. Entries should be made only by the head
teacher, by the correspondent, by the managers who check the
registers or by the officer (if any) authorised by the Local Education
Authority.
" The log book should contain an explanation of the reason for the
closing of the school on all occasions on which it is closed. It should
also contain an account of all important variations in the attendance,
and all deviations from the ordinary routine of the school."
(b) A book for recording minutes of managers' meetings.
(c) A portfolio to contain official letters.
(d) The Code of the Board of Education in force for the
time being.
(e) A punishment book in which all cases of corporal
punishment must be recorded.
School Conference Records. — It is desirable that the
minutes of all School Conferences should be entered in a
book kept for that purpose within a few days of each meet-
ing ; and when these Conferences assume inter-depart-
mental form, the minutes, as soon as recorded, should be
signed by the head teachers concerned. It is needless to
say that minutes should be of a purely formal character,
but sufficiently wide, in the absence of unanimity, to cover
expressed individual opinions.
The Three Years. — For purposes of records and other
matters there are three different years associated with
every school, viz. the calendar year, for certificates of
exemption by attendance ; the school year, for finance and
annual returns to the Board of Education ; and the
educational vear, at the commencement of which most of
SCHOOL RECORDS AND REGISTRATION. 331
the great changes in organisation and promotion of scholars
are made.
There are three cases in which the school year is a
national fixture, viz. that for all Higher Elementary
Schools, for " Special Subjects," and for Pupil and
Student teachers. In each instance the year begins on
August 1st and terminates on July 31st.
CHAPTER VIII.
" Natural things and spiritual — who separates these two . . . deals
ignorantly with men." — Aurora Leigh.
1 ' Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond ;
cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education." —
Mark Twain.
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL
ADMINISTRATION.
Need of exceptional treatment of children in two
directions : — the talented scholar ; the defective or
backward scholar. — The classification of children in
school departments is mainly based on the capabilities
and attainments of the normal scholar ; but every-day
experience points to the desirability or necessity of differ-
entiating him from the talented child on the one side, and
from the defective scholar on the other. Defective children
may be defined as those who show a pronounced inability
to learn under the ordinary conditions of school life.
Definite and extended arrangements — extended, that is,
beyond the regular department — for the talented child
only come into operation, as a rule, when he has reached one
of the upper classes in the ordinary school. He can then
generally be drafted to the superior primary school either
by examination or nomination, according to the practice of
the district, or, through the agency of a scholarship, secure
admission to a secondary school.
332
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 333
On the other hand, the defective scholar needs to be
specially catered for in the earlier stages of his training.
He is generally so far behind the normal child in both
physical and mental development that he not only falls
hopelessly in the rear when educationally associated with
children of average power, but otherwise suffers because —
to use a Spencerian phrase — he is altogether out of corre-
spondence with ordinary school environment. Moreover, a
feeble-minded child occasionally displays such moral de-
pravity in the form of spitef ulness, cruelty or perverted
affection as may become a source of danger to others unless
watchfully governed and supervised. It has therefore
been considered necessary, both in the child's interests and
from motives of State policy, to make special provision for
his education.
It has been calculated that about one per cent, of
the children attending elementary schools belongs to this
defective type. The interdependence of mental power
and physical development is now generally admitted,
experience showing that where the body is not normally
developed there is a corresponding arrest in mental de-
velopment. In the same way it has been found by experi-
ment that physical superiority in childhood gives greater
vital capacity and mental grip. Moreover, " actual tests
of the memory power show that the larger and stronger
pupils are superior in native force of memory to the smaller
and weaker. The true explanation will probably be found
in the fact that those conditions which bring about large
growth are favourable to the perfect formation and ideal
balance of the brain and vital organs."1
Germany was the pioneer in this enterprise of special
classes for defective children. The late Education Autho-
1 See Child Study Report No. 3 in connection with the Chicago
Public Schools.
334 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
rity for London, appreciating the value of the unique
training in the Helfsschule, was the first in this country to
establish similar classes. This was done in 1892. The
movement in 1899 received State recognition by the
Defective and Epileptic Children Act, and led the way to
the formation of such classes in other large towns of
England as well as in the United States.
On the other hand, the broader obligations imposed on
education authorities, recently created by the Education
Acts, place within the limits of their power and adminis-
tration, under certain conditions, the establishment and
supervision of secondary schools and other institutions for
higher education, which have long needed State assistance
and recognition. The regulations1 issued by the Board of
Education must materially assist in putting these institu-
tions on a sound organised and progressive basis. Therein
a secondary school is defined as "a Day or Boarding School
which offers to each of its scholars, up to and beyond the
age of sixteen, a general education, physical, mental, and
moral, given through a complete graded course of instruc-
tion, of wider scope and more advanced degree than that
given in Elementary Schools."2
The wider educational range of district and departmental
administration should ultimately enable the local authority
to co-ordinate the work of education in all its branches
within its own area — so that the primary may meet the
secondary school at the right point — that the passage from
one to the other may not be rendered unreasonably difficult,
1 These further state that the instruction must cover a four years'
course, beginning at an age not exceeding twelve. These age limits,
however, do not apply to kindergartens and preparatory depart-
ments of the secondary school.
2 The best definition of a Secondary School appears in the Scotch
Code.
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 335
and that the earlier struggles of ex-elementary scholars in
the secondary school may not be so arduous as to dis-
courage them from continuing the course. This can prob-
ably be best effected by the " accrediting " system modified
from American practice, and by the introduction in the
higher classes of the elementary school of some of the
studies that are taken in the lower forms of the secondary
school. Examinations, however, are in this country the
usual tests in the selection of scholars for secondary
schools.
The American Ladder. — The golden ladder that
enables the poorest American child to ascend through the
various educational stages and finally reach the university
has many of its rungs missing in most parts of this
country. Those, however, who ascend the ladder here
manage to negotiate the gaps, which act as deterrents to
many young aspirants.
To illustrate the American ladder, it is well to indicate
roughly the various steps that may be considered to be
open to every boy and girl in the United States : —
(1) The kindergarten, for children between four and six
years of age.
(2) The elementary school, for children between six and
fourteen years of age.
(3) The high school, for those between fourteen and
eighteen years of age.
(4) The college or university, for persons between eighteen
and twenty- two years of age.
(5) The post-graduate course at the University, for persons
between twenty-two and twenty-six years of age.
The kindergarten schools have not been established
many years. Attendance at them is generally voluntary,
but the demand for admission is so great that buildings
336 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
cannot be established fast enough to meet it adequately.
It may be said — though the compulsory law varies in
different States — that, as a rule, the elementary school
represents the only compulsory form of American educa-
tion, the highest upward limit of age being sixteen for
enforced attendance, while most of the States make the
upward limit fourteen.
Having " graduated," or passed through the complete
course of the elementary school, the American child may
then go to the high school for a four years' course of
instruction, which is usually finished at the age of eighteen
or nineteen, though he may remain there, as a rule, until
twenty-one if unable to complete the course before. Having
finished this course he is said to have " graduated " at the
high school, and receives a certificate to that effect. He
is then at liberty to enter college and obtain an academic
degree, which is usually conferred, not on the results of
an examination, but rather on the student's record of
successful work during the various college terms.
The post-graduate course, which comprises technical
instruction of a highly specialised character, not easily
within the range of everyone, is taken in connection with
one of the many professional schools of the university.
Some students take this course between the ages of eighteen
and twenty-two, when the ordinary academic course has
been omitted.
This, then, is substantially the American educational
staircase that leads to the hall of culture and to profes-
sional or technical skill. The ways and means must now
be briefly recorded. As each State makes its own laws, there
are necessarily some variations in the educational system.
Free education is, however, general up to eighteen years of
age. In some States it is free up to twenty-one years, and
even practically beyond that. Attendance at all schools
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 337
other than elementary is purely voluntary ; but in order to
go forward and upward, the student must have " graduated "
or completed each preceding course. Even the college or
university training is free in the Western " State" univer-
sities, and nearly free elsewhere.
Though the primary schools are "end on " to the high
schools, the point of juncture is not quite satisfactory to
the Americans themselves. On the other hand, the con-
necting link between the high schools and the colleges or
universities is both sound and strong. In the former case,
something is being done in the way of introducing into the
higher classes of the elementary school a few of the subjects
taught in the secondary school, and by a system of con-
ferences and interchange of visits between the teachers of
these two institutions. As to the relations between the
high schools and the colleges, a system of nomination or
" accrediting " is widely adopted, with eminently beneficial
results. Some of the universities, however, still exact an
entrance examination.
The " accrediting " system consists in attaching a certain
number of high schools to the university in order that they
may act as contributory institutions. For this purpose
university professors pay visits of inspection to the high
schools at various times, with the view of testing their
methods and general efficiency. Institutions approved on
the basis of these visits are accredited to the university,
with the result that local nomination of the hierh school
graduates is accepted by the university in lieu of examina-
tion. In this way the ideals in the highest seats of learning
are brought into contact with the secondary schools, which
in their turn might well be in similar touch with the
elementary schools.
Scholarships, more limited in America than in this
country, and confined practically to the universities, are
s. o, 24
338 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
also mostly awarded on a nomination basis. They are
either directly awarded on the results of enquiry into
the needs, character, and ability of a candidate, or the
university attaches a few scholarships to each of its
"accredited" high schools, and allows those in authority
over such places to select their own nominees.
Home Administration. — The action of the Board of
Education x in setting the standard and limitations for the
secondary schools and other institutions of higher educa-
tion, and in demanding that about 20 per cent.2 of the
accommodation in the former schools shall be reserved as
" free places " for pupils entering from the elementary
schools, points to a new educational era. The Board are
clearly feeling their way, evidently intending at present to
leave as large a measure of initiative as possible with the
local education authority, now endowed with such wide
and far-reaching powers.
The local education authority may now, under conditions,
provide for the educational needs of every section of the
community. It must also see to the proper co-ordination
of the work of the various institutions under its control
and exercise a general supervision over them.
The machinery of government is necessarily complex.
In the first place, the local authority is under statutory
obligation to enforce attendance at school of all children
from five to fourteen years of age resident within the area,
and to provide efficient accommodation and a suitable staff
for their instruction. Each authority is empowered to
make its own bye-laws for purposes of attendance.
Under the Education Act3 1902 the Council of every
1 See Regulations for Secondary Schools. 2 Ibid. , Chap. IV. (20).
3 Applicable to England and Wales. A further Education Act
1903 extended and adapted the 1902 Act to London.
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 339
county and of every county borough is the local education
authority. There are certain qualifications, however, con-
cerning boroughs and urban districts, based on population.1
Elementary Education. — The local education authority
has the powers and duties of school boards and school
attendance committees under the Elementary Education
Acts 1870 to 1900 and any other Acts, and is responsible
for, and has the control of, all secular instruction in public
elementary schools not provided by the said authority.
All public elementary schools provided by the local
authority must, when that authority is the council of a
county, have a body of managers consisting of a number
not exceeding four appointed by that council, and a
number not exceeding two appointed by the minor local
authority. Where, however, the local authority is the
council of a borough or urban district, it may appoint for
any school provided by it a body of managers consisting
of any number it may determine.
Public elementary schools not provided by the local
authority must have a body of managers consisting of not
more than four foundation 2 managers appointed in accord-
ance with the provisions of the Education Act 1902, to-
gether with two 3 other managers.
The local education authority must maintain and keep
efficient all public elementary schools within its area which
are necessary, and have the control of all expenditure
required for that purpose, other than expenditure for
which, under the Education Act 1902, provision is to be
made by the managers ; but, in the case of a school not
provided by the local authority, only so long as the follow-
ing conditions and provisions are complied with : —
1 Act 1902, Part I. 2 See Education Act 1902, Section U.
3 Ibid., Part III., Section 6 (2-3).
340 SCHOOL ORGANISATION,
(a) The managers of the school must carry out any
directions of the local education authority as to the secular
instruction to be given in the school, including any
directions with respect to the number and educational
qualifications of the teachers to be employed for such
instruction, and for the dismissal of any teacher on educa-
tional grounds ; and if the managers fail to carry out any
such direction the local education authority shall, in
addition to their other powers, have the power themselves
to carry out the direction in question as if the said
authority were the managers ; but no direction given under
this provision shall be such as to interfere with reasonable
facilities for religious instruction during school hours.
(b) The local education authority shall have power to
inspect the school.
(c) The consent of the local education authority must
be obtained to the appointment of teachers, but that con-
sent may not be withheld except on educational grounds ;
and the consent of the authority is also necessary for the
dismissal of a teacher, unless the dismissal be on grounds
connected with the giving of religious instruction in the
school.
(d) The managers of the school must provide the school
house free of any charge, except for the teacher's dwelling-
house (if any), to the local education authority for use as
a public elementary school, and must, out of funds provided
by them, keep the school house in good repair, and make
such alterations and improvements in the buildings as may
be reasonably required by the local education authority;
piovided that such damage as the local authority considers
to be due to fair wear and tear in the use of any room in
the school house for the purpose of a public elementary
school shall be made good by the local education authority.
(e) The managers of the school must, if the local educa-
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 34l
tion authority lias uo suitable accommodation in its own
schools, allow that authority to use any room in the school
house out of school hours free of charge for any educational
purpose, but this obligation shall not extend to more than
three days in the week.
The managers of a school maintained but not provided
by the local education authority, in respect of the use by
them of the school furniture out of school hours, and the
local education authority in respect of the use by them of
any room in the school house out of school hours, shall be
liable to make good any damage caused to the furniture or
the room, as the case may be, by reason of that use (other
than damage arising from fair wear and tear), and the
managers shall take care that, after the use of a room in
the school house by them, the room is left in a proper con-
dition for school purposes.
If any question arises under Section (7) of the Educa-
tion Act 1902 between the local education authority and
the managers of a school not provided by the authority,
that question shall be determined by the Board of Educa-
tion.
One of the conditions required to be fulfilled by an
elementary school in order to obtain a parliamentary grant
shall be that it is maintained under and complies with
the provisions of Section (7).
In public elementary schools maintained but not pro-
vided by the local education authority, assistant teachers
and pupil teachers may be appointed, if it is thought fit,
without reference to religous creed and denomination, and,
in any case in which there are more candidates for the
post of pupil teacher than there are places to be filled, the
appointment shall be made by the local education authority,
who may determine the respective qualifications of the
candidates by examination or otherwise.
342 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
lieligious instruction given in a public elementary school
not provided by the local education authority shall, as
regards its character, be in accordance with the provisions
(if any) of the trust deed relating thereto, and shall be
under the control of the managers : provided that nothing
in this sub-section shall affect any provision in a trust
deed for reference to the bishop or superior ecclesiastical
or other denominational authority so far as such provision
gives to the bishop or authority the power of deciding
whether the character of the religious instruction is or
is not in accordance with the provisions of the trust
deed.
The managers of a school maintained but not provided
by the local education authority shall have all powers of
management required for the purpose of carrying out the
Education Act 1902, and shall [subject to the powers of
the local education authority under Section (7)] have the
exclusive power of appointing and dismissing teachers.
The power to provide instruction under the Elementary
Education Acts 1870 to 1900 shall, except where those
Acts expressly provide to the contrary, be limited to the
provision in a public elementary school of instruction
given under the regulations of the Board of Education to
scholars who, at the close of the school year, will not he
more than sixteen years of age : provided that the local
education authority may, with the consent of the Board of
Education, extend those limits in the case of any such
school if no suitable higher education is available within
a reasonable distance of the school.1
The powers of a council under the Education Act 1902
may include the provision of vehicles or the payment of
reasonable travelling expenses for teachers or children
attending school or college whenever the council may con-
1 This is Section 22 (2) of the Education Act 1902.
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 343
sider such provision or payment required by the circum-
stances of the area or of any part thereof.
Further, under the Education (Administrative Pro-
visions) Act 1907—
The powers and duties of a local education authority
under Part III. of the Education Act 1902 shall include
(1) a power to aid by scholarships or bursaries the instruc-
tion in public elementary schools of scholars from the age
of twelve up to the limit of age fixed for the provision of
instruction in a public elementary school by Section 22 (2)
of that Act.
(2) A power to provide for children attending a public
elementary school, vacation schools, vacation classes, play-
centres, or other means of recreation during their holidays
or at such other times as the local education authority may
prescribe, in the school house or in some other suitable place
in the vicinity, so far as the local education authority, in the
case of a school house or place not belonging to them, can
obtain for the purpose the use of the school house or place.
(3) A duty to provide for medical inspection.1
Higher Education. — The local education authority
must consider the educational needs of the area and take
such steps as seem desirable, after consultation with the
Board of Education, to supply or aid the supply of educa-
tion other than elementary, and to promote the general co-
ordination of all forms of education : provided that the
amount raised by the council of a county for the purpose
in any year out of rates under the Education Act 1902
shall not exceed the amount which would be produced by
a rate of twopence in the pound, or such higher rate as the
county council, with the consent of the Local Government
Board, may fix.
1 See pp. 303 and 324 supra.
344 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Concurrent Powers of Smaller Boroughs and Urban Dis-
tricts.— The council of any non-county borough or urban dis-
trict has power, as well as the county council, to spend such
sums as it thinks fit for the purpose of supplying or aiding
the supply of education other than elementary : provided
that the amount raised by the council of a non-county
borough or urban district for the purpose in any year out
of rates under the aforesaid Act shall not exceed the
amount which would be produced by a rate of one penny
in the pound.
Religious Instruction. — A council, in the application of
money under Part II. of the aforesaid Act, shall not require
that any particular form of religious instruction or worship
or any religious catechism or formulary which is distinc-
tive of any particular denomination shall or shall not be
taught, used, or practised in any school, college, or hostel
aided but not provided by the council, and no pupil shall,
on the ground of religious belief, be excluded from or
placed in an inferior position in any school, college, or
hostel provided by the council, and no catechism or formu-
lary distinctive of any particular religious denomination
shall, etc.
In a school or college receiving a grant from, or main-
tained by, the local education authority under Part II.
of the Education Act 1902, a scholar attending as a day
or evening scholar shall not be required, as a condition of
being admitted into, or remaining in the school or college,
to attend or abstain from attending any Sunday school,
place of religious worship, religious observance, or instruc-
tion in religious subjects in the school or college or else-
where : and the times for religious worship, or for any
lesson in a religious subject, shall be conveniently arranged
for the purpose of allowing the withdrawal of any such
scholar therefrom.
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 345
The power to supply, or aid the supply of, education
other than elementary includes a power to train teachers,
and to supply, or aid the supply of, any education except
where that education is given at a public elementary
school.
The power of a council to supply or aid the supply of
education, other than elementary, shall include power to
make provision for the purpose outside the area in cases
where it is considered expedient to do so in the interests of
the area, and shall include power to provide or assist in
providing scholarships for, and to pay or assist in paying
the fees of, students at schools or colleges or hostels within
or without that area.
From these generalisations it will be seen what heavy
responsibilities and far-reaching powers devolve upon the
local education authority : but these are by no means
all. The Children Act 1908, for example, wherein are
codified many previous Acts concerning the care and edu-
cation of children, throws additional responsibilities on the
local authority.
The detail, however, in the work of administration, is
almost endless. After the general principles have been
determined upon which the authority has decided to act,
there remain the rules and regulations to be framed for
the guidance of all concerned in the administration of the
area. The duties of managers, teachers, and other officers
must be defined and codified ; principles must be estab-
lished that shall govern expenditure in every department
of the work ; the number and length of vacations must be
determined ; school hours must be defined and definite
provision made for the training of pupil and student
teachers.
Some provision must also be made for centralised
instruction in handicraft, domestic and other subjects;
346 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
and the conditions determined under which inter- depart-
mental promotions are made, and drafts to institutions
of higher rank carried out. Many education authorities
have thought it necessary also to give clear definition to
the principles that should underlie Scripture instruction,
to name some subjects as obligatory in various types of
schools, to indicate the minimum times per week to be
devoted to certain other subjects such as singing, physical
exercises, drawing, etc., to have a regular time throughout
the area for the closure of registers, and to draw up a
formal set of rules for the administration of corporal
punishment. Again, in some areas the authority has
decided that home-lessons shall be optional, and that
detention after school hours, beyond say half-an-hour, shall
not be allowed.
It is obvious from this brief recital — many other matters
might be included — that the local authority can do much
to make or mar the efficiency of education within its area.
Reservation of Places. — It is necessary to have an
officially recognised accommodation * for each school or
department ; and the average attendance for the school
year must not exceed the number representing that accom-
modation \ It is clear therefore that the number of pupils
in a department — the number on the roll — may exceed the
number of places for which that department is recognised.
The Board of Education do not say what that excess may
be, but make a general provision to the effect that " no
room may be habitually used for a larger number of scholars
than that for which it is passed by the Board."3 It thus
becomes necessary for the local authority to give numerical
values to the maximum excess. A fixed percentage might
suit one area but not another, the conditions of labour and
1 Art. 17 (c). 2 Art. 19. 3 Art. 19.
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 347
attendance being different; it might also prove equally
unsuitable to two scliools in the same borough for similar
reasons. It is desirable, however, to have a rule for
guidance in order to prevent (a) possible overcrowding,
(b) waste of places, (c) a block in the flow of promotion
from one department to another, and (d) admissions from
the outside when there is the certainty of a draft of scholars
from a junior department in the near future.
The percentage of excess over the accommodation of a
department that has proved a workable arrangement in
one large educational area is as follows :
For boys' departments 5 per cent. — if the accommodation
is 300, the roll limit wrould be 315.
For mixed departments 6 per cent.
For girls' departments 7 per cent.
For infants' departments 10 per cent.
Some variations are allowed to meet the requirements
of particular schools, e.g. a boys' department that secures
a yearly percentage of attendance of 97 or 98 would have
its roll limited by 3 per cent, or 2 per cent. These figures
have been determined a posteriori.
A rule of this nature cannot, however, operate at all
periods of the year except in infant schools and similar junior
departments. Most inter-departmental promotions are
usually made, for example, at the close of the educational
year. Places must therefore be reserved in the senior
department at that and other times when such promotions
are projected, in order that the infant draft of scholars
may find accommodation there, without exceeding the roll
limit. The particular period of the year when external
admissions must be stopped or checked for this purpose
is not generally named by the local authority, because the
circumstances of each school may vary so greatly ; but the
question is left to the discretion of the head teacher, who
348 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
must, of course, show, when necessary, that he has acted
on reasonable grounds. The principle is sound that those
who are in the school should have a prior claim to those
who are outside.
The local education authority may also demand the reser-
vation of places in secondary schools within its jurisdic-
tion for certain scholars from the elementary schools.
Scholarships. — The local authority is empowered to
provide a scheme of scholarships by which a pupil may
proceed by stages from the elementary school to institu-
tions of higher rank, even to the university. Every child
whose ability and character justify a more advanced
education than parents or guardians are able to provide,
should have opportunities, subject to certain limitations
and in competition with others, of securing scholarships
with sufficient pecuniary emoluments attached thereto to
enable him to obtain that kind of education best suited
to his needs and capacities.
The trend of most scholarship schemes may be best
seen by giving a brief outline of those in existence in one
large educational area.1 They are, however, probably
more complete than those in most other localities.
There are three kinds of scholarships :
(1) County — graded into (a) Junior County,
(6) Supplementary Junior
County,
(c) Intermediate County,
(d) Senior County.
(2) Technical and Trade.
(3) Scholarships for those preparing for the teaching
profession.
1 County of London.
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 349
Nomination and a competitive examination are necessary
in most cases.
Junior County scholarships are awarded to children
between the ages of 11 and 12, are tenable in the first
instance for three years, and are renewable for a further
two years in the case of scholars who show ability to profit
by further secondary education. They cover free educa-
tion at a secondary school, together with, in most cases,
maintenance grants. At the end of the five years' tenure,
the scholar may continue at school as a free pupil, but
receives no maintenance grant.
The supplementary scholarships are awarded to children
of the age of 13 who, because of late development or other
good reason, miss the Junior County scholarship.
The Intermediate scholarships are open to candidates
from 16 to 17 years of age ; they cover free education at a
secondary school or other institution for higher education
until the end of the school year in which the scholar
attains the age of 18, and can under certain conditions be
extended for a further year. Maintenance grants are in
most cases attached to the scholarships.
The Senior scholarships are intended for candidates of
the age of 18 and upwards who desire to pursue a course
of study at an institution of university rank. They vary
in value according to the circumstances of the candidates
and the course of study which they intend to pursue.
They are not awarded as a result of examination, but after
consideration of the candidates' records and reports from
their teachers, the local authority, however, reserving the
right to examine candidates, if it thinks fit. The scholar-
ships are, as a rule, only awarded to candidates who have
won some other scholarship tenable at an institution of
university rank.
The Technical and Trade scholarships are intended to
350 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
afford opportunity of learning the theory and practice of
some skilled trade. They may be divided into two classes,
those intended to prepare boys and girls to enter the trade
in question and those intended to give to artisans and
others already in the trade a fuller knowledge of subjects
bearing upon their work.
Trade scholarships provide a course of training at a
trade school for two, or in some cases for three, vears.
The usual age of admission is 14. The trades in which
instruction is given are engineering, cabinet-making, wood-
carving, cookery, building, book production, silversmithing,
etc., for boys, and dressmaking and other needle trades,
including upholstery and millinery, photography and
laundry work for girls.
In addition to the trade scholarships, there are domestic
economy scholarships for girls leaving the elementary
schools at the age of 14, which provide a one or two
years' course of training in domestic work.
Somewhat similar to the trade scholarships are scholar-
ships for blind, deaf, or crippled children, the object of
which is to help physically defective children to learn
a trade by which they may ultimately become self-sup-
porting.
On the Technical side there are (1) scholarships and
(2) exhibitions.
The scholarships provide for full time study in the day
time at an institution giving advanced instruction in science
and art. They are intended for persons who have already
begun their life's work, but who are willing to give up
their occupation for a certain period in order to devote
their whole time to the study of some branch of science
or art bearing upon their work. Maintenance grants up
to <£50 a year may be attached to the scholarships.
The exhibitions are intended to assist artisans who
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 351
desire to attend evening classes on subjects bearing on
their trade. They provide free admission to the course
chosen, and, in addition, carry a small grant to cover
travelling and other incidental expenses.
The third kind of scholarship provides a scheme, by
means of which a boy or girl may proceed by various
stages from the public elementary school to a training
college for teachers.
The local authority gives assistance to enable students
to undertake a course of training. As regards education
up to the age of 16, assistance is given by means of the
County scholarships. The Junior County scholarship is
tenable, subject to satisfactory progress, for five years, and
the candidate is not pledged to become a teacher.
On attaining the age of 16, the candidate for the
teaching profession usually spends half the two years,
prior to admission to college, in continuing his or her
general education at a secondary school and half in prac-
tice in teaching in an elementary school. If the first year
is spent continuously in the secondary school and the
second year in the elementary school, the candidate is
called a " bursar " during the first year and a " student
teacher " during the second year.
On attaining the age of 18 and passing one of the exami-
nations required by the Board of Education for the pur-
pose, the candidate is eligible to enter a training college.
Children's Care Committees.1 — The provision of food
for necessitous school children is now practically a charge
upon the rates. The local education authority is em-
powered by the Education Act 1906 (Provision of Meals)
and the Education Act 1907 (Administrative Provisions)
"to defray the cost of food furnished in meals," under
1 See L.C.C. Handbook on Children's Care Committees.
352 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
certain conditions, to any elementary school children
within its area who are " unable, by reason of lack of
food, to take full advantage of the education provided for
them"; and further, it has "the power to make such
arrangements as may be sanctioned by the Board of
Education for attending to the health and physical con-
dition of the children educated in public elementary
schools."1 These and the further responsibilities thrown
upon the local authority by the Children Act 1908 make
the formation of local Care Committees imperative, the
functions of such committees consisting not only in feeding
the children, but also in an active interest in their general
welfare, co-operating with existing agencies and with
parents in order that the children may be befriended
in many ways.
The position perhaps will be made clear by citing the
first three sections and the sixth section of the Education
Act 1906:—
1. Power of Local Education Authority to aid School
Canteen Committees in the Provision of Meals for Children.
— A local education authority under Part III. of the
Education Act 1902 may take such steps as they think
fit for the provision of meals for children in attendance at
any public elementary school in their area, and for that
purpose —
(a) may associate with themselves any committee on
which the authority are represented, who will
undertake to provide food for those children (in
this Act called a " school canteen committee ") ;
and
(b) may aid that committee by furnishing such land,
buildings, furniture, and apparatus, and such
1 Education Act 1007, Sec. 13 (1) ft.
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 353
officers and servants as may be necessary for the
organisation, preparation, and service of such
meals ;
but, save as hereinafter provided, the authority shall not
incur any expense in respect of the purchase of food to be
supplied at such meals.
2. Recovery of the Cost of Meals. — (i) There shall be
charged to the parent of every child in respect of every
meal furnished to that child under this Act such an
amount as may be determined by the local education
authority, and, in the event of payment not being made
by the parent, it shall be the duty of the authority, unless
they are satisfied that the parent is unable by reason of
circumstances other than his own default to pay the
amount, to require the payment of that amount from that
parent, and any such amount may be recovered sum-
marily as a civil debt.
(ii) The local education authority shall pay over to the
school canteen committee so much of any money paid to
them by, or recovered from, any parent as may be deter-
mined by the authority to represent the cost of the food
furnished by the committee to the child of that parent,
less a reasonable deduction in respect of the expenses of
recovering the same.
3. Power of Local Education Authority to Defray the
Cost of Food in Certain Cases. — Where the local education
authority resolve that any of the children attending an
elementary school within their area are unable, by reason
of lack of foody to take full advantage of the education
provided for them, and have ascertained that funds other
than public funds are not available or are insufficient in
amount to defray the cost of food furnished in meals
under this Act, they may apply to the Board of Education,
and that Board may authorise them to spend out of the rates
s. o. 25
354 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
such sum as will meet the cost of the provision of such food,
provided that the total amount expended by a local educa-
tion authority for the purposes of this section in any local
financial year shall not exceed the amount which would be
produced by a rate of one halfpenny in the pound over
the area of the authority, or, where the authority is a
county council (other than the London County Council),
over the area of the parish or parishes which in the opinion
of the Council are served by the school.
6* Provision as to Teachers. — No teacher seeking* em-
ployment or employed in a public elementary school shall
be required as part of his duties to supervise or assist, or
to abstain from supervising or assisting, in the provision
of meals, or in the collection of the cost thereof.
It will be seen that existing agencies should be utilised
and voluntary effort and contributions encouraged. It has
become generally advisable therefore to have three distinct
but inter- dependent organisations consisting of :
(1) A Care Committee for each school (School Com-
mittee).
(2) A Care Committee for a district or locality (District
Committee).
(3) A Central Care Committee formed from the members
of the Education Committee that exercises a controlling
power over all.
The duties of the School Committee (consisting chiefly
of local managers) should be : —
(1) To report to the Central Committee (i) all children
found in circumstances which apparently render it desir-
able that they should be dealt with under Part II. (section
12 (1) ) of the Children Act 1908, with a view to action
being taken for the safety and protection of the children,
and for the punishment of the parents or guardians, and
- * The number of the Section in the Act of 1906 is preserved.
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 355
(ii) every child who apparently comes within the pro-
visions of Part IV. (section 58 (1) (d) ) of the Children
Act 1908, viz. is under the care of a parent or guardian
who by reason of criminal or drunken habits is unfit to
have the care of the child.
(2) To determine what children are necessitous.
(3) To see that no child in want fails to receive food.
(4) To appoint individual members to visit the homes
and thus endeavour to improve home conditions by talks
with the mothers.
(5) To report cases where children appear to be over-
worked out of school hours, or to be working under
unhealthy conditions.
(6) To endeavour to persuade parents to obtain the
advice and treatment recommended in the medical register
of the school.
(7) To encourage thrift and, where possible, to institute
clubs and arrange for recreation out of school hours.
(8) To keep in touch with beneficent agencies and to
pass on cases to that agency bast suited to deal with them.
(9) To advise and help parents in the after-employment
of their children, to refer suitable cases to the local
apprenticeship committees and labour exchanges, and
generally, by advice and guidance, to exercise a watchful
care over children on leaving school.
The District Committees should consist of a certain
number of representatives from the School Committees, in
addition to others nominated by associations interested in
the work. Briefly their duties should be: (1) To collect
voluntary contributions, (2) to disburse sums so collected
and advances (if any) made by the local authority, (3) to ar-
range and manage the feeding centres, (4) to consider what
methods shall be employed in after-care and especially
in placing children in suitable positions on leaving school,
356 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
and (5) to report to the Central Committee from time to
time.
But in addition to the organisations needed for the
feeding and general care of necessitous children, provision
should also be made by the local authority, where facilities
exist, for the dining comfort of scholars whose homes are
distant, or those otherwise compelled at times to partake
of their dinners on the school premises. It is extremely
important that tidiness, cleanly habits, and little acts of
service to one another should be associated with meals.
In some localities the dining table 1 and its appurtenances
have their temporary place in hall or class-room for this
purpose. Thus those scholars who wish to have a dinner
at a trifling cost, and others who bring their food with
them, are able to partake of their meals under proper
conditions.
Consultative Committees. — In America committees,
consisting chiefly of head masters and mistresses, are
called into existence by the education authority to under-
take certain advisory duties in connection with educational
questions.
At home, the utility of committees of this type is re-
cognised in some large areas.
In one great centre,2 for example, two Local Consultative
Committees have been established in each electoral area
by the education authority, one for masters and the other
for mistresses. There are also two Central Consultative
Committees differentiated on the same lines.
The local committees consist of head masters and mis-
tresses of the public elementary schools, secondary schools,
pupil teacher centres, principals of colleges (if any), and
1 Cloth-covered boards and trestles. 2 County of London.
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 357
the senior assistant in mixed schools within the locality or
electoral area. It is their duty to consider matters referred
to them by the education authority or its chief officer and
to report accordingly.
The Masters' Central Committee is composed of the
chairmen of the corresponding local committees ; and
the Mistresses' Central Committee consists of the chairmen
and vice-chairmen of the local Mistresses' Committees.
The agenda for each Central Committee is prepared by
the local authority. It usually contains a digest of the
resolutions adopted by the local committees and any other
matters calling for special and representative consideration.
Combinations of Schools mostly for purposes other
than Co-ordination. — Such combinations may be pro-
moted directly by the local authority, by one of its officers,
or by the teachers of the district with that authority's
sanction and approval. Combinations due chiefly to un-
official or semi-official enterprise are : — (1) Swimming
Associations. (2) Athletic Sports Associations. (3) Lite-
rary Societies. (4) Naturalist Clubs. (5) Choral Unions.
(6) Social gatherings, etc.
When municipal baths, the river or the sea are reason-
ably near and otherwise suitable for the purpose, swimming
forms part of the school instruction in the summer months,
especially in the case of boys' departments. It has been
found a valuable incentive both to collective and individual
effort to have a school swimming association for the
district, and for such association to organise competitions
among the schools, and to award certificates, medals, etc.,
to teachers for skill, and to scholars for progress, in the
aquatic art. The work of the London Schools' Swimming
Association, whose aid is invoked by the education authority
in matters that concern the organisation of swimming in
358 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
clay and evening schools, is an example of what may be
accomplished in this way.
In a similar manner and with equally satisfactory results,
a sports association, with its cricket and football branches,
has had its value enhanced by a district organisation. A
junior naturalists' club,1 for either boys or girls or both,
has been found in many instances to be an effective force
in school life. Under careful direction and management
it should prove in every senior department an instrument
of great educational power.
Literary or choral societies are suitable for the evening
schools. The choral unions of the London evening classes
have been a great success. Each large district has formed
such a union. Arrangements are made for all schools
within the Association to study, during the session, selected
pieces of classical or semi-classical music. Partially or
wholly combined rehearsals take place at intervals, and
towards the close of the session a musical festival is held
by the combined schools.
It is suggested that two or more day schools might
profitably join hands to promote simple lectures on the
easier English classics for the older scholars. An occa-
sional " evening " with Longfellow, Tennyson, Dickens, and
others, to which the parents could be invited, and in which
both teachers and scholars would take part, should prove
very effective. This experiment has been tried in some
day and evening schools with success. In the day schools,
however, it more commonly takes the class-room form of
entertainment.
A Shakespeare Club, a Tennyson Club, etc., formed by
the upper class scholars of the day school, to study, in an
organised form, the works of the author after whom the
club is named, has excited a lasting interest in literature,
1 This has been tried in America with success.
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 359
and lias otherwise been productive of an immense amount
of good. Much of the work associated with clubs of this
kind is done at home by independent effort on the part of
the scholars, the teacher directing and stimulating them
from time to time at school.
Among official combinations of schools are the follow-
ing :—
(1) Combinations for purposes of lantern illustrations.
(2) „ of evening classes with day schools.
(3) „ for subjects taught at centres.
(4) ,, for prize distributions.
(5) „ for management — local managers.
(6) ,, for exhibitions.
(7) „ for examinations (scholarships, etc.).
(8) ,, for interchange of letters between
senior pupils.
Some of these need a word of explanation.
With the view of giving effective illustration to lessons
in Geography and History, the late authority for London
allowed not more than twenty senior departments to com-
bine to form a circle. One central school was selected as
a centre for lantern slides and books of reference. A
committee of the head teachers drew up courses of instruc-
tion in the two subjects, wide enough to admit of adjust-
ment to the needs of any school within the circle. Suitable
lantern slides were supplied to fit in with these courses,
usually in boxes containing from ten to eighteen slides.
Then, by means of a scheme of rotation, every school
obtained the box of slides it needed at the right time.
Each school was, of course, supplied with a good lantern
and all accessories. This arrangement has worked ex-
tremely well. It has been the chief means of exciting a
stronger interest in these two important subjects.
360 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
Association of day with evening schools has taken mostly
the contributory form. The practice has been, in some
areas, to attach a certain number of day senior departments
to each evening school, the head teachers of the former
supplying monthly, or at other stated periods, lists of
scholars who were about to leave or had left the school
and were no longer under the obligation of further attend-
ance. It is then the duty of the responsible teacher of
the evening school to communicate with the scholars or
ex- scholars named on the list with the view of securing
their attendance at school in the evenings.
The centre system of instruction in such subjects as
woodwork, cookery, and laundry necessitates an organised
combination of schools, so that the centre may be fully
utilised and the least possible inconvenience caused to the
departments sending classes there.
With regard to the local managers, ' it is usual to group
three Council schools together and place them under the
management of one local committee. As a rule, each non-
provided school has its own committee of managers.2
Interchange of Letters. — It is well for schools to
combine for this purpose so that each willing scholar in
the upper parts of the school may have a correspondent
in some other school, no matter how remote. In this way
London may write to Edinburgh, York to Canterbury,
Birmingham to Liverpool, Manchester to New York. It
is probably best, though it is not a material point, for
towns that are widely different in character to join hands
in this way, e.g. Bradford with Grimsby, Newcastle with
1 The constitution of these committees varies. See Education
Acts 1902, 1903.
2 By Section 12 of the Education Act 1902 a number of volun-
tary or non-provided schools can be ' ' grouped " under one body of
managers.
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 3(31
Nottingham, Swansea with Kidderminster, Manchester
with Plymouth, and so on.
A scheme for interchange of letters on these lines is in
operation in some areas. In the county of London it has
been in existence some years, the correspondence being
officially limited beyond the United Kingdom to America,
Germany, Japan, and the British Colonies. There is
nothing, however, to prevent head teachers supplementing
this scheme by acting on their own initiative and re-
sponsibility. The chief points in the London scheme
are: — (1) The first letters are, as a rule, written abroad
and are distributed by the Education Department of the
Council among the various schools that have expressed
a wish to join in the scheme. (2) Replies are then sent
either direct or through the Education Offices, according
to arrangements made by the controlling authorities at
each end. (3) When the initial letters are written in
London they are forwarded in school batches to the Edu-
cation Department of the Council, and thence trans-
mitted to the corresponding department abroad. After
the first letter, however, communications are sent direct,
under the supervision of the head teacher. (4) When
several replies have to be sent to the same school, each
is enclosed in an adequately addressed envelope, and the
whole batch placed in one wrapper and forwarded to the
head teacher at the other end for distribution among
the scholars concerned. (5) Teachers are requested to
see that the letters written by their pupils are inter-
esting. Touches of personal history, brief accounts of
places in old or new London, pressed flowers, pictures
from illustrated papers, etc., coloured views of buildings
in London such as are given for Reward Cards, are
suggested for purposes of strengthening the correspond-
ence link. (6) Reward Cards and suitable notepaper are
362 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
supplied to the schools. Teachers are refunded any ex-
penditure incurred in postage.
Relation of Schools to Centres. — It is manifest that
to Obtain the maximum educational effect the work of the
centres for instruction in domestic subjects, manual train-
ing, drawing, etc., should be correlated with the work and
aim of each school sending its pupils there. The education
authority should therefore lay down the general principles
for the guidance of all concerned in this relationship.
These principles might well take the following form.
There must be drawn up for the guidance of the instruc-
tor at the centre a general syllabus, wide enough in range
for a special syllabus to emerge from it, suitable to the
needs of each contributory school; and that this special
syllabus should be defined by the head teacher and the
centre instructor in conference. On all technical points
relating to the centre instruction, the specialist should
have the dominant voice, but on all other matters
— especially where the ground is common — the head
teacher's view should prevail. The centre should be con-
sidered an integral part of the contributory school on all
occasions when its scholars are under instruction there,
and the head teacher should regard his visits to the centre
from time to time as part of his duty — for his authority
and responsibility extend as far as this, subject to the
qualifications already mentioned.
Nature Study, Gardening, Drawing, etc. — The wider
powers given to the local authority by the various Educa-
tion Acts from 1902 onwards make it possible to open up
resources hitherto practically closed for school purposes.
Public recreation grounds and parks under the control of
the local authority can now be brought into closer rela-
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 363
tionsliip with school life. The first named, for example,
can be utilised for organised games by neighbouring
educational establishments, and where parts of these
grounds are devoted to the cultivation of flowers, plots
may well be assigned to schools for gardening purposes.
As far as possible, every school should have its garden on
or adjoining the school premises ; but in large cities and
towns this is not always practicable : and in such cases
the nearest public recreation ground is the most suitable
place.
Gardens and gardening bring brightness into the lives
of those who live in great populous centres. Parents
of scholars and the public generally would be more likely
to visit the recreation grounds oftener, and take a greater
interest in their salient characteristics, if these places were
associated with the skilful work of children — who, as
a rule, take pleasure in gardening, in watching the
growth of leaves and flowers, and in realising some of
the results of their own powers. Gardening, perhaps, is
one of the few subjects of the school curriculum that
evenly holds the balance between the claims of physical
and mental development, provided there is a proper adap-
tation of means to ends. It is, indeed, nature study in its
primitive and best form.
In some localities the education authority has devised a
scheme for supplying the schools, at regular intervals,
with botanical specimens for nature study, drawing, and
botany. In one large area these specimens, gathered from
the parks and other open spaces, are sent fortnightly to
the elementary schools, and weekly to secondary schools
and colleges, each of which has been placed on an approved
list for this purpose. The local authority, by means of a
weekly official gazette, in which all announcements affect-
ing the schools generally are made, names the botanical
364 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
specimens available each week; and thus teachers can
requisition exactly what they want. Similarly, once a
year, after clue announcement, plants and cuttings from
the parks and other open spaces are distributed, with the
view of encouraging home gardens and home cultivation
of flowers generally. In addition to these means, a yearly
allowance of some shillings is made to each department —
proportionally to size — to cover purchases in connection
with object lessons and nature study.
Sometimes, too, when distances exceed a mile, the local
authority has arranged for scholars to travel free, or at
reduced fares, when either going to or from the swimming
bath, in school hours or when paying educational visits1
under the regulations of the Code.
Circulation of Books and Pictures. — Lists of suitable
books having been determined, it has been both a useful
and economical plan to circulate them in boxes of 20
volumes among the evening schools, e.g. 20 volumes of
the Tempest or of Ivanhoe. A scheme of this kind
prevents the accumulation of books in the school and gives
the variety that is needed from term to term, or session to
session, without any additional expense beyond that in-
volved in carriage. With larger boxes and a corresponding
increase in the number of volumes, this should prove an
equally efficacious plan for supplying books to the upper
classes of the day school.
The same principle might well be adopted by education
authorities for the circulation of pictures, which under
existing practices are allocated to a school for all time.
They soon cease to interest or attract. Arranged in suit-
able sets, exchanges could, with great advantage, be carried
out once a year. A freshness would then occasionally
1 Art. 44 (&).
THE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 365
come into the school environment by this means, and
the mental vision of both scholars and teachers would
probably be extended thereby. Pictures when really good
should be often made the subject of talks with the class
and of lessons in composition.
A School's Secondary Function. — As it becomes
necessary for the education authority to train young
people for the work of teaching, so also it is necessary
to have some schools wherein they can practise and learn
the main principles relating to their coming profession.
Generally, when the number of educational establish-
ments in a given area admits of a choice, only schools of
the best repute should be selected for purposes of this kind
of training. It is obviously important that the learner
should be brought into contact with methods and work of
the highest type, and with ideals that will energise and guide
him to the goal he is seeking. Not only skill in exposition,
but disciplinary power and a multitude of other qualities,
amongst which faith should loom large, must be acquired
before a broad-based efficiency can be reached.
Generally, therefore, pupil teachers and student teachers
should not have their claims subordinated to school exi-
gencies. They are placed in the schools primarily to be
trained for their life's work ; and though it is not possible
for them to be efficiently trained without rendering some
assistance to a fully qualified staff, yet this assistance
should always occupy a secondary place in the organiser's
mind. Indeed, it is only through this subordination that
both scholars and would-be teachers can derive the greatest
amount of good.
If the class master or mistress has, at times, to make
some apparent sacrifices these will often prove to be
blessings in disguise, for no one can train others without
3(36 SCHOOL ORGANISATION.
learning something himself : and the freshness of youth,
combined with a desire to acquire skill, is frequently an
uplifting influence.
The pupil or student teacher is in touch, too, on the
academic side, with the recent aspects of educational
thought, and does occasionally bring into the class-room a
little light that might not otherwise be there. Indeed, it
may be said of all teachers and others, that where the
spiritual reach is farthest — and this depends largely on
direct or indirect contact with many minds — the wider
must be the general outlook and the greater the probability
of success in the work they are called upon to do.
It must not be supposed that the points briefly discussed
in this chapter represent wholly the relationship of the
local authority to the school. In almost every part of this
volume will be found matters that directly or indirectly
concern central or local administration. The choice of
teachers, the principles of staffing, the co-ordination of
schools and their equipment, the planning of buildings, and
a hundred and one other considerations can scarcely be
said to cover the powers and responsibilities of the local
authority, which touch the school at almost every point.
But nevertheless the teacher's influence must always be
the dominant one. He will, however, be greatly assisted
in his work of forming and strengthening character and of
developing intelligence in his pupils if the local authority
is moved by lofty ideals expressed in appropriate and
consistent action.
INDEX.
ABSENCES, 221
Accommodation, 17,19,29
Accommodation, marginal, 19, 69
" Accrediting " system, 335, 337
Addresses, 264, 295
Administration, 338
— elementary education, 339-
343
— higher education, 343-6
Admissions, 84, 144, 347
Advancement, premature, 91
Ages, 92,. 145
— as factors in promotion, 92, 126
Aid (supplementary), 84
Aids (to discipline), 286
Aim, 2, 83, 97, 118, 253
— ethical, 3
Air, 43
American Ladder, 335
Anchorage class, 220
Aptitude (special), 98
Arithmetic, 79, 94
Armstrong, Prof., 237
Art, 98
— room, 22, 28
Aspect, 33
Associations —
swimming, 357
sports, 357
literary, 357
choral, 357
Athletics, 111, 119
Attainments, 126, 145-8
Attendance, 127, 258, 307-9
— average, 152
— " habitual," 65
367
BADGES, 261
Bain, Prof., 129
Banners, 262
" Batavia system," 162
Battery, 89
Benson, A. C, 118
Berlin, 95
Bias, 94, 198
Blackboards, 20, 58-9
Blame, 117
" Block system," 217
Botanical specimens, 363
Braille system, 186
Brain, 129, 134-5
Browning, E. B., 332
Buildings —
— no finality in, 9
— types of, 9-16
— American, 10
— factors for consideration in, 15
— plans of, 33, 75
— foundations of, 33
— sites of, 33
Bursaries, 196
Bye-law Returns, 321
CARE COMMITTEES, 351.
354
" Central " schools, 195
admissions to, 196
Certificat d'etudes, 203
Certificates. 269
Chairs, 57, 106
Chalk dust, 59
Change, 4, 5, 22, 89, 139
368
INDEX.
Character, 3, 21, 31, 251, 257
Child's book, 323
Children —
— defective, 29, 181, 332
— ill-nourished, 91
— precocious, 91
— backward, 92, 94
— normal, 129
— talented, 332
— necessitous, 351
— under 3 years, 137, 307
— over 16 years, 307
Circles (lantern), 359
Civics, 231
Class discipline, 114-21
principles of, 120-1
— system, 159
— teachers, 107
sex of, 123-5
— work, 119
Classes, 62, 128
— ungraded, 19, 93, 103
- size of, 64-5, 83, 152
— conditions of variation in size,
64
— scholars in excess, 69
— large, 71
— intermediate, 93
— highest, 94
— small, 99
— vis agendi of, 114
— combined, 157
— special, 157
— playground, 190
Classes Enfantines, 139
Classification, 2, 92, 144, 151,225
— cross, 226
Class-rooms —
— size of, 17,25, 161, 182
— height of, 25
— proportions of, 19, 155
— for infants, 23
— accommodation of, 24-6
— as accessories, 32
— for babies, 50
— interchangeability of, 104
Cloak-rooms, 39
Clubs, 112, 300, 302, 358
Co-education, 148
— pros and cons, 149-51
Colours, 38, 42
Combinations of schools, 356
Conduct, 251-2, 265
Conferences, 122, 249
Consultative Committees, 356
Contact, 93
Continuation schools, xxxi, 205
day classes, 205
— — evening classes, 210
Contributory schools, 204
Cookery, 26, 98
Co-ordination, 22, 249, 258
Corridors, 10, 38
Courses (of instruction), 71, 89
Creche, 140
Criticism, 113, 308
Cupboards, 59
Curriculum, xxxii, 88, 176, 182,
230, 234, 236
DAMP-PROOF COURSE, 34
" Day School Code," xvi
De Garmo, 4
Deparmental teaching, 226
Departments, 97, 126
— kinds of, 126-7
— size of, 15, 136
Desks, 29, 51, 104, 183
— dangers from improper desk-
ing, 51
— " Sheffield system," 52
— conditions of good desking, 53
— different sizes of, 56
— adjustable, 56, 105
— single, 56, 57, 182
Development, 129, 132-3
— arrested, 89
Discipline, 101, 115, 118, 119,
166, 251-305
— definition of, 251
— class, 114-21
— aims of, 253
— kinds of, 253-5
— ends of, 254
Disposition, 145
INDEX.
369
Domestic subjects, 98-9
Drainage, natural, 8, 33
Draught-board, 46
Drawing, 20, 362
— model, 103
Dust, 60
Dynamic principle, 256
EASELS, 58
Ecoles Gardienncs, 139
Ecoles Matemelles, 138
Edge worth, M., 257
Education —
— its essential things, 32
— basis of, 32
— moral, 3, 138
— ends of, 238
Educational year, division of, 87,
90
Elementary school, summary of
present function, xxiv-xxvi ;
its place in a general scheme
of education, xxviii-xxx ; its
relation to continuation
schools, etc., xxx-xxxi
Emerson, 257
Energy, 62, 88
English literature, 231
Entrances, 38
Environment, 8, 252
Equipment, 23
— on a subject basis, 105
Esprit de corps, 258
Examinations, 112-4,228-30, 30><,
322
— scholarship, 157
Excursions, 31, 94, 121
Experiments, 158
Expulsion, 284
Extraction, 47
FAIRY QUEEN FETE, 300
Faith, 4
Fatigue, 58, 237
Fire-drill, 299
y. Fireguards, 50
S. O.
Flags, 262
Floors, 35
— oiled, 60
— level, 23, 57
— of concrete, 39
Flower shows, 302
Forderklassen system, 187
Friday half-hours, 262
— afternoons, 263-4
Froebel, 131
Furniture for infants, 57
GALLERIES, 23-4
Galton's grate, 48-9
Games, 30-1, 133
Gardens, 175, 362
Geography, 78-9, 94, 105
Glass prisms, 41
Glazed bricks, 35, 37, 39
Government, 121, 124, 252, 270
Grade, 141
" Graduated," 336
Ground air, 34
Grouping of dull scholars, 93
— its justification, 93
Guild of Courtesy, 293
HABITS, 131, 135
Hall, 9, 10, 12, 16, 26,
106
Hall, Dr. Stanley, 300
Hand, 99
Handwork, 9i
Head teacher, 5, 107, 110, 115,
168, 223, 224
Heating, 43
— by open fires, 49
— by stoves, 49
— by hot-water pipes, 49
— by hot-air radiators, 49
Hclfsschule, 334
Herbart, 3, 6, 63
High schools, 335
Higher elementary schools, 25,
192, 193
Higher grade schools. 191
26
370
History, 78, 94, 101, 105, 110
Homework, 109, 289
Honour board, 295
Hopper openings, 46
Housewifery, 27, 98
Hijgeia, 11
IDEALS, 4
Imagination, 257
Immunities, 263
Imperial Institute, 79
Individual, 2
Infancy and childhood, 129
Infant schools, 137, 141,172,250
— classification in, 142-3
Infants, 4, 174
— definition of, 126
Influence, 97, 101
Inspection, 340
Instincts, 133, 135
Instruction, 198
— oral, 93
— centres for, 99, 360
— religious, 342, 344
— individual, 99
— "class-individual," 164
Interchange of letters, 360
— of books, pictures, 364
Interest, 62, 89, 92, 97, 100, 102,
108, 117, 173
INDEX.
J
AMES, PROF., 118
Journal (for P.Ts. & S.Ts.),
324
KINDERGARTEN, 144, 335
Kinderhorte, 140
Kinglake's Eothen, 233
Kirkpatrick, 130
Knowledge, 99, 166
— special, 98
LANGUAGES, 98
Latrines, 50
Laundry, 2% 98
Lavatories, 39
League of Mercy, 293
Leakage, 95
Legal sanctions, 282
Lessons —
— preparation of, 108
— optional, 264
Liberty, 119, 252, 271
Library, 78
Lighting, 40
— devices to improve, 41
— ideal, 41
— by gas, 42
— electric, 42
- incandescent, 42
Linkage, 211-4
Local education authority, some
of the duties of, 345, 366
Log book, 328
Louvre ventilator, 47-8
Lucas, E. V., 263
MAETERLINCK, M., 117
Managers, 339, 360
" Mannheim System," 187
Manual training, 27, 98, 186
Masterly inactivity, 156
Mathematics, 105
May Queen festival, 299
Mazzini, 1
Meals, 130, 139, 140, 290, 352-3
Medals, 261
Medical inspection, 159, 303, 309,
324, 343
Memory, 59, 237, 333
Method, 2, 9, 83, 162
Monday morning, 263-4
Monitors, 262
Moral law, 257
Miinsterberg, Frof., 117
Museum, 60
Music, 100-1, 110
NATURAL LAW, 257
Nature study, 24, 101, 362
Needlework, 23
" Normal rate," 85
INDEX.
371
Notes, 109
"Nursery schools," 173-7
Nutrition, 130
OBSERVATION, 6, 132
Odor Scholasticws, 43, 14
Office routine, 294
Old Scholars' Club, 300
Open sessions, 288
Open-air schools, 188, 309
Organisation, 90, 107, 146, 187,
210
— meaning of, 1
— of knowledge, 3
Organised courses, 210
PARENTS, 95
Parents' and Managers'
aid, 284
Parry, E. A., 233
Partitions, 18
" Passage rooms," 1.7
Patience, 116
" Pavilion schools," 12
" Perfect week," 260
Personality, 114, 119
Pestalozzi, 32
Plan of building, 9-16
Play, 31, 133
— centres, 343
Playground, 8, 30-2, 111, 144
— classes, 190
Pleasure, 117
Plenum system, 45
Practice, 4, 20
Praise, 117, 269
Premises, 7, 155, 175, 356
— for special purposes, 25-30
Preparation and reciting system,
73, 110
Private study, 156, 222
— tuition, 159, 163
Prizes, 260, 266, 303
Problems, 158
Progress, 86, 113, 115, 265
Promotion, 86-92
Promotion in Chicago Schuols, 91
— in Boston Schools, 91
— one-subject basis, 94
— to senior departments, 126
— inter-departmental, 145, 347
Proportionate success, 267
Propulsion, 47
Pubescent period, 136
Punctuality, 121, 259
Punishment, corporal, its ethics,
275-282
- book, 284
Punishments, 103, 118, 269-275
— sanctions of, 271
— functions of, 271
— forms of, 273
— censure, 273
— deprivations, 274
— impositions, 275
Pupil teachers, 107, 110, 216-9,
227, 365
I)EADING, SILENT, 110
\j Records, 114, 328, 330
Records of pupil teachers' work
324
— of student teachers' work, 324
— aural, 327
— ophthalmic, 327
— conference, 330
— defectives', 328
— thermometric. 328
— weekly, 319
— quarterly, 320
— yearly, 321
— of school progress, 322
Recreation, 308
Reference library, 293
Reflectors, 41
Regenerative gas lamp, 43
Registers, 127, 306
— verification of, 309, 318
— class, 309
— admission, 310
— summary, 317
— partial exemption, 316
— for special classes, 312
372
INDEX.
Registration, 121
Regularity, 121
Rein, Professor, xix-xxi, xxv
Reports to parents, 287
form of, 288
Reproach, 103
Reservation of places, 346
Respect, 117, 270
Responsibility, 78, 92, 93, 94,
101, 114, 160
Rest, 134
Retardation, 89
Reward cards, 260, 266
Rewards, 260-4
— ethics of, 265-9
Ribbed glass, 41
Roofs, 20
Rooms —
— the extra room, 19
— demonstration, 20
— for practical work, 20, 23, 28
— for cookery, etc., 26-9
— for teachers, 30, 60
— for storage, 60
— a room for history, 106
Rotation, 96
Rousseau, 4
Rules (building), 7
Ruskin, 3, 62, 116, 118, 258
SADLER, M. E., xxi-xxii, 32
Sanitary arrangements, 50
Scholarships, 157, 269, 337, 343,
345, 348
" School City," 272, 304
School Journal, 301
— journey, 296-8, 308
— ladder, 262
— library, 291
— lists, 294
— motto, 299
— commnnity, 114, 252
— hygiene, 33-61
Schools —
— small, 15, 172
— H.E., 25, 192
— H.G., 191
Schools —
— " central," 195-6
— ungraded, 74
— " special," 99, 181
— infant, 100
— dual, 128
— partial exemption, 178
— industrial, 179
— for blind and deaf, 186
— open-air, 188
— contributory, 204
— continuation, 205
— commercial, 210
— science and art, 210
— division of, 97
- — relation to centres, 362
- — secondary function of, 365
Science, 98, 105
Scientific idling, 156
Scotland, nomenclature of
schools in, xxii-xxiii
Screens, 19
Secondary school, 334
Self-control, 116, 118, 121, 251
256, 272
— development, 162
— expression, 119
— reliance, 89
Skylights, 10
Slates, 37
Soil, 33
" Special reports " (Board of
Education), xvi, xix-xxii
Specialisation, 95-103, 198, 216
Specialist, 102
Speech, 117
Spencer, H., 117, 120, 126, 271
Spinoza, 119
Staff, 151, 176, 198
— minimum, 66, 152
Staffing, 167
— principles of, 151
— in County of London, 153
— in Hornsey, 153
— difficulties of, 155
Staircases, 38
Standards, 70, 89, 225
Standing, 57-8
IJSiDEX.
373
Stepping, 20, 23
Sunlight, 33
Supervision, 226
" Supply " teachers, 222
Syllabus, 77, 90, 230, 232
Sympathy, 62, 72, 116, 224, 257
rpABLES, 57
Teachers, assistant, 5, 107
Teachers —
— head, 5, 107, 110, 115, 168, 223
— floating, 15-1
— ■ supply, 222
— unattached, 223
— grading of, 107
— on probation, 108
— giving partial time, 151, 216
— appointment of, 310, 311
— training of, 315
Teaching,227
— specialised, 99
— centres for, 98-9
— departmental, 100, 226
Technical Institutes, 210
Temperature, 11, 50
Tennyson, 251
Theory, 4, 20
Thermometers, 50
Thring, xxvii, 251
Time Tables —
— ungraded school, 81, 82
— ■ for defectives, 184-5
— for open-air school, 189
- for H.G. schools, 199-201
- for H.E. schools, 201-203
— for " Central " schools, 202
— for ordinary schools, 241-248
— for infant schools, 239-241
— for babies' class, 177
Time Tables—
— departures from, 221
Tobin's tubes, 43, 47, 49
Tone, 115, 254, 270
Tooth-brush club, 302
Training, 88, 322
— physical, 21, 136
Twain, Mark, 332
UNATTACHED TEACHERS
223
Ungraded room, 103, 144
Unification (of small schools), 74
United States, 110
Unity of purpose, 258
University, 335
VACATION SCHOOLS, 140
180, 343
Ventilation, 9, 11, 15, 34, 43
Visiting teachers, 216
Visits of nurses, 303
WAGNER, C, 116
Wall strip, 58
Walls, 11, 34, 37, 44
Waste, 95, 161, 163
Wells, H. GL, 292
Wenham burner, 43
Will, 21, 251
Windows, 42, 46
Woolwich Arsenal, 206
Wordsworth, xxxii, 32
Work-
practical, 20
intensive, 91, 121
variety of, 97, 136
intermission of, 108, 111
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