Cornell University Library LA 346.B8S9 Report.A cooperative field study conduct 3 1924 012 995 795 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924012995795 Report of th& OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY COMMISSION TO ^GOVERNOR January 19 14 IN EVERY TOWNSHIP MARKED IN BLACK AT LEAST ONE SINGLE ROOM SCHOOL WAS VISITED REPORT to the Governor of Ohio by the Ohio State School Survey Commission M. Edith Campbell, Cincinnati William L. Allendorf, Sandusky Oliver J. Thatcher, Wilmington Chairman A Cooperative Field Study conducted by HORACE L. BRITTAIN, Director of Survey (New York Training School for Public Service) An intensive study of 659 rural village schools in 88 counties, and an extensive study of 9000 school rooms and of 395 school systems Participated in by 44 professors in professional schools for the training of teachers and 116 students in these institutions most of whom had had experience in rural school teaching, 395 superintendents of schools and other school men and women, and 9000 teachers who supplied information to the commission JANUARY, 1914 Columbus, Ohio : The F. J. Heer Printing Co 1914. TABLE OF CONTENTS Legislative Act Authorizing the School Survey xi Survey Day Proclamation xiii Letter of Transmittal xvii Introduction x.\i Method and scope of survey — Viewpoint Chapter page I * Administration of the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction 2-30 Method and scope of investigation 3 Advance steps taken during the past 2 years 3 Improvements effected through cooperation between the state De- partment of Public Instruction and the Ohio State School Survey Commission Agricultural supervision 5 Present system — Amount and character of field work — Field reports — Constructive suggestions High and elementary school inspection 10 State inspection of schools — High school inspection by the Ohio State University — What superintendents say of high school inspection by state inspectors and university visit- ors — Constructive suggestions Statistics published by the State Department of Public Instruction 22 Method of collecting the material— Method of presenting the material — Time of publication — Value and reliability of the statistics published in the annual report to the Governor — Constructive suggestions Methods of filing and recording 26 Present system — Study of correspondence of State Department of Public Instruction — Constructive suggestions Method of financial accounting V 29 General criticism * 29 ^Constructive suggestions 30 II School Supervision 31-45 Amount of supervision 31 Experimentation and initiative among superintendents in Ohio... 33 Efficiency devices in supervision, administration and instruction — Educational experiment and investigation Comparison of schools having supervision with unsupervised schools 36 (v) vi table of contents Chapter page Constructive suggestions 39 The inadequacy of either unmodified county supervision or un- modified township supervision — A suggested plan of com- bined county and district (union township) supervision... Cost of supervision 43 III Certification of Teachers 46-54 The present system 46 Distribution of the various grades of certificates 47 Constructive suggestions 51 IV The Academic Training of Teachers now in Service 54-59 Present .conditions 54 Constructive suggestions 58 V Teaching Experience and Tenure of Office of Teachers now in Service 60-62 Constructive suggestions 62 VI Professional Training of Teachers 63-105 Professional training of 527 teachers in schools actually surveyed and of 8286 teachers enrolled in teachers' institutes in 1913 63 College of Education of Ohio State University 65 Scope of survey — Organization — Classroom instruction — Source and destination of students — Physical condition — Construc- tive suggestions Ohio State Normal College of Ohio University 71 Nature and extent of survey — Organization — Classroom in- struction — Source and destination of students — Positions filled by graduates of the college — Summary — Constructive suggestions Ohio State Normal College of Miami University 79 Scope and method of survey — Organization — Source and des- tination of students — Positions filled by graduates of the college — Summary — Constructive suggestions State Normal Schools of Kent and Bowling Green 86 Constructive suggestions Present differentiation of function performed and services ren- dered by the 3 state aided institutions in full operation be- fore September, 1913 87 The Normal College of Ohio University and the College of Educa- cation of Ohio State University — The two year courses of the State Normal College of Ohio University at Athens and the State Normal College of Miami University at Oxford — Summary Control and financial management of state instiution for the train- ing of teachers gg Present conditions— Coordination of the state aided institutions Summer schools for teachers gj Character of classroom instruction in summer schools con- nected with 3 state aided and 4 private institutions TABLE OF CONTENTS Vll Chapter page Teachers' institutes 95 Cost of county teachers' institutes — Nature of instruction given in teachers' institutes — Attentiveness of teachers — Methods of securing attendance — General conclusions — Constructive suggestions Present means of educating rural teachers 101 Summary .' 102 Constructive suggestions 103 VII Classroom Instruction 106-15G Interior views 106 General conditions affecting classroom instruction 121 Summary of observations of complete exercises seen in field survey 126 Teaching of reading 128 Teaching of English 129 Teaching of handwriting 134 Teaching of arithmetic 140 Teaching of geography 146 Teaching of history 148 Teaching of physiology and hygiene 149 Teaching of manual training, domestic science and agriculture.... 150 Is a rural school like this too good to be true? 155 Constructive suggestions 156 VIII Classroom and General Equipment of Elementary Schools 157-16S General equipment — Seating — Decorations — Thermometers — Black- boards — Teachers' desks — Sand tables — Slates — Individual pencils — Maps — Books Constructive suggestions 169 IX The Physical Plant 170-191 Grounds 170 Area — Play apparatus ' Buildings 174 Age — Cloakrooms — Closets for apparatus — Entries — Lighting of buildings — Heating of buildings — Ventilation of buildings — Toilets Care of physical plant 184 General summary — Care of grounds — Care_of buildings Constructive suggestions 191 X Care of Health of Pupils 192-201 Conditions found in field survey 192 A comparison of the results of expert and inexpert physical ex- amination of children 194 Explanation of the table — Eyes — Tonsils — Malnutrition— Glands — Nasal obstruction — Hearing — Heart — Pulmonary — Thy- roid gland — Orthopedic — Mentality-^Nervous conditions — Summary — General conclusions — Recommendations Vlll TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter page XI Records, Reports and Statistics '. 202 Conditions found in field survey 202 Supervision and visiting 203 Enrollment and attendance ' 203 Constructive suggestions 204 XII Slow Progress, Overage, Non-Promotion and "Dropping out" in the Elementary schools j 205-209 Study of grade VIII pupils in the various kinds of elementary schools 205 Studies of schools in Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton 206 Summary 209 XIII Special Sfudies of Township, Village and Special District High Schools ! 210-212 XIV Living Conditions of Teacher 213-214 XV Outside Cooperation with Rural Schools 215-258 Why outside cooperation with rural schools was studied 215 How women's organizations help rural schools 216 Farm Women's Clubs — Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs — Mothers' Clubs — Daughters of the American Revolution — Association of Collegiate Alumnae — Suggestions for in- creasing club cooperation 215-258 How the State Grange is helping schools 223 Suggestions for increasing grange cooperation How county fair boards stimulate school improvement 225 How business men's organizations help rural schools 226 Suggestions for increasing business men's interest How labor unions help schools What physicians and dentists can do for schools 231 Suggestions for increasing professional interest How needy children are helped to stay in school 232 Suggestions for securing data about relief of needy children.. Lebanon Trust's county-wide work for schools 235 What state branches of national bodies are doing 236 Young Men's Christian Association — Young Women's Christian Association — Camp Fire Girls — Child Labor Committee — Playground and Recreation Association — Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis How teachers' associations help schools 239 Ohio Teachers' Association — Ohio School Improvement Fed- eration — Ohio Teachers' Reading Circle — Ohio Pupils' Reading Circle What public libraries do for schools 241 What one library does — 150 public libraries — Van Wert County Library — State Library — Ohio Library Association — Sug- gestions for measuring-library cooperation TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter page Outside agencies helping to teach farm improvement through schools 248 State Agricultural Commission— Ohio State University Agri- cultural Extension Division— United States Agricultural Experiment Station How other state departments help schools 253 Board of Health — Suggestions for increasing Health Board co- operation — Highway Department — Industrial Commission. How a division of cooperation in proposed Bureau of Efficiency and Economy would stimulate and use outside cooperation with rural schools 256 XVI General Community Conditions 259-260 Community life 259 Wider use of school plant 260 XVII Local Administration of School Law in Ohio 261-268 Compulsory attendance law 261 Constructive suggestions The law section 7777 dealing with aid to indigent pupils 264 The law requiring payment of teachers for janitor service 265 The law requiring payment of teachers for institute attendance... . 265 The law requiring at least eight months school per year in every school district in the state 266 An extreme case 267 Constructive suggestions 267 XVIII The Special and Village Districts compared with the Township Districts from which they are cut 269-272 Salaries 26$ Elementary school attendance and enrollment 270 Enumeration 271 Amounts paid for supervision 271 Tax levy for school purposes 271 Formation of special districts , 271 Constructive suggestions 272 XIX Rural Boards of Education 273-288 Personnel of rural boards 273 Procedure followed by school clerks and treasurers in accounting ■) for school funds 274 Present system of accounting — Annual financial statements of county auditors to the State Commissioner of Common Schools — School boards shelving of responsibility — Care- lessness of presidents of school boards in controlling dis- bursement of school funds — Unlimited power of clerks of school boards in the disbursement of school funds — Treas- urers, expensive luxuries — School lands (section sixteen) — Forms and records for school accounting — Conclusions — How conditions may be bettered x table of contents Chapter page XX Consolidation and Centralization of Schools 289-291 Past progress in consolidation and centralization 289 Need of further centralization and consolidation. ." 289 Possibility of future progress in centralization and consolidation.. 290 Constructive suggestions 291 XXI State Aid to Common Schools 292-293 XXII Standardization of Schools rather than of Pupils and Students 294-297 Constructive suggestions 294 Resume 298-300 Appendix A A Partial List of Those Who Cooperated in Making the Ohio State School Survey Appendix B Field Forms and Questionnaires used in the Ohio State School Survey Law Creating the Ohio State School Survey Commission AN ACT To create a commission to conduct a survey of the public schools, normal schools, and the agricultural schools of the state, denning its powers, and providing appro- priation therefor. Be it enacted by' the General Assembly of the State of Ohio : Section i. That the governor be and is hereby authorized to ap- point a commission of three members to make a survey of the public schools, the normal schools, and the agricultural schools of the state, and the state administration of the same, to determine with what efficiency they are being conducted, and to report to the governor with recommenda- tions. Such report shall be transmitted by the governor to the present General Assembly of Ohio. Section 2. No member of such commission shall be compensated for his services, but each member shall be paid his necessary traveling expenses incurred in attending meetings or in performing other duties incidental to the work of the commission. Section 3. Such commission may employ and fix the compensation of the secretary and such investigators and other employees as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the commission. Section 4. The secretary, investigators and other employees, in addition to the compensation herein provided for, shall be paid their necessary traveling expenses and the other expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties. Section 5. The expenses incurred by such commission and the compensation and expenses of its secretary, investigators or employees for the purposes specified herein, shall be paid from the state treasury upon the warrant of the auditor of state when the vouchers therefor have been duly signed. The commission shall designate one of its mem- bers whose duty it shall be to sign all vouchers for accounts allowed by the commission, and the auditor of state shall honor no voucher which is not signed by such member. Section 6. The commission shall be empowered to provide suitable rooms, necessary office furniture, supplies, stationery, books, periodicals, map and other furnishings and equipment, necessary to the performance of their duties. .Section 7. The commission shall have free access to all public records necessary for the carrying out of the duties herein prescribed. (xi) Xll AN ACT Each member of the commission shall have power to administer oaths, certify to public accounts, issue subpoenas, compel the attendance of witnesses within the county of their residence and the production of papers, books, accounts, documents and other evidence. In case of dis- obedience on the part of any person to comply with any order of the commission or of any member thereof, or any subpoena issued in behalf of such commission, or on the refusal of any witness to testify concern- ing any matters regarding which he may be lawfully interrogated, the presiding officer shall make complaint thereof, in writing, to the probate judge of the county in which such witness resiHes, who shall issue a subpoena for the appearance of such person forthwith before him to give testimony. If any person so summoned fails to appear, or appear- ing, refuses to testify, he shall be subject to like proceedings and penalties for contempt as witnesses in actions pending in the probate court. Section 8. There is hereby appropriated out of any moneys in the state treasury to the credit of the general revenue fund not otherwise appropriated, not to exceed the sum of ten thousand dollars for the pur- poses herein specified. Section 9. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency act and that its enactment is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety and welfare. The necessity therefor lies in the fact that the public health, safety and welfare requires that the present General Assembly during its deliberation upon measures relating to education shall have as full information as possible on all these matters. C. L. SWAIN, Speaker of the House of Representatives. HUGH L. NICHOLS, President of the Senate. Passed February 26, 1913. Approved March 11, 1913. JAMES M. COX, Governor. Filed in the office of Secretary of State March 13, 1913. School Survey Day Proclamation Letter of Transmittal Introduction SCHOOL SURVEY DAY PROCLAMATION The new Constitution provides that "provision shall be made by law for the organization, administration and control of the public school system of the State supported by public funds", etc. In my message to the General Assembly at its first session following the adoption of the new Constitution, the suggestion was made that a survey precede legis- lative enactment on the subject. The opinion was expressed that there were disorder and incongruity in our present archaic school structure, and that it would be useless to attempt to make laws intelligently and efficiently without first having the most comprehensive appreciation of the conditions existent. The Legislature acted promptly and effectively, and a Commission consisting of W. L. Allendorf, of Erie County, M. Edith Campbell, of Hamilton County and Oliver J. Thatcher, of Clinton County, was ap- pointed to undertake the work of survey. Inasmuch as the Municipal Research Bureau of New York, directed by Wm. H. Allen of that city, had supervised a like project in Wisconsin, he was requested to send to this State an expert in this sort of work. He did so in the person of Horace L. Brittain, who has rendered the most painstaking, scientific and efficient service, without cost to the State. The Commission claimed the confidence from the first of those of our citizens who devote their talents in considerable degree to the sub- ject of education, and the enthusiastic cooperation as between these two forces resulted in the formation of a corps of over two hundred experts, many of whom labored without compensation. The survey has extended into every county in the State, particular attention having been given to the common schools in the country dis- tricts. This policy grew out of the apparent need of a thorough awaken- ing in the rural communities. While the report of the survey has not been officially submitted, I am sufficiently familiar with the. work to know that conditions within the State are woefully lacking in the modern elements of educational and community life. There seems no question but that the trend from the country to the cities is due in considerable b. s. s. (xiii) xiv SCHOOL SURVEY DAY PROCLAMATION part to the decline of the rural school system. Let it be understood that this is no reflection on the citizens of the farm communities. The normal evolutions of civilization have brought social changes which the local county, township and school subdivisions could not adjust themselves to under the statutory and constitutional provisions of the past. There are no two opinions as to the necessity of creating in the minds of our people a thorough awakening on the subject of community life and a modern school system. There is a common conviction also that the remedy can be largely worked out through the school organization. I am so impressed with the opportunity for good to be wrought that the power and influence of the Executive Department of our Commonwealth is invoked for the purpose of inducing our citizens to lay aside for one day the cares and activities of social, business and professional life, re- flect on the dignity and importance of our common school system and analyze the conditions revealed by the survey recently made, in the hope that the legislative changes to be made can voice the desire of every com- munity, which is the only guarantee that correction will be state-wide. It it therefore suggested that Friday, November 14, 1913, be ob- served by every school district in Ohio as School Survey Day, and that teachers, pupils, parents and patrons assemble during the afternoon and particularly the evening. Speakers will be supplied and literature pre- pared, with such general supervision by the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the School Survey. Commission that conditions through- out the State will be known and remedies can' be suggested. Nothing can be more wholesome than adding to this an historic review of the origin and function of our school system. What an inspiration will be given the whole movement when the light burns in every school house in Ohio on the evening of November 14th. What a spur it will be to community life to have assembled at the same hour four thousand community meetings at the shrine of the local school house. It is further suggested that an Educational Congress be held in Co- lumbus on December 5th and 6th, 1913, and that the community meetings select lay delegates to the Congress. The Teachers' Institute organiza- tions will designate delegates from the teaching forces within the counties. We ask that the Mayors of municipalities, supplement this proclama- tion with like official action, and that the fullest measure of cooperation be given by Boards of Education, Teachers' Institutes, the Grange, Women's Clubs, Mothers' Clubs, and Labor and Civic organizations. Let it be a day of genuine awakening. The necessity and oppor- tunity of the hour call for it. SCHOOL SURVEY DAY PROCLAMATION XV In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name and caused the Great Seal of the State of Ohio to be affixed, at Columbus, this twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and thirteen. (Signed) JAMES M. COX, Governor. By the Governor : Chas. H. Graves, Secretary of State. LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL To His Excellency Hon. James M. Cox, Governor of Ohio: The Ohio State School Survey Commission herewith respectfully submits for your consideration the report of its work. „ The commission held its first meeting March 12th, 1913, at the Neil House, Columbus, Ohio, and secured as its Secretary and Director of Survey Dr. Horace L. Brittain of the New York Training School for Public Service*, which has most generously paid his salary during the survey. The experience which Dr. Brittain had had in the school survey of Wisconsin gave him peculiar fitness for the work in view and the commission considers itself fortunate in having had his services. His tactfulness, foresight, thoroughness, freedom from fads, his quick insight into the conditions, his sane judgment, his untiring efforts and his knowledge of the best that exists in the school systems of other states, have made possible whatever success the commission has achieved. We wish to express our gratitude to him. The survey has been carried on in a thoroughly cooperative way. We called on a large number of men and women to assist us in one way or another and we have been open to suggestions from every quarter. We have invited criticism and advice. Consequently our report is not the work of any one man or group of men; but is rather the composite product of the school men and women of this and other states and be- cause of this fact we venture to hope that it will be found sane and practicable. To all who have aided us in any way we express our thanks. Every member of the commission has to the best of his ability taken part in the field work of the survey. We have tried to learn at first hand the actual conditions and to understand the problems that con- front our schools. The report of the director "and his constructive sug- gestions have been submitted to us section by section and we have dis- cussed them and passed on them before they were given to the public. On every point we have reached a perfect agreement and our report is in the fullest sense of the word unanimous. The prime object of our consideration was the educational welfare of the children of the state and of this object we have never lost sight. As most intimately affecting the children we regarded the teacher and the quality of the classroom instruction. To these, all other matters are *New York Bureau of Municipal Research. (xvii) XV111 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL subsidiary. We have tried to consider everything that affects the chil- dren, the teacher and the teacher's work. This statement will explain why we have so carefully examined into the physical and material con- ditions of our schools and will make clear our attitude toward them. They are important because they deeply affect the welfare of the children and the efficiency of" the teacher. It may be said that we have dealt largely with externals. If that is true, our answer is that it is chiefly concerning externals that we can legislate. The spirit which should permeate our schools is greater than the externals, but concerning this spirit we can make no laws. It must come from the people of v the state — from the people, enlightened, intelligent, interested and heartily cooperat- ing with all the agencies at their hand. These agencies we have sought to improve in the hope that from the people of the state will come forth a new spirit that shall lift our schools to heights, of excellence never before attained and of which we have scarcely yet begun to dream. We have tried to make a matter of fact statement of the results of our field work. Our motto has been, "Nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice". We have taken no pleasure in laying bare deplorable conditions. We believe that the simple statement of these conditions will do much to bring about the reforms which we urge. We have also found much to commend — good teachers, good conditions and a good spirit. On these we must build. It has not been our aim to set up the highest standards conceivable but rather to fix a minimum below which no school shall fall, for if the people are thoroughly awakened to their duties to the schools we may safely leave to them the creation and realization of the higher standards to which we cannot immediately attain. We hail with joy the evidence that this new spirit is beginning to manifest itself. The work of the commission, the School Survey Day and the educational congress have already done much to awaken an interest that has slumbered too long. We have received many letters from persons in every walk of life saying that they will do all in their power to advance the cause of education and asking for help and guidance. We believe that the time is ripe, the moment propitious, for wise, comprehensive legislation which will give a legal basis for the needed reforms and at the same time indicate the. lines along which we may expect growth and improvement. The commission unanimously recommends the creation of some special, temporary agency to assist in following up the proposed legisla- tion and to study two most important matters which the commission has not been able to investigate with sufficient thoroughness to be able to make definite suggestions. These are vocational education and a system of pensions for teachers. LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL XIX In conclusion, we wish to thank your Excellency for the unfailing support and encouragement you have given us in our work. It must be left to the coming years to reveal and measure the beneficence of your action in promoting this survey. Respectfully submitted, M. Edith Campbell, William L. Allendorf, Oliver J. Thatcher, Chairman, Commissioners INTRODUCTION Method and scope of survey People do not permanently differ about facts which are open to the scrutiny of all. Differences as to fact disappear when men look at the same thing, from the same angle, at the same time. People differ permanently about theories and opinions which have not been, or cannot be, submitted to the touchstone of fact. The commission is convinced that if a general agreement can first be reached as to basic, significant facts, agreement as to proper edu- cational policies cannot be far off. As a basis for a policy, 3 facts upon which all agree are more valuable than 100 facts — vouched for by experts, be they never so expert — which do not receive' general assent Such considerations made it imperative that the survey be cooperative throughout. This it has been from the beginning. Five deans or presidents .of state institutions for the training of teachers, 5 deans or presidents of similar private institutions, 35 professors in state aided and private institutions, 116 students of education the majority of whom had had experience in rural school teaching (from 1 to 15 years), the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, the state high school and agricultural inspectors,' 3 members of the legislature, the members of the commission in addition to the director of survey and 4 others have participated in the field work 9,000 teachers who attended teachers' institutes in 1913 supplied informa- tion as to themselves and their schools covering such topics as train- ing, experience, administration of school law, sanitation of school buildings 88 county auditors supplied information as to the number of small schools, the length of school terms, etc. 401 superintendents of township, special district, village and city dis- tricts supplied information or sent suggestions 225 school men, superintendents, normal college deans and normal school presidents participated in conference and round table discussion in which the constructive suggestions of the commission were submitted to close criticism (xxi) XX11 INTRODUCTION Hundreds of letters containing suggestions and information were received from residents of city and rural districts A series of questionnaires to labor unions, chambers of commerce, women's organizations brought hundreds of responses as to the nature and amount of cooperation of private organizations with the public schools. Chapter XV sets forth in detail the marvelous potentialities of outside cooperation with school authorities Cooperative studies of overage, slow and rapid progress, dropping out of school, were made in Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati; of penman- ship and composition in Delaware ; of health conditions in a typical rural district The cooperative nature of the survey made it possible To get an account of conditions from all parts of the state, thus providing a state wide fact basis To utilize all of the immense fund of knowledge and experience already in existence bearing directly on the needs of Ohio schools To get a comprehensive view of all shades of opinions from all kinds of men in all sections To provide a new and fruitful way in which a large number of experienced school men and women and a smaller number of non-professional men and women might give practical expres- sion to their interest in public schools thus deepening that in- terest, attaining a more intimate view of actual conditions than was otherwise possible for many of the workers By having a large number of people gather the same facts in the same way, to establish in widely separated parts of the state groups of people who should know from first hand knowledge just how the survey was conducted, and who from having passed through a common experience and made therefore similar inductions would find it more easy to combine on a construc- tive program All the facts and descriptive material of the report, except that dealing with the training of teachers, were collected by citizens of Ohio. Undesirable conditions have been described solely for the purpose of making clear the need of improvement, and in every such case a constructive suggestion as to corrective measures has been offered. Desirable conditions in any community have been described in order to indicate what is possible for every com- munity, and general good conditions have been indicated as the foundation upon which all improvements must be based. The re- INTRODUCTION XX111 lations betwen facts have been traced, so that the truth may be apparent to all, in the belief that a statement of the truth will ulti- mately bring about the correct solution for every problem As a control on the figures from the whole state, 91 rural schools were surveyed in a central county rather above the average in material resources. The tabulation of returns from this county correspond remarkably well with the state wide results. The close correspondence between the figures on the certification and training of teachers in service in rural schools obtained (1) by actual visita- tion, and (2) from information furnished by teachers who attended teachers' institutes in 19 13, supplies another indication of the repre- sentative character of the schools chosen, particularly the township schools For every statement of fact made in this report there is a supporting document in the files. These files have been open at all times to citizens desirous of specific information. All documents and work- ing papers have been placed in the custody of the Secretary of State, and are open to public examination on the same basis as all other public documents Field work was carried on in varying amount in each of the 88 counties. 592 township elementary schools, 17 centralized and con- solidated township schools, 13 special district elementary schools, 13 village elementary schools and 22 high schools were surveyed, at least one day being given to each school no matter how small. For purposes of tabulation and comparison in the report "Centralized" in the returns from the field includes centralized and consolidated schools and "Special District" includes only one room schools in special districts With the exception of a few special studies city schools were not surveyed. A recommendation of the commission if carried into effect, will provide for the survey of many village and city schools during the next few years. The commission felt that the rural and small village schools, so long neglected by the state and often unable for financial reasons to maintain schools of the highest efficiency, had the first claim upon the state. The commission clearly recognized that the welfare of the rural and village com- munities depends largely upon efficient schools, that the welfare of the cities depends largely upon that of the rural districts and the villages, that the rural problem is a city problem, the city problem a rural problem, and that city and rural problems affect vitally the interests of the state as a whole XXIV INTRODUCTION In order to insure that all field workers should see as many as possible of the essential things in the same way, 6 forms or schedules were drawn up for the survey of elementary schools, and 12 for the survey of high schools. These forms were submitted to the close scrutiny and criticism of 50 school men and women in all parts of the country, — parts as widely separated as Massachusetts and the state of Wash- ington. Among those who cooperated in the work of sifting the items which should appear on the cards were 2 state superintendents of public instruction, 2 deans of colleges of education, 2 editors-in-chief of leading educational publications, 3 professors in normal schools and colleges of education, ?• city superintendents of schools, and 5 men whose profession is survey work. In all, 230 changes suggested by these men and women and by field workers were made in the original forms, a large number of these changes being additions. Still more would have been made if limitations of time and space had permitted. The forms used in surveying the last 300 schools are the result of the best thought of some 100 people. The director of survey was forced to ignore many suggestions which were mutually destructive and to eliminate after a consideration of relative values many other suggestions, good in themselves, which would have made the forms too top-heavy and too complicated Wherever possible the director' of survey called a conference of workers at each center and explained the field forms and the method of using them. The volunteers at each center were formed into teams of 4 or 5 members with a professor at the head of each team. When prac- ticable each team went out each morning in the same conveyance dropping the workers at the schools in the morning and picking them up in the afternoon. In many cases conferences were held at the end of each day's work around the hotel table. At this time items to which answers were doubtful were filled out under the supervision of the group director, and notes were written up on all points deemed valuable by the conference. In some cases the field workers used the trolley lines returning to the home center at the end of each day's work From time to time the director of survey held conferences with field workers at various centers for the purpose of getting material which could not be entered on the cards, to get suggestions as to future lines of inquiry and to insure that the workers thoroughly understood the method of survey. At one such conference 81 pages of short hand notes were taken covering experience of the field workers which could not be entered on the cards In all, field workers spent a total of 4,291 hours in actual inspection of school grounds and apparatus and study of classroom instruction, and INTRODUCTION XXV 1,313 hours in conferences with school patrons and in writing up re- ports. On the average &y 2 hours were given to the study of each school The director of survey spent 640 hours in conference, 193 in corre- spondence, 227 in addresses and travel and 375 in formulating the report 7,596 hours were given to tabulating and summarizing the field material and to necessary clerical work. Of this, 543 hours were volunteer service The subjects covered in the report are given in detail in the table of contents The topics were determined largely by the urgency of the needs, limita- tions of time and money and the provisions of the law authorizing the survey For obvious reasons names of individuals and places have been con- sistently omitted throughout the report, except where acknowledgment is made of direct assistance given to the survey and in chapter XV, which deals with outside cooperation with the public schools That it was possible to reduce to order the immense mass of details in the field data in time to report to the Governor before the special ses- sion of the legislature was in large measure due to the office manager, Miss Edith Rockwood of the New York Training School fof Public Service Viewpoint The survey has taken it for granted that the efficiency of a school system supported by the state must be measured in terms of serv- ice to the state. The question asked in every case has been, "How does this school, or this department, or this institution help or hinder the fullest development of the community life?" The physical plant of the schools, the care of the plant, the cooperation of outside agencies with the school authorities, the wider use of the school plant for community purposes, the methods of reporting school facts, the living conditions of the teacher, the part taken by the teacher in the life of the community where she teaches, the training and personality of the teacher, the personnel and business methods of boards of education, the character of classroom instruction have all been considered from the standpoint of efficiency of service to the com- munity and the state The teaching and the teacher have been regarded as the central fac- tors in educational efficiency. How the teacher's personality reacts upon the developing personalities of the pupils, calling forth their latent powers, and inspiring them to high accomplishments and XXVI INTRODUCTION worthy living have been matters of careful observation and record. How to bring every young teacher into contact with professional men and women of vision and enthusiasm, light and leading, so that she in turn may pass on through personal touch high ideals of social service and personal efficiency to every community in the state, is a question to which the commission has given careful thought Selecting one of the minor topics of the inquiry, one might ask what difference does it make socially whether the feather duster is used or not ? Much every way. The feather duster does not remove dust ; it simply disturbs it and throws it into the air to be breathed in large quantities by the children, thus increasing possibilities of infec- tion, disease and death. A school without a feather duster and with a dustless duster may be made by the teacher an object lesson to every housewife in the community. Dust causes through infection, sore throat, tonsilitis and other throat diseases. More children lose more days from school, and those who attend r.egularly are not in the best condition for work. Thus the community spends more money for doc- tors' bills and fails to get full return for the money invested in schools on account of irregular attendance. Society suffers on account of the waste of public money, the lowered vitality of its future members, while the moral tone of the community is lower than it would be if the school set a good example in the way of punctuality and regularity of attendance and of working always at the top notch of efficiency Of what value is information concerning the organized or unorganized amusements of a community? It is coming to be recognized that an excellent index of a man's character is how he spends his leisure time. It is still more true of a community, that the way it amuses itself, the way it amuses its children, is of great moral significance. Does it make any difference whether the teacher lives in the community where she teaches, spends the week ends outside of the district, attends social functions in the community, has a good boarding place, has a private study room, is paid a decent wage? Do not these questions have a direct bearing on the possibility of the teacher's being a recognized leader in the community? The social significance of the efficient training of teachers, the careful supervision of teachers, the thorough equipment of school buildings with libraries and apparatus is obvious. The fundamental standard therefore, the measure of efficiency, is the amount and character of the social service rendered by individual schools Further than this — while throughout the report indications of par- ticular standards in special departments are frequently made it INTRODUCTION XXV11 has been the aim of the survey to so state the facts as to bring with the statement a clear idea of the desired standard and its ac- ceptance by the readers — without an explicit statement of the standards in the beginning. Any standard which is planked down cannot have the same force or general appeal as a standard which has been arrived at by a process of induction in which the reader himself has taken part. The investigators have felt that any stan- dard which cannot be made intelligible to and gain the assent of the patrons of the public schools has little place in a public docu- ment and should so far as possible be avoided. Two of 3 stand- ards upon which an effective majority can agree are more valuable so far as getting things done is concerned than 100 standards which may become the subject of endless discussion The energies of those employed on the survey therefore, have not been directed so much to the formulation of standards and the state- ment of principles as the discovery and presentation of significant facts upon which all can agree — the facts which will logically sug- gest standards and principles, and which may form the basis for a constructive program The commission has not been concerned in this study so much with the standing of Ohio in comparison with other states as with her standing in relation to her great possibilities. Wherever actual con- ditions were found which fall short of the best now possible for Ohio, these conditions have been set forth, even though in these respects Ohio stands well among the sisterhood of states. The commission has inquired not only "Is this good?" but "Might this be improved and how?" From March 1st, 1913, until the 5th of December, 1913, the State of Ohio has been making a personally conducted survey of her own schools. Prior to November 14th the work was largely done by professional men and women of Ohio. On November 14th the patrons of the pub- lic schools were invited to gather in all the school buildings of the state to conduct experience meetings, to make surveys of local school needs and resources Thousands of such meetings were held in the state and hundreds of communities decided then and there that henceforth school buildings should become real social centers. The results of School Survey Day alone are worth more to the state, as an example of what use can be made of school buildings, than all the money expended on the survey On December 5th and 6th, 2,500 people including about 2,000 lay dele- gates selected by the various School Survey Day meetings, representa- XXV111 INTRODUCTION tives from the county organizations of teachers, 50 or 100 representa- tives of women's and men's organizations which cooperate with the public schools met in conference at Columbus to discuss and criticize the tentative constructive program of the survey commission Such rich educational by-products have fallen to the institutions who took part in the survey, that several schools have voluntarily decided to continue survey work, as a means of keeping in touch with their com- munities and of giving their students valuable laboratory experience in the application of efficiency tests. Chapter VI describes a method of cooperative surveying by which the state may be guaranteed a con- tinuous survey at little expense and the state aided institutions may greatly increase their service to neighboring communities Ohio has not only initiated a movement which will finally solve the educational problem of the state, but has also proved that an effec- tive cooperative survey can be made at a cost within the reach of any state Id O o z o (0 o 00 D 0. Ll o z o K I- W Q < ADMINISTRATION OF THE OFFICE OF THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION Method and scope of investigation Like other parts of the survey, the study of the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction was essentially cooperative. At the beginning of the inquiry Superintendent, then Commissioner, Miller placed all the data in his office at the disposal of the com- mission and instructed the employes of his office to obtain for the Commission all information possible. The Superintendent and his whole force without exception have cooperated from the start, not only in securing facts with regard to the activities of the State Department but in carrying on the actual field work. In several instances the state Superintendent to facilitate prompt and general reply, has sent out over his own name requests for information desired by the Commission. A notable example was the collection - of data from 9,000 teachers in teachers' institutes by the inclusion ofjtems on the regular registration card. The state Superintendent has statutory control over these institutes to all of which he sends ac- credited representatives The inquiry into the administration of the State Department covered the following topics : advance steps taken during the past 2 years, improvements effected since the beginning of the survey through cooperation between the State Department of Public Instruction and the Ohio State School Survey Commission, agricul- tural supervision, high and elementary school inspection, the sta- tistics published by the State Department of Public Instruction, methods of filing and recording, a study of the official correspondence of the State Department of Public Instruction and the method of financial accounting Advance steps taken during the past 2 years In 191 1 the Cahill bill was passed. It provides for the teaching of agriculture in village, township and special districts and for the supervision of agricultural teaching by 4 state supervisors of agri- cultural education (3) OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT The State Commissioner of Common Schools in order to aid local authorities in establishing agricultural instruction, issued to teachers courses of study in agriculture, went or sent supervisors to every county institute to explain the purpose and intent of the Cahill law, issued numerous bulletins to teachers during the past year, issued a pamphlet entitled "Fundamentals in Physics, Chemistry and Bacteriology in Agriculture," and is about to issue bulletins on school gardening and home gardening Since the beginning of the term of the present Commissioner the sample text books required by law to be kept in the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction have been tabulated and arranged so that any desired book can be easily located. During the work of tabulation it was discovered that from 3,000 to 4,000 volumes were missing. By correspondence with the publishers the files were made complete. All books are now kept under lock and key All books and pamphlets have been carefully catalogued The State Commissioner for the first time in this state has issued a suggestive uniform course of study which through the county auditors has been widely distributed in the state During the first few months of his incumbency, the present state Superintendent of Public Instruction made a tour incognito of some of the counties in the state, later publishing accounts of what he had- seen, illustrated by photographs. As a result in many communities school house floors were scrubbed, fences were rebuilt, better instructors were hired The office of the state Superintendent of Public^ Instruction has assisted in the centralization movement by sending representa- tives to communities where the matter was under discussion, and is about to issue a pamphlet on centralization and another on school architecture Lists of books and apparatus suitable for the various kinds of schools have been published A limited amount of modern office appliances has been purchased from the contingent fund In fine, there has been a steady improvement in office methods and arrangements, great aid has been given to the movement for centralization, and the efficient teaching of agriculture has been fostered by the State Department of Public Instruction STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 5 Improvements effected through cooperation between the State Department of Public Instruction and the Ohio State School Survey Commission A new high school inspection form has been drawn up, after a study of the best forms used in other states A new form has been drawn up on which superintendents of cities, villages and rural districts will be expected to report in detail the educational equipment and physical condition of the 1 schools and the academic and professional training of teachers of the schools. This form has been sent to each superintendent in the state, and as replies are received, they are being filed for reference to be used by the high school inspectors and agricultural supervisors. This material will also form part of the statistical basis of the annual report of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction A system of monthly time sheets has been installed in the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction from which the superintendent may learn at any time the amount of work done by any employe and the distribution of his time among the dif- ferent functions for which he is held responsible. The time sheets will be a matter of public record and will form part of the statis- tical basis for the annual report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Agricultural supervision* A state law provides for the division of the state into 4 districts each with a supervisor. The supervisors are appointed by the state Superintendent of Public Instruction and are directly responsible to him. The supervisors are expected to visit rural and village communities and school districts in their respective sections and to aid and encourage the systematic study of agriculture and related subjects. They are required to inspect the teaching of agriculture in the schools and to see that the law requiring agricultural instruc- tion is observed. They are required to report on each visit to the state Superintendent of Public Instruction The present system The work is distributed among the 4 supervisors as evenly as possible taking into consideration the nature of the roads and the facilities for transportation as follows: *The statistics in this and the following section were compiled by Thomas M. Muir, Youngstown, and Walter W. Grothaus, New Bremen OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT No. of counties Northwest 24 Northeast . . . : 25 Southwest 21 Southeast 20 No. township ele- mentary school houses 2,6/4 2,626 2,238 2,686 Amount and character of field work It is impossible to give an accurate statement of the amount of field work done by the supervisors, because the. department has not had in use monthly time reports and, further, in many cases super- visors have neglected to make the required reports of inspection. The subjoined table filled out from expense reports gives an idea of the variety and value of the work performed by the supervisors FIELD WORK DONE BY SUPERVISORS OF AGRICULTURE DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR 1912-1913 DISTRICTS Nature of Work First Second Third Fourth Total Farmers' institutes attended and ad- 18 10 15 5 3 12 10 21 23 121 20 33 28 31 19 86 Teachers' quarterly meetings and 169 87 Addresses before men's clubs and 24 Addresses before commercial clubs. . . . 3 Mass meetings held on centralization, 31 12 31 Meetings with boards of education Grange meetings, farmers' club meet- 6 4 4 28 49 38 37 99 44 41 4 Miscellaneous meetings 30 5 275 275 100 15 25 17 124 124 54 •20 183 178 92 92 45 Visits to summer schools 4 6 200 200 100 90 " 12 4 25 49 Attendance and addresses at farmers' and school picnics 28 782 777 346 182 12 Filled pulpit on sabbath 4 6 12 15 45 Visits to school exhibits and county ! 1 07 1 19 Corn exhibits and agricultural shows.. 15 11 1 ** Assisted in organization of horticul- tural, agricultural" and rural im- I 123 1 1 °° 1 ^ STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 7 The above record shows that the agricultural supervisors have worked hard in awakening public sentiment in favor of better rural schools, in securing conformity with the law making the teaching of agri- culture compulsory in rural and village communities and in securing cooperation of outside agencies with the schools Method of reporting work in the field and character of field reports A careful analysis was made of the 1003 reports of the 4 agricultural supervisors from January 1st, 1913 to June 30th, 1913. Of these re- ports 258 were from the northeast district, 324 from the northwest district, 210 from the southwest district, and 211 from the southeast district The analysis of these 1003 reports showed that 1 Much valuable information called for by the blanks was omitted, e.g. In 30 cases reports did not show what school was being reported on In 45 cases the location of the school visited was not given In 169 cases the kind of school district was not stated In 70 cases the grade of high school was not given In 104 cases the number of grades in the school visited was omitted In 294 cases the number or subject of recitations in school visited was not stated In 62 cases the number of pupils in the school visited was omitted In 223 cases the number of pupils taking agriculture was not given In 41 cases the general preparation of teachers was not stated In 212 cases the preparation of the teacher to teach agriculture was not stated In 33 cases the text-books used were not given In 30 cases the condition of the grounds, in 30 the condition ol the buildings, and in 29 the condition of the furniture, was not stated In 108 cases data regarding libraries were not given - In 133 cases the care of library books and in 188 cases the general appearance of these were not mentioned In 415 cases where data were omitted it was impossible to tell whether the omission was due to the carelessness of the super- visors or to the actual absence of the activities specified In 280 cases no remarks or suggestions were given OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT 2 Much valuable information was so poorly written as to be illeg- ible, e. g. The name of the township was illegible in 28 cases, and of the schools in 75 cases Remarks were illegible in 8 cases 39 other entries were illegible 3 Owing to the ambiguous nature of the wording of the official form and failure of the office force to get together on a common interpretation, data was so irregularly given under 13 of the 23 topics the official reports lists, that tabulation of the information given was impossible, e. g. Although there are only 4 kinds of school districts in Ohio the in- formation after the item "Kind of district" was given in 16 different ways After "No. of grades in school" entries were made such as "All," "All but three" (which may mean 11, 7, 9 or 5 grades) The item "No. of recitations" was variously interpreted to mean the number of recitations per teacher, the number of recitations in agriculture per teacher, the number of recitations per day, the number of recitations per week, the number of recitations in the high school, and the number of recitations in the whole school After "Preparation of teacher" — which evidently means one teacher — general statements were made as to 15 or 20 teachers, definite statements as to the academic training of one teacher were given, or such terms as "Good," "Poor," "Well prepared" were used After "Volumes in school library" such entries were made as "Yes," "Reference," "Enough," "Several hundred" 4 The figures in many cases were unreliable on their face, e. g. Although the numbers of male and female pupils are called for, in 163 cases the total only was given Out of 258 reports from one supervisor, 83 reports give the number of boys as exactly equal to the number of girls, although such coincidences were rare in reports from other supervisors. In 2 instances the total number of pupils was reported as less than the number of pupils in the 7th and 8th grade and the number of pupils studying agriculture STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 9 The use made of the reports of agricultural supervisors These reports were rarely if ever, referred to in the routine work of the office, although full and thorough oral reports were made by the supervisors in conference with the Superintendent of Public Instruction These reports were not, and could, not be used to check up the work of the supervisors or to determine the amount and character of agricultural instruction throughout the state These reports are practically valueless for purposes of administration or publicity and their nature shows that neither the supervisors nor the central office took them as seriously as their possible value warranted Material from these reports was not, and could hot be used in the annual reports of the State Commissioner of Common Schools That the reports were in this condition, was due partly to the following facts : i The important question after the passage of the law making agricultural instruction compulsory, was thought to be "Is the law being obeyed?" not "How is the law being obeyed?" 2 The number of school districts to be visited was very large and the number of supervisors comparatively very small for this initial work 3 The supervisors were compelled by the nature of their work to spend a large part of their time in conferences with boards of education and in addressing public meetings of school patrons 4 The work was new and the forms used rather experimental Constructive suggestions In order that data from the field may be presented in such a form as to measure the efficiency of the field work and form a basis for ad- ministrative action, the following suggestions are made: That separate forms be made out for high schools, the different kinds of elementary schools, conferences, institutes, public meet- ings That these forms call for all significant material readily obtainable That the headings be so worded as to make more than one interpre- tation impossible IO OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT That the supervisors receive full and uniform instructions as to the manner and time of reporting That the reports from the schools be checked up with monthly time sheets, so as to insure as far as possible that all schools visited be reported on That the reports be tabulated monthly and annually by the statis- tician in order that the material coming in from the field may be currently available to the state Superintendent of Public In- struction In order that the work of the supervisors of agriculture may bring in as large returns as possible for the outlay in salaries and traveling expenses the following suggestions are made r- That the scope of the work required of the supervisors be enlarged to definitely include assisting in the development of social centers in rural school buildings and in fostering the wider use of the school plant That the supervisors be required to observe and report upon the teaching of ordinary academic branches paying particular atten- tion to the correlation of these subjects with the everyday expe- rience of the children and the life and interests of the community That the title of the office of "Supervisor of Argriculture" be changed to "Supervisor of Agricultural Education and Rural Organization" High and elementary school inspection State inspection of schools Legally the inspectors of the state department are not high school inspectors, but common school inspectors, i. e., they are inspectors of both elementary and high schools. In practice, high school in- spection requires most of their time. In fact, on October i, IQ13, many high schools had not been inspected by the state department since inspectors were first appointed in 1909. A great deal has been done by the inspectors in settling local difficulties and in pro- moting centralization, but there has been little actual inspection of work in elementary schools A close study was made of 136 reports sent in during the last 3 school years on 100 high schools located in 60 counties. Fifty schools were selected from the list of each of the 2 inspectors. Of the 100 schools, 20 were in special districts, 30 in village districts and 50 in township districts STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION II Thirty-eight schools were inspected twice, 4 three times, and 58 only once in 3 years One inspector had reported on all inspections made. The other could find but 28 reports out of 107 which should have been made in 1913 Much material called for in the reports could have been obtained more readily from other sources, e. g., the data on tax rate were so meagre that tabulation was impossible. No information as to grade of school visited was given in 4 cases Information as to academic training of superintendents, principals and teachers was very incomplete; no data whatever were given with regard to 40 superintendents and 30 principals In addition to 22 schools for which all reports were lacking:, reports from 6 schools failed to give the certification of teachers The reports indicated that 28 superintendents and 21 principals of 78 schools reported on, held bachelor's degrees 1 The reports show that 10 superintendents and 13 principals were teaching on one-year certificates ; 7 superintendents and 9 princi- pals on two-year certificates ; and 7 superintendents and 7 princi- pals on three-year certificates Fifty-five high schools reported no agricultural apparatus, 23 no physical apparatus, and 67 no chemical apparatus In 83% of the schools the total laboratory equipment was less than $300 in value Two schools reported some 25-minute periods of instruction ; 4, some 30-minute periods; 3, some 35-minute periods, and 28, 40- minute periods. Eight only reported 45 and 50-minute periods In their school libraries, 23 schools had no reference books; 31, no biographies; 26, no histories; 28, no poetry; 51, no prose classics; 49, no agriculture, and 60, no popular science Sixteen schools had less than 100 volumes in their libraries, and 7 had over 600 The reporting on class room instruction is entirely lacking in uni- formity, so that comparisons from year to year are impossible. In addition to the 22 schools from which there were no reports, no data were given as to class room instruction in 13 reports The method of reporting the spirit of school officers is not uniform. Reports, however, were favorable in 49 cases and unfavorable in 18. 12 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Following are examples of remarks made by the high school in- spectors regarding school officers : "Anxious to further school interests" "Not satisfied with any but the best" "Think themselves progressive, but are stingy" "Not much interested. Not progressive" "Stand pat" "Lacked knowledge of duties" "Want first grade but object to expense" Needs of both elementary and high schools were reported as follows : Supplementary readers in 4 schools Laboratory in 31 schools New building in 10 schools More teachers in 10 schools Libraries in 31 schools Laboratories and libraries in 23 schools Better teaching in 5 schools Less contention in 3 schools More money in 1 school More pupils in 4 schools Miscellaneous needs in 11 schools Buildings were reported as New in 3 cases In good condition in 28 cases In fair condition in 14 cases and in poor condition in 16 cases No reports were given in 39 cases The accompanying graph* indicates the proportion of total school time in each week given to the various subjects by the 100 schools in- spected at the time of the latest visits recorded The following facts gathered from the records themselves indicate the degree of effectiveness of the state inspection : Twelve per cent of the schools increased the length of the school year to 36 weeks Twenty per cent of the schools increased their teaching force Five per cent decreased the number of recitations per teacher Thirty-two per cent increased the value of laboratory equip- ment Twenty-six per cent increased the value of library equipment Five per cent improved the character of class room instruction *The charts and graphs in the report with the exception of 2 were drawn by Miss Josephine A. Meyer of the New York Bureau of Municipal Research STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 13 Five per cent provided better physical conditions Fifteen per cent of the inspectors' reports recommended revo- cation of charters Thirty-one per cent of the reports recommended granting or raising the grade of charters Course of study & >; & ^ &S& &\v> O/- Latin (Xtft/ired) cO although on the pre- ceding page it is stated that 1,223 pupils graduated in the mean- time. The discrepancy is apparently due to the fact that more districts failed to report on this item in 191 1 than in 1910. In any event greater vigilance the following year led to a sudden increase in 1912 to 9,537 , On page 68 of the 191 1 report it is stated that the number of stu- dents taking domestic science decreased over 3,000 or about 20% of the number taking, and manual training decreased over 12,000 or more than 40%. Equally astounding increases of over 9,000 in domestic science and 6,000 in manual training are recorded in the 1912 report, no doubt due to more complete % reporting On page 106 of the 191 1 report out of 19 items called for, one county gives but one On pages 141 to 143 of the 191 1 report where the enrollment by years is called for, as well as the extremely valuable information as to how many of the first grade were beginners and how many left overs, there are 12 cities out of 81 for which no figures whatever are given On pages 144 to 147 of the 191 1 report, 24 cities out of 81 give no information with regard to one item bearing on the retardation of pupils The value of the figures for use by administrative officers or students of education is destroyed by captions, the meanings of which are not clear and which are nowhere explained in the report, nor indeed on the original forms from which the statistics were compiled. The absence of necessary explanations on the original forms makes STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 25 practically worthless the material gathered because the persons filling out the forms do not have definite common standards, e. g., among many other cases Amount paid for elementary tuition, P. 144, 1912 report Withdrawn from high school within the year, P. 176, 1912 report Retarded pupils, P. 92, 1912 report Overage, P. 92, 1912 report Overage of first year high school pupils, P. 68, 1912 report The value of the figures is destroyed by apparent discrepancies which cannot be satisfactorily explained either by the statistician of the State Department or by at least some of the county auditors, e. g., among many other cases In table XV of the 1910 and' table XIV of the 191 1 reports) the balance on hand September 1, 1910 is given differently in 55 cases out of 88. These are the figures sent in by the county auditors In one such case the difference was $351,790.91. This difference is not explained and is not explainable by the balance of the out- standing orders unpaid which is only $342.98. No doubt there is a satisfactory explanation, but its absence makes any use of the figures impossible In table XV of the 191 1 report and table XIV of the 1912 report the statements of "Balance on hand September 1st, 191 1" differ in 53 cases out of 88. That the balance of outstanding orders has nothing to do with the difference is shown by the fact that in 27 cases the balance shown in the 1912 report for September 1st, 191 1, is greater than the balance at that date as shown in the 191 1 report. In one case the 1912 report showed a greater balance on September 1, 191 1 than the 191 1 report by $42,372.19 On page 18 of the 1912 report the number of applications for teachers' certificates rejected, 18,682, plus the number of certifi- cates granted 24,243, does not equal the number of applications, 43,607. If necessary another entry should be made to enable a balance to be struck Constructive suggestions In order that the state Superintendent may be supplied promptly with reliable data it is recommended that Warrants for the salary of county auditors for the month of Sep- tember each year require before payment, the signature of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, and' that the state 26 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Superintendent of Public Instruction be given authority to hold up the salary of a county auditor for any month in which infor- mation called for is not supplied County auditors be authorized and required to hold back payment of the August installment of the state common school fund from districts whose clerks have failed to send in the required reports to the county auditors on or before the legal time, until the next regular payment from the state common school fund Whenever a district fails to send in to the county auditor any required report on or before the day set by law, the county auditor be authorized and required to employ competent persons to secure the required information, deducting the expenses of such person from the first payment thereafter from the state common school fund Boards of education be authorized and required to deduct from the salary of the district clerk any deductions from the district allot- ment of the state common school fund due to failure of the clerk to report at the required time In order to facilitate the collection of data in township districts the clerks of the boards of education be elected directly by the boards as is the case in all other school districts All teachers, clerks and auditors be required to swear to the cor- rectness of their returns previous to payment of any state funds to counties or districts Methods of filing and recording Present system The files of the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction include a complete card catalog of all the text books used in the state of Ohio arranged according to names of publishers and sub- jects, and giving the number of the shelf on which each book is to be found. The reports of the agricultural supervisors and of the inspectors of public schools are arranged alphabetically by county but no corresponding cards are kept. A book record of high school inspections has been begun and when completed will be of great value Correspondence is filed alphabetically but no card index is kept listing the correspondence according to subject, names of persons writing, names of persons to whom sent, addresses of persons sending or receiving letters or date of letters. No record whatever is kept STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 27 of routine letters such as deal with interpretation of the law. Many of these are destroyed. The office is not provided with a fire and burglar proof safe for the care of the many records and documents which it would be impossible to replace Study of correspondence of State Department of Public Instruction An attempt was made to study a year's correspondence of the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, but it was found That the letter files did not contain copies either of all letters sent out nor of all incoming letters. Many routine letters are destroyed immediately, many letters are returned with the requested infor- mation written on them and many important letters are held until the matters to which they relate are settled when the letters are destroyed That although the office is constantly called on for advice in local matters and explanation of the school law, records of such advice given and information sent, are not complete and, on account of lack of filing facilities, are not readily available That a cross section study of the correspondence might be made, all of the outgoing and incoming letters for one month were saved Of the 1,294 letters coming in to the office 68.6% were answered by let- ter, 16.3% by sending material requested, 4.6% were answered, but copies of letters were not filed, and for 10.5% there was no record of- any answers. Of the unanswered 10.5%, at least 5% required no answer Of the 1,281 outgoing letters 1,158 or 90.4% were in answer to in- coming letters and 123 or 9.6% were initiated in the office Of the 947 answers, to correspondents, 167 or 17.7% were dictated by the superintendent himself and 82.3% by subordinates Twenty per cent of the 167 answers dictated by the superintendent required his personal attention while the remainder concerned matters which could easily have been turned over to subordinates if sufficient help of this sort were available Thirty-seven percent of the answers to correspondents involved state- ments and explanations of points of law. Much of the time spent on these matters could be saved by having transcripts made of the laws most commonly needed and sending them out with any necessary com- ments The following table shows the distribution of correspondence by sub- ject matter: 28 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT ■o 00 CO 04 CO « OS .H CO 9» ** t- CO U TH *> l| ^ . ^ a Tp lO CO ' CM -J< r* oo *3 o oo cq co U3 as io O CO IO rH 03 u H »H wers no SB' of ters CO CO CO CD ©q O . +J +■* m *j — i -u C» A 3 Q <1) J o ■— i rH tH 09 c8 — ■Co i8M ffq 03 a S 03 If r- a iH © CO CO ■*< O .M c- t> r- t- TH Tt* « & w-^ BJ'S Cs C£ T- N 0) -*j ■o a> CD 01 J -*- 03 09 o 03 O 1 £h 03 o a> 1 s a Pi *. * a £ a 1 c i i ! M O u 0) a o . +3 o a a • o ■a £ 4-) a P 0) P ■a CC to a; 1 a e o o- c 03 « o .a "to 03 . c 03 s ■d a 03 .9 : " 03 2 o o (13 e « a C3 a e cc 1 1 o cd © jar u -*- a o r r to c >• to a CO CO ffi ■O - r a H Z o H o n> O > re © S H "^ r ; > n H < H I — I H O *J O 2i W CO o M o G F t> > F M O > S3 a CO X O c| F a o o W i> SCHOOL SUPERVISION 33 Experimentation and initiative among superintend- ents in Ohio The following requests for information were sent to superintendents of schools : "Please describe any device rtot widely adopted which you are using for supervisory, administration or instructional purposes — particu- larly devices tried out for the first time in your constituency (If any special forms are used please send copies to this office) "Please describe any educational experiment or investigation which you are at present conducting or have conducted during the academic year 1912-1913 or earlier "The commission welcomes any other information or suggestions you may have to offer" Efficiency devices in supervision, administration and instruction Five village superintendents, 1 special district superintendent, 3 township superintendents reported the use of rather unusual efficiency devices The following is an extract from a typical reply to the questionnaire: "A few of our activities a little unusual in Ohio cities of our class First "During the year 1912-1913 I made it a rule to report back to each teacher after visiting the teacher's school, my impression of her work and criticisms, both commendable and otherwise, thus: "'Miss Report of visit to your school on Dec. 10, 1912 1 Your own writing and blackboard work are among the best in the city 2 Your display of pupils' work and the wall decorations of your room are good. Not too much pupils' work but change at times 3 One visiting your room when pupils are absent would be im- pressed quite favorably 4 You have a good clear voice and your personal appearance is good. I know of no reason why you should not succeed abun- dantly. Your knowledge of the subject matter and your in- terest and desire to succeed are good 3 s. s. 34 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Criticisms i Your school was in confusion when I entered the room 2 I could not tell for some time whether your class was in i or 2 sections, for you directed your teaching almost wholly to the west side of the room 3 Pupils do not assume proper position when reciting. They neither stand nor sit, but take a half way position 4 Your questions are not well formed and are not directed to the individual, but too often take the form "Who knows"? "Who can tell?" etc. This sort of questions always invites inatten- tion and confusion 5 Teacher talks too much. You were doing too much in the recitation that ought to have been done by the pupils. Even tones of voice and greater self possession needed 6 Many had no part in the recitation at all and did not give any attention worth while. A lack of seriousness was manifest 7 Pupils laughing at each other's blunders. Sometimes 3 or 4 were talking at once 8 You say you have some pupils who are hard to handle. You will have more unless you seriously study your conditions and change your own methods of recitation. Take time to get your school in order. Carefully assign your lessons, and then con- fine your questions and answers to individuals. Do not take so prominent a part yourself and let pupils do the work that they can do if you more deliberately plan 9 Before all things, retain your self possession. Do not lose it in voice or expression, but firmly follow up your directions. If you will carefully assign your work and just as rigidly question upon it in the recitation, passing from individual to individual, and then hold your study section down to work, most of your troubles will disappear. Do not hurry, and do not try to keep yourself busy but to keep the pupils busy and giving thought- ful attention. During the Christmas vacation get a good rest, and then start in with a different method of procedure and you'll come out victorious. Your school last year was one of the best ordered in the city. Make this one better "Kindly submitted" Second "A common continuation school for failures and pupils who desire to advance a grade was run for 6 weeks. About 50 pupils were enrolled SCHOOL SUPERVISION 35 Third "The board of education has expended $11,000, half of which was secured by pupils' subscriptions, upon playgrounds for the city's children and pupils" Another sample of what is being done in Ohio : "In our grade work we have exceptional teachers to specialize on the different phases of agriculture or nature study as we call it. For instance, Miss' is our entomoLogist, Miss our orni- thologist, Miss our botanist, Miss our geologist, etc. These teachers have made a study of each special subject, until they not only know it, but can teach it in concepts of the child mind, which we contend would be imposible to do if this work were done by high school teachers. Of course we say 'butterfly-girl', bird-girl', 'flower-girl', not wishing to scare the children by the unfamiliar and high sounding technical names. When a boy has a nature problem he goes straight to the proper teacher to have his problem solved. These teachers trade classes from time to time. As an aid to effi- cient supervision, the superintendent has members of the advanced short-hand class 'cover' recitations in every grade and subject at least once a month. If the teacher is young or inexperienced the re- ports are more frequent. The stenographic reports are confidential and teacher and superintendent go over them together, to ascertain how well the aims of the lesson plan were brought out, the style and number of questions asked, the students' response and interest, etc. as indicated by their replies. When we started this plan the number and poor quality of questions surprised even me, much more the teachers. For instance, as high as 200 questions were reported in 1 recitation. A great number 'lead' to the answer. This is much easier to correct, when after a conference in the office, you can hand a teacher her list of questions for a certain day to study. The stock judging team from our high school, (we have a year course) has challenged any high school team in the county to a stock judging contest. This is the first high school contest in the state to my knowledge" The replies show that an immense number of original or at least ad- vanced, devices are being tried out in Ohio; but there should be some agency by which devices found effective somewhere could be made available everywhere in the state 36 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Educational experiment and investigation Seven superintendents of township schools, 1 superintendent of special district schools, 17 superintendents of village schools and 10 city super- intendents reported interesting, valuable and comparatively new ex- periments and investigations. Thirteen township superintendents, 4 special district superintendents, 22 village superintendents and 14 city superintendents report examples of advanced practice which can hardly be classified as experiments The following are typical answers to the questionnaire : "We apply tests for sight, hearing and mentality and watch for and try to correct such physical defects as adenoids" "We have had no freaks or fads 'the past year" "We made arrangement with the board of education to furnish mate- rial and the high school boys built a shop for manual training. The boys and the teacher in charge did all the work. They even put on the tin roof. The experiment worked fine" "We have no novelties that I know of, except that we have used moving pictures in 2 of our 4 elementary schools during the past year. I feel that much careful supervision and selection is necessary before this novelty will be very valuable'' "We are carrying' on Binet tests. These will be followed by physical and dental examinations" "We are beginning the work of reorganizing our high school and upper grades. We plan to have the elementary school embrace 6 years, junior high school 3 years and senior high school 3 years" "Have studied effect of early entrance upon truancy in intermediate grades, but have not sufficient data for conclusions yet" "During the vacation we are trying out the Montessori method with about 20 children from 3 to 6 years old" The replies show that an immense amount of experimentation is being carried on in Ohio, but that there is great need for some agency by which the results of experiments conducted anywhere may be made available everywhere in the state Comparison of schools having supervision with unsupervised schools As the returns from each school were tabulated, the teaching of each school and the equipment of each school were rated as good, fair or poor While in many cases good schools and the employment of a superin- tendent are both the result of community enlightenment and the SCHOOL SUPERVISION 37 second can hardly be said to be the cause of the first, the fact that on the whole, schools with part time supervision are little, if any, better than schools with no supervision, would seem to indicate a causal connection between thorough supervision and efficiency CORRELATION OP SUPERVISION WITH QUALITY OF EQUIPMENT AND TEACHING * Equipment Percents Teacher Percents • No. Good Pair Poor Good Pair Poor Supervised 177 353 62 21.4 6.2 1.6 47.4 46.2 37.1 31.1 47.6 .61.3 31.1 12.2 6.5 56.3 67.7 59.8 12.9 19.6 27.4 *.6 *.5 No report as to whether there is supervision — probably unsupervised. ♦6.5 ♦Inadequate data for judging teachers As an example of what intelligent supervision may accomplish, below is given the record of achievement in a superintendency of 4 years in a rural school system of 473 pupils, employing 14 teachers : . "Building modernized, by installing steam-heating apparatus, and venti- lating system ; fire escapes erected ; walls frescoed ; and adorned with good pictures instead of cheap chromos; drinking fountains and electric lights installed Equipment in laboratories trebled; libraries doubled, and a magazine- file department installed, also reading rooms with best papers and magazines. Dewey classification of library, filing cases, mineograph, etc., added Course made largely elective, with the addition of the complete com- mercial school; also chemistry; manual training, domestic science and art;, agriculture, with school gardens which, owing to the flood and drought, were a mere start this year ; sanitation ; civics in grades and high school; music, with special teacher Corps of teachers strengthened by addition of 2; average of $95 increase for each teacher in force; requirement of normal training for grade teacher and a degree from approved college for high school teacher Medical inspection by physician, oculist and dentist School savings bank, with annual average deposit of about $8.00 for each pupil enrolled 38 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Kinetescope, pr portable moving picture machine, used to teach geography, history, nature study, physical geography, 'etc. Community interest won by literary programs, free reading rooms, organization of Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls, Mothers' Clubs, Patrons' Meetings, control of Hallowe'en pranks by a school carnival. Citizenship taught by such means as conducting real elections in - schools with the regular booths, ballots, etc., renting "special wire" for election returns at school ; conducting classes to court room, to visit local factories, etc.'' As examples of schools which need supervision and professional selec- tion of teachers, the following may be given: 1 "The teacher is yj years old and boards at home nearly 3 miles away from the school. He talked all day to the examiner about what schools should be, what his experience had been, etc., and asked so many questions that the examiner could hardly fill out the card. The examiner, who has visited hundreds of schools in Ohio wrote that he did not know that such a condition existed in the state. The poor old teacher is in his dotage; he is very much embarrassed financially and in general, is in a pitable condition. Of course there is no pension for him. The school is not graded in any sense. The teacher does not know whether the oldest pupils are 5th grade or 8th grade pupils, and is so deaf that he cannot hear unless addressed in a very loud tone of voice" 2 The teacher has no idea of any method of teaching or organizing his school. He seems like an earnest fellow but is drifting. There is too much filth about this school for good health and good morals. Water is evidently an unknown quantity in this school. A hog pen adjoins one corner of the school lot. The teacher calls school by going outside and calling "Books, books !" or hitting on the side of the school house with a stick of stove wood. The house is unfit for habitation in the winter. Much plaster is off. Window lights are out and the winter wind will often be warmed as it passes un- molested through this dilapidated shack and comes in contact with the red hot stove in the middle of the room. The board of educa- tion hires a teacher at $40 per month for 8 months, making him sign a contract not to collect institute pay and to do his own janitor work for one dollar per year. The board refuses to repair the house, clean the ground, furnish desk books, charts, maps or any other appliance. The teacher does all that is done" 3 The condition of this school is pitiable. The house is built in an unsightly place on a spot 50' x 60'. There is no playground ex- SCHOOL SUPERVISION 39 cept in a neighboring lot. The building is 25' x 30' and on the in- side one finds 63 pupils, a mixture of all the nations of the world. There is an insufficient number of seats and 2 pupils must sit in 1 seat. The desks are all single. There is no recitation bench and classes are obliged to stand during recitation. The teacher's voice is scarcely ever heard. The class was called in history. Without any question being asked a boy began to recite a paragraph from the book. When he had finished his paragraph the girl next to him began her paragraph and so on until' the lesson was finished. Then after 'take to paragraph 96' they returned to their seats" 4 "As was the recitation in history, so were the recitations in the other subjects. In reading, the ABC method was used. The teacher was not. aware that there is any other method. She seemed to be aimless and purposeless, and her stock of information small. Pupils were classed as being in the 8th grade when they should have been in the 4th. Some of them seemed eager to learn and when the examiner talked to a few of them at recess and told them how to work a problem and explained it, their faces brightened up and they said that they would like to study if they ever got anything ex- plained" Constructive suggestions The inadequacy of either unmodified county supervision or unmodi- fied township supervision The chief disadvantages of unmodified county supervision In 1912, which is the last year for which figures are available, 3 counties had, outside of the cities, 300 teachers each, 7 had over 250 each and 21 had over 200 each. These figures for township, special district and village teachers are furnished by the state Superintendent of Public Instruction. No single superintendent could efficiently supervise such large numbers of teachers scat- tered over such wide areas as are covered by the average Ohio county The chief disadvantages of unmodified township supervision If every township in the state employed a superintendent of schools and each superintendent received annually $1,000, the annual cost of supervision to the townships alone would be $1,370,000. This burden would be unsupportable. It is also unnecessary. The total number of teachers in township schools in 1912 was 11,637, an average of about 9 per township. In most cases 1 super- visor could give adequate supervision to at least 3 townships. 40 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Although the first township superintendent was appointed 30 years ago, at the present time only 26 township superintendents out of 413 give as much as half of their time to supervision — ac- cording to original reports of county auditors and figures sup- plied by the state Superintendent of Public Instruction. Returns from 77 township superintendents show a percentage of 14.3 who give at least half of their time to supervision. If this percentage holds for the whole 413, the number of superintendents giving at least half of their time to supervision would be about 62 A suggested plan of combined county and district (union township) supervision In order that every school child in Ohio may be enabled to attend a properly supervised school, that supervision districts may be made sufficiently large to spread the advantages of supervision with fair evenness and that superintendents may be enabled to give their full time to supervision with the best possible results the following recommendations are made : That a county board of education of 5 members be elected at large on a non-partisan ballot in each county by voters in all dis- tricts except city districts, or, by the presidents 1 of all boards of education in the county except city boards, and that this board have the following duties and powers 1 To appoint a county superintendent 2 To change school district lines where necessary according to distribution of population and topography so as to insure as far as possible to each child the opportunity to attend the school most easily reached and so as to encourage and make possible further centralization and consolidation 3 To compel the combination of schools and the transportation of children when necessary, where the attendance in any case falls below 12 4 To divide the county into supervision districts each containing one or more school districts according to the number of teach- ers employed, the amount of consolidation and centralization, the state of the roads, etc. — no supervision district to have less than 20 teachers and none more than 80 In case any rural or village district or union of school districts for supervision purposes already employs a superintendent whose board is willing for him to give at least three-fourths time to supervision after August 1, 1914, even if the number SCHOOL SUPERVISION 41 of teachers employed falls below 20, the county board of edu- cation, on application of the district or union of districts concerned, shall erect the district or union of districts into a supervision district on condition that (a) the superintend- ent continue to give at least three-fourths time to super- vision, (b) the superintendent receive a salary of at least $1,000 per annum, (c) the supervision districts do not receive full county aid, but only a pro rata portion of the full county aid based on the ratio of the number of teachers actually employed to 40, the supposed number of teachers per superin- tendent under average conditions, (d) the district superin- tendent of such districts be nominated by the county superin- tendent as in all supervision districts in each county after the occurrence of the first vacancy in the superintendency 5 To organize social center work in rural districts and encour- age the wider vise of the school plant 6 To publish with the advice of the county superintendent a minimum course of study with suggestions for variations be- tween village and rural courses of study That in supervision districts containing but 1 school district, the. board of education, in supervision districts containing either 2 or 3 school districts, a joint meeting of the boards of education, and in supervision districts containing more than 3 school districts, the presidents of the various boards in joint session, shall elect a district superintendent on the nomination of the county super- intendent. If the first nomination of the county superintendent is not ratified, he shall immediately make one other; nomination. If this fail of ratification, the board, boards or presidents of boards, as the case may be, may elect a district superintendent by a three-fourths vote of all having the right to vote for district superintendent That the county superintendent be authorized and required 1 To nominate the various district superintendents in each county 2 To direct the training of teachers in his county, other than city teachers, and to teach not more than 200 periods per year in any training courses for teachers which may be given in the county 3 To recommend minimum courses of study to the county board of education 4 To act as clerk of the county board of school examiners 42 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT 5 To make out and send to the county auditor and the state Superin- tendent of Public Instruction all reports required by law and such other reports as the state Superintendent may call for from time to time 6 To hold monthly meetings with the district superintendents as a county board of superintendents and to advise with them on all matters pertaining to the efficiency of the schools 7 To outline a schedule of school visitation for the teachers of the county with the advice of the district superintendents 8 To call and preside over an annual meeting of all members of boards of education in the county other than city boards 9 To visit and inspect schools in all parts of the county as fre- quently as his other duties will permit io To hold teachers' meetings in the various districts of the county in conjunction with the various district superintendents 1 1 To assist in the organization of social center work, agricultural institutes, etc., in fine, to have charge of all rural organization in the county under the auspices of the county board and to cooperate with all rural organization movements under the auspices of any agency 12 To be present at all meetings of the county board of education, with the right to discuss but not to vote 13 To be in all respects the chief executive officer of the county board of education That the district superintendent be authorized and required 1 To nominate teachers for all vacancies which arise in his su- pervision district subject to confirmation by the board 2 To recommend text books and courses of study for adoption 3 To spend his full time in actual class room supervision, in organization, administration and instruction of teachers — such incidental teaching in the schools as he does being for illustra- tive purposes, unless he be called upon by the county board of education to teach in any teachers' training courses which mav be organized in the county. As set forth on pp. 40 and 41, any district already employing a superintendent may allow the superin- tendent to teach one-fourth of his time under conditions described above SCHOOL SUPERVISION 43 4 To hold teachers' meetings in his supervision district 5 To fill out and send to the county superintendents such reports as are required by law and any others which the superintendents may call for from time to time 6 To assist the county superintendent in rural organization 7 To be in all matters the chief executive officer of all boards of education in his district 8 To be present at all meetings of boards of education of his district, with the right to discuss but not to vote That the minimum salary for a county superintendent of education be $1,200 per annum, half to be paid by the state up to a max- imum state payment of $1,000 and the remainder by the county That the minimum for a district superintendent be $1000 per an- num, half to be paid by the state up to a maximum county pay- ment of $750 and the remainder by the district That the minimum requirement for a district superintendent be 1 Three years of successful experience in supervision and a high school certificate, or, 2 Three years of successful experience in teaching, graduation from a recognized school of college rank, and 1 year of professional training in school supervision and administration That the minimum requirement for a county superintendent be 1 Five years of successful experience in supervision and a state high school teacher's certificate, or, 2 Five years of successful experience in supervision, a high school certificate and graduation from a college, or, 3 Three years of sucessful experience in teaching, a high school teacher's certificate, graduation from a recognized college, and 1 year of professional training in school administration and super- vision Cost of Supervision The cost of such a system of combined county and district super- vision over and above the present optional township system The probable number of district superintendents necessary under the proposed plan 44 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT According to figures supplied by the office of the state Superin- tendent of Public Instruction 17,801 teachers were required in 1911-1912 for the village, special districts and township schools of the state. On the basis of an average of 60 teachers per district superintendent, 296 district superintendents would be required for the state. Taking county by county on the- basis of 60 teachers per superintendent, counting only fractions over one-half as one and every fraction less than one-half as none, 300 district superin- tendents would be required Total cost for supervision on this basis 300 district superintendents at $1200 each would cost $360,000 per, annum 88 county superintendents at $1500 each would cost $132,000 The employment of county superintendents to take charge of the training of teachers and general organization decreases the num- ber of district superintendents necessary to do the actual work of supervision. It is thus possible to differentiate between super- intendence and supervision without increased cost The total cost of supervision on this basis would be $492,000 On a basis of 40 teachers per superintendent the annual cost would be about $672,000, to be divided equally between the state and the district Cost over and above the cost of supervision at present in village, special and township districts on a basis of an average of 60 teachers per superintendent As the present cost of supervision eliminating the cities as nearly as can be estimated from the reports coming to the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, is $223,817, the cost of state wide supervision would exceed the cost of the present system by $268,183 or l ess than $3,100 per county. If the state pays one-half the salaries of the county superintendents, the direct added burden on the counties would be $202,183 °r less than $1,200 per county on the average. If the state pays half the salaries of the district su- perintendents, the added cost of supervision to the counties and districts would hardly exceed $20,000 SCHOOL SUPERVISION 45 Proposed Plan ofCounty and District Supepvision First Plan County Ele.otora.te., exclusive of Cities Village District R-ur al Di strict Rural District Rural District Union. Super vision Diitrici Village- Board County Board Rural Board Rural - Board Rural Board District Sup't. County Sup't. District Sup' t. rvey - 'elects appoints nominates ! i ; Teachers - Teachers Alternative Plan County Electorate, exclusive of Cities Village District Rural District Rur al District Rural District Unior Super\ ision Pistrict . Village Board v Rural Board Rural Bo ard Rural Bo ard |l J " — =40= -JU II County Board 1 District Sup'*- County Sup'l. -- =-- Rural Sup't. Main duties of county boards and their executive officers, county superintendents i District county for supervision purposes 2 Alter school district lines where necessary 3 Supervise the training of teachers 4 Encourage social centers and wider use of school plant Main duties of district boards and their executive officers, district superintendents i Appoint teachers 2 Supervise and care for buildings, grounds and equipment 4 Adopt courses of study and text books There is no conflict of authority here. Each board and each superin- tendent has definite duties Ill CERTIFICATION OF TEACHERS The present system Certificates to teachers in Ohio are granted by i6g separate author- ities as follows: the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Board of School Examiners, 80 city boards of school ex- aminers and 88 county boards of school examiners. The last 2 kinds of board are of limited jurisdiction These various authorities grant 58 kinds of certificates. The chart shows them graphically In 1911-1912 it cost $65,503.73 gross, to conduct city and county teachers' examinations. Each application costs $1.29. The total net cost, deduct ing fees paid by teachers into the county or city treasuries, was, as nearly as can be estimated from the 1912 report, $40,650.28 or about 80 cents per application Three examiners for each county are appointed by the probate judge of the various counties and serve 3 years each The examinations are entirely written. There is no practical testing of applicants in actual teaching Graduates of normal schools and normal colleges must take examina- tions in all subjects required of the applicants to obtain four year provisional certificates The examinations of Ohio put a premium on So called review courses in summer schools (See chapter VI) Unattached summer schools without facilities for teaching, whose business is frankly the preparation of teachers to pass examinations Coaching courses given by individuals, either personally or by mail Books and pamphlets containing "The stuff that examinations are made of" as it is aptly expressed by one advertiser Filling pages of our educational magazines with advertisements of such helps, copies of county examination papers and answers thereto The publication of lists of examination papers covering a term of years In general "cramming" for examination rather than preparing for teaching (46) CERTIFICATION OF TEACHERS 47 LI JbI 's'S s if |4| ca as* 5 *• ill n if a •s'S „|$ Boa ^ S. a«3«S • n r i J h 1 Stale Super- intendeiit of Public Instruction t I ! o o W H n O ■n o m 3 H T| O 5 O O ■n H n > o x m (0 i < 00 < > pi H PI (0 48 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT The examination system of Ohio, on account of its over emphasis on the informational side of education tends to vitiate the standards of teachers, parents and pupils as to what true teaching and real education are, thus affecting adversely the educative process as a whole By lowering the average level of class room instruction in normal and particularly summer schools (See Chapter VI) By selecting teachers who are prepared to pass examinations but are not necessarily prepared to teach children, and who tend to use on the pupils the method which has been so successfully used on them By perpetuating traditional methods of instruction (sometimes very crude, such as the ABC method of teaching reading) passed on from teacher to pupil who in turn becomes teacher and passes them on to another generation of pupils (See Chapter VII) Distribution of the various grades of certificates While on account of the small number of schools surveyed, other than rural schools, the figures from the field survey and the teachers' in- stitutes do not agree throughout, yet the figures relating to the one room township schoojs coincide remarkably in the 2 tables. This is a strong indication of the representative character of the schools actually surveyed. On account of the larger fact basis the figures from the second table, as far as they refer to centralized schools and schools in special and village districts, are undoubtedly preferable The study indicates that throughout the state teachers are teaching on one year certificates in 58% of the one room rural schools 32% of the centralized schools' 29% of the special district schools 27% of the village elementary schools 14% of the small city elementary schools 12% of the high schools Of the beginners, 91.5% are teaching on one year certificates CERTIFICATION OF TEACHERS 49 CERTIFICATES HELD BY 608 TEACHERS WHOSE SCHOOLS WERE SURVEYED Township Special District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of teachers 592 541 26 17 13 9 25 22 34 Number of teachers reported on 19 Kind of certificate Percents 58.4 26.2 7.4 4.4 2.0 1.5 41.2 23.5 55.6 44.4 40.9 36.4 13.6 4.5 4.5 13.2 Two year 7.9 Three year 21.1 17.6 5.9 11.7 13.2 13.2 Life 31.6 4 s. s. 50 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT ED •«* ir a c ee *— « CO 00 r-, « CD o ■«■ T- rH PI i-i a 3 -a * c ** N -* CXJ Tt< T- T- i- Tf r-t CO 3 & oc >* Cv t~ (X r- CO S 5 CO w c\ t- (1) c r- i C3 U ^t IT oc c- IT c ^r T— pec istr « CT lO t- T— ir C to C\ OJ i- T- M Q ■d * a; cr OC r- CS1 t> to .St o Eh a # o XT. Tt « «tf CC T- t" CO o c: rt a IT 00 rt T- CM a O oj ■ bj ^ -e p C3 > > ^ o t. c S- C P a *- V t- a ^= c 5 PI 3 O s- r> C3 Q ►,<£ a t cc a > 1 a fr- ► a « a > ■» 1 c cr c c 1 I ! e c & k I >- i > fc s c > CERTIFICATION OF TEACHERS 5 1 Constructive suggestions That the system of certifying teachers may be made less cumbersome and more effective in testing ability to teach, the following sugges- tions are made: That every examination consists of 2 parts, a written examina- tion to test the academic and professional knowledge of the ap- plicant, and an actual test of the candidate's teaching That the practical examination consist of a classroom test in each of 3 subjects of instruction (unless the examination be for a special certificate when 3 tests in 1 subject will be suffi- cient) made at any time during the preceding year by a member of the board of examiners or a local supervisor or teacher of method authorized so to do by the board, and that the state Superintendent of Public Instruction prescribe the forms for such examination That in the case of applicants who have never taught the practical examination may be taken in the practice department of any recognized summer school and that if they have already passed their written examination they may be granted certificates im- mediately on passing the practical examination That boards of examiners no longer be appointed by probate judges, but by county boards of education elected by the people That county boards of school examiners consist of 3 members, the county superintendent, a district superintendent, and a teacher selected from the county at large but holding at least a state elementary certificate That the number of varieties of teacher's certificates be cut down from 58 to 32 by 1 Abolishing two year, five year and eight year certificates of all kinds 2 Abolishing county primary certificates That the requirements regarding professional training as a pre- requisite for certification be progessively increased according to a schedule similar to the following : 52 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Minimum prerequisite professional training for one year certifi- cates 1915 70 hours classroom instruction in professional subjects and 15 hours practice teaching in a recognized institution for the train- ing of teachers, maintaining a practice department 1916 140 hours classroom instruction and 30 hours practice teach- ing in a recognized institution for the training of teachers, maintaining a practice department 1917 210 hours classroom instruction and 45 hours practice teach- ing in a recognized school for the training of teachers main- taining a practice department 19 18 280 hours classroom instruction in a recognized school for the training of teachers, maintaining a practice department IQI 9 35° hours in classroom instruction in a recognized school for the training of teachers, maintaining a practice de- partment 1920 429 hours in classroom instruction in a recognized school for the training of teachers, maintaining a practice de- partment Minimum prerequisite professional training for three year cer- tificates 1915 140 hours classroom instruction and 30 hours practice teaching in a recognized school for the training of teachers, maintaining a practice department 1916 210 hours classroom instruction and 45 hours practice teaching in a recognized school for the training of teachers, maintaining a practice department 1917 280 hours of classroom instruction in a recognized school for the training of teachers, maintaining a practice depart- ment 1918 350 hours of classroom instruction in a recognized school for the training of teachers, maintaining a practice depart- ment 1919 420 hours of classroom instruction in a recognized school for the training of teachers, maintaining a practice depart- ment CERTIFICATION OF TEACHERS 53 Minimum prerequisite professional training for life certificates 1 9 1 5 35° hours of classroom instruction in a recognized school for the training of teachers, maintaining a practice depart- partment 1916 A one year regular course or its equivalent in summer in a recognized institution for the training of teachers 1917 A two years regular' course or its equivalent in summer school work, for an elementary certificate, and a four year college course in a recognized institution, the course to include a minimum of 500 hours of professional instruc- tion and 70 hours class room practice, or a four year course in a recognized normal college, for a high school certificate ■ That the state Superintendent of Public Instruction establish for normal schools, normal colleges, colleges of liberal arts giving training to teachers, standards of equipment, teaching force, character and amount of professional instruction and character and amount of practice teaching; that he inspect at least twice a year all state institutions giving teachers training and all private institutions requesting inspection, and that he publish a list of institutions coming up to the required standards, such list to be known as the recognized list That not more than 1 one-year and not more than 1 three-year cer- tificate be issued to any 1 teacher and that one-year certificates be renewable twice and three-year certificates once only That candidates for life certificates must have had at least 7 years of previous successful teaching experience if not normal school grad- uates, or not less than 4 if normal school or normal college graduates or graduates of liberal arts colleges on the recognized list That the state Superintendent of Public Instruction be authorized to issue emergency certificates for a term not longer than 1 year in counties where there is a temporary shortage of teachers, to teachers who have held one year certificates for 2 years but have not qualified for a higher certificate or to teachers who have held a three year certificate for 6 years and have not qualified for a higher certificate That five and eight year certificates now in force be continued in force until the end of their terms and that they be renewable on proof that the holders have taught successfully up to the time of renewal 54 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT That teachers who hold two or three year primary or elementary certificates at the time of the passage of this law and who pro- duce satisfactory evidence of 5 years' successful teaching expe- rience shall haye their certificates renewed by the boards of county examiners so long as they continue to do satisfactory work as teachers - IV ACADEMIC TRAINING OF TEACHERS NOW IN SERVICE Present conditions Large numbers of teachers in rural schools have a very meagre academic training, probably not over 50% being graduates of high schools and not less than 18% having no education beyond the ele- mentary grades Teachers in elementary schools of village districts on the average have insufficient academic education, probably not over 50% of these being high school graduates and not less than 16% having no edu- cation beyond the elementary grades Teachers in the elementary schools of many small cities have insuffi- cient academic training, probably as high as 31% not being high school graduates Teachers in high schools in township, special, village and small city districts have insufficient academic training, probably as high as 60% not being college graduates and as high as igfo not> being high school graduates (56) 56 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT THE ACADEMIC TRAINING OP TEACHERS WHOSE SCHOOLS WERE SURVEYED Township Special District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of teachers 592 404 26 18 13 7 25 14 34 Number of teachers 32 Amount of academic training ' Percents College graduates Having some college training but not 1.0 8.9 43.1 *39.3 5.4 2.2 27.8 33.3 16.7 22.2. 14.3 14.3 21.4 50.0 7.1 59.4 21.9 High school graduates Having some high school training but Having no academic training above the 14.3 42.8 14.3 14.3 9.4 6.2 Having less than 8 years' avademic 7.1 3.1 *This percentage includes 6.4% who had gone more than 8 years to an elementary school but had not attended a high school ACADEMIC TRAINING OF TEACHERS 57 CO H H P H Eh CQ z t-H CQ H w a m Eh >h Eh P O O a a z Eh Hig Schc a 1 o tH lo in co ■^ CM rH t- >> +-> 5 b§ ^ ir ) ■ O © fr- CM O *~ mall Elem tar; C- ^ t~ t- lO IOt- rH ^ CQ CO m CM O O ■* 00 «0 M a i +-> CS o- > P CO CO t- r-i t- "3 S CN CO CO C- W t- t- S .2 »H CO CO 1— co a ■d CD c 00 i> t> «o O) CM N C\ ^ Cs lO tH CM CO CO CM t8 i— I CO CO *— a 4-> 3 W a a> O * o a Eh o « *fr r- p*. o> o> o o C t- CO CM O CO CO f T- CO CO r- a> fl O ■CI a! 4-> o a d : to 8 ■■£ 60 b 4-> • : -3 bo Q CD 60 3 A g a CD t— i 60 g above ademlc Eh bo "3 o o © _a a 4J a • o a a i— 1 o •a :* CD 01 J2 o cd h ■o Si jd t. . ri PS "^ 09 o +J . o bl G s- o p a t- o ° . a& &1 .9 6 J3> o-a 6>£3 ,C -»-• ts ci Oj: t-> c o«w •a u <0 O co S*r* "« ,n ^ o ^ "DOC! PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 6/ The form of university organization gives the college little control over special method where the subject matter is taught by professors whose main work lies in other colleges. These professors naturally are selected on account of eminence in subject matter and research rather than on account of knowledge of method of presentation in secondary schools There is practically no supervision, cooperative or otherwise, of in- struction in classes attended by students of the college of education. This is not of course a condition peculiar to this institution There is no real organic relation between the instructors in general professional subjects and the teachers of subject matter and special method In fine, the college controls but a fraction of the domain which naturally belongs to it Classroom instruction The material of instruction The material offered by instructors was extremely well adapted to the capacity of the students in all 16 exercises seen The adaptation of material to the needs of students was excellent in 15 cases out of 16 Instructors definitely related the material to the experience and knowl- edge of students notably well- in 9 cases, fairly well in 6 and but slightly in 1 Instructors related the material to future problems of students notably well in 12 cases, fairly well in 3 and but slightly in 1 Assignments In 4 recitations assignments were made by topic and in 3 by definite problems. Assignments were notably definite in 5 cases and ex- tremely indefinite in 3. In 1 case no assignment was made and in 2 it was made hastily at dismissal Habit formation Instructors demanded and obtained accuracy in statement on the part of students notably well in 10 cases, fairly well in 4 cases, and failed in this respect in 2 cases Instructors insisted on clearness and definiteness of statement notably well in 7 cases, fairly well in 6 cases and failed in this respect in 3 cases Most instructors did not need to correct students for slovenly expres- sion. One instructor was particularly noteworthy for the effective- 68 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT ness of his work in this respect, while in 2 exercises, 1 in English, the instructor failed to note serious defects in expression The interplay of question and answer was notably good in 5 cases, poor or entirely absent in 5 Of 796 questions asked by instructors in 16 exercises 156 or about 20% were thought-provoking, and 640 called for statements of fact. Fifty-seven questions or about 7% of the total unnecessarily sug- gested the answer Of 742 responses given by students, 76 or about 10% were yes or no answers, 325 were phrase responses, 306 sentence responses, and 36 were fluent recitations involving several sentences. There were no true topical recitations. To - 76 questions of instructors there were no responses There was notably good student cooperation through question and answer in 7 exercises ; students freely volunteered questions in 1 exercise, and occasionally asked questions in 7 others. In no recita- tion did open discussion take a large part although there was some discussion in 2 cases The share of the students in recitation varied from 3% in English and 5% in art to 27% in the history of education, 28% in rhetoric, and 29% in school administration Mannerisms The most frequent mannerisms were the unnecessary repetition of answers and the answering of their own questions by instructors. Two instructors were particularly addicted to these habits Summary The atmosphere of all classes visited was excellent Much of the teaching observed was worthy of imitation by student teachers Not less attention to subject matter, but somewhat more attention to method of presentation is desirable Source and destination of students In May, 1913, 72 students of the college of education filled out cards calling for previous training and experience and proposed career after graduation. Thirty students had had experience in teaching before entering the college : Of 20 students prepared entirely in city schools 11 desired to teach in high school or college, 8 wished to teach specialties and 1 had decided to enter elementary school work 2 a o w M o W o o U PROFESSIONAL TRAINING Of TEACHERS ' 69 No student had been prepared entirely in rural schools. Of 9 who had been partially prepared in such schools, none expressed a desire to go back to the country to teach The function of the college of education is well defined. Most of its product goes at present to high schools in cities and villages Physical condition Two of the lectures visited were being held in rooms which no self-respecting university should be required to use for, lecture pur- poses. One of these was almost directly over a machine shop, from which the constant noise and smell of oil were unpleasant. The approach to this room was up a very narrow stairway. The entry was small and dirty, the walls grimy, the light insufficient and part of the space was taken up with hose and various agricultural im- plements One of the leading authorities in America on the history of education was lecturing in this room which appears to be the only one given up to the exclusive use of the college of education The other room was in a basement, which was dark and unattractive. This room is also used for a committee room. The lecture observed in this room was one on rural economics. Many one room rural schools offer more cheerful and sanitary surroundings to teachers and pupils. None of the classrooms in the building, where most of the lectures are held, could compare with class rooms in high schools, in many township, village and city districts. Some of these class rooms were also used by students taking arts and science courses. The classes in domestic science, particularly that in fabrics, were much too crowded. As many as 60 and 70 stu- dents occupy a room not too large for 30 or 35 It appears that equally crowded conditions occur in other colleges where so-called practical courses are given. However, a study of conditions in these colleges was not undertaken as it was outside of the scope of " the survey Constructive suggestions In order that the college of education of the Ohio State University may be in a position to do the most effective work possible in train- ing high school teachers for the State of Ohio the following recom- mendations are made: 1 That in those departments not under the direct control of the college of education which enroll students from the college of JO OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT education, at least i professor each shall be appointed who shall be fitted by training and experience to teach the best methods of presentation to high school pupils of the various subject matters in these departments 2 That a modern building be immediately erected for the house- ing of the college of education and that this building be equipped with all the necessary appliances and apparatus for training sup- erintendents, supervisors, and high school teachers 3 That a system of cooperative supervision of class room instruct- ion in all classes attended by students of the college of educa- tion, be at once inaugurated. Such an arrangement is practically necessary for a college of education that in all classes students may come in daily contact with the best technique in the various subjects in the courses of study In a college of arts and science the teaching process is a means to an end. In a technical college other than a college of education the teaching process is only a means to an end and that end has no im- mediate relation to the teaching process. A college of education on the other hand which is a technical school is not only interested in the teaching process as a means to an end, but the teaching pro- cess is also an end in itself. The teaching must not only be good in order to give the subject matter in the most efficient way, but it must be good in order to present good models of presentation to and develop good habits of presentation in the student body. The position of the student in the college of education is unique in that he is not only learning a subject matter, but learning how to pre- sent the subject matter The college of education needs greatly to be strengthened along these lines in the ways indicated above Cooperation with the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction In order that the resources of the College of Education may he' made available to the office of the state Superintendent of Pub- lic Instruction and that the opportunities for service offered by the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction may be made available to the professors and students of the college of education the following recommendations are made : That a department of Efficiency Tests and Survey be established in the College of Education which shall be in close cooperation PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 71 with the proposed Bureau of Efficiency and Economy in the of- fice of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction That the college department of Efficiency Tests and Survey be always at the call of the state Superintendent of Public Instruc- tion to assist him in working out efficiency methods, in conduct- ing cooperative surveys for which requests have come in from the field, and in developing the clearing house feature of the office of the state Superintendent That the opportunities for service afforded by the office of state Superintendent of Public Instruction be always available to the department of Efficiency Tests and Survey of the college Ohio State Normal College of Ohio University The nature and extent of the survey Four days were spent in actual visitation during the spring, term. Fifteen exercises, as in other cases, were taken in shorthand by a court stenographer and the estimate of. classroom instruction is based on a close analysis of this material combined with the notes taken by the director of survey during the exercises Previous to the survey, the director of survey had a two-hour con- ference with the president of the university who gave his hearty cooperation throughout. After the survey another conference was held with the president The dean of the normal college also spent several hours with the di- rector and assisted in making a schedule of visitation. He gave the director full liberty to visit any and all exercises of the college The director attended and addressed a chapel exercise and • spent 2 evenings in conference with the field workers from Ohio University. Conferences aggregating 22 hours were held with the president, dean and various members of the faculty Organization The organization of the normal college and its relation to the university is shown clearly in the accompanying chart which was prepared with the assistance and advice Of the president of the university and the dean of the normal college The chart shows that 1 The faculty of the normal college has no separate organization 2 The instructor in method in the upper 4 grades has no direct supervision of critic teachers in these grades 72 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT o 3 O • I-H to u "5 $ o U Xi +-> IB ^ a on 5_ o 25 si a. 6) s-> «3 w ft *— > o <\> x: o 4—1 -1— > "5 a o rt • 1— 1 .§ ^ «s (S) NJ Vh -s trx .*3 .t* 0/ S-i Cl o "0 • — < CO i-H l -C r-» K *^M* ^ J* 1 3 to ^ *a -s 1 =3 vs «< * "E z> 1 CO O >N ft) «5 &) ft) *~~ - > o O c 3 «s £ ft) x: o 4-> Z CO s_ irJ ft) n _i ¥■> i_ t— ft) o c § O <-> O Nl *— • s- c wjo 1_ ■ ■•■» O (O "5 ft) 4-» 1_ «d £ _c o t c >g ^ g m £^ n «!■§ il ■|'3 4^ •te. t s 5 r*l V a -g 1 « ^V§ :§ a •« s g "sf 3 S§ 5 3* 111 ■«S<3 I V & «? s K a (3 3 ■s| . it 8 LJ O.S C t. t- e PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 8l room instruction is based. The director met with the whole faculty ,in conference and had extended conferences with the president of the University, the dean of the normal college and the field workers. In all, ii hours were spent in conferences. The director of survey was given the fullest cooperation of the authorities of the normal college and university Organization The accompanying chart which was compiled with the assistance of the president of the university, the dean of the college and a committee of the faculty indicates the relation of the college to the university and the main features of the internal organization of the pormal college As will be seen from the chart i The articulation between the academic and method departments has been rather loose. There is no definite cooperation as to method 2 Professors in the academic department do not, except casually, come in contact with the teaching in the practice school 3 The professors of some special branches such as normal training and agriculture have but occasional supervisory relations with the teaching of their subjects in the practice school The internal organization is excellent in the following ways: i Academic instructors help in the formulation of courses of study which critic teachers must follow 2 The director of practice has absolute control, under the dean, of the supervision of practice teachers and critic teachers 3 The director of practice also directs the professional instruction in the normal college 4 Teachers of special method visit critic teachers with the advice and consent of the director and make suggestions to critic teachers 5 The whole faculty cooperates with the dean in drawing up courses of study for the college The following advance steps tending to correct the conditions noted above have been taken since the college opened in September, 1913 1 The director of the practice school meets the special practice teachers in conference in the same way that he meets the regular practice teachers so that his supervision over the special branches is much more direct 6 s. s. 82 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT 2 The critic teachers of special branches also meet with the director iii conference and are much more directly under his supervision 3 The academic department has been tied up with the method de- partment by making- the teachers of subject matter, with one exception, also responsible for the teaching of special method 4 A promising beginning has been made on a plan of cooperative supervision of class room instruction in college classes *■ Classroom instruction The material of instruction The material offered by the instructors was notably well adapted to the capacity of the student body in all 12 recitations analyzed The adaptation of the material to present needs of students was excellent in n exercises out of 12 Instructors related the material offered to the past experience and to the knowledge of the students notably well in 6 cases, well in 1 case, somewhat, in 4 cases and not at all in 1 case out of 12 Instructors showed clearly to their classes the relation of the ma- terial offered to future human and professional problems, notably well in 3 cases, well in 2 cases and not at all in 7 cases Assignments No assignments were made by page or chapter alone. Two were motivated by the statement of problems. Two assignments were rather vague. Two assignments were hastily given at the close of the recitation. The examiner missed several assignments ow- ing to the necessity of getting to the next class on time Habit formation Instructors demanded and obtained exactness, accuracy and truth- fulness of statement notably well in 8 cases, well in 2 cases, and failed in this respect in 2 cases out of 12 Instructors insisted on clearness and definiteness of statement with notable success in 4 cases, with good success in 1 case, with some success in 1 case and ignored indefiniteness of statement in 6 cases out of 12 In general there was no need to correct students for errors in English. In 1 class where this was necessary the instructor handled the matter extremely well and in 2 others well The interplay of question and answer was notably good in 3 ex- ercises, fair in 5 and insufficient in 4 exercises out of 12 ( PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 83 Of the 594 questions asked in the 12 exercises analyzed, 178 or about 30% were thought-provoking, 401 or about 67% were ques- tions calling for statements of fact, and 15 questions were un- classified. Fifty-four questions or about 9% suggested the answers Out of the 563 answers given by students, 52 or about 9% were yes and no answers; 173 or about 30% were word or phrase re- sponses; 274 or over 48% were sentence responses, and 64 or about 11% might be regarded as fluent recitations In 7 exercises out of 12 there was more or less fluent recitation, while in 5 recitations, there were neither topical nor fluent recita- tions. In 1 of these only 6 responses of more than a word or phrase were given Six recitations found place for open discussion. In 2 the discus- sions were notably good. In 2 exercises where discussions might have been used to advantage, no opportunity was afforded The share of students in the recitation varied from 15% in geogra- phy to 53% in psychology. In 10 of the 12 recitations the stu- dents' share amounted to over 30% Mannerisms The most frequent mannerism was the unnecessary repetition of the answers of students. With 1 instructor this was very pronounced Summary The atmosphere of all classes visited was excellent The methods used by instructors were, on the whole, excellent and offered worthy models to student teachers, although in some classes insufficient opportunity for self expression was given to students and some exercises were marred by minor errors in technique The class work of the 3 critic teachers visited was excellent and was free from minor defects of technique The absence of a sufficiently close articulation between the academic, method and practice departments makes difficult the strengthening of the weak places and making stronger the strong places indicated in this report The character of the work of the institution as a whole indicates that it is as unnecessary as illogical for the state to require the graduates of this state supported institution for the training of teachers to pass the same examinations as candidates for certifi- cates who have had no professional training 84 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Source and destination of students In May, 1913, 109 students of the Ohio Normal College of Miami University filled out cards calling for information as to previous training and experience and proposed career after graduation. Sev- enty-eight of these had had no teaching experience while 3 1 had taught, before entering college '■> Students without previous experience in teaching Of 26 students prepared entirely in city schools, 15 desired to take up specialties and 11 to do regular grade work, 5. in the city, 4 in city or village and 1 in rural schools Of 17 students prepared wholly or partly in rural districts, 5 wished to teach specialties, 2 wished to do grade work in the city,- 6 in the city or village, and 4 in rural schools Students with previous experience Of 4 students prepared entirely and 6 wholly in the city, 5 wished to teach specialties, 1 desired to teach in city grades, 4 in city or village, and none in rural schools Of 11 students prepared wholly or partly in rural schools, 7 wished to teach special subjects, 1 wished to teach in city elementary schools, 2 in village, and 1 in rural schools Summary Graduates of the normal college naturally gravitate toward teach- ing specialties and toward city schools. Students prepared in rural schools, are apparently more apt to choose the rural dis- tricts than city trained students. Only 1 of the latter and 5 of the former expressed a preference for teaching in rural districts Positions filled by graduates of the college Of 24 graduates of the class of 1910, not one has taught in one, room rural schools. Two taught in centralized schools during the year after graduation. One of these is still doing so. Five are teaching in village schools, 3 in graded special district schools, 11 in city schools, 1 has gone into business, and 3 have married and have left the profession Of 46 graduates of the class of 191 1, 5 started teaching in one room rural schools, but all these have gone on to the village and city. At present 15 are teaching in villages, 1 in a special district, 21 in .cities, 1 has gone into business, 3 have married and 5 have stopped teaching for other reasons PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS - 85 Of 51 graduates of the class of 1912, none has taught in a rural school of any sort, 24 are now teaching in villages, 1 in a special district, 17 in city schools, while Q have left the profession for various reasons Summary Not one graduate of the classes of 1910, 191 1 and 1912 is now teaching in one room rural schools and only 1 in a centralized township school - Only 16% of the graduates in these years have left the profession, and only 11% for other professions The returns to the state from this institution are magnificent, but the state should not and cannot, justly expect it to supply to any great extent, the demand for trained teachers in the rural schools Constructive suggestions The movement inaugurated in September for closer cooperation be- tween the academic, method and practice departments in the college should be carried out as far as possible and the university com- mittee on efficiency as well as the whole normal college faculty should give all assistance possible to the dean in carrying out this important reform The plan already inaugurated for cooperative supervision of instruc- tion in normal colleges classes should be pushed with vigor and developed as far as possible, in the interest not only of students of this institution but of students of other institutions which need more classroom supervision Cooperation with the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction In order that the resources of the State Normal College of Miami University may be made available to all boards of education in its * constituency and to the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, and in order that the opportunity for service offered by the office of the state Superintendent of Public In- struction may be made available to the professors and students of the Normal College of Miami University, the following recom- mendations are made : That a department of Efficiency Tests and Survey be established in the Normal College which shall be in close cooperation with the proposed Bureau of Efficiency and Economy in the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction and shall con- 86 OHIO STATE SCHOOL' SURVEY REPORT duct field studies and apply efficiency tests in schools within its constituency That the college department of Efficiency Tests and Survey be always at the call of the state Superintendent of Public Instruc- tion to assist him in working out efficiency methods, in conduct- ing cooperative surveys for which requests have come in from the field, and in developing the clearing house feature in the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction That the opportunity for service offered by the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction be always available to the department of Efficiency Tests and Survey of the college State Normal Schools, Kent and Bowling Green Constructive suggestions Cooperation with the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction In order that the resources of the State Normal Schools of Kent and Bowling Green may be made available to all boards of edu- cation in their constituencies and to the office of the state Super- intendent of Public Instruction, and in order that the oppor- tunity for service offered by the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction may be made available to the professors and students of the State Normal Schools of Kent and Bowling Green, the following recommendations are made : That a department of Efficiency Tests and Survey be estab- lished in the State Normal Schools which shall be in close cooperation with the proposed Bureau of Efficiency and Econ- omy in the office of the state Superintendent of Public In- struction and shall conduct field studies and apply efficiency tests in schools within their constituencies That the normal school departments of Efficiency Tests and Survey be always at the call of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction to assist him in working out efficiency methods, in conducting cooperative surveys for which requests have come in from the field, and in developing the clearing house feature of the office of the state Superintendent That the opportunity for service offered by the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction be always available to the department of the Efficiency Tests and Survey of the normal schools PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 87 Present differentiation of function performed and ser= vice rendered by the 3 state aided institutions in full operation before September, 1913 The Normal College of Ohio University and the College of Education of Ohio State University Cards filled out by 66 students in the four year course of the normal college and by 73 in the college of education indicate that The normal college attracts a greater proportion of men The range and average of ages in the 2 institutions are prac- tically identical More students from rural districts attend the normal college than the college of education A good many students from two and three year high schools have been served by the preparatory department of Ohio University and prepared for entrance into the normal college The student body at the normal college contains a larger number of students with experience in teaching More students at the normal college had taught in village and township schools and more at the college of education had taught in city schools The 2 institutions serve quite different constituencies and are per- forming services to the state of different characters The two year courses of the State Normal College of Ohio University at Athens and the State Normal College of Miami University at Oxford Cards filled out by 125 students at Miami University and 188 at Ohio University indicate that •The average ages of students at the 2 institutions are practically the same but the range of .ages is much greater at Athens The institution at Athens registers about 20% more students who have had teaching experience than does the normal college at Miami Over 50% of the experienced teachers in the student body of both institutions have taught in township schools, but the Athens normal college has more of such teachers while the Oxford nor- mal college has more students experiencecLin city and village schools than has the Athens normal college 88 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT On account of the existence of a preparatory school at Athens — now the secondary practice school— the Athens institution can and does cater more largely to graduates of second and third grade high schools Summary It is evident that i The 3 institutions have well defined individualities 2 They are performing functions considerably differentiated 3 They cater to different constituencies Control and financial management of state institu= tions for the training of teachers Present^conditions Each of the 5 state institutions for the training of teachers is con- trolled by an independent board These boards are limited in their powers only by the laws creating them and the appropriations made annually by the legislature The tendency is for the board of each institution to magnify its own institution. Since there is no provision for the different boards or faculties meeting together for discussion, a state wide program taking into consideration the needs, and the most economical use of the state's resources, is entirely out of the question There is nothing in the present law to prevent unnecessary dupli- cation of special departments and costly equipments and build- ings for these departments There is no channel by which the legislature can learn from disin- terested parties the educational needs -of the state as a wh'ole, nor even of the separate institutions. As detailed estimates of running expenses are not required the annual educational state budget can not be based on a thorough-going analysis of the needs of the various institutions nor of the state as a whole * Recently the director of survey received the following communication from a faculty member of a state-aided institution : "The controversy between Ohio State-supported institutions of higher learning, which has gone on in one form or another for the past twenty years, has been productive of no good, it has done much to prevent the generous state support of these institutions, and it is *A state budget commission has been appointed since this was written PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 89 most unseemly. Those who are at all familiar with these various institutions have every reason to believe that each of them has been wisely directed and that the money appropriated has been eco- nomically expended. It is also well known, however, that there is no cooperation between these institutions, and no systematic effort to correlate the work with a view to producing the best results. This conditions has brought unfavorable criticism on the state "It would seem that an intelligent study of the existing work of the different institutions with a view to reasonable standardization of each to the end that there may be closer cooperation, would give each institution a clearer appreciation of the work and the problems of the other, and might go far toward bringing about a better under- standing and more efficient service to the state "While the work of the different institutions differs somewhat, it would seem that no hardship could arise if all were standardized as to (1) Entrance requirements; (2) Graduation requirements; (3) Transfer .of students. At least sufficient uniformity on the above points should be secured to afford the greatest opportunity and the least embarrassment to the youth of the state in securing higher education "It is desirable that a committee of five members be appointed by the president of each institution, each committee to consist of the president, the dean of the. Department of Education, and three mem- bers of the faculty who are best able to report on the three points stated above. These several committees should meet together in the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction at his call and under his chairmanship "The general problems involved should be discussed fully and special committees should be appointed to bring in full reports on each of the points of standardization specified. Each of these committees should be directed to meet once at each of the institutions repre- sented and to exhaust all means at their command to bring in com- prehensive reports. If any work or method of record at any institu- tion is such as not to command the full confidence of the committee, specific criticism and constructive suggestions should be made. The committees should confine themselves to the study of, and report on, the three topics above given but should have the broadest scope under these subjects "The final report of the joint committee including the reports of the special committees should be printed by the state Superintendent of Public Instruction and submitted to the Governor" 90 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Coordination of the state aided institutions The plan outlined in the above letter offers an excellent method of begin- ning a definite scheme of cooperation between the state aided institu- tions. Such a semi-official organization would soon make evident to all the essential community of interest of the publicly-supported institu- tions in the state and would pave the way for a more thoroughly co- ordinated state, system of higher and professional education It is evident that All grants made by the state to educational institutions should be based on proved needs of that institution No grants should be made until after a thorough consideration of the relative needs of the various institutions and of the districts they serve No grants should be made until after a consideration of whether the grants will insure the best possible use of the investments already made for the good of the state as a whole While no doubt the time is not yet ripe for a thorough-going reorganiza- tion of the state's method of aiding public education the commission be- lieves that in order to insure the most effective use of the state's educa- ional resources in furthering public education in the state as a whole, some such plan as the .following must eventually be adopted : In order to insure the most effective use of the state educational resources in furthering public education in the state as a whole, the following definite suggestions are made : That a state board of education consisting of 7 members be estab- lished of which 6 shall be appointed by the Governor, each for a term of 6 years — the seventh being the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, who shall serve during his term of office That no member of any board of trustees or faculty of any edu- cational institution in the state above the rank of high school shall be eligible for appointment to the State Board of Educa- tion That at least 3 members of the State Board of Education shall be en- gaged in some profession or calling other than education That at least 1 member be a woman That the members of the State Board of Education serve without pay, with the exception of legitimate traveling expenses PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 91 That the board prepare for the legislature the tentative state educational budget based on detailed estimates supplied by the various boards of trustees of all state aided educational insti- tutions above the rank of a high school, and on detailed esti- mates supplied by the office of the state Superintendent of Pub- lic Instruction of the amount of state aid required for ele- mentary and secondary schools That boards of trustees of the various state aided institutions above the rank of high school be required to hand in their estimates each year at a date set by the State Board of Educa- tion and on forms prescribed by that board and the State Budget Commissioner That the State Board of Education be authorized and required so to make its budget recommendations as to conduce to the effective correlation and coordination of all the educational re- sources of the state That any board of trustees of any state aided institution above the rank of a high school which contemplates adding another department to its work or lengthening or shortening the course leading to any certificate, diploma or degree, shall first make application to the State Board of Education submitting full reasons for the proposed change That the State Board of Education be authorized to deny any such application whenever in the judgment of the majority of its members the proposed change is not for the best interest of the state Summer schools for teachers Character of classroom instruction in summer schools connected with 3 state aided and 4 private institutions The summer schools of the Ohio State University, Ohio University and Miami University Twenty-nine exercises in these institutions were heard by the di- rector of survey. At Ohio University and Miami University where 22 exercises were attended, the director of survey was ac- companied by either the dean of the normal college or the presi- ident of the university. In every case the reports were made out and signed by both the representative of the institution concerned and by the director of survey 92 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Whenever in doubt as to any point capable of being tested, a test designed to settle the point in question, was given the students In but i case was the judgment of the director of survey more severe than that of the other examiner, but in several cases the representatives of the colleges were more exacting than the director of survey. Except in the case of the Ohio State University, the estimates of classroom instruction are based on the joint reports The classes visited were as follows : Three in agriculture Two in school administration Two in general method One in history of education One in school law One in educational psychology Two in child study Two in history One in arithmetic Two in nature study Twelve in special methods of teaching English, German, - arithmetic, geography, woodwork, cooking, etc Reports on 29 exercises shows that The subject matter of 25 recitations was adapted to the capacity of the students, and in 2 cases failure in this respect was due to improper grading, caused by the uneven preparation of stu- dents who attended summer schools The subject matter of 25 recitations was adapted to the needs of the students The subject matter of 21 recitations was related by the teacher to the past experience of students and of 5 recitations was dis- tinctly not so related The subject matter of 25 recitations was adapted to the future problems of students and of 3 recitations was distinctly not so adapted In 16 recitations accuracy was required of the students and in 10, it was clearly not required In 16 recitations teachers demanded clear statements from the students and in 11 recitations clearness of statement was not insisted upon PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 93 In 18 recitations the attitude and language of the students were so good as to warrant no remarks from teachers, in 4 recita- tions students were corrected for carelessness in speech and in 7 no attention was given to the matter although there was much need The attention of the students was good in 26 recitations and dis- tinctly poor in but one In 22 recitations there were distinctly respectful and sympathetic relations between teacher and student In 22 recitations opportunity was given for considerable student cooperation, while in 4 the students had absolutely no oppor- tunity to take part, although they might well have done so Six assignments were properly motivated by means of suitable problems while in 4 cases assignments were by page or chapter and in 2 by topic. In 2 cases the teacher had to ask the classes what the assignments were Among professional subjects, the teaching of general and special method was particularly strong The teaching in several cases, particularly in educational psychology, was often ineffective owing to the failure of the teacher to find out from the students whether they understood the terms used in class and just what previous preparation the students had had, e. g. A class of 8 who had just heard a lecture on "nascent periods" was asked to write out the meaning of nascent. Four could give no answer while the other 4 gave incorrect answers or indefinite answers, such as "nascent — growing", and "nascent — just born, very young condition." Both students giving these answers were bachelors of arts and one was a bachelor of divinity as well The poorest teaching was found in the cramming or so-called review courses for teachers' examination, although good work was found in 2 of these. That examinations were in the minds of both students and teachers is shown by the fact that 3 teachers explicitly warned their classes that they might get such and such questions in the examinations Ragged grading of classes, due to unequal preparation of stu- dents and to an insufficient number of teachers, is responsible for much teaching above the heads of the students A class of 42, in child, study, was asked to define the following terms used during the lecture : environment, stimulus, adoles- 94 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT cence, tends to persist, criterion, hypothesis, specific, pugnacity and transitory. One student made over 90% on these ques- tions, 9 between 80 and 90, 6 between 70 and 80, 3 between 60 and 70, 11 between 50 and 60, 4 between 40 and 50, 4 between 30 and 40, 3 between 20 and 30, and one 11. In so large a class made up of individuals of such varied capacities and training, it is impossible for the teacher to relate his instruction to the needs and past experience of his pupils The instruction in agriculture and other so-called practical sub- jects was uniformly good The summer schools of 4 private institutions Thirty-eight exercises were seen in these 4 schools. The observa- tions were made by Commissioner Thatcher and by the director of survey. The effects on classroom instruction of too large classes in 2 of the institutions, improper classification due to unequal preparation of students, an insufficient number of in- structors, talking over the heads of classes, and too many cramming or so called review classes, are very evident, as in the case of the state aided institutions. The general excellence of the instruction in the practical branches is noteworthy as is in- struction in special method, particularly special method in reading Reports on 38 exercises show that The subject matter of 26 recitations was adapted to the capacity of the students and the subject matter of 5 recitations was dis- tinctly not so adapted The subject matter of 35 recitations was adapted to the needs of the students, but in at least 2 cases the needs were distinctly examination needs The subject matter of 31 recitations was related to the past ex- perience of students but in 2 cases these experiences were ex- amination experiences The subject matter of 31 recitations was related to future prob- lems which might confront students but in 3 cases these were examination problems. In 3 cases the subject matter had no relation to future problems In 27 recitations the teacher distinctly required accuracy while in 2 cases the failure in this respect was conspicuous In 23 recitations the teacher demanded clear statement while in 2 there was a distinct failure so to do PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 95 In 18 recitations there was no occasion for the teacher to speak of slovenliness of carriage or speech, in n recitations the teacher corrected slovenliness of speech, while in 9 no attempt was made to correct obvious and serious errors In 30 recitations the teacher received good attention; in 4 he did not In 31 recitations there were mutually respectful and sympathetic relations between teacher and students; in 2 there were not In 32 recitations there was at least some opportunity for the stu- dents to take part in the exercise, while in 6 there was no such opportunity Teachers' institutes Cost of county teachers' institutes As each teacher receives from her school district $10 for attendance at the county institutes, and as 18,234 teachers attended the county institutes in 1913 the cost of teachers' institutes to the districts in in 1913, was $182,340 In addition to this amount there was expended from the institute fund, which comes from teacher's examination fees and from mem- bership fees, the sum of $30,893.51 in the year 1913 The total cost of county teachers' institutes in 1913 was $213,233.51 ; the average cost per county was $2423.07, and the cost per teacher in attendance was $11.69 Nature of instruction given in teachers' institutes During the summer of 1913, 10 field agents visited 75 county institutes and heard 436 lectures. Each field agent was required to fill out blanks for each lecture calling for The titles of the lectures The topics of the lectures (professional, informational, or purely entertaining) The attentiveness of teachers Means of securing regular attendance A study of the field reports show that of the lectures heard, 7.6% treated of special methods 8.3% treated of class room management 2.2% treated of history of education 1.5% treated of school hygiene 7.4% treated of child study 96 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT 11.4% treated of educational psychology 8.7% .treated of other professional topics 30.4% treated of informational topics of direct value to teacher in her work 16.5% treated of matters of general interest 5.6% were purely or largely entertaining only To summarize 47.1% treated of professional subjects 30.1% were informational but of direct value to teacher 22.1% were purely entertaining or treated of matters of general in- terest only Attentiveness of teachers The attentiveness of teachers was estimated as Good in 290 lectures Fair in 116 lectures Poor in 33 lectures In all institutes a large proportion of the teachers were attentive at least passively, but in over 113 lectures, a few, and in a con- siderable number many teachers were so noisy or actively in- attentive as to disturb those teachers who wished to listen The standard of the examiners as to attention was not high. In many cases the notes indicate that there was much inattention when the attention was scored as good, e. g. the notes' on one lecture where the attention was scored as good contain the fol- lowing passage : "On the whole the attention was fairly good, but the teachers were too noisy, talked during the lectures, came and went freely," etc. In another county the attention was reported as good in all exer- cises, while a superintendent from this county who was present at all sessions subsequently reported that the order was poor throughout.. The state Superintendent of Public Instruction addressed 18 in- stitutes and although he is the head of the Ohio school system and came in each case with a short, definite message, the order and attention were so noticeably poor in over one-third of these institutes as positively to interfere with the work of the insti- tutes. In 3 lectures the Superintendent had to demand attention before he could proceed. Evidently the institutes had become more or less demoralized before the arrival of the state Superin- tendent PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 97 The teachers were not in all cases entirely nor even mostly, to blame as (i) programs were often not adapted to the needs of • the teachers, (2) institutes were rarely held in sections, (3) teachers in all except a handful of institutes, were given absolutely no chance to react on the material offered but were expected to be entirely passive When people are filled up for 2 or 3 days with undigested information something is bound to happen in the way of self de- fence. All through the institutes where order was bad, the offi- cers informed examiners that the attention the first day was good but had become poorer as the institute progressed The attention in a large number of institutes was remarkably good considering the summer heat and the defectiveness of the or- ganization Anything less than excellent attention is demoralizing to teachers who in their turn must demand it of their classes, irrespective of the material they have to offer. Wherever teachers fail to listen intelligently the holding of the institutes involves a profitless ex- penditure of public money and unfair treatment of the boards of education. The $10 which the law requires boards to pay to each teacher surely should mean the giving of his attention as well as his presence Typical field notes on lectures are as follows : "A masterly lecture but unsuited to institute work" "Alert man full of enthusiasm" "A splendid instructor for institute work" "Not much inspiration" "Lecturer 10 years behind the times" "Lecturer not at his best, because worn out with summer school work" "Lecture especially good for young teachers" "Too much psychology. Talked over heads of teachers" "This man's talks were good, but were not appreciated. Gave the only practical talks at the institute" "Speaker has great ability, but devotes too much time to entertaining teachers. He is popular for this reason" "Given in connection with Chautauqua" "This man says many good things but entertains rather than instructs" "A fine speaker, quite an orator" "This institute almost wholly for the entertainment of the teachers" "Lyceum methods used here to hold interest" "Good material, but dry and prosaic" 7 s. s. 98 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT "Good lectures, but time shortened to attend Chautauqua" "One of the best instructors for young teachers, understood by all" "This man purely an entertainer" "Practical and helpful to teachers" Notes on 2 good institutes "A good institute. Instructors dealt exclusively in practical topics. Handled them sanely and used no difficult technical terms. They were good speakers. Consulted privately with teachers. None of the work in the institute fell below fair. Attention of the teachers excellent" "Great interest among teachers. Had note books to take down main points. Held discussions. The instructors gave good material every time. The institute was a remarkable one in many ways. Many parents attended each session. People of the town supplied a lecturer or musician each evening. People of the town and county took an interest in teachers, gave them rides in autos and carriages each morning before sessions. Teachers came early and listened well. Considerable competition among towns to secure the institute" Notes by 2 examiners on 5 lectures in 3 institutes notable for poor at- tention "Attendance good but attention poor. Teachers freely conversed during Dr. 's lecture which I thought worthy of better treat- ment. After 1 of the lectures teachers freely applauded, al- though those near me had expressed the desire that it should be over. One near me with approval of others said "Goody, it's over." ,One lecturer, as the yodel was discussed in the lecture, yodelled, partly in fun, to get the attention of his audience, he said" "Subject matter of lecture too abstruse for a non-sectional institute. Would have been suitable for high school teachers of English. As a result attention soon waned. Some talked aloud. It be- came almost impossible to hear at the back of the room. When the lecturer recited a "limerick" only a handful were paying close enough attention to catch it. Only break in inattention was when marriage was mentioned, and then there was merely a temporary lull. Lecturer read from poems 15 minutes. Persons who had not listened applauded at the close" "Before lecture chairman reproved, teachers for inattention. Before the end of the lecture however, 2 teachers were reading news- papers or magazines, 1 was examining photographs, 2 were ar- PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 99 ranging their coiffures with the aid of hand mirrors, 2 were writing letters, 2 were asleep" "Excellent addresses. Lecturer used charts. Attention poor, talk- ing everywhere. One teacher writing a letter, 5 reading news- papers, 3 reading books, 2 inspecting photographs. Lecturer thanked audience and said that the attention was the best that he had ever had in that county" "Subject matter of lecture good but not adapted to the needs of primary or high school teachers. Six teachers reading news- papers and catalogues. Majority of audience talking more or less, some reading all the time. At least 6 teachers were chew- ing gum. Hum of conversation all over the room. Some young men sitting practically on the small of their backs. One young lady shooing flies. Another holding her hands over another's eyes. Young men and women signalling to one another across the hall. < One man lying down on 3 seats placed together. Several young men throwing wads of paper at other members of the institute until the floor in one corner was littered. One young man was trying to put paper down a young lady's neck. Although the management had put up ropes to keep teachers out of the back of the room the ropes had been broken or removed and the back seats were occupied" Methods of securing attendance The methods of securing attendance vary from county to county ac- cording to the officers of the 69 county institutes Twenty-nine counties call the roll daily Five counties call the roll twice a day In 5 counties the teachers are put on their honor to attend In 5 counties teachers are provided with tickets which are punched at each session Four counties make an extra effort to have good music Twenty counties use no special method to secure attendance General conclusions The study of the teachers' institute shows that 1 Except in a few instances, teachers take no part in the work of the institute save by listening. At least 2 instructors, however, made a practice of securing the active cooperation of the teachers in every exercise 2 Too large a proportion of the time is taken up by merely enter- taining or informational lectures IOO OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT 3 Except in rare instances teachers are not graded according to their needs, experience nor attainments 4 Much of the instruction, especially in psychology is over the heads of a majority of the teachers in attendance at the institutes Constructive suggestions As some counties may have outgrown the institute stage while in others institutes may still offer the most effective way of increasing the professional attainments of teachers, in order that institutes may be more closely adapted to the needs of the counties it is recommended : That the county board of education be authorized and required to decide on or before Feb. ist, of each year whether the so-called institute fund shall be used during the coming year for institute purposes and whether school districts shall be required to pay teachers for attendance at institutes That in counties where no institute has been held district boards of education be authorized and required to pay to every teacher in their employ who has attended for at least 6 weeks a recog- nized summer school for the training of teachers, the sum of $io That in counties where no institute is held, the county board of education be authorized and required to pay every "beginner" who has attended at least 6 weeks at a recognized summer school $io over and above the $io paid by her board of educa- tion, and that this payment be made at the end of the first month of actual school teaching, on the certificate of the district super- intendent that the teacher in question has actually taught i full month That in counties where institutes are held county and district boards of education be authorized to make such payments That in case county boards of education decide to retain teachers' institutes they may limit their length to 2, 3 or 4 days That the institute sessions at least 1 day be under the immediate di- rection of the county superintendent who shall arrange the program for that day, the expenses up to $50 being paid fi'om the institute 'fund That the county superintendent and district superintendents of each county be authorized to work out an improved plan for PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 'IOI teachers' institutes, which plan shall be binding upon the officers of the county institutes This plan will compel teachers and managers of institutions to jus- tify the continuation of institutes at public expense by doing work which will win the ungrudging support of those who pay the bills Present means of educating rural teachers At present a normal college and a normal school are giving courses for rural teachers. Last year only one institution was giving such a course. The number enrolled in the course was 129. The number of new teachers required in the township districts annually is approximately 3,000 As has been shown graduates of normal schools and colleges do not take up rural school teaching in any number Experience of some other states As pointed out above, pp. 77 and 84, students reared in, rural schools, though they, like others, feel drawn to the city, are more likely to take up teaching in the rural schools than students from villages and cities. The experience of several states, notably Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, goes to show that if a sufficient supply of trained rural teachers is to be obtained it is necessary to Train rural teachers in rural institutions for training teachers Have a large number of centers for such training in order to tap the greatest possible sources of supply Minnesota in addition to courses for rural teachers in 4 normal schools maintains courses for rural teachers in 84 high schools, each of which receives $1,000 state aid Michigan besides offering courses for rural teachers in 4 normal schools maintains courses for training rural teachers in 45 high schools dis- tributed over the state. These high schools receive from the state $500 for each teacher employed in the rural teachers' training courses Wisconsin maintains in addition to courses for rural teachers in 5 normal schools, 27 county training schools, the expenses of which are divided between the counties and the state. So great is the need of trained rural teachers that at least 7 high schools in Wisconsin, entirely with- out state aid, have established rural teachers-' training courses 102 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Summary The state is doing more proportionately for the training of high school teachers than for the training of elementary teachers.' Not over 800 new high school teachers are required each year while at least 5,000 additional elementary teachers must be supplied annually. Two state aided institutions maintain four . year professional cour-ses for the training of regular high school teachers and one other for the training of teachers to teach specialties in high schools. These institutions give two year courses for the training of teachers for elementary schools. One more will be added .to the number within a year WHAT OHIO 15 DOING TO TRAIN TEACHERS Annua.1 Supply ca Trained Teachers One part of one state institution supplies I29RURAL school teachers Annual Demand forNfcwTeachers 3,000 10 state and city institutions supply 42 7 graded school teachers fflFPS fflFlffl! bhhIss EBB fflfflffl 2,400 ESTIMATE 3 state and city institutions supply 53 high school teachers EBP « i Hffiffl fflFlffl BSD) fflnfflB aoo Normal schools and normal colleges, even if they have special courses for rural teachers, do not and cannot supply trained teachers for rural districts. Every year about 3,000 teachers are required to fill vacan- cies in the rural elementary schools. As the total number of grad- uates of the state and city normal schools is only 427, and as the city, village and special districts require at least 2,400 additional teachers each year, it is clear that even if the normal colleges doubled and trebled the output they could not supply the demands of non-rural districts On account of their training for graded schools, of superior financial rewards in cities and villages, and of more highly developed social life in cities and villages, graduates of normal" schools do not as a general. thing, desire to go to rural districts to teach PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 103 Students who have been raised and educated entirely in the country, up to entrance into the normal school, are more apt to be willing to go back to the country to teach than city and village bred and trained teachers If rural districts are to be adequately supplied with trained teachers, it must be done in rural institutions- sufficiently widely distributed to tap all available sources of supply. Schools must be taken to the students and must be established in an environment which will not educate away from rural life If rural schools are to come into their own, something must be done quickly . To provide adequate remuneration to the rural teacher To see that when adequate remuneration is offered, capable teachers are appointed In many widely separated parts of the state the salary schedule bears no relation to teaching-efficiency. A county noted for high salaries of rural teachers has not so high a percentage of teachers with academic training in advance of the grades, as another county which pays on the average extremely low salaries. This condition can.be corrected by expert supervision and choice of teachers and by the general adoption of salary schedules based on experience and training Constructive suggestions That every section of the state may be supplied with facilities for the effective professional training of teachers in rural and village communities, it is recommended that The state shall pay a subvention of $1,000 each to not less than i nor more than 3 first grade high schools in each county, whose boards of education are willing to establish a four year course for rural and village teachers, and to offer short professional courses to teachers in service and to beginners who are not in a position to take the full high school course Boards of education desiring to install such courses shall make ap- plication to the state Superintendent for approval, and the state Superintendent shall be authorized to approve or disapprove any application which may come to him. Three shall be the maxi- mum for any county 104 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Courses for teachers shall be established only in rural districts and in villages. At least one such course in each county shall be established in a rural district or in a village district with a popula- tion of less than 1,500 ' One or more teachers shall be employed who shall devote all their time to professional instruction and supervision of practice teach- ing These teachers shall be appointed on the nomination of the county superintendent No teacher in the course for teachers in such a subsidized high school shall receive less than $75 per month High schools receiving the subvention shall be required to remain in session 36 school weeks each year Each county superintendent shall supervise closely all teachers' training courses in his county and shall teach at least 50 full hours each year in each such course established in his county These schools should offer short courses for teachers throughout the year, but unless their practice departments can be maintained dur- ing the summer, they should not offer summer courses Every such school should offer at least a one year course for the training of teachers for which the entrance requirements should be progressively increased according to a schedule similar to the fol- lowing : 19 15 Graduation from an elementary school 19 16 Completion of 1 year in high school 19 1 7 Completion of 2 years in high school 19 18 Completion of 3 years in high school Graduates of the one year courses should be given one year county certificates renewable twice without examination, and if successful three year county certificates once renewable at the end of the 3 year period Graduates of these one year courses who are also graduates of first grade high schools should be given four year provisional certifi- cates, good only in schools under the supervision of the county superintendents. These certificates should be convertable into county life certificates by the state Superintendent of Public In- struction on proof of successful teaching PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS 105 Graduates of one year teacher training courses who are also grad- uates of first grade high schools should be eligible for admission to the second year of any state normal school or college All schools offering training courses for teachers should (i) main- tain a practice department, (2) be authorized to make arrangements with boards of education to obtain practice teaching privileges in one room rural schools, and (3) require of all students extended observation work not only in the regular practice school but in ungraded rural schools That the 4 state aided normal schools and colleges may be enabled to exert the widest influence on the development of efficient rural schools it is recommended that They be authorized to make arrangements with 6 boards of educa- tion in non-centralized rural districts to take over the manage- ment of 6 one room rural schools in various parts of their con- stituencies and maintain these schools as model one room rural schools The normal schools and colleges each receive an annual grant of $3,000 from the state for the purpose specified VII CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Interior views i "Teacher a middle aged man. Has taught all his life. Teacher loves his work and his pupils. Taught very efficiently, keeping his pupils intensely interested in their work. He never used a book in recitation, asked frequent questions in history and geography and made it a point to connect products and commercial activities with the physical con- ditions of country studied. Teacher owns a small farm in the neigh- borhood" 2 "Teacher is alert and interested in her work and her pupils. She frequently draws on the children's own experience and knowledge to bring out the point under discussion" 3 "Teacher does many out of the ordinary things to interest her pupils when the weather is bad. To keep them busy and out of mischief, at noon or recess, she has given them pieces of muslin stamped with fig- ures to be outlined in red floss. Boys and girls both like to do this. The older girls are taught plain embroidery. An agricultural exhibit was held here last fall. Teacher and pupils have made flower beds on all sides of the building and have planted seeds and bulbs. The boys have built 3 bird houses and placed them on or near the building. Wild cucumber vines have been planted to make a screen for the outside toilets. Five of the pupils were considered below normal by the teacher. Two of these cases may be due to defective eyesight. This has been reported to parents and some attempt has been made to correct the defects" - 4 "Teacher, splendid, wide awake, progressive and ambitious. She does not save herself any trouble to improve the school as far as it lies in her power ; but the school board does not recognize merit and hires alL teachers at $40 per month without much regard for qualifications, experience or efficiency. The last day of school there is to be a plant judging contest. Each child is to bring a plant which he or she has cared for during winter" 5 "Teacher has been making a study of primary methods. She has fur- nished wooden pegs, paste, scissors and paper and managed to keep (106) CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION IOJ the little children busy at some definite task all the time. In doing this she did not neglect the older pupils. Her recitations .aroused enthusiasm. The work was not confined to books. The teacher tried to acquaint her pupils with facts and conditions in life about them" 6 "Teacher's first year teaching. Work good. Teacher takes great pains with each pupil. She is in close touch with her pupils, plays with them at recess and keeps on good terms with them. The teacher asks pupils to solve problems in more than i way" 7 "A very fine spirit pervades this school. When a pupil passed before a visitor he always said 'Please excuse me.' Teacher aroused interest by questioning pupils about things in the v lesson which might be within the common observation, reading or conversation of a pupil. Teacher played on the play ground with the children and frequently cautioned - them about rough manners and coarse speech" 8 "Teacher said the story class was his favorite. Six children of lower grades were in class. Teacher ' re-told a story, the children helping. Then as there were but 3 characters in the story, the children acted it out. It was very well done" 9 "There was considerable waste of time. The teacher seemed to be waiting for something to happen. This created an expectancy which led the visitor to anticipate an event. However, nothing more excit- ing happened than frequent reminders to the pupils that it would be well for them to get to studying or a 'persuader' might be urged into practice. It was quite common for a pupil to interrupt a recitation with 'Teacher I can't get that there example' or 'Where is the spelling lesson for tomorrow?' Pupils took their time returning from recess, some of the boys coming in as much as 6 minutes late" 10 "Pupils play in class, read answers from book and talk back to teacher. Both teacher and pupils went to window and looked out whenever they wished. In the afternoon the teacher called the advanced spelling class and they refused to go, claiming that no assign- ment had been given. Two hickory switches hung behind the teacher's desk" 11 "When classes were called to recite teacher took book from 1 of the pupils and after learning where lesson began, proceeded to read aloud. Occasionally he paused and the pupils supplied the last word of sen- tence or paragraph. When 3 pages had been read thus, 3 more were assigned and the class dismissed. Pupils asked no questions nor were they encouraged to. Teacher had no familiarity with subject matter. When he ventured to ask a question he was not sure of the answer 108 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT and lost time hunting it up in book. But i topical recitation was called for and teacher repeated each statement of pupils. In spelling classes each child faced the school in turn, and spelled a word from the book as follows: 'I-n in, d-i indi, v-i-d individ, u, individu, a-1, individual, i individual^ t-y individuality.' After all the words had been so read they were spelled in same manner without, books" 12 "The teacher was pleased to see the visitor. He is 64 years of. age and has taught 48 years. In the present district he has taught 5 years this time, 5 at another and doesn't remember how long at another (his house had burned and destroyed his records), He drew the plan for the present school house in 1872. He put in the seats, new ones, but all the same size ; he said he had told the board to get different sizes, but they didn't. He put up the slate blackboards. A string of tile lies in front of school lot ready to be put in. It was bought by the teacher, and he and the pupils will put it in. The teacher owns a good farm. A teacher in the adjoining district told me that Mr. teaches because he loves children. Five of his grandchildren are in school while a sixth, a girl of about 17, is a frequent visitor and helper. She was hearing a reading class, when I entered. The teacher also has a cousin in school. All the pupils call him 'Grandpa.' Occasionally one says 'Mister.' He is somewhat old-fashioned but still keeps up with modern thought very well. He said he was trying the Montes- sori system on 1 pupil with good results. A general disorder marks the school room, — maps stacked in corners, calendars upside down, benches (used for debates, etc) not in order, but scattered, wall paper loose. The teacher is not tidy in appearance. These are my greatest criticisms. If they were remedied, very little objection could be offered. No attempt is made to have order — pupils stand up, change seats, and do as they please, run and talk loud in the room at recess without a word of reproof. And yet they will obey immediately and try to do anything the teacher asks. In his love for children and theirs for him, he is a modern Pestalozzi. I believe he has been and yet is, a power for good in the community" 13 "In geography exercise the teacher asked questions while looking in book and looked at book to verify correctness of answers given by pupils. These answers were short, incomplete and frequently given only after pumping or leading questions by the teacher. The teacher did not illustrate or amplify. Back of teacher's desk was a case fastened to the wall, which I supposed was a map case. When I asked the teacher why she did not use maps in her work she told me that there were no maps in school. I asked her as to the case on wall. She said that she thought that had some fire-extinguishing apparatus in it CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION IO9 and not maps. I opened it and found a set of -maps, i for each conti- nent, 1 for the United States and i for Ohio, on rollers within case. I asked her (the teacher) if she had used any supplementary reading in geography work. She said, 'No, because there are no books.' In a case I found a set of Carpenter's Geography Readers" 14 "There is an attendance of 24 pupils in 7 different grades. There has been a new teacher each year for the past 10 years. Once, long ago, a teacher remained 2 years. The parents of some of the present pupils attended school in this same building and used the same desks. I felt quite uneasy sitting in the only visitor's chair for fear it would collapse with me. The school house is situated in a beautiful region, quite equal to the famous 'Blue Grass' region of Kentucky. Modern meth- ods of agriculture are in evidence everywhere ; the land is drained with tiling ; aermotors supply water when it is dry ; the barns and outbuild- ings for stock are exceptional. And yet, the very last concern of the community seems to be children" 15 "This school was presided over by a male teacher. He made several mistakes in the pronunciation of words but his influence is of the very best. His school was the cleanest I have seen in the county. The maps are of date 1880. Imagine a teacher trying to use such geograph- ical maps. This section of the country is rich; nearly all the farmers are getting automobiles. Picture an eight month school year in such a region. Think of a man with a wife and 2 children earning a salary of $440 per annum, which includes his pay for janitor service" 16 "The parents are not in sympathy with school work. They will not furnish tablets nor pens and ink. Teacher furnished these himself. A part of the afternoon was given over to literary program. Several of the parents had called on teacher and refused to have children take any part. They said they did not send their children to school to learn such new-fangled notions. One little girl, 9 years old, has an excep- tionally bad case of adenoids. She has been going to school 3 years, is still in first reader and is not able to read at all. When the present teacher spoke to child's father he became very angry and teacher was unable to do anything with him. A word about the teacher. He is of Italian descent, an orphan and fresh air boy. Has made his own way and gained a fair education. He had a remarkable understanding of child nature and with his kind sympathetic nature drew the children to him" 17 "The ABC method of teaching reading is the only one he knows; the first reader class was called and while 1 pupil stood by the teacher's knee and said and spelled the words of the lesson, the others whispered 110 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT and played until their turn came. I asked to hear a class in agricul- ture. The teacher said that he had had only 2 girls in that class and as they had so much other work to do, he told them- that they might drop agriculture as he didn't see much need of it anyway" 18 "In this school I found a very active teacher. It was seldom that he asked a question that could be answered by yes or no, and the ques- tions provoked thought. His pupils answered in complete sentences; not in a few detached words as in most of the schools I had previously visited. The pupils seemed to be eager to work. The discipline was good. This school showed the good effects of supervision. The teacher was very enthusiastic in his praise of the township superin- tendent" 19 "This school was chosen for survey because located on a brick trunk road, on a trolley line. School's 37 pupils include a boy who is a defec- tive, a girl who has difficulty in speech, and a boy and girl who have trouble with their sight. The defective, clumsy in movement and in speech, with a teacher less able and tactful, would cause disorder. Pupils assist in many ways. The defective does errands and keeps the fire. Before dismissal, 1 of the pupils inspects all desks, to see that all are left in good order. This is done unobtrusively. Pupils criticize class work, emphasis being put upon good as well as upon bad points. In recitation each pupil quickly and quietly went to the front and faced the class while reciting. Emphasis was placed upon correct position and holding of the book in left hand. In arithmetic the teacher makes good use of 'Perception Cards' with 2nd and 3rd grades. Pupils respond quickly. In agriculture the work consists largely of readings by pupils with explanations by teacher. An Audubon Society has been formed, pupils members. There are addresses by interested persons. Pupils were interested in meeting to be held on the day following sur- vey. Individual towels are provided by pupils. No manual training. Organ used daily, stencils, etc., for first grade. Individual cups pro- vided by pupils, are kept in desks. Sanitary drinking fountain or- dered. On day of survey boys played 'Pull-away' and girls 'Grass Tag.' Parents are entertained by teacher and pupils who give simple plays arranged by teacher. Present paper and paint in building faded. Board plans to redecorate. This is an interesting school. It formerly had the reputation of being a hard school to manage. The present teacher was told that she would be unable to hold it for more than 1 year. She is now in her 5th year in the school" 20 "The school house is very poorly furnished inside, desks old, and doors broken. The front door had to be propped shut with a broom CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION lit on the inside during school hours. One of the doors to a cloak room was off i hinge and hung over in such a way as to require the children to stoop to enter. This particular cloak room is about half filled with trash. A good jacketed stove is in use and is located in one corner of the room. However, the old stove which is a very tall and large one is still left standing in the middle of the room, though never used. Decidedly the best part of the school's equipment is the teacher" 21 "Pupils would frequently interrupt a recitation by leaving their seats and going to the teacher to ask some question or to obtain permission to leave the room, have a pencil sharpened, get a drink, or for some favor. The work was routine — always from the text-book. The teacher seemed not to be annoyed by inattention to study, to dropping slates, to rattling inkwells or other noises. A poor recitation in his- tory was met with the rebuke, 'You must study this lesson harder for tomorrow.' The only real studying in the room seemed to be done by the teacher. She took time between recitations either to read or study the lesson. There was not a suggestion of inspiration or interest in anything about the school unless in the appearance of the teacher who was unusually pretty" 22 "Teacher placed on board 'an, man, ran, can.' Children took tablets and slates and copied same while teacher passed about among them giving a few individual suggestions. No instruction as to position, holding pencils and pens, principles involved, etc. In reading classes i pupil after another was called upon to read i paragraph or sen- tence. This he drawled out in a slow, mechanical way, in a monotone, no expression whatever, and no attempt at comprehension of matter ,read. The teacher took no part in the recitation at all except when pupils could not pronounce words; these she pronounced for them and the recitation went on as before. This method of procedure I find to be the invariable rule followed by every teacher I have observed so far. They simply do not know how to give instruction in reading and the instruction in other subjects is equally poor. The following ques- tions were given as a 5th grade geography test. Since they indicate the character of the instruction given, I copy them verbatim : 1 Name the states on the Gulf of Mexico 2 Name 2 of the largest cities of the U. S. and tell where they are 3 Tell all you can of the prairies of the U. S. 4 Name the Great Lakes and name a city near them 5 What has Columbus to do with our country? 6 Write 5 lines about the wheat of the U. S. 7 Describe our forests 112 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Despite the adverse criticisms given on these cards, I should rate this young lady high so far as the natural qualifications of a good teacher are concerned. She handles a school well, has excellent manners and bearing, but she is positively lacking so far as up-to-date professional methods are concerned" 23 "This school is a good example of bad conditions that prevail in a large part of the schools of this and the adjoining counties. While the community is wealthy, they take little interest in and give little atten- tion to education. The building is probably 60 years old though in a fair state of preservation. The seats are ill adjusted; there are no, window blinds; and no screens to the windows. The outhouses are rather dirty and unsanitary. The well water is unfit for use. There are no cloak rooms separate from the main single recitation room. The teacher, a middle-aged widow, has had only 1 year of academic training beyond a meager common school education and this on com- mon branches. She has tried to read some books on education, but has never had any normal training. She knows next to nothing about method or the child mind. During my visit she ground out recitations at the rate of 50 per day. This gave no opportunity for individuality, for drill, for training in habits of accuracy, precision, or investigation. She did a large part of the reciting with some occasional concert approvals on the part of the various qlasses. The reading in the main was a meaningless, monotonous recital of words without interest or expression ; and most of the work of the school was a dismal, dead- ening, mechanical grind that is a crime against the childhood of the community" 24 "If there had been an attempt to find the worst place to locate a school they could not have done better. A creek runs around the school house cutting the ground so as to preclude any playground. The privies are on the edge of the creek and the smell is perceptible in the school house when the windows are lowered. Grounds are over- grown with brush and weeds. The building is lower than the road and the water runs off road into doorway. The water bucket stands on the floor. The community does not seem to be a very progressive one .according to the teacher. The parents are accustomed to criticize and take the teacher to task for maintaining discipline. The building was disreputable. The ceiling was once blue. The seats were of various styles and many were broken. The door was held from out- side by a hasp and padlock, and inside by large rock. The teacher wore no coat. He had on a faded blue shirt with attached collar, no tie and big, wide black suspenders. He wore a gold ring and a leather watch fob. No time was lost since teacher was usually hearing 2 or 3 CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 1 13 recitations at a time. Recitations consisted of, questions of fact and nobody answered. Pupils did not know how to go about it. Teacher heard a reading class and grammar class at once, holding a book in each hand. A reading recitation consisted of the pupils naming words in halting way and teacher's telling when the halt was too long. A boy read 5 minutes while teacher was explaining a problem to a girl. Primary history was merely the reading of the text. Boy, 13 years old, was in second reader and had never studied arithmetic. During recitations nobody seemed to pay any attention except the 1 perform- ing. Teacher gets older pupils to pronounce spelling iessons and hear reading of younger ones. The grammar lesson comprised the copying on board of outline on pronoun. The* pupils were supposed to recite from outline, but they didn't. A few attempted to give some book definitions and the teacher helped them out. The surveyor was the first visitor the school had ever had so far as the memory of the oldest living inhabitant served" 25 "This school was closed the evening before I called because of 2 cases (in 2 families) of scarlet fever. I could not reach the other school the same day so with the help of the sub-director, I have made this report. The school house is a good one — a great improvement in that it has 2 good cloak rooms, 7 x 8, and a library room 7 x 12. It also has a corridor 5x15. The seats are single and in fine condition. The room is papered — walls and ceiling are clean, but the floor is very dirty. It has not been scrubbed nor cleaned for more than a year. The flies were thick all over the room, so many that I was greatly annoyed during, the 4 hours I spent in the building. I found that the flies were hatched in the boys' privy — a most filthy place. The floor was saturated with urine and mud. I put up a bluff and instructed the sub-director to have house thoroughly cleaned and fumigated before opening school again. It is a pity that this one thing — dirt — should materially interfere with the making of a good, school. I saw 1 indication of good work in agriculture — a set of examination papers on the teacher's desk in which good drawings were made illustrating 'tongue grafting' and 'steps in budding' " 26 "Yard was so covered with trees as to make it impossible to hold organized play. Clothes were hung on nails and broken hooks which had been driven in edge of shelves on which were placed the dinner pails. These .shelves were bare and open. All the building needed repairs. School house siding is broken and the paper hangs loose, also foundation is open in places. A boy could almost crawl through coal shed roof. Both privies needed repairs but the boys' is in a deplorable 8 s. s. 114 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT \ condition. The bench is broken down and at present time excreta are deposited miscellaneously over the entire floor. A pupil informed me that it was in the same condition last year. The teacher says he has spoken to members of board about conditions, but nothing has been done up to date. The well is covered so carelessly that the autumn leaves have sifted through upon the water which stands within a few feet of surface. The boys said that last year for a few weeks it was not fit to drink as it was so yellow. At present i child is sick with typhoid fever and another is so ailing as not to be able to attend school. There seemed to be a great deal of unnecessary moving about room during entire day for all sorts of purposes. Teacher is very courteous. He had no chance to show knowledge of lighting as the windows lacked both shades and shutters. All the decorations are counted in 3 small pictures about 3x5 inches and a few maps drawn by pupils, an organ which is now away for repairs, 2 old charts, a state map, which is _an advertisement of the Citizens' Bank, a broken globe, a large 1901 dictionary and a worn broom. Reading is taught even in the primary by having the pupils repeat words after the teacher. Arithmetic is taught, from what I could see,' by example. Now this dark story has at least 1 bright side which is that the teacher is a kind fellow, who has the welfare of the pupils at heart and has the sympathy and backing of the people of the district as well as the confidence and love of the pupils. However, no matter how desirable good feeling may be in a school I should not care to have any one in whom I had a special interest exposed to that water and the filth laden flies" 27 "In the primary reading class the teacher read the lesson, a sentence at a time and the pupils read after him not knowing what they were reading. No one read 1 word without the teacher telling him the word. No attempt was made to emphasize the vital points. It was a very poorly conducted recitation, the teacher being guilty of almost all known kinds of errors. The history class was very poorly conducted. The teacher sat tipped back in his broken chair and read the questions and answers from the book all by himself. Sometimes the teacher would .read the answer all but 1 word and the pupils would supply that 1 word at a guess. ■ There are no blinds nor shutters and the chil- dren sit in the glaring sun light. The upper part of the inside wall is papered, the lower part has never been papered nor painted. Window panes are gone; there are holes in the walls and the stove pipe. It would be dangerous to build a fire in this stove. No coal bucket, shovel or poker. Seven seats haven't any desks so the pupils' books are piled on tn« ^ f the big. desk, and things generally have dilapidated CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 115 appearance. The floor is very, very dirty. The teacher sued the board of education last year for janitor fees of $8 but lost in court of appeals" 28 "The day I visited this school was the monthly examination day, con- sequently I did not get to see the work so well as I could have on other days. However, I got a good general survey of it in the time I was there, for under the conditions, I did not think it necessary to stay all day. In regard to the conduct of the school will say that it was not of the best. The windows were protected by wire, to prevent the breaking of glass. The water bucket sat on the floor. In the cor- ner of the room there was a barrel of stagnant water, with 2 buckets hanging on the wall above it, which were to be used in the event of fire, a wholly unnecessary precaution in this building. The - odor emanating from the barrel was in no wise similar to balsam. Some of the pupils were sitting on wooden benches, the regular seats having been broken. The teacher permitted them to lounge, in their seats while reciting, while those who stood did not stand erect but leaned on the desks. In reading there were no questions asked looking to- ward the interpretation of the thought of the lesson. The teacher fre- quently called for attention by saying 'Let's all pay attention.' Younger pupils copied their reading lessons on slates. The only ques- tion asked in reading were On facts such as 'What did John find?' 'Where did he find it?' 'What did he say?' etc. Then the teacher would narrate some of the story in short sentences and ask the ques- tion afterwards: 'Didn't he?' or 'Didn't she?' e. g., 'The man went down the road to the creek and couldn't get across, could he?' The -school possessed no register, but an account book was used. The beginning class read from the first reader in concert. There was an abundance of hickory switches in the corner of the room. The teacher frequently told the pupils to get to work thus: 'Willie, do you know your definition ? I am afraid you don't' " 29 "The classes were not over 3 minutes long. Not any of the work here indicates either thought or method, in fact there was but little work done. The pupils did not recite enough to tell whether they used good English or not, but the teacher did not use good English. Three- fourths of the day was wasted by teacher and pupils in doing abso- lutely nothing. The ABC method of teaching reading is used. Children 11 years old were studying grammar. Teacher read ques- tions out of book, e. g. 'What is a noun?' Then the teacher would read the answer from the book and go on to the next question. There was not a pupil at the board while I was there. There was a long time between recitations. What is said of 1 recitation can be said of Il6 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT all. I went to see i member of the board about the physical conditions of things and was told the teacher last year burnt up the desks for kindling. I asked the son of the member of the board (an ex-school teacher) what his attitude was toward using the school house as a social center. ■ He said 'It don't make no difference, to me what they do' " 30 "The primary history recitation consisted of reading from the book by the teacher. The pupils did not recite at all. This process was con- tinued through advanced history also. The recitation in hygiene was conducted in the same way, teacher reading from book, pupils reciting but little, or teacher asking questions from book and then reading the answers from the book, pupils sitting idly by. The boys' privy is dan- gerous; a plank of the floor opening into the vault is gone. There is no water nearer than one-fourth of a mile and that is from a well of a private family" The actual day's work in 2 typical rural schools described by a critic teacher connected with a state normal college ' "8.30 — Last bell 8.34 — Teacher shows child place of lesson 8.34-8.38 — Opening exercises. Teacher plans for cleaning school yard on next afternoon. Asks what plants children have seen. Advises children to press spring flowers 8.41 — Teacher distributes material to 1st and 2nd grades (drawing cards) 8.46 — 2nd reading, 1 child at side of teacher pronouncing words in high monotone. No comment from teacher 8.53 — Teacher says, 'Take from here to here for next lesson.' Child excused 8.55-8.59 — 1st reading, 1 child reads as before and is given similar assignment " 9.01 — Teacher sends children to write tables on board 9.07 — Teacher sends 2 children to work problems on board. Teacher reads problem. Both children write on board. Both work. One explains (reads work from board). Emphasis entirely on form, as indicated in first solution here given : In a field 35 rods long and 32 rods wide, how many acres are there? 35 rods — length of field 32 rods = width of field 160 square rods = 1 acre Required the number of acres in field CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION II; 35 rods=length of field 32 rods=width of field 70 105 1 120 sq rds=area of field 160 sq. rds.) 1120 sq. rds. area (7 acres in the field 1 120 What will be the cost of a pile of wood 80 ft. long, 8 ft. wide and 4 ft. thick at $5.50 per cord? If a family uses 3 lbs. 13 oz. of sugar a week, how long will 6 cwt. 10 lbs. last? 9-35 — Both children erase work and are seated 9 : 37 — Teacher takes primary children (2) to board. Writes 'The cat can see. A cat can see.' Children copy 9 :39 — Asks older children to correct table written by another child on board 9 42 — Two 4th grade boys pass to board. Teacher dictates 1 3686 2 What will 127 barrels of sugar cost at $6 a barrel? 4724 3 If a man travels 28 miles a day, how many miles will 6583 he travel in 152 days? 5798 4 At $15 an acre how many acres of land can be bought 6953 for $3,645 ? Full statements are requested as in other cases. Teacher asks for these statements. If children can not give them teacher does 10 :oo — Teacher says 'Excused' 10 : 10-10 :20 — Recess 10:21 — Teacher gives cut up pictures to primer children to put to- gether 10:30 — 3rd reading. Spelling and definition of words previously as- signed in the lesson. Two children and 1 book. Child reads, then tells what she has read. Child uses bad English, teacher does not correct. Child recites 'I Know the Song that the Bluebird is Singing.' Teacher asks her to tell what the poem means. Assign- ment : 'Finish about the robin and the bluebird' 10:56 — Class dismissed 10:57 — 4 tn reading — 1 boy, McGuffey's Fourth Reader, 'You have what for your lesson today?' (The Voice of the Grass) Spell: dusty — road-side — noisy — brook ('You have seen a brook haven't Il8 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT you? Where? Tell about it'), humming — welcome — pleasant — gentle — deck — humble — command — silently. Child reads, teacher comments. 'When you, say creeping you want to say it slowly — why? Pause there, there's a common after that.' Child recites the same poem from memory. Indistinct enunciation. Children evi- dently from German home. Teacher does not help in enunciation. Child tells in his own words what he thinks poem means. Assign- ment : 'Take the next lesson — all of it' 11:10 — 5th and 6th reading. (2 boys, 3 girls) 'The Blue and the Gray.' One girl reads poem. Teacher: 'What mistakes did you see?' Child: 'There was no mistake, but she paused where there was no commas.' Other criticisms similar^ each repeated by teacher. 'Who wrote it? How did he come to write it? Explain second verse.' Boy reads poem. Child says, 'Read too fast, did not pause at commas.' Another child recites poem. Assignment: 'For next lesson go over some of the poems we have had. We've done all the reading we had to do. We'll just review some of the poems. We'll forget them if we don't.' Another child volunteers to recite a poem previously learned. Recites, 'Village Blacksmith' 11:25 — Class dismissed 11:27 — Ist grade reading. Teacher points to words on chart. Boy repeats. When child fails teacher spells word, or if he then fails, teacher pronounces. Child, repeats. Teacher pronounces and chil- dren spell: cat, mat, rat, fat, eat, pat, Nat, book, look, nook, took, girl, are, school, boy 11 :35 — Dismissed for noon 12:38 — School begins. Visitor gives light ratio problem to 6th grade and asks for compositions 1 :oo — Teacher helps little girl with sewing card 1 :25 — Sends ist grade boy to board to write language lesson (sen- tence about a cow) 1:45 — Is t grade reading. 'What poem were you to learn? You weren't to have it all, were you? Tell about the cow, describe the cow, what color is it ? Where did you see it ? Tell something about the bluebird. What do they like to eat ? Canaries are the birds we have in cages. Tell about them. Tell me about the sparrows. You see so many of them around, don't you ? You don't like them very well, do you? They eat so many cherries and things, don't they?' Two children recite, 'I Know the Song that the Bluebird is Singing' 1 :56 — Class dismissed, the boy to finish his sentences about the cow and the other 3 to draw the bluebird from a single copy 2 :04 — Recess 2:20 — Recess over CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION IIO. 2 :26 — Teacher says, 'Take out your copy books. Sit in good position aqd write' 2:34 — 'Stop writing and go on with your composition work' 2:37 — 2n d an d 3rd arithmetic. (3 children) Teacher: 'Count to 100. Give 2 table. Three table. Count by 5 to 100. If you have 3 apples and mamma gives you 1 more, how many have you ?' 'If you have 5 candies and papa brings 2 more from town, how many have you?' 'If you have 4 puppies and find 3 more (you might, you know) how many have you?' Tf you have 6 pieces of candy and mother gives you 4 more, how many have you? 5 + 5, 6 + 4, 6+3, 5 + 2. (Teacher repeats answers of children). Yes, 5 -f- 5 = 10,' etc. 2 45 — Class excused. 2nd grade sent to board to write number? neatly 3:11 — 3rd spelling. Teacher dictates a dozen words. Children write Nothing done with words 3:15 — 5th and 6th gedgraphy. (3 girls and 2 boys.) 'Where are the British Isles? Which is largest? Smallest? Where is largest? Smallest? Of what do the. British Isles consist? Of what race are Britons? Describe surface of Great Britain. What about its cli- mate?" Child says: 'It is in the torrid zone. It is very hot, but has some cool days.' Teacher fails to comment 'Which of the cities have best coal and iron mines? Therefore, what can they make? What city makes most of it? Where is Birmingham? A great many years ago the Britons were noted for ? What famous for ? Do they have much cotton now? What about Scot- land? British ships carry about what per cent of commerce of world? Capitals of England, Scotland, Ireland. Tell me something about London. The British Museum- is where? Two cities of Ire- land. Something about Belfast.' Assignment: 'Begin with France and Germany, down to the countries of the north' 3 :3c) — Dismissal" "8 :2 5 — Arrived. School just taking up 8:25-8-51 — Teacher writes problem for 7th and 8th grade on board, occasionally pausing to tell children a word in reading 8:51-9:10 — Five 1st graders pass to recitation bench. 'Count by 2 to 100. Count by 3 to 100.' 'Teacher comments, 'He doesn't know them very good.' ''Count by 5 to 100. Count by 2 to 100. Count by 1 to 100.' (Class frequently interrupted to answer older chil- dren's troubles in arithmetic) 120 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Examples : 7+3 7+7 13+13 2X8+2 7+4 8+8 14+14 2X7+3 7+5 9+9 I5+I5 2X10 4+4 IO+IO 2X5 2XIO+4 5+5- ii+ii 2X6 2X 9+2 6+6 12+12 2X7+1 2X13+2 How many things make a pair? Two pairs of shoes = how many? Four pair of ducks = ? Six pairs of wings = ? Eight pairs of legs = ? 'How many wings has a bee?' Children give various answers — 'Two'— 'Four' — 'Six.' Teacher confused, looks in book, turns pages, asking 'How many wings has a fly?' Children give various answers. Teacher can't find what she wants in the book, then asks, 'How many halves make a whole? Halves in 2, 6, 9, 3's in 12,-3X4.-4X3 If 1 apple costs 2c what will 3 cost? 2's in 4, 5's in 12 If 1 orange costs 3c what will 3 cost? 3's in 11, 6's in 14 3X3+2, 6+4, 6+5, 11— 7. 3X2+5, 3X7, 4+5' Teacher corrects papers and slates of previous day. Asks 'Whose paper is this? What's the matter with it? This hasn't got any name.' Holds up a slate and 2 slate pencils about 2 inches long each. 'Whose pencils? Which one? The little one?' Teacher passes work of previous day back to owners 9:10-9:15 — Nothing done by teacher except pronounce words occa- sionally 9:15-9:21 — Teacher says, 'Philip, put first one on board' (4th grade boys). 'Argyle, put yours on board.' Philip says, 'I didn't get the first one right.' Teacher: 'All right, put it on the board and we'll see what's the matter with it. Don't be afraid of the answer. Don't pay any attention to the answer'.' Children put problems in long division on board. Teacher shows faulty multiplication and sub- traction and shows them the answer called for was the remainder, not the quotient 9:21-9:23 — Nothing done by teacher 9 123-9 :35 — Teacher works on register. Then cleans out her desk ; occasionally pronounces word spelled by any child aloud in any part of the room or helps boy with arithmetic if boy takes his work up to her desk 9:35 — Teacher brings some test papers of an 8th grade girl and shows them to visitor. Then goes back to her desk and fumbles books and papers CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 121 9 :55 — 'Excused for recess' 10:16 — Children called in by hand bell 10:17-10:30 — Teacher wrote questions on board 10:30-10:45 — 1st grade reading, (5 children). Each reads a part of a lesson — about a dozen sentences. When child has difficulty teacher points to words and pronounces them. Child repeats parrot like. Teacher asks, 'What was the lesson about?' Child, 'Camel, seed, biscuit.' 'Who was eating the biscuit? What kind of a boy was he in yesterday's lesson? How do you know he had bad manners?' Teacher says, 'Spell, — are, there, any, caraway, seeds, in, this, bis- cuit.' Assignment: 'Find the 6th verse, finish down to lesson 8. Write the 6th verse, spell all words in first line and read all down to next lesson.' 10:45-10:52 — Nothing done by teacher 10:52-11:00 — 4th reader (2 boys with 1 book) Each reads in turn. Teacher asks, 'Who was this little boy?' 'Longfellow.' 'How did it come he was watching the printer? How old was he? Wasn't it fine that a little boy 10 years old could write a poem and have it in a paper? Who was he? What did he write? Just 1 poem? Spell and define — inspired, editor, halo, romance' Teacher defines halo, 'a circle of light'; romance, "something that is unreal or a story that is not true' Teacher assigns : 'Next lesson is about a painter. Take down to 7. Take spelling words down to 'words defined.' Write first verse' 11:00-11:23 — Teacher goes about among children telling individual children what to do in problems with which they have difficulty 11 :23 — Teacher says, 'Hand in your physiology papers. Excused for dinner' 12 :3c) — School takes up. Visitor gives problems and asks for com- positions 1 :oo-i :20 — 1st grade reading (conducted as in morning session) 1 :20-2 :oo — No recitation held. Teacher occasionally pronounces words for children or answers questions 2 :oo-2 :20 — Recess 2 :20-2 :33 — Nothing done 2:33-2:46 — 1st reading (conducted as in morning) 2 46-3 :oo — Nothing done 3 :oo — Visitor left building 3 :3c) — School dismissed" 122 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT General conditions affecting instruction Each field worker was expected to pass on the personality of each teacher visited as to neatness, sympathetic attitude toward pupils, the development of good manners among pupils, quality of voice, aimless talking, nagging and the use of good -English The field reports under this head afford a remarkable testimony to the personal worth of the men and women engaged in teaching and warrant the highest hopes as to the future of teaching in the state when proper provision is made for supervision, the training of teachers in service, the professional training of newcomers into the craft, and adequate pecuniary reward for the public school teacher As a general rule the teachers in centralized and village schools are considerably in advance of teachers in one room rural schools in those elements of personality considered in this report. This is undoubtedly due to the depletion of ■ the ranks of rural school teachers by superior inducements offered to ambitious teachers by centralized and village schools, by the longer terms of office in these schools, their closer supervision in many instances and *the higher average of academic and professional training of teachers in service. There is an abundance of natural teaching ability in the rural schools awaiting development Of 7,222 teachers who attended institutes in 1913, 1,313 or 18.2% re- ported that they had no course of study to use in teaching. Of these 977 were teaching in one room township schools, practically one- quarter of the one room township teachers who reported. Even when there was a course of study teachers were not always supplied with copies — over 9% reported no copies. The courses of study were made out by superintendents 47%, superintendents and boards 5%, boards of education 23%, the teachers themselves 8% and by others 14%. "Others" included members of normal college faculties, book com- panies, educational magazines, county school examiners and various in- dividuals. Three percent (161) were using the new manual issued by the State Department of Public Instruction. State wide supervision would insure carefully prepared courses of study for all schools The use of poor English by teachers in 17% of the one room town r ship schools visited and 8.3% of the special district schools visited is particularly serious as only those cases were counted where English used was extremely poor. Samples of bad English were reported from 163 of the one room rural schools visited CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 123 Too high a percentage of all one room rural schools are disorderly. Disorder incident to busy work was not noted in the field reports. Supervision would go far to remedy this condition In 31.5% of one room rural schools and in from 22% to 27% of other schools pupils did not work well in their seats when other pupils were being directly instructed by teachers. The problem is very serious in schools which have as many as 30 recitations a day. Of 525 one room township schools, 11.8% had over 35 recitations per day and 52.5% have 25 recitations or more per day. Advice from skilled supervisors would do much to correct this evil Insufficient attention is paid in all types of school to developing the pupil's power of initiative, the capacity for team work, and of habits of study and cooperation Teachers in many schools pay insufficient attention to ventilation. Air so foul as to be offensive to the sense of smell was observed in 34.3% of the one room township schools visited in the months of September and October when doors or windows can be kept open without danger to the pupils. The record of the small number oi special district and village schools was worse in this respect and of centralized schools better Corporal punishment is rarely used in the schools visited. Only 14 had had as many as 5 cases during the last school year The most common faults of teaching observed in 1385 complete ex- ercises were: Teaching from the book exclusively Leading questions Unnecessary telling 124 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT THE PERSONAL EQUATIONS OP TEACHERS AND PUPILS TABLE I • Township Special District Village One Room Centralized Number of school rooms visited.. 592 26 13 25 Conditions found Percents Personality of teacher 85.1 87.7 85.8 76.2 89.8 17.0 13.5 17.0 35.8 28.0 68.5 91.1 36.2 34.3 46.8 96.0 92.0 85.0 60.9 100. 21.7 4.2 91.7 91.7 92.3 58.3 92.3 15.4 23.1 8.3 38.5 95.7 100 Example tended to develop good 100. 86 4 Talked aimlessly 100. 8 7 Pupils' activities Helped teacher in school routine. Were extremely disorderly 42.3 29.2 72.7 87.5 9.1 25.0 79.2 61.5 9.1 Worked well at seats while teacher was hearing classes. . Were responsive 75.0 91.7 33.3 100. 78.3 100 28 6 Practical classroom hygiene ♦Teacher allowed air to become so foul as to be offensive to the sense of smell 60 Teacher showed knowledge of 71 4 *Data gathered only in regard to schools visited in the fall CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 125 TABLE II Township Special District Village One Room Centralized Number of classrooms visited . . . 502 26 13 25 Management Numbers Teacher used means of securing attention when there was in- attention 171 14 324 70 * 15 5 12 Teacher Used corporal punish- ment at least 5 times a year. . Teachers never used corporal pun- 3 Teacher took steps to correct pupils' poor English 43 4 9 NUMBER OP RECITATIONS PER DAY Reports from 525 one room township schools Number Percent Less than twenty. . . . Twenty to twenty-five Twenty-five to thirty. Thirty to thirty-five. . Over thirty-five 24.2 23.2 21.5 19.2 11 8 In some cases there is no definite program. The teacher begins in the morning where she left off the night before 126 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Summary of observations on complete exercises seen in field survey TABLE I Township Special District Village One Room Centralized 1385 18 25- 25 Errors in method Percents Repeating answers of pupils .... 20.9 32.1 9.1 30.2 - 24.0 12.1 39.6 17.6 15.2 20.1 10.0 15.8 4.7 11.1 22.2 22.2 5.5 5.5 22.2 16.7 22.2 22.2 27.8 44.4 32.3 22.2 8.0 32.0 4.0 16.0 Pumping questions . 16.0 28.0 24.0 20.0 40.0 16.0 12.0 16.0 4.0 12.0 12.0 No topical or fluent recitation . . . Questions requiring only yes and 20.0 16 28 Obvious excellences Frequent questions by pupils .... Pupils sent to blackboard 16.0 28.0 36.0 28.0 44.0 8.0 Insistence on clear and distinct Initiative taken by pupils CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 127 ■3 - O Eh IO GO CO 20.9 32.1 9.1 30.2 24.0 12.1 39.6 17.6 15.2 20.1 10.0 15.8 4.7 CP 3 1— 1 3 M rH LO co 10 10 -41 CO * to t- CO CO r-i as C- CD rH O 00 r^ rH >> CO CO CO -t-J a as t- t- 00 LO us b- Tp ^ in) CO 10 CO rH lO 1— CO "^ CO -^ CO w to CO OS CO rH a +j 'co ft a 0* cc s *o c- c- 10 HM CO rH 00 co ir: ■^10 ■<* CVJ r- M IflTf rH 00 CO tH OO 00 ^ rH rH r-\ a ■d ir as co to -"dr os as 00 t~ 10 rH CO f OS rH CC CO rH CC CO CD T- CO CD as tt -3" h- 00 CO rH IO CM - £ c * * # # # # # toco * • - * v- IO in cm DO g 0) C\ CO CO tp" CM CO Tf cm to to CM co co co rH rH OS Of 1- a r-t ca rH OS t- e •■w C O a ! = S a -a M +j CP S a B O H : : : : (=1 • ; - ; . & ■ E : : « jjS : S • W fl H * : § .2 s n : rj • +j 03 -•-> • d : * § b- : rt _)cl,P£ a 1 B • ^3 s-, a> ■ m S : <» fl & u ■- c CO 03 I & .* . . g a * ■ a • _j « a 2 : 2 ■ * ^ "-3 S c : ^ . » > • » ^* CA o> co o co to « in m o> ^- CO o> co en in co eo eo o r- lO CM CO O CO to T" CD in CM in * t- CO CO O! m "S T- in CM CM CM CM ^~ T in t— 1 3 CM 1—1 * DO o er a r- ^r 00 eo ^t CM h* CO CM t- i— h- * h- t— o O i- CO O h- 5 to to CM T ~ CM CM T" T" « T— « c IT o Oi CO i- in CO Tji O rt* OC to « in in ■«JI rH OS iH rH Tji O CC m 7h T- cq 0. CNJ CC O in ^ W H iH rH CO O IC CO -* "* eo ■"*• O 00 CQ CQ CO CO t- CO i- in •& CQ CO CQ rH rH o Oi B r-\ 03 O* CO O 00 CQ CO CQ CO CO CQ CQ 0C CM cc *# Oi OS b- rH m rH 0O 00 C ^ T* i- O Tl< CQ co ■* rH rH rH »- -** 3 CM £ 01 03 >> o c: C t* cq t> t- 00 CO ■* ^ CO t- o c r-l oo 00 CO Oi tH CO CO rH 00 eo CM CO o 00 CO ■* m tH rH CQ ri T- « CQ 03 T- ir CT) CO CO TH o b- "Cf 00 00 CC 9 c- cv O rH rH c- Tt< •^ CQ CO OO r- 13 T- -tj* t- CO ■* CO rH rH r- ? s* "* O CQ fc 1*. o IT. *CD rH CO CQ cq OS O m cq ^i oc <*■ CT CO OS C5 CO 00 in in 1(1 h Tt< « T- r - CQ CT» CO ■* ■* Ti rH CQ t- »- n CQ O M 0) I '55 .o Pi a O o bJD .2 o o El CQ P .2 *j "w o Pi a oi H f-H

o a P o '■*-* OS N *c3 P •E bly written. . omplete sen- tences run to- ing inability nh 03 o o h CD a '£1 ■s B O P •i-i P a p 13 Papers illegi Cases of inc tences . . . Cases of sen gether . . . Pupils show S Is £ p §§ £ P n •p CO CD 09 CD s3 03 M m a 01 CI) Pi* *£ C u +-» ■4-1 -»-> -M 01 t. Pi > P e * $ CO 03 s 03 s CO 1 CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION I33 Comparison of rural and city 8th grade compositions by means of Hillegas composition scale Two studies of compositions by means of the Hillegas composition scale were made: (i) Delaware city 8th grade, 97 papers, (2) Delaware county rural 8th grade, 118 papers The Hillegas scale (Teachers' College Record Vol. 13, No 4) gives 10 compositions placed at irregular intervals on a scale running o, 183, 260, 389, 474, 585, 675, 772, 838, 937, (almost i.ooo). It is based on compositions of all grades including the high school The papers were graded by teachers working under the direction of the survey office staff. Each paper was given 4 marks. Those scoring the papers worked, quite independently of one another. In judging a paper everything was taken into consideration — expression, ideas, spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence sense — everything except handwriting. The papers were given marks at or between the values on the scale according to their similarity to the compositions on the scale. The 4 marks for each paper were then averaged. The average for the whole grade is based on the actual averages for each paper The final summary given below was made in the survey office. No similar studies have been published so no comparison with other, schools can be made The averages show Delaware city 134 points ahead of Delaware county. Delaware city is under supervision. Only 1 of the rural districts surveyed had any degree of supervision 134 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT EIGHTH GRADE COMPOSITIONS GRADED BY HILLEGAS SCALE Delaware County Delaware City Hillegas Scale Receiving from Number Percent Number Percent 100 to 150 2 7 7 7 12 25 15 23 5 3 2 5 1.7 5.9 5.9 5.9 10.2 21.2 12.7 19.5 4.2 2.5 1.7 4.2 183 150 to 200 200 to 250 260 250 to 300 300 to 350 2 5 14 15 23 18 12 6 1 1 97 521.6 2.1 389 350 to 400 5.2 400 to 450 14.4 474 450 to 500 15.5 500 to 550 23.7 585 550 to 600 18.6 600 to 650 12.4 675 650 to 700 6.2 700 to 750 1.0 772 750 to 800 1.0 Total 118 387.6 100. 100. Teaching of handwriting By means of the Ayres handwriting scale the following 3 studies of the handwriting of Ohio school children were made under the direction of the survey office Study of handwriting of 1,397 pupils in 176 rural schools in 21 counties Study of handwriting of 214 pupils in the 3 upper grades of the rural schools in Delaware County. These were included in the 1,397 °f the general study Study of handwriting of 312 pupils in the 3 upper grades in the city of Delaware. There is no special writing supervision in Delaware and the teaching of writing therefore receives the same supervision as that of other branches In addition, the figures for the handwriting of school children in a small Iowa city are given. These are the work of I. King and H. Johnson of the University of Iowa whose study was originally published in the Journal of Educational Psychology 3: 514-520. Mr. King and Mr. Johnson kindly sent their working sheets to the survey office that their figures might be compiled in the same manner as the Ohio figures making them strictly comparable CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION I35 The papers for the 3 upper grades from the city of Delaware were marked and the figures compiled under the direction of the survey office The Ayres scale, published by the Russell Sage Foundation, New York City, runs by io's. from 20 to 90. The scale was made from the hand- writing of the children in the 4 upper grades. Three samples of chil- dren's handwriting are given at each point on the scale. In making the scale the most typical handwriting — the largest number of samples of value judged according to speed and legibility — was made the mid- point of the scale, 50. In this study the element of time was necessarily disregarded as stop watches were not available. This accounts for the fact that the usual mark is above 50 in several cases Directions given to those marking papers Pay no attention to anything on the pupil's paper except the handwriting Find the sample on the scale which most closely resembles the specimen and give it the corresponding mark Use the mark half way between if the writing resembles equally 2 of the samples on the scale Work independently of one another Summarizing Of the Ohio rural school papers 176 were marked by 6 examiners, 93 by 5 and 1,127 by 4. The markers were 2 members (former teachers) of the regular office force, and 5 senior students from the Columbus Normal Training School. The Delaware city papers were each given 4 marks. The markers were teachers in actual service The 4, 5 or 6 marks for each paper were averaged to give the final mark. All the averages above 45 and below 55 were counted as 50. Those at 55 were counted half with the upper group and half with the lower group. If there were but 1, it was included in the group above Conclusions In each case a steady improvement through the grades is shown The handwriting in both Delaware city 1 and the Iowa city is on the whole better than that in the rural schools although in 2 grades the averages of Ohio rural schools is slightly above those of the Iowa city There is greater uniformity in the city schools. The rural schools had both very good and very poor writing. This is especially noticeable in the 8th grade figures 136 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT In the 8th grade in Iowa and Delaware city the largest number of papers scored 60, while in Ohio and Delaware county rural papers the largest numbered scored 50 COMPARISON OF HANDWRITING OF FOUR EIGHTH GRADES Distribution on Ayres Scale 50 60 AYRES SCALE 70 80 90 Ohio Rural Iowa Small City Delaware City Delaware County Some pupils in unsupervised rural districts did as well as any students in the supervised city system. There is no reason why, with super- vision, all rural districts should not obtain as good results as any city districts Studies similar to this should be made in widely separated sections of the state. The Ayres scale can be used for the regular grading of all writing in any sort of school The following tables and the graph present the details of the study CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 137 AVERAGE MARKS IN HANDWRITING (Ayres Scale) Ohio Rural Iowa Small City Delaware Grade County City II 30:5' 34.7 38.3 47.1 51.4 52.9 56.3 45.9 42.6 46.8 45.0 48.6 54.6 58.4 Ill IV V VI 48.2 51.8 55.4 56.2 59 7 VII VIII 60.9 OHIO RURAL HANDWRITING— DISTRIBUTION ON AYRES SCALE Grade 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Total Ave. II 1 2 4 30 31 23 5 26 77 87 30 8 7 7 190 52 242 26 53 114 106 43 28 35 193 212 405 8 26 55 91. 54 52 52 89 249 338 93 196 297 300 163 146 202 586 811 1397 30 5 Ill 3 17 45 39 38 45 20 167 187 2 1 21 14 18 37 3 90 93 34.7 IV 38 3 V 1 5 2 21 1 i 2 47 •) VI 51 4 VII 52 9 VIII 3 84 8 92 56 3 Total II to IV. . . 1 6 36.0 Total V to VIII . 29 29 4 4 51.4 Total II to VIII. 1 6 44.9 IOWA SMALL CITY SCHOOL HANDWRITING— DISTRIBUTION ON AYRES SCALE Grade 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Total Ave. II 12 3 40 22 7 9 8 4 36 38 39 51 41 16 2 113 109 222 18 48 55 45 55 ,45 31 121 177 298 1 5 16 11 22 24 47 22 104 126 107 116 117 116 134 112 98 340 460 800 35.9 Ill 42.6 IV 46.8 V 45.0 VI 8 18 17 48.6 VII 5 1 54.6 VIII 58.4 Total II to IV. . 15 69 21 90 41.9 Total V to VIII. 43 43 6 6 — 51.2 Total II to VIII. 15 47.3 138 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT DELAWARE CITY HANDWRITING — DISTRIBUTION ON AYRES SCALE Grade 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 20 90 Total Average VI 2 2 25 9 8 42 31 24 23 78 35 26 28 89 22 26 21 69 9 8 10 27 i 2 3 124 96 92 312 56 2 VII 59 7 VIII §0 g Total VI to VIII.. 4 58 7 DELAWARE COUNTY HANDWRITING— DISTRIBUTION ON AYRES SCALE Grade ] 10 1 20 30 40 50 60 70 20 90 Total Average V! |.... 6 6' 7 19 15 8 •20 43 16 22 24 62 14 11 20 45 5 8 18 31 56 56 102 214 48 2 VII | 1 12 13 51 8 VIII 1 1 55.4 52.9 Total VI to VII... OH.IO RURAL SCHOOL HANDWRITING — PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION ON AYRES SCALE Grade 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Total II 1.1 2.1 2.0 32.3 15.8 7.7 1.7 28.0 39.3 29.3 10. G~ 4.9 4.8 3.5 32.4 6.4 17.3 28.0 27.0 38.4 35.3 26.4 19.2 17.3 32.4 26.1 28.9 8.6 13.3 18.5 30.0 33.1 35.6 25.7 15.2 30.7 24.2 100 Ill 1.5 5.7 15.0 23.9 26.0 22.3 3.4 20.6 13.4 1.0 .3 7.0 8.6 12:3 18.3 .5 11.1 6.7 100. 100. 100. 100. •100. 100. 100. IV V .3 3.1 1.4 10.4 .3 '.i' 1.0 VI VII VIII 1.4 14.3 1.0 6.6 Total II to IV.. .2 1.0 Total V VIII . . . 3.6 2.8 .5 .3 100. 100. Total II to VIII. .1 .4 CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 139 IOWA SMALL CITY SCHOOL HANDWRITING — PERCENTAGE DISTRIBU- TION ON AYRES SCALE Grade 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Total II 11.2 2.6 37.4 18.9 6.0 7.8 6.0 3.6 33.6 32.8 33.3 44.0 30.6 14.3 2.0 33.2 25.7 27.7 16.8 41.4 47.0 38.8 41.0 40.2 31.6 35.8 38.5 37.3 .9 4.3 13.7 9.5 16.4 21.4 48.0 6.5 22.6 15.8 100. Ill 100. IV 100. V 100. VI 6.6 16.1 17.3 100. VII 4.5 1.0 100 VIII 100. Total II to IV. . . 4.4 20.3 4.6 11.3 100. Total V to VIII. 9.3 5.4 1.3 .7 100. Total II to VIII. 1.9 100. HANDWRITING DELAWARE CITY — PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION AYRES SCALE Grade 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Total VI 1.6 2.1 20.2 9.4 8.7 13.5 25.0 25.0 25.0 25.0 28.2 27.1 30.4 28.5 17.7 27.1 22.8 22.1 7.3 8.3 10.9 8.7 i!6' 2.2 .9 100. VII 100. VIII 100. Total VI to VIII. 1.3 100. HANDWRITING DELAWARE COUNTY — PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION AYRES SCALE Grade 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Total VI 10.7 10.7 6.9 8.9 26.8 14.3 19.6 20.1 28.6 39.3 23.5 29.0 25.0 19.6 19.6 21.0 8.9 14.3 17.6 14.5 100. VII 1.8 11.8 6.0 100. VIII 1.0 .5 100. Total VI to VIII. 100. Note — The characterisitc mark Is, for city children, rural schools, 50 for children in 140 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT COMPARISON OF HANDWRITING IN OHIO RURAL SCHOOLS AND IN A SMALL CITY IN IOWA, AYRES SCALE Grade Percent below 50 Percent 50 or above Percent 60 or above Iowa Ohio 'Iowa Ohio Iowa Ohio II 82.2 54.3 39.3 51.8 36.6 36.6 2.0 57.0 28.3 40.9 91.4 84.2 75.4 47.0 31.3 24.0 22.2 80.8 33.5 53.3 17.7 45.7 60.7 48.2 63.4 82.1 98.0 42.1 71.7 59.1 8.6 15.8 24.6 53.0 60.7 76.0 77.8 19.2 66.5 46.7 .9 4.3 13.7 9.5 22.6 42.0 66.4 6.5 33.2 21.9 Ill 2.5 IV 6.0 V 22.6 VI 35 6 VII • 40 7 VIII 42 Total II to IV Total V to VIII.. Total II to VIII.. 3.9 35.8 23.2 COMPARISON OP HANDWRITING IN DELAWARE CITY AND DELAWARE TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS, AYRES SCALE Delaware Percent below 54 Delaware Percent 50 or above Delaware Percent 60 or above Grade City County City County City County VI 21.8 11.5 8.7 14.8 37.8 25.0 26.5 29.5 78.2 88.5 91.3 85.2 62.2 75.0 73.5 70.5 53.2 63.5 76.3 60.2 33.9 35.7 49.0 41.5 VII VIII Total VI to VIII.. Teaching of arithmetic Classroom method In general the results of observation in the field indicate that Arithmetic is probably the best taught subject of the curriculum from the standpoint of classroom technique Less teaching is done from the book than in other subjects Pupils ask more, and more pertinent, questions Students are given opportunity for self expression owing mainly to the ease with which children may be allowed to work arith- metic at the blackboard (Table, p. 127). At the same time the percentage of leading questions and "telling" by the teacher is very high (Table, p. 127) CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 141 The lighting test Pupils in grade 6, 7 and 8, after being given, by other pupils who made the measurements, the length and breadth of the room and the di- mensions of a window pane, were asked to find how many times as large the floor area was as the glass-area In 59% of the 501 classes in one room township schools containing boys, less than one-tenth of the boys present worked the problem correctly In 23.8% of these classes all or practically all of the boys obtained correct answers In 48% of the 8th grade classes containing boys less than one-tenth of the boys present got correct answers and in 30% practically all ob- tained correct answers In 58% of the 490 classes containing girls in one room township schools, less than one-tenth of the girls present worked the prob- lem correctly, and in 28% practically all obtained correct answers In 40% of 8th grade classes containing girls, less than one-tenth of the girls present got correct answers, and in 41% practically all obtained the right answer For some reason the girls surpassed the boys- on this test. Although there were too few schools to make a basis for generalization, it is noteworthy that the record of 47 centralized, special district and village schools inspected is no better than that of the one room township schools and is in some cases worse The accompanying table shows the results of this test in detail 142 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT & ' ^ oi tr h- K o V rH O o ■+■> O O w 3 in *- W ** CO ft ft , ~ PP sS w • i-i iH iH rH !» o t-l C en O 01 cm © 00 PQ - s CO rH iH CM CN ev ^ T- CO tH 01 U ■ f* 00 O o to >> o rH r- 01 H IS [0 C- r- CM O rH CO i- r- CO eo co J o > o iq c CO 00 Cv i- CO i- r- CN i-t i-H a 1- CM « to LO PQ o *" £ CO . T < a to o o CO o in o o 'St* CO >, o IQ CO CO r- T- rH CO tH - i- u &K CO rH ta t~ w* _ tH ^ ►j ,Q O ^ ta 3 £ CO CO CO -*f* C CN CM ,- r- CM O CO CQ ts CO T-t CO CO c-. r- l- -r- CO i-h £ CO O +-> o fe, CO CO CM rH CC r- tH u © o rn CM m J O CM m 3 ^ r- ■ CM in r- l- CM CN CM rt O rH o CQ a to CO Tl • tV Tj c 5& m o ft M (4 >-H -W H O P P 1 3 Eh > 1 > > > 5 o ■3° E c c Eh C a a o a 1 c a .£ C it 4 a ■t- c , 5 a J CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 143 Other problems The following problems were given to grade 8 children in all schools visited. -The tests were given by the regular teacher except in a few cases where he refused. These questions were submitted to experts from the Department of Agriculture, to the office of the state Superin- tendent of Public Instruction and to numerous school men throughout the state as well as to several outside the state : If a merchant bought overalls at $2.00 a pair, and sold them at $3.00 a pair, what percent did he gain ? A farmer wished to place 5 harness hooks at equal distances apart on a board 4 ft. 2 in. long, each of the 2 outside hooks being 1 inch from the nearest end of the board. How far apart will the farmer make the holes for the hooks? A certain township is exactly 6 miles square. Its only school house is in the exact center of the township. If all the roads run parallel to the boundaries of the township, and the school house is on a road, how far will the pupil who is the greatest distance possible from the school have to drive or walk to school ? A man had a crop of 2,000 barrels of apples, which he sold at $2.00 per barrel. In raising and harvesting the crop, he had employed 15 men 10 days each, at $2.00 per day, to pick the apples; he had spent in fertilizer $400. Counting his own time he had spent in spraying and cultivating $500.00. What was the net income of his apple crop ? A man invests in 20 acres of land for a truck farm, at $200 per acre. He erects buildings costing $5,000. He purchases farm equipment and machinery for $1,000. His annual net income from the farm after deducting wages for himself was $2,000. What percent did he receive on his investment? The results of the test indicate that In over 50% of the classes less than 10% of both boys and girls ob- tained correct answers to any question except the fourth In less than one quarter of the total number of classes, both boys and girls, did 90% or over of those present give correct answers to problems 2, 3 and 5. The greatest success was obtained on problem 4. The classes, 90% of whose membership worked this correctly, were approximately 40% of the total number of classes While no definite conclusion can be drawn from the small number of centralized township, special district and village schools examined it is interesting to note that 144 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVE\ REPORT Centralized schools did not have so large a proportion of classes which fell below 10% of correct answers on any problems and had more which surpassed 90% of correct answers than did one room town- ship schools While a smaller proportion of classes in village schools fell below 10% of correct answers, a much smaller proportion of village classes obtained 90% or over of correct answers than was the case with classes in one room township schools The rural environment is apparently an excellent one for obtaining good results in arithmetic. The unsupervised one room township schools surveyed had a higher per cent of very bright pupils in arithmetic than did the village schools visited, while the supervised and graded centralized schools made a better record than either. Closer grading and supervision would soon place the results of arithmetic teaching in rural schools on a par with, if not in ad- vance of, the best in village and city schools CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 145 6S a 3 *" «t« SI 10 04 M T" cm in » t- OJCM ■«- ii m >> J* If) Wr- OlO CJT- Ol 0<* W MIO CM04 01 « m ^ CO • rH rH • rH en ■*-» n rH rH r* . r-f rH r^ O 00 m £ 09 rH ■rH X 00 O £M rH Hr- rH r-t CO rHiN rHr- NH rHrH O # V 'So t- m fR a IK CO ITSrH rHCN rH c- £ +j w >> "* cq CO t-rH rHCv IO ■N (0 (0 c C0 a m £ U3 CO COrH Hr OOrH rHr- CO • rH CO u E» rH rH so Ol rH 00 rH CM u u» ffl * 10 ^ CO to > N cq j-4 r- l-i ■* 3 * in OO W rH CO C\ W rH ,_ fc- t-rH rH u O 2 >> in rHCV rH NN ION CO • ■O . O O 0) CO ffl * 05 CO r ■rH rt ,_, CO fc CO 9 m rH r. tH r- COrH r-t CO f • ,_ rH C r- 1 rH rH O iH « s to t3 (O CO CO din mir en OlO "fr^ to > O n lOrH eot- lOrH Wt- lOrH «>t- IQrH CO fr- r4 ©rH rH OH rH rH rH £.3 8.3* .S OS'S* °a^ : o.&'SS : OJJN 0^2 N fH^^ • ^.s w o-y Of* a O ra i> rt , te (-. «S 6* — Odd) t-^ O UW > O 003 > O Oco > O- OCtf > GQ a •d fl , H-» to O ■ O 5 u 3 O fc fo CQ EH fc fe 146 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT RESULTS OP ARITHMETIC TEST IN 71 SCHOOLS IN A REPRESENTATIVE COUNTY Problems* Percentage of 1 2 3 4 5 38. 8 50. 26.3 27 57.5 52.6 68.4 60 40. Correct answers by girls 44.7 *The problems given in the spring were the same as those given in the fall (printed above) with the exception of the figures in the last 2 Teaching of geography As is indicated by table on p. 127 the teaching of geography in the schools visited was extremely weak in that Teachers too frequently resorted to questions which indicated the answers Teachers unnecessarily told the answers to their classes Half the teachers visited held very closely to the book while teaching Children rarely were sent to the maps or blackboard Children rarely asked questions of any kind The teachers and pupils in many schools particularly rural schools are handicapped by an insufficient supply or an entire lack of maps and charts. Twenty-five per cent of the one room township schools visited had neither map or chart, while another 25% were in- adequately supplied The time spent in teaching could be greatly shortened and the teach- ing made more effective if every school were supplied with pro- jection apparatus and where possible with moving picture ma- chines. Seeing life-like pictures of the real things and people spoken of in the geography would greatly stimulate the imagina- tion and interest and deepen the impression. If geography is the study of man in his natural environment, surely no subject should lend itself more readily to this method Sample notes on lessons in geography reported from the field 1 "Teacher conducted a creditable lesson in longitude and time, which in- dicated that he had the subject well in hand. He exhibited a fair de- gree of teaching skill. He used blackboard illustrations freely, making matter clear to pupils. No work was done at the board by pupils, probably owing to the poor condition of the board" CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 147 2 "As I approached I heard the teacher while still fifty yards away. Teacher fairly shouted when teaching a class in primary geography. Both teacher and pupils held open books before them. Teacher said, "It asks, 'Where is Tasmania?' " Teacher and pupils both hunt for answer, pupils singing out answers in unison. Teacher repeated an- swer. The teacher asked, 'What is a geyser?' No reply. Teacher, 'A place in the earth where what issues forth?' Still no answer. The teacher answered, 'Fire and steam.' Teacher, 'It says Vancouver is noted for what?' Children answered, 'Gold and copper.' Teacher re- peated answer. Teacher, 'Why has railroads been built to gold and copper mines?" Children answered, 'To carry it away.' Teacher, 'Why is Australia called the Switzerland of the south ?' No answer. Teacher, 'Because it is small and rocky like Switzerland.' Teacher, 'Is there no place where education is not far advanced?' Children, 'Africa' " 3 " 'What is the next state farther down? What is the capital? Now let's get farther over. Why are these called the Great Lakes? Are they salt or fresh ? What one touches our state ? What is the capital of New York? Pennsylvania? Ohio? Indiana? Illinois? Now get up to Wisconsin. What is its capital?' Children hesitated. Teacher says 'It has the same name as one of our presidents.' This at once roused the apperceptive masses of the children who replied, 'Wilson'. 'No.' 'Jefferson.' Then the teacher said, 'No, the president who comes after Jefferson'. The teacher told, 'Madison'. What is the capital of Michigan?' The teacher told. 'What is the capital of Minnesota? It is named after you,' said the teacher to one boy. 'Name the central states. What is the capital of West Virginia? It, too, is named after a man. Which ones west of the Mississippi? What is the capital of Missouri? It is named after the president you missed a little while ago.' Again the children said 'Wilson,' and were told 'Jefferson City'. 'What is the capital of Iowa?' Teacher told, 'Des (pronounced Dez) Moines. 'What is the capital of North Dakota?' 'Bismark.' 'What is the capital of South Dakota?' 'Pierre.' 'That is named after an- other man. What is the capital of Nebraska? That is the name of another president.' Children hesitated. Teacher said, 'He is a tall fellow who used to split rails.' Then the answer came 'Lincoln.' Com- ment by teacher at close, 'You will have these over in other grades. Up in the seventh grade children do not always know these, and even some others.' Assignment: 'Study, commence right here, take down to here 'where small fruits grow' " I48 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Teaching of history The teaching of history in the elementary schools is marred by the same defects as the teaching of geography. In a large proportion of exercises seen Teachers used questions which unnecessarily suggested the answers Teachers were guilty of unnecessary "telling" There was no fluent recitation, answers in most cases being merely yes or no There was little sign of real self activity or self expression on the part of the pupils, questions of any kind asked by pupils being extremely rare (See table p. 127) The teaching of history needs to be vitalized by the use of lantern slide, moving picture views, school historical collections made by pupils, and other similar devices. History could be made the bearer of much moral instruction if children could be made to feel its reality and vital human interest Extracts from field notes on 2 history lessons observed 1 "Teacher called the primary history class and said, 'John, you begin. Apparently each pupil had prepared several questions, not only upon the present assignment, but upon previous work. John read 1 of his questions and called on Jane to answer, and Jane answered if she could. Another was called on. The pupils then informally discussed the ques- tion. The teacher occasionally commended, added to the question and to the answer, but the recitation was strictly a pupils' exercise. The teacher inspired enthusiasm, energy and control as well as dil- , igence in the class room. This shows what can be done by a live teacher with practically no equipment" 2 "Teacher asks the children to outline Cleveland's administration on the board. Teacher asked dates of the Spanish war, and the date of the battle of Manila. Teacher, 'Who fought it?' Children, 'Dewey.' Teacher, 'Name some other commanders.' Children after long silence, 'Roosevelt.' Teacher, 'Who was Sampson?' Teacher after long si- lence, 'Who was Sampson, anybody ;know ?* 'Why he was the hero who sunk the Merrimac, was he not?' Silence. Teacher, 'Who shot McKinley?' Children, 'Czolgosz.' Teacher, 'Where?' Children, 'At a fair.' Teacher, 'How long did he live?' No answer. After a few more such questions, the assignment was given. No attention was paid to the work on the board" CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION I49 Teaching of physiology and hygiene This is one of the most abused subjects of the course of study. Of late there has undoubtedly been much improvement through the adoption of up-to-date text books, and occasionally refreshing ex- amples of definite, concrete, vital teaching of hygiene is seen. The director observed a lesson in hygiene by a teacher in a one room rural school in which personal hygiene was treated from the stand- point of good taste and good breeding and from the standpoint of duty to society. The children in this school are taught how to use tooth brushes properly, and are not only supplied with indi- vidual drinking cups, but are provided with means to keep them clean. Too many teachers, however, teach directly from the book and unnecessary telling is very prevalent. In this subject where every child should be required to react on the various problems discussed, questions asked or observations volunteered by pupils are extremely rare (See table p. 127) Field reports of 2 lessons in physiology and hygiene 1 "Teacher, 'Tell about the brain.' Pupil, 'Brain weighs about 3 pounds. It is the most precious organ in the body. It is curved at the ends and looks like a silk handkerchief crumpled up. It has 3 parts, the cerebrum, the cerebellum and .' Teacher, 'What about the spinal nerves?' Pupil, 'The spinal nerves are in the back bone, and if anything hits you . They branch from the spinal cord.' Teacher, 'They come between what?' No answer. 'Did you ever see the back- bone of a hog ? Can you pick it apart ? Well the spinal nerves come out there. What are the cranial nerves ?' 'They are in the skull and look like a telephone system.' 'What is the central nervous system?' Pupil, 'The brain.' Teacher, 'Tell about the sympathetic system.' Pupil, 'It is under our own control, and if you hear any cries, it stirs you up — little stations called ganglia. Reflex action is when somebody hits you it don't have to go to the brain. If it does it would not get back so quick.' Teacher, 'Tomorrow we begin at 'Importance of Reflex Ac- tion' page '" 2 "Teacher, 'What is our lesson about? Is it about the effect of alcohol on the stomach?' Pupil, 'Yes.' Teacher, 'When people want to pre- serve a piece of meat they put it in alcohol don't they?' Pupil, 'Yes.' Teacher, 'When you want to keep dead bodies you embalm them don't you?' Pupil, 'Yes.' Teacher, 'So this alcohol then must embalm this meat, must it not?' * Pupil, 'Yes.' Teacher, 'So if anyone should take 150 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT alcohol into his stomach it would embalm the stomach, wouldn't it?' Pupil, 'Yes.' Teacher, 'Isn't it strange then that men would take alco- hol into the stomach if it embalms their stomach ?' Pupil, 'Yes' " Teaching of manual training, domestic science and agriculture Only 1 one room township school out of 592, 1 centralized or consol- idated school out of 17, no special district schools out of 13, 1 village school out of 13, and 1 high school out of 22, made any provision what- ever for the teaching of manual training The teaching of domestic science is in practically the same condition. Where found, the equipment in both manual training and domestic science is usually excellent and in some cases remarkably good Where centralization or consolidation is impossible the traveling teacher of these branches affords the only solution of the question of how to obtain effective teaching in manual training and domestic arts. Even the traveling teacher cannot solve the difficulty con- nected with obtaining proper equipment for one room schools The equipment for teaching agriculture leaves much to be desired Only 5 one room township schools out of 592 visited, 6 centralized or consolidated schools out of 17, no special district school out of 13, 3 village schools out of 13, and 6 high schools out of 22 had Babcock testers. A similar condition existed as to microscopes and other apparatus The accompanying table gives the results of a questionnaire to super- intendents of schools CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 151 APPARATUS FOR TEACHING AGRICULTURE Apparatus and equipment Township Special Village City Number of districts asked to re- port Number of districts reporting Number having Milk tester Seed tester Corn tester Microscope Chemical laboratory at disposal' of agricultural class Botanical laboratofy at disposal of agricultural class Milk separator Apparatus illustrating capillarity.. Apparatus illustrating osmosis Grafting tools Apparatus illustrating drainage . . . Germinator Fertilizer Collections Slides Spraying apparatus Pruning apparatus Garden tools Incubator Soil tester : Miscellaneous Nothing 264 98 46 17 17 17 12 2 1 11 4 2 7 7 4 3 1 1 10 21 172 48 14 7 6 7 1 3 6 17 425 188 64 44 26 46 19 3 5 8 4 7 7 12 3 80 61 8 6 7 7 7 38 50 8 33 The table indicates clearly the extreme meagerness of the apparatus in most schools. Even such apparatus as corn testers and devices for illustrating drainage, both of which can be made easily by pupils and teachers, are found in but a small percentage of the schools. Some schools have manufactured large quantities of agri- cultural apparatus and appreciate it more than if they had bought expensive equipment. Of course many pieces must be bought, but the cost of the necessary apparatus for the elementary rural school is extremely small. There is really no good reason why 35% of special district schools, 21% of township schools and 26% of village schools reported by superintendents should have no agricultural apparatus While undoubtedly the best work in the teaching of agriculture is done in connection with one acre plots on the farms from which the pupils come, yet the school garden serves a useful purpose in supplying material for classroom instruction and in making simple experiments possible. There is a woeful lack of school gardens either ornamental or utilitarian in connection with rural schools 152 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT In many districts the absence of apparatus, school gardens, one acre plots for boys on their father's farms, has reacted unfavorably on the character of agricultural teaching. When one considers in ad- dition to this, the large number of untrained teachers, it is no wonder that so much of the instruction is mechanical and bookish. The possibilities of agricultural teaching are shown by the excellent results in many communities and the wonderful success of the Corn Boys' movement (See Chapter XV) Descriptions of actual lessons in agriculture reported from the field 1 "The lesson in agriculture was on drainage. The class was attentive and interested. The teacher's questioning was splendid and her ap- proach appealed to the children" 2 "One interesting lesson in agriculture was observed. The lesson was about cell structure in plants. The pupils were quick to take the initia- tive. The teacher asked many 'what' and 'why' questions. Her illus- trations were practical. The class talked about their observations of .yeast in bread making. The cause of the killing of tobacco plants by frost was discussed. The teacher emphasized su'ch vital points as the growth of cells and cell structure and told pupils of an experiment to work out at home" 3 "The class in agriculture was not so well prepared as might be, owing to lack of time for study of the lesson. The boys in the class are vitally interested in the subject. The experiments called for in the test are performed, making the work quite realistic" 4 "This lesson was taught entirely without the book and without a sign of apparatus" 5 "Questions asked from the book. There was very little discussion. Pupils took turns reading from the book. The teaching followed the book exactly. There was no appartus available" 6 "The parasites and means of killing them were discussed. There was no apparatus for conducting experiments" 7 "Teacher : 'Yesterday we studied what?' Teacher : 'You explain evapo- ration in plants'. Long answer by pupil. Teacher : 'Is water necessary to plants? Explain why?' Pupil: 'If we cut off 2 plants and put but 1 in water the other plant will droop.' Teacher: 'How, do growing plants get water?' Pupil: 'Through roots.' Teacher: 'Yes. Leaves cannot take in water, therefore they will what ?' Pupil : 'Die.' Teacher : 'What about soil around plants if you don't keep weeds out during dry CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 153 weather ?' Pupil : 'Weeds take all the water from plants, and they will die.' Teacher: 'What should farmers and gardeners think about?' Pupil: 'Waste of soil water.' Teacher: 'What takes up soil water?' Pupil: 'Weeds and underbrush.' Teacher: 'For next lesson take pages . Class excused" 8 "Text was read as an ordinary reading lesson. No attempt on part of teacher to see whether children had any idea of meaning of what they read. Teacher spoke during lesson only to pronounce words the children did not know, until close of lesson when the teacher spoke as follows: 'How many have seen alfalfa growing? Two. Alfalfa doesn't grow as well here as out west. It is a deeper green. They do not raise much clover out there, but alfalfa instead. We must take time . for exercises this morning. Take to page . Class excused' " 9 "The agriculture class was held during the last 15 minutes. The teacher was hurried ; she wanted to make a car. She used her book throughout the entire lesson. It was developed in somewhat this way: 'What do we mean by the word soil? What do we use true soil for? What do we need crops for? What is the difference between subsoil and true soil ? What is the difference between subsoil and true soil in a desert ?' (She read answers from the book whenever child failed to answer.) She tells of nearby examples of true and subsoil. 'How did soil orig- inate?' Children suggested that the glacier, insects, heat and cold pro- duced it. Also washing of rocks, dying trees, running water wearing through rock makes soil" In all, 71 lessons in agriculture were reported from one room township schools. Although one might naturally expect that the experience of the children and the wealth of material for illustration would lift the teaching of agriculture in rural schools above the plane of ordinary subjects yet the common errors made in teaching these subjects are at least as common in the teaching of agriculture, e. g. in 40 exercises teacher taught entirely from the text. In 20 teachers asked questions, unnecessarily suggesting answers. In all exer- cises teachers "told" pupils the answers. In 14 exercises the pupils recited in the exact words of the book. In 10 exercises teacher asked questions which, for the most part, required yes and no answers only In only 3 cases out of 71 are pupils recorded as being sent to the black board In fine in many districts the teaching of agriculture which should be the basic subject of the curriculum is too bookish, fails to connect 154 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT the subject matter with the lives of the pupils, and falls far short of its possibilities in developing the initiative and character of the pupils Notwithstanding all shortcomings of regular school instruction in agri- culture in many districts, the work of outside agencies in cooperat- ing with the schools (Chapter XV), and the holding of district agricultural exhibits have done much to stimulate interest in agri-< culture among the boys in the schools. Of the township districts reporting 30%, of the special 18%, and of the village 13%, have held school agricultural exhibits within the last 5 years As to the result of agricultural teaching, about 8% of the superintendents reporting declare that it is too early to judge of the results of the work as the law making it compulsory has been in actual operation but a lit- tle over 2 years. Sixteen percent say that the teaching of agriculture has resulted in greater interest in farming and rural life on the part of both boys and parents. Twelve districts reported that boys were being effectively influenced to stay on the farms while in 15 districts boys have gone to agricultural college as a direct result of school work. Seven districts report that agriculture in the school curriculum has in- creased the active interest of farmers in the schools Fifty-five districts report that methods learned in the schools have been put into actual practice on the farm. Typical extracts from superintendents' letters follow : "Country people have realized the value of high school education. Sixty-three out of 152 pupils in our high school are from the country, paying tuition or having the township pay it for them (From a village superintendent) "Results gratifying: Boys and girls are suggesting to parents better methods. We have had more than 100 pupils in the high school studying agriculture in each of the past 3 years" (From a city super- intendent) "More interest is being taken in farming. Farmers are more careful in selecting and testing seeds; better grades of stock kept; more at- tention to proper feeding. These are brought home through the school" (From a township superintendent) "It has led to a keener interest in all phases of agriculture, and an ex- pressed determination to stay on the farm, and put thought and work into it" (From a special district superintendent) CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 155 Is a rural school like this too good to be true? A school with i A school board made up of men and women with a clear in- sight into the meaning of rural life, and who look upon money put into schools, not as an expenditure, but as an investment 2 Teachers in thorough sympathy with rural life 3 A principal hired for n months, who shall teach agriculture during the school year, and supervise the work of the boys on their one acre plots during the summer 4 A teacher of domestic science who in the summer months shall cooperate with mothers in supervising the girls in the actual practice of household arts 5 Trained teachers 6 A course of study in which the activities of the locality shall be made the points of departure of the school curriculum, e. g. in a rural district, a course of study in which arithmetic, read- ing, writing, geography, etc., shall be closely correlated with agriculture which should be the unifying element in all school work in rural schools 7 An experimental plot of i acre or over 8 A baseball diamond 9 A well appointed gymnasium for boys and girls io An assembly room for school and community gatherings ii A house for the principal in close proximity to the school, owned by the district, but occupied free of rent by the principal Such a school would Hold its principal and teachers who would be not merely in, but, of the community Inculcate the dignity of rural life and hold boys and girls on the farm Be a center of social interest and community gatherings Insure to the pupils the best things of city schools while securing all the advantage of life in rural surroundings Secure the loyalty and affection of every boy and girl, father and mother in the community I56 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Constructive suggestions It is recommended that Strong agricultural courses be established in all high schools which shall take up the training of teachers Part time and continuation agricultural schools be established as part of a state wide system of part time and continuation voca- tional education VIII CLASS ROOM AND GENERAL EQUIPMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS General equipment A field study of equipment in 592 one room township schools, 17 cen- tralized township elementary schools, 13 special district elementary schools, 13 village elementary schools and 22 high schools shows that The centralized school is on the average much better supplied than the one room rural school, with educational, social center and san- itary equipment The high schools have a relatively strong hold on the public purse Assembly halls are rarely found except in centralized or consolidated schools, village schools and high schools Taken as a whole, all sorts of elementary schools are poorly provided with projective apparatus, which might be used in regular school work or in social center work School museums are found in but a small proportion of schools Over a third of the schools have individual drinking cups, but a very small fraction provide sanitary receptacles for these The water bucket, open to the dust of the school room, is still too common Proportion of Individual Drinking- Cups (456 Schools ported on by examiners) 044440 Common Cup 677fo □ Individual Cup 323% (157) i58 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT GENERAL EQUIPMENT Township Special District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of schools visited 592 3 4 5 1 1 1 3 6 153 319 21 30 21 5 17 8 1 6 1 1 2 8 6 4 6 1 2 2 13 13 3 2€ Kind of equipment found Assembly halls 10 2 Babcock testers 3 6 Projection apparatus . . 3 Manual training equip- ment, etc 1 2 4 3 3 5 1 Cooking equipment, etc. 1 Microscope 7 Sanitary drinking 8 Individual cups Common drinking cup. Dustproof cabinet for 2 4 6 1 3 Dustproof water con- 1 1 12 1 4 1 Seating A study of the same schools from the standpoint of seating showed that Nearly one-twentieth of the children were sitting in seats obviously too large Over one-twenty-fifth were sitting in large seats with small low desks in front Over 50% of the children in rural schools occupy sittings in which the relative position of seats and desks are incorrect Few schools have adjustable sittings and many provide but 1 or 2 sizes of seats for the children in all the grades No schools were found which had broken loose from the tradition of screwed-to-the-floor furniture, although such a departure would tend to conserve the health and happiness of the children and would throw open thousands of school rooms for community use without the great expenditure entailed by special assembly rooms. Furni- PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT 159 ture can be obtained which will "stay put" during use. Even if this were not so, the use of immovable furniture in one room schools is entirely unnecessary, as with proper exits and plenty of windows there is absolutely no danger from fire. The health of pupils is the first consideration and must be safeguarded even if we are com- pelled to build nothing but one story and two story fire proof school buildings. It is encouraging to notice that the new normal school at Kent has installed movable furniture in the elementary school Bad seating reported in one room township schools (in 5y2 schools visited) Seats improperly placed Large seats, small desks Seats too large or small 4207 911 919 SEATING Township Special District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of schools 592 17 13 13 22 Kinds of sittings found Percents Adjustable sittings. . . . Seats and desks sep- 3.6 96.4 24.0 76.0 47.1 40.1 12.8 6.7 93.3 14.4 85.6 52.5 36.6 10.9 3.9 96.1 16.6 83.4 54.8 34.6 10.6 100.0 24.0 76.0 84.8 14.2 1.0 100.0 12.2 Seats and desks at- 87.8 Sittings in which seats reach under the 66.9 Sittings in which seats reach just to desks. Sittings in which seats do not, reach to 26.7 6.4 i6o OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT NUMBER OF SIZES OF SITTINGS PER ROOM Township Special District One Room Centralized Number of classrooms reported on. . . 592 550 25 17 13 13 Sittings of Percents 2.2 25.3 72.5 17.6 35.3 47.1 38.5 61.5 SOME UNDESIRABLE AND DISTINCTLY BAD SEATING CONDITIONS Township One Room Centralized Special District Village Total Number of sittings re- ported on Number of seats too large (feet dangling) Seats too small Double sittings Seats and desks not corresponding in size 18,285 779 140 2,113 911 746 14 84 13 449 61 2 135 18 925 14 8 46 21 20,405 868 164 2,294 963 bo 3 PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT 161 CARE OF SEATS Township Special District Village One Room Centralized Number of classrooms visited . . . Number of classrooms reported 592 582 26 24 13 13 25 23 Sittings Percents *Some marked 47.3 -| 65.4 28.7 34.5 25.0 25.0 37.5 62.5 53.8 61.5 7.7 61.5 34.8 30.4 Some rickety 4.3 In good condition 69.6 ♦Percentages do not add up to 100% because of duplication in the first 3 items Chairs for visitors Of the one-room township classrooms visited 70%. had 1 ordinary chair or less, 19.3% had 2 chairs and only 10.7% had more than 2 chairs Recitation benches Of the one room township schoolrooms visited 12.3% had no benches for children reciting. In such cases children either recited at their seats or had to remain standing during recitations. Over 10% of the schools visited had room for less than 6 children each on recitation benches Decorations The proper decoration of a school building has much to do with its "atmosphere." The unconscious influence of beautiful surroundings on taste and character cannot be overestimated. The beautiful school tends to produce the beautiful home. The home beautiful goes far towards solving the problem of rural efficiency 11 s. s, 1 62 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT PICTURES Township Special District Village High One Room Centralized ' School Number of school- Number reported on. . 592 564 26 23 13 12 23 19 34 22 Number of pictures Percents 18.3 34.6 47.1 34.8 30.4 34.8 33.3 25.0 41.7 15.8 31.6 52.6 9.1 72.7 18.2 Character of pictures In some schools excellent taste has been shown in the choice of pictures. In some, pictures good but inappropriate are hung. In many schools the only pictures are from calendars, magazines % and daily newspapers. Perry pictures, religious, historical, and landscape pictures are com- mon. In general the pictures in rural schools are in extremely cheap form, poorly selected, and few in number Other decorations Forty-five percent of the one room township schools report some decorations other than pictures. In most cases the examiners re- port these as unkempt. Dust covered evergreens, oak leaves, flags, corn, drawings, curtains, mottoes, flowers, paper chains, and adver- tisements are frequently referred to. Some of these decorations were excellent when new and are monuments to the activity of some live teacher. Succeeding teachers have simply neglected to either remove or keep in good shape the decorations on the walls. There are enough well decorated schools of all kinds in Ohio to show what can be done in all schools with energetic leadership and loyal popular support Color of walls and ceilings At least is colors for walls and ceilings were reported from the field. In rural and special schools a clean light buff or light green was exceed- ingly rare. Many walls were papered and some whitewashed. One school reported brown paper with red and green figures. One reported walls newly papered with extremely attractive paper PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT 163 Thermometers Thermometers were located in all sorts of positions in the school room from the teacher's desk to right in front of the window. There was no uniformity in the height of thermometers above the floor The readings of the thermometer, of course, had no significance in the September and October survey. Except in one case, where the daily variation was 14 degrees, it did not exceed 10 Blackboards Centralized and consolidated schools are much better supplied with blackboards both as to quality and quantity than the one room town- ship schools Slate blackboards are fast replacing wood and plaster boards Most schools, even modern ones in many cases, neglect the needs of the smaller children in the placing of blackboards. Of one room township schools, 452 or 78.1% of the total number surveyed had • no blackboards the lower edges of which were not over 30 inches from the floor. This entails either the non-use of the boards by the smaller children or their use under unnecessary difficulties KIND OP BLACKBOARDS Township Special District Village One Room Centralized Number of classrooms visited... 592 591 26 26 13 12 25 23 Composition of blackboards Percents 16.9 13.4 9.3 67.1 33.3 8.3 8.3 50.0 8.3 24.8 7.7 15.4 92.3 78.2 ""These percentages do not add up to 100% because of the duplications — usually slate combined with some other 164 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT AREA OF BLACKBOARDS Township Special District Village One Room Centralized Number of classrooms visited . . . Number of classrooms reported 592 535 26 22 3 13 25 21 Area in square feet Percents .7 4.7 49.5 45.1 Twenty-five to fifty 7.7 15.4 76.9 Fifty to one hundred 8.3 91.7 9.5 One hundred or over 90.5 « Chalk and erasers Of 259 one room township schoolrooms visited and reported on 45.2% used some form of dustless crayon. Twenty-three per cent of the erasers were felt, 76% felt and wood. One per cent used cloth, wool and other forms of erasers. In general, little attention is given in rural, special district and village schools to the chalk dust nuisance Teachers' desks Sixteen of the one room township schools visited had no teacher's desk Sand tables Of the one room township school rooms visited, 2.1% had sand tables; of the special district schools 15.4% and of the village schools 15% Slates Of 592 schools visited 538 reported on this item. All the children used slates in 86 schools, some of the children, in 332 schools, and no chil- dren used slates in 120 schools. Children were observed in many cases using nature's method of cleaning — saliva and the hands Individual pencils In only 7.6% of one room rural schools visited were lead pencils used indiscriminately by pupils. In the others each child possessed his individual pencil PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT 165 Maps This table should be considered in connection with the discussion of the teaching of geography, pp. 146 and 147 and with paragraph 13 under "Interior Views," p. 108 NUMBER OF MAPS Township Special District Village One Room 1 Centralized Number of classrooms visited . . . Number reported on 592 537 26 10 13 8 25 g Amount of maps Percents 25.7 25.7 48.6 10.0 60.0 30.0 63.5 37.5 12 5 87.5 KIND OP MAPS Township Special District Village One Room Centralized Number of schools visited 592 17 13 13 Kind of maps Numbers • 398 259 262 138 12 11 14 1 12 4 5 7 3 Globe 5 Books Age of text-books In the September and October field work a record was made where possible, of the age of text-books in use in the schools. The figures on the whole do not indicate any undue rapidity in the change of text-books. In reading, language and geography particularly, i66 OHIO STATE SCHOOL. SURVEY REPORT efficiency would be promoted by changes of text-books where edi- tions used are from 14 to 34 years old. Some cases have been brought to the attention of the commission where wholesale changes have been made and unmade within the space of a few weeks. The field survey has not discovered such cases, but they could be made impossible if the law allowing the change of text-books on a four-fifths vote before the five year period of adoption is up, were re- pealed. The state Superintendent of Public Instruction might be authorized to allow such changes on petition from boards of educa- tlon DATES OF EDITIONS OF TEXT-BOOKS Subjects Before 1880 1880- 1890 1890- 1900 1900- 1910 1910- 1913 Total Reading Language Primary arithmetic . Advanced arithmetic Geography Civics , Physiology Total 2 2 10 8 22 5 17 32 26 5 6 21 1 47 138 85 82 107 112 109 2 44 541 5 9 11 5 7 39 76 125 128 134 132 137 3 135 794 Supplementary readers This table indicates that probably 79% of the one room township schools in Ohio provide no supplementary readers for the use of teachers and pupils. Under such a condition the aridity and mechanical nature of the teaching of reading, history and geography observed in many dis- tricts, is hardly to be wondered at Township Special District Village One Room 1 Centralized • Number of classrooms visited . . . Number of classrooms reported 592 428 26 13 13 5 25 17 Number of sets of supplementary readers Percents 79.2 18.7 2.1 .339 23.1 53.8 23.1 13 20.0 80.0 17 7 52 9 29 4 Actual number having no sup- 5 17 PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT l67 Teacher's desk books In 79.4% of one room township schools and 76.5% of all others in- cluding high schools visited in October the teacher supplied desk books out of her own pocket. It is not just to the teacher getting $40 per month to require her to purchase the necessary desk books, especially as books change from district to district. It is not good business to leave it to the teacher as in many cases no one buys the desk books and as a result the teacher comes to school poorly pre- pared and time is lost in borrowing books from pupils Township . Special District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of schools 592 465 26 25 13 11 25 22 34 Number of classrooms 31 Teacher's desk books Percents Poorly supplied 52.0 48,0 92.0 8.0 45.5 54.5 72.7 27.3 80.6 19.4 Libraries About 25% of the books in libraries of one room township schools had been added within a year. This indicates rapid improvement Over 25% of the township schools visited had no libraries. One school visited had had a library but the board of education discontinued it because "the children were reading the books too much, and the board feared that the regular school work would suffer" One hundred and eighty schools or 25% of 635 surveyed had no dic- tionaries. These included centralized, village, elementary, and high schools Only 2 traveling libraries were found in the 592 one room township schools visited 1 68 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT CARE OP BOOKS AND DISTRIBUTION ACCORDING TO SUBJECT MAT- TER, IN ONE ROOM TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS Condition of Books New Good Fair Poor Total" 2,689 5,893 2,142 581 11,305 Kind of books Percents Fiction History Biology Poetry Science Dictionaries . Encyclopedia Miscellaneous Total. , 48.6 45.2 31.9 39.9 17.2 18.0 23.9 22.7 8.3 8.3 11.7 2.9 4.4 4.6 7.8 3.3 5.6 7.1 6.1 2.8 1.9 1.1 4.2 10.3 3.4 7.9 5.2 9.6 10.4 7.8 9.1 8.4 100. 100. 100. 100. 43.2 19.2 8.7 5.1 6.3 2.3 6.4 8.7 100. LACK OF LIBRARY FACILITIES Township Special District Village High 1 1 One Room | Centralized School Number of schools . . . 592 166 97 17 13 6 3 1 13 22 No library except die- Some books but no 153 186 242 259 263 155 237 1 1 1 2 3 3 1 3 ( 5 5 Dictionaries 6 6 6 6 Libraries in Township Schools I No library SiNo library except dictionary □ Library beside dictionary PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT 169 Constructive suggestions That every child in Ohio may be provided with a place to sit which will not militate against his proper physical growth in a school with all essential educational and sanitary equipment it is recom- mended that the state Superintendent of Public Instruction 1 Be authorized and required to issue instructions to boards of education regarding the proper seating, equipment and sanitation of school buildings (See also chapter XXII) 2 Be authorized and required to hold up the payment of any special state subvention to any board of education which fails to comply with these minimum requirements 3 Be authorized though not required to hold up any payment of the public school fund to any board of education which fails to comply with these requirements, until such time as the necessary changes are made Where Individual Dnnking- Cups are kept in 153 schools 13.8% in . Dustprogf cabinets 86.2.70 Elsewhere IX THE^PHYSICAL PLANT Grounds The great majority of the rural schools had a sufficient number of square feet of play area on a city basis, owing to the small number of children in the average school Less than 25% of one room township schools inspected had school lots of an acre or over Only 40 or one-sixth of the 240 rurals schools for which an estimate was made have as much as an acre usable for play purposes. Of these schools, 56%. had less than half an acre available for organized play Practically 68% of the school grounds connected with the one room township schools were in poor condition as to ornamentation. In all other schools, even village schools, unimproved and even unkempt school grounds are exceedingly common In most cases additional ground could be obtained for play purposes. In some cases children were given the use of adjoining fields In 1 case a neighboring farmer, on the strength of the terms of the deed, fenced in all the school ground except a small triangle, during a tem- porary closing of the school. This is typical of the common disregard in many rural districts for the importance of education through plays and games (170) THE PHYSICAL PLANT 171 AREA OF SCHOOL GROUNDS Township Special District 1 Village High One Room Centralized School Number of schools visited 592 57d 17 15 13 13 13 13 22 Number of schools 21 Area in square feet Percents Less than 5000 1.7 5.7 24.7 46.5 21.4 123 5000 to 10,000 10,000 to 20,000 20,000 to 44,000 Actual number with one acre or over. . . . 30.8 53.8 15.4 2 7.7 7.7 84.6 11 26.7 73.3 11 9.5 90.5 19 SCHOOL GROUNDS Total area of Scho ol Grounds OneRoom Township Schools Centralized!!: Consolidated Schools Proportion having ■less than 1 acre Dl acre and more Area available for organized play Proportion having ■less than % acre D& acre and more Ornamentation of School Grounds Proportion reported ■ Poor B Fair □Good 172 OHTO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT ORNAMENTATION OP SCHOOL GROUNDS Township Special District ' Village High One Room Centralized School Number of schools 592 545 17 15 13 12 13 12 ' 22 Number of schools reported on 14 Ornamentation Percents Good 9.9 22.2 67.9 20.0 33.3 46.7 16.7 25.0 58.3 50.0 16.7 33.3 28.6 Pair 35.7 35.7 AREA OF SCHOOL GARDENS Nnmber of Schools Visited Number Reporting Gardens Area in Square Feet 1-500 500-2000 2000 or Over One room township schools 592 44 34 6 4 (The gardens in many cases consisted simply of a few flower beds) Only 16.7% of the rural school -sites inspected were rated as poor as to natural beauty of site and 41.3% .were rated as good Almost 49%. of the school grounds were of clay. Most of the school grounds had at least fair natural drainage. In only 18.3% of the cases surveyed in October, were better sites in the vicinity readily available (Question asked in October only) THE PHYSICAL PLANT 173 AREA AVAILABLE FOR ORGANIZED PLAYS AND GAMES, SUCH AS BASE- BALL (REPORTS ONLY FROM SCHOOLS VISITED IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER) Township Special District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of schools visited 592 17 13 6 13 13 22 Number of schools reported on 240 11 20 Available play area in square feet Percents 0-5000 16.7 11.3 28.5 26.7 16.7 40 7.7 15.4 5000-10,000 16.7 5.0 10 000-20 000 9.1 18.2 72.7 8 10.0 20,000-44,000 33.3 50.0 3 38.5 38.5 5 15.0 44,000 or over Actual number with 1 acre or over 70.0 14 (An acre. = 43,560 square feet) Play apparatus Only 31 of all the elementary schools visited had any play apparatus. Twenty-four of these schools were one room rural schools. Where found, the apparatus was rather meager such as a baseball in 1 school, horseshoes and a rope in another, ninepins made from corncobs in an- other, and a ball and a bat in another Only 26 cases of home-made apparatus were reported, although the country offers a large opportunity in this line— an opportunity which affords wonderful educational advantages In 1 second grade high school visited, the boys had constructed parallel bars and an apparatus for trapeze and rings If the rural school is to recover its hold on the older boys and girls, it must not only have a larger average enrollment but the school must be made the play center of the community, not only for the boys and girls, but for the youths and maidens, the fathers and the mothers. Is it not possible for a very large proportion of rural 174 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT schools to maintain baseball diamonds for use not only at recess and before and after school, but on Saturday afternoons when the non-school- going population might have its chance? Buildings Age of buildings Of the one room township schools visited 73.5% were at least 20 years old. Many were of unknown age. Some were over three- quarters of a century old Cloakrooms Only 28.3% of the one room township and 46.1% of the special district schools reported on had any form of cloakrooms, and only 17.3% of the one room township and 38.4% of the special district schools had separate cloakrooms for the sexes. In 13 schools clothing was piled on desks, seats or window sills Closets for apparatus One hundred eight of the 657 schools visited in all sorts of districts had no closets for storing apparatus. Such closets are extremely rare in rural schools. Where found the closets are usually small and not adapted to their purpose Repair of buildings Forty-seven per cent of the one room township schools and 38.5% of the special district schools reported on are badly in need of repair Among common repairs needed are new roofs, plastering, new privies, doors in privies, new window-shades, new door steps, new black- boards, new doors, new floors, replacing of window-glass, etc. Some schools were reported as "beyond repair." The disastrous moral effect on the communities of neglected public property is obvious. Opposite pp. 176 and 177 are cuts of actual conditions found during the survey THE PHYSICAL PLANT 175 STATE OP REPAIR OF BUILDINGS Township Special ■District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of schools visited 592 562 17 15 13 13 13 13 22 Number of schools 19 Buildings Percents 47.3- 52.7 86.7 13.3 61.5 38.5 100. 89.5 10.5 Entries Out of the 578 township and special district schools reported on 38.8% had no entry ways, and 37.1% had entries of less than 30 square feet in area. Schools with entries larger than this were almost always in villages or centralized districts Lighting of buildings Experience in many cities has shown that poor lighting of school buildings not only seriously affects the character and amount of school work which can be done in a day, but often leads to the permanent injury of the vision of school children. On the other hand experience has shown that poor lighting is one of the most easily corrected of evils even in old buildings, and that correction is almost immediately followed by improvement which can be readily measured. In an eastern city the annual sight test revealed the fact that 1 building showed a consistent percentage of poor eye- sight from year to year of 25% while in other buildings the per- centage ranged from 8 to 12%. The increase in the amount of light- ing by 50%, brought about by the insertion of 2 additional win- dows in each room, in 2 years reduced the percentage of poor vision to the level of other schools. The drop the first year was of course due largely to the improved condition under which the tests were held. The drop the second year was mainly due to actual improvement in the vision of the children in the school. In none of these schools were the lighting conditions ideal. It is not 176 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT necessary in order to improve conditions to meet all requirements of the most advanced practice. Much can be done at small expense by the insertion of more windows in old buildings The field study as well as returns from teachers' institutes indicate that Lighting from 1 side only was found rarely except in centralized schools and high schools Of the one room township schools about 60% are lighted from 2 opposite sides, compelling all the children to sit for 6 hours a day in cross lights and half the children to write with the chief light coming over the right shoulder According to the field survey 27%, and according to the teachers' institute returns 26.8%, of one room rural school buildings are lighted from 3 sides while some schools are lighted from 4 sides In 26% of the rural schools visited, the children, and in 41%, teachers, were compelled to face directly either the major or minor light Although the minimum essentials of good lighting demand that the window area shall be at least one-fifth of the floor area, in about 46% of the one room township and special district schools visited the window space was only one-eighth of the floor space or less — in many cases, very much less. Centralized and village elementary schools were considerably in advance of all others in this respect In many cases the bad effects of such poor lighting conditions upon the eyes of children and teachers alike are lasting The number of schools among those actually surveyed, which met the following requirements of good lighting was negligible : All lights or at least the major light coming from 1 side Window space one-fifth of floor area Side blackboards not over 25 feet from the windows Windows supplied either with both opaque and translucent shades or with apparatus to lower the roller from the top Walls tinted light buff or green Distance from top of windows to ceilings A great part of the most valuable light is lost through the common practice of dropping the window tops a foot or more below- the ceilings. In 91.7% of the one room township schools reported on, the distance from the top of the windows to the ceiling was 1 foot or over Flood not to blame for this Yard in disorder, building in poor repiir — "4r1 ' j 1 \ §04 ■ Mi . .! ■j ■ Mm mm i o o a THE PHYSICAL PLANT 177 Width of piers between windows Many children are subject to unnecessary eye strain by being required to work in half shadow, through the common practice of leaving wide piers between windows. In 94.4% of the one room township schools visited the piers between the windows were 3 feet or over in width How carefully the provisions for lighting new buildings need to be watched is indicated by the recent experience of 1 of the state normal colleges in building a model rural school. The original plans provided for proper lighting, but during the summer the plans were changed. The result is 1 room with 4 windows at the left and 3 in the rear, and 2 rooms with 3 windows at the right and 3 in the rear LIGHTING IN SCHOOLS SURVEYED Township Special District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of classrooms visited 592 545 26 22 13 12 25 25 34 Number of classrooms reported on 30 Lighting from Percents 4.4 7.3 59.4 27.0 1.8 22.7 54.5 13.6 9.1 8.0 4.0 44.0 44.0 20.0 Two adjacent sides . . . Two opposite sides . . . 50.0 8.3 25.0 16.7 16.7 12 s. s. i 7 8 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT BAD LIGHTING Township Special District Village High One Room Centralized School No. of classrooms vis- ited 592 7 19 417 41 26 13 25 34 Children facing major light Children facing minor light 3 8 1 1 2 11 Children directly be- tween 2 major lights Teacher facing major light 2 4 4 7 RELATION OP WINDOW SPACE TO PLOOR SPACE Township Special ■District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of classrooms visited 592 544 26 22 13 13 25 23 34 Number of classrooms reported on 23 Window space Percents One-fifth of floor space One-fifth to one-eighth One-eighth of floor 8.6 45.6 45.8 30.0 35.0 35.0 23.1 30.8 46.1 21.7 43.5 34.8 43.5 26.1 30.4 THE PHYSICAL PLANT 179 Ratio of window space to floor space One Room Township Centralized & Consolidated I Ratio less than 1: &[ Mdl UBetween ratios hba.n&\:5[poorl D Ratio 1:5 and over [permissible] LIGHTING IN SCHOOLROOMS REPORTED ON BY TEACHERS WHO ATTENDED TEACHERS' INSTITUTES IN 1913 Township Special District Village, Small City and High School One Room Centralized Number of classrooms reported on 3499 234 251 3099 Lighting from Percents 2.9 62.6 26.8 7.5 11.5 • * * 5.2 * • * 55.5 Two sides (usually op- * * * •Data not reliable because in answering, teachers confused room with building Heating of buildings Only 54 of the township schools and 3 of the special district schools visited had jacketed stoves. When properly constructed these stoves give, at the same time, excellent heating and ventilating facilities. Out of 10 schools in 1 county visited by the director .of survey, 2 had jacketed stoves, neither of which had either fresh air inlet nor foul i8o OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT air outlet. Jacketed stove apparatus has been dismantled in some cases -because no one knew how it should be operated. Sufficient and efficient inspection and supervision would make such conditions im- possible HEATING OP BUILDINGS SURVEYED Township Special ■District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of schools 592 587 17 10 13 12 13 12 22 Number of schools 20 Heated by Percents Ordinary stove 86.2 9.2 4.6 10.0 20.0 70.0 75.0 25.0 33.3 25.0 66.7 75.0 HEATING OP 7125 SCHOOLROOMS REPORTED ON BY TEACHERS WHO ATTENDED TEACHERS' INSTITUTES IN 1913 Township Special District Village, Small City and High School One Room Centralized Number of schools re- 3503 232 253 3137 Heated by Percents 82.6 | 34.9 7.3 11.6 TO.O ks A- 43.1 8.7 48.2 18.7 5.5 75 8 I The difficulty of properly heating one room rural schools is greatly increased in many cases by foundations which are not tight. In 181 out of 580 one-room township and special district schools re- ported on (29%), there were no foundations or the foundations were in poor condition THE PHYSICAL PLANT 181 HEATING APPARATUS INF OHIO SCHOOLS Reported by 7125 Teachers at TeachersVnstitute.sJJ13 One. Room Township. uu uu Centralized and Consolidated. Special District. u u w Village, City and High. I Ordinary Stove □JacKeted Stove, Furnace, or Ste.a.m Ventilation of buildings In over 90% of the one room schools surveyed, the only ventilation was by the windows. Window ventilation in connection with jacketed stove ventilation is thoroughly efficient. If all rural schools had win- dow boards to prevent drafts from blowing directly upon the children, even without the jacketed stove, ventilation could be made much more satisfactory than is the case at present in the average school, — more satisfactory in fact, than in many city buildings with expensive heating and ventilating plants. The simplicity of jacketed stove ventilation, aided by window ventilation, makes it easy for teachers and pupils to become expert in its management. This is a great advantage in one room rural schools which cannot have full time janitors. For educa- tional purposes this sort of ventilation is particularly valuable as the conditions more nearly approximate those of house ventilation, and as the whole apparatus is in full view of the school and lends itself easily to demonstrations before the class Centralized schools are much better provided with ventilating apparatus than are other rural schools. Of those visited 31% had force fans and 37% had some form of gravity ventilation In many schools the lack of proper ventilation is aggravated by low ceilings. Of the one room township schools surveyed, 55.2% had ceil- ings less than 12 feet high 182 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Humidifying apparatus Of 592 one room township schools visited 41 used pans of water to moisten the air. Eighty-one' had humidifying attachments on fur- naces or jacketed stoves. The rest had no way of supplying moist- ure to the air VENTILATION IN THE SCHOOLS SURVEYED Township Special District Village One Room Centralized Number of schools visited Number of schools reported on. . 592 419 17 16 13 12 13 12 Ventilated by Percents Window 91.4 8.6 31.3 37.5 31.2 5 100. 50 33.3 16.7 Actual number ventilated by 383 12 6 HEIGHT OP CEILINGS Township Special District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of classrooms visited 592 433 26 20 13 12 25 21 34 Number of classrooms 29 Ceilings Percents Ten feet high or less. 9.2 46.0 44.8 8.3 16.7 75.0 17.2 Ten to twelve feet high Twelve feet and over. 25.0 75.0 33.3 66.7 17.2 65.5 THE PHYSICAL PLANT 183 Toilets Earth closets 99.6% of the one room township, 64.6% of the centralized township, 100% of the special district, 46.1% of the village schools, and 52.4% of the high schools visited had earth closets only. Thirty-seven cases were found in all sorts of schools where the boys' and girls' privies were less than 10 feet apart. In 81.7% of all sorts of schools visited they are 30 feet apart. In 9 of the one room township schools, the 2 privies were under the same roof. At least 13 one room township schools out of 592 had only 1 privy for both sexes Three schools visited had no privies. In addition 2 were reported without privies, by teachers at teachers' institutes. One of these never had had. Such a condition is dangerous to health. Privies were reported clean in 194, and unclean in 356 one room township schools. In many schools the girls' privies are reported as clean while the boys' are reported as unclean. Urine is permitted to soak into the ground in 96.4% of the cases in one room township schools visited, 92.3% in the special district schools, in 64.3% of the centralized and consolidated schools, and 50% in the village schools and in 57.9% in the high schools. The condition of a large number of privies is filthy and tumbledown beyond de- scription Of 2,423 one room township schools reported on by teachers who attended teachers' institutes in 1913, 21.9% of the toilets were screened in some way Of the one room township schools visited 12 privies were less than 10 feet from the school building Of the one room township schools visited, 86.6% had no privy screens and of the 69 privy screens reported on for condition, 18 were in good condition, 27 in fair condition and 24 in poor condition Of 279 schools inspected in October, 96% had no water-tight or fly-tight receptacle for excreta. Flies were found in large numbers in 108 toilets and school buildings. The bearing of this condition on the transmission of disease is evident. No schools were found whose doors and windows were screened Privies were defaced by cutting in 214 schools out of 277 inspected in October. In 156 of these cases the markings and cuttings were obscene 184 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Below are some field notes : "Boys' privy without roof. No floor. Doors open with difficulty" "A wind, storm blew the privies down 2 weeks ago. Sub-director removed broken structure. Boys make use of trees and bushes some distance . from school as closets" "One privy and it is turned over'' -, "Boys' privy not usable and unspeakable" "No privies for either boys or girls. The girls use a neighbor's across the street and have for 4 years. The owner complained to the examiner that the board would not build privies saying that the children did not need them" "Boys' privy has no floor" "Privies are unspeakably filthy. The pupils going into them cannot avoid stepping into the filth and the odor from these children is noticeable in the room" Water closets One single-room township school, 7 out of 17 centralized schools and none of the special district schools had water closets The care of the physical plant General statement Of 657 teachers whose classrooms were visited, 357 did the janitor work and 353 of these were in one room township schools. Eight of these, contrary to law, received no pay for their services. Over 40% received less than $2 per month Sixty-one percent of the one room township schools reported on were dusted daily. Nine percent were dusted once a week or less About 10% of the schools used the deadly feather duster. Over 25% used damp cloths for dusting Sixty-five percent of the privies connected with the one room rural schools visited were dirty Cleanliness in Outbuildings (550 One Room Township Schools Reported on) Dirty 6 5 % □ Clean 3 5 7o THE PHYSICAL PLANT 185 Practically all privies seen were open underneath. Of those in the one room township schools visited 66% are cleaned out once each year or oftener. Thirty-three percent are never cleaned out. At least 35% of the privies of one room township schools are never inspected. What inspection is done is done mostly by teachers although 17 inspections by directors, 4 by board members and 1 by a board of health are re- ported In many districts poorly paid teachers have immaculate school build- ings and grounds only as a result of their determination to live in clean surroundings. In all too many cases they are without either the material or active moral support of their communities. The state of Ohio owes a deep debt of gratitude to her army of insufficiently paid and insufficiently trained — partly because insufficiently paid — teachers in rural communities. In many cases the teacher has to scrub the school buildings before school can be opened in Sep- tember. No fault can be found with them for failing to clean up and keep clean the dilapidated and filthy privies found on rural school lots. This is distinctly a matter to which boards of educa- tion should attend No matter how hard the teacher may work to cultivate the love of cleanliness, the desire for sanitary conditions and the joy of beau- tiful surroundings, results will be practically nil if the actual con- ditions give her teaching the lie. Proper and close supervision would, within a very short time, eradicate all the worst cases. At the present time in many districts there is no one person who re- gards it as his particular business to see that the school plant is kept in good shape at all times Care of grounds Of the one room township school grounds visited, 86% are cleaned up at least once annually. Of these about half were cleaned by the director personally. Hired labor, the teacher, the teacher and pupils, and board members did the work in other cases Care of building Of the 592 one room township school rooms visited the floors were in poor condition in 29.3%, in fair condition in 46.3%, and in good con- dition as to wear and tear in 24.4% Although so many floors are insufficiently scrubbed only 11.6% of the township schools visited used non-drying oil on the floors. Where janitor work is thoroughly done, and floors are in excellent condition, i86 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT or where a good sweeping mixture is used, oil may be unnecessary. But where there is insufficient scrubbing and surfacing of the floors, non-drying oil is the only remedy for dust. By insisting that the oil be rubbed in and not thrown on, and that no oil be applied in the imme- diate vicinity of the teacher's desk, experience has demonstrated that the objectionable features connected with the use of oil are practically eliminated The use of non-drying oil in large buildings undoubtedly increases the fire risk ; but in one room school houses the danger is negligible. The State Department of Workshops and Factories is considering a change in the regulations allowing the use of non-drying oil in one room school buildings The use of a good sweeping mixture not only keeps down the dust while sweeping but leaves a thin layer of dust-catching material on the floor. Only 5.2% of one room township, 43.8% of centralized township, 7.7% of special district and 52.3% of village schools visited used any sweeping mixture Nearly 4% of the one room township schools were reported as never scrubbed, 68% as scrubbed but once a year, and less than 5% as scrubbed oftener than 4 times a year. Thirteen special district schools visited made a similar showing Of the one room township schools 57% were swept daily. Of the 13 village schools inspected all were swept daily. Out of 614 elementary schools of all kinds 73 were swept only once a week or less MEANS OF DUST PREVENTION Reported by teachers in attendance at teachers' institutes in 1913 Township Special District Village One Room Centralized Number of schools reporting. . . . 2773 208 202 3042 Dust prevention Percents 66.1 21.0 12.9 39.5 32.2 28.3 39.6 31.7 28.7 16 7 44 5 38.8 THE PHYSICAL PLANT I8 7 DUSTING Township Special District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of schools 592 497 17 15 13 12 13 13 22 20 Number of schools Dusted Percents Daily 61.2 29.4 -6.2 3.1 15 66.7 20.0 13.3 58.3 ' 41.7 92.3 7.7 75.0 25.0 Less than once a week Actual number dusted less than once a KIND OF DUSTERS Township Special District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of schools visited 592 575 17 16 13 12 13 13 22 Number of schools . 20 Using Percents 3.0 67.6 24.2 4.0 11.0 63 12.5 25.0 31.3 12.5 31.3 5 38.5 53.8 15.4 30.8 23.1 3 20i0 91.7 16.7 8.3 40.0 35.0 25.0 40.0 Actual number using the deadly feather 8 ♦Percentages do not total 100% because in some schools more than one kind of duster is used 1 88 OHIO 9TATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPOM Sanitary Dust Prevention Jltportsjhm 62Z5 TkacHers at T^acherj'Institutes.I^lJ ONE ROOM TOWNSHIP CENTRALIZED OR CONSOLIDATED VILLAGE, CITY AND HIGH No sanitary dust prevention, SCRUBBING Township Special District Village One Room Centralized Number of schools reported on . . 592 559 17 10 13 13 13 12 Scrubbed Percents 3.7 68.2 20.0 3.2 4.8 60.0 76.9.. 33.3 Twice per year 16.7 Three times per year 10.0 30.0 23.1 16.7 33.3 THE PHYSICAL PLANT 189 SWEEPING Township Special ■District Village High One Room Centralized School Number of schools visited 592 574 17 14 13 13 13 13 22 Number of schools 21 Swept Percents Daily ' 57.7 30.7 11.0 .7 57.1 35.7 7.1 76.9 1 100 81.0 19.0 23.1 PAY OF TEACHERS FOR JANITOR WORK IN ONE ROOM TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS Number of Teachers Number Reported on Percent receiving per month Number Teachers in More than $2 $2 Less than $2 Nothing Receiving No Pay (Illegal) One room town- ship schools. . . 353 322 20.2 37.3 40.1 2.4 8 190 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT CLEANLINESS OF PRIVIES, SCRUBBING Township Special ■District Village . High. One Room Centralized School Number of schools visited 592 433 17 13 13 12 13 12 22 Number reported on. . 17 Scrubbed Percents More than once a year 13.5 65.5 21.0 53. 8 30.7 15.4 16.7 66.6 16.7 83.4 8.3 8.3 64.7 35.3 PRIVIES CLEANED OUT UNDERNEATH Township Special •District Villagp. High One Room Centralized School Number of schools visited . j 592 361 17 6 13 8 13 9 22 Number of schools re- 10 Cleaned Percents More than once a year Once a year 3.1 63.4 33.5 16.7 66.6 16 7 50.0 25.0 25.0 44.4 44.4 11.2 " 40.0 60.0 THE PHYSICAL PLANT 191 INSPECTION OP PRIVIES Per cent. Inspected by Teacher Number of Schools Visited Number of Schools Reported on Once or More Per Month Less than Once a Month J8A3N 592 202 31.7 43.1 25.2 Constructive suggestions County superintendents, district superintendents, inspectors con- nected with the office of the state Superintendent of Public In- struction, and the state Superintendent of Public Instruction should be authorized to prosecute directly, without appeal to the county commissioners, members of boards of education who allow the schools under their charge to become unsanitary or in any way dangerous to the morals, physical health or safety of children The state Superintendent of Public Instruction should be authorized and required to set up and issue minimum requirements as to the physical plant of the school and its care All plans for new school buildings should require the signed approval of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction before being ac- cepted by the Department of Inspection of Workshops and Factories The office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Department of Inspection of Workshops and Factories should co- operate closely, the employees of each department being regarded as the agents of the other department for the purpose of enforcing all laws dealing with school grounds, school structures and proper care of school plants X CARE OF HEALTH OF PUPILS Conditions found in the field survey Chapters VIII and IX and XV throw a great deal of light on the attitude of boards of education toward the necessity for sanitary conditions in the schools. Owing largely to the uneven distribu- tion of professional supervision there are great differences between communities, equally well able financially to afford the very best in the way of sanitary appliances, care of school buildings and healthful surroundings of the school site. The best and the worst practice are often found side by side. There is no valid reason why sound practice should not prevail everywhere Of the one room township schools inspected 46.9% had no wells. .Drinking water in these schools had to be carried sometimes for very long distances In 6 schools the privies were less than 30 feet from the dug wells which supplied the school with water Of 209 wells inspected in September and October only 5 were reg- ularly tested Nearly -13% of 300 wells inspected during the survey had been con- taminated at some time to the certain knowledge of residents of the districts Two school wells were located near cemeteries. In 1 of these schools 1 boy was away with typhoid fever and another was ailing The sanitary condition of privies in general are fully set forth in Chapters VIII and IX Only 3% of the township schools visited had any form of medical in- spection No township, special district nor village school visited had the ser- vices of a school nurse Only 1 school reported having a regular school physician (192) ** lite Adenoids are as undesirable in the country as in the city f 192 CARE OF HEALTH OF PUPILS 193 Nine one room township schools, i centralized school and i special district school examined children for defective vision No school gave children a thorough physical examination Out of 109 schools where text books were examined, text books were in good sanitary condition in 31, fair in 58 and poor in 20. In 2 schools books were fumigated annually The care of the school buildings themselves is treated in full in Chap- ter IX Danger of Infection from Water among Township Schools Cases of KNOWN CONTAMINATION ^Proportion of cases of KNOWN contamination(12'foT 54casesJ Preventive Measures TaKen ^Proportion wfiere tests of water are not regularly made (tyd/o) [^Proportion where tests areredularly made (2. %) A study of health regulation in high schools was attempted, but ow- ing to the absence of any work along this line in most schools, and the absence of records in nearly all, the data collected were insuffi- cient to throw any light on the situation The practice in cities and many villages is far in advance of that of the rural schools There is no valid reason why all boys and girls attending rural and village schools should not have their health effectively safeguarded. The following pages as well as the experience of other states, show that the healthful conditions of country and village life are not sufficient to counteract the absence of health precautions in rural and many village schools. The common belief that practically all country school children are healthy is not borne out by facts. Cases of anemia, adenoids, etc., were frequently observed by the surveyors 13 s. s. 194 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT A comparison of the results of expert and inexpert physical examination of children The accompanying table and discussion give the results of an effort to solve the questions: "How accurate may the rural school teacher be in detecting physical defects among the school children, and would a modified system of health grading, carried on by the pupil and teacher, be practicable in localities where medical and dental inspection of school children can not be provided because of lack of funds?" The study was made with the aid of a questionnaire based, with slight modifications, upon Hoag's health grading outline (Leland Stanford Jr., University) This study was made possible only by the active cooperation of Dr. E. F. McCampbell, Secretary of the State Board of Health; Super- tendent C. W. Darby, of the Plain Township Schools; the Board of Education of Plain Township, and the medical and dental officers and practitioners mentioned below, The report made by these gentle- men is given with but very slight modifications In November, 1913, the pupils and teachers of the Plain Township School District of Franklin County filled out the questionnaire. This district includes a high school of 50 pupils, a grammar school of 19 pupils, and a primary school of 35 pupils, located within the village, and 6 rural schools averaging from .13 to 22 pupils each, located within a radius of 3 miles of the village. The village of New Albany itself has approximately 250 inhabitants. Physicians, and later, dentists, representing the State Board of Health, made medical examinations of these children during the 10 days follow- ing the teachers' observations. The medical examinations were carried on by Dr. E. R. Hayhurst and Dr. F. G. Boudreau, of the regular staff of the State Board of Health. The system of medical examination which the physicians used was the same in all respects as that reported in the November issue of the Bulletin of the Ohio State Board of Health, based upon the 3 years' experience of one of the physicians Because of the great frequency of carious teeth, and the likelihood of physicians overlooking them in their cursory examination, Dr. Homer C. Brown, Member of the State Board of Health and President of the National Dental Association, and Dr. F. R. Chapman, Secretary of the Ohio State Dental Society, made an examination later of the teeth and mouth conditions. In order to make a comparison between the physicians' findings as accurately CARE OF HEALTH OF PUPILS 195 . so a S 8| 3* - s in a n B a M , SfeS s a aj o a> Of O CQ £0 rH OS IM O iniooocioodopodm^-io §

« II- ^ Ol .-.^^-.MO*- MDIOI-OMlOOOOlOCOOl A* £ 8 _ ? 8 * S o a] ZO O (8 ZO 1 m n to 01 SS? d""* 1 >° U a'-' a ,h-; a a rH CVl tH a-* £&~ - ." -u dm d s d •3 a a .a-. c 0) o S-. a> Oh OWOlDC0MlI)r-i 00eMCMO»T-T-C0<*" :S noiosaio oo« 0) ZZ 03 0) c3 HPh a> ■§■3 I96 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT checked up by dentists, 112 cases were, subsequent to the phy- sicians' examination, re-examined by Dr. Brown and Dr. Chapman. In addition, the dentists made the only examinations of teeth in the cases of 71 pupils. Hence in the table the physicians report on only 141 of the 212 children, and of this number the dentists re- checked 112 Explanation of the table In the 2 columns headed "Physicians' Findings", - the first shows the actual number of cases needing treatment, and the second, the respective percentages The column headed "Recommended by Teachers" gives the number of cases which the teachers recommended for an examination by a physician. In each of these cases the teachers had checked (this means in a negative sense, implying a defect) one or more of the questions listed on the questionnaire regarding defects The columns headed "Teachers' Recommendations Correct" show the number of times the physicians and teachers agreed upon identical cases. The "per cent" column here shows the actual degree of accuracy of the teachers as to the given defects or conditions named The 3 columns headed "Teachers' Recommendations Wrong" show: in the first column, the number of cases which teachers recom- mended for treatment under the head of each defect, where the physicians could find no such defect worthy of attention; in the second column, the per cent of wrong recommendations ; in the third column, the number of cases which needed treatment for other conditions. For instance, in the case of teeth, the teachers recommended 16 children for examination whose teeth required no treatment, but 10 of these were in need of treatment for other defects It will be seen that in all cases the teachers' responses to the ques- tionnaire resulted in- their recommending for examination for each defect or condition, a great many more cases than were actually in need of attention, hence their chances of including the proper cases were good. However, it is seen that in Spite of the large number ,so recommended, they missed specific defects in from 18.1% (cases of nasal obstruction) to 52.6% (cases of malnutrition) while they missed defective teeth, eyes, tonsils and hearing cases in from 25.4% to 48.3% of such cases CARE OF HEALTH OF PUPILS I97 Teeth In the case of teeth, the physicians reported upon 138 cases, finding 55. or 39-86%, requiring treatment for carious conditions. In 112 cases where the physicians were checked up by the dentists, the formers' recommendations that 38 of the cases needed a dentist's attention were right in 37 instances, whereas the dentists found by their usual methods, 55 additional cases of caries, and also noted 30 cases of bad mouth conditions, as well as 33 cases in which the condition of the gums was bad. By use of the questionnaire the teachers specified 85 of the 138 cases as needing attention. This does not include those children checked for answer to question No. 4, "Does the child use a tooth brush every day?" Of those specified by the teachers, 74.54% were, in the opinions of the physicians, in need of treatment, 16 cases, or 25.46% of the tooth cases were missed as such by the teachers although they would have sent 15 of these children to the physicians for other sug- gestive symptoms or defects. Including, teeth and all other defects, therefore, the teachers recommended sending 54 of the 55 defective tooth cases to the physicians Eyes Physicians detected, by means of the Snellen Eye Chart, 45 cases, or 21.22%, who were in need of an oculist. Because of the limitation of this method, the/ unquestionably missed a certain number of cases of hypermetropia (far sight). The physicians agreed that every one of the 88 cases recommended by the teachers needed an oculist's examination. This does not imply, of course, that they were in need of treatment. However, the teachers failed to detect 21 cases, or 46.7% of myopia (near sight). For eyes and all other conditions, the teachers recommended sending to the physicians 43 of the 45 eye cases, in 19 of which the teachers failed to note the defective vision, but detected other symptoms or signs, in many cases secondary to defective vision. The physicians included in their figures, not only cases with less than 20/20 (normal) vision, but cases in which the child missed 1 or 2 letters in the 20/20 lin~ of the chart Tonsils With tonsils the teachers had no direct means of indicating in the questionnaire a diseased condition of these structures, hence it is quite remarkable that they named indicative symptoms in 51.7% of the cases, although only 15 of the 50 cases which they specified were correct ig8 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Malnutrition Under malnutrition the teachers, in response to the questions, "Healthy appearing?" "Color good?" specified 49 cases, of which number only 9 were correct while 10 others were missed entirely Glands Under glands the teachers had no direct questions, but they specified teeth, ear, nose and throat symptoms in each of the 13 cases having glands needing treatment Nasal obstruction The teachers specified 46 cases of nasal obstruction, 9 of which were found to need nasal treatment, while 2 others were missed entirely. It is probable that most of the cases which they specified were cases of more or less frequent colds, although they specified mouth breathing or nasal voice in each of these cases. A considerable number of these also, were cases of high palates in older children who were past the time when treatment could be of any service to them Hearing The physicians found but 5 cases of hearing in which the watch test showed a defect in one or both ears. The teachers included 3 of these 5 in the total of 69 cases for whom they marked the question- naire on hearing. Undoubtedly, the set of questions here were a little too broad, such, for instance, . as "Has the child a good ex- pression? (Not expressionless)", "Does the child spell fairly well?", "Does the child read fairly well?", "Does the child answer questions without first saying 'what'? (Not stupid)", "Is the child free from any peculiar postures which might indicate defects ?" Heart Under heart conditions the physicians specified 3 cases which needed further observation. Of course, the method of examination could detect only the most glaring cases. The teachers had no direct questions upon this defect, but it may be considered that in their responses to the questions under general appearance, mental and nervous conditions, they fully included most of the possible heart cases Pulmonary No pulmonary (lung) defects were detected but the physicians' means of diagnosis were limited CARE OF HEALTH OF PUPILS 199 Thyroid gland The teachers had no direct questions as to the presence of a diseased thyroid gland. The physicians detected at least 3 which they con- sidered worthy of further observation, in all of which the teachers noted significant symptoms Orthopedic The truly orthopedic cases (deformities) were only 4 in number, all. of which were included by the teachers. However, the questions under the head of "General Appearance", such as "standing posture?" "sitting posture?" "shoulders even?" "ankles straight when walking?" were of course very broad Mentality As to mental condition, the physicians, of course, could only surmise, although in 6 instances they detected in their examinations cases which they considered mentally defective. The rather broad questions put to the teachers under this heading caused them to specify 54 cases, including 4 of the 6 which the physicians noted. The teachers' opinions should, however, be given much more atten- tion than the physicians' in these cases, because of their opportunities for prolonged observation Nervous conditions The same statements mentioned under mental conditions may be applied almost exactly to nervous conditions. The physicians here detected 7 cases, while the teachers specified 135, including 6 of the 7 which the physicians noted Summary Of the total of 212 children, the physicians found 154 in need of treatment for some physical defect, while 43 others had minor troubles not requiring treatment, or those in which damage had already been done, and the cause of the damage had disappeared. Of the total number of defective children, 54, or 25.47%, na d de- fective teeth only, hence there were 100 cases, or 47.17%, with physical defects other than bad teeth The physicians found 15, or 7.26%, who were normal in every respect. The teachers also specified 15 cases as free from all defects, but the physicians found that in 14 of the teachers' cases, or 937%, there were defects needng treatment 200 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT General conclusions 1 Some of the questions included in the questionnaire to the teachers were a little too broad, thus permitting the inclusion of some cases which were free from the defects suggested by the teachers' answers 2 In spite of the latitude given the teachers, they failed, in approxi- mately 50% of instances, to specify particular defects 3 As a result of the teachers' methods of deduction, 92.74% of all the children needed a medical examination. They missed 6.6% of the defective cases. These figures show that 99.34% of the children required a medical examination in order to discover the cases actually needing treatment 4 Whereas, only 50% of the teachers' recommendations for examina- tion for specific defects were correct, still, in the ensemble of all defects for each child, the teachers were able to detect the children needing medical examination (not necessarily treatment) in 93.7% of all instances 5 While, in detecting the children with defects, the teachers were correct in about 50% of the cases as stated, yet in specifying normal children, they were wrong in 93.3% of instances 6 As might be expected, the teachers differed in accuracy of observa- tion in the case of physical defects, and in opinions in the case of mental or nervous defects. Evidently some teachers actually ex- amined the teeth, for instance, for their responses were quite accurate in this respect. One teacher checked ocular defects in almost every case (the school room lighting was the same as in the other schools), while a couple of others noted pronounced peculiarities of a nervous type in almost. every child. As none of the teachers had received any training in making physical exam- inations, good courses in child hygiene and methods of making physical examinations would undoubtedly greatly increase the efficiency of physical examinations by teachers 7 In the opinion of the medical men who conducted the survey, this study demonstrates that without the assistance and advice of a competent medical examiner and without the careful training of teachers in making physical examinations, the method of teacher examination would be open to grave dangers. Pupils would be recommended to be examined for some particular defect which might not exist, the symptoms being traceable to some other CARE OP HEALTH OF PUPILS 201 source. Thus pupils might be recommended for examination for vision, when the teeth or some other part were at fault. With the advice and assistance of a regular medical examiner, however, to correlate and classify the teachers' findings, a system of inspection, based upon the teachers' observations of the pupils, could be utilized to good advantage in districts where it is a financial im- possibility to do more Recommendations The. recommendations for the physical examination of school children in rural districts which desire to take up the work based on these limited studies, are as follows : i Teachers in actual service should be given a series of lectures, with demonstratons, or a short, concise treatise on the relation- ship of mental, nervous or physical peculiarities to certain physical defects. A short course of such instruction should be given in every school curriculum, beginning at least with the high school, and in every school for the professional training of teachers 2 A questionnaire similar to the one used, with a few changes, will suffice to find 50% of the cases needing attention 3 At least a week or more should be taken by the teachers in ob- serving each child before drawing conclusions and recommend- ing a physical examination 4 Since all specific defects require xeftain definite, though simple, methods of diagnosis, the suspected case, whenever possible, should be brought to the attention of a medical examiner experi- enced in this special line of work or of the family physician It is the belief of the medical men who conducted the survey that 1 competent medical examiner could cover all the rural schools in the average county at least once, and perhaps twice, in a school year Where funds are not available for the employment of a medical man, or where the employment of such an officer is not desired by school patrons, health studies made by the children themselves and by parents and teachers in cooperation, constitute a step in the right direction. Teachers, however, must have careful instruction in health work, or the numerous errors due to unskilled examination will tend to throw the whole movement into disrepute XI RECORDS, REPORTS AND STATISTICS Conditions found in field survey Visits of parents and supervising officers were recorded in 44.1% of the schools visited, but in none are the lengths of such visits recorded All schools recorded absence and 81.8% of the schools recorded tardi- ness, but only 33.3% of the schools recorded causes of absence and only 20.0% causes of tardiness Of the 520 one room township schools reported on, 73 made reports to the superintendent, 392 to the clerk of the board of education, 21 to both of them, 10 to the truant officer, 1 to the clerk of the board and the truant officer, 1 to the county clerk and 22 sent reports to no one Monthly reports were made in 290 schools, annual in 114, both monthly and yearly in 32, more often than monthly in 9, less often than monthly but more frequently than yearly in 27, "when necessary" in 3, and none in 22 schools Of the one room township schools visited 56.4% indicated in the record children entering school for the first time. This throws an interesting side light on the statistics under this head issued by the state Depart- ment of Public Instruction. (See page 24.) Of the one room town- ship schools visited, 37.9% recorded the causes of dropping out of school for the last time Continuous pupil record cards are reported in 38% of the schools visited. Forms of cards submitted, however, show that in many cases this is due to a misunderstanding. Usually the records are continuous for one year only. Few schools keep on one card or sheet a continuous record of each child for his whole school career The eight month contract with the teacher is the rule in one room town- ship schools, but 2 teachers reported seven month contracts, and 4 shorter than 1 year. Not one reported a contract longer than a year Over 98% of the township teachers report being hired by the board of education ; only 6 teachers were hired by superintendents Over 34% of the one room township teachers had no written contracts (202) RECORDS, REPORTS, STATISTICS 203 Supervision and visiting The 592 township schools inspected during the survey reported the fol- lowing for the year 1912-1913: 63 visits to 52 schools by state inspectors ' 753 visits to 132 schools by school superintendents 208 visits to 92 schools by teachers 3,299 visits to 394 schools by other adults, including parents A public examination day for patrons is either rarely observed or slimly attended. Forty-four schools reported 11 59 visits on examination day in 1912-1913 Last year's school register was in the school room in 81% of the cases, at the teacher's home in 13% of the cases, mislaid or lost in 6% of the cases Enrollment and attendance MEMBERSHIP AT TIME OF INSPECTION Township Special District Village ' One Room Centralized Number of classrooms visited . . . Number of classrooms reported on 592 578 26 17 13 12 25 18 Present membership Percents 8.5 21.1 24.2 46.2 8.3 8.3 16.7 66.7 Ten to fifteen 17.6 82 4 16.7 83 3 204 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT AVERAGE ATTENDANCE Township "Special District Village One Room Centralized Number of classrooms visited. . . Number classrooms reported on. 592 526 26 17 13 12 25 15 Average attendance Percents 1.3 14.1 26.8 16.7 Ten to fifteen 5.9 11.7 82.4 13.3 Fifteen to twenty 24.5 33.3 25.0 33.3 13.3 74.4 Constructive suggestions Uniform records and reports should be issued to all school districts and all county auditors by the Bureau of Efficiency and Economy of the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction. All school districts should be required to use the prescribed forms. Training courses for teachers should give instruction to teachers as to the importance of educational statistics and as to methods of efficient reporting XII SLOW PROGRESS, OVERAGE, NON=PROMO= TION AND "DROPPING OUT" IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Study of grade VIII pupils in the various kinds of elementary schools In every school visited during the survey, an attempt was made to get the facts with regard to the age and progress of pupils in grade VIII. So few schools had continuous pupil records and so few had retained the same teacher for more than 2 or 3 consecu- tive yeai;s, that figures at all reliable could be obtained for oriiy 34 township schools out of 592 inspected. The results were little better for centralized and village schools. It was possible to get figures from 50% of these schools but they were so incomplete on account of lack of adequate records as to destroy their value for statistical purposes It is essential that school administrators should know, not for com- parative purposes, but for purposes of local administrative effi- ciency, just what pupils are overage or underage, slow or rapid in progress, and why pupils are overage or slow in progress. For this purpose every teacher should keep a continuous class record of the age and progress of pupils constantly up to date, 1 copy of such record being sent to the superintendent at the end of each year or term and another to the teacher who is to receive the majority of the pupils at the beginning of the next term or year. These records should be made the bases of continuous reclassifi- cation of pupils according to their degrees of ability to make prog- ress. Such a system will assist teachers and supervisors to look upon children as individuals requiring individual treatment At the beginning of next year the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction should issue suitable blank forms with the necessary directions, so that a start can be made at once to meas- ure overage, slow progress, and dropping out of school, and to discover the causes of these conditions to the end that there may be the v greatest possible conservation of human material (205) 206 OHIO STATE- SCHOOL SURV-BY RWORT Studies of schools in Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton By cooperation between Superintendent Condon of Cincinnati, As- sistant Superintendent Roberts and Director Miles of the Cincinnati Bureau of Municipal Research and by the aid of Cincinnati teachers, a city wide preliminary survey was made covering rate of prog- ress, relation of age to grade, dropping out of school and their causes. As continuous pupil record cards had been in use in Cin- cinnati for less than 8 years, a full progress study was impossible. The standard of normal age adopted regarded a child as normal who entered the first grade between the ages of 6 and 7. Any child who completed the year's grade in June, 1913, was regarded as having made normal progress for that year. A full report of the study was issued by the Cincinnati Bureau of Municipal Research in August, 191 3 A similar study was made in Columbus through the cooperation of Su- perintendent Shawan and Miss Margaret Sutherland, principal of the Columbus Normal Training School. The summaries were made by students of the normal school under the direction of the survey office. The summary of the findings is to be submitted to the Columbus su- perintendent of schools In Dayton the material was gathered through the cooperation of Superin- tendent Brown and the summaries were made by Arch Mandel, Miss A. Irene Dilks and C. O. Dustin of the Dayton Bureau of Municipal Research 1 The following tables show some of the findings of the Cincinnati and Dayton studies AGE TABLE, CINCINNATI Grade Younger than Normal Normal Older than Normal Total No. %. No. % No. % No. 1 % I 592 409 298 298 233 224 226 240 11 9 7 1 5 7 8 11 2,960 1,823 1,467 1,342 1,095 890 867 786 53 42 33 32 27 26' 31 35 1,992 2,161 2,626 2,503 2,781 2,280 1,745 1,229 36 49 60 61 68 67 61 54 5,544 4,393 4,391 4,143 4,109 3,394 2,838 2,255 100 II 100 100 100 100 in : IV V VI 100 100 100 VII VIII . Total 2,520 8 11,230 36 17,317 56 31,067 100 SLOW PROGRESS AND OV&UgE 207 AGE TABLE, DAYTON Grade Younger than Normal Normal Older than Normal Total No. % No. % No. % No. % I II Ill IV V VI VII VIII Total.. . 309 203 188 168 181 152 166 112 1479 13 12 11 10 13 13 15 14 13 1308 906 823 621 475 439 430 334 5336 58 54 46 39 35 37 39 44 45 655 579 765 817 712 601 508 317 4954 29 34 43 51 52 50 46 42 42 2272 1688 1776 1606 1368 1192 1104 763 11769 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 AGE TABLE, DAYTON Five Upper Grades of Patterson School (Promotions Every 6 Months) Younger than Normal Older than Normal Normal Total Grade No. % No. % No. % No. % IV— B... 10. 44 7 30 6 26 .23 100 A... 34 49 10 14 26 37 70 100 V— B. . . 7 22 12 37 13 41 32 100 A... 24 56 4 9 15 35 43 100 VI— B... 10 29 6 18 18 53 34 100 A... 28 56 8 16 14 28 50 100 VII— B... 17 41 8 20 16 39 41 100 A... 11 29 12 32 15 39 38 100 VIII— B... 8 21 8 21 22 58 38 100 A... 19 36 13 24 21 40 53 100 Total . . , 168 40 88 I 21 1 166 39 422 100 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT PROGRESS TABLE, CINCINNATI Time in Grade on June 20, 1913 Grade Less than Normal Normal More than Normal • i year or less 1 year or less but over J 1J year or less but over 1 year 2 years or less but over l.| years' 2J years or less but over2 years 3 years or less but over 2J years Over 3 years Total. I II Ill IV V VI . . 331 176 124 101 102 139 55 61 4,103 3,621 3,709 3,562 3,599 3,043 2,677 2,130 146 36 33 32 17 19 7 6 910 551 505 442 390 193 99 58 14 5 12 38 3 5 6 1 2 1 3 5,544 4,393 4,391 4,143 4,109 3,394 2,838 VII. . . VIII . . . 2,255 Total. ..". 1,089 26,444 296 3,148 31 53 6 31,067 Percents 4 85 11 100 PROGRESS TABLE, DAYTON Time in Grade on June 20, 1913 Grade Less than Normal Normal More than Normal i year or less 1 year or less but over J year 1} year or less but over 1 year 2 years or less but over 1J years 2J years or less but over 2 years 3 years or less but over 2J years Over 3 years Total I II Ill IV V VI VII VIII 60 30 40 41 J 36 20 13 14 1917 1547 1605 1440 1247 1127 1068 ' 718 41 30 21 14 7 4 3 1 115 39 40 48 46 31 10 29 11 1 5 18 2 112 41 64 41 30 8 9 1 16 1 4 2 1 2272 1688 1776 1606 1368 1192 1104 763 Total.. 254 10669 121 358 37 306 24 11769 Percents 2 91 7 100 SLOW PROGRESS AND OVERAGE 209 PROGRESS TABLE, DAYTON For Upper Grades of Patterson School (Promotions every 6 months) Time in Grade on June 20, 1913 Grade Less than Normal Normal More than Normal i- Sem. or less ISem. or less but over i Sem. 1J Sem. or less but over 1 Sem. 2 Sem, or less but over 1 J Sem. 2£ Sem. or less but over 2 Sem. 3 Sem. or less but over 2} Sem. Over 3 Semes- ters Total I V— B . . . 23 65 32 39 34 50 41 38 37 43 23 A.. . 3 2 70 V — B . 32 A 4 43 VI — B. . 34 A. . . 50 VII — B . 41 A... 31? VIII — B 1 38 A. . 10 53 Total 4' 402 14 2 422 Percents 1 95 4 100 Summary In Cincinnati, which has annual promotions, Columbus, which has semi-annual promotions and Dayton, which uses both methods, it was found possible to make a study of age and progress, although 2 of these cities have no system of individual continuous record cards for pupils and the other has had such a system in use only 3 or 4 years. Even where it is impossible to make a scien- tifically accurate study, sufficient and sufficiently accurate facts can be obtained in any school system by the teachers' themselves to assist materially supervisors and teachers to grade more closely, promote more frequently and save a larere annual loss to the com- munity not only in dollars, but in human energy The amount of time and energy consumed in such a study need be extremely small per individual if the work is properly distributed and supervised. Every school system should provide for the auto- matic transmission to the superintendent of schools of all the essential facts for each school and school room, at the end of each promotion period 14 s. s. XIII SPECIAL STUDIES OF TOWNSHIP, VILLAGE AND SPECIAL DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOLS Studies of 22 typical high schools in township, special and village dis- tricts were attempted on the following topics: The relative efficiency of various types of elementary schools in pre- paring pupils for high school The records in first grade high schools of graduates of second and third grade high schools Health regulations in high schools Supervision in high schools Mortality in high schools Records were so meager in a majority of the schools visited that the material collected was entirely without value so far as it concerned the iirst 3 topics. The first 2 are of particular interest to school adminis- trators. The absence of adequate data at present provides an additional argument for the establishment of a state wide system of minimum uniform records and reports. The state Superintendent of Public Instruction and officers could get a better idea of the efficiency of schools from a study of carefully kept records of graduates, in school and out of school than by any system of examination. By this time next year a beginning should have been made on a state wide system of recording the facts regarding the graduates of all schools partly or wholly supported by the state Reports from 22 high schools in villages, special districts and townships give the , following results as to how principals and superintendents spent their working day (In 15 cases the superintendent and principal were the same) (210) SPECIAL STUDIES OF HIGH SCHOOLS 211 DISTRIBUTION OF SUPERINTENDENTS' AND PRINCIPALS' TIME BASED ON 2 DAYS PRECEDING DAY OP SURVEY Principal Superintendent Number reporting 19 20 Number of Hours Time spent in office . . . Teaching Supervising — High school Grades Athletics Conference : — Teachers Students Parents School board Others Visiting homes Other school business. Total Average per day 28.5 181.8 14.0 20.3 5.5 13.0 6.0 1.0 3. 3.0 2.0 278.1 7.3 Percent Number of Hours 10.2 65.3 5.0 '7.3 2.0 4.7 2.2 .4 1.3 1.1 .7 100.0 37.0 176.8 22.7 32.8 6.5 20.0 5.5 2.5 5.7 1.5 .3 4. 315.3 7.9 Percent 11.7 56.1 7.2 10.1 2.6 6.3 1.7 .9 1.8 .5 .1 1.3 100.0 r Reports from 13 typical high schools in townships, special districts and villages were full enough to throw some light on the question of mor- tality in high schools. At least the data are sufficiently suggestive to warrant the keeping in all high schools all records necessary for a ' state wide study of high school mortality The weak position of modern languages in the table given below is typical of small high schools everywhere. Latin in these schools has the right of way and through force of necessity French and German are apt to be crowded out entirely or to be so poorly taught aa to lead to high student mortality 212' OHIO STATE, SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT FAILURES BY SUBJECT OR GROUPS OF SUBJECTS IN 13 HIGH SCHOOLS IN TOWNSHIP, SPECIAL AND VILLAGE DISTRICTS Net Enrollment Percent of net enrollment not finishing! course Percent of Pupils who failed Percent of Pupils who passed, Dropped Study Left School Studies Percents English 643 738 628 420 487 29 1.7 1.2 .9 1.7 4.7 6.9 9.1 7.7 6.5 •5.9 5.5 13.8 3.4 8.4 3.3 5.2 8.8 3.4 86.2 82.7 89.2 History and civics . . Ancient languages. . Modern languages . . Manual training, sewing and cook- 87.1 80.9 75.9 2 100.0 XIV LIVING CONDITIONS OF TEACHER One percent of the teachers in one room township schools received less than the minimum legal salary The most common salary for teachers in one room rural schools is $320 per annum — the legal minimum The most common salary for teachers in centralized, special district and village schools is $420 per annum or over SALARIES OF TEACHERS VISITED Township Special District ' Village One Room Centralized Number of teachers visited Number of teachers reported on. 592 585 26 22 13 13 25 22 Salary per year Percents $280 $320 $320 to $360... $360 to $420... $420 and over. 1.0 40.5 19.7 15.0 23.8 40.9 59.1 15.4 38.4 46.2 31.8 68.2 COST OP BOARD AND LODGING PER WEEK OF TEACHERS VISITED Township One Room Centralized Number of teachers visited Number of teachers reported on Cost Live with parents and pay nothing $2.50 or less Over $2.50 (213) 592 537 26 21 Percents 15.6 12.6 71.7 61.1 38i9 214 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT With the exception of teachers in centralized schools', the majority of teachers paid more than $2.50 per week for board and lodging. So large a proportion of the teachers in centralized schools lived with their parents and either paid no board or only nominal board, that the percentage paying over $2.50 is much less than in the case of other schools surveyed. In this connection it is well to note that teachers must pay for board and lodging all the year round, al- though they receive but 8 or 10 monthly salary checks The salaries of 24.3% of township teachers were not paid to date 31.5% of the township teachers interviewed lived in the districts where they taught, at least during the school week; 68.5% lived outside of the districts they served. 65.8% of the teachers lived with parents either inside or outside the district 18.5% lived less than one-half mile from school; 12.0% lived one-half to one mile from school; 69.5% lived one mile or over from school Thirty-four teachers reported that they could not get satisfactory board within one mile of the schools Nineteen teachers reported that they had no rooms where they might study and prepare work for school \ Only 4 teachers reported their boarding places unsatisfactory The conditions under which rural teachers are required to live go far to explain why so many rural teachers are not trained and why so few of them remain in the work more than 2 or 3 years. The problem of how to obtain and retain trained rural teachers is at bottom an economic one. Increased requirements for teachers must be accompanied by increased remuneration. This should be ac- companied by a state wide teachers' pension system, as in large areas of the state salaries will probably never be sufficiently high to enable teachers without assistance to save a competency for old age. If the nation finds it to its advantage to educate, and support while being educated officers for the army and navy and to liberally pension all officers after their years of service, it would surely be good policy for the state not only to contribute more to the expense of educating teachers, but to organize a state system of teachers' pensions to the support of which teachers and state might both contribute XV OUTSIDE COOPERATION WITH RURAL SCHOOLS Why outside cooperation with rural schools was studied To learn what Ohio's rural school system is and how far it has come, the Survey Commission studied the teaching efficiency, legal pro- visions, methods of management and physical conditions. To learn in what direction it is headed and its self-propelling power, it studied the extent of public interest in rural school needs apart from taxpaying and voting, and the various methods by which such interest has been expressing itself. This part of the inquiry was conducted by Miss Elsa Denison of the New York Bureau of Munici- pal Research. Miss Denison is the author of a book entitled, "Help- ing School Children" Obvious as are the obstacles to continuous outside cooperation with rural schools, obstacles shrink before examples of outside helpful- ness like these: Farm Women's Clubs "scored" 37 rural schools and listed their needs; the Century Club of Chillicothe gives yearly health talks, in country schools ; 580 local granges discussed rural school prob- lems at their meetings last year; 81 granges worked to secure better instruction in agriculture; business men, bankers and in- dividuals gave over 400 free trips to Washington for corn contest winners; the Y. M. C. A. conducts county athletic leagues in 5 counties; the Women of Lebanon hold yearly garden contests for public school children, etc. What is done for one school may be done for all schools. What one woman's club does, all women's clubs may do. The School Survey report shows that the need and the opportunity are everywhere. What groups have done here and there offers inspiring suggestions for all women's clubs, all granges, all business men's organizations, all libraries, all medical and dental associations, etc., in places not yet awake to the need and opportunity for outside cooperation The illustrations here given are taken from (1) answers to question- naires sent to 1,700 organizations in October, 1913; (2) interviews (215) 2l6 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT . with the heads of state departments and state-wide organizations, supplemented by (3) published reports and current records, (4) written statements from agencies in answer to requests to make clear and to elaborate their replies. Reports have not been tested by field visits owing to the lack of time and funds. The exceed- ingly small proportion of those addressed who answered does not necessarily mean that those not answering have no cooperation to report. On the contrary there are doubtless many private agencies active and helpful for rural schools which are not included here. There is also, no doubt, a large number of individuals who are help- ing their own schools through gifts, visits and suggestions, like the citizen of one county who is to give a new high school building, another's varied work for school girls in Hamilton County, and the farmer who found himself so interested he didn't dare go near the school to which he had already given a garden, stove, piano, etc. To list, explain and reiterate specific helpful next-steps for individuals and agencies willing and able to help rural schools is the purpose of the division of cooperation recommended for the Bureau of Effi- ciency and Economy in the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction How women's organizations help rural schools Five. Organizations include the greater part of women's club interest in Ohio. The returns here reported are by no means exhaustive and barely touch on work for city schools. The interest shown by the officers of the state women's organizations in the School Survey Day celebrations, in the Educational Congress, and in the oppor- tunities for developing club cooperation with rural schools, proves the almost unlimited potential value of women's helpfulness if gen- erally enlisted, and justifies the program for a joint School Survey Council outlined on p. 222 Farm Women's Clubs Thirty-two Farm Women's Clubs in 21 counties or 72% of the clubs written to filled out in November, 1913, simple "score cards" for 30 one room and 7 centralized schools in their districts. These scor- ings by farm women lead to the same conclusions about rural school needs as do the elaborate scorings of the regular field survey. Farm women were also asked to report in detail what was most needed in the way of equipment, cleaning and repairs. In the 37 schools the most pressing needs were listed as : OUTSIDE COOPERATION 21J Shades for windows in 10 schools; new paper for walls in 8; more books in 7 ; globes and maps in 5 ; repaired or new outhouses in 5 ; manual training in 4; sheltered place for play in 4; new desks in 4 ; covered drinking pail in 4 ; improvement in heating in 3 ; jack- eted stoves in 3 ; walks around the school in 3 ; repairs for floors in 3; more room for children in 2; pure water supply in 2; better teachers in 2; coal houses and shelves for lunch pails in 2 One school was, said in each case to need domestic science, an assembly hall, improvement in ventilation, drinking cups, cleaner outhouses, agricultural apparatus, physics equipment, hot lunch, better desks, play-ground apparatus, more ■ ground, new front steps, musical instruction, a storm front door, fire protection, organ, a new broom, a "couple of chairs," centralization, decora- tion, stove cleaned, oil for floors, blackboard painted, waste baskets, "teacher with common sense" Other farm women wrote : "As a general thing parents do not visit schools enough. The people do not put forth effort enough to have the proper township board of education. It seems any man does tor some people just so he can say yes or no to suit someone else" "Our township at present is in a chaotic condition. They voted centralization last spring with no funds in sight to build. They have combined 2 and 3 districts into 1 and are holding sessions at different sections over the township" One teacher wrote : "Our school board refuses to buy paint for the walls (cost less than $1.50). I offered to do the work my- self if the board would buy the paint, but it availed nothing. The literary society which met in the school house for a year or two has a little money in its treasury with which we expect to buy some pictures. I am painting the woodwork on the inside of the house, but not with money furnished by the board" The Farm Women's Club at Ira put a sanitary fountain in the school and new shades at all the windows. Members got their husbands to repaint the walls, and the club women are frequent visitors at the school. Another club voted to teach sewing at the school, by taking turns one afternoon a week. A third started a school library. An extension course in domestic science was given in the school basement under Farm Women's Club auspices. Several clubs are working for centralization About 20 women make up each of the 44 Farm Women's Clubs, organized during the last 2 years in 24 counties, usually within a school district, Clubs are urged to meet in schools and to invite 2l8 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT teachers to their sessions. In several districts the school is the regular meeting place. New clubs are constantly being formed when a few women get together as a neighborhood group. A State Federation of Farm Women was formed at the State Fair , in September, 1913 Every month The Ohio Farmer, the official organ of the clubs, pub- lishes the outline for club study and meetings, and each year at least one month's attention has been devoted to public schools. Whenever possible other topics are given a school application, such as ornamental planting, discipline, nourishing food, defective children, etc. In July, 191 1, when the topic was "Rural Schools," the lesson in The Ohio Farmer referred to a bulletin of the State University, "The Country Schools of Ohio," as a text. Sixteen U. S. government publications, 8 state reports and 13 magazine articles were listed as references. The subjects for discussion covered (1) the country school teacher; (2) industrial education in rural schools; (3) school library; (4) cooperation between home and school; (5) school buildings and grounds; (6) central- ized and consolidated schools; (7) the school as a social center and (8) uniform text books Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs Typical of what women's clubs might be doing everywhere is the report by the Excelsior Club of Sp'encerville with 20 members. "We have been able to place pictures in all the rooms of our public school, a number of books on art in the library, to pay $25 on the high school piano and to place teeter boards on the school ground. Yesterday we organized a parents' and teachers' club, so you see we expect to do more in the future. The Clio Club helped in this work" The Wyoming Monday Club contributed toward the furnishing of a rest room for teachers in the village school. It has furnished pic- tures occasionally and combined with other clubs to purchase a handsome flag for the school The Women of Lebanon "have for 2 years conducted successful garden contests among public school children — prizes of $75 being offered by the Civic Trust of Lebanon. The gardens are duly in- spected and at the close of the season an exhibition of vegetables and flowers is held. The club has also introduced the Junior Audubon work in some of the rural schools, and prizes donated by the Civic Trust have been awarded to pupils writing the best essays on birds" OUTSIDE COOPERATION 219 The Women's Tourist Club of Mechanicsburg assisted in securing money for school room equipment, books for the library, free lec- tures in the school house and planted trees about the school build- ings The Willoughby Woman's Club is the only club reporting a com- mittee on rural schools. This club has bought pictures for the school, Victrola records, and has agitated for a much-needed new building The Century Club of Chillicothe sent a committee to visit the teachers' institutes in 1912-1913. Last year the teachers were shown how to make paper drinking cups. The club wrote to all school boards in the county asking them to buy paper for the schools and to look into the matter of good wells, individual cups, etc. In 1913, each school was given a large "Health Card" to be hung in the school room, and a short talk on disease prevention was given by the committee, urging the institution of "Health Day" in the schools. The club's latest work is a "Chew Your Own Pencil" campaign. The Century, Club is the only one of 157 city clubs written to which reports the slightest interest in rural schools The following instances of helpful work by city clubs for city schools indicate what could be done by village clubs for village schools, and by all clubs for rural schools : One thousand dollars pledged for beautifying school grounds in London, landscape gardener engaged, hedges and shrubs planted ; playgrounds carried on 7 years until taken over by city (Colum- bus) ; school visiting committee and relief giving for needy chil- dren by Woman's Club of United Commercial Travelers (Colum- bus) ; $50 for domestic science equipment, ward meetings of mothers 2nd teachers (Defiance) ; home garden contests (Sidney) ; library organized and supported for 4 years (New Philadelphia) ; free school library to cultivate good taste in reading (Toledo) ; baths and sanitary fountains installed (Elyria) ; traveling ex- hibit of pictures (Cincinnati) ; Thanksgiving baskets for needy (Marion) ; 2 scholarship girls (Piqua) ; playgrounds and free kindergarten started, district nurse examines children and talks to mothers, boys' gardens, talks to all schools on civics (Zanes- ville) ; free breakfasts for 175 needy school children, 7 scholarship pupils, 1,376 garments distributed through principals (Cleveland) ; bubbling fountain (Granville) Of 292 federated clubs and city federations, other than purely study clubs, which received a questionnaire in October, 245 or 84% did 2'20 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT not answer. Ten of the-47 clubs answering were in villages. Only 7 of 292 clubs reported interest in rural schools last year ; 14 of the 47 clubs reporting said they would be interested in future study ,of rural school conditions and would like to be furnished with blanks for that purpose Mothers' Clubs The cooperation of individual mothers' clubs and parent teacher asso-« ciations is, of course, usually devoted to one particular school. How helpful this interest could be for village as well as city schools is indicated by these instances : club secured books for teachers and pupils, pictures, a rest room, relief for needy children (Bedford) ; relief committee used by all teachers (Lancaster) ; prizes for essays on "Care of the Teeth;'' talks in school by a dentist, monthly parents' meetings, garments made for "dozens of needy children" (Xenia) ; 2 lots bought for school playground, evening entertain- ments in schools (Cleveland) How grateful school officials are for this kind of helpfulness is shown by one superintendent, writing about the Mothers' Club of the Madisonville schools in Cincinnati : "The first object of the asso- ciation (1897) was to look after the kindergarten, and this was done at a time when the school board was in poor financial condition. The association placed additional equipment in the room ; for 2 years they paid the teacher's salary, the board furnishing the room ; later the board paid the salary and the Mothers' Club furnished the ' room. In 1905 the Mothers' Club said to the board of education, 'If you will equip and maintain a manual training department- for the boys we will equip and maintain a domestic science department for the girls.' The equipment of the domestic science department cost the club about $500, the maintenance for 2 years, instructor and supplies, instructor giving but part time, about $700. At the end of this time the board was financially able to take over the expense of the domestic science department. The Mothers' Club then maintained for 2 years the art ,work in the schools, paying the instructor $250 a year. The board of education then assumed responsibility for the art work- and the Mothers' Club turned their attention to a campaign for better housing of the children. They allied themselves with the other women's organizations of the city and formed what was known as the Madisonville Women's Welfare Association. Their committee inspected and stamped all of the literature sent out to the people ; they also undertook the distribu- tion of the same. The school house was built and in 1909 the Mothers' Club began an active campaign for pictures to be given OUTSIDE COOPERATION 221 to the school. They raised and expended the sum of about $1,000. They also gave a piano the same year to the gymnasium. In September, 191 1, the Madisonville school was absorbed by the Cin- cinnati school system. Under the new regime the sanitary condi- tion affecting the child was not as well cared for as under the Madi- sonville board of education, and so the , Mothers' Club undertook the work of furnishing a supply of clean towels and soap to be used by the pupils. The Mothers' Club, too, is looking after the landscap- ing of the school yard. They also paid into an annuity fund for one of the faithful teachers whose active service was impaired through age. These are the outward things the Mothers' Club has done for the school, but the result has been that they have fostered a spirit of cooperation between the home and the school that has led the community in educational uplift" The Ohio Congress of Mothers has 15 branches outside of Cleveland, where there are 41 local clubs forming the Cleveland Congress of Mothers. Of the 15 clubs in other cities, only 6 answered the com- mission's questionnaire. Two of these reported interest in village schools. There are, of course, numerous other mothers' clubs and parent-teacher organizations not affiliated with the Congress of Mothers, — how many cannot be estimated Many other examples of ,help given by mothers' clubs to individual schools could be cited. Unfortunately the reports of what each club does during the year have not been collected, filed or made available to other groups wanting suggestions for school work Daughters of the American Revolution D. A. R. connection with public schools in Ohio has been chiefly through patriotic education committees. For example : prizes for best essay on colonial history (Lima) ; medal to best 8th grade U. S. history scholar (Kenton) ; prizes in gold for best senior essays (Miami) ; 3 medals for best essay on the Revolution (Canton) ; pub- lic lectures in schools on patriotic subjects; help in the school observance of national holidays. One chapter (Kenton) urged the use of a disinfectant for sweeping and better sanitary arrangements, gave seeds and prizes for beautification of school yards in a contest entered into by 200 pupils Only 9 of the 57 Ohio chapters answered the questionnaire. But 4 of these indicated future interest in rural schools. Two plan co- operation through rural school committees. One chapter "con- tributes to the education of southern mountain whites" (not Ohio's) 222' OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Association of Collegiate Alumnae There are over 1,200 college graduates eligible to the 3 branches of the A. C. A. at Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. They reported no work for public schools so far. * However, in November, 1913, the Columbus branch took the initiative in bringing before college women throughout the state, the majority of whom live in small towns or rural communities, a program for rural school cooperation ' during the next year. Letters were first sent to 500 graduates ask- ing their interest for School Survey Day. A card file and pin map of all college women was prepared as well as score cards similar to those used by the Farm Women's Clubs. Each college graduate will be urged to report on the needs of at least 1 rural school and help secure the improvements found desirable Suggestions for increasing club cooperation If among the interests of organized women in Ohio rural school im- provement were emphasized for 1 year, the results would be astonishing. If all local clubs in each of these 5 groups were doing what only a very small fraction reports, the benefits to schools can easily be pictured. In the hope of bringing about more and con- tinuous interest by women's organizations in rural schools, espe- cially in using School Inquiry findings, Governor Cox, in Novem- ber, 1913, asked the presidents of these 5 groups to appoint a repre- sentative to serve on a joint School Survey Council and to meet first at the time of the Educational Congress, December 5 and 6 The following suggestions are offered for this Council by the com- mission : That the representatives of the 5 state organizations of women be appointed to serve 2 years That a member be elected chairman and another secretary for 2t years That meetings of the School Survey Council be held at least twice a year, in the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruct ion. That the state Superintendent be always asked to attend and the other state officials when their help is needed That members of this Council have currently on record (1) The number and location of local clubs or members who are already interested in work for rural schools OUTSIDE COOPERATION 223 (2) The number and location of those who are not but might be interested (3) A list of the rural schools by county, township and school dis- trict with which local members are in touch (4) Other facts about the school cooperation of each state organization, what clubs and individuals have done already and what remains to be done That a list be kept currently up to date of individual schools as yet not scored and helped by women's clubs That the Council endeavor to work through local clubs in each locality, and a local committe devoted to rural school improve- ment, representing women's organizations, business men, granges, libraries, charitable agencies, medical and dental associations, universities or colleges, teachers' organizations How the State Orange is helping schools Five hundred eighty of the 600 granges with over 44,000 members in Ohio discussed at some meeting some phase of the rural school question during the past year, 1912-1913; 21 local granges report a committee on schools which visits the school from twice a year to once a month ; members of 101 granges are urged to visit their schools; in 66 granges, members report bad conditions in schools; in 147 granges members are urged to work for the best men on boards of education ; in 92 granges the women have been requested to vote at school elections ; 37 of 600 granges have held open meet- ings for teachers and scholars; 90 granges have taken action to secure township, high or centralized schools ; the employment of a township superintendent has been urged by 88 granges One grange donated to A school a library of 40 volumes on agriculture and domestic science; another gave an organ, laid cement walks, offered prizes for best essays on agriculture or domestic science, offered a scholarship at the State University. Other granges re- port that they plan to paper the school house, buy better lights, hold a lecture course for the benefit of township schools. How close the connection can be with schools is illustrated in one case where township and high school superintendents, nearly every teacher and all members of the board of education are grangers. Another grange always meets Friday night in the high school auditorium and nearly half of the membership is made up of "young people who go to school" 224 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Each of the 50 Pomona granges reports that ,it has taken an active interest in education during the past year; 12 Pomona granges report a county committee on schools; the Pomona grange of Coshocton County adopted in June, 1912, a uniform report for scoring all the schools in the county The State Lecturer has made it a part of his annual program to dis- cuss some phase of the question of how the grange can improve the * schools. In cooperation with the School Survey Commission, a questionnaire was sent in November, 1913, to 600 local masters and to 50 Pomona granges. The answers were tabulated by the State Lecturer Sixty granges which had taken no definite action about school im- provement report that they will study the question along the lines above suggested. One wrote, "We will get busy at once." An- other, "If. these 20 or 25 pupils were cattle we would look after them once every 2 or 3 days. But as it is we trust all to the teacher, not even visiting him and talking matters over." Referring to the questionnaire, one master wrote: "This is the first thing of this kind that has come before me. If you have anything that you can send us that will help us get started on this work, we would be very thankful for the same" Suggestions for increasing grange cooperation That the state officers of the grange appoint a committee to consist of the lecturer and 4 deputy or Pomona masters (preferably in- cluding 2 women), representing 4 sections of the state to co- operate with the state Superintendent of Public Instruction in a continuous effort to secure more attention from local granges to school improvement That this grange School Council issue to local members uniform score cards for rural schools, dealing mostly with physical condi- tions and equipment; one copy to be filed with the chairman of the council, a duplicate in the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction That this Council cooperate freely with the division of cooperation of the Bureau of Economy and Efficiency to be established in the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction OUTSIDE COOPERATION 325 i How county fair boards stimulate school improvement Three hundred ninety-five superintendents of schools who re- ported to the Survey Commission out of 942 stated that during the last 5 years county fair exhibits of school work had been made by 16 city districts (26% of those reporting) ; 21 township districts (21%) ; 35 village districts (18%) ; 5 special districts (10%) ; a total of TJ school districts or 19% of those reporting These educational exhibits include manuscript work and sets of papers in arithmetic, spelling, geography, history, language, physiology, music, kindergarten work, drawings, maps and charts, essays, plant, insect, bird and soil studies, manual training and sewing, as summarized in the following table : Special Districts Townships Villages Cities Total No. districts asked, to report No. of districts reporting Exhibits • None Agricultural Drawing Manuscripts Manual training General school work . . Domestic science Flowers Handiwork Penmanship Laboratory work ....'. Weaving 172 48 35 8 3 4 1 1 2 1 2 2 264 98 64 23 10 6 7 6 6 5 2 3 2 425 188 108 21 28 23 11 21 10 3 3 8 4 2 80 61 30 3 11 15 16 4 7 3 7 3 1 941 395 237 65 52 48 35 32 25 12 14 16 7 6 Putnam County offers a special set of premiums for penmanship displays. Some fair boards set certain contests for school children's exhibits. For example, Hardin County required for penmanship displays, the writing of the Twenty-third Psalm, The Children's Hour, The Bare- foot Boy. Premiums from $2 to $10 are offered to each school making a certain standard exhibit or to township displays. In Warren County each school exhibiting receives a set of books. The amount in premiums for winners varies from $25 to $950. Free admission is often offered to school children or on "children's day." Many counties have special 15 s. s. 226 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT "educational halls" for school exhibits. The rules for contests and list of premiums for educational exhibits are included in the regular fair prospectus. In some counties juvenile contests are advertised in newspapers; in, others separate folders are prepared for teachers Rural schools are included in most of the county exhibits. In 4 counties some premiums are for rural schools alone, as in Hardin County, and prizes are given in books and pictures. In Wood County there is a special class for ungraded schools with premiums for children of dif- ferent ages. School displays of the results of agriculture teaching include corn, wheat, potatoes, apples, vegetables, stock for boys, baking and sewing and flower growing for girls, also nature study in the schools Where educational exhibits are held each year fair boards seem to con- sider them successful in "stimulating interest in education" and in making "children and parents more interested in the fair as a whole." Ten fair boards reported either that schools would not cooperate or the board had not yet taken up educational features. "Schools haven't shown any disposition to take part. . . . No interest. . . . Comes wrong time of year. . . . Have not had any since 1905. . . . Teachers did not like to prepare for it. ... Teachers do not take interest they should in encouraging local contests" Fair boards, county agricultural and crop improvement societies con- tributed over 100 free trips to Washington in 1913 as awards to county corn contest winners (See p. 249) How business men's organizations help rural schools The Hillsboro Business Men's Association set apart one day for a Boys' and Girls' Congress in November, 1912. Over 1500 pupils attended the morning and afternoon sessions, their expenses being paid by the Association which also furnished lunch. Members of the Association gave prizes for the best description of the Congress. One member gave $5 in gold for the best essay on "Why a Boy Should Stay on the Farm." The contests were county-wide. This is the first congress of its kind ever held in the United States The Commercial Club of Bradford, a village of 1850 inhabitants, was responsible for an agricultural extension school and cooperated with the public schools in a county fair display which won the first prize. Better equipment for schools, prizes for essays, and debates, instruc- tion in civics and the use of school buildings for neighborhood meet- ings have also received attention from this club The Elyria Chamber of Commerce has under consideration the establish- ment of a committee on rural relationships. It has already sent a OUTSIDE COOPERATION 227 committee to inspect rural schools for health conditions ; given lectures on trade training, prizes for essays and debates, and has, through a special good roads committee, endeavored to improve roads to school houses. The Athens Commercial Club has shown interest in rural schools by working with the budget commission which resulted in a larger levy and higher salaries for teachers. It has also helped the schools exhibit at the county fair. The Chamber of Commerce of Upper Sandusky has .encouraged fair exhibits, corn and domestic science contests among rural schools. The Napoleon Chamber has a committee on rural school conditions Rural school problems received during 1912-1913 the attention of 12 groups of business men (out of 48 reporting) : agricultural instruction, 9; county fair participation, 7; better roads, 7; health of pupils, 6; prizes for essays-, debates, 5 ; school tax, 4 ; higher salaries for teachers, 3; trade training, 3; instruction in civics, 3. Two organizations each reported interest in securing new buildings, enforcing compulsory at- tendance, getting better school equipment, promoting neighborhood use of school buildings and furnishing relief to , needy pupils; only 1 organization reported an interest in athletics and recreation The business men of villages and small cities gave '157 of the 388 free trips to Washington offered for winners in corn contests in 1913; of these 61 were given by banks, 40 by a single firm, 221 by chambers of commerce and commercial clubs, 16 by grain dealers, 15 by groups of merchants and business men, and 3 by "Boosters' Clubs" How helpful to rural schools would be the interest of all groups of business men is indicated by examples of what some have done for city schools; secured playgrounds and relief of needy (Board of Trade, Portsmouth) ; bond sale for new high school (Board of Trade, Lon- don) ; bond issue for addition to school (Board of Commerce, Oberlin) ; commercial course, shorthand and typewriting put in high school (Busi- ness Men's Organization, Garrettsville) ; pupils' visits to manufacturing plants, talks in schools on business success (Chamber of Commerce, Steubenville) ; savings banks (Chamber, Upper Sandusky) ; $300,000 bond issue helped, sanitary condition of schools inspected, urged use of county fair grounds as playgrounds (Chamber, Elyria) ; gifts dis- tributed in school at Christmas (Merchants' Retail Association, Athens) ; prize for cleanest school grounds (Progressive Association, Bellaire) ; $150 for mechanics' institute class in drafting (Carriage Makers' Club, Cincinnati). 'After investigation supported the board of education in the proposition to issue $40,000 of schools bonds for repair of old buildings and building of new building; proposition carried though a former proposition of $25,000 had failed to carry. 228 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT We conducted a newspaper publicity campaign and paid expenses thereof. The committee reported that criticism of board of education was partly due to lack of publicity relative to school matters and the proceedings of the board, and recommended that all meetings be public, held at regular times and that proceedings be published" How variously an organization of business men can help is strikingly illustrated by the Business Men's Club of Cincinnati which has taken an active interest through its public school committee and through a council of public education formed by business and civic organizations at a meeting called by the president of the Business Men's Club. School budgets or bond issues are carefully considered by the public school committee. The club played an active part in securing the enactment of the small school board law. Some of the finest school buildings of any city are due to its interest. Members are to give talks in schools on' civics and business success, and a series of talks on local historical subjects is also being arranged. Playgrounds and the neighborhood use of school buildings have received attention. Visits to manufac- turing plants are arranged for pupils. At all meetings of the board of education, representatives of the Business Men's Club are present and make reports to the public school committee, the board of directors and through them to the membership of the club Of 201 chambers of commerce, boards of trade and business men's clubs, ii bankers' associations, 17 organizations of manufacturers to which a questionnaire was sent, only 43 answered, 13 of which reported no interest in either city or rural schools; 12 only, reported interest in rural schools. Ten of 43 agencies answering, stated that business men's attention to school needs is continuous through permanent com- mittees. For example, the Builders' Exchange of Cleveland has a com- •mittee which is especially interested in trade and technical instruction, "as we feel this is the solution of the early dropping of school by boys and girls in the large cities." Only 6 organizations reported com- mittees on rural schools. The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce has a "very live" committee on agriculture and rural development which has not so far taken up school questions but wishes suggestions. Six of 43 .agencies reporting, said that attention is intermittent through specially appointed committees, mass meetings and taxpayer's hear- ings. For instance, the Boot and Shoe Manufacturers' Association of Cincinnati sent a committee to a high school meeting on vocational guidance. The proportion of interest and lack of interest by business men is shown in the accompanying graph OUTSIDE COOPERATION 229 Suggestions for increasing business men's interest That the State Chamber of Commerce, Bankers' Association, Manu- facturers' Association and other state organizations of business men and merchants, each appoint a committee to outline in co- operation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction a pro- gram for developing the interest of members in local school needs, and for reporting results That the state Superintendent through the proposed Bureau of Efficiency and Economy, division of cooperation, keep all organizations of business men on a mailing list for current information about local school needs Letters sent to 229 Business men's Organizations No answer Answer but no cooperation KEY saa Cooperation with city schools only cd Cooperation with rural schools How labor unions help schools 'We would like to ask for what information you can give as to the manner in which other labor organizations have taken an interest in schools, so as to enable us to outline some plan whereby we can take up this much needed work" . . . "Your communication will be taken up before the Central Labor Union at their next meeting; as I am a delegate will do all that I can to enlist the entire labor movement in this work" . . '. "If you can give me any information that I can hand to our boys and other men that I meet in my daily work, 1 will do so" . . . "The school question is something that should be more closely looked into. I would be glad to know more about school work" . . . "There should be more attention, to compulsory attendance and commercial training, apprentice courses, instruction in civics, additional playgrounds, relief of needy pupils, establishment of savings banks, etc." . . . "Our local will take a more active in- terest in school affairs in the future." Such are the comments of local labor unions on cooperation with their schools 230 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Active interest in public school problems was reported for 1912-1913: savings banks by 2 unions, publicity of school needs, 3 ; health of pupils, 4; industrial training, 4; enforcing compulsory attendance, 4; athletics, 4; budget or bond issues, 6; neighborhood use of school buildings, 5 ; relief of needy pupils, 5 ; school law improvements, 6 ; new buildings, 6; playgrounds, 6. One union reports interest in com- mercial training; another in vocational guidance; another in talks on business success; a fourth in continuation schools The Metal Polishers' Local Union No. 5 of Dayton has been interested in a successful bond issue, in securing examination of pupils for physi- cal defects, extension of athletics and playgrounds, industrial and com- mercial training, erection of several new buildings, and more publicity about school needs. An unsuccessful effort was made to secure the neighborhood use of school buildings. The Glass Bottle Blowers' Association, Branch 20 of Zanesville, was actively interested in se- curing provision for free text books up to the 5th grade. Several other unions report interest in the question of free text books, e. g. "If we did not have the free use of text books and appliances there would be but a small percent of our children that would be able to even go to the first year of high school." The Akron Central Labor Union reports that it has aided in every bond issue .the purpose of which was to promote education. "Our latest was our successful effort to have the municipality own Buchtel College" All but 2 of the unions reporting, said that their members would be glad to know what other labor unions are doing for rural and city schools. Three wrote special letters asking for information. Among the reasons given for previous lack of interest are : "Our local Mem- bership is small and we therefore have given the above subject no consideration" . . . "We have never been invited or requested by the school board to take any part or make any suggestions to that body. However, we as a progressive union would request that your Commission furnish us information" . . . "It seems that in the past most efforts on the part of organized labor in the interests of their children have been ignored, but we hope that the day may soon come that our children may be able to finish a thorough school course, both in high schools and colleges" In November, 1913, it was suggested to the secretary of the Ohioi Federation of Labor that, the potential interest of local unions in schools be fostered by frequent bulletins, suggestions and questions which would call attention to local school problems and needs which labor unions might help to meet OUTSIDE COOPERATION 23 1 What physicians and dentists can do for schools Volunteer service to demonstrate the need for medical and dental exami- nation, free treatment of pupils who cannot afford to pay, talks to parents, teachers, children, promoting athletics, real instruction in hygiene and special attention for mentally or physically defective children, — these are some of the ways in which physicians and dentists can help in every community. Women's clubs in 12 cities reported that physicians and dentists in their communities have helped call attention to physical needs of school children by securing physical examination and giving talks to pupils in 7 cities, improving hygiene instruction in 6, promoting athletics in 5, securing free treatment in 5, and attention to defective children in 4. The dentists in Marion gave talks to pupils. The Fairfield medical and dental associations have helped in securing medical and dental examination in Lancaster What has been done by county and local medical and dental associations and by individuals to bring about medical examination under the chil- dren's code in all school districts cannot be estimated without asking each local agency. The State Board of Health has no material on file on this subject. What might be done by professional association?; for rural schools Js indicated by the examination of one township's schools in cooperation with the School survey Commission (See p. 194), cooperation with Y. M. C. A. (See p. 237) Suggestions for increasing professional interest Tha$ the State Medical and Dental Associations make an investigation of the cooperation of local groups and individuals with public schools, especially in small town and rural communities and report to the State Board of Health and the Superintendent of Public Instruction That a central council representing these 2 state departments, the State Medical and Dental Associations and other agencies inter- ested in health be formed to (1) Collect and file data currently about what physicians, nurses, dentists and hospitals are doing for schools, especially in rural districts (2) Pass on definite suggestions to local groups showing how, as volunteers, they may help to start medical inspection, school nurses, open air schools, etc. 232 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT (3) Cooperate with women's clubs, granges, teachers and superin- tendents in securing provision for school inspection and in meeting pupils' health needs in each local community That the state Superintendent of Public Instruction keep these medical and dental associations on his mailing list How needy children are helped to stay in school Public aid if necessary, to enable children to obey the compulsory educa- tion law is supposed by the Ohio laws to be among the minimum rights of every Ohio school child and among the minimum duties of every Ohio board of education. Section 7777 of the School Law requires a board of education on the report of a truant officer to furnish "text books free of charge and such other relief as may be necessary to enable the child to attend school for the time each year required by law." This provision brings out clearly the necessity for truant officers, adequate systems of truancy follow-up, and for learning whether absences from school are due to poverty Concerning aid given by boards of education during 1912-1913, superin- tendents in 357 districts (out of a total of 942 supervised districts) reported that 143 districts or 40% of those reporting gave no relief in 62 village, 5 city, 48 township and 28 special districts. A total of 125 districts or 35% of those reporting stated that relief was given to 1821 families and 2547 children, in 60 villages, 25 cities, 28 townships and 12 special districts. In 89 districts irregular relief is reported Of the opinions of 249 superintendents (out of 942) concerning the satisfactoriness of the law, 80% were that the law is satisfactory in 76% of villages, 91% of cities, 72% of townships and 95% of special districts reporting As the reports by boards of education now come to the state Superin- tendent, the amount spent for relief is not separated from the general item "amount for all other purposes," i. e. everything but salaries, supervision expenses, buildings, grounds and bond redemption Besides school boards, township trustees are also giving relief to fam- ilies with school children. In 1912, the State Board of Charities re- ported 20,795 children under 16 years (including infants) in families receiving outdoor relief from township trustees and municipalities. The year before, 10,992 children were relieved. In many townships, reports are incomplete or entirely missing. It cannot be estimated how many teachers and supervisors know of and use this public source of relief for needy children when boards of education are not furnishing help OUTSIDE COOPERATION 233 Cities having private charitable agencies which give relief to families in their homes. Cities with organized agencies : © from 4,000 to 10,000 innabitimts o •• 10.000 „ 20,000 .. ,» 20,000 „ 30,000 ,« overao,ooo ., • cities of over 4,000 » without organized agencies. Total Population 1,715,9 If WHERE CHILDREN ARE REACHED BY ORGANIZED PRIVATE CHARITIES UWCWdrai \ 906Q»Uit! P 2826 Towns of UNDER 4,000 Rtpunng no rYirue ChuAiei Total S19. 991 -?- 12 Citid a ova 4000 Repwiung Pnvau Chuilie Total 175,092 mat U*i549 Total '40.621 Total 211,451 234 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Finally, .besides relief from boards of education and township trustees, numerous private relief-giving agencies are touching schools in their communities A report estimates that there are organized relief agencies in 34 of 98 towns with over 4000 population, and that among the 13,459 families aided, there are 20,179 children of school age (based on estimate of 3 children to each 2 families aided). The accompanying map and chart show the location of these private agencies, the relation of organized charity to the size of city, and the gaps where there is absolutely no information about private relief for school children There is now in Ohio no evidence as to (1) how- much public money is spent on enabling children to obey the law; (2) whether the effective- ness of relief is greatest when given by a board of education, town- ship trustee, or private agency; (3) what efforts are made to discover fundamental causes of poverty; (4) how far there is overlapping or cooperation between public and private agencies; (5) whether there is any "confidential exchange" of cases being helped by each agency; (6) whether public relief is greater or less where private agencies are organized; (7) how many needy children are not reached by any of these agencies, and are therefore deprived in part or entirely of school advantages Suggestions for securing data about relief of needy children That the state Superintendent of Public Instruction prepare uniform blanks calling for all the necessary facts about relief-giving by each board of education, including Number of children aided Number of children reported as needy by truant officer and by others Number of children given each kind of relief i. e. text books, clothing, shoes, scholarships, car fare Number of families of these children, aided in each month, to show seasonal need Amount spent by boards under section 7777 Evidence of adequate investigation and proof of need That the regular records of the State Board of Charities secure from township trustees these facts Number of children between 6-16 in families receiving relief Amount spent on special relief for school children, medical atten- tion, clothing (i. e. not general family expenses of food and fuel) Number of children reported by the trustees to boards of education as coming under section 7777 Amount spent for relief necessary because of communicable disease OUTSIDE COOPERATION 235 That township trustees be required to report to local boards of edu- cation, and boards of education to township trustees, all families with children of school age which are receiving public moneys for out-door relief, in order to prevent inadequate relief, duplication and fraud That the State Board of Charities secure uniform reports from all private charitable organizations operating within the state. The law now merely requires that any home receiving children shall be subject to the same visitation, inspection and supervision from the State Board of Charities as are public charitable institutions That the State Board of Charities publish annually a complete list of charitable agencies That a thorough study be made by the State Board of Charities or the Conference of Charities and Correction of the question of ma- terial relief for school children, both public and private, to deter- mine to what extent the relief of school boards, township officers and private agencies is scientific, adequate and constructive Lebanon Trust's county=wide work for schools The foundation established in 1912 in Lebanon represents an investment of $80,000 and is cited here as an example of cooperation with schools of a whole county as well as of a town The "acre of corn" contest was started by the Lebanon Trust in 1912 when in Warren County a boy raised in bushels of corn on one acre; 41 boys and girls were enlisted in 1913. A series of lectures in 17 schools and churches by local speakers was given throughout the county to promote social life, 50 cents admission usually being charged. In cooperation with the women of Lebanon, $75 in prizes was offered for improvement in school grounds. One school yard has been doubled and 17 maples planted around the edge. Half of the 15 schools in 1 township .planted 1 or more trees, many planted shrubs and flowers. Several schools took money earned from the lecture course to buy good pictures, lamps and window shades. A number of schools were papered, cement walks were laid and 1 new fence was built A county spelling bee was held in Lebanon under the direction of the superintendent of schools. Eight townships were represented by win- ners from township bees and probably half a hundred local spelling bees. Two school debates were held in the county 236 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT At Harmon Hall in Lebanon there are classes for boys and girls in gymnastics and athletics; shower baths, a manual training room for boys ; picture machines ; dramatic clubs, etc. In the Trust's park and playground high school and grade school baseball and football contests take place. Playground apparatus, tennis courts, outdoor swimming pool are open to all and here large crowds witness athletic events In, the boys' gardens on plots of 500 square feet, crops were raised for market in 1912 by 21 boys; in 1913 by 40. The produce from a com- mon five-acre garden of potatoes and peas is sold and the proceeds put into equipment / What state branches of national bodies are doing Young Men's Christian Association County school athletic leagues which include all the county high, gram- mar and district schools outside of large cities, have been organized , by the Y. M. C. A. according to the "Outdoor Athletic Test for Boys" in rural schools. This test was designed by the secretary of rural health and recreation of the International Commmittee of Y. M. C. A. Sample constitutions, suggestions, rules, records, and scoring tables for each athletic event are provided by the county department of the Y. M. C. A. for any county organizing a school recreation associa- tion with its attendant activities of debating, oratorical and agricul- tural contests and poultry raising. Boys over 60 pounds in weight who are certified as in fit physical condition by a local physician and who are "up" in their school work, may enter. Championships for schools and individuals are awarded by membership in an Athletic Honor Roll or by badges, pennants, etc. This work is under way in S Ohio counties. In Lake county 400 boys took part in athletic events last spring. Ninety per cent of the boys of some schools were actually enrolled Demonstrations of systematic game's show teachers what can be done to enlist children in organized recreation. In 4 counties classes in recreational games were conducted at teachers' institutes for teachers themselves. Teachers have entered enthusiastically into the work, the secretary reports In 6 townships, the county secretary cooperated with teachers in the carrying through of township day festivals in 1912-1913 when chil- dren from the entire township were brought together for a day of play and games OUTSIDE COOPERATION 237 Six local physicians have been enlisted in i county to give talks on "Care of the Teeth," "The Meaning of Hygienic Surroundings," "Personal Hygiene," etc., to 12 different schools. Each physician talks on the subject most familiar to him, according to a schedule arranged by the Y. M. C. A. in cooperation with school officials In agricultural and domestic science contests also, the Y. M. C. A. helps the schools to enlist boys and girls. In the 5 counties, over 500 boys and girls entered the contests for corn raising, potatoes, onions, poultry and vegetables, stock judging, cut flowers, etc. One hundred twenty men were enrolled in one county Y. M. C. A. evening classes in English for foreigners. In 1 town a class in engineering, in the handling of a stationary engine and boilers, was conducted by the association (36 South Third St., Columbus O.) Young Women's Christian Association The Ohio and West Virginia Field Committee of the Y. W. C. A. en- deavors to come into close touch with older school girls both in school and out, by conducting club work of various sorts. In Toledo there are over 400 high school girls in clubs and classes conducted by the Association. In some cities (number not stated) the Association's physical director teaches gymnasium classes in the high school No work is reported in rural and village districts (806 Mercantile Library Building, Cincinnati; O.) Camp Fire Girls Camp Fires are frequently organized in high schools, with teachers as guardians. These groups of 10 girls from 14 to 21 years old, often meet in schools and the educational side of camp fire lore is more or less related to school subjects. There are 306 guardians and probably 4,000 Camp Fire Girls in Ohio. Only 16 of these groups are organized in schools. Whether any of these are in rural and village communities could not be ascertained The Camp Fire organization includes girls who meet usually weekly, in schools, homes or outdoors in good weather (118 East 28th St., New York City) Child Labor. Committee "The Ohio Child Labor Committee has not been active in rural com- munities for the reason that forms of child labor which are restricted by the state law are not found as a rule in such places, inasmuch as the law does not apply to agricultural work" 238 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT The Committee gives 2 reasons for not having studied how far the legal provision for school board relief is being enforced, viz., lack of funds and difficulties in getting information The committee reports that it will be glad to cooperate with any local agency in the state to secure the enforcement of compulsory, education and child labor laws in rural as well as in urban districts. (Write to Edward N. Clopper, Ohio Child Labor Committee, Cincinnati, Ohio) Playground and Recreation Association A.t the time of the Cleveland meeting of the Association in 1912, special publicity, emphasizing rural . recreation, was sent to town and small city newspapers in Ohio and neighboring states. As a result, a large proportion of inquiries have been coming from Ohio. In the Associa- tion's year book for 1912, are listed for Ohio, 8 recreation com- missions and associations with their officers, and 17 cities with or- ganized "play, the number of employes, hours open, attendance, con- trol, expenditure, source of revenue, and date of first supervised playground. Cleveland, Dayton, Fremont, Galion, Lorain, Oakwood Village, Painesville and Youngstown were visited by field secretaries during 1912. Arrangements are under way with 5 other cities for the service of a field secretary and correspondence with 7 others may lead to other field work ; 5 Ohio cities are on the Association's "Honor Roll," with recreation work carried on throughout the year. The Association cooperated with the Lebanon Trust in formulating a state- ment which was sent to Ohio cities interested in social center and recreation development For women's clubs, teachers or superintendents, interested in play- grounds and recreation, and for town improvement leagues, the Asso- ciation offers valuable suggestions and advice. Public as well as school libraries would do well to have this playground literature available for readers (1 Madison Ave., New York City) Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis In cooperation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Society printed 20,000 "Don't" posters on cardboard 14 x 22, red and black, telling simple facts about tuberculosis. These posters were placed on the wall of every school room in the state. In 6 county teachers' in- stitutes, 1913, the secretary of the state Society gave lectures;' 100 teachers are on the regular mailing list; there are now 2 tuberculosis exhibits for use in schools. The propaganda work of the Society also OUTSIDE COOPERATION 239 included in 1912 regular weekly news bulletins to 300 newspapers, free illustrated lectures in 50 cities, and 50,000 pieces of literature distributed In 20 cities, February 29, 1912 was celebrated as Health Day in schools, the work of the Red Cross Seal agents. A bill establishing State Health Day in schools brought up by the Society did not pass the 1912 legislature Open air schools have been started by local anti-tuberculosis leagues in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo. There are 11 local so- cieties in Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Conneaut, Dayton, Eaton, Hamilton, Steubenville, Toledo and Youngstown. There are 11 county societies for Allen, Belmont, Lorain, Erie, Mercer, Hancock, Gallia, Tuscarawas, Fairfield, Scioto and Ross counties. The Celina superintendent of schools is secretary of the Mercer County Society. He has distributed some literature and instructed teachers to em- phasize the value of fresh air cleanliness The secretary of the Society is also in charge of the Division of Tuber- culosis of the State Board of Health, with an appropriation of $25,000 for 2 years, organized as a result of the Society's "Survey of the Tuberculosis Situation in the State of Ohio," 1912, and legislative follow-up campaign (State Board of Health, Capitol, Columbus) How teachers' associations help schools Ohio State Teachers' Association Out of 27,000 teachers, 2,052 were members in ^.913 of the Ohio State Teachers' Association, with an attendance of 857 (41%) at the meet- ing. Meetings have been held annually since the organization of the Asociation in 1847. Besides the general meetings of the Association, there are held each year section meetings for superintendents, high, elementary, rural school teachers, teachers of commercial subjects, drawing, art, etc. A plan has been worked out by which the 6 sec- tional associations of the state will be affiliated with the State Teachers' Association and elect representatives on all its committees. This plan has been approved by the sectional associations and will be considered by the State Association at its next meeting Ohio School Improvement Federation The Federation has worked chiefly for the enactment and enforcement of school laws. It does not discuss methods of teaching but rather methods of financing schools and protecting children and teachers. It drafted and promoted the minimum term and minimum wage law, the 240 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT institute pay law, the non-partisan school board election law and others. A score or more of suits have been brought and carried to settlement, sometimes to the state supreme court, to compel boards of education to obey the law. The Federation organized in 1902 as the result of a study of teachers' federations in this and other countries, has now 4,000 members, and holds an annual conference at which the social aspects and needs of teachers are discussed Ohio Teachers' Reading Circle The Circle is a self-supporting organization. Its purpose and extent affect the teaching efficiency of members more or less because of the books read each year. Of 26,972 teachers in the state, 11,132 or 41% were members of the Reading Circle in 1912-1913; 5,068 or 22% of these reported their reading at the end of the year; 361 received diplomas for 4 years' work and 1,390 received seals The Circle is managed by a board of control of 9, the state Superintendent and 2 members elected annually by the Ohio State Teachers' Asso- ciation to serve 4 years. At county institutes each year a county secretary is elected who appoints township secretaries. A diploma is given to teachers who report 4 years' reading; seals are given for the reading each year afterward. In many counties the examiners give some credit for this work. Books to be read each year are se- lected by the board of control and sold to teachers by the business manager. Local reading circles are often conducted by the super- intendent or high school principal. Bulletins giving the last year's report, lists of those receiving diplomas, books read by the Circle since 1883, names of county secretaries, and lists of books and prices, are widely distributed Ohio Pupils' Reading Circle The Pupils' Circle is managed by the board of the Teachers' Circle which prepared a list of 24 books in grades and 12 for high school. A certificate is given for each of the first 3 grades read by a pupil, a diploma for the completion of any 4 grades, and a seal for each additional year. 20,131 pupils received certificates for read- ing done, 3,543 received diplomas for fourth year completed, and 5,848 received seals for an additional year in 1912-1913. Local circles are conducted by the teacher or books are read by pupils at home. Reading circle books are often used as the nucleus for a school library, purchased by boards of education or with money from school enter- tainments OUTSIDE COOPERATION 24I What public libraries do for schools What one Ohio library does In a town of 7,000 people in the western part of the state, a public library has 10,858 volumes exclusive of public documents and pamphlets. All the work is done by the general librarian. In the city are 30 elementary schools with about 1,100 pupils, and 1 high school of 255 students This library has tried practically every form of cooperation with schools. Last year from 600 to 650 juvenile books were furnished to elementary school libraries for separate rooms. Some of- the teachers ask for the books they want, but others leave the selection to the librarian's judgment. These books are repaired and replaced by the library when worn out, and stay in school during the year The librarian visits the schools to talk about books and to tell teachers of their opportunities as school librarians. About 25 schools were so visited in 1912-1913. At the library itself all the children's books in the children's room are on open shelves. Open reference shelves are kept stocked with books needed in the high school courses, and with books of interest to teachers Any teacher has the privilege of taking out 10 books at a time, or 25 or 30 copies of one book for classroom use. The library has formally asked teachers to suggest new books though no record is kept of how many suggestions come from teachers. For professional reading the library supplies 2 educational magazines and teachers are notified where these periodicals are to be found For several years the library has been instructing classes from the high school how to use the catalogue, reference helps, etc. Every Saturday morning except during July and August there is story telling at the library. Kindergarten teachers are notified and school children come regularly One evidence that teachers are sending pupils to the library is that boys and girls bring from school slips reminding them of subjects to be looked up. Teachers often call the library over the telephone to say that they are sending sections of a class to look up certain topics. The librarian estimates that nearly all the pupils beyond the 2nd grade have library cards, though no separate record is kept. Files of clip- pings and special articles on subjects of interest to teachers are kept in the library, as are also clippings on essay subjects for high school students 16 s. s. 242' OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT All this cooperation was the result of a district library meeting in 1910 when the state library organizer described the possibilities of school cooperation. Similar work is being done by libraries in several other cities 150 public libraries The reports from 76 of 150 public libraries which answered questionnaires from the School Survey Commission cannot be included here for lack of space. The details of cooperation of libraries in cities with public schools indicate what might also be done by libraries for village and rural schools Library's contact with schools is in brief: 1 Cooperation which costs nothing Special shelf of books of interest to teachers Special shelf for high school students Special shelf of interest to elementary children, by grades Posting on school bulletin, notices to teachers and pupils about new books and magazine articles of interest to teachers and pupils Clipping file of newspaper and magazine articles on topics in the course of study and correlated subjects Files of material needed for debates, essays, etc. Free literature: e. g. bulletins of the U. S. Bureau of Education, Children's Bureau, Department of Agriculture; reports of state departments of education, health, agriculture; reports of city de- partments; bulletins of the Russell Sage Foundation, Bureaus of Municipal Research, General and Southern Boards, etc. Invitations to high and elementary school classes to come to the library the last period of school for talks about books and demon- strations of how to use the catalog and shelves Talks in schools on how to use the library Reminding every teacher frequently of the library's desire to help and power to help Special loan privileges for teachers Visiting schools to talk to classes about books, and to teachers about books for children and teachers Asking teachers to send for any books they need at school Asking teachers to make lists of books to supplement their work Sending books at the beginning of the year for school libraries in elementary schools Sending for reference use, books needed in high school courses Keeping track of the number of cards issued to school children and the books most called for OUTSIDE COOPERATION 243 Seeing that each child in school has a library borrower's card Keeping a catalog of which teachers borrow books, come to library and send children, so that special effort may be made to interest teachers who do not 2 Cooperation which requires money Make up and post on school bulletin boards lists of (i) suggested reading in connection with each school subject and each grade, both for teachers and for pupils; (2) educational books; (3) for general culture and entertainment of teachers Have loan exhibits at the library, of pictures, statuary, and rare books, on holidays Ask teachers and pupils to suggest books they would like to have the library secure Subscribe for more kinds of educational magazines Have story-telling hours for little children and invite kindergartners to bring their classes Employ a special librarian to develop school cooperation Print library reports and send to teachers Organize library in a school; i. e. accession, classify, catalog and put in loan system There are now 30 libraries receiving township funds and therefore authorized to work through the township Of 76 city and town libraries reporting, only 8 sent books during 1912- 191 3 to schools outside the city or township limits in which the library is located. Marysville's library sent books to 10 schools in Paris town- ship through an arrangement with the board of education. The Toledo library sent books to 4 country schools in 4 different townships "Of the 150 teachers, enrolled at the county teachers' institute, 36 out- side the limits of Circleville used that library during 1912-1913. Prob- ably every high school in the county made some use of the library during the period given." The Tiffin library furnished books to 6 schools outside the city limits. The Painesville Public Library is open for free use of the township residents, and sent books during 1912- 191 3 to the 9 township schools. The Geneva librarian reports that "for several years we received about 350 volumes from the state library and sent them out to district schools in the township" The Miami University library furnished books to the Hamilton High School at Hamilton and hopes to become a "real township library." The Amherst library has for 2 years secured a box of books from the Traveling Library for the township schools at South Amherst. 244 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT The Milan township library sent last year in sets for each room and each school, no volumes to the elementary schools and i high school in the township Besides the library of Van Wert County (see below) there are 6 other libraries which are operating under the county law, — in Hamilton, Erie, Richland, Paulding, Greene and Ross Counties. In these 6 counties there are 549 elementary and 8 high schools in township districts, i. e. outside of village towns and cities The Cincinnati library reaches the whole of Hamilton county with about 100,000 elementary and 15,000 high school pupils. Talks are given to teachers at teachers' institutes. The librarian did not report to how many schools outside the city limits books were sent last year The Sandusky library has done county work for years, but the tax comes only from the town. The Newark Library also reports that it loans books free to anyone in the county who desires them Van Wert County Library The first county library ever established (1901) was the gift of a citizen and is maintained by an appropriation by the county com- missioners. Branches and salaried custodians are located in 15 towns and trading stations. Weekly lists of books are published in daily papers of both city and county. Special collections of books and exhibits of pictures have been made. Framed cards telling location of branches are hung in railroad stations and public places The library provided a reading and rest room at the County Fair in 1912 with a model collection of agricultural and children's books Through the county teachers' institutes held in Van Wert, the librarian has been able to get teachers individually interested in the library The library's school department was organized in 1906 to extend library work through the county schools. In 1912, 117 of 125 county teachers outside the city of Van Wert had collections totaling 5,474 volumes in their rural schools ; the circulation through rural schools was 23,808 volumes Selection of books is made by the teacher, or the librarian if preferred. These school sets are exchanged sometimes twice a month, but usually once a term as the teacher prefers. Each teacher may have as many books as she has pupils. Lists of the books in each box are prepared and sent to all teachers. Books for adults are supplied where older members wish to use the school library OUTSIDE COOPERATION ' 245 Teachers are required to charge books and send in a monthly report of circulation. Record sheets and post cards are printed and supplied. Each teacher is asked to give a short talk about the care of books to pupils in the fall A «map is prepared by the library locating each branch library in the county with a special symbol for rural schools. Pictures mounted and provided with hangers can be borrowed for use in the school room The cost of school cooperation of the library for the entire county is estimated at $65.79 in 1912. Books which the library does not care to buy are borrowed of the State Library and when the supply for coun- try schools is running -short, the library borrows collections from the traveling library department State Library Circulation and reference departments Teachers and superintendents have the privilege of the circulating department in drawing 2 volumes for 2 weeks and renewal, though no special arrangement is made for teachers. During the school year 1912-1913, 337 teachers and superintendents had personal cards Library organizer The work of the organizer is to visit specially the non-tax supported libraries in the state, to encourage the keeping of proper records in accession, registration and circulation, to install standard charging systems, to classify libraries needing such help, to assist in the work of cataloging, to stimulate an increased use of many libraries, to hold district meetings in various parts of the state, to develop library extension through teachers' institutes and to encourage the taking of training in the summer and long-course library schools During the year 1912-1913 no libraries were started in schools Traveling library The traveling library had 81,195 volumes in September, 1913, in- cluding 2,251 volumes for teachers on psychology and education and 30,307 juvenile books. No catalog nor list of books on special topics of interest to teachers has been printed except 1 on art (1911), and 1 on agriculture, (1909) which is to be brought up to date During the year ending November, 1913, libraries with 40,413 books in them were sent to 456 township, district, rural and village schools, 238 high schools, grammar and intermediate departments, and 9 colleges and 2 normals in 74 counties 246 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Any school, woman's club or grange can secure 60 books for 4 months with a 4 month renewal privilege by signing an application, appoint- ing a librarian and paying transportation charges Any individual may draw 5 volumes for 3 months on a personal application card. Only 10 or more teachers have applied. After 100 school superin- tendents had been invited by letter to visit the traveling library and make up the sets they wanted, only 3 responded Copies of all books listed in the state Superintendent's report and by the Ohio Teachers' Reading Circle have been ordered together with the books required for the Farm Women's Clubs (See p. 218). The sets made up for schools do not include books especially intended for the use of parents The $12,000 appropriation is not administered by the traveling librarian according to a classified budget. The librarian O.K.'s vouchers and bills incurred by her library, but has no voice in de- termining what proportion of the $7,500 for purchase of books and current expenses shall be spent on books for children, farmers, teachers, etc., on printing, publishing, and office equipment, at what seasons the greatest expenditures are required, etc. The librarian stated that $10,000 was turned back unexpended from the state library fund last year although the work of the traveling library was said to be hampered seriously for lack of assistants and books The present quarters and force of the library are hindering its effect- iveness. Delays in printing, ordering and repairing hold up the work. Much "dead" material including 586 readers- and primers and about 100 volumes of fiction, together with many books awaiting bindings and mending are piled up, yet there is hardly shelf room enough to hold the books in circulation. Nothing was done last year about keeping up to date the clippings from magazines donated to the library Ohio Library Association The Association with 512 members in 96 cities and towns, represents 150 public libraries. A library and school committee has endeavored to develop the understanding of teachers and pupils of the use of the library. Talks were given by representatives of the Ohio Library Association before 6 teachers' institutes during the summer of 1910 and before 17 in 1909. The Association has been officially represented at normal schools and university departments of education during the year 1912-1913 for talks about teachers' opportunities through public libraries OUTSIDE COOPERATION 247 Suggestions for increasing library cooperation That county and district superintendents be required to instruct teachers just how to secure and make use of library facilities, state and local That examinations for teaching certificates include questions about the use of library facilities That the library organizer make a special effort to demonstrate to each county library and to all those receiving township funds the advantages of reaching rural schools: By sending speakers to county institutions Letters to each teacher Lists of books Having children come to library in groups for instruction Extension work through clippings and magazine articles by subjects Circulating library of educational magazines Observing library days for individual schools That in securing information from public libraries for publication in the annual report of the state library organizer, a plan be adopted whereby each library will be rated according to the amount of effort made to secure more complete use of the library's books^ staff and equipment by teachers and pupils in public schools. Libraries receiving township and county funds will be rated ac- cording to the percentage of schools, teachers and pupils they reach That in a similar way libraries be scored for municipal reference work, work with organizations, such as women's clubs, churches, etc. The total rating of each library might be sent with a personal note announcing the report That the library organizer also gather data and make a report each year in cooperation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction on library facilities in schools, number, kind and condition of books furnished by boards of education, extent of circulation, etc. That the trained state library staff and the State Department of Public Instruction cooperate to secure (i) more books in school buildings; (2) closer cooperation between public libraries, wherever established, and schools; (3) teachers who know how to use the library in schools and the public library; (4) more general distribu- tion of books, lists and talks among schools in rural, village and other communities without libraries, through the township and county library systems 248 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT That the traveling library be moved to adequate quarters, easily available to visiting teachers and superintendents; current lists of sets for school libraries by grades be printed and distributed each year to every teacher in rural and village schools That the librarian be freed from clerical work during July and August so she can visit all teachers' institutes, county fairs, association* meetings, etc. That magazine clippings be brought up to date, classified and sent out in answer to requests for material on special subjects That "dead" material be disposed of at once and books put in good condition so the entire library may be in circulation That all the divisions of the state library be coordinated by the state budget commissioner who occupies a strategic position for provid- ing the maximum returns from state library funds Outside agencies helping to teach farm improvement through schools State Agricultural Commission The State Agricultural Commission is in touch with public schools through its various juvenile contests, the state fair exhibits, farmers' institutes, etc. Corn contests started in 1912, when 1,200 boys entered; 2,670 boys and girls entered in 1913. Candidates are boys under 20 and girls under 18, who may or may not be in school. No separate record is kept of the candidates within the school age. They fill in application blanks sent by the State Commission which also sends out the rules of the contests and instructions about securing literature. The Commission sends out bulletins and advice to candidates and items to local papers ; its representatives organize local interest to raise money for trips and encourage boys to enter contests. The average yield of contest .win- ners in 1912 was 85 bushels per acre; 91 boys raised over 100 bushels per acre where the average yield of farmers is 35 bushels. The state offered $285 in cash prizes to the 14 boys anywhere in the state getting the highest yield of corn. In 1913, the winner from Allen County raised 131 bushels Two hundred forty boys entered the wheat contests in 1913 for $380 cash prizes given by the state to the boys raising the largest yield on one acre. The winner from Putnam County, for his yield of 56 OUTSIDE COOPERATION 249 bushels, received $100. The average yield of the prize winners was 45 bushels per acre, while the average yield for men throughout the state was 17 bushels Contests for girls are in baking, butter-making, canning, preserving and sewing. Both city and town girls are eligible. The State Com- mission furnishes $10 toward the expense of sending 1 girl from each county to Washington. The rest of the funds are raised locally. In 1913, 134 girls reported to the State Commission that they had entered for these contests, though probably others entered who did not send in their names ; 12 are from cities Girls' "beautiful lawn" contests were started in Clarke County in 1913 when 2 trips to Washington, two $5 gold pieces, prizes and a silver loving cup were offered for the biggest improvement in home sur- roundings. Fifteen girls entered and submitted photographs of their homes and gardens as they looked in early spring. In September the judges visited all their lawns and awarded the prizes. Shelby County also held a county-wide contest with 35 contestants for 3 free trips to Washington. Stereopticon slides showing transformation are shown at farmers' and teachers' institutes, women's club meetings, etc. The "On to Washington" plan of rewarding winners in county, state and local corn contests was first put in practice in 1912 when 306 boys took the trip on the "Buckeye Corn Special." In 1913, 1,225 people went to Washington including many older people beside the boy and • girl winners. According to the records sent to the State Commission up to Oct. 20, 1913, there were offered 143 trips open to county con- testants; 195 trips open to township contestants; 50 trips open to district contestants. Some of these 50 trips given by merchants were open only to those within trade limits. One county, Putnam, offered 25 trips in 1913, 6 open to the county and at least 1 trip for the winner in each township. In 6 counties no trips were offered in 1913. Of the 388 trips offered, 20 were specifically for girls The 388 trips were offered in 1913 by Fair boards, agricultural and crop improvement associations 106 Granges .-...,. 17 Banks 61 One firm 4° Individual 29 Congressmen 18 Chamber of commerce and commercial clubs 22 Grain dealers 16 Newspapers 6 25O OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Popular subscription 33 Groups of merchants and business men 15 Farmers' clubs and institutes 18 Boosters' clubs 3 Colleges and institutes 2 County officials 1 Schools and granges 1 Superintendents from 395 of 942 school districts report concerning agri- cultural contests, that no part was taken in 32 (66.6%) of the special districts reporting; 40 (65.5%) of the city districts; 124 (65.9%) of the village districts; 45 (46%) of the township districts; and 241 (61%) of all the districts. Corn contests were reported in 42 vil- lage, 31 township, 13 special and 9 city districts, not more than 3 or 4 boys participated in each district. Wheat contests were reported in 3 village, 3 township and 2 special districts. Contests at farmers' institutes were reported in 1 village and 1 township district. Vegetable contests were reported in 5 village and 2 township districts. Flower contests were reported in 2 township and 1 special district One county in the northeast section of the state reported a "Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Contest." These contests were held in 1912 and 1913 in potato and onion growing, poultry raising, cut flowers and canning. Three loving cups were given in each contest, besides a special free trip to some place of interest. One hundred and twenty- eight boys and girls were eligible for the trip last year. The contests are conducted cooperatively through the county schools, county granges, the fair boards, the county agricultural society, and the Young Men's Christian Association Five two-day farmers' institutes are held in each county by the State Commission with from 300 to 400 attendance. Boys are always in- vited and invitations are sent to teachers; schools are adjourned for a day or half-day. Instructors at the institute talk to pupils in the schools and about 250 schools are thus visited each year All teachers' institutes are offered a lecturer by the Commission. Two field workers visit the institutes which request such talks in the sum- mer. No record is kept of the number of institutes visited The civic improvement secretary of the Agricultural Commission visited teachers' institutes in 20 of 88 counties in 1913, presenting there the possibilities of beautifying school houses inside and out and telling the simple rules for landscape gardening and planting. Eighteen in- stitutes unanimously and 95% in the other 2 institutes voted to carry out these plans. Nursery companies in Ohio make special rates for OUTSIDE COOPERATION 25 1 schools. One has issued, an illustrated pamphlet on what and when and how to plant, which is free to teachers and especially adapted to children's understanding. Teachers in these counties are sending to the Commission for directions as to how to proceed. In many schools children' save their pennies for bulbs. In some cases each class has its own flower beds At the State Fair in 191 2, in cooperation with State Department of Public Instruction, exhibits of school work and agriculture were opened to all the common schools of Ohio. In 1913, $3,000 was offered in cash prizes for school exhibits by the State Agricultural Commission and the Middle West Soil Improvement Committee of Chicago. Ex- hibits were judged 25% for general school work, 25% for agri- cultural products grown or collected in the county in which the pupil attended school, and 50%' on nature and agriculture studies as sug- gested in the state course of study Each separate school room making the standard exhibit received $3. In 1913, 159 rooms in 7 counties made displays. Each of the city schools exhibiting according to the rules received $10. Only 17 build- ings in 5 city school systems made displays in 1913. The schools in each county having the best exhibit received $10 in cash. The 4 pupils in each county exhibiting the best agricultural products received $15 in prizes. The 2 best county exhibits (outside of cities) in each of the 4 agricultural districts received $25. The 3 highest prize winners among county schools in 1913 were Putnam County ($399), Van Wert County ($270) and Fairfield County ($171) The 2 best city school exhibits in each district received $75. The 3 highest winners of prizes among city schools in 1913 were Sidney ($260), Circleville ($170) and Athens ($80) Of the district prize winners the best county and city exhibits in the state were each offered $225 in gold Ohio State University, Agricultural Extension Division In 1905, 5 high schools were .teaching agriculture, and 2,500 boys and girls were enrolled in agricultural clubs. By 191 1 when the law re- quiring agricultural instruction was passed, approximately 225 high schools were teaching agriculture During these years, the extension department had been talking to granges and institutes ; had furnished seeds for children's beet, corn and vegetable gardens ; identified seeds, plants, grasses and specimens of all kinds submitted by teachers, sent hundreds of bottles of specimens to schools as nuclei for school museums 252 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT In 1905, when the extension bulletin was started, 5,000 copies were published each month just for teachers and children of the upper grades. During 1912-1913, 35,000 copies were published each month. These bulletins of from 16 to 32 pages with illustrations, cover agricul- ture, home economics, the teaching of agriculture and allied subjects At present 1 member of the extension staff furnishes news letters once every 2 weeks to 650 newspapers and 50 agricultural journals Talks by the staff to teachers' institutes and meetings are illustrated by lantern slides which show changes and beautifications of school grounds. A special bulletin was issued by the University showing how to ar- range a school exhibit at a county fair. Score cards for corn, apples, bread, dairy cows, swine and draft horses are issued in great numbers for county and local contests. The University lecturers act as judges for agricultural contests and exhibits and a certificate is issued to winners in these contests if the judges have been approved by the University To each .county which announces that it will hold a boys' stock judging contest in the fall, 1 of the lecturers on animal husbandry is sent twice during the summer to show boys what to look for. At the fair the boys score the cattle and horses and "place" them. Each score and "placing" is then checked by the lecturer, and the boys are rated accordingly At the 43 extension schools, the demonstrator always asks the super- intendent to let school children attend. The superintendent is also always notified that lecturers are available for talks at schools. The farmers' reading course is also adapted to boys. Superintendents of schools are notified of the 3 books to be read and the outlines and questions furnished by the University U. S. Agricultural Experiment Station Besides the 2 state departments furnishing bulletins and advice to boy farmers and to public school teachers, the U. S. station is also giving the same kind of cooperation. Large numbers of inquiries made by candidates in the corn and wheat contests regarding use of fertilizer were answered by the director at Wooster. An Ohio score card for corn has been sent to many boys. Bulletins and circulars' have been furnished to the agricultural classes in high schools through- out the state. The superintendent of county fair exhibits is also sec- retary of the Ohio Corn Improvement Association and answers in- quiries in regard to selecting seed corn, samples for exhibition, etc. 1,210 students from 2 universities, 11 high schools and 3 district schbols, as well as a large number of smaller high school groups visited the station during the summer of 1913 OUTSIDE COOPERATION 253 How other state departments help schools Board of Health "It is safe to assume that little or nothing is being done by the majority of the township and village schools along the lines of medical inspec- tion work." The board has no data as to the number of school dis- tricts with medical inspection and its adequacy Only one-fourth of 2,200 township health officers have reported to the state board concerning sanitary conditions of schools Among the ways in which the Board of Health is in touch with schools are addresses to pupils, monthly bulletin received by "many teachers" including articles on teachers' work for health, correspondence and interviews to secure medical inspection and a state public health exhibit which school children probably see Suggestions for increasing Health Board cooperation That each fall, the State Board of Health, in cooperation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, issue a bulletin which deals thoroughly with the fundamentals of school sanitation perhaps printing a score card for teachers' use That the State Board send annually to (1) presidents of state, county and local medical and dental associations and (2) township health officers, questionnaires requiring specific answers on the following points : 1 What is being done by state, county and local medical and dental societies to secure for rural and village communities Better sanitary conditions in schools Pure water supply Establishment of medical inspection in schools Employment of a school nurse Adequate quarantine and fumigation Treatment of all physical defects of school children Real hygiene instruction and practice in schools Instruction of parents 2 What studies have been made of health-school conditions and problems in the rural districts 3 What provision is there in each rural and village community for Treatment — pay and free — of children's physical defects, teeth especially 254 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Home nursing by visiting nurses Hospital operations — tonsils, adenoids Free eye glasses, properly fitted Discovery and segregation of feeble-minded children That the State Board, in cooperation with the Superintendent of Pub- lic Instruction, offer at all county fairs, sets of prizes for township and county, for "before and after" photographs and exhibits show- ing improvement in greatest percentage of schools in (i) sanitary condition of outbuildings; (2) sanitary condition of school house; (3) sanitary condition of school grounds; (4) essays on health; (5) individual cups, sanitary drinking fountains, dust-proof cabinets, paper towels ; (6) number of children having tooth brushes at home or school, etc. That after the county fair, each county exhibit be sent the rounds to be kept in each school house for a certain period of time, for the parents as well as the children to see That the State Board make every effort to reach all normal and sum- mer schools and all teachers' institutes each year through lectures or bulletins, and issue in cooperation with the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, free "score cards" for sanitary rating of schools That all deputy inspectors of the State Board be required to report on sanitary conditions of public schools wherever they go, and on the thoroughness with which township health officers are watching school sanitation Highway Department The State Highways Department is not in possession of any statistical information bearing on the relation of roads to rural and village schools. To date there has been no cooperation between the Depart- ment and public agencies, or other parties, for the express purpose of improving roads to school houses, though as a matter of fact, many schools have been benefited incidentally. What particular efforts may have been made in different localities would not come directly to the Department, but to local officials In the Department's "Good Roads Exhibit" at the recent State Fair, much mention was made of the subject in the free illustrated lectures on "Better Roads." Many attending were school children, and a par- ticular effort was made to interest them. The effort, purely experi- mental, proved the subject is a popular and taking one with school children a B OUTSIDE COOPERATION 255 Industrial Commission The Commission is in touch with schools through (i) inspection of factories and workshops for children illegally employed; (2) super- vision of school building plans; (3) censorship of moving pictures. In discovering children breaking the compulsory education law, the Commission has a direct responsibility and indirectly great, opportunity to help schools One hundred fourteen children were found to be working without re- quired schooling certificates during the year 1912-1913; 23 other chil- dren were found under the minimum age. Of 156 children found working illegally in canneries during 1911-1912 (records incomplete for 1912-1913) 36 were without schooling certificates and 33 under 14 years of age. No special effort is made to enforce the law which requires these children to attend school, although deputies are expected to cooperate with truant officers One hundred twenty plans and specifications for new rural, one-room, two-room, small village, centralized high and grade schools were ex- amined during 1913 by 2 architects and engineers. Only a small percentage of these buildings were inspected after completion, owing to the pressure of work. The Commission claims that a decided im- provement in the safety and sanitary condition of schools has resulted from its investigations and inspections since August, 191 1. "It is barely possible that some few buildings have been erected in some of the remote parts of the rural counties, that have not been brought to our attention" The State Board of Censors has the power to reject entirely or in part any motion picture film which is intended for exhibition in Ohio. Pro- ducers and renting companies bring all films for censorship to a theatre in Columbus, which has been leased by the state, where films are shown before at least 1 of the 3 members of the board. If passed, a reel must open with a 4 foot "leader" furnished by the board, saying that it has been approved Of 8,000 reels censored before November 1, 62 reels of 62,000 feet were considered objectionable and refused approval. From 7,000 reels approved, 50,000 feet of objectionable parts were eliminated. In this way the board is able to keep from the school children of Ohio films with vicious or suggestive possibilities. The board plans through its contact with producers to suggest the advantages of films which are suitable for use in schools for entertainment and teaching purposes 1256 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT OUTSIDE COOPERATION 257 How a division of cooperation in proposed Bureau of Efficiency and Economy would stimulate and use outside cooperation with rural schools The 2 conclusions which result from the preceding survey of outside cooperation with rural schools are (i) that such cooperation is valuable; and (2) that it should be encouraged and directed. It is therefore recommended that a division of cooperation- be estab- lished in the proposed Bureau of Efficiency and Economy under the Superintendent of Public Instruction, whose purpose shall be to encourage and direct the practical interest of Ohio's volunteer or- ganization toward local school problems This division would have on file 1 An index of all agencies which might be of service to schools, cross-referenced to show the topics of interest to each 2 A geographical index of such agencies, grouped by county, town- ship and district 3 A list of each rural schools' needs, collected as fast as possible from simple score cards to be filled out by farm women, club and college women, as well as from reports from teachers and superintendents 4 A classification of these needs as they require legislation, extra tax levy, small expenditure, gifts or personal service Beginning immediately, the division would act as a clearing house for information, passing on suggestions from inside and outside Ohio to the agencies interested in each topic, such as playground equipment, drinking fountains, corn contests, heating, domestic science, medical inspection, etc. It would help organize among the agencies of each township a feder- ated rural school improvement league representing all those inter- ested, and lay before each league the specific needs of schools in the township It would formulate questionnaires, bulletins and reports, to be sent to certain groups of local organizations by their state headquarters, e. g. on commercial training to local chambers of commerce by the State Chamber It would send out currently to newspapers, news about what outs'ide agencies are doing to help schools and develop the interest of other state departments in the parts of their work which touch on public school problems 17 s. s. 258 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT It would hold a yearly conference to summarize results and to de- termine in general the next year's work It would suggest to state wide organizations of women, business men, etc., certain needed investigations that can best be made by 1 state wide organization This division of cooperation would be organized somewhat as sug- gested in the accompanying chart. Once started it would take only half the time of 1 person working through all the volunteer and state agencies here listed. Some of the untouched resources which are available are the agencies which did not answer the school survey's questionnaires ; 245 federated clubs besides 132 study clubs not written to, g branches of the Mothers' Congress and numerous other mothers' clubs, and parent-teacher associations, 48 chapters of the D. A. R., 186 business men's organizations, 380 local unions, as well as relief agencies, medical and dental associations and local individuals not yet reached XVI GENERAL COMMUNITY CONDITIONS Community life In 254 communities where schools were surveyed and where expressions of opinion were recorded, the patrons of 156 favored a wider use of school plant, patrons of yy were opposed, patrpns of 6 were in- different and patrons of 5 were divided in opinion Of 471 township schools surveyed, no meetings were held in 381 during the last school year Of 63 schools in other districts, no meetings were held in 36 In the 190 township school buildings which were occasionally open to the public, 475 meetings were held during the last school year Outside of the school itself there are almost no organized educational agencies. There were found in all the communities visited only 37 libraries, 4 extension courses, 5 agricultural extension courses and 1 singing school Why Township Schools are not Social Centers One Reason ( From 550 reports ') h k b b b k k Schools having ■ One chair or less Hi Two chairs □ More than two chairs Another Reason 3 schools out $456 report assembly-rooms other than class-rooms Still Another Reason 592schools out tfJJ2 report all izgular school furniture screwed to the floor (259) 260 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Wider use of school plant MEETINGS HELD IN SCHOOL BUILDINGS DURING 1912-1913 Township : Special District Village High School Total One Room Central- ized Number of schools* visited 592 471 381 20 3 118 16S 116 33 17 17 17 9 13 13 8 2 13 12 9 22 21 10 1 1 4 -6 7 657 Number of schools reported on Number having had no meetings in school buildings . . Number reporting 534 417 23 4 farmers' meet- 5 5 127 Social gatherings Debating societies Religious meet- 1 1 1 1 12 14 191 138 34 18 XVII LOCAL ADMINISTRATION OF SCHOOL LAW IN OHIO The compulsory attendance law The results of an inquiry sent to 942 superintendents of schools and answered by 395 indicate that all cities who responded had truant officers, but that no truant officers were employed in 11% of the township districts 14% of the special districts 9% of the village districts The results of an inquiry sent to 942 superintendents of schools and answered by 395 show that truancy cases were allowed to run on without any attempt at enforcement of the laws in 43 cases in 98 township districts 30 cases in 48 special districts 116 cases in 188 village districts 65 cases in 61 city districts The same superintendents reported 27 prosecutions in g8 township districts 2 prosecutions in 48 special districts 89 prosecutions in 188 village districts 286 prosecutions in 61 city districts The results of the prosecutions are indicated in the accompanying table (261) 26? OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT PROSECUTIONS FOR TRUANCY Results of prosecutions, as given in answer to questionnaire Township Special District Village City Total Sent to Lancaster Industrial School. Sent to reformatory Sent to jail Sent to detention school Sent to orphans' home Juvenile court Placed on probation Suspended sentence Suits pending Pined Left. city Parents fined Mother put in jail until she sent boy to school Good Unsatisfactory No report of results Total 12 7 1 27 55 6 89 133 3 6 15 24 1 6 1 4 1 41 50 101 386 137 5 1 1 7 26 1 31 5 8 1 6 1 109 57 108 504 Only 14.4% of the results were reported as "unsatisfactory" In 34.6%, of the cases, the children were sent to the Lancaster Industrial School The field study indicates that Truancy is very common in rural districts That many rural and village districts do not attempt to enforce the compulsory attendance law That many districts are either hostile or indifferent to the enforce- ment of this law That many districts including some village districts employ no truant officers LOCAL ADMINISTRATION OF SCHOOL LAWS 263 The table below gives some detailed results of the survey. From many of the schools visited no figures could be obtained TRUANCY AS REPORTED FROM THE FIELD Township Special District Village One Room Centralized Number of schools visited Truant officer: None 592 60 135 1 76 11 21 1173 23 17 17 13 4 1 13 4 One 10 1 8 8 Attitude of community toward compulsory education: Favor- able 3 6 3 3 187 Number of children of school age not attending school 41 2 208 Number of children dropped out since beginning of school year. Number of cases of truancy pros- 18 A field study of 659 township, village and special districts showed that None of the township, village or special districts had continuation schools In many districts no one knows how many children should be in school and which ones are not The distribution of the common school fund on the basis of enumera- tion puts a premium on the non-enforcement of the law, especially in districts where the enforcement of the law would compel the em- ployment of an additional teacher or teachers Constructive suggestions That the provisions of the compulsory attendance law may be enforced throughout the state the following recommendations are made : That the State Industrial Commission be given general supervision over the enforcement of the compulsory attendance law That it be authorized and required to appoint truant officers in all districts which fail to appoint them, the salaries of the officers being a charge on the districts concerned 264 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT That whenever the local enforcement of the law cannot otherwise be obtained the commission be authorized and required to send deputies into the districts concerned. The expenses and salaries of the deputies when so employed shall be a charge on the districts That all clerks of school boards in rural and village districts be required to send lists of all enumerated youth to the various county superintendents of schools on or before September 1st of each year together with a list of such enumerated youth as are regularly employed That each teacher, at the end of the first week of school, send to the district superintendent for transmission to the county super- intendent a list of all the children who have been in attendance to date and monthly reports thereafter showing the attendance in days of each child with reasons for absences That the county superintendent be required to notify the various truant officers of such cases of illegal non-attendance at school as become evident by comparing the lists of the clerks of boards of education and the teachers and by a careful scrutiny of the teachers' monthly reports That where the county superintendent cannot secure the effective enforcement of the law, he be authorized and required to report the facts to the State Industrial Commission The law, section 7777, dealing with aid to indigent pupils AMOUNT OF AID GIVEN IN 125 DISTRICTS OUT OP 357 TO WHICH INQUIRY WAS SENT Township Special District Village Cityl Total 28 74 146 12 39 86 60 189 403 25 1519 1912 125 Number of families aided 1821 Number of children aided 2547 LOCAL ADMINISTRATION OF SCHOOL LAWS 26S OPINIONS OF SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS WITH REGARD TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF SECTION 7777 IN 249 DISTRICTS Township Special District Village City! Total 58 23 121 47 249 Percents 1 72.4 | 95.5 | 7G.8 27.6 1 4.5 1 23.2 91.4 8.6 80.3 19.7 The law requiring the payment of teachers for janitor service Fifty-five counties out of 83 report breaches of the law requiring payment for janitor service. In many cases where teachers are not required to make illegal agreements, pay for janitor service is simply withheld, the teachers not daring, in most cases, to demand payment One hundred seventy-eight teachers attending institutes in 1913 reported being compelled to agree not to accept pay for janitor service at some time during the last 5 years. In several cases these teachers report the law to have been broken in successive years The law requiring the payment of teachers for institute attendance Two hundred eighty-five teachers attending teachers' institutes in 1913 reported that, contrary to law, they had been compelled by boards of education as a condition of employment to agree not to ask or accept the $10 fee for attendance at institutes. These breaches of the law requiring payment to teachers in institute fees were reported from 68 counties out of 83 reported on •In many other cases payment was simply refused or teachers were afraid to ask for payment; for instance 1 teacher who attended in- stitute this year and received no pay writes : "I did not attend institute last year, but a teacher who has taught here about 4 years says that they never got any pay unless they send for it and they have got tired of that" 266 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT One board of education pretends to obey the law by lowering the teach- ers' salaries the first month $10 each and then paying each teacher $10 for institute attendance. Their consciences allow them to believe that by so doing they also obey the law that they must pay every teacher at least $40 per month The law requiring at least eight months school per year in every school district in the state Two hundred six teachers who attended teachers' institute in 1913 reported that they have had within the last 5 years understand- ings with boards of education to maintain school less than 8 months. In some cases, teachers have made more than one such agreement in the same district County auditors in 14 counties report 25 township districts, and 7 special districts, which maintain school for less than 32 weeks. Sixteen or exactly half of these reported lack of funds as the reason, although section 7596 of the statutes provides relief in such cases whenever the districts ask for it. The auditors report 6 townships which had absolutely no excuse for such delinquency, 1 of these having a balance at the end of the school year of $1,209 In 4 other township districts and 1 special district having seven months school, special inquiry was made. Three of these had balances at the end of the year sufficient to run them an additional year without taxa- tion. The other 2 had balances in excess of $2700 each. One school building was condemned at the end of 15 weeks and school was sus- ' pended for the rest of the school year One special district maintained public school only 28 weeks but the children attended parochial school for the rest of the year Dist: Weeks Rids Tailing toMainiainSchool52weeks in191215 j & 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 2,4 2,6 2,6 30 3£ Ti)wnslii;H25 out q e l"57p) LOCAL ADMINISTRATION OF SCHOOL LAWS 267 DISTRICTS FAILING TO MAINTAIN SCHOOL 32 WEEKS DURING 1912-1913 Length of session in weeks Township Special District Village Total Fifteen Twenty Twenty-three Twenty-four Twenty-six , Twenty-eight Twenty -nine and a half. Thirty-one 16 1 2 1 1 1 5 1 20 1 4 ♦School closed on account of diphtheria epidemic One county auditor reported a,s follows with regard to 1 district in the county: "The session was not shortened but it was voted to 1 borrow $1200 on the strength of a special 4 mills vote for this year. The 4 mills were not allowed by the tax commission and as a consequence we did not have funds enough to run the grades without the high school. By cutting out 2 primary teachers and raising $1200 by private sub- scription the district was able to manage to get along but we are greatly hampered. The enrollment in the high school is the largest in its history — 98. The number of teachers is limited to 2" An extreme case In northeastern Ohio there is a township board of education which Employs no truant- officer Makes no contracts with teachers Allows one member of the board to hire some of the teachers Has no course of study Has not adopted a text on agriculture Has not held a regular meeting within the past year The field agent in this case reported that members of the board, save the president, seemed to be indifferent concerning school matters and are not serving the people in any way Constructive suggestions In view of these facts with regard to the enforcement of school law in Ohio it is recommended that The statute authorizing the payment of state aid to districts whose revenues under the Smith One Per Cent Law cannot be made sufficient to support schools for eight months annually, be 268 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT amended so as to compel school districts to make application for such aid in proper form and in due time The state Superintendent of Public Instruction be authorized and required to hold up the payment of its allotment of the common school fund, to any district which has not in the preceding year maintained school for 32 full weeks, or which, in any way, violates the statutes governing the conduct of public schools The presidents and clerks of boards of education be required to make affidavit that schools in their districts have been in oper- ation at least 32 weeks in any given year to the county auditor before the payment of allotment of the common school fund The common school fund be no longer distributed on the basis of the enumeration of the youth of the state, but on the following basis : That $50 per teacher employed during the preceding school year be paid to each school district That the balance of the common school fund be distributed among the school districts in proportion to their grand total days' attendance for the preceding school year XVIII THE SPECIAL AND VILLAGE SCHOOL DIS= TRICTS COMPARED WITH THE TOWNSHIP DISTRICTS FROM WHICH THEY ARE CUT For the purpose of this study, all township districts from which special or village districts had been cut off, were compared with the special and village districts within their boundaries with regard to salaries paid teachers, average daily attendance, enrollment, enumeration, amount paid for supervision and tax levy for school purposes. The abstracts of county auditors for 1912 formed the basis of the study, which covered 7y$ township districts, 554 special school districts and 549 village school districts. Only those township school districts were considered from which territory had been detached to form village or special school districts or both Salaries Of the 99 township districts, 115 special districts and 396 village dis- tricts supporting high schools reporting this item, the average salary of male teachers in high schools was less than $70 in 10.1% of the township districts 21.6% of the special districts 8. % of the village districts The average salary of female teachers in high school within the same districts was less than $70 in 57. % of the township districts 73-3% °f the special districts 58.8% of the village districts Special districts fall below both township and village districts in respect to salaries paid high school teachers The average salary for male elementary teachers was reported as less than $50 in 67.3% of the township districts ig.i% of the special districts 27.1% of the village districts (269) Z70 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT The average salary of female elementary teachers was less than $50 per month in 77-3% °f the township districts 61.8% of the special districts 57.9% of the village districts Special districts surpass the average township and village districts in salaries paid to elementary teachers In at least 12 special districts and 13 township districts, the teachers are reported as receiving less than the minimum salaries estab- lished by law. About 1.5% of the township districts and over 2% of the special districts break the minimum salary law. Salaries for both men and women fall as low as $32 and $30 Elementary school attendance and enrollment The average total attendance was less than 100 in 23.1% of the township districts 8g.i% of the special districts 40.1% of the village districts The enrollment fell below 100 in 12.3% of the township districts 83.8% of the special districts 32.8% of the village districts , One special district reported an enrollment of 6 and a total attendance of 4 on an enumeration of 21. Another special district reported an attendance of 3 with an enrollment of 7 Of, 96 township districts, 125 special dstricts and 413 village districts reporting, high school attendance fell below 30 in 51.9% of the township districts 70.4% of the special districts 34.9% of the village districts In one special district the high school attendance fell below 4 Of 99 township districts, no special districts and 404 of the village districts reporting this item, the high school enrollment fell below 30 in 43.4% of the township districts 66.4% of the special districts 28.7% of the village districts SPECIAL DISTRICTS COMPARED WITH OTHERS 2J\ Enumeration Of 593 township districts, 543 special districts and 575 village districts reporting this item, the enumeration was less than 100 in 37-7% of the township districts 72.1% of the special districts *7-7% of the village districts Amount paid for supervision The county auditors' abstracts of district clerks' reports contain so many contradictions that it is impossible to compare the various districts as to the amount paid for supervision. These abstracts contain statements as to the cost of supervision by both district treasurers and district clerks. In 90% of the cases these state- ments did not tally. In one village district the clerk reported $2,197 spent for supervision, the treasurer $750. In a special dis- trict the clerk reported $960, the treasurer nothing. In a township district the treasurer reported $4,050, the clerk $495 Tax levy for school purposes Of the township districts reporting, the tax levy for school purposes was less than 5 mills in 88.9% of the districts. For village and special districts the percentage is 70% The percentage of special and village districts with a school tax levy of between 5 and 10 mills is 4 times as great as that of the township districts with the same levy, while the percentage of special and village districts having a school tax levy of 10 mills and over, is 10 times as large as that of the township districts taxed at a similar rate Formation of special districts Information from the field and records of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction show that the formation of special districts has been due to widely different causes. Some special districts were made for the most enlightened reasons. For example, when a town- ship district has refused to establish a high school, special districts have been formed to insure high school education to the children in the district. In some cases township boards have been unwilling to pay salaries large enough to obtain and retain good teachers, and special districts have been organized to insure a higher grade of teaching in the school. Several such schools were visited during 272 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT • the progress of the survey. On the other hand, special districts have sometimes been formed for very selfish purposes, such as keeping down the school tax rate. This is effected in some places by paying low salaries to teachers and in others by creating a special district around some public utility or in the immediate neighborhood of some large corporation, that the taxes of such pub- lic utility or corporation may materially affect the tax rate In a certain county, a township contains within its limits both a special district and a village district. , The valuation of both the township and village districts is about $2,000,000. The valuation of the special district is nearly $11,000,000. The tax rate in the township district is 2.60 mills, in the village district 2.64 mills and in the special district .30 mills. This peculiar state of affairs is brought about by the fact that in the special district are the offices of several steamship companies, all located in one small and old building, "which opens perhaps twice a year for the purpose of registering vessels." The whole scheme is to avoid heavy taxes, the rate having been as low as 23 cents on $100.' The special district has no lake frontage In another county there is a township which has maintained one of the oldest centralized schools in the United States. A special dis- trict has been made within the territory of this centralized school. "On account of the irregular boundary lines and the division of finances, many people are inconvenienced and both schools are handicapped" No matter for what reason special districts have been formed, in practically all cases they limit the efficiency of the schools by Limiting the basis of taxation Establishing smaller schools Putting a stumbling-block in the way of centralization In the past, in many cases, the only way to efficiency was to establish a special district, but the time has come when township and special districts must pool their resources and unite their energies for the support of efficient consolidated and centralized schools Constructive suggestions It is urgently recommended that in the future No special school districts be formed No rural school district with an area of less than 25 square miles be established XIX RURAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION The personnel of rural' boards The material of rural boards of education from the standpoint of personnel, as indicated by information regarding 738 board mem- bers from all parts of the state is excellent Of the township boards studied 89%, of the special district boards 72%, of the village boards 20% .were farmers. A small percentage in all boards were bankers, merchants and manufacturers In all boards a small percentage of the members were less than 30 years of age. Two-thirds of the members in all boards were under 50. Few were beyond the prime of life All but 9 of the 738 board, members reported on were married and all but 29 had children The majority were reported as being deeply interested in the schools. Occasional statements were made to the effect that board members were "parsimonious", "unprogressive", "interested chiefly in keep- ing down the tax rate" Everything indicated that after all rural boards have been given the services of experienced professional superintendents, they will soon compare favorably in progressiveness with the most efficient rural, city and village boards who have had the advantage of expert advice for years. Many of the defects in sanitation and equipment observed in the field study were not due to any conscious desire or even willingness on the part of board members to limit the efficiency of the schools. Most of these defects were due to the fact that there was no one on duty continuously to look after mat- ters of detail and to the further fact that no one had ever pointed out the enormity of certain unsanitary conditions and lack of necessary equipment. The excellent condition of practically all of the, centralized and consolidated schools and of many one room schools in all parts of the state shows what is possible for all sorts of schools in all parts of the state 18 s. s. (273) 274 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Procedure followed by school clerks and treasurers in accounting for school funds Mr. Frank S. Staley of the New Yqrk Bureau of Municipal Research, who had previously conducted a similar study in Wisconsin, was employed for 10 weeks to examine the accounts and records of boards of education. In all, 82 districts in 10 representative coun- ties were examined The Auditor of State and his assistant, the county auditors, the school clerks and treasurers were of great assistance through their hearty cooperation in the survey Present system of accounting How installed The procedure followed at present by the clerks and treasurers of school boards in keeping account of school funds was provided by the Board of Inspection and Supervision of Public Offices and Provides for a ledger of receipts and disbursements for both clerk and treasurer. This ledger has separate columns for each fund and receipts or disbursements must be credited or debited to their proper accounts. The ledgers of the clerk and treasurer must be in balance at all times, after allowing for any unpaid warrants outstanding County auditors are provided with ledgers which show the amount of disbursements to each school district and from the annual reports of the clerk and the settlement with the treasurer, a record of the receipts and disbursements of each .board is kept, in' totals. The system further provides for an annual settlement between the county auditors and the clerk and treasurer of each district, this settlement not being made by the county auditor until such time as the clerks and treasurers have fulfilled all requirements made upon them by law Biennial examinations of accounts by state examiners The General Code of the State of Ohio requires an examination of the accounts of school boards biennially. These examina- tions are made by examiners from the Bureau of Inspection and Supervision of Public Offices, who RURAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION 275 1 Audit the receipts and disbursements of both clerks and treasurers 2 Check the clerks' and treasurers' records of receipts to see that they are in accord with the county auditor's record of disbursements to the treasurers 3 Vouch the treasurers' cash 4 Analyze the clerks' records of minutes of board meetings to see that they are properly kept 5 Analyze the receipts and disbursements of school land funds (section sixteen) 6 Analyze the bonds of officials and depositories 7 Make findings of any irregularities or illegal expenditure^ of school funds. 'A report of these , findings is furnished the prosecuting -ttorney of the county, in order that he may fol- low up these findings and have the districts reimbursed for any illegal expenditure made 8 Act as "big brother" or instructor to clerks and treasurers, explaining parts of the procedure with which they are un- familiar It was found that these examinations are of great value to school officials, being both critical and helpful. Were it not for these examinations, it is safe to say that the accounting for school funds would not be as carefully done as it is at present. The investigation disclosed the fact that the clerks and treasurers were very careful to keep those records, which are examined by the state examiners, in good shape. With the limited number of examiners allotted to this work, and the rapidity with which they must cover the territory assigned to them, it is impossible for them to go into as minute detail as might be desired. Both clerks and treasurers spoke highly of the present corps of ex- aminers and state that their advice as to the proper manner of keeping records and accounts is of great assistance Prosecuting attorneys' indifference in following up "findings" Prosecuting attorneys rarely, if ever, follow up or act upon the findings of the state examiners. Statement after statement of illegal payments, made by the school boards, have been turned over to these officials, and these statements have been completely ignored by them. Until such time as action is taken by the prose- Z76 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT cuting attorneys, to stop the illegal' expenditures of school funds, the efficiency of the examiner's work will be impaired. Many in- stances were found where school officials had been given written notice to discontinue certain practices, such as 1 Contracting with board members 2 Overpaying salaries of board members or clerks 3 Not having a depository for school funds 4 Not having teachers' certificates on file when payments were made for teaching but year after year no attention is paid to the instructions issued. When questioned regarding these illegal practices and asked why refunds of the illegal payments had not been made, school officials intimated that this money would not be refunded until they are forced by law to make such refunds Examination of accounts by county auditors The clerk and treasurer of each school district are required by law to meet with the county auditor at the close of each fiscal year for the purpose of making a settlement. At this time the county auditor is supposed to compare the ledger of receipts and disbursements which is kept by the treasurer, with the statement of receipts and disbursements which is prepared by the clerk, to see that 1 Both sets of accounts are in balance after considering outstand- ing orders 2 Disbursements have been debited to the proper accounts 3 All money received by the treasurer has been credited to the proper funds It was frequently found that clerks' and treasurers' accounts were not in balance by funds, although they both showed the proper total balance. Some of these differences dated back to the time of the last examination made by the state examiner. The county auditor evidently had not made as thorough an examination as he should have and had made no effort to reconcile the 2 sets of accounts Annual financial statements of county auditors to the State Commis- sioner of Common Schools The financial statements which are received by the State Commis- sioner of Common Schools from the county auditors show amazing discrepancies when compared with those of the preceding fiscal year. The principal discrepancy noted was the wide variation of RURAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION 277 funds on hand at the close of one fiscal year and the beginning of the next. Of the 88 reports examined for the fiscal years 1909-10 and 1910-11, only 33 carried forward the proper balances. The amounts varied from $99,738.88 over, to $35,790.91 under the amounts shown on hand at close of business at the end of the fiscal year 1909-10. Some county auditors explained these discrepancies by blaming the inaccurate reports rendered by the clerks. The auditor whose report showed a shortage of $351,790.91 was unable to explain how he had arrived at the total submitted, and had evidently taken it out of the air. He then explained that "These are only school statistics anyway and we pay no attention to them" School boards shelving of responsibility It was found that school boards, as a whole, pay little attention to the disbursing of school money. Their interest seems to lag after the appointment of a clerk and the shelving of responsibility upon his shoulders. This was evidenced in the payment of claims. Of the total number of claims examined, 4,920, and warrants issued therefor, only 3,050 were shown on the minutes as being allowed by the boards. In other words 38% of all warrants drawn, were issued by the clerks at their pleasure without consulting the boards or having the claims audited and allowed by them This lack of interest on the part of the school boards, breeds care- lessness in clerks and the records show that the longer a clerk is in office, the fewer the claims presented to the board for proper action before th© warrants are drawn in payment Further evidence of laxness is shown by the following: Seventeen per cent of the boards have elected no vice-president and as a result it is necessary for the presidents to sign warrants while blank, or to allow the clerks improperly to sign the presi- dent's signatures to warrants, when they are unable to attend to business themselves Eighteen per cent of the boards have not arranged for a depository for school funds as required by law Nine per cent of the boards do not require depositories to furnish a bond to safeguard the deposits of the board Four per cent of the boards do not use the yea and nay vote on financial questions as required by law 278 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Four per cent of the boards made illegal contracts with, or pay- ments to, board members Twenty-six per cent of the boards do not hold regular meetings Thirteen per cent of the boards do not require vendors to submit itemized bills of purchases made by, or labor performed for, the board One board pays less salary to teachers than the minimum set by law ($40.00) One board holds school less than eight months each year, the minimum period required by law Carelessness of presidents of school boards in controlling disburse- ment of school funds Some presidents of school boards delegate many of, the powers of their offices to the clerks of the boards. This is especially true in the handling of financial stationery. The disbursing of school funds, in many instances, has been left in the hands of the clerk until he has come to look upon it as no one's business but his own. The clerks explained, "I told them to do it this way", or "I did it this way because they don't know anything about it." One ex- ception to this rule was a clerk who guessed "my records are pretty bad, but I have only been clerk 9 months and haven't had time to look at the law yet" The following examples are cited, the percentage being based upon the total number of examinations made by the investigator: Three per cent of the presidents allow the clerks to sign the name of the presidents to the minutes of the board meetings Twenty-one per cent allow the clerks to sign the name of the presidents to financial stationery (warrants) Thirty-five per cent attach their signatures to financial stationery (warrants) before they have been filled out by the clerks, mak- ing it possible for the latter to make the warrant payable for any amount he may desire These last 2 practices make it possible for clerks, should they be so inclined, to overpay any claim they wish with but slight chance of detection. In only a small percentage of the districts examined was it found that all bills had been presented to sub- stantiate tne claims made. Clerks state that little, if any, atten- tion is paid by board members to the reading of the minutes of the preceding meeting RURAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION 279 nlimited power of clerks of school boards in the disbursing of school funds f the total number of clerk's records examined, 40% were carefully kept and in good condition. The condition of the rest of the records which ranged from fair to deplorable was caused more by carlessness than by any dishonest intent on the part of the clerks. Of the 40% which were in good condition, 3 were nearly perfect in every detail. One clerk had not only followed the procedure prescribed with the greatest fidelity, but had gone beyond and installed a bond record which is worthy of special mention. The poorest set of accounts investigated were those kept by a former county auditor, who is one of the highest paid school clerks in the township districts. This clerk did not draw warrants in payment of claims when allowed by the board, but held them up until it suited his pleasure to pay them. One claim allowed during September, 1912, had not been paid at the time of the investigation, June, 1913, although the board had had cash on hand during the entire period elapsing between the 2 dates. Other payments were lumped together and held over in order to save the work of issuing a warrant for each claim allowed lerks, as a rule, were anxious to be instructed regarding the proper procedure in keeping their accounts and records. Of the total number of records investigated, it was found that Eleven per cent of the clerks had no teachers' certificates on file Four per cent were allowing teachers to teach although their cer- tificates had expired Sixteen per cent had failed to publish or post a statement of the receipts and disbursements of school funds as required by law Twenty-one per cent had improperly signed the presidents' names to financial stationery (warrants) Three per cent had improperly signed the treasurers' names to financial stationery (warrants) One clerk's wife had improperly signed the names of the clerk and president to financial stationery (warrants) One clerk's wife made a practice of issuing warrants in payment of claims, without the knowledge or authority of the clerk. He explained: "I gave her the dickens two or three times for that, but it don't seem to do any good" 280 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Seventy-one per cent had issued warrants in payment of claims which the minutes did not show had been allowed by the boards One clerk was paid by the board at the rate of $2.00 per day for each meeting attended including the transaction of the clerical work originating from that meeting. He was then allowed 10 cents for each warrant he issued between meetings and 15 cents per hundred words of correspondence attended to. It was found that this clerk, in order to obtain the additional compensa- tion, issued 90 per cent of the warrants between meetings. He stated that he did not count the words of correspondence at- tended to but made a guess at them. He convinced the investi- gator that he was a good guesser Twenty-eight per cent were drawing salaries for their services although the boards had set no salary for the clerk's services, ac- cording to the minutes One clerk wrote up the treasurer's record for him, merely copying from his own Three per cent had improperly signed the signature of the president to the record of minutes of meetings One clerk had written up the minutes of a meeting which had never been held Many clerks are keeping the minute record in a very careless man- ner and not as a permanent record should be kept. The following shows some of the careless methods used : Twelve per cent enter the minutes with a lead pencil Four per cent of the books were unsuited for the purpose used, their binding being such that the leaves were continually dropping out Thirty-four per cent of the minutes were unsigned by either the clerk or president Twenty-three per cent do not show the purpose for which special meetings were called Four per cent do not show that the minutes of the preceding meeting were read and approved Thirty-two per cent do not show where the meetings were held Forty-six per cent of the clerks attest the signature of the presi- dent before he has attached his signature RURAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION 28 1 The carelessness evidenced by the above, proves conclusively that a large portion of school funds and records are handled in a hap- hazard manner. The present procedure of (i) shelving the respon- sibility for disbursing school money upon the clerks, (2) requiring no itemized statement from vendors, (3) presidents allowing the clerks to sign their (the presidents') signatures to financial station- ery or signing blank warrants themselves, and (4) treasurers allow- ing clerks to sign their (the treasurers') signatures in indorsing warrants to the depositories, breeds both carelessness and dis- honesty. An example of what might occur in any district, was discovered by a state examiner during the month of July, 1913. In this instance the examiner 'found that a wealthy resident had filled the office of township and school clerk for the past 20 years and that during the past 3 years he had Forged the signatures of many prominent parties to warrants which he later cashed Raised the amounts that warrants were originally drawn for Padded the pay roll by carrying the names of dummy teachers Treasurers, expensive luxuries It was seldom indeed that treasurers were found who knew anything of school business, other than the receiving and disbursing of school funds, and in many instances they knew nothing of this as the depository attended to all their affairs. In 80% of the cases examined it was found that the treasurer received the paid war- rants from the' depository only once or twice each year and then posted them to his ledger. Treasurers as a rule receive more compensation for their services than the clerks and do practically no work. Treasurers' accounts are generally kept either by the depository handling the school funds or by the clerk, and war- * rants to which the signatures of the presidents and clerks were improperly signed, were paid by the depositories without question. In one district it was found that the alleged signature of the president was continually being- misspelled. Many a treasurer allowed the depositories to cash warrants without their passing through his hands. Two treasurers were found who were carrying the school funds around in their pockets and 2 were drawing them by personal check without the clerks issuing warrants. The treasurer as a safeguard for school funds in many rural districts is a joke and an unnecessary expense to the ditsrict 282 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT School lands (section sixteen) Statistics prepared by Auditor of State A. V. Donahey, from a re- port made by Mr. M. H. Beard, who spent three and one-half years in investigating this subject for the state, show that The unsold school lands which are leased at presenj:, bring into the school districts $14,011.00 annually Few elected boards of trustees of school lands are serving at . present Few boards of trustees or treasurers have been appointed by county auditors, although the law requires that they make these appointments if the people fail to elect Few treasurers are giving the $500 bond required by law Treasurers are drawing more compensation than they are entitled to Squatters are selling this land to innocent parties Minerals are being removed from under this land although this is against the wording of the leases Many of the original records of leases have been destroyed and much of this land cannot now be traced Using the statistics and leads furnished by the State Auditor, which he kindly turned over to the investigator, the unsold school lands in 3 counties were investigated and it was found that One treasurer has been holding the rental collected from these lands for the past 4 years, no effort being made to disburse it to the boards who are entitled to it One clerk and 1 treasurer are occupying parcels of this land at present, paying no rent, although elected to look after it. The treasurer referred to has recently built a $2,500 home upon the parcel he is occupying The land is under appraised, and much of it has never been ap- praised since the original leases were granted. The following ex- amples are cited : One piece investigated was appraised at $1.50 per acre and the annual rental amounted to 9 cents per acre. This lessee claimed to be the owner of the land and produced a warranty RURAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION 283 deed, which showed that he had paid $600.00 or $10.50 per acre for the land. This lessee stated that he was receiving royalty for the coal mined under this land at the rate of 1 cent per bushel and that it brought him in from $3.00 to $4.00 per day. He then a^sked if there was anything against the land and admitted that he knew he was taking a chance when he purchased it, but didn't think that anyone would bother him One lessee offered the investigator 16 acres of this land for $4,000, stating that he had been working it on shares and that it brought him in about $500 per year. No rental has been paid on this parcel for the past 4 years and before that time the appraised valuation was the same as it had been when the original lease was granted Wherever coal is found under these lands it is being mined Rents in 1 township have not been collected since 1883 while in another, no one knows when they stopped collecting Books of the treasurers and clerks have been mislaid or destroyed and where the records were found it was seldom that they cov- ered a period greater than the last 15 years. One clerk when questioned as to whether he was still clerk, stated that he didn't know. When asked if he knew if anyone else had been elected or appointed, he didn't know that. He was then asked if he still had the records or whether he had turned them over to anyone. In reply he stated "I am not feeling well and when I get better, I will look around and see if I can find them". These records were located 3 days later and an examination of them showed that this clerk was occupying 4 lots of school land in the village and had paid no rental for 6 years, nor had any effort been made to collect rental from any of the other lessees during that period In 1 township the lessees were willing and anxious to pay rental on these lands, but claimed there was no one elected or appointed who was authorized to receive this money. This case was taken • up with the county auditor and he laughed and stated that if they wanted anyone appointed, they would have to appoint him from Columbus, as he wasn't going to do it County auditors are ignorant of the law governing school lands and make no effort to appoint trustees or treasurers when these officials are not elected 284 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT In i township it was found that the lessees have been paying their rental up to 191 1, but the treasurer's records do not show that all of this money has been accounted for by him. In this instance the lessees were visited and their receipts examined. These receipts are signed by the treasurer but his ledger does not show the corresponding amounts as having been received In another township a merchant is looking after the land and is collecting the rentals and disbursing the receipts to the various boards entitled to them. This man stated that although he had never been elected or appointed that he knew of,, and had given no bond, he was willing to do all in his power to keep land finances straight. He was charging 10% commission on all collections made, The law allows but 1% on the disbursements In every township visited, with a single exception, it was found that this land has been sold to innocent parties, by the lessees, and in almost every case, warranty deeds had been given In one instance the land, although shown in the county records as leased school land, had a mortgage of $1,600 filed against it The investigation developed the fact that in 1 township 50 acres of of this land had been offered for sale, 48 acres in 1 county and 2 acres in another. In tracing the title of this land, it was found that the Court of Common Pleas had declared a partition of this, land, although it is still state property Forms and records for school accounting The forms provided for use at present are adequate for all of the present needs of school accounting, with the single exception that there should be 1 additional column which would care for the payment of loans. As an example of this need, the following is cited: School boards may not have sufficient money in their tuition fund to meet all of their obligations for teaching for the term. A sum of money will be borrowed and when repaid will be charged against the tuition fund, although this money has already been charged to this fund as it was disbursed in pay- ment of teachers' salaries. This procedure makes the annual financial statement of the clerk to the county auditor mis- leading, as the amount shown as disbursed for tuition, will be RURAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION 285 in excess of the actual amount paid for teaching, including both 'the loans and the actual disbursements for teaching or tuition. The Bureau of Inspection and Supervision of Public Offices deserves much credit for installing the present system as it is clear and understandable and clerks and treasurers should have little or no trouble in following the procedure prescribed Conclusions [n summing up the general conditions in accounting for school funds as they are kept at present, they show that the procedure provided is good, but that this procedure is not being followed by the officials of many school boards. While the system provides that all moneys disbursed must be (i) allowed by the board in regular session and then (2) warrants drawn in favor of the payee for the same and signed by the president and clerk and then (3) endorsed over to the depository by the treasurer, the procedure which is actually followed by a majority of the township and special dis- tricts is that The clerk draws warrants in payment of claims as soon as pre- sented, without awaiting the action of the board. Sometimes these claims are taken up at the next meeting of the board, but more often they are never presented The president either signs blank warrants ahead, or authorizes the clerk to sign his (the president's) name to them, if he, the clerk, desires to issue warrants between meetings The treasurer instead of endorsing these warrants over to the depository, generally has an understanding with the depository and attaches his signature to them, once or twice a year, after they have been paid Some clerks allow their wives to keep their records for them and in some of these cases the wife is allowed to sign the name of both clerk and president to the warrants and issue them before action is taken by the board Rarely indeed are vendors required to submit an itemized bill to substantiate their claims Nine per cent of the depositories refuse to give bond to protect the school boards' deposits Five per cent of the bonds given by depositories are too low and do not cover the amount deposited at all times 286 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT V The laxness of the procedure followed by many of the boards is entirely due to carelessness, but by following the procedure as they do at present, practically all of the checks, which have been furnished by law to protect and safeguard the disbursing of school money, have been removed No efforts are being made by 60% of the county auditors to make accurate statements or reports of financial conditions of the rural schools to the State Commissioner of Common Schools. The auditors merely fill in the blanks provided and let them go, without making any effort to check up the information given to see that it is correct If the present cbnditions, in regard to the procedure followed in controlling school lands, are allowed to continue, it is only a ques- tion of time until these lands will be entirely lost track of by the state. It is conservatively estimated by the Auditor of State that the school districts are losing $50,000 annually. The refusal of county auditors to appoint trustees and treasurers of these lands, when they are not elected and the further lack of interest of these trustees and treasurers when they are elected or appointed, show conclusively that some step must be taken immediately to reclaim this land and to get for the children of this great state, their rightful inheritance. Even an additional $50,000 would mean much to the rural schools in teachers and improved buildings How conditions may be bettered In order to place the accounting system of the school boards on an efficient and economical basis it will be necessary to repeal or amend certain sections of the laws of the state, which govern the present accounting procedure. Two systems are suggested, either of which, will require but few changes in the present laws or the established procedure. These systems will Simplify the present procedure Give the State Auditor control over the accounts of each board and allow 'him to keep in touch with each district as to its indebtedness and the prices paid for various supplies, so that he can advise the board if he finds the district is being gouged Save each board from $10 to $100 per annum, according to the amount of work done for them by the auditor's department Control the work of the clerks so that the present laxness cannot exist RURAL EOARDS OF EDUCATION 287 Allow for the payment of claims more promptly Make payments by vouchers which may be cashed anywhere Do away with the present system of examination by the Bureau of Inspection and Supervision of Public Offices Permit the borrowing of school funds at a reasonable rate of interest, from the Treasurer, instead of borrowing from outside parties as at present Guarantee that a reasonable rate of interest be paid on school funds deposited System number i This system would require that the present forms, with the excep- tion of warrants, be used by the clerk, that the office of treasurer of the board be abolished, that the present system of local de- positories be discontinued and that 1 The county auditor and treasurer transfer the funds due each school board to the State Treasurer, instead of to the boards as at present, advising the State Auditor and the clerk of the amount placed to the credit of each board 2 The Auditor of State will keep a ledger account with each township school board on forms similar to those used by the treasurers of the boards at present 3 School boards will allow bills as at present, using the yea and nay vote, but requiring that these bills be submitted to them, in itemized form, on a regular voucher which will be fur- nished by the Bureau of Inspection and Supervision of Pub- lic Offices and the vendor will certify upon the voucher that the supplies, materials or labor were furnished by him 4 After the allowing of the claim, by the board, the president and clerk will sign the same after certifying that (a) there is sufficient money in the fund drawn against to meet the claim (b) the board allowed the bill while in regular session 5 This voucher will then be payable at any bank in the state and will be taken up by the Treasurer the same as other state vouchers. The voucher will then be audited by the State Auditor and the amount debited to the school board 6 The statement of receipts and disbursements now prepared by the clerk for the county auditor, will be sent to the State 288 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Auditor who in turn will make the statement of receipts and disbursements of school funds to the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, thus insuring accurate statistics 7 The State Treasurer should deposit this money where it will be safe and yet yield a good rate of interest and this interest should be credited to the various boards according to their balances on hand. He should also arrange some method of loaning funds to boards in need, at the same, rate of interest which is being received on deposits While this system will make it unnecessary to have state examin- ers in the field to examine the school accounts, it will be neces- sary to have more clerks in the Auditor's office to conduct these audits. Two good bookkeepers would be able to handle the addi- tional bookkeeping. The expense of this work should be charged to the various boards and it is safe to say that the cost would be only a small fraction of that now paid to school treasurers and the accounts would be properly kept System number 2 System number 2 is identical with that described above with the exception that the county auditor and treasurer act instead of the state officials. By using this system it would still be neces- sary to have state examiners. The benefits derived from the first system would be much greater than from the second School lands School lands should be reclaimed and to do this it will be necessary first to trace from each township and county record the amount of land that has been sold by the state and the amount of unsold land and who is occupying it. This should then be traced down to find out if the present lessees are or have been delinquent in their rental payments, and if they are or have been, they should be ousted. There is no doubt but that the school districts are entitled to many hundreds of thousands of dollars in back rents, which should be collected As the present method of handling this land has proved itself bad, it should be abolished by law All in one family All the Children in the District 288b > XX CONSOLIDATION AND CENTRALIZATION OF SCHOOLS Past progress in consolidation and centralization of schools r The first centralized school in Ohio was established at Kingsville in Ashtabula County, in 1892. The reports of the county auditors to the state Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1912-1913 give the number of centralized and consolidated schools at J92. In the north-east agricultural division centralization has advanced rapidly, the number in this district being 59. The south-east dis- trict has 3, the south-west 12 and the north-west 10 centralized schools Consolidation or partial centralization has made considerable head- way; 212 of such schools are now in existence, distributed among the agricultural supervision districts as follows : North-western 46 North-eastern 80 South-eastern 35 South-western 51 The reports of the county auditors to the State Commissioner of Common Schools would seem to indicate that the growth of cen- tralization has not been regular. Since 1907 there have been 2 periods of rapid increase and 1 period of apparent decline The apparent fluctuations have probably been due either to incom- plete reports or variations in interpretation of the term centraliza- tion. Two generalizations can safely be made: 1 That we are now in a period of healthly growth 2 That there is room for much more centralization in Ohio Need of further centralization and consolidation The number of one room township schools and the number of special districts are not accurately known, while statistics as to attendance of individual schools are not required of county auditors 19 s. s. (289) 29O OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT The county auditors were appealed to for information with regard to the number of school rooms with very small attendance. Of the 88 county auditors, 28 answered promptly. From their answers it appears that in 28 counties there are 36 school rooms with an en- rollment of less than 5; 147 with from 5 to 10; 408 with from 10 to 15; 618 with from 15 to 20; 725 with from 20 to 25; and 776 with 25 or over. At the same rate there would be in the state as a whole 115 school rooms with an enrollment of less than 5; 600 with an enrollment of less than 10; 1,800 with an enrollment of less than 15; and 3,900 with an enrollment of less than 20 Ten per cent of the 605 rural and special district schools visited had an enrollmet of less than 10 and 31% an enrollment of less than 15. One school visited had no children, in attendance for 2 successive days. On the third 2 children, the total membership, appeared, In another school the total membership consisted of 2 four-year-old and 2 six-year-old children. The per capita cost of education in a school with a membership of less than 10 is immense, and as teachers in such schools are hired at the minimum rate and as the whole life of such schools is, in most cases, dull and spiritless, the educational return is extremely meager. One teacher in a very small school declared her intention of leaving on account of the deadly monotony, and expressed an opinion that the only cure for the present inefficiency, of the schools in the district was centralization. This teacher is simply one of many Possibility of future progress in centralization and consolidation In the greater part of the northwest the country is level and the roads are good. In the northeast district centralization has already made great strides. The wealth of the rural districts as shown by the tax duplicate is great. To a less degree the same is true of the south- west district. In the southeast district the problem is more diffi- cult. The roads in many sections are almost impassable at some periods of the year. The country is hilly. ' In large areas, the wealth of the district lies under the ground, but does not directly contribute to the support of schools in these areas, etc. In many cases centralization or consolidation is made difficult bv the town- ship lines, which were not drawn to suit topographical conditions but to suit the map-maker's and surveyor's convenience. Even here, however, much can be done by redistricting and by effecting the consolidation of 2 or more one room rural schools, rather than by attempting complete centralization * CONSOLIDATION AND CENTRALIZATION 29I There are in the state approximately 550 miles of brick roads, 60 miles of concrete, 10,000 miles of macadam, 14,000 miles of gravel, and 64,390 miles of dirt. The field survey disclosed that of the 22g schools reported on, 10 were approached mostly by brick, 72 by macadam and 119 by gravel roads, while in could be reached from at least 1. direction by dirt roads only. As dirt roads are replaced by roads of better type centralization will become more and more possible and as centralization and consolidation are more and more promoted, good roads will be more and more in demand. Cen- tralization and good roads must go hand in hand In many cases one room rural schools are less than a mile apart. -Of the 605 township and special district schools visited during the survey, at least 16.5% were within a mile of other rural schools Constructive suggestions In view of the fact that the rural problem is also distinctly a city problem, because inefficiency in rural education must react- sooner or later on the efficiency of cities, whose population is largely re- cruited from the country and whose food comes entirely from the country, it is recommended That the state pay half the cost of transporting pupils in rural dis- tricts, up to> $100 for any one district That special subventions be paid for special services rendered by centralized and consolidated schools, according to a p!:>.n set forth in Section XXII of this report That the agricultural supervisors be especially required to further centralization and consolidation wherever possible, inasmuch as centralization and consolidation will contribute more largely to effective agricultural education than any one other agency That the deputy state superintendent of public instruction be as- signed as his most important duty, the supervision and management of the centralization movement XXI STATE AID TO COMMON SCHOOLS The report of the School Revenue Commission to the Ohio State Teach- ers Association in 1907 contains an exhaustive article by Dr. Henry G. Williams, Dean of the State Normal College, Athens, Ohio, on the "Collection and Distribution of School Funds". The statistics in this report were brought down to 1906. In order to see whether the con- clusions reached by Dr. Williams in 1907 would hold now, the statis- tics were brought down to 1912. The result of the study showed that his statement that, "We are therefore doing less as a state for schools than we did prior to 1872" is even more true now than it was in 1907 The annual report of the State Commissioner of Common Schools for 1906, gives $20,971,041.15 as the total annual expenditure for schools. The 1912 report gives $31,031,677.77 as the total annual expendi- ture for schools an increase of 48%. During the period from 1906 to 1912 inclusive, state payments to common schools have increased from *$2, 133,450.70 to $2,492,106.71 an increase of but 16.8%. The total state expenditure for education has gone up from $2,901,055.00 to $3,400,405.49, an increase of but 17.2%. During the same period the total state disbursements for all purposes have gone up from $8,531,295.40 to $13,657,953.05 an increase of 60%. Thus though the total state expenditure has increased 60% the state expenditure for education has increased but 17% and the aid to elementary and high schools less than 17.% Taking the latest figures available the total amount spent on schools is 40% of the total tax levy or about 33% if the expenditure for sites and buildings is excluded, -while the annual state expenditure for common schools is less than 18% and for all education is less than 24% of the total state annual receipts exclusive of balances and less than 19% and 25% respectively of the total annual state expenditure If education is a state affair and if it is the duty of the state to insure proper schooling to all children it is surely incumbent on the com- monwealth to readjust its scheme of state aid. The most recent figures show that the payments from the state common school fund are doing considerably more than in 1906 — as shown by *Pigures furnished by courtesy of the State Auditor's Office (292) SfATfc AID TO COMMON SCHOOLS 293 Dean Williams' paper — toward equalizing the burden of support- ing the schools, but the archaic system of distributing this fund according to the number of enumerated youth, whether in or out of school, instead of the number of children being actually educated, is the cause of grave inequalities and injustices. At present many communities are rewarded according to the number of youth not in attendance at school, rather than according to the number of children in school. The payments of the state to local communities should approximate more nearly the extent and value of the services rendered to the state. So long as the method of distributing state aid makes it immediately more profitable for districts not to enforce the compulsory attendance law, just so long will state aid fail to secure 100% of that service to the state which is the only warrant for its being given. Instead of weak districts being the only ones which receive aid under the present system, some wealthy cities re- ceive relatively an extremely high state payment per pupil actually in school — i. e. per child for whom the municipality is actually in- curring expense. Changes since 1906, do not affect the validity of the analysis of the present system made in Dean Williams' report XXII STANDARDIZATION OF SCHOOLS RATHER THAN OF PUPILS AND STUDENTS Constructive suggestions To further the effective standardization of educational institutions of all kinds supported by the state, and to encourage schools to at- tempt to reach higher standards of efficiency, the following sug- gestions are made : That 2 classes of one room rural schools be established, first and second, the class to be determined according to standards set by statute and raised from time to time by the state Superintend- ent of Public Instruction That one room rural schools of the second class receive no state subvention save their regular apportionment of the common school fund or any payments made by the state under the pro- visions of law authorizing payments to poor districts That each one room rural school of the first class be paid from the state funds an annual subvention of $25 to help pay the ex- penses of the additional apparatus, etc., required by the standard set by the state Superintendent of Public Instruction That 2 classes of rural and village schools with more than one teacher be established, first and second, according to standards set by the state Superintendent of Public Instruction and that subventions from the state be paid to these schools according to a definite schedule, say of $50 per annum to the second class, and $100 to the first class That the charter of the third grade high schools be continued but that boards of education in districts maintaining a third grade high school only, be required to pay the tuition of any pupils, holding certificates of graduation from elementary schools, who desire to attend first grade high schools in other districts, during any year or years of the high school course That graduates from any second class one room rural school shall be entitled to admission to high schools on the certification of the district superintendent (294) STANDARDIZATION 295 That graduation from any first class one room rural school or any graded rural school shall entitle a pupil to admission to any high school without examination after Sept. ist, 1915 That graduation from any first grade high school shall entitle any student to admission without examination to any state aided institution of higher learning after Sept. 1, 1915 That graduation from any state aided institution giving two year or four year courses for the training of teachers shall entitle a student without examination to a four year provisional teachers' certificate, elementary or high school as the case may be That the standardization of and state subvention to the elementary schools in the rural and village districts should be carried out on a plan similar to the following: Requirements for second class one room rural elementary schools Clean building and yard Building in good repair Separate screened privies for each sex Requirements for second class one room rural elementary schools Clean building and yard Building in good repair Inside toilets or separate screened privies for each sex Maps of Ohio and United States Library of not less than 50 volumes ioo square feet of slate or composition blackboard, at least one- half of which must be within 2 feet of the floor ■ A. system of heating with ventilation, — minimum, a jacketed stove Buildings hereafter constructed to have in connection with them not less than one acre of land for organized play Teacher with three year certificate Agricultural apparatus to a value of at least $15 296 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Requirements for second class consolidated elementary schools in rural and village districts Clean building and yard Building in good repair Inside toilets or separate screened privies for each sex A case of not less than 6 maps including a map of Ohio Library of not less than 100 volumes One hundred square feet of slate or composition blackboard, at least one-half of which must be within 2 feet of the floor A system of heating with ventilation, — minimum, a jacketed stove Buildings hereafter constructed to have at least 2 acres of land for organized play and agricultural demonstration Not less than 2 rooms and 2 teachers on full time, one of whom must have at least a three year certificate One teacher to be employed for 10 months each year giving part of his or her time during the school year to the teach- ing of agriculture or domestic science or both, and during part of vacation supervising agricultural work of boys or domestic art work of the girls Agricultural apparatus to the value of at least $25 Requirements for first class consolidated elementary schools in rural and village districts Clean building and yard Building in good repair Inside toilets or separate screened privies for each sex A case of not less than 6 maps including a map of Ohio Library of not less than 150 volumes 100 square feet of slate or composition blackboard, at least one- half of which must be within 2 feet of the floor A system of heating and ventilation — minimum, a jacketed stove STANDARDIZATION 297 Buildings hereafter constructed to have at least 3 acres of land in connection with each school, one for agricultural and school garden purposes A course in domestic science Two teachers to be employed for 10 months each,* one teaching agriculture during the school term and supervising agricul- ture during part of the vacation; the other to teach domes- tic science during the school term and to supervise domestic science instruction during part of the vacation Agricultural and domestic science apparatus to the value of at least $100 That the state Superintendent of Public Instruction should be author- ized to have manufactured metal placards for the various grades of schools. Boards of education should be authorized to place the placards on the various school buildings RESUME The work of the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruc- tion is hampered by lack of room, necessary equipment and ade- quate inspectorial and clerical force. The Superintendent himself is forced to devote a large part of his time to office detail The department should be provided at once with more space (it now has but 3 rooms, 2 of these, very small), more equipment for filing and preserving records and more office force so that the state Super- intendent of Public Instruction can devote his time to larger matters of policy Many rural districts and some village districts are inadequately super- vised A system of state wide and as nearly as possible full time supervision should be inaugurated providing for combined county and district supervision applying to all school districts outside the cities The present method of certifying teachers is too cumbersome and puts a premium on ability to pass written examinations Many grades of certificates should be abolished and every candidate for teachers' license should be required to pass a classroom test Large numbers of teachers in rural, village and small city districts have no professional training and even no academic training above the high school A state aided system of teacher training in connection with first grade high' schools in rural and village districts should be established. Summer schools for teachers should be standardized and increased in number. Teachers' institutes wherever retained should be re- organized and strengthened Much good instruction was observed in all grades of schools, but in many and widely separated districts the need of careful supervis- ion was very evident '298) RESUME 299 Many schools of all grades were deficient in necessary academic and hygienic equipment. This was not always due to- lack of funds as neighboring districts of similar financial standing often differed widely as to amount and character of equipment Many schools, particularly rural schools are in unsanitary condition. In many cases privies especially in some township districts are in a disgraceful condition. Ideal condition as to cleanliness in 1 dis- trict may exist side by side with exactly opposite conditions in a neighboring district All schools should be compelled to come up to a decent standard of cleanliness and academic and hygienic equipment Good examples of ventilation, heating and lighting are found in all grades of schools, but undesirable conditions are widespread The salaries of teachers are inadequate in many schools particularly in rural districts. Other living conditions are often not of a nature to tend toward length of service in the profession Outside cooperation with public schools is comparatively rare and except in the cities the social use of school buildings is infrequent although there are some outstanding examples of social center work in rural communities A wide spread revival of the use of school buildings as community meeting places is demanded in the interest of the social life of rural communities. Such a revival would go far toward, on the one hand solving the problem of retaining good teachers in rural districts, and on the other increasing the interest of patrons of rural schools Many rural boards of education are breaking school laws by non-en- forcement of the compulsory attendance law, by refusing to pay teachers for janitor" service and attendance at institutes and by maintaining school for less than 32 weeks per year Boards of education should be compelled to obey all state laws on pain of non-participation in state funds Too many exceedingly small schools are maintained in the state. Such schools are always expensive and in the main inefficient Consolidation and centralization should be encouraged whenever prac- ticable. Wherever the one room school is the most practicable, and this is often the case, it should be the best possible one room school. A good one room school may be made efficient and is always better than a poor or fair graded school 300 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT No schools except high schools are effectively standardized All schools should be standardized and the graduates of lower schools should be eligible for admission to a higher school without state examinations. Institutions should be standardized rather than stu- dents or pupils. All standardization should be concerned with the quality as well as with the quantity of work done, and the greatest freedom should be allowed each individual school to develop its in- dividually along the line of service to its community Respectfully submitted, M. Edith Campbell Horace L. Brittain, William L. Allendorf Director of Survey Oliver J. Thatcher, Chairman Commissioners APPENDIX A The thanks of the School Survey Commission and the Director of Sur- vey are due to all those men and women who assisted them in their work by criticizing survey forms, taking part in the field work, donat- ing illustrative material, making special studies and criticising the con- structive suggestions of the report. Without their assistance the study would have been impossible. The number of those who took part in formulating and criticizing the constructive suggestions is so large that no list can be published. Below are given lists of those who took part in the work in other ways. If anyone who assisted in the sur- vey find his name absent from these lists, he may be assured that the omission was due to inadvertence and not to any failure to appreciate his work Some of the men and women who criticized field forms Dr. William H. Allen, Director, Bureau of Municipal Research, New York Russell H. Allen, Polytechnic Preparatory, Brooklyn William A. Averill, New York Bureau of Municipal Research Dr. W. C. Bagley, Director, School of Education, University of Illinois Supt. E. L. Coffeen, Lyman School for Boys, Mass. Supt. C. J. Brewer, Chippewa Falls, Wis. A. H. Keyes, New York Bureau of Municipal Research Prof. J. E. Kirshman, North Dakota Agricultural College A. N. Farmer, State Board of Public Affairs, Madison, Wis. E. A. Fitzpatrick, State Board of Public Affairs, Madison, Wis. William E. Grady, Principal, Manhattan Public School No. 64, New York Frank W. Miller, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ohio T. W. Metcalfe, School Editor, New York Globe Mrs. Josephine C. Preston, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington John F. Putnam, Port Chester High School, New York Supt. W. A. Sterling, North Yakima, Washington Prof. A. M. Stowe, Depauw University, Indiana Dr. A. E. Winship, Editor, Journal of Education, Boston Field workers : .members of university, college and normal school staffs who organized or carried on field work; students of education with rural school experience* who assisted Ashland College D. B. Erbaugh ]VI Barr Prof. L. L. Garber E. V. Carpenter Prof. E. E. Jacobs *Some students had not had rural school experience but most of these had taught in other schools (301) 302 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT J. B. Lambert O. E. Loeman J. E. Potts Louis J. Stine Buchtel College Prof. J. C. Rockwell Denison University Prof. C. D. Coons Adin A. Grubb Anna Hutchison Alice Hutchison Mildred Moore Bess Nicolls Chas. W. Prine Grace Shenberger A. K. Wheeler J. L. Wright Kent State Normal School Prof. J. W. Dinsmore Prof. H. L. Eby Prof. L. S. Hopkins Dean J. T. Johnson Prof. J. E. Layton Prof. Lida Layton Prof. G. E. Marker Pres. J. E. McGilvrey Prof. David Olson May H. Prentice, Director of Training Oberlin University Nellie I. Douglas H. H. Hester Philip C. King Edith Malin Dean E. A. Miller Walla M. Russell Mount Union-Scio College' A. C. Eldridge M. S. James H. C. Leonard Pres.'W. H. McMastet W. B. Ruggles Muskingum College S. B. Copeland Eva E. Gray Jesse Keyser Prof. C. J. Marshall L. C. McCann Fred T. Mitchell J. W. Teener Margaret Wilson Ohio Northern University Weltha Bricker Earl W. Combs H. P. Curry Thomas DeLong Prof. J. E. Dobbins Rebecca M. Grabiel Alice Got't Esther Hawes Oscar Hibner G. T. Howe L. H. Houpt Hope Hutchinson Augustus Karnes G. H. Knappenberger Selma Kuhlmann G. E. Liest Dean C. C. McCracken M. Mollenkopf Russel O. Moore R. L. Owens lone Price H. W. Rogers Ruth Shaw S. M. Tuttle Alice Warner Galen Yeashing Ohio State University Gertrude Bartlett Ida Basinger Eunice Bowser Dean W. W. Boyd Prof. G. A. Bricker C. F. Class M. B. Collins H. C. Copeland Prof. C. C. Coontz Flora Crawford Chas. E. Doust R. C. Gephart Prof. A. B. Graham Glenna Hesse C. B. Henry Sina A. Kirby Mary E. Kline Edwin G. Kneffer Helen Livingston Ida Maddox Josephine Matthews, Instructor Flora McCampbell L. D. Mcllroy Mabel Miskimen, Instructor APPENDIX A 303 H. W. Nisonger J. N. Pinkerman F. J. Ryan E. G. Spahr Sarah E. Stimmel Prof. K. D. Swartzel Elizabeth Sweatman Alice Swisher Prof. Eldon Usey J. P. Walker Ohio University A. W. Blizzard Wm. R. Blumenthal O. P. Clutts G. W. De Long Jennie F.. Dowd Pres. Alston Ellis Prof. W. L. Gard J. O. Grimes Loring Hall Prof. F. C. Landsittel Prof. C. L. Martzolff Blanche McDill, Critic Teacher F. H. McVay R. L. Morton Jesta M. Richards E. R. Richards Prof. John J. Richeson Dean Henry G. Williams Miami University Blanche Altman John Ankeny Jesse Battin Elma Beerbower Dean B. M. Davis Paul Dildine Mary D. Finch, Critic Teacher Florence Frie Lena Gottschalk Sylvia Griswold Nellie. Kiester Prof. Anna E. Logan Prof. A. L. Mathews C. E. Miller Cleomine Mull Helen O'Connor Orville Powers Sue J. Rowan Margarite Royal John Schwartz, Principal J. Warren Smith F. R. Sowers W. E- Steiner O. S. Thacker Western Reserve University Prof. D. C. Mathews Wooster University Prof. W. J. Gifford J. L. Mason R. B. Snell A. L. Walker Wilmington College Prof. F. R. Elliott Prof. Marion Hollingsworth Prof. Waldo Woody Marietta College Supt. J. V. McMillan Prof. D. T. Schoonover Prof. F. H. Krecker Mrs. J. V. McMillan George J. Blazier Robert W.. Owens J. C. Finch W. B. Irvine H. A. Smith Supt. George C. Donson Supt. S. A. Gillette Others Louise Becker J. R. Clarke J. L. Clifton H. L. Goll S. A. Harbourt Hon. G. M. Hoaglin, Member of Legislature L. S. Ivins Candus Martzolff W. A. McCurdy Mrs. Frank W. Miller Frank W. Miller Hon. G. M. Morris, Member of Legislature C. E. Oliver Bettie Wilson J. W. Zeller 304 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVE\ REPORT Donors of cuts and plates Prof. A. B. Graham, Director, Agricultural Extension Department, Ohio State University Dean Henry G. Williams, Editor, Ohio Teacher Principal E. B. Mclntyre, Springfield, Ohio State Y. M. C. A. County Department State Highway Commission J. R. Clarke, State Supervisor of Agriculture S Men and women who made or assisted in making special studies Marie Bird, Teacher, Delaware Beatrice Brophy, Student, Normal School, Columbus F. G. Boudreau, M. D. Staff, State Board of Health Supt. E. J. Brown, Dayton Homer C. Brown, D. D. S. President National Dental Association, State Board of Health Helen Butler, Student, Normal School, Columbus Alma J. Cantoe, Director, Avondale Kindergarten, Cincinnati Mildred Chard, Student, Normal School, Columbus Fannie M. Clark, Teacher, Delaware J. R. Clarke, State Agricultural Supervisor Supt. R. J. Condon, Cincinnati Paul E. Cromer, Principal, High School Arlington Maud Currie, Student, Normal School, Columbus F. R. Chapman, D. D. S. Secretary, State Dental Association Supt. C. B. Darby, Plain Township, Franklin County C. H. Dishong, Teacher, Columbus Dorthy Forward, Teacher, Delaware Emma Downey, Teacher, Logan Ruth Dildine, Student, Normal School, Columbus Ethel M. Dean, Student, Normal School, Columbus C. O. Dustin, Bureau of Municipal Research, Dayton Winifred Edwards, Teacher, Delaware Ruth Fondersmith, Student, Normal School, Columbus Supt. Clark Fullerton, Frankfort Adella Gall, Student, Normal School, Columbus H. L. Goll, State Agricultural Supervisor Harriet C. Gillilan, Teacher, Delaware Supt. A. R. Gilliland, Malta Prof. A. B. Graham, Director Agricultural Extension Department, Ohio State University S. A. Harbourt, State Agricultural Supervisor E. R. Hayhurst, M. D. Staff, State Board of Health Jennie Harmon, Teacher, Columbus L. S. Ivins, State Agricultural Supervisor Ruth Jones, Student, Normal School, Columbus Edith M. Keller, Teacher, Delaware Anna Kenny, Student, Normal School, Columbus Annie F. Kellogg, Teacher, Delaware APPENDIX A 305 Ruth King, Student, Normal School, Columbus Gertrude Laux, Student, Normal School, Columbus Ruth Le Crone, Student, Normal School, Columbus Jessie Lentz, Student, Normal School, Columbus Bess Long, Student, Normal School, Columbus Arch Mandel, Bureau of Municipal Research, Dayton Irene Metzger, Student, Normal School, Columbus' Emma McCann, Teacher, Delaware R. E. Miles, Director, Bureau of Municipal Research, Cincinnati S. K. Mardis, State School Improvement Federation E. F. McCampbell, M. D., Secretary, State Board of Health W. A. McCurdy, State High School Inspector T. M. Muir, Principal, Myrtle Avenue Public School, Youngstown C. E. Oliver, State High School Inspector Supt. W. N. Parks, Carlisle, Ely ria and Ridgeville Townships, Lorain County Abigail Patterson, Teacher, Delaware Grace Pearsall, Student,' Normal School, Columbus Mary L. Pratt, Teacher, Delaware Inez Richey, Student, Normal School, Columbus Alice Rohe, Student, Normal School, Columbus Asst. Supt. E. D. Roberts, Cincinnati Estella Schart, Student, NormaT School, Columbus Supt. J. A. Shawan, Columbus Margaret A. Sutherland, Principal, Normal School, Columbus Louise Stitt, Teacher, Wadsworth Florence Swisher, Teacher, Delaware H. D. Swygert, Statistician, State Department of Public Instruction Mary E. Thomson, Teacher, Delaware Ruth Turnbull, Student, Normal School, Columbus L. D. Upson, Director, Bureau of Municipal Research, Dayton Supt. Wm. McK. Vance, Delaware Supt. R. O. Wead, Yellow Springs Laura G. Wagner, Teacher, Delaware Nellie P. Wildermuth, Student, Normal School, Columbus Eva Webster, Teacher, Delaware Laura A. Woodward, Teacher, Delaware Mary M. Wilkin, Teacher, Delaware 20 s. s. APPENDIX B FIELD FORMS AND QUESTIONNAIRES Forms Used in the Field Survey of Schools The forms are printed as used except that the identification headings are omitted Elementary and high school Card I Physical Equipment Card II General Community Conditions Card V H. S. and Ele. Sup. Classroom Instruction In addition the first sides of Cards IV Ele. and VI Ele. . were the same as Cards IV and VI H. S. Cards IV Ele. and VI Ele. Front sides used for Cards IV H. S. and VI H. S. Elementary only Card III Ele. Compositions Card IV Ele. Physical Plant and Equipment — Individual Room Card V Ele. Classroom Instruction Card VI Ele. Records, Reports and Statistics High school only Card III H. S. Text books in Use Card IV H. S. Reverse: Physical Equipment — Individual Room (continued) Card VI H. S. Reverse: Records, Reports and Statistics (con- tinued) Card VII H. S. Health Regulations Card VIII H. S. Preparation of Pupils for High School Card IX H. S. Program of Supervision — (continued) Card X H. S. Teaching of Special Subjects Card XI H. S. Subjects Taught in High School Card XII H. S. Preparation and Experience of Teaching Force Questionnaires sent to individuals To county auditors To superintendents of schools To teachers at teachers' institutes (Sent out by the Superintendent of Public Instruction) Outside cooperation with schools To libraries To business men To clubwomen Score card for rural schools. a OS < 55 OS < OS u APPENDIX B o o £55 307 V) CO X) S »s M ft o O J3 o •S •§,§£« ^ nJ,o u 22 'c B «g <§ fe 2 o 08 3 ° cE «s o c a 25 n fa O Z M n j & M H O W ■«i w fa I— I a a w « Z < < fa J 3 ffit/S B.O 3 , c o x ft W .as O B Q2 -d v &Ht3 2-g Oh fa > O < 4-* O a V 1> 1) O tnfa l>,fa .»# .to HS fa< ^3 u X o »8 -4 V .St" Sr.. 13, oj 5 c P O g* is •§55 u 33 o o £2 wn-. .2 >■ C a au V v> . OJ XI w XI > > xi 3 VI Ph^ u rt .5 xi a; '0 c rt OJ C .-0 O P a - p OJ "+H b}, 00 -> J V c M < O en o as »z 0^ wj OJ J3 'A O X! 0! O V X) 4J rt * n.. OJ Mh OJ w ife OJ en X) M s CO C C bC C7 "o u W3 O X) tH X3 .5 4> V 0) Ih X) -Q >> O O '3 O Oft. MH M-l O O « tn rt Mh »r IH c be rt vi rt W oj U. K5 MH P MJ3 £ •< < (h < < % < a <£> l>- CO C: d CM CO CM 3 o8 p < u to o w « > OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT o>.2 I I I I !_J o H < < ■Sis O o c V.E E" 3 — En*! a Z n~ > V > JL > , o o O u w o m t rt - o o it in c J5 o .0 he *c a' ft. J3 w .2 ;» < 4) ca P. n~ 3 i- XI J= J5 £ £ is h- CO a I I I I o o X ,jn n 1*4 S 6 5 M-i O ► » * O o w M APPENDIX B 309 Q OS < u >. c 3 E E u 4) 5 <*-! O a G w » Ih ri cu t*i j2 X! G rt >. o c rt s Ih V Mh o o G rt en 13 cu C > G h « a o in & "3 o 1 X o U rt hA ." £ in T3- >. £h CU B C o c M CU 'rt ri ■a s Ih ft >> Ih Ih o o g ri a M u pq '3 V Ih rt cu X! l) rt o Jh o CU Ih ri bo G C it o XI u en Mh O 3 cj rt XJ u o ri o o fc (U e XS >> G Xi cu o Ih O s cu Ih ri T3 V ft ft fV. Ih rt m X3 K CD *V CU u G rt is n- aj I 5 O ' CJ a 5 bo n o o Ih T3 > ri n-. Efl *o o Xi o co CO o Ih & G CO Ih o G Xl « HH o •c "4-1 o G 3 en o en V (.. ri CU c A o cd- 'So to £ ^ "n-. X G " .cd en . Ih |h s CJ O i? ■s .S a >> Ih ri V on Ih fefl s IS o c Ih "3 T3 Efl Ih P O XI o rt P R O in G V Ih 1 Iff o CO V ■g -5 re cu ri o M !>. +j in ri .St" ^ 0. *3 B O CJ s >> t'a u X. G E CO 1 G ri B rt E 4> CO G C q CO u ^ XI V ■u V o 4 1 o ° £.2 9 o o IS ri A ^ con- o w o G ri CJ > ri ^ - — Xi C*3 ■* in J> CO O o 1-1 P g ■ ri o o -a Z, 2 a rt +j co 03 o cu CU .E ^ >* xl - J) A *J g c - cu Ih T3 •3 •* f*-. 4J V o U xs *n "C ■*- w W) «*H H3 J3 CO 4) 4J cu xi "rt .5 .E G O o o "5 " 1 en G u o X3 10 c cu si X! ft 2 B o U O o Ih .£ fa o a G V u ft Ih ri ft CU in "»H ft "■S ri * rt rt * Ih CU J! en M cu Ih CU x: en J3 XI to M ^ en h-l ^ w fe d w J APPENDIX B 3" > ■■no* .D fficn J3 u >W w ' <> •a < o o E H U M H 03 2i S o o « a "8 ffivJ ■S3 eg °2 w9 4J |f ' 3 D .3 » n o 0'~ >.> JE a •■ 3 tt.4 ZS «>« • B 1 *>» M U i « : H rt - _ 5j" to u bo in £ 5 3S o p S a S >-o a o PU ; M Jill .Snd •as •* fcBS.B 4-1 O C «. w rt'-Cd in bo « .2 « s -a s s - 3 in *; o -y en C4 .r. J3 « s > ii 3 9 2 I fi I B 7 £ TJ n •& * 5 .S o v (/J M W V > n w w "Si *- £ Q.Wuj 3 C f52 ZZZZZ r (J U UUIIIIII (ft ■£ « « "£ u K * ; : : p. - :o2.S ■ja£p : JSS : v £ ; o o-o : "13 S B"XI.S Uh an boo >trt R a— .a .a o xt aj>+- bo ■ B :£- • o u . V ■■-■5 - : 3 ^° .S ':°"* Ss-S|-S OUOOh 3 W E »°N umipajtj 1M%S \\v }e }o N 2 B 1- 1- 60 _ H E- < 00 ti m I» 1 p; 6 to . " _•_ M O w cq - O Tt- -— — — . — M en C .2 O a u - tJ V t-. ii a D < C (a c .2 c .2 to It •5 u bo rt u rt CI c c '35 e. G O U bo .5 'u O C op V) HI -a rt bb 'in O a. B u _c en T3 Ih O bo C .5 Ih rt 6 E rt u bo .5 rt 3 ft .5 Cfl ft E .5 bo c 3 t- en V ' O q OJ C V en ft 3 .5 bo C a tU 1- tn rt bo O ft CO Ih en JS rt bo .E .£ O en en rt CO 6 1 en CD "3 u ."£ Mi O m ft en (fl "5. 3 c "3. 0. U ti x> E 3 rt I O "C -a rt en E en u OJ ft ci ft en Ih 4J ft 0, (0 u ft rt ft en CU en rt. en rt en "ft 3 a .5 rt J! rt HH 4h c M-. *M ■+-. 4h mi «+- M-. '+- Hh <4-i E E *rt O O O O O O 0. u 6 d d d d d d d d O 6 d > > £ 2 H 2 S5 JZ5 & 2 fe 2 £ 2 2 < < 3H OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Q as < u o c o a o x) a o 1) rt a ) Date of publication of edition in use u V 43 3 O o M 4-1 O 1) ^3 H 1 <5 3 ts i-i - :-— 4 ._ ._„ .. — - — — — i_ . tJ u bo G '•& m u bo .5 be •2 u d S E o U bo a c CO .J u p bo ■fi a 'C < H rt E 'E Ph o •5 a < XI u u C rt > x) < >> XJ ft rt H bo o V O > '0 o o -Q .an, K 2, X) c o u V a 'ft >> H XJ c rt [o '55 >> j3 o '51 3 to rt Q APPENDIX B 315 XI V o m bo v Eg «i 55 a fc >< C ii h X> O It! 0) X> rt W ja CJ c X! to £- to £ « . > d is M l-H 1—1 d pf « d £ os a & M CO o 00 6 u rt jS H !-'C M S °E§ S a bows .5-c.o T3^ Sc°.SSi dJs.S - 3 S «" -S-2 2 •-•2 ■>? 8 c fen a M ■B~frg bo'C'3 £ 3 s » y. « fc bo" w |.S.S|S C v~ > * "C£ u a" TS ** C 01 S ~.° rt £2 « « M X w w ►J Ph a c u 2 ^ 2w ^K y sym- str iking teach- . Code sed in nk.) I- M cn *©. M s i!"s ra rt "b B o P. B U Xt O a o o a equent legiti ns by pupils iat? 2. How? Why? 5. Wh .a *u re in "S, B « o ■a ».2 Is (fl 3 .5 i= Ih . ■ •S c e V > .2 ote in colum ols any oth oints. Unde r's favorite su rmbols to b Lling out abov 3 * gj cn £q«° ftu »•*; Pvs;>^ 0* H^S M ^ , 01* rt J3 ^ o Ih U *> fii+-i 4J O cn ■a C ol - 1* .5 >>£ O O u u a Ih In w CO V n C co C .3 to & to* E o w P bo fi at * « n £ C o 1 cr to .5 >. E O rt "o at Ih a o Ih Mh CO OJ XI u re 'C-.fi cd tn co 43 5- B (fl 3! R (0 '5 14 -G ft B V C si u B ►J ft 05 re c O (0 lo «J V 3 o a 1 c c ft o o X! re u H (0 - -H (fl 4J & h5 y c o Mfh •■2 St* oJS B R.3 m XI o T3 w Mh M xi .J A* J! o o a Ph >< < n APPENDIX B 319 ^ M.B % v. ►J"S 'P u &B 1J5 rt. Zk n-. 6 V > - 4 - 1 1^ K , 'rt T) V rt 1/ (fl -o rt lf> V M V s rt rt M & c CO (A 1— 1 £• £ 00 d Q W M -* > ~ * O IV. > £ K O W >H n O 2 & >< >H rt, A.. P rt U u tl £ 2; n- w C ** aj c > Sh en (V. -a C .5 en ft rt *** rt en < rt JS H J5 K 4J < CO ** t— 00 J? 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XJ K -. u > > _S Ih rt T3 "* o 33 u 3 in >> o X) c" Ih o o Ih bo £ 3 o d _ u- TJ CO ,> '3 3 c rt J3 CO - •a 2 60 B o a 3 >4H ftj T-) Pi a 3 u i— i Ph : ri d w - &. ftJ 1 — X! c bo oS 0) « in T3 u bO In 5 IE '5) O - C- s d O w 3 rt a o ftj 1- o d 3 T3 w Ih HI X) B 3 3 a i-i c ra V) in V C o o XI o u. bo o Ih a rt ■ 00 o> o ^, i» C +3 inW bo OJ u Ih s, < If Ih XI g° P9 >H ji fa 1 I 1 APPENDIX B 321 co o o n £ a M O 0-3 ■go. a « 1 1 ? • : Subject* c 1 I i ■* 3 k ! j u >» 2 c c 1 i i c 1 1 8 * b a u (U t73 a c :f c a £ c U V 1 2 4 ■g e c 1 1 1 ►- Li I u 3 O -1 i E 1 i < 7 S •5 < 5 1 « S ft i * c < 1 t 1 < *■ I 1 C 4 > ; i ? t > . 1 • c 1 i "t 1 *! p. ? 1 c < •1 a E < 2 \ c 1 5 ! ! 1 : •« ■» 1 1 ' 1 E t •c c . s c , c 1 1 13 ; 1 i ■ i >, 'i 'C « ' 1 > 1 I > u- 1 ■8 n 21 s. s. 322 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT ! o .fl og si i ■ ■ I ' i , 5 D -t - L) - 3 •< 3 cd c3 * u E u: : , »- „ - - o o a 2 H w S Hi n E> a H a < i-l ft < I I s_jti L"^ -h'L v Pi _ w cv V V •O X O'O as « fa c 10 s >< >* «M3 J> ".SB C b.O « «*< T2 v m, .s >>« n t" .8|« tU (OlH &J3 >, is** « 3 V •a »** *S vhv i- ^ " o 4) ts re d te rk b mon U c V 4> e repo ipal a the cl school V >* -.S3- >. <; w y oZ i-n-i H« SB SB- «o n'Q «H U E « o •a a 5 o v a. S 5 § (4 rt ,0*0 SB tn v APPENDIX B 325 a « < u tn 55 O H < •J O H « (fit) 0) .-si'i 98*5 o,3g O O w ^ in-- rt © O «_. .°§ £ ° « « ft CO ** Rt *J u 4 w « a tt C 'I s E fi t. ? .S k a. I 1 1 b 1 c a c V a i t c "5 n 1 t. ) a . i • £• .9 « "3 i) T3 .■S f -o t; ■- 6 S -° « I I » I- O O ft; < W B P 32b OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT a < O w > W M ►4 O O a u a o E « o - E M M » c :5 H 'G j* •« •c a a 3 a a a z ~ o a = s 6 6 $ z, en •So E « '3 v II 3 o •O APPENDIX B 327 to u 3 0> £W CO c l-H *o ,di? u H 3 tn fe Ih e gS 3 55 £S in V." 03 OS tn S'S.a lee T3~ ^ ° o o "3 3 ,2 .0 » J3 _M . I ^ 1 *. g I § -s SEEEEEEEEES OOOOOOOOOOJS Ul-,l-i!-il-.U(- l l-,l-U+-' 328 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT M a, < u < Q u, (-1 o ■£ £ o O w a OS w ft w In O OS O O OS Oh 8 I •-. °« Kj .a e q I S S3 *■ -a OS 3 "a .2 -nS — «,-. ■* S..5 S..S S 4> J3 u fe 3 fc ° a. o^ B c .Sua » -1 •3 S.§ ». ST* ~ 3 a a ° u o So a CO t- 1- U) .5 *o o Ih V h5 O IH - . 1 :- •a o t> S .t tg 1 Oh ?-l tN CI 4. u J "c *o O J! c U) X t b c '5 £ V § IT V E u c a ■d c nj en "3 iO u 1- u 5 4. ■*- J3 'S 8 c 4J !- .* c Q u to 1 O 00 o *c o ■ CJ V O) V u< 4. n E *c o A C, V) hi *c « 4J u. w u U c c c «J •t) H o tfl 4 & c J= t. _t 'E > s 'S 3 "3 o a 6 O APPENDIX B 3 2 9 O O Pn a o u o 12; w O 5 3 *rt,S Vj «t3 m fl 4» "T 4 O U ftftj {> cg.Q C T X>XJ o T3'C V V h ft Ph"o to a i- 3 2 (L> a, I- . si Pn To B ■ * o ~ t Ph Ph 4j 2 p. >>* x T— U o >> " ~.S ** *E £ S3 S-o oE < <£ K M W 111 en h O < o o ft*' g-s « 6' d< e o-g ~ o c 4.2 : ^° ,-, *> rt S 'y bO .5 to u a O-OJ xi o BJ! Bl o rt : , : c ■SIZ : E rt bo rt M e> . it O a s • a 41 c P. bo U C « ; o 13 ^ CV • a 4J : xi Jix 4J • C u. • : 3 : S^J : X) IH : B « : & B *4-i 4 (0 dl : « S : ■CO 0) 10 :' £% : < o ; £S o o 52; T3 •" « " S « 3 ■ 5? « S i^ 1 o O,(0 << < 15 S S >H JH >H bovM-i v O.S nl O 3- o_ S o o 5"° ° a "^Offl W < H < * u P (fl o Q°2 t" i h ^1 « *H m fa >> u £ £ O £ u'S g o g c - "• rt l.„ C p. C O 3 O •gag. p. a SddSd Ml JB 5 in - C *-"» S ^ Bffl« 3 -o B.H 3 4j CO O O O ! S - u ° ) ° b.-JS-S j ^ 5** cd t, c pq ■1 2 gT". 2 *S ™ o « 5* ■ .£ "S u S « d o a b •y » "^ 2*5 (4ha£Pi HWM'OllOOt-CO DO 3 2 J- rt 3 a i* .£ H 2; w a > o o K O to u >'l to o u a M a o < w H * S e * O g 3 c H U O _E >< v w ° E •a * < * M a in APPENDIX B 331 a W « D u « < fa O o !S 1— I Si o < .S 3 r* ,23 n a > & H < PS < Ph fa < s a 13 a a 3 ^ ! £ £ « W HI u fa o u g £ u w :* PS o " in w c J o S s M li ^ en rt i ca i-J « « y s w S u ■a 2 Z ^g o ^« e ° ° J3 S >> * " £ £ E 5 -g £ fc ,3 if 2; < PS Ph Ph < «J i, a-s' 2 >< SPh v p, HH rt m - o rt B-S 3- ni r-: 0,5 > 3 33 2 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT < c S E h c O - •a § 3 < » w -a Eh a B s 25 pi c •- P-i "3 ^ ■§ ' 3 kJ rt u u O rt 2 >■ 2° B i- o w o •§ u " cm O 3 o o 8 a s 3! (n o « *c = -a ~ .5 o ^ i-. o> o g o o u w a - ra a °>«2 u ° £ S-oS ■gca 2 2 >■ Q.aj §1 55 h ,3 APPENDIX B 333 Q < "18 Si* "12 !5 °^* CA U "o — % o g g B n 8 O O W u to M O H Ed o < H C/} H U w t— 1 fa P a s <3 3 g c 3 a a s (3 5 a a 6 3 £ < s ■< -< £4 tn M U < P,P w 5IS S5 & a J? s^S o — «^ rt.d So s ° 3" ■ 0,0 o 3 C -. .2 .3 o rt o c B O m O O U - o rt oj u f rt rt as-!!;* nj >, « oj < *2 J3 .. !* ■» A : M o S £ • a: o • o .s c c B-S o o y U U H E B 8 ^5 bo §>» tn U O s. APPENDIX B 335 .32 : aj & * O 3 M Jj oh "jri : ■— <-> o «*J . , Ot M 1 " : C t> • ; Professional Training — nor- mal, college, university, sum- mer course, (length in each case) Tag i OJ " Oh .§ M C M u « C < JJ Subjects Taught Names of Teachers 336 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT a OS 5 > « ■a o u o o APPENDIX B 337 m W H H H < « w B u w H >< E-i O Q w 3 t/i O < •22 S. S. rt. ^h u u ' 13 o o J3 >. J» ; 2 >. tM W tn o (0 u *{3 i+-t : 2 bo > o o bo > >. >» i-H CO 00 o P o u cu c .5 3 T3 C O 'S U cn r •« CO V p J3 "o bo .5 to rt u IB ■D u *a cr > o i-, u Ph c a. (V XI 3 >< .tJ •*■■ u U cj CU ft u o p o T3 ft *^ CU O •^ rt ft -j 1 £ s. CO CO cu cu s CO V 6 V o B i o d rt tu 3 £ ft ft p: te ^ O 1 rt o . Hh (4 S o .2 J5 W -< U > tv) U 13 Pi '&.£ oi CO .S c U 3 • 5 g o 'Stn £« Sw •3D u > E -2 rt ot 25 .5 O rH 05 ft CO ^b "S<« C pq *rt 13 B cu i 4 •o e t-i o IT E ■£ rt w a 2 ti W 2 1 1 '1 ^ c cu N ! s C p: CU •" c CL c > £ a .5 H O U > t/ U ; c : c CU Ih o | 33 £ -2 re w 15 .5 o ft J3 bO : o : H T3 bo c in Pi ft u - ^ ft c H : < . to / t3 „ ■3W XS to s o 73 - V N 1 a "a >HOS 1— 1 rH E PJ a. > J s" £ e 5 a. >» tu +J < o H 3 > Q U 1) >. ft rt < >> d « XI 1* 6 CU 3 "a u P Q - cu - 5 id 6 *" ■3 .2 w ' . N E o o to £ c c O V cu : 3 : u ^ ft -ti l - 1 c S cu ; h c c >, « U (J > w u | -. U O > Xfl C 338 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT ■2 (S 41 1-J 2 £ 1 « = < E > •* .& o g O Eh APPENDIX B 339 H O U *d -d 4J QJ s o o """* cu cu l-t t-t rt rt (U 0) E B CO rt co CO J3 J3 ej CJ .C IS & £ C _B .i-* CO CO a a J3 IS en CO a C % ■s o o H H w 1-1 o O o, a. .C M CO CO C C * 5= ^ o o H H Area if nown. Area if nown. .M A! >"" y CO o m U 'l* CO CO 3 5 , 0J a bo rt 'u Spe !> 340 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Real reason for short session in your judgment. Reasons given for short session by district officials. Number of weeks school was in session. • en cu V CJ J3 *J a o a •a V . c CO j= •o c c o eel c •a o s s o a, "3 bo in a Kind of District. ... Districts which had less than 8 months school during the year 1912-1913. c* *"* O 0) -C 0) o ca .o tn cS « £ o O ^ O o ??"fi •*-• ■M O (J U in.- •r- Ui 14-1 CD 5 c "o c^.S ui *• rt o> W cu.e APPENDIX H 341 COUNTY AUDITORS, THREE 1. No. of school rooms in county with enrollment of less than 5. 2. No. of school rooms in county with enrollment of 5 or from 5 to 10 3. No. of school rooms in county with enrollment of from 10 to 15 4. No. of school rooms in county with enrollment of from 15 to 20 5. No. of school rooms in county with enrollment of from 20 to 25 6. No. of school rooms in county with enrollment of 25 or over. QUESTIONNAIRES SENT TO SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS ONE Name of Sup't. Address Name and Kind of District (City, Village, Special, Township) 1. How many one room schools with all grades have you in your district? 2. How many schools with more than one room and with all grades have you in your district? 3. If in a township, are the schools centralized? 4. If in a township, are the schools partly centralized or consolidated? 5. In what years have you held agricultural exhibits in individual schools? 6. In what years have you held school district exhibits? 7. In what years have you exhibited at county fairs? 8. What sort of material have you exhibited? 9. What apparatus have you for the teaching of agriculture in your schools? Mention especially home-made apparatus 10. What part have your pupils taken in agricultural contests other than exhibits? 11. If not too early to get an answer in your district, what practical results have followed the teaching of agriculture in the school and the holding of agricul- tural exhibits and contests? 12. In what years have you conducted home gardens? Give important facts 13. In what years have you conducted school gardens? Give important facts 14. Do you receive bulletins from the experimental stations, the state department of agriculture, the national department of agriculture? 15. To what extent do your teachers use them? 16. How many truant officers does your district employ? 17. How many age and schooling certificates were issued during the school year from Sept. 1, 1912, to May 1, 1913? 18. How many children in your district between the ages of 14 and 16 are (a) in school? (b) at work? (c) well, but neither at school nor at work ? 19. What is the total enumeration of your district? 20. What is the total' net enrollment of all the schools in the district, public, parochial and private? 21. How many cases of truancy were allowed to run on without being dealt with during the year 1912-1913? 22. How many cases were satisfactorily dealt with? 23. How many prosecutions were there, and with what results? 24. What officer issues age and schooling certificates? 25. Are there continuation schools? Enrollment of these Average attendance Hours per week Subjects taught 26. Who actually takes the school census? .27. How much is he paid? 342 , OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT 28. How often during the year do you make regular promotions? 29. Do you use continuous or cumulative record cards for pupils? 30. How long have these cards been in use? 31. How many pupils in how many families were aided by being provided with money, clothes, text hooks, and supplies (when these are not free) during the year 1912-1913? 32. In your judgment, has the law (sec. 7777) authorizing such assistance worked well? 33. What proportions of your time are given to office work, supervision, teaching? 34. (Entirely optional) What special features characterized the work in your* dis- trict last year? 35. (Entirely optional) Will you be kind enough to give the commission informa- ' tion as to the amount and character of your professional training, academic training and experience? 36. Do you keep records of careers of graduates of elementary or high schools? 37. Can you supply the commission with any information, printed or otherwise, as to what these records show? (Please fill out and return as soon after May first as possible) TWO County Name and Address of Superintendent. 1. Please describe any device, not widely adopted, which you are using for supervisory, administration or instructional purposes — particularly devices tried out for the first time in your constituency (If any special forms are used please send a copy to this office) 2. Please describe any educational experiment or investigation which you are at present conducting or have conducted during the academic year 1912-1913 or earlier 3. Note. The commission welcomes any other information or suggestions you may have to offer THREE County. *■ Grade of high school. ' Township Special District Village City Name of Superintendent Address 1. What changes have you made in your high school at the suggestion of the State Department of High School Inspection in a.. Building? (Date ) b. Equipment? Date ) c. Organization? (Date ) d. Course of study? (Date ) which you consider were for the good of your community 2. Why were these changes good for the community? a. In building b. In equipment c. In organization d. In course of study APPENDIX B 343 3. What changes have you made in your high school at the suggestion of the State University department of high school inspection in a. Building? (Date ) b. Equipment? Date ) c. Organization? (Date ) d. Course of study? (Date ) which you consider were for the good of your community? 4. Why were these changes good for the community? a. In building b. In equipment c. In organization d. In course of study 5. What changes have you made at the suggestion of the State Department of High School Inspection in a. Building? (Date ) b. Equipment? Date ) c. Organization? (Date ) d. Course of study? (Date ) which you consider were not for the best interests of your community? 6. Why were these changes bad for the community? a. In building b. In equipment c. In organization d. In course of study 7. What changes have you made at the suggestion of the State University de- partment of High School Inspection in a. Building? (Date ) b. Equipment? Date ) c. Organization? (Date ) d. Course of study? (Date ) which you consider were not for the best interests of your community? 8. Why were these changes bad for the community? a. In building b. In equipment c. In organization d. In course of study 9. Are you continuing in your course of study any subject or subjects which you offer only to meet the requirements of the State Department of High School Inspection? 10. What are these subjects? 11. Why do you think it would be better for your community if they were omitted ? 12. What subjects if any are crowded out by those required by the State Depart- ment? 13. Are you continuing in your course of study any subject or subjects which you offer only to meet the requirements of the University department of high school inspection? 14. What are these subjects? 15. Why do you think it would be better for your community if they were omitted? 16. What subjects, if any, are crowded out by these required subjects? 344 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT 17. How many times since Sept. 1909, has your high school been visited by the State Department of High School Inspection? 18. How long did the state inspector spend in examining your high school in 1909-10? ' In 1910-11? In 1911-12? In 1912-13? 19. How many times since September 1909, has your^high school been visited by the State University department of high school inspection? 20. How long did the university inspector spend in examining your high school in 1909-10? In 1910-11? In 1911-12? In 1912-13? Does your school system record on individual record cards the essential facts for every child in school, (age, parentage, scholarship, etc.) from the time they enter school until the time they complete the eighth grade or longer? If so, please send samples. The commission will appreciate any information or suggestions on any educa- tional topics which you may be willing to give. QUESTIONNAIRES ON OUTSIDE COOPERATION WITH SCHOOLS ONE LIBRARY COOPERATION WITH SCHOOLS Name of Library P. O. Address Name of Librarian I. General 1. Is the library system controlled by school board? Yes No Public library board? Yes No Group of citizens not part of local government? Yes No Other? 2 . Total number of books on library register 3. No. of branch libraries 4.- No. of elementary schools in city or township where library is situated No. of Pubils 5. No. of high schools in city or township where library is situated No. of students II. Cooperation at School Buildings 1. Does the school board furnish books for school libraries? Yes No 2. No. of books furnished by reporting library to elementary school libraries 1912-1913 Were they furnished for the school as a whole? Yes No For sep- arate rooms? Yes No From the main library? Yes No From branches? Yes No No. for children's use No. for parents and general circulation No. for teacher's use 3. No. of permanent reference books for use in high schools during 1912- 1913 4. Do teachers ask in the fall for the books they will want during the year? Yes No No. who asked during 1912-1913 Or does the library send a certain set to each room? Yes No To each school? Yes No APPENDIX B 345 5. Is the library responsible for keeping these books in repair? Yes No For replacing worn-out copies? Yes No How often are new books sent? 6. No. of books sent from time to time to elementary and high schools for temporary use on written request from teacher during the year 1912-1913 No. of reference books sent for temporary use 7. Does the library send books for distribution at recreation centers? Yes No For evening schools? Yes No For continuation schools? Yes No 8. Are notices posted on school bulletin boards about books of interest to teachers? Yes No - To pupils? Yes No 9. Do librarians visit schools during or after hours to talk about books? Yes No To tell the teachers about their opportunities as school librarians? Yes No No. of schools so visited during 1912-1913 No. of classes 10. Do librarians visit the schools each fall, explaining to principals and teachers the library's willingness to cooperate? Yes No 11. No. of schools outside the city or township limits to which the library sent books during 1912-1913 Name Location. (1) (2) (3) [II. Cooperation at the Library (If there is more than one library building, give answers using M. to indicate the main library and Bi, B 2 , Bs, etc., to indicate the branches). 1. When was the last catalogue issued? Was a copy sent to each teacher? Yes No 2. Is there a children's room ? Are there open shelves for children's books ? No. of books on such shelves 3. Is there an open reference shelf for special books needed at certain periods in high school courses ? No. of books kept there on the average 4. Is there a special shelf for books of interest to teachers? No. of books kept there on the average 5. What special privileges are given to teachers in taking out reference and other books ? 6 For what educational periodicals does the library subscribe? Are the teachers notified that the library takes these periodicals ? Yes No Do you keep files of clippings and cut articles on subjects of interest to teachers ? Yes No On essay subjects for high school students ? Yes No . For elementary students? Yes No 346 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT 8. 'Has the library a special librarian to develop cooperation with schools? Yes No No. of schools she visited 1912-1913 No. of times she visited each 9. No. of school classes in 1912-1913 which came to library for talks about books during school hours After school hours Which grades came ? 10. How frequently is there a story-telling hour for the younger children? Are notices sent to kindergarten and primary teachers? Yes No Do school children come ? 11. No. of exhibits of pictures since Sept., 1912 Of statuary Of rare books ■. Of industries Illustrating holiday celebrations National birthdays Current events 12. What evidence has the library that teachers are occustomed to refer pupils to the library for magazine articles, books, etc., related to their current school work exclusive of essay preparation ? No. of teachers who used the library in this way during 1912-1913 (estimate) 13. No. of new books suggested for library acquisition so far during 1913 by teachers By pupils Did the library during 1912-1913 formally ask teachers to suggest new books ? Yes No No. of times 14. Do you keep a record of the number of school children who drew books from the main library and branches? Yes No From library collec- tions loaned to schools? Yes No If so, No. during 1913 to Sept, 1st Per cent of school chil- dren who have library cards 15. Estimated cost of school cooperation in 1912 Estimated cost of school cooperation in 1913 to Sept. 1 What percent of the total is it estimated to be - 16. If the library is not yet carrying on the activities suggested by the questions, please check (V) once the kinds of cooperation, not already in operation, which the library would be glad to take up this fall if arrangements were made with the school authorities, and check a second time those which the library is definitely planning to take up during the coming school year. Furnish books for elementary libraries Furnish reference books to high schools Appoint librarian to develop cooperation with schools Distribute books through playgrounds, recreation centers Post book notices currently on school bulletin boards Visit schools to talk about books and using the library Give talks to classes at the library and demonstrate use of catalogs Send books to country schools Keep on open shelves at library reference books for teachers APPENDIX B 347 Keep on open shelves at library reference books needed by high school students Subscribe to educational periodicals Keep files of clippings for use by teachers and pupils Start story-telling hour IV. Remarks and suggestions. (Describe any special features of work done with schools and school children) It will greatly assist the Commission if you will answer these questions Yours truly, Horace L. Brittain, Director of Survey. TWO COOPERATION OF BUSINESS MEN WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS Sent to chambers of commerce, boards of trade, manufacturers' associations, bankers' associations, business men's clubs. Similar questionnaires were sent to labor unions and granges To organisations of business men: Gentlemen : — The commission plans to include in its report to the Governor the main facts about business men's interest in rural and city schools, aside from service on school boards We hope that if you yourself have not specific information, you will refer these questions to the man best able to answer them. As our time is limited, we are forced to set October 20th as the latest date for material to be returned While our interest is especially in rural and village school problems, we hope you will care to write us as fully as your time permits of what business men have done to help city schools. Horace L. Brittain. City or Village County Name of Organization Members, 1913 . Signed Position The Questions on This Page Apply to Rural or Village Schools Outside City Systems 1. Has your organization a special committee interested in rural school condi- tions ? Yes No 2. Please check (x) any of the following rural school problems in which your organization or some of its members were interested during the year Sept., 1912-Sept., 1913, specifying any definite results from this cooperation: 34» OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Subject School tax .Higher salaries for teachers New buildings Compulsory attendance Better equipment Health of pupils Trade training Agricultural instruction County fair participation Prizes for essays, debates, etc... Instruction in civics Better roads Neighborhood use of buildings Athletics, recreation Relief of needy pupils Talks on vocations Other Results 3. Does your organization plan to do anything this year for the country schools in your neighborhood? Yes No The Questions on This Page Apply Only to Work for Public Schools Within School Systems of a City 4. Has your organization a committee on education? Yes No 5. Through what other committee is it in touch with public school questions? 6. Please check (x) any of the following city school questions in which your organization was actively interested during the year Sept., 1912-Sept., 1913, specifying results where possible : Subject School budget or bond issue School law improvements New buildings Compulsory attendance Commercial training Industrial training Continuation schools Apprentice courses Vocational guidance Health of pupils Instruction in civics , Talks on business success Athletics Playgrounds Neighborhood use of buildings , Relief of needy pupils Savings banks Pupils' visits to manufacturing plants. Publicity about school needs Other Results APPENDIX B 349 7. Is the attention of business men to school needs continuous through perma- nent organization and committees? Yes No Or intermittent through specially appointed committees, mass meetings, taxpayers' hearings, etc.? Yes No 8. Would the members of your organization be interested in knowing what other groups of business men are doing for rural and city schools? Remarks : THREE COOPERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS WITH, PUBLIC SCHOOLS Sent to Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs, Daughters of American Revolutioa Mothers' Clubs and Association of Collegiate Alumnae To presidents of women's clubs: The commission plans to include in its report to the Governor a summary of club work for rural and city schools. We hope you will want to have your club included. As our time is limited it is necessary to fill in and return this questionnaire before Oct. 18th, or it can not be used. If you cannot readily answer questions 10-13, the superintendent of schools or president of the school board may be able to help. Please do not delay the return of the blank because you cannot secure accurate answers to all of the questions. Any information from you, no matter how little, will be of help to the commission. Horace L. Brittain. City or Village. Name of Club . (Signed) County No. members 1913. Position The Questions on This Page Apply Only to Work for Rural or Village Schools Outside of City School Systems. 1. Has your club a committee on rural schools? Yes No 2. Through what other committees is your club in touch with rural or village schools in the neighborhood? 3. Please check (V) where your club has been interested in securing for rural or village public schools the following improvements; specify what your club did during the year Sept. 1912-1913, and how many schools benefited : Subject New buildings Playgrounds, equipment School gardens Agricultural instruction Manual training Domestic science Schoolroom equipment Books for teachers or pupils. School decorations Better heating, ventilation Cleaner schools, outhouses Medical inspection of pupils... Relief of needy children What club did No. schools 35° OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT Subject Higher salaries for teachers . . Neighborhood use of building. Local mothers' meeting Better roads County fairs Other: What club did No. schools 4. What other agencies or individuals cooperated in this work or are especially interested in rural or village school conditions? Name Address .5. Would your club be interested this year in making a study of rural schools in your neighborhood to discover ways of helping? Yes No Would such work be facilitated if the commission prepares blanks on the above subjects for your use? Yes No Remarks : The Questions Below Apply Only to Work for Schools Within the City School System 6. Has your club a committee on education or schools? Yes No 7. Through what other" committees is it in touch with public schools in your city? 8. Please check (V) after the subjects in which your club was interested during the year Sept. 1912-1913, and indicate specific results, including meetings, pub- licity, etc., with the names of other agencies public or private which helped to secure results : Subject Sanitary improvements Medical examination or treatment. Dental examination or treatment.. Open air rooms School lunches Relief of needy Scholarships Decorations Prizes for essays, etc Public lectures Playgrounds or athletics Neighborhood use of building.... Vacation schools * Kindergartens Manual or industrial training Domestic science Continuation schools Vocational guidance Teachers' and parents' meetings. . . Other '.. Results secured Others concerned APPENDIX B 35I 9. What work for schools does your club plan to take up this fall? 10. How many ministers helped last year to secure school improvements? Along what lines? With what results? 11. Have physicians, dentists or hospitals helped secure the- following : (check V) inspection for transmissible diseases ; examination for physical defects ; free treatment of defects ; talks at school to pupils ; lec- tures to parents ; open air rooms ; better ventilation ; special instruction for defective children ; hygiene instruction ; athletics ; other With what results? 12. What newspapers publish regularly a school column? Give current news? 13. What other agencies public or private outside of the school board and the school system are cooperating actively with public schools? Name Address Remarks : FOUR SCORE CARD FOR RURAL SCHOOLS Sent to Farm Women's Clubs County Township District No. Date Village School No.. Visited by Address. . .' If there be more than one room, please answer on the back questions 18 to 32 for each room 1. Are the school grounds covered with grass? with gravel? left in natural condition? 2. Is there a clear level place for children to play? 3. Is there a sheltered place outdoors for children to play in bad weather? What? 4. Is there any playground apparatus, swing, teeter, etc.? If so, what? 5. Is there a school garden? What was raised last spring? 6. Are the walks in good condition? 7. Is there a basket outdoors for rubbish and papers? Are papers and scraps scattered around the yard? 8. Is the building nicely painted outside? What color Brick? 9. How many feet apart are the outhouses for boys and girls? 10. Are they clean inside? How often are they scrubbed? 11. Are there separate cloak rooms for boys and girls? Are cloak rooms clean? Are they ventilated by windows? _ Is there a shelf for lunch pails? How are children's wraps dried in wet weather? 12. Does the drinking water come from a well? When was it last analyzed? 13. Is there a bookcase with extra books for children to read? How many? Has the teacher asked for books from the state traveling library? 352 OHIO STATE SCHOOL SURVEY REPORT 14. Is there a piano ? organ? 15. Is cooking taught? sewing? basket weaving? drawing? 16. Is there any way children can get something warm to eat for lunch? 17. How many desks in the room? How many children present? How many children between 6 and 16 years of age in the school district? 18. What color are the walls? Are there marks and scratches on them? 19. What pictures or other decorations are there? 20. When were walls washed last? woodwork? If papered, when? 21. When was the floor scrubbed last? by whom? When will it be scrubbed again? 22. Is the floor swept every day? by whom? 23. Is the room heated by a furnace? stove? stove with a jacket? 24. How many windows in the *oom? How many open when you visited? Were the windows open at the top? bottom? 25. Are there shades at all the windows? Are any of the windows broken? 26. Are the desks adjustable for little children and for big children? 27. Is the blackboard cracked? rough? clean? big enough? 28. Do the text books seem to be clean? In good condition? 29. Are there any maps? of what? 80. Is there a cooler for drinking water? uncovered pail? Has each child a cup of his own? Where are cups kept? 31. How many years has the teacher been teaching? Did she graduate from high school? normal school? college? 32. Is the school used in afternoons and evenings for social or club meetings by the neighborhood? How often? 33. What seems to you to be most needed in the school in the way of repairs, equipment, cleaning, etc.? m ai* 6T ft WR t^