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A Study of Our
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State of Maine
Aducationa/
/Department

Copies of this pamphlet will be sent on application to W. W. Stetson,
State Superintendent of Public Schools.
Augusta, Maine.
/-26 iſ 14 o -
A STUDY OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM WITH
REGARD TO PURPOSES, SCOPE OF INSTRUC-
TION, ORGANIZATION, PRESENT CONDITION
AND NEEDS. - t
The highest function of the State is to conserve and promote
the well being of society. Its work is indicated when its mem-
bers live righteously in all social, industrial and civic relations.
Education is the preparation of the individual for right living by
developing his powers, imparting noble tendencies to his activi-
ties and forming him to right habits of feeling, thinking and act-
ing. The State must, in self defence, assume control of the edu-
Š
cation of the child in so far as education seeks to promote the
general good. In assuming this control, it assumes also a duty,
primarily belonging to the parent, of giving to the child the
"completest practical preparation for the duties of maturity. In
. A
W.
*.
f
ſ
YY
N the State organized of the people, for the people and governed by
the people, preparation for worthy living in the civic relation
requires that citizens shall be educated, not only so far as to give
°intelligent voice to political conviction, but shall be fitted also, in
knowledge and training, for those highest civic actwities which
are to be exercised by the few as the chosen representatives of
the many. -
By common consent the State is charged with the responsibility
cf providing efficient agencies for the elementary education of
all the children and it is coming to be believed that the State
should maintain such agencies for advanced education as will
prepare them for the performance of those duties which grow out
of the highest positions in life, that are open to all who, by nat-
tural endowments, are fitted to do the world's serious work. A.
properly organized system of elementary schools prepares its
pupils for the right performance of the ordinary duties of life.
The secondary school endeavors to fit its students for further
Ryk
|-A
243
119 + 4
instruction in the college, or to aid in preparing them for the
higher activities of industrial, social and civic life. . . .
The public school system of Maine has been organized and
developed in conformity with the foregoing propositions. It
consists: - -
First: Of a system of common schools supported wholly at
public expense, free to every child, the attendance upon which is
compulsory during the period within which the normal child can
accomplish the work set for him to do. - : , -
Second: A system of Free High Schools, the maintenance of
which is not compulsory. They are open to all children in the
municipalities maintaining them, who have completed the work
prescribed for the common schools and, under proper conditions,
to non-resident pupils. - • , . . . . . . . . .
Third: Allied to the Free High School system in pupose and
scope of work is the system of academies to whose support the
State contributes under certain conditions. • ?
COMMON SCHOOLS.
These schools have as the purpose and end of their instruction,
the imparting of knowledge of those branches which are of .
universal use in the various callings and relations of life; the
developing and training of the physical, mental and moral pow-
ers; the inducing of those habits of systematic effort which are
essential to successful work of every kind; the training to the
practice of those common courtesies of life which are the outward,
expression of the inner spirit of kindness and which distinguish
the gentleman from the boor; the cultivating of a love for what is
enobling in literature, art and nature and, finally, the training to
self-control and self-government, to respect for and cheerful
obedience to law and authority. | -
These schools differ in organization in rural and urban com
munities. In the former they are ungraded in so far that the
pupil completes the course without passing from school to school.
In the latter they are graded—that is, the pupil completes a
definite part of the course in one school and then passes into
another of higher grade. In scope of instruction prescribe for
them, however, the rural and urban elementary schools are
practically alike. ... .
5
. The conditions affecting the work done in those schools are
indicated by the following special statistics of Common Schools.
I. Schoolhouses, etc. -
Whole number in State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3949
No. in good condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,275
No. supplied with flags. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,059
No. built last year . . . .. tº te e g tº º . . . . . . . . . • . 62.
2. Teachers and Superintendence. -
No. of different teachers employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,664
No. continued in same schools during year . . . . . . ... 2,580
No. who had previous experience . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 5,662
No. graduates of normal schools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,587
No. who have attended teachers’ meetings. . . . . . . 3,585
Amt. paid for superintendence . . . . . "- - - - - . . . . . . . $60, Ioo
3. Schools and Attendance. .
No. of schools in State . . . . . . . . . . . . . • * - - - - - - - - - 4,581
No. of schools located in rural communities . . . . . . 2,786
No. of schools located in villages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I,O43
No. of schools located in cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752
No of different pupils in rural schools . . . . . . . . . . . . 57,750
No. of different pupils in village schools . . . . . . . . 41,603
No. of different pupils in city schools . . . . . . . - - - - - 33,062
No. of pupils pursuing grammar school studies. . . . 28,708
No. of children mentally incapacitated for common
school work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
No. of pupils conveyed to School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '5, IOS
Cost of conveyance............ • * * * * * * * . . . . . . . . . . . $65,725
4. Special conditions affecting school work.
- No. of schools having courses of study. . . . . . . . . ... 2,277
Nc of rural schools using courses of study . . . . . . . . . 724
No. of village schools not using courses of study. . . 242
No. of ungraded schools provided with globes . . . . . 1,189
No. of ungraded schools provided with maps . . . . . . 2,054
No. of ungraded schools provided with charts . . . . . . I,713
No. of schools having active branches of S. I. L. M. 5I2
No. schools have libraries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589
No. of volumes in libraries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i. 32,892
Were books in libraries provided mainly by
* pupils? - - º Almost wholly
Value of schoolroom and schoolyard improvements
for year not paid by town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . $5,341
6
ANALYSIS OF STATISTICS. - -
I. The first important condition affecting the work of the
school is the character of its housing. The statistics show this
only in general terms. Of the 3,949 schoolbuildings occupied
by 4,581 schools, 3,275, or 83 per cent, are reported as being in
“good condition.” Just what is meant by the term, “good con-
dition,” is uncertain. The statistics, however, show a decided
improvement in this respect since the reports of 1893-4. The
ratio of the schoolhouses in good condition to the whole num- .
ber occupied was then but 70 per cent. : -
More definitely significant is the number of schoolhouses
having flags. In 52 per cent of the common schools of the State.
the pupils pursue their studies “under the flag.” It is fair to
assume that the sight of the flag, with the knowledge of what
it has stood for in the past and what it stands for now, will not
be without avail in creating civic pride and teaching those civic
virtues which give us our prominence as a people.
2. The strongest force in the school is the teacher. He is
to inspire and direct every activity of his pupils, whether exer-
cised in getting knowledge, for developing power, or for training
to right habits. That this force may be most efficient it must
be uniform in action. This it cannot be unless the same teacher
is continued from term to term in charge of the same school.
That but 39 per cent of all the teachers employed were continued
in the same schools for the full year is a fact showing conclu-
sively that something is wrong. In this regard there is evident
and pressing need of radical reform in the local management of
the schools. It was fortunate that 85 per cent of the teachers
employed were not without previous experience, that 24 per cent
had had complete normal school training and that 54 per cent
were possessed of that progressive professional spirit and desire
to improve their work, which led them to attend teachers' meet-
ings. If the entire teaching force of the schools had been made
up of these two latter classes the value of the instruction given
would have been largely increased and the wisdom of those
having local school interests in charge would have been more in
evidence. . * -
Next to the teaching, the superintendence of schools is the .
force determining their efficiency. Is the superintendence of our
&
7
common schools as helpful as it should be? The conditions
shown, regarding the unnecessary number of teachers employed
during the year, would seem to give a negative answer to the
question. But the actual responsibility is in that condition of
public opinion which fails to appreciate the value of a wise super-
vision so compensated that those having the schools in charge
can afford to devote the necessary time and effort to their duties.
The statistics show $60,100 as the cost of the supervision of all
the schools, rural and urban, for the year. Nearly half of this
amount was expended in the cities and the four supervisory
districts under the charge of special superintendents. The other
half had to pay for the superintendence of more than 3,600 of the
4. 58I schools in the State, less than $10 for a year's care of each
school on the average. For such pittance hardly the minimum
legally required attention could be given to each school. Double
that sum ought to be expended for a supervision that would show
its influence in the improved work of the schools. Not until the
rural schools are put under the charge of trained superintendents
will they reach their fullest efficiency. - -
3. The rural common schools are 61 per cent of the whole
number in the State. Of all the children in the common schools
44 per cent attend these country Schools. The average number
in each school is 21. The number living so far from the schools
that they have to be conveyed is about 10 per cent of all—an
average of two to each School. The number thus conveyed.
would make 243 schools of the average size, maintained at an
average yearly cost per school of $270. What is the significance
of these facts? Do they show satisfactory conditions, or condi-
tions needing amendment? -
These rural schools are, in some respects, the most important
class in the entire system. If history continues to repeat itself,
out of these will go a majority of the men and women who are
to be leaders in thought and action in the State and Nation. The
children in them are almost wholly of native American stock,
trained in their home life to feel responsibilities, to prompt per-
formance of duty,+to do things and to do them well. They are
vigorous of body and mind through heredity and habit. They
are entitled to the best the schools can give in the way of prepa-
ration for the work of life and the public weal demands that they
be given the best. . . . . - -
8
These schools are too small for the best instruction, as well as
for sound economy in expenditures. The minimum number
should be nearly or quite up to the present average, in order to
insure the best results. There is an educative force in numbers,
within proper limits, because of the inspiration and enthusiasm
begotten by class emulation, which counts for much in the pro-
gress of the pupils. There should, therefore, be a further reduc-
tion in the number of schools by the process of union of the
smaller with the larger. Wherever practicable, they should be
made large enough to permit such classification as will make
possible the best results. With such union, more competent
teachers could be employed and their work could be improved
by the adoption of regular courses of study. At present only
724 of these 2,786 rural schools are using such courses. If such
unions made necessary a large increase in the number of children
conveyed to school, it would pay in the better education furnished
the children. - g
Only 22 per cent, or 28,708 of the I32,415 pupils in these
schools, are pursuing grammar School studies, those studies pre-
scribed for the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth years in the course
of study arranged for elementary schools. How many of these
are in the 1,553 village and city schools having courses of study,
and how many in the rural schools, there is nothing to show defi-
nitely. The only fact to be considered, therefore, is whether or
not the number shown is as large as it should be. The period
allotted to the pursuit of grammar school studies is two-fifths of
that allotted to the entire elementary course. The number pur-
suing these studies is a little more than one-fifth of the whole
number in the schools. A considerable portion of those entering
upon the work of the schools do not continue in them long
enough to do the work of the grammar grades. There is some-
thing wrong somewhere, which is responsible for this condition.
No child in this land and age, of sufficient capacity, ought to
leave school with an education short of that to be obtained in
the common schools as arranged in the course of study prescribed
for them. So much should be compelled by the force of public
opinion and legal provision. - '.
4. The first three items of the fourth group of statistics have
already been considered. The next three items might properly
have been considered in the same connection as they really
9
relate to the rural schols. These statistics show a fairly good
equipment of those schools as regards globes, maps and charts.
The ratios of these schools thus equipped to the whole number
are respectively 43, 74 and 61 per cent. -
To create local popular interest in the common schools, to set
agencies in operation for the improvement of school grounds and
buildings, the decoration of schoolrooms and the furnishing of
the Sehools with libraries and to provide an agency for training
the pupils in certain directions in which ordinary school work
fails to train, are the functions of the School Improvement
Leagues of Maine. The first of these were organized in 1898.
The statistics here given, relating to these organizations and their
work, are especially satisfactory. They show beyond question
that they are valuable adjuncts to the schools and they ought
to be potent arguments for their extension, until every school
in the State shall have connected with it a permanently organ-
ized, working School Improvement League.
It speaks volumes for the intelligence and enterprise of the
teachers and the interest and public spirit of parents, as well as
the ambition of pupils, that nearly 33,000 volumes have been
added to our school libraries during the past four years by the
efforts of these partners in the local school. It means much that
children, parents and teachers have contributed $5,341 of their
personal funds for the improvement of schoolrooms and yards
during the past year. To these items must be added the labor
donated for these purposes which, if represented by dollars and
cents, would aggregate as much as the two sums given above.
Of all the credits that must be given this agency the best are the
sense of responsibility developed for the welfare of the local
school and the care and love for it that have been engendered.
There has been not a little discussion as to the need of an insti-
tution for the training of feeble minded children. This matter
has been intelligently studied by many of our people who are
interested in deficients. -
It has been claimed that there are some thirteen or fourteen
hundred persons in the State, between, six and sixteen years of
age, who are mentally incapacitated for being helped in attempt-
ing to do the work prescribed for the common schools.
The reports made by the superintendents of the several
municipalities in relation to this matter indicate that this estimate
TO
is conservative. The returns show that 425 such chldren have -
been found by these. officials. It is impossible for city superin-
tendents to include any considerable fraction of the deficients in
their localities in their returns, while in the sparsely settled
towns many will escape notice. These statistics furnish ample
argument for taking up this matter and agitating it until Maine
has done its duty by those who have a peculiar claim upon it for .
care and training. . . -
II. SECONDARY SCHOOLs.
The secondary schools in our system are maintained under
no compulsory provisions of law and attendance upon them is
voluntary. Hence, in the number of these schools, the scope and
character of the instruction given and the number of students
attending them, are to be found specific evidences of the quality
of public opinion as to secondary school education. In these
figures, also, are to be found indications of the intellectual and
civic conditions which are to obtain with the next generation.
The statistics showing these facts are tabulated in two groups,
—those of the Free High Schools and those of the Academies.
and Seminaries. In most respects these statistics are properly
to be considered together. -
STATISTICS. .
. I. Free High Schools.
No. of schools maintained, 237.
No. of students enrolled, 13,450. Boys, 5,885; girls, 7,565.
No. in graduating classes, I,428. Boys, 540; girls, 888.
No. pursuing academic studies only, Io,234. . . . .
No. pursuing college preparatory studies, 2,752.
No. studying ancient languages, 5,275.
No. graduated present year, I,428. -
No. intending to enter Maine colleges, 483.
No. attending from rural communities, 4,634.
No. attending from villages, 5,178. .
No. attending from cities, 3,638.
No. intending to enter college from rural communities, 294.
No. intending to enter college from villages, 392.
No. intending to enter college from cities, 281. -
No. who have taught or intend to teach within a year, 565.
II
, * . II. Academies and Seminaries.
No. of institutions reporting, 36. ---
No. students, 3,147. . . . .
º No. pursuing studies of training course for teachers, 199.
No. studing English (Gram. Comp. Rhet. Lit., etc.) 2,773.
No. studying History (Am. Eng. French Ger. Med.
Ancient) 1,469.
No. studying ancient languages, 1,210.
No. graduated present year, 441. * .
No. of instructors including president or principal, 160.
No. intending to enter Maine colleges, 179.
No. intending to enter technical schools, 19.
No. attending from rural communities, 1,441.
No. attending from villages, 1,377. -
No. attending from cities, 329. - º,
No intending to enter college from rural communities, 133.
No. intending to enter college from villages, Ioff.
No. intending to enter college from cities, 31.
ANALYSIS OF STATISTICS.
I. There are 444 incorporated towns and cities in the State.
Free High Schools were maintained in 237 of these municipal-
ities. In 25 towns the Free High Schools were connected with
the academies or seminaries therein located. There were 36 of
, these academies and seminaries, II of which were not connected
with the Free High School system. Four of these II were
located in towns or cities, maintaining separate Free High
Schools. Secondary schools were in operation therefore, in 244
of the 444 towns or cities, affording the children in these com-
munities free instruction in High School studies. These facts
prove conclusively that a majority of the people in a majority
of the towns and cities believe that every child having the capac-
ity for better preparation for his work than is furnished by the
common schools, is entitled to these privileges at public expense.
Evidently the love for sound learning and the appreciation of
the right of every child to the best education, which led the
forefathers of our mother State to the almost simultaneous
establishing of the elementary and secondary schools and the
I2
college, is still a characteristic of the people of Maine. We still
hold to our heritage. .
2. The aggregate number of students reported in attendance
in both Free High Schools and academies and seminaries is
16,597. This number is larger than the actual attendance since
the enrollment as thus reckoned counts twice those attending
the academies in those towns in which these schools serve as
Free High schools, which is 1,022. It is safe to assume, there-
fore, that about 14,500 children were in attendance during the
year in secondary schools. -
Is this attendance as large as it ought to be in view of the
multiplying demands for the exercise of the highest powers of
human thinking and in the new and difficult problems to be
solved by this and the next generation ? This question is worth
the careful attention of all having at heart the future welfare of
the State. - . . . . .
Is it as large as it ought to be when compared with the number
of those in the common schools pursuing the studies of the next
lower grade? There were 28,708 of these during the year
reported. Evidently one-half of the pupils in grammar grades
carry their education no further. They drop out of the schools
to enter upon other than educational pursuits. Through lack
of adequate conception of what education really is and does, or
mistaken ideas of the real ends of life, they enter upon their
tasks illy prepared to give the best that is in them and to get out
of their work the highest profit and pleasure to themselves. 9.
3. The number finishing the course of study and graduating
from these schools, as compared with the whole attendance, indi-
cates the existence of certain unwelcome facts. If all the stu-
dents entering continued through the full four years course the
number in graduating classes should approximate 25 per cent
of the aggregate attendance. The actual ratio of graduates, to
students attending is Io per cent in the high schools and 14
per cent in the academies. There is evident need of emphasizing
in every secondary school the importance of continuous and
persevering effort. The student should be made to feel, when he
enters, that the four years before him are to be full of work
vital to his future well being; that in the right doing of that work
are to be found forces for the development and training of the
best in him and that his highest duty to himself and to the
I3
world makes imperative demand upon him to utilize those forces
to the utmost. - -
Of the 1,428 graduates from the high schools 483, or 34 per
cent, intend to carry forward their education to the higher work
of the college; of the 44I graduates of the academies 198, or 45
per cent, intend to enter some college or technical school. This
difference between the two classes of schools in the comparative
number of those who finish their education when they graduate
is due to a dissimilarity in the ideas underlying the purpose
which each was established to conserve. In the public high
school that idea is the general good of all through the prepara-
tion of the many for the best performance of all life's activities;
in the academy the purpose was and is, primarily, the good of
the individual in giving preparation for special pursuits. The
principal intent of the work of the high school regards the con-
summation of that work as an end in itself; while the underlying
idea of the academy looks to the completion of the course as a
preparation for the beginning of other work of a similar kind.
The public high school must, in its very nature and purpose,
therefore, be the educational limit of a large proportion of its
students. * - - - - d te
4. Not without suggestiveness are the comparative numbers
of boys and girls in these schools and in their graduating classes.
In the high schools 44 per cent of the students attending are
boys and 56 per cent are girls. Of the boys 9 per cent graduate
and of the girls I2 per cent. Probably the same conditions
obtain in the academies and seminaries. Evidently, unless con-
ditions change, the woman of the future is to be the man's
superior in intelligence and acquired mental power. It is for the
sociologist to speculate as to the effects in home and social life,
of such a condition. It cannot be without important results.
5. The statistics of the number of students pursuing different
lines of study show the kind of mental training these schools
are giving. In the high schools 76 per cent of all the students
are pursuing academic studies only. Of these students 27 per
cent are pursuing such studies as are preparatory to the college;
fifty-one per cent are studying the ancient languages.
6. The statistics showing comparative number of students in
secondary schools from rural, village and urban communities,
are especially suggestive when compared with those showing
#4.
attendance in the same communities in elementary schools. In
the elementary schools 44 per cent of the children were from
rural communities, while in the high schools but 34 per cent'
“ere from such communities; in villages the comparative per
cents were 31 and 38; in the cities, the per cents were 25 and 28.
Evidently the free high school system is, in a measure, inequit-
able in its operation. It affords larger opportunities to the youth
in village and urban than to those of the rural communities.
This inequity is inevitable because of local conditions of popu-
lation and wealth. In nearly all of the 207 towns in the State
not maintaining such schools, their maintenance is impracticable.
No remedy for this misfortune can be found in any modification
of the system. Such remedy will be found in the action of the
last legislature giving the youth in towns not supporting free
high schools of standard grade, the right to attend, at public.
expense, secondary schools of either class in other localities.
The statistics of attendance upon academies and seminaries
show that 46 per cent 6f all students were from rural, 44 per
cent from village and but Io per cent from city communities.
These facts indicate that the boys and girls of the rural com-
munities, where high schools were not maintained, have sought
a secondary instruction in the academies. Under the new provi-
sions, made to give them privileges more on an equality with
those of the village and city youth, they will probably resort to
these schools in largely increased numbers.
7. The statistics showing the number intending to enter col-
lege from rural, village and urban communities, in both high
schools and academies, substantially agree. They show that the
country boys and girls, seeking college privileges, are propor-
tionally the same as those of the villages and cities respectively;
that hence, in the conditions of the rural home and the rural
school, there are inspirational forces as great as in those of
village and city homes and schools. Indeed, if we consider the
larger hindrances affecting country youth, especially in the
matter of ability to meet the expense of a college course, there
is little doubt that the balance would stand to the credit of the
rural student.
8. The secondary schools, while serving general educational
ends, are, to a large extent, engaged in the special work of pre-
paring teachers for the elementary'schools. In the high schools
-
15
565 actual or prospective teachers were getting larger fitness
for their work and 199 such teachers were in the special training
classes for teachers. This function of the secondary schools is
of no small value. If these teachers and candidates for the
teacher's office got no further preparation than these schools can
give, they would be vastly more efficient for the training and
culture thus received; but a large majority of them get this
culture as preparation for the more specific professional training
of the normal school. A large and increasing majority of the
students in these latter schools are graduates of the secondary
schools. - : -
. GENERAL conclusions. -
There are certain general conclusions to be deduced from the
foregoing statements and statistics, without which this study of
the public schools of Maine would be incomplete. Briefly stated
they are as follows: ' ' . . .
I. The system, in organization and administration, conforms
in theory to well established and correct civic principles.
2. The legal provisions, underlying its organization and con-
trolling its administration, are such as to render it sufficiently
flexible to conform readily and easily to changing conditions.
3. The elementary and secondary schools comprised in the
system are so co-ordinated as to act in harmony with each other,
whether in cities, villages or rural communities and to adjust
themselves to local needs. • -
4. The courses of instruction arranged for the system are
planned in accordance with recognized pedagogical principles.
The elementary school course is intended to equip the pupil with
those fundamental facts and principles which are of practical
use and, at the same time, to fit him, in acquirements and train-
ing, to enter upon the successful prosecution of the work of the
secondary school. The secondary schools seek to impart that
larger knowledge requisite for successful entrance upon the work
of the college or technical school, or for successfully meeting the
special demands of the higher industrial, social and civic posi-
tions; in scope and character they strive to give that complete
and harmonious development of the physical, mental and moral
powers which is the highest educational end. º
I6 a
5. Both the elementary and secondary schools are serving
their respective purposes in a fairly efficient manner and with
reasonably satisfactory results. But a better service should be
required and more valuable results should be secured.
6. In order to bring the system to its highest practicable use.
fulness there is needed: . . . . .
(a) That public opinion shall be brought to a saner appre-
ciation of the real nature and value of education.
(b) That public opinion so informed shall demand of the
schools the largest practicable results by persuading the parent
to keep his child in school through the entire elementary course
and, in certain instances, through the secondary course; by
requiring the union of small schools which shall be properly
housed and equipped; by insisting upon efficient local. super-
vision through the employment of expert superintendents and by
urging the employment of competent teachers and their retention
in the same school so long as their labors are satisfactory.
(c) That all having at heart the educational interests of the
State shall earnestly and actively work together, without regard
to personal prejudice, for the improvement of the schools. This
union of effort is the highest of civic duties and the chiefest of
civic virtues, since only through the right education of all the
children can be evolved the ideal industrial, social and civic state
of the future. . . . . . . . . .