Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/432

424 EDUCATION health, outlines of geography and of natural history, and gymnastic exercises ; in the upper, the outlines of history, geometry, trigonometry, botany, chemistry, and physiology. One or two foreign languages, bookkeeping, drawing, and political economy may also be taught. The lower grade is for children between 6 and 9 years of age, and the upper for those between 10 and 13. The secondary schools, or acade- mies, are intended to afford instruction in the ordinary college branches to those between 14 and 18 years of age. In this grade are also agricultural academies, foreign languages for those preparing for commercial pursuits, and industrial academies. The superior schools will afford instruction in the professional branches, logic, literature, law, and medicine. Normal schools will be established to provide teachers for the public schools. Provision is made for sending about 180 students abroad to receive advanced instruction at the expense of the gov- ernment. In every class of schools a tuition fee must be paid. The educational funds are under the exclusive control of the Department of edu- cation. In the United States the regulation of all matters pertaining to education is left entirely to the states, each of which maintains a system of public instruction independently of the others. These systems differ mainly in details, while the general features are common to all, and give to public instruction in the United States an individuality which distin- guishes it from the educational systems of all other countries. In each state instruction is pro- vided by law for all persons of school age, free of all charge for tuition. Attendance is not gen- erally obligatory, but there is a rapidly increas- ing tendency among educators toward the rec- ognition of the right and duty of the state to educate its entire school population. New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michi- gan, and Nevada have laws requiring parents to send their children to school during a speci- fied period between certain ages. The public schools are established and controlled entirely by the people through their chosen officers, and are supported chiefly by voluntary taxa- tion, but partly by funds derived from the sale of government lands and from the gifts of indi- viduals. These schools are entirely indepen- dent of any religious organization, and sectarian instruction is carefully avoided; the Bible, however, is generally read in them as a daily exercise. The school system of each state is adopted and all changes therein made by the legislature. The general supervision and con- trol of the educational interests of the state are vested in a board of education or superinten- dent of public instruction, who are generally elected by the people or appointed by the gov- ernor and legislature, and receive a salary. The powers and duties of these officers vary greatly in the different states. The state superinten- dent generally has his office at the state capi- tal, where he receives reports from the vari- ous school districts and local superintendents, showing how many months of the year each school has continued, how many children have attended, what has been the success of the methods employed, and what is the condition of the schools in every district. This informa- tion is embodied in an annual report to the governor or legislature, and distributed among the people. The superintendent has also a sort of judicial supervision of all matters pertain- ing to schools, is appealed to for the construc- tion of the law, and acts generally for the stim- ulation and advancement of education. For purposes of local government each state is di- vided into counties, which are subdivided into towns or townships ; a further division of the towns is made into districts of a size suitable for the maintenance of a school. Of these school districts there are 11,350 in the state of New York, and about 167,800 in the United States. In each of them a school is maintained for the accommodation of all the children in the district. In each district officers are chosen by the people who have charge of the school property, employ teach- ers, provide furniture, fuel, and sometimes books, and have power to levy taxes to meet any expenses that may accrue. In each county there is generally a board of trustees or one or more superintendents or commissioners of pub- lic schools chosen by the people to look after their educational interests. Besides these, vis- itors or inspectors are 'appointed in each school district or town to inspect the schools and con- duct examinations at intervals. By the above mentioned officials all matters pertaining to public instruction are administered, embracing the construction of school houses, the choice of text books and other means for instruction, the examination and appointment of teachers, matters of discipline, the best systems of teach- ing, and in general whatever may lead to the best results in public instruction. It will be seen that the general supervision of the system is exercised by the state, while the details are determined by the subordinate districts, thus securing local responsibility under state super- vision. In the larger cities special provision is usually made vesting the management of the schools in a board of education and a superin- tendent of public schools. In cities and the larger towns the public schools are graded into prima- ry, grammar, and high schools. The schools are generally open five or six hours a day and about 40 weeks during the year in the cities, but a much less time on the average in rural districts. The school age varies in different states, ranging from 4 to 21 years. After passing through the primary grade, where the ordinary elementary branches are taught, including frequently vo- cal music, the pupil enters the grammar school, where, in addition to the ordinary branches, music, French, German, drawing, natural phi- losophy, and chemistry are taught. The time required to pass through these two grades averages about eight years. At this point the education of many pupils ceases, while others