The educational movement in the South.-In Chapter VIII (pp. 359390) Prof. Wyckliffe Rose, of the University of Tennessee, has given an account of the origin, development, and present work of the conference for education in the South, using that term to include the whole educational movement which has found expression in the Southern Education Board, the General Education Board, and the many subordinate agencies cooperating in the work of improving the schools of the South. The rapid development of the conference, the constantly broadening scope of its activities, and the unexpected forces it has called into play during the six years of its existence have surprised its originators and have not been fully understood by the public. The statement, therefore, of Professor Rose will serve to give a better understanding of the nature, aims, methods, etc., of this new educational propaganda.

Originating, in 1898, in the association for more effective work of a few devoted men whose primary interest was centered in the educational features of missionary work among the colored people, the conference at its first three sessions (at Capon Springs, W. Va.) attracted hardly any attention, even in the South. At its Winston-Salem meeting, in 1901, however, it entered upon a career of rapid expansion, which has continued until it now embraces within the range of its work all the interests and agencies which relate to the education of the child. It has formed a rallying point for earnest workers who have heretofore been isolated from each other. The rapidity of its development has been due to the conditions which it found prevailing in the South. The need which was felt of completing the radical readjustment of the economical and political life of the Southern States, to meet the changed order of things brought about by the civil war, gave impetus to a movement so directly contributing to that end; for thepeople of the South have come to consider the public free school as the principal agency in the work of building up the new régime. Traditional prejudices and the spirit of conservatism, still holding to the old system of the education of the few, inherited from England, long delayed the growth of a preponderant sentiment in favor of a comprehensive and efficient system of public free schools, as did also the impoverished condition of the South, which especially induced hesitation, on the part of the white taxpayers, over taking up the burden of educating the colored people. But the new material prosperity, the desire of the South to regain its former ascendancy in the councils of the nation, the growing sense of the solidarity of national life that has resulted from the development of the United States as a world power, have all contributed to create a public opinion in the South in favor of universal education. Under such conditions the southern conference entered upon its work in 1898. The ready response accorded to its

efforts increased the enthusiasm of those engaged in the work; new fields of activity were entered upon in succession, and methods of procedure suggested. Through the meetings and discussions which it initiated, the literature it disseminated, and the judicious financial aid given in typical cases, it has come to be one of the chief educational forces of the South, organizing, stimulating, directing, and giving effect to the ever-growing sentiment in favor of free public schools for the children of all the people.

At the third meeting of the conference Mr. Robert C. Ogden, of New York, a business man, presented the subject of popular education to the business men of the South as a purely business proposition. That he had voiced the aspirations of the conference aright was indicated by his election to the presidency, a position he has held ever since.

The fourth year the place of meeting was changed to Winston-Salem, N. C., in which State a vigorous and aggressive campaign for popular education had been carried on for several years, and a governor (C. B. Aycock) had just been elected on a platform of free schools for all and a longer term. A fruitful address at that meeting was made by President Charles W. Dabney, of the University of Tennessee, on "The public school problem in the South." Popular education became thenceforward the dominating interest of the conference, and an active campaign was organized in its behalf. The "logic of its own development" had brought the conference thus far, and public sentiment was so ripe for the movement that it immediately found numerous agencies for carrying on the work waiting to be organized and directed. The whole machinery of the public schools was virtually placed at its disposal College and university men lent their cooperation in the field of elementary education and gave of their time and thought and energy. The public press was extensively utilized. Women's clubs and associations promoted the work effectively in various ways. In some States the public school was made a political issue, and to-day, Professor Rose remarks, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Louisiana boast their "educational governors," the influence of whose support can not be overestimated. Governor Montague, of Virginia, made a journey to Alabama to meet the public school officers of that State and discuss with them the relation of the child to the State.

It will be noticed that the conference started out to utilize existing educational agencies rather than create new ones, and this has continued to be its policy.

The history of the origin and development of the conference, which has been here briefly outlined, is narrated by Professor Rose with many instructive and significant details. He then goes on to give an account (with numerous extracts from writings and discussions bearing upon the subject) of the origin, composition, functions, and work of the two

boards which have grown out of the conference: (1) The Southern Education Board, an agitating and "preaching" agency, a central propaganda; and (2) the General Education Board, for administering funds contributed for educational purposes and disbursing them so as to secure the largest return. In addition to campaign work in the field the Southern Education Board conducts a "bureau of investigation and information," located at Knoxville, under the directorship of Dr. Charles W. Dabney. It issues a weekly publication in magazine form called "Southern Education," intended to furnish matter in convenient form for the newspaper and periodical press, as well as for the reading public; also a series of bulletins designed to give out the results of mature study of educational conditions and problems.

The conference has no formal organization, no constitution, by-laws, dues, treasury, or even a definite membership. This lack of fixity has permitted more freedom of action and contributed to the expansion of the movement. The meetings are open to all in sympathy with their object, and are attended by representatives of those interested or engaged in educational work from all sections.

The agitation set on foot by the conference has resulted in a general quickening of interest in public schools, which often manifests itself in the most unexpected places and in the most unaccountable fashion, as Professor Rose illustrates by an example. Those who have been caught up in the inspiration of the large assemblies, at Athens, perhaps, or Richmond, have returned home to communicate their enthusiasm to their associates in all parts of the South and give direction to their work. Educational mass meetings are being held, teachers are organizing, schools being consolidated, houses built, rural libraries established, and manual training introduced.

These lines of development indicate the character of the reforms which occupy chiefly the attention of the conference. The removal of the constitutional limitations upon local taxation, which exist in most Southern States, is another and important part of the general programme, but this will require time to accomplish. A number of consolidated rural schools of agriculture and industry have been established (in Washington County, Ga., Concord, Tenn., and elsewhere) as types or models of what is considered the school needed to meet the requirements of the agricultural South. These schools are designed also to be centers of community life. The practical side of education will be made prominent in them, but at the same time the scholastic branches will not be neglected.

There could not be a lack, on the part of those directing the movement, of a keen appreciation of the fact that one of the fundamental conditions of success was a supply of duly qualified teachers. But the existing facilities for the professional training of teachers, including normal schools and collegiate departments of education, were

altogether inadequate to satisfy the demand for new teachers, to say nothing of the better preparation of those already engaged in the work. To remedy in some measure this situation of affairs, a great summer school for teachers was projected, and eventually held under the name of the "Summer School of the South," at Knoxville in 1902 at the University of Tennessee, that institution, at the suggestion of President Dabney, having offered its entire plant for the object in view free of charge, and the general education board, in cooperation with other agencies, having provided the necessary funds. This school remained in session six weeks, with a faculty of distinguished instructors from all parts of the country and an enrollment of 2,000 students. The members of the Southern Education Board, while having no official connection with the school, lent their aid in promoting it and took part in the proceedings. The result showed that a demand existed for such an agency, and the friends of the cause determined to continue it in operation indefinitely. Accordingly in 1903 a second session was held, at which 91 instructors gave 149 courses to 2,150 students from 31 States and Territories, Canada, Porto Rico, India, and Japan. The programme covered all the phases and grades of educational activity, making the school a "campaign" in itself. During the same summer schools similar in spirit and aims, but not on so large a scale, were held at half a dozen different State universities, ranging from Virginia to Texas, and at other points. These schools had no official connection with the conference or with each other, but were so many individual manifestations of the new interest in popular education which has been awakened in the South.

Professor Rose notes, in concluding, some of the more intangible, but not less real, results of the conference, especially its effect as a liberalizing and unifying force in our national life.

Common school enrollment and expenditure in the sixteen former slave States and the

In

The public schools of West Virginia and other Southern States. Chapter IX (pp. 391-462) Dr. A. D. Mayo has given a historical sketch of the progress of popular education in West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware, covering the period from the close of the civil war to the beginning of the present century. In each of these States a system of public schools, free to all children of both races, was established within a few years after the return of peace. These tentative efforts, representing the then existing state of public opinion, were of great significance in that they indicated the formal recognition by the States in question of the principle of universal education, and formed the starting point for further development. But, considered as school systems, they were in many respects defective, particularly through failure to provide sufficient means of support. Their slow elaboration during the closing years of the century, often in the face of an adverse public sentiment and hampered by hostile legislation, is fully described by Doctor Mayo. He particularly distinguishes the services of Doctor Newell in Maryland, Superintendent Ruffner in Virginia (whose noble work forms an epoch in the history of his State), and other able and devoted school officials and friends of popular education, who labored effectively for the upbuilding of the schools. Their efforts, together with the lapse of time and improved economic conditions, have brought about a change in the attitude of the public mind, a breaking away from old traditions and habits of thought, and paved the way for the new educational movement recorded in the preceding chapter of this Report.

Teachers' certificates.-This Office has received numerous inquiries regarding the different kinds of teachers' certificates issued in various States and the conditions upon which they may severally be obtained. Those interested in this class of inquiries will find in Chapter X (pp. 463-519) a table relating to teachers' certificates, compiled by Prof. William R. Jackson, formerly State school superintendent of Nebraska, and now principal of the normal school of the Nebraska Wesleyan University. The table furnishes complete and systematic information on several particulars concerning teachers' certificates, such as the names of the different grades of certificates in force in each State, by what authority each is issued, where and for how long valid, and the requirements as to scholarship and teaching experience necessary to secure it. Professor Jackson had, during his term of superintendency, felt the need and commenced the compilation of such a table as is here given. Several other State superintendents have published tables of similar form, but restricted to their own States. It is believed that the publication of this general table will prove especially useful to county and city superintendents, as well as to State school officers.

J. L. M. Curry. In Chapter XI (pp. 521-552) have been collected a number of papers designed to illustrate the career and commemorate