But how, it may be asked here in passing, can any superintendent solve problems if he follows every will o' the wisp that glimmers in the marshes and every distracting call from the wild which may strike his ears?

Have you ever made a list of the movements for the regeneration of our schools which have come and gone say in the last forty years? Do you remember the "Quincy system"? It made as much noise in its day as the Montessori method does in ours. Superintendents, teachers, and other "learned seigniors" from every state in the Union, and from many other lands, made pilgrimages to Quincy as to a Mecca. At national and state meetings papers were read on the system or method and the discussions were fast and sometimes even furious. In several gatherings of young persons in training for teaching, I, this year, asked the question: "What was the Quincy method?" and there came but silence in response, and not a great deal of that.

The system, like many others that you and I could name, had its day and ceased to be. When the inspiring personality of that great-hearted man, Colonel Parker, passed, Quincy disappeared from the map. The good imbedded in the colonel's methods has remained with us, and that is true of many plans which are preached to teachers as educational gospel, which must be followed or disaster and even destruction must follow. So, while it is not always wise to refer to every new message preached from the housetop as a fad, fancy, or fake, it is sane for a superintendent with problems in front of him urgently demanding solution to "prove all things" and to hold fast only "that which is good." He will also prayerfully ponder the words of another apostle: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

These also "have their day and cease to be."

So the divinely gifted supervisor-and none other is fit for the workwhile refusing to follow the devious ways of every passing wind, will not fail to keep his auditory nerves attuned to the heavenly harmonies, and he will welcome with joy every new light upon his problems. But in front of false prophets and spirits he will courageously stand "four-square to all the winds that blow." His vitality and energy are to be conserved for the duties which must be done. He will add cautiously and sanely whatever it may be found profitable to extract from the new, but he will give earnest heed to the scriptural injunction: "Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set."

The eight-hundred-word deadline is on the near horizon; the president looks intently at the gavel and at the speaker, in sorrow, however, more than in anger.

The speaker is by no means certain that he has in these remarks contributed anything "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness," but he is certain that the Bible truths inserted

here and there will illuminate the path and strengthen the heart of every superintendent in the solving of any problems.

The speaker now, doubtless greatly to your relief, will take his form from off your floor.

V. EDWIN S. MONROE, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, MUSKOGEE, OKLA. This paper followed the lines of the Report of the Committee on Tests and Standards of Efficiency in Schools and School Systems before the National Council of Education at its Salt Lake City meeting in 1913. This report will be found in the Proceedings of that meeting.

VI. DAVID FELMLEY, PRESIDENT, ILLINOIS STATE NORMAL UNIVERSITY, NORMAL, ILL.

The general problem of the superintendent is to organize and direct his school system in such a way as to turn out efficient citizens for the commonwealth, citizens equipped with the knowledge and skill, the interest, the social virtues, the culture, and the spirit of altruism vital to efficient living. When the large problem is analyzed into its elements there appear at least ten important problems to which the modern city superintendent must give attention. In these I do not include the method of choosing the superintendent or his tenure of office, both of which are problems for boards of education and not involved in the functions of the superintendent.

His problems are problems connected with the administration of the schools; they are problems that are shared with the board, which he serves as expert adviser and executor.

His first problem is to manage his board. I do not use this phrase in any invidious or disrespectful sense. A good superintendent will not let things drift; he will formulate policies and devise plans for carrying them out. He must give to these plans such coherence, definiteness, and persuasiveness that he will win the confidence of the board, and their hearty acceptance of his guidance and leadership.

His second problem is the problem of revenue for the schools. While here the board, as direct representatives of the people, must levy the taxes, superintendents are expected to mark out the annual budget and must sometimes themselves carry the needs of the schools to city councils and state legislatures.

His third problem is the course of study, the series of experiences thru which children are to gain their social efficiency. Our courses of study everywhere are a patchwork composed of traditional elements long established, often obsolete, and new elements designed to meet the needs of the twentieth century. Periodically we revise our courses, lopping off some of the old and giving a larger place to the new. Few superintendents, if they had the knowledge and the courage, could put into effect a real up-to-date

course because of the conservatism of parents and the public. The problem of the superintendent is then to eliminate the old, to ring in the new, to blend them into a consistent, organic whole. Not only must he modernize the course but he must in some way adapt it to the needs of boys. In every school system the over-age pupils are mostly boys, the slow pupils are mostly boys, the pupils who drop out by hundreds after the sixth grade are chiefly boys. They say the girls are smarter, more docile and tractable. The fact is our schools are feminine institutions taught by women filled with the ideas and sentiments that women especially cherish and appreciate. The boy has his rights; the course of instruction should be adjusted to his needs. In this reconstruction of the course of study there is danger that we shall be guided by the actual present knowledge of so-called successful men. At Springfield, Ill., eleven prominent citizens, politicians, business men, and professional men, recently took a seventh-grade examination. They didn't average 30 per cent in spelling, arithmetic, geography, and history. This experience raises the question: "What is success?" Are we to take our Jim Hills and our Rockefellers as the type-a type for a few of whom the world has room-or some type of efficient and wholesome living that may be attained by the millions? The course must contain cultural elements that add to the joy of living, that give breadth of view and sympathy and other elements that serve to explain and rationalize the practical knowledge upon which men build business success.

Along with the course of study is the question of the textbooks that must give it content. Shall the superintendent and his teachers be permitted to make the selection unhampered by the activities of the publishers?

The fourth problem is really a part of the third but of such magnitude as to deserve separate consideration, the problem of vocational education-its content, its organization, its co-ordination with outside work in home and shop and store.

The fifth problem is the effective organization of the parents, the business men, the churches, and social organizations to co-operate with the school in its work.

The sixth problem is the school plant-how to select sites and plan buildings, laboratories, shops, gymnasia, playgrounds that shall be convenient, hygienic, altogether suited to their function, and then to sec ire these with proper equipment.

The seventh problem is the question of attendance. School boards appoint truant officers, juvenile courts pass upon the delinquencies of parents. Yet it is safe to say that nine-tenths of these officers are so indolent or so indulgent as to be of little service to the schools. The superintendent must have the courage to grapple with this question. When we investigate individual cases we find that the chief cause of the retardation that cripples the efficiency of our schools is not poor health, poor teaching, or congenital dulness. It is irregular attendance.

The eighth problem is the selection of teachers. Even if the members of the board will keep their hands off and will employ no one unless recommended by the superintendent, and will further refrain from suggesting good candidates to the superintendent, there is still the pressure from church and politician, and all sorts of interested friends. In the absence of this pressure, there are the further facts that there is not in the country today a sufficient supply of competent teachers, and that no reliable method has yet been found for distinguishing the competent from the incompetent in advance of actual service.

The ninth problem is the organization of a supervisory and office force that shall, like the nerves and brain in the human body, collect and register needful intelligence of the working of every part of the educational body and shall stimulate and energize every languid organ.

The tenth problem, most important in many respects, and unique in that all school boards are here willing to give the superintendent free rein, is the problem of improving teachers in service.

Poor teaching is to be found in every system. Without undertaking to enumerate all its varieties, it may be said generally that teachers talk too much, that their teaching consists too largely of the assignment and hearing of lessons, that they question so as to cause the child to remember rather than to cause him to think. They do not know how to conduct drills effectively. They give little thought to the function of each branch of study, and to the educational values to be derived from it.

The superintendent may, by friendly visits and private consultation, do much to correct particular faults. He may, thru teachers' meetings and institutes and the discussion of model lessons, point the way to the correction of common errors. He may organize a reading circle for the reading of professional books; he may arrange for his teachers to visit other schools, provided they have previously discussed the points to be observed and go equipped with a sort of formula of observation.

But all of these are more or less unsatisfactory for the reason that they do not develop in the teacher a permanent and comprehensive plan for professional improvement nor supply a sustaining motive. We are all social beings and crave direct social recognition for our efforts. Few of us will pursue a systematic course of study unless in school with the comradeship and rivalry of other students and the recognition afforded by grades, credits, and diplomas.

The summer schools at the state normal schools and other institutions in which the regular courses are taught are today the most effective agency for the professional growth of teachers. Six thousand Missouri teachers, five thousand in Illinois and in Iowa, and proportionate numbers in other states are now in the summer schools. When to this we shall add extension courses during the winter months, conducted from the normal schools and receiving due credit, teachers will be stimulated

to better work by their new insights and by the constant suggestion of more rational procedure.

It has been said in this Council that five years of experience marks the summit of the teacher's power, that after that period the losses thru the hardening of routine, the loss of freshness and enthusiasm, more than balance the gains from added maturity and knowledge. To avoid the deadening effects of routine the teacher must continue a learner; the school or university with its opportunity, its guidance, its companionship, its stimulation may be almost as effective in the professional growth of teachers as in the elementary education of childhood.

There are still other problems for the modern city superintendent— the problem of keeping in touch with the individual pupil, the problem of the wider use of the school plant for civic and social and educational purposes, and still others that may occur to you; yet I believe that all or most of these may be fairly included under the ten heads already discussed.

PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS

ROBERT J. ALEY, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF MAINE, ORONO, ME.

I take this, my first opportunity, to thank the members of the Council for the very great honor conferred upon me in choosing me as the presiding officer. One year ago when I was elected, I was elated with the honor, now I realize it is a position of service, calling for very hard work. I shall not shirk the work, but will try to measure up to the responsibilities and duties of the position. During the past year I have had the very generous support of the members of the Council. I feel sure of like support in the future.

It has been the custom of the Council to require its president to deliver a brief address at the first annual meeting of his term of office. It is because of that custom that I appear upon the program at this time.

The Council has a number of important committees at work upon subjects of educational importance. The Committee on Rural Schools has made preliminary reports, is still at work, and will present to the Council at some later meeting the results of its study. We are encouraged to believe that this committee will give to the public a report of inestimable value. The Committee on Health Problems is making commendable progress. This committee already has the support and co-operation of the American Medical Association. It now seems very probable that many state and city boards of health will also help in investigations and publicity campaigns. Already a number of special reports have been issued by the committee. Other reports of far-reaching importance are in process of preparation. The Committee on Economy of Time, with allied committees of other organizations, has done some important foundation work. At this meeting of the Council discussions of the published reports will occur.