Education in the United States." | fered in commercial and business The report is not only an exhaustive presentation of the entire matter, but is a model in arrangement and classification. COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS SCHOOLS The earliest form of vocational training for which provision was made in this country was that of schools. The enrollment in these schools reached its maximum in 1908 when 558 schools of this class reported 154,963 students; in 1910 the number of such schools was 541, and the total number of their students. 134,778. There were also 98,862 students pursuing business and commercial courses in schools and higher institutions for general education, making a total of 223,640 students preparing for business life. SECONDARY EDUCATION THE PROBLEM OF STANDARD- | the statement, it is enough to refer IZATION The chief problems of education, considered as a formative force in national life, pertain to the province of secondary schools. They are uni versal problems, but they present a startling complexity in this country, on account of the conflict between the democratic theory of equality of opportunity for all children, and the unequal pressure of circumstances which forces young people into distinctive groups. This collision between theory and conditions has brought about the separation of public high schools into classical, technical and business, to which a fourth group, the agricultural high school, has recently been added. This fourfold classification is now accepted as a settled policy, and a new problem, that of standardization, absorbs attention. The latter has furnished the chief topic of discussion during the year in every association that pertains to secondary education: in a number of cities and states special committees have been appointed by the educational authorities with a view to the readjustments required. One fact pertaining to this subject stands out clearly in the year's record. The universities which have heretofore controlled the matter of standards, are yielding place to the schools themselves, or rather to the dicta of the people which is instinct in the public high schools. For proof of to the new plans of admission adopted this year by Harvard University and by the University of Chicago, which are considered under the head of higher education. The position of the high schools themselves in this matter was summed up in an elaborate report on the subject submitted to the department of secondary education of the National Education Association at its meeting in San Francisco, which was quite the most significant event of the meeting. The report maintained that any student who has successfully completed a well-planned high-school course should be admitted to college. It was made clear, however, that a "well planned course" in the meaning of the report was a stiff disciplinary course. Private high or secondary schools are not so deeply involved in this discussion, because they are generally intended as college preparatories. This class of schools, however, joins the public secondaries in the protest against the varied requirements of different universities; by this action they have assisted in bringing about unity in a system of equivalents, to the great advantage both of the schools and the higher institutions. The endowed secondary schools have also peculiar advantages in dealing with matters of internal discipline common to all schools of this grade, such as those of fraternities and athletic contests, which have been peculiarly disturbing the past year. STATISTICS OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS Number of Students.-The striking fact in the current record of secondary schools is that of their increase. In 1909 the number of students in all classes of secondary schools passed the million mark, being 1,034,827, but for the school year ending June, 1910, this total was increased to 1,131,466, or by 96,639 students in a single year. The indications are that complete returns for 1911 will show still greater gains. Distribution. Of the total enrollment in 1910, public high schools claimed 915,061 pupils (398,525 boys; 516,536 girls); private high schools and academies 117,400 (55,474 boys; 61,926 girls). The remainder were in normal schools and preparatory departments of higher institutions. Public High Schools and Academies.-Fuller details with respect to secondary education are only available for public high schools and academies. The teaching force of the 10,213 public high schools numbered 41,667 (18,890 men, 22,777 women). Of the total number of schools, 838 were in cities of 8,000 population and over; these schools had 15,938 teachers and 432,643 students. Above 88 per cent. of the total students were in high schools having a four-year course. The remaining schools had courses from one to three years. The report of equipment and financial conditions is incomplete, but above 80 per cent. of the public high schools have excellent libraries and 7,888 of the schools report scientific apparatus, furniture, etc., to the value of $13,435,789. Only 3,695 of the 10,213 public high schools reported their income for the year. These schools received from public appropriations $15,879,519, receipts from tuition fees and all other sources bringing their aggregate income to $17,274,595. The corresponding data for private secondary schools are exceedingly incomplete, but it is an interesting fact that 217 of these private schools possessed endowment funds aggregating $16,803,751. Curricula. From a very interesting investigation made by the Bureau of Education into the changes of secondary curricula, it appears that in the last decade Latin declined; Greek appears to be vanishing; French and German have advanced; algebra and geometry are steady; the sciences have fallen off, but notable gains have been made in English, history and civics. Preparation for College. As regards preparation for college, the status of the secondary schools in 1910 is shown in the tables on the preceding page. Private Institutions.—A noticeable movement in the distribution of the body of secondary students is the recent relative increase in the enrollment in private institutions of this grade. Comparison between the scholastic years 1908-9 and 1909-10 shows that the ratio of increase in the student body of public secondaries was 8.74 per cent., as against an increase of 12.36 per cent. for private institutions. The only section in which the ratio of advance for public secondaries was greater than for private was the South Central, in which there has been a remarkable increase in the number of public high schools. TRAINING OF TEACHERS Distribution. The provision for training teachers is steadily increasing in this country, and the professional standard rising. The latest statistics showing the distribution of this work among the various classes of institutions, of which it is a feature, are as follows: 1909-10. Students in tions. teachers' 196 courses. 79,546 2,818 4,145 13,641 4,010 15,430, or 17.4 per cent. of the total enrollment in all training courses for teachers. Estimating that the other institutions mentioned above furnished from their normal students the same proportion of graduates, the number of trained teachers to be added to the teaching force of the country would be about 20,000. are Facilities. Provision is made in all the states for the free tuition of teachers in training, and in some states their living expenses partly paid from public funds. Nearly all the states support public normal schools, but several arrange for the professional training of teachers in the state colleges. Men Teachers. It is noticeable that the proportion of men students in the normal schools and departments steadily declines, notwithstanding the growing conviction that more men are needed in the profession. Admission, Courses and Expendi113,175 tures.-The leading normal schools 96,005 now require for admission the com17,170 pletion of a four-year high-school course or its equivalent; they offer four-year degree courses which are cultural as well as professional, parallel to regular college courses; Graduates.-The number of graduates reported by the 264 public and private normal schools for 1910 was they provide for specialization in manual arts, domestic economy, agriculture, and the natural sciences, to meet the demand for teachers of these special subjects. The expanding curricula necessitate larger equipment. Of the public normal schools, 185 report 1,331,705 volumes, having an estimated value of $1,627,801. Scientific apparatus, machinery, and furniture reported by 159 schools have an aggregate value of $3,807, 530. The value of grounds reported by 151 schools is $7,701.901, and of buildings reported by 173 schools, $33,260,113. The amount of money paid by the states and municipalities for public normal schools reached the high-water mark in 1910, when the aggregate of public appropriations was $9,266,195. Summer Normal Schools.-The old form of teachers' institutes for the brief training of teachers already in service has given way to summer normal schools which, because of their longer terms, ranging from 3 to 12 weeks, far surpass the institutes in academic and professional influence. Summer normal schools are required by law in 14 states and are always well attended, as teachers are prepared in them for the state certificate examinations. The character and scope of university summer schools may be seen at a glance from the following particulars: Registered Students, 1910. Universities. Total. Teachers Enrolled. Total. Per Cent. 64 38 59 Of the total number of teachers enrolled, 7.2 per cent. were college teachers; 5.5 per cent. engaged in normal schools; 42 per cent. were principals of high schools or superintendents; 45.3 per cent. were in elementary school work. The above schools do not reach the rural school teacher to any great extent, excepting only Knoxville and the University of Virginia. The former, the distinctive summer school of the South, is due to the initiative of Dr. P. P. Claxton, the present federal Commissioner of Education. The school exercises great influence over a wide territory. Its enrollment is exceeded only by that of the summer session at Columbia University, which has the advantage of the unrivalled facilities offered by Teachers College. Auxiliary Agencies.-Libraries and museums, which were once almost exclusively adjuncts of higher education, now supplement every grade of schools; not only so, but apart from schools they fill a special place in the provision for popular education. There are at least 2,300 libraries in the United States having over 5,000 volumes each. Of these 1,130 are general, 43 belong to the federal government, and 54 are state libraries. The college libraries in this class number 425 and the school libraries about 225. Professional schools in 1908 reported 229 libraries of this extent. The number of public, society, and school libraries having above 1,000 volumes exceeds 8,000. Museums. Interest in museums and their educational bearings has been greatly promoted by educational expositions, and at present four states, at least, have permanent educational exhibits for reference or for loan collections, and in seven other states nuclei for such exhibits have been formed. The state normal schools in about 20 states are supplied with museums or permanent exhibits to aid in the professional training of teachers. Educational museums are maintained for the same purpose in the educational departments of many universities. Clark University has collections of peculiar importance to Not including Chicago, Knoxville, and Vir- the investigations carried on by spe Columbia 2,629 Chicago. 1,691 2,291 Cornell 987 377 Illinois. 691 322 46 23 cialists in school hygiene, school in 1899. Its collections are exceedarchitecture, child study, and other ingly comprehensive, and its value subjects. is enhanced by the temporary ex The most complete and perfectly hibits placed at its disposal from appointed museums restricted to time to time. Portable collections education are the Educational Mu- are also sent out for the use of seum of St. Louis Schools and the schools, lectures, and local exhibits, Educational Museum of Teachers although the service of the instituCollege, Columbia University. Both tion is chiefly related to the college are models of classified arrangement and its practice schools. and efficient administration. The There are at least 350 museums in St. Louis museum, as its name im- the United States, of which 250 perplies, is intended to serve the pub-tain to natural history. Of the latlic schools of the city. This is done ter, 175 belong to colleges and by loans of illustrative material, by schools. The public museums of this an annotated catalogue supplied character are rapidly following the freely to teachers, etc. In a single example of the libraries in maintainterm the number of collections or- ing a children's department and pubdered by the schools has reached lishing annotated lists and illus25,000. Many of these are duplicate trated leaflets for the use of schools collections, of which the museum and teachers. The National Museum maintains above 6,000. In addition at Washington and the Brooklyn to this circulating department, there Museum of Arts and Sciences furis a special study exhibit for teach- nish the most complete examples of ers which comprises home material this particular adaptation of their and collections from foreign countries. The museum at Teachers' College dates from 1887, but the era of its vigorous development began with the appointment of a special curator collections. Educational work is a feature also for which extended provision is made in the plans for the new building for the Field Museum of Natural History in Jackson Park, Chicago. STATISTICS HIGHER EDUCATION Departments. Professional. Total. Students. 66,042 174,213 10,706 39,241 11,432 301,634 Institutions.-There are above 600 institutions in this country pertaining to the province of higher education. These are either colleges, technical schools, or universities organized to give courses of instruction As the preparatory departments leading to degrees. The colleges are engaged in secondary instrucconcentrate upon undergraduate tion, they may be excluded from the courses leading to the bachelor's de- present consideration. gree; the technical schools, in like The teaching force for the remainmanner, have as their goal the de-ing departments comprises very neargree of bachelor of science, or a first ly 23,000 professors and instructors, degree in engineering; the universi- which is equivalent to one instructor ties not only have undergraduate de- for every 10 students. partments, but also make large provision for graduate and professional study. Coeducation. Of the entire number of these higher institutions, 142 admit men only, 352 are coeducaStudents and Teachers.-The total tional. The former report 37,243 enrollment in these higher institu- undergraduate students; the latter tions in 1910 was 301,634 students, 116,623, of which number 75,831 are distributed as follows: men, that is more than twice as |