DEPARTMENT OF SUPERINTENDENCE.

CLEVELAND MEETING.

SECRETARY'S MINUTES.

FIRST DAY.

MORNING SESSION.-TUESDAY, FEB. 19, 1895.

The Department of Superintendence of the National Educational Association met in annual session at Cleveland, Ohio, in Association Hall, at 9:30 a. m., the President, Supt. W. H. Maxwell of Brooklyn, N. Y., presiding.

Robert L. Blee, the Mayor of Cleveland, opened the meeting by an address of welcome. He was followed by H. Q. Sargent, Director of the city schools, who welcomed the department in behalf of the teachers of Cleveland. Prof. Chas. F. Olney also gave a brief address of welcome.

President Maxwell responded to the addresses of welcome in behalf of the department.

Superintendent Jones of Cleveland extended an invitation to the department to visit the city schools.

President Staley of Case School of Applied Science invited the department to visit that institution.

Papers on the subject, "How to Test the Quality of a Teacher's Work," were read by Supt. W. C. Warfield, Covington, Ky., and Supt. Aaron Gove, Denver, Colo.

The papers were discussed by Supt. Chas. W. Cole, Albany, N. Y.; Supt.. Frank D. Cooper, Des Moines, Iowa; Supt. W. W. Chalmers, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Supt. John E. Morris, Alliance, Ohio; Supt. Chas. W. Cole, Albany, N. Y.; Supt. J. M. Greenwood, Kansas City, Mo.; Supt. John Burke, Newport, Ky.; Miss N. Cropsey, Indianapolis, Ind.; Miss Sarah L. Arnold, Minneapolis, Minn.; Supt. F. Treudley, Youngstown, Ohio; President E. A. Sheldon, State Normal School, Oswego, N. Y.; Prof. Charles A. McMurry, Normal, Ill.; President Irwin Shepard, State Normal School, Winona, Minn.; Supt. Edward P. Seaver, Boston, Mass.; Dr. E. E. White, Columbus, Ohio; Supt. W. H. Maxwell, Brooklyn, N. Y. Superintendent Gove of Denver, Colo., closed the discussion.

Miss Ellen G. Reveley of Cleveland was called upon and was received enthusiastically. She declined to speak, owing to the lateness of the hour, but extended a very cordial welcome on behalf of the superintendents of the primary schools of Cleveland.

The department then adjourned.

Supt. Horace S. Tarbell, Providence, R. I., presented a paper on “The Training of Teachers-Report of the Committee of Fifteen."

The paper was discussed by Prof. A. B. Blodgett, Syracuse, N. Y.; State Supt. N. C. Schaeffer, Harrisburg, Pa.; President John W. Cook, Normal, Ill.; Dr. W. J. Milne, Albany, N. Y.; Professor Nicholson; Supervisor Geo. H. Martin, Boston, Mass.; Miss Ellen G. Reveley, Cleveland, Ohio; Dr. D. L. Kiehle, Minneapolis, Minn.; Dr. Walter B. Hervey, New York City; Dr. Gordy, Athens, Ohio; Dr. E. E. White, Columbus, Ohio; Dr. E. A. Sheldon, Oswego, N. Y.; Supt. H. S Tarbell, Providence, R. I.

EVENING SESSION.

At 8 p. m. the President called the department to order.

Director Sargent extended an invitation to the department to attend a reception at Gray's Armory at 8 p. m., the same being tendered the visiting teachers by the teachers of the Cleveland city schools, the faculty of the Western Reserve University, the Case School of Applied Science, and the citizens of Cleveland.

Miss Emma C. Davis, on the part of the teachers of the city of Cleveland, secconded the invitation in behalf of the lady teachers of Cleveland.

Orville T. Bright, Superintendent of Schools, Cook county, Illinois, read a paper on "Changes-Wise and Unwise-in Grammar and High Schools."

Miss Sarah L. Arnold, Supervisor of Primary Schools, Minneapolis, Minn., next read a paper on "Recent Improvements in Primary Work."

SECOND DAY.

MORNING SESSION.-WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20, 1895.

The department was called to order at 9:30 by President Maxwell.

Dr. W. T. Harris read a portion of the "Report of the Committee of Fifteen." This was followed by a discussion by Frank M. McMurry, Buffalo, N. Y.; Francis W. Parker, Cook County Normal, Chicago, Ill.; Charles De Garmo, Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania; Wm. H. Maxwell, Brooklyn, N. Y.; C. A. McMurry, Normal, Ill.; Dr. Walter B. Hervey, New York City; Dr. B. A. Hinsdale, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Dr. E. E. White, Columbus, Ohio; Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, New York; Samuel T. Dutton, Brookline, Mass.; Dr. W. T. Harris, Washington, D. C.

The session then adjourned.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

N. C. Schaeffer, State Superintendent, Harrisburg, Pa., read a paper upon "The Powers and Duties of State Superintendents."

J. R. Preston, State Superintendent, Jackson, Miss.; State Supt. Henry Sabin, Des Moines, Iowa; A. W. Edson, Worcester, Mass.; A. E. Winship, Boston, Mass.; State Supt. E. B. Prettyman, Baltimore, Md., and State Supt. R. E. Emery, Madison, Wis., took part in the discussion.

Supt. N. C. Schaeffer then closed the discussion.

The department then adjourned.

EVENING SESSION.

A paper on "History Teaching in School, with Reference to the Report of the Committee of Ten," was presented by Dr. B. A. Hinsdale, Professor of Pedagogy, University of Michigan.

Charles F. Thwing, President of Western Reserve University, addressed the department on "The Teaching of Political Economy in Schools."

The department then adjourned to attend the reception at Gray's Armory tendered by the teachers of Cleveland.

THIRD DAY.

MORNING SESSION.-THURSDAY, FEB. 21, 1895.

A. S. Draper, President of the University of Illinois, read the report of the Committee of Fifteen on "The Organization of City School Systems."

The paper was discussed by Dr. E. E. White, Columbus, Ohio; Albert Bushnell Hart, Harvard University; Supt. A. P. Marble, Omaha, Neb.; Dr. B. A. Hinsdale, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Supt. F. Cogswell, Cambridge, Mass.; Superintendent Seaver, Boston, Mass.; Col. F. W. Parker, Chicago, Ill.; Robert C. Metcalf. Boston, Mass.

President Draper closed the discussion.

The selection of place for holding the next meeting of the department was then taken up.

State Superintendent Sheats of Florida extended an invitation to the depart ment to hold their next meeting in Jacksonville, Fla.

There was also an invitation to hold the meeting in Indianapolis, Ind.

Supt. H. R. Pattengill of Lansing extended an invitation to hold the next meeting in Detroit, Mich.

The balloting showed the following results:

President Maxwell declared Jacksonville as the place for the next meeting of the department.

The Committee on Nominations recommended the following names as officers for the department:

President-Lewis H. Jones, Cleveland, Ohio.

First Vice President-J. H. Phillips, Birmingham, Ala.
Second Vice President-Chas. W. Cole, Albany, N. Y.

Secretary-R. E. Denfeld, Duluth, Minn.

The report of the committee was adopted.

AFTERNOON SESSION.-THURSDAY, FEB. 21, 1895.

Department called to order by President Maxwell.

"Individualism in Mass Education" was the subject of a paper read by P. W. Search, Superintendent of City Schools, Los Angeles, Cal.

The paper was discussed by Supt. L. H. Jones, Cleveland, Ohio; Dr. Richard G. Boone, Ypsilanti, Mich.; Dr. W. T. Harris, Washington, D. C.; Col. F. W. Parker, Cook County Normal School, Chicago, Ill.; Supt. W. J. Shearer, New Castle, Pa.; A. E. Winship, Boston, Mass.; H. R. Sanford, Institute Conductor, New York; Dr. E. E. White, Columbus, Ohio; Dr. Eugene Bouton, Pittsfield, Mass. Superintendent Search then closed the discussion.

The department then adjourned to meet at 8 p. m.

EVENING SESSION.

The closing session of the department was called to order at 8 p. m., President Maxwell in the chair.

A paper on "Application of Child Study in the School" was read by. Col. Francis W. Parker, Principal of the Cook County Normal School, Illinois.

The Committee on Resolutions made its report through its Chairman, Supt. C. B. Gilbert of St. Paul, Minn., as follows:

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS.

SUPT. C. B. GILBERT, Chairman.

Whereas, The institutions of this country are undergoing at the present time a severe strain, and possibly a final testing, which condition has aroused in the minds of thoughtful people grave unrest and gloomy forebodings as to the future; and

Whereas, The sole hope of perpetuity for a free state is found in the intelligence, virtue, and patriotism of its people; and

Whereas, The only reliable and controllable means possessed by the state for securing these safeguards is its system of public and universal education; therefore, be it

Resolved, By the school superintendents in convention assembled, that it is the duty of every citizen, whether directly engaged in the work of education or not, but especially of those who are so engaged, and who are for this reason more familiar with the needs and difficulties of a school system, to see to it that the public schools of this land reach and maintain the highest efficiency possible.

Resolved, That, to this end, we declare our belief in the following propositions, and pledge ourselves to use our utmost efforts towards securing their general adoption: I. As to School Management

First-The public schools should be absolutely free from the domination of those who would prostitute them to political or personal ends.

Second-The management of the schools should be in the hands of educational experts clothed with adequate power, protected in their tenure of office, and held responsible for results.

II. As to Teachers

Since the character of the teacher sets the standard of the school and provides the true basis of all educational work, we declare, first, that the standard of scholarship required of teachers should be high.

Second-That all teachers, both of elementary and higher schools, should have thorough professional training.

Third-Not only all teachers of all grades but also principals, supervisors, and superintendents should have thorough professional training. To this end, we heartily favor the establishment of fully-equipped training schools of pedagogy in connection with colleges and universities.

Fourth-Only those should be employed as teachers who have refinement of mind and soul to such a degree that, both consciously and unconsciously, they will influence children for good.

Fifth-Teachers doing good work should be secure in tenure of office.

We believe that the studies with which the child's mind is to be busied while in school should be those which will give him sympathetic acquaintance with the material and social world in which his life is to be spent. We further believe that the chief study for all teachers should be the child himself, to the end that all efforts at education may be directed along the line of least resistance as determined by the child's own nature. We believe that the aim of all directive effort in education should be, first, so to train all the child's powers by the exercise of his self-activity that he shall both comprehend his material and social environment and be able to live his life effectively in it; and, second, to develop in him a purpose to use these powers so gained for the good of society.

Resolved, That we recognize the great value of the report presented by the Committee of Fifteen, as setting standards, defining educational values, and furnishing broad grounds for intelligent deliberation and discussion in the future, and that the committee be and hereby are authorized to put the report and such dissenting opinions as they may see fit to use, into form satisfactory to themselves, and to print the same; and that the committee having performed this duty be discharged.

Resolved, That in the opinion of this body of superintendents the importance of public education in this country demands its recognition as a distinct and co-ordinate department of the executive branch of the government, and we urge a systematic movement on the part of all educators and educational bodies in the land to the end that the Commissioner of Education be made a cabinet officer.

Resolved, That we express our sincere appreciation of the generous hospitality shown us by the citizens of this beautiful city of Cleveland, and that we congratulate them upon having successfully solved one of the great problems of school administration. We thank especially Director Sargent, Superintendent Jones, and their colaborers in the public schools, and the presidents and officers of Adelbert College and the Case School of Applied Science, for their untiring efforts to make our stay here pleasant and profitable. We extend to the different railroads leading to Cleveland our thanks for their various courtesies. We especially express our appreciation of the dignified, impartial, and felicitous manner in which our esteemed President has conducted and controlled the various meetings of this body, and of the efficiency and courtesy shown by the Secretary and Treasurer in the performance of their arduous and too often thankless tasks.

President-elect Jones, being called to the chair, spoke as follows:

President Maxwell:

In assuming the presidency, I accept this symbol of authority from your hands, sir, with the greatest diffidence, since you have handled it in this hall for three days with such rare courtesy and consideration. You, sir, by the quiet grace and noble dignity with which you have presided over the deliberations of this body, have set a standard that will be difficult for me to maintain.

Ladies and Gentlemen; Members of the Department:

I desire to return in this public manner my heartfelt thanks for the high honor which you this day have conferred upon me, and to express the hope, with fears mingled with the hope, that I may rise to your expectations when I meet you a year from this time in the land of flowers.

By the authority vested in me, I now declare this department adjourned, to meet one year from this time in Jacksonville, Fla., the exact date to be named hereafter. W. H. MAXWELL, J. M. CARLISLE, Secretary.

President.