USA > Indiana > Carroll County > History of Carroll County, Indiana : With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 16
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Not much change was made in the forms or in the practice of : 717.12: amount for distribution for that your. $1, $56.72. Amount the methods recognized by the laws in force for the utilization of the facilities for acquiring school knowledge, until the inangurn- tion of the present system. under the laws passed and approved in 1852
In 1837. the school fund of the State, at first consisting of the Congressional township fund, was angmented by an act of the Legislature directing that one-half of the surplus revenue of the United States deposited in the State Treasury be distributed among the several counties of the State in amounts proportionable ta the taxable polls ju each county. to be loaned out by officers appointed for the purpose. for the benefit of the common schools of the county. Afterward. in 18th, by further legislative annet. ment. it was directed that all the funds which had acomunlated. or might be received from the sale of the saline lands of the State, should be likewise distributed among the several counties of the State, and loaned in the same manner and for the same object prescribed by the surplus revenue. previously distributed. During the same year, the bank tax fond was appropriated to and became a part of the common school fund of the State, and was
;of whom 2,623 were males, and 2,326 females: expended for tui tion during the year, $2,721.02. for an average length of term of 57 days : apportionment for that year, $5.322.90. Amount of Congressional township funds at the close of last year, $32.151.50; amount added from sale of lands within the year, $1,080 : 320 acres unsold, of the value of $3,210. Total amount at the date of Anditor's report, $35,471.50; amount then safely invested. $32,- of common school funds at the end of the previous year, 86.411.29; amont added within the year. $5. 114.31; total amount Jme 1, 1860, $11,825,60; amount lost since 1812. $551.65; amount now safely invested, $11,73125 Total amount for distribution, $1 .- 117.10.
According to the report for 1870,5. 70S children were emoner ated. of whom 3,017 were mades, and 2.691 females: mauber admitted into the schools within the year, 4,734. Amount of school revenue on hand September 1, 1869, 811.152.21: total amount for tuition. $35,078.08 : amount expended. $17.951.27: amount on land. $17.122.70. Amount of special revenue on hand September 1, 1869, 810,537.65; amount afterward received, $12 .- 013.31: total. $22.550.96. Amount expended. * 1987: amount on lund. $11.931.09. Amount appropriated to Carroll County on the 15th day of October, 1870, on a basis of 5.714 children on crated. $2.5.7.
The report for ISSO makes the following showing: Total number of children emmerated in 1879, between six and twenty. one years of age. 6,501; total mumber admitted into the schools
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HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
within the year, 5,186. Total revenue for tuition in. 1879, $46,- 935.29; amount expended since September 1, 1878, $30,961. 13: amount on hand, $15,970.86. Special school revome on hand September 1, 1878, $13,537.53; received. afterward, $23,364.89; total. $36,902.42: amonut expended, $23,100.49; balance on hand; $13.801.93. Emmeration for 1880, 6,410: admitted into schools within the year, 4,634. Revenue for tuition in 1880, $48, 130. 13; amount expended since September 1, 1879, $31,254.16; amount on hand, $16,875.97. Special revenue, $34,942.50 ; expended since September 1, 1879, $18,168.80; balance" on hand, $16,. 773.70. Apportionment, May, ISSO, $9,871.40. For the year ISS1, there was tuition fund received, $27,048,06; expended, 817.883.75; balance on hand June 1. 1881, $9,164.31:
COUNTRY SCHOOLS.
Originally, the country schools were in a condition corre -. sponding with the ideas of school work in the backwoods settle- ments. While it is no doubt true that many of those early teach -. ers were zealous and energetic in their callings, much the larger portion of them were selected not because of their known, but of their supposed, qualifications, and for the further reason that, during the winter season, when those schools were generally in operation, these candidates for pedagogie honors had nothing else to do. As a natural consequence, therefore, the schools, in the main, were wholly withont system or discipline, and allowed to move forward in the channels in which, from force of circumstan- ces, they involuntarily drifted. Among teachers, no consultations were had, and hence no concert of action, and few appliances for successful work. Blackboards were things unknown; wall maps wore not in use ; text-books were few, varied and unsuitable; houses and seats-for little else was provided-were uniformly inconvenient, and generally uncomfortable. Indeed, when we recall the opportunities and experiences of the past, and what came of them, it is a source of wonder that so many and such val- uable results have been attained, for true it is that, from these same log-cabin country schools have come many of our most active business men and women. Some of them, possibly many. have enjoyed a slight " polish," in a term or two at the "Semi -. nary," but much the larger portion were never so favored. With the meager opportunities enjoyed at home, or at the old-time country school, their own native energies have made them what they are.
At first, for many years, there were, in most districts, only subscription schools, the advantageous privileges of. the free or public school system being then in an undeveloped state. But a change has been wrought, however, by the onward march of im provement that has marked the progress of time during the last fourth of a century of our local and State history. The average length of a district subscription school, before the advent of this new era, was less than sixty days, while the average length of the dis- trict schools, supported by the magnificent tuition fund of the State, during the school year of 1879-80, was 133 days. The character of the schools has improved. also, through the developing media of our improved educational system. Schoolhouses, school furniture. school-teachers and school discipline, have all advanced in muison, as by a common impulse. The means whereby those great results have been accomplished are attributable to the County Superin -. tendency, normal schools, State and county: to the work of in. stitutes in the township and in the county: to a more rigid exam- ination, and higher standard of scholarship and teaching capacity; whence a class of instructors has been brought into the field who
were able to accomplish immensely higher and more excellent. results. "And, of course, with the change from the pole-cabin dwellings, with no windows but a greased paper, or none except a hole between two of the logs next the big fire-place, and with only a single door- to the modern residence, costing thousands of dollars, has come also. yet with less rapidity than we could wish a similar change in the construction and the cost of public school edificos."
COUNTY EXAMINER.
By the law in force previons to 1851, and subsequently, up to 1873, a County Examiner was provided for, whose duty it was. perhaps, among other things, to examine applicants and to give certificates to such as he adjudged qualified to teach a counnon school .; In early times, this duty was performed with not too much care .. The popular standard was very low, and the Exam- iner did not care to rise above the standard. A teacher might, perchance, possess superior qualifications, but the Examiner usti, ally did not discover that fact, nor did he require any such requi- sites. But the standard, in this respect, has been slowly but surely rising, especially in Carroll County, so that now, in order to be. able to " pass muster," an applicant must be, in the language of Scripture, " not a novice." This is well, and it might do no harm to make the examinations even more strict than at present. The Examiners have been E. W. Wright, John A. Cartwright, John W. Fawcett and La Fayette E. MeReynolds.
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT.
In 1873, the name of the office was changed from County Ex- aminer to County Superintendent, and the sphere of the duties was somewhat enlarged, requiring, among other things, the visi- tation of schools more fully than before. In this county, Thomas H. Britton has ocenpied the position of County Superintendent, from December., 1874, until the present time.
CHAPTER XV. INSTITUTES AND NORMALS.
THEIR MISSION-THE IMPORTANCE OF THEM AS TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR TEACHERS-THE LAW ON THE SUBJECT-OPINIONS OF EDU- CATORS-THE FIRST INSTITUTES HELD-THE ATTENDANCE- RESULTS-MORE RECENT SESSIONS WITH SOME OF THE DETAILS OF THE . WORK-COUNTY NORMALS HELD-IMPROVEMENTS IN Scuoof WORK-REVIEW, ETC.
THE existence of. institutes is the outgrowth of a necessity originating in the general inefficiency of that class of teachers employed in the early days of school work, as it existed in In- diana and other of the Western States between a quarter and half century ago, when schools were taught almost exclusively during the winter season, and by persons ont of employment, who, to put in their time, would " play school-master," for the money that was in it, and not for any interest felt in the present or after prosper. ity of the school. In the progress of years. however, experience began to develop the fact. that successful teaching need not be expected except from qualified teachers, who were not only profi- cient: in the branches usually prescribed as forming the basis of a " common-school education," but possessed also of the faculties for imparting practical instruction in them, and well versed in the ".arts and mysteries " of school government. Hence, accord- iug to the, expressed opinion of Prof. Bates, one of the most pop- ular of our early institute instructors, "There are two main pur-
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HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
poses designed to be accomplished by the institute. The first and. by a thorough knowledge of the discoveries which have bech made. is able to practice with skill in one of the most delicate and ardnous positions in which the members of any profession are called upon to act." consists in imparting to the teacher a knowledge of the philoso- phy of his profession. The second is the establishment of a com- mon sympathy between teacher and people. * * * A system of instruction will meet with success in proportion to its con- formity to the laws of psychological development. To be fruit ful in good results. it must be founded on principles which govern our spiritual natures. If a teacher proceeds upon a theory eon. trary to this. he either gives an erroneous development. or he en- deavors to force upon the minds of his pupils instruction which they do not appreciate, and which can never be of any practical vale. To discover the philosophical principles which underlie every department of instruction, and to properly apply those to the ' living faw upon the subject, until now, when the school law and natural order of mental development. should be the first and lead- ing object of attention.
" Teachers are too apt, in practice, to follow on in the beaten track. and adopt the plans pursued by those who tanght them. If these plans were erroneous, the teacher is to be convinced of their falsity, and that others are preferable, because, when tried by reason. they are found to be in harmony with the constitution and growth of the mental faculties. Teaching is not an imitative art. but a science. based upon immutable principles. If we make it an imitative process, and devote the time of the institute to a detail of the plan for teaching each branch. we may present a plan which one mau can imitate, but another cannot. But if we develop the elements of the science. we put into the hands of every one the means for independent action, and each can develop his methods in accordance with his own subjectivity.
" Unfortunately, many of our text-books are written, not by teachers. who understand the true theory of teaching, and are fully imbued with its spirit. but they are 'made ' by men who have facilities for publishing and foreing them into use. and aro do- sirons of having a full 'series.' The teacher, therefore, needs to ' pensate for the disparity of numbers and settle the question of be so familiar with the fundamental principles of the branches he is to teach that he will be above text books -- that he shall himself be the text book in every branch, and, where books are : Other institutes were hell during the administration of Mr. at fault, by proper instruction to set them right. The day is past when the teacher is to be pinned down to a superstitions ad- herence to anthority, and go hobbling npon erntehes into such a noble work. The general principles upon which every branch rests should be discussed and understood, so that his views shall be correct and clear: and he who intends to keep up with the ; able to eonnaand better wages in consequence, and the patrons of times and be a reliable practitioner in the profession. must come to the institute, once or twice a year at least, to get his opinions adjusted, as the navigator comes to have his chronometer corrected before departing on his perilous voyage over restless seas.
" The second purpose of the institute is to create and maintain a sympathy. a common bond of interest. between teachers and people. In order that the instruction which the teacher imparts in his school may produce the best results. it is highly important that he have the confidence of the parents. A teacher who fails to command the respect of the people is robbed of much of that power for good which he could otherwise exercise, however skill- ful and efficient he may be. It is. therefore, the sphere of the institute to demonstrate that the teacher is alive to the interests of his calling: that he is making sacrifices to be the better fitted to discharge his duty: that he is worthy of the confidence of his patrons: that his knowledge is superior to that possessed by the teachers of a by-gone age, from which their judgment of teaching capacity was formed: that his ability is such as to challenge their respect; that he is really mastering the theory of his profession.
The necessity for the kind of qualification prescribed by the foregoing review of the conditions upon which institutes were gradually developed, did not at once become fully manifest. The ; changes and modifications of the school laws are mile-stones des- ; ignating the steps of advancement made beyond the original pro- visions. Ahnost avery session for a series of years experience having demonstrated the inefficiency of some of the old provis. ions, improved ones were suggested, and became a part of the the facilities for school management are equal. perhaps, to those of almost any other State. Even before there were any specific provisions making it obligatory to hold institutos, some of the far seeing educators, having in charge the management of the county schools, to meet, in their opinions, the demands of the sit- nation. provided for and held institutes, and otherwise improved opportunities for elevating the standard of the teachers of youth who labored from motivos of love for the profession. In older portions of the State, examples of this character were somewhat muerons. Among the counties foremost in this forward move. ment, Carroll County is entitled to be placed in the history of the movement for the education of trained teachers for the in. struction of our children. Rev. Edward W. Wright. in 1853. being one of those advance thinkers, and at that time in charge of the public schools of Carroll County. first prepared the minds of teachers therefor, and in March, 1851, held probably the first institute for the benefit of teachers over held in the county. The attendance was not large, yet the carnestness of the work and the motives that seemed to impel the movement tended to com the utility of such aids to the proper training of teachers. The offeet, therefore, was not lost in the experiences of later years. Wright, and the zeal with which he entered into the work was a sufficient guaranty that what was done could not fail in the ae- complishineut of great good. During the administration of Mr. Wright, which closed in 1863, institutes were held occasionally. always with satisfactory results, the teachers in attendance being
such were better pleased with the improvement visible in the methods of school work as the ontgrowth of the new policy. From 1863 nutil 1870, while Mr. John A. Cartwright was Exam- iner, and subsequently, during the administration of John W. Faweett, some progress was made in preparing teachers for the discharge of the responsible duties required at their hands. For this purpose, teachers' meetings and institutes were held, and the encouragements incident to the training of those persons under whose instruction the children of the county were placed, were bestowed with becoming interest. The details of these meetings. and of the methods proposed for securing the objeets aimed at. are not now at hand: the results, however, are discoverable, and the inthence has not been lost in the experiences of the school officers, who, since 1870, have exercised a control over the edu eational economy of the county. In 1870. Mr. L. E. Me Roynokk became County Examiner, and took advance ground in the process of preparing teachers for their mission.
On Monday, the ISth of August, 1873, pursnant to notice. a county teachers' institute was commenced in Delphi. under the
146
HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
general supervision of Mr. MeReynolds. the County Superintend- During the remainder of the week, the exercises of the institute were somewhat varied in character, covering, in a great measure, ent. assisted by D. D., Blakeman, Superintendent of the City Schools, Thomas H. Britton, of Burlington, and others, chiefly : the chief features of successful school work. The success attend. from this county. The attendance was very large. ninety-three ing the first week's proceedings induced au extension of the time through the week following, at the close of which an examination was hell to determine the respective qualifications of the candi- during the first day's exercises, occupied a considerable portion , dates for positions in the schools of the succeeding season. names having been enrolled the first day .. Hon. Milton B. Hop- kins, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, being present of the time " in catechising teachers, Superintendent and Trust- Superintendent MeReynolds. in his report to the Superintend. ent of Public Instruction, dated September 14, 1574, says: "Our township institutes were hold regularly all over the county, and I cannot speak too highly of their good effects. I found it impos- sible for me to conduct an institute in each township, for the want of the, but I attended what I could, and the Trustees and teachers took a lively interest in them, and altogether made them a grand success. Our county institute began on the 24th of An- gust last, and continued five days. The enrollment of actual teachers was 133, and the average attendance 102.6. Memorial resolutions, relating to the death of lamented Superintendent M. B. Hopkins, were adopted. A resolution was also adopted favor- ing an efficient system of connty and township superintendency. Altogether, it was the best institute, in all respects, ever hold iu the county." eos. and in answering such questions as were asked of him in return." touching the duties imposed by the laws and usages of the State upon all in any way connected with or auxiliary to the.| practical workings of our excellent school system. "Ho first 'mostioned them [the Superintendent and Trustees] in relation to Their stewardship and mode of conducting their official business, sandwiching the questions and answers with such wholesome and timely advice as was deemed most pertinent. He gave them a short lecture upon the manner of selecting teachers, using the funds and prolonging the school term, impressing upon the minds of the Trustees of the rural districts the great importance of at least six months school in each year, and giving them advice. which, if strictly followed, will enable them to comply with his " wishes in this respect. He then changed the order of the exer- cises, giving the County Superintendent and the Towaship Trust -. In August, 1575, another institute was held in this county, at which 105 of the 120 teachers of the county wore in regular at- tendance. The results were in all respects satisfactory. cos the privilege of asking him questions, which they did, and which questions he answered in such a prompt and satisfactory manner as to impress all who witnessed the proceedings with the idea that the educational interests of Indiana will lose nothing in the hands of this earnest and practical Superintendent of Public Instruction." This latter exercise was an after part in the programine, and was conducted during the afternoon, at the court house.
In the evening. Superintendent Hopkins delivered a lecture, also at the court house, upon educational matters generally, in the presence of a very large and orderly assemblage. "He gave a short history of the sources from which was derived the eight and a half million dollars which constitute the Indiana school fund, a sum of money continually at interest, the proceeds of which, together with money derived from taxation, constitutes the school revenue, which is annually applied to the payment of tuition; this annual revenne, exclusive from that arising from taxation, is over $2,000,000. This original fund is not dimin- ished, or any part of it absorbed for salaries or for its manage- ment: it cannot be decreased, but can be increased ad libitum. * * * * The effect was to impress his audience with the im- . portance and growing need of a more general and thorough form of education, and the rapid strides our own noble State is making in that direction."
The second day of the session was devoted to the regular work, Mr. Britton, of Burlington, leading the exercises in arithmetic. which occupied a portion of the forenoon. In the afternoon, Dr. E. W. H. Beck lectured the class on the subjects of physiology and hygiene in their application to school instruction, the proper observance of which. by teachers and pupils, is an essential ele- ment in our educational economy. The subject matter of the lecture was well presented. and was the means of putting the teachers present in possession of many facts of vast import in the successful progress of their work. The large number in attendance showed that the teachers were impressed with the idea that there- after, skill in teaching, and not skill in electioncering, would be the qualification most desirable in those expecting to practice the profession of teachers in the public schools of the county.
The institute held in 1877 was not so well attended as for- merly. Only eighty-one of the 128 teachers employed in the county participated. Subsequent sessions were more successful in point of interest, as well as attendance. In 1879, an instituto was held under the direction of Superintendent Thomas H. Britton, at which 121 of the 126 teachers of the county were in attendance. The division of work and the topics discussed dur- ing the session were highly interesting and duly appreciated, the tendency of which was to inspire the teachers with greater zeal in the performance of the tasks imposed upon them respectively. Another session of the Carroll County Teachers' Institute was held in the court house at Delphi, commencing on Monday, An- gust 23, 1580, at which the usual number of the teachers were present. Among the very efficient instructors who took part in the exorcises, Profs, George F. Bass, of Indianapolis, S. B. Mc- Cracken and Bailey Martin, wore entitled to special mention in connection with the proceedings. On Thursday, August 26, Rev. J. C. Fletcher, of Indianapolis, delivered a very interesting lect . nro before the institute in reference to Italy. Portugal and Brazil, which was well received. since it imparted a fund of information regarding these countries unattainable, probably, from any other channel than that through which Mr. Fletcher derived the subject matter of his discourse.
A session of the Carroll County Normal and Teachers' Insti tute was held at C'amden, in this county, commencing July 19. and closing August 25, 1SS1, at which a large number of the teachers of the county were present and participated in the pro- ceedings. A visitor says of it that it " was the most interesting and instructive one that has over been held in the county. In- struetors were: In United States history, grammar, reading and methods, S. B. MeCracken: in arithmetic, geography and ortho- Ppy, Bailey Martin; in physiology, Henry Carter; in peuman- ship, E. J. Hoch; in primary teaching, Miss Jessie Stretch.
" The United States history work was a review from the consti- tution to the civil war: grammar, a general review of the sen- touce and the parts of speech: reading, the elements of expression
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