USA > Rhode Island > Annual report of the Board of Education : together with the Annual report of the Commissioner of Public Schools of Rhode Island, 1875 > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26
It has been a pleasure to us to study together the greatest created work within the sphere of human knowledge-the human mind; and, through that study, to apprehend those principles which must underlie all correct teaching. You have also had daily practice in the use of methods of teaching, which are in accordance with what we have learned of the nature of the mental powers and the order of their development. In your subsequent teaching, you will have frequent occasion to invent new methods and to modify those here acquired. The principles of cor- rect teaching are fixed and unvarying as the laws of the human mind, upon which those principles depend. The applications of principles, in methods of teaching should vary to meet the individual needs of pupils.
During your course of study, you have considered the principles of school government and the means by which it is secured. Success in
27
OF THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
school government is so largely dependent upon the moral support accorded to the teacher by parents, as well as upon your own skill. that you can hardly feel assured of your ability to govern well, until you have added to your knowledge, experience.
But a well-ordered school, the scholarship of the teacher, and his skill in teaching, are but means to a higher end-the formation of char- acter.
Character is sometimes defined, "what one is"; but this fails to distinguish nature and character. The character of any one is what he is as the result of his own action. You cannot make the character of your pupils ; that is their own work. The occasions of the formation of character, so far as they exist out of the child's own nature, are found in personal influence. Personal influence is rooted in personal qualities. That personal influence which wakens, directs and strengthens the nob- ler aspirations of your pupils must arise from those excellences which, with Divine help, you make your own. The moral result of your earnest endeavor while in this school to perform faithfully your daily duties, is your best acquisition as a means of future usefulness. Continue to strive to realize in your own lives the true, the beautiful, and the good, making this thought of the immortal Milton, who many years honored the profession you have chosen, your own : "I am long since persuaded that to say or do aught worth memory and imitation, no purpose should sooner move us than simply love of God and love of mankind !" But this principle of action is of Divine authority. It was set forth in the life of Him who is our Great Example.
SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT.
Gentlemen; Trustees of the State Normal School:
In accordance with your requirements, I submit the fol- lowing semi-annual report :
Whole number of pupils in the school during the term, -
131
Number entered Sept. 1, or later, -
-
-
- 52
Number who had previously taught, -
-
-
- 14
EMPLOYMENTS OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN.
Farmers, -
-
-
17
Engineers, - -
-
1
Carpenters, -
-
-
- 5 Butchers, - -
1
Jewellers, -
-
-
4 Coppersmiths, -
-
1
Stone Cutters,
-
-
2
Restaurant Keepers,
-
1
Machinists, -
-
-
2
Granite Workers,
-
1
Book-keepers,
-
-
2 Dyers, - - -
1
Merchants, -
-
-
2 Publishers, - -
-
1
Manufacturers,
-
-
-
1
Teachers, -
-
-
-
-
1
Grocers, -
-
-
1 Brokers, -
-
-
1
Travelling Agents, -
-
1
The term that to-day closes has been one of the most suc- cessful the school has known. The pupils have shown both
2 Housekeepers, -
1 Physicians -
4
.
29
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
diligence and enthusiasm in acquiring the best methods of teaching.
The class that entered at the beginning of the present term is the largest that has ever been admitted to the school since its organization. Several applicants were rejected, some of whom might have been .retained if our accommo- dations had been sufficient.
The time usually occupied with lectures by- the special instructors and others, has, during the present term, been spent in writing. Mr. E. C. Davis has carefully prepared and given a course of lessons, well adapted to meet the . wants of the school. The lectures that would regularly have occurred, this term, but for the course in penmanship, have been deferred until the spring and summer term. We record with pleasure, however, a lecture upon "Art," by Rev. A. L. Richards, Rector of St. John's Church, of this city. This lecture contained much valuable thought, ex- pressed in forcible, chaste and finished language. It was especially appreciated by those pupils, who, during the pre- vious term, had gained an outline of the history of art from the full course of lectures given by Prof. Diman upon this subject.
The lecture hour of one Saturday was very profitably occupied with a lesson in elocution by Mr. William F. Wentworth, now teaching elocution in this city.
Our thanks are due to Rev. Walter J. Yates, of Millville, Mass., for an addition of some fifty specimens to our min- eralogical collection.
The interests of the people of the State demand that those who are to be teachers shall be required to make care-
30-
REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL
ful preparation for their work; that the intellectual and moral training of our children may not be committed to those ignorant of the principles and the methods best adapted to secure a thorough education.
A course at a Normal School not only enables one to pre- pare for the successful discharge of a teacher's duties ; but, by the enthusiasm which such a course develops, tends to secure permanency in the profession.
The Board, acting under the anthority of the State, requires a written pledge to teach a specified time in the public schools of the State. This pledge has hitherto been very generally fulfilled with remarkable fidelity. Not to teach after graduation, if circumstances permit, is justly deemed by the graduates of this school, dishonorable. Very many are bound to the work by their love for it, their desire to be useful in the noblest of professions, and by the enthu- siasm which a careful study of the principles and methods of instruction has inspired.
Every well appointed Normal School includes in its course of study branches that are not found in the course of study usually prescribed by law for the common schools. The common English branches cannot be taught in the best man- ner by a teacher who understands only what is presented in the text-books used in our common schools.
A good teacher of reading must understand the physiol- ogy of the organs of speech. One who would present the leading facts and principles of geography must know some- thing of mineralogy, botany, and zoology. Skill in teach- ing arithmetic implies some knowledge of geometry.
The mechanical teacher of text-books needs little prepa-
31
OF THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
ration for his work; but whoever teaches subjects rather than books, needs broad and ever-widening knowledge. He who is satisfied to follow the beaten track marked out by a text-book, without regard to the individual wants of his pupils, must be a teacher who is unable to use books, even, as a proper means of developing a pupil's powers.
Unless a teacher has that fertility of resource and that appreciation of the truths he teaches, that are the result of a knowledge of those truths in their varied relations, school- work will tend to tiresome routine and dull monotony, fatal alike to generous culture and genuine enthusiasm. Hence, studies are pursued at a Normal School that are valuable, not only as a means of discipline, but as direct aids to a thorough knowledge of the common English branches. But preparation for teaching involves much more than a knowl- edge of that which is to be taught; the distinctive work of a normal pupil is to acquire a knowledge of the principles, and to gain skill in using the correct methods of teaching.
Two years, the time allotted to the regular course of study, is a very brief period in which to prepare for teach- ing, unless one has gained considerable discipline by a pre- vious course of study. High schools are not available in many sections of our State. From those sections, candi- dates of the required age often present themselves, having excellent natural qualifications for teaching, but hardly pre- pared to enter at once upon the two years course of study. The recent action of the Board in providing for such pupils a preparatory course of one or more terms, is wise, and is adapted to extend the usefulness of the school. To accom- plish what is intended by this provision, we must have other
.
32
REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL
rooms than can well be secured in the building we now occupy. If the plans for the usefulness of the school, which have been carefully formed with a view to the best interests of the State, are to be fully realized, rooms must be pro- vided for doing the work proposed.
The people of Rhode Island, realizing the necessity of providing trained teachers for the schools of the State, estab- lished this school, and they have never shown themselves indifferent to its success. If they understand the need of additional accommodations, I believe they will not hesitate to contribute to the welfare of the schools of the State, and to the public good, by providing for their Normal School a suitable building.
It is our pleasant duty at the close of another term, to acknowledge the aid and encouragement rendered us by the Board of Trustees and the Board of Examiners.
Hon. Thomas W. Bicknell, the late Commissioner of Public Schools and Secretary of the Board, has so fully identified himself with the prosperity of this school that we still assure ourselves of his cooperation. We believe that his position as Editor-in-Chief of the New England Journal of Education, will enable him to render valuable service in the work of education.
Since the establishment of the school, friends of educa- tion in different parts of the State have personally aided in securing its success. We wish such to be assured that both teachers and pupils appreciate the aid rendered, and justly desire to make the school more and more an honor to the State.
33
OF THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
ADDRESS TO THE GRADUATES.
Members of the Class of '75 : In a very literal sense, as one "think- eth, so is he."
All noble purposes, and that enthusiasm which makes purpose effec- tive, are the offspring of thought. Vigorous thinking upon proper objects is the source of personal power.
The kind and the quality of your thinking must depend largely upon what you present to your own minds as objects of thought. We are responsible for the objects, no less than for the quality of our thoughts.
Man is distinguished from all other forms of sentient existence upon our globe by his ability to present to himself, or to exclude, the occa- sions of his intellectual activity. Our power to control the action of the intellect is a lineament of our likeness to God. The nobler an attribute, the greater the degradation from its abuse. He who keeps in mind base objects of thought, often sinks far below inferior grades of organized being. He who keeps in mind that which is worthy of his attention, must become wiser, better and more earnest, day by day ; he will, by his example, lead others to a better life.
We are constantly surrounded by objects of nature. By diligent study, find the truth, realize the beauty, feel the goodness, expressed in the broad universe, from the germs that swell the earth at your feet, to the orbs that light unmeasured space. Study reverently, and this uni- verse will be radiant with the wisdom, the power and the goodness of God.
But the interaction of mind with mind is a surer condition of progress than the study of matter. Matter is a means of our best culture only as we perceive the mind it enshrines, and it is often so studied as to con- ceal what it should reveal.
Associate with those wiser than yourself, that you may share their wisdom and become better able to help others struggling upward in the paths of knowledge and of duty.
In associating with your equals, so direct the conversation of the leisure hour, that you and they shall render choicest thoughts in most fitting language-" apples of gold in pictures of silver."
34
STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
Consider elevating thoughts your choicest treasure, and a chaste dic- tion clothed in graceful utterance, the most desirable accomplishment. The best promptings of thought you will find in books. Through books you may acquaint yourselves with the "intellectual and moral chiefs of the world."
You cannot be too careful in your selection. You can never afford to waste upon ephemeral literature that leisure which, if spent in suitable reading, may be to you better than gold.
Your future education will depend largely upon your reading. You are fortunate that your duties as teachers will demand the reading of much that is permanently useful. The better thoughts, the finer feel- ings, and the diviner purposes-the life-blood of the greatest and the best who have lived-have been gathered for you from the ages. Let something of the affluence of the treasured past daily enrich your life. May that Book, which rightly understood, is the centre of all knowl- edge, the source of all modern culture, and the moral light of the world, ever be to each of you none other than the words of a loving Father, inspiring you daily for nobler endeavor, and ever bringing you into closer companionship with Him.
REPORT
OF THE
Commissioner of Public Schools OF
RHODE ISLAND,
1874.
1
State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. - Department of Public Instruction.
TO THE HONORABLE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF RHODE ISLAND :
GENTLEMEN .- I have the honor to present my Sixth Annual Re- port on the Public Schools of Rhode Island, and the Thirtieth Annual Report which has been issued from this office.
THOMAS W. BICKNELL, Commissioner of Public Schools.
PROVIDENCE, R. I.,
December 1, 1874. 3
*
REPORT.
In accordance with the law I herewith submit a report upon the condition, progress and needs of the public schools of the State.
A SUMMARY OF STATISTICS,
For the School year ending April 30, 1874.
TOWNS AND COUNTIES.
Number of towns in Rhode Island.
36
66
Providence County
15
66
Newport
66
7
Washington
7
66
66
Kent
4
66
Bristol
3
CHILDREN IN COUNTIES BY CENSUS OF 1860 AND 1870.
Number of Children in Rhode Island under fifteen years of age:
By census of 1870.
1860.
Increase in ten years.
Providence County
44,641
36,756
7,885
Newport
5,973
5,784
189
Washington
6,300
6,392 Less
92
Kent
60
5,577
5,401
176
Bristol
2,639
2,601
38
Total
65,130
56,93.1
8,196
40
SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT.
Estimated number of children in the State in 1870 between five and fifteen years of age. .42,000
Estimated number of children in the State in 1873 between five and fifteen years of age 43,800
PUBLIC SCHOOLS:
REGISTRATION AND ATTENDANCE FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR ENDING APRIL 30, 1874.
DAY SCHOOLS.
The enrollment and average attendance for corresponding terms in 1872-3 and in 1873-4, are as follows:
1872-3.
1873-4.
.
No registered
Average
attendance.
No registered
Average
attendance.
Spring Term
21,919
18,059
23,621
20,041
Summer Term
24,905
20,303
25,474
20,937
Fall Term.
22,999
18,773
24,659
20,404
Winter Term
28.525
22,640
29,366
23,733
YEARLY REPORT.
Number of different pupils enrolled. 39,401
Estimated average number belonging. 30,165
Average attendance 24,434
Aggregate number of months' attendance of the pupils. 229,345
EVENING SCHOOLS.
Number of different pupils enrolled. 6,083
Average attendance. 2,930
Aggregate number of weeks' attendance of the pupils. 44,049 Number of schools 52
Aggregate length of schools 718 weeks. Average 66 13 4-5
41
SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT.
TEACHERS, TEACHERS' WAGES, AND LENGTH OF SCHOOL YEAR IN MONTHS AND DAYS, FOR SCHOOL YEAR ENDING APRIL 30, 1874.
DAY SCHOOLS.
Number of school districts 429
Inerease
6
Number of schools. 732
Increase over report of last year
13
Aggregate length of schools
6,566 months, 14 days.
Increase 128 months, 14 days.
Average lengtlı. 8 months, 19 days.
Inerease
Fractional part of a day
Number of different persons employed as teachers during the year :
Males 201
Females 821
1,022
Number of teachers necessary to supply the schools 805
Increase
47
Amount paid teachers
$355,525 90
Inerease.
$37,164 38
Average salary of teachers. $441 64
Increase.
$21 64
Amount paid male teachers
$83,063 10
Inerease
$7,491 90
Aggregate number of months male teachers have been employed 993
Decrease.
5
Average wages per month
$83 65
Increase $7 93
Average salary per school year (8 months, 19 days) $748 66
Increase. $70 97
Amount paid female teachers. $272,462 80
Increase.
$29,672 48
Aggregate number of months female teachers have been employed. .6,212 Increase. 427
Average wages per month $43 86
Increase. .$1 89
Average salary per school year $392 54 Increase $16 91
Total
42
SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT.
FINANCES FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR ENDING APRIL 30 1874.
RECEIPTS.
Amount of State appropriation for day schools. $90,000 00
Amount of State appropriation for evening schools 3,314 00
Amount of town appropriations. 328,322 37
Amount from registry taxes and other sources 210,355 40
Amount of district taxes. 66,881 59
Amount of balance unexpended last year 46,896 24
Total receipts from all sources $745,769 60
EXPENDITURES.
Amount paid teachers in day schools. $355,525 90
Amount paid for other purposes connected with day schools 76,016 80
Amount expended for evening schools 22,127 50
Amount expended for school houses. 237,181 33
Total expenditures $690,851 53
COST OF INSTRUCTION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
DAY SCHOOLS.
Average amount paid teachers for each pupil enrolled. $9 03
Average amount paid teachers for each pupil's instruction per month .. .. 1 55
Average cost per pupil, exclusive of expenditures for school houses 10 95
Average cost per month. 1 88
EVENING SCHOOLS.
Average cost per pupil. $3 64
Average cost per month* 4 01
* Attendance at one session reckoned as attendance for half a day.
43
SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT.
DAY AND EVENING SCHOOLS.
Average cost per pupil * $10 08 Average cost per month. 1 93
Average cost per pupil, including interest on expenditures for school houses, 10 60
Average cost per month. 2 03
SCHOOLS OTHER THAN PUBLIC.
Number of pupils reported in schools corresponding to public schools below High Schools :
Males 889
Females 935
Number of pupils in schools corresponding to public High Schools :
Males. 1,336
Females 667
Number of teachers in said schools in all grades :
Male. 80
Female 76
2,245 of the pupils in said schools were reported as between 5 and 15 years of age.
HIGH SCHOOLS.
Cities and towns which have separate High Schools, or schools of an equal grade, either public or private.
Providence, Bristol,
East Greenwich,
Newport,
Warren,
Barrington,
Woonsocket, Westerly,
Scituate,
Pawtucket, Lincoln,
East Providence.
TOWN SYSTEM OF SCHOOLS.
Cities and towns in which the town system of school management has been adopted, wholly or in part :
Providence,
Bristol,
East Providence,
Newport,
Warren,
Woonsocket,
Pawtucket,
Barrington, North Providence.
* Estimated number admitted to evening schools who have attended day schools, 484.
44
SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT.
The statistics here given are a summary of the tables which are to be found in the Appendix to this Report. We can only claim that the facts represented in these tables are a faithful transcript of the returns made by the officers of the several towns to this office, and that they possess the value and the accuracy which usually attaches to such statements. We are well aware of the difficulty as well as the absurdity of reducing educational work to the percent- ages and balance sheets of the counting-room, but in the financial parts of the work as well as in those of school at- tendance, we ask for a thorough review and for candid criti- cism.
PUPILS ENROLLED.
We present in the Appendix, Table III, a carefully pre- pared statement of the number of different pupils enrolled in the public schools of the State during the school year ending April 30, 1874. The table is a new one and con- tains facts which have never before been ascertained in this State with reference to school attendance, and is a very sat- isfactory exhibit. It shows that 39,401 different children were registered as attending our public schools in the year 1874. This number includes those under five and over fif- teen years of age. As the child population of Rhode Is- " land between the ages of five and fifteen is estimated to be 43,800, and the number actually at school for a part of the year, at least, was 39,401, we have relatively a small number not attendant upon public school instruction. 1
If we had the means of ascertaining the number and ages of those who attended private schools during the same
45
SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT.
period, we could easily tell the number of children who did not have the benefit of school instruction in the period re- ferred to. To those who understand the significance of this table it will be of some value. But while it shows the dif- ferent number of pupils actually at school, it does not show how long each pupil attended school, whether for a week, a term, or the whole school year. We can only say that the sum total in days' attendance of the 39,401 pupils was equal to an attendance of 25,625 pupils for the whole number of days in the school year.
ANNUAL SCHOOL CENSUS.
In order to ascertain the number not attending school each year it is necessary that there should be an annual census of the child population of each town in the State, which should be taken in the month of April of each year, by the author- ity and under the direction of the town council of each town. The inquiries should cover the following particulars :
First-The number of children from six, seven, eight, nine, &c., years of age, to eighteen years.
Second-The number and ages of those who attended the public schools.
Third-The number and ages of those who attended pri- vate schools, or who received instruction at home.
Fourth-The number of children who attended school one week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, &c.
Fifth-The number and ages of those who did not receive . public or private instruction.
Sixth -.. The whole number of children in each consecu- tive year from one to sixteen years of age.
46
SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT.
These and other items would enable the school authorities of town and State to report with almost perfect accuracy upon the educational condition and prospects of our youth. Until this is done, school officials and people must rest con- tent with very general statements as to the number of child- ren actually growing up in ignorance in Rhode Island. It is full time for our practical men and legislators to make such arrangements for an annual school census as is secured in other States, which will enable the people to know just how many children go to school and receive the rudiments of an education, and how many are laborers in our factories, or idlers in our streets, and destitute of proper school training.
COST OF EDUCATION.
Table III shows the average amount of tuition paid teach- ers for each pupil enrolled in the schools of the several towns. The minimum cost for each pupil enrolled is in New Shoreham, where it is $5.68, and the average length of the schools is six months and twelve days. The maximum cost is in Newport, where the average length of the schools is forty weeks and the cost for each pupil $14.01, and the average cost per pupil for the whole State is $9.03. This cost does not include the interest on money invested in school property, nor the amount spent for current expenses of the schools.
TEACHERS' SALARIES.
The salaries of our teachers have now reached a credit- able standard, being for males $83 per month, and for fe- males, $43. Permanency in the position, and a fair compen- sation for services, have led, and will continue to influence
47
SCHOOL COMMISSIONER'S REPORT.
talented persons to enter the profession, and will inspire them with a desire to secure the best qualifications for the service. On the other hand school officers may fix the standard of examinations increasingly higher in order that they may secure only those who are well fitted to instruct in our schools, and we are inclined to blame school officers rather than teachers for poor schools.
The former know well by experience and observation the wants of the districts, and may use the sharpest tests in the examination of candidates, while the latter from inexperi- ence and for want of proper direction and advice may fail in their work. With the present salaries the people may demand the best teaching talent, and the true teacher will ever aim to make his labors so necessary to the school over which he has charge that the matter of salary, like the laws of gravitation, will be self-regulating.
AMENDMENTS TO SCHOOL LAWS.
It has frequently been found impossible to make up and arrange the annual statistics of this office in a complete and accurate manner, on account either of the inaccuracy of the returns of the local authorities, or of their entire absence.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.