IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA. 



211 



elected by a direct popular vote, as in this coun- 

 try under the act of 18*70. In others the ap- 

 pointment is vested in public authorities elected 

 by the people, as in the case of the committees 

 of free libraries in England and Wales, which are 

 appointed by town councils. The simple demo- 

 cratic system of the New England "township," 

 under which all the electors " in town's meeting 

 assembled " discussed their local affairs, deter- 

 mined the amount and the appropriation of the 

 rates, and elected town officers — " select-men " — 

 to carry out the resolutions of the meeting, has 

 become unworkable in those parts of the country 

 which are thickly populated. 



In the school district of New Haven, Con- 

 necticut, which includes the whole of the city 

 but only part of the township of New Haven, the 

 original organization is closely followed, although 

 the population numbers nearly 60,000. An an- 

 nual meeting of the legal voters in the district 

 is held on the third Monday of September. 

 Special meetings may be called aj other times. 

 The board consists of nine members, three of 

 whom are chosen at each annual meeting of the 

 district. At the " annual meeting" of the voters 

 the board is required to " make a full report of 

 their doings, and the condition of the schools 

 under their superintendence, and all important 

 matters concerning the same," so that every year 

 the " legal voters " have the opportunity of dis- 

 cussing the policy of the board, asking for expla- 

 nations, condemning extravagance, or condemn- 

 ing parsimony. 



The board appoints a secretary, who, in addi- 

 tion to the ordinary duties of a secretary, fur- 

 nishes all fuel and all " supplies " to the schools, 

 superintends repairs of school-buildings, and is 

 charged with the troublesome task of securing 

 the attendance of truant and neglected children. 

 The board also appoints a superintendent, who 

 is required " to devote his whole time to the 

 schools, point out defects, and suggest improve- 

 ments ; and to report to the Committee on Schools 

 or to the board the results of his observations." 

 Further, the regulations provide that " he shall 

 assemble the teachers from time to time for ad- 

 vice and direction, shall inquire into all com- 

 plaints, and shall examine candidates for the 

 position of teacher. He shall do his utmost, by 

 assistance, advice, or censure, to secure in all the 

 schools of the district thoroughness of instruc- 

 tion, good order, good morals, and harmonious 

 relations between the parents and teachers." ' 



1 "Annual Report of the Board of Education of 

 the New Haven City School District," 1877, p. 113. 



In Boston, with a population of between three 

 and four hundred thousand, the New Haven sys- 

 tem of electing the members of the school board 

 at an annual meeting of the " legal voters " would 

 be impossible. The members are therefore elect- 

 ed, as in England, by a poll. Previous to the 

 year 1876 the Boston School Board consisted of 

 118 persons, six members being elected by each 

 ward of the city, and additional members being 

 appointed by municipalities which were united 

 to Boston for school purposes. Under an act 

 passed by the Legislature of Massachusetts in 

 1875, the number was reduced to twenty-five 

 members, " nominated on a general ticket " — 

 that is, elected by the whole school-district, and 

 not by the separate wards. The mayor is ex offi- 

 cio president. There is something that strikes 

 an Englishman as a little remarkable in the man- 

 ner in which the first committee elected under 

 the new act criticised the previous educational 

 authorities of Boston. If any public board were 

 reorganized in the same way in this country, the 

 members of the new board would either be silent 

 about their predecessors, or would recognize in 

 complimentary terms the earnestness, or at least 

 the good-will, with which they had endeavored 

 to discharge their public functions. The Boston 

 people are much more frank. In the first annual 

 report of the board elected under the act of 

 1875, the " one hundred and eighteen persons " 

 who had previously had charge of the common 

 schools are thus described : 



" Some among them had never given any 

 thought to the subject upon which they were 

 called to legislate, and others had just that amount 

 of knowledge which is ' a dangerous thing.' The 

 rest formed a small nucleus of men, well qualified 

 for their position, though not always able to fill it 

 to their own satisfaction, as their wisest measures 

 were subjected to the decision of a controlling 

 majority. In one particular, however, all the 

 members labored under an equal disadvantage, 

 namely, a want of time to attend to their assigned 

 duties, however willingly they would have per- 

 formed them." > 



The board has the control of all the public 

 schools of the city, and has power " to elect 

 teachers and other school-officers, fix their com- 

 pensation, and discharge them if there be cause ; 

 arrange the courses of study in schools, and de- 

 termine such rules as may seem necessary; elect 

 a superintendent of schools and six supervisors, 

 and the head masters of the Latin, normal, high, 



1 " Annual Report of the School Committee of the 

 City of Boston," 1876, p. 4. 



