THE STORY OF A SCHOOL. 499 



direction of Prof. Staler, of Harvard. In years long gone by Prof. 

 Ch.eney had been a pupil of mine ; later we had worked together, 

 so that I knew well his peculiar worth and fitness for the place. 



Next came Prof, and Mrs. Straight, representatives of the most 

 advanced thought of the time in educational philosophy. They 

 brought original and fruitful contribution to the work now in 

 progress, and henceforth were to me as my right and left hand. 

 At the close of his stay in Missouri, Prof. Straight was called to 

 the charge of a department in the Oswego Normal School. Later 

 he went with Colonel Parker to the C6ok County Normal School, 

 Illinois. He gave all the energy of an intense nature to his pro- 

 fession, but died in middle life, his mind a storehouse of educa- 

 tional material, ripe for use. Mrs. Straight's refined intelligence 

 and professional skill found equally ready appreciation, and she 

 took a high position in each of these normal schools. Since her 

 husband's death, she has been called to a responsible position in 

 one of the state schools of Japan. The remaining members of 

 the faculty were chosen for their fitness in special directions. 

 The plans of each had their recognized place in a co-ordinate 

 work. One of the chief defects in colleges and academies to-day 

 is this lack of co-ordination. Without it the scientific method in 

 its integrity is impossible, and instruction proceeds as though 

 each science were independent. Time and strength are laboriously 

 frittered away, with the result of chronic discouragement on the 

 part of both professor and students. 



" I declare," said one of our most observant pupils, as he came 

 out from recitation one day, " the teaching in all the classes is 

 somehow alike ! It makes no difference whether we are in natural 

 science, mathematics, or language, we are going the same road, 

 and each lesson throws a new light upon all the others." 



When the summer school at Penikese was organized, we made 

 prompt application for a share in the rare opportunities offered. 

 Only fifty students could be accommodated. Three of our teach- 

 ers received the appointment, and accompanied me across Buz- 

 zard's Bay on that eventful summer morning in 1873. Agassiz 

 " the mas'ter " was there, his face hopeful and inspiring. The last 

 and noblest experiment of his life was about to be tried, and 

 everything promised success. The promise was fulfilled. The 

 many summer schools of science, springing up all over the land, 

 are the direct offspring of Agassiz's realized dream ; and the 

 increasing recognition of the fundamental value of science by 

 numerous prominent schools is also largely a result of his Peni- 

 kese experiment. Our teachers again, the second summer, made 

 haste to profit by the advantages of the Penikese school, and 

 returned to their work in Missouri with added skill and devotion. 



Our pupils represented every class of society. We opened 



