228 



EDUCATION AND ILLITERACY. 



The following shows the amount raised by 

 taxation for the support of public schools in 

 each State and Territory during the year 1880: 



Most of the States have also permanent 

 school funds, some of which exceed $10,000,- 

 000 in amount, and yield more than half a 

 million of income. 



NATIONAL AID PROPOSED. An effort has 

 been made in Congress, thus far without suc- 

 cess, to secure the adoption of a policy of na- 

 tional aid for public education in the several 

 States to be distributed according to their 

 needs as indicated by the statistics of illiteracy. 

 The principal plan proposed contemplates an 

 annual appropriation from the public Treasury 

 for a series of years, and diminishing in amount 

 from year to year, to be expended under the 

 direction of the Secretary of the Interior, 

 through a Commissioner of Education to be 

 appointed for each State. The plan is op- 

 posed, on the ground that provision for popular 

 education is very properly in the exclusive 

 control of the States, and should be kept there. 

 The theory which has thus far prevailed is, 



that the people directly concerned and bene- 

 fited should not only have complete direction 

 of their educational interests, but should pay 

 for the benefits enjoyed by themselves. The 

 plan of national aid has not apparently met 

 with public favor. 



IMPROVED METHODS OF INSTRUCTION. There 

 has been a good deal of discussion in the United 

 States in regard to improved methods of in- 

 struction and administration in public schools. 

 The tendency in many of the States to develop 

 special features of public instruction is meet- 

 ing with opposition. It is generally contended 

 that the efforts and resources of the public 

 should be directed to imparting the rudiments 

 of education in the most effective and complete 

 manner, and that until this is done there should 

 be no diversion of these resources and efforts 

 to the higher or the special instruction of some. 

 Objection is made to the higher branches in 

 common schools, and to institutions of higher 

 education maintained at public expense, so 

 long as there is a considerable mass of pop- 

 ulation, especially in large cities, to which 

 the benefits of elementary education are not 

 brought. As to methods of instruction, the 

 old way of following text-books closely, and 

 learning much by rote, is discredited, and the 

 idea is generally advocated of more teaching 

 by objects and examples and actual application 

 of principles. This is sometimes known as 

 the Quincy method, inasmuch as it has been 

 carried further in the schools of Quincy, Mass., 

 under the effect of certain local influences, than 

 elsewhere. As an illustration of the method 

 of instruction and the principle adopted, it 

 may be stated that when studying geography, 

 for instance, the children are given no text- 

 book on the subject during the first three 

 years. In order to learn what is a hill, bay, 

 cape, ocean, or other geographical formation, 

 they are required to observe closely the natu- 

 ral scenery of the locality where they live, and 

 to report what they have seen. By means of 

 some moistened clay and a slab prepared for 

 the purpose, the configurations in question are 

 modeled by the classes. The memory is not 

 crowded with definitions of "political divisions, 

 as a monarchy or an empire, and these subjects 

 come up with greater interest, it is believed", 

 when the child is advanced to the study of his- 

 tory. In the same way the purpose through- 

 out is that of teaching things and ideas rather 

 than mere words and names. 



EDUCATION IN FRANCE. As to the state of 

 public education in European countries, the 

 statistics are somewhat meager. Great ad- 

 vance has been made in France since the es- 

 tablishment of the republic. In 1872, when 

 the population was 36,102,921, there were 13,- 

 324,801, or 36'9 per cent of the whole, who 

 were unable to read or write. This, however, 

 included 3,540,101 children under six years 

 age. Only 19,005,517, or 52-6 per cent of 

 population, could both read and write. Attend- 

 ance at school was optional, and the Govern- 



