competent, must be conceded, but the great practical convenience, almost indispensableness of such a test must also be admitted. The sifting of experience will gradually eliminate the incompetents it admits, and the exclusion of the competents must, on the whole, be accounted rather a personal than a public misfortune. In what better way can we reach our practical results?

THE timeliness of our articles last month on war in school histories is shown by the move of certain parties connected with the Grand Army of the Republic. Their views are presented in the following extract from a letter of Chairman A. O. Marsh, of a committee on

school histories: "After careful examination and the exchange of views by members of the committee it was the unanimous opinion that no history in use as a text-book gives such an account of the war period as entitles it to the commendation of the committee; that no one of them makes any use of the important period in our history and of its great events to teach lessons of patriotism; that the child without other sources of information would be entirely

unable to determine whether there was any difference in the patriotism of those who fought for the preservation of the national unity and those who fought for the destruction of our government; that there is in all of them a general tendency to enlarge upon and exaggerate the soldierly qualities of the Confederates and to belittle the valor and achievements of those

who fought upon the other side; that some of those most extensively used are so unpatriotic in sentiment as to justify the most severe condemnation." The use of texts such as proposed could hardly fail to increase the demand in the south for books like those described in our last issue exalting the southern views and southern exploits; and thus the schools would become instrumentalities for rekindling the passions of the civil war. It seems to us that the leaders in this movement are making a serious mistake. Patriotism should not be made synonomous with fighting, tho a patriot may sometimes have to fight for his country. triotism is an intelligent, unselfish devotion to the welfare of our country, and we need at present this civic patriotism much more than we do the military. Let us honor those who fought and died for our country by seeking to understand and live for her highest interests, rather than by reviving past animosities.

Pa

THE SENTINEL'S HISTORICAL CONTEST. Following in the line of a prize contest on Wisconsin history suggested by the writer and by Supt. Roessler of Sauk county, the Mil

waukee Sentinel recently offered a series of prizes for essays by pupils on subjects connected with Wisconsin history.

March 14th, the twenty-two essays which received prizes were published in the Sentinel. The names of thirty other pupils are given with the subjects of their essays for which honorable mention was given.

The prizes were awarded by Mr. Gardner P. Stickney, the secretary of the Parkman club, without his knowing the names of the writers. The names are given in our column of News and Notes.

The reading of the prize essays and the subjects of those receiving honorable mention shows that the Sentinel's prizes have done a real service to the schools of Wisconsin. Some

In

hundreds of pupils have actually written upon local history and thousands more have had their attention vividly called to it. History has thus become far more real to them. stead of a far away thing to be recited from a text book, history has become to them something to be sought for from original sources of information. Many of these essays were written partly or wholly from family tradition, from old letters, from the stories of old settlers, from old newspaper files. And for the others the writer had at least to go outside the standard histories of the United States and of Wisconsin and several among the less familiar books in the libraries to which they had acThe latest university methods of studying history are thus introduced to the high

cess.

school.

The value of writing for such a prize is very great. It is intensive study which compels sustained attention and requires the power of selection and classification of facts as well as the careful use of language. This is a mental process altogether superior for discipline to the mere assimilation of facts already selected and classified by some one either in a text book or in a larger history used as a reference book. It is the laboratory method applied to historical study.

One

The prize winners and those earning honorable mention are from all sorts of schools of which more came from the West Side and South Side Milwaukee high schools than from any other single school, very naturally. is from a business college and one from an academy, several from ward schools and some from country schools below the high school grade. Among the names are those indicating various parentage, German, Scandinavian, and Polish among the rest. The granddaughter of Prof. Lapham, the earliest literary and scientific student of the state, takes a prize. Children of men prominent in politics and busi

ness take their chances with the rest, and a boy aged ten and another eleven take prizes as well as youths of seventeen and eighteen. The interest seems to have been general and the awards impartial.

We hope the Sentinel will keep on with this good work. There is no way in which the leading papers of Wisconsin can better help the celebration of our state semi-centennial than by a series of such prize contests, together with the interesting series of articles on the history of Wisconsin by the secretary of the Milwaukee school board, which are now appearing in its columns, weekly.

TOWN LIBRARIES.

W.

Advance sheets of the state superintendent's report show that the township libraries of Wisconsin have made great progress during this biennial period. This is partly because of the change of the law making it now mandatory upon town officers to establish and maintain such libraries, and partly because of the faithful and intelligent work done in the state superintendent's office to enforce the law. Up to this year only about one-third of the towns in the state have established town libraries. Within this last year the number has rapidly increased so that according to the report in the year ending June 30, 1896, there were 897 towns complying with the law out of 1,000 in all. This does not include cities and villages, which are provided for in another way. most recent information at the state superintendent's office is that there are now 930 towns complying with the law, or more than ninetenths of all. It seems reasonable to suppose that every town in the state will soon be in line.

The

Nearly 45,000 books have been purchased during the year. These are called town libraries, but they are actually distributed to the several school districts in each town and are kept in the schoolhouses, so that they are virtually school libraries. Most of them are still small. An average school receives about seven books each year, as there are 6,000 districts outside of the cities and villages. But in the course of several years these books rapidly increase, and many districts in towns which have complied with the law for years have good sized libraries even now.

But the value of a library is not in its size but in its use and its adaptedness. These libraries are selected from lists carefully prepared in the office of the state superintendent, from books that are not only harmless but that are interesting and inspiring, and that are

adapted to the tastes of various ages and grades of pupils. Any one who will glance over the printed list of books must be struck with the value of these books to any child, and especially to one who has not had the advantage of good reading and cultured talk at home. To such these books open a vista of thought and information and fancy otherwise far beyond his reach. The world of literature, of science, of art, in short the world of culture is opened to him, and the habit of good reading is fixed. The choice is no longer between dried up text-books and foolish or vicious cheap stories for the use of his painfully acquired power to read the printed page, but the best results of the world's long thought come to him in an attractive form. It is not too much to say that thousands of children in Wisconsin this year are getting double the value out of their school work that they received before.

These books are kept in the schoolhouse and the teacher is the librarian. This makes the work of the country school teacher more responsible and pleasanter. To direct the reading of young minds and to answer the questions that arise from new ideas germinating in them is a responsibility which requires greater preparation on the part of the teacher than to teach text-books. The reflex influence of the libraries upon country school teachers can not help being valuable.

The educating influence upon parents also must not be forgotten. In a new state, with a population largely of foreign birth, who have been obliged to work hard for a living and who have not had much opportunity for literary culture or for practice in our language, the books brought home by the child will be read by or to the parents and will have their influence upon them in awakening their minds to new ideas and in leading them to sympathize with the growing intelligence of their children. It will doubtless also make the parents all the more ready to support the schools, as they see that their children have an increasing interest in them, and that the schools are awakening the children to thought and study.

THE MONTH.

WISCONSIN NEWS AND NOTES.

W.

-The total enrollment of the Stevens Point normal school at the end of January was 490, of whom 305 were in the normal department.

-A correspondent from Kingston writes: "One of the most successful teachers' insti

tutes ever held in the county was held at Dartford on Feb. 12th and 13th. About ninety teachers were in attendance."

-The first meeting of the Southeastern Minnesota Teachers' Association was held at

Winona, March 19th and 20th. One interesting feature of the program was a paper by Principal Livingston, of Sparta, on "High School Discipline."

-The Rice Lake schools celebrated Parents' Day, a new and valuable school festival, the last Friday in February. There was a large number of visitors at the schools in the morning, a specal program of interest in the afternoon and a lecture in the evening. Why is

New high school, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, April 21, 22, and 23, 1897. This meeting promises to be one of the most important educational conferences of the year; and, like the Indianapolis meeting of a year ago, will bring together the leading art supervisors and special teachers of drawing, and others well known in the field of art and general education. At that time there will be one of the largest exhibits of drawing ever seen in the country, as about sixty western cities will send work.

-The rapid growth of the Stevens Point normal school is shown by the following statements: "The total enrollment in the normal

general adoption?

--The Northwestern Wisconsin Teachers' Association met at Eau Claire March 26-27th. The program was varied and showed addresses by Presidents McNeill, of Superior, Pray, of Stevens Point, and Parker, of River Falls normal schools. These schools were further represented by Profs. Brier and Clark and Miss Shultes of River Falls, and Profs. Bowman and Walker, of Superior.

-Fond du Lac has done a great deal in the way of school improvements during the last three years under the superintendency of L. A. Williams. They have built new buildings and equipped them, and organized new departments of work, viz: music, drawing and kindergarten schools. The attendance in the high school has increased from 128 to 240. The school has been re-organized. The policy of hiring high school graduates for teachers has been abandoned, and instead normal school and university graduates are now sought. A complete system of physical training has been introduced into ail the departments.

-The second annual meeting of the International Kindergarten Union will be held in St. Louis, in the auditorium of the New high school, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, April 20, 21 and 22, 1897. Its object is to gather and disseminate knowledge of the kindergarten movement throughout the world; to bring into co-operation all kindergarten organizations; to promote the establishment of kindergartens; and to elevate the standard of professional training of the kindergartner. The program will include president's address, mothers' day, child study, Foebels' birthday,

etc.

-The fourth annual meeting of The Western Drawing Teachers' Association will be held at St. Louis, in the auditorium of the

vember, 1894, was 96; for the same quarter ending in November, 1895, it had increased to 162, showing a gain of 66. For the quarter just ended the enrollment is 247; a further gain of 85. In November, 1894, there were no seniors and 19 juniors; in November, 1896, there are 29 seniors and 57 juniors, making a total of 86 in the upper course. The grades below have increased in like proportion. The greatest development, however, seems to be in the higher grades, which are made up mostly of high school graduates."

-The Kodak published by the students of Milwaukee-Downer College, says: "The College Endowment Association is a club that exists, not for the mere purpose of furnishing profitable and stimulating club life, but, as its name indicates, to help this college by increasing its endowment. The Association came into existence to raise the $37,500 necessary to secure to Milwaukee college the gift of an equal amount left conditionally by the Hon. E. D. Holton. This sum was raised through their efforts. They have now come forward with the offer to the trustees of the sum of $6,000, the partial endowment of a Chair of Mental Science to be known as the Mary Mortimer Chair. The trustees, at their meeting of Feb. 16th, formally accepted the gift, and thus this association provides for the first endowed chair of the new college. It is the purpose of the association to raise this fund to the full support of the Chair."

-A subscriber writes: "I have received full valne in each copy of the JOURNAL received. Your last copy came like a good fairy. Some of the patrons of my school were criticizing my method of teaching history, because I did not give enough attention to wars. By the timely appearance of the JOURNAL I was able to show that I did not stand alone." We have been much interested in reading your article in the

March JOURNAL entitled "War in School Histories," and also an article following by Josiah W. Leeds and others." Another expresses great pleasure in the article on "Longfellow the Universal Poet," which strikingly confirms his own feelings. Still another expressed surprise at the "decidedly American tone" of the extract published from an English school history.

-A year or two ago, the board of education of the city of Beloit, refused to admit to the schools in the city the children of a gentleman named Adams because they had not been vaccinated in accordance with the order of the state board of health. Mr. Adams and his family are members of the church known as Christian Scientists, who are opposed to tainting the blood in the veins of their children by the introduction into their blood of a poisonous virus. He secured the issuance of a writ of mandamus commanding the board of education to show cause why they should not permit the children of the complainant to attend school without submitting to vaccination. In the circuit court it was held that the board of education had no right to exclude the children from school, and an order issued for their admission, from which order the board of education took an appeal to the supreme court which affirmed the decision of the lower

court.

-President Adams has invited the superintendents of schools and principals of accredited schools in this state to a conference with the

faculty of the university in Library Hall, May 28th. The object of the convocation is the general discussion of subjects pertaining to the welfare of higher education in the state. It is suggested that the subjects for discussion the present year be the following:

1. Ought the system of examination of accredited high schools to be essentially modified?

2. Ought any important modifications be made in the curricula of the high schools, or in the methods of instruction?

3. Miscellaneous discussion on educational topics.

As it is probable that the association of superintendents and principals will meet on the 27th of May, the 28th has been chosen for the convocation, in the belief that it will accommodate the largest number of teachers, and will make it easy to secure reduced rates on all the railroads converging in Madison. The suggestion has been made that the various high school athletic teams will probably desire to have their annual interscholastic track and field meet this year on Saturday, the 29th of

May. Should this association express such a desire, the university will gladly extend to them the hospitality of Camp Randall. In case this date should be chosen, it is suggested that it would be well to have the meet at 9 o'clock in the morning of Saturday, in order that those in attendance may not be crowded in their arrangements to meet afternoon trains. Indications point to a large attendance.

-It ought not to surprise anyone that the deaf mutes in Chicago protest against oral methods of training. They have learned another way of expressing themselves, and like other people, stand up for what they have and object to innovations. Yet the innovations may be wise for all that. The Times-Herald says: "Mothers of deaf children crowded into the meeting of deaf mutes at 82 Lake street last night and made a heroic effort to capture it. The meeting was called by the Pas a Pas club, an organization of deaf mutes, to protest against the passage of the Bogardus educational bill. The mothers of deaf and deaf mute children are the promoters of the bill, and they vainly tried to prevent the promulgation of the protest. The deaf mutes conducted the meeting to suit themselves despite the tearful pleas of the mothers and adopted a set of resolutions condemning the bill. bill which is pending in the state senate and which is so objectionable to the deaf mutes is one which provides that boards of education may establish day schools for the teaching of deaf children whenever there will be an aver

The

Nothing is said in the bill about the methods age attendance of more than three pupils. of teaching. The meeting last night was called because of the war which has for some time been waged between teachers and pupils and parents of pupils over the matter of methods. The mothers of deaf children last night favored what is known as the oral method, or the plan of teaching children to speak and to understand spoken language by watching the lips of speakers. The members of the Pas a Pas club favor what is known as the combined method, which includes the sign language and the spelling of words with the motions of the fingers. The members of the club are bitterly opposed to the oral method when taught to the exclusion of the sign language."

KINDERGARTENS IN WISCONSIN.

EDITORS OF THE WISCONSIN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.-Dear Sir:-At the recent meeting of teachers in Milwaukee I met many kindergarteners, very few of whom seemed to know each other, and, as far as I can judge, the kindergarten work and workers are quite

unrelated in this state. As chairman of the kindergarten department of the Wisconsin Association for the coming year I would like to know more of the work throughout the state, and wish very much that your paper might be the medium. This I feel could be made to bring about co-operation in the kindergarten profession. It would help to bring the work before the public and at the same time, be a means, through exchange, of raising the standard of the work in the state.

Do you care to suggest in regard to such an undertaking? Yours sincerely,

MARY H. BARKER,
Supervisor of Kindergartens,

West Superior, Wis.

Board of Education.

[We shall be glad to contribute what help we can to such a movement through the JourNAL OF EDUCATION.-EDS.]

THE SENTINEL HISTORY PRIZES.

The Milwaukee Sentinel's prizes for essays on subjects connected with Wisconsin history were awarded as follows. We give the name of the prize winners, followed in each case by his age, his school and his subject:

1. Roland Zinns, 17, West Side high school, Milwaukee -The Fugitive Slave Law in Wisconsin.

2. Edith Potter, 17, West Side high school, MilwaukeeEarly Days in Milwaukee.

3. Robert Bird, 18, Madison, N. W. Business CollegeEntrance of Wisconsin.

4. Laura J. Lapham, 13, 16th Dist. No. 2, MilwaukeeWisconsin Indians.

5. Henry Gregory, 15. South Side high school, Milwaukee-The Story of Our Harbor.

6. Clara M. Thomas, 14, Sheboygan Falls high schoolThe Indian Scare of 1862.

7. Rollin C. Lewis, 12, Third Ward school, JanesvilleThe Black Hawk War.

8. Arthur von Cotzhauzen, 18, West Side high school, Milwaukee The Buffalo in Wisconsin.

9. Edward Ardern, 15, South Side high school, Milwaukee-The Schools of Milwaukee.

10. Ida Hahn, 15, 15th Dist. school, Milwaukee-Early History of Milwaukee.

11. George T. Collins, 15, Grammar school, WarrensJean Nicolet.

12. Pearle F. Coon, 16, Fulton graded school-The Eagle Regiment.

13. Bessie Lathrop, 18, North Wisconsin Academy, Ashland-La Pointe, Madeline Island.

14. Kenneth Boyd Tanner, 14, Kaukauna high school-A Story of Kaukauna.

15. George Reinecke, 14, 8th Dist. school, No. 1, Milwaukee-Legend of Elephant Mound.

16. Gustav Krogstadt, 13, Onalaska high school-Scandinavian Settlements in Wisconsin.

17. Frank Fisher, 11, 14th Dist. school, Milwaukee-Milwaukee Fifty Years Ago.

18. Edwin Hubbard; 10, 16th Dist. No. 1, MilwaukeeThe Indians of Wisconsin.

19. Wm. E. Morton, 19, Omro high school-The Capture of Black Hawk.

20. Katherine Buchanan, 18, Sheboygan high schoolThe Voyage of Marquette and Joliet.

21. Robert Fowler, 18, Omro high school-The Opportunity of the Fox.

22. Bessie Hutchinson, 16, Kekoskee graded school-Kekoskee War.

And the following received honorable mention:

Horace Chase, South Side high school, Milwaukee-How We Got Rid of the Hogs.

Effie Comstock, South Side high school, Milwaukee-The Biography of Cicero Comstock.

Bessie Comstock, South Side high school, MilwaukeeLetters From a School Girl, Written Fifty Years Ago. Garth W. Cate, Amherst, Wis.-A Pioneer's Journey Into Wisconsin.

J. Schymarek, 753 Ninth Avenue, Milwaukee-True and Terrifying.

Byron Beal, West Side high school, Milwaukee-Milwaukee in the Seventeenth Century.

Stan. Barnofski, Milwaukee-A Destructive Fire. Edward Schantz, Stevens Point, Wis-Wakely at the First Term of Court.

Emil F. Tholen, Port Washington-A False Alarm. Louis C. Cooper, Prairie du Sac-The Black Hawk War. Mabel Markel, Waukesha-Stories My Grandfather Told Me.

Sidney Nichols, Racine-History of Racine.

John Herse, Eighteenth district school, MilwaukeeHunting and Fishing in Wisconsin.

Charles Hart, Humbird, Wis.-The Black Hawk War. William Tubesing, Sixth district school, No. 2, Milwaukee-Earliest History of Wisconsin.

Minnie C. Anderson, Viola; Wis.-The Kickapoo Valley.

Hazel Heath, Waupun, Wis. -Our State Prison. Evelyn Swan, Vilas, Dane county-Story of the State. Frank Clark, Okee-The Winnebago War. Bettie Sharp, Elkhart-Unwritten History of Elkhart Lake.

Jennie Farrell, Clintonville-From Oshkosh to Shawano in 1845.

Maude Peck, Viroqua-A History of Wisconsin.
Roy Award, Racine-A History of Racine.

Silvia Wilcox, Oregon-The First House in Wisconsin. Elizabeth Gross, Ninth district school, Milwaukee-The Mormons at Voree.

Robert W. Schmidt, Sixth district school, MilwaukeeWisconsin During the Civil War.

John McMahon, Twelfth district school, Milwaukee-Early Times in Milwaukee.

Arthur Simons, Humbird-The Lead Mines and the Winnebago War.

Nettie Angus, Lancaster-Wisconsin.

Roland Zinn, Fifteenth district school, Milwaukee-How the Indians Were Removed.

MANUAL TRAINING IN WISCONSIN HIGH SCHOOLS.

Senator Stout's idea of introducing manual training in the schools of Wisconsin is gradually making its way. His own high school at Menomonie, which recently was destroyed by fire, will soon be rebuilt with improvements, and manual training will be amply provided for in it. The high schools of Menomonie, Florence, Eau Claire, Janesville and Burlington have manual training schools in connection with them which are aided by the state appropriation, and the Milwaukee high schools have manual training schools not aided by the state. Besides these, in Madison and some other places, there are features adopted from the manual training idea and which will probably grow into a full manual training course. Thus in Madison there is a cooking school attended by a large number of girls.