Maine State Legislature

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE The following document is provided by the LAW AND LEGISLATIVE DIGITAL LIBRARY at the Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library http://legislature.maine.gov/lawlib Reproduced from scanned originals with text recognition applied (searchable text may contain some errors and/or omissions) DOCUMENTS PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MAINE. 1861. AUGUSTA: j STEVENS & SAYWARD, PRINTERS TO THE STATE. 18 61. ~~-- llig-h School Edifice, Bath. 'Erected 181i0. SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE • ~uperinten~ent nf tnmmnn ~thnnls OF THE STATE OF MAINE. DECEMBER, 1860. Published agreeably to a Resolve approved March 16, 1855. AUGUSTA: STEVENS & SAYWARD, PRINTERS TO THE STATE •. '!860. • SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. To His ExcELLENCY, THE GovERNoR, AND 'l'HE HONORABLE COUNCIL, Gentlemen :-.Allow me, in accordance with usage and a provis ion of the law, to lay before you the Seventh .Annual Report of the Superintendent of Common Schools of the State of Maine. Very respectfully, EDW.ARD P. WESTON, Superintendent. GoRHAM, December 1, 1860. REPORT. The Superintendent of Schools, on receiving his appointment in March last, made it his first endeavor to ascertain the character and extent of the duties imposed by his office. These duties are stated somewhat in detail in the general school law, Revised Statutes of 1857, and in certain acts and resolves passed by the Legislature at subsequent dates. Section sixty-third of the eleventh chapter of the Revised Statutes, provides that " the Superintendent shall de vote his time to the improvement of common schools and the pro motion of the general interests of education in this State; he shall carefully investigttte the operation of our school laws, collect inform ation in regard to the arrangement of school districts, the location and construction of school houses, and the use of the best school apparatus; consult and ad vise with superintending school commit tees on the selection of text books adapted to the wants of schools, on the methods of ascertaining the qualifications of teachers, and of visiting and examining schools; inquire into the most approved methods of teaching, and the best means of training and qualifying teachers for their duties ; examinine the returns made by superin tending school committees to the office of the Secretary of State, and obtain from them such facts and statistics as may be useful, and in general, procure information from every available source, for the improvement of common schools." The next section provides that '' by correspondence with teachers, school officer~ and others, and by public addresses from time to time, in different parts of the State, he shall endeavor to disseminate the information he has acquired, and awaken a more general interest in public education." In place of the duties assigned to him by the original statute, in connection with the county teachers' conventions, the "Normal School Act," passed at the last session of the Legislature, provides that the Superintendent shall visit the normal schools in the several 6 COMMON SCHO'OLS. counties, once in each session, and make examina,tion of the conrse and character of the instruction, institute such :rules and regula tions for the management of the schools, and prescribe such course of instruction, as he may deem necessary. By a resolve, approved March 19, 1860, it was made liis further duty to obtain from the trustees of certain academies and other institutions of learning not now in active operation, a statement of facts in regard to the funds of such institutions, the uses made of the same, the mode of their investment, etc., and report the result of his investigations. By another resolve, bearing same date, he is directed to inquire into the itanding and condition of the various chartered literary institutions in the State, the amount of funds held by them Beverally, and the uses made thereof; and to inquire especially what facilities are fur nished by said institutions for the education of public school teachers, and to communicate the result of his inquiries in his next annual report; which report, by provision of the general statute, he is required to make to the Governor and Council before the annual session of the Legislature, stating "the result of pis inquiries and investigations, and the facts obtained from the school returns, with such suggestions and recommendations as in his judgment will best promote the improvement of common schools." This report, gentle men, I now submit; and I have presumed to preface it with this statement of the duties prescribed to the office, fo:r the information, more especially, of many persons to whom this report is sent, by requirement of law, who have no other means of learning what the· exact duties of the office are. They will thus see that these duties, embracing so wide a supervision of the educational interests of the· State, as represented by schools of higher and lower grades, must absorb the entire time and energies of any one penmn, laboring with the greatest industry and fidelity. They will perceive, at the same time, that any labors or investigations of the Superintendent in con nection with the higher seminaries, have a special reference to the improvement of the common schools. The investigations required to be made into the standing and condition of academies and colleges, are directed mainly to ascertain what service they are rendering in training teachers for their work. His labors with the normal schools have a still more immediate connection, of course, with the educa tion of teachers for the public schools. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. 7 The educational system of our State includes the common.schools, graded and ungraded, the normal schools, the academies· and semi naries, and the colleges. The mutual relations of these schools are such that the prosperity of one class necessarily affects the welfare of all the rest. It should be our aim to promote the common good of them all, so far as this can be done consistently with the general in terests of the community. That the academic schools may, in cer tain circumstances, interfere with the greatest success of the common. schools, is very clear. Upon this point more may be said in another connection. The superior importance of our common schools is so generally admitted, that little argument is needed in that direction. ~ro increase their efficiency and to enhance their value, is the leading purpose of our educational movements. We beg leave, then, to call your attention, first, to the condition, the wants, and the best methods of promoting the prosperity of OUR COMMON SCHOOLS. Since the introduction of the system of general superintendence,. it is evident that our public schools have made commendable pro gress toward the position which they ought to attain in character and efficiency. They have now a deeper hold than formerly upon the interest of all classes of the community. They occupy better· houses, they command a higher order of teachers, and are furnished with better facilities, generally, for the performance of their ap propriate work. This is especially true of those towns in which the friends of popular education have taken hold of the work of im provement, with a purpose not to be defeated by opposition from whatever source. In many towns no such effort has been made,. and of course no conshlerable improvement is apparent. Thusi while a general progress may be affirmed, it is very evident that vastly more remains to be done, than has yet been accomplished. By what means shall we labor to this end? Fundamental to this work of further improvement, is a more· thorough awakening of the public mind to the great interests which are involved in the success of our common schools. It needs to be· more thoroughly felt in every class of society, that these schools. are the strongest ground of our confidence in the success of our· 8 COMMON SCHOOLS. free institutions; that only an educated people can constitute a self governing state. To awaken this interest and deepen this convic tion, we need more of PUBLIC DrscussroN. This has been successfully undertaken in several places in the State, during the last year. Citizens have assembled and made arrangements for a series of lectures and discusEiions upon educa tional topics, either wholly among themselves, or by obtaining the services of gentlemen from other towns. Such efforts, well con ducted, cannot fail to awaken a general interest in the subjects dis cussed; · affording, at the same time, a literary and social entertain ment of more profit than is often received from a, series of lyceum 'lectures, farther fetched and more dearly bought.. Your Superin tendent has found it impossible to answer all the cans made upon him for public lectures; but he has had the pleasure to know that even amid the excitements of the late political campaign, there has still been room for interest in the subject of education. In the more favorable season now arrived, he earnestly hopes that arrangements ma,y be made in all our towns, larger and smaller, for lectures and discussions such as have been suggested. Professional gentlemen, teachers in the schools, and others accustomed to speak, can be found in sufficient numbers, in nearly every town, to conduct such a course of lectures and debates. This failing, the teachers of any town or neighborhood might themselves easily organize a temporary association for the. same purpose; establishing a series of evening meetings, and inviting parents and citizens to unite in sustaining them. The intrinsic importance of this subject and its close rela tions to all the higher jnterests of society, warrant me in asking our clergymen, of every name, to aid in tsis discussion, from the pulpit.

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