FEB 11 1907 Class. gooi\. Date. 3 1^.1 3,. Cu e, u F bi H/I^CAUMO Accession NO 2 \ HWSo'uRCE™ m ^ RECEIVED • APR 1 7 1996 STATE PUBLICATIONS Colorado State Library r./ .yict/A.ettc'ne ^^'KCLcy Digitized by the Internet Archive -'in 2016 https://archive.org/details/reportofstatesup1905colo Report OF THE State Superintendent of Public Instruction OF THE State of Colorado For the Years 1 905-1906 Katherine L. Craig State Superintendent of Public Instruction DENVER, COLORADO THE SMITH-BROOKS PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS 1906 O ILLUSTRATIONS CAPITOL BUILDING SCHOOL HOUSE, SOUTHWEST OF WKAY, YUMA COUNTY BOARDING PLACE OF TEACHER, YUMA COUNTY TEACHER AND CHILDREN ON WAY TO SCHOOL, YUMA COUNTY SCHOOL GARDEN, LAS ANIMAS COUNTY SCHOOL GARDEN, GILPIN COUNTY SCHOOL GARDEN PLAN PUEBLO CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY BUILDING, STATE UNIVERSITY GUGGENHEIM HALL, SCHOOL OF MINES, GOLDEN PAVILION, AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, FT. COLLINS LIBRARY BUILDING, NORMAL, GREELEY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, INDUSTRIAL, GOLDEN CHAPEL, INDUSTRIAL, GOLDEN ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, DEAF & BLIND, COLORADO SPRINGS (!}ffirr iif !&upmnti'niinat of jSnbIti* jlnstnirtiou of (Colombo Denver, Colorado, Nov. 30, 1906. H.jn. Jesse F. McDonald, Governor of the Slate of Colorado, Denver, Colorado. Dear Sir: In accordance with the provisions of the law, I respectfully submit the following biennial report of the condition and progress of the public schools of Colorado for the years 1905-1906. Respectfully yours. State Superintendingindent of Public Instruction, I I I 'lojaavo NicriiaH 34405 «5 .. ASSISTANTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION Emily Griffith Deputy Hattie E. Stevenson . .Assistant Librarian Elna M. Gleason-Frye. Stenographer and Clerk Clara Wilmot-McCready Clerk STATE SUPERINTENDENTS OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION OF COLORADO FROM TUE ORGANIZATION OF THE STATE. Josejdi C. Shattuck 1877-1878 Josepli C. Shattuck 1879-1880 L. S. Cornell 1881-1882 Josepli C. Shattuck 1883-1884 L. S. Cornell 1885-1886 L. S. Cornell 1887-1888 Fred Dick 1889-1890 Nathan B. Coy 1891-1892 J. F. Murray 1893-1894 Mrs. A. J. Peavey 1895-1896 Grace Espey Patton 1897-1898 Mrs. Helen L. Grenfell 1899-1900 Mrs. Helen L. Grenfell 1901-1902 Mrs. Helen L. Grenfell 1903-1904 Katherine L. Craifi 1905-1906 THE EDUCATIONAL OUTLOOK Siiue tlie earliost diiwn of civilization, tlie tlit'ine which has received the most earnest consideration, engaf^ed the attention of the most tlioughtfnl minds and awakened the profoundest dis- cussions, is that of education. It enters into all matters of public concern and embodies the \ery source of national life, and, like patriotism, is becoming universal; that is, it is becoming of vital importance to each individual. The brightest aspect of the educational outlook today is the steady growth of educational iiuftulse which is felt by every na- tion. In every land public schools and institutions of learning; constitute a most important jiart of civilization. Today we stand on the threshold of a new era, for the last half century we have been passing through a transitional period, in which the process of evolution has been slowly working and the rational movement has been gaining way. Studies which af feet human life in practical wavs are replacing the old ones, the utility of which has long been questioned. The educational tend- ency is slowly but surely toward a training that applies to the practical side of life. Individualism, co-ordination and associa- tion are the keynotes to future progress along educational lines. The signs of the times are most hopeful in this direction. Higher scholarship and higher professional qualifications seem to be the watchwords of the hour. The influence of the reading circle is becoming widespread; its organization in this state is an assured fact, and its worth is being recognized more and more. This year hundreds of teachers are taking advantage of the assistance which the organization lends because of uniformity in the course in reading. The many educational papers, with their abundant sug- gestiveness. are also a source of strength in educational advance- ment, and one or more of them are to be found in the hands of every progressive teacher. Because of their intensely jirofessional character, the influ- ence of the thirteen normal institutes in this state is being felt. Who can say that the thought of an organized body of thinkers goes for naught? The past year has shown a marked increase of attendance over the preceding years. Spontaneity of thought, en- thusiasm and freedom are being planted in every city, town and village through the manifest interest awakened in these insti- tutes. The district school house is fast becoming the rallying point for every influence which tends to elevate or benefit mankind. The 3 THE EDUCATIONAL OUTLOOK. desire for beautiful buildings and for sightly and attractive grounds is further evidence of the onward movement along educa- tional lines. The most interesting and up-to-date departure in school work in this state in connection with the public schools, is ele- mentary agriculture, or school gardening. School gardens, in the narrow sense of the term, are ver^' modern institutions, but when considered as including all gardens, serving the purpose of instruction, they cease to be modern, for history teaches that long before Christ, school gardens were laid out in Persia, in which sons of noblemen were instructed in horticulture; and from that time, up to the present date, kings, philanthropists and renowned educators have laid out school gardens as a means of instruction. When properly arranged and directed, school gardening teaches observation, promotes industry, cultivates love, arouses attention, strengthens judgment, skill and self-reliance. If we would keep abreast of the times and progress with the age, this line of work must be established in connection with our schools. The present year, has a most promising outlook which is manifest in the construction of commodious buildings to provide for the increasing attendance. These buildings are constructed largely of brick or stone containing more than one room with all modern equipments in books, seats, maps and charts all for the acquiring of knowledge. There were seventy-five school buildings erected during the year of 1905, and fifty-one during the year of 190G. Within the past year there has been a notable increase in the high school attendance, also the number of pupils completing the eighth grade. The reports show that there are ninety-one high schools in the state. Manual training and domestic science are being introduced into nearly all of the schools in the state with marked results. The i>ast year has been one of activity and progress in edu rational affairs in Colorado. The educators over the state are all awake with renewed energy to the work of lifting to a loftier plane the high j)rofession to which they have been called. SCHOOL LAWS. Much of the present school law was enacted at a time when the conditions did not assume the ])roportions that they do today. The first act pertaining to the actual beginning of the public school system of Colorado was ])assed early in the first session of the Colorado territorial legislature, which convened in Denver in Sei)tember, 18(!1. This law was similar in its j)rovisions to the school law then in force in the state of Illinois. In 1870 the state legislature assembled and passed an act to establish and maintain a system of free schools. The law 4 THE EDUCATIONAL OUTLOOK. enacted at tliat time, amended by subseciuent general assemblies is the school law which we have now. The school law is a subject which should be of the greatest possible concern and imi)ortance to every intelligent American citizen, for it not only directs the school and lays the foundation upon which every school system is builded, but it directs the gov- ernment itself. Everything in this broad land of ours dei)cnds upon trained and intelligent minds. The preservation of the i*epublic form of government is made secure by the intelligence of the people. The intelligence of the i)eople is assured through public schools and educational institutions, the efficiency and strength of these in- stitutions are controlled by the wisdom embodied in the laws which govern them. The laws relating to the schools differ greatly in different states, but there is no state in the union in which its school laws carry such vague meanings and doubtful constructions as in the state of Colorado. There is an uncertainty of the purpose as well as the proposed application of many of the sections, and because of this fact and on account of the numerous revisions of the school law and the repeal of several of the original acts com- prising the same and the enactment of others, and the difficulty exj)erienced by many in applying the decisions of this office to the particular provisions of the law under consideration, I deemed it advisable in the last edition to rearrange the sections under ap- propriate headings and to classify and place the decisions in reference thereto under each section, and while this has facilitated matters and made the law more comprehensive, yet there are many obvious reasons why the school laws of the state of Colo- rado should progress and meet the demands of the present age; therefore I recommend that there be an entire revision of the present law relating to the public schools. BONDS. I would call attention especially to Sec. 11 of the Anno- tated School Laws which provides, that in no case shall the ag- gregate amount of bonded indebtedness of any school district ex- ceed three and one-half per cent, of the assessed value of the prop- erty of such district.