Manual of the school law and regulations of the province of Quebec, together with an outline of school organization, for the use of candidates for teachers' diplomas under the regulations of the Protestant committee

Front matter

MANUAL

OF THE

SCHOOL LAW AND REGULATIONS

Preface

According to the Regulations of the Protestant Committee, candidates for teachers’ diplomas are required to pass an examination in the school law and regulations of the Province. As the school law contains details that are of no special interest to teachers, this Manual has been prepared, giving all the important features of the school law, and omitting all unnecessary details.

Although the Manual has been drawn up with special reference to the requirements of candidates for teachers’ ^diplomas, it will be found interesting to anyone who ;f desires information concerning the general principles of the school law.

The Manual consists of four parts : An epitome of prthe educational history of the Province — A Resume of the Law of Public Instruction — The Regulations of the Protestant Committee of the Council of Public Instruction and A chapter on School Organization.

Candidates for teachers’ diplomas under the Regulations of the Protestant Committee are required (1), to have a general knowledge of the provisions of the school law and regulations (2), to understand clearly the duties of school commissioners, teachers and pupils .as laid down in Section III., Articles 60-70, and Sections V., VI. and VII. of the Regulations and (3), to have a clear understanding of the subject of School Organization. / o / > 4> *

Contents

Page.

Historical Introduction - - - - - - vii

Index to Regulations - - - - - - - 69

Resume of the Law of Public Instruction - - - 75

Index to School Law - - - - - - - 1 1 1

School Organization - - - - - - - 113

Syllabus of Examinations - - - - - 11

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION.

The school law of the Province of Quebec is the result of many years’ growth. In order to study it to advantage it is necessary to know something of its past history, something of the various changes and stages by which the present position has been reached. A complete history of our school law would involve a history of education in the Province. Nothing of this kind can be undertaken in this outline. A mere outline of the more important facts connected with the rise and progress of our educational system is all that can he attempted. It is believed, however, that such a sketch will be a valuable preparation for the intelligent study of the school law.

Division into Periods.

Our educational history breaks itself up into the same great periods into which the general history of the Province is usually divided. We shall, therefore, divide our educational outline into four parts, as follows : I. The French Regime ; II. From the Conquest to the Union ; III. From the Union to Confederation ; IV. From Confederation to the present time.

I. Education Under The French Regime, 1615-1760

This is a very interesting period of the educational history of the Province, but it gives us very little that bears directly upon the present educational system. During that period there was no public system of schools, and no regular grants were made by the government for the purposes of education. And yet very important educational work was done during

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this period, and work of a most interesting character. This work was carried on chiefly by members of religious orders, who had come out to New France to carry on missionary work among the native tribes of Indians. The five principal orders which established themselves in this country, and carried on the work of education under the French regime, were the Recollets, the Jesuits, the Ursuline Nuns, the Ladies of the Congregation, and the Sulpicians. The first of these, the Recollets, came out in the year 1615, and the last in 1657. The first three orders made Quebec their headquarters, and the last two selected Montreal. Each order gradually established branch houses as the settlements extended, and their means and numbers permitted. The Ursuline Nuns and the Ladies of the Congregation devoted themselves to the education of girls, and the other orders provided education for boys. Thus was established the system of separate education of the sexes, which forms so prominent a feature of the Roman Catholic schools of the Province at present. In aid of their work these orders received, from time to time, grants of land from the French kings, and also benefactions from private individuals who were interested in the work of religious education which these orders were carrying on in New France. The Recollets, who were the first teaching order to come out to New France, established themselves on the banks of a little river that flows into the St. Lawrence at Quebec, and which they named St. Charles, after their benefactor. They soon formed branch houses at Three Rivers and Tadousac, and devoted themselves to the education of such Indian children as they were able to persuade to accept their instruction. Finding that they were not strong enough to carry on all the educational work in New Frence, they induced some members of the J esuit order to join them, and for a time the one establishment at Quebec served for both orders. In consequence of the capture of Quebec in 1629 by the English, both orders were obliged to withdraw from the country. The Recollets did not return until 1670, but the Jesuits returned in 1632, immediately after the restoration of the country to the French, and established a school

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION.

IX in Quebec, which, under the name of the Jesuit College, continued to be the leading institution of superior education in the Province during the French regime. In connection with this institution may be mentioned the Petit Seminaire de Quebec, founded in 1668 by Bishop Laval, for the higher education of boys. This institution served for many years as a preparatory school for the J esuit College, and at the time of the conquest over one hundred boarders were in attendance. This Petit Seminaire, or Classical College, along with the Grand Seminaire, or Divinity College, now form Laval University. In 1639 the Ursuline Huns and Madame de la Peltrie established the Ursuline Convent at Quebec, with Marie de Tlncarnation as first Superior. This was the first girls’ school in Canada, and from its foundation down to the present time it has taken a most important part in the higher education of the women of the Province. A branch was established at Three Rivers, which has played an important part in the history of that city. In 1836, when the first effort was made to provide Normal Schools for the Province, the Ursuline institutions at Quebec and Three Rivers were requested to arrange for classes for the training of teachers in connection with their institutions, and in 1857, when the three existing Normal Schools were first established, the girls’ department of the Laval Normal School was placed under the direction of the ladies of the Ursuline Convent at Quebec, and this arrangement is still in force.

In 1653 the Congregation of Notre Dame w'as founded in Montreal, for the education of girls, by Marguerite Bourgeois, who came out from France for the purpose. These ladies, like the Ursulines of Quebec, began their work chiefly with Indian girls. Their work extended so rapidly that they were unable to meet it, and they were obliged in 1688 to organize a class in the art of teaching, in order to prepare teachers to go out and carry on the work of teaching. This may be called the first Normal School work done in the Province. Their work extended so rapidly that at the date of the conquest they had ten branch establishments in the more important centres of the province, all devoted to the education of girls. At the present time hundreds of young women

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are being educated in their numerous educational establishments, some of which, such as Villa-Maria, Montreal, and Bellevue, Quebec, take a high position among institutions lor the higher education of women.

In 1657 the Sulpicians came out to Canada, and established an institution in Montreal for the education of boys. The Seminary of St. Sulpice was founded, and afterwards became the rallying point for educational work in and around Montreal. The Seminary of St. Sulpice received, soon after its foundation, the island of Montreal as an endowment, the revenues from which make the Seminary of St. Sulpice one of the wealthiest corporations on this continent.

In 1670 the Recollets returned to the country, and resumed their educational work at Quebec and Three Rivers.

In addition to the educational work carried on directly by the members of these several orders of missionary teachers, the establishment of schools under lay teachers was encouraged. These schools were assisted both by private benefactions from those interested in this work, and also by the religious orders themselves. Several instances might be cited in which noble laymen consecrated both time and large fortunes to the support of these early educational efforts. By these various means the educational work of the country was carried on during the French regime. Although this educational work had many defects, and although there was no regular educational system in the Province, the religious orders and lay teachers worked faithfully during this period to make the educational record of the struggling colony of Hew France a creditable one.

II. From The Conquest To The Union, 1760-1841

The educational history of this period presents many interesting features. We shall trace, first, the history of the educational work that was being carried on by the religious teaching orders at the time of the conquest ; secondly, the special and independent schools that were established ;

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. xi

and thirdly, the efforts that were made to obtain a system of education for the Province that would he acceptable to the Roman Catholic population and also to the Protestant ruling minority of the Province.

For the first few years after the conquest all the religious teaching orders of the Province naturally experienced some difficulty in continuing their educational work under the new regime. But the work of the Recollets and of the Jesuits was seriously impaired by the change. Their estates, upon the revenues of which they depended for carrying on their educational work, were confiscated to the Crown, and no new members were allowed to join their orders. Under these difficulties, and with their diminished forces, the religious orders were compelled to confine their operations within narrower limits.

In 1768 the classical course of the Jesuit College of Quebec was discontinued, and the students were transferred to the Quebec Seminary. The elementary course was carried on in the college until 1776, when it was occupied by the British troops. The last of the Jesuits in Canada, R. P. Jean Joseph Cazot, died the 16th March, 1800, and the Crown then took possession of the estates.

The Recollets continued their work with diminishing success until 1796, when their establishment at Quebec was destroyed by fire. Individual members of the order carried on the work of teaching in isolated schools until 1840.

The College of Quebec continued to provide classical training for an ever-increasing number of French students. In Montreal the Seminary of St. Sulpice continued its noble work, maintaining not only the Montreal College for superior education, but also excellent elementary schools in and about the city of Montreal. The Ursuline Nuns at Quebec, and the Ladies of the Congregation in Montreal, continued to carry on and extend their educational facilities for the education of girls.

In 1837 the Christian Brothers came out to Canada, and began a work as teachers of elementary schools, which has since developed into one of the most important features of Roman Catholic elementary education in the Province.

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xii

In addition to the educational work carried on by religious orders, a large number of other schools was established, to meet the requirements of the increasing population of the Province, in the absence of any public system of education. Of these we may mention : (1) Schools established in connection with the different congregations and churches of the Province ; (2) Schools maintained by educational societies formed for the purpose ; (3) Superior schools established in the country districts, under a Committee, or Board of Management, elected by residents interested in the school ; (4) Special superior schools ; and (5) Private schools.

1 . Of the schools established in connection with congregations and churches those of the Roman Catholic parishes were naturally the most numerous. As early as 1789 the Roman Catholic Bishop of Quebec reported that schools, under the direction of the Cure, were regularly kept in the larger villages, and these schools continued to increase in number, until formal provision was made for their support in 1824. Schools were also established in connection with the Protestant churches of Quebec and Montreal.

2. Of the societies formed for the promotion of education, the Quebec Education Society, under the able presidency of Joseph F. Perrault, carried on an important work for many years in and around the city of Quebec. A British and Canadian School Society, formed upon the plan of the English Society, maintained important schools for many years in Montreal, and a similar society supported a school in Quebec. These schools, which are now under the control of the School Commissioners, are still in operation. In Quebec and Montreal important schools were also maintained by the National and Free School Society.

3. Of the Superior Schools established in rural sections under Boards of Management appointed by residents interested in providing a good education for their children, the Academies, chiefly Protestant, established in the rural sections of the Province, were the most important. During the closing years of last century settlers from the New England States established themselves in the present Eastern Townships. They brought with them from their New England homes

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. xiii

strong convictions of the importance of education. During the first year of their life in Canada the children of near neighbors were gathered in one of the dwelling houses, and taught by one of the older and better instructed of their sons or daughters. And during the first decade of this century log school houses were erected in many of the townships by the voluntary efforts of the early settlers, in which their children were regularly taught. The cost of erecting these school houses, and maintaining these schools, had to be defrayed by the settlers themselves. Not satisfied with providing elementary schools for their children, the residents of the more thickly settled centres of the townships endeavored, at an early date, to provide more advanced instruction, by establishing “ Academies ,” or Superior Schools.

The persons interested contributed to the erection of a suitable building, and elected a board of trustees, to which was entrusted the management of the school. In the earlier years the teacher had to depend mainly upon the tuition fees for his salary. This was sometimes supplemented by subscriptions, and other special provisions, and when grants were given by the Legislature and by the Royal Institution, these institutions were recognized. Some of these institutions, such as Hatley and Stanstead Academies, have continued their important work down to the present time.

4. It was natural that the want of institutions for superior education should be felt first by the English, who settled in Quebec and Montreal immediately after the conquest. At first some of the English boys attended the Seminary at Quebec, and others were sent to the New England Colleges for their education. The attention of the Government was •early drawn to this unsatisfactory state of things, and in 1799 Bishop Mountain, of Quebec, strongly urged upon the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir R. S. Milnes, the importance of •establishing institutions of superior education, in which the young men of the Province could be educated. As the result of these representations, it was decided in 1803 to establish two such institutions, one in Quebec and one in Montreal. Owing to difficulties in the Province and in Europe, these institutions were not put into operation until

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1816. In that year three Royal grammar schools were established, one in each of the cities of Quebec, Montreal,, and Kingston. The Rev. R. Burrage was appointed Master of the Quebec School, and Dr. Skakel Master of the Montreal School, each at a salary of £200 sterling, with an extra allowance for rent, &c.

These Royal Grammar Schools continued their important work until 1846, when they were united to the High Schools of Quebec and Montreal (which had been established a few years before). The two High Schools are among the mostimportant Protestant institutions of superior education of the Province at the present time.

In the early part of this ' century the Roman Catholics endeavored to provide, for the more important section of the Province, the advantages of a superior education which up to that time could only he obtained at Quebec and Montreal.

From 1803 to 1832 six classical colleges were founded, namely, at Kicolet, St. Hyacinthe, St. Therese, Chambly, St. Anne, and TAssomption. These, with the two similar institutions in Quebec and Montreal, made ample provision for superior education in the French sections of the Province.

5 As the schools in these early times wrere maintained almost entirely by tuition fees, private schools, conducted by popular teachers, were very numerous in the cities and towns. Among the very early teachers of French schools I may mention Louis Genereux Labadie. He taught the only French Academy of the Province at Berthier, from 1780 to* 1794. He afterwards continued his work at Vercheres, where he died in 1824. During his time he was the recipient, of many favors from the Governors of the Province, and from other prominent men of the time. Of the English teachers at the beginning of the century Mr. Tanswell, the Rev. Mr. Jackson, the Rev. Mr. Sprat, Mr. Farnham, the Rev. Daniel Wilkie, and the Rev. Mr. Burrage, occupied prominent positions in the City of Quebec, and Mr. Hutchings and Dr. Skakel in the City of Montreal.

We now come to the consideration of the efforts that were made by the Government and the people to establish a

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XV system of public schools suitable to the peculiar circumstances of the Province.

During the troublous times that preceded the Rebellion of 1837, the questions of language and religion occupied the most important position in the discussions that took place. As these two questions had to be satisfactorily settled in preparing a system of public education that would be generally acceptable, it wTas found exceedingly difficult to arrange a system of elementary schools that would command the support of the people generally.

If the schools were left in the hands of the people they would be conducted in the interests, and according to the views, of the French Roman Catholic majority. If they were controlled by the Government they would naturally be conducted in the language and according to the views of the English ruling minority. The first quarter of this century saw many earnest efforts made to provide a satisfactory system of elementary schools for the Province, but without success.

In 1787 an Educational Committee was appointed by the Government to inquire into the state of education. Upon the report of this Committee, an Act was passed in 1801, providing for the appointment of a permanent committee on education, under the name of The Royal Institution. This Committee was empowered to establish and manage one free school in each parish or township. The masters were appointed and paid by the Governor. As the members of the Royal Institution were largely English and Protestant, Mgr. Hubert, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Quecbec, at the time, declined to act as a member of the Board, and instructed his clergy not to encourage the establishment of schools of the Royal Institution in their parishes. In consequence of this opposition, the Royal Institution made little progress in establishing schools in the French parishes. In the English sections of the Province these schools were more successful but they passed under the control of the common school system as soon as it was established, and now the work of the Royal Institution is confined to the management of McGill University.

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The next important step in educational matters was taken in 1824. But during the previous ten years the Legislative Assembly had made an attempt, almost every year, to provide a system of schools that would meet the wants of the French Roman Catholic sections of the Province. But these educational bills were rejected by the Legislative Council, or failed to receive the royal sanction. Some of these earlier educational bills were refused sanction, because they appeared to interfere with the rights of the Royal Institution, and the royal sanction was withheld from others until the Legislative Assembly should pass satisfactory measures concerning the civil list.

A committee on education was appointed by the Legislature in 1815, and another in 1824. These committees took evidence, and reported that the schools of the Royal Institution had failed in the French parishes, and that provision should be made for the establishment of schools in these parishes, under the control of the cure and the chief residents. In 1824 the Fabrique Act was passed, authorizing each Roman Catholic parish to devote one-fourth of its annual church revenues to the support of a school for the parish. Under the provisions of this Act all the wealthier parishes were able to provide schools under local control and acceptable to the people.

In the year 1829 the first public Elementary School Act for the Province was passed. This Act provided that five trustees, elected in each parish or township, should have the management of schools in the parish or township. A grant, not exceeding £50, was made to them if they erected a school house. They also reported to the Legislature. An annual grant of £20 was made to each teacher, and also a grant of ten shillings for each pupil up to fifty. Masters of independent schools, and religious communities educating children of the poor, might avail themselves of the provisions of the Act. It should be noted, in reference to this first form of our public school system — (1) that the schools were voluntary, free, and without taxation, except for the erection of school houses ; (2) that although the schools established under this Act took their colouring, as to language

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and religious teaching, from the communities which maintained them, they were common schools , recognizing no religious distinctions in the community; and (3) that this Act was limited in its operations to the country districts, special grants being provided for schools in the cities and towns.

Amendments, defining and elaborating the provisions of this Act, were introduced by the Legislature each year during the next five years. School fees were imposed upon children attending school. The number of school districts was fixed. School inspection was provided for in the appointment of nineteen school visitors, to act with the clergy and the members of each county. Certain conditions are prescribed, upon which the grants were paid. The teacher was required to obtain a certificate of capacity from the clergymen, justice of the peace, and resident member of the Legislature. Ten shillings as prize money was granted to each school, to be paid through the member of the county. Teachers who were able to teach both languages were granted £4 extra.

The gradual tendency of all these amending Acts was to give the absolute control of these schools to the county members of the Legislature, by making all grants for school purposes payable through them, or upon their report. Teachers, trustees, and parents came to feel that they could not run counter to the wishes of the member of the county in any respect, without forfeiting their school grants. This objectionable feature was so prominent in a Bill which passed the Legislative Assembly in 1836, that it was rejected by the Legislative Council, and in their report the Council state that the Bill was rejected because of the dangerous powers which it proposed to accord to the members of the Legislative Assembly. A portion of this Bill, providing for the establishment of Normal Schools, was reintroduced as a separate measure, and became law, but owing to the troubles of the next few years it failed to produce any satisfactory results. By the rejection of this Bill of 1836 the country was again left without any school system, except the Fabrique Schools and the Royal Institution, and in consequence of the troubles of the next few years no regular system was established, until after the union in 1841.

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Although this school law of 1829-32 and the amending Acts left much to he desired, over 1,500 elementary schools were established under its provisions in the rural sections of the Province. And while the extraordinary powers which the Act conferred upon the members of the Legislature were not always used to the advantage of education, it enabled those members who were interested in the encouragement of education, such as Dr. Meilleur and Mr. Joseph F. Perrault, to exercise a powerful influence for good upon the educational work of their counties. The important points connected with this formative period of our school law may be summarised as follows : —

1 . The system was a voluntary and temporary one. There was no tax imposed upon the property of the inhabitants for school purposes. If they wished for a school they were required to provide a suitable building, and to pay certain fees for the children in attendance.

2. The teachers were paid directly by the Government.

3. There was no efficient supervision of the schools. There was no Superintendent of Education, and no paid inspectors. The clergy and the member for the county exercised the chief control.

4. All grants were paid upon a certificate, of the local trustees and of the county member, that the necessary conditions had been fulfilled.

III. From The Union To Confederation, 1841-1867

Between the rejection of the Bill of 1836 and the Union of the two Provinces in 1841, two important events occurred in connection with the history of education in the Province.

In 1838 an elaborate report on the state of education in the Province was drawn up under the direction of Lord Durham, giving a detailed account of the history of education from the beginning of the century, and making some important recommendations.

In 1841 an important series of letters, by Charles Mondelet, concerning a public school system for the Province, was

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XIX published. These two discussions of the educational condition of the Province prepared the way for the Act of 1841.

According to the provisions of this Act —

(1.) A Common School Fund was established;

(2.) A Superintendent was provided for, whose duty it was to distribute grants, and to visit the schools ;

(3.) The district or Municipal Council was authorized to levy school taxes for the building of school houses and the maintenance of schools ;

(4.) Five School Commissioners, elected by the people, managed the schools, examined the teachers, and determined the course of study and the text-books ;

(5.) The religious minority might dissent and establish schools of their own ;

(6.) In the cities a Board of Examiners was provided, divided into two sections, Roman Catholic and Protestant, who examined teachers, regulated the course of study, text-books, etc., and visited the city schools.

This law of 1841 introduced the principle of compulsory taxation for the maintenance of schools ; but as the power of taxation was left in the hands of the district council, whose members were appointed by the Government, the measure was stoutly resisted by the people, on the ground that they were left without control as to the amount of tax that should be imposed. Owing to this opposition, the strong efforts put forward by Dr. Meilleur, the first Superintendent, to put the Act into operation, met with little success, and it was not until 1846, when the Act was modified so as to place the power of taxation in the hands of the Commissioners elected by the people, that it could be generally enforced. And even then the prejudices aroused by the Act of 1841 were so strong, that opposition to the Act of 1846 was continued in many parts of the Province.

The school law adopted in 1846, and amended in 1849, is substantially the same as the present school law of the Province. It has been modified in many of its details, and some important additions have been made, but the general principles of the Act of 1846 still continue in our present law. This Act was based upon the then existing school law

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of the State of New York, which had received favourable mention in the letters of Charles Mondelet, already referred to.

This Act of 1846 contains provisions concerning a school in each township or parish ; the election of School Commissioners ; the duties of School Commissioners ; the levy and collection of school taxes ; the support of a model school in each Municipality ; the establishment of dissentient schools ; special regulations for the cities of Quebec and Montreal ; a Board of Examiners for candidates for teachers’ diplomas in Quebec and Montreal ; and a Superintendent to take charge of the working of the school law.

Although Dr. Meilleur, the Superintendent, met with a good deal of opposition in his efforts to put the provisions of this law into operation throughout the Province, it gradually worked its way into favor, and in a short time nearly every section of the Province had organized schools under its provisions. As the law of 1846 which we have been considering is identical in its general principles with our present educational system, a reference to the more important amendments since introduced is all that is now required to complete this outline.