School management: including a full discussion of school economy, school ethics, school government, and the professional relations of the teacher ...

Front matter

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DNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

INCLUDING A FULL DISCUSSION OP

Preface

The Author of this book believes that teaching is a science based on principles as firmly fixed, as readily determined, and capable of being as thoroughly systematized, as those of either law, medicine, or theology.

He believes, also, that teaching is destined to rank among the foremost of the learned professions, and that, considered with reference to the magnitude and importance of the work to be accomplished, this profession is inferior to no other.

He believes, therefore, in the necessity of special preparation for this calling as for other important callings in life, and that no one should assume the duties and responsibilities incident to teaching without a knowledge of the human body, the functions of the physical organs, and the laws of health, as well as a knowledge of the human mind, its faculties, and the methods of their development and culture. He holds, also, that the teacher should have a thorough knowledge of the best methods of management, as well as be entirely familiar with the most valuable methods of instruction and culture. Without this knowledge the teacher can be only an experimenter who works at random ; with it, he is prepared to win success and aid in elevating his calling to the dignity which should characterize it as a profession.

4 PREFACE.

It is the object of this book to discuss briefly, but as thoroughly as possible, the subject of School Management — including School Requisites ; School Organization, both temporary and permanent ; School Work, its objects and the means of securing the best results ; School Ethics ; School Government ; and the Professional Relations of the Teacher, — a knowledge of all of which is necessary to successful professional teaching.

Want of a knowledge of good management is a prolific source of failure in school work ; and such knowledge is, therefore, specially important to the teacher.

This book aims to include the principles on which has been based the successful experience of the best teachers of this and other countries, so arranged as to make the information available not only in the class-room, but also to the private student, whether teacher, parent, or school officer.

The Author advocates no untried theories. His aim is to impart information such as is deemed valuable to all who have control of children. He offers only such suggestions as have been found valuable in practice, and points out the faults and mistakes which his observation has convinced him are the most frequent causes of failure. He sincerely hopes that the book may prove specially valuable to every earnest teacher desirous of success in his calling.

A. N. E.

State Normal School, Lock Haven, Pa., \ Aug. 24, 1882. /

Contents

PAGE

INTKODUCTION 11

Chapter I. School Kequisites

I. School-Houses 13

1. The Location 14

1. Healthfulness of the Site 14

2. Convenience of Access 15

3. Quiet 16

2. The Size and Proportions 17

3. The Architecture 17

4. Internal Arrangement 18

H. Arrangement and Size of the Grounds 20

1. Size 21

2. Convenience of Arrangement 21

3. Beauty of the Grounds 21

4. Appurtenances 22

III. School Furniture and Apparatus 23

2. Blackboard 23

3. Erasers 24

4. Pointers 24

5. Reading-Charts 25

6. Numeral Frame 25

7. Geographical Apparatus 25

8. Cabinets . 26

9. Dictionary 26

How to Secure Apparatus 26

6 CONTENTS.

PAGE

IV. School Hygiene 27

1. Lighting 28

2. Heating 29

3. Ventilation . 31

4. Condition of Floors and Walls 33

5. Posture of Pupils 34'

6. Exercise 35

7. Play 36

8. Hygienic Habits of Pupils 39

Suggestions on School Hygiene 42

V. School Grades 43

1. Advantages 44

2. Objection to Graded Schools 46

3. The Number of Grades 46

4. Manner of Grading &f*. 47

5. The Kindergarten 49

VI. School Aids 49

1. Textbooks 50

1. The Objects of Textbooks 50

2. The Characteristics of Good Textbooks 51

3. The Abuse of Textbooks 54

4. The Selection of Textbooks 55

5. The Ownership of Textbooks 56

2. The School Library 56

3. School Records 58

Chapter II. School Okganization

Permanent Organization 66

1. School Classification . . 66

Advantages of Classification 67

Principles of Classification 68

2. Programme 72

Characteristics of a Good Programme 72

Advantages of a Good Programme 74

3. School Signals 77

CONTENTS. 7

PAGE

4. Hand Signals 79

5. The Opening and the Closing of School 80

6. Seating 82

7. Recesses 82

Chapter III. School Woek

I. Study 85

1. The Objects of Study 85

1. Discipline 85

2. The Acquisition of Knowledge 86

3. Expertness ^ . . . . 87

4. Moral Culture 88

5. Aspiration 88

2. Conditions of Successful Study 89

3. Helps to Study 90

4. Incentives to Study 91

Proper Incentives 91

Unwise Incentives 97

5. How to Study 103

6. Attention 105

7. Rules for Study 109

II. Eecitation Ill

1. Objects of the Recitation Ill

2. Methods of Recitation 115

1. The Socratic Method 116

2. The Topical Method 117

3. The Question Method 118

4. The Discussion Method 119

5. The Conversational Method 120

6. The' Oral or Lecture Method 121

3. The Art of Questioning 122

1. Objects of Questioning 122

2. How to Put Questions 124

3. The Subject-Matter of Questions 126

4. The Form of Questions 127

5. The Manner of Putting Questions . . . . . . 128

8 CONTENTS.

PAGE

4. Answers 128

5. Criticism 130

6. Preparation for the Recitation 131

1. The Teacher's Preparation 131

2. The Pupil's Preparation 133

7. The Teacher in the Recitation 134

8. The Pupil in the Recitation 137

III. Examinations . 138

1. Objects of Examinations 138

2. Scope of the Examination 139

3. Frequency of Examinations 141

4. Method of Examining 142

5. Length of Examinations . . * ......... . 143

IV. Keviews 144

Frequency of Reviews 145

VI. Graduation in Public Schools 149

Examination for Graduation 151

VII. A Course of Study for Country Schools ..... 152

Chapter IV. School Ethics

1. Duties of the Teacher 153

1. To Pupils 153

2. To the Community 157

3. To his Profession . 160

4. To Himself 165

2. Duties of Pupils 166

3. Duties of School Officers 167

4. Duties of the Superintendent 169

Chapter V. School Goveenment

1. Objects of School Government 171

2. School Control 173

CONTENTS. 9

PAGE

3. Elements of Governing Power 173

4. Causes of Disorder 185

5. Means of Avoiding Disorder . 191

6. Rules and Regulations 196

7. School Punishments . 200

1. Objects of School Punishment 200

2. Principles Governing Punishment 201

3. The Degree of Punishment 203

4. Kinds of Punishment 206

1. Judicious Punishments 206

2. Injudicious Punishments 223

8. How to Detect Offenders 225

9. The Self-Reporting System 228

10. Pardons 229

11. Punishment of Offenses 231

Chapter VI. The Teachee

1. The Teacher's Physical Qualifications 243

2. The Teacher's Intellectual Qualifications 245

3. The Teacher's Professional Qualifications 248

4. The Teacher's Moral Qualifications 254

5. Faults to be Avoided by Teacher 262

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT.

IJSTTKODUCTION.

School management is that department of educational science which treats of the management and control of schools. It includes not only school economyproper, but also school government and school ethics. It has for its object the regulation of all school work in such a manner as will meet the true end of education in training the children of the land to be not only good citizens, but also symmetrically-developed men and women in an intellectual and a moral as well as a physical sense.

School management and methods of instruction are to some extent interwoven and dependent, and the teacher who is successful in one is. usually successful in the other, because the same principles in a great measure underlie both, and the same personal qualities characterize to a great degree the faithful, energetic teacher

and the successful disciplinarian.

12 INTRODUCTION.

The chief topics to be discussed under the subject of school management are —

CHAPTER I. School Requisites

Previous to the organization of the school there is a certain amount of preparation necessary in order that the school work may be well done. Among the requisites demanding attention are the following:

I. School-Houses.

II. Arrangement and Size of the Grounds. III. School Furniture.

IT. School Hygiene.

Y. School Grades.

VI. School Aids.

I. School-Houses.

One of the first things to be considered in school management is the school-house. The influence exerted on the pupils, on the teacher, and on the community by either a good or a poor school-house can hardly be estimated. A good school-house, properly located, beautified as it should be, and made comfortable, pleasant, and inviting, is in itself a teacher for good ; while a neglected one, the reverse of all this, does an incalculable amount of harm in counteracting efficient teaching and in moulding for evil the character of a whole neighborhood.

The chief points to be considered in connection with school-houses are the following :

2 13

1. The Location.

2. The Size and Proportions.

3. The Architecture.

4. The Internal Arrangement.

5. The Arrangement and Size of the Grounds.

1. The Location. — The proper location of a school-house is a matter of much importance. It must be remembered that here, in a great measure, is moulded the character of the future men and women of the country. Here the tastes are cultivated and the habits formed which are to mark the future citizens. Here not only the intellectual, but also the moral and the physical, nurture are to be given.

Among the chief considerations which should determine the location of a school-house are the following:

1. Healthfullness of the Site.

2. Convenience of Access.

3. Quiet.

4. Beauty,

1. Healthfulness of the Site. — It is evident that no school-house should be located where pupils are placed in danger of contracting disease. No school-house, therefore, should be built near a swamp or near stagnant water, where malarial or miasmatic vapors may endanger the health of both pupils and teacher. Nor should a school-house in a town or a city be so located as to endanger the health of its occupants by causing them to breathe the gases and effluvia arising from improperly drained streets, neighboring stables, or leaky and defective sewers. Every precaution should be taken to select the most, healthful spot in the neighborhood, that the physical welfare of the children may not be jeoparded.

A sloping hillside, where the surface drainage is good, is an excellent location for a school-house, particularly if the grounds can be so arranged as to have the house face to the south or the east. If such a site can be found, with a briskly-flowing brook at the foot of the hill, it will be all the more desirable.

Expense should be no consideration. The most healthful location is not too good nor too expensive when the physical nurture of our children is to be provided for. The school law of Pennsylvania, and possibly that of other States, gives to School Boards the power to select whatever site they may see fit, providing always that a reasonable sum is paid to the landowner for the land thus appropriated.

2. Convenience of Access. — The second important consideration in the location of a school-house is convenience of access. In general, the school-house should be located at such place as will make it convenient for the greatest number, provided a healthful location can be secured. But the question of healthfulness should be the first to claim the attention of those having the power to locate school-buildings. In sparsely populated districts the location should usually be near the centre of the district, but where the population is dense and the distance to be traveled not so great, any location may be selected that meets the requirements of health and comfort. In the location of houses for primary pupils care should be taken that the building be so placed that as few as possible may be required to cross railways, canals, streams, or much-traveled streets.

3. Quiet. — Few appreciate the value of quiet surroundings so highly as does the student. School-houses should be so located as to afford the best possible opportunity for study. The location should be such that no noise or outside excitement may attract the attention of the pupils or divert it from its proper object. School-houses should therefore never be located near noisy manufactories, railways, railway-stations, mills, or other establishments likely to interfere with study. It is best also that the school-house be placed back some distance from the street, that the noise of passing vehicles may not distract or divert the attention of those engaged in study.

4. Beauty. — The beauty of the location, though often receiving but little attention from school officers, is one that should have its due influence in the selection of a site. Beautiful surroundings have much to do in creating a love for the beautiful. A school-house so situated that the children are brought face to face with the beautiful in Nature, and surrounded on all sides with such scenery as must necessarily make them love the beautiful from the very association, will have its beneficial effects not only on the discipline and order of the school, but also in the formation of the moral character of the pupils. Children coming from suqfc a school cannot fail to have a more refined taste and a purer moral character than those schooled amid surroundings which lack every essential element of beauty. The teaching of the beauty surrounding us is unconscious, but the lessons learned are none the less pleasing and none the less valuable. Every mountain-slope, every verdant valley, every winding stream, every charming landscape, has its influence in forming character. Let children, then, always be surrounded with the beautiful, that the life within may be made to grow beautiful in harmony with the life without.

2. The Size and Proportions. — The size of a school building should of course depend on the number of pupils to be accommodated. In general, at least ten square feet of floor-surface should be allotted to each pupil, but fifteen square feet would be better. Thus, a school-room twenty feet by twenty-four might be made to accommodate from thirty-two to forty-eight pupils; one of twenty-four feet by thirty, from forty-eight to seventy-two pupils.. The ceiling should be from ten to fourteen feet in height, according to the size of the room. A room twenty feet by twenty-four, and ten feet high, would give to forty pupils each one hundred and twenty cubic feet of air-space, while one twenty-four feet by thirty, and twelve feet high, would allow each of sixty pupils one hundred and forty-four cubic feet of air-space. A ceiling more than fourteen feet in height is a disadvantage rather than otherwise, as it makes a room more difficult to heat, with no special advantage gained in any other direction.

The proportions here indicated — twenty feet by twenty-four, twenty-four feet by thirty, and thirty feet by thirtysix — are among the best, the width being to the length in the proportion of about five to six.

When more than fifty pupils are to be accommodated, a recitation-room should be attached for the use of an assistant teacher.

3. The Architecture. — In the erection of a school-house utility, beauty, and comfort must be combined. It is not more important that the school-house have a beautiful location than that it be beautiful itself and in harmony with its surroundings. Too little attention has been given to our school architecture as regards both beauty and comfort.

Neither beauty nor comfort necessarily makes the school-house more expensive. Comfort and fitness in the plan and construction should be the first considerations, but in connection with these beauty also should be taken into account, and both the form and the color be made to harmonize with the surroundings.

Plans. — A definite plan should be decided upon for the school-house before the proper officers begin its erection. This plan can in general be best prepared by an architect or some other person who has made the subject a study. When once the plan is fully adapted to the wants of the school, care should be taken that no changes are made by the builders. The fee paid to the architect for preparing the plan for a suitable building will be money well expended.

Cost. — The additional cost in adapting the plan of a building to the surrounding landscape is a matter of small moment when we consider the attachment which almost every child has for the school-house in which he received his early training. The beneficial effect exerted in both a moral and an aesthetic sense is of vastly greater importance than the few extra dollars expended in making the school-house a pleasant and attractive place and a source of pride to the community.

4. Internal Arrangements. — Closets, — Provision should be made in every school-house for the storage of lunch-baskets, hats, shawls, etc. during school hours. Commodious closets or special cloak-rooms — one for the boys and another for the girls — should be provided, wherein these articles may be kept. These rooms or closets should always open into the school-room, that the teacher may have the pupils in sight, and thus prevent scuffling and unnecessary noise. These rooms ought to be about six feet by eight or six feet by ten, with shelves for baskets and hooks for hats and clothing. They may consist of a tier of boxes about ten inches square, instead of shelves. Each space and each hook should be numbered, and each pupil should have a number to correspond.

Library and Apparatus Space. — If possible, a room should be provided for the school library and apparatus. Shelves or closets at least should be put in convenient places, where the school library may be kept, the apparatus be stored, and a cabinet of minerals, grains, grasses, etc. be arranged for use. Without such provision the apparatus is likely to be neglected and become damaged, and the specimens in the cabinet scattered and lost.

Platform. — The platform may extend across the end of the room, though a platform half as long as the width of the room usually is sufficiently large. In height it ought to be not less than eight inches nor more than fifteen.

Space for the Blackboard. — Unless slate is preferred, it is usually quite as well to prepare the wall-surface at the ends of the room in what is known as " hard finish " by the use of calcined plaster or cement, that it may afterward be covered with a coat of liquid slating or a mixture of alcohol, shellac varnish, and lampblack. This space should be about five feet in height, and extend to within two feet of the floor. A trough should be placed below each board to catch the dust, and below this trough should be placed hooks on which to hang pointers and rubbers.

Arrangement of Seats. — Sufficient space for recitationbenches should be reserved between the platform and the first row of seats. The aisles between the rows of desks should be sufficiently wide to allow the pupils to pass back and forth readily without disturbing those occupied in study at the desks. A small aisle should be left in the rear of the back row of seats for the convenience of both teacher and pupils. The desks should be arranged so as to face the platform, and those for the smaller pupils should be placed nearest the teacher, leaving the larger pupils to occupy the rear of the room.

Flues. — These are needed both for ventilation and for carrying off the smoke and the gas generated by the heating apparatus. They should be so placed in the school-room as not to mar the beauty of the room, and yet effectually introduce pure air and carry off the impure as rapidly as possible. The ventilating flue and the smoke flue should be placed side by side, with a thin partition between, that the foul air may thus be heated and carried off through the chimney.

II. Arrangement and Size of the Grounds.

The chief points to be considered in connection with school-grounds are the following :

1. Size.

2. Convenience of Arrangement.

3. Beauty.

4. Appurtenances.

1. Size of the Grounds. — In cities, where land is highpriced, it is rarely the case that pupils have sufficient ground for either play or exercise, but in the rural districts, where the cost of land is not so great, certainly no excuse can be urged for being penurious in the matter of providing a sufficiently large playground. No school-house should have less than half an acre of ground attached, but it would be much better if twice or three times this quantity could be allotted, particularly where there are several grades or several schools in the same building.

2. Convenience of Arrangement. — The play-ground should be so arranged that each sex may have a private play-ground in the rear of the house, where each shall be free from the intrusion of the other sex. The play-ground in front of the house should be common territory, where all may enjoy themselves under the eye of the teacher. The school building should be so placed that the larger portion of the school-grounds may be to the rear of the house. The ground should be well drained also, that it may be as dry as possible at all times, and the walks should be so arranged as to lead from the entrance of the grounds to each of the doors.

3. Beauty of the Grounds. — Not only may the school-ground be used for exercise and play; some effort should be made to render it beautiful also by adorning it with shrubbery, trees, and flowers. In planting trees they should usually be arranged in groups, not in rows. The same may be said of shrubbery. Nothing shows a lack of taste more than the arrangement of shrubbery in lines along the paths and walks. As to the flowerbeds, much may be left to the taste of the teacher and his pupils. Any good horticultural newspaper or magazine or floral catalogue will give more explicit directions than it is possible to give here.

The teacher should call in the aid of his pupils in ornamenting his school-grounds. He will thus not only cultivate their love for the beautiful, but also gain such a hold on their better nature as to make his discipline comparatively easy. Every pupil should be made to feel that he has an interest in preserving the beauty of the school-grounds, and that he has a right at all times to protect the shrubbery, the flowers, and other objects of beauty from injury.

4. Appurtenances. — Every school-ground should of course be supplied with the necessary out-buildings. In addition to these, certain pieces of apparatus designed to promote the physical education of the pupils should be furnished. Among the most prominent of these are horizontal bars, ball-alleys, swings, croquet sets, lawn tennis, and footballs. As to bats, balls, jumping-ropes, and hoops, the pupils will furnish these for themselves. A set of bows and arrows with targets, to be used in a private part of the grounds where all danger of hurt by accident may be avoided, would also prove of great benefit. All these will tend to make the school attractive to children, while they at the same time will do much to promote the physical welfare of the pupils. A few rustic seats placed where those not engaged in play may become interested observers will add much to the attractiveness of the play-grounds.

III. School Furniture and Apparatus.

Each school-house should be fully supplied with all the furniture necessary to make the school a pleasant place and the teaching effective.

1. Desks. — The desks should be provided to accommodate not more than two pupils each, and in form they should be so adapted to the shape of the body as to make them as comfortable as possible. Hard- wood desks are preferable to home-made pine desks, and they are also much cheaper when service is considered. The desks should be graded in height and proportions to accommodate the pupils of different sizes. The seats in connection with the desks should be stationary. Loose chairs for pupils' seats are not well adapted to school work. Several chairs should be provided for the accommodation of visitors ; also a suitable desk and a chair for the teacher.

2. Blackboard. — This is one of the articles of school furniture absolutely essential to good teaching and proper management. A blackboard is necessary in the teaching of every branch, and frequently it may be made a great aid in management by having some of the pupils, particularly the smaller ones, employ a portion of their time in drawing on it while others are busy in recitation.

Size. — The blackboard should not be less than four and a half feet high, and it should extend so low that even the smallest pupils may be enabled to use it. In length it should occupy at least one end of the room, but twice this quantity of board-surface is not too great.

How Made, — At present but little difficulty is experienced in securing good blackboard surface. Liquid slating is the best material. This may be placed directly on a smooth wall or board. Slated paper also may be used. Where the plastering is too soft for other surface the slated paper is particularly useful. Even good heavy hardware paper, or muslin put smooth on the wall, may be covered with slating or with a coat of paint having sufficient grit, and thus a good surface be secured.

Color. — As to color, there is room for choice, but green seems least tiresome to the eye. A good surface can be made by applying two or three coats of a mixture composed of shellac, turpentine, and lampblack, with just sufficient alcohol added to dissolve the shellac and enough lampblack to give good color. This black surface should then be covered with one or two coats of green liquid slating. It will make an excellent and a pleasing surface.

3. Erasers. — If possible, a sufficient number of erasers should be furnished to allow one to each pupil at the board. These erasers may be made of bits of sheepskin, of blocks covered with brussels carpet, or of heavy felt inserted in blocks similar to the Climax Rubber. Good erasers, such as will clean the board without throwing dust, should be used.

4. Pointers. — A number of soft-wood pointers should form part of the furniture. When teachers and pupils are required to furnish their own pointers they are likely to use any stick convenient at the time, and possibly injure the board-surface or the polish on the maps. Soft-wood pointers with smooth ends are the best, because they are less likely to injure the surface of either blackboards or maps.

5. Reading-Charts. — A set of reading-charts for the purpose of teaching primary reading should constitute a part of the school furniture. These need not be elaborate or expensive, but simply such as will add variety and interest to the textbook matter.

6. Numeral Frame. — No primary or ungraded school should be without a numeral frame. Not only counting, but also all the fundamental rules, may be taught concretely by the aid of this important little piece of furniture.

The chief remaining apparatus for illustrating mathematical work are the following :

A set of Weights and Measures, to familiarize the pupils with the practical part of Denominate Numbers.

•A set of Metric Weights and Measures, to illustrate the Metric System and compare its various units with the system now in use.

A set of Geometric Forms, including cubes, cubical blocks, cones, cylinders, spheres, prisms, etc.

7. Geographical Apparatus. — For the purpose of teaching geography properly Outline Maps, Globes, and Geographical Boards seem to be the most important.

Outline Maps are necessary for teaching the contour and comparative size of the various countries, as well as for teaching local geography. A State, and, if possible, a county, map should form part of every set. Maps should remain open as much as possible, that pupils may become familiar with the outlines of countries, location of capes, etc. by their constant presence.

A Globe is necessary in teaching the shape of the earth, its motions, and the comparative size, as well as the location, of countries, etc. on its surface.

A Geographical Board, with a rim around the edge, and containing on its surface sand, clay, water, and rocks, may be used to illustrate the natural divisions of land and water. A board of two or three feet square is sufficiently large. Pupils with a board of this kind will spend many a pleasant hour in illustrating geographical facts.

8. Cabinets. — These can probably be best securecj by the teacher. Pupils, when they find the teacher interested, will gladly assist in collecting minerals, plants, leaves, grains, grasses, and other botanical, geological, or zoological specimens for the purpose of making a cabinet. The interest which may be awakened on the part of pupils, and the culture of the observing powers thus secured, are of the greatest importance.

9. Dictionary. — An unabridged Dictionary is one of the important articles of school apparatus. The smaller dictionaries are so limited in their definitions, and so unsatisfactory, that they answer only partially the end for which they are intended. It is best, therefore, to have an unabridged, or at least what is known as a comprehensive, dictionary for school use.

How to Secure Apparatus. — It is unquestionably the duty of Directors or School Trustees to provide from the public funds all the necessary furniture and apparatus for each school. In few instances, however, is it likely these officers will furnish all the apparatus here mentioned. In the event of their failure in this respect, how may it be secured ?