the voice not far enough for an inflection, and too far for anything corresponding in natural expression. It is a tantalizing sound, a sort of dismal holding on, without a touch of nature, acquired evidently by considering reading a mere mechanical exercise, in which certain sounds are to be given, and certain pauses made. The pupil must be induced to read as he would speak, and he will break the monotony of the long sentences, by harmonic slides. It is this fault, more than any other, which makes prose reading so dull and lifeless. These are some of the little things which we often forget to watch. I am tempted to add something about pronunciation, partly for what I hope to receive in return. We have lately become alive to the fact that we are pronouncing a long list of words wrong, by reason of giving two strong accents, as ter'-ri-to'-ry for territory, dic'-tion-a-ry for dictionary, cir'-cum-stanc'-es for cir cumstances, etc. We can manage the reform very comfortably in such words. It is comparatively easy to say sec'-retary, per-emptory, etc., when the accented syllable is the second from the offending penult. But what can our Yankee tongues do with such words as obligatory, judicatory and a host of others, in which the accented syllable is the third or fourth from the penult? Shall there be a secondary accent? I shall be thankful to any one who will free me from this perplexity.-F. A. R., in Massachusetts Teacher.

GOOD READING is a rare attainment in our schools. Impressive reading superadds to this some degree of adaptation of the tone of voice to the character of the subject and of the style. Instead of it, we meet with a lifeless, drawling, monotonous style, by which the sense of the author is obscured, lost, or perverted. In such cases reading is a mechanical, not an intellectual process. We can scarcely call this an attainment. An ability to read to this extent can be of little benefit to the pupil; it will not induce him, after he has left school, to read for amusement or instruction. Before he will do this, reading must have ceased to be a task; he must have acquired the power of reading with fluency and intelligence. And if he does acquire this power, the benefit, great though it be to himself, as a means of intellectual advancement, will not be exhausted upon himself, but will extend to others. It is of great moment that as many as possible among the poor should be able to read aloud, so as to be well understood, and listened to with pleasur.-English Journal of Education.

IGNORANCE IN ENGLAND.-The Children's Employment Commission recently published a report of its labors in and about Sheffield, which wrings from one of the London journals the prayer that Dr. Livingstone would give up Africa for a while, and turn his atttention to Sheffield. Messrs. Tremenhese and Tufnellwhose veracity can not be questioned-are the authority for declaring that they find in Sheffield lads of fourteen years of age-good lads, too-with money in the savings bank, who are entirely ignorant of everything but the trade by which they live; who have no knowledge of God, or Jesus Christ, or the Bible; who have never heard of Paradise, and who believe the Garden of Eden to have been a tavern; who are not aware that they live in England; who go to chuch sometimes, because they are sent thither, without knowing whether it is a Protestant or a Roman Catholic church, or for what purpose they attend it. —Amer ican Correspondent.

School Officers' Department.

The articles included in this Department have special interest to school officers. Those not otherwise credited, are prepared by the editor. Brief communications from school officers and others interested in this feature of the MONTHLY, are solicited. Questions of interest to township boards of education, will receive due attention.

SCHOOL RETURNS.

Another school year has closed, and school clerks are required by law to prepare a statistical record of its success or failure. They have doubtless received from the Commissioner the requisite blanks, and it is hoped that many are already engaged in filling them. We would urge upon all the importance of giving early attention to this duty, and of discharging the same with great care and faithfulness. The value of the school statistics of the State as a whole depends upon the accuracy and completeness of the returns from the several districts. Every township has been supplied with blanks for teachers' reports, and each clerk should be in possession of all necessary data for his annual report. All school returns to the county auditor must be made this month. We shall look forward to the general summary with interest.

EMPLOYMENT OF TEACHERS.

School directors will soon be called upon to discharge the most important of all their official duties, to wit: the employment of competent teachers for the schools under their control. Whatever else they may have done, all will be of no avail unless this duty be done wisely and well. "Without good teachers," says Dr. Channing, "a school is but a name." Search, then, for good teachers as with a lighted candle, and, when found, employ them, expecting to pay good wages. Bolt your school-room doors against incompetent teachers at whatever price they may offer their services. The true maxim is-" Good teachers at the price of good teachers, but, at any price, good teachers." Is your school small? Remember that a poor teacher can not teach well even a single child. Is your school "backward"? Employ the best teacher you can find. A desperate disease demands a skillful physician.

FEMALE TEACHERS.

Women are everywhere demonstrating their ability to teach and govern schools of all grades with the highest success. Some of the best normal teachers in the country are women. In Massachusetts about six-sevenths of the

teachers are women,

*

many

of whom are graduates of the normal schools. Their success in every class of schools is generally conceded. In New York four-fifths of the teachers are women, and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction points to the fact, in his last annual report, "with undisguised pleasure," declaring that "it is impossible to over-estimate the value of the influence thus brought to bear upon daily developing mind and character in our schools." Indeed, the evidence is abundant and conclusive that women are succeeding in the great majority of schools just as well as men-not only in teaching, but also in governing. So far as I am able to get information, the female teachers employed in the winter schools of the country districts, are succeeding better than the average male teachers. This is due, in part, to the fact that they possess, as a general rule, higher qualifications.-Twelfth Annual Report.

THE TEXT-BOOK QUESTION.

GENEVA, O., July 11, 1836.

E. E. WHITE, Esq.-Dear Sir: I am pleased that you have taken up the "textbook" question in the MONTHLY, and have promised us 66 more anon."

It seems there is to be an increased effort on the part of publishers and their agents, to crowd new books into our schools this fall and winter, whereas the "reconstruction" we need is in the opposite direction. It strikes me that this question is of the highest importance, and that its discussion before the winter and fall schools commence is needed; and I think a series of articles from your own pen would have more influence than if presented in any other form or by any other person. As you have had much experience as teacher, lecturer, commissioner and editor, and have the data all within reach for showing the past and present condition of the schools of the State, your utterances would and should be accepted as being "by authority."

If a State series ever is adopted in Ohio, the whole question ought to be thoroughly discussed and understood in advance. The evil of having a multiplicity of books is more apparent, and is really greater, in village schools than in ordinary country districts, partly because the schools are more crowded, and partly because there is a greater "floating" population. Parents who have books which they bring with them from country districts, if required to lay them aside and purchase new books, fret at the village regulations and censure the teacher.

REMARKS. The intimation of our correspondent that our utterances upon this vexed question may be accepted, to some extent, as "by authority," has wellnigh frightened us into silence. We can only venture a little of the "more anon," unwittingly promised, by first entering a caveat against any one's accepting our views as oracular. We desire the privilege of speaking our mind with the assurance that what we say amiss will be rejected.

It seems to be generally admitted that a uniformity of text-books in a given school is essential to the highest success in teaching. In the graded schools of our cities and towns this uniformity is generally secured; but in the country dis

* In Ohio sixty-seven per cent. of the teachers are women..

tricts, and in some of the smaller villages, multiplicity is the rule and uniformity the exception. Why this difference? It is clearly due to the failure of township and village boards to do their duty. They have the same authority respecting text-books as the boards in cities and towns, but, instead of adopting suitable books and prohibiting the use of all others, they simply leave the whole matter to parents and teachers. What our country schools most need is authoritative direction; and before they can have this, the people must be willing to entrust their management to the proper officers. As long as Tom, Dick and Harry can dictate respecting studies and text-books, our country schools will be in confusion.

We do not concur in the opinion that the multiplicity of books in our schools is due to publishers. Doubtless frequent and annoying changes in books are often due to the sharp competition between rival publishing-houses, but facts justify us in saying that this competition tends to a uniformity rather than to a multiplicity of text-books.

A school-book agent was a character unknown to the teachers of our boyhood, and yet the number of different reading-books, arithmetics and geographies found in the old log school-house, greatly exceeded the number now found in the neat white structure that stands in its place. "Many years since," says a recent writer, "it became my duty to serve on the school committee of a country town. There were 59 scholars enrolled, and the book account stood thusarithmetics 29, of 7 varieties, viz: Daboll 7, Smith 7, Pike (abridged) 5, Colburn 3, three other varieties, with title page out, 7; reading books, 13 varieties; spelling books, 11; and grammars, 4." This was many years since," be it remembered, when school-book publishers were few in number and the agency business was exceedingly modest, if it had any existence.

It is doubtless true, that if only one series of books in each branch of study was published, our schools would at once be relieved from the annoyance of a diversity of books and our school boards from the necessity of taking any action upon the subject. So, too, had there been but one plow, one hoe, one scythe and one churn invented, there would be an admirable uniformity in the utensils used by our farmers, and they would thus be protected from the sharp and sometimes unscrupulous practices of inventors and manufacturers. But who would like to see such a dead-level state of things? The truth is, there is no one agency that has contributed more to school advancement than improved school books. They constitute largely the means by which new and valuable methods of teaching are made known and available to the great majority of teachers. The publisher of a good school-book is a public benefactor.

Here is a matter which the zealous advocates of a State series of school-books are apt to overlook. They need only ask what would be the effect upon invention and the mechanic arts, were the kinds of implements and machines to be used in each State placed under the control of a central authority, to realize the importance of tolerating free competition among authors and publishers. The essential thing is a uniformity of books in each school district; and, in our judgment, the true policy is to secure this result through the action of the local school authorities. Instead of the adoption of a series of books to be used throughout the State, we should much prefer to see the enactment of a law

requiring boards of education to adopt suitable books for the schools under their control, and to interdict the use of any and all other books of the same class or kind. This would secure necessary, if not desirable, uniformity, and at the same time would leave the school-book business open to competition and enterprise.

It may be necessary so to regulate the introduction of new books by law that too frequent changes may be prevented. A statutory provision requiring books when once introduced, to be used for a specified period of time, say at least three years, would cause boards to be more careful in the selection of books, and would, to some extent, protect the patrons of the schools from capricious changes. The practice adopted by some publishers, of "giving in " their books to displace a rival series, is often an inducement to boards to throw out of the schools books recently introduced, and which have not been used sufficiently long to test their merits. It is not an unusual thing for teachers to be disappointed in new books, since the skillful use of a text-book requires a familiar acquaintance with it.

There is one advantage in a State series. The "floating" population, referred to by our correspondent, is not subjected to the expense of buying new books when removing from one locality to another. This is desirable, but we fail to see in it a sufficient argument for the State system. Nor is the common argument that local boards of education are not competent to decide upon the merits of school books, at all conclusive. The difference between the leading series of books now before the public is not sufficiently great to make the selection of good books a difficult task. Facts justify the statement that the average merits of the school-books selected by local boards, will at least equal the merits of the series adopted by a State board or committee.

What our schools need, we repeat, is ACTION by the local boards of education. One series of books should be adopted in each branch of study, and all others peremptorily excluded from the schools.

SCHOOL AFFAIRS IN CLERMONT COUNTY.

E. E. WHITE-Dear Sir: According to my promise, I send you a few statements referring to rural and village schools in the southern part of the State. Our school-houses are poorly arranged and furnished for efficient teaching. This is the ninth year since the building of most of them, and they are becoming much out of repair. There seems to have been a mania for cutting benches, picking plaster, and in some places the weather-boarding has been used to kindle fires! There are a few of the old log houses in the country yet. They stand as so many monuments of former days.

The "cipher through" system of instruction still finds a place in most of our country schools. Children are governed, or ruled, by fear. The two extremes of corporal and non-corporal punishment are advocated earnestly. I incline to to the former under the family government at present existing in the country. Respectfully, J. H. KEECH.

CARMEL, O., 1866.