in New York, in Pennsylvania, and in most of the western states, large municipal powers are possessed by the county, and the county shares with the township the management of school-affairs. New York has a state superintendent, whose power over the schonls is considerable. In that state, it is the school-commissioner of the " district" in which the township lies who divides the township into school-districts; and it is the district which determines the school-tax: the township is almost completely ignored. In New York, Ohio, and Illinois, it is by county officials that. teachers are examined and certificated. In New York, Rhode island, and Connecticut, "rate-bills" —that is. school-fees—are allowed, and are usually levied. Several states besides Massa chusetts make school-attendance compulsory: in most of the states, there appears to be some provision against " truancy;" but it appears that attempts are not made to enforce the law except occasionally. in the ease of homeless, wandering children, who are liable, in lieu of a fine, to be sent to reformatory schools, It has been calculated that in the city of New York (pop. 940,000) there are about 100,000 children who do not go to school—though in no city is there a better or ampler provision of common schools.
As might be expected, the school-laws work badly in country districts. The house holders are disposed to be satisfied with any kind of school, provided it he cheap, and within easy reach of them; and the multiplication of schools by the district-system, makes it almost unavoidable that an insufficient sum should be spent upon each school. The teachers—a vast majority of whom are women—being wretchedly paid. are badly quali fied; they are constantly changing; scarcely any intend to make teaching their occupa tion for life. Few of them have been trained for their work—the normal. schools which exist being utterly inadequate to supply the demand for teachers; and the examination by a rural school-committee affords but a slender guarantee of competency. The teacher is usually " boarded round" among the farmers of the district, and is said to be treated by them with much observance; but his income—putting a money-value upon the board —lots been estimated at an average of about 50s. a month, and that only during the time that the school is open. In 1864, in 84 townships of Massachusetts—more than a fourth of all the townships in the state—the schools were kept open for less than the statutory period of six months. The teaching is said to he wonderfully good, considering the scanty pay given; hut where the vacations last for more than six months, and the teacher is changed lffinost every term. thorough and systematic instruction is scarcely possible. It is in the towns that the working of the school-law has been creditable and successful. Through the high public spirit of the municipal bodies, and the great importance attached to education, the support of the common schools is in general most liberally provided for.
• In the towns, there is usually a superintendent of schools, by whom, under and in co-operation with the general and district school-committees, the schools are inspected, and the character of the instruction determined; by him the examination of the teachers also is conducted. Of the schools, there are four classes—primary, intermediate, gram mar, and high-schools or academies. Children usually enter the primary school about 5 or 0; the grammar-school between 8 and 9; the high-school between TO and 13 years of age. They are not promoted from one class of school to another without undergoing; an examination; the intermediate schools, where they exist, are intended for those who are too old to beat the primary school. and too backward to enter the grammar-school. To be admitted to agrarnmar-school, a child must be able to read at first. sight easy prose, to spell ;Jan/ common words of not more than three syllables, and to have acquired a slight ttnowledee of arithmetic. For admission to the high-school, the usual requirements are ability to read cor rectly and fluently, an acquaintance with the simple rules of arithmetic, and some knowl edge of geography and grammar. From thee tests may be inferred the average proficiency
expected to be attained bychildren leaving the primary and the grammar-school respec tively. 1n the grammar-schools of Boston, the programme of studies consists of spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic with book-keeping, geography, English grammar, the Ids tory of the United States, natural philosophy, drawing, and vocal music- this is nearly the usual programme; but in New York and one or two other states a little more is at tempted. Between the high-schools or academies in the various states, them are con siderable differences. In the city of New York, for example, the Free academy has pretensions to the rank of a university, and grants degrees in arts and science (bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, master of arts) to students who have completed with credit the curriculum of five years. But, in general, the high-schools are schools of secondary instruction. intended to prepare youths for the university—instruction being given in the classical lauguages, mathematics, the sciences, history, and the English language and English literature. The usual curriculum is one of four years; and the students are not required to study all the subjects taught in the school. At Boston, where boys are ad missible to Hie Latin high-school at 10 years of age, the curriculum lasts for six years. There are high-schools for girls as well as for boys, the programme of instruction being the same in both. At Boston, the curriculum at the girls high-school lasts for three years: and pupils at admission must be between 15 and 19 years of age. Boston posses ses, besides it Latin high-school and its girls' high-school, en English high-school, said to be admirably planned and conducted. The instruction in it closely resembles that given in the real-schools of Germany, including French and German, and various sciences, with their a ivplication ; being intended to enable boys to complete a sound English edu c•tion, and to prepare themselves- for commercial life. Great complaints are almost everywhere made- Bostois seems to be exceptional in this respect—of the irregularity of the attendance at the primary schools. It is estimated that in most states not much more than half of the children pass from these to the grammar schools; but it trifling proportion of the grammar-sehool pupils enter the high-schools, and of these, only it small fraction p-2rsist to the end of the curriculum. All high-schools grant certificates of graduation to pupils who have creditably gone through the course of study. The study of the classics dues not, tven in the most pretentious institutions of this class, seem to be carried very far, m sch more attention being given to mathematics and natural science. In Boston—in inanv respects the most favorable example that could be taken—there were, in 1861, 82.b1:4 children of school-age—between 5 and 15; of these, 26,960 were in school. the average attendance being 24,617. The number enrolled at the three high schools was only'725, am: the average attendance NW The number of students who complete the live years -airricidum cf the New York Free academy-seldom exceeds fifty. Among the wealthy, there is said to he a growing disinclination to make use of the com mon-schools: their children are usually sent to private academies. The only serious opposition to the non-religious character of the common schools comes from the Roman Catholic clergy: hut it is stated that there is a growing feeling upon this subject among sonic of the other religious bodies. In many of the New York schools, in which the majority of the children are Roman Catholic, clerical influence, insufficient to impress upon the edueg.t;on the religions character which it would approve, has obtained, with the tacit assent of the school-authorities, the. disuse of the daily Bible reading which the law prescribes.