puts a complete refutation of the argument from woman's menta} idiosyncracies against woman's education in a nut shell.

The mind, like the body, will assimilate the food nature has provided, rather than be assimilated by it. This is the gist of the whole matter.-Ed. Jour.

Fellow Teachers :-I am not insensible of the honor of being called to preside over your deliberations for the coming year, though it imposes on me, at the outset, a task not altogether agreeable. Your president does not belong to that numerous class of Americans who like to make speeches.

I shall depart, somewhat, from the time-honored custom which requires of a presiding officer a formal opening address. I shall keep you from the good things provided by the committee for your entertainment to-day by only a few brief remarks.

Ohio has made one century of history. One hundred years ago, the territory now included in this State was all an unbroken wilderness, in which wild beasts and savages roamed at will. We are filled with wonder and admiration as we contemplate the change. Was it ever known that anywhere else than on this Western Continent a howling wilderness was converted into a great commonwealth like ours in a single century? It seems like a fairy tale. Broad and fertile farms, beautiful and populous cities and towns, and great factories and grand human industries have taken the places of wilderness wastes, as if by magic. And that which commands our highest admiration is the fact that education, religion and refinement have kept well up in the race with material interests. A different result might have been expected of a people engaged in subduing the forests. But schools, colleges, churches, libraries and printing presses abound in all parts of the State; and this commonwealth, with its more than three millions of intelligent, prosperous, and happy people, ranks among the foremost of the earth. It has been said, I know not upon what authority, that if a map of the whole world were drawn, and on it were represented, by means of light and shade, the relative intelligence and refinement of the people, the lightest and brightest spot on the whole map would be the Western Reserve, in the north-eastern corner of Ohio.

A recent chronicler records his estimate of the intellectual life of this section by saying that "to day the mail clerks on the Lake Shore Railroad are compelled to quicken their motions the moment their trains enter the borders of the Western Reserve from either east or west." Accepting as correct the estimate which makes this the most intelligent, moral and refined portion of the earth, a near view of this favored spot might lead one to commiserate the rest of the world. How would a statement of this estimate serve as a preface to a volume of teachers' manuscripts, furnished by the various boards of examiners for the counties included in the Western Reserve? But I have no disposition to undertake to refute the flattering imputation. We are a highly favored people; we live in a goodly land; and we ought to be a very grateful and happy people.

I suppose the age of this Association will not warrant me in claiming for it the credit of making North-eastern Ohio what it is; but it is not a vain boast to say that, in the two decades of its existence, the North-eastern Ohio Teachers' Association has had some part in the upward and onward progress of this highly favored section of our State.

It was in the fall of 1869 that a few superintendents and teachers, who had been accustomed for some time to meet in an informal way and exchange views on questions partaining to their chosen work, met in the Weddell House at Cleveland, and organized the NorthEastern Ohio Teachers' Association. It is not at all probable that Rickoff and Harvey and their associates realized the extent of the influences they were setting in motion by this movement. I do not think it is any exaggeration to say that no other educational movement in our State, since the organization of the Ohio Teachers's Association in 1847, has been fraught with so much good to the cause. It was the beginning of an educational revival which rapidly spread all over the State and beyond its limits.

The three-fold object of the Association, as stated in the constitution, is the professional improvement of its members, the advancement, in true educational progress, of the schools of this section of the State, and the dissemination of correct educational ideas. It is not too much to say that a fair measure of success has been attained in these directions. At the first regular meeting, after the organization, work was planned and assigned to committees as follows: Committee on country schools, committee on classification, committee on course of study, committee on practical and disciplinary studies, committee on new methods, and committee on moral instruction. Probably the most important work accomplished is that in the direction of classifi

cation and course of study. The committees having these subjects in charge combined their forces and devised and reported a scheme of classification and a corresponding course of study, which, after consideration, the Association adopted, and recommended to superintendents and boards of education. It is not probable that this scheme of classification and course of study was adopted as a whole, without modification, by any board of education; but it was everywhere received with favor, and to such an extent were its main features adopted that uniformity in essentials, both as to subject-matter and order of presentation, now prevails in the cities and towns, not only of our favored corner, but throughout the State. There is probably not a village of three hundred people in Ohio, untouched by the influences set in motion by this Association soon after its organization.

The efforts of the Association in the direction of giving efficacy to its scheme of classification and course of study, and of disseminating a practical knowledge of right methods of instruction, are worthy of notice. At a meeting held in April, 1870, it was resolved to hold, in Cleveland, a North-eastern Ohio graded school institute. This institute opened August 29th following, and continued in session two weeks. Besides the Cleveland teachers, there were in attendance the teachers of Akron, Ashtabu'a, Canton, Elyria, Geneva, Kent, Massillon, Norwalk, Oberlin, Painesville, Ravenna, Warren, Wellington, and other places. Probably no other institute of its kind had been previously held. It was a new agency for the accomplishment of a new work. For some years following, the bi monthly meetings of the Association were largely attended, and a deep interest was manifested in its proceedings. At these regular meetings, as well as at the institute, matters pertaining to the practical working of the prescribed course received a large share of attention. Model lessons in many of the subjects of instruction in the schools were given. Exercises were conducted with classes by their regular teachers, followed by the freest and fullest criticism. These were the palmy days of the Association, when it was in the prime and vigor of its youth.

The main object of directing attention to these points in the history of the Association is to impress, as strongly as possibe, the thought that such an organization, like an individual, vindicates its right to live only by living for a purpose-by having a work to do and doing it with at least a fair measure of faithfulness. It will be conceded, I think, that this organization has in the past so maintained its right to existence. It has done an important work. But I am prompted to ask what work we have now in hand, or in anticipation, to engage our earnest thought and effort. Have we any? Are we

not rather resting on our oars, engaged, with sweet self-complacency, in contemplation of the progress already made and our present agree able surroundings? It is true that our occasional meetings and greetings are pleasant; we are entertained and instructed by the papers presented from time to time; there is some stimulation and inspiration by contact, though less. I think, than formerly; and there is, in a general way, something of professional improvement and the dissemination of educational ideas. But what definite purpose have we before us-what good work have we as an Association in hand that engages our hearts and taxes our energies?

There are two lines along which it seems to me this Association might push out. One leads in the direction of manual training in the schools. I am glad that our executive committee already leads the way, by placing this subject on to-day's program. There has already been considerable skirmishing along this line, but the main column has scarcely yet begun to move. There is no question about the value of work as an element in education. Hand work is an efficient, it not an essential means of character-building. It is to be doubted whether the man who has not learned to work with his hands can ever come to the full growth of a man. But the problem to be solved is, whether manual training is a proper function of the public schoolwheather it is feasible and desirable to combine, in the school training of our young people, such incongruous elements as arithmetic and carpentry, history and blacksmithing. It is not my purpose to enter upon a discussion of the question here. I bring it to the attention of the Association, hoping it will do its part toward solving the problem.

The other line leads in the direction of training for good citizenship. The right of the state to maintain schools at public cost rests upon the state's need of good citizens. Our warrant for taxing the people to support schools is not found in the fact that the children need education, or that they have a better chance in life because of what the schools do for them, but rather in the fact that the welfare of the state depends on the intelligence and morality of her citizens. The state has a right to educate because she needs educated citizens. The schools, then, should make good citizens. They should inculcate the doctrines and principles of free government, and inspire patriotism and loyalty. They should counteract the spirit of insubordination and anarchy now so prevalent, and check the spread of false, unAmerican ideas. The schools could be made far more efficient in this direction than they are. It would be a work worthy of this Association to direct public attention strongly to this important matter,

and to devise a systematic plan of instruction and training in the principles of our free government and the privileges and obligations of citizenship in this greatest, freest, and happiest nation on the face of the earth; to the end that a spirit of patriotism and loyalty may prevail among all the people.

I take the liberty of recommending the appointment of two committees, as follows:

I. A committee on manual training, charged with the duty of investigating and reporting concerning the desirableness and feasibility of making manual training a part of the public school course of instruction and training, with authority to incur necessary expense in making observations and collecting information.

II. A committee on civics, whose duty it shall be to devise and report a systematic plan of instruction and training in the principles and workings of our free government and the privileges and obligations of citizenship.

THE BUSINESS SIDE OF CITY SCHOOL SYSTEMS.

BY B. A. HINSDALE.

[Report presented to the National Council of Education at San Francisco, July 16, 1888.]

Since the school system of a republican state is for, of, and by the people, it necessarily reflects their civilization. Their relations to it are four-fold.

1. They delegate to the legislature power to constitute a system of schools.

2. The legislature constitutes the system, delegating to local boards power to organize and conduct them.

3. The board delegates instruction and discipline to teachers.

4. The people elect the members of the legislature and commonly the members of the board. They also exert a strong direct influence upon the legislature, the board and the teachers. This report will be devoted mainly to the board, and three topics will be considered.

1. The Constitution and powers of the Bourd.-These must depend to a degree upon the organization of the local government. The town system of New England, the county system of the South, and the compromise system of the Middle States and the West materially influence school legislation in those grand divisions of the country. City school systems, however, are in a measure withdrawn from the