CHAPTER XXV
EDUCATION
The purpose of this chapter is to explain why education is made compulsory, how the schools are managed, what they cost, and what they are trying to do.
Education and Democracy.—No matter where one may go, in any part of the world, it will be found that political democracy and public education tend to keep pace with each other. In despotisms one will rarely find a system of universal, free, public education; or, if it is found, one can be sure that the despotism will not last very long. Education is the friend of democracy and the foe of despotism. Indeed it can fairly be said that without a system of public education no democracy can be sure of its own permanence. This is because the maintenance of democratic government depends upon the ability of the people to think straight and to see things clearly. The more political freedom you give a people the greater is their opportunity for abusing it.
In a real democracy the only safeguard is the common sense of the people, and a system of free, public education will do more for the diffusion of common sense among the people than anything else can do. It is unsafe to place the ballot in the hands of people without giving them the opportunity to acquire that degree of enlightenment which is necessary to enable them to use the ballot intelligently. The voter who cannot read a newspaper or understand the public questions which he is called upon to decide is a poor foundation upon which to build a government. More than fifty years ago, when England practically adopted manhood suffrage, some of the old-fashioned statesmen bemoaned the fact that the multitudes of the people would be “masters” of the government. “Well, then”, said a certain member of Parliament, “educate your masters!” That is the only way to keep a democratic government honest, intelligent, orderly, and capable.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE BOOK. By John W. Alexander
From a Copley Print, copyright by Curtis & Cameron, Boston. Reproduced by permission.
These three mural paintings are in the East Corridor of the Library of Congress.
The first depicts the spread of knowledge by oral tradition. A seer, or wise man, narrates by word of mouth to his tribesmen the story of the race. This was, in earliest times, the only way of imparting knowledge. Then, after many centuries, came the making of manuscript books on parchment. The monks of the Middle Ages, as shown in the central picture, spent much of their time in the laborious task of making books—each letter being printed by hand. Finally came the invention of printing. In the third picture Gutenburg, the inventor, is inspecting one of the pages just completed by the primitive press which the boy is turning by hand.
But someone may interpose to ask this embarrassing question: If education helps to make people more intelligent in political matters, why is it that well-educated and intelligent people are often found among corrupt and selfish politicians, and that even college graduates sometimes become notorious political bosses? The answer is that in this, as in other things, a general truth does not cease to be a general truth because there are exceptions to it. Many well-educated men are unable to earn a living, but would any sensible person argue that education, as a general rule, renders no aid toward the gaining of a livelihood? As well might one urge that newspapers render no service in disseminating the truth because some of them occasionally print lies. It is quite true that men are not politically wise in exact proportion to the extent of their education. The man or woman who is only a grammar school graduate may have more political wisdom than the most finished scholar in the land. But this does not impair the fundamental truth that knowledge is preferable to ignorance in all countries, at all times, and in every field of human activity.
Education and Personal Efficiency.—To make men and women intelligent in matters of government is not, however, the only purpose of education. The general prosperity of the country depends, in the long run, upon the individual ability of its citizens. Every individual who proves able to earn his own living, establish a home, bring up a family, and by his savings add something to the nation’s capital is a contributor to the national prosperity. Every individual who fails to make his own way and becomes dependent, either in whole or in part, upon the efforts of others, is a drag upon the community. In its own interest, therefore, it is the duty of the whole people to see that everyone is not only enabled but encouraged to become personally efficient, able to make his own way in the world, and capable of pulling his own weight in that many-oared boat which carries the progress of society along.
The Purpose and Value of Education.—The purpose of education therefore is three-fold. |1. Economic.| First, it aims to give young men and women the sort of training which will enable them to earn a living. This is a primary and fundamental purpose, because earning a living is one of life’s great problems. But it is not the only purpose of education; an educational system would be very defective if it confined itself to this and nothing more. |2. Personal.| The second purpose of education is to develop the personality of the individual, his own resources and mentality, so that he may enjoy those durable satisfactions of life which are not directly connected with the work of earning a livelihood. The enjoyment which men and women derive from life is not entirely dependent upon the amount of their incomes; one need only to look about the community to realize that this is so. Even a large fortune does not of itself guarantee happiness. To live a full and contented life it is necessary to know what is going on in the world, to appreciate its significance, and to understand the many things which, to the uneducated man or woman, are hidden mysteries. Education helps an individual to know himself, to know what is going on around him, to understand the motives which govern the actions of his fellow-men, and to adjust himself to the environment in which he lives. Knowledge is power. It is power in the hands of everyone who possesses it. |3. Social.| The third purpose of education, the social purpose, is also of great importance. Education aims to train the individual so that he may better serve his fellow-men. Democracy, as has been said, rests upon the intelligence of the people. A democratic government exacts from its citizens a sort of service which education alone can teach them to give.[242]
The Growth of Public Education.—For many centuries in the history of the world the masses of the people were afforded no opportunity for even the elements of education. Not one person in ten thousand could read or write. Even kings on the throne were illiterate. There is a well-known picture of King John, with a crown on his head and a quill pen in his hand, signing the Great Charter. It is an altogether fanciful picture, because John Plantagenet could not write a single word, not even his own name. No copy of Magna Carta or any other document has ever been found with his signature on it. The only persons who could read or write in those days were the monks and other officers of the Church together with a very few laymen who were educated by them. Even after the invention of printing, education spread slowly and it was not until the nineteenth century that the desirability of providing free schools for the masses of the people came to be generally recognized. Prior to that time education was almost everywhere regarded as a luxury to be bought and paid for by the relatively few individuals who could afford it.
In the United States free education goes back to colonial days. As early as 1647 the colony of Massachusetts Bay provided that a schoolmaster should be appointed and paid out of the taxes in every town of more than fifty families and that this schoolmaster should teach all the children “to write and reade”; but this example was not generally followed in the other colonies. It has been estimated that not more than half the population in the colonial days could read and write. The proportion of illiteracy among women was especially large because very little provision was made for educating girls. Even after the Revolution the system of free, public schools spread slowly and not until the middle of the nineteenth century did it cover the greater portion of the country. Since the Civil War, however, the policy of making education not only free but compulsory has been adopted in virtually every part of the United States. The total enrolment in the public schools is now more than twenty-two millions, and the cost of educating the vast array of young citizens is considerably over a billion dollars a year.
The Control and Management of Education.—As the national constitution gives the federal government no power to control education the responsibility rests with the several states. Every state has established a system of free, public education, but the methods of control and management differ greatly from one state to another. Some states have centralized the management of the schools in the hands of the state authorities; others leave this very largely to the school officials of the counties, cities, or districts. Everywhere there is a state department of education, with a board or a superintendent in charge, some states having both. The local educational unit may be the city, town, township, school district, or (especially in the Southern states) the county. A school board, usually elected, erects the school buildings, chooses a school superintendent, appoints principals and teachers (on the recommendation of the superintendent), and appropriates money for the support of the schools. The detailed work of managing the schools rests primarily upon the superintendent.[243]
Central vs. Local Control of Schools.—To what extent should the public schools be under the control of the state authorities? Is it advisable that local school boards should be left free to manage the schools as they think best, without interference from the state? These are questions upon which the opinions of educators differ. It is argued that the school board, in every city, town, or township knows best the needs of its own community and hence ought to be given a free hand in meeting these needs. This policy, moreover, affords each school a chance to try experiments and it is through experiments that progress in education, as in everything else, is usually made. On the other hand it is logical to assert that if the state laws make education compulsory and if the state treasury grants money to local schools it is the right of the state to see that the money is properly spent. If every city, town, and village were left free to manage its schools without any central control there would be no uniformity in the subjects taught, in the qualifications of teachers, or in the organization of the schools. It would be difficult in that case for a pupil to transfer from one school to another, outside the same community, without finding himself a misfit in the new institution. A certain amount of central control seems therefore to be desirable, but it is not for the best interests of education that every school throughout the state should be conducted in exactly the same way. A system of that sort tends to deaden the whole process of education. There is a great deal to be said for home rule in education, provided there is a sufficient amount of state supervision to keep the schools up to a proper standard.
School Boards and Politics.—It is generally agreed that party politics should have no place in the management of the public schools. There may be justification for party politics in lawmaking bodies; but in school boards there is none. There is an efficient way of managing the schools and an inefficient way; but there is no such thing as a Republican way or a Democratic way. Yet elections to school boards are, in many communities, contested upon party lines. Men and women are nominated and elected, very often, because they belong to one or the other political party, not because they have good judgment or a deep interest in school affairs. In this, however, public sentiment is gradually changing. In many places the school board elections have become non-partisan; party designations have been taken off the ballots, and it matters little which party a candidate belongs to. Why should it? What relation is there between a man’s views on the tariff or the league of nations and his ability to serve his own neighbors acceptably as a member of a local school board? There is no visible relation. Taking the schools out of politics means that the taxpayers get greater value for the money which is spent in maintaining the schools, that all questions are decided upon their merits and not by political favoritism, and that every pupil gets the benefit of better schools, better teachers, and better educational methods.
Educational Work of the National Government.—The national government, as has already been pointed out, possesses no formal powers with respect to education in the states. Nevertheless it has done a good deal to promote the interests of public education by publishing the results of investigations into educational problems, and by rendering advisory assistance to the state authorities. |The national Bureau of Education.| It maintains a Bureau of Education which is now within the jurisdiction of the Interior Department. At the head of this bureau is a Commissioner of Education appointed by the President. The functions of the bureau are almost wholly of an informal character; it collects data for the use of educators and publishes this material in annual reports and bulletins.[244] There has been a strong movement to make this bureau a regular Department of Education, with a member of the cabinet at its head, and to increase its powers considerably; but this movement has not yet been successful.
Federal Aid to Education.—Within the last few years there has been a good deal of controversy, both in Congress and outside, over a proposal to appropriate further funds from the national treasury for the promotion of general education in the states, particularly in those states where the common school system needs toning up. |The Towner-Sterling Bill: its merits and defects.| This proposal is embodied in a measure which has been before Congress for some time but upon which no favorable action has yet been taken.[245] In favor of the measure it is argued that public elementary education is a national necessity and that if any state cannot raise sufficient money to keep its common schools up to a proper standard the interests of the whole nation will suffer in the end. There is just as much reason, and more, it is asserted, for federal aid to state schools as for such aid to state roads. On the other hand it is objected that the policy of large federal subsidies to education would involve the taxing of the populous and thriving states of the East, the Middle West, and the Pacific Slope for the benefit of those other states, especially in the South, where the school system has heretofore been backward through lack of funds. Most of the federal government’s income is provided by the taxpayers of states like New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Massachusetts. But in these states the public school system has already been brought up to a standard where there is no urgent need for federal assistance. The chief gainers under the new plan would be the states which contribute very little of the revenue. In other words, we should be taxing some states for the benefit of others. A somewhat more weighty objection, to some minds, is found in the possibility that if the national government begins the practice of making large annual grants to the states for educational purposes it may, in due course, undertake to exercise control over the public school systems of the entire country. When a government grants money for any purpose it has an undeniable right to make sure that the money is being properly spent. To do this it must create some system of inspection. Inspection leads to supervision, and supervision sooner or later merges into actual control. It is feared in some quarters that this would be the ultimate outcome of federal aid to common school education on any large scale.
| THE PUBLIC | |||||||||
| BOARD OF EDUCATION | |||||||||
| CLERK | SUPERINTENDENT | COUNSEL | |||||||
| SECRETARY | |||||||||
| PRINCIPALS | |||||||||
| ENGINEERS | SUPERVISORS | ||||||||
| JANITORS | |||||||||
| TEACHERS | |||||||||
| PUPILS | |||||||||
This diagram illustrates a common type of municipal school administration. The voters choose a Board of Education, or School Board. This body, in turn, appoints a Superintendent of Schools who has supervision over all matters of school management. In some cities the members of the Board of Education are appointed by the mayor. In the larger municipalities there are, as a rule, one or more assistant superintendents.
Make a similar chart showing the organization of the school system in your own community.
Some Problems of School Organization.—Several problems of great importance are engaging the attention of the school authorities at the present time. The more conspicuous among them may be indicated by a series of questions which are under discussion wherever educators come together, but which are also of direct interest to the pupils and to the community. To what age should school attendance be made compulsory? How can pupils be kept from leaving school before they have received a sufficient amount of education? How should the school course be divided? Should we have junior high schools and junior colleges as well as regular high schools and regular colleges? How may the training of teachers be improved? Can the work of the schools be brought into closer and better contact with the resources of the public library? Is it possible to use the school plant, after school hours, for various forms of community service? Can greater use be made of the school plant during the school day? And where are we going to get the money with which to carry on all these new enterprises if we ultimately agree that they are desirable? This list of questions may seem to contain some that are not related to one another, but they all point to different aspects of the same great problem and may be summed up in the one broad query: What changes in school organization will better enable education to fulfil its three-fold purpose?
The School Age.—To what age should attendance be made compulsory? In most of the states this age is now fixed at fourteen years (or grammar school graduation) although some Southern states still maintain the twelve-year limit. Many believe that even the fourteen-year limit is not high enough and are urging that it be raised. In some states a step in this direction has been taken by requiring that all persons under sixteen years of age who engage in any form of wage-earning employment must either present a certificate of graduation from grammar school or must attend continuation classes for so many hours per week. More urgent than any raising of the school age, however, is the need for more strictly enforcing the rules which now exist. In some communities the present age limit of fourteen years is not insisted upon, with the result that many thousands in the backward rural sections and in the crowded districts of cities are growing up in illiteracy. Whatever the age limit it ought to be enforced to the letter.[246]
Re-arranging the School Divisions.—But we should not depend wholly upon the stern arm of the law for the solution of a problem like that of keeping pupils at school. When normal boys and girls strongly dislike going to school, when they stay away at every opportunity and leave school as soon as they can, we may well suspect that there is something wrong with the school system itself. Graduation from grammar school has hitherto been looked upon as the natural point at which to break off. The majority of pupils leave the schools at that stage; only a minority go on with the regular school course. Our whole system of school divisions has therefore brought it about that there is no logical breaking-off point between the ages of thirteen or fourteen on the one hand (grammar school graduation) and seventeen or eighteen (high school graduation) on the other. It is believed by many educators, moreover, that the last two grades of the grammar schools have not been so organized as to awaken in the average pupil a desire to go further. The upper grades of grammar schools do not differ essentially in their methods of instruction from the lower grades although the much greater maturity of the pupils would seem to warrant the use of different methods.
To improve this situation it is now proposed to divide the school course into three parts by establishing junior high schools, and many communities have already adopted this plan. The junior high school as usually organized takes the last two grades of the grammar school, adds on the first year or the first two years of the regular high school course, and thus provides a three-year or a four-year program which carries pupils through to the ages of fifteen or sixteen. The methods of instruction are those of the regular high school.[247] This plan is said to have two marked advantages: it induces pupils to continue their schooling one or two years longer, and it gives them a type of instruction which is better suited to their age and interests. Objection is sometimes raised against the junior high school system on the ground that it involves the introduction of elective studies and hence may result in the neglecting of fundamentals. It may also result in bringing all the customary social and athletic diversions of the high school into the lives of younger pupils. Whether this is an advantage or a defect may be regarded as an open question.
What becomes of the regular high school if its first year or two years are lopped off? There are two alternatives. It may become simply a senior high school with a three-year or a two-year course, or it may add on two additional years covering work which has hitherto been done by freshmen and sophomores in colleges, thus providing what has come to be known as a junior college course. Where this policy is pursued the pupil can be carried two years beyond the old high school graduation and enabled, on entering a college or university, to obtain a degree in less than the usual time. All this involves a considerable increase in the expense of maintaining the school system, of course; but it also increases the service rendered to the community.
The Training of Teachers.—In the last analysis the success of education depends upon the teacher. Suitable buildings, a well-planned curriculum, good text books, all contribute their share towards the efficiency of a school; but these are inanimate things. Without capable teachers they are of little avail. Now effective teaching requires two attainments on the part of the teacher, a knowledge of the subject and ability to impart this knowledge to others. Both of these things are essential and both are in large measure the result of training. |Normal schools.| It is for this reason that all the states maintain normal schools in which prospective teachers are trained in the art of giving instruction. For teachers who are already in service many of these normal schools provide courses during the afternoon and evening hours so that teachers may keep abreast of the most modern methods in education. |Extension courses.| The universities also provide extension courses and summer instruction with the same end in view. All this is highly desirable and should be carried even further. We are inclined to spend our school appropriations on buildings, books, supplies, and facilities for the pupils and to feel that the community discharges its full obligation to the teachers when it pays them salaries that are by no means proportionate to the importance of the work in which they are engaged. But human knowledge is moving forward at a rapid pace and anyone who does not keep close on its trail is sure to be left far behind. Unless the teachers are afforded the opportunity of keeping in touch with everything that is new it is difficult to see how their instruction can keep pace with the times.
The School and the Public Library.—The public library is an institution of great educational value and its relation to the schools ought to be more intimate than is usually the case. Too often the public library is merely an ornate building with a miscellaneous assortment of books (mostly fiction) on its shelves. It is regarded as a place for adult readers primarily. But the way to enlarge this circle of adult readers is to bring them into touch with the resources of the library when they are young, and the public schools are the natural channels through which this can be accomplished.
In well-managed public libraries this is now being done. Many of them have established juvenile departments in which an expert carefully chooses books that are likely to interest the young. Reading lists of interesting and timely subjects are also kept posted; the pupils in the schools are encouraged to use the library in connection with their studies; illustrated lectures are provided in the late afternoon hours and on Saturdays, and the whole atmosphere of the library becomes one of welcome to readers of every age. It should not be thought, however, that all public libraries are rendering this degree of service. Many of them are unprogressive in these things.
Wider Use of the Schools.—Under ordinary conditions, how many hours of use does a community obtain from its school buildings in the course of a year? Five hours per day, five days per week for about forty weeks in the year. That makes a total of about a thousand hours—a year contains more than eight times as many. When used for school purposes only, school buildings are empty seven-eighths of the time. But the cost of maintenance (interest, care, etc.) goes on all the time just the same. These buildings are admirably suited for many after-school purposes; they are centrally-located, well heated and ventilated, clean and commodious. Why not make use of them outside of school hours? The answer to this query is that many cities are now making use of them for evening classes, for public meetings, and neighborhood recreation. The high schools in many cities have become evening social centers for the section in which they are located. This means that the classrooms, assembly hall, and gymnasium are opened for lectures, entertainments, games, and dances, all under the supervision of officials (usually teachers) who are appointed and paid by the school board. The complaint is sometimes made that this wider use of the school plant is not education in the customary sense, but recreation or amusement, and that the taxpayers should not be required to pay for adult amusement under color of supporting a public school system. There is some force in this contention, but so long as the work is of value to the community, and worth what it costs, the particular heading under which the money is expended does not matter a great deal. These evening activities are placed in charge of the school authorities as a matter of convenience and not because they are exclusively of an educational character.
The Gary System.—Do we make sufficient use of the school facilities within the available school hours of the day? The usual school program does not cover more than five hours, although there are eight hours between eight in the morning and four in the afternoon. |Schools on an eight-hour basis.| In Gary, Indiana, a few years ago the school authorities decided that schooling, like labor, should be put upon an eight-hours-a-day basis. Pupils were therefore kept at school from eight until four, spending half their time in the classrooms and the other half at vocational work or at organized play. In this way the classrooms were made to accommodate twice the customary number of pupils. The Gary plan was based on the idea that even as regards their play the school can be of service to pupils and that time spent in learning something useful should be substituted for time spent in roaming the streets. Especial emphasis is placed by the Gary plan upon letting each pupil follow his own line of interests both in the classroom and in the vocational work. But the system has not, on the whole, proved popular elsewhere with either parents or pupils. The labor organizations also dislike it, suspecting that the plan is a capitalist scheme for getting the children of the worker more rapidly into the shops and factories.
Vocational Education.—The foregoing topics do not exhaust the list of things which educators are earnestly considering today. There is also the important question as to what should be taught in the schools and how it should be taught. For some years the whole curriculum of the public schools has been in process of change. The training of the old-time American school was in large measure literary and intellectual, without any direct relation to the present or future interests of pupils. It came to us from a past generation, when education was the prerogative of the well-to-do alone, the privilege of the leisure class, designed to give culture and erudition. But inasmuch as nearly ninety per cent of all the pupils in the public school go directly into some form of industrial or mercantile employment (not into the learned professions) it can readily be seen that a school program of strictly cultural studies does not satisfy the real needs of the community. Hence the demand for vocational education, for such study and practice as will connect the pupil directly with his future life work.[248]
In response to the demand for vocational studies the old school curriculum has undergone a striking change. Today it is the disposition of educators to challenge every subject to demonstrate its value. A subject which cannot demonstrate that it helps to fulfil some one of the recognized purposes of education is given a subordinate place in the curriculum or taken out altogether. In keeping with this attitude the vocational studies have come into great prominence during the past twenty years or more, for they are regarded as connecting the pupil with his future life-work. Shopwork, millinery, sewing, cooking, stenography, mechanical drawing, and a dozen other branches of vocational work have been brought into the school program. They are crowding the older high school studies, particularly the classical languages, into the background. Special schools of commerce and industry have been provided in many of the large cities, and special schools of agriculture in the rural districts.[249]
No sensible person should regret that the schools have moved in this new direction; the only question is how far they ought to go. If the only purpose of education were to teach the art of earning a living it would be another matter; but do purely vocational studies afford sufficient scope for the attainment of the other educational purposes? Man does not live by bread alone. The cultural studies have their value although this is often overlooked because it does not appear in plain sight to the naked eye. Even in the vocational school there should be a proper balance between the definitely vocational studies and the so-called cultural subjects.
The Newer Methods of School Instruction.—Forty or fifty years ago all American education, in schools and colleges, was on a prescribed basis. Definite subjects were laid down to be studied and everybody studied them. But the plan of allowing students to choose some or all of their studies was adopted by the colleges and in due course this elective system worked its way down into the schools.
There is a good deal to be said in favor of the elective system; it permits a choice of work in accordance with individual interests and capacities. After all, the school is created for the pupil, not the pupil for the school. The pupil is the true unit of instruction, not the subject. On the other hand the elective system may be carried to extremes; in some colleges that was the case and it has now been found necessary to put restrictions on the plan. A system of free and unguided electives leads to a patchwork education, desultory in character and without depth. It is all right to know a little about everything; but it is even more important to know some one thing well. Certain subjects form the groundwork of knowledge, and to go ahead with others before first mastering them is like building the roof of a house before you have dug the foundation or erected the walls. Without a grounding in the great languages, the English language particularly, and a fair proficiency in mathematics, history, and the elements of science no one is entitled to call himself an educated man.
The classroom methods have also changed considerably in the last generation, and they have changed for the better. The older methods sought to drill facts into the pupil’s mind and resulted, very often, in merely over-stocking his memory. Today the aim is to utilize, wherever possible, a method of approach through the interests of the individual and to show him how every shred of knowledge fits into the whole fabric. The old methods of classroom instruction laid the entire emphasis upon individual study and recitations; today much greater emphasis is being placed upon group activity, which includes group discussions, group investigations, and group reports. This does not mean, however, that the individual pupil carries less responsibility than under the older system. It still remains true that there is no royal road to knowledge and no system of rapid transit either. No system can make an educated individual without self-effort. Education is one of the very few things in the world which anyone can obtain but which no one can give away.[250]
Financing the Schools.—All new educational enterprises mean increased expenses. Public education in the United States has become enormously more expensive during the past twenty years. The newer methods of school organization and instruction, the wider use of the schools, the extension of vocational education, the providing of free text books, the progress of health work in the schools, the establishment of evening schools, continuation schools, vacation schools—all these things have caused the cost to keep mounting year after year. |A billion dollars a year for education.| The public schools of the United States now cost the taxpayer more than a billion dollars per annum. That is twice what they cost ten years ago. If the expenses double once more in the next decade, where will the money come from? Practically all of it is now obtained by taxation; but taxation spreads itself out through rents and prices upon the whole people as has already been shown. A billion a year seems to be a large sum. It is a large sum but, strange to say, it is less than the American people spend every year for tobacco. Money for the schools, it is safe to predict, will be forthcoming when people understand what education means to individuals and to the nation. If present sources of revenue will not stand the strain others must be found. There is no more profitable way in which the nation can invest its wealth.
E. P. Cubberly, Public School Administration, pp. 3-65;
S. T. Dutton and David Snedden, The Administration of Public Education in the United States, pp. 25-95;
F. J. Goodnow and F. J. Bates, Municipal Government, pp. 335-354 (Educational Administration);
A. J. Inglis, Principles of Secondary Education, pp. 340-383;
John A. Fairlie, Local Government in Counties, Towns, and Villages, pp. 215-224;
W. E. Chancellor, Our City Schools, pp. 25-77;
W. B. Munro, Principles and Methods of Municipal Administration, pp. 356-402;
George F. Swain, How to Study, pp. 1-21;
The Annual Reports of the United States Commissioner of Education, the Bulletins of the United States Bureau of Education, and the Annual Reports of the State Superintendents of Education contain much useful information.