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E.—ls.

ing. At the University of Chicago all the school attached to the Department of Education are used both for observation and practice. It may be said that the directors of these schools have adopted the best methods of Germany and Great Britain, and then, putting before them the ideal of social efficiency, have woven those methods into a remarkable but albeit self-consistent system. The result is well worth the serious study of all our teachers. Whether many of the actual methods could be adopted, say, in our small country schools is doubtful; but we might do worse than imbibe the spirit of the system, and then under that influence endeavour to modify our teaching in accordance with our own local needs. The fairest as well as the best way to present the views of those who have established these schools and are carrying out these experiments is to let them speak for themselves. Accordingly, in a special appendix are printed extracts from articles by various members of the staff of the Horace Mann Elementary Schools, from the programme of the Horace Mann High School, and from the announcements of the University Elementary School and University High School at Chicago. In the Horace Mann Schools the elementary course —that is, subsequent to the Kindergarten —lasts for seven years, and the High-School course for five years, or twelve years altogether. The elementary-school course at Chicago is an eight-year course, and the High School requires four years (though a fifth year may be taken) ; so that the compulsory course for " graduation " is twelve years in all. In both High Schools the number of "electives" or optional subjects is nominally large ; but in practice it is much reduced owing to the discretion placed in the hands of the Director of each school. Financial Aspects oe Education in the United States of America. There is no general system of public education in the United States, but the financial support of the public schools (elementary, high, &c.) is left to the several States and the local communities, except that Congress has given the States in which the public lands were located large grants of these lands from which to make permanent endowment funds for the schools. In nearly all the States which do not have the land-grant fund, permanent school funds have been created out of their own resources. The annual revenue derived from these land-grant and other permanent funds constitutes, however, only a small fraction of the aggregate funds required for the maintenance of the public schools, and with the increase of population it is a constantly decreasing fraction. In 1899-1900, out of a total school revenue of about £45,000,000, only £1,900,000, or 4-2 per cent., was derived from the income of permanent funds. By far the largest part of the money required for the proper maintenance of the public schools is, therefore, raised by annual taxation. The method now generally followed is to provide part of this annual school fund by State taxation, and part by county, town, schooldistrict, or other local taxation. In 1899-1900 about 69 per cent, of the total amount of school revenues was raised by local taxation and 16 per cent, by State taxation, the remaining 10 or 11 per cent, being derived from fees, gifts from private individuals or societies, and from miscellaneous sources. But the relative amounts raised by State taxation in different States varied from nothing to 77 per cent. In Massachusetts for many years it was the plan to throw the whole burden of school maintenance on the local communities ; the consequence was that the schools in the wealthy manufacturing towns far outstripped the country schools in every particular. Some rural communities, which struggled bravely to maintain a proper basis of efficiency, found the burden of school taxation an intolerable weight on agriculture. More recently the State has given some measure of aid to country schools on the basis of their own reasonable efforts to help themselves. But even now each adult male in Massachusetts contributes to the support of schools through local taxation to the amount of £3 7s. 2d. a year. In North Carolina, on the other hand, a very large share of the school moneys has been raised by State taxation, as was perhaps natural in a community where the population was scattered and the aggregate wealth comparatively small; the result, however, according to Dr. A. C. True* (to whom I am indebted for most of the above facts and statements) has been that this plan has apparently paralysed local effort' and kept the average length of the school term at a very low level. Dr. True lays down the'following principles : — " (1.) The aim should be to provide every child of school age with equal opportunities for an education ;

* "Some Problems of the Rural Common School." By A. C. True, Ph.D.; "Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture," 1901.

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