either at the end of words of one syllable or at the end of an accented syllable.

2. The sound of y as short i is found in 462 words. it is almost always found at the end of the word, and always in an unaccented syllable. More than one-half the words end in ly or ty. 3. The sound of y as a consonant is found 20 times. It always occurs at the beginning of a word or syllable.

SPORADIC SOUNDS OF Y.

In two words, zephyr and martyrs, y before r represents the sound of i before r.

It will be observed that 88 per cent of all are short.

SUMMARY OF THE SOUNDS OF A, E, I, O, U, Y.

Whole number of sounds represented by these letters,

10,418

6862

1714

1060

9636

782-10,418

In only

In other words, in 92 per cent of all syllables, the vowels are either long or short, or have their sound modified by r. eight per cent are any other than these sounds heard; and, as I have already endeavored to show, even in a majority of this small fraction of our words, a letter next to the vowel is found which points out as a diacritical mark the modified sound of the vowel, e. g., w for the sound of a as in wash, I for the sound of a as in call, u for the sound of o as in wonder.

It is true that there has been "a departure from the original unitary sounds of our vowels." But there has been a similar

While the changes have been

change in every known language. more numerous in our language than in many others, we can now easily put the children in the way of finding out for themselves about nine-tenths of the words they meet with. Is it not

the part of wisdom, then, speedily to make an end to "the word method," "the alphabetic method," "the sentence method," and all similar unscientific and unnatural contrivances, and, going back to nature, use our letters for the purpose for which they were invented, to represent elementary sounds of human speech? Joseph Payne has well said: "I hold it to be a fundamental canon of teaching never to tell a pupil what he can find out for himself."

SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

J. L. PICKARD, LL.D., IOWA CITY, IOWA.

From the organization of the National Council of Education, one of its twelve standing committees has given special study to the scope of Secondary Education.

Reports have been made by this committee as follows:

1882. Upon High Schools.

1884. Preparation for College.

1885. Academies.

1887. Preparatory Schools; - Relation to Colleges.

1889. The Opportunities of the Rural Population for Secondary Education.

1891. Uniformity in Requirements for Admission to College. The last topic aroused so much interest as to demand continued conference, and a further report one year later. (The custom of the Council had been to call for reports from its several committees upon alternate years.)

1892. The Committee on Secondary Education reported as follows:

"In the opinion of the Conference of Representatives of Colleges and Secondary Schools, called by authority of the Council, certain conferences, by departments of instruction, of teachers in colleges and secondary schools are desirable. We, therefore, recommend to the Council that the following ten persons, namely : President Charles W. Eliot, Dr. William T. Harris, President James B. Angell, Principal John Tetlow, President James M. Taylor, Principal O. D. Robinson, President James H. Baker, President R. H. Jesse, Principal James E. Mackenzie, and Professor Henry C. King, be designated as an Executive Committee, with full power to call and arrange for such conferences during the

academic year 1892-3; that the results of the conferences be reported to said Executive Committee for such action as they may deem appropriate; and that the Executive Committee be requested to report fully concerning their action to the Council."

This Committee of Ten was fairly constituted as to ability. As experts, five are known to the educational world only from their connection with the college side of the conference; three, including President Baker, as thoroughly familiar with practical secondary school work; one as representing academic work; and one as peculiarly fitted by long experience to study the questions that would naturally arise in conference, from a true pedagogic and psychologic standpoint.

A girls' secondary school is represented by one of the opposite sex in a state to the most of whose colleges a girl is not admitted. A girls' college, too, has its representative in a man who could not be admitted to any of its classes, even were he a much younger This is the sum of woman's share in the work of organizing conferences, the results of which will affect woman as much

man.

as man.

The Normal college, too, probably through the modesty of the chairman of the committee naming the special committee of ten, is without its representative.

Those who have most to do with shaping courses of study as school superintendents, are without a representative, except in Dr. Harris, who can fill acceptably all the vacant places, and who will see that proper provision is made in sub-committees, so that no interest will be neglected.

This executive committee wisely plans for expert testimony, dividing the field of inquiry into nine parts, and placing ten persons of recognized ability upon each division. It is here to be noted that one woman only was found worthy a place upon the nine sub-committees. The Committee of Ten then fixes the limits of discussion for the conferences, the upper limit being the end of preparation for college, the lower limit the beginning of primary work. The wisdom of the committee appears in these limitations, since secondary education is the subject under consideration, and its character is determined by the nature of its underlying elementary education; its unwisdom, if I may be pardoned for the criticism, appears in placing experts in higher education as a dominant influence in each of the sub-committees, and in an

apparent assumption of the fixed character of college curricula to the requirements of which secondary schools are expected to find some way of conforming.

The full reports of the several sub-committees show that they found secondary schools unable to meet college requirements, and they recommend crowding back upon elementary schools some of the work now done in secondary schools. There was hardly a voice raised in defence of the poor elementary teacher who finds her present burden a grievous one. Her cry is answered by the charge of inefficiency, coupled with the request for resignation until such time as she can be fitted to meet these extra requirements. She had no representative on the Committees of Conference to make appeal to colleges for better facilities in pedagogy. Normal school men were heard only upon three sub-committees, or the difficulties in the way of securing trained teachers in specialties might have found expression.

The dominant influence of colleges is seen: (1) in the fact that of the nine sub-committees, six chose college men as chairmen ; (2) conferences were held in college halls in seven cases: (3) instruction in Latin, Greek, English, Modern Languages (optional), Mathematics (except Book-keeping substituted for Algebra part of one term for those preparing for a business career), Physics and Chemistry, Natural History, History and related subjects, should be the same whatever the destination of the pupil as he leaves the high school. In other words, eight sub-committees declare that all graduates from high schools must be prepared for college. The sub-committee on Geography, however, taking a wider range, expresses the conviction that colleges should change their requirements for admission by accepting alternatives instead of rigidly prescribed studies; (4) in not a single instance was conference held upon the theatre of secondary school work. The environment as well as the personnel of the sub-committees is seen to be on the side of higher education. To this no objection can be made if the purpose of the conferences were the presentation of the ideal, of what ought to be done rather than of what can be done. It is well to work toward an ideal. While one cannot but admire the spirit which animated each of the conferences, and cannot fail to approve their findings from the standpoint of the ideal, the question will arise: are the results, taken as a whole, possible of attainment? College men have undertaken to recast

primary and secondary courses of study, and to adjust them to a rigid but by no means uniform college curriculum. Were all the modifications of elementary courses made as set forth by the sub-committees, our ordinary school-day must be lengthened to secure time for continued recitation, and children must prepare for their recitations at home. In proof of this assertion, the Committee of Ten presents a tabular statement of the required time for recitation in each of the four years of a secondary school course, as follows:

For First Year, two hours and 56 minutes daily.

For Second Year, five hours daily.

For Third Year, four hours and 40 minutes daily.
For Fourth Year, five hours daily.

If account be taken of changes of classes and of recesses, of general exercises of a miscellaneous character, of penmanship, music and drawing not included in the prepared schedules, another hour at the lowest calculation must be added, making six hours without a moment for study.

The number of different topics which must engage the student daily also appears as follows-reducing all to the standard of five periods per week we find :

For First Year, four and two-fifths topics daily.

For Second year, seven and eight-fifteenths topics daily.

For Third Year, six and one-fifth topics daily.

For Fourth Year, six and seven-tenths topics daily.

The Committee of Ten saw at once the impracticability of securing good results with such a wide range of topics under daily consideration. They present a program for four topics daily through the four years of secondary school work, and retain the variety of studies by reducing the number of weekly recitations in each. Many who have had long experience in secondary school work would prefer to have daily recitations in each of four topics until completed, except in studies so correlated that alternation might not prove distracting. The dominance of the college idea is apparent in the large number of alternating studies. It may be argued that most of these alternating studies are but preparatory to kindred studies of the college course, and breaks in continuity is not desirable. Are weekly breaks in continuity less to be avoided? May not a pupil recover more easily the dropped thread after a year's respite from intensive study, than