contestants subscribe to the same first principles of Truth. They disagree as to whether these principles are involved in the case. Hence an argument is in large measure an "exposition"; it consists in identifying the presence and application of spiritual principles or laws. Whenever a man is aware that certain of his hearers do not recognize, in some matter or instance, the scope or obligation of a common ethic or æsthetic law, and so shapes his utterance as to aid them in discerning this, he has resorted to "argumentation." It is not necessary that he appear formally for the affirmative in the case, or that he be replied to in due course by a speaker for the negative. It is not necessary that either deliverance should take the classic form of an oration. The Princess of Tennyson is in effect and intention as typically an argument against the masculizing of woman as if cast in the Catilinian or the De Corona mould.

An especially deprecable result of looking upon the Four Forms as ultimate, and of attempting to teach them as such, is the subordination of the various resources and arts of rhetoric to these. The mental aim and outlook have much to do always with the outcome. The house-builder's apprentice is never put at planing and boring as the ultimate achievements of his craft. He is set to do various things in which he uses sawing or planing as means to an end, yet never considers as the end. It would be absurd to insist that sawing, planing, boring, and nailing are the four modes of carpentry, though in a sense, of course, they are. The carpenter that should so shorten his mental focus as to give his prime attention to these

modes and take pride chiefly in his mastery of them, would not be much sought after by live employers. Perhaps here is a principle not without bearing in the complaint made lately in the Atlantic by Mr. W. R. Thayer, that rhetoric, ever since taught so thoroughly in our colleges, has had little to do in inspiring and promoting authorship. There should be attention to matters both larger and smaller than Narration, Description, and Argumentation. "Exposition," as too nearly a generic name, should give way to "Interpretation"; and the development of higher as well as lower type meanings should be insisted on as legitimate and necessary rhetorical work.

All literary writing is properly interpretation of involved Truth and Beauty meanings, in incidental or larger units. Truth interpretation and Beauty interpretation are wholly distinct, and have modes and expedients respectively and peculiarly their own.

We have now come to the same point in these papers as the one just reached in the Studies in Literary Interpretation. Literary Interpretation. The exercises suggested in Topic XII of the latter should constitute much of the work in secondary, and,—if not yet effectually engaged in, also in higher English work. The first units of interpretation may be and should be low enough to require but clause or sentence treatment. It may then be raised to paragraph proportions, and in due time to such denominations as the essay, the chapter, and the monograph.

L. A. SHERMAN, University of Nebraska.

governor could just wake up to-day long enough to see things as they are he would find a strange contrast. He would find two hundred years of unmatched history in educational work and marvelous changes wrought because of education and the press.

ONE of the pressing school problems to-day is what and how shall boards of education direct the school work to the best possible advantage of the great masses of children that gather daily in the thousands of schoolhouses all over the land. The work of the boards of education to-day is to largely direct the affairs so that our schools will give to the masses such an education as will help them to help themselves, or as will give them a power to grasp the opportunities that are worthy of their best ambitions.

THE masses must be educated so as to encourage thrift and nobility of purpose and to discourage shiftlessness. The whole work of the common school should be upward, remembering that the masses never get beyond the great common school. History shows that the work of leadership is in the hands of the boards of education, and that now is the time to assert our power.

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FREQUENTLY We see the discussion, "Shall the school board be non-partisan?" and in many cities there is a battle royal to see which shall win. Wherever the element of politics can be absolutely eliminated, there we find splendid results in the non-partisan board, but where, under the cloak of non-partisanism, individuals seek to become members of the board, then in

turn to make every energy bend to meet partisan ends, the non-partisan idea suffers greatly.

It will be a blessed day when all school boards are cleared of political influences.

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WE would be glad if the readers of this department would keep the editor informed of any items of interest concerning the work of the department of school administration among any of the boards of education. Do not be afraid to give to the world your successful experiences in school board work.

With a proper support this department can. become very suggestive and stimulating to our boards of education and thus help greatly in

the husbanding of the vast sums of money that are wasted each year in the management of the affairs of the boards of education.

If we could gather all of the unique factors in the several successful school boards and set them before the reading school men it would do much towards the elevation of the ideal and thus greatly help the practical side of the work, at the same time multiplying the chances of success.

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School Boards and Organization

F the people who ought to be interested in thorough organization, the members of the school board should stand way out in the forefront, but the reverse is the fact. All other parts of school work are well organized, and gain great help in the interchange of ideas and and methods of work. If the work of the boards of education were as thoroughly organized as is the work of the other departments of school work, grand results would be attained. They would have more of a mind of their own in the planning of the work of the schools, and there would be less shifting of the responsibility off upon others. The boards of education are supposed to supply the business end of the school work. But it is a terrible poor supply. It is anything but clear-cut business methods and business principles with many boards. It is oftentimes the employment of business means and methods that not a member would think of applying to his own daily routine of work. Much of this comes from a lack of organization among the school board men.

Dull Pupils

THE bright, active pupils of any school give

the members of the board of education

but little trouble in the daily round of school work, but when you come to the dull pupils, then you have a knotty problem, one that puzzles the tact and skill of the best teachers, principals, and superintendents, and as a last resort the problem is presented to the board either by the superintendent or by some fond parent who is "sure," in fact very “positive." that their child is being discriminated against, and they are sure that the teacher is not efficient, and many other things they are sure of. Somehow it never occurs to these individuals that possibly a great deal of all the trouble is right with their own child. What to do with

these dull pupils is one of the unsolved problems, and it will always remain a hard problem until someone can convince parents that much of the fault in the non-advance is in their own child. Somehow, parents never realize when they are making their complaints that in that same room, under that same teacher, there are forty-five to fifty-five other pupils, about the same conditions surrounding them as around their child. The great majority of them are making rapid strides forward under the very same teacher that they are condemning. When some of these things are better known the problem of dull pupils will begin to solve itself and parents will not blame the teacher for holding back an entire room because their child is dull of comprehension, and it is not right that forty or fifty other pupils should be held back because there are some dull pupils in the room.

ONI

Salary Schedule

NE of the interesting and puzzling questions that confronts every member of any board of education is the salary of the teachers. What shall be the schedule? How shall the teachers be graded so as to make the payroll equal? Many boards realize that there is much injustice in the adjusting of the salaries of the teachers under almost every plan proposed. Nearly every time the board organizes the first thing is the reorganization of the salary schedule. If the attempt is made to in any way reduce the salaries, immediately a stand is taken by the teachers as a body and on their personal rights. If an attempt is made to so arrange the salaries that some of the teachers would secure an advance, and let it be purely upon merit, let the report be upon the most equitable plan possible for the competent superintendent to make, and then there are always teachers who cannot see why their standing is not of as high an order as the teachers to whom the increase is promised. Thus much of the very valuable time of the board is spent each year upon this question, which is no nearer solution than in the years past, unless the constant agitation is bringing the teachers and the boards of education to see that the salary question will soon be made a part of the examination, and the question of how much salary to be paid will not be determined alone upon the years taught, but upon the understanding and pedagogical ability of the individual to impart

that knowledge. In some of the cities this work is beginning to assume tangible shape along this line, the record of the teacher determining alone the amount of salary that shall be paid teachers. New York City was already to take up the work in this direction, but for some means the experiment has been postponed until next year, when we are promised that the existing records for merit and service shall tell the story of the salary to be paid. One of the hopeful signs from this proposed method is that it will stop the migrating of teachers from one place to another and give boards more freedom than they now enjoy in choosing their teachers.

The Trans-Mississippi Educational Con

vention

THE ruling powers having decided to hold the next N. E. A. in the east, the question of holding a convention at Omaha next year in the interests of the schools and for the furthering of all the school work has been agitated, and the indications at the present writing are that it will meet with a pronounced success. If the plans as proposed are carried out, there is not the slightest doubt but that the schools, colleges, and universities will be well represented by some of the greatest educational leaders in the country, and that part of the convention will be made a decided success. This department is particularly interested in the boards of education and school administration generally. Will this work be represented? Yes, if the school boards will put a willing shoulder to the wheel. It will be useless to attempt to have a school board section or department unless the members of the boards of education will take hold of the matter in a straightforward manner. If it pays for the school men and women to meet at national conventions and exchange ideas and thus help each other over difficult places in their work, will it not more than pay for the members of the boards of education to hold similar meetings? Will it not bring to the entire school system a general uplift, and tend to strengthen the work of the boards of education? If the Trans-Mississippi Convention materializes, and school board work is made a part of that convention, the members of the boards of education must take hold of it with vim, vigor, and energy never before displayed.

A school board department will not organize

itself; it will not run itself; it will not furnish its own speakers and arrange a programme, without someone keeping everlastingly pushing it.

I realize that the plans of the committee appointed for the preliminary work have not yet been fully completed, but when they do make their announcement, and the work begins to as

sume tangible form, as a member of the board of education, will you be one of the pushers? If the boards of education in the trans-Mississippi territory will hold up this work, success is assured. The attendance will be large, the program will be a feast of good things, stimulating, helpful, and attractive.

冰冰米

WE present in this number of the MONTHLY

the second paper by Dr. Chrisman on "The Secret Languages of Children." The first of this series appeared in the October MONTHLY and created considerable interest. It is thought, however, that the present paper, describing the nature and illustrating some of the more usual forms of secret languages, will attract even greater appreciation. Dr. Chrisman has given much time and attention to this subject, and we take pleasure in presenting the result of his labor to the readers of the MONTHLY.

We offer also in this number of the MONTHLY the second contribution by Dr. Bailey on "Child Study and Ethology." The hypothetical scheme with which the writer begins may prevent many who are not of a speculative or philosophical turn of mind from giving the article as careful reading as it merits, nevertheless this part of the paper becomes necessary in order to fully appreciate the author's criticisms. The paper will be discouraging to some who have not yet entered into the spirit of the new movement, and to others who have not gone deep enough to profit by criticism, but to the majority it will be stimulating and helpful. The paper will doubtless call forth much valuable discussion from those most interested in the subject, and likewise arouse more or less opposition from those who are unable to agree with the writer, both in his assumptions and his conclusions.

The article brings prominently to view the two types of mind-the philosophical and the scientific, of which Dr. Bailey seems to represent the former. Both cannot be satisfied by the same method, but each works best in its own way. In the one case a definite hypothesis, always prominent, seems absolutely necessary

to progress; in the other the mind works on with considerable success while the hypothesis remains in the background, or is only semiconsciously present.

A few of the criticisms are timely, others will be seriously questioned. The importance ascribed to the development of character and the end to be reached by the study will meet general approval. The closing remarks on "Child Study for the Teacher" are practical and full of interest.

The following list of "Empirical Child Study Canons," by Dr. Bailey, may be of service as a sort of summary to his article and make clearer some of the positions taken by the writer:

1. There is no essential identity of charac er possible. The study of individuals may teach us what combinations of traits may occur empirically. The study of groups may teach us what effects similarities of heredity and environment may produce.

2. A number of indica ions, under varying conditions, must point the same way, if our empirical inductions are to be useful.

3. In character-study many-sidedness in the study of individuals is safer than a one-sided study of groups. For the individual, and the individual only, is a unitary monad reflecting the whole universe from his own peculiar standpoint. (Leibnitz.)

4. We have no right to declare empirical inductions unless observations of children's spontaneous doings, and sayings interpreted by doings, corroborate our conclusions.

5. The naturalist must precede the specialist.

6. The philosopher of scientific training, sympathy, and power must guide the naturalist and specialist. 7. Genetic psychology is the key to child study, and comparative psychology is the key to psychogenesis.

8. The results and methods of all the sciences and of all philosophy must be brought to bear on child study.

9. Observation, experiment, and verification, used comparatively, and guided by the hypothesis of biological analogy, constitute the method of child study.

10. Study successively and, as each step is taken, coordinately: 1. Whatsoever most interests you in your school experience as recorded in your no.es. 2. Whatsoever most interests you in the children's recorded "doings and sayings." 3. All things in one or two children. 4. One or two things in all children.

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WE had anticipated giving more attention in the present issue of the MONTHLY to repor、s from the child study sections of the different State Teachers' Associations in the central west, but owing to the time of the month that these meetings were held and the amount of other material already on hand, it was necessary to defer most of these reports until a later date.

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THE Contributors for this department will confer a favor upon the editor by keeping in mind in the preparation of their papers the class of persons for whom the work is conducted. The investigator must be as fie as pos sible from external limitations while carrying on his researches, but when he comes to give voice to the results of his study for the benefit of others he should keep prominently in view their needs and ability to understand.

The object is to make this department helpful to teachers and parents, and I fear we are apt to assume too much upon the present knowledge of the average individual. Child study has already given us a great many good things in regard to the health, growth, interest, etc., of children. These should not be lost sight of in our efforts to add new truth. It may often be necessary to repeat what is already known in order that it may become the more generally known.

I may be wrong, but it seems to me the key to success in child study, as in every other field of education, is simplicity. To help others we must start from where they are and lead on with a pace which they can easily follow. Here the reader can be of great service in acting as a medium through which the poorly expressed truth may be made clear and valuable to others.

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PROF. E. A. KIRKPATRICK, secretary and treasurer of the Minnesota Child Study Association, has resigned his position in the State Normal, Winona, Minn., to accept the chair of psychology and child study in the State Normal at Fitchburg, Mass. He will be missed by the child study people of Minnesota, where his work has become greatly appreciated.

INDIRECTLY we learn that one of the most interesting and popular courses offered by Dr. Oscar Chrisman in the State Normal at Emporia, Kan., is his work in child study. This will doubtless be the case in every department of pedagogy as soon as the instructors are familiar enough with the subject to treat it intelligently.

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DR. THOS. P. BAILEY, associate professor of pedagogy, University of California, announces courses on "Child Study and Ethology." This. I believe, is a new departure, and the outcome will be watched with interest. The course on "Introduction to Ethology" will be worked out through the Tompkins Experimental School, of which Dr. Bailey is one of the directors.

A COPY of "The Brookline (Mass.) Education Society Year Book, 1895-96" has just been received. It is a very suggestive little pamphlet of fifty pages, containing constitution, officers, members, accounts of meetings, lectures, and reports of committees of the above society.

The Brookline Education Society is the outgrowth of an effort on the part of Superintendent Samuel T. Dutton and others to correlate all the social forces of the community with education as a central aim. The society is composed mostly of citizens, among whom are some of the best known writers of the country. Judging from the year book the organization is in a most prosperous condition. A few quotations from the pamphlet will give the reader a better idea of the society.

"The membership is large and influential, and includes representatives from all portions of the town. The tone of the meetings has been serious and thoughtful, and the discussions have touched upon some of the most vital problems that beset the home and the school." "All spoke earnestly in favor of some plan that should tend to bring the school and the home into closer sympathy." "Attention was called to the dangers that beset young children when out of school and away from home during the long vacations, the possibility of reducing these dangers, and the importance of 'child study.'"

Again quoting from one of the committees' reports:

"Child study must be recognized as an appropriate form of effort in a society whose avowed purpose is to secure the co-operation of parents and teachers in the improvement of educational conditions in the home and in the school." "The committee are convinced