that he would have scant respect for a school where the text-book list was very much reduced from its present proportions.

I have gone into this matter at some length. It may appear at first glance to have nothing to do with the subject of text-book adoption. But I think it has. A part at least of the problem of text-book adoption is to educate the public and teachers to the point where fewer books will need to be adopted.

But even then we shall have to have some text-books. Some years ago the superintendent of one of the leading cities of this country undertook to run his school without any text-books at all. He lost his job. The moral of this story, which is not a fable, is that a good thing can be carried too far, and also that the individual cannot move very much faster than the procession. The strong teacher is bigger than any text-book, and can walk without it, but the weak teacher needs its support and aid.

Under actual conditions, where, as in most schools, each subject is taught from a text-book more or less slavishly followed, the task of selection assumes an importance it would not otherwise have.

First, the method. The present state law of Ohio places the adoption of text-books in the hands of the school board. In cities where there is a superintendent of schools, his opinion enters more or less, by consent of the board, into the determination. The weight which it has varies very much with the locality. In some places the superintendent's recommendation is always asked and is seldom or never rejected; in other places his judgment counts for little or nothing. It does not seem to depend so much upon the ability or professional standing of the superin

tendent as upon local custom and other considerations.

There appears to me to be more reason for nomination of text-books by the superintendent than for nomination of teachers, which latter is now legally in his hands. After all, the success of the teacher is largely a matter of general personality, and of this the shrewd business man is as likely to be a good judge as the superintendent of schools. But the considerations which enter into the selection of a text-book are almost purely technical. I could conceivably select a workman for the head of a manufacturing plant, without serious blunder, but I should not for a moment think of undertaking to pick out an engine or dynamo for him.

The law also provides that, once adopted, books shall not be changed for a period of five years, except on a three-fourths vote of the members of the board. This appears to me excellent. It guards against capricious change, at the same time providng for change where the need is strongly apparent, at any time. In fact, if this subpect was placed on the program with a view to suggesting needed legislation along this line, the committee selected the wrong person to handle it. The present Ohio plan seems to me admirable in all respects, and in my judgment the energies of this body of school board members, as well as of educational forces generally, should be directed toward preventing rather than aiding and abetting any new legislation. We are getting along very nicely in the matter of text-books. Let us alone.

State uniformity of text-books is a subject likely to come up any time in legislative circles. It seems to be popular in the south, and shows sporadic

signs of life in the north at times. I can find little to recommend it. It violates the fundamental American principle of local self-government. But the practical objections are even greater than the theoretical. The argument relied upon by its promoters is, I believe, that parents moving from one place to another within the state are not subjected to additional expense for school books. I believe it can be shown that more actual changes occur under state uniformity than under individual adoption. While it is true that there is peace in text-book circles during the legal period of adoption, yet it must be remembered that when the legal period expires the book lists of the entire state are disrupted, the aggregate of change thus brought about being greater, I am convinced, than if districts were left to their own choice. The magnitude of the spoils at stake in one great battle is a greater inducement also to the political grafter than if the same amount were scattered in bits over the entire state.

On the educational side of this there is absolutely nothing to recommend it. What educational reasons are there why Cleveland and Sleepy Valley district should be compelled to use the same text-book? There are many why they should not. It is interesting to note that although there is probably more moving to and from large cities than there is between the smaller places, yet the large cities are usually exempt from the state uniformity laws. This is because the politicians are afraid to offend the latter. They are big enough to take their own part.

County uniformity is open to the same kind of objections but the evils are less, in proportion to the smaller

size of the territory. As a matter of fact not five per cent. of the population is benefited, even in the matter of expense, by state uniformity. Why should the educational interests of the ninety-five per cent. be sacrificed to the petty convenience of the five per cent.? That too is un-American.

Let us hope, then, that in Ohio, at least for a long time to come, we shall be allowed to select our own text-books for our own schools. With this prospect in view, let us examine briefly some of the considerations which should effect that selection.

In the first place, let us dismiss at once the notion that there is any absolutely best text-book in any subject, any more than there is an absolutely best breed of horse or make of automobile. It is a matter of circumstances, of purposes in view, even to a considerable extent of individual taste. There are pedagogical creeds and systems of dogma, even, each with its representative text-book literature, and for the superintendent at least, his educational denominational affiliations, so as to speak, figure largely in his choice, as they should.

The large adoption argument is one much relied on by our friend the agent in urging a text-book. In my judgment, it has little weight. Numerous adoptions may mean a greater tribute to the efficiency of some agent than to that of the book. It is a well known fact that publishers push certain of their books rather than others, for reasons of their own, without much regard to the real merits of the books.

The typography and mechanical features of the book should be taken into consideration. In these days no book not well printed upon good paper should be placed in a child's

hands. Regard for eyesight requires that the paper should not be glazed, except where necessary for half-tone engravings. The size of the print is a point seldom looked into by school boards or superintendents either, when considering text-books. Yet there is no doubt that this neglect is the cause of much poor eyesight among children. In books for young children the letter should not be smaller than what the printers call pica, which is about .07 of an inch in height. For the beginners it should be even larger. And no book for any grade should be printed in a letter smaller than what is called small pica, which is .05 of an inch in height.

The style in which a text-book is written is of the highest importance. Special attention should be given to see that the language, without being puerile or showing conscious effort to "write down," is easily within the grasp of the pupils for whom it is intended. The commonest weakness. especially of high school texts, lies right here. The trouble comes from the fact that the publishers, in order to give prestige to their books, select the authors almost wholly for their eminence in scholarship. Now, a

man may be a very great scholar and yet not be able to write a good high school text-book in his own subject. In fact, his very scholarship is likely to unfit him for the task. Probably the greatest single success in the way of a high school text-book, of the present generation, whether viewed from the standpoint of the publisher or the schools, was written by a man whose academic attainments were very ordinary, but who knew what a text-book should be. Up to now, our school books have been written for the most part either by school

men who knew little of the subject, or by college professors who knew little of the schools. With the rapidly rising standard of academic scholarship among public school people, it is probable that the best books of the future will come from those actively engaged in school work, rather than the professors.

A book strong in all other points may fail because of bad arrangement of matter, whereby it lacks the peculiar quality of "usableness" in the class room. I have in mind a series of high school texts, charmingly written by leading scholars, beautifully printed and excellently and profusely illustrated. They are delightful to read, but we did not find them workable, under average schoolroom conditions, with the average teacher. They are very alluring, especially to the non-professional judgment, but they do not lend themselves to class-room treatment.

Fortunately, it is not so easy to make mistakes in selecting textbooks as it used to be. There have been great advances. Time was, when the problem was to select a good book out of the various offerings. It is almost literally true that there are no bad books put out by publishers to-day. At present, it is rather a question of selecting from among a mass of good books, the one best adapted to the circumstances and educational ideals of the given school.

WEDNESDAY MORNING, JUNE 26,
AT 9:30.

Address-Education and the State, Hon. Wade H. Ellis, Attorney-General of the State of Ohio.

Report of the School Revenue Commission-Hon. Edmund A. Jones, Chairman, Commissioner of Common Schools.

General Discussion.
Appointment of Committees.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AT 2:00. Theme: The Course of Study Its Failures and Shortcomings.

The Co-ordination of the Kindergarten with the Graded School Miss Anna Laws, Cincinnati.

READING AN AID TO CHARACTER
BUILDING.

By Jennie Tribbey, Morrow. The chief causes which produce formation of character are met with in the homes of the people. They are of great variety and mostly too subtle to be controlled. Religious belief, ideas ineradicable often in maturer life, imbibed from the early instruction of parents, the principles of morality current among brothers and sisters and playmates, popular superstitions, national and local prejudices sometimes have a deeper and more permanent effect upon character than the instruction given in schools.

The teacher, it is true, exercises his influence among the rest but this is a power that must grow weaker as the number of pupils under his care is increased. Much good may result though from teaching these young people to read, to investigate, to interpret, to discriminate, to absorb and assimilate that which is whole

some.

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The power of research the art of acquiring information for oneself should be cultivated. With what more valuable faculty that that of finding out things for himself, can a child be endowed? Children are great admirers. They should be taught to look for and appreciate that which is beautiful in drawing and painting, in music and poetry, in nature, in life and character. Can not all these be classed as "Reading?"

The creating of a literary spirit lies with the common school teacher. The status of literature everywhere is determined by the training of children. Teach them to read healthy literature the best they can understand, or perhaps a little better than they can completely comprehend and they will become a generation of readers.

the

But what shall they read Historical or the Imaginative? Both! There is much to be admired in the firmness of historic truth - but for it we can not sacrifice all the rich creatures of that wonderful power imparted to the son of genius who, as if in the secret of omnipotence has but to say, "Let there be" - and there is light light flashing far above and below and around the dark and empty void where chaos lately dwelt. Neither history nor sentiment is perfect alone, but must blend their influence to produce the good to be expected from either. It has

been said that a dual nature in all things seems necessary to the perfection of unity. Not even is sound an exception to the general law. If, then, the imaginative is not the bass in the music of literature, it is the sweet soprano, in perfect harmony with it, yet sounding high and clear above its rolling strength, in strains of heavenly melody, to make us aware how deficient the bass would be alone.

In the reading of our gems of literature in the school room, quotations and reproductions should be insisted upon. Let the cleverest in the class illustrate selected portions by original drawings.

Should the reading of newspapers and magazines be discouraged? By no means. We should appreciate the power that may be employed by the newspaper and respect it, because it is the safe-guard of our just rights and privileges. Though it contains. much that is sensational, yet the child must be taught to discriminate. Good and evil are to be met with to him is the power of selection.

From the pages of his geography he memorizes an account of the great Lisbon earthquake. From the pages of his History he learns of a famine in Ireland also that Mount Vernon, the old home of Washington, was purchased by an Association of Ladies. Will not the awfulness of an earthquake be more real to him, should he learn from the newspapers and magazines the fate of San Francisco and Kingston? Is there any comparison between the condition of affairs resulting from the Potato famine in Ireland and that of Starving Russia as portrayed in our leading periodicals? Is it wrong for a child to know that the old Lincoln farm in Kentucky has been purchased by an Association that it will be con