No doubt the exhibition has contributed in no small degree to create in the public mind a favorable sentiment towards the schools; but like other good things it is liable to abuse. Care should be taken that too much time is not spent in its preparation. The tendency of the exhibition in our day is to become too showy and to degenerate into a popular entertainment. In girls' schools dress is apt to become too prominent a feature, thereby imposing a grievous burden upon the parents of the poorer children. At the same time it affords an excellent opportunity to the judicious teacher to develop in the pupils self respect and a reasonable independence and individuality in respect to dress, and to teach the shoddy aristocracy that a public school exhibition is not a fit place to make a display of Lyons silks and many-buttoned white kids. The dialogue is admissible, both as an element of education and as a means of attracting a class of the public who would not otherwise attend, as the church choir swells the number of the hearers of the sermons; but the comic dialogue should be used very sparingly, if at all; and so humorous declamations and readings are allowable, but they should be choice in character and moderate in proportion. The reading or reciting of original compositions by their authors is of course the supreme performance. Nothing affords so good a test as this of the taste and culture of the teacher, and perhaps of his honesty, too, in rigidly suppressing all plagiarisms. The aim should be to show at the exhibition, as far as practicable within the limited space of time appro priated to such an occasion, the method and results of instruction and culture. But the æsthetic side of the culture will almost as a matter of course, and perhaps properly, be made more prominent than the more practical and scientific side; this will be shown in the specimens of drawing and calligraphy, in the singing, expressive reading and declamation, also in the bearing and behavior of the pupils, and in the appropriateness of their dress. If a pupil has special talent in any direction opportunity should be given, if possible, for the exhibition of that talent. I have known the master of a boys' grammar school to make his exhibition extremely attractive by a judicious application of this principle. Now a boy would be called on to sing a solo or play a tune on a violin; at another time a boy would give a brief specimen of his skill in playing the accordion and another exhibit his dexterity in shaking the ebony clappers. I have known the exhibition in a high school for boys to be held for many years quite strictly to the presentation of the method and instruction in the several branches of the course; the pupils knew beforehand that they must pass the ordeal of a genuine, impromptu examination, and that every one of them was liable to be questioned in public on any of the studies of the year. These exercises were followed by a few original declamations. The exhibitions were always crowded, and it was not strange that they should have inspired its patrons with the strongest confidence in the value of the school. In some grammar school exhibitions a serious error has crept in, namely, that of bringing upon the stage pupils of the primary grades, and even the youngest of these. Nothing could be more inappropriate. The occasion belongs to the graduating class. Of course it is desirable that as many as possible of the pupils in the next classes below should be present and witness the exercises; and it is allowable, and perhaps desirable, that one or two of the most proficient pupils in each of the rooms of the grammar school should take their places together ou the stage and read each in turu, beginning with the youngest, a brief selection. Occasionally opposition to exhibitions is heard in some quarters; teachers sometimes become weary of the labor of preparation and would be glad to escape the labor and trouble which it costs; but it would be a mistake to abolish the exhibition. It should be retained by all means, but it should be carefully guarded against all abuses: it should not be too ambitious; not much time should be devoted to special preparation for it; its exercises should consist mainly of a selection of performances in the routine work of instruction; the graduates should not be called out and designated according to their rank in the class, especially if the class is of girls. RECESS AND NO RECESS. From time immemorial it has been the custom everywhere to interrupt the work of the school session, both forenoon and afternoon, by a recess varying in length from ten to twenty minutes. During this recess the pupils are allowed or required to pass from the school rooms into the open air of the school yard, and there enjoy as much freedom from restraint as circumstances will permit. In former times the recess was usually the same for both the older and younger pupils, about fifteen minutes at the middle of each session. At present it is common to make additional provision for physical exercise, rest, and recreation in primary schools. In infant schools, recess is necessary after the lapse of one hour, and change of position and physical exercise should be allowed as often as once in thirty minutes. For pupils twelve years of age and upwards there may be allowed a session of two hours without recess, but such a session should be broken in the middle by some physical movements or rest. The regulation of the city of Cincinnati respecting school hours and recesses is perhaps as judicious as can be devised for the same latitude, and it has borne the test of experience for a considerable period. It is, therefore, introduced here as a good model. The hours of tuition and study shall be as follows: From September 1 to July 1, from 9 A. M. to 12 м. and from 13 P. M. to 4 P. M., with fifteen minutes recess each morning and afternoon. Grades E and F shall be dismissed each afternoon one hour earlier than the time of closing school (November 2, 1874). For the better guarding of the health of the pupils of grades D, E, and F (lowest primary grades) from injury from too long confinement in their school rooms, there shall be allowed to the pupils of these grades, at the close of every recitation, the space of five minutes for calisthenic exercises in the room, during which time the room shall be well ventilated, and the recitation shall be shortened for this purpose (November 7, 1853). In some cities the teachers are forbidden to deprive children of recess as a punishment, and it would be well if this rule were universal. In many cities the afternoon session for the grammar and primary grades has been shortened to two hours and the general out-door recess dispensed with in the former. For some time past there has been a tendency to go too far in lengthening vacations, multiplying holidays, and shortening sessions; but school boards are not likely to find any difficulty in persuading teachers and pupils to submit cheerfully to further changes in this direction. The experienced inspector knows very well that there is no better test of the tone and discipline of a school than is afforded by the manner in which the recess is conducted. In a first rate school he finds here and there a pupil excused from recess for the day for good reasons; he notices that every signal is instantly obeyed, that the marching is orderly and rapid, while the gait is natural and easy; he observes with pleasure that in the yard the oversight of the teacher or teachers in charge is vigilant and constant, and that the boisterousness and activity of play are repressed only so far as is required by due regard to the rights of the neighbors and the safety of the pupils from personal injury, while both noise and play are instantly checked by the signal therefor; and, finally, that on returning to their rooms the pupils lose no time in getting down to work. What a drill, what a recreation and rest, what an exhilaration in all this! An interruption to study? Ten, fifteen minutes so spent, time lost? Say, rather, it is fire to the engine, wind to the canvas. But, aside from considerations of recreation and rest, the recess is an imperative physiological necessity, and in this necessity is found the explanation of its universality. The universal conviction of the utility and necessity of the recess has prompted school authorities to provide as large lots as possible on which to erect school houses. Immense sacrifices have been made for this object in all the more advanced educating countries. The extent and character of the playground have, in fact, come to be a tolerably reliable indication of the liberality of a community in respect to its schools. Like other good things, the recess is liable to abuse. By injudicious and inefficient management its good effect may be largely offset by attendant evils. To avoid the possible or actual evils and inconveniences of the recess it has been proposed of late in some quarters to abolish the general recess altogether, and with it, of course, the legiti mate use of all school playgrounds which have been acquired at such an enormous expense. This no recess plan has actually been introduced into several cities and towns in New York, and two at least in New England. The substitute consists in substance of a shortening of the sessions, permission of the pupils to leave the room individually, and indoor calisthenics and marching. The precise program of this plan is as follows: In the primary and grammar grades the morning session begins at 9 o'clock and closes at 11.30 and the afternoon session begins at 1.30 and closes at 3.30. The three lower grades are dismissed in the afternoon at 3 o'clock. In these schools the mid-session recess, as it may be termed, for pupils to go out together into the yard, is dispensed with, but at 10.15 in the morning and at 2.30 in the afternoon five minutes are devoted to physical exercises and marching, in every school room, while the windows are thrown open sufficiently to change the air of the room. There are also, in some of the grades at least, other brief intervals of rest and change of position. The objections raised by the advocates of this strange and surprising innovation against the recess are based on the assumption of injudicious and inefficient school discipline and school management. At recesses managed as I have seen them in many a school, and notably of late in Denver, how little would one find of bullying, moral contamination, personal injury, exposure to colds, or occasion for discipline! The demand for the abolition of recess must be adjudged a confession of weakness. The enemies of the school system have already so charged, and their charge is well founded. On the other hand, the benefits claimed for the no recess plan are based on the assumption that this plan is carried out by efficient and judicious teachers. Should the recess degenerate into a nuisance the remedy would lie, not in abolishing the recess, but in reforming it by changing the management and arrangements of the school. The bungler destroys instead of reforming; the master reforms instead of destroying. The no recess plan is based on the flower-pot theory of education, which finds little justification in experience. The way to educate a youth so that he shall have a sound and strong moral character is not to isolate him, but to teach him how to meet and successfully resist temptation. The recess question has been set in its true light by Dr. William T. Harris, in an able and sound piece of pedagogy, the substance of which is summarized in the following paragraphs quoted from its conclusion: The recess has been established by the practical wisdom of the past school manage.. ment, and it seems to meet certain physiological requirements of the young and grow. ing individuals for whom it is appointed in a better manner than any other device yet proposed can do. The moral argument used against recess applies against association in coming to school and in returning from it, as well as in remaining at the noon intermission, but is not of force where it is used, because the recess is the only interval where the pupil is out of school and yet completely under the control of the teacher. The teacher has no other opportunity so good as the recess wherein to teach the pupils to treat 1 Rochester, Troy, Albany, Oswego, Newburgh, Woburn, and Newport. one another politely, by repressing the rudeness, personal violence, profanity, and obscenity that will break out, but must be eradicated. Before school, after school, and at the noon intermission the province of the teacher's authority overlaps that of the parent, and the power of the teacher is lamed. But, even were the influence of the recess an immoral and dangerous one, the necessities of physiological laws and of the personal authority of the teacher depend so much on the observance of recess that the direct moral evil (were it far greater than supposed) would be insignificant in comparison to the evil from the other source, which endangers the whole moral structure of the school. The no recess plan is a contrivance which relieves teachers from trouble and responsibility to the detriment of the pupils, and yet it is a contrivance of such a nature as to secure the general approval of teachers and pupils; hence the testimony of teachers and pupils in its favor should be taken with large allowance or thrown out altogether. This reactionary movement against the recess is probably owing, in the main, to the sweeping substitution of wonen for men as teachers and principals even of large mixed schools. The oversight and management of grammar school boys at recess is a duty for which women are not well adapted, which they usually perform with reluctance, and from which they naturally desire to be relieved. The true remedy, therefore, for the evils of recess, is not the no recess plan, but the employment of a sufficient number of judicious male teachers to manage the recess of boys in a proper manuer. Dr. Hancock, superintendent of schools of Dayton, Ohio, in speaking of this subject in his report, remarked as follows: The best ventilated school building ever constructed is not so well provided with pure air as all outdoors; and no throwing up of windows, no free gymnastics indoors, can compensate for spontaneous and exhilarating exercise in the unrestricted atmosphere of the playground. In the latest report (1883) of Mr. George Howland, superintendent of schools of Chicago, an experiment in the mode of conducting recess is mentioned as follows: In many of the schools a change has been made with excellent results, the pupils of the first floor passing out and returning to their rooms, and then those of the second and third floors in sucession. By this method time is saved to the individual classes, the smaller children are less liable to be injured by the larger ones, the school yard is much less crowded, and both teacher and pupil relieved of much annoyance. AGE IN SCHOOLING. With remarkable uniformity the organization of our city school systems is based on the assumption that pupils should terminate their elementary instruction at the age of fourteen years- -that is, at the close of the fourteenth year. This is a just and wise assumption; it has its foundation in reason and experience. In France and England pupils are expected to finish the elementary course one year earlier. But it is believed to be understood in those countries that this limitation is only a temporary arrangement, and that in the near future the elementary instruction will be extended over another year's course. In the other leading educational |