TRUANCY.

The School Visitors of Southington are taking efficient measures to prevent truancy, and increase school attendance. The following is a copy of the circular placed in the hands of all their teachers. Such a plan, generally followed out, would soon stop truancy in all our towns.

"LAW. All boys, between eight and sixteen years of age, who are guilty of truancy, may be arrested and sent to school. Any boy, so arrested three times, may be prosecuted and sent to the Reform School.

Parents and guardians not sending children to school according to law, may be fined $5 for every week of such neglect.

Any person employing any child between eight and fourteen. years of age, who has not been in school sixty days during the year previous thereto, may be fined $100."

M.

NOTICE.

Southington, School District No.

Please take notice that

1879.

has been absent from school for two consecutive days, without proper excuse. Unless the child is returned to school or proper excuse is made, I must make return to the School Visitors, that the matter may be acted upon according to law.

Respectfully,

Teacher.

IT IS ORDERED BY THE BOARD OF SCHOOL VISITORS, That in case of the absence from school of any child for two consecutive days, without proper excuse, the teacher shall make duplicate copies of the above notice, and forth with cause one of them to be left with the parent, guardian, or person having charge of such child, and unless the child is returned to school, or proper excuse made within two days thereafter, the teacher will endorse the other copy according to the facts, and returu the same to the Acting School Visitors, that proper proceedings may be had thereon according to law."

METRIC SYSTEM.

The State Teachers' Association at its last annual meeting strongly endorsed the plan of teaching the Metric System in all our schools. I have occasion to thank our teachers and school officers for their coöperation in carrying out kindred recommendations given in my two last Reports. I have never advised that much time should be devoted to this subject. The tables may be learned in a half-day. The time has not yet come to practice the pupils in our district schools in problems of translation from the old system to the new or the new to the old. If only the new standards are in their hands, the pupils will quickly learn the system, and then as business transactions shall require, can easily compute by it. The growing demand for Connecticut machines and manufactures graduated metrically for exportation to "Metric Countries" makes this subject one of immediate practical importance. This demand, originated largely at the Centennial Exposition, was stimulated still more by our successful exhibits at the late Paris Exposition. As quotations relating to dimensions from European papers and from scientific journals are usually given in metric terms, a knowledge of the system is now needful to understand the issues of the daily press. For fuller information on this subject reference is made to the Report of the Board of Education for 1877.

SCHOOL REGISTERS.

A School Visitor of large and successful experience both in teaching and supervising schools, for thirty years a School Visitor, strongly urges a modification of the law and practice in regard to the keeping and return of school registers, and says: "No school committee should be allowed to draw his school money until he presents to the selectmen with his bill, a certificate that the register has been duly filled out by the teacher. As the School Visitors make their final inspection of schools two weeks before the close of the terms, completed registers cannot then be submitted for their approval, and hence in many cases they are never fully and promptly filled out by

the teacher, subjecting both the committee and visitors to much annoyance in searching for the details which the teacher should always be required to give before receiving his pay. The law should also provide that the teacher should lodge his register with his committee at the close of each term, and at the end of the year, the committee should lodge it with the Secretary of the Board of Visitors, which gives him early opportunity to select and verify the required statistics. School Visitors should also be authorized to print their reports and also a brief Manual of Rules and Regulations for the guidance of their teachers, so that there may be more system and uniformity in the management of the schools of the town." The same School Visitor also suggests that School Visitors be invited to send to the office of the State Board of Education two copies from each town of their most complete and neatest school registers. We should be happy to keep such registers in our office for public inspection. In many cases this might be made an incentive to pupils to promptness and regularity of attendance.

NON-ATTENDANCE.

The following request, with appropriate blanks, was sent early the present year to the School Visitors of every town in the State.

Of

The School Visitors will please insert below, the number of ́persons in their town between the ages of 4 and 16 years, the number who attended school, public or private, during the last calendar year, and the number who did not attend school. the number who attended no school, please state how many were under 5 years of age, how many between 5 and 8 years, how many between 8 and 14 years of age, and how many between 14 and 16 years of age.

Most of the towns have promptly responded to this request. In a few cases, the blank was not received till after the enumeration had been completed. These returns have already proved very useful, and aided in directing efforts for the legal prevention of illiteracy to the precise locality where neglect and remissness may exist.

The question has naturally arisen why four distinct classes of

non-attendants are named. There are several reasons for calling for such details.

1. The laws of the State do not compel attendance of children under eight years of age. We do not advise the attendance of those under five years. Although children between the ages of four and sixteen are still enumerated, as a basis for the distribution of public money, School Visitors are authorized by law to exclude all children under five years of age whenever in their judgment the interests of the schools will be thereby promoted. Hence, when in the return of non-attendants, any number are found under five years of age, the case is at once dismissed.

2. Non-attendance on the part of those between five and eight years may or may not require special attention according to circumstances. There are many cases of children, especially of emigrants or operatives who should be thus early in school. The influences of the school room are every way better for them. than those of the street or their homes. Though the law may not reach them, persuasion often does. As elsewhere stated, the Agent of the Board has done great good during the last year in visiting the families of neglected children. Still more of this work will be done the present year, and hence it is needful to know just where to find this class of absentees.

3. The value of the statistics of non-attendance of children between the ages of eight and fourteen is more obvious. The School Visitors of each town and the State Board of Education can make effective use of this information. If the returns are

complete and accurate, they will be able to account for every child in the State, and thus the work of the Agent and Secretary of the Board in increasing the attendance of children will be greatly facilitated.

4. In reference to those between fourteen and sixteen, the same remarks apply as those relating to children between five and eight. Information often reaches me of the supposed violation of the law, in the case of children, who on inquiry are found to be over fourteen years of age, and therefore beyond the limit of obligatory attendance. While we desire prompt information in regard to every instance of illegal employment, and are ready to visit the remotest town of the State, if need be, to investigate such cases, it is not wise to start on "a false alarm."

1

The information sought by these returns would prevent such mistakes.

In the inatter of accuracy, experience shows that there is an important gain by this division into classes. As the several parts should equal the whole, it becomes an easy matter thus to verify these returns.

No doubt these details will make some trouble, though they are very simple and easily collected. But if, as we believe, they will greatly increase school attendance and facilitate the important work the State has undertaken-to give a good common school training to every child-no friend of education, certainly no school officer, should complain of the little labor that promises such a reward. When the State is giving from its treasury and the income of the School Fund two dollars and a half for each child enumerated, it is a small thing for the State to demand in return, full information as to the use or neglect of this bounty by every child for whose benefit it is paid. These returns, properly made out, will give a more complete and reliable statement of the subject of attendance and non-attendance than has yet been presented in any American State.

BIRDSEY GRANT NORTHROP.

HARTFORD, January, 1879.