A student's history of education

by Frank Pierrepont Graves

Fig. 40.—Francis W Parker
(1831-1902).]

Great American Educators

Barnard as Secretary of the Connecticut State Board.—Two years after Barnard’s return to Connecticut, he began his part in the educational awakening as Secretary of the new State Board of Commissioners of Common Schools, and undertook to do a work similar to that of Mann in Massachusetts. Throughout the eighteenth Untoward educational conditions in Connecticut, century Connecticut schools had been among the most efficient in the country, but since the income from the Western Reserve lands had begun in 1798, and especially since this had been increased by the United States deposit fund in 1836, public education had steadily declined. A state tax was still maintained, but all local effort was paralyzed through lack of exercise. Another factor in producing this decline was connected with the transferal of the management of the common schools from the town to the ‘school society,’ which was a species of district, almost identical with the parish of each Congregational church. The results of this ruinous policy had been revealed in an investigation made by the legislature, which showed that not one-half of the children of school and Barnard’s attempt to reform; age were attending the common schools, and that the teachers were poorly trained and supervision was neglected. Barnard at once began to urge many reforms, School Journal and in his reports and the Connecticut Common School Journal made suggestions for a complete plan of public and publication of educational material. education. He also began the publication of his rich collection of material bearing upon popular training at home and abroad. But he was more a scholar and literary man than an educational statesman like Mann. He succeeded in getting the legislature to pass several reforms and a general revision and codification of the school laws, and in arousing several towns to amend their educational plans, although the crucial difficulty of the ‘school societies’ could not be touched, and within four years the conservatives succeeded in legislating him out of office and in undoing all his reforms.

Commissioner of Common Schools in Rhode Island.—This gave Barnard an opportunity to pursue his favorite investigations, and for about a year and a half he was engaged in collecting material for a history of education in the United States. Then he was persuaded by the governor of Rhode Island to become the first Commissioner of Common Schools for that state. While he found in Rhode Island a better educational sentiment and less opposition than in Connecticut, the actual condition of the decentralized and individualistic schools was far worse (see p. 269). But, through his assemblies of Radical reforms accomplished. teachers and parents and his educational treatises, he soon began to convince the people of the unwisdom of district organization, untrained teachers, short terms, irregular attendance, poor buildings and ventilation, and meager equipment. He also continued to publish his collection of educational material through the foundation of the Rhode Island School Journal. As a result of his efforts, when failing health compelled him to resign in 1849, the state no longer regarded wilfulness and personal opinion as praiseworthy independence, and he could honestly claim that Rhode Island had at the time one of the best school systems in the United States.

State Superintendent of Schools in Connecticut.—But the clientèle that Barnard had built up in Connecticut continued his reforms and constructive work after his departure, and improved upon them. In 1851, they even succeeded in having him recalled virtually to his When recalled, carried out and extended his reforms. old duties. He was designated as State Superintendent of Common Schools, as well as Principal of the State Normal School, which had been established through the efforts of his adherents. The state had now learned its error in mingling politics with education, and Barnard was able to carry out his reforms unmolested. Through the normal school he sent out a great body of trained teachers. He revised the school code, checked the power of the ‘school societies,’ consolidated and simplified the organization and administration of public education, made a more equitable distribution of the school fund, and encouraged local taxation. But his most distinctive work, as might be expected, was on the literary side. He prepared a valuable series of documents upon foreign education, normal schools, methods of teaching, school architecture, and other topics, and a long report upon The History of Legislation in Connecticut Respecting Common Schools up to 1838.

Barnard’s American Journal of Education.—It was, too, during the last days of his Connecticut superintendency that Henry Barnard suggested the establishment of a national journal of education. He first broached the matter to the ‘American Association for the Advancement of Education’ at its meeting in Washington, December, 1854. But the association soon found itself Published at his own expense, unable to pursue this enterprise for lack of financial support, and in May of the next year Barnard began the publication of the American Journal of Education at his own expense. It was at first planned to run the journal for five years only, but, although the work was somewhat interrupted upon occasions by other duties, it continued for more than a generation, until at length in thirty-one large volumes and fifty-two special treatises, thirty-one large octavo volumes, averaging about eight hundred pages each, had been issued. In addition, fifty-two special treatises reprinted from articles in the journal brought the material together in a connected way. Besides giving nearly all his time to editing this magnum opus, Barnard sank his entire fortune of $50,000 in its publication. This great treasury of material includes every phase of the history of education from the earliest times down into the latter half of the nineteenth century. It furnishes accounts of all contemporaneous systems in Europe and America, descriptions of institutions for the professional training of teachers, and essays upon courses of study for colleges and technical schools, the education of defectives and delinquents, physical education, school architecture, great educators, accounts of educational history and systems, and other themes. and a large variety of other themes. While it is always most reliable in its treatises upon foreign education, of even greater value is its practical grasp of educational life in America from the beginning. It contains the greatest collection of interesting monographs upon the development of ideals and organization in the various states, and gives the most complete description in literature of the educational life of a nation.

First United States Commissioner of Education.—In 1867 Barnard was appointed the first United States Commissioner of Education. This office he had been constantly trying to have established ever since he had found, as Secretary of the Connecticut Board, how absolutely lacking the federal government was in school statistics and documents. He hoped that, through the agency of the government, facilities might be secured to collect and publish trustworthy educational statistics, and to issue a library of independent treatises. The bureau was not created for many years, and then through the immediate initiative of another, but when Barnard was called to the commissionership, he organized the office practically upon the lines he had previously suggested. While in office, suspended his Journal and embodied investigations in his reports. He suspended his Journal and used the product of his investigations in the annual reports of the office. He started that searching inquiry into the administration, management, and instruction of institutions of every grade, and into all educational societies, school funds, legislation, architecture, documents, and benefactions that has since been maintained by the Bureau of Education. However, within three years a change in politics brought a new incumbent into the commissionership, and Barnard gave his literary efforts once more to his beloved Journal.

Value of Barnard’s Educational Collections.—Hence, Barnard’s real life work may be considered the collection of a great educational compendium. By temperament, This life work marked him as leading representative of the awakening. native ability, and habit, he proved himself well fitted to be the leading representative of the literary side of the awakening. Through his work American education was, in its period of greatest development, granted the opportunity of looking beyond the partial and local results of the first half century of national life. It was enabled to modify and adapt to its own uses the educational theories, practices, and organizations of the leading civilized peoples, and to bring together for a comparative view sections and states that were widely separated. Barnard’s American Journal of Education was not intended to be a universal encyclopædia of education, but often includes a condensation of important works or a presentation of highly scientific methods and profound philosophic systems in popular form. It was not possible, either, to classify and work out a connected and complete historical account, when there were no reliable records or collections of materials in existence. It was necessary that some one should first gather the information from newspapers, pamphlets, memorials, monographs, and plans, and publish it as it was found. In this way he accomplished a more valuable work than if he had published a systematic history of education in the United States.

Educational Development in New England since the Revival.—This great storehouse of information published by Barnard and the virile efforts of Mann and other practical leaders were but prominent evidences of The ‘revival’ was general, but its results were most striking in New England. the progress that was at the time sweeping over the entire country. The educational awakening of 1835-1860 was general and proved one of the most fruitful in history. Its influence was felt in every state, and it led to the third period of American education, which has been characterized by the expansion of public schools and state educational systems. During this period new ideals of democracy have come to be felt in American education, and a rapid advance has taken place in the evolution of that unique product, the American public school. In describing this development, we may turn first to New England.

In Massachusetts Horace Mann has been followed in the central administration by a succession of seven scholarly and experienced educators, who believed as firmly as he that all stages of education below the college Development since then in Massachusetts in universal education and improved schooling. should be open at public expense without let or hindrance to the richest and poorest child alike. Since the revival the state has seen a steady growth of sentiment for universal education and improved schooling, and never again has such an upheaval of the educational strata been necessary. The income of the state school fund and additional appropriations have been steadily increased, their apportionment among the towns has been rendered more equitable from time to time, and an effort has constantly been made to distribute them in such a way as to encourage local effort and coöperation. The school term has been lengthened to ten months and the average attendance of pupils to seven years. The improvements in school buildings, sanitation, and equipment have Death of district system. steadily advanced. The district system died hard, and not until 1882 was it altogether forced out of existence.