genius of his order, he had an apprenticeship to serve, and when he issued from that humble school, he was a master!

"en

Poverty and war put an end to his enterprise, and, after a severe illness, caused by his overwhelming grief at the wreck of his school, he obtained a position in one of the common schools of Burgdorf. Here he made good use of his experience and soon became widely known, and the school-board publicly declared that PESTALOZZI was dowed with a most remarkable talent for developing the infant mind, and that, under his tuition, the children made wonderful progress in their studies." This well-earned praise caused public attention to be directed to the faithful apostle of reform; and, by the aid of men who took an interest in the cause of popular education, he was enabled to open a normal school which bears the name of "Pestalozzi Institute," and which subsequently became world-renowned. It was here that he perfected his new method of training the physical, mental and moral nature of youth on new principles and for a higher aim. From this school his pupils, thoroughly imbued with their teacher's spirit, went to other countries, carrying with them the blessings of this grand reform, and adding to their master's fame, while establishing their own. Desciples of the new system flocked to the institute from every quarter of the globe, and PESTALOZZI was even then in a fair way of influencing the education of the whole civilized world. But intrigues among his assistants and patrons, and his one great failinglack of order and business habits, brought the school to the very verge of ruin, and its founder, old and saddened, left it and established another, less famous, but not less useful. Again he gave to the world a number of men who spread his fame, while teaching, as he had trained them to do. Poverty again interfered, and he of whom the great philosopher, FICHTE, said "that he had furnished to Prussia the means of regeneration," was once more forced to leave his grand domain, the school-room. He was now seventy-nine years old; though bent with age and privations, he still retained all the ardor and energy of youth-all the trust and simplicity of childhood.

He had previously written a series of books which introduced a new feature into literature, by furnishing (the people with practical works on education-not philosophical, high-strung effusions after the manner of ROUSSEAU, but simple, healthful books for the ignorant and lowly. They are still unsurpassed in their practical bearings, although in form and language they are less acceptable to modern taste and modern wants. Now, at eighty, he took up the pen once more and wrote his autobiography. Bnt his heart yearned for labors more congenial than those of authorship, and he was on the point of establish

ing another charity school, when a greater Teacher than he called him to learn new lessons of "perfect wisdom, and all knowledge complete!"

COUNTY SUPERINTENDENCY.

BY W. H. HOLFORD, SUPERINTENDENT OF GRANT COUNTY.

In a former article I said, "I am very confident that if all the good already rendered the schools as a whole by county superintendency, could readily be seen by the casual observer, far less fault would be found than now is," and so I am. I believe that if all the people of the state could know and fully realize just how much and what benefit the schools have received from county superintendency, and how it has been rendered, the only agitation of the subject that we could possibly have now, would be in relation to the best method of completing, improving and developing the "system" of school supervision. But how can the people who were adults at the beginning of county superintendency in Wisconsin, fully understand and appreciate all this? They were not intimately acquainted with the schools before the beginning of the "system." They really knew almost nothing of their workings, because they seldom if ever entered the school-room while school was in session, and even while there, they took no particular notice of what was doing there for the purpose of being able to note improvement or the lack of it in the schools of the the future; and we know that at the present time, it is almost impossible to prevail upon even our most intelligent citizens who ceased to attend school from twelve to fifteen years ago, to spend a day or even an hour in school. We also know that the only unimpeachable method of accurately testing the real value of the schools of any period, is to wait and compare the men and women bred during that time and trained in the schools of that time, with the men and women bred during other times and trained in the schools of other times. Knowing that such are the facts, should we expect the people to be prepared to know and fully realize the improvement that has been made in the meantime? I think not. Even if they are inclined, as I believe they are, to see every real improvement and to give the "system" its fullshare of the credit due it, their acquaintance with the facts is not sufficient to enable them to render a just judgment in this case.

The value of the schools of the period of time intervening between the years 1860 and 1873 as compared with those of any former time of the same length, can be accurately known even by our closest observers, only when the children who received the principal part of their

training and education during that time, shall have become men and women and shall have taken their places as such in active life. Then, should we conclude that there has been no improvement, simply because we hear persons who have had no better opportunities to qualify themselves to judge than that just cited, assert that there has been none?

Almost every person who has attended school in Wisconsin since 1860, says that there has been great improvement; and especially is this the case with those who have taken pains to observe the methods of teaching since then till now, and to compare them and their results so far as known, with the modes practiced here prior to that time and the results thus obtained. Also, all those who were educated longer ago, but have since frequently visited our schools and have kept in view the modes employed in them and the effects produced by using these methods so far as can now be ascertained, and have compared these methods and results with the methods and results of former times, say that they are improving rapidly. So they are; but they should make greater progress, and they will do so, even with no improvement upon our present incomplete "system" of school supervision. Our "system" can be completed and so much improved as to render it infinitely better than it now is; and there is nothing to keep us from making this much needed improvement only that we will not do it; and we will not, simply because we are in a great degree slaves to old customs, even though we know that they retard our progress and secure to us defeat when victory is rightfully ours. Yet, as it is, our schools will improve more in the next five years than they have in the past ten. During that time the mass of our teachers will become from fifty to two hundred per cent. better qualified to teach than they now are. They will teach much more nearly upon the same general plan than they do at present; that is, their plans will be much more similar than now. This will enable the "new teacher" to begin work where the former teacher left off; and thus, many days at the beginning of each term of school taught by a new teacher" will be saved to the pupils; whereas, during the past, their time and labor was lost on account of the great difference between the methods of the former and those of the latter teacher. This single improvement will save thousands of dollars to the schools. At the present time, this difference between the methods of teachers is so great as to cause at every change of teachers, the loss of much time and money to pupils and districts. But, in comparing the present with the past, we find that in this particular a great saving has already been effected by leading teachers to adopt plans that are

more similar, and also better than before; yet the future will make a far better showing in this respect than the past has made.

Teachers' Institutes, Associations and Examinations must be liberally used to cause improvement. All must be conducted upon the plan of a Model School; the latter must be thorough, searching, just and suggestive. When teachers meet, organize, compare methods and earnestly endeavor to form, from all the old methods, new and better ones to be adopted by each member,-improvement in modes and an approximation to harmony in the execution of them must follow; for they attempt to reject everything that is worthless in all of the old methods, to retain whatever is valuable in them, and to add to them as much as they can that is new and practical. As a matter of course, these improvements, which are the results of this interchange of opinion, must soon be a source of great profit to pupils and districts.

The County Superintendent calls these meetings, which are for the whole county, and for harmonizing, systemizing and utilizing the efforts of all the teachers in the county. He makes arrangements for them. He induces teachers to attend them. He does, or should do, all he can to cause them to fully meet the ends for which they were designed and employed.

This is one of the many items in relation to which county superintendency when rightly administered, renders good service to the common schools.

Under the Town Superintendency no town superintendent could have done this, for he had not the authority and could not have it. But had it been possible for any one town superintendent to have such authority, it would have been but natural for all the other town superintendents in the same county to oppose, rather than to aid him, to make the enterprise a success, to render it a permanent and constantly increasing source of profit to our schools. Because people do not like to be directed and controled except by those having properly delegated and acknowledged authority as well as the ability, to direct and control them; and they are jealous of every one who exhibits the least appearance of having assumed authority. Hence no town superintendent could have exercised such power successfully; neither has the time come, nor will it ever come, when he can successfully and profitably execute a law which makes it his duty to perform such labor; because it is not in accordance with the principle of true and adequate government.

Were we lacking the office of the Presidency of the United States, no Governor of any state whatever could perform the duties now assigned to the President with success and profit to the nation. And

were we lacking the office of Governorship of our states, the President of the United States could not fully and satisfactorily to the people, perform the duties now assigned to the Governors.

No, the presidency is as necessary as governorship; and governorship is as indispensable as the presidency.

County superintendency of schools is a necessity; and equally as much so is town superintendency. But, unless there is some plan which I have not yet seen, town superintendency should be based upon an entirely different plan from that practiced in any of our states at the present time or during the past.

In my next I shall endeavor to give the outline of a plan of town superintendency of schools which, if adopted in conjunction with county superintendency, would, I believe, infinitely improve the condition of our free common schools.

HOPE.

God gives the perfume to the violet,

And crowns the queenly roses royally,
Gives stately lilies gorgeous robes; and yet
He takes the glory of my life from me!

But if He careth for the soulless flowers
Bringing them summer after winter's reign,
Will He not, in some fairer world than our's,
Restore my faded joys to me again?

-C. L. MORGAN.

"MORAL" PIECES IN OUR SCHOOL-READERS.

The moral taught in many of our school-readers is the moral of egotism. The question in the minds of the writers of the so-called moral pieces seems to have been: Which pays the best, uprightness, or villainy? These "moral" pieces go to demonstrate, that virtue brings the most benefits, while vice is followed by evil consequences. For instance, it is taught, that "honesty is the best policy." Because honesty is the best policy, you must be honest. Because virtue brings benefits to your own dear self, and vice is followed by evil consequences to the same dear person, you must be virtuous and shun vice. It seems to have been forgotten that there is any higher motive for virtuous conduct, and that such conduct very often involves the sacrifice of life, health, and happiness. Some persons opposing the common schools have given as one of their reasons for opposition that this religion of selfishness is taught in them. The religion may have many followers, perhaps, but it is not acceptable unto all denominations.— P. P. IVERSLEE, Iola.