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 The school system of Ontario 
 
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 " VV\\'\ ' ■■\ 1 V 
 
 III!' ]■ \' 
 
 THE 
 
 SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO 
 
 (CANADA) 
 
 ITS HISTORY AND DISTINCTIVE FEATURES 
 
 BY 
 The Hon. GEOEGE W. BOSS, LL.D. 
 
 MINISTER OF EDUCATION FOR THE PROVINCE OP ONTARIO 
 
 ' AUTHOR OP 
 
 THE SCHOOLS OP ENGLAND AND GERMANY 
 
 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
 
 1896 
 
A^^4-^5- 
 
 Copyright, 1896, 
 By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. 
 
 Electrotyped and Printed 
 
 AT THE APPI^TON PreSS, U. S. A. 
 
EDITOE'S PREFACE. 
 
 The publishers take pleasure in presenting a new 
 volume in the fourth department of this series, that of 
 Practice or Education as an art. This is a work on the 
 organization and supervision of schools, and a most in- 
 structive one. After the history of educational theories 
 and their criticism, one is prepared for a study of sys- 
 tematic treatises on the theory of pedagogy. Then come 
 treatises on the art of instruction and discipline ; and 
 lastly, in our classification, works on the organization and 
 supervision of schools. 
 
 Next after the study of school organization in the 
 several States of our own country comes that of the colo- 
 nies of Great Britain. Descended, like ourselves, from 
 the people that invented local self-government, their 
 solutions of the problem of popular education have in 
 many respects the same features that we find in the 
 United States. But, unlike our own people, these colo- 
 nies have never passed through an epoch of revolution 
 and become separate from the parental Government. 
 Prom this circumstance fiows a stream of results that 
 mark considerable differences in practice. 
 
 It was natural that the people of our colonies should 
 develop an almost morbid feeling against centralization. 
 The true civil government is a proper balance between 
 
vi THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTAKIO. 
 
 centralization and individualism, the central power lim- 
 iting itself to doing such things only as the individual 
 can not do so well, and in all cases helping the individual 
 to help himself. With our phobia against centralization, 
 there have been frequent cases in which the central Gov- 
 ernment has failed to take the initiative in matters of 
 great public concern. The individual has in many in- 
 stances been left to suffer for his feebleness where he 
 might have been re-enforced and made strong by the 
 social whole. The consequence has been a slower growth 
 in that function of our Government which, in the lan- 
 guage of the Constitution, is "to provide for the public 
 welfare." 
 
 The British colonies in many particulars furnish in- 
 stances where the central power has acted more freely 
 and provided for the public welfare more wisely than it 
 has done with us. 
 
 Take, in the present volume, the account of the pei'- 
 sistent attempt to secure the best method of supervision 
 (Chapters I and II) — an attempt crowned with success. 
 Take the record that describes the growth of the codes of 
 comprehensive rules and regulations for the administra- 
 tion of details in localities. The central power sets the 
 standards so that the local authority can readily see the 
 ideal and criticise for itself its own results. The indi- 
 vidual is left free in many details of method, but must 
 secure a certain standard of success in what he accom- 
 plishes. 
 
 We may read with interest and profit the growth of 
 the plan for the professional training of teachers; that 
 for school libraries, and the final substitution of town or 
 village public libraries; that for secondary and higher 
 education; that for the provision of good text-books; 
 
EDITOR'S PREFACE. vii 
 
 the care for equal justice in the matter of separate 
 schools for religious denominations ; the systematic 
 modes of procedure in selecting schoolhouse sites and in 
 adopting plans for building that secure the best hygiene 
 for teacher and pupil. 
 
 Throughout this volume is seen what may be done 
 by a central power that makes a liberal appropriation of 
 money to local authorities, but requires, as a condition, 
 the recipient to respond by contributing an equal sum of 
 money, and by showing to the central supervisory power 
 results that equal the standard of requirement. It may 
 be doubted whether there is another instance in America 
 of so wise a use of money and supervisory power as is 
 shown in this Province of Ontario, excepting the admin- 
 istration of the Peabody and Slater funds for the stimu- 
 lation and nurture of education in our Southern States. 
 The Peabody fund is worth studying as another example 
 of wise centralization used for increasing local and indi- 
 vidual self-help. 
 
 In proportion to the progress of our country toward 
 an urban condition of civilization and the political sub- 
 ordination of the rural phase, we ourselves achieve this 
 desirable feature of wise centralization that really and 
 truly " provides for the public welfare," in the sense that 
 the deep-seeing mind of Jefferson used those words. We 
 at the same time outgrow that morbid jealousy of cen- 
 tralization, not fearing any longer the usurpation of our 
 liberties, now that we have the newspaper, universal free 
 suffrage, and a government by public opinion. 
 
 The difference between a well-balanced civil govern- 
 ment and socialism is as well marked as the difference 
 between mere individualism and anarchy ; for, while the 
 civil state helps the locality or the individual only where 
 
yiii THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP OKTAKIO. 
 
 it can increase local or individual self-help, or where the 
 interest of the social whole is subserved by it, socialism 
 does the deed for the individual and destroys his power 
 of self-help altogether. It assumes all directive power — 
 all power of initiative. The civil government of the 
 Anglo-Saxon finds the true balance between central and 
 local powers where each re-enforces the other. 
 
 The school system at home in Great Britain is still 
 complicated with questions of caste, and not so instruc- 
 tive to us or so easily understood as the school systems of 
 the English colonies. 
 
 W. T. Haeeis. 
 
 Washington, March 1, 1896. 
 
AUTHOE'S PEEFAOE. 
 
 EvEET school system has its own distinctive features. 
 An ideal organization is scarcely possible in any case. 
 The living forces which shape and mould the political in- 
 stitutions of a people also shape and mould its educational 
 institutions, so that any system, to be successful, must 
 adapt itself to social and local conditions. The school 
 system described in the following pages is the evolution of 
 the best thought of different Legislatures, aided and di- 
 rected by the judgment of men who gave a lifetime to the 
 task of adapting broad principles of organization and ped- 
 agogy to the wants and aspirations of the people for whom 
 it was designed. Briefly summarized its chief character- 
 istics are as follows : 
 
 1. It is an organized whole, beginning with the kin- 
 dergarten and ending with the university. 
 
 2. It provides free education to all persons under 
 twenty-one years of age. 
 
 3. It graduates the courses of study from the kinder- 
 garten to the university, so as to avoid waste of time on the 
 part of the pupils and waste of teaching power on the part 
 of the teachers. 
 
 4. It provides a trained teacher for every school, aided 
 by public money. 
 
 5. It furnishes a uniform standard of examination for 
 every teacher, according to his rank. 
 
X THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 6. It protects children against the selfishness or neglect 
 of parents and guardians, by making attendance at school 
 compulsQry. 
 
 7. It secures trustees against the incapacity of teachers 
 by a rigorous system of examination and inspection. 
 
 8. It protects education from the caprice of public 
 opinion by the appointment of inspectors during pleasure, 
 and by the election of trustees for a lengthened term of 
 service. 
 
 9. It secures economy and uniformity in text-books by 
 placing 'their publication in the hands of a central provin- 
 cial authority. 
 
 10. It permits the establishment of separate schools 
 for Eoman Catholics subject to the same standards of effi- 
 ciency as the public schools. 
 
 To those who are concerned in the administration of 
 schools it is always an advantage to know what methods 
 are adopted in other countries for securing the co-opera- 
 tion of the public and promoting the efficiency of educa- 
 tional effort. In order that the reader might be able to 
 study the school system of Ontario, as at present organ- 
 ized, full details have been given of its different depart- 
 ments. In preserving the continuity of the statement, 
 repetition in some cases was unavoidable. To be con- 
 cise, it was necessary to omit minor matters of detail. It 
 is hoped, however, that the statement, as a whole, will 
 enable the intelligent reader to understand reasonably well 
 the various features of the school system which it has 
 been the object of the author to unfold. 
 
 Geoege W. Eoss. 
 
 Education Department, Toronto, January S, 1S96. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Editor's Preface v 
 
 Authob's Preface ix 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 Kecommendation of Governor Simooe. — Appropriation of lands 
 for school purposes. — ^Public-Sohools Act of 1807. — Ele- 
 mentary-Schools Act, 1816.— The Act of 1824— The Act of 
 1841.— Germ of Separate-Schools Act.— Act of 1843.— Office 
 of chief superintendent. — Appointment of Dr. Ryerson. — 
 Dr. Ryerson's report on foreign schools. — The Act of 1846. 
 — Establishment of school libraries. — ^Appointment of coun- 
 ty inspectors. — Appointment of a Minister of Education . 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ORGANIZATIOIf OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 
 
 Minister head of the Education Department. — Constitution, 
 jurisdiction, and power of the Education Department.— 
 Powers of the Minister of Education. — Public schools, how 
 organized. — Government of rural schools. — Duties of trus- 
 tees. — Township boards. — School assessments. — Trustees of 
 urban schools. — Industrial schools 34 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SCHOOL SITES, PREMISES, AND P0PILS. 
 
 Law regarding school sites. — Schoolhouses, school furniture, 
 and equipment. — Duties of pupils. — Departmental regula- 
 tions re pupils. — Sanitary protection of .... 43 
 
xii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 COURSE OF STUDY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Reading. — Spelling. — Writing. — Language lessons. — Geog- 
 raphy. — History. — Drawing. — Physiology and temperance. 
 — Literature. — Music. — Drill and calisthenics. — Moral and 
 religious instruction. — Reviews and recitations. — Optional 
 subjects. — Dual languages 56 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 TEACHERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 
 
 Qualification of teachers. — Subjects of third-class standing. — 
 Subjects of second-class standing. — Subjects of first-class 
 standing. — Specialists' certificates. — Preparation of exami- 
 nation papers. — Mode of conducting examinations. — Duties 
 of candidates. — Duties of presiding examiners. — Reading 
 answer papers 70 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 TBAINING OP TEACHERS. 
 
 County model schools. — Course of study in. — Pinal examina- 
 tions of. — Normal schools. — Organization of normal schools. 
 — Course of study in. — Examinations, how conducted. — 
 Kindergarten teachers. — Normal Training College. — 
 Courses of study and text-books. — Teaching staff. — Spe- 
 cialists. — Teachers' institutes 89 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 
 
 Historical sketch. — Acts of 1807, 1841, 1853. 1865. — High 
 schools, how established. — Duties and powers of trustees. — 
 Sites and buildings. — How sustained. — Fees. — Course of 
 study. — Physical culture. — ^Qualification of teachers. — ■ 
 Upper Canada College Ill 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. xiii 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Qualification of inspectors. — Duties of public-school inspectors. 
 — High-school inspection. — Inspection of teachers' insti- 
 tutes. — Inspection of model schools. — Religious instruc- 
 tion. — Departmental regulations 138 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 
 
 Established under the Act of 1841.— Continued in 1843.— Acts of 
 1852, 1855, 1863. — Organization of Roman Catholic separate 
 schools. — Who are separate-school supporters. — Separate 
 schools, how sustained. — Separate-school teachers. — Course 
 of study, text-books, and inspection.- — Protestant separate 
 schools. — Coloured separate schools 140 
 
 CHAPTER X. — - 
 
 SCHOOL LIBRARIES, PUBLIC LIBRARIES, AND TEXT-BOOKS. 
 
 Historical Sketch. — Mechanics' institutes. — Free Libraries Act, 
 1883. — Government aid. — Regulations respecting public 
 libraries. — Evening classes in art schools. — Text-books. — • 
 One text-book in each subject. — Text-books, how prepared. 
 — How published 156 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE PROVINCIAL UNIVERSITY. 
 
 Historical sketch.— The Act of 1837.— The Act of 1849.— The 
 . Act of 1853.— The Act of 1873.— The Federation Act, 1887. 
 — Government of the university. — Faculty, how appointed. 
 — The Senate. — Matriculation. — Course of study. — Faculty 
 of medicine. — Affiliated universities and colleges. — The li- 
 brary. — Gymnasium. — Discipline. — College residence. — The 
 School of Science 173 
 
xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GEOWTH OF THE ONTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Keturns of 1844. — Pupils in advanced subjects. — Number of 
 trained teachers. — Salaries of teachers. — Cost of public 
 schools. — Growth of separate schools. — Growth of high 
 schools. — Percentages in different subjects. — Salaries of 
 masters. — County model schools and normal schools. — 
 Growth of public libraries. — Results of Arbor Day. — At- 
 tendance at the provincial university 188 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 Report on the sanitary condition of rural schools . . . 198 
 
THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO 
 
 (CANADA). 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 HISTORICAL KEVIEW OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM 0¥ 
 ONTAEIO. 
 
 Bt an act known as the Constitutional Act of 1791, 
 the Imperial House of Commons divided the British pos- 
 sessions in America into two provinces to be known as 
 Upper and Lower Canada, which names they retained 
 until all the British provinces were united by the British 
 North America Act of 1867 as the Dominion of Canada. 
 Since that time Lower Canada has been known by the 
 name of Quebec, and Upper Canada by the name of On- 
 tario. To avoid confusion, it is proposed to use the name 
 " Ontario " instead of " Upper Canada " in the historical 
 narrative that follows. 
 
 The Province of Ontario contains an area of 21 9,650 
 square miles, with a population of 3,114,321, or about the 
 same population as the State of Massachusetts. In area 
 it is larger by 50,000 square miles than the nine States 
 generally described as the North Atlantic States of the 
 American Republic, viz., Maine, New Hampshire, Ver- 
 mont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New 
 2 1 
 
2 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. There is no record 
 of the population of Ontario at the date of the Constitu- 
 tional Act of 1791 ; in 1806, however, its population is 
 stated as being 70,718, and in 1814 as 95,000. 
 
 The early settlers of Ontario were mainly immigrants 
 from the British Islands and refugees from the United 
 States called United Empire Loyalists, because they dis- 
 approved of the Eevolution which led to the separation of 
 the Xorth American colonies from Great Britain. 
 
 On the 11th of November, 1791, Lieutenant-Governor 
 J. Graves Simcoe, the first Governor of Ontario, arrived 
 in Quebec, and on the 17th of September, 1792, the first 
 Legislature of Upper Canada assembled at Newark, a little 
 village on the Niagara Eiver about seven miles below 
 the Falls, now known as Niagara. By the act of the Im- 
 perial Parliament, under which this Legislature was con- 
 vened, the people of Ontario, through a Parliament of 
 their own choice, had the right to legislate with regard 
 to all matters which concerned the development of the 
 country and the welfare of the people educationally and 
 socially. 
 
 On Simcoe's nomination to his ofBce as Govei-nor, he 
 evidently revolved in his mind how best he could secure a 
 solid foundation for the government and institutions of 
 the youthful colony intrusted to his care. Eeligion and 
 education were his watchwords. The form in which he 
 wished them introduced into the new province was, the 
 first in the person of a chief ecclesiastic, and the other as 
 an endowed university. " The former was to inculcate in 
 all ranks and descriptions of people a sober, industrious, 
 religious, and conscientious spirit, which shall be the best 
 security that a government can have for its own internal 
 preservation. The latter, with the liberal education which 
 
HISTORICAL REVIEW. 3 
 
 it would afford, would be most useful to inculcate just 
 principles, habits, and manners into the rising generation." 
 
 These views Governor Simcoe impressed upon the im- 
 perial authorities and upon the dignitaries of the Church 
 of England in a correspondence extending over several 
 years. In a letter addressed to the Duke of Portland, 
 dated July 20, 1796, he urged " the erection and endow- 
 ment of a university, from which more than from any other 
 source, a grateful attachment to his Majesty, morality, and 
 religion will be fostered and take root throughout the 
 whole province." 
 
 Governor Simcoe, on account of ill health, was re- 
 lieved of his duties in August, 1796, but, as a result of his 
 influence upon the public opinion of the country, the 
 Legislature on the 1st of July, 1797, memorialized the 
 British Government " to set apart certain portions of the 
 waste land of the Crown as a fund for the establishment 
 and support of a respectable grammar school in each dis- 
 trict of the province, and also of a college or a university 
 for the instruction of the youth in the different branches 
 of liberal knowledge." 
 
 The Imperial Government having given its consent, 
 the Executive Council for the province took the matter 
 up, and on the 1st of December, 1798, recommended the 
 establishment of a grammar school in each of the four 
 districts into which the province was divided, viz., at 
 Cornwall, Kingston, Newark, and Sandwich, but owing to 
 the limited revenues at their disposal it was decided that 
 only the schools at Kingston and Newark should be 
 opened at once.* They recommended that the university 
 
 * These schools were not opened till after the passage of the 
 Public-School Act of 1807. 
 
4 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 should be established at the town of York, now called 
 Toronto, and that 500,000 acres of the wild lands of the 
 province should be set apart, from the sale of which a 
 sufficient endowment would be obtained to provide for 
 the necessary expenses of the schools and the university. 
 
 The Legislature had as yet, however, taken no steps 
 for the organization of an elementary school system for 
 the province, and no schools of any kind were in existence 
 except such as were maintained by the voluntary contri- 
 butions of the people. 
 
 Public Schools, Act of 1807. — Although petitions had 
 been presented from time to time, and bills of various 
 kinds submitted for the organization of a system both 
 of primary and secondary education, it was not until the 
 year 1807 that any progress was made. In that year an 
 act was passed establishing eight public schools in the 
 province. This act is the germ of the act now in force 
 with regard to secondary education, from which the 
 Province of Ontario has derived such incalculable advan- 
 tages. By this act $400 were set apart for the payment 
 of the salary of a teacher for each school. Five trustees 
 were to be appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor of the 
 Province for each district, whose duty it was to " nomi- 
 nate a fit and discreet person as a teacher, and to examine 
 into the moral character, learning, and capacity of such 
 person so nominated, and, being satisfied with the moral 
 character, learning, and capacity of such person," to rec- 
 ommend hini for appointment by the Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor. The trustees were to have the power of dismissing 
 the teacher if his moral character was unsatisfactory, or 
 if he was unfit for his duties, and to nominate another 
 for the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor. The trus- 
 tees had authority to make such rules and regulations for 
 
HISTORICAL KBVIEW. 5 
 
 the good government and management of the school with 
 respect to teachers and scholars as in their discretion they 
 deemed expedient. The duration of this act was first lim- 
 ited to four years, but afterward this limitation was with- 
 drawn, and the act amended from year to year as public 
 opinion demanded. Its provisions, as modified during 
 the last eighty years, are fully considered in a subsequent 
 chapter. 
 
 Elementary Schools, Act of 1816. — Having secured the 
 establishment of eight public schools in the province with 
 a reasonable provision for their maintenance, the Legis- 
 lative Assembly next addressed itself to the duty of 
 providing elementary schools for the great mass of the 
 people. It was not until the year 1816 that these efforts 
 were crowned with success. The act passed for this pur- 
 pose was approved by the Lieutenant-Grovernor on the 
 1st of April of that year, and was entitled " An Act 
 granting to his Majesty a sum of money to be applied 
 to the use of common schools, and to provide for the 
 organization of said common schools." The principal 
 provisions of this act are : 
 
 1. The appropriation of $24,000 to be divided as the 
 Lieutenant-Governor might direct among such schools as 
 were established according to law, but in no case was.any 
 school to receive more than $100. 
 
 2. The inhabitants of the town, township, village, or 
 place concerned were authorized to meet in public as- 
 sembly, and so soon as they had erected a suitable school- 
 house and were able to show that twenty children were 
 likely to attend the same, they were to appoint three fit 
 and discreet persons to act as trustees of the said school, 
 with authority to appoint a teacher. 
 
 3. The qualifications of the teacher were determined 
 
6 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 by the trustees, as they, and they alone, had the power 
 and authority to examine into his moral character and 
 capacity for the duties of his office. Every teacher ap- 
 pointed must be a British subject either by birth or 
 naturalization. No teacher could be removed by the 
 trustees without the approval of the Board of Educa- 
 tion having supervision for the district in which the 
 school was situated. 
 
 4. The trustees were authorized to make such rules and 
 regulations for the good government of their respective 
 schools, both with regard to teachers and pupils, as they 
 deemed expedient. They were to report to the district 
 board with regard to the text-books to be used in their 
 schools, and the rules and regulations which they had 
 made for the government of the school, all of which were 
 subject to the approval of the district board. The 
 moneys appropriated by the Legislature were to be ap- 
 portioned to the teachers of the several schools yearly or 
 half-yearly, as might be directed by the trustees, in pro- 
 portion to the number of scholars in attendance, provided 
 the number was not less than twenty. 
 
 5. The Lieutenant-Governor was authorized to ap- 
 point a Board of Education for each of the eight 
 districts into which the province was divided, to bo 
 composed of five discreet persons who had authority to 
 superintend the schools established under the act. 
 
 6. The Board of Education for the district was au- 
 thorized to expend a sum not exceeding $400 of the 
 amount appropriated to the district for the purchase of 
 proper books for the use of the schools, and to dis- 
 tribute those books among them as was considered ex- 
 pedient. 
 
 Special Features. — Several features of this early act 
 
HISTOiilCAL REVIEW. 7 
 
 are noteworthy, viz. : 1. The trustees were elected by a 
 majority of the inhabitants of the district, irrespective of 
 all property qualification, and were the sole judges of the 
 fitness of the teacher for the duties of his ofRce. The 
 teacher's tenure of office was more secure in those early 
 days than it is now, as no teacher could be dismissed 
 except with the approval of the Board of Education for 
 the district. 2. The school grant was based upon the at- 
 tendance of the pupils, but no grant was to be paid unless 
 there were at least twenty in attendance. 3. The trustees 
 had the right to select text-books for the use of pupils, 
 and to make regulations for the government of the 
 school, subject to the approval of the District Board of 
 Education. 4. K"o provision was made for levying rates 
 upon property for the maintenance of the school. All 
 sums required over and above the Government grant had 
 to be raised by voluntary contributions. 5. There was 
 no provision for inspection or supervision ; the Boards of 
 Education for the districts had the right to refuse their 
 assent to the regulations made for the government of 
 the school, and in that way promote uniformity of man- 
 agement. They depended, however, for all the informa- 
 tion by which they were to be guided upon the reports 
 of the trustees. 6. The schools were to be known as 
 common schools, a name which in 1871 was changed to 
 public schools. 
 
 The School Act of 1816 contained but sixteen sections, 
 and was the first attempt of the Legislature of Ontario 
 to provide for the educational wants of the whole people 
 of the province, and, elementary though it was, it was a 
 statutory recognition of the right of the people, under 
 the direction of an act of Parliament, to provide for the 
 education of their children. It is true that the teachers 
 
8 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 appointed by the trustees might not have been in all 
 cases entitled to rank as members of a learned profession, 
 as we now understand the term. They were not, how- 
 ever, devoid of scholarship, many of them having received 
 a liberal education in the schools of their native land. 
 As a rule, the curriculum was limited to reading, writing, 
 and arithmetic, with a moderate drill in British history 
 and the geography of the world, so far as then known. 
 The log schoolhouse, with its rude, primitive accom- 
 modation, was, in the fullest sense of the term, the 
 people's university, and, except in the towns and vil- 
 lages, was the only school available to the great majority 
 of the people. 
 
 The Act of 18'2]f.. — The next important amendment 
 to the Common-Schools Act of 1816 was an act approved 
 by the Legislative Assembly on the 19th day of January, 
 1834. It has already been noted that in each of the eight 
 districts into which the province was divided the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor was authorized to appoint, and did ap- 
 point, a Board of Education having authority to appro- 
 priate the moneys granted by the Legislature, and in a 
 general way to exercise a limited control over the schools 
 with regard to management and discipline. In 1824 pro- 
 vision was made for the appointment of a general Board 
 of Education for the whole province. This board was 
 appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor, and in the first 
 instance consisted of the Eev. John Strachan, D. D., 
 chairman ; the Hon. Joseph Wells, a member of the 
 Legislative Council ; the Hon. George H. Markland, also 
 a member of the Legislative Council ; the Rev. Eobert 
 Addison, John Beverly Eobinson, Attorney-General, and 
 Thomas Ridout, Surveyor-General. This board after- 
 wards developed into a Council of Public Instruction in 
 
HISTORICAL REVIEW. 9 
 
 the year 1850, with powers to prescribe text-books, courses 
 of study for common and grammar schools, qualifications 
 of teachers, etc., but was abolished in 1876 when the 
 schools of the province were placed under a Minister of 
 Education. 
 
 It appears that the Legislative Assembly was impressed 
 with the necessity for promoting the " moral and religious 
 instruction of the more indigent and remote settlements 
 in the several districts throughout the province," and 
 that accordingly the sum of $600, in addition to the 
 amounts voted for common schools, was granted for the 
 encouragement of Sunday schools. This sum was placed 
 at the disposition of the Board of Education for the prov- 
 ince, to be by it laid out and expended for the purchas- 
 ing of books and tracts designed to afford moral and re- 
 ligious instruction, such books and tracts to be distributed 
 in equal proportions among the several District Boards of 
 Education throughout the province. This would give 
 $75 for the moral and religious education of the pupils of 
 each district ; and as there were over two hundred schools 
 in the province at that time, the appropriation to each 
 must have been exceedingly small. It showed, however, 
 the sympathy of the Legislature with the moral and re- 
 ligious education of the people. 
 
 Another and more important provision was made in 
 the act with respect to the qualifications of the teacher. 
 By the Act of 1816 the trustees were authorized to ex- 
 amine the teacher they proposed to employ, and to satisfy 
 themselves as to his fitness mentally and morally. By the 
 Act of 1824 this duty was transferred to the Board of 
 Education for the district, and no school could receive 
 any portion of the public grant unless the teacher held a 
 certificate signed by at least one member of the district 
 
10 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 board. There were in all at this time eleven district 
 boards in the province. 
 
 The Act of 1841.— In 1841 the Provinces of Upper and 
 Lower Canada (Ontario and Quebec) were united under one 
 Legislature or Parliament, and among the subjects receiv- 
 ing the early attention of the Legislature, edncation ap- 
 pears to have been most earnestly considered. On the 
 18th of September, 1841, an act was passed of a somewhat 
 comprehensive character, which showed the great interest 
 taken by the people in the development of a system of 
 elementary schools. 
 
 1. It was provided that a permanent fund should be 
 established in each township and parish in the province 
 (Ontario and Quebec were then called the Province of 
 Canada), consisting of such money as might accrue from 
 the sale of lands appropriated by the Legislature or be in 
 any other way provided for the maintenance of common 
 schools. 
 
 2. The grant for education was increased to 1200,000 
 — a very liberal sum, considering the resources and popu- 
 lation of the country at that time. 
 
 3. Authority was taken for the appointment of a Chief 
 Superintendent of Education, who was to hold office dur- 
 ing pleasure, at a salary of $3,000. 
 
 4. Municipal Councils were empowered to raise by as- 
 sessment such sums of money for school purposes as would 
 be at least equivalent to the amount appropriated by the 
 Legislature for the maintenance of each school. 
 
 5. The district boards of trustees appointed by the 
 Lieutenant-Governor in Council under the Act of 1807 
 were abolished, and the Municipal Council for the dis- 
 trict was constituted the Board of Education of such 
 district. 
 
HISTORICAL REVIEW. H 
 
 6. The Municipal Council, as the Board of Education 
 for the district, was authorized to divide the several town- 
 ships in their districts into school sections and to assess 
 the inhabitants to the extent of $300 for the erection of a 
 schoolhouse in each section where none existed, and to 
 appropriate a sum of $40 for the purchase of such books 
 as might be recommended by the school commissioners 
 for the district. 
 
 7. Five persons were to be appointed for each town- 
 ship, or parish to be known as Common-School Commis- 
 sioners, whose duty it was to select school sites, super- 
 intend the building of schoolhouses, appoint teachers, 
 regulate the course of study in each school, select text- 
 books and make rules for the conduct of the schools, hear 
 and settle complaints, visit each school in their township 
 at least once a month by one or more of their number, 
 relieve poor persons not exceeding ten from the payment 
 of school fees for the education of their children, and 
 report their proceedings to the Municipal Council before 
 the close of the year in the form furnished by the Super- 
 intendent of Education. 
 
 8. A monthly fee of twenty-five cents was to be paid 
 by each pupil attending the school, in addition to the 
 rates which might be levied by assessment for school pur- 
 poses. No public moneys were to be paid to any school 
 attended by less than fifteen children, and unless the rate- 
 payers raised a sum equal to the Government grant. 
 
 9. The religious minority, whether Protestant or 
 Catholic, in any township or parish who dissented from 
 the proceedings of the school commissioners of any par- 
 ish had the right of signifying their dissent in writing to 
 the clerk of the Municipal Council, and, on submitting the 
 names of persons to act for them as trustees, to establish 
 
12 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 common schools on their own behalf. The trustees so 
 appointed were to have the authority and be subject to 
 the obligations and liabilities of ordinary school commis- 
 sioners. They were to be subject to the " visitation, con- 
 dition, rules, and obligations provided with reference to 
 other common schools, and to receive from the municipal 
 treasurer the due appropriation according to the number 
 of pupils and the moneys appropriated by law, and raised 
 by assessment for the support of common schools." Such 
 moneys were to be paid to them upon the order of their 
 own trustees. 
 
 A few things in this act are noteworthy : 1. Pro- 
 vision was made for the appointment of a Chief Super- 
 intendent for the whole province. As the Act of 1841 
 applied to both Ontario and Quebec, the jurisdiction of 
 the Chief Superintendent, in this case, would apply to 
 both provinces. 2. The Legislature for the first time 
 declared by statute that the property of the people was 
 held in trust for the education of the people, as, in addi- 
 tion to the large grants given directly by the Legislature 
 for common-school education, the school commissioners 
 were authorized to tax the inhabitants for the mainte- 
 nance of schools ; and although a monthly fee of twenty- 
 five cents was still chargeable upon pupils, a great advance 
 had been made toward free schools, the evident goal of tho 
 early educational leaders of the province. 3. Township 
 Boards of Trustees called school commissioners, elected 
 by the people, were intrusted with all matters affecting 
 common schools in each township or parish. 4. The 
 principle of separate schools for Eoman Catholics and 
 Protestants, respectively, was admitted for the first time 
 by statute. 5. As all reports had to be made to the 
 Chief Superintendent, and as he was authorized to visit 
 
HISTORICAL REVIEW. 13 
 
 the schools and ascertain their standing for himself, it 
 was evidently the desire of the Legislature to secure 
 greater uniformity in the administration of the schools.* 
 
 The Act of 18Jf3. — The apathy shown by Parliament 
 hitherto in dealing with educational matters had now 
 given place to great activity, and in the session of 1843 
 an act was passed involving many changes of great im- 
 portance to the country. On account of the dissimilarity 
 in race and religion of the people of Ontario and Quebec, 
 it was found difficult, if not impossible, to meet the pe- 
 culiar conditions of each province by a common system of 
 education. Accordingly, the Act of 1841 was repealed, 
 and the schools of the two provinces were organized in a 
 manner more in harmony with the wishes of the people 
 of each province. The provisions of the Act of 1843, as 
 applicable to Ontario only concern us. 
 
 1. The office of Chief Superintendent was abolished, 
 and the member of the Government occupying the posi- 
 tion of Provincial Secretary was appointed Chief Super- 
 intendent of Education for the Province of Ontario. The 
 Governor of the province was invested with authority to 
 appoint an assistant superintendent, who was to act in all 
 things under the direction of the Provincial Secretary, as 
 his chief. 
 
 3. County Councils were authorized to appoint a 
 superintendent for their respective counties, and every 
 city, town, and township was authorized to appoint a 
 
 * On the 11th of May, 1842, Vice-Chanoellor Jameson was ap- 
 pointed Chief Superintendent of Education for Ontario and Quebec, 
 and the Rev. Robert Murray, a minister of the Church of Scotland 
 at Oaliville, was appointed Assistant Superintendent under this act. 
 He held ofBce for about two years, and was afterward appointed 
 Professor of Mathematics in the University of Toronto. 
 
li THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 superintendent who was to act under the direction of the 
 county superintendent. These oiScers all held oflSce dur- 
 ing pleasure. 
 
 3. The city, town, and township superintendents were 
 authorized to divide the districts under their jurisdictions 
 as far as might be necessary, into school sections, to visit 
 the schools under their care at least once a year, to ex- 
 amine teachers as to their moral character, learning, and 
 ability, and to grant them certificates as teachers valid 
 for one year. 
 
 4. By the adoption of a system of reports with regard 
 to the standing of children, a certain degree of uniform- 
 ity was secured in the administration of the schools. 
 
 5. The government of the school sections by school 
 commissioners was abolished, and the provisions of the 
 Act of 1824 for the election of three trustees were reverted 
 to. The trustees so elected were to have the right to 
 appoint teachers, fix their salaries, regulate the course of 
 study and the books to be used therein, and generally all 
 matters affecting discipline and school management. All 
 plans for the erection or alteration of schoolhouses were 
 subject to the approval of the Municipal Council in the 
 city, town, or township in which the school was situated. 
 
 6. A conscience clause for the first time appears in 
 the statute to the effect that " no child shall be required 
 to read or study in or from any religious book, or to join 
 in any exercise of devotion or religion that shall be ob- 
 jected to by his or her guardian." 
 
 7. Separate schools for the minority were continued. 
 It was provided that wherever the teacher of a school 
 happened to be a Eoman Catholic, the Protestant in- 
 habitants had the right to establish a school with a 
 teacher of their own religious persuasion, upon the 
 
HISTORICAL EEVIEW. 15 
 
 application of ten or more resident freeholders or house- 
 holders. A similar privilege was allowed to Roman 
 Catholics. Schools established under these conditions 
 were to be entitled to their share of the Government 
 grant the same as other schools established under the 
 act, subject to the same visitations, conditions, rules, and 
 obligations as other common schools. 
 
 8. County Councils were authorized to levy the sum of 
 $800 upon the taxpayers of the county for the establish- 
 ment of a model school. The purpose of this model school 
 is not clear ; it would appear, however, to be intended 
 for the training of teachers, and remained until 1877 a 
 dead letter. 
 
 9. The establishment of a normal school for the 
 province was anticipated by proposing certain regulations 
 with regard to its administration as soon as it was put 
 into operation. 
 
 Dr. Ryerson appointed Chief Superintendent. — On 
 the appointment of Mr. Murray to the professorship of 
 Mathematics in the University of Toronto in 1844, the 
 Eev. Egerton Ryerson, better known as Dr. Ryerson, who 
 had for many years actively identified himself with the 
 educational movements of the province, was appointed 
 Assistant Superintendent,* and directed by Lord Met- 
 calfe, who was then Governor of the province, to visit 
 the schools of Great Britain and the Continent with a 
 view " to devise such measures as may be necessary to 
 provide proper school books, to establish the most effi- 
 cient system of instruction, to elevate the character of 
 both teachers and schools, and to encourage every plan 
 
 * Dr. Ryerson was appointed Chief Superintendent under the 
 Act of 1850, and the office of assistant abolished. 
 
16 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 and effort to educate and improve the youthful mind 
 of th^ country." 
 
 Dr. Eyerson devoted upward of a year to the duty 
 thus imposed upon him, and extended his inquiries into 
 the dominions of nearly twenty governments, among 
 them Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Belgium, 
 France, Switzerland, Austria, and Great Britain. On 
 his return he submitted a very elaborate report on the 
 school systems of the schools he visited, and recommended 
 the establishment in the province of — 
 
 1. A system of graduated schools composed of ele- 
 mentary, model, grammar schools, and colleges. The 
 elementary schools were intended to correspond to what 
 were then called the common schools of Ontario and the 
 primary schools of Prance and Prussia; the model schools 
 were to be industrial or real or trade schools, like the 
 polytechnic schools of Vienna and Paris, though on a 
 smaller scale, or like the real or trade schools of Prussia; 
 the grammar schools were to occupy the position and 
 fulfil the functions of the French communal schools or 
 royal colleges, and the Prussian burgher schools and 
 gymnasia — the whole superstructure to be crowned by a 
 provincial university or universities. 
 
 " Under such an organization," Dr. Eyerson says, 
 "the same principles and spirit would pervade the en- 
 tire system, from the primary schools up to the uni- 
 versity ; the basis of education in the elementary schools 
 would be the same for the whole community — at least so 
 far as governmental provisions and regulations are con- 
 cerned — not interfering with private schools or taking 
 them into account ; but as soon as the pupils would 
 advance to the limits of the instruction provided for all, 
 then those whose parents or guardians could no longer 
 
HISTORICAL, REVIEW. 17 
 
 dispense with their services would enter life with a sound 
 elementary education ; those whose parents might be able 
 and disposed would proceed, some to the Real school to 
 prepare for the business of a farmer, an architect, an 
 engineer, a manufacturer, or mechanic, and others to 
 the grammar school to prepare for the university and 
 the profession." 
 
 " In the carrying out and completion of such a system 
 the courses of instruction in each class of schools would 
 be prescribed, as also the qualifications for admission into 
 each of them, above the primary schools ; each school 
 would occupy its appropriate place, and each teacher 
 would have his appropriate work ; and no man in one 
 and the same school, and on one and the same day, 
 would be found making the absurd and abortive attempt 
 of teaching the a, b, c's, reading, spelling, writing, arith- 
 metic, grammar, geography (in all their gradations), to- 
 gether with Latin, Greek, and mathematics." 
 
 The Act of 18Ifi. — Acting very largely upon the 
 recommendations of Dr. Ryerson's report, the Legislature 
 of Ontario, on the 23d of May, 1846, repealed the Act 
 of 1843, and substituted for it a new act containing the 
 following important provisions : 
 
 1. The Provincial Secretary was no longer to be re- 
 garded as Chief Superintendent of Schools. The duties 
 of his ofBce were to be discharged by a person appointed 
 by the Governor of the province, at a salary of 12,000, 
 with such assistants as might be from time to time re- 
 quired. The Chief Superintendent was to be subject to 
 such .orders and directions as he might receive from time 
 to time from the Governor of the province. His duties 
 were to see that the appropriation made by the Legisla- 
 ture for school purposes was properly distributed, to pre- 
 3 
 
18 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 pare. suitable forms and regulations for school reports, to 
 decide upon all complaints that might arise with regard 
 to the school law, to provide uniform and approved text- 
 books in all the forms, to recommend suitable plans for 
 schoolhouses, suitable books for school libraries, and to 
 have the supervision of the normal school as soon as 
 established. 
 
 2. Provision was made for the appointment of a Board 
 of Education, to consist of not more than seven persons 
 (the Chief Superintendent being a member ex officio). 
 This board was to hold office during pleasure. Although 
 the duties of the board were mainly advisory, it was 
 vested with the power to select a site for a normal school 
 for Ontario, and to make such rules and regulations as 
 might be necessary for its government and for the ad- 
 mission of pupils. The board had also authority to ex- 
 amine and recommend or disapprove of all books, plans, 
 or forms which might be submitted for use in any school. 
 
 3. The sum of $7,000 was appropriated for the pur- 
 pose of procuring and furnishing suitable buildings for a 
 normal school, and an equal sum for the payment of the 
 salaries of teachers and the contingent expenses of the 
 school. 
 
 4. District or county superintendents were continued, 
 with the power to certify to the qualifications of teachers, 
 as under the Act of 1841 ; and as no mention is made of 
 city, town, or township superintendents, it is presumed 
 that they were by this act abolished. 
 
 5. Clergymen of all denominations having pastoral 
 charge within the city, town, or township in which the 
 school is situated, judges, justices of the peace, and mu- 
 nicipal councils, were constituted statutory visitors of the 
 school, with a right to examine into the progress of the 
 
HISTORICAL REVIEW. 19 
 
 pupils, and give such advice to the teacher as they might 
 deem expedient. Such visitors, at a meeting called for 
 the purpose, or any two of them, were authorized to cer- 
 tify as to the qualifications of candidates for a teacher's 
 certificate, but such certificate was to be valid for only 
 one year. 
 
 6. The oflBce of school trustee as in the Act of 1843 
 was continued, as was also the monthly fees of pupils. 
 Their power, however, to make regulations for the gov- 
 ernment and discipline of the school was withdrawn, 
 such power having been vested in the Chief Superin- 
 tendent. 
 
 7. The conscience clause and the clause in the act 
 with regard to separate schools were continued. 
 
 8. Teachers' certificates were, for the first time in the 
 history of the province, divided into three classes, first, 
 second, and third. 
 
 The Act of -?<S50.— Under the Act of 1850 provision 
 was made for — 
 
 1. The election of two trustees for each ward into 
 which any city or town was divided for municipal pur- 
 poses, and for the retirement of half of their number an- 
 nually. In rural schools — i. e., schools situated in town- 
 ships — provision was made for the retirement of one 
 trustee annually. The intention of this was to secure 
 greater continuity in the office of school trustee. 
 
 2. County councils were authorized to appoint a super- 
 intendent for the whole county, providing his jurisdiction 
 was limited to one hundred schools, or a local superin- 
 tendent for each township in the county. Each super- 
 intendent was to receive a fee of four dollars for every 
 school under his jurisdiction. 
 
 3. Trustees of cities and towns were authorized to 
 
20 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 appoint a superintendent with the same powers as a 
 local superintendent appointed by the County Council. 
 
 4. A Board of Public Instruction was to be appointed 
 for each county, to consist of county grammar-school 
 trustees and the local superintendent of each township. 
 The duty of this board was to grant certificates to teachers 
 of common schools, to recommend the text-books to be 
 used in the public schools, and to promote the establish- 
 ment of public libraries. Local superintendents were, in 
 addition, to visit every school within their jurisdiction 
 at least once a quarter, to examine the pupils, to re- 
 port upon the character and condition of the building 
 and premises, and to deliver one public lecture in each 
 school section on some subject " connected with the ob- 
 jects, plans, and means of education." 
 
 5. The ofSce of Chief Superintendent was continued, 
 and provision made for the appointment of a deputy, to 
 act in his absence. The persons appointed as a Board 
 of Education under the previous act were to be known as 
 the Council of Public Instruction, and their number in- 
 creased to nine. 
 
 6. Authority was given to the Chief Superintendent to 
 appoint proper persons to conduct Teachers' Institutes 
 for the purpose of " elevating the profession of school- 
 teaching and promoting its usefulness." 
 
 7. The sum of $12,000 was appropriated for the estab- 
 lishment and support of school libraries, and $4,000 for 
 the payment of the expenses of teachers in training at 
 the Provincial Normal School. 
 
 8. The certificates obtained by teachers who attended the 
 normal school were made valid in any pai't of the province. 
 
 9. The most important change, however, effected in the 
 Act of 1850, was the permission given by the freeholders 
 
HISTORICAL REVIEW, 21 
 
 and householders of any school section to determine 
 whether the school should be iraintained by a monthly 
 fee upon the pupils in attendance in addition to a tax 
 upon the ratable property of the section, or whether all 
 rate bills should be abolished and the schools declared free. 
 The efEect of this option was to lead to the gradual adoption 
 of free schools by the people of the province, so that in 
 1871, the next period at which important legislation was 
 passed by the Provincial Parliament, the schools were de- 
 clared free by statute. As a matter of fact, however, 
 the people, of their own motion, had already abolished 
 fees in all the schools of the province except in about 
 three hundred. 
 
 Tlie School Act of 1871.— The School Act of 1871 
 marks an important era in the educational legislation of 
 the province. 
 
 1. It provided that the common schools should there- 
 after be known as public schools, and that every school 
 should be a free school by law, thus abolishing all rate 
 bills and fees upon pupils. The trustees of public schools 
 in cities, towns, and villages were allowed to exact a fee 
 of not more than twenty cents per month on every pupil 
 for the purpose of providing for the text-books, stationery, 
 and other school supplies. By the same act, grammar 
 schools were to be known thereafter as high schools and 
 collegiate institutes. By collegiate institute was meant a 
 high school with a larger staff of teachers, and with better 
 facilities as to accommodation and equipment for the 
 highest kind of secondary education. 
 
 3. Compulsory attendance at school was for the first 
 time required for at least four months in each year, with 
 power given to a magistrate to impose reasonable penal- 
 ties upon parents who violated the law. 
 
22 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 3. The office of local superintendent was abolished, 
 and provision made for the appointment of county in- 
 spectors, who were to be appointed by county councils or 
 the trustees of cities and towns from among those who 
 were declared to be qualified by the Council of Public In- 
 struction. No inspector was to have charge of more than 
 one hundred and twenty schools or less than fifty, except 
 in counties where the French or German language was 
 the common or prevailing language ; in that case an in- 
 spector might have charge of any number of schools not 
 less than forty. Inspectors were appointed during pleas- 
 ure, subject to dismissal by the Municipal Council or the 
 trustees appointing them, or by the Lieutenant-Governor 
 for misconduct or inefficiency. Their powers were simi- 
 lar to those of local superintendents under the Act of 
 1850, and their remuneration was fixed at a minimum of 
 ten dollars per school. 
 
 4. Municipal councils and boards of trustees in cities 
 were authorized to appoint boards of examiners for deter- 
 mining the qualifications of teachers. 
 
 5. The Council of Public Instruction was continued, 
 and authorized to prepare examination papers on which 
 candidates for a teacher's certificate were to be examined. 
 The Council was also authorized to prepare a course of 
 studies for public schools and for the training of teachers, 
 to select text-books, and to make regulations for the gov- 
 ernment and administration of public and high schools. 
 
 6. A board of examiners was constituted for the ad- 
 mission of pupils to high schools, and a course of study 
 outlined by the Council of Public Instruction. 
 
 7. An annual tax of four dollars was imposed upon 
 every male teacher for the purpose of establishing a fund 
 for teachers who had become disabled in the profession. 
 
HISTORICAL REVIEW. 23 
 
 Female teachers were allowed voluntarily to contribute to 
 this fund. This provision of the act was repealed in 1885, 
 so far as teachers entering the profession after the 1st of 
 July, 1886, were concerned. Those who had contributed 
 up to that time were permitted to share in the benefits of 
 the Act of 1871 by continuing the annual fee of four 
 dollars. 
 
 The Act of 1876. — The only provision of the Act 
 of 1876 which it is necessary to mention here is that 
 which abolished the office of Chief Superintendent, and 
 constituted the Executive Council — i. e., the members 
 of the Executive Government of the Province — the 
 Education Department. The head of the Education De- 
 partment was by this act designated Minister of Educa- 
 tion ; the functions of the Council of Public Instruction 
 devolved upon the Education Department, and the duties 
 of Chief Superintendent upon the Minister of Education. 
 
 To mention the various amendments made to the 
 school act from 1876 down to the present time (1896) 
 would unnecessarily encumber the narrative, particularly 
 as the evolution of the public-school system of Ontario, 
 so far as its general principles are concerned, was com- 
 pleted by the Act of 1876. 
 
 In the following chapters the law respecting the pub- 
 lic-school system of Ontario, as at present established, is 
 considered in detail. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 ORGANIZATIOIf OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 
 
 The Dominion of Canada being under a federal form 
 of government, its legislative powers are divided between 
 the central authority, representing the whole country, and 
 the provinces, representing interests of a more local char- 
 acter. Education is regarded as belonging to the latter 
 class, and is under the control of the provincial Legisla- 
 tures.* 
 
 In Ontario the school system consists of public schools 
 (including kindergartens), high schools, and collegiate in- 
 stitutes, and a provincial university, with separate schools, 
 under conditions hereafter stated, for Protestants, Roman 
 Catholics, and colored people. The whole system is or- 
 ganically connected by means of courses of study and 
 examinations conducted by the Department of Education. 
 The head of the department is known as Minister of 
 Education. 
 
 * As separate schools for Roman Catholics and Protestants ex- 
 isted in the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec when they became 
 confederated with the other provinces, the Central Government — 
 that is, the Government of Canada — was empowered to interfere in 
 case any legislation was passed by the provinces that prejudicially 
 affected any rights which the religious minority enjoyed at the time 
 of union (1867). With this limitation, the provincial Legislatures 
 are at liberty to promote the education of the people along whatever 
 lines they consider most expedient. 
 
 34 
 
ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 25 
 
 Minister of Education. — The Minister of Education 
 is a member of the Executive Government of the prov- 
 ince, with a seat in Parliament, and represents necessarily 
 the political party for the time being having control of 
 the government of the province. He is liable to dismissal 
 at any time, according to British usages, by the Lieutenant- 
 Governor. Should he be defeated in a general election, 
 it might be necessary for him to retire from office ; and 
 should his party be defeated, his place would be filled by a 
 representative of the successful party. As a general elec- 
 tion takes place every four years, it is possible, even were 
 the continuity of the office not broken in any other way, 
 that the Minister of Education might be changed quad- 
 rennially. 
 
 To place the education of the people and all that it 
 involves under the direct control of a political head was 
 regarded by many as a very dangerous experiment. It 
 was feared that it would lead to undue political influence 
 in educational matters, to temporizing with sound prin- 
 ciples of education, to needless attention to the clamours 
 of the proletariat, to the postponement of necessary re- 
 forms from a fear of political irritation, and to the use of 
 the patronage in the hands of the department without a 
 proper regard to the educational interests of the public. 
 These are dangers, however, that are incident to the ad- 
 ministration of every department of government under 
 democratic institutions, and unless the electorate exercise 
 that eternal vigilance which is the price of liberty, any 
 department of the public service is likely to be made sub- 
 servient to the ambition of its head and of the party polit- 
 ically dominant for the time being. 
 
 No hard-and-fast rule can be laid down as to the rela- 
 tive value of government by a responsible minister and gov- 
 
26 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 ernment by a bureaucracy. Under a Chief Superintendent 
 of Education tlie school system of Ontario was well admin- 
 istered. It was progressive as to educational ideals, and 
 it adapted itself with reasonable readiness to the growth 
 of public sentiments and the wants of the people. It is 
 important, however, to remember that Dr. Eyerson, who 
 filled the office of Chief Superintendent for thirty years, 
 and who was exceptionally well qualified to estimate its 
 strength and weakness, recommended the change from an 
 irresponsible chief to that of a Minister of Education, with 
 a seat in Parliament and directly amenable to that public 
 opinion which, under the Constitution, expresses itself in 
 the representative assemblies of the country. In a letter 
 addressed to the Government as far back as 1868, in which 
 he asked to be relieved of his official duties as Chief Su- 
 perintendent, Dr. Eyerson said : " Our system of public 
 instruction has acquired such gigantic dimensions, and 
 the network of its operations so pervades every munici- 
 pality of the land and is so interwoven with our municipal 
 and judicial systems of government, that I think its ad- 
 ministration should now be vested in a responsible minis- 
 ter of the Crown, with a seat in Parliament; and that 
 I should not stand in the way of the application to our 
 varied educational interests of that ministerial respon- 
 sibility which is sound in principle and wise in policy." 
 
 If we follow the analogy of representative institutions, 
 Dr. Eyerson's advice was eminently sound, and the action 
 taken by the Parliament of Ontario in placing education 
 under the management of a responsible minister of the 
 Crown defensible. There is no constitutional reason why 
 public opinion should not be brought to bear as directly 
 upon educational questions as upon any other which affect 
 the welfare of the community and the pockets of the tax- 
 
ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. £7 
 
 payers. Besides, the influence of an officer who is expect- 
 ed to originate as well as to direct legislation is greatly 
 hampered by being prevented from appealing directly to 
 the body which has to pronounce judgment upon the 
 schemes he ma,y formulate as the result of his experience. 
 He may draft bills involving many complicated provisions 
 for the improvement of the schools ; he may desire to in- 
 augurate a new policy requiring an extensive knowledge 
 of the school system of other countries, and with conse- 
 quences and tendencies known only to one who has studied 
 the whole question thoroughly ; but if he is not allowed 
 to explain his policy before those having power to accept 
 or reject it, his labour may be of no avail. And so it might 
 happen, as it has happened in the Province of Ontario, that 
 important reforms would be postponed because the only 
 man who could satisfy Parliament with regard to their 
 merits was excluded from the House. To place a bill, no 
 matter how clearly framed by its author, in the hands of 
 a member of Parliament not conversant with the great 
 volume of fact and experience which lies behind it, and 
 who has not made the purpose which it is intended to 
 fulfil a matter of study or a matter of personal concern, 
 usually leads to disaster. 
 
 The presence of a Minister of Education on the floor 
 of Parliament has other advantages. As a member of the 
 Executive Government, any legislation he proposes must 
 first have the approval of his colleagues, and to that ex- 
 tent Parliament has an assurance that it has been well 
 considered, for nothing sooner discredits a Government 
 than the introduction of abortive or ill-considered legis- 
 lation. Moreover, no minister would introduce a bill 
 affecting education or any other great question except 
 upon the conviction that the legislation proposed would 
 
28 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 be supported by the people. It is not necessary that his 
 bill should be the mere echo of a public opinion clamour- 
 ing for redress or for advanced legislation. All a minister 
 has to know is that the legislation he proposes, whether 
 called for by a large body of the people or not, will so 
 commend itself to their good judgment that they will 
 take it in trust, partly because of its apparent merits, and 
 partly because of their confidence in the minister or the 
 Government responsible for it. If any explanation is 
 necessary in order to make it clear, that explanation can 
 be given by the minister on the floor of Parliament. 
 True, he is liable to misrepresentation by those who are 
 politically opposed to him. What has been done in good 
 faith may be charged to party exigencies or to political 
 motives, and in that sense public confidence in his educa- 
 tional policy may occasionally be weakened; but this 
 is a form of criticism to which every administrative act of 
 government is exposed. 
 
 If office were regarded as a public trust, and the power 
 which it confers upon the holder used for the public good, 
 and that only, theoretically it would be of small conse- 
 quence how tlie educational affairs of the country, or in- 
 deed any other department of the public service, were 
 administered. But as all legislation is nothing more or 
 less than public opinion crystallized, the more directly 
 that opinion can be brought to bear upon any subject 
 coming within the range of legislation, the more freely 
 and perfectly do representative institutions fulfil their nat- 
 ural and proper function ; and if in the fulfilment of that 
 function imperfections are found to prevail, the people, 
 who are the final court of appeal, should be permitted to 
 make their power felt with the fewest obstructions possible. 
 
 The Education Department, liow composed. — The 
 
ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 29 
 
 Education Department consists of the Executive Gov- 
 ernment of the province, viz. : the Attorney- General, the 
 Commissioner of Crown Lands, the Provincial Secretary, 
 the Minister of Agriculture, the Provincial Treasurer, the 
 Commissioner of Public Works, the Minister of Educa- 
 tion, and any other member of Parliament who may hold 
 a seat in the Government. The Attorney-General, as first 
 minister of the province, acts as chairman. Meetings of 
 the department are held for the transaction of business as 
 may be required. All reports and regulations requiring 
 the consideration of the department are usually submitted 
 by the Minister of Education, and after adoption by the 
 department become operative at once, and are as binding 
 as an act of Parliament. They are subsequently laid be- 
 fore Parliament, and are open to disapproval either in 
 whole or in part. 
 
 Jurisdiction of the Departme^it. — The Education De- 
 partment has jurisdiction over the following classes of 
 schools, viz. : 
 
 1. Kindergarten schools for pupils between four and 
 seven years of age, in which instruction shall be given ac- 
 cording to kindergarten methods. 
 
 2. Public schools for pupils between five and twenty- 
 one years of age, in which instruction shall be given 
 in the elements of an English and commercial edu- 
 cation. 
 
 3. Night schools for pupils over fourteen years of age, 
 who are unable to attend school during the usual school 
 hours. 
 
 4. High schools and collegiate institutes for such pu- 
 pils as pass the prescribed entrance examination, in which 
 instruction shall be given in the higher branches of a prac- 
 tical English and commercial education, the natural sci- 
 
30 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 ences, mathematics, and the Greek, Latin, French, and 
 German languages. 
 
 5. Art schools for instruction in mechanical, industrial, 
 and constructive drawing, and other branches of a tech- 
 nical education. 
 
 6. County model schools for the training of candidates 
 for teachers' third-class certificates. 
 
 7. Normal schools for the training of candidates for 
 teachers' second-class certificates. 
 
 8. The normal college for the training of candidates 
 for teachers' first-class certificates, and for the training of 
 teachers of high schools and collegiate institutes. ., \ : 
 
 9. Teachers' institutes for the reading of papers and 
 the general discussion of educational topics. 
 
 10. Public libraries, reading-rooms, and evening classes 
 for mechanics and artisans, when aided by the Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 11. Industrial schools for the instruction in industrial 
 pursuits, with a special view to their moral reformation, 
 of children whose habits render removal from their homes 
 necessary. 
 
 13. Separate schools at which the children of Protes- 
 tants, Roman Catholics, and coloured people respectively 
 may attend, subject to the provisions of the separate 
 schools act hereafter discussed. 
 
 Powers of the Education Department. — The Education 
 Department is invested by statute with the power to make 
 regulations — 
 
 1. For the classification, organization, government, , 
 and examination of the different classes of schools men-" 
 tioned above, and for the equipment of schoolhouses and, 
 the arrangement of school premises. 
 
 3. For the authorization of text-books for the use of 
 
ORGANIZATION OP PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 31 
 
 pupils, and the selection of books of reference for the use 
 of teachers and public libraries. 
 
 3. For determining the qualifications and duties of in- 
 spectors, examiners, and teachers. 
 
 4. For the payment of the pensions of superannuated 
 inspectors and teachers, and the proper distribution of all 
 moneys set apart by the Legislative Assembly for school 
 purposes. 
 
 5. For the study of agriculture, and for scientific in- 
 struction as to the nature of alcoholic stimulants and 
 narcotics, with special reference to their effect upon the 
 human system. 
 
 Inspectors of high schools, separate schools, county 
 model schools, directors of teachers' institutes, and the 
 masters of normal schools and the practice schools in 
 connection - with them, are appointed by the Education 
 Department. Inspectors of public schools are appointed 
 by the Municipal Councils of the county concerned, or 
 by the trustees in the case of cities or towns separated 
 from the county. The department also fixes the fees to 
 be paid by candidates at departmental examinations, and 
 prescribes the forms for school registers and such official 
 reports as boards of trustees and the officers of the depart- 
 ment are required to make. All moneys voted by Parlia- 
 ment are paid on the recommendation of the Minister of 
 Education. 
 
 Powers of the Minister of Education. — As the exec- 
 utive officer of the Education Department, it is the duty 
 of the Minister of Education to enforce the regulations of 
 the department, and to direct the officers of the depart- 
 ment as to the discharge of their duties, and through the 
 official staff of the department to carry on the necessary 
 departmental correspondence. Public-school inspectors, 
 
32 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 though not appointed by the Minister of Education, are 
 amenable to his authority, and the whole machinery of 
 education subject to his control. He is also ex officio a 
 member of the Senate of the Provincial University, and 
 is thus in a position to present the views of the depart- 
 ment on educational matters before the Senate, as the 
 governing body of the university. He has power to de- 
 cide upon all disputes and complaints laid before him, the 
 settlement of which is not otherwise provided for by law, 
 and upon all appeals made to him from the decision of 
 any inspector or other school officer. Should any question 
 arise as to the construction of any statute afEecting educa- 
 tion, he has the power to submit the matter in dispute to 
 any judge of the High Court for his opinion. The object 
 of this provision of the law is to prevent litigation, and 
 has been found productive of very beneficial results. As 
 a matter of legal procedure, the opinion of the judge is 
 not binding on the parties concerned in the dispute ; nev- 
 ertheless, it is usually accepted. The department is at 
 liberty to pay the costs in such cases, but as the argument 
 is generally conducted through the law officers of the Gov- 
 ernment, the costs are nominal. 
 
 It is the duty of the minister to submit an annual re- 
 port to Parliament, setting forth the attendance of pupils 
 at the various schools under the jurisdiction of the depart- 
 ment, the expenditure of the province for school purposes, 
 the classification of the pupils, and such other information 
 as will enable the members of Parliament to form a cor- 
 rect opinion with regard to the educational progress of 
 the country. 
 
 In the event of any legislation being required for the 
 improvement of the school system of the province, the 
 Minister of Education takes charge of such bills as may 
 
ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 33 
 
 be necessary for that purpose, and, except by the defeat of 
 the Government, no legislation can pass which does not 
 meet with his approval. In order to secure greater sta- 
 bility in the organization of the school system of the 
 province, legislation of an important character is submit- 
 ted to Parliament only at intervals of five years. 
 
 Public Schools, how organized. — In considering the 
 organization of the public-school system, the reader must 
 bear in mind — 1. That in Ontario, township means a rural 
 district, with a corporation called a Municipal Council. 
 2. That a county means a number of townships, incor- 
 porated towns and villages also under municipal organiza- 
 tion, called a County Council. 3. That cities have a mu- 
 nicipal organization of their own, and are not under the 
 jurisdiction of the Municipal Council of the county. In 
 some cases towns separate themselves from the municipal 
 jurisdiction of the county, but for present purposes that 
 circumstance need not be considered. 
 
 Since the Act of 1871, all public schools are free 
 schools — that is, they are entirely supported by the grant 
 received from the Provincial Government, and by rates 
 levied upon real and personal property. As kindergartens 
 are part of the school system, they too are supported in a 
 similar way — that is, by separate grant from the provin- 
 cial treasury and by local rates. The trustees may require 
 a fee to be paid by kindergarten pupils for supplies ; a fee 
 of twenty cents per month may also be imposed upon pub- 
 lic-school pupils for text-books and stationery ; but when 
 such fees are imposed, the boards of trustees are required 
 to furnish all text-books and supplies for the use of pupils 
 out of the fees so collected. The limit of the kindergar- 
 ten age is from four to seven years. The limit of the 
 public-school age is from five to twenty-one. The trus- 
 4 
 
34 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 tees of rural schools are not, however, obliged by law to 
 provide accommodation for more than two thirds of the 
 number of school children in the section between the ages 
 of five and sixteen years. It has been found from expe- 
 rience that in rural schools the attendance at any time 
 seldom exceeds two thirds of the resident pupils between 
 the ages mentioned. 
 
 Public-School Sections.— It is the duty of the Munici- 
 pal Council of every township to divide the townships 
 into school sections in such a way as to include every 
 part of the township in some section. These sections are 
 numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., and are so known locally, and by 
 the Education Department. To secure the organization 
 of sections of a reasonable size, it is provided that no sec- 
 tion shall be formed any portion of which shall be more 
 than three miles in a direct line from the schoolhouse; 
 nor shall any section be formed that contains less than 
 fifty children between the ages of five and twenty-one 
 years, unless such section is more than four square miles 
 in area, except in cases where such area can not be ob- 
 tained because of lakes or other natural obstacles. In un- 
 organized districts — that is, in districts but sparsely set- 
 tled, lying toward the north side of the province — school 
 sections are organized by the inspector and the stipendiary 
 magistrate. Where required by public convenience, parts 
 of two or more adjoining townships, or parts of one or 
 more townships and an adjoining town or incorporated vil- 
 lage, may be formed into a union section. Such sections 
 are known as union schools, and are in all respects gov- 
 erned as ordinary school sections. If the ratepayers of 
 any township petition any municipal council for the for- 
 mation of a union school with the adjoining town or in- 
 corporated village, the Municipal Councils of the territory 
 
ORGANIZATION OP PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 35 
 
 concerned are authorized to appoint arbitrators to lay out 
 the Union School Section. If five or more of the rate- 
 payers are dissatisfied with the award of the arbitrators, 
 an appeal lies to the Municipal Council of the county. 
 The Union School Section so formed can not be altered or 
 dissolved for a period of five years. If the territory to be 
 formed into a union school is situated in two adjoining 
 counties, and the Municipal Councils refuse to provide 
 suitable school accommodation, an appeal lies to the Min- 
 ister of Education, who has authority to appoint arbitra- 
 tors to consider the matters complained of. There is no 
 appeal from the report of such arbitrators. The school 
 rates in Union School Sections are collected by the tax 
 collectors of the municipality in which each part of the 
 union- is respectively situated, and are paid over to the 
 treasurer of the Union School Section. For purposes of 
 inspection a union school is considered to be within the 
 jurisdiction of the inspector in whose territory the school- 
 house of the union section is situated. As it often hap- 
 pens that the assessors of different municipalities adopt a 
 slightly different standard in assessing real and personal 
 property, it is necessary, before rates can be levied fairly 
 on the property of persons residing in a Union School 
 Section, that the assessors of the adjoining municipalities 
 should meet as a Board of Arbitration and adjust in an 
 equitable manner, or, as it is called, equalize, the assess- 
 ment of a Union School Section. Such an adjustment 
 is required by statute to be made every three years. 
 
 Government of Rural Schools. — Rural schools are un- 
 der the administration of three trustees, who hold oflBce 
 for three years ; but, in order to maintain continuity of 
 office, only one retires annually. Any ratepayer, male or 
 female, twenty-one years of age, is eligible to be elected a 
 
36 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 trustee or to vote at the election of a trustee. As in the 
 case of municipal electors, the franchise presupposes a 
 property qualification, be it ever so small. Supporters of 
 separate schools can not vote for the election of public 
 school trustees, and vice versa. The election of school 
 trustees in rural districts is held on the last Wednesday of 
 December, or, if Wednesday be a holiday, then on the next 
 day following, at the hour of ten o'clock in the forenoon. 
 Special meetings may be called by the inspector for filling 
 vacancies. Meetings of ratepayers are organized by the 
 appointment of a chairman and secretary, and the busi- 
 ness is conducted in the following order : (a) receiving the 
 annual report of the trustees and disposing of the same ; 
 (J) receiving the annual report of the auditor or auditors 
 and disposing of the same ; (c) electing an auditor for the 
 ensuing year ; {d) miscellaneous business ; (e) electing a 
 trustee or trustees to fill any vacancy or vacancies. 
 
 If more persons than one are nominated as school 
 trustee, the majority of the ratepayers present may, by 
 show of hands, declare their choice ; or two ratepayers may 
 demand a poll, and in that case the secretary of the meet- 
 ing shall take down the names of the voters for the differ- 
 ent candidates. The poll shall not be kept open later 
 than four o'clock of the afternoon of the day on which 
 the election was commenced, and on the close of the poll 
 the chairman and secretary shall count the votes and de- 
 clare the person elected who received a majority, or in 
 case of a tie the chairman shall give the casting vote. A 
 trustee elected to fill a vacancy shall hold office only dur- 
 ing the unexpired term of the person in whose place he 
 was elected. Any person having served as a trustee may 
 decline to serve for four years next after he retired from 
 office. Any other person chosen as trustee is obliged to 
 
ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 37 
 
 serve, or forfeit a penalty of five dollars. Any trustee who 
 accepts and neglects to serve or perform the duties of his 
 office shall be liable to a penalty of twenty dollars, to be 
 recovered before any justice of the peace. Where trustees 
 wilfully neglect or refuse to exercise their corporate pow- 
 ers, or where any moneys are lost to the school section 
 because of their neglect to take proper security, they be- 
 come personally liable for the loss so incurred. Any trus- 
 tee who enters into any contract, or who has any pecuniary 
 interest or profit in any contract or agreement in his own 
 name or in the name of another, with the corporation of 
 which he is a member, or any trustee who is convicted of 
 felony or misdemeanour, or who becomes insane, or who 
 absents himself from the meetings of the board without 
 leave, shall, ipso facto, vacate his seat. No trustee can 
 hold the office of public-school inspector or teacher with- 
 in the section of which he is a trustee. Any trustee who 
 knowingly signs a false report of the school section or 
 municipality shall be liable to a penalty of twenty dollars. 
 
 In the event of any complaint being made to the in- 
 spector with regard to the election of a school trustee, the 
 inspector is authorized to inquire into such complaint, 
 and either to confirm the election or to order a new elec- 
 tion. Such complaints must, however, be made within 
 twenty days of the election complained of. The secretary 
 of the school meeting is required by law to transmit to 
 the inspector a copy of the minutes of the annual and all 
 special meetings. 
 
 Trustees elected as herein set forth, constitute a cor- 
 poration and continue in office until their successors are 
 appointed. They are required to use a corporate seal in 
 all transactions of a solemn character ; to appoint a secre- 
 tary or secretary-treasurer, who shall furnish bonds for the 
 
38 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 proper discharge of the duties of his office. Trustees are 
 required by law to serve without compensation, and the 
 annual meeting at which they are elected to office may, 
 by resolution, order the payment of such a sum as may be 
 agreed upon to the secretary-treasurer for his services as 
 secretary and for attendance to other duties incident to 
 his office. The trustees are required to keep a record of 
 their proceedings, and to produce their books when called 
 for by the auditors or other competent authority. No 
 proceeding of the Board of Trustees is valid unless two 
 at least are present, nor unless notice, either personal or in 
 writing, has been given to every member of the time and 
 place at which a meeting is to be held. The accounts 
 and moneys of the board are audited by two auditors, one 
 appointed by the board and the other by the ratepayers at 
 the annual meeting. 
 
 Duties of Trustees. — It is the duty of the Board of 
 Trustees to take charge of the school property, and to dis- 
 pose, by sale or otherwise, of any school property not re- 
 quired, and to convey the same under their corporate seal. 
 They are to see that the schoolhouse, furniture, outbuild- 
 ings, and fences are kept in proper repair, and that the 
 well, closets, and premises generally are in a sanitary con- 
 dition. Should the inspector at any time report any dere- 
 liction of duty with regard to these matters, the Minister 
 of Education may withhold the Government grant payable 
 to such section until the orders of the inspector are com- 
 plied with. They are required to visit the school under 
 their charge, and to see that it is conducted according to 
 the regulations of the Education Department. They are 
 to see that the school is supplied with registers, suitable 
 maps, globes, apparatus, and other equipment. They are 
 at liberty to exempt at their discretion, from the payment 
 
ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 39 
 
 of school rates wholly or in part, any indigent persons 
 within the section, and to provide books and other school 
 supplies free to the children of such persons. They are 
 not to allow any unauthorized text-book to be used in 
 their schools, and are to report annually to the ratepayers 
 and to the inspector, on a form provided by the depart- 
 ment, the number of pupils in attendance, the time the 
 school was kept open, the receipts and expenditures of the 
 section, the classification of the pupils, etc. 
 
 ToionsMp Boards. — "Where two thirds of the school 
 sections in any township, at the annual meeting of the 
 school sections of the township, agree to abolish boards of 
 trustees, the Municipal Council of the township may pass 
 a by-law for the appointment of township trustees, who 
 shall have the same power with regard to the administra- 
 tion of the schools of the whole township as a board of 
 trustees has with regard to a single school section. Town- 
 ship boards are not received with favour in the province, 
 as only three or four now remain after an experience of 
 over thirty years of the two systems — a board for the town- 
 ship and a board for the section. 
 
 School Assessment. — In order to meet the expenses of 
 maintaining the school during the year, the trustees shall 
 submit a statement to the Municipal Council, setting forth 
 the amount of money required for the teacher's salary, the 
 running expenses of the school, and the payment of de- 
 bentures for the erection of a new schoolhouse, if any, and 
 other proper charges. This amount the Municipal Coun- 
 cil levies upon the school section in case of rural schools, 
 or upon the ratepayers in the case of a city, town, or 
 incorporated village, and pays the same to the trustees 
 before the close of the official year. In rural schools, in 
 order to equalize the burdens of taxation, particularly as 
 
40 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 some school sections are necessarily smaller than others, 
 the Municipal Council is required by law to levy the sum 
 of one hundred dollars for each section upon the assess- 
 able property of the whole township. Where a rural 
 school employs an assistant teacher, an additional sum of 
 fifty dollars is levied if the assistant is engaged for the 
 whole year, and proportionately if engaged for six months 
 or over. Out of the provincial treasury there is also paid 
 to each school section, according to the average attend- 
 ance of pupils, a certain sum of money. The amount 
 paid by the provincial treasury for elementary schools in 
 1894 was $276,000 ; the amount raised by taxation on the 
 assessable property was $3,300,000 ; the amount received 
 from other sources, $1,100,000. These different sums 
 constitute the school revenues of the year, and with 
 these the trustees discharge the financial obligations im- 
 posed upon them by law. Should the treasury be de- 
 pleted at any time, the trustees may issue their promis- 
 sory notes in order to meet the quarterly payments to be 
 made the teachers on account of salary, but this is the 
 only purpose for which they can bind the corporation by 
 note of hand. Where trustees propose to erect a new 
 schoolhouse, they may levy the whole cost of the school- 
 house upon the section by one rate, and thus pay for it in 
 one payment, or they may take authority from the rate- 
 payers to apply to the Municipal Council for debentures 
 extending over a period of thirty years. The Municipal 
 Council, on such application, is obliged to issue the deben- 
 tures of the township for this amount. Formerly the 
 debentures were issued by the trustees themselves on the 
 security of the assessment of the section. This mode of 
 issuing debentures was unsatisfactory, as the security was 
 in many cases doubtful, and the interest payable by the 
 
ORGANIZATION OP PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 41 
 
 trustees proportionately high. The debentures issued by 
 the municipality, being much better security, carry a lower 
 interest. It is to be remembered that, while the whole 
 township is liable for the payment of these debentures, 
 the Municipal Council levies a rate only upon the school 
 section concerned for their payment. 
 
 Trustees in Urban Schools. — In every city, town, or 
 incorporated village, the ratepayers are authorized to elect 
 two trustees for each ward into which such city, town, or 
 incorporated village is divided. One trustee in each ward 
 retires annually. Where an incorporated village is not 
 divided into wards, six trustees are elected, two of whom 
 retire annually. Trustees in urban schools are elected at 
 the same time as trustees in rural schools, the proceedings 
 in both cases being identical, except that where the trus- 
 tees have requested the municipal corporation to provide 
 for their election by ballot, then the election of school 
 trustees is held at the same time and place, and by the 
 same officers as the elections of municipal councillors. 
 The application of the ballot to the election of public- 
 school trustees in urban schools was first permitted in 
 1886, and has been adopted by about one hundred urban 
 municipalities. In rural districts trustees are elected by 
 open vote only. Complaints with regard to school elec- 
 tions in cities, towns, and incorporated villages are dis- 
 posed of by the judge of the County Court, and not, as in 
 the case of rural schools, by the inspector. 
 
 The trustees of city schools and schools in towns sepa- 
 rated from the county have the right to appoint their 
 inspector. They have also the right to employ a super- 
 intendent of school buildings and such other oflBcers as 
 may be required for the proper care of school property. 
 
 In cities, towns, and incorporated villages, trustees 
 
42 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 may furnish the pupils with text-books free of charge, 
 and may impose a rate upon the taxpayers for this pur- 
 pose. The system of supplying free text-books by a rate 
 upon the property of the citizens has been adopted recent- 
 ly in the city of Toronto. In several other cities text- 
 books are supplied free, but the expense is met by a 
 monthly fee upon the pupils. The average cost of text- 
 books, slates, copies, scribblers, etc., in Toronto during the 
 last four years was forty-seven cents per pupil. 
 
 Industrial Schools. — Industrial schools were estab- 
 lished in 1882 to provide for the education, under proper 
 restraints, of destitute children, or of children who were 
 found wandering without any fixed place of abode, or of 
 children whose parents were not considered competent to 
 exercise proper parental control over their habits. Any 
 person may summon such a child before a police magis- 
 trate or a judge of the County Court, and on proof of the 
 child's habits or circumstances the magistrate or judge 
 has authority to commit such child, if under fourteen 
 years of age, to an industrial school, for such time as in 
 the opinion of the magistrate may be necessary for the 
 correction of his habits, but in no case beyond the time 
 when the child would attain the age of sixteen years. 
 
 Industrial schools may be established by the public or 
 separate school trustees of any city or town, or by any 
 philanthropic society incorporated for that purpose. Suit- 
 able buildings for school purposes, for dormitories, rec- 
 reation, and industrial pursuits are indispensable. The 
 teaching staff of the school is appointed by the trustees 
 of the public or separate schools, by whom the industrial 
 school was established. The courses of study are the same 
 as those of public schools, and the work of the pupils is 
 subject to the supervision of the public or separate school 
 
ORGANIZATION OP PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 43 
 
 inspector, as the case may be. Pupils are under the direc- 
 tion of competent instructors in industrial work, and are 
 taught the lighter trades, such as tailoring, shoemaking, 
 printing, and carpentering. In the summer months they 
 are engaged in gardening and on a farm in connection 
 ■with the school. 
 
 Soon after the passing of this act an industrial school 
 was established in the vicinity of Toronto. The cost of 
 providing buildings and classrooms was met partly by a 
 grant from the City Council and partly by contributions 
 from citizens interested in benevolent work. The school 
 is maintained from the following sources : 1. The teach- 
 ing staff is paid by the Board of Public School Trustees. 
 2. The Municipal Council of any municipality from which 
 a child is sent to the school pays for its maintenance the 
 sum of two dollars per week. 3. The Provincial Govern- 
 ment pays, in addition, ten cents per day for every child 
 committed to the school. 
 
 It may be observed that although an industrial school 
 is, for purposes of administration, under the direction of 
 the Board of Trustees or of a society incorporated for that 
 purpose, it is, to all intents and purposes, a provincial 
 school, as a police magistrate or county Judge in any part 
 of the province may direct that any child coming within 
 the provisions of the Industrial Schools Act may be sent 
 to whatever school the magistrate or judge may designate. 
 
 In 1895 a second industrial school was opened under 
 the direction of the Separate School Board of Trustees for 
 the reception of Eoman Catholic children. This also is a 
 provincial school, and subject to the same privileges and 
 conditions as all other industrial schools. There are now 
 in attendance at both schools about two hundred and fifty 
 children. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 SCHOOL SITES, PREMISES, AND PUPILS. 
 
 It has already been shown that the Municipal Council 
 of every township has authority to divide the township 
 into sections for school purposes. The area of a school 
 section is generally from three to five thousand acres, but 
 this depends to a certain extent upon the assessed value 
 of the land and the density of the population. With the 
 increase of wealth and population the boundaries of the 
 sections are adjusted from time to time by the Council, as 
 the ratepayers may desire, for the convenience and com- 
 fort of the school population. So soon as the section is 
 formed, and trustees appointed, a site for a schoolhouse is 
 chosen. This site, however, is subject to the approval of 
 the ratepayers. Should the ratepayers and trustees dis- 
 agree as to the eligibility or convenience of the site se- 
 lected, the dispute is referred to three arbitrators — one 
 chosen by the ratepayers, the other by the trustees — the 
 inspector of the school for the district being the third 
 arbitrator. A decision of the majority of the arbitrators 
 binds all parties to the dispute. It sometimes happens 
 that a difference of opinion arises between the owner of 
 the land chosen for a site and the trustees as to the price 
 which should be paid for it. A dispute of this kind is 
 also submitted to arbitrators, who decide as in the former 
 case. If the owner refuses to give a title, then the award 
 
 44 
 
SCHOOL SITES, PREMISES, AND PUPILS. 45 
 
 of the arbitrators delivered to the trustees may be regis- 
 tered in the proper registry office on the affidavit of the 
 Secretary of the School Board, and such award becomes a 
 legal title for the conveyance of the land. No school site 
 shall be selected in a township within one hundred yards 
 of the garden, orchard, pleasure-ground, or dwelling-house 
 of the owner without his consent. School sites may be 
 enlarged by the trustees without any reference to the 
 ratepayers, but no school site can be changed except with 
 their approval. In cities, towns, or incorporated villages 
 the trustees have power to select school sites without any 
 reference to the ratepayers. 
 
 Regulations of the Department respecting Sites. — The 
 regulations of the Education Department provide : 
 
 1. Every school site shall be on a well-travelled road, 
 as far removed as possible from a swamp or marsh, and so 
 elevated as to admit of easy drainage. 
 
 2. The school grounds shall be properly levelled and 
 drained, planted with shade trees, and enclosed by a sub- 
 stantial fence. Every rural school shall be provided with 
 a woodshed. 
 
 3. There shall be a well or other means for procuring 
 water, so placed and guarded as to be perfectly secured 
 against pollution from surface drainage or sewage of every 
 kind. 
 
 4. The area of the school site shall be not less than 
 half an acre in extent ; and if the school population of 
 the section exceeds seventy-five, the area shall be one acre. 
 
 5. The water-closets for the sexes shall be several feet 
 apart, and under different roofs. Their entrances shall 
 be screened from observation. Proper care shall be taken 
 to secure cleanliness, and to prevent unpleasant and un- 
 healthy odours. 
 
46 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 6. Suitable walks shall be made from the schoolhouse 
 to the water-closets, so that the closets may be reached with 
 comfort in all kinds of weather. 
 
 The first Friday in May is set apart as Arbour day in 
 every rural school for the purpose of planting shade trees, 
 making flower beds, and otherwise improving and beauti- 
 fying the school grounds. Since the appointment of Ar- 
 bour day, the inspectors report that over one hundred 
 and fifty thousand shade trees have been planted in the 
 grounds of the schools of the province. Where trustees 
 neglect to keep the school grounds in proper condition, 
 or where they neglect to keep the premises in repair, the 
 Government grant is withheld on the report of the in- 
 spector until the regulations of the department are com- 
 plied with. 
 
 Schoollwuses. — The trustees of the school are the sole 
 judges as to the style and material of schoolhouses erected 
 under the Public-School Act. In the early history of the 
 country the log schoolhouse had undisputed possession of 
 the field. It was both primitive in style and very indifEer- 
 ent as to comfort and accommodation. Its place is now 
 occupied by buildings of frame, brick, or stone, all of 
 which have to conform with the regulations of the de- 
 partment. As a rule, trustees before proceeding with the 
 erection of a new schoolhouse receive plans and estimates 
 from a competent architect, and submit them for approval 
 to the county inspector. In the case of large schools, 
 plans are sometimes submitted to the Minister of Educa- 
 tion. It is not necessary, in the case of public schools, 
 that the plans should be approved either by the inspector 
 or the department. The trustees are, however, required 
 to provide adequate accommodation in rural districts for 
 at least two thirds of the children between five and sixteen 
 
SCHOOL SITES, PREMISES, AND PUPILS. 47 
 
 years of age resident in the section, and in urban districts, 
 for all the children between the ages mentioned. Where 
 the average attendance of the section exceeds fifty pupils, 
 the schoolhouse shall contain two rooms ; where it exceeds 
 one hundred the schoolhouse shall contain three rooms — 
 an additional room and teacher being required for each 
 unit of fifty pupils in average attendance. In order to 
 prevent overcrowding, it is provided that an area of twelve 
 square feet shall be allowed for each pupil, and at least 
 two hundred and fifty cubic feet of air space. A complete 
 change of air every three hours is the standard rule for 
 ventilation. The heating apparatus must be sufficient to 
 keep a uniform temperature throughout the room of sixty- 
 seven degrees. The light, where possible, must be admit- 
 ted on the left side of the pupil. Separate entrances with 
 covered porches and suitable cloakrooms are required for 
 the boys and girls. 
 
 The teacher is, during the time of his engagement, to 
 a certain extent, the custodian of the school property ; he 
 is authorized to make such rules as will insure the keep- 
 ing of the school grounds and outbuildings in a neat and 
 cleanly condition, and to see that no damage is done to 
 the furniture or other school property. Where repairs 
 are wanted, he is required to give notice in writing to the 
 trustees. He may employ a suitable person to sweep the 
 rooms, dust the walls, seats, desks, and other furniture, 
 where the trustees make no provision for that purpose. 
 The teacher may also complain at any time to the health 
 officer of the district with regard to the unsanitary con- 
 dition of the schoolhouse or premises. 
 
 School Furniture and Equipment. — The regulations 
 of the department with regard to school furniture and 
 equipment are very specific : 
 
48 
 
 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 1. The seats and desks should be so arranged that the 
 pupils may sit facing the teacher. Not more than two 
 pupils should be allowed to sit at one desk ; but single- 
 seated desks are preferable. 
 
 3. The heights of the seats should be so graduated that 
 pupils of different sizes may be seated with their feet rest- 
 ing firmly on the floor. The backs should slope backward 
 two or three inches from the perpendicular. 
 
 3. The seats and desks should be fastened to the floor 
 in rows, with aisles of suitable width between the rows ; 
 passages, at least three feet wide, should be left between 
 the outside rows and the side and the rear walls of the 
 room ; and a space, at least five feet wide, between the 
 teacher's platform and the front desks. 
 
 4. Each desk should be so placed that its front edge 
 may project slightly over the edge of the seat behind. 
 The desk should be provided with a shelf for pupil's 
 books, and the seat should slope a little toward the back. 
 
 5. A sufficient number of seats and desks should be 
 provided for the accommodation of all the pupils ordi- 
 narily in attendance at the school. There should be at 
 least two chairs in addition to the teacher's chair. 
 
 G. The desks should be of three different sizes. The 
 following dimensions are recommended : 
 
 
 CHAIRS OR SEATS. 
 
 DESKS. 
 
 Age op Pupils. 
 
 Height. 
 
 Slope 
 
 of 
 back. 
 
 Length. 
 
 Width. 
 
 Height 
 
 
 Front. 
 
 Rear. 
 
 Double. 
 
 Single. 
 
 next 
 pupil. 
 
 5 to 8 years .... 
 8 to 10 " .... 
 10 to 13 " .... 
 13 to 16 " .... 
 
 Inches. 
 12 
 13 
 14 
 16 
 
 Inches. 
 
 12i 
 13* 
 
 15* 
 
 Inches, 
 o 
 
 2 
 3 
 
 Inches. 
 36 
 36 
 36 
 40 
 
 Inches. 
 18 
 18 
 20 
 22 
 
 Inches. 
 12 
 12 
 13 
 13 
 
 Inches. 
 22 
 23 
 24 
 26 
 
SCHOOL SITES, PREMISES, AND PUPILS. 49 
 
 7. There should be one blackboard at least four feet 
 wide, extending across the whole room in. rear of the 
 teacher's desk, with its lower edge not more than two and 
 a half feet above the floor or platform ; and, when pos- 
 sible, there should be an additional blackboard on each 
 side of the room. At the lower edge of each blackboard 
 there should be a trough fire inches wide for holding cray- 
 ons and brushes, and for collecting the chalk dust, which 
 should be removed every day.* 
 
 8. Every school should have at least one globe not less 
 than nine inches in diameter, properly mounted ; a map 
 of Canada ; a map of Ontario ; maps of the world and of 
 the different continents ; one or more sets of Tablet Les- 
 sons of Part I of the First Eeader ; a standard dictionary 
 and gazetteer ; a numeral frame ; a suitable supply of cray- 
 ons and blackboard brushes ; and an eight-day clock. 
 
 * The following directions for making a blackboard may be 
 found useful : 
 
 (a) If the walls are brick, the plaster should be laid upon the 
 brick and not upon the laths, as elsewhere ; if frame, the part to 
 be used for a blackboard should be lined with boards, and the laths 
 for holding the plaster nailed firmly on the boards. 
 
 (6) The plaster for the blackboard should be composed largely of 
 plaster of Paris. 
 
 (c) Before and after having received the first coat of colour it 
 should be thoroughly polished with fine sandpaper. 
 
 (d) The colouring matter should be laid on with a wide, flat var- 
 nish brush. 
 
 (e) The liquid colouring should be made as follows : Dissolve 
 gum shellac in alcohol, four ounces to the quart ; the alcohol should 
 be ninety-five per cent strong ; the dissolving process will require at 
 least twelve hours. Pine emery flour, with enough chrome green or 
 lampblack to give colour, should then be added until the mixture 
 has the consistency of thin paint. It may then be applied in long, 
 even strokes, up and down, the liquid being kept constantly stirred. 
 
 5 
 
50 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 Duties of Pupils. — In rural districts the schools are 
 open two hundred and eight days. The hours of attend- 
 ance are from nine o'clock in the forenoon to four o'clock 
 in the afternoon, with a recess of not less than ten minutes 
 both forenoon and afternoon, and at least one hour dur- 
 ing midday. Trustees have authority to increase these 
 intervals of recreation. In cities, towns, and incorporated 
 villages the trustees may, by resolution, order the school 
 opened at 9.30 in the forenoon, and closed at 3. .30 in the 
 afternoon, with a recess at midday of one hour and a half. 
 In kindergartens pupils are not allowed to attend more 
 than three hours per day. In rural schools every Satur- 
 day, Good Friday, Thanksgiving, the Queen's Birthday, 
 Labor day, and every day proclaimed a holiday by mu- 
 nicipal or civil authorities are school holidays. The sum- 
 mer vacation begins on the 30th of June and ends on the 
 third Monday of August. The winter vacation begins on 
 the 21st of December and ends on the 2d of January. In 
 cities, towns, and incorporated villages the summer vaca- 
 tion ends on the last Monday of August. 
 
 Any child may be refused admission to a public school 
 (except where kindergarten classes are established) before 
 he has attained five years of age. If the schoolroom is 
 not large enough to provide adequately for every pupil 
 between five and sixteen years of age, the trustees may re- 
 fuse admission to all pupils over sixteen. When the ac- 
 commodation is ample, pupils may be admitted until they 
 are twenty-one years of age, but no pupil can be counted 
 for the purpose of drawing the Government grant under 
 five (four in the case of kindergartens) or over twenty-one 
 years of age. Every pupil is responsible to his teacher for 
 his conduct to and from school, unless accompanied by 
 his parent or guardian ; and the courts have held that a 
 
SCHOOL SITES, PREMISES, AND PUPILS. 51 
 
 teacher acted within the scope of his authority in pun- 
 ishing pupils for misconduct outside school hours while 
 on their way to or from school. During their attendance 
 at school the pupils are entirely under the teacher's con- 
 trol, and no parent or trustee has a right to interfere with 
 the discipline of the school. The teacher is, however, 
 liable to indictment before a magistrate if he has pun- 
 ished a pupil cruelly or with undue severity. The magis- 
 trate is in that case the sole judge of the character of the 
 punishment inflicted, and has authority to impose a rea- 
 sonable penalty. The punishments which a teacher has a 
 right to inflict are not defined by the regulations of the 
 department. He may prescribe impositions or may de- 
 tain pupils after school hours, or deprive them of certain 
 privileges as to recreation, or may even inflict corporal 
 punishment. The only rule laid down is that he shall 
 " practise such discipline as would be exercised by a kind, 
 firm, and judicious parent." 
 
 Where a pupil is guilty of (a) persistent truancy, 
 (b) violent opposition to authority, (c) the repetition of 
 any ofEence after being warned, {d) habitual and wilful 
 neglect of duty, (e) the use of profane or improper lan- 
 guage, (/) cutting, marring, destroying, or defacing any 
 part of the school property, (g) writing any obscene words 
 on the fences, water-closets, or any part of the school 
 premises, (h) general bad conduct, injurious to the moral 
 tone of the school, he may be suspended for one month, 
 but immediate notice of such suspension with the reasons 
 therefor shall be given to the parents or guardians and 
 the trustees. In such cases the parents or guardians may 
 appeal against the decision of the teacher to the Board of 
 Trustees, who have the right, on hearing the case, to con- 
 firm or set aside the decision of the teacher. 
 
52 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 Departmental Regulations. — The regulations with re- 
 spect to the duties of pupils in public schools are as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 1. Every pupil whose name is entered on the register 
 of a public school shall attend punctually and regularly 
 every day of the school term in which his name is entered. 
 Should any pupil absent himself from school except on 
 account of sickness, he shall be liable to such punishment 
 as the teacher may lawfully inflict. 
 
 3. No pupil shall be allowed to leave school before the 
 hour for closing except in case of sickness, or at the re- 
 quest, whether oral or written, of his parent or guardian. 
 
 3. Any pupil absenting himself from an examination, 
 or from any portion thereof, without permission of the 
 teacher, shall not be admitted to any public school except 
 by the authority of the inspector in writing. 
 
 4. Any pupil who is affected with or exposed to any 
 contagious disease shall not be permitted to attend school 
 without a certificate from a physician that there are no 
 sanitary objections to his attendance. 
 
 5. Any pupil who shall be adjudged so refractory by 
 the Board of Trustees and by the teacher that his presence 
 in school is injurious to the other pupils, may be expelled, 
 and, without the written consent of the public-school 
 inspector, shall not be allowed to attend any other school 
 in that inspectoral district. 
 
 6. Any pupil may be refused admission to a public 
 school who fails to supply himself with the necessary 
 books and stationery required for school purposes, or who 
 fails to pay the fees imposed by the trustees for the cur- 
 rent month or quarter, as the case may be, for the free 
 use of books, stationery, and other supplies. 
 
 7. Any pupil who injures or destroys school property 
 
SCHOOL SITES, PREMISES, AND PUPILS. 53 
 
 may be suspended until the parent or guardian of the 
 pupil makes suitable amends for the property destroyed. 
 
 In rural districts the pupils are required to attend the 
 school section in which they reside. Should, however, the 
 schoolhouse in an adjoining section be nearer to their home 
 than the schoolhouse in the section to which they belong, 
 the trustees of such section shall admit them to such school, 
 providing the accommodation of the school is sufficient. 
 When pupils attend any other school than the one in the 
 section in which they reside, they are liable to pay fees 
 equal to the average cost of the instruction of the other 
 pupils of the school. The trustees of the section to which 
 they belong may remit so much of the rates which their 
 parents are obliged to pay in the section to which they 
 belong as would be equal to the fees charged in the neigh- 
 bouring school, when the distance travelled by the chil- 
 dren is three miles or over. 
 
 Sanitary Protection. — Should the local Board of Health 
 or any of its officers or members notify the teacher that scar- 
 latina, diphtheria, whooping-cough, measles, or any other 
 contagious disease has broken out in any family, the teacher 
 is authorized to refuse the admission of any member of such 
 family to a public school until satisfactory evidence is re- 
 ceived that all danger from such contagious disease has 
 passed away. The trustees of any school may refuse the 
 admission of children who do not produce a certificate of 
 successful vaccination when demanded by the teacher. 
 
 In urban schools the trustees may divide the city or 
 town into school districts, and require all pupils to attend 
 the school within the district in which they reside. In 
 schools of two or more stories pupils are required to be 
 trained in fire drill for greater safety in case of fire. 
 
 Compulsory Attendance.— Hh-Q School Act of 1871 pro- 
 
5i THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 vided, for the first time, that every child from the age of 
 seven to twelve years inchisive should have the right to 
 attend some school, or to be otherwise educated, for four 
 months in each year; and any parent or guardian who 
 neglected to carry out this provision of the law was liable 
 to a penalty of five dollars on conviction before a police 
 magistrate or justice of the peace. 
 
 In 1891 the provisions of the law with regard to com- 
 pulsory attendance were made more stringent, and now 
 all children between eight and fourteen years of age are 
 required to attend school for the full term during which 
 the school of the section or municipality in which they 
 reside is open each year, unless excused on the grounds : 
 {a) that the child is under efficient instruction at home or 
 elsewhere ; (5) that the child is unable to attend school by 
 reason of sickness or other unavoidable cause ; (c) that 
 there is no school within two miles, if such child is under 
 ten years of age, or within three miles, if over that age ; 
 (d) that the school accommodation is inadequate, or (e) 
 that the child has been excused for reasons satisfactory to 
 a justice of the peace or to the principal of the school, or 
 (/) that the child has passed the entrance examination 
 prescribed by the education department for admission to 
 a high school. Where any justice of the peace or the 
 principal of the school attended by the child is satisfied 
 that the services of such child are required in husbandry or 
 in urgent household duties, or for the maintenance of such 
 child or some person dependent upon it, the justice of the 
 peace or the principal may relieve such child from attend- 
 ance at school for a period not exceeding three months in 
 the year. Any person employing a child under fourteen 
 years of age while the school is in session is liable to a 
 penalty of twenty dollars for each offence. The police 
 
SCHOOL SITES, PREMISES, AND PUPILS. 55 
 
 commissioners, or, where there are no police commis- 
 sioners, the Municipal Councils of every city, town, or in- 
 corporated village are authorized to appoint one or' more 
 truant officers for the enforcement of the act. The tru- 
 ant officer is vested with police powers and has authority 
 to enter workshops, factories, stores, and other places 
 where children may be employed, in order to see that the 
 law with regard to school attendance is observed. In 
 rural sections truant officers are appointed by the trustees. 
 A truant officer has power to summon a parent or guar- 
 dian or any person having legal charge of a child before a 
 magistrate, in case such person neglects the education of 
 any child in his custody. A fine of not less than five 
 nor more than twenty dollars may be imposed in such 
 cases, or the parent or guardian may be placed by the 
 magistrate under bonds in the penal sum of one hundred 
 dollars as a guarantee that he will comply with the law. 
 
 Truant officers are required to report annually to the 
 Education Department. The number of truants reported 
 in 1894 was 3,962 ; the number of complaints made be- 
 fore a magistrate for violation of the act was 135, and the 
 number of convictions 51. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 COURSE OE STUDY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 
 
 The course of study for public schools is divided into 
 five forms. These forms, in graded schools, may be sub- 
 divided by the teacher to suit the convenience of the 
 school in the matter of organization and classification. 
 The subjects to be taken up in each form are prescribed 
 by the education department, and no teacher is at liberty 
 to introduce into the form any subject not prescribed, nor 
 to go beyond the limits of work indicated by the depart- 
 ment for the form without the concurrence of the in- 
 spector and the Board of Trustees. Promotions from one 
 form to another are made by the teacher from time to 
 time, as the attainments of the pupil warrant. The usual 
 practice, however, is to promote pupils before the Christ- 
 mas and summer holidays. No pupil is allowed to be 
 ranked in one form as to one subject and in another form 
 as to another subject. Should he be deficient in any sub- 
 ject in his form, his promotion is delayed until he is quali- 
 fied to pass in all the subjects. Should the inspector find 
 at his semi-annual visits to the school that the classifica- 
 tion is defective or that the pupils have been promoted to 
 a form which they were not qualified to enter, he is at 
 liberty to readjust the classification as he may deem expe- 
 dient, and the classification made by the inspector re- 
 
 56 
 
COURSE OF STUDY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 57 
 
 mains in force until the pupils have reached the required 
 standard. 
 
 The course of study for public schools covers a period 
 of eleven years, three years of which are usually spent in 
 the first form and two years in each of the other forms. 
 The course includes reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, 
 grammar, geography, history of England and Canada, 
 drawing, physiology, and temperance. Algebra, geometry, 
 botany, and physics are optional subjects, and are taken in 
 the fifth form, when, in the opinion of the inspector and 
 the trustees, the circumstances of the school will permit 
 of their being taught without injury to the other classes. 
 Physics is not allowed unless a proper supply of apparatus 
 has been provided by the trustees. Agriculture may be 
 taught in any rural school, providing the Board of 
 Trustees, by resolution, require it to be placed upon the 
 course of study. 
 
 The limit of a pupil's attainments in each form is par- 
 tially defined by the regulations and partially by the text- 
 book authorized by the department. This is particularly 
 true of the course in reading, which consists of five readers 
 suitably graduated to the capacity of the pupil in each 
 form. Spelling and language lessons expand according 
 to the age and attainments of the pupils. In writing, 
 blackboard exercises are used in the first form. In the 
 second form both writing and drawing are systematically 
 taught in a graduated series of copy books and drawing 
 books, which are numbered like the readers. Geography, 
 grammar, and composition are also taught orally in the 
 first and second forms ; in subsequent forms a test-book 
 is used. History, except incidentally, as suggested by the 
 reading lessons, is not taken up by the aid of a text-book 
 until the fourth form. Physiology and temperance are 
 
58 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 taught in the first three forms conversationally, and by 
 the aid of a text-book in the fourth form. Pupils in the 
 first form are expected to be able to read and write num- 
 bers up to one thousand, and to be expert in all ordinary 
 calculations in addition and subtraction. In the second 
 form they are expected to read and write numbers up to 
 one million, with the addition of multiplication and divi- 
 sion. Problems involving business transactions of a famil- 
 iar kind and simple exercises in mental arithmetic are 
 also required in both forms. In the third form the exer- 
 cises in arithmetic consist of bills and accounts, elemen- 
 tary reduction, and the compound rules ; in the fourth 
 form, of multiples, fractions, percentage, and interest ; in 
 the fifth form, more difficult exercises in the subjects of 
 the fourth form and the mensuration of surfaces. 
 
 Within the limitations mentioned there will necessarily 
 be a great variety of standards. To define a course, which 
 theoretically should determine the attainments of pupils 
 of a given age and within a given range, is comparatively 
 an easy matter ; but whether the work within these limi- 
 tations will be of a high educational value depends entire- 
 ly upon the teacher. The department has, however, in 
 its instructions to teachers and inspectors suggested cer- 
 tain lines of work in every subject for the direction of the 
 teacher, rather as warnings against bad teaching than as 
 arbitrary standards of excellence. The following outline 
 indicates the scope of each subject in the public-school 
 course : 
 
 Reading. — The teacher shall adopt the phonic method. 
 Great care should be taken in analyzing the sounds of 
 which every word is composed. A new word should, 
 where possible, be first introduced to a child's notice 
 through the real object which it represents. In teaching 
 
COURSE OF STUDY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 59 
 
 the word " hat," the object " hat " should be before the 
 child. Where the object is not available, a picture of the 
 object should be drawn upon the board and underneath 
 the name of the object written. When the phonic sounds 
 of one word are mastered, other words with similar pho- 
 nics should be practised upon — such as hat, bat, rat. Strict 
 attention should be paid to articulation and enunciation, 
 and all consonant sounds should be clearly vocalized. 
 Final letters should never be obscured. Small sentences 
 should be formed with every word as soon as learned, that 
 pupils might understand its relation to other words in 
 sentence-building. Pupils should be taught to read with 
 clearness and fluency, the standard of expression both as 
 to inflection and emphasis being that of ordinary conver- 
 sation. Every new word in the lesson should be fully ex- 
 plained by the teacher, and pupils should be taught to 
 form small sentences orally, using a new word in its proper 
 sense and properly related to other words in the sentence. 
 Every reading lesson should be made both a language 
 lesson and a lesson in literature. Reading should be 
 fluent, natural, and agreeable. Fluency can only be ob- 
 tained when the pupil has been so thoroughly drilled in 
 word forms as to be able to recognise every word the mo- 
 ment his eye rests upon it. Where this is not done there 
 will be hesitation and a strong tendency to monotonous 
 reading. Pupils should be frequently called upon to read 
 easy lessons which they have thoroughly mastered in order 
 to train the voice to respond quickly to what the eye ob- 
 serves. Pupils should not be interrupted in their reading 
 to correct errors. Natural reading is the expression of 
 the written characters of the book as the same ideas would 
 be expressed in conversation. There can be no natural 
 reading unless the pupil comprehends the thought to be 
 
60 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 expressed. Before a sentence, therefore, is made the sub- 
 ject of a reading exercise, the teacher should see that the 
 pupil comprehends its meaning. A reading lesson to be 
 agreeable should be correct as to pitch, emphasis, and ac- 
 cent. To secure excellence in this particular the teacher 
 should recall the instruction received in the training 
 school. Where pupils are deficient in the articulation 
 of any particular sound, constant drill should be given in 
 the words containing this sound. 
 
 Spelling. — Spelling should be taught from dictation 
 first and orally afterward. The pupil should be able to 
 spell and write legibly every word in the reading book. 
 In addition to the words of the text-book, the pupils 
 should be asked to spell the names of objects in the 
 schoolroom. To excite interest iu spelling, they might 
 be asked to make lists of all the animals they have seen, 
 or of all the trees they could name, or of all their class- 
 mates, or of the different articles of food they use, and so 
 on. In this way spelling would bear a more vital relation to 
 their daily life, and its usefulness would be more apparent. 
 
 Writing. — Writing should begin with reading. The 
 small letters should be taught first. The pupil should be 
 required to maintain a proper position at his desk, to hold 
 his pen or pencil after some approved form, and to obtain 
 as early as possible the necessary freedom of wrist and arm. 
 !N"o careless exercise in writing should pass without criti- 
 cism. Copy books should be neatly kept ; undue haste 
 in writing should be restrained ; legibility and neatness 
 should • characterize every exercise. Careful attention 
 should be paid to the connection and spacing of letters. 
 For correcting errors the blackboard should be freely 
 used, and the attention of the pupil frequently directed 
 to the headlines in the authorized copy books. 
 
COURSE OF STUDY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 61 
 
 Language Lessons. — Language lessons, as here defined, 
 include grammar and composition. In the lower forms 
 these exercises are mainly oral. Pupils should be taught to 
 speak with reasonable fluency. It might be necessary some- 
 times to restrain rather than to stimulate quickness of utter- 
 ance. Statements should, except where it would appear 
 pedantic, be complete sentences correct as to syntax and 
 the use of the different parts of speech. New words that 
 occur in the reading lessons should be used for sentence- 
 building, and pupils should be trained to write summaries 
 of their lesson in their own language. At latest, in the 
 second form, they should be required to give an account 
 of some visit they have paid to a friend, or to describe 
 some object which came under their observation. It may 
 be desirable in some cases, by way of suggesting ideas, to 
 tell them a short story and ask them to reproduce it. 
 Every exercise of this kind should be carefully criticised 
 by the teacher as to arrangement, punctuation, penman- 
 ship, the use of capital letters, etc. As the pupil advances 
 these exercises may be made more difficult. The parts of 
 speech should be taught inductively — that is, from the 
 place they serve in language. Formal grammar from a 
 text-book might be used to supplement the oral lessons ; 
 similarly with errors in conversation. The teacher's aim 
 should be to encourage the use of good English, to dis- 
 credit the use of expressions not sanctioned by standard 
 writers, and to cultivate accuracy, conciseness, and clear- 
 ness of expression. 
 
 Oeograpliy. — The object of geography is to learn the 
 position of different parts of the earth in relation to each 
 other. These positions, generally speaking, exist under 
 four relations — north, south, east, and west. The first 
 lessons in geography should be to teach the child these 
 
62 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 relations, and the schoolhouse should be to him the cen- 
 tral point of his observation. All objects in the school- 
 room and within the range of his vision outside of the 
 schoolroom should be taught from this standpoint. Simi- 
 larly, the geographical terms to be learned first are those 
 applicable to his own locality, whatever they may be, such 
 as hill, valley, creek, or river ; if inland, the terms should 
 be varied so that geography in its first stage may be an 
 object lesson. Other geographical terms might be learned 
 by artificially producing the objects themselves in the 
 school ground or on a sand board. Natural phenomena, 
 such as clouds, rains, snow, winds, etc., should also form 
 the subject of lessons under this heading. In this way a 
 preparation for map geography should be made in the 
 first form. The pupil might then bo introduced to a 
 map of the world, and, having become familiar with land 
 and water, would soon comprehend the relation of the 
 continents and great oceans to each other. The animals 
 and plants of each country, the occupations of the people, 
 the adaptability of their occupations to the climate and 
 the products of the country, the direction of the water 
 course and why, the location of cities and why, the phe- 
 nomena of earthquakes and trade winds and ocean cur- 
 rents should be considered. The course prescribed in the 
 public-school geography should be completed at the end 
 of the fourth form, but no text-book should be introduced 
 until after the pupils have passed through the second form. 
 The text-book in advanced geography should be used in 
 the fifth form. 
 
 History. — History should be taught incidentally with 
 the reading lessons in the second form, and conversation- 
 ally. The subject should be presented in such a way as 
 to excite the interest of pupils to further inquiry for them- 
 
COURSE OF STUDY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 63 
 
 selves, and as a narrative of tlie habits, occupations, amuse- 
 ments, and modes of living of the people described, rather 
 than as an account of their forms of government and 
 political institutions. The names of some distinguished 
 men of whom the pupils may have heard or read might be 
 taken as a centre around which the events of their time 
 clustered, or the achievements of such men in defending 
 their country or improving its social condition, or anec- 
 dotes illustrating great events in history, and the courage 
 and self-denial of men who had served the country at their 
 peril might be told, and the patriotic efforts of the noted 
 men and women of the past cited to stir up a similar spirit 
 in the minds of the pupils. Special attention should be 
 paid to the history of Canada — how it is governed, its re- 
 lations to the empire, and the obligations which citizen- 
 ship imposes upon every Canadian to advance its pros- 
 perity. The authorized text-book in history* should be 
 introduced in the fourth form. 
 
 Drawing. — Drawing should be taught in the first form 
 from the blackboard. In the other four forms it should be 
 taught by a series of graduated exercise books and models. 
 
 Physiology and Temperance. — This subject, as far as 
 
 * The Public-School History compresses in two hundred pages 
 the principal events of English and Canadian history from the ear- 
 liest time down to the present day. It is intended as a guide to the 
 teacher with respect to the events which should engage his atten- 
 tion. He is therefore expected to draw upon his wider knowledge 
 of the subject and his general reading for such material as may be 
 necessary to stimulate the interest of his pupils. A text-book in 
 history adapted to the psychological conditions of the pupil at his 
 age would be too large and too expensive for convenient use in a 
 public school. In the fifth form a larger text-book is required in 
 which the subject of English and Canadian history is treated in 
 greater detail. 
 
64 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 the end of the third form, should be taught by familiar 
 conversations with the pupils, and by the use of illustrated 
 charts and blackboard drawings. The object of this course 
 should be to make the pupils acquainted with the different 
 organs of the human body, and the best means of pre- 
 serving the healthy action of these organs. The danger- 
 ous effects of stimulants and narcotics should be impressed 
 upon the pupil by showing how they destroy the healthy 
 action of the nervous system and the stomach. The moral 
 danger consequent upon dissipation should also be pointed 
 out. The text-book in this subject is so suggestive as to 
 render definite instructions to the teacher unnecessary. 
 
 Literature. — The object of the study of literature is 
 to enable the pupil to apprehend clearly the meaning of 
 such reading matter as may be placed in his hands. To 
 this end, he should be taught to substitute for words or 
 phrases in the book, words of his own, without impairing 
 the sense of the passage ; to illustrate and show the ap- 
 propriateness of important words or phrases ; to distin- 
 guish between synonyms in common use ; to paraphrase 
 difficult passages so as to show the meaning clearly ; to 
 show the connections of the thoughts of any selected pas- 
 sage ; to explain allusions ; to write explanatory or de- 
 scriptive notes on proper or other names ; to show that 
 he has studied the lessons thoughtfully, by being able to 
 give an intelligent opinion on any subject treated of therein 
 that comes within the range of his experience or compre- 
 hension ; and especially to show that he has entered into 
 the spirit of the passage by being able to read it with proper 
 expression. He should be required to memorize passages 
 of special beauty from the selections prescribed, and to 
 reproduce in his own words the substance of any of these 
 selections or of any part thereof. He should also obtain 
 
COURSE OP STUDY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 65 
 
 some knowledge of the authors from whose works these 
 selections have been made. 
 
 Music. — Kindergarten songs should be taught in the 
 first form; in the other forms rote singing and musical 
 notation. Staff notation or the Tonic Sol Fa system may 
 be used at the option of the teacher. 
 
 Drill and Calisthenics. — The different extension move- 
 ments prescribed in the authorized text-book on the sub- 
 ject should be frequently practised, not only during recess 
 but during school hours. In addition, the boys should be 
 formed into companies and taught the usual squad and 
 company drill, and the girls should be exercised in calis- 
 thenics. Accuracy and promptness should characterize 
 every movement. 
 
 Moral and Religious Instruction. — No course of moral 
 instruction is prescribed. The teacher should, however, by 
 his personal example and by instruction as well as by the 
 exercise of his authority, imbue every pupil with respect 
 for those moral obligations which underlie a well-formed 
 character. Eespect for those in authority and for the aged, 
 courtesy, manliness, reverence, temperance, truthfulness, 
 honesty, etc., can best be inculcated as the occasion arises 
 for referring to them. The religious exercises of the 
 school should be conducted without haste and with the 
 utmost reverence and decorum. Trustees and teachers will 
 be guided as to the nature and extent of religious instruc- 
 tion by the regulations on this subject. 
 
 Revieivs and Recitations. — Every Friday forenoon 
 should be devoted to a review of the week's work, and 
 the afternoon to exercises tending to relieve the usual 
 routine of the schoolroom, while promoting the mental 
 and moral culture of the pupils. The teacher should en- 
 courage the pupils to prepare dialogues, readings, recita- 
 6 
 
66 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 tions, and songs for the Friday afternoon school sessions. 
 He should also choose some topic for a familiar lecture or 
 for discussion, or read some literary selections, making 
 such comments as are likely to promote a love of reading, 
 and quicken the interest of the scholars in the work of the 
 school. Familiar illustrations in elementary science should 
 be given. The girls should receive suitable instruction in 
 plain sewing. 
 
 Optional Siiijects. — The course of study in the first 
 four forms is obligatory. No pupil can be excused from 
 the study of any subject prescribed for his form. In the 
 fifth form, as already stated, algebra, physics, and botany 
 are optional, and may be omitted, or one or more taken 
 up as may be deemed expedient by the inspector and the 
 trustees. Physics must be taught experimentally and with 
 suitable apparatus. Botany must be taught from the 
 actual plants, and teachers are recommended to take their 
 pupils into the fields for the purpose of observing the 
 habits of plants, and for collecting their own specimens. 
 The following is the outline of the course in the optional 
 subjects prescribed by the Education Department : 
 
 Algebra : Elementary rules ; factoring ; greatest com- 
 mon measure ; least common multiple ; simple equations 
 of one unknown quantity ; simple problems. 
 
 Physics: An experimental course defined as follows: 
 («) Properties of matter : Sensations and things ; causes 
 and effects ; absence of chance in the order of Nature ; 
 matter; the molecule; constitution of matter; physical 
 and chemical changes ; inertia ; force ; energy ; phenomena 
 of attraction ; cohesion ; compressibility ; elasticity, etc. 
 (5) Sound : Vibrations and waves ; production and propa- 
 gation of sound waves ; velocity ; reflection ; echoes ; re- 
 fraction ; intensity ; pitch ; difference between noise and 
 
COURSE OF STUDY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 67 
 
 music, (c) Light : Propagation ; reflection ; images formed 
 by plane and spherical mirrors ; refraction ; lenses ; dis- 
 persion ; selective absorption ; colour, (d) Electricity : Vol- 
 taic cells ; polarization ; heating, luminous, chemical, and 
 magnetic effects, produced by the electric current; the 
 electric bell, the telegraph, the telephone, the electric 
 light ; magnetism. 
 
 Botany : The practical study of representatives of the 
 following natural orders of flowering plants : Eanuncu- 
 laceee, Cruciferae, Malvaceae, Leguminosse, Eosaceag, Sapin- 
 daceae, UmbelliferEe, Compositse, Labiatse, Cupuliferse, 
 Aracese, Liliacese, Iridaceffi, Coniferae, and Graminese. A 
 knowledge of structure obtained with the use of the micro- 
 scope. Attention to drawing and description of plants 
 supplied, and to the classification of these. Comparison 
 of different organs, morphology of root, stem, leaves, and 
 hairs, parts of the flowers, reproduction of flowering 
 plants, pollination, fertilization, and the nature of fruits 
 and seeds. 
 
 Dual Languages. — Although the population of the 
 province of Ontario is chiefly composed of English-speak- 
 ing people, there are certain settlements in which the 
 French and German languages prevail to such an extent 
 that many children of school age are unable to speak the 
 English language when first admitted to school. The 
 national preferences of their parents naturally lead them, 
 in such cases, to prefer teachers who can speak their own 
 language. The effect of this was that children of French 
 and German parentage often grew up without an adequate 
 knowledge of English, either spoken or written. To pre- 
 vent the disadvantages in an English-speaking province 
 arising from this condition of things, the Education De- 
 partment provided a series of readers so prepared that 
 
68 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 the pupil, whose native language was French or German, 
 would find the lesson for the day in the French or German 
 language on one page and the same lesson in English on 
 the opposite page and by this means his native language 
 was made to assist him in acquiring a language of which 
 he had no knowledge. These readers are called French- 
 English or German-English, according as they are adapted 
 to the French or the German language, and their use has 
 produced very satisfactory results. 
 
 In order, however, that the teachers whose native lan- 
 guage was French or German, and many of whom were 
 unable to pass the examination required of the ordinary 
 teacher, might be fitted professionally for their duties, the 
 Education Department established two training schools in 
 the French counties on the principle of the county model 
 school. These schools are under a competent principal, 
 familiar with both languages. The course of study is the 
 same as that required for other teachers, but the standard 
 of examination is not quite so high. The examination of 
 the candidates is conducted in English, but an additional 
 paper is required in French composition and grammar. 
 These schools receive special aid from the provincial 
 treasury. 
 
 As there was a tendency in some parts of the province, 
 particularly in French settlements, to ignore the use of 
 English in the public schools, the Education Department 
 by regulation prescribed that every exercise and recitation 
 from the English text-books, used in public schools, should 
 be conducted in the English language. Recitations in 
 French or German might, however, be taken in the lan- 
 guage of the text-book. It was also provided that all 
 communication between teacher and pupil in regard to 
 matters of discipline, and in the management of the school. 
 
COURSE OP STUDY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 69 
 
 should be in English, except so far as this is impracticable, 
 by reason of the pupil not understanding English. The 
 dual language text-books are to be used only where the 
 pupil's knowledge of English is insufficient for the use of 
 the English text-book. Where the parents or guardians 
 require the French or German language to be taught to 
 their children, the trustees, with the concurrence of the 
 inspector, are authorized to see that instruction is given 
 in reading, grammar, and composition in the language of 
 such parents or guardians. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 TEACHERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 
 
 Teachers of public schools are divided into three 
 classes, according to their literary and professional attain- 
 ments. Those who obtain the highest rank awarded by 
 the department are called first-class teachers, and the 
 others second- and third-class teachers respectively. 
 
 Before any person can be admitted to the teaching 
 profession he must be a subject of her Majesty, and at 
 least eighteen years of age ; he must also furnish satisfac- 
 tory proof of good moral character ; and have passed the 
 examinations prescribed by the Education Department. 
 
 The regulations respecting the qualifications, courses 
 of study, and examinations of male and female teachers 
 are identical. Certificates of the first and second class are 
 valid during good behaviour ; certificates of the third 
 class are valid for a period of three years only ; but every 
 certificate, whether of the first, second, or third class, is 
 valid in the whole province. In certain counties where 
 tlie settlements are sparse, and the facilities for training 
 teachers somewhat limited, certificates may be granted by 
 a local Board of Examiners for a period of from one to 
 three years, valid in the district only. Temporary cer- 
 tificates, in the case of an emergency, such as sickness, 
 or where there is a scarcity of teachers, may be given 
 by the inspector until the next departmental examina- 
 
 70 
 
TEACHERS AND THEIB, QUALIFICATIONS. 71 
 
 tion. Similarly, the term of a third-class certificate may 
 be extended beyond the three years for which it is ordi- 
 narily valid, but no such extension shall be granted unless 
 it is shown that the trustees have exercised due dili- 
 gence, by advertisement or otherwise, to obtain a qualified 
 teacher. The object of this regulation is to protect teach- 
 ers possessing the energy to qualify themselves as required 
 by the department from being displaced by adventurers of 
 inferior qualifications. The consent of the Minister of 
 Education is necessary for the issue of temporary or ex- 
 tended certificates. 
 
 The certificate of any teacher guilty of immorality, or 
 found by the inspector to be incapable or inefficient, or 
 who knowingly violates the School Act or the regulations 
 of the Education Department, may be suspended by the 
 inspector. Notice of such suspension shall be given in 
 vt^riting to the trustees concerned, and to the teacher, with 
 a statement of the reason for such suspension. The Board 
 of Examiners for the district, of which the inspector is a 
 member, are by statute authorized to consider all cases of 
 suspension, and to decide as to the merits of each case. If 
 the suspension is confirmed, the teacher's agreement with 
 his trustees is vacated, and he is disqualified for engaging 
 in another school until the suspension is removed. A 
 teacher who enters into an agreement with a Board of 
 Trustees, and wilfully neglects to carry out his agreement, 
 is liable to the suspension of his certificate by the in- 
 spector under whose jurisdiction he may be for the time 
 being. 
 
 Qualifications of Teachers. — There is no special pro- 
 vision for the literary training of public-school teachers in 
 the province of Ontario. The course of study prescribed 
 in public and high schools is delimited in different forms 
 
72 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 in such a manner that candidates for teachers' certificates 
 may, by taking the course of a particular form, pass the 
 examinations which qualify them for whatever grade of 
 certificate they desire. For instance, the course of study 
 in the fifth form of the public school, or the second form 
 of the high school, qualifies for the literary basis of a 
 third-class certificate, and the courses in the third and 
 fourth forms of the high school qualify for the literary 
 basis of a second- and a first-class certificate respectively. 
 It must be remembered, however, that the nonprofes- 
 sional work for a teacher's certificate is, by the regula- 
 tions of the Education Department, entirely distinct 
 from the professional course of training, without which 
 there is no admission to the teaching profession at any 
 stage. The object of the department is to use the ma- 
 chinery of the public and high schools for the education 
 of teachers as well as for the general education of the 
 people. The nonprofessional work, which is done in 
 normal schools in the United States and Great Britain, 
 is done partially by the public schools, but mainly by the 
 high schools and collegiate institutes in Ontario. In 
 this way the duplication of courses is avoided, and the 
 public treasury is relieved of what would be a very heavy 
 charge, if the attempt was made to establish a sufficient 
 number of normal schools to keep up the needful supply 
 of teachers. So long as the department controls, as it 
 does control, the examinations by which the literary at- 
 tainments of the pupils at high schools and collegiate 
 institutes are tested, it is considered as of little conse- 
 quence by whom their teachers are appointed or paid. 
 Indeed, so far has this principle been ingrafted upon the 
 system that undergraduates in the university, at certain 
 stages of their university course, are regarded as having 
 
TEACHERS AND JHEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 73 
 
 attained to the literary standards required by the depart- 
 ment without any other examination than that passed by 
 the university authorities. 
 
 What the department wants in the teacher is accuracy 
 of knowledge and breadth of culture. If the standards of 
 the university satisfy these requirements, as they invari- 
 ably do, there is no loss but rather substantial gain to 
 the public in recognising such standards as the literary 
 basis for teachers in public schools. The regulations 
 therefore provide that the standing of the second, third, 
 or fourth year in arts after a regular course in any char- 
 tered university in the British dominions shall be ac- 
 cepted in the Education Department in lieu of the literary 
 standing required for third-, second-, and first-class teach- 
 ers respectively. 
 
 Subjects of Third-Class Standing. — Candidates for the 
 literary standing required of third-class teachers are ex- 
 amined in the following subjects — viz., reading, writing, 
 drawing, bookkeeping, English grammar and rhetoric, 
 English composition, English literature, history of Great 
 Britain and Canada, geography, botany and physics, arith- 
 metic and mensuration, algebra and geometry. 
 
 In reading and writing no arbitrary standard can be 
 fixed, the degree of excellence depending entirely upon 
 the judgment and appreciation of the examiner. 
 
 In English grammar and rhetoric candidates are ex- 
 amined as to etymology and syntax, including the inflec- 
 tion, classification, and elementary analysis of words, and 
 the logical and rhetorical structure of the sentence and 
 paragraph, with exercises chiefly on passages from authors 
 not prescribed in the course of study. 
 
 In English poetical literature candidates are expected 
 to possess an intelligent and appreciative comprehension 
 
74 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 of the prescribed texts, and to memorize the finest pas- 
 sages of poetry which these texts contain. The texts 
 selected for special study are taken from the reader used 
 in the form, and include selections from the best English 
 and American poets. These texts are changed every year, 
 for the purpose of widening the acquaintance of the can- 
 didates with the best literature of the day. 
 
 In composition the examination consists of an essay on 
 some familiar subject. In order to pass in composition, 
 legible writing, correct spelling and punctuation, and the 
 proper construction of sentences are indispensable. The 
 candidate is also required to give attention to the structure 
 of the essay, to the effective ordering of the thought, and 
 to the accurate employment of a good English vocabulary. 
 The essay is not to exceed three pages of foolscap in 
 length, while quality, not quantity, is the main consid- 
 eration. 
 
 In history the examination consists of a general knowl- 
 edge of the outlines of Canadian and British history. 
 
 In geography the candidate is expected to have studied 
 the physical features of the earth, its natural products and 
 inhabitants, the occupations of the people, and the rela- 
 tions of physical conditions to the animal and vegetable 
 world ; transcontinental commercial highways, and their 
 relations to centres of population ; internal commercial 
 highways of Canada, and the chief internal commercial 
 highways of the United States ; the commercial relations 
 of Great Britain and her colonies ; forms of government 
 in the countries of the world, and their relation to civili- 
 zation ; a general knowledge of mathematical geography, 
 such as the form, size, and motions of the earth ; its rela- 
 tions to the sun, light, temperature, etc. 
 
 In botany the students are examined with regard to 
 
TEACHERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 75 
 
 the difEerent orders of flowering plants usually found in 
 the locality — the orders on which they are examined being 
 set forth in detail in their course of study. The examina- 
 tion consists of a drawing and description of the plants 
 submitted by the examiner, and a comparison of their 
 difEerent organs, such as root, stem, leaves, and flowers, 
 including fertilization and the nature of fruits and seeds. 
 
 In physics the course of study covers such subjects as 
 the phenomena of gravitation, the laws of attraction, spe- 
 cific gravity ; the meaning of force, work, energy ; proper- 
 ties and laws of gases, liquids and solids, and the elemen- 
 tary laws of heat. 
 
 In arithmetic and mensuration the examination is lim- 
 ited to fractions, commercial arithmetic and mensuration 
 of rectilinear figures — the circle, sphere, cylinder, and 
 cone. 
 
 In algebra the examination is limited to the ele- 
 mentary rules, highest common measure, lowest common 
 multiple, equations of one, two, and three unknown quan- 
 tities and simple problems, and in geometry the first book 
 of Euclid with easy deductions. 
 
 Subjects of Second-Class Standing. — Candidates for 
 second-class standing are examined in the same subjects 
 as those prescribed for third-class standing. The papers 
 in geography and English are more comprehensive, and 
 consequently more diflBcult. 
 
 To the English and Canadian history required for 
 third-class standing are added outlines of Roman history 
 to the death of Augustus, and of Greek history to the 
 battle of Chseronea. 
 
 To the algebra are added square root, indices, surds, 
 quadratics of one and two unknown quantities ; and to 
 Euclid, Books II and III. 
 
76 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 Candidates for second-class standing are also required 
 to take Latin and Greek and one modern language, or 
 Latin and two modern languages and chemistry, or Latin 
 and one modern language and a full science course. Put- 
 ting the course for second-class standing more simply, 
 every candidate must take Latin and French and Greek, 
 or, if he prefer, he may take Latin, German, and Greek ; 
 or Latin, French, German, and chemistry; or Latin, 
 French, physics, chemistry, and botany; or Latin, Ger- 
 man, physics, chemistry, and botany. The theory of the 
 course is that Latin is the basis of a good English educa- 
 tion; but, in order to secure flexibility and breadth of 
 culture, the candidate may follow his preference for lan- 
 guage or for science, according to the limitations above 
 mentioned. 
 
 The examination in classics consists of translation from 
 and into English of passages from the prescribed texts, 
 translation at sight, and questions in grammar from the 
 prescribed texts. 
 
 Siiijects of First- Class Standing. — Candidates who 
 ■write on the subjects required for first-class standing are 
 assumed to have already passed the examination required 
 for second-class standing, with the exception of English 
 composition, English literature, algebra, and geometry. 
 When they enter upon the preparation of the work re- 
 quired for first-class standing, they are free to give their 
 whole attention to the courses of study required for this 
 examination. 
 
 In English literature the texts are similar to those pre- 
 scribed for matricalation into the university, and consist 
 of complete poems from the best English and American 
 writers ; for instance. The Ancient Mariner, from Cole- 
 ridge ; Evangeline, from Longfellow; The Merchant of 
 
TEACHERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 77 
 
 Venice and Eichard II, from Shakespeare ; several poems 
 and sonnets from Wordsworth, and a few selections from 
 Campbell. The selections named do not include all that 
 are required to be studied, but are simply given by way 
 of illustration. 
 
 To the algebra required for second-class standing are 
 added the theory of divisors, ratio, proportion and varia- 
 tion, progression, notation, permutation and combinations, 
 binominal theorem, interest forms and annuities. 
 
 To geometry are added the fourth and sixth books of 
 Euclid, and the definitions of Book V, and a short course 
 in trigonometry. Biology is added to the science course. 
 The classical and modern language courses are propor- 
 tionately more difficult. 
 
 Specialists^ Certificates. — In view of the desire for pre- 
 eminence in the higher departments of education, pro- 
 vision is made for those who desire to give special at- 
 tention to some department of study. The Education 
 Department makes no provision for examinations of this 
 kind, but accepts the honours which candidates may ob- 
 .tain at a university as evidence of their required qualifica- 
 tion. Specialist certificates are awarded, therefore, to any 
 person obtaining honours at a university in the province 
 of Ontario in English and history, or in mathematics, or 
 in classics, or in French and German, or in science. As 
 the courses in the different universities vary somewhat, 
 the Education Department, in order to secure uniformity 
 in its standards, requires a candidate for a specialist certifi- 
 cate to submit to the department the papers on which he 
 wrote, a confidential statement from the registrar of the 
 university of the marks obtained on each paper, and such 
 other marks as may have been awarded at any oral or 
 practical examination in the subjects of his course. The 
 
78 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 department reserves to itself the right to adjust the re- 
 sults to the departmental standard adopted for a specialist 
 certificate. 
 
 A specialist certificate is also given to those who take 
 an extended course in bookkeeping, covering such sub- 
 jects as single and double entry, vi^arehousing, steamboat- 
 ing, municipal bookkeeping, commission business, joint- 
 stock companies, etc. ; commercial arithmetic, including 
 interest, sinking funds, annuity tables, stocks, exchange, 
 etc. ; banking, including the business of banks in all its 
 variations, and the laws of business as applied to con- 
 tracts, chattel mortgages, corporations, telegraphs, patents, 
 etc. ; stenography and business correspondence. 
 
 Preparation of Examination Papers. — The literary 
 examinations of candidates for the threa grades of cer- 
 tificates already referred to are based upon examination 
 papers prepared under the direction of the Education De- 
 partment. By arrangement with the Senate of the Pro- 
 vincial University, a Board of Examiners is constituted 
 for the whole province, four being appointed by the Sen- 
 ate and four by the Department of Education. This board 
 is called a Joint Board of Examiners. Their duties are 
 twofold : first, to select suitable persons to prepare exami- 
 nation papers; and, secondly, to appoint suitable persons 
 to read the answers of the candidates. As the literary 
 standing of first- and second-class teachers corresponds 
 •with the qualifications required for senior and junior ma- 
 triculations respectively, the university is, by this arrange- 
 ment with the department, enabled to dispense with its 
 own matriculation examination. Through its representa- 
 tives on the joint board it has all the control necessary to 
 maintain its own literary standards. The cost of an extra 
 examination is also saved, as well as the time of candi- 
 
TEACHERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 79 
 
 dates who might desire the twofold advantage of matricu- 
 lation and the literary standing of a teacher. Experience 
 has shown that many who qualify themselves to teach a 
 public school, finding that the same qualification admits 
 them to the university, are led afterward to take a uni- 
 versity course. 
 
 In constituting the Committee of Examiners for pre- 
 paring papers, the joint board is instructed to select such 
 committee from persons qualified by experience as teach- 
 ers either in a university or high school. The idea under- 
 lying this instruction is that persons who have taught a 
 subject are the best qualified to prepare suitable tests for 
 those who are to be examined upon it. A similar limita- 
 tion is imposed upon the joint board in selecting a com- 
 mittee to read the examination papers, with this additional 
 restriction, that such committee must be selected from 
 persons who hold a degree in arts from some university in 
 the British dominions, and who are actually engaged in 
 teaching. The theory of this instruction is that the per- 
 son engaged in teaching a subject is familiar with the 
 most modern and most approved methods of dealing with 
 it. His knowledge of the subject itself is also likely to 
 be more accurate, and justice is therefore more likely to 
 be done to the candidate. The committee charged with 
 the preparation of the examination papers consists of at 
 least one person specially skilled in the subject. If not 
 an honour man of his university, he must have been a 
 teacher of recognised merit in his department. 
 
 The procedure in preparing examination papers is 
 briefly as follows : 
 
 The joint board, at a meeting usually held six months 
 before the date of the examination, meets and selects from 
 among the professors and lecturers of the diiierent uni- 
 
80 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 versities of the province, and such other persons as ac- 
 quired distinction as high-school teachers, the requisite 
 number of persons to constitute a committee for the 
 preparation of examination papers. Within a month or 
 six weeks thereafter, each member of the committee ap- 
 pointed to prepare a paper transmits a manuscript copy 
 thereof confidentially to the Minister of Education. This 
 manuscript is placed in the hands of a confidential printer 
 employed by the department, whose office is in the de- 
 partmental buildings. When the different papers are in 
 type, proofs are sent to the various members of the com- 
 mittee for consideration. A meeting of the committee is 
 then called, and each paper is submitted to the judgment 
 of the whole committee. Although the responsibility of 
 preparing a suitable paper primarily rests on the member 
 of the committee appointed for that purpose, yet, by the 
 rules of the joint board, approved by the department, the 
 whole committee is held responsible for every paper finally 
 passed. The papers, having been approved by the com- 
 mittee, are initialled by the chairman and then returned 
 to the confidential printer, and are ready to be struck off. 
 While the joint board is responsible for the personnel of 
 the committee, it has no responsibility with regard to the 
 character of the examination papers. This rests entirely 
 on the persons appointed for that purpose ; and, in order 
 to increase the sense of that responsibility, the name of 
 the person or persons who prepared the paper appears on 
 the face of it. 
 
 Mode of Conducting the Examinations. — Candidates 
 who propose to write for matriculation into the university 
 or for a teacher's certificate of any grade are required to 
 notify the public-school inspector of the district in which 
 they reside, not later than the 34th day of May immedi- 
 
TEACHERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 81 
 
 ately preceding. As a matter of public convenience this 
 examination is held at the beginning of the summer holi- 
 days. Every high school and collegiate institute is an 
 examination centre, but examinations may be held, "with 
 the approval of the department, at other places. In noti- 
 fying the inspector of their intention to come up for ex- 
 amination, the candidates intimate the class of certificate 
 for which they propose to write, and the optional subjects, 
 if any, which they desire to take, at the same time trans- 
 mitting to the inspector an examination fee of five dollars, 
 if it is proposed to take a full examination, or a smaller 
 fee for a partial examination. When the time for receiv- 
 ing notices expires, the inspector makes a list of the ap- 
 plicants on the form prescribed and transmits the same, 
 with the fees, to the Minister of Education. These lists 
 are entered in the office of the registrar of the department, 
 and a number is assigned to each candidate. The public- 
 school inspector for the district presides at the examina- 
 tion, but where, from the number of candidates, more 
 rooms than one are required, additional presiding exam- 
 iners may be appointed with the approval of the Educa- 
 tion Department, preference being given for this duty to 
 members of the teaching profession. 
 
 Where the inspector does not consider himself com- 
 petent to select the plants for the examination in botany, 
 the Minister of Education appoints some suitable person 
 for this purpose. The specimens for the examination in 
 zoology are sent directly to the presiding examiner from 
 the Education Department. 
 
 When the candidates for examination assemble, places 
 
 are allotted to them at least five feet apart, and all charts 
 
 or maps having reference to the subjects of examination 
 
 are removed from the room. A diagram of the room 
 
 7 
 
82 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 showing the position occupied by each candidate during 
 the examination is transmitted to the department with 
 the examination papers, in order to facilitate the detec- 
 tion of candidates who may be suspected of copying. 
 
 During the examination no person except the presid- 
 ing examiner is allowed to be present in the room in which 
 the candidates are writing. The candidates are furnished 
 by the presiding examiner with the necessary stationery 
 and writing supplies, and with envelopes in which they 
 are to place their answer papers at the close of the exami- 
 nation in each subject. The presiding examiner is di- 
 rected as to the time to be allowed for each subject by a 
 time table prepared by the Education Department. 
 
 Duties of Candidates. — Before distributing the exami- 
 nation papers the presiding examiner reads the instruc- 
 tions of the department with respect to the duties of 
 candidates, which are as follows : 
 
 1. Each candidate shall satisfy the presiding examiner 
 as to his personal identity before the commencement of 
 the second day's examination, and any person detected in 
 attempting to personate a candidate shall be reported to 
 the department. 
 
 3. Candidates shall be in their allotted places before 
 the hour appointed for the commencement of the exami- 
 nation. If a candidate be not present till after the ap- 
 pointed time, he shall not be allowed any additional time. 
 No candidate shall be permitted, on any pretence what- 
 ever, to enter the room after the expiration of an hour 
 from the commencement of the examination. 
 
 3. No candidate shall leave the room within one hour 
 after the distribution of the examination papers in any 
 subject ; and if he leave, then he shall not be permitted to 
 return during the examination on such subject. 
 
TEACHERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 83 
 
 4. Every candidate shall conduct himself in strict ac- 
 cordance with the regulations. Should he give or receive 
 any aid or extraneous assistance of any kind, in answering 
 the examination questions, or if he leaves his answers ex- 
 posed so that any candidate may copy from him, he will 
 forfeit any certificate he may have obtained. Should such 
 candidate have failed at the examination, he shall be de- 
 barred for two years from writing at any departmental 
 examination. 
 
 5. Every candidate shall write the subject of examina- 
 tion very distinctly at the top of each page of his answer 
 papers, in the middle. If a candidate writes his name or 
 initials, or any distinguishing sign or mark on his answer 
 papers by which his identity may be disclosed, they will 
 be cancelled. 
 
 6. Candidates, in preparing their answers, shall write 
 on one side only of each sheet, and shall mark the sheets 
 in each subject in the order of the questions, as 1st, 2d, 
 3d, etc. ; and on the last sheet shall write distinctly the 
 total number of sheets inclosed in the envelope, fold them 
 once across, place them in the envelope provided by the 
 department, write on the outside of the envelope the sub- 
 ject of examination only, and 6n the slip provided, his 
 name in full (surname preceding), and then securely 
 fasten the slip to the envelope, as instructed by the pre- 
 siding examiner. 
 
 Dioties of Presiding Examiners. — Having read the in- 
 structions, the presiding examiner is himself directed to 
 proceed as follows : 
 
 1. Punctually at the time appointed for the commence- 
 ment of each examination the presiding examiner shall, 
 in the examination room and in the presence of the can- 
 didates and other examiners (if any), break the seal of the 
 
84 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 envelope containing the examination papers, and give them 
 to the other examiners and the candidates. The papers of 
 only one subject shall be opened at one time. 
 
 3. Should any candidate be detected in talking or 
 whispering, or in copying from another, or allowing an- 
 other to copy from him, or in having in his possession, 
 when in the room, any book, notes, or anything from 
 which he might derive assistance in the examination, it 
 shall be the duty of the examiner, if he obtain clear evi- 
 dence of the fact at the" time of its occurrence, to cause 
 such candidate at once to leave the room ; nor shall such 
 candidate be permitted to enter during the remaining part 
 of the examination, and his name shall be struck ofE the 
 list. If, however, the evidence be not clear at the time, 
 or be obtained after the conclusion of the examination, 
 the examiner shall report the case to the department. 
 
 3. Punctually at the expiration of the time allowed 
 the examiner shall direct the candidates to stop writing, 
 and cause them to hand in their answer papers imme- 
 diately, duly fastened in the envelopes. 
 
 4. The examiner shall keep upon his desk the certified 
 list of the candidates, and as each paper in any subject is 
 handed in, he shall check the same by entering the figure 
 " 1 " opposite the name of the candidate, on the form pro- 
 vided. After the papers are handed in, the examiner shall 
 not allow any alterations to be made in them, and he shall 
 be responsible for their safe keeping until transmitted to 
 the Education Department, or placed in the hands of the 
 presiding examiner. 
 
 5. The presiding examiner, at the close of the exami- 
 nation on the last day, shall secure in a separate parcel 
 the fastened envelopes of each candidate, and on the same 
 day shall forward by express (prepaid), or deliver to the 
 
TEACHERS AND THBIE QUALIFICATIONS. 85 
 
 Education Department the package containing all the 
 parcels thus separately secured. The papers are to be 
 arranged in the alphabetical order of the surnames of the 
 candidates. The inspector or presiding examiner shall at 
 the same time sign and forward a solemn declaration to 
 the Minister of Education in the following terms : 
 
 (1) I, the undersigned, hereby solemnly declare that 
 I read the regulations to the candidates fifteen minutes be- 
 fore the time at which the examination papers were to be 
 submitted, as per time table. 
 
 (2) That the time table was strictly observed. 
 
 (3) That I was present in the room in which I was au- 
 thorized to preside during the whole period of the exami- 
 nation, and that no other person was present except the 
 candidates during said period. 
 
 (4) That during the whole of the examination my un- 
 divided attention was given to my duties as presiding ex- 
 aminer, and that no part of my time was taken up with 
 any other duties whatsoever. 
 
 (5) That I made no suggestion to the candidates re- 
 garding the meaning of any question, or the kind of an- 
 swer that they should give. 
 
 Presiding examiners are paid the sum of $4 per day 
 and actual travelling expenses. The fees paid by the can- 
 didates for the examination are supposed to cover all the 
 expenses of the presiding examiner, the necessary station- 
 ery, and the reading of the answers of the candidates. 
 
 Reading Answer Papers. — When the answer papers of 
 candidates are received by the department they are classi- 
 fied according to subjects by the officers of the department. 
 As the members of the committee appointed to read the 
 answer papers in most cases are the teachers by whom the 
 candidates were prepared for the examination, it is neces- 
 
86 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 sary to take all reasonable precautions for preventing the 
 identificatioa by the examiner of his own pupils. Ac- 
 cordingly, the slip placed on the envelope by the candi- 
 date which bore his name is removed, and the number by 
 which the candidate was registered is placed upon his 
 envelope, and as the departmental register in which the 
 names of candidates are entered is confidential, there is no 
 way of identifying a candidate except by his handwriting. 
 When several thousand candidates send in papers, identi- 
 fication in this way is very improbable. 
 
 The examiners are classified in sections according to 
 the subjects of examination. A member of the commit- 
 tee who prepared the examination papers acts as chair- 
 man of each section, or, if unable to act, a suitable person 
 for that purpose is appointed by the joint board. 
 
 Before commencing the actual work of examination 
 the examiners of each section are required to spend suffi- 
 cient time in discussing the answers and reading answer 
 papers jointly, to enable them to arrive at a consensus of 
 opinion as to the valuation of answers, especially of par- 
 tial or imperfect answers. 
 
 When a section finds that the values assigned to the 
 questions on the examination papers are unsatisfactory, 
 or when it is evident that the examiner did not follow the 
 course of study prescribed by the Education Department 
 or by the curriculum of the University of Toronto, the 
 section shall report through its chairman to the chairman 
 of the examiners or the person acting on his behalf. 
 
 In reading the papers each examiner is required to mark 
 distinctly in the left-hand margin the value assigned by him 
 to each answer or partial answer, and to sum up the total 
 on each page at the foot of the margin, and to place the re- 
 sult on the face of the envelope, indicating the deductions 
 
TEACHERS AND THEIR QUALIFICATIONS. 87 
 
 for misspelled words and incorrect English thereon — thus, 
 e. g., history 80 — 3 sp. — 4 f. s. (false syntax) = 74, and 
 initialing the envelope of each paper examined. 
 
 In order that the examiners may maintain the neces- 
 sary freshness and vigour for the duties to which they are 
 appointed, they are limited to six hours of work per day, 
 three hours in the forenoon, from nine to twelve, and 
 three hours in the afternoon, from two to five. They are 
 paid the sum of $6 per day, the payment being subject to 
 the restriction that the whole amount paid for the exami- 
 nation shall not exceed the sum of $1.50 per candidate. 
 In [addition to this they are allowed actual railway ex- 
 penses to and from their residences. In appraising the 
 work of the candidates they are guided by the marks as- 
 signed to each subject by the Education Department. As 
 the examination proceeds, the marks assigned to each can- 
 didate are entered by the registrar in a book prepared for 
 that purpose. Candidates writing for third-class standing 
 are required to obtain one third of the marks in each sub- 
 ject and one half of the aggregate. Candidates writing 
 for second- or first- class standing are required to obtain 
 only one third in each subject. 
 
 As soon as the registrar has completed the summing 
 up of the marks awarded, his books are submitted to the 
 committee appointed to prepare the examination papers. 
 If a candidate has failed by a very few marks in a sub- 
 ject, but is on the whole a strong candidate, the commit- 
 tee is at liberty to recommend such candidate for full 
 standing. After considering the work of the examiners 
 and any special circumstances affecting the standing of 
 any candidate, the results are reported to the joint board. 
 On the acceptance of the report by the joint board, a 
 list of candidates who have passed for matriculation is 
 
88 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 transmitted to the registrar of the university, and a list 
 of candidates who have passed for first-, second-, or 
 third-class standing is transmitted to the Minister of Edu- 
 cation. Should any candidate be dissatisfied with the re- 
 sult of the examination, he may appeal within a certain 
 time to the Minister of Education for a rereading of his 
 papers. If his appeal is entertained, his answer papers 
 are submitted for a rereading to the committee by whom 
 the examination papers were prepared, which has full 
 power to revise the work of the examiner in the first in- 
 stance, and to consider such representations as may have 
 been made with regard to sickness, or the unavoidable 
 absence of the candidate from the examination. 
 
 In order to protect candidates from loss of standing 
 through illness or any other incidental cause, the depart- 
 ment requires every high-school master sending up candi- 
 dates to the examination to transmit to the department 
 confidentially a list of the candidates classified according 
 to merit on the basis of such examinations as the high 
 school may have conducted during the term. This list is 
 submitted to the examiners, and is considered by them 
 conjointly with the marks obtained by the candidate at 
 the departmental examination. Should it appear that the 
 candidate was ranked by the high school staff very high, 
 and that the estimate of the staff with regard to other 
 candidates was warranted by the results of the examina- 
 tions generally, the ranking of the staS is accepted in lieu 
 of the standing obtained by the candidate at the depart- 
 mental examination. This mode of adjusting results has 
 passed candidates who would otherwise have been rejected 
 by the examiners, and is besides a reasonable protection to a 
 good candidate from the consequence of a casual attack of 
 illness, which might otherwise deprive him of the fruits 
 of a year's labour. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 TRAINING OF TEACHERS. 
 
 There are three different kinds of schools for the 
 training of teachers under the public-school system of the 
 Province of Ontario, viz., county model schools for teachers 
 of third-class standing, normal schools for teachers of sec- 
 ond- or first-class standing, and a normal training college, 
 formerly called the School of Pedagogy, for persons hold- 
 ing a degree from a university in the British dominions, 
 or such persons as have obtained first-class literary stand- 
 ing at the departmental examination and who intend to 
 become teachers in a high school or collegiate institute. 
 
 In providing so fully for the training of teachers, the 
 Education Department has proceeded upon the principle 
 that no person should be allowed to take charge of a school 
 without instruction in the theory and practice of teaching, 
 and that to know a subject from the standpoint of a pupil 
 is a very different thing from knowing it from the stand- 
 point of a teacher. 
 
 As has already been noted, the department dissoci- 
 ates the literary course of study required for teachers, 
 commonly called the nonprofessional course, from that 
 subsequently required in pedagogics known as the profes- 
 sional course. It is not necessary here to discuss whether 
 candidates for the teaching profession are better qualified 
 by taking these two courses conjointly, or by taking them 
 
90 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 separately, as is done in the Province of Ontario. In the 
 provincial normal school both courses were taken together 
 for about thirty years, with very satisfactory results ; for 
 the last twenty years they have been taken separately, with 
 equally satisfactory results as to the literary attainments of 
 the candidates, and, it is believed, with better results as to 
 their professional attainments. At the same time the sec- 
 ondary schools have been greatly stimulated and their use- 
 fulness increased by the presence in their class-rooms of 
 young men and women preparing for the literary standing 
 required for teachers. 
 
 County Model Schools. 
 
 By the School Act of 1871 provision was made for the 
 appointment of a public-school inspector in each county, 
 or, where the counties were very large, for the appoint- 
 ment of more inspectors than one. By the Act of 1877 
 provision was made for the establishment of a model 
 school in every inspectoral division, and no person was 
 thereafter allowed to enter the teaching profession unless 
 he attended a term at the model school and passed the 
 prescribed examination. 
 
 The county model school, subject to the regulations of 
 the Education Department, is under the direction of a 
 Board of Examiners, of whom the inspector is one, and 
 not more than two other persons holding first-class cer- 
 tificates of qualification appointed by the Municipal Coun- 
 cil of the county. The Board of Examiners is authorized to 
 select from among the large public schools in the county 
 or inspectoral district the particular school which in its 
 opinion will best serve the purpose of a model school for 
 the training of teachers. Usually the school in some in- 
 corporated village or town having the largest number of 
 
TRAINING OP TEACHERS. 91 
 
 teachers, and the most easily accessible to the district, is 
 selected. A school so established receives a special grant 
 from the provincial treasury, and also from the county, in 
 addition to all ordinary school grants. 
 
 The model school opens on the 1st of September and 
 continues four months. No teacher is admitted to the 
 county model school who has not passed at least the ex- 
 amination required for third-class literary standing, and 
 who will be not less than eighteen years of age at the time 
 of the final examination. 
 
 In order to guarantee the efficiency of the model school 
 the department requires : 1. That the principal shall hold 
 a first-class certificate — i. e., a certificate of the highest 
 grade issued by the Education Department — and shall 
 have had at least three years' experience as a public- 
 school teacher. 2. That not fewer than three of the 
 assistants on the stafE of the school shall hold at least 
 second-class certificates. 3. That the equipment of the 
 school shall be in every respect satisfactory to the Educa- 
 tion Department. 4. That in addition to the number of 
 rooms required for the public school, a separate room 
 shall be available for the teachers in training during their 
 attendance at the model school. 5. That during the 
 model-school term the principal shall be relieved of all 
 public-school duties except the oversight of his staff. 
 
 It will be observed that a county model school is there- 
 fore presumably the best and largest public school in the 
 inspectoral division, with a principal of considerable ex- 
 perience and high professional attainments, with a well- 
 organized staff, and with all the other equipments and 
 appliances necessary to the efficiency of a good school. 
 
 Every teacher in training is required to provide him- 
 self with a set of all the text-books used in the public 
 
92 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 school, and with such other books as may be required for 
 training purposes. 
 
 Course of Study. — The course of study in county model 
 schools consists of {a) instruction in school organization 
 and management based on Baldwin's Art of School Man- 
 agement adapted to Canadian schools ; (b) a course of 
 lectures in the methodology of all the subjects taught in 
 the public schools ; (c) practice teaching with a view to 
 the establishment of correct methods of presenting sub- 
 jects to a class and of developing the art of school govern- 
 ment ; {d) a course in physiology and school sanitation ; 
 (e) instruction in the school law and regulations relating 
 to the duties of teachers and pupils ; (/) special instruc- 
 tion in music for primary classes ; and [g) drill and calis- 
 thenics. 
 
 During the first six weeks of the term the work of the 
 model school consists of («) lectures by the principal ; 
 (5) class teaching by the principal ; (c) class teaching by 
 the students, and general criticism. After the first two or 
 three lectures by the principal, classes are drafted from 
 the public school, by means of which the principal of the 
 model school illustrates his method of teaching the sub- 
 ject to which he wishes to direct the attention of the 
 teachers in training. This done, the principal assigns a 
 lesson for class teaching by the model-school students, 
 which any student, if called upon, shall be expected to 
 teach the following day — the other students to take notes 
 for subsequent criticism. For six weeks, by means of 
 lectures and class teaching by the principal and the stu- 
 dents, with appropriate criticisms, the teachers have ac- 
 quired enlarged powers of observation, greater confidence 
 in themselves, and some conception of the logical order 
 in which a subject should be presented to a class. 
 
TRAINING OP TEACHERS. 93 
 
 During the remainder of the term the time of the 
 teachers in training is divided between lectures by the 
 principal, observing methods of teaching in the different 
 rooms of the public school to which the model school is 
 attached, and in teaching such subjects as may be assigned 
 to them. Every teacher in training before conducting a 
 recitation in the public school is required to prepare a 
 plan of the lesson which he is to teach, and to submit 
 the same for the approval of the principal or assistant in 
 charge of the class. While teaching, the assistant or prin- 
 cipal is required to take notes of the work of the teacher 
 in training, such as his attitude before his class, his mode 
 of presenting the subject — whether logical or otherwise — 
 his mode of questioning the pupils and of dealing with 
 their answers, his mode of explaining difficulties — whether 
 clear and complete or otherwise, etc. These criticisms are 
 made known to the teacher in training privately, or are 
 made the subject of a lecture by the principal for the 
 benefi^t of the whole class at a later stage. 
 
 A small reference library is provided for each model 
 school by the Education Department, consisting of such 
 books as are considered most helpful in preparing teach- 
 ers for their work, and in increasing their knowledge of 
 education, both as a science and an art. 
 
 Final Examinations. — The final examination consists 
 of practical teaching by the teachers in training in pres- 
 ence of the Board of Examiners, and also a written exami- 
 nation on papers submitted by the Education Depart- 
 ment. The examination in practical teaching consists of 
 two lessons of twenty minutes each, for one of which 
 the teacher is allowed ample time for preparation ; the 
 other is assigned forty minutes before it is to be taught. 
 These two lessons are not to be taught in the same 
 
94 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 form, nor in the same subject, nor before the same ex- 
 aminers. 
 
 As the examiner is either the inspector or an experi- 
 enced teacher of the highest standing, he is fully qualified 
 to pronounce judgment upon every teacher in training 
 that comes before him. By personal observation he can 
 form an opinion as to his manner before his pupils, his 
 force of character, his power to command attention, and 
 the many other elements only perceptible to an experi- 
 enced eye aud ear, which are essential to a teacher's suc- 
 cess and to his influence over his pupils. These qualities 
 he appraises according to a scale of one hundred marks. 
 If the candidate falls below fifty marks he is rejected, and 
 is required to attend another session if he still desires to 
 enter the profession. 
 
 The written examination is conducted on papers pre- 
 pared under the direction of the Education Department 
 by a committee of inspectors or teachers of the highest 
 standing. These papers are printed by the confidential 
 printer of the department, are transmitted under seal to 
 the inspector, and are given out to the teachers in training 
 according to a time table prepared by the department. 
 The answers of the candidates are read by the Board of 
 Examiners and appraised according to the standard of 
 marks assigned to each paper by the department. 
 
 In order to protect the candidate at his professional 
 examination, as has already been indicated with regard to 
 the literary examination, the Examiners consider, con- 
 jointly with the examination which they are authorized 
 to conduct, a report from the principal of the school 
 with regard to the standing of every teacher in train- 
 ing during the term, and on the strength of these three 
 different estimates of his attainments — viz., teaching in 
 
TRAINING OF TEACHERS. 95 
 
 their own presence, the answers of the written papers, and 
 the report of the principal and assistants of the model 
 school — a candidate is passed or rejected. There is no ap- 
 peal from the decision of the board. 
 
 Candidates who have passed this examination are 
 known as the holders of third-class certificates, and are 
 qualified to teach any public school in the province for a 
 period of three years. The Board of Examiners has, how- 
 ever, the power of extending this certificate where the sup- 
 ply of teachers is inadequate, or for other sufficient reason, 
 subject to the approval of the Minister of Education. 
 
 After eighteen years' experience of the working of 
 county model schools, it is the universal opinion of the 
 profession in Ontario that the training, even elementary 
 and limited as it is, is invaluable to the young teacher. 
 Ilis knowledge of the philosophy of education may not be 
 very extensive ; he may not even have acquired sufficient 
 knowledge of school organization to classify properly a 
 large ungraded school ; but he has, however, learned the 
 necessity of teaching according to some preconceived de- 
 sign or lesson plan, of guarding against all unprofessional 
 peculiarities which might mar his usefulness, of practis- 
 ing self-control and personal dignity before a class, of cul- 
 tivating the attentive interest of his pupils, and of present- 
 ing his own thoughts with clearness, fluency, and anima- 
 tion. When he takes charge of a school for the first time, 
 he knows what to do, and within certain limitations how 
 to do it, and consequently avoids the mistakes of a teacher 
 wholly inexperienced. He has also become acquainted 
 with a wider field of professional literature, and is im- 
 pressed with the necessity of higher educational attain- 
 ments. In many cases the professional esprit de corps, 
 aroused at the county model school, has been the means 
 
96 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 of leading the young teacher to professional eminence. 
 The county model school has certainly secured for On- 
 tario a system of preliminary training for teachers at once 
 effective and inexpensive. 
 
 NoEMAL Schools. 
 
 As far back as 1843 the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 
 contemplated the establishment of one or more normal 
 schools in the province, but it was not until 1846 that a 
 sufficient amount of money was placed at the disposal of 
 the Education Department for that purpose, and on the 
 1st day of November, 1847, the first normal school in the 
 province was formally opened in the city of Toronto, with 
 an attendance of twenty students, which increased during 
 the session to sixty-one. 
 
 Owing to the removal of Parliament to Montreal, the 
 residence of the Lieutenant-Governor was vacant, and was 
 placed at the disposal of the Government for normal-school 
 purposes. The stables attached to Government House were 
 fitted up for the model school, which was opened on the 
 21st of February, 1848, with an attendance of one hundred 
 and twenty pupils. When Parliament returned to Toronto, 
 in 1849, the normal school was transferred to the Temper- 
 ance Hall in Temperance Street, and in 1852 was removed 
 to its present quarters in St. James's Square. 
 
 For thirty years the normal school provided the only 
 professional training available to the teachers of the prov- 
 ince, and as it was capable of accommodating only one 
 hundred and twenty students, the number of trained 
 teachers in the profession was necessarily very limited. 
 The other members of the profession (and they were 
 greatly in the majority) entered upon their duties with- 
 out any professional training whatsoever, and at the cost 
 
TRAINING OF TEACHERS. 97 
 
 of their pupils acquired such skill in methods and school 
 management as enabled them to remain in the profession 
 for a few years. 
 
 A second normal school was opened in the city of 
 Ottawa, in the eastern part of the province, in 1875, and 
 it is hoped that before long a third will be opened .in the 
 western part of the province. With three normal schools, 
 the course of professional training required of teachers 
 with second-class literary standing would be amply pro- 
 vided for. 
 
 Organization of Normal Schools. — The normal schools 
 of Ontario consist of two departments, viz., one for the in- 
 struction of teachers in training, and the other — a model 
 or practice school for illustrating methods of teaching. 
 The normal-school stafE consists of a principal and vice- 
 principal, and four other teachers, viz., one for each of 
 the following : drawing, music, drill and calisthenics, and 
 kindergarten work. 
 
 Before a teacher can be admitted to a provincial 
 normal school («) he must have passed the examinations 
 of the county model school, (5) he must have taught suc- 
 cessfully one year, and {d) he must have attained second- 
 class literary standing. He is also required to pass a pre- 
 liminary examination orally and in writing on the follow- 
 ing texts: Hopkins's Outline Study of Man, the first 
 seven lectures ; Quick's Educational Eeformers, the first 
 sixteen chapters ; Fitch's Lectures on Teaching, the first 
 five lectures. The object of this preliminary examination 
 is to direct the attention of the teacher to the necessity of 
 private reading while engaged professionally, and to pre- 
 pare him for receiving more readily the instruction of the 
 normal-school staff. 
 
 The normal schools are nonresidential, but the. houses 
 
98 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 at which the students lodge are inspected, and no student 
 is permitted to lodge except at a licensed boarding house 
 or with some relative or friend. Gentlemen attending 
 the normal school must lodge in boarding houses not 
 attended by the other sex. Students are liable to dis- 
 cipline for any irregularity while attending the normal 
 school. In the classrooms the sexes are instructed to- 
 gether; outside the classrooms they are allowed reason- 
 able intercourse with each other, it being assumed that 
 their conduct would be such as would characterize ladies 
 and gentlemen in good society. 
 
 The practice or model school is immediately connected 
 with the building used for normal-school purposes, and is 
 divided into classes corresponding to the number of forms 
 in the public school. For convenience of administration, 
 the sexes are separated in the model school. An oppor- 
 tunity is afforded by this arrangement of testing the ca- 
 pacity of the students for handling classes of boys and 
 girls when taken separately. Each normal school has 
 ample playgrounds for the use of the pupils and the 
 teachers in training, a suitable gymnasium for drill and 
 calisthenics, and a reference library of several thousand 
 volumes. The average cost of maintaining a normal and 
 model school is about $24,000 annually. 
 
 Course of Study. — The course of study in the normal 
 school is mainly professional, and includes the history of 
 education, science of education, school organization and 
 management, methods of teaching each subject on the 
 public-school course, practice in managing classes, and in 
 teaching in the model school, with special instruction in 
 reading, writing, drawing, music, drill and calisthenics, 
 and lectures on hygiene and school sanitation. In con- 
 junction with these lectures, teachers in training are re- 
 
TRAINING OP TEACHERS. 99 
 
 quired to study carefully the following texts : Quick's 
 Educational Eeformers (introduction by Dr. Harris) Mc- 
 Lellan's Applied Psychology, and Pitch's Lectures on 
 Teaching. 
 
 As in county model schools, the object of the course 
 of study at the normal school is to present every subject 
 from the standpoint of the teacher rather than to increase 
 the student's knowledge of the subject itself, and as the 
 examinations, at the close of the session, deal entirely 
 "with methods of instruction, the teachers in training are 
 free to give their undivided attention to the professional 
 side of their education. 
 
 On every Friday afternoon classes for religious in- 
 struction are formed, in which the teachers in training 
 receive instruction from a clergyman of their own de- 
 nomination. This instruction is given without charge by 
 the resident clergymen of the city. 
 
 In practical teaching the course of study is similar to 
 that in the county model school, but on a higher plane. 
 Model lessons are given by the stafi to classes of pupils 
 drafted from the model school ; the teachers in training 
 teach lessons previously assigned to them in the presence 
 of the staff and of their fellow-teachers in training ; after 
 observing the methods of the model school, they are re- 
 quired to teach in the presence of the principal or of the 
 teachers in charge. These lessons are the basis of subse- 
 quent criticism, and thus from day to day by actual prac- 
 tice they are acquiring a wider knowledge and a deeper 
 experience with respect to their professional duties. 
 
 Examinations. — A written report with regard to the 
 standing of each teacher in training is transmitted by the 
 principal to the Minister of Education at the close of the 
 term. The final examination consists of a test in prac- 
 
100 THE SCHOOL SfSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 tical teaching by examiners appointed by the Minister of 
 Education, and a written examination on the subjects of 
 the course. The mode of conducting the practical ex- 
 amination is briefly as follows : 
 
 1. Each teacher in training shall teach two lessons 
 before the examiners appointed by the Minister of Edu- 
 cation. 
 
 2. The examiners shall, on consultation with the teach- 
 ers of the model school, assign the lessons to the teachers 
 in training. The two lessons shall not be assigned in the 
 same form or in the same subject. 
 
 3. The subject of the first lesson shall be given by the 
 presiding examiner to the teacher in training the day be- 
 fore, and the subject of the second lesson forty minutes 
 before the lesson is to be taught. 
 
 4. After a lesson has been assigned no hint or assist- 
 ance of any kind shall be given to the teacher in training 
 by any examiner or teacher on the staff of the normal or 
 model school. 
 
 5. Each teacher in training shall be allowed twenty 
 minutes in which to teach the lesson assigned. 
 
 6. The regular teacher in charge of the room, shall not 
 be present during the teaching of a test lesson. 
 
 7. The examiner shall, on the basis of one hundred 
 marks, appraise the aptitude and efficiency of each teacher 
 in training, and in all doubtful cases shall set forth in 
 writing the reasons for the marks assigned. 
 
 8. At the close of the examination the examiner shall 
 report the standing of each teacher in training to the 
 Minister of Education. 
 
 The papers for the written examination are prepared 
 by a committee of public-school inspectors or other edu- 
 cational experts, who read the answers and report the 
 
TRAINING OF TEACHERS. IQI 
 
 results to the Minister of Education. These papers are 
 printed by the confidential printer of the Education De- 
 partment. 
 
 The final standing of candidates is determined upon the 
 conjoint report of the principal and his staff, the practical 
 examination by the examiners appointed by the minister, 
 and the written examination referred to. Where the staff 
 reports that a teacher in training is beyond question de- 
 void of teaching power, and unfitted for the profession, 
 such candidate is rejected by the Education Department 
 and refused his standing. He is at liberty, however, to 
 attend another session. Candidates who pass the exami- 
 nation are awarded a second-class certificate, valid during 
 good behaviour, in any part of the province. 
 
 KiNDEKGAETEN' TeACHEES. 
 
 The kindergarten was introduced into the Province of 
 Ontario in 1882 under a clause in the School Act author- 
 izing trustees to establish infant schools. It was not until 
 1885, however, that suitable provision was made for the 
 instruction of kindergarten teachers by the establishment 
 of a practice school in connection with each of the normal 
 schools under the direction of a trained kindergartner. 
 
 The course of training for kindergarten teachers covers 
 a period of two years — one year for an assistant, and an 
 additional year for a director. No person is admitted to 
 the course of study prescribed for assistants (a) who is not 
 seventeen years of age, (5) who has not passed the exami- 
 nation required for third-class literary standing, or (c) who 
 has not received at least three years' instruction in a high 
 school or collegiate institute. The standing of an assist- 
 ant must be obtained before the course of study prescribed 
 for a director can be taken up. 
 
102 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 Kindergartens are iinder the control of the Education 
 Department, and are part of the public-school system. 
 Every kindergarten opened by a Board of Trustees is 
 under a director holding a certificate from the Education 
 Department. 
 
 Persons desiring to train themselves as kindergarten 
 teachers spend the first year of their course as an assistant 
 under a qualified director. At the conclusion of the first 
 year's course of training they must be able to explain the 
 Gifts, their general objects as well as their specialties; how 
 they are graded and why; their connection with other 
 branches of kindergarten work ; also the general method 
 of the kindergarten, and how applied in exercises with 
 the gifts. As the gifts have a mathematical foundation, 
 a knowledge of the elements of geometry will be required. 
 Assistants are also required to know how to explain the 
 general objects of the songs and games, the significance 
 of gesture used in connection with them, and to show by 
 what principles they should be guided in the selection of 
 songs, games, and stories. They must possess a knowledge 
 of elementary science, particularly of animals, plants, earth, 
 air, water, etc., and be able to illustrate the interesting por- 
 tions of these subjects in stories and conversation with the 
 children. 
 
 At the end of one year's service they are subjected to 
 an examination conducted by the department in the theory 
 and practice of the gifts, the theory and practice of the 
 occupations, and a miscellaneous paper testing their gen- 
 eral knowledge on subjects relating to kindergarten work. 
 They are also required to submit the book work of the 
 year for the inspection of the examiners. They are then 
 admitted to one of the provincial kindergartens established 
 in connection with the normal schools, and at the end of 
 
TRAINING OP TEACHERS. 103 
 
 the second year are subjected to an examination on the 
 general principles of Froebel's System, the theory and 
 practice of the gifts and occupations, Mutter und Kose- 
 lieder, and practical teaching. A miscellaneous paper on 
 matters connected with kindergarten work is also required 
 at this examination. The examination is conducted by 
 examiners appointed by the Minister of Education. Can- 
 didates who pass the examination for directors are quali- 
 fied to take charge of any kindergarten in the province. 
 
 The director of the provincial kindergarten gives in- 
 struction to the teachers in training at the normal school 
 in kindergarten occupations, songs, and games. In this 
 way every teacher who passes through a normal school 
 for an ordinary certificate obtains a general knowledge of 
 kindergarten work and methods. The number of kinder- 
 gartens in Ontario in 1894 was 90, the number of teach- 
 ers 184, and the number of pupils 9,340. 
 
 JSTORMAL TrAIZS^ING COLLEGE. 
 
 The Education Department, encouraged by the suc- 
 cess of the training of teachers for public schools, was led 
 to make similar provision for the training of teachers in 
 high schools and collegiate institutes. The necessity for 
 this was the more urgent because, by the abandonment of 
 all nonprofessional work in the normal schools, it was 
 necessary that the high schools and collegiate institutes, 
 where the future teachers of public schools received their 
 literary instruction, should be conducted by men and 
 women well grounded in pedagogical science. Moreover, 
 it was felt that if the professional training of a teacher 
 was of advantage in the elementary work of the public 
 school, there was no reason why it should not prove help- 
 ful to teachers of secondary schools. The psychological 
 
104 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 principles which apply to the development of the child's 
 mind in the early stages of his education apply to his de- 
 velopment in all other stages. To require the teacher who 
 had to lay the foundation of a child's education to be 
 trained for that work and then to transfer the child to 
 teachers who had no training, involved a lack of continu- 
 ity in method and in development which could not fail to 
 be injurious to his higher education. 
 
 Accordingly, in 1885, several of the best collegiate in- 
 stitutes of the province were set apart as training institutes 
 at which candidates for standing as high-school teachers 
 were required to attend for about five months in the year 
 in order to observe the methods of experienced teachers, 
 and to receive such instruction from the principal as he 
 could conveniently give, without interfering with his other 
 duties. 
 
 Elementary and limited as this preliminary training 
 was, it justified the department in establishing a School of 
 Pedagogy with a regular staff appointed by the department 
 for the special training of high-school masters. For several 
 years the school was conducted without any practice 
 school. As a substitute for classes of pupils, the teachers 
 in training were themselves constituted a class, and their 
 powers of developing a lesson tested by practising on each 
 other, in the presence of the principal and his staff. The 
 want of a practice school was greatly felt, and so, follow- 
 ing out the principle on which county model schools were 
 organized, the School of Pedagogy is hereafter to be at- 
 tached to one of the largest collegiate institutes in the 
 province, and its name changed to that of " Normal Col- 
 lege." By this means the teacher in training will receive 
 the benefit of the experience of at least sixteen trained 
 teachers, and have an opportunity of studying methods in 
 
TRAINING OP TBACHEKS. 105 
 
 a practice school of over six hundred pupils. Separate 
 classrooms, waiting rooms, lavatories, and private rooms 
 are to be provided for the students and the ofi&cial staff, 
 in addition to those required by the pupils of the school. 
 The gymnasium of the institute and its physical and 
 chemical laboratories are also available for the students 
 of the college when required. 
 
 In all collegiate institutes in the province the leading 
 subjects of study, such as classics, moderns, etc., are in 
 charge of specialists — i. e., of men who have taken honours 
 at their university prior to their appointment, and who, 
 either by experience or by training at the School of Peda- 
 gogy have earned this rank. In order, therefore, to place 
 the students of the Normal College under the most favour- 
 able conditions for their development, all the Education 
 Department has to do is to appoint a principal and one or 
 more assistants to give the necessary instruction in psy- 
 chology, the history of education, school organization and 
 management in the Normal College proper, and to arrange 
 with the teachers of the collegiate institute for instruction 
 in the methodology of the various subjects on the high- 
 school course of study. For these services and the accom- 
 modation already mentioned the Education Department 
 pays the trustees of the collegiate institute the sum of 
 $3,500 per annum. 
 
 The Normal Training College opens on the 1st of Oc- 
 tober and closes on the 31st of May. No preliminary 
 written examination is required, and no fees, except an 
 examination fee of ten dollars. Before a student can be 
 admitted to the Training College he must possess first-class 
 literary standing, or be an undergraduate of the fourth 
 year of a university in the British dominions, or the 
 holder of a degree in arts. As it is considered important 
 
106 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 that teachers should not be placed in charge of a high 
 school until they have reached some maturity, it is pro- 
 vided that no student shall be admitted to the Training 
 College who will not have attained twenty-one years of 
 age on or before the close of the session. 
 
 Students are required to lodge and board at such 
 houses only as are approved by the principal. Ladies and 
 gentlemen shall not board at the same house. Commu- 
 nication between the sexes is prohibited except by permis- 
 sion of the principal or one of his staff. Students are re- 
 quired to attend regularly and punctually throughout the 
 session, and to submit to such discipline and to perform 
 such duties as may be required by the principal. 
 
 Courses of Study and Text-looks. — 1. The course of 
 study and trainiDg shall be as follows : Psychology ; the 
 history and criticism of educational systems ; the science of 
 education ; lectures with practical illustrations of the best 
 method of teaching each subject on the programme of 
 studies for high schools ; lectures on school organization 
 and management ; observation and practice teaching ; in- 
 struction in reading, physiology, and temperance, writing, 
 drawing, and stenography ; drill, gymnastics, and calis- 
 thenics for male teachers ; drill and calisthenics for female 
 teachers ; and such other subjects as may be prescribed by 
 the Minister of Education. 
 
 2. In addition to the text-books prescribed for high 
 schools, the following are used in the School of Pedagogy : 
 Quick's Essays on Educational Eeformers (International _ 
 Education Series, 1890 edition), McLellan's Applied Psy- 
 chology, Spencer's Education, Landon's School Manage- 
 ment, Fitch's Lectures on Teaching, Manual of Hygiene, 
 Infantry Drill, as revised by her Majesty's command (edi- 
 tion of 1893) — for male teachers, Parts I and II, and for 
 
TRAININa OF TEACHERS. 107 
 
 female teachers, Part I, pages 1-31 ; for male and female 
 teachers, Houghton's Physical Culture (omitting squad 
 drill) ; and, for male teachers, MacLaren's Physical Edu- 
 cation, Part II, sections 2 and 3. 
 
 3. The following are recommended for reference: 
 Mahaffy's Old Greek Education, Compayr6's History of 
 Pedagogy, Gill's Systems of Education, Eadestock's Habit 
 in Education, Dewey's Psychology, Sully's Teacher's Hand- 
 book of Psychology (Appleton), and Ladd's Outlines of 
 Physiological Psychology. 
 
 TJie Teaching Staff. — The principal is the chief in- 
 structor in the theoretical and critical course, and is 
 responsible for the organization and management of the 
 school. He determines the hours for instruction, observa- 
 tion, and practice teaching ; he prescribes the duties of 
 his stafE, and is expected to observe the practice teaching 
 of the students. 
 
 Each assistant is required to develop systematically the 
 best method of dealing with the special objects intrusted 
 to him, and to explain and justify his methods on scien- 
 tific principles, giving model lessons for classes in the 
 different stages of their advancement. He is also ta criti- 
 cise the practice teaching of the students, and to keep a 
 record of their standing. 
 
 Examinations. — The students are submitted to two 
 written examinations during the session, one in December 
 and the other in March. These examinations are con- 
 ducted by the staff of the school, and the results reported 
 to the Minister of Education at the close of the session. 
 Ifo certificate is awarded to any student against whom the 
 staff reports on account of deficient teaching ability. At 
 the close of the session, a written examination is held by 
 examiners appointed by the Minister of Education. The 
 
108 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 papers for this examination are prepared by special exam- 
 iners appointed by the minister, and certificates are awarded 
 on the joint result of the final examination and the report 
 of the teaching staff. 
 
 Following the methods of ihe German gymnasium, 
 the certificates awarded to students who pass the exami- 
 nation of the Training College are interim certificates — 
 i. e., the holder is authorized to teach as an assistant in a 
 high school for two years. At the end of that time, if 
 the high-school inspector reports to the Minister of Edu- 
 cation that the holder of such certificate has proved 
 successful as a teacher, the Minister of Education makes 
 the interim certificate permanent during good be- 
 haviour. 
 
 Specialists. — Students who have attained university 
 honours before entering the Normal Training College and 
 who have passed the examinations required by the Edu- 
 cation Department are awarded the standing of specialists 
 in the department in which they obtained honours. This 
 qualifies them to become teachers of classics, modern 
 languages, mathematics, or science in a collegiate insti- 
 tute. _ Those without this standing are qualified only as 
 teachers in high schools or in the subordinate departments 
 of a collegiate institute. 
 
 Teachers'' Institutes. — In order to maintain a profes- 
 sional esprit de corps among teachers and also to bring them 
 more closely into sympathy with current opinion respecting 
 their work and duty, the Education Department provides 
 for the holding of a Teachers' Institute in every inspectoral 
 division once a year. For the purpose of attending these 
 institutes, the teachers are relieved from school two regu- 
 lar teaching days in the year, without being required to 
 ask permission from their trustees. Any teacher who ab- 
 
TBAININa OF TEACHERS. 109 
 
 sents himself from the institute must report to his inspector 
 the reasons for his absence. 
 
 The Teachers' Institute is organized by the appointment 
 of a president, vice-president, and secretary-treasurer, with 
 a management committee of five. At least one meeting 
 of the institute must be held every year, extending over 
 two or more days. The management committee is to pro- 
 vide a programme and to send a copy of the same to every 
 teacher in the inspectoral division, at least one month be- 
 fore the time of meeting. The subjects to be discussed 
 are determined by the committee of management ; the 
 only limitation laid upon the committee by the depart- 
 ment is that all questions and discussions foreign to the 
 teachers' work shall be avoided. In order to encourage 
 the attendance of trustees, a portion of the afternoon of 
 the second day's session is set apart for considering mat- 
 ters affecting the relation of teachers and trustees. Boards 
 of trustees are allowed to pay the travelling expenses of 
 one representative from each board for attendance at such 
 meetings. The inspector of the county is required to be 
 present at all meetings of the Teachers' Institute. He is 
 eligible for appointment as president or as a member of 
 the management committee, but unless so appointed his 
 position as inspector gives him no more authority than 
 that possessed by any other member of the institute. 
 
 Every Teachers' Institute is expected to establish a ref- 
 erence library for the benefit of its members, and receives 
 for this purpose annually the sum of twenty-five dollars 
 from the County Council and an equal sum from the pro- 
 vincial treasury. An ofiicer of the department, appointed 
 for that purpose, visits every institute once in two years to 
 discuss with the teachers such questions as the board of 
 management may suggest, or as may be considered impor- 
 
110 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 tant by the director in the interests of education. Usu- 
 ally the subjects discussed by the director are settled by 
 consultation with the Minister of Education. Should it 
 appear from the reports of the inspectors that any subject 
 in the public-school course of study is neglected or badly 
 taught, or should there be any apathy among teachers with 
 regard to any department of school work, the Director of 
 Institutes, in a suitable address, calls their attention to the 
 subject so neglected, indicating the defects to be remedied, 
 and enforcing his admonitions by departmental authority. 
 The director is also required to deliver a popular address 
 in the town or city in which the institute holds its meeting. 
 The subject of this address is chosen with a view to increase 
 the interest of the ratepayers in education, to encourage 
 them in supporting more liberally and sympathetically 
 teachers whom they employ, and to correct such misap- 
 prehensions as might be known to exist with regard to 
 courses of study ; the regulations of the department or 
 the value of education in the development of a higher 
 national life. 
 
CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 HIGH SCHOOLS AlfD COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 
 
 Geammae schools, now known as high schools or col- 
 legiate institutes, occupy a midway position between the 
 public school and the university. Although the courses 
 of the public school and the high school * overlap as to 
 one form, generally speaking, it may be said that where 
 the public-school course ends the high-school course be- 
 gins, and, with a similar reservation, where the high-school 
 course ends the university course begins. By means of 
 examinations conducted by the Education Department an 
 organic connection is maintained between these three 
 divisions of the school system of Ontario. 
 
 History. — It has already been noted that in 1807 a 
 public school was established in each of the eight districts 
 into which the province was divided, and the sum of $400 
 appropriated by Parliament for the maintenance of each 
 school. The schools authorized by this act were as fol- 
 lows : One in Sandwich ; one in Townsend, in the county 
 of Norfolk ; one in Niagara ; one in York (now Toronto) ; 
 
 * To avoid repetition the term " high school " will be used as the 
 equivalent of the double term "high 'school and collegiate institute." 
 A collegiate institute is simply a large high school possessing a staff 
 specially trained to give instruction in classics, moderns, mathe- 
 matics, science, and commercial work. 
 
 Ill 
 
112 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 one in the township of Hamilton, in the county of North- 
 umberland ; one in Kingston ; one in the township of Au- 
 gusta ; and one in the town of Cornwall. As these schools 
 were about one hundred miles apart, it will be seen what 
 limited facilities for the education of the people were con- 
 sidered necessary about a century ago. It should not be 
 forgotten, however, that private schools, as local necessi- 
 ties warranted, were established at other places, some of 
 them conducted by men with a university education and 
 for moderate fees. Of all the private schools opened 
 during this period, the most successful was the one at 
 Cornwall, under Dr. John Strachan, afterward Bishop of 
 Toronto. 
 
 The first' grammar school — or, more properly speak- 
 ing, public school — in the Province of Ontario was opened 
 in York (now Toronto) on the 1st of June, 1807 ; the sec- 
 ond in Niagara in 1808. 
 
 By an amendment made in 1819 to the original act of 
 1807 the trustees of every school district were required to 
 hold a public examination previous to the annual vaca- 
 tion, and to report the standing of the schools and the 
 number of pupils in attendance to the Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor. Provision was also made in the same act for the 
 free education of ten indigent pupils, should there be as 
 many in each district. The school established in the 
 township of Augusta was transferred to Brockville, and 
 an additional school opened in Hamilton. In 1837 the 
 school established in the township of Townsend was 
 transferred to London. 
 
 In 1839 district public. schools were first called "gram- 
 mar schools," and two hundred and fifty thousand acres of 
 the waste lands of the Crown set apart for the purpose of 
 providing a fund for their maintenance. Authority was 
 
HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 113 
 
 given the Government to pay the sum of $800 for the 
 erection of school buildings in each district, provided an 
 equal sum was voluntarily contributed by the inhabitants. 
 Provision was also made for the establishment of two 
 additional schools in the district where suitable school- 
 houses were provided by the people and an attendance of 
 not less than sixty scholars guaranteed. The most im- 
 portant provision, however, of the Act of 1839 was the 
 placing of the grammar schools under the administration 
 of the Council of King's College,* with authority to the 
 Council " to make such rules, regulations, and by-laws for 
 the conduct and good government of the schools estab- 
 lished under this act as to such Council shall seem 
 proper." 
 
 In 1841 the powers vested in the Council of King's 
 College with respect to the supervision and administra- 
 tion of grammar schools were transferred to the Execu- 
 tive Government of the province, and provision made for 
 the investment of any funds that might accrue from the 
 sale of lands set apart for grammar-school purposes under 
 the Act of 1839. 
 
 In 1853^through the instrumentality of Dr. Ryerson, 
 then Chief Superintendent of Education for the Province 
 of Ontario— important amendments were made to the 
 Grammar School Act, of which the following are worthy 
 of special notice : 
 
 1. Municipal Councils were authorized to levy a rate 
 upon the taxable property of the district for the erection 
 of high-school buildings, the purchase of school apparatus 
 and text-books, and the payment of teachers' salaries. 
 
 2. The course of study was for the first time regulated 
 
 * King's College was the name given to the first university estab- 
 lished in Ontario. 
 
114 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 by act of Parliament. This course consisted of instruc- 
 tion " in the higher branches of a practical English and 
 commercial education, including the elements of natural 
 philosophy and mechanics and also the Latin and Greek 
 languages and mathematics, so far as to prepare students 
 for matriculation into the University of Toronto or any 
 college affiliated with the University of Toronto." 
 
 3. The Council of Public Instruction was authorized 
 to define this course of study, to frame rules and regula- 
 tions for the government of the schools, and to prescribe 
 the text-books to be used by the pupils. The President 
 of the University of Toronto and the president or other 
 head of all colleges affiliated with the University of To- 
 ronto were made members of the Council of Public In- 
 struction for grammar-school purposes. 
 
 4. Trustees of high schools were henceforth to be ap- 
 pointed by the Municipal Council of the county in which 
 the high school was situated, and authority given them to 
 appoint such masters as might be necessary and to dis- 
 miss them as they might deem expedient. 
 
 5. No person was eligible to be appointed master of a 
 grammar school who did not hold a degree from some 
 university or a certificate of qualification from a board of 
 examiners appointed by the Council of Public Instruc- 
 tion. The Principal of the Normal School was, by stat- 
 ute, a member of this Board of Examiners. 
 
 7. County Councils were authorized to establish addi- 
 tional grammar schools, providing the fund at the dis- 
 posal of the Government for that purpose would sustain a 
 charge of $300 for each new school after paying $400 to 
 all schools previously established. 
 
 8. Certain grammar schools were set apart as mete- 
 orological stations, and the principal of the school was 
 
HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 115 
 
 supplied with scientific appliances for taking observations 
 with regard to the fall of rain, direction and velocity of 
 the wind, the pressure and temperature of the atmosphere, 
 etc. For these services an allowance of $180 a year for 
 each school so constituted was made by the Provincial 
 Government. 
 
 The chief features of the Act of 1853 summed up are : 
 
 (a) That the appointment of high-school trustees was 
 transferred from the Executive Government, where it was 
 placed by the Act of 1807, to County Councils. 
 
 (b) That high-school masters were appointed by the 
 trustees directly, and not nominated as under the Act of 
 1807 for the approval of the Executive Government. 
 
 (c) That the Education Department of the province 
 was invested with similar powers with regard to grammar 
 schools as it possessed with regard to public schools. 
 
 (d) That grammar schools were regarded as a distinct 
 part of the school system of the province with a well- 
 defined course of instruction, and entitled to support by a 
 Government tax upon property. 
 
 (e) That the legal obligation was imposed upon them 
 of preparing students for matriculation into the provin- 
 cial university. 
 
 In 1855 the act was amended, authorizing the Educa- 
 tion Department to establish a model grammar school 
 for the training of high-school masters, and to appoint an 
 inspector of grammar schools. 
 
 In 1865 the Board of Examiners for granting certifi- 
 cates to masters of grammar schools was abolished, and 
 thereafter no person should be deemed qualified to be ap- 
 pointed principal of a grammar school unless he was a 
 graduate of some university within the British dominions. 
 Provision was also made for a course of elementary mili- 
 
116 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 tary instruction at high schools, and for the payment of a 
 grant of $50 to any school the principal of which was 
 qualified to give such instruction as would be satisfactory 
 to the Executive Government. 
 
 In 1871 the term " high school " was to be applied to 
 the schools previously constituted " grammar schools," and 
 a Board of Examiners was constituted for the admission 
 of pupils to high schools. The French and German lan- 
 guages were added to the course of study, and high schools, 
 with four masters specially qualified, were to be called 
 collegiate institutes. 
 
 This brief historical outline leads to the consideration 
 of the present constitution of high schools in the province. 
 
 High Schools— how established. — The Municipal Coun- 
 cil of any county may pass a by-law for the establishment 
 of a high school in any municipality containing not fewer 
 than one thousand inhabitants. The council of a city 
 may establish more high schools than one, as it may deem 
 expedient. All by-laws for the establishment of high 
 schools are subject to the approval of the Executive Gov- 
 ernment. Ordinarily the municipality in which the high 
 school is situated is the municipality responsible for its 
 maintenance. Several municipalities, however, may unite 
 for the purpose of maintaining a high school. 
 
 In the case of high schools situated in a city or town 
 separate from the county, the Municipal Council appoints 
 the trustees for the high schools. In the case of high 
 schools otherwise situated, three of the trustees are ap- 
 pointed by the county and three by the local municipality. 
 Where the high school consists of several municipalities, 
 each municipality is represented by at least one trustee. 
 Provision is made for the retirement of a certain number 
 of trustees each year, so as to maintain the continuity of 
 
HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 117 
 
 the office of school trustee, as in the case of public schools. 
 Any resident ratepayer, twenty-one years of age, who is 
 not a member of the council of the municipality or coun- 
 ty in which the high school is situated, shall be qualified 
 to serve as a high-school trustee. The Board of Public 
 School Trustees of any city, town, or incorporated village 
 may unite with the Board of High School Trustees. In 
 cases of such union, the public and high schools of the 
 municipality are under the management of one board, 
 called a Board of Education. This board possesses all the 
 powers which the law confers upon public and high school 
 trustees when acting as separate corporations. 
 
 Duties and Powers of Trustees. — The trustees have 
 power to fix the time and place of their own meetings, the 
 mode of calling and conducting them, and of keeping an 
 account of the proceedings of such meetings. They have 
 the power of engaging such teachers and other officers as 
 may be required, of fixing their salaries, and of dismissing 
 them as they may deem expedient. They have power to 
 expel pupils whose conduct may be deemed injurious to 
 the welfare of the school. They are required to provide 
 adequate accommodation according to the regulations of 
 the Education Department for all resident pupils, and to 
 see that the high school is conducted according to law. 
 They are required to keep the buildings in proper repair, 
 and to provide such equipment as may be required by the 
 Education Department. Any high-school trustee who en- 
 ters into a contract with the corporation of which he is a 
 member, or is convicted of any felony or misdemeanor, or 
 becomes insane, or who absents himself from the meetings 
 of the board for three months in succession without per- 
 mission, ipso facto, vacates his seat. High-school trustees 
 serve without any remuneration. 
 
118 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 High School Sites and Buildings. — The trustees have 
 authority to select a site for high schools without refer- 
 ence either to the ratepayers or to the Municipal Council. 
 By the regulations of the department it is provided, how- 
 ever, that the site must be at least one half an acre in ex- 
 tent, easily accessible, with the grounds properly levelled 
 and drained and fenced, planted with shade trees, and 
 suitably provided with walks in front and rear. Closets 
 for the sexes must be separate, in separate yards, and 
 properly screened from observation. The playgrounds 
 must be ample for physical exercise, and a proper supply 
 of drinking water must be provided. The plans for new 
 high schools are subject to the approval of the Education 
 Department. 
 
 In a general way the department requires the class- 
 rooms to be conveniently arranged and tasteful in appear- 
 ance ; well proportioned and oblong in shape ; twelve 
 square feet on the floor, and at least two hundred and 
 fifty cubic feet of air space for each pupil ; ceilings white ; 
 a suitable platform for the teacher's desk ; in three or 
 more masters' schools a special classroom for the teaching 
 of science ; in two masters' schools, provision for science 
 teacliing in one of the rooms ; separate entrances to each 
 classroom for the sexes, and separate means of egress to 
 the closets. Separate halls, staircases, waiting rooms and 
 cloak rooms of suitable size and of convenient arrange- 
 ment, furnished with benches and cap hooks, etc., for the 
 sexes, are also required. 
 
 In small schools a private room for the joint use of the 
 staff, properly furnished, is all that is required ; in large 
 schools with large staffs a separate room for the assistant 
 masters and for the female assistants is required. The 
 desks, blackboards, heating, lighting, ventilation, and ap- 
 
HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 119 
 
 paratus are all subject to the inspection of the depart- 
 ment, and schools deficient in these respects are either 
 reported against and are liable to the loss of the entire 
 Government grant, or the Government grant is cut down 
 as the defects in the accommodation of the school would 
 warrant. 
 
 High Schools, how stistained. — High schools are sus- 
 tained from three different sources : (a) a Government 
 grant, (5) rates upon the taxable property of the mu- 
 nicipality, and (c) fees from pupils. The Government 
 grant consists of (a) a fixed sum of $375 to each high 
 school ; (5) a sum varying from $100 to $300 on the con- 
 dition and suitability of the school premises ; (c) a sum 
 varying from $100 to $200 on the value of the equipment 
 (this includes the library, physical and chemical apparatus, 
 maps and globes, and gymnasium) ; [d) ten per cent on 
 th-e amount expended on teachers' salaries over $1,500, 
 but so as not to exceed $600 to any school ; {e) a small 
 sum is also paid on the basis of average attendance, and 
 the sum of $275 is annually allowed each collegiate insti- 
 tute as a grant for equipment. 
 
 The sum voted by the Legislature is divided, with a 
 view to encourage the improvement of the school prem- 
 ises, the equipment of the school, and the employment 
 of teachers of the highest standing. The advancement 
 of the high schools within the last ten years is ample 
 proof of the stimulating effect of this mode of dividing 
 the school grant.* 
 
 Trustees may require the Municipal Council to provide 
 
 * The annual grant by the Legislature of the province, in 1895, 
 for high-school purposes, was $100,000 ; but this sum is subject to 
 increase or decrease, as the Legislature may deem expedient. 
 
120 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 such sums in additioa to the Government grant as may 
 he necessary for the maintenance of high schools. Prior 
 to 1871 the Municipal Council was not obliged to impose 
 a rate for high-school purposes at the request of the trus- 
 tees ; now they can not refuse. A board of trustees can 
 not, however, raise money for the erection of a new high 
 school without the consent of the Municipal Council, and 
 if the Municipal Council decline, then the consent of the 
 ratepayers by a vote taken for that purpose must be ob- 
 tained. As all high schools, except those situated in cities 
 and in towns separated from the county, are considered 
 county schools, the Municipal Council of the county is 
 obliged to pay for the maintenance of the high school a 
 sum at least equal to the Government grant, or, at the 
 request of the trustees, a sum equal to the cost of the 
 instruction of a pupil at the high school. Owing to the 
 wide area from which the high-school pupils are drawn, it 
 would be unfair to tax the municipality in which the high 
 school was situated for the benefit of the surrounding dis- 
 trict. Municipalities, therefore, which do not establish 
 a high school for their own benefit, are permitted to enjoy 
 the advantage of the schools established elsewhere by sim- 
 ply paying the cost of instructing the pupils at such high 
 school. 
 
 High ScJiool Fees. — High schools, unlike the public 
 schools, are not free schools by law, although the trustees 
 in cities, towns, and incorporated villages have power to 
 make them free schools for pupils residing within the 
 municipality. Pupils who are not residents of the mu- 
 nicipality, but who live within the county, can not be 
 charged a school fee higher than one dollar per month. In 
 respect to resident pupils and pupils who live beyond the 
 limits of the county in which the high school is situated, 
 
HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 121 
 
 the trustees may either admit them free or impose such 
 fees as they may deem expedient. As trustees appear to 
 have a laudable ambition to have a large school, the fees 
 imposed are usually very moderate. In 1895 the average 
 for the province was a trifle less than five dollars per 
 pupil. 
 
 Entrance Examination. — A uniform entrance exami- 
 nation for the admission of pupils to high schools is held 
 annually at every high school, and at such other places 
 as may be approved by the Education Department, and 
 consists of an oral examination in reading and a written 
 examination in literature, spelling, writing, geography, 
 grammar, composition, history, and physiology and tem- 
 perance. 
 
 The papers for the entrance examination are prepared 
 by the inspectors of the high schools, assisted by such other 
 examiners as may be appointed by the Minister of Educa- 
 tion. These papers are printed by the confidential printer 
 of the Education Department and transmitted to the pub- 
 lic-school inspectors, who are, under the regulations, re- 
 sponsible for the proper conduct of the examination. The 
 answer papers of the candidates are examined by a Board 
 of Examiners consisting of the principal of the high school, 
 the public-school inspector for the district, and one other 
 person holding at least a second-class certificate with five 
 years' experience as a teacher, appointed by the trustees of 
 the public school and the trustees of the separate school 
 respectively of the city, town, or incorporated village in 
 which the high school is situated. The examiners are 
 paid by the trustees of the high school at the rate of one 
 dollar per pupil for conducting the examination and read- 
 ing the answer papers of the candidates. Pupils who 
 pass this examination receive a certificate signed by the 
 
122 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 inspector of public schools, "which entitles them to admis- 
 sion to any high school in the province. 
 
 Courses of Sticdy. — The high-school course of study is 
 divided into four forms ; each form is supposed to cover 
 the work of one year. At the end of the third form, a high- 
 school pupil should be qualified for matriculation into the 
 university. The work of the fourth form corresponds 
 as near as may be to the course of the first year at the 
 university. 
 
 The subjects of the high-school course consist of — 
 
 1. English, including reading, grammar and rhetoric, 
 composition, literature, history, and geography. 
 
 3. Language, including Latin, Greek, French, and 
 German. 
 
 3. Mathematics, including arithmetic and mensuration, 
 algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. 
 
 4. Science, including chemistry, physics, botany, and 
 zoology. 
 
 5. Commercial work, including bookkeeping, stenog- 
 raphy, and drawing. 
 
 English Course. — By the course in English a pupil is 
 expected to acquire a thorough knowledge of etymology 
 and syntax, the logical as well as the rhetorical structure 
 of sentences and paragraphs, and an intelligent and ap- 
 preciative comprehension of the best literature of the day. 
 By means of a reference library established in connection 
 with every high school, pupils are encouraged to acquaint 
 themselves with the best writers of the English language, 
 and, as the course in English is varied from year to year, 
 every pupil who passes through a high school will be 
 reasonably familiar with the works of all the great poets, 
 such as Shakespeare, Milton, Cowper, Wordsworth, Byron, 
 Scott, Coleridge, Longfellow, etc. 
 
HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 123 
 
 While it is the aim of the high school to cultivate cor- 
 rect standards, both as to writing and speaking, the minds 
 of the pupils are at the same time directed to the form of 
 expression which constitutes one of the chief beauties of 
 English literature and to the refining influences which 
 good literature should exert upon the mind and character. 
 The study of literature expands from form to form, the 
 pupil being constantly reminded as he proceeds that the 
 examination in the first form, which was largely a test of 
 the grammatical and rhetorical structure of his composi- 
 tion, will in the fourth form require a more comprehen- 
 sive knowledge of the whole field of literature, a better 
 vocabulary for the expression of his ideas, and more finish 
 as to style and rhythm of composition. 
 
 Language. — In the first and second forms the study of 
 language is optional, but the pupils are advised to begin 
 the study of Latin and either French or German. In the 
 second form they are advised to take up either the second 
 classical or the second modern language. As pupils can 
 matriculate into the university with a knowledge of three 
 languages — i. e., the two classical languages and one mod- 
 ern, or Latin and two modern languages with physical sci- 
 ence — the pupil makes a choice of his language course in 
 the second form, and this choice is the basis of his course 
 either for matriculation or for second-class literary stand- 
 ing as a teacher. 
 
 The language course includes a knowledge of gram- 
 mar, the power to translate into English and vice versa., 
 the power to read " at sight " in English, and in the case 
 of French and German to know the language conversa- 
 tionally. In Latin the texts are Csesar's Bellum Gallicum 
 and Virgil's -^neid ; in Greek, Xenophon's Anabasis and 
 Homer's Iliad ; in French and German the texts are those 
 
124 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 prescribed by the University of Toronto for junior and 
 senior matriculation. 
 
 Mathematics. — In mathematics the course consists of 
 advanced arithmetic, mensuration, algebra, six books of 
 Euclid, and a moderate course in trigonometry. 
 
 Science. — In science the course is largely experimental. 
 Every high school is equipped with a chemical and phys- 
 ical laboratory, and with all modern appliances for the 
 study of chemistry, physics, botany, and zoology. 
 
 Commercial. — The course in bookkeeping and stenog- 
 raphy is expected to qualify pupils for the work of banking 
 houses, insurance companies, customhouses, and excise. 
 
 Physical Culture. — By the regulations of the depart- 
 ment it is provided that drill and calisthenics shall be 
 taught during the regular school hours, and in organized 
 classes not less than half an hour per week to the pupils 
 in the first three forms. The course in these exercises is 
 the same as that prescribed in the military schools of the 
 province. When the weather is not suitable, or where the 
 pupils are physically incapable of taking this course, the 
 principal may dispense with it. Every collegiate insti- 
 tute (by that is meant a high school of superior standing) 
 is supplied with a gymnasium suitably furnished with 
 mattresses, rings, ladders, and other appliances for gym- 
 nastic exercises, where pupils receive systematic instruc- 
 tion from a competent teacher. Outdoor sports of all 
 kinds are encouraged, and many high schools have foot- 
 ball teams and baseball clubs, by means of which ample 
 physical exercise is obtained. 
 
 Qualifications of Teachers. — ISTo person is eligible for 
 appointment as principal of a high school (a) unless he is 
 a graduate in arts of some university in the British do- 
 minions, {h) unless he passes the examination prescribed 
 
HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 125 
 
 for the training of teachers in the Normal College ; and (c) 
 unless he has taught two years successfully as an assistant. 
 
 No teacher is eligible for appointment as an assistant 
 teacher (a) who does not possess first-class literary stand- 
 ing, and [b) who has not passed the examinations pre- 
 scribed by the Normal College. 
 
 The holidays in high schools are the same as those of 
 public schools in cities, towns, and incorporated villages. 
 
 High schools are inspected by ofBcers appointed by the 
 Education Department, who report annually to the Min- 
 ister of Education with regard to their standing, progress, 
 equipment, and all matters covered by the regulations of 
 the Education Department. 
 
 Upper Canada College. 
 
 Owing to the disputes arising over the sectarian char- 
 acter of King's College, Sir John Colborne, then Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, suspended the charter of the college, and 
 established in 1839 a Royal grammar school in the city 
 of Toronto, which has been known ever since as Upper 
 Canada College. About sixty thousand acres of the land 
 appropriated for grammar school and university purposes 
 were set apart for its endowment. 
 
 As regards its organization, Upper Canada College was 
 designed to be a residential school after the manner of the 
 great public schools of England, such as Eton and Rugby. 
 Its course of study was to lead up to university matricula- 
 tion, and by means of the discipline and supervision exer- 
 cised over its pupils in residence, it was intended to afford 
 moral, intellectual, and physical training equal to the great 
 schools after which it was modelled. For about forty years 
 Upper Canada College supplied the best preliminary train- 
 ing available for a university career. In later years this 
 
126 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 work has been divided with the high schools. Upper 
 Canada College differs from the high schools in the fol- 
 lowing respects : 
 
 1. It is a residential school, although a certain number 
 of pupils are admitted as day pupils. 
 
 2. No preliminary examination is required for admis- 
 sion. 
 
 3. Its trustees are partly appointed by the Executive 
 Government and partly by the alumni of the college. 
 
 4. Its courses of study and organization are not sub- 
 ject to the regulations imposed upon high schools. 
 
 5. It is not subject to the same inspection as high 
 schools. 
 
 Notwithstanding these distinctions, Upper Canada 
 College still prepares pupils for matriculation in arts, law, 
 or medicine. Its special advantages are not, however, its 
 courses of study, although these are equal to the best high 
 school in the province, but in the discipline and training 
 incident to residential schools, the freedom from distrac- 
 tion which residence of five or six years affords, the phys- 
 ical culture of the gymnasium and the playground, and the 
 development of self-reliance and manliness arising from 
 well-organized games and sports. These advantages, to- 
 gether with the broad and thorough literary training of 
 the college, have made it a very important element in the 
 educational equipment of the province for about sixty 
 years. 
 
 As at present organized the trustees of the college 
 recommend all appointments to the staff of the college, 
 and make such regulations as, in their opinion, are neces- 
 sary to its successful administration. Such appointments 
 and regulations are subject to the approval of the Execu- 
 tive Government. The staff of the college consists of a 
 
HiaS SCHOOLS AND COLLEGIATE INSTITUTES. 127 
 
 principal who resides in the college, four assistants who 
 also reside in the college, and as many day masters as 
 the attendance of pupils renders necessary, including in- 
 structors in drill and gymnastics, music and stenography. 
 For physical culture there are a gymnasium, skating rink, 
 a running course with ample grounds for cricket, football' 
 and tennis. The buildings now occupied by the college 
 were erected in 1890 at a cost of over three hundred thou- 
 sand dollars, and afford ample class-room accommodation 
 for three hundred pupils with dormitories for one hun- 
 dred and fifty boys. There are besides, a large assembly 
 hall, and a well-equipped library and reading room. The 
 fees for residence and tuition are $340 per annum ; for 
 tuition alone, $60 per annum. 
 
CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS AND EELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. 
 
 The Education Department is charged with the duty 
 of inspecting the different classes of schools which con- 
 stitute the school system of the province — viz., public 
 schools, high schools, separate schools, model schools, and 
 teachers' institutes. Normal schools are not made the 
 subject of inspection, as they are immediately under the 
 direction of the Minister of Education. 
 
 The inspectors of public schools in rural districts are 
 appointed by County Councils ; in urban districts, by the 
 Board of Trustees ; all other inspectors are appointed by 
 the Education Department. As the jurisdiction of pub- 
 lic-school inspectors is limited to one hundred and twenty 
 schools, the larger counties are divided into two or more 
 districts, each district being under a separate inspector. 
 For high schools two inspectors are required ; for sepa- 
 rate schools, two ; for model schools, one ; and for teach- 
 ers' institutes, one. Public-school inspectors are appointed 
 during pleasure, and are liable to dismissal for misconduct 
 or inefficiency by the Executive Government of the prov- 
 ince or by the body by which they were appointed. 
 They are paid at the rate of ten dollars for every school 
 inspected, and, in addition, reasonable travelling expenses 
 as the County Council may determine. 
 
 Qualifications of Inspectors.— '^he qualifications for a 
 128 
 
INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS. 129 
 
 public-school inspector are : (a) Five years' successful 
 experience as a teacher, of which at least three years shall 
 have been in a public school ; and (J) a specialist's certifi- 
 cate obtained on a university examination, or a degree in 
 arts from the University of Toronto with first-class gradu- 
 ation honours in one or more of the recognised depart- 
 ments of the university, or an equivalent standing in any 
 other university of Ontario, with a certificate of having 
 passed the final examination of the provincial School of 
 Pedagogy, now called Normal College. 
 
 A high standard of literary qualification has been fixed 
 by the department in order to secure the best men in the 
 profession for inspection purposes. This is all the more 
 important, as the inspector is a member of the Board of 
 Examiners that determines the qualifications of pupils for 
 admission to high schools and of candidates for teachers' 
 third-class certificates. On account of their standing and 
 experience, inspectors are also selected by the Minister 
 of Education to assist in conducting the normal-school 
 examinations, and in determining the teaching power of 
 candidates for second-class certificates. 
 
 The qualifications of inspectors of separate schools are 
 the same as those of inspectors for public schools. In- 
 spectors of high schools are selected from the most expe- 
 rienced and .successful high-school principals, and in- 
 spectors of model schools and teachers' institutes from 
 those who have shown special aptitude for that kind of 
 work. 
 
 Duties of Public-School Inspectors. — By the instruc- 
 tions of the department the public-school inspector is re- 
 quired to visit every school in his district twice during 
 the year, and to spend at least half a day in the school at 
 each visit. Where a school has several departments he is 
 10 
 
130 TBI. SCHOOL SrSTKJI OF OSTARia 
 
 required i:c> derot* half a day to eaeh dep^fftiuent. If it 
 is etuisideivHl aei^e^ary iu tbi? int«fiie« *>£ tb» sshool that 
 he shoKki extead iis visit ow?r a longer period oar visit a 
 
 sohov^I iv.cr^^ thaa twictf dtiriag the war, he is eipeeted to 
 do sv\ D'.;rir.ir ais itis^vcrio>tt he is lequired to wake 
 memorsjtaa of the swriiiiij of each class ssad of the pw*- 
 ficieaoy of the pupils iu the vjurioas sabje*?ts of the p«b- 
 KvNsoheol tviinsj" of s:aay, Iu orvier to satisfy Mms^ as 
 to the efBoieacy of the sc'acv^I. he is to examiue the cJass*® 
 h:^;sth", either orslly or by written wv>rk, so as to test 
 thk>ir\ii:g"r..y their atcai:',Mten:s and to keep a iw«Mvi of the 
 results of each exsminatioa. Wheiv he finds auy stibjev-t 
 badly tar.gbc as to iiu:hod, he is eipevned to illustrate by 
 the reaobi'-iiT of a uss^^tt; iu that suhjjeot how it sliouH be 
 tsuirh: fv^r the beiwti: of the teacher and pupils. Xotes 
 are takor. ot" the discipline of the schov»l. and an estiusate 
 formevl of the teacher's ticr.eiss for his position by study- 
 ing his Kisr.r.er and metho^is in teaching such sabjccts as 
 may Iv sssigiuxl to him for that purpose. Where the iu- 
 sj^vctor ti'ads di-fecrs iu orgsnijation or in methods of iu- 
 structic>n. he is nLHjairoil to pi>int them out toi the teacher 
 at the clv^se of his ir.sjwtion, sr.d at the same time to 
 make a record of them for consideration at his next visit. 
 With r\ irsrvi to the equipment of the sv'hool. he is to see 
 (a^ tiiat the s\'i:is:ers and class Iwks are prvperly and neat- 
 ly kept, and ascertain whether or not entries are made 
 therviu daily; (c^ titat the majx? are suitable and well 
 preservevl ; {c\ th;a: hiaek'?oarvls are in pn>j»er repair, and 
 that cra\-c»ns and bvns;;es are fully supi>licd ; (sA that the 
 furniture is sreneriuiy :\dev]ruate ; (if) that powper attention 
 is paid to the ';ioa:ing and ventilation of the roouts : (/) 
 th:5: the feiuvs and o;uhous^\< are iu prv»per repair; (j») 
 that the school ti!>r;iry is prv>|>erly care*.! for. 
 
INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS. 131 
 
 As soon as possible after his visit he reports to the 
 trustees with regard to the standing of the school, the effi- 
 ciency of the teachers, the equipment of the school, and 
 any other matter which requires their attention. If he 
 finds unauthorized text-books in the school, the equip- 
 ment deficient, or the regulations of the department gen- 
 erally neglected, he is required to make a special report to 
 the Minister of Education, who has power to withhold the 
 Government grant from such school until the defects re- 
 ported by the inspector are removed. 
 
 The public-school inspector is responsible, in a certain 
 sense, for protecting the good name of the profession, and 
 should he be aware that any teacher is guilty of immoral- 
 ity or has become so incompetent as to discredit the pro- 
 fession, he may suspend his certificate and call a meeting 
 of the Board of Examiners of the county for the purpose 
 of making a full inquiry into such complaints. 
 
 In addition to his duties as public-school inspector, he 
 is required to visit the county model school of his district 
 twice during the term, and to attend the meetings of the 
 teachers' institutes and to take part in their proceedings. 
 He takes charge of all local examinations conducted by 
 the Education Department, makes up such statistical re- 
 turns as are required by the department in regard to the 
 enrollment of pupils, their classification, local expenditure 
 for school purposes, etc. Though not appointed by the 
 department, he is to all intents and purposes an officer of 
 the department, and responsible for the proper enforce- 
 ment of all regulations respecting public schools and for 
 educating public opinion in respect to every question af- 
 fecting the educational interests of the province. In many 
 cases he is a judicial officer, as he decides upon disputes 
 between trustees and teacher or acts as an arbitrator in 
 
132 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 the selection of school sites or in the adjustment of school 
 boundaries. In the discharge of his duties it is assumed 
 that he will act from the highest motives and so conduct 
 himself as to enjoy the undoubted confidence of the public, 
 irrespective of any private opinion which he may entertain, 
 either on political or religious questions. 
 
 The duties of the separate-school inspectors are ana- 
 logous in every respect to those of public-school inspec- 
 tors, but, being appointed by the Education Department, 
 they are not in any way under the control of County 
 Councils. 
 
 High-Scliool Inspection. — For the purpose of inspecting 
 high schools the province is divided into two districts. 
 Each high-school inspector is required to visit the schools 
 of his district at least once a year. At the end of two years 
 he exchanges districts with his colleague. He is guided 
 in his inspection by the educational standard, prescribed 
 for high schools, and it is his duty to see that these stand- 
 ards are maintained ; he has similar duties with regard to 
 the inspection of high-school premises, the equipment of 
 the high schools, etc., as public-school inspectors have 
 with regard to public schools. He is also an oflB.cer of the 
 department, and prepares the papers for entrance to high 
 schools and such other examination papers of a profes- 
 sional character as the department may require from time 
 to time. 
 
 Inspection of Model Scliools. — The model-school in- 
 spector is required to visit all the model schools in the 
 province at least once in two years, and to see that they 
 are conducted according to the regulations of the depart- 
 ment. It is his duty to examine the model-school students 
 with regard to the methods of instruction practised in the 
 model school, to see that the practice school attached is 
 
INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS. 133 
 
 properly organized, and to give such advice to the princi- 
 pal of the model school and the teachers in training as he 
 may consider necessary for their welfare. 
 
 Inspection of Teachers' Institutes. — The inspector of 
 teachers' institutes is required to attend meetings of the 
 teachers' institute and to discuss such matters afEecting 
 school organization and methods of teaching as the public- 
 school inspector might suggest. He is expected to give 
 addresses on subjects of a popular or pedagogical character 
 ■which would tend to arouse greater interest in education, 
 to correct misapprehensions as to the work of the teacher, 
 or to excite a greater interest in literary or scientific 
 study. 
 
 Under the democratic influences which have so rapidly 
 developed in this century, it is sometimes feared that the 
 educational interests of the people may become subservi- 
 ent to the aims and ambitions of the partisan and the po- 
 litical adventurer. It can not be said that in working out 
 the school system of Ontario there is absolutely no polit- 
 ical interference, that trustees are always elected because 
 of fitness, and that teachers and inspectors are appointed 
 purely on their merits. In the latter case, however, no 
 matter to what political party the inspector belongs, the 
 public is reasonably well protected against incompetence, 
 if not against mediocrity, by the fact that no person is eli- 
 gible to fill the position of inspector who does not possess 
 certain fixed qualifications of a very substantial character, 
 Any partisanship in the discharge of his duties would 
 only invite criticism and imperil a position of great dig- 
 nity and of comfortable emolument. The experience of 
 twenty-five years shows that officers of this class fully 
 realize the responsibilities of their position, and although 
 several have retired of their own motion, only one, so far 
 
13 i THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 as known, has been dismissed because of his political par- 
 tisanship. 
 
 In the appointment of teachers, similar conditions pre- 
 vail. It probably can not be said that no trustee is unin- 
 fluenced in his choice by the political or denominational 
 leanings of the applicant. It may, however, be said that 
 appointments from political motives are exceptional, and 
 that teachers who exercise the franchise as citizens do so 
 without offensively interfering in political contests. Even 
 in Parliament, legislation with regard to school matters is 
 generally discussed upon its merits and independently of 
 those political considerations which so largely influence 
 the judgment and conduct of opposing political camps. 
 
 Religious Instruction. — In the early organization of 
 the public schools of Ontario, no rules were laid down 
 with regard to the religious instruction of the pupils. The 
 absence of any central authority for the direction of the 
 teacher or for the adequate inspection of schools permitted 
 a large measure of freedom in this matter as well as in all 
 other matters pertaining to public-school education. It 
 was not until the organization of a Department of Educa- 
 tion under a chief superintendent, in 1846, that directions 
 were given to the teachers either with regard to morals or 
 religion. 
 
 In the regulations of the department, issued in 1850, 
 the teacher was enjoined "to pay the strictest attention 
 to the morals and general conduct of his pupils, and to 
 omit no opportunity of inculcating the principles of truth 
 and honesty ; the duties of respect to superiors, and obedi- 
 ence to all persons placed in authority over them ; to 
 evince a regard for the improvement and general welfare 
 of his pupils ; to treat them with kindness combined with 
 firmness ; and to aim at governing them by their affections 
 
INSPECTION OP SCHOOLS. I35 
 
 and reason, rather than by harshness and severity ; to cul- 
 tivate kindly and affectionate feelings among his pupils ; 
 to discountenance quarrelling, cruelty to animals, and every 
 approach to vice." These, however, are moral obligations 
 necessarily involved in the relation of teacher and pupil, 
 and must be enforced in any school, eyen where the doc- 
 trines of Christianity are not the recognised standards of 
 faith and practice. 
 
 In the regulations adopted on the 5th day of August, 
 1850, the Education Department made its first advance 
 toward direct religious instruction, and " with a view to 
 secure the Divine blessing, and to impress upon the pupils 
 the importance of religious duties and their entire de- 
 pendence upon their Maker," the department recommended 
 that " the daily exercises of each public school be opened 
 and closed by reading a portion of Scripture, and by 
 prayer. The Lord's Prayer alone, or the forms of prayer 
 approved by the department, may be used, or any other 
 prayer preferred by the trustees and master of each school. 
 But the Lord's Prayer shall form part of the opening ex- 
 ercise, and the Ten Commandments shall be taught to all 
 the pupils, and be repeated at least once a week ; but no 
 pupil shall be compelled to be present at these exercises 
 against the wish of his parent or guardian, expressed in 
 writing to the master of the school." 
 
 It will be observed that the religious exercises here 
 enjoined are a matter of voluntary arrangement. The 
 School Act of 1843 provided that " no child shall be re- 
 quired to read or study in or from any religious book, or to 
 join in any exercise of devotion or religion, which shall be 
 objected to by his or her parents or guardians : provided 
 always that, within this limitation, pupils shall be allowed 
 to receive such religious instruction as their parents or 
 
136 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 guardians shall desire, according to the general regulations 
 which shall be provided according to law." 
 
 In these regulations religious instruction, at least so 
 far as the reading of the Scriptures and devotional exer- 
 cises were concerned, was given in the majority of schools 
 of the province with very satisfactory results. To improve 
 and systematize the religious instruction of pupils, select 
 Scripture readings were authorized, and a text-book was 
 prepared by the chief superintendent, entitled Lessons on 
 the Truths of Christianity for the use of public schools. 
 
 The importance of religious instruction, or at least of 
 the recognition of Christianity and its teachings, as part 
 of the educational outfit of the pupil, has been recognised 
 by the Education Department ever since the school system 
 was regularly organized, and where a proper regard is paid 
 to the conscientious scruples of parents and guardians 
 there is no reason why that recognition should not find 
 expression in an authoritative way. To make it obliga- 
 tory for teachers to conduct religious instruction of any 
 kind might be to impose a burden upon their conscience, 
 which no state authority has a right to impose. To au- 
 thorize them, if they were so inclined, to explain the 
 Scriptures might lead to the propagation of dogmas in- 
 compatible with their usefulness as teachers, and in- 
 volving departmental responsibility inconsistent with a 
 popular system of education. The Education Depart- 
 ment, however, impressed with the necessity of giving at 
 least a legal sanction to the teachings of Christianity in 
 all the public schools of the province, authorized in 1885 
 a series of Scripture readings and forms of prayer, the use 
 of which was obligatory in all public and high schools. If 
 the teacher had any conscientious scruples against the 
 reading of the Scriptures and the opening and closing of 
 
INSPECTION OP SCHOOLS. 137 
 
 the school by prayer, he was to be considered as discharged 
 from the performance of this duty. Parents or guard- 
 ians had the right to withdraw their children from such 
 religious exercises at their discretion. 
 
 Where religious instruction of a more formal character 
 was desired, the privilege was allowed the clergy of any 
 denomination or their authorized representative to give 
 religious instruction to pupils of their own church in each 
 schoolhouse at least once a week after the hour of closing 
 in the afternoon. Trustees have also the power of reduc- 
 ing the hours of regular study in order to afford facilities 
 for religious instruction. 
 
 The statistics of the department show that the regu- 
 lations with regard to religious instruction are generally 
 observed. In 1894 the Scriptures were read in ninety per 
 cent of th& rural schools of the province, and the devo- 
 tional exercises sanctioned by the department were used 
 in ninety- three per cent of the schools. In every urban 
 school except two the Scriptures were read daily, and 
 every urban school without exception was opened and 
 closed with devotional exercises. In three hundred and 
 sixty-nine of the rural schools religious instruction was 
 given by clergymen after school hours, and frequent visits 
 were paid to many other schools as an expression of their 
 sympathy with the work of the teacher. 
 
 In separate schools, whether Protestant or Catholic, as 
 already intimated, the Education Department assumes no 
 responsibility with regard to religious instruction. 
 
 Departmental Regulations. — From the interest which 
 attaches to this question, the regulations of the depart- 
 ment are given in detail, and are as follows : 
 
 1. Every public and high school shall be opened with 
 the Lord's Prayer, and closed with the reading of the 
 
138 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 Scriptures and the Lord's Prayer, or the prayer authorized 
 by the Department of Education. 
 
 2. The Scriptures shall be read daily and systematically 
 without comment or explanation, and the portions used 
 may be taken from the book of selections adopted by the 
 department for that purpose, or from the Bible, as the 
 trustees by resolution may direct. 
 
 3. Trustees may also order the reading of the Bible or 
 the authorized Scripture selections by both pupils and 
 teachers at tlie opening and closing of the school, and 
 the repeating of the Ten Commandments at least once 
 a week. 
 
 4. No pupil shall be required to take part in any re- 
 ligious exercise object-ed to by his parents or guardians, 
 and in order to the observance of this regulation, the 
 teacher, before commencing a religious exercise, is to 
 allow a short interval to elapse, during which the chil- 
 dren of Eoman Catholics, and of others who have sig- 
 nified their objection, may retire. 
 
 5. If in virtue of the right to be absent from the re- 
 ligious exercises, any pupil does not enter the schoolroom 
 till fifteen minutes after the proper time for opening the 
 school in the forenoon, such absence shall not be treated 
 as an offence against the rules of the school. 
 
 6. When a teacher claims to have conscientious scru- 
 ples in regard to opening or closing the school as herein 
 prescribed, he shall notify the trustees to that efEect in 
 writing ; and it shall be the duty of the trustees to make 
 such provision in the premises as they may deem expe- 
 dient. 
 
 7. The clergy of any denomination, or their authorized 
 representatives, shall have the right to give religious in- 
 struction to the pupils of their own church, in each school- 
 
INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS. 139 
 
 house, at least once a week, after the hour of closing the 
 school in the afternoon ; and if the clergy of more than 
 one denomination apply to give religious instruction in 
 the same schoolhouse, the Board of Trustees shall decide 
 on what day of the week the schoolhouse shall be at the 
 disposal of the clergymen of each denomination at the 
 time above stated. But it shall be lawful for the Board of 
 Trustees and clergymen of any denomination to agree upon 
 any hour of the day at which a clergyman, or his author- 
 ized representative, may give religious instruction to the 
 pupils of his own church, provided it be not during the 
 regular hours of the school. Emblems of a denomina- 
 tional character shall not be exhibited in a public school 
 during regular school hours. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 dei?"Omin"ation:al schools. 
 
 Under the Act of 1816 the trustees of common schools 
 were the sole judges of the qualifications of teachers. 
 They were also authorized to make rules and regulations 
 for the good government of the schools with respect to the 
 teachers and pupils and to determine what text-books 
 should be used, subject to the approval of the Boards of 
 Education for the district. 
 
 The Boards of Trustees, therefore, practically deter- 
 mined not only who should conduct their schools, but the 
 text-books to boused and the course of study which should 
 be observed both by teachers and pupils. In localities 
 where the majority were Protestants, Protestant teachers 
 were employed ; and owing partly to the scarcity of text- 
 books and partly to the education which the early settlers 
 had received in the schools of Great Britain and Ireland, 
 the Bible was almost invariably used as a text-book in 
 reading. Where the majority were Eoman Catholics they 
 had the right to use the powers which the school act con- 
 ferred upon them, and to direct both the secular and re- 
 ligious training of their children at the common school. 
 
 Act of 184-1. — On the union of Upper and Lower Can- 
 ada (Ontario and Quebec) in 1841, the establishment of 
 common schools and their improvement was one of the 
 questions that early engaged the attention of the Legisla- 
 
 140 
 
DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 141 
 
 ture. In his address at the opening of Parliament, Lord 
 Sydenham, the first Governor-General, used the following 
 language : 
 
 "A due provision for the education of the people is 
 one of the first duties of the state, and, in this province 
 especially, the want of it is grievously felt. The estab- 
 lishment of an eflBcient system, by which the blessings of 
 instruction may be placed within the reach of all, is a 
 work of difficulty, but its overwhelming importance de- 
 mands that if should be undertaken. I recommend the 
 consideration of that subject to your best attention, and I 
 shall be most anxious to afford you, in your labours, all the 
 co-operation in my power. If it should be found impos- 
 sible so to reconcile conflicting opinions as to obtain a 
 measure which may meet the approbation of all, I trust 
 that at least steps may be taken by which an advance to 
 a more perfect system may be made, and the difficulty 
 under which the people of this province now labour may 
 be greatly diminished, subject to such improvements here- 
 after as time and experience may point out." 
 
 In response to this request of the Governor-General, 
 Solicitor-General Day, afterward the Hon. Mr. Justice 
 Day, introduced a bill for the improvement of the school 
 system of the province. Petitions were presented to the 
 House urging the Legislature duly to recognise religious 
 instruction as an essential part of the common-school edu- 
 cation. As an illustration of the urgency of this demand, 
 the following quotation from a petition signed by clergy- 
 men and members of the Church of England may be 
 taken : " Wherefore your petitioners humbly pray that not 
 only may the Bible be recognised as the class book to be 
 universally taught in all public schools and seminaries 
 throughout the province in which Protestants shall re- 
 
142 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 ceive their education, but tliat it may be put into the 
 hands of all such scholars in its full unabridged state, and 
 that no part of it may be withheld from them." The Mod- 
 erator of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, on behalf of 
 the Presbyterians, prayed " that an enactment be made for 
 the use of the Bible in all the schools of the province." 
 The Roman Catholic bishops of Quebec prayed " that in 
 framing any school act for the improvement of education, 
 care should be taken that it shall contain no enactment 
 that can prejudice the interest of her Majesty's Roman 
 Catholic subjects." Of the forty-two petitions presented, 
 thirty-nine were from Protestants, and called for the use 
 of the Bible in the schools. 
 
 The bill submitted by Mr. Daly and the petitions pre- 
 sented with regard to education were referred to a select 
 committee of twenty-two — eight from Ontario and four- 
 teen from Quebec* As a result of the deliberations of 
 the committee, a bill was reported which received the royal 
 assent on the 18th day of September, 1841, and which con- 
 tained the following clause : " Provided always, and be it 
 enacted, that whenever any number of the inhabitants of 
 any township or parish, professing a religious faith differ- 
 ent from that of the majority of the inhabitants of such 
 township or parish, shall dissent from the regulations, ar- 
 rangements, or proceedings of the common-school com- 
 missioners, with reference to any common school in such 
 township or parish, it shall be lawful for the inhabitants 
 so dissenting, collectively, to signify such dissent in writ- 
 
 * The Ontario members were Messrs. John S. Cartwright, Mal- 
 colm Cameron, Duncombe, Merritt, Park, Thorburn, Francis Hinoks, 
 and John Prince. The Quebec members were Messrs. Neilson, Simp- 
 son, Moffat, Quesnel, AUwin, Christie, Morin, Child, Parent, Robert- 
 son, Holmes, Foster, Berthelot, and Viger. 
 
DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. I43 
 
 ing to the clerk of the district council, with the name or 
 names of one or more persons elected by them as their 
 trustee or trustees, for the purposes of this act ; and the 
 said district clerk shall forthwith furnish a certified copy- 
 thereof to the district treasurer ; and it shall be lawful for 
 such dissenting inhabitants, by and through such trustee 
 or trustees, who for that purpose shall hold and exercise 
 all rights, powers, and authorities, and be subject to the 
 obligations and liabilities hereinbefore assigned to and 
 imposed upon the common-school commissioners, to estab- 
 lish and maintain one or more common schools in the man- 
 ner, and subject to the visitation, conditions, rules, and 
 obligations, in this act provided with reference to other 
 common schools, and to receive from the district treasurer 
 their due proportion, according to their number, of the 
 moneys appropriated by law, and raised by assessment for 
 the support of common schools, in the school district or 
 districts in which the said inhabitants reside, in the same 
 manner as if the common schools so to be established and 
 maintained under such trustee or trustees were estab- 
 lished and maintained under the said common-school com- 
 missioners, such moneys to be paid by the district treas- 
 urer upon the warrant of the said trustee and trustees." 
 
 By section 16 of the same act, provision was made for 
 the appointment of Boards of Examiners for each city or 
 town, to be composed of not less than six nor more than 
 fourteen persons, half of whom should be Protestants and 
 the other half Eoman Catholics. The mayor of the city 
 or town was ex officio chairman of the board. The Catho- 
 lic section was given full jurisdiction over all the schools 
 attended by Eoman Catholics, and had a right to appoint 
 its own chairman. The Protestant section had similar 
 powers with regard to schools attended by Protestant 
 
144 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 children. In the case of mixed schools, the board, as a 
 whole, exercised undivided jurisdiction. This board, or 
 either section of it, had power to examine candidates for 
 teachers' certificates, to select the text-books for pupils, 
 and to make rules and regulations for the government of 
 the schools of their section. 
 
 By section 4 of the act it was provided that no person 
 should be appointed a teacher in any school who was not 
 a subject of her Majesty either by birth or by naturaliza- 
 tion, and who had not passed an examination as to his 
 ability as a teacher before the proper authorities, unless 
 such person belonged to the order known as Les Freres 
 de la Doctrine Chretienne. 
 
 This is the first recognition of denominational schools 
 by act of Parliament in the history of Ontario, containing 
 in these sections all the characteristics of the present Sepa- 
 rate-School Act of the province, viz. : 
 
 1. The right of Eoman Catholics to establish separate 
 schools for their own children. 
 
 2. The right to appoint teachers of their own faith. 
 
 3. The right to public moneys for the maintenance of 
 their own schools. 
 
 4. The right of members of a religious order to be rec- 
 ognised teachers without examination. 
 
 Act of 184S. — Owing to the dissimilar educational in- 
 terests of the two provinces the Act of 1841 was repealed, 
 and in 1843 separate acts were passed for each province. 
 In the act passed for Ontario, the principle of the Act of 
 1841 with regard to denominational schools was retained, 
 but in a modified form. 
 
 1. It was provided that no separate school could be 
 established for Eoman Catholics unless the teacher of the 
 common school was a Protestant, and no separate school 
 
DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 145 
 
 could be established for Protestants unless the teacher was 
 a Koman Catholic. 
 
 2. Application for a separate school must be signed by 
 ten or more resident freeholders or householders of the 
 school section or of the city or town in which it was pro- 
 posed to establish a separate school, and approved by the 
 council or local superintendent. 
 
 3. On such approval being given, the separate school 
 was entitled to receive its share of public grants accord- 
 ing to the number of children in attendance. Separate 
 schools, however, were to be subject to the same inspec- 
 tion as common schools, and the course of study to the 
 approval of the school superintendent of the district. 
 
 In 1850 it was provided that no separate school should 
 be established for Protestants or Eoman Catholics except 
 on the petition of twelve heads of families, instead of the 
 petition of ten householders, as under the previous acts. 
 Public aid was to be given upon the average attendance 
 at separate schools as compared with the average attend- 
 ance at common schools of the district. No change was 
 made with regard to other provisions of previous acts of 
 Parliament. 
 
 Although Protestants and Catholics were thus allowed 
 the privilege of establishing separate schools for the chil- 
 dren of their own faith, and although they shared in the 
 grant made by the Legislature for the maintenance of 
 common schools, they were nevertheless liable for all 
 assessments for the maintenance of common schools which 
 the municipality might impose. The effect of this pro- 
 vision of the law was that they were doubly burdened : 
 first, for the necessary school accommodation for their 
 own children; and, second, for the maintenance of the 
 common or mixed schools, from which they received no 
 11 
 
146 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 direct benefit. The Eoman Catholics claimed that as the 
 principle of separate schools at which they could educate 
 their own children practically in their own way was con- 
 ceded, and as they were permitted to share in the grants 
 made by the Government to common schools, they should 
 not be subject to this double burden. 
 
 Aci of 1852. — As a consequence of this demand, the 
 Common-School Act of Ontario was amended in 1852, by 
 which separate schools were allowed the following privi- 
 leges : 
 
 1. Where the supporters of a separate school raised by 
 subscription an amount equal to the assessment imposed 
 by the trustees of the common schools for common-school 
 purposes, then such separate-school supporters should be 
 exempted from all rates for the support of the common 
 school. 
 
 3. The Government grant payable to separate schools 
 was to be in proportion to the average attendance of chil- 
 dren at separate schools, as compared with the attendance 
 of common schools in the same municipality. 
 
 3. So soon as the supporters of separate schools ceased 
 to subscribe an amount equal to the sum for which they 
 would be liable for common-school purposes, then they 
 became liable for common-school rates. 
 
 4. A certificate of qualification signed by a majority of 
 the trustees of a separate school was sufficient qualifica- 
 tion for a separate-school teacher. Under the previous 
 act separate-school teachers were examined by the district 
 Board of Examiners. 
 
 5. Separate-school trustees were constituted corpora- 
 tions with power to impose school rates upon persons 
 sending children to or subscribing toward the support of 
 separate schools, and they were invested with the same 
 
DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 147 
 
 power to collect sctool rates as were enjoyed by the 
 trustees of common schools. This power they did not 
 possess under previous acts. 
 
 6. The supporters of separate schools were not allowed 
 to vote at the election of trustees for common schools. 
 
 Act of 1855. — In 1855 the question of separate schools 
 was again before the Legislative Assembly, and a short 
 bill passed repealing all previous legislation with regard to 
 separate schools, but re-enacting in a different form near- 
 ly all the privileges which the Legislature had conferred 
 upon them in previous years. 
 
 As the question had now entered the political arena, 
 and had been taken up with that intensity which char- 
 acterizes the contests of political parties, it became quite 
 apparent that any settlement that did not meet the rea- 
 sonable expectation of the Eoman Catholics was but to 
 prolong the struggle and to foster antagonisms which 
 might prove injurious to the future of the whole country. 
 Numerically, Eoman Catholics and Protestants were about 
 equal in population. The representatives from the Prov- 
 ince of Quebec alleged that they were justified in sup- 
 porting separate schools for the Catholics of Ontario, 
 because of the liberal concessions they had made to the 
 Protestant minority of their province. Parliament had 
 by repeated legislation acknowledged the principle of 
 separate schools ; then why should Parliament, they asked, 
 refuse such legislation as would give those for whom sepa- 
 rate schools were intended greater control over them ? 
 
 As a result of this agitation the election of members 
 of Parliament was largely determined by their attitude 
 with respect to separate schools. It was not, however, 
 until 1863 that a measure was approved by the Legisla- 
 ture which practically placed the separate schools in the 
 
148 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 position they now occupy, and ■which has in a large meas- 
 ure relieved the question of that acuteness, at all events, 
 as a political issue, which characterized it for the previous 
 twenty years. 
 
 Act of 1863.— The bill of 1863 was introduced by Mr. 
 E. W. Scott, member for the city of Ottawa, and now a 
 member of the Senate of Canada. This bill was sup- 
 ported by twenty-two members from Ontario and by fifty- 
 four from the Province of Quebec ; of those who voted 
 against it, thirty were from Ontario and only one from 
 the Province of Quebec. Although amended in some re- 
 spects by recent legislation, no material change has been 
 made in any of its main features. And so separate schools 
 for Roman Catholics and Protestants as they at present 
 exist under the public-school system of the Province of 
 Ontario may now be considered. 
 
 Organization of Roman Catholic Separate Schools. — 
 Any number of persons, not less than five being heads of 
 families, and householders or freeholders, resident within 
 any school section of any township, incorporated village, 
 or town, or within any ward of any city or town, being 
 Roman Catholics, may convene a public meeting of per- 
 sons desiring to establish a separate school for Roman 
 Catholics for the purpose of electing three trustees for 
 the management of such school. Notice of this meeting 
 must be given to the reeve or head of the municipality 
 or to the chairman of the School Board, and from the 
 day of the delivery and receipt of such notice the persons 
 elected at this meeting become a corporation for separate- 
 school purposes. 
 
 In rural schools three trustees constitute a corporation. 
 In urban schools two trustees are elected for each ward 
 into which the municipality is divided, the same as in the 
 
DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 149 
 
 case of public schools. Any person being a British sub- 
 ject, twenty-one years of age, is eligible for election as a 
 trustee, and any person twenty-one years of age who is a 
 separate-school supporter has a right to vote for a separate- 
 school trustee. Elections for separate-school trustees are 
 held at the same time as elections for public-school trus- 
 tees, and proceedings at such elections are in every respect 
 similar. Where the Board of Trustees asks the election to 
 be by ballot in cities, towns, or incorporated villages, the 
 elections are so held ; but instead of being conducted by 
 municipal oflB.cers, as in the case of public-school elec- 
 tions, they are conducted by oflBcers appointed by the 
 separate-school board. 
 
 Who are Separate- School Supporters. — Any person 
 who desires to become legally recognised as a separate- 
 school supporter is required to give notice in writing to 
 the clerk of the municipality that he is a Eoman Catholic, 
 and the supporter of a separate school situated in the 
 municipality or in a municipality contiguous to the one 
 in which he resides. Such notice exempts the person 
 giving the same from the payment of all rates imposed 
 for the support of public schools or for public-school li- 
 braries, or for the purchase of land for a scliool site, or 
 for the erection of buildings for public-school purposes 
 within the municipality or school section in which he 
 resides, so long as such person continues a supporter of a 
 separate school. It is not necessary that this notice shall 
 be renewed annually. 
 
 While this notice relieves the person from all future 
 liability for the maintenance of public schools, it does not, 
 however, relieve him from any obligations that may have 
 been incurred by the public-school trustees, such as the 
 payment of debentures for school buildings while he was 
 
150 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 a public-school supporter. As it would be impossible for 
 municipal councils to divide a municipality into public 
 and separate-school sections, owing to the fact that Prot- 
 estants and Roman Catholics are distributed generally 
 throughout the municipality, the law provides that any 
 person within three miles in a direct line of the site of 
 the separate school, who gives the notice required by law, 
 shall be deemed a separate-school supporter. The occu- 
 pant or tenant of any land within the three-mile limit, if 
 a Catholic, has the right to declare himself a separate- 
 school supporter and to require that any tax chargeable 
 on such land shall go for separate-school purposes. This 
 right he enjoys even if the land is owned by a Protestant. 
 Conversely, where the tenant is a Protestant and the owner 
 a Catholic, the Protestant will be regarded as a public- 
 school supporter. Although Protestants may, if they 
 choose, send their children to a separate school, they can 
 not claim exemption from public-school rates on that 
 account. 
 
 Joint-stock companies may under certain conditions 
 require that that portion of the joint-stock property owned 
 by Roman Catholics, or their relative interest in the prop- 
 perty, shall be assessed for separate- school purposes. The 
 policy of the law is to allow Roman Catholics the privi- 
 lege, where they have formed a separate school, of appro- 
 priating without any reservation, except as to previous 
 obligations, all their property for the maintenance of their 
 own schools. 
 
 If a Roman Catholic desires to withdraw his support 
 from a separate school, he may do so on giving notice in 
 writing to the clerk of the municipality, and in that case 
 he is no longer liable for separate-school rates, but he re- 
 mains liable for any debts incurred by the trustees of the 
 
DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 151 
 
 separate school during the time he was rated as a sup- 
 porter of it. Eoman Catholics are as free to support a 
 public school as a separate school, and, as a matter of fact, 
 some of them do support the public school even where 
 they are in reach of a separate school, although this is the 
 exception and not the rule. 
 
 Separate Scliools, how supported. — Separate schools are 
 supported (a) by a grant from the provincial treasury, 
 paid upon the basis of average attendance, subject to pre- 
 cisely the same conditions as the grant paid to public' 
 schools ; (J) by a rate levied by the trustees upon the tax- 
 able property of the supporters of the school. This rate 
 the trustees collect by officers of their own appointment 
 or through the collector of the municipality, as they pre- 
 fer ; (c) by fees from the pupils attending separate schools. 
 
 By law, separate schools are not free, as the term is 
 understood when applied to public schools, although as a 
 matter of practice fees are not charged by any Board of 
 Trustees in the province. 
 
 Separate- School Teachers. — There are two classes of 
 teachers employed in separate schools : one class known as 
 lay teachers, who are subject to the same examinations 
 and receive their certificate of qualification in the same 
 way as public-school teachers ; the other class known as 
 religious teachers, who are not, under the Separate-School 
 Act, subject to any examination whatsoever. Of those 
 employed in separate schools in 1894, 323 were lay teach- 
 ers and 391 teachers belonging to some religious order. 
 
 It does not follow, however, because religious teachers 
 are not subject to an examination, that they are either 
 deficient in regard to literary qualifications or exempt 
 from the control of the department. Should any teacher, 
 whether lay or religious, be regarded as deficient, either as 
 
152 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 to his power of maintaining order or of advancing the 
 efficiency of his pupils, it is within the province of the 
 Education Department to withhold the school grant in 
 such cases, and the trustees would be obliged to replace 
 such teacher by some person who would discharge the 
 duties satisfactorily to the department. Teachers of sepa- 
 rate schools are under the same regulations with regard to 
 their duties and privileges as the teachers of public schools. 
 Complaints between teachers and trustees are settled either 
 by the Minister of Education or before a county judge. 
 
 Courses of Study — Text-Books and Inspection. — The 
 courses of study in separate schools are similar to those 
 laid down by the regulations of the Education Department 
 for public schools. With regard to text-books, a gi eater 
 liberty of choice is permitted than in public schools. In 
 the majority of separate schools public-school text-books 
 are used, except in reading and history. 
 
 The separate schools are inspected by officers appointed 
 by the Education Department. These officers possess the 
 same qualifications as public-school inspectors ; they con- 
 duct the inspection in a similar way, and report annually 
 to the trustees of the school and to the Minister of Educa- 
 tion as to the efficiency and standing of each school. 
 
 With regard to the religious instruction which consti- 
 tutes an essential feature of separate schools, the depart- 
 ment lays down no regulations and exercises no jurisdic- 
 tion, nor does it fix any limit as to the time to be devoted 
 to this purpose. All that is required in order to the pay- 
 ment of the school grant is that the efficiency of the school 
 and the standing of the pupils are sufficiently meritorious, 
 having regard to the attainments of pupils of the same 
 age in the public schools. So far as departmental con- 
 trol is concerned, the Minister of Education stands in pre- 
 
DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. 153 
 
 cisely the same relation to the separate schools as he does 
 to any other branch of the school system, and no author- 
 ity, lay or clerical, has a right to interfere with him in the 
 legal discharge of his duties. 
 
 Protestant Separate Schools. — Side by side with the 
 recognition of the privileges granted to Eoman Catholics 
 for the establishment of separate schools for the children 
 of their own faith was recognised the jDrinciple of separate 
 schools for the children of Protestants. Such schools are 
 organized in the same way as Roman Catholic schools, with 
 these exceptions : 
 
 1. Protestant separate schools can not be established 
 unless the teacher is a Roman Catholic. 
 
 3. In order to be entitled to a grant by the Legislature, 
 the supporters of Protestant separate schools must subscribe 
 annually a sum equal to the amount which the supporters 
 thereof would be rated in order to obtain the Government 
 grant if such Protestant separate school did not exist. 
 
 3. Protestant separate-school supporters may witlidraw 
 by ceasing to subscribe for the support of a separate school 
 or by sending their children to a public school. 
 
 Protestant separate schools are established only where 
 a few Protestant families have settled in a school section 
 controlled by Roman Catholics. So rarely is that control 
 exercised in a manner distasteful "to Protestants, that only 
 ten separate Protestant schools exist in the whole province. 
 
 The qualifications of teachers in Protestant separate 
 schools, the text-books used, and the supervision exercised 
 over them are identical with that exercised in the case of 
 public schools. 
 
 Coloured Separate Scliools. — In a few localities in the 
 province, owing to the existence of large settlements of 
 coloured people, separate schools are permitted, at which 
 
15i THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 the children of coloured people attend. These schools are 
 organized, conducted, and inspected the same as Protestant 
 separate schools. 
 
 It must be observed here that while under the school 
 system of Ontario separate schools are allowed, there is no 
 cleavage of a denominational character beyond the elemen- 
 tary or public school. In high schools, as well as in the 
 university, no religious distinction of any kind is recog- 
 nised either as to pupils, teachers, or courses of study. 
 Should pupils, however, desire to absent themselves from 
 the religious exercises of the high school or the devotional 
 exercises of the university, they are at liberty to do so, and 
 are not amenable to any discipline because of such action. 
 
 It may be said that separate schools are necessarily less 
 efficient than public schools. This depends entirely upon 
 the vigilance of the Education Department, and the thor- 
 oughness with which the work of inspection is conducted. 
 Separate schools have no immunities under the school sys- 
 tem of Ontario by which the standards of elementary edu- 
 cation can be lowered or the intellectual improvement of 
 the children attending them impaired. The whole ques- 
 tion is one of administration, and the policy which pro- 
 duces an efficient public-school system will, if honestly 
 administered, produce the same results in the separate 
 schools. 
 
 Control of the Dominion Government over Separate 
 Schools. — Under the British North America Act, power 
 has been taken to pass legislation with regard to separate 
 schools where, in the opinion of the Dominion Parliament, 
 injustice has been done to the minority. For instance, 
 if it should appear that the Protestant minority in Quebec, 
 or the Eoman Catholic minority in Ontario, or in any 
 other province, were deprived of any right or privilege 
 
DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS. I55 
 
 which, they had by law at the time of the federation of 
 the British provinces in 1867, it is held that the Dominion 
 Parliament could pass remedial legislation restoring to 
 the minority, in such cases, the privileges of which they 
 were deprived by the Provincial Legislatures. In 1890 the 
 Legislature of Manitoba repealed all previous legislation 
 which had been passed for the establishment of separate 
 schools in that province, substituting therefor a system of 
 public schools for the province without any distinction as 
 to denomination or creed. Considerable litigation arose 
 out of this action of the Manitoba Legislature, the result 
 of which has been that the Dominion Government con- 
 siders itself called upon to interfere on behalf of the Eo- 
 man Catholics of Manitoba, with a view to the re-estab- 
 lishment of separate schools in that province. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 SCHOOL LIBRARIES, PUBLIC LIBRARIES, AKD 
 TEXT-BOOKS. 
 
 Ik the School Act of 1850 authority was given the 
 Chief Superintendent of Education " to employ all lawful 
 means in his power to promote the establishment of school 
 libraries for general reading in the several townships, cities, 
 towns, and incorporated villages of the province." 
 
 In order to assist in the establishment of such libra- 
 ries, the Legislature voted the sum of $12,000, and author- 
 ized the chief superintendent to apportion the same, sub- 
 ject to the regulations of the Education Department. In 
 1853 the Education Department sanctioned the expendi- 
 ture of this money for the establishment of libraries in 
 school sections and in townships as the local authorities 
 might see fit. Township councils were authorized to keep 
 the library in some central place in the township, or to 
 divide it into as many parts as there were school sections 
 in the township. When the library was divided into sec- 
 tions the trustees were required — at regular periods of not 
 more than a year — to see that the portion allotted to them 
 was transferred to another school section, and in this way 
 the books were removed from one section to another in 
 rotation. The Education Department also authorized the 
 preparation of a catalogue, and the choice of books was 
 
 156 
 
SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 157 
 
 limited to the list so prepared. The Governmeiit grant 
 to libraries was equal to the amount raised by the locality. 
 In order to guard against the circulation of unsuitable 
 books, the Education Department established a book de- 
 pository and imported books from the foreign market for 
 the use of section and township libraries. The book trade, 
 however, regarded such a depository as a competitor with 
 the legitimate book-selling business, and in 1881 the de- 
 pository was abolished and libraries supplied through the 
 ordinary channels of trade. 
 
 Although the effort to establish school libraries was 
 not as satisfactory as could be desired, they proved of great 
 advantage to some of the more remote parts of the prov- 
 ince. In the twenty-nine years during which the Educa- 
 tion Depository existed 398,743 volumes were sent out to 
 school sections and township libraries, valued at $178,516. 
 School libraries ceased to exist with the withdrawal of the 
 grant. Their place has, however, been more than filled 
 by the establishment of public libraries in all parts of the 
 province. 
 
 Public libraries were first known under the term 
 " Mechanics' Institutes." The first institute in Ontario 
 was opened in Toronto in 1835, and received a grant from 
 the Legislature of $400 for the purchase of books and 
 philosophical instruments. In the same year a library 
 was opened at Kingston, and in 1843 another at London, 
 all of which received aid from the provincial treasury. 
 
 In 1868 provision was made for the establishment of 
 evening classes in connection with public libraries, and 
 for the founding of a reference library to consist of books 
 on architecture, engineering and building, manufactures 
 and industrial art, agriculture and horticulture, technical 
 chemistry and experimental philosophy. The Government 
 
158 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 grant paid to each public library was to be proportioned 
 to the amount of money expended by the local board on 
 books of a scientific character. In 1873 public libraries 
 were subjected to the supervision of the Inspectors of Pub- 
 lic Schools who were to report with regard to them to the 
 Education Department. 
 
 Notwithstanding the anxiety of the Legislature to pro- 
 mote the establishment of public libraries, the progress made 
 was not satisfactory. The great difficulty in maintaining 
 them as the law then existed was the want of local support. 
 The directors were dependent entirely upon voluntary sub- 
 scriptions and the small grant made by the Government. 
 After paying the rent of rooms and other expenses of 
 maintenance the sum available for books was necessarily 
 very small, and it was difficult for the board to find the 
 means of supplying libraries with fresh and attractive 
 literature. 
 
 Free Libraries. — In 1883 an act called the Public 
 Libraries Act was passed, which authorized the municipal 
 council of any city, town, or incorporated village on the 
 petition of a certain number of electors, to submit a by-law 
 to the votes of the ratepayers for the establishment of a 
 free public library. A board of management was con- 
 stituted under this act, consisting of the mayor of the city 
 or town or the reeve of the village, three other persons to 
 be appointed by the council of the municipality, three by 
 the Public School Board, and two by the Separate-School 
 Board of the city or town in which the library was to be 
 located. This board was to have the power of purchasing 
 a site and erecting suitable buildings for a library and read- 
 ing room. It was also to have the general management, 
 regulation, and control of the library and reading room, 
 with power to make regulations for the purchase, circula- 
 
SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 159 
 
 tion, and distribution of books and papers. As a corpora- 
 tion the board had the right of fixing its own meetings 
 and carrying on its business independent of all municipal 
 control. The money required for buildings and equipment 
 was raised by the debentures of the municipality. The 
 annual expenditure of the board (not including buildings) 
 was limited to the amount that would be produced by a 
 rate of half a mill on the dollar on the real and personal 
 property of the municipality. In the case of cities with a 
 population over 100,000 this amount was not to exceed one 
 quarter of a mill on the dollar. The library and reading 
 room were to be free to all residents of the municipality. 
 
 The first free public library established under this 
 act was opened in Toronto in 1884. The expenditure of 
 the board on buildings and books has already amounted 
 to over $300,000. In addition to a circulating library, the 
 board of management has established a very valuable ref- 
 erence library of over 30,000 volumes. 
 
 Subsequently free public libraries have been opened 
 and maintained by the municipalities under the Act of 
 1883 in eight cities and in four of the large towns of 
 the province, with assets estimated at $330,000, contain- 
 ing 165,000 volumes, and an aggregate circulation for the 
 year of over 1,500,000 volumes. The appropriation of the 
 Government for each library and reading room is $350 in 
 cities and $300 in towns. The annual expenditure for 
 library purposes by the province (including local and 
 Government grants) in 1895 was over $150,000. 
 
 Minor Free Libraries. — The greatest obstacle to the 
 general establishment of free libraries is the cost of suit- 
 able buildings and premises. In small municipalities it 
 has been found, however, that whik the people may not 
 be willing to incur the larger expenditure necessary for a 
 
160 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 library building, they are not unwilling to contribute 
 annually a moderate sum for the purchase of books and 
 for contingent expenses. Accordingly, in 1895 the Pub- 
 lic Libraries Act was amended, authorizing municipal 
 councils to appoint a board of management for library 
 purposes, even where a by-law had not been passed for 
 the erection of buildings. In such cases the income of 
 the board depends upon the bounty of the municipality 
 from year to year, the amount of money received from 
 voluntary subscriptions, and the appropriations made by 
 the Government from the provincial treasury. Already 
 fifteen free libraries have been established under this 
 act, in addition to those for whose accommodation the 
 municipalities have made provision under the Act of 1882. 
 
 But there were still places of a more isolated charac- 
 ter, in which it was desirable to provide facilities for the 
 circulation of good literature, and where no aid was 
 likely to be received from municipal authorities. In such 
 cases it was provided that ten persons could constitute 
 themselves a corporation, under the Public Libraries Act, 
 with the right to appoint a board of management for li- 
 brary purposes. In this way a public library may be estab- 
 lished in any village, however small, but no grant is paid 
 by the G-overnment unless the board of management is 
 able to show that one hundred persons over twelve years 
 of age, fifty of whom shall be over twenty-one years of 
 age, have subscribed themselves as members — member- 
 ship in this case meaning that the persons so subscribing 
 intend to avail themselves of the privileges of a library. 
 Such boards are dependent entirely upon voluntary contri- 
 butions and upon the Government grant amounting to 1100. 
 
 This class of library is simply a modification of the 
 Mechanics' Institute Act of 1851, and has been of greater 
 
SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 161 
 
 service to the public than any other class of library aided 
 by the Government. In 1895 there were 318 libraries of 
 this class in the country, having a total circulation of 
 644,000 volumes. 
 
 Government Grant. — Public libraries are aided by the 
 Legislature, subject to the regulations of the Education 
 Department, on the following conditions : 
 
 1. The sum of one dollar is allowed for every dollar 
 invested annually by the board of management in the 
 purchase of books, but so as not to exceed $200 in the 
 case of cities, $150 in the case of towns, and in all other 
 cases $100. 
 
 2. A further sum of one dollar i^ allowed each public 
 library for every dollar expended on newspapers and 
 magazines for the purpose of a reading room, but so as 
 not to exceed $50 for each reading room. 
 
 Where public libraries establish evening classes, a 
 sum of three dollars is allowed for every pupil, providing 
 the class is composed of twenty-five or under, with an 
 additional allowance of one dollar per pupil for all over 
 twenty-five, but so as not to exceed the sum of $100 for 
 evening classes to each board. 
 
 Regulations respecting Puhlic Lihraries. — Public libra- 
 ries, for which the municipality has not provided the neces- 
 sary buildings, are subject to the following regulations : 
 
 1. The building selected for the accommodation of the 
 public library and reading room shall be conveniently sit- 
 uated and shall be easy of access to the public. The words 
 " Public Library " shall be painted on or over the outside 
 door of the building or in some other conspicuous place, in 
 letters not less than four inches in length and three inches 
 in width. 
 
 3. The rooms shall be properly warmed and lighted, 
 
 12 
 
162 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 and shall be furnished with suitable racks and files for 
 papers and with seating accommodation for at least ten 
 persons. The reading room shall contain on separate 
 files at least two daily newspapers, five weeklies, and three 
 standard monthly magazines. The Government grant 
 shall be based on the amount expended by the board of 
 management. 
 
 3. The library and reading room shall be open to the 
 public for the delivery and exchange of books and the 
 perusal of papers and magazines at least three times every 
 week, on such days and at such hours as the board of man- 
 agement may direct, subject to the approval of the Edu- 
 cation Department. 
 
 4. All books shall be properly stamped, labelled, 
 shelved, and kept in good order, and shall be insured for 
 the total amount contributed by the Government during 
 the last ten preceding years. 
 
 5. The Government grant shall be paid for books 
 bought within the official year, on the declaration of 
 the president and librarian that the books have been 
 received, labelled, and shelved. A receipted invoice of 
 the books purchased for the library and a certified ac- 
 count of the expenditure on supplies for the reading room 
 should accompany the declaration. Only twenty per cent 
 of the Government grant for books will be allowed for 
 expenditure on fiction. 
 
 6. All books, registers, and account books and invoices 
 used in connection with any public library, reading room, 
 evening classes, or art school shall be open at all conven- 
 ient hours to such inspection as the Minister of Education 
 may direct. 
 
 Evening Glasses and Art Schools. — By a reference to 
 the chapter on the Courses of Study in Public and High 
 
SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 163 
 
 Schools it will be seen that elementary drawing is one of 
 the obligatory subjects of study. In order to promote the 
 further study of this subject, particularly with a view to 
 mechanical and industrial purposes, the board of manage- 
 ment having charge of a public library is authorized to 
 establish evening classes in drawing, such classes to take 
 the following courses : 
 
 1. Primary drawing, viz., free-hand drawing from flat 
 examples, practical geometry, linear perspective, model 
 drawing, and object or memory drawing. 3. Advance 
 drawing, viz., shading from flat examples, outline drawing 
 from the round, shading from the round, drawing from 
 flowers and objects of natural history, and industrial de- 
 sign. 3. Mechanical drawing, viz., projection and descrip- 
 tive geometry, machine drawing, building construction, 
 architectural design, and advanced perspective. 4. In- 
 dustrial art course, viz., modelling in clay, wood carving, 
 engraving, lithography, painting on china. 
 
 Classes may also be formed in botany, chemistry, or 
 physical science, the course in any of these subjects being 
 the same as that prescribed in forms I, II, and III of high 
 schools. 
 
 In order to be entitled to Government aid, the board 
 of management must provide ample accommodation and 
 equipment for teaching the subjects in the courses pre- 
 scribed, and must be supplied with a staff of teachers sat- 
 isfactory to the Education Department. 
 
 Examinations are conducted annually by the Educa- 
 tion Department, and certificates, medals, and other dis- 
 tinctions awarded on the basis of such examinations. In 
 1895 there were forty-two evening classes established in 
 connection with public libraries, with an attendance of 
 966 pupils. 
 
164 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 Text-Books. 
 
 Since the appointment of a chief superintendent in 
 1846, the Education Department has had authority to 
 regulate the use of text-books in public schools. If un- 
 authorized text-books are used, the Government grant 
 may be withheld, and any teacher who negligently or wil- 
 fully substitutes any unauthorized books for the author- 
 ized text-books in actual use in the same subjects in his 
 school is liable, on conviction before a magistrate, to a 
 penalty not exceeding ten dollars. When, in the opinion 
 of the department, a text-book in actual use has to be 
 changed, notice is given that a new text-book in the sub- 
 ject is available, but no new text-book can be introduced 
 except at the beginning of a school term. 
 
 The policy of the Education Department with regard 
 to text-books may be briefly summed up as follows : 
 
 1. That so far as practicable there shall be but one 
 text-book in each subject in the course of study. So long 
 as pupils are required to purchase their own text-books, it 
 is considered undesirable that they should be put to the 
 expense of providing a new set in case of their removal 
 from one part of the province to another. Besides, as 
 the courses of study are graded with reference to the au- 
 thorized text-books both as a guide to the teacher and the 
 inspector, a variety of books would render proper classifi- 
 cation impossible. There may be some disadvantage to 
 the pupils in limiting their reading to one series of read- 
 ers, as facility in vocal expression is obtained largely from 
 practice over a wider field than a single text-book affords. 
 The abundance and cheapness, however, of literature of 
 all kinds for children, and the general distribution of 
 public libraries, have removed this objection, and an in- 
 
SCHOOL LIBRAEIBS AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 165 
 
 telligent teacher need have no difficulty in inciting his 
 pupils to read for themselves far more extensively than 
 could be done from the number of text-books in reading 
 used in any school. 
 
 2. That all text-books of doubtful merit shall be ex- 
 cluded from the public schools. Where trustees are al- 
 lowed to determine the text-books to be used, they are not 
 infrequently imposed upon by publishers who are seeking 
 a market for their goods. As trustees have no special 
 qualifications for judging whether a text-book is properly 
 graded or not, or whether the subject of which it treats is 
 logically developed, to allow them to select text-books for 
 the use of schools would be to confer upon them a power, 
 whether honestly exercised or not, which might injuri- 
 ously affect the mental development of pupils. Few per- 
 sons possess that knowledge of a subject and of the mode 
 in which the child's mind is unfolded which would qual- 
 ify them for presenting it, either as to matter or as to 
 method, psychologically. There should be, therefore, 
 some censorship which would guard the child from the 
 evil effects of text-books defective in arrangement and 
 matter and perhaps inaccurate as to statement of facts. 
 This censorship the Education Department of Ontario 
 assumes. 
 
 On the principle that no man can teach a school as 
 well as the trained teacher, the department has assumed 
 that no person can prepare a text-book except the person 
 who has taught the subject of which it treats. According- 
 ly, when it is felt by experienced teachers that the text- 
 book in any subject has outlived its usefulness, is deficient 
 or redundant with regard to any part of the field which it 
 is supposed to cover, or is wanting in logical arrangement, 
 or is obsolete as to the theories which it propounds, it be- 
 
166 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 comes the duty of the department to prepare a new text- 
 book in such subject. In the discharge of this duty the 
 department seeks out one or more teachers whose stand- 
 ing and experience are universally admitted, and intrusts 
 to them the preparation of the book required. For in- 
 stance, when it was found that the text-books authorized 
 in 1807 in the subject of reading did not meet with the 
 approval of the profession generally, a committee was ap- 
 pointed by the Minister of Education, consisting of three 
 men of well-known ability and taste and with large expe- 
 rience as teachers, for the preparation of a new series of 
 readers. One member of the committee was the holder 
 of a degree from the provincial university, another an 
 inspector of high standing, and the third a teacher of 
 wide experience. The department placed at their dis- 
 posal its reference library of 10,000 volumes, and sup- 
 plied them with all the text-books in reading that could 
 be obtained from the leading publishers of the United 
 States and Great Britain. They were instructed to invite 
 suggestions from the profession, and to read the works of 
 the best authors on the subject of reading. For nearly 
 two years they devoted themselves almost continuously to 
 the duty assigned to them. Whatever illustrations were 
 thought necessary were engraved from copies taken from 
 other text-books or from original drawings prepared by 
 the best artists available ; and as the result of their labours, 
 a series of readers has been placed in the schools which 
 the profession has unanimously received with favour. 
 The cost to the department was comparatively trifling, 
 while the advantages to pupils and teachers were incal- 
 culable. 
 
 In the preparation of other text-books, such as arith- 
 metic, grammar, or geography, a difEerent course was pur- 
 
SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 167 
 
 sued. In these cases a single teacher was advised that a 
 text-book in the subject in which he was facile princeps 
 was required, and, after consultation with the Minister of 
 Education and well-known experts, he entered upon the 
 task assigned to him. The manuscript was put in type 
 by some printer or publisher selected for the purpose, and 
 proofs were sent to a number of persons known to be 
 capable teachers and critics, who were instructed to com- 
 municate with the author or the Minister of Education. 
 Every part of the work was therefore subjected to the 
 closest scrutiny; inaccuracies were sure to be detected and 
 all reasonable doubts removed as to the usefulness of the 
 work when completed. The cost of revising or even re- 
 setting the book three or four times, as has often hap- 
 pened, was considered a small matter where the interests 
 of half a million children were involved. By the adop- 
 tion of this course, the department has obtained in every 
 subject text-books which are reasonably satisfactory, and 
 which conform to sound principles of pedagogy as under- 
 stood by the best members of the profession. 
 
 When a text-book is prepared by a single teacher or 
 by one or more teachers without disturbing their profes- 
 sional engagements, instead of paying them a fixed sum 
 of money for their work, they are allowed a royalty of ten 
 per cent on the retail price of each book, such royalty to 
 be paid by the publisher authorized by the department to 
 place the book upon the market. 
 
 As a matter of practice the text-books in every subject 
 except reading are revised decennially, and a notice of one 
 or two years given to teachers and the publishing trade 
 that a new text-book is forthcoming. The pupils are in 
 this way protected against the purchase of books under 
 the impression that their use will be continued, and the 
 
168 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 trade warned against the issiie of a large edition whicli 
 will be unsalable when a new book is authorized. 
 
 3. That Canadian authorship should be encouraged. 
 While the department holds itself free to authorize the 
 
 best book in any subject, no matter where published, it is 
 considered desirable to encourage the profession by the 
 prospective rewards of authorship. The prizes in the pro- 
 fession are at best both limited in number and moderate 
 as to value, and any incentive which authorship might 
 afford is due to the men who may have given to the pro- 
 fession all their energy and talent. Where it is found, 
 however, that a book of special value has been published, 
 either in Great Britain or the United States, there is no 
 hesitation in authorizing such book for the schools of 
 Ontario. This applies particularly to text-books required 
 in high schools, and to which the " one text-book " policy 
 of the department is not so rigidly applied. 
 
 4. That the quality and price of text-books should be 
 regulated. 
 
 When a text-book has been approved by the depart- 
 ment it becomes the duty of the Minister of Education to 
 find a publisher who will place the book upon the market. 
 As the book is sure to have a wide sale, and there is no 
 danger of any loss from depreciated stock, publishers are 
 easily found to undertake this task, particularly as there 
 is no competition and can be no competition with regard 
 to the sale. Having found a publisher, the next duty is 
 to settle the quality of the book as to paper, binding, etc., 
 the character of the type to be used, and the price to the 
 purchaser. Through an officer of the Government known 
 as the Queen's Printer, who is charged with the publica- 
 tion of all parliamentary documents, and who is by virtue 
 of his oifice an expert printer, the desired quality of paper, 
 
SCHOOL LIBRAKIBS AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 169 
 
 binding, typography, and price are easily adjusted ; and 
 as soon as an agreement is arrived at the publisher is re- 
 quired to enter into a contract with the department con- 
 taining the following provisions : 
 
 1. That the publisher will, during the time such book 
 is authorized, publish each and every edition of the book 
 on the quality of paper and according to the style of bind- 
 ing approved of, and will not vary either during the pe- 
 riod of authorization, under the penalty of having the 
 right of publication withdrawn, or any book not published 
 according to the standard confiscated by the department. 
 
 2. In order to enforce this agreement, the Minister of 
 Education reserves to himself the right, through an officer 
 appointed for the purpose, to examine all text-books dur- 
 ing the process of manufacture as to the quality of paper 
 used, the quality of the ink employed in printing, the 
 material used in binding, and to see that in every detail 
 the agreement is faithfully carried out. Should this officer 
 find in the warehouse of any publisher books of inferior 
 workmanship, he has power to prevent such books being 
 placed upon the market ; the loss in that case being the 
 publisher's loss. 
 
 3. In order that the purchaser of the book may have 
 no doubt as to the price he should pay for it, it is re- 
 quired by the department that the price at which the 
 book is to be sold shall be stamped on the outside cover 
 of the book in conspicuous figures ; and in order that the 
 retail trade may have a reasonable profit upon the sale of 
 these books, the publisher is required to allow such dis- 
 counts upon the retail price as may have been fixed by the 
 Minister of Education. These discounts are graduated, 
 according to trade usage, on the quantity sold to any pur- 
 chaser. 
 
170 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 4. As it may happen that during the time a book re- 
 mains on the anthorized list of text-books the cost of 
 paper and labour may materially decline, the Minister of 
 Education has power under the agreement with the pub- 
 lishers to vary the price at which the book was originally 
 placed upon the market. This he is not supposed to do 
 capriciously, but only upon due inquiry and with reason- 
 able regard to the rights and interests of the publisher. 
 
 5. As the publisher of a text-book when first placed 
 upon the market is usually put to some extra cost, in the 
 matter of type-setting, making plates, etc., such original 
 publisher is allowed the exclusive right to sell the book for 
 a period of two or three years, the time depending upon the 
 cost of preparation. At the end of that period any other 
 publisher, on the permission of the Minister of Education 
 and on entering into au agreement with the department, 
 is allowed to publish such text-book. This is to prevent 
 the monopoly of publication by one publishing house. It 
 also encourages publishers, if they so desire and can afford 
 it, to sell books at a lower price than that fixed by the 
 department. 
 
 6. All text-books are authorized for a period of five 
 years at least, and any text-bookmay be withdrawn by the 
 Minister of Education at any time after five years on giv- 
 ing one year's notice to the publisher. In this way loss 
 to the publisher and the public is guarded against. 
 
 7. As a guarantee that the contract entered into by the 
 publisher with the Education Department will be carried 
 out in good faith, the publisher is required to give security 
 in a penal sum of $5,000. 
 
 The objections urged to the text-book policy of the 
 Education Department are : 
 
 («) That it discourages the production of original work. 
 
SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 171 
 
 In answer to this it may be said that any author is at lib- 
 erty to publish any text-book and to promote its sale at 
 pleasure among the teachers of the country. If it is found 
 that a book published in this way is specially meritorious 
 and commends itself to the profession, the Education De- 
 partment is free to enter into any arrangement with the 
 author of such a book for its use in the province. Origi- 
 nality is sure to meet with appreciation ; but whatever loss 
 occurs in this respect is more than compensated for by 
 preventing useless and defective books from being forced 
 upon Boards of Trustees and teachers by speculative pub- 
 lishers. 
 
 (b) It is said that this policy encourages monopoly and 
 prevents the publication of low-priced books. The an- 
 swer to this is that there can be no monopoly when the 
 price is fixed by the department, and when all publishers 
 after a limited time are permitted to publish any author- 
 ized text-book. As to quality, the policy of the depart- 
 ment is equally effective ; for a new publisher in order to 
 promote the sale of a text-book may, if he desire, improve 
 the quality of the paper, typography, or binding, and sell 
 it at a price lower than that fixed by the department, as 
 the department merely regulates the maximum price, not 
 the minimum. 
 
 (c) It is said that this policy prevents such changes in 
 text-books as improved methods of teaching might re- 
 quire. Not necessarily. As a matter of fact, it is found 
 desirable to prevent too frequent changes of text-books and 
 the consequent disorganization of schools. Besides, no 
 publisher has a better opportunity of knowing the educa- 
 tional wants of the people than the Minister of Education 
 through his inspectors and the profession with whom he 
 comes continually in contact. In dealing with a question 
 
172 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 so closely connected with the education of the people, the 
 responsibility of changing text-books should rest with some 
 properly constituted authority, and not with those who 
 might be influenced to suggest a change because of the 
 material advantages thereby afforded. 
 
 It is true that this duty casts upon the department a 
 great responsibility, but so does the duty of organizing a 
 course of study, the duty of inspecting schools, and the 
 duty of providing trained teachers. The limit of respon- 
 sibility should be the public interests involved ; and as the 
 whole system of education might be vitiated by defective 
 text-books, the Education Department would be unable to 
 discharge its full responsibility to the public without deal- 
 ing with the subject of text-books in the same careful and 
 intelligent manner as it is expected to deal with all other 
 subjects affecting the education of the people. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE PfiOVINCIAL UNIVERSITY. 
 
 The subject of higher education engaged the atten- 
 tion of the Legislature of Ontario from its earliest infancy. 
 Even before his arrival in Ontario, Lieutenant-Governor 
 Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of the Province, in 
 a letter to Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Eoyal So- 
 ciety, said : " I should be glad to lay the foundation stone 
 of some society that might hereafter conduce to the exten- 
 sion of science ; a college of a higher class would be emi- 
 nently useful, and would give a tone of principle and 
 manners that would be of infinite support to the Govern- 
 ment." And a month before the close of his official term 
 he wrote to the Duke of Portland, Colonial Secretary, 
 suggesting the appropriation of public lands for educa- 
 tional purposes, " the first and chief of which must be 
 the erection and endowment of a university from which, 
 more than any other source or circumstance whatever, a 
 grateful attachment to his Majesty, morality, and religion, 
 will be fostered and take root throughout the whole prov- 
 ince." 
 
 Influenced no doubt by Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe's 
 anxiety on behalf of education, the Legislature on the 3d 
 of July, 1797, petitioned the Imperial Government to set 
 apart a portion of the waste lands of the province " for 
 the establishment of a respectable grammar school in each 
 
 173 
 
174 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 district thereof, and also of a college or university, -where 
 the youth of the country may be enabled to perfect them- 
 selves in the different branches of liberal knowledge." 
 The petition of the Legislature was favourably entertained 
 by the imperial authorities, and as a result 500,000 acres 
 of the waste lands of the Crown were set apart for educa- 
 tional purposes, half of which was to be applied to the 
 establishment and maintenance of a grammar school in 
 each of the four districts into which the province was di- 
 vided, and the other half for the maintenance of a univer- 
 sity. The exact amount of land appropriated in conse- 
 quence of this petition was 550,274 acres. 
 
 In 1835 it was suggested that as the lands appropriated 
 were unsalable, a portion of them might be exchanged 
 for other lands held by the Crown in older townships 
 which had become comparatively valuable under the in- 
 fluence of settlement and cultivation ; and in 1826 Dr. 
 Strachan was sent to England to press on the attention of 
 the Imperial Government the expediency of this course 
 and the advisability of granting a royal charter for the 
 establishment of the proposed university. In March, 1827, 
 Dr. Strachan returned to Ontario, having in the mean- 
 time obtained a charter for the establishment of a univer- 
 sity to be known as King's College. The lands intended 
 for university purposes were vested in the corporation 
 created by this charter ; the charter was dated the 15th 
 of March, 1827. 
 
 The university thus established was strictly sectarian 
 in its control and management, and was in fact a univer- 
 sity of the Church of England in Canada. The bishop 
 of the diocese was made ex officio visitor of the college ; 
 the Archdeacon of York was made ex officio its president ; 
 each of the seven professors who were to be members of its 
 
THE PROVINCIAL UNIVERSITY. 175 
 
 council was required to be also a member of the " Estab- 
 lished United Church of England and Ireland," and, before 
 his admission into the college, " to sign and subscribe to 
 the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion as declared and set 
 forth in the Book of Common Prayer." Provision was 
 made for the recognition of Divinity as one of the facul- 
 ties, though no religious test or qualification was to be 
 required of, or appointed for, any matriculant into any 
 faculty except that of Divinity. In explanation of the 
 fact that such a liberal public endowment should have been 
 placed under the control of a single religious denomi- 
 nation, and of the still more singular fact that such a char- 
 ter should have been put forward as " not only the most 
 open charter for a university that had ever been granted, 
 but the most liberal that could be framed on constitu- 
 tional principles," it should be borne in mind that the 
 Church of England was then virtually, if not legally, the 
 established Church of Ontario, and that subscription to 
 the Thirty-nine Articles was then required, not merely of 
 all who had any share in the control of the Universities 
 of Oxford and Cambridge, but of all who proposed to take 
 a degree in any faculty. 
 
 The granting of a charter so exclusive in its privileges 
 and so distinctly sectarian created great dissatisfaction in 
 the province, and an appeal was made to the Imperial 
 Parliament for such modifications as would enable all 
 persons, irrespective of their denominational preferences, 
 to avail themselves of the privileges which a university 
 was intended to confer. The views of the Legislature on 
 his point were so well expressed in the report of a com- 
 mittee appointed to consider the matter as to render them 
 worthy of quotation. The committee said : " A university 
 should not be a school of politics or of sectarian views. 
 
176 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 It should have about it no appearance of partiality or ex- 
 clusion. Its portals should be thrown open to all, and 
 upon none who enter should any influence be exerted to 
 attach them to a particular creed or church. It should 
 be a source of intellectual and moral light and animation, 
 from which the glorious irradiations of literature and 
 science may descend upon all with equal lustre and power. 
 Such an institution would be a blessing to a country, its 
 pride and glory." 
 
 As a result of the controversies in the Legislature, the 
 charter of King's College was suspended by Sir John Col- 
 borne, Lieutenant-Governor of the Province, and in 1839, 
 by order of the Executive Government, a college known 
 as Upper Canada College was founded and endowed with 
 part of the land set apart for grammar schools and the 
 university. 
 
 Act of 18S7. — In the meantime the discussions with 
 regard to the sectarian character of the charter of King's 
 College occupied the attention of the Legislative As- 
 sembly. In 1837 a statute was passed removing the col- 
 lege from the direct control of the Anglican Church, and 
 declaring that no religious test should be required of any 
 person appointed on the college council or any professor 
 appointed to the faculty " other than a declaration that 
 they believe in the authenticity and divine inspiration of 
 the Old and New Testaments, and the doctrine of the 
 Trinity, and that no religious test or qualification he re- 
 quired for any person admitted or matriculated as scholars 
 within the said college, or of persons admitted to any de- 
 gree or faculty." * 
 
 * Although the university was generally declared to be non- 
 sectarian, a chair in Divinity was still retained, and degrees in 
 Divinity were to be conferred as in other courses of study. 
 
THE PROVINCIAL UNIVERSITY. 177 
 
 Owing to political disturbances and other causes the 
 erection of the necessary buildings for the university was 
 delayed from time to time, but after an interval of nearly 
 iifty years the good intentions of Lieutenant-Governor 
 Simcoe were to be realized ; and on the 23d of April, 1842, 
 Sir Charles Bagot, Lieutenant-Governor of Canada, laid 
 the foundation stone of the University of King's College 
 in what is now known as Queen's Park in the city of 
 Toronto. On the 8th of June, pending the completion 
 of the building, the first session of the university was 
 held in the old Parliament buildings, with an enrolment 
 of thirty-one students. 
 
 Act of 184-9. — In 1849 an act was passed which com- 
 pletely secularized King's College, and changed its name 
 to the University of Toronto. By this act the Governor- 
 General of the Province was made visitor, the chancellor 
 was to be elected triennially by the Convocation, and the 
 vice-chancellor biennially by the Senate. The three 
 faculties of law, medicine, and arts were organized under 
 deans of their own appointment, and authorized to enact 
 by-laws for their own government, subject to the confirma- 
 tion of the Senate. The general government and disci- 
 pline of the university, in subordination to the Senate, 
 was vested in a " caput " composed of five meinbers, the 
 president of the university, the three deans of faculties, 
 and a representative elected by convocation. An endow- 
 ment board was also provided for the management of the 
 funds of the university. A Senate was created to which 
 were intrusted all the academic interests of the uni- 
 versity. 
 
 In order to make it perfectly clear that the university 
 was entirely relieved of all denominational taint, it was 
 provided that the chancellor should not be " a minister 
 13 
 
178 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTAEIO. 
 
 or ecclesiastical teacher under or according to any form 
 of religious faith whatsoever." A similar restriction was 
 placed upon the Government in its appointment of mem- 
 bers of the Senate. The faculty of Divinity, and with it 
 the professorship of the same subject, was abolished, and 
 the right to confer degrees in Divinity was expressly 
 abrogated. 
 
 Act of 1853. — In 1853 the University Act was further 
 amended, and several important changes were made : 
 1. Following the example of the University of London, 
 England, the examining and teaching functions of the 
 university were separated, the former being vested in the 
 University of Toronto, and the latter in a separate body 
 created by the act, known as University College. 2. 
 The teaching faculties of law and medicine were abol- 
 ished, and the work of the university strictly limited to 
 instruction in arts. 3. The chancellor of the university 
 was to be appointed by the Executive Government, and 
 the vice-chancellor elected biennially by the Senate. 
 4. The functions of the Senate were limited to the con- 
 ducting of the examination for degrees and the trans- 
 action of such business as pertained to the academic 
 requirements of the university. 5. All incorporated col- 
 leges in Ontario and Quebec were affiliated with the uni- 
 versity for examination purposes, and power was given 
 the Executive Government to declare what other arts 
 colleges, and to the Senate what schools of law or medi- 
 cine, should be admitted to a similar privilege. 6. The 
 discipline of the professors, students, and officers of the 
 university was vested in the Council of University Col- 
 lege. 7. The perfect freedom of professors or students 
 from all religious or denominational tests was reasserted. 
 8. The endowment and other property of the university 
 
THE PROVINCIAL UNIVERSITY. 179 
 
 was placed in the hands of an ofiBcer called the bursar, 
 appointed by the Executive Government. 
 
 Act of 187S. — In 1873 Convocation was re-estab- 
 lished, and the right of the alumni to elect the chancel- 
 lor and certain members of the Senate recognised. In 
 1885, by resolution of the Legislative Assembly, women 
 were admitted to the university on the same terms and 
 with the same privileges as the other sex.* 
 
 Tlie Federation Act of 1887. — In the desire to raise 
 the standard of university education it was felt that 
 better results would be obtained by concentrating pro- 
 vincial effort in one central university rather than diffus- 
 iug it among outlying universities whose endowments 
 were unequal to the greatly expanded course of study 
 furnished by the universities of other countries. 
 
 Accordingly, by the Act of 1887, provision was made 
 whereby any chartered university might hold in abeyance 
 its power for granting degrees. Its students in that 
 case would attend the lectures in part of their course, at 
 least, at the provincial university, and on passing the 
 required examinations would receive their degrees as of 
 the provincial university. The federation which was 
 thus proposed was ineffectual except in so far as relates 
 to Victoria University, which removed its headquarters 
 from Oobourg — a town about sixty miles east from To- 
 ronto — and erected new buildings in the city of Toronto, 
 in 1892. The other universities still continue to do 
 full university work under their own charters. 
 
 * The other universities of Ontario are : Victoria University 
 (Methodist); Trinity University, Toronto (Anglican): MoMaster, 
 Toronto (Baptist); Qneen's University, Kingston (Presbyterian); 
 Regiopolis, Kingston (Roman Catholic), suspended; Ottawa Uni- 
 versity (Roman Catholic) : Western University, London. 
 
180 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 A material cliange also was made in the constitution 
 of the university in other respects. As already pointed 
 out, the university proper was an examining body similar 
 to the University of London, England — all instruction 
 being given in what was known as University College. 
 By the Act of 1887 this distinction between the univei'- 
 sity and University College was abolished, and although 
 the functions of University College were retained as a 
 matter of law, yet the distinction between the two bodies 
 is now more technical than real. The faculties of medi- 
 cine and law, which were abolished by the Act of 1853, 
 were also revived. 
 
 Government of the University. — The government of 
 the University of Toronto is somewhat complex. The 
 supreme control, both as to its finances and academic 
 business is vested in the Executive Government of the 
 Province. Although the Senate, the trustees, Convoca- 
 tion, and the university and college councils have cer- 
 tain powers, yet in all matters of importance which these 
 various bodies are intrusted to deal with the approval 
 of the Government must be obtained. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor of the Province is the 
 visitor of the university, and has the right by commis- 
 sion to inquire into any matter which, in his opinion, 
 affects its interests. All the property of the university is 
 vested in the Government, and is managed by an officer 
 appointed by the Government called a bursar. The 
 bursar is assisted in his duties by a Board of Trustees 
 consisting of nine members — viz., the chancellor, the vice- 
 chancellor, and the president of University College, five 
 members elected by the Senate of the university and one 
 by the council of University College. The trustees exer- 
 cise a general control over the expenditure on mainte- 
 
THE PEO VINCI AL UNIVERSITY. 181 
 
 nance and equipment, the erection of such additional 
 buildings as may be approved of by the Government, and 
 the endowment funds of the university. Their annual 
 estimate of the money required for carrying on the work 
 of the university is subject to the approval of the Gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 Faculty, how appointed. — The faculty consists of pro- 
 fessors, associate professors, lecturers, instructors, dem- 
 onstrators, etc. The academic head of the university is 
 called the president. All appointments to the teaching 
 staff (the president included) are made by the Govern- 
 ment after such inquiry as to fitness as may be deemed ex- 
 pedient. These appointments are during pleasure. The 
 Government has the right to dismiss any member of the 
 teaching staff for cause at any time, and the Senate has 
 the right by committee to inquire into the efficiency of any 
 member of the teaching staff, and to report the results of 
 such inquiry to the Government.* 
 
 The Senate. — The Senate consists of three classes of 
 members: 1, ex-officio members; 3, appointed members; 
 3, elected members. The ex-officio members are the Min- 
 ister of Education, the president of the university, the 
 president or head of each federated university or college, 
 the chancellor and vice-chancellor, and all past chancel- 
 
 * Salaries in the provincial university are graduated as follows : 
 For a lecturer, an initial salary of $1,000, with an increase of $100 a 
 year until the maximum of $1,800 is reached ; for an associate pro- 
 fessor, an initial salary of $1,800, with an increase of $100 a year 
 until the maximum of $2,500 is reached ; for a professor, an initial 
 salary of $3,500, with an increase of $100 until a maximum of $3,200 
 is reached ; the salary of the president is $5,000 a year. Instructors 
 and demonstrators are paid salaries varying according to the im- 
 portance of the duties to which they are assigned. 
 
182 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 lors and vice-chancellors. The appointed members con- 
 sist of three representatives of the council of the Univer- 
 sity of Toronto — one from the council of University 
 College, one from the Law Society of Upper Canada, one 
 from each federated or affiliated institution, and nine 
 members appointed by the Executive Government. The 
 elected members number twenty-three, and represent the 
 graduates of the federated universities in arts (seventeen 
 members), in medicine (four members), in law (two mem- 
 bers). Elections take place to the Senate every three 
 years. The mode of election is as follows : Any ten mem- 
 bers of Convocation — i. e., any ten graduates — may deposit 
 with the registrar a nomination paper containing the 
 names of such persons as they desire to see elected to the 
 Senate. These names are transmitted by the registrar to 
 every graduate whose address is known, and at a time 
 specified in the act the graduate returns his voting paper 
 to the registrar, and in presence of scrutineers appointed 
 for that purpose the votes are counted, and the persons 
 having the majority are declared elected as members of 
 the Senate. 
 
 The chancellor of the university is elected in the same 
 way by the whole body of graduates. The vice-chancellor 
 is appointed triennially at the first meeting of the new 
 Senate. The Senate has by statute the right to deter- 
 mine the standards for matriculation into the university, 
 the standards for the examination to be taken for each 
 year or for any degree which the university is authorized 
 to confer, the right to appoint the examiners for prepar- 
 ing and reading the papers of students in every depart- 
 ment of university work, and generally to decide upon all 
 academic matters subject to the approval of the Executive 
 Government of the province. 
 
THE PROVINCIAL UNIVERSITY. 183 
 
 Matriculation. — By means of a joint Board of Exami- 
 ners, four of whom are appointed by the Senate and four 
 by the Education Department, an examination is annu- 
 ally conducted for matriculation. Candidates who pass 
 this examination are recognised as having obtained the 
 standing required of second-class teachers, in addition to 
 the privilege of admission into the university. The sub- 
 jects of examination are : Latin, English, history, mathe- 
 matics, French or German, and either (1) Greek or (2) the 
 second modern language with physics and chemistry. This 
 examination is conducted simultaneously with the exami- 
 nations of the Education Department for teachers' certifi- 
 cates. In the case of candidates who fail in not more 
 than three subjects, a supplemental examination may be 
 taken in the month of September, in the subjects in which 
 they fail. 
 
 Course of Study. — The course of study in the faculty 
 of arts consists of Latin, Greek, Erench, German, Italian, 
 Spanish, and Hebrew, with so much ancient history and 
 geography as incidentally pertain to the study of the lan- 
 guages. In science : Physics, mineralogy, geology, biology, 
 chemistry, and psycho-physics. In philosophy : The his- 
 tory of philosophy, logic, ethics, metaphysics, and psy- 
 chology. In English : Modern history, comparative phi- 
 lology, and English literature and education. In political 
 science : Political economy, constitutional history, consti- 
 tutional and international law, Eoman law, and general 
 jurisprudence. The teaching staff in the faculty of arts 
 consists of thirteen professors, four associate professors, 
 and twenty-six lecturers and demonstrators. 
 
 Faculty of Medicine. — In the faculty of medicine the 
 course of study is similar to that pursued in all well-organ- 
 ized medical schools. The students in this faculty have 
 
184 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 free access to the well-equipped laboratories of the uni- 
 versity for conducting experiments in morphology, physi- 
 ological chemistry, botany, psychology, and chemistry. 
 The teaching staff in the faculty of medicine consists of 
 fifteen professors, three associate professors, and twenty- 
 one lecturers and demonstrators. 
 
 Owing to the want of funds, no faculty in law has yet 
 been organized. 
 
 Affiliated Universities and Colleges. — Since its first 
 incorporation, the University of Toronto invited affilia- 
 tion with other educational institutions, and from year to 
 year steadily enlai'ged its relations in this respect until 
 they now include Victoria University (Methodist), Knox 
 College (Presbyterian), Wycliffe College (Anglican), St. 
 Michael's College (Koman Catholic), Albert College 
 (Methodist), Huron College (Anglican), Trinity Medical 
 College, the Woman's Medical College, the School of 
 Pharmacy, the School of Dentistry, the Provincial School 
 of Practical Science, the Provincial College of Agricul- 
 ture, and the Toronto College of Music. These institu- 
 tions are entitled to representation on the Senate, and to 
 share in the administration of the university. Examina- 
 tions for degrees in all federated or affiliated colleges or 
 universities are conducted by the University of Toronto, 
 excepting for degrees in theology. 
 
 The Library. — The university library occupies a sepa- 
 rate fireproof building with a storage capacity of 130,000 
 volumes, and a reading room capable of seating upward 
 of 200 readers. The library contains about 55,000 vol- 
 umes and about 5,000 unbound pamphlets. The library 
 is a circulating one for members of the faculties, and a 
 library of reference for students. For the purpose of in- 
 struction on the seminary method, special rooms are set 
 
THE PROVINCIAL UNIVERSITY. 185 
 
 apart for the professors and students in each department 
 of study, the works of reference required for the course 
 being placed in such rooms. There are two large mu- 
 seums, one illustrative of the course in biology, and the 
 other of the course in ethnology. 
 
 Gymnasium. — A gymnasium costing about $30,000 
 has been fitted up for the benefit of students with all 
 suitable appliances for athletic purposes. In connection 
 with the gymnasium, rooms are set apart for the meet- 
 ings of students' clubs and societies, including a large hall 
 for public meetings, a reading room, and committee rooms. 
 
 Degrees. — Degrees in arts are conferred on those per- 
 sons who have completed the prescribed course of study 
 and who have passed the required examinations. The 
 course extends over four years, and is divided into general 
 and special courses. A corresponding distinction is made 
 in the degrees conferred. Attendance at lectures is com- 
 pulsory unless a dispensation is granted by the Senate 
 owing to special circumstances. The degree of Master of 
 Arts is conferred upon Bachelors of Arts of at least two 
 years' standing on the presentation of an approved thesis 
 in one of the departments in arts. Provision is made for 
 admission ad eiondem gradum in the case of both degrees. 
 In 1895 the Senate passed a statute to confer the degree 
 of Bachelor of Pedagogy and Doctor of Pedagogy on 
 teachers who passed the prescribed examination. 
 
 Discipline. — The discipline of the university is vested 
 in the president and faculty of University College. Ma- 
 triculated students are required to attend the courses 
 of study and examinations in all subjects prescribed for 
 students of their respective standing. No student is per- 
 mitted to remain in the college who persistently neglects 
 academic work, or whose presence is deemed prejudicial 
 
186 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 to the interests of the university. " Hazing " is strictly 
 forbidden. No suspended student may be admitted to 
 the university buildings or grounds. No person is allowed 
 to lecture before any of the university societies without 
 the approval of the university council. Men and women 
 students, unless members of the same family, are not per- 
 mitted to reside in the same lodging houses. Women 
 students are under the supervision of a lady superintend- 
 ent, and are subject to her directions as to their conduct in 
 the university halls and lecture rooms, or while attending 
 university societies. 
 
 College Residence. — The residential quarters of the uni- 
 versity are very limited in extent, capable of accommodat- 
 ing only between forty and fifty students. The residence 
 is in charge of a dean, who has the oversight of students in 
 residence. The regulations for the government and dis- 
 cipline of the college are prescribed by the college council. 
 
 Devotional exercises are conducted in the college by 
 the dean. Devotional exercises are also conducted in the 
 university daily at ten o'clock ; attendance is not compul- 
 sory in either case, but those who have no conscientious 
 scruples are expected to be present. 
 
 The fees chargeable for attendance upon lectures aver- 
 age about $40 per student. 
 
 Tlw School of Science.— T^\-iG School of Science was 
 erected on the grounds of the university, in order that 
 the students of the school might conveniently receive 
 instruction from the professors of the university, and also 
 that the students of the university might avail themselves 
 of the laboratories of the School of Science. The school 
 is affiliated with the university, and represented by its 
 principal on the Senate. The buildings and equipment 
 cost about $250,000. The faculty consists of three pro- 
 
THE PROVIKCIAL UNIVERSITY. 187 
 
 fessors, five lecturers, six fellows, and an assistant in each 
 of the departments of chemistry and metallurgy. The 
 teaching staff is appointed by the Government. The 
 school is under the direction of the Minister of Educa- 
 tion, and in that respect is part of the school system of 
 the province. It is modelled after the Boston School of 
 Technology. Its course includes surveying, architecture, 
 applied mechanics, applied chemistry, civil engineering, 
 mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mineral- 
 ogy, metallurgy, and assaying. 
 
 A special examination is conducted by the faculty of 
 the school in arithmetic, algebra, Euclid, and English for 
 the admission of students, but any person who has passed 
 the matriculation examination of the University is eligible 
 for admission. The course of study extends over three 
 years. The fees are $45 per annum. The average attend- 
 ance of students is from one hundred to one hundred and 
 forty. Students who take a post-graduate course of one 
 year and pass the required examinations are eligible for 
 the degree of Bachelor of Applied Science in' the Univer- 
 sity of Toronto. Graduates in the department of civil 
 engineering are eligible for the degree of Civil Engineer, 
 after three years of practical work. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GROWTH OF THE OifTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
 
 It was not until the school system of Ontario was or- 
 ganized under the Act of 1843 that any regular effort was 
 made to compile the returns received from superintend- 
 ents and other school ofiBcers. The earliest reliable re- 
 ports begin with the year 1844. These reports s^how that 
 up to that time there had been established 2,610 public 
 schools, with a registered attendance of 96,756 pupils, in 
 charge of 2,736 teachers. In the fifty years that have 
 elapsed since 1844 the schools have increased to 5,649, the 
 registered pupils to 483,203, and the teachers to 8,834, of 
 whom 3,795 were males and 6,029 females. The returns 
 do not show the establishment of any Eoman Catholic 
 separate schools as early as 1844, although there is no 
 doubt that many schools were, under the Act of 1843, con- 
 ducted as separate schools. The number of high schools, 
 then called grammar schools, was 25, with an attendance 
 of about 3,000 pupils. 
 
 One of the most significant indications of the develop- 
 ment of the school system of the province is the steady 
 increase in the average attendance of pupils. This may 
 be partly owing to improved facilities for transportation 
 and partly to the improvement in the circumstances of 
 the people, by which parents and guardians are better 
 able to dispense with the labour of the pupils, particularly 
 
 188 
 
GROWTH OF THE ONTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. 189 
 
 in rural districts. In 1867, out of 401,643 children regis- 
 tered, the average attendance was forty-one per cent; 
 in 1894 the average attendance had risen to fifty-six per 
 cent. By way of explanation, it should be said, however, 
 that the average attendance in Ontario is determined, not 
 by the number of days each school is kept open, but by 
 the number of teaching days in the academic year. For 
 instance, a school running six months, with an average 
 attendance of 40 pupils per day, would in the ofiBcial re- 
 turn show an average attendance of only fifty per cent 
 for the year. The average attendance in rural districts 
 in 1894 was fifty-one per cent, in cities sixty-nine per 
 cent, and in towns sixty-four per cent ; in some individ- 
 ual cases the average reached seventy-nine per cent. 
 
 Classification of Pupils. — By the system of classifica- 
 tion fixed by the Education Department a pupil's whole 
 course of study is determined by the form to which he 
 has been promoted. It is only in the fifth or highest form 
 that options are allowed. It follows, therefore, that any 
 increase in the number of pupils studying any subject 
 depends to a great extent upon the increased attendance 
 of registered pupils. The changes in the courses of study, 
 however, since 1867, have largely affected the number of 
 pupils in some subjects. Drawing, which was optional in 
 1867, is now compulsory, and the number of pupils in this 
 subject has increased since that time from 5,450 to 435,541. 
 In the same way English and Canadian history occupied 
 relatively an inferior place in the course of study ; recent 
 changes in the regulations of the department have in- 
 creased the number of pupils in this subject from 61,787 
 in 1867 to 364,896. Similarly in the subject of music the 
 increase has been from 47,618 to 206,346. The study of 
 physiology and temperance was also optional till 1885, 
 
190 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 and is now studied from text-books and charts by 191,406 
 pupils. The following statement shows the enrolment 
 of pupils in the subjects mentioned : 
 
 Bookkeeping 22,433 
 
 Algebra 13,353 
 
 Geometry 13,693 
 
 Botany 6,123 
 
 Elementary physics 3,549 
 
 Agriculture 7,680 
 
 Taking the whole enrolment of the public schools of 
 the province, the percentages in the various subjects of 
 the course of study are as follows : 
 
 Per cent. Per cent. 
 
 Reading 100 Grammar and composition . . 63 
 
 Writing 96 English history 28 
 
 Arithmetic 98 Canadian history 33 
 
 Drawing 90 Physiology and temperance . 40 
 
 Geography 70 Drill and calisthenics 49 
 
 Music 41 
 
 Perhaps the most satisfactory test of the efficiency of 
 the public-school system is the annual departmental 
 examination required for entrance to high schools. As 
 stated elsewhere, this examination is usually taken at the 
 end of the fourth form. In 1877, 3,836 pupils, as com- 
 pared with 10,049 pupils in 1895, were successful at this 
 examination. 
 
 Teaching ^to/.— Although the number of schools in 
 the province has more than doubled within the last fifty 
 years, there has been scarcely any increase in the number 
 of male teachers employed. As stated above, the number 
 of male teachers in 1844 was 3,736 ; fifty years later— in 
 1894— the number was 3,795, whereas in the same period 
 of time female teachers, unknown to the profession in 1844, 
 increased to 6,039. The increase in the number of female 
 teachers employed is greater in urban than in rural dis- 
 tricts, although even in the latter case they preponderate. 
 The effect of this transfer of the educational work of the 
 
GROWTH OF THE ONTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. 191 
 
 country from the male sex to the female sex can not be 
 discussed here ; it may be said, however, that so far there 
 is no perceptible deterioration in the quality of the work 
 done in the schoolroom, while in the matter of discipline 
 and in all the other circumstances which go to make school 
 life pleasant to the pupil, there has been a very marked 
 improvement. The average age of the teachers employed 
 is nearly twenty-six years (25-95), and their average experi- 
 ence four years and three fifths. The number holding first- 
 class certificates — the highest certificate granted by the de- 
 partment — is 263 ; the number holding second-class certifi- 
 cates 3,184 ; the remainder hold certificates of lower grades. 
 
 As to professional training there is a very gratifying 
 and steady increase. In 1867 the number of teachers who 
 had attended a normal school was 666 ; in 1894 this num- 
 ber had arisen to 3,207. N"early forty per cent of all the 
 teachers of the province have attended a normal school ; 
 of the remainder the greater number have received pro- 
 fessional training at a county model school. 
 
 The increase in teachers' salaries has not kept pace with 
 their professional attainments and is far from satisfactory. 
 The average salary of a male teacher in the whole province 
 in 1867 was $346, and in 1894 $431. The average salary 
 of a female teacher was $336, and in 1894 $300. The av- 
 erage salary of male teachers in rural districts in 1894 was 
 $376, and of female teachers $369 ; the average salary of 
 male teachers in cities $876, and of female teachers $415. 
 The average salary of male teachers in towns was $633, and 
 of female teachers $303. The highest salary paid a teacher 
 in a public school was $1,500. 
 
 Maintenance of Putlic Schools. — The total expenditure 
 upon public schools in 1867 was $1,473,000, or an average 
 of $3.67 per pupil. In 1894 the expenditure had increased 
 
192 
 
 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 to $4,248,000, or an average of 18.79 per pupil. Of this 
 expenditure the sum of $300,000 was contributed by the 
 Legislature of Ontario and the sum of $3,460,000 was 
 raised by assessment on the taxable property of the rate- 
 payers. The amount expended on teachers' salaries was 
 $2,833,000 ; on maps and apparatus, $50,465 ; on sites and 
 buildings, $445,000 ; and on general expenses, $870,000. 
 The estimated value of public-school property in 1894 
 was $10,600,000. 
 
 Roman Gatliolic Separate Schools. — The reports of the 
 Education Department show that in 1854 there were 44 
 Roman Catholic separate schools in the province ; in 1867 
 the separate schools numbered 161, attended by 18,934 pu- 
 pils ; the number at the close of 1894 was 328, attended by 
 39,763 pupils. In 1867 the number of teachers employed 
 was 210 ; in 1894 the number increased to 714, of whom 
 323 were lay teachers and 391 religious teachers — that is, 
 teachers belonging to some religious order of the Eoman 
 Catholic Church. The number of pupils in the various 
 subjects in the separate-school course of study bears the 
 same proportion to the whole number in attendance as in 
 the case of public schools, the classification and optional 
 subjects being the same. 
 
 High Schools. — The growth of the high-school system 
 of the province since 1867 has been very satisfactory, as the 
 following statement shows : 
 
 Number of schools . 
 Number of teachers 
 Number of pupils.. 
 
 Cost per pupil 
 
 Total expenditures. 
 Paiil for salaries. . . 
 Government grant. 
 
 103 
 
 129 
 
 159 
 
 554 
 
 5,696 
 
 23,523 
 
 $21 80 
 
 $29 27 
 
 $124,181 
 
 $682,533 
 
 $94,820 
 
 $507,441 
 
 154,503 
 
 $100,000 
 
GROWTH OF THE ONTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. I93 
 
 Classification. — The classification of high-school pu- 
 pils is largely determined by the course of study required 
 for matriculation into the university. The following table, 
 therefore, to a certain extent, indicates the trend of sec- 
 ondary education in the province : 
 
 Classification op High-School Pupils, 1867-'94. 
 
 1867. 
 
 Composition and rhetoric. 
 
 Poetical literature 
 
 History 
 
 Geography 
 
 Arithmetic 
 
 Algebra 
 
 Euclid 
 
 Trigonometry 
 
 Physics 
 
 Chemistry 
 
 Botany 
 
 Latin 
 
 Greek 
 
 French 
 
 German 
 
 Drawing 
 
 Commercial subjects 
 
 4,091 
 
 23,360 
 
 
 28,416 
 
 4,634 
 
 28.269 
 
 5,264 
 
 23,418 
 
 5,526 
 
 23,404 
 
 3,841 
 
 23,253 
 
 1,847 
 
 20,569 
 
 141 
 
 1,353 
 
 1,876 
 
 7,385 
 
 840 
 
 4,880 
 
 
 6,088 
 
 5,171 
 
 9,366 
 
 803 
 
 1,080 
 
 2,164 
 
 10,530 
 
 
 2,785 
 
 676 
 
 14,827 
 
 1,283 
 
 15,101 
 
 From the above table it will be observed that English 
 and English literature are receiving increased attention, 
 partly by the addition of poetical literature to the course 
 of study and partly by the expansion of the subjects of 
 composition and rhetoric. ISTor has the mathematical 
 group of studies been neglected, as may be seen from 
 the large increase in the number of pupils in algebra, 
 Euclid, and trigonometry. A similar remark will apply 
 to the science group, and particularly to the subjects of 
 chemistry and botany. The desire to meet a popular de- 
 mand for what is called a practical education (what that 
 means it is hard to say) has led to the establishment of a 
 14 
 
19i THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO. 
 
 commercial course in high schools. This accounts for the 
 large increase in the number of pupils in commercial 
 subjects. The language group is somewhat influenced 
 by the elective principle for matriculation, and therefore 
 indicates to a certain extent the preferences of pupils 
 and teachers. In 1867 ninety per cent of the whole at- 
 tendance at the high schools of the province studied Latin ; 
 in 1894 the number of Latin pupils was only forty per 
 cent of the number in attendance. In 1867 fifteen per 
 cent of the pupils studied Greek, and in 1894 only five per 
 cent. In 1867 thirty-eight per cent of the pupils studied 
 Trench and none studied German ; in 1894 these numbers 
 had increased to forty-five per cent and twelve per cent 
 respectively. 
 
 Although the high-school course is necessarily taken 
 by persons looking forward to a professional career, it is 
 worthy of notice that many take the course for the sake 
 of the intellectual culture which it provides. Prom the 
 reports of high-school principals in the offices of the de- 
 partment, it appears that since 1873 18,709 pupils have 
 taken a high-school course with a view to prepare them- 
 selves for mercantile life, and 14,486 left the high school 
 for agricultural pursuits. 
 
 As a test of the efficiency of the high schools it may be 
 stated that in 1867, 56 pupils passed the matriculation ex- 
 amination required by the university. In 1894, 482 pupils 
 passed this test, while 1,990 obtained third-class literary 
 standing at the departmental examinations, 1,147 sec- 
 ond-class literary standing, and 303 first-class literary 
 standing. 
 
 The average salary of principals of high schools in 1895 
 was $1,065, and of principals of collegiate institutes $1,573. 
 The highest salary paid in the whole province was $3,500. 
 
GROWTH OP THE ONTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. 195 
 
 Training of Teacliers. — County model schools for the 
 training of teachers of third-class literary standing were 
 first established in 1877, and were attended that year by 
 1,146 teachers in training. The attendance increased 
 to 1,834 in 1895, and the number of model schools from 
 fifty to sixty. The average salary paid the principal of 
 a model school is $844. The number of normal-school 
 students has increased from 257 in 1877 to 442 in 1895, 
 and the expenditure on normal schools, etc., from 125,780 
 to $52,668. The maximum salary of normal-school prin- 
 cipals is $2,500, and of assistants is $2,000. The salaries 
 paid teachers in the model or practice schools attached to 
 the provincial normal schools are graduated according to 
 a scale determined by the Education Department. The 
 first two years of service are considered probationary. At 
 the end of this time an annual increase of $50 is allowed 
 until the maximum fixed by the department is reached. 
 For head masters the minimum is $1,300, and the maxi- 
 mum $1,500 ; for head mistresses and male assistants the 
 minimum is $1,000, and the maximum $1,200 ; for female 
 assistants the minimum is $650, and the maximum $850 ; 
 for directors of kindergartens, music masters, and drawing 
 masters the minimum is $80.0, and the maximum $1,000. 
 The principal of the Ontario INormal College (School of 
 Pedagogy) is paid a salary of $3,000, atd the vice prin- 
 cipal $2,300 per annum. 
 
 The number of teachers' institutes has increased from 
 forty-two in 1877 to seventy-three in 1894, and the num- 
 ber of teachers in attendance from 1,181 in the same year 
 to 7,630, representing over ninety per cent of all the teach- 
 ers of the province. The expenditure upon teachers' in- 
 stitutes in 1894 was $6,527, of which sum $2,000 was 
 spent on reference libraries. The directors of teachers' 
 
196 
 
 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 institutes and the inspectors of model schools are each 
 paid $1,850 annually and travelling expenses. 
 
 Public Libraries. — The following table shows the 
 number of public libraries in 1883 and 1895 : 
 
 Number of public libraries 
 
 Number of reading rooms 
 
 Number of newspapers and periodicals. 
 
 Number of volumes in libraries 
 
 Number of volumes issued 
 
 Total receipts 
 
 Total assets 
 
 93 
 
 300 
 
 59 
 
 192 
 
 1,540 
 
 5,136 
 
 154,093 
 
 604,719 
 
 251,920 
 
 1,687,806 
 
 $59,716 
 
 $165,283 
 
 $255,190 
 
 $752,426 
 
 Arbor Bay. — The number of trees planted since the 
 establishment of Arbor Day was as follows : 
 
 In 1885 88,940 
 
 " 1886 34,087 
 
 " 1887 25,057 
 
 " 1888 25,714 
 
 " 1889 21,281 
 
 In 1890 22,250 
 
 " 1891 15,697 
 
 " 1892 14,489 
 
 " 1898 14,103 
 
 " 1894 14.244 
 
 llliteracij. — From the decennial census of 1891 it ap- 
 pears that the percentage of the population of the Province 
 of Ontario over twenty years of age, able to write, was 90-4 ; 
 able to write between ten and twenty years, 94-23, or a 
 higher percentage than obtained in any of the other 
 provinces. The Criminal statistics, however, do not show 
 any material reduction in crime, except in the arrests for 
 drunkenness. 
 
 Higher Ediccaiion.— The progress of higher education, 
 so far as high schools are concerned, has already been con- 
 sidered. The effect of their growth on the provincial uni- 
 versity and its affiliated institutions has been to broaden 
 the course of instruction, to re-enforce the sta£E by addi- 
 tional professors and lecturers in every department of 
 
GROWTH OP THE ONTARIO SCHOOL SYSTEM. 197 
 
 study, and to increase the attendance of students in a 
 corresponding degree. 
 
 In the academic year 1884-'85 the number of students 
 taking an art course in the University of Toronto was 
 348 ; in 1895-96 the number had increased to 875. In 
 its affiliated institutions an equally gratifying increase has 
 taken place in the number of students. 
 
 Briefly summed up, it may be said that the school sys- 
 tem of the Province of Ontario takes in hand the child of 
 four years of age at the kindergarten, and watches over 
 his education for a period varying from eighteen to twenty 
 years, or practically to the close of his professional train- 
 ing. If at the end of the public-school course he con- 
 siders his education complete and goes no further, he finds 
 himself reasonably well equipped for the duties of citizen- 
 ship. If he pursues his studies until the end of the high- 
 school course, he has acquired a wide knowledge of Eng- 
 lish literature, science, and mathematics, and one or more 
 foreign languages. If he has chosen for himself a profes- 
 sional career, the provincial university, either through its 
 own faculty or the faculties of affiliated institutions, offers 
 him substantial facilities for achieving success and per- 
 haps distinction in the profession of his choice. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Report on the Sanitary Condition of Rural ScJiools. 
 
 Iisr the autumn of 1895, searching inquiry was made 
 by the department, through the inspectors, with regard to 
 the health of teachers and pupils, and the sanitary condi- 
 tion of rural schools. As the inspectors were not able in 
 the term to complete their inspection of all the rural 
 schools, the report is incomplete. Nevertheless, it may 
 be accepted as reasonably conclusive with regard to all 
 matters to which it refers. The following schedule was 
 filled up by the inspector on his visit to each school, from 
 which the summary for his district was afterward made : 
 
 Special Report on the Sanitary Condition op Rural Schools. 
 
 Report on Teacher. 
 
 Name of teacher ; age ; 
 
 years' experience ; would you consider teachers' health as 
 
 excellent, good, or inferior ; number of days lost 
 
 by illness in 1895 ; was illness caused by any schoolroom 
 
 defect ; does teacher take luncheon in schoolroom 
 
 ; has teacher any fixed rules for exercise ; 
 
 does teacher go out of doors at recess ; at noon 
 
 Report on Pupils. 
 
 Number of boys present ; girls ; how many boys 
 
 would you rate as in feeble health ; girls ; 
 
 how many wear glasses ; how many of defective hear- 
 ing ; how many are indifferent to games and play ; 
 
 are pupils more easily managed in the forenoon or afternoon 
 
 ; how many take luncheon in the schoolroom 
 
 198 
 
APPENDIX. 199 
 
 ; what sports do boys favour ; 
 
 what sports do girls favour ; number of prop- 
 erly organized sporting clubs among boys ; number of 
 
 matches played by school in 1895 ; any epidemic among 
 
 pupils in 1895 ; of what nature ; 
 
 number who complain of headaches 
 
 Report on Schoolhouse. 
 
 Size of schoolhouse ; material ; are 
 
 cubic contents sufficient for average attendance ; do. 
 
 for enrolment ; has school building porch or ante- 
 room ; when was schoolroom last whitewashed 
 
 ; when was floor last scrubbed ; 
 
 how often swept ; by whom swept ; 
 
 what provision made by trustees for scrubbing and sweeping 
 
 ; cost of ; are seats graduated in height 
 
 ; are seats of good form and comfortable ; 
 
 are rooms properly lighted ; are windows provided 
 
 with blinds in good order ; are windows on weights 
 
 ; any structural provision for ventilation ; 
 
 are stoves and pipes in good repair and cleanly 
 
 Report on School Grounds. 
 Is position of school site with respect to elevation of the ground, 
 safety from malaria from swamps, and suitability for its purpose 
 (having regard to the health and comfort of the pupils), excellent, 
 good, bad ; is condition of fence excellent, good, or bad ; condition 
 of gates excellent, good, or bad ; are proper walks made from gates 
 
 to schoolhouse door ; are grounds level and 
 
 dry and suitable for playgrounds ; number of shade 
 
 trees that appear healthy ; number flower beds ; 
 
 is well on the premises ; is it in a sanitary location and 
 
 condition ; are there separate closets for the sexes 
 
 ; how many screened ; how many have plank 
 
 or gravel approaches ; are they regularly disinfected 
 
 ; how often does teacher inspect them ; in 
 
 good condition at date of visit ; any woodshed ; 
 
 area of grounds 
 
 In connection with the above schedule, instructions, 
 
200 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 signed by the Minister of Education, were sent to inspect- 
 tors as follows : 
 
 " As several of the answers to the inquiries in the 
 schedule sent herewith can not be conveniently tabulated, I 
 shall feel greatly obliged if you will summarize your obser- 
 vations upon the answers received in a few paragraphs sup- 
 plementary to the statistical report. For instance, in your 
 report on teachers I would like to have the general result 
 of the information obtained with respect to the health of 
 teachers, the effect of the schoolroom upon their powers 
 of endurance, the ailments incident to the profession, and 
 the care taken by teachers to maintain unimpaired their 
 physical powers. I would like to know to what extent 
 teachers suffer from the effects of bad ventilation or the 
 unsanitary condition of the schoolroom, and if in your 
 opinion there is any disease peculiar to the teaching pro- 
 fession, such as myopia, or bronchitis, or phthisis, or any 
 neurotic trouble which could be mitigated by greater 
 care on their own part or on the part of the school au- 
 thorities. It is important to know whether the conditions 
 under which the teacher pursues his profession are as 
 favourable to the full enjoyment of health as they should 
 be, both for his own sake and for the proper discharge 
 of the public service which he is called upon to per- 
 form. 
 
 " In answer to the questions with regard to pupils, I 
 should also desire your opinion on a number of points. 
 For instance, are spectacles more used by pupils now than 
 they were ten years ago ? Do children show signs of spinal 
 curvature or rounded shoulders, or any other physical de- 
 feet which you think greater vigilance could prevent ? It 
 is also important to study carefully the evil effects which 
 overcrowding and bad ventilation have upon the pupils' 
 
APPENDIX. 201 
 
 powers of study, upon their temper, and their desire to 
 enjoy themselves. My reference to games and sports is to 
 draw out the teachers with regard to the development of 
 those manly sports without which a hoy's education even 
 at an ordinary public school is incomplete. No teacher 
 should neglect the organization of clubs for cricket," base- 
 ball, football, etc. The training which a boy gets on the 
 playground is just as useful as any part of his school 
 course, not simply because it is healthful, but because it 
 develops his self-control, his powers of self-defence, and 
 his mettle in competing for the mastery in an honourable 
 way over his fellows. 
 
 " In reporting upon schoolhouses I would like to know 
 particularly as to the arrangements made for sweeping, 
 scrubbing, and whitewashing. I fear these elementary 
 principles of cleanliness are very much neglected in many 
 school sections. It is hard to realize what injury may 
 accrue to pupils and teachers from the polluted dust with 
 which the atmosphere of many schoolrooms is loaded. 
 The seeds of such diseases as diphtheria, scarlet fever, 
 typhoid fever, or consumption may through this medium 
 be transferred to many a promising pupil and teacher, 
 with the most disastrous results. 
 
 " The examination of the school grounds is most im- 
 portant. Are they tidy and well kept ? Are they mud 
 puddles in spring and fall, or are they well drained, and 
 with proper walks ? Are they neatly fenced and planted 
 with trees ? Are they large enough for playground pur- 
 poses, or are the pupils obliged to play upon the highways, 
 etc. ? But what is most important is the sanitary condi- 
 tion of the closets. I fear there is an amount of neglect in 
 this respect in many parts of the province that must react 
 upon the morals as well as upon the health of many pupils. 
 
202 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OP ONTARIO. 
 
 Let there be no sparing this evil if it exists. Deal with it 
 fully and fearlessly.'' 
 
 The result of this inquiry is contained in the following 
 statement : 
 
 Summary Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Rural 
 Schools of Ontario, 1895. 
 
 Total number of schools reported 3,794 
 
 " " " rural schools in Ontario 4,749 
 
 Tlie Teachers. 
 
 Male teachers in schools inspected 1,7G3 
 
 Female teachers in schools inspected 2,297 
 
 Average age (male and female) 25-95 
 
 Average years' experience 4'6 
 
 Days lost by sickness 4,314 
 
 Oases of siciiness chargeable to schoolroom 37 
 
 Number of teachers who take regular exercise 2,297 
 
 Health of teachers, excellent 2,271 
 
 " " " good 1,645 
 
 " " " inferior 141 
 
 The Schoolhouse. 
 
 School rooms below regulations in cubic contents . . 490 
 
 Number without porch 1,307 
 
 " " " or anteroom 769 
 
 Schools not whitewashed, 1895 1,820 
 
 Not scrubbed, 1895 265 
 
 Not swept daily 405 
 
 Number in which seats are defective 713 
 
 " without suitable or sufBcient blinds 916 
 
 " " windows on weights 2,618 
 
 " " structural ventilation 3,341 
 
 Stoves and fixtures in bad repair 352 
 
 Schoolhouses, grade 1 1,366 
 
 " II 1,875 
 
 " III 613 
 
APPENDIX. 203 
 
 The Pupils. 
 
 Boys present 58,474 
 
 Girls " 60,707 
 
 Number who wear glasses 680 
 
 " defective hearing 1,005 
 
 " apparently weakly 1,966 
 
 " who complain of headaches 4,981 
 
 " indifferent to play 1,866 
 
 " who luncheon in school 92,001 
 
 Organized sporting clubs 316 
 
 Cases of epidemic diseases 919 
 
 The School Grounds. 
 
 Schools on a sanitary site, excellent 80 
 
 " " " good 1,317 
 
 " inferior 257 
 
 Fences and gates, excellent 1,243 
 
 " good 1,698 
 
 " " inferior 824 
 
 Number with walks where required ; 1,552 
 
 " of growing shade trees 50,449 
 
 Wells in good condition 1,937 
 
 Number with separate closets 3,535 
 
 " not screened 2,343 
 
 " in good condition at date of visit 2,908 
 
 Woodsheds : . 2,459 
 
 Average area of grounds 62 acre 
 
 School grounds, grade 1 1,228 
 
 " II 1,808 
 
 " " III 775 
 
 THE END. 
 
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