notice to the chairman of the committee of ten, who was therefore unable to fill their places. With these two exceptions, all the conferences met on December 28 with full membership. The places of meeting were as follows: For the Latin and Greek conferences, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.; for the English conference, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.; for the conference on other modern languages, the Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C.; for the conference on mathematics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.; for the conference on physics, astronomy, and chemistry, and on natural history, the University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.; for the conference on history, civil government, and political economy, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.; for the conference on geography, the Cook County normal school, Englewood, Ill. The committee of ten and all the conferences enjoyed the hospitality of the several institutions at which they met, and the members were made welcome at private houses during the sessions. Through the exertions of Mr. N. A. Calkins, chairman of the trustees of the National Educational Association, important reductions of railroad fares were procured for some members of the committee and of the conferences; but the reductions obtainable were less numerous and considerable than the National Council of Education had hoped. In filling a few vacancies of which notice was received shortly before December 28, it was necessary to regard as one qualification nearness of residence to the appointed places of meeting; but on the whole the weight and effectiveness of the several conferences were not impaired by the necessary replacement of 20 of the members originally selected by the committee of ten. The list of the members of the conferences on the 28th of December was as follows: 1. LATIN. Prof. Charles E. Bennett, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. Frederick L. Bliss, principal of the Detroit high school, Detroit, Mich. John T. Buchanan, principal of the Kansas City high school, Kansas City, Mo. John S. Crombie, principal of the Adelphi Academy, Brooklyn, N. Y. Prof. James H. Dillard, Tulane University, New Orleans, La. Rev. William Gallagher, principal of Williston Seminary, Easthampton, Mass. Prof. William G. Hale, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. Prof. John C. Rolfe, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Julius Sachs, principal of the Collegiate Institute for Boys, 38 West Fifty-ninth street, New York City. 2. GREEK. E. W. Coy, principal of the Hughes high school, Cincinnati, Ohio. Prof. Martin L. D'Ooge, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. A. F. Fleet, superintendent of the Missouri Military Academy, Mexico, Mo. Ashley D. Hurt, head master of the high school, Tulane University, New Orleans, La. Robert D. Keep, principal of the Free Academy, Norwich, Conn. Prof. Abby Leach, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Clifford H. Moore, Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. 3. ENGLISH. Prof. Edward A. Allen, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo. Prof. Edward E. Hale, jr., University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. W. II. Maxwell, superintendent of schools, Brooklyn, N. Y. 4. OTHER MODERN LANGUAGES. Prof. Joseph L. Armstrong, Trinity College, Durham, N. C. Thomas B. Bronson, Lawrenceville school, Lawrenceville, N. J. Prof. Alphonse N. van Daell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass. Charles H. Grandgent, director of modern language instruction in the public schools, Boston, Mass. Prof. Charles Harris, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. William T. Peck, high school, Providence, R. I. Prof. Sylvester Primer, University of Texas, Austin, Tex. John J. Schobinger, principal of a private school for boys, Chicago, Ill. 5. MATHEMATICS. Prof. William E. Byerly, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Arthur H. Cutler, principal of a private school for boys, New York City. W. A. Greeson, principal of the high school, Grand Rapids, Mich. Prof. Simon Newcomb, Johns Hopkins University, and Washington, D. C. James L. Patterson, Lawrenceville school, Lawrenceville, N. J. 6. PHYSICS, ASTRONOMY, AND CHEMISTRY. Prof. Brown Ayers, Tulane University, New Orleans, La. Alfred P. Gage, English high school, Boston, Mass. George Warren Krall, manual training school, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo. Prof. William W. Payne, Carleton College, Northfield, Minn. William McPherson, jr., 2901 Collinwood avenue, Toledo, Ohio. Prof. Ira Remsen, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. Prof. James H. Shepard, South Dakota Agricultural College, Brookings, S. Dak. Prof. William J. Waggener, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo. George R. White, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N. H. 7. NATURAL HISTORY (BIOLOGY, INCLUDING BOTANY, ZOOLOGY, AND PHYSIOLOGY). Prof. Charles E. Bessey, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebr. Arthur C. Boyden, normal school, Bridgewater, Mass. Prof. Samuel F. Clarke, Williams College, Williamstown, Mass. Prof. Douglas H. Campbell, Leland Stanford Junior University, Palo Alto, Cal. President John M. Coulter, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind. Principal S. A. Merritt, Helena, Mont. W. B. Powell, superintendent of schools, Washington, D. C. Charles B. Scott, high school, St. Paul, Minn. Prof. Albert H. Tuttle, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. O. S. Westcott, principal of the North Division high school, Chicago, Ill. 8. HISTORY, CIVIL GOVERNMENT, AND POLITICAL ECONOMY. Ray Greene Huling, principal of the high school, New Bedford, Mass. Prof. James Harvey Robinson, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. Henry P. Warren, head master of the Albany Academy, Albany, N. Y. Prof. Woodrow Wilson, College of New Jersey, Princeton, N. J. 9. GEOGRAPHY (PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, AND METEOROLOGY). Prof. Thomas C. Chamberlin, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. Prof. George L. Collic, Beloit College, Beloit, Wis. Prof. W. M. Davis, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Delwin A. Hamlin, master of the Rice Training School, Boston, Mass. Prof. Mark W. Harrington, the Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. Francis W. Parker, principal of the Cook County Normal School, Englewood, Il. The 90 members of the conferences were divided as follows: Forty-seven were in the service of colleges or universities, 42 in the service of schools, and 1 was a Government official formerly in the service of a university. A considerable number of the college men, however, had also had experience in schools. Each conference, in accordance with a recommendation of the committee of ten, chose its own chairman and secretary; and these two officers prepared the report of each conference. Six of the chairmen were college men and 3 were school men, while of the secretaries 2 were college men and 7 school men. The committee of ten requested that the reports of the conferences should be sent to their chairman by the 1st of April, 1893-three months being thus allowed for the preparation of the reports. Seven conferences substantially conformed to this request of the committee; but the reports from the conferences on natural history and geography were delayed until the second week in July. The committee of ten, being of course unable to prepare their own report until all the reports of the December conferences had been received, were prevented from presenting their report, as they had intended, at the education congress which met at Chicago July 27–29. All the conferences sat for three days. Their discussions were frank, earnest, and thorough; but in every conference an extraordinary unity of opinion was arrived at. The nine reports are characterized by an amount of agreement which quite surpasses the most sanguine anticipations. Only two conferences present minor.cy reports, namely, the conference on physics, astronomy, and chemistry, and the conference on geography; and in the first case the dissenting opinions touch only two points in the report of the majority, one of which is unimportant. In the great majority of matters brought before each conference the decision of the conference was unanimous. When one considers the different localities, institutions, professional experiences, and personalities represented in each of the conferences, the unanimity developed is very striking, and should carry great weight. Before the 1st of October, 1893, the reports of the conferences had all been printed, after revision in proof by the chairmen of the conferences, respectively, and had been distributed to the members of the committee of ten, together with a preliminary draft of a report for the committee. With the aid of comments and suggestions received from members of the committee a second draft of this report was made ready in print to serve as the groundwork of the deliberations of the committee at their final meeting. This meeting was held at Columbia College from the 8th to the 11th of November, 1893, inclusive, every member being present except Professor King, who is spending the current academic year in Europe. The points of view and the fields of work of the different members of the committee being fortunately various, the discussions at this prolonged meeting were vigorous and comprehensive, and resulted in a thorough revision of the preliminary report. This third revise having been submitted to the members of the committee, a cordial agreement on both the form and the substance of the present report, with the exceptions stated in the minority report of President Baker, was arrived at after a correspondence which extended over three weeks. The report itself embodies the numerous votes and resolutions adopted by the committee. Professor King, having received in Europe the conference reports, the two prelim. inary drafts of the committee's report, and the third revise, desired to have his name signed to the final report. The council and the public will doubtless be impressed, at first sight, with the great number and variety of important changes urged by the conferences; but on a careful reading of the appended reports it will appear that the spirit of the conferences was distinctly conservative and moderate, although many of their recommendations are of a radical nature. The conferences which found their tasks the most difficult were the conferences on physics, astronomy, and chemistry; natural history; history, civil government, and political economy; and geography; and these four conferences make the longest and most elaborate reports, for the reason that these subjects are to-day more imperfectly dealt with in primary and secondary schools than are the subjects of the first five conferences. The experts who met to confer together concerning the teaching of the last four subjects in the list of conferences all felt the need of setting forth in an ample way what ought to be taught, in what order, and by what method. They ardently desired to have their respective subjects made equal to Latin, Greek, and mathematics in weight and influence in the schools; but they knew that educational tradition was adverse to this desire, and that many teachers and directors of education felt no confidence in these subjects as disciplinary material. Hence the length and elaboration of these reports. In less degree, the conferences on English and other modern languages felt the same difficulties, these subjects being relatively new as substantial elements in school programmes. The committee of ten requested the conferences to make their reports and recommendations as specific as possible. This request was generally complied with; but, very naturally, the reports and recommendations are more specific concerning the selection of topics in each subject, the best methods of instruction, and the desirable appliances or apparatus, than concerning the allotment of time to each subject. The allotment of time is a very important matter of administrative detail; but it presents great difficulties, requires a comprehensive survey of the comparative claims of many subjects, and in different parts of the country is necessarily affected by the various local conditions and historical developments. Nevertheless, there will be found in the conference reports recommendations of a fundamental and farreaching character concerning the allotment of programme time to each subject. It might have been expected that every conference would have demanded for its subject a larger proportion of time than is now commonly assigned to it in primary and secondary schools; but, as a matter of fact, the reports are noteworthy for their moderation in this respect, especially the reports on the old and well-established subjects. The Latin conference declares that "in view of the just demand for more and better work in several other subjects of the preparatory course, it seemed clear to the conference that no increase in the quantity of the preparation in Latin should be asked for." Among the votes passed by the Greek conference will be noticed the following: "That in making the following recommendations this conference desires that the average age at which pupils now enter college should be lowered rather than raised; and the conference urges that no addition be made in the advanced requirements in Greek for admission to college." The mathematical conference recommends that the course in arithmetic in elementary schools should be abridged, and recommends only a moderate assignment of time to algebra and geometry. The conference on geography says of the present assignment of time to geography in primary and secondary schools that "it is the judgment of the conference that too much time is given to the subject in proportion to the results secured. It is not their judgment that more time is given to the subject than it merits, but that either more should be accomplished or less time taken to attain it." Anyone who reads these nine reports consecutively will be struck with the fact that all these bodies of experts desire to have the elements of their several subjects taught earlier than they now are, and that the conferences on all the subjects except the languages desire to have given in the elementary schools what may be called perspective views, or broad surveys, of their respective subjects-expecting that in later years of the school course parts of these same subjects will be taken up with more amplitude and detail. The conferences on Latin, Greek, and the modern languages agree in desiring to have the study of foreign languages begin at a much earlier age than now-the Latin conference suggesting by a reference to European usage that Latin be begun from three to five years earlier than it commonly is now. The conference on mathematics wish to have given in elementary schools not only a general survey of arithmetic, but also the elements of algebra, and concrete geometry in connection with drawing. The conference on physics, chemistry, and astronomy urge that nature studies should constitute an important part of the elementary school course from the very beginning. The conference on natural history wish the elements of botany and zoology to be taught in the primary schools. The conference on history wish the systematic study of history to begin as early as the tenth year of age, and the first two years of study to be devoted to mythology and to biography for the illustration of general history as well as of American history. Finally, the conference on geography recommend that the earlier course treat broadly of the earth, its environment and inhabitants, extending freely into fields which in later years of study are recognized as belonging to separate sciences. In thus claiming entrance for their subjects into the earlier years of school attendance, the conferences on the newer subjects are only seeking an advantage which the oldest subjects have long possessed. The elements of language, number, and geography have long been imparted to young children. As things now are, the high school teacher finds in the pupils fresh from the grammar schools no foundation of elementary mathematical conceptions outside of arithmetic; no acquaintance with algebraic language, and no accurate knowledge of geometrical forms. As to botany, zoology, chemistry, and physics, the minds of pupils entering the high school are ordinarily blank. When college professors endeavor to teach chemistry, physics, botany, zoology, meteorology, or geology to persons of 18 or 20 years of age, they discover that in most instances new habits of observing, reflecting, and recording have to be painfully acquired by the students-habits which they should have acquired in early childhood. The college teacher of history finds in like manner that his subject has never taken any serious hold on the minds of pupils fresh from the secondary schools. He finds that they have devoted astonishingly little time to the subject, and that they have acquired no habit of historical investigation, or of the comparative examination of different historical narratives concerning the same periods or events. It is inevitable, therefore, that specialists in any one of the subjects which are pursued in the high schools or colleges should earnestly desire that the minds of young children be stored with some of the elementary facts and principles of their subject, and that all the mental habits, which the adult student 'will surely need, begin to be formed in the child's mind before the age of 14. It follows, as a matter of course, that all the conferences except the conference on Greck, make strong suggestions concerning the programmes of primary and grammar schools-generally with some reference to the subsequent programmes of sec |