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Show REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN SCHOOLS. WASHINGTOND.. C.. , Re'n tember 26.1896. Sm:I hare thehonor herewith to tranmnit to sun luy t h i ~ d~ I I I I U H I report, together with the prowrdiugs of the three Tnc11:in school servlce institute8 heltl tlurinr the summer months, and a number of valuable papers read at these %eetings. The limited appropriations of Congress for my traveling expenses for the fiscal year 1896 continued to hamper n'te in my personal movements during the entire year. I am sincerely grateful, therefore, that, thanks to your efforts, this hindrance has been removed in a measure through amore liberal appropriation for the same purpose for the fiscal year 1897. The corps of supervisors, too, has been at my entire disposal during the greater part of the year, so that the inspection of schools and the supervision of their work have been much more satisfactorily carried on than during the fiscal year 1895. As a result of this more favorable col~ditioll of affairs I have been able to secure improvements and to insist upon reforms to which formerly I was unable to give the required attention. It gives me pleasure, therefore, to be able to report to yon healthy progress in every feature of the school work and, above all things, an iucreasing unity and vitality in the organization of the schools as a whole. THE SCHOOLROON. It gives me pleasure to be able to report that 011 the whole the work of the schoolroom bas gaiued ruuel~in charavter itrrd value. It id true that thew are still a tow xehools whose t(~acl~erthsr,o ugh vulr)uble ner. ligence on the part of someone, have not beeu'snppli~d with the sd-labnses of instruction sent out by this office two years ago, and others whose snperintendeots have failed to enforce due consideration of these sj llilbusks; hut these shortroluiugs nrc being corrected :is speedily as t l~eli mited fo~cleo f ~ u p r r ~ i s o;r~st ,U IT c1iq)osnl will permit. 1 utn illfol.med, l~uwever, that thn~ughout the service dull textbook routine and thoughtless schoolroom pedantry are being supplanted by really vital work. The stupid, mumbling repetition of words which the ol~ildd oes not understand fiom spellers and readers, which contain nothiug that appeals to his interest, is yielding to conversation anci other oral work upon snbjects of interest from the child's immediate snrronndings aud associated with the iucidelits of his daily life. A number of teachers are learning to use the blackboard in place of the chart and areobtaining most gratifying results in the progress of their pupils.. They have learned to appreciate the fact that the child mnst learn to speak English intelligently bcfore he can be taught to read it intelligently; that he mnst learn to appreciate his own resonrces and the incidents of his own life before he can feel a sympathetic interest 339 |
