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Show REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN SCHOOLS. OFFICEOF SUPERINTENDOEF NITN DIASCNH OOLB, Washington, D. G., July 1,1904. SIR:I have the honor to submit hereby the annual re5 o rt of the Superintendent of Indian Schools for the fiscal year ende June 30, 1904, together with the proceedings of the Congress of Indian Edu-cators at St. Louis, Mo., and of the institutes held at Standing Rock Agency, N. Dak., Rosebud Agency, S. Dak., and Fort Berthold Agency and Fort Totten, N. Dak., which will be found in the appendix. ,The subjects taken up in this report are those most nearly concerned with the practical education of the Indian boy and girl, involving not only school training in the ordinary English branches, but also instruc-tion in agriculture and the correlated industries, the preliminary work of which. in aonformitv with the ~ract iceof the best*schools. we are I attemptiAg to have don: in thc c1as;room. The pwt year show^ ~narkttd in~aroret~~ienn ~tu rthodso f in.itruvtit~n.h ot11 in litrrnrv r~udi ndustrial departments. Gratifying advancement has been madein the methods of teaching English. Pupils now acquire a working knowled e of the language with greater facility and in a much shorter time &an for-merly. Special endeavor has been made to impress upon the superin-tendents and teachers the importance of studying the home life and individual character of the pupils, ap lying the knowledge gained in arousing their latent faculties and enieavoring to adapt the methods of instruction to meet their special needs. It is gratifving to be able to report that the schools generally are making satisfactory progress, and that both teachers 'and pupils are taking increased interest in the work, especiallv in the industrial departments. The school attendance has increased and %,as quite reg-ular during the year. The attendanceat thevarious teaohers'instituteu, including the Congress of Indian Educators at St. Louis, was unusually large, evincing the growing interest taken in these meetings each year. Reports from returned students show that most of them are doing well, many cultivating their allotments and others working at the vari-ous trades and occupations for which they have been fitted at the schools, and that they are also exercising an influence for good upon their relatives and neighbors at their homes. While in the field visit-ing the schools I noted that many of them have enlarged and more complete equipment; some have added to their farms, others have increased their facilities in various ways, and at all I saw evidences of progress and advancement. In confor~nityw ith the regulations of the Department and in com-pliance with your instiuctions, schools have been visited and inspected in the following States: Arizona, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, |
