tional legislation relative to physical education. It was in response to the request of this committee made to the Playground and Recreation Association of America that the National Physical Education Service was established with funds and the executive machinery to promote state and national legislation which would establish physical education unversaily in the schools of the country for all children between the ages of six and eighteen. Physical education has been interpreted by this national committee to include the conduct of health giving physical activities, periodical physical examination of children, thorough going regular instruction in the principles of health, and the provision of a sanitary school environment. 2. The National Educational Association has formulated a great national program of education to meet the needs of the new age-the age of democracy. This program included. the Americanization of foreigners, the elimination of illiteracy, greater financial support for the schools, and, last but perhaps greatest of all, a thoroughgoing system of physical education. 3. A movement is on foot, and progress is being made, to unite the efforts of more than a score of welfare organizations of national scope to the end that they may lend their influence. in promoting universal physical education. Among these co-operative agencies are the American Medical Association, the American Federation of Labor, the American Physical Education Association, Boy Scouts of America, Daughters of American Revolution, Girl Scouts, International Association of Rotary Clubs, International Y. M. C. A., National Child Welfare Association, National Tuberculosis Association, the National Congress of Mothers, and several other organizations. I received a letter a few days ago announcing that Dr. Taliaferro Clark, of the United Health Service, and the American Red Cross, is also ready to assist in this move ment. 4. Congress has before it the SmithTowner bill, the greatest educational measure that has ever been before that body. It is the purpose of this bill to carry into effect the program of the National Education Association. This bill appropriates $100,000,000.00 to the different states to carry out more effectively their program of elementary education, especially in the in the rural schools. Of the amount to be appropriated, $7,500,000.00 is for Americanization, $7,500.000 is to reduce illiteracy, $15,000,000 is to aid in the training of teachers, $50,000,000 is to increase teachers' salaries, and $20,000,000 for physical education. If this measure becomes a law, as we have good reasons for believing it will, it will mark a new era in the development of the public school system. It will mean taxation of all the people to educate the children of all the people. It will mean that physical education. will have the place in the American schools that it deserves to have. 5. In a little more than thirty months, fourteen states have enacted laws making physical education a required part of their school codes. The great state of New York took the lead, followed by Maine, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Utah, Nevada, California Oregon and WashingWhen before was there such rapid progress made by any other educational movement? And the end is not. I venture the prediction that the movement will go on until every state makes physical education a part of its school code. ton. But what is the purpose and aim of physical education in its broadest sense? Let the legislature of the great state of Michigan answer. "The purpose and aim of physical education in the meaning of this act shall be: More fully and thoroughly to prepare the boys and girls of the state of Michigan for the duties and responsibilities of citizenship, through the development of bodily vigor and endurance, muscular strength and skill, bodily and mental poise and such. desirable moral and social qualities as courage, self-control, self-subordination and obedience to authority, cooperation under leadership, and disciplined initiative; through adequate physical examination and the correction of postual and other remedial defects; through the promotion of hygienic school life; and through scientific sanitation of school buildings, playgrounds, athletic fields and the equipment thereof." This sounds like a new gospel that has come to bless childhood. But is it something new? Is it not something old, something that we have already practiced? Certainly it is old. value of it. It has The new thing is, that what has been the privilege of the favored few is now to become the heritage of all. It is to be made universal the same as elementary education is universal. Says Dr, John H. Finley, Commissioner of Education for New York, "That which was my first desire for all the boys and girls-the desire for their health and happiness as they undergo the mental and moral training which the state deems essential to its lifehas, with unexpected quickness been put into the general law of the State. This program is probably the mos comprehensive program of health education and physical training for school ever authorized by the government of any state or nation." The passage of the law giving to all the children of a great state the advantages which had hitherto been for the favored few. marks a new era in our educational history. That is the great been tried thousands of times, and has never been found wanting. It has been tried in gymnasiums and training camps, on playgrounds, and athletic fields. Yes. it has been tried again and again, and has never failed. A shy, weakly boy of ten, who seemed doomed to a life of invalidism, was told by his father to Again I shall not theorize, but simgo into the gymnasium and make his ply give in brief summary some of the body. He went and worked faithfully things that are being done to realize at the job, and the result was Theodore Roosevelt. "Health first" is the sign you will see at the door of any Y. M. C. A. or Y. W. C. A., or any other place where physical training But and recreation are at the front. Then what is this new thing, that a moment ago I denominated a "new gospel?" But how is this program of health education to be actually realized, and what are the means to be employed? this program. First, there is the enactment of the necessary laws making physical education a part of the school course and making provision for suitable supervision and the training of teachers. Then comes the preparation of a syllabus giving the general plan, and outlining the course in physical education. The course usually consists of setting up drills and gymnastics, a study of hygiene-individual and community; correlative with school medical inspection, daily class inspection by teachers, and supervised recreation -games, play, athletics and home community recreational projects. The course cannot go into complete operation in any state at once, but gradually it can be introduced. The fact that part of recess time is used and the playgrounds utilized makes its introduction more rapid than is possible with most new forms of education. But final success depends upon the will to succeed on the part of school officials, teachers and pupils, backed by an enlightened public sentiment. At the head of the grand stair case in the public library in the city of Boston is a wonderful painting by a celebrated French artist, entitled the "Harbinger of Light." On either side of the central figure are the Muses in ecstatic adoration. Then follows a wonderful group of allegorical pictures -epic and dramatic poetry, physics, chemistry, astronomy, history, and finally philosophy, representing Plato teaching a youth that "Man was not of earthly but of heavenly origin." All these have been summoned to pay homage to the central figure, "The Harbinger of Light." Who is it that is worthy of such high honor? Is it saint or philosopher? Is it warrior or sage? Is it judge or potentate? It is none of these. It is Youth, joyous. eternal Youth, with perfect form and figure a body fit to be the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Such was the artist's dream, embodied in immortal art. But a greater picture rises before me than that portrayed by the French artist. It is the picture of all children with glorified bodies suitable abodes for glorified minds. I cannot paint the picture, but when we give the same attention to the bodies of children that we now give to their minds, we shall have made a beginning. My First School By G. E. Long, Frankfort, Ind. At the suggestion of the EducatorJournal management, I am writing this. article on "My First School." It was in November, 1873, and although it was forty-six years ago, I have a very distinct remembrance of that school. This school was located in Wabash county, at a place called Speicherville, about four miles from the city of Wabash. In those days training schools were not available for boys with such a limited capital as I possessed, which was $13, hence I attended a county normal of six weeks at- Wabash, paying all my expenses wancement of I imagine I hear many young teachers saying this could not be done but when I explain it will be clear. My home was six miles north of Wabash and the normal was held in July and August, and the weather being fine I walked and rode back and forth a part of the time. I played the part of janitor at the noon hour for my tuition, which was $6 for the term. All told I boarded about three weeks at $2.25 per week. At the close of the normal I received a license for six months with an average of 74. I have that document yet and I want to say here that I was prouder of it than any documents I have ever received since, including diplomas, life state license. etc. I had made a thorough study of Page's Theory of Practice of Teaching and I felt fully equipped for the oncoming battle. In those days teachers were elected by the people of the district, and being but a youth I experienced some difficulty in obtaining a position. But a kind-hearted director, George Wellman, told me he would call a school meeting in thres days which would give but little chance for other applicants to apply. There was no other applicant and of course I was unanimously elected to teach the term, which was three months,, at $35 per month. I had a burning desire to teach and here I had some chance, as I thought, with fiftyone or fifty-two pupils, with all the grades from the primer to the fifth reader, with arithmetic, geography, history, spelling and writing, all classes reciting every day. It was not possible to have fewer than thirty-five recitations each day. Teachers in those days "set" the copy for children to write by. The school house was a wood structure about twenty-five by twenty. A huge wood stove in the center of the room and old-fashioned double seats. We had recitation benches but these had no backs. As to ventilation, the openings in the house were sufficient. In this school there were many who were by far older and larger than I was and had I become too much of a birch wielder I might have come to grief had it not been that I had a veritable Bud Means who stood by me through thick and thin. It seems to me now that they all anticipated his friendship because we had no serious outbreak of disorder. This school was particularly given to playing pranks on the teacher and I believe now that unknowingly at the time I suggested to them one to play on me. The neighborhood was much given to dancing and hilarity of all kinds and I scored them rather heavily at morning exercises for it and suggested that we attend spelling schools instead. Now I had been taught from youth up that his satanic majesty had a per From the State Department of Public Instruction Rural School Campaign. To the County Superintendents: Our campaign for better rural schools is already bringing good results, as will be noted by the quotation given below from a letter by Superintendent M. L. Sterrett, of Jasper County. This letter was written under date of December 3d. Mr. Sterrett reports his first rural meeting as follows: "We held our first rural educational conference at Fair Oaks last Monday. This was a township conference where over a hundred enthusiastic patrons and school friends came out. I am so well pleased with our day that I thought you would be interested also. I used six of the trustees who gave talks ranging from ten to twenty minutes in length. I also used Editor Hamilton, Agricultural Agent Leaming, Truant Officer Sands, Red Cross Nurse Jordan, Principal Campbell, a local patron Mr. Erwin, and a senior ard Gilmore. in the Fair Oaks high school, How "We opened our progymnastics, o'clock, and finished by continu consisting of more than one hundred session at 4:00 o'clock. The audience, sixty people, was held spellbound from the time we started until we closed. I have the South Dakota charts from Prof. Holden and will use them on our tour in Jasper county. When we get through with this propaganda you will not recognize the educational features in Jasper county." We are using this quotation from Superintendent Sterrett as an exam ple of how this better school campaign is taking hold. We want every county superintendent and township trus tee in the state to start a movement for something better. We hope that a better school meeting will be held in every school house in Indiana during this term. Please get a corps of speakers together and then arrange a county-wide campaign. Yours for Better Rural Schools, A Brief Statement Concerning the De ficiency School Fund. To County and City Superintendents: The Acts of 1919, page 839, direct the superintendent of public instruction to hold out, at the time of making the school fund apportionment, a sum equal to eight and two-tenths per cent (8 2-10) of the amount derived from the state tuition tax levy. Sections three and four of this act specify the conditions that must exist before a school corporation can qualify for state aid. In August of this year the State Board of Tax Commissioners ruled that the State Aid School Fund should be distributed for the current school year upon the basis of tax levies made in the year 1918, since the fund to be distributed was raised from the 1918 levies. In a circular letter issued by this department on August 19, last (a copy of which is enclosed), an announcement of this ruling was made. In connection with the distribution of the Deficiency School Fund it must be remembered that there are no means now at hand for determining the amount of money that will be available for any particular school corporation: first, because the amount to be deducted from the January apportionment is not known; and second, because there is no way of knowing, at this time, how many school corporations can qualify to share in the distribution of this fund. The amount distributed from this fund in February, 1919, amounted to $160,127.42. The amount that will be available for the current school year should exceed this sum by approximately $100,000; but in this connection it should be remembered that a substantial increase in teachers' salaries has been authorized in schools that depend upon this fund to maintain their minimum term. This is true of high school teachers as well as grade teachers. Shortly after the January apportionment this office will distribute blanks to school corporations desiring state aid. In the meantime, it should be borne in mind that state aid will not be available until local funds for tuition purposes have been exhausted, and then only for the purpose of assisting a school corporation in maintaining a school term of six (6) or seven (7) months, depending upon the local tuition levy. It is the intention of the Departtion, in qualifying for state aid, to give ment to require every school corpora an accurate statement showing the origin of all moneys available for tuition purposes, including transfer money collected and payable, and to show that the rules of the department with reference to distributing this money have been strictly followed. A revised blank will, therefore, be prepared, and school officers will be asked to co-operate promptly and frankly with this department to make certain that none of the provisions of this beneficent statute will be abused. Very truly yours, L. N. HINES, State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Writing Books. To County and City Superintendents, Gentlemen: During the summer of 1919 the State Board of Education entered into a contract with the Fort Wayne Printing Company to furnish to the schools of the state, writing books, numbers 1 to 8 inclusive, the set being known |