ment clubs, the function of such clubs being the welfare of the local school in the way of improving school grounds, school houses and appurtenances and increasing the attention of the patrons to their schools. The people of the State of Michigan can have just as good schools as they desire, but they will never have better schools than they desire, no matter how much work the Department and the school officers of the State may do. It remains for the people in each locality to provide the funds and to see that local conditions are made the best possible. In this connection the county commissioner of schools can be an effective factor in the organization of these clubs and in directing the local Granges and Farmers' Clubs towards a better school status. Work of county normal training classes. In the work of improving the rural schools the county normal training class is proving an important factor. Through this institution we have increased the percentage of trained teachers in the rural schools from two per cent to twenty per cent during the past four years, and reports from the county commissioners of schools where the classes are located show clearly that the professional spirit and the effectiveness of all the teachers of the county have been improved materially through this agency. During the current year thirty-six of these training classes were in operation and about six hundred young people in attendance. To this number we should add those who are pursuing the rural school courses at our State normal schools, so that during the ensuing year our effective rural teaching force will be increased by about one thousand trained teachers. Thus it will be seen that the day is not far distant when every rural school in the State will be taught by a trained teacher. And when we can unite with this an increased public spirit on the part of the patrons in our rural schools, we shall have come very near to solving the iural school problem so far as instruction is concerned. But it must be remembered that even trained teachers can do little under such unfavorable conditions as are found in some rural school districts. Place a trained teacher in a poorly equipped schoolroom where no adequate heating, ventilating, or lighting is found and where the sanitary conditions are of the poorest, where the school property is unattractive and untidy, and we cannot expect proper educational results therefrom. Hence I say that our people can have as good schools as they demand, but it requires effort on the part of every school patron in order to place the public school on a plane where it properly belongs. Compulsory The enforcement of the truancy law has increased the regular attendance by about twenty-five per cent, and has increased the numattendance. ber of those who complete the rural school course and secure eighth grade diplomas by the same percentage. On the whole, the new truancy law is working well, and yet we find that even this law and our child labor laws are being violated in some quarters. Statistics show us that forty-two persons in every one thousand of the population of Michigan are illiterates. This is a startling showing when we consider all that has been done in Michigan for public education. The child labor law is not well enforced in all our cities and there is need for such a law in our rural communities. Truant officers report that it is more difficult to secure regular and continuous attendance of children up to the time they are sixteen years of age in the country districts than it is in the cities. This condition of things is a menace to the welfare of the State, and our people should demand the enforcement of both the truancy and child labor laws. banks. In order to inculcate habits of thrift and economy, school savings banks have been established in about fifty villages and School cities of the State, and reports from these schools show that the savings plan is working well. It is really a part of the child's education, and I would recommend that the superintendents of schools in all the villages and cities should give the matter of establishing school savings banks very careful attention. During the year two meetings of the county school commissioners of the State have been held. These meetings were well attended and have resulted in unifying the work of these officers and reducing it more nearly to an established system. I call attention to the publications that have been prepared by the Department during the year and distributed to the teachers and patrons: (a) Institute bulletins Nos. 1, 17, and 18, outlining the work of teachers' institutes in counties, county normals and State normals. Bulletins published. (b) Bulletin 16, outlining the teachers' examinations for the year. (c) Bulletin 15, giving the compulsory attendance law in full with forms for the officers to use in enforcing the law. (d) Bulletin 20, giving a tabulated statement in regard to the distribution and use of primary school moneys. (e) Bulletin 21, giving the papers and discussions of the county normal training class teachers at their annual meeting in March. (f) Bulletin 22, prepared by Professor Calkins of the Mt. Pleasant normal school on the subject of teaching geography. (g) Bulletin 23, on the new laws passed by the legislature of 1907. (h) Bulletin 24, outlining the course of study for county schools of agriculture and general regulations for their management. (i) Bulletin 25, outlining the course of study for rural high schools and rules and regulations for their management. (j) Bulletin 26, prepared by Joseph A. Jeffery of the Michigan Agricultural College, outlining a course of study in agriculture on the subject of farm crops. This bulletin will be followed by others of similar nature during, the ensuing year. In addition to these bulletins the Department has prepared in Circular No. 10 a careful statement of the division of school moneys, showing the several funds to be accounted for and used by school districts organized under the general school laws. Any of these bulletins can be had by making application to this Department. In addition to the foregoing brief review of educational matters in the State I desire to call attention to the excellence of Special educational educational institutions not directly connected with the public institutions. schools of the State. This includes the seven denominational colleges of the State, the School for the Blind, the School for the Deaf, the State Public School and the State Industrial Schools. These institutions, each in its proper sphere, are performing an important work in connection with public education and the attention of our people should be frequently called to the work they are doing. During recent years there has been a very evident awakening among our people in connection with educational interests and Reforms I predict that in the near future some important changes willneeded. take place in connection with the organization of our public. school system. There are several matters which will be mentioned in the following pages of this report to which I desire to call the serious attention of the people of Michigan, and among these are the county normal training class, the rural high school, county school of agriculture and the re-arrangement or re-organization of the school district system of the lower peninsula. 13. Average number of months school in graded and city 23. Per capita cost per year by enrollment. 24. Expense for several State educational institutions for the $909,154.75 $6,334,603.14 $16.27 $23.07 fiscal year ending June 30, 1907: University of Michigan: (a) Paid from State funds.... $434,819.59 (b) Paid from other sources-tuition, productive funds, etc... . 396,070.82 Michigan Agricultural College: (a) Paid from State funds... (b) Paid from other sources. Michigan College of Mines: (a) Paid from State funds... (b) Paid from other sources. School for the Blind: (a) Paid from State funds.. (b) Paid from other sources. School for the Deaf: (a) Paid from State funds.. (a) Paid from State funds... Industrial School for Girls: $316,155.22 98,029.26 71,000.00 38,906.99 34,489.78 823.98 89,672 00 18,309.12 86,100.00 8,999.90 During the past ten years many changes have been made by the legislature in the School Laws of the State, but most of these are in connection with administrative work or with the minor affairs of the schools. I desire to suggest to the legislature several points of needed legislation which in my judgment are of the greatest importance. state supervision. Under the statute the State Superintendent has general supervision of the schools of the State, but this language is so general General and the range of his effective work is so limited that any definite supervision has not been possible. Several years ago the Department prepared and published a course of study which gave the recommended minimum amount of work to be done in the high schools of the State. Inspection of the work done in the graded and city schools shows that there is no uniformity in the courses of study and requirements for graduation from our high schools. This results from a lack of general State supervision. There is no one whose duty it is to visit these high schools. and inspect the work. The recognition by our State institutions of the work done in the public schools is not satisfactory in all cases to either party, and there should be not only more uniformity in the work of the public schools, but there should be thorough understanding as to the relations existing between the public schools and the State institutions. Proposed The subject of industrial training is one that is being agitated in all parts of our land and must be met. The matter of economic administration of the rural schools is one that should legislation. receive the most careful attention of our legislature. I desire, therefore, to recommend without further comment, the following general le ation which in my judgment if enacted into law and put into operation would materially advance all the educational interests of the State. 1. Legislation authorizing the appointment of a State high school inspector who shall have authority to fix the educational relations between high schools and State institutions. 2. Authority to appoint an inspector of rural schools who shall have general supervision over county normal training classes, teachers' institutes, teachers' examinations, the course of study, school officers' meetings, and in general all that relates to rural schools. 3. In order to advance the cause of industrial education the legislature should authorize an appropriation for State aid to be given in limited amounts to schools that introduce courses in elementary agriculture, manual training and domestic science. 4. A law requiring all school districts to furnish free text books. 5. Authority should be given for the organization of school officers' associations. 6. The legislature should extend to the whole State the statute governing the schools of the upper peninsula. 7. A law should be enacted providing for the equitable distribution of the primary school interest fund. SCHOOL SYSTEM OF MICHIGAN. The school system of this State at the present time, so far as it relates to public education, is organized as follows: Rural schools, graded schools, township schools, city schools, normal schools, Agricultural College, State University. The rural schools are for the most part under the primary district system. The school inspectors are authorized to divide their township into school Rural schools. districts and number them consecutively, but after the township has once been organized in this way the inspectors cannot thereafter either divide or consolidate districts without the consent of a majority of the resident taxpayers of the districts interested. As a result of this plan the number of school districts in townships varies from five to twenty. This means that there are from five to twenty single room schools and the taxing area divided accordingly. The number of pupils in these districts varies from one to twenty on the school census. The course of study pursued covers practically the first eight grades, though in a few instances advanced branches are taught. The school board consists of three members. Graded schools. The graded schools are organized under general law, and any district having one hundred or more pupils of school age may organize as such. There are 578 graded school districts at present in the State, and of this number about 450 have a twelve-grade course of study. The remainder of these districts have courses of study varying from nine to eleven grades. The board of education consists of five members. The township districts are organized by general law for the upper peninsula and by special act for certain parts of the lower peninsula. Nearly |