we may have kindergarten, primary, grammar and high school departments, or, cutting across these lines of division somewhat, we may have classes in religious instruction, domestic science, manual training, music, mathematics, history and so forth. It is manifestly impossible to have all of these different branches represented at each institute. Choice must be made among them. The best results will be secured if five or six are maintained. Nor should all of these be conducted at one period. The forenoon may be conveniently divided into three one-hour periods, and two, or not more than three, departments conducted simultaneously. Care must be taken to arrange the departments so that no two which appeal to the same group of teachers will be carried on at the same time. Those attending the Institute will thus be able to select the classes they wish to follow, or their superiors can assign the departments from which they will derive the greatest utility. This arrangement will also give the teachers free periods, when they may consult with the lecturers personally. By a department we mean a subject to which there will be devoted a course of three to five lectures, ordinarily one each day. The connection. between the lectures of such a course may be the common subject-matter, as, for example, American Political History or School Hygiene; or the connection may come from the class of students contemplated, as, for example, the teaching of the kindergarten or the elementary grades.

Just as the forenoon is devoted to those subjects which are of interest to special classes of teachers, the afternoon is devoted to lectures of general interest and to a musical programme. These general talks may deal with the teaching of religion, which, of course, is of interest to every teacher in the schools, or with general method, or, finally, with special topics by some well-known authority. Perhaps this is the best opportunity to introduce a course of lectures on religious instruction. Thus, last year we had a series of five lectures by Rev. P. C. Yorke, D. D.,

on the manner of imparting religious instruction in the elementary schools. During the coming Institute we plan to have a course of lectures on Fundamental Christian Apologetics, by the Very Reverend H. Moynihan, D. D., president of St. Thomas College, St. Paul, Minnesota. Each afternoon a quarter of an hour is devoted to a musical programme, including both instrumental and vocal numbers. This introduces a period of relaxation into the otherwise strenuous labors of the day.

The question of the support of the Institute is a very practical one. It is unnecessary to say that a staff of instructors, such as that we have been contemplating, cannot be secured without expense. This expense is required not merely for the services of the various lecturers, but in case of instructors who are brought from a distance, the railroad fares are no small item. At the outset we met these financial obligations by holding lectures, the proceeds of which were devoted to this purpose. Later on the religious communities of the diocese contributed a per capita tax of one dollar for each member attending the Institute. While this method resulted in raising the necessary sum, it was realized that it imposed an unjust burden on the teaching communities, for the benefits of the Institute were clearly to accrue to the parishes in which the teachers were engaged. Hence it was that two years ago the present equitable and satisfactory method was proposed and adopted by the pastors who were interested in the work of the Institute. At present each parish contributes ten cents for each child enrolled in its school and boarding schools contribute a like sum for their pupils. The parishes are at liberty to raise the fund in whatever way seems best to them, though the simplest method, and one growing in favor, is to ask each child in the school to contribute ten cents for this purpose. An advantage of this device consists in the fact that it awakens a direct interest in the children and in their homes for the advancement of Catholic education. In any case the

present method has proved entirely satisfactory, being at once equitable, easy to operate, and adequate in

returns.

The advantages of the diocesan Institute are many. We may mention a few of the more important here. The most obvious result is the increased enthusiasm for their work which the teachers gain from the lectures. This is an advantage which will not be underestimated by those who know the necessity of interest and enthusiasm on the part of the teacher. New methods and new insight into the subjects of the curriculum are, however, not the only advantages. The Institute gives the teachers of the various communities an opportunity to meet each other in an informal way. It thus breaks down the barriers which sometimes obstruct intercourse between groups of teachers who are all engaged in promoting Catholic education. Thus the general aims of Catholic education prevail over the narrower interests of any particular school. The various communities within the diocese become mutually helpful and a salutary and friendly emulation arises from more intimate knowledge. Another positive advantage is to be found in the uniformity which comes from within. It is theoretically a simple matter for authority to impose uniformity from without, but a diocesan system in which the unity grows up from within, rooted in a recognition of common interests and cultivated by the friendly relations of independent groups, will enjoy a more vigorous and fruitful growth.

We may close by calling attention to a final advantage of the Institute, namely, its moral effect on the Catholics of the community and on the general public. It inspires a confidence in the efficiency of our schools which can hardly be obtained in any other way. It brings before them in a visible and embodied plan the earnestness with which the Church promotes the diffusion of knowledge and prepares her teachers to bear the light of truth to her children. EDWIN V. O'HARA.

Portland, Ore.

SPLITTING THE DIFFERENCE IN EDUCATION

Who was it that said that principles are pilots, not Pilates? Whoever it was, he would not have been patient with the title originally chosen for this article, Compromises in Education. Compromise has usually an evil sound. It implies lowering of standard or deflecting to the left or right, pursuing, in a word, the devious course of Pilate, who was trying to satisfy both sides by steering alternately close to each, not keeping, like a true pilot, resolutely to the central channel. Compromise in principles is an evil, but compromise in their application may be prudence. Perhaps compromise is not the best word, although most of us might plead guilty to a knowledge of that term and by it might understand better the point to be insisted upon in the vast subject of education.

Books on education seem to establish the rather comforting fact that there is not a noteworthy difference of opinion on the vital topic of developing the mind. The practical common sense of mankind, confirmed by what it sees going on in the plant and animal world, agrees in the larger principles of education. There must be interest and activity and theory and practice. The native curiosity or desire of knowledge must be stimulated; a certain amount of information must be imparted; the faculties must be exercised upon the matter, the growing mind must be trained to cope with graded difficulties. Put in that way, the programme would meet with general approval. The problem of vesting the mind is akin to the less noble one of clothing the body. We all approve of the large rolls of cloth, the measuring tape and the ruler; we all see the need of a comfortable, decent and well-fitting suit of clothes. The problem consists, it might be said, in circling the square, in turning flat quad

rangular pieces of cloth into cylinders and spheres and various curved surfaces with the help of the straight edges of rulers and scissors. The compromise in education, if the word is permitted, consists in applying the truths of science and art to the varying contours of the mind by the help of these unvarying and inflexible principles of all education. Most experienced educational tailors believe in cutting the cloth to suit the man; some few faddists cut the man to fit their ready-made uniforms.

BETWEEN LARGE NUMBERS AND SMALL

The first place in which the theory of compromise might be applied is to the numbers of pupils each teacher should have. Unfortunately this difficulty is settled by other considerations rather than by the prudence of the educator. The number of teachers is small and will likely be always small relative to the number taught. The very rich can afford a private tutor; the comfortably provided can send their children to restricted schools; the people will have to force their little ones into classes already overcrowded, believing it well they should have a rag to clothe their intellectual deficiencies if they cannot have the complete outfit. The private tutor might seem ideal, but there is an education and a democracy in the rivalry of the class-world which is not supplied by the quiet and skilful coaching of the tutor. Even the teacher is helped by the numbers if they are not too large.

The size of the school, as well as the size of the class, affords another problem of adjustment. Must the colleges all be large and grow into universities? Are all our schools to be department stores? This question has been recently put and answered in the negative by the graduates of Amherst College in an address submitted to the trustees of their college. The compromise is: Have a good college where circumstances of finance or equipment do not permit a university; let those who want an educa