Board of education

“ If the school board is in politics and therefore more or less partisan, the library is apt to suffer by this arrangement even more than the schools themselves. Possibly, where public opinion is sufficiently alive to the value and importance of education a single board might manage all the educational interests of a city, just as the board of regents of one of our large state universities administers its varied activities. ”

“ The general duties of the State Board of Education consist in regulating all matters arising in the practical administration of the school system not otherwise provided for. Uniformity of practice throughout the schools of the State is of the greatest importance, and the State Board wisely secures this by keeping in constant correspondence with officers and teachers throughout the system. ”

“ It has been the object of the Board of Education therefore to generalize secondary education, and so far as it comes under the control of the Board to make technical education more practical with a closer bearing on the duties likely to be required from the young men and women who pass through these classes. ”

“ The board must accordingly appoint teachers and a superintendent. These latter are selected because they have training and technical qualifications which the community needs in the schools. The technical officers have in an important sense an independent place in the educational system. It will be remembered that the teacher was the first one to whom the community delegated responsibility for the schools. Not infrequently the community finds its board of representative citizens on one side of a school issue and its technical officers on the other side. ”

“ It seems to me that to do so is to allowz eal for our own ideas of what is good in public instruction to induce us to accept the role of a super board of education for every school district in the nation. ”

“ The state of school affairs begins to attract much notice from the legislature, and no doubt the present system of school government will soon be improved. A board of education is appointed in each county, whose office it is to examine candidates for the office of parish school teacher, and report to the local governor as to their competency, previous to his conferring the required license. ”

“ Unlike the governing bodies of cities and counties, school boards have only one responsibility: the education of the youth of our country during their most formative and impressionable years. Apart from health, no subject is closer to the hearts of parents than their children's education during those years. For these reasons, the governance of elementary and secondary education traditionally has been placed in the hands of a local board, responsible locally to the parents and citizens of school districts. ”

“ Should such a board not exist, in any state, or should it be found that an existing board is unprepared to deal effectively with the establishment and promotion of vocational education, then it is expedient that a special administrative Board of Control for Vocational Education shall be established until such time as a state board properly qualified to deal with all forms of state-aided education shall exist. ”

“ It may be stated without reservation that the executive committee of the society are unanimously of the belief that the best way to administer the new provisions for industrial education rapidly being enacted into laws in various states is by a state board of education which has all forms of education under its control. ”

“ In order to secure the benefit of the knowledge and co-operation of the layman, local school authorities are required to appoint, subject to the approval of the State Board of Education, advisory committees composed of members representing local trades and industries, whose duty it shall be to counsel with the board and other officials in the conduct of the affairs of the school.
In both Pennsylvania and New Jersey bills creating state systems of vocational education are likely to pass soon. The Pennsylvania measure has already gone through the House by a vote of 182 to 2. ”

“ The High-School is part of the educational department of our city, and is under the supervision of the Board of Education. We believe it should be fully recognized that neither the name of the High-School nor any of its interests should be used for any purpose whatever without the sanction of the supervising board. ”

“ Leadership and general supervision over all public education, including adult education and instructional programs in state institutions, except as to institutions of higher education granting baccalaureate degrees, is vested in a state board of education. It shall serve as the general planning and coordinating body for all public education, including higher education, and shall advise the legislature as to the financial requirements in connection therewith. ”

“ Advisory committees are not provided for in the act, but it is expected that these will be required by the board of education under authority conferred by previous legislation.
In Connecticut and New York, which have already made some provision for vocational education, laws are pending which considerably extend the scope of the systems. ”

“ The name of the legislative branch of the school government is not material, and the one to which the people are accustomed may well continue to be employed. There is no name more appropriate than the “Board of Education.” ”

“ The organization of different types of secondary schools, and the curriculum appropriate to each, are matters which continue to occupy the attention of educational experts. In accordance with the regulations for secondary schools issued by the Board of Education in 1907, substantial grants were made to secondary schools which conformed to certain conditions as regards local control and undenominational religious instruction, or the directive influence of the board as regards curriculum and management over all such schools was strengthened. ”

“ Hence the State Board of Education is reported to be searching anxiously for a man to fill the lately created office of State Commissioner of Education, who is equal to a revolutionary undertaking. "He must be," says a recent Boston letter, "a broad man, of the right sort to realize the unusual opportunity open to-day." "There is no limit to the salary which the board may offer." "There has been no politics in the board, and there shall be none. ”

“ It will also be within the scope of such a foundation to establish any new agency necessary to carry out any of its conclusions, and equally to contribute to the resources of any existing agencies which are doing efficient and satisfactory work, just as the present General Education Board, organized to promote higher education, is aiding existing colleges and universities. ”

“ The board that distributes the funds will in the last analysis control the policy. Certainly the conservatism of the professional educator is far less to be feared than the narrowness and self-interest of employers’ associations. In following the provisions of the federal bill that the aided schools shall be below college grade, for children over fourteen, the state board will control the standards of the individual schools. Whichever form of control is adopted, the trend towards state centralization of the school system is likely to be greatly strengthened. ”

“ Schools are 'vested' and 'non-vested.' Vested schools are those built by the Board of National Education; non-vested schools are the ordinary schools, and are managed by those who built them. If a committee of persons build a school, it is looked on by the Board as the 'patron.' If a landowner or private person builds a school, he is regarded as the patron if he has no committee. The patron, whether landlord or committee, has power to appoint or dismiss a manager, who corresponds with the Board. ”

“ As at first proposed, (1) the school boards were not to be directly elected by the ratepayers, but were to be appointed by the town council or the vestry. (2) These nominated boards were empowered either to provide schools themselves or to assist existing public elementary schools, provided that such assistance was granted on equal terms to all such schools, upon conditions to be approved by the Education Department. Thus the school board, if it exercised the option of assisting denominational schools, would have been obliged to assist all or none. ”

“ His lordship proposed that the president of the council, and other privy-councillors, not exceeding five, should form a board for the consideration of the manner in which the grants made by parliament should be distributed. He further stated that the first object of such a board should be the establishment of a good normal school; and, in order to make that as perfect as possible, attention should be mainly directed to four objects—religious instruction; general education; moral training ”

“ Under the plurality view, if a school board wants to be assured that it maintains control over the education of its students, every page of every book sought to be acquired must be read before a purchase decision is made. ”

“ There is a minister of education whose jurisdiction extends over the whole kingdom. He represents the school interests in the Prussian diet or Landtag, listens to appeals, distributes school moneys, and is the general educational executive officer. Each of the thirteen royal provinces has a school board whose presiding officer is ex officio the royal president of the province. With him are associated other royal counselors, and pedagogically trained men,—school superintendents and principals. This board consists of men of highest integrity and intelligence. ”

“ A Good School Board.—A good school board is one whose members are alive to their duties and wide-awake to the problems of education. They are men or women who have an intelligent grasp of the situation and who will earnestly attempt to solve the educational problems of school and of life in their community.
Board and Teacher.—If a poor teacher and a good school board are brought together the chances are that they will soon part company. A good school board will not retain a poor teacher longer than it is compelled to do so. ”

“ The local education authority shall throughout their area have the powers and duties of a school board and school attendance committee under the Elementary Education Acts, 1870 to 1900, and any other Acts, including local Acts, and shall also be responsible for and have the control of all secular instruction in public elementary schools not provided by them, and school boards and school attendance committees shall be abolished. ”

“ The benefits derived from the relation with the board of charities may be more than offset by the connection with educational agencies, where the school is recognized as part of the state's educational system. In respect to the providing of maintenance for the pupils, this can be regarded as but an incidence, when any other plan would be impracticable. The main, overshadowing purpose in the work of the institutions is education, and what are supplied beyond are only to render this the more effective. ”

“ A general board of primary education was created, charged to develop and maintain the same under a scientific and administrative plan. Preparatory education was decreed to be uniform for all professions, its extent being limited to the study of such matters as are necessary to the development of the physical and intellectual faculties and the morals of youth, it being further directed that professional education be reorganized, limiting it to technical matters which pertain to the profession or professions to which each particular school is devoted. ”

“ The plurality fails to recognize the fact that local control of education involves democracy in a microcosm. In most public schools in the United States, the parents have a large voice in running the school. [6] Through participation in the election of school board members, the parents influence, if not control, the direction of their children's education. A school board is not a giant bureaucracy far removed from accountability for its actions ”

“ It must be remembered that provision has been made for a national system of vocational education with a Federal Board of Vocational Education guiding it, and that every state board having charge of vocational education is working in conjunction with 315 the national board. ”

“ Quarter Sessions would probably have to institute a well-chosen Educational Board, who would elect one or more competent Inspectors and Examiners, and, considering that the public itself is more enlightened in the question than it used to be, and that the Central Office could always turn its bull's-eye upon them, we might, perhaps, expect that the want to be met and the duty to be discharged would not be marked by the prejudice and ignorance which are often regarded as the characteristics of local administration. ”

“ As always, you will note that there is not one educator on the board. There are few who know anything about education; but all know about business—especially those kinds of business which are transacted with school boards. ”

“ The plurality opinion today rejects a basic concept of public school education in our country: that the States and locally elected school boards should have the responsibility for determining the educational policy of the public schools. After today's decision, any junior high school student, by instituting a suit against a school board or teacher, may invite a judge to overrule an educational decision by the official body designated by the people to operate the schools. ”