TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. THE Board of Education, in presenting to the Legislature their Twelfth Annual Report, are happy in being able to speak of the continued prosperity of the schools of this Commonwealth, and of the continued interest manifested, on the part of the people, in the cause of universal education. This is, emphatically, one of the great interests of the State; and, so long as the successive generations that spring up here are moral and intelligent, so long we are sure our prosperity will continue. During the past year, one member of this board, JOSEPH W. INGRAHAM, Esq., of Boston, a devoted and tried friend of the cause of education, has been removed by death. In the early part of the year, Hon. HORACE MANN, the Secretary of the Board, was elected to fill the place in the Congress of the United States, vacated by the death of the Hon. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. It was with deep regret we received his resignation in May last. Not being prepared, at that time, to appoint a successor, he was requested to perform the duties of the office until the annual meeting, and prepare the report, which accompanies this of the Board. We need not say, that Mr. MANN has faithfully performed the duties of the office he has held, for twelve years, and thoroughly aroused the people of this Commonwealth to the importance of Common School education. He has devoted himself to this great work with a noble, self-denying zeal, and has enstamped his name so deeply on the educational interests of the State, that it will never be effaced. It has been his lot, in common with all others ardently devoted to plans for promoting human welfare, to be looked upon with suspicion by some, and to encounter opposition; but this Board feel assured, that he has honestly labored to raise the standard of intellectual and moral education, uninfluenced by any sinister motive. In parting with one, who has performed a good service for the State, we deem it a pleasure, as well as a duty, to bear this, our public testimony, to the fidelity and good faith with which he has performed the duties of his office. Knowing it would require some time for any one, who might succeed Mr. MANN, to separate himself from the business in which he might be engaged, and be prepared to enter upon the duties of the Secretaryship as soon as the office should be vacated, the Board met in September, and unanimously elected Rev. BARNAS SEARS, of Newton, to be their Secretary. October 27, 1848, he transmitted to the Board the following answer:- The many generous assurances of sympathy and aid, which I have received, have at length induced me to accept the appointment, relying on the counsels of the Board to aid me in the great work to which they have called me." At the date of this report, Dr. SEARS enters upon the duties of his office. He has been, for many years, devoted to the cause of education, for five years a member of this Board, and fully acquainted with its operations; we, therefore, deem him well qualified for the duties of this responsible office. It is the wish of the Board, having so thoroughly called the attention of the people to the importance of Common Schools, and awakened an interest which has manifested itself in the improvement of schoolhouses, on which more than two millions of dollars have been expended during the last ten years; in doubling the appropriations made in the cities and towns for the support of schools; in the demand for better teachers, and in the provision made for furnishing them, to perform now, if possible, a service of a more practical kind. After having spent so much time and labor upon the system, we wish to give more attention to the actual condition of the schools, and to afford aid and encouragement to teachers, parents, committee men, and the friends of education in all the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, as far as it can be done by the labors of one man. We made known to the Secretary our views and wishes on this subject at the time of his appointment. It will be seen at once, that, if the Secretary spends a considerable part of his time in travelling throughout the State, for the purpose of visiting the schools, it must be attended with considerable expense. It is our opinion that he cannot afford to do it, as it should be done, with the salary at present allowed. We, therefore, take the liberty to suggest, to the honorable Legislature, that the travelling expenses, or such part of them as the Board shall deem reasonable and just, be paid, in addition to the present salary. Accompanying this, are the reports of the Visiters of the Normal Schools, which show them to be increasing in prosperity and usefulness. Those young ladies and gentlemen who resort to these schools, find them so beneficial, that many of them continue a longer time than the terms of admission require. They find no difficulty in obtaining schools, with higher wages than they have before received, or the districts paid. In some parts of the State, female teachers, especially, receive twice as much as formerly, so that a young lady, in one year after leaving the Normal School, can almost defray the expense of a year's attendance by the extra pay she receives. The more we see of the benign effects of the system of Normal Schools, the more fully are we persuaded that the establishment of them was wise and judicious. They exert a beneficial influence upon teachers that do not attend. The pupils at these schools have come from every county, and from almost half the towns, in the State. Through them, many others become acquainted with improved modes of teaching, and the best mode of illustrating a particular subject, and make use of them in their schools. We are gratified to know that teachers generally, throughout the State, manifest an increasing interest in their work; that a state and several county associations have been formed, and that teachers meet together to stimulate each other to improvement and progress. Though there is much that is encouraging, the work is not accomplished. Let the stimulus that is now given to this cause by the State be withheld, and we have reason to believe that a general apathy and indifference would again prevail. If the State should relax her efforts, or withhold her support, the people will relax theirs, and ignorance and vice, which always go hand in hand, will extend their dominion, consume the wealth, and diminish the power, of our Commonwealth. As God, in his providence, has taught us that the prosperity and happiness of a people depend on the universality and thoroughness of the moral and intellectual training of the young, we must endeavor to give to all the children not only an ability to read, but to understand what they read, that they may become an honor and an ornament to our Commonwealth. In conclusion, we would respectfully call the attention of the members of the Legislature to some statements appended to the Secretary's Report, respecting the onerous duties of that office, and the difficulties attending the performance of them. We would also invite the attention of the people generally to a consideration of what has been done the last twelve years, and to the position of Massachusetts in this great confederacy of states, and the importance of giving to all the children a thorough intellectual and moral education. All of which is respectfully submitted. BOSTON, Nov. 24th, 1848. GEO. N. BRIGGS, H. HUMPHREY, GEO. B. EMERSON. The Committee of Visiters of the West Newton Normal School, appointed at the meeting of this Board held in May last, consisted of Messrs. Sears, Ingraham, and the subscriber. As both Dr. Sears and Mr. Ingraham resided in the immediate vicinity of the school, they were relied upon to take the particular supervision of it. This duty was discharged by them respectively until the death of the latter, and the resignation of the former. The remaining Visiter is consequently not so well prepared to report upon the condition of the school as he otherwise would have been. He is prepared, however, to report generally, that the school is in a flourishing condition, and that its progress and management since the appointment of this Committee have been highly satisfactory. The number of pupils at the commencement of the present term was 77, and is, at the present time, 70, a very considerable increase upon the number in former terms. The Model School connected with the Institution, owing to an arrangement made with the school district in which it is located, and by which a large portion of its expense is defrayed by the district, has increased in number from about thirtyfive to eighty, and is believed to be satisfactorily answering the object of its establishment. The Principal, Mr. Pierce, and his assistants, Miss Lincoln and Miss Watson, are entitled to the fullest approbation of the Board for the ability, energy, and zeal with which they continue to discharge their respective duties. All which is respectfully submitted. THOMAS KINNICUTT. The Visiters of the State Normal School, at Bridgewater, respectfully submit the following Report : The Examination at the close of the term was conducted by the Principal, in the most careful and thorough manner, in the |