VI. The causes of slow progress in school consolidation.... School section No. 6, Raleigh Township, Kent County.. Teachers' homes.. Rittenhouse School The Macdonald educational movement.. The Macdonald School at Guelph.. Other consolidated schools.... Need of reorganization.......... VII. Preparation, salaries, and tenure of teachers.. Teacher efficiency.... History of teacher training. Model schools.... Provincial normal schools..... Normal school course of study.. Remuneration of teachers.... Teacher tenures increasing.. List of references on rural education in Ontario.... LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Page. 41 41 41 42 44 45 47 48 48 49 49 49 50 52 53 55 57 57 58 Page. Plate 1. The Rittenhouse rural school..... 2. A. Rural school at North Grimsby, Lincoln County; B. Manual train- Frontispiece. 26 3. A. A modern one-teacher school in Middlesex County; B. A new one- 26 4. A. The Vineland Rural School and gardens, Lincoln County, near St. 34 5. Prize collection of flowers and vegetables.... 40 6. A. Watson's School, Guelph Township, Wellington County; B. School 42 7. A. A view of the Rittenhouse School garden; B. Another interesting 42 8. A. The Macdonald Consolidated School and garden, Guelph, Ontario; 46 9. Provincial Normal School at London, Ontario.... 52 28 28 Map showing progress of agricultural teaching in Ontario schools, 1911.. 34 34 PREFACE. This bulletin is the result of a study made in the Province of Ontario during the fall of 1914. The purpose of the investigation was, more than anything else, to seek some fair basis for comparison of the schools of Old Ontario-wedged in as it is between New York and Michigan-and the States across the border. No effort has been made to present a detailed account of the general school system; merely enough has been included to make the general context intelligible. Chief attention is to rural life and rural school conditions. Such phases of the Ontario rural schools as have seemed of greatest interest in view of certain prevailing American conditions have been emphasized. Of special mention are: (1) the successful efforts of the provincial department of education to make the most of its small one-teacher schools by introducing into them agriculture in the form of school gardening and home projects; (2) the practical system for school maintenance and school inspection; and (3) the preparation of rural teachers in model schools, normal schools, and at the provincial agricultural college. Ontario has not solved the problem of rural life through its oneteacher schools; but it has made a marked advance in the direction of projecting the rural schools into its farm homes. The next step for the near future probably will be to reorganize all of these schools as genuine community schools through some form of consolidation. The investigator is indebted to the provincial department of education at Toronto for valuable assistance and for data dealing with the general and special school conditions, and to many of the school inspectors and other educators for courtesies extended. Special acknowledgment is due Prof. S. B. McCready, director of elementary agricultural education in the Province, for much personal assistance and, finally, for reading the entire manuscript and offering valuable suggestions; and to Public School Inspectors J. H. Smith, of Kent County; P. J. Thompson, of Middlesex County; Isaac Day, of Simcoe County; and W. W. Ireland, of Lincoln County, for help while visiting the schools and for the use of photographs and other material. H. W. F. 5 THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF ONTARIO, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE RURAL SCHOOLS. I. GENERAL STATEMENT OF RURAL LIFE CONDITIONS IN ONTARIO. BRIEF HISTORIC SKETCH. The Province of Ontario is the most important in the entire Dominion of Canada, considered in relation to population, wealth, and general agricultural and other industrial development. It is a large domain, extending 1,000 miles from east to west and 700 miles from north to south. The total area is 260,862 square miles, being nearly four and one-half times as large as the State of Michigan and almost five and one-half times as large as the State of New York. It has a population of 2,523,274 (1911). Nine-tenths of the people, however, live in one-tenth of the area-the region between the Great Lakes on the one hand and the Ottawa and the St. Lawrence Rivers on the other. Of the total population 1,194,785, or considerably less than one-half, is classed as rural and the remaining 1,328,489 as urban. In the census classification in Canada, all persons living in incorporated villages are included in the returns as urban. Some of these villages contain fewer than 800 people. In the United States the census classification counts as rural the population of all towns. under 2,500. That part of the Province between the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers in the east and Lakes Ontario, Erie, and Huron in the west is usually known as "Old Ontario." The frontiers of this region along these waterways have been settled for about 100 years and inland for 60 years or more. To the vast tract north and west of Old Ontario the names of "New Ontario" or "Northern Ontario" are commonly applied. In this region pioneer settlement is now proceeding. The wedge-shaped peninsula lying between the lower Great Lakes, usually known as the "Western Peninsula," forms a particularly admirable agricultural region. It is generally conceded to be the best part of the Province. The soil is, generally speaking, good. Near the lakes it comprises silt deposits from ancient lake beds, while in other places it is somewhat rolling, the body of the soil being bowlder clay interspersed with stony moraines. The climate in this section is greatly tempered by the Great Lakes, which prevent extremes of heat and cold experienced elsewhere. Owing to the mildness of the winters, the peninsula has become famous for its orchards of apples, plums, and peaches. Large quantities of grapes and tomatoes are also produced. The small grains and the forage plants usually found in similar latitudes do remarkably well. In Essex County, tobacco is an important crop. Truck farming is carried on extensively as a source of supply for the growing industrial centers. "New Ontario" or "Northern Ontario," stretching away for many hundreds of miles to the north and west, and touching as it does both James Bay and Manitoba, is far larger than the region just described. Until recently it was little known, the rocky hills beyond the Ottawa being long the accepted barrier to settlement. Gradually, however, this new domain is being opened up. It has proved rich in soil and minerals and lumber, but as yet it plays only a minor part in the life of the Province, and may for all practical purposes be left out of consideration in the present study. PROBLEMS OF RURAL LIFE. In 1791 it had Old Ontario has developed rapidly in recent years. a population not exceeding 20,000. At this time it has, as stated above, more than 2,500,000 people. The land is well developed, being divided into many large and small farms. Prosperous rural villages and growing cities have sprung up at the natural economic centers throughout the peninsula. The average rural community is prosperous; the standards of intelligence are high. Land values, however, appear to be somewhat less than for similar lands across the border. The standards of living are just as good as in the United States, and as one would expect an unrest prevails in rural life there as well as on the American side. DECREASING RURAL POPULATION. Rural sociologists in the United States have been much concerned in recent years over the disproportionate growth of urban and rural communities. In 1790 only 3.4 per cent of the American peopl lived in incorporated places, while by 1914 the nation has become half urban and half rural. Similar tendencies have prevailed in the Province of Ontario. In 1891 rural Ontario had a population numbering 1,295,323. But by 1901 this number had dropped to 1,246,969, and by 1911 still lower to 1,194,785-a decrease in the period of 100,358, or 7.7 per cent. A few counties showed an increase during the period, but these were chiefly the newer counties toward the north. Practically all the older counties showed a marked decrease. |