The Santa Barbara County Institute was held in Santa Barbara, September 22-25. It was expected that Professor Childs of San Jose would be present, but this expectation was not fulfilled. Mr. Syle of San Francisco, having recently become a resident of Santa Barbara County, was ineligible, under the law, for the position of Institute Conductor, although he gave two lectures during the session; one on "The Teaching of English," the other on "Picturesque and Historic England." The former lecture gave rise to a lively discussion, by which it seemed pretty well established that, in the opinion of the teachers, the State and County Courses of Education are crammed with much unprofitable matter; far more than the children can digest, even if it were all good. State Superintendent Hoitt was present and stated that he agreed with the concensus of the Institute-that there is too much in the course of study. Mr. Hoitt also lectured on the evening of September 23d, and gave an account of the progress of education in California during his administration. Mr. J. S. Denton of Central gave two excellent talks on Drawing and Miss Winchester of Santa Barbara spoke with vigorous eloquence in favor of Physical Culture. Mrs. Hoitt was down on the programme for a paper, but, to the great regret of all present, she was summoned back to Sacramento before the time arrived for her to read.

COUNTY TEACHERS' INSTITUTE.

Notice is hereby given that the San Luis Obispo County Teachers' Institute for the fiscal year 1890 and 1891 will be held at the city of San Luis Obispo on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, October 7, 8 9, 1890. The Institute will be conducted by Dr. A. E. Winship of Boston, Mass. Other distinguished educators will be present and the session will prove, it is hoped, to be one of unusual interest and profit to teachers and patrons of the cause of popular education.

The attention of Trustees and teachers is respectfully called to sections 1560 to 1565 of the school law of 1889.

Programmes containing order of exercises and the usual committees will be mailed to teachers in due time.

A general invitation is extended to all friends of the public schools. W. M. ARMSTRONG, County Superintendent of Schools.

Editorial Department.

MANY of us have been watching with interest the progress of the class in journalism, established in Cornell University, and it is with no small degree of pleasure that we read in President Adams' report, of its practicability and usefulness. Now that Cornell has taken the initiative, why should not other colleges follow in her footstepsthus sending out trained journalists.

When one considers the great reading public, the great power of the press, the great interests of humanity, the history of to-day as it is being told by our newspapers, one wonders that steps have not been taken long ere this, to make the profession of journalism what it ought to be.

Here and there are found college graduates presiding at the editorial desk, and occasionally one finds them in the reportorial staff, usually doing conscientious work. But, for the most part, the daily reporters are men from the secondary schools who could not have had the necessary study of English.

Often the reporter is chosen for his ability to find news, instead of being selected for his ability to write in good English about the facts that come to his notice.

Complaint is made, and justly, too, of the trashy, florid descriptions that often fill the colums of the papers, and the argument is often advanced that this is what the majority of the people want, and the papers are edited to please the majority. Then there remains to be done-to educate the people, to raise its standard. After all, the daily newspaper is the great teacher; it reaches the masses; why should it not fulfill one of its missions-that of helping to educate them? If for the main part there is good English and correct style in our newspapers, we, as a nation, will acquire a taste for it and a distaste for that which is trashy and sensational, and so, by degrees, will be raised our national standard.

The profession of journalism should be held in as great respect as that of medicine. The training, in part, of the minds and morals of a nation, should not rest so largely in the hands of inexperienced young men, but should be intrusted to those who have been taught to feel their responsibility and who have received the necessary liberal training.

We are making history day by day; why should not the story of our times be told in good, pure English?

And is it not high time that we, as a great nation, should stop and ask ourselves why our leading papers have so far drifted away from that standard of literary excellence, which, as a progressive nation, we have a right to expect from them.

We think that the establishment of departments of journalism throughout the country may correct much of the evil, and so we say again we are glad to hear that the experiment was made at Cornell.

IT IS with regret that we learn from our Eastern exchanges, that the next meeting of the National Association is to be held in Saratoga. A fashionable watering-place offers so few inducements in an educational way, that one is led to wonder why Saratoga should have been chosen. A gathering of such national importance should be held in one of the representative cities, since it is only in a large city that the proper newspaper reports can be prepared. The proceedings of so large a body of teachers would be of general interest, and if the meeting were held in a large city, the leading dailies would devote much space to the reports.

As it is, the regular reporters can hardly be spared to go such a distance; nor can they be away from their own cities for so long a time; and the question of expense comes in also; so it seems as though this year we must, perforce, be content with meager reports of what might be the most interesting gathering of the year.

Prof. R. W. Garratt of Tennessee is to be President for the next year; we are glad of it; it is but fitting that the South should be represented now, since so many of the officers of late have been chosen from the northeastern section of the country.

Perhaps, too, a few "leading minds" will not longer be allowed to control the association, and it may also happen that under a different regime, the discussion of many subjects may be conducted on a higher plane.

ORDINARY OBSERVERS are frequently interested and sometimes even astonished to note how pertinaciously theories and facts will occasionally refuse to agree. The theory-maker will produce argument after argument, and all logically strung together, to show that a certain result will inevitably follow a given course of action; so that we are compelled to believe whether we wish to or not.

Not unfrequently, however, there is such a persistent refusal on the part of the theories and the facts to harmonize, that public attention is awakened and we are led to seek for a satisfactory solution of the difficulty.

A notable example of this lack of harmony is furnished in the history of educational movements during the past fifteen or twenty years. Quite a number of people actually believed that the colleges and higher institutions of learning should be thrown open to women, and not a few ambitious young ladies applied for admission. Some college professors treated the matter as a joke; some sympathized with the movement, but thought it ill-advised, as the young ladies would be unable to perform the work satisfactorily; while others advocated the new departure and gave the ladies their advice and influence.

It is somewhat amusing, in the light of these years of experience and trial, to recall the arguments made by wiseacres against the higher education of women and the deplorable results which would certainly follow. In the first place, they could not do the required work. Facts show that they could and that they have uniformly stood at the head of their classes.

Miss Fawcett has even taken the highest honors at the great English University at Cambridge, distancing all competitors. Then another argument was based on woman's inferiority physically, but experience has shown that even this is destitute of validity. In the mean time, colleges and universities are throwing open their doors and young ladies are taking advantage of the opportunities offered; society is gradually becoming permeated with loftier ideals and theories are at a discount.

"Matson's Frame" was advertised on the last page of the cover in the September JOURNAL, but by an error the printer made it read Watson's. The advertisement in the current issue is correct and we particularly wish to direct attention to it as we consider the "Frame" of great value. Primary teachers will hardly know how to do without it after they have once learned its value.

MEETING OF SAN FRANCISCO PRINCIPALS.

The San Francisco Principals met on Friday, Sept. 12th, at Odd Fellows' Hall, with Superintendent Anderson in the chair.

Dr. Stebbins was to have addressed the Association, but was prevented by other engagements.

Silas A. White, of the Spring Valley Grammar School, entertained and instructed the assembly with an account of his vacation trip to the East and Europe.

He found the public schools of Salt Lake City in a very poor condition.

At Quincy, Ill., he found wide-awake teachers, who visited San Francisco in 1887, receiving lessons in tonic sol-fa at the expense of the Board of Education.

At Rochester, N. Y., the teachers were receiving lessons in drawing and modeling on the same plan. He was struck with the age of the pupils in the High School; they seemed young men and women.

The generosity of Boston toward its public schools was eulogized, the speaker declaring that he should always resent hereafter any allusion to the "Meanness of the Yankee."

In Europe the speaker visited schools in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France and England. The two points he saw most to commend were the excellence of school buildings and the practice in Germany of "open air" schools, the teacher frequently taking his pupils on long walks in which healthful exercise is intermingled with instruction.

American text books and furniture are superior, but Europe has the advantage of us in buildings and museums and other aids to the teacher.

He visited a public school in London where clothing and food were provided for the poorer pupils.

The Principals declared that Mr. White had given them a very interesting afternoon and gave him a vote of thanks.

After some discussion of the question of pensions for teachers the meeting adjourned.