Ryerson Memorial Volume: Prepared on the occasion of the unveiling of the Ryerson statute in the grounds of the Education department on the Queen's birthday, 1889Hodgins, J. George (John George)
History
Ryerson Memorial Volume: Prepared on the occasion of the unveiling of the Ryerson statute in the grounds of the Education department on the Queen's birthday, 1889
Hodgins, J. George (John George)
Education -- Ontario; Ryerson, Egerton, 1803-1882
Returning to 1847, we are told that in the whole of Wellington
District, composed of the territory now forming the three counties
of Wellington, Waterloo and Grey, there were 102 schools, of which
only 22 possessed good buildings. Let us glance for a moment at the
then state of finances of the school corporations in which we feel
most interested. Guelph township, including the village of Guelph,
raised $507.38 by the municipal assessment, for school purposes,
realized $556.75 from rate-bills, and received $416.69 from the
legislative grant, or a total of $1,480.82, wherewith to pay seven
teachers, maintain, more or less efficiently, ten schools, and
afford instruction, good, bad or indifferent, as the case might
be, to 517 scholars. The township of Puslinch was nearly abreast
of Guelph, and kept up 10 schools, paid 13 teachers, and had 558
scholars on the roll, at an outlay of $1,381.86, but it must be
remembered that if two or three teachers were employed, at different
portions of the year, in one school, they increased the grand total
of teachers for the year. It may have been that, while thirteen
appear to have been engaged, there were not more, and probably less
than ten employed for the full teaching year. In 1847, Erin had
the highest number of scholars of any municipality in the county,
having returned a total of 585, in six schools, and with eleven
teachers, at an outlay of $1,039.06. Amaranth was at the foot of the
list, with one school, one teacher, thirty-eight scholars, and an
outlay, made up from rate-bill, assessment and legislative grant,
of $68.04. Peel and Wellesley, combined, had one school, three
teachers,--employed at some portion or other of the year,--and spent
$80.52. Nichol (including Fergus and Elora), Eramosa and Garafraxa
made returns,--the name Garafraxa being spelt with a double r, as I
have found it to be in all old official documents,--but Pilkington,
Arthur, Maryboro, Luther and Minto do not appear to have had school
organization, not even municipal existence, while, of the whole
county of Grey, Derby and Sydenham were alone mentioned in the
return. It may be interesting to know--although I am aware, from
painful experience, that listening to strings of figures is not the
most enlivening occupation in the world,--that the whole amount paid
for school purposes, in the county of Wellington, for that year,
was $5,862, of which $5,763 was given to teachers, and that the
average cost for each pupil taught was $2.10. One other fact may be
adduced which will enable you to form a still clearer estimate of
the educational status of Upper Canada at the date referred to. The
Chief Superintendent had, in forms and regulations issued by him,
specified the lowest general standard of qualification for teachers,
but was forced to believe that a much lower standard had been acted
upon by school visitors. These visitors were clergymen, magistrates
and district councillors,--equivalent to our reeves,--and any two of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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