As matters now stand, however, there is no way in which the people of Philadelphia can register their will concerning the work of the public schools. This condition results from the fact that the members of the Board of Public Education are appointed by the judiciary rather than elected by the people. There is no escaping either the logic or the wisdom of maintaining that, where the members of a board of education have the direct power to levy and collect taxes for the support of the public schools, it follows as a necessary corollary that the members of such a board should be elected directly by the people taxed and so become directly responsible to them. Of course, one can make out a case from any report by taking the worst items and quoting these alone. So I hasten to state that the makers of the survey found some things in the Philadelphia schools of which they could approve, and they were profuse in pious hopes that other things would be made better. But nothing can alter the significance of a statement such as the following: Sixty-four per cent of the children examined were found physically defective. Or of a statement such as this: The most depressing condition observed was the indifference or passivity of a large proportion of the classes visited. Pupils asked very few questions, and it is most exceptional to find a recitation in which thoughtful inquiry is usual and frequent. Real discussion is as rare as signs of eager interest. And again: There is no organized attempt at any high school in Philadelphia, as far as the administration is concerned, to teach the pupils how to study. Philadelphia has a new superintendent, by the name of Broome, and he was hailed as “the Broome that sweeps clean.” He had one new idea when he took charge of the schools; he wanted a teachers’ council, and that sounded like a revolutionary idea, and the teachers were interested. This council was to deal with all matters connected with the interests of teachers, and it would save the board of education the need of being troubled with teachers’ complaints. Presently it developed that out of the thirty-one members, considerably more than the majority were to be elected by small groups from the supervising force. After much political manipulation the superintendent succeeded in putting this plan over on the teachers; the council has now been in operation for a year, and all teachers realize its purpose. It has done nothing for teacher welfare—but it stands in the way, so that no teacher can any longer get access to the board of education!