economics to be taught in all schools; and to classify them as high schools of the first, second and third class."

Acting in conjunction with the State High School Inspector, all high schools have been classified by the State Board of Education, and furnished proper courses of study to meet the requirements of the above Act.

(A full statement of the High School work, prepared by the State High School Inspector, will be found elsewhere in this report.)

The function of the High School is to offer, free of cost, to every child an education that will fit the individual for good citizenship by better preparation for the various activities of life; to furnish the connecting link between the elementary school and the college or university; to perfect and unify the County system of schools; to furnish better prepared rural teachers; to stimulate the elementary school by giving opportunity and encouragement to the individual to go higher, thus prolonging the period of school life.

STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS.

Section 7, Chapter 264, Acts 1909, provides:

“That thirteen per cent of the General Education Fund provided by this Act may be used for the establishment and maintenance of Normal Schools solely for the education and professional training of teachers for the elementary schools of the State as herein provided. One Normal School for the education and professional training of white teachers shall be established and maintained in each Grand Division of the State, and shall be open and free alike to white males and females resident in the State of Tennessee; and one Agricultural and Industrial Normal School for the industrial education of negroes and for preparing negro teachers for common schools shall be established and maintained, and shall be open and free alike to negro`males and females resident in the State of Tennessee; but no person shall be admitted to either of these schools who is under sixteen years of age and who has not finished at least the elementary school course prescribed for public schools of the State; nor shall any person be admitted to either of the Normal schools for white teachers who does not first sign a pledge to teach in the public or

private schools of the State of Tennessee, within the next six years after leaving the school, at least as long as he or she has attended said school.

Each school established and maintained under the provisions of this section of this Act shall have connected with it one or more practice and observation schools, in which shall be taught at least all the subjects prescribed for the primary schools of the State; and the County Boards of Education of any county, or the District Directors of any school district, or the Board of Education of any incorporated city or town having a special school system under the provisions of its charter may, and the same is hereby empowered to, contract with the State Board of Education to provide for the teaching of children of public-school age in such practice and observation schools, and to pay to the said Normal school all or any portion of the public school fund belonging to such county, district, or incorporated city or town, as agreed upon by the school authorities of said county, school district, or incorporated city or town, and the State Board of Education, as in the case of consolidated schools under the provisions of the State school law.

The principals and instructors in the Normal schools for the education and training of white teachers may be required to assist in conducting Teachers' Institutes in any of the counties of the Grand Division of the State in which said school is located. Provided, that no principal or instructor may thus be required to assist in institutes more than six weeks in any one year.

Provided, further, that no more than two inembers of the faculty of any Normal school may be required to be absent from the school for this purpose at the time.

And, provided, further, that all such service shall be performed without additional pay, except that necessary traveling expenses. and hotel bills while engaged in this service shall be paid out of the funds of the Normal school.

A certificate of graduation from any one of the said Normal schools shall entitle the holder thereof to teach in any of the public schools of the State without further examination for a period of four years from the date of such certificate. Any such graduate who completes within the said period of four years such additional courses of reading and study as may be prescribed by the State Board of Education and shall pass the required ex

aminations in the same and has proven his ability as a teacher by teaching acceptably not less than fifteen months within this period may, upon application, be granted a permanent license to teach in any of the public elementary schools of the State.

The course of study and the rules and regulations shall be the same for all the said Normal schools, with such minor modifications for any school as may be required by local conditions; provided, that such courses of study shall include instruction in ordinary English branches, in vocal music, drawing, domestic science, manual training; elements of chemistry, physics, and biology; the elementary principles of agriculture, horticulture, and home economics; and in the history, principles, and methods of education; and, provided, further, that the courses of study for the Agricultural and Industrial Normal School for negroes shall be of such practical nature as to fit the conditions and needs of their race.

The general management and control of all Normal schools established and maintained under the provisions of this section. of this Act shall be vested in the State Board of Education; and the said State Board of Education shall have power to employ a bookkeeper, whose duty it shall be to keep the accounts of the Normal school funds as directed by the Board, and the salary shall be fixed by the Board and paid out of the Normal school fund herein provided before its apportionment to the several schools on the warrant of the Comptroller. All schools established under the provisions of this section of this Act shall eb located by the State Board of Education; and in making such locations, said Board shall take into consideration accessibility, centralness of position, healthfulness of location, cheapness of living, opportunities for arranging for suitable practice and observation of this Act, looking to the location and establishment of these schools, and to the opening of the same at the earliest date practicable.

All disbursements of money under the provisions of this section of this Act shall be made on the certificate of the President and Secretary of the State Board of Education, by the Comptroller of the Treasury, in the manner prescribed by law for the disbursement of money to charitable institutions.

Sec. 8. Be it further enacted, That for the year one thousand nine hundred and nine and annually thereafter seven per cent

of the General Education Fund provided by this Act shall be, and the same is hereby, appropriated to the University of Tennessee, to be used for the maintenance and improvement of the same, as the head of the public school system of the State, as the General Assembly of the State may from time to time direct by resolution or enactment, or as the Board of Trustees of said University may elect.

Provided, That ten per cent, but not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) annually, of the amount herein apportioned to the University of Tennessee shall be used for the maintenance of the Agricultural and Horticultural Experiment Station and Model Farm, located in West Tennessee, and five per cent, but not less than five thousand dollars annually, for the maintenance of co-operative agricultural experiments in Middle Tennessee.

Provided, further, that an amount not exceeding five per cent of the sun apportioned annually to the University may be used to pay the traveling expenses of young men and women of Tennessee attending the University, under such rules and regulations as the Board of Trustees of said University may adopt, but the traveling expenses of no student shall be paid who does not remain through the entire school year, nor shall the expenses of any student be paid more than once each way in any year.

It will be seen that the above Act does not furnish sufficient funds for the erection and equipment of buildings for the Normal schools, hence, an additional Act was passed, Chapter 580, Acts 1909, whereby any county or municipality in Tennessee may issue bonds to the amount of $100,000 for the purpose of erecting and equipping buildings. Twenty-one places submitted propositions for the location of one of the schools.

In East Tennnessee the following towns and counties submitted propositions: Johnson City and Washington County; Sweetwater and Monroe County; Cleveland and Bradley County; Dayton and Rhea County; Athens and McMinn County.

In Middle Tennessee the following towns and counties submitted propositions: Winchester and Franklin County; Tullahoma and Coffee County; Fayetteville and Lincoln County; Columbia and Maury County; Cookeville and Putnam County; Murfreesboro and Rutherford County; Clarksville and Montgomery County; Shelbyville and Bedford County; Monterey and! Putnam County.

In West Tennessee the following towns and counties submitted propositions: Huntingdon and Carroll County; Jackson and Madison County; McKenzie and Carroll County; Covington and Tipton County; Memphis and Shelby County; Humboldt and Gibson County. The towns of Trenton and Milan submitted propositions, but later withdrew in favor of Humboldt.

The above towns and Counties all together submitted in money, lands and bonds more than three and a quarter millions of dollars.

The Board set a date for visiting all competitive places. At every point large delegations of the best citizens of the town and county met the Board, and speeches were made by local representatives, setting forth the specific advantages of each place from the standpoint of its accessibility, centralness of location, healthfulness, moral tone of the community, and donations offered, etc. In addition to the arguments presented by the speakers, briefs were filed with the Board for their reference and guidance when the location was to be definitely determined.

After having visited all the places and studying carefully the advantages and disadvantages of each place, the Board in regular session, December 2, 1909, by a majority vote, decided on the following places: For East Tennessee, Johnson City; for Middle Tennessee, Murfreesboro; for West Tennessee, Memphis.

Johnson City appropriated $150,000. in bonds, free lights and water and other valuable considerations, such as building a street railway to the school and providing granolithic sidewalks. Mr. George L. Carter donated to the Board a valuable site worth perhaps $60,000.

Murfreesboro appropriated $180,000 in bonds, and a free site of 80 acres, worth $20,000 was provided for.

Memphis appropriated $350,000 in bonds and a free site of 48 acres was provided for.

Following the location of schools, the State Superintendent sent out circular of information for the use of architects who desired to submit competitive plans for any or all the buildings. Open competition was invited and twenty-one different plans were submitted. The State Board of Education examined all of the different plans submitted by the competing architects, and after mature deliberation accepted the plan of Baumann Brothers, Knoxville, for the East Tennessee Normal School;