Authorization of Textbooks for the Schools of Ontario 1846–1950 9781487579913

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AUTHORIZATION OF TEXTBOOKS FOR THE SCHOOLS OF ONTARIO

1846-1950

Authorization of Textbooks for the Schools of Ontario 1846-1950

VIOLA ELIZABETH PARVIN

Published in association with the Canadian Textbook Publishers' Institute

by University of Toronto Press

© Viola Elizabeth Parvin Day 1965 Printed in Canada

Reprinted in 2018 ISBN 978-1-4875-8098-8 (paper)

Acknowledgment is made to W. J. Gage Ltd. for permission to quote passages from C. E. Phillips, The Development of Education in Canada (1957), and F. K. Stewart, Interprovincial Co-operation in Education ( 1957); also to Dr. Sherwood Fox for permission to quote from his article "School Readers as an Educational Force," Queen's Quarterly, XXXIX, No. 4 (Nov. 1932), pp. 688-703.

Foreword

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO pupils in Ontario might have imagined that they were growing up in Ireland because their textbooks came from there. Today ahnost all of the textbooks used in Canadian schools are written by Canadian teachers and produced in this country by Canadian publishers. They rank with the best in print. When Canadian textbook publishers learned of Miss Parvin's study of the changing policies affecting the authorization of school textbooks in Ontario from the inception of authorization in 1846 to the termination in 1950 of the system of single-text authorizations, it was natural for them to show interest. Publication of this important work has been sponsored by the Canadian Textbook Publishers' Institute, an organization of fourteen competitive publishers who are actively engaged in the development of textbooks for Canadian teachers and pupils. Only once in Miss Parvin's account are Canadian publishers seen acting together ( through the Toronto Board of Trade in presenting a Brief to the Hope Royal Commission, 1945). Rarely have they taken united stands on educational issues. Rather, it is their ambition and their responsibility to serve quietly and devotedly, albeit competitively, the causes of education through textbooks, in the belief that as an instrument of education, the book is second in importance only to the teacher. The Canadian Textbook Publishers' Institute wishes to acknowledge the valuable assistance of the University of Toronto Press provided by its Director, Mr. Marsh Jeanneret, and by its editorial staff in the final preparation and production of this work. Above all, the Institute wishes to record its appreciation of Miss Parvin's devotion to her topic and her engaging presentation of it.

W. H. E. BELT, Vice-President Canadian Textbook Publishers Institute

Members of the Canadian Textbook Publishers' Institute

The Book Society of Canada Limited The Copp Clark Publishing Company Limited

J. M. Dent & Sons (Canada) Limited W. J. Gage Limited The House of Grant (Canada) Limited Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada Limited Longmans Canada Limited The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited McClelland & Stewart Limited McGraw-Hill Company of Canada Limited Thomas Nelson & Sons (Canada) Limited Oxford University Press Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons (Canada) Limited The Ryerson Press

Preface

THAT THE SCHOOL textbook is still a current topic of interest to the general public in Canada is evident from the voluminous files on the subject at the headquarters of the country's leading newspapers. Among those most closely involved with the problem are the educators whose concern it is to supply appropriate and up-to-date textbooks to the children in our schools and the publishers whose job it is to produce these books. Although great progress is now being made in the field of Canadian textbook publishing, much research still needs to be done. It is the purpose of this book to show some of the past developments in Canadian textbooks and textbook regulations with the hope that a contribution toward the improvement of education will be made and useful information provided for those wishing to pursue more intensive research. An acknowledgment of indebtedness is made to all those whose names are in documentary notes and references; to publishers who gave permission to use quotations from their copyrighted publications; to the Canadian Textbook Publishers' Institute for financial assistance in the research necessary for the book, particularly to Dr. Wilfred R. Wees, Vice-President in charge of Education of W. J. Gage Ltd., and to Mr. Franklin L. Barrett, Vice-President and Director of the Textbook Division of the Copp Clark Publishing Co. Ltd.; to Mrs. A. G. Grant of the Editorial Department of the University of Toronto Press; to the staff of the Graduate Division of the Ontario College of Education, University of Toronto, for their encouragement and guidance, especially to Professor George E. Flower, Director of Graduate Studies, and to Professor Clifford C. Pitt, Associate Director of Graduate Studies; to numerous librarians for help in locating materials; to my family for their patience during the final stages of the work; and to many others for their interest in all stages of the project. V.E.P.D.

Contents

FOREWORD

PREFACE INTRODUCOON

1 Textbooks in Upper Canada before 1846

V

vii

3

6

2 The Ryerson Period, 184~1876

18

3 From Crooks to Harcourt, 187~1903

47

4 Textbook Revision, 1906-1936

81

5 Changing Concepts of Education, 1936-1950

100

6 Epilogue

123

BIBLIOGRAPHY

126

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TEXTBOOKS

132

APPENDIXES

145

INDEX

159

AUTHORIZATION OF TEXTBOOKS FOR THE SCHOOLS OF ONTARIO

1846-1950

Introduction

the most popular instrument of instruction in the hands of educators. Its widespread use has at the same time provided one of the controversial issues in education, for it has been regarded as both the cause and the solution of educational problems. By some people the textbook is considered indispensable, and of equal importance with the teacher; by others it is looked upon as unimportant, as an impediment to learning, or as a crutch for the poor teacher. Between these two extremes is the viewpoint which recognizes the textbook as an important tool for the teacher and as one of the chief sources of indirect experience available to the pupil. For many years it has been held that much could be done to foster international good will by giving attention to what is said or left unsaid in the textbooks of one country about other countries. An example of such effort is seen in the work of the Canada-United States Committee on Education and the surveys it has made of the history textbooks used in the two countries. 1 On a broader scale, a contribution toward improving international relations was made by the International Institute for Intellectual Co-operation, a committee of the League of Nations. Outstanding among its publications is School Textbook Revision and International Understanding, published in 1933 and listed by Harry J. Krould in a report on the examination and improvement of textbooks. UNESCO has also recognized the value of the textbook for promoting international understanding and has planned a programme based on an international effort to improve textbooks. UNESCO recognizes that such improvement is inevitably a slow process but members have made a beginning by building on the past experience of such groups as the Institute for Intellectual Co-operation. If it has a few THE TEXTBOOK HAS LONG BEEN

lCanada-United States Committee on Education, A Study of National Hldory Textbooks Used In the Schools of Canada and the United Statu. ··

4

Authorization of Textbooks 1846-1950

years of relatively favourable international conditions, UNESCO may be able to effect, through its member states, a continuing improvement in textbooks. 2 In the light of UNESCO's recommendations that research be undertaken, and because textbooks have admittedly such an important role in education, it seems that serious evaluative studies need to be made. The introduction of new media such as films, television, and teaching machines also underlines the desirability of such studies. Topics for these might include, among others, the place of the text in the educative process, the effectiveness of textbooks, analyses of the contents of textbooks, and criteria for the selection of textbooks. The results of these investigations would provide information that might be helpful in planning for curriculum improvement. But before such studies can be made in Canada, it is necessary to investigate past developments in order better to understand existing conditions. The purpose of the present study, therefore, is to investigate the changing policies which affected the authorization of elementary school textbooks. Since Ontario set precedents for the other provinces, this study will deal with texts in Ontario from the inception of authorization in 1846 to the termination in 1950 of the system of authorizing a single text for each subject. The study is concerned chiefly with the policies of the Ontario Department of Education which directed and controlled the selection, preparation, and authorization of textbooks. During the period 1846 to 1950 texts for the elementary schools of the province were regulated by legislation which changed remarkably little. The purpose of the legislation was to provide for a supply of books at reasonable cost, to provide for uniformity in classroom instruction, and to alleviate the influence of American textbook material. Teachers were forbidden by law to use as a text, or to require pupils to purchase any book not authorized by the Department of Education. By this law the Department was able to control to a great extent the publication and use ·of textbooks by penalizing, usually financially, both schools and teachers that used books other than those on an authorized list. This law and the enforcement of it were the source of much criticism by teachers, by the public, and by the publishers. At times during this period the textbook became a burning public issue. The full intent of the legislation was not, therefore, easily realized and the story of the period is the story of the many attempts to limit the number of kinds of books for each subject, to control their content, and to regulate their price. The term textbook as used here refers to a book de~g with a 2James I. Quillen, Tmbook Improvement and International Understanding, p. v.

lntf'oduction

5

definite subject of study, systematically arranged, intended for use at a specified level of instruction, and used as a principal source of study material for a given course. Canadian texts have varied from lesson sheets with questions and answers for memorization to large books to be used only for reference. Only aspects of textbook history pertinent to authorization are stressed here. A textbook was described as authorized when a contract for its publication was drawn up between the Department of Education and the publisher and ratified by an Order-in-Council. Authorization of a book was made effective by a provision in the school laws forbidding the use of unauthorized books as texts.

I.

Textbooks in Upper Canada before 1846

1791 wm:N UPPER AND LOWER CANADA became separate provinces, there were few schools for the sparse population. The need for publicly supported education had not yet been recognized. As the population increased, private elementary schools grew in number. Understandably, the pioneer country was not equipped to furnish either teachers or books for such schools as did exist, and immigrants and itinerant teachers from the United States brought American textbooks with them. Suspicion of these books and teachers was one factor that induced the government in Upper Canada to attempt control over some aspects of education. In 1799, the government declared that thereafter all teachers must be licensed after examination by commissioners duly appointed by the Crown. In 1807, the legislature acknowledged a much greater responsibility for education. It passed an act providing for the establishment of a secondary school in each of the eight districts of Upper Canada. The Reverend John Strachan, who later became a prominent figure in education in Upper Canada, was a teacher in one of these early secondary schools. When he was unable to find an arithmetic textbook which was appropriate for the pioneer school, Strachan prepared one of his own for the use of his pupils. This book, later used by younger pupils as well, was entitled A Concise Introduction to Practical Arithmetic for the Use of the Schools, and was published in 1809 by Nahum Mower of Montreal. As far as is known, this is the first textbook written especially for pupils in Upper Canada. Except for a catechism printed in Quebec in 1765, Strachan's book was probably the first one published in Canada for educational use. 1 In the preface to the book, Strachan said that since his arrival in Canada ten years before he had experienced much inconvenience from the want of school books. He acknowledged that in compiling his own IN

lCharles E. Phillips, The Development of Education In Canada, p. 250.

Textbooks in Upper Canada before 1846

7

text he had borrowed materials from other books and adapted them to Canadian use: Never forgetting that it was my duty to make a useful book rather than an ingenious one, I have not scrupled to borrow what seemed useful from other treatises.... Upon the whole it is hoped that this treatise will answer the pwpose of a textbook in this country better than any other publication in the subject. The Common School Act of 1816 granted .£,6,000 annually for school purposes to the ten districts into which the province was then divided, and provided for the establishment of an elementary school in each community where there were as many as twenty children. Control of each school was left largely to three local trustees chosen by the people. These trustees, who were responsible for employing teachers, selecting textbooks, and prescribing courses of study, were also required to report quarterly to the district board on the books used and the regulations in force in the school. The district boards in turn reported annually to the Lieutenant-Governor by whom they were appointed. The Common School Act provided that these district boards should have authority to apply a portion of their share of the legislative grant, not exceeding .£, 100 annually, for the purchase of books to be distributed free to the schools: That it shall and may be lawful for the District Boards to be appointed in each and every District in this Province to apply such part of the money hereby granted to the several Districts not exceeding one hundred pounds as they shall see fit, for the purchase of proper books for the use of the said common schools, and after having purchased such books to cause them to be distributed for the use of such schools in such manner as to them shall seem meet. 2 In some measure, therefore, a system of free textbooks was made possible before 1820. However, after the Common School Act of 1820 reduced the annual provincial grant from £6,000 to £2,500, there was apparently little or nothing done to provide free textbooks to common schools. In the early schools the texts and curricula were synonymous, as can be seen from their reports. Table I gives the daily programme of the York Common School in 1821 showing the classification of pupils and the textbooks used. This school, however, was exceptional. When the grant for common schools was reduced in 1820, the York Common School was transferred to special trustees for the purpose of introducing in Upper Canada the popular system of teaclling in England, later 2T. John Coleman, Publluble to have them taught, I wiD uplain it. Part Second. ed-u-ca.tion con-form Ian-gage

11

and tidy u we tNlst ,ou are now. You~ remember, imfoed, that you did not know r.,r to read and T(rite ; bat you are very likely tt have forgotten how little you knew besidet ; for your parents, however kind, bad not time to instruct you. val-uo nc-ccs-sa-ry es-pe-oial-ly First, then, you were taught to come tAt ~i1"-il in-wr-rupt11 blank 110bool, with clean bands~ face, and hair; ,ome-11 in-co11-\'c-11icnt eur-face because dirt epoil1 and dishonours tbeee u-a-ble quar-rcl-ling pro-fi.-ta-ble oomely bodies which God bu giTcn us, and \ab-ita prac-tt'l-cd de-econd-ed makee them more liable to disease. We think that a good education is one or Next, you were taught habits of order,-to the chief blessings which we oureelve1i poe,. put away your things, 3·wr hat.", or cloab, o, ICIB, and therefore we wish to give it to othen bonneu, in their proper places-; to be civiJ -to tboae whose parents cannot afford tA and reapectful in your behaviour towards your pay for it themselves. And that you may 8(!( tc.ohers, and gentle to each other; to be li)enl why we value it so much, I will endeavour during leeeons ; and to confonn to all lht to explain to you what a good education other ralee of your school. ~ieta in. 1'hil was the firet part or your edaeati ~ Now, I can best do this, by reminding yoa and theee things are taught first, not becauet oow you were trained when you first came to the, are all in themselves the most important, ~hoot, and what you have since been taught; bat because they are neceuary to the peaoe for, u many of you came when very young, and comfort of others, and therefore to the 7ou may fancy that you were alwaya 11 order of the achoo). You know how dia,.. wderly in your habit,, as gentle, ~ril, cleul greeable it is to 1it by a dirty child ; bow a A SAMPLE PAGE FROM ONE OF nm IRISH NATIONA L READERS, TIIE Sequel to the Second Book of Lessons for the Use of Schools ( 1864)

28

Authorization of Textbooks 1846-1950

Physiology, of Natural Philosophy, including elementary Mechanics, Astronomy, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, Optics, Electricity, and Chemistry, are treated in a manner both attractive and scientific, and adapted to the intercourse and pursuits of life-the whole being interspersed with miscellaneous and poetic selections calculated to please the imagination, to gratify and improve the taste, and to elevate and strengthen the moral feelings.21

Of importance, too, in view of the religious question in Upper Canada, was the fact that both Catholics and Protestants approved of the books. Both religious groups were represented on the Board of Upper Canada, and Professor C. B. Sissons has noted in his Church and State in Canadian Education that the religious character of many selections in the readers reflected the distinctly religious complexion of the Board, as well as a capacity for common action in the field of education.22 In Britain, on the other hand, where the books were widely used, there were objections that the "vitals of religion" were left out because of the mixed religions in the schools.23 In later years, long after the Irish readers had been declared "behind the times," they were highly praised by Sherwood Fox. He describes one of the books, A Sequel to the Second Book of Lessons, as "one of the most remarkable common school textbooks I have ever seen. . .. Balance, sanity, clarity and simplicity are the outstanding marks.... This restraint is, in the main, characteristic of all the Irish readers."24 For many years after they were no longer authorized for use and were out of print, letters were received by the Department of Education requesting copies of the books or inquiring where they could be purchased. Many parents, perhaps nostalgic for the "good old days" and believing in the value of the information taught through the Irish readers, wanted their children to have the benefit of the books which had long since been replaced. 26 Probably they were the best available and most suited to the Canadian temperament in the nineteenth century. A main purpose in the introduction of the Irish National School Books had been the need for standardization in the schools. Ryerson felt that they were successful in achieving this. The authorized readers were accepted throughout the province as the means of classifying pupils and estimating their progress. By 1866, Ryerson could report that uniformity was so settled 21/ournal of Education, Nov., 1848, p. 337.

22c. B. Sissons, Church and State in Canadian Education, pp. 21-22. C. Colquhoun, The System of National Education in Ireland: Its Principks and Practice, p. iii. 24W. Sherwood Fox, "School Readers as an Educational Force," p. 693. 26Correspondence in the Archives of the Ontario Deparbnent of Education, 1885 to 1913. 23J.

The Ryerson Period 1846-1876

29

that he need not adduce the arguments and authorities of educators

in other countries, as he had done in previous reports, to show the

importance of one series of textbooks for public schools. Canada had succeeded in establishing uniformity, he declared, beyond any country in Europe, or any of the states in America, and there remained only the tasks of making these books as perfect in matter and method, and as good in quality and moderate in price, as possible.26 Although most of the schools of the province were using the Irish books, the reports of the times show that a few did not use them. Of all books authorized for use during this period, the readers were the most universally used. In 1866, when books were more uniform than at any other time during the period, 54 schools reported they were not using the Irish National Readers; 90 schools failed to report. ( Ryerson's Annual Report for that year states that there were over 4,000 common schools in the province.) Though it was not the policy to permit the use of readers other than the Irish National Readers, the Council of Public Instruction seemed to accept as inevitable the use of other books in a few schools. In some schools there still lingered books such as Mavor's Spelling Book, Morse's Geography, and others.27 American Textbooks

Another motive in the introduction of the Irish textbooks was Ryerson's dislike for the wide use of American books. Almost all the available books in some schools before 1846 were American textbooks which were strongly anti-British. They conveyed the impression that the United States was the greatest country on the face of the earth, and in fact, almost the only one worth mentioning. There was also an influx of itinerant teachers from the United States armed with many books by American authors, and it is therefore not surprising that there were constant complaints about American influence in the common schools of Upper Canada. The Act of 1816 had provided that teachers in Canada must be natural-born British subjects or have taken the oath of allegiance. 28 American teachers coming to Canada were required by the Acts of 1843 and 1850 to take the oath of allegiance before they could be certified to teach. These Acts solved the teacher problem, but the problem of American textbooks remained. In those days when other means of communication were limited, the influence of the textbook was keenly felt. Ryerson, Annual Report on Education in Upper Canada, 1866, p. 7. 21Jbid., pp. 7-8. 28Hodgins, Documentary History, I, p. 102.

26E.

18

woaTH

.uu:arc.A,

69

ITAT&I

11,rJT&D

etJLn.

What ia a Guin Where i, the Gulf of St. Lawrence t Where i1 the Gulf of Mezico 1 Where ia the Gulf of California T IOUlllJO,

What ia a l:lound 1 Where is Prince William'• Sound f Where ia Queen Charlotte's Sound 1 Nootka Sound 1 Where 'ia Smith'• Sound 1 Where i, Whale Sound 1 ?DJll'stJLil•

What ia a Peninoula f Where ia the Peniruiula of Greenland l Where' ia the Peninoula of Nova Scotia 1 Where ia the Peninsula of Florida 1 Where ia the Penineula of Yucatan T. Where ii the Peninoula of California f Where io the Peninaula of Ab.oka 1 XOtrllTAIJlrl.

What ia a Mountain t Where are the Allqhany Mountain& f Where are the Cordillera■ Mountain& 1 Where are the Rocky Mountain• 1 Where io Mount Fairweather 1 Where ia Mount St. Eliu f Where ia the volcano of Popocatapetl T L4DI,

What ia a Laite t Where ia Laite Superior! Where ia the La,the W ood11 ,peg 1 Where i1 Laite Laite T Where ia Athab ve Lake 1 Where ia Great Bear Laite t Where i1 Great Where io Laite •Chapala 1 Where ia Laite tNicarqua T

rnmon.

What are the Diviaiona of North America t Which ia the meet northern Di.Won 1 Which io the middle Diviaion T Which ia the aouth.weotem Diviaiav•l Which io the aouthem Dinaion T ' Which io the moot north.weatem Divilion T What io the len,th of the Gulf of Mexico T What io tloe len,th of the Gulf of California T What ii the len,th ol the Carribbean Bea 1 What ia the lencth ol Ha7 Krould, Harold J., 3 Langley, Gerald James, 126 Langton, John, 45 Legislative changes, 1846-1874, 36-37; to establish a Deparbnent of Education, 47; 1896, 72; 1904, 76; 1964, 123-24 Little, Robert William, 66 Lovell,John,33,44 Lunsden, G. E., 70 Mavor's Spelling Book, 9-11 McDougall, A. W. B., 31 McFarland, James, 10 Mackay, A. H., 92 McLellan, J. A., 56 MacMillan, J., 52 McNabb, Alexander, 17 Matthews, W. D. Edison, 49-50 Millar, John, 64 Miller, Adam, 47, 52, 57 Mills, Walter, 78 Morang, George N., 77, 94-95 Murray, Lindley, 13-15 Murray, Robert, 16 Mustard, Thornton, 101 Nelson, Thomas, 44 Norfolk County Schools, 10 Ontario Readers, 66-69, 96-97, 102103

Pankiw, John William, 126 Partridge, J. A., 105 Patterson, C. S., 56 Percival, W. P., 116-17 Phillips, Charles E., 97 Policies and regulations, of Crooks, 4750; of Ross, 58-63; of Harcourt, 72-73 Porter, Dana, 119-21 Porter Plan, 119-21 Preparation of Canadian textbooks, 1846-1875, 37-41; 1882-1883, 5354; 1899-1905, 74-76; 1907-1911, 90-91; 1936, 106-108; 1950, 121-22 Provincial Board of Education for Upper Canada, 20 Pubfication in Canada, lack of, 12, 25, 37; of Irish National School Books, 24-25 Pyne, R. A., 80-97 Quance, Frank M., 103 Revision, 1907-1911, 83-90 Rolph, Dr. Thomas, 12 Ross administration, 58-72 Ross, George W., 54, 58-72, 77 Royal Commission on Education, 1945, 117-19, 121-23 Royal Commission, report, 121-22 Ryerson, Egerton, 18-47, 49, 59; legislative changes, 36-37; programme, aids to implementing, 34--35; obstacles to implementing, 35--36 Sandiford, Peter, 113 Sangster, John Herbert, 38-39 Savage, C. H., 114 School-book outrage, 78-79 Seath,John,81,95-96 Selection of textbooks, 4, 20, 42, 104, 124 Simcoe, Lord, 15 Simpson, Leonard, 103 Sissons, C. B., 28 Smith, Goldwin, 38, 43 Smith, Nila, B., 126 Squair,John,94-95 Staunton, G. L., 82 Stewart, F. K., 113 Strachan, the Reverend John, 6-12, 18 Subventions and subsidies, 109-12

lntln Tait, George, 74-75, 101 Textbook Commission, 1907, 80-90 Textbook Office, 90 Thomas, Eugenie, 126 UNESCO, 3--4 Uniformity in textbooks, 12, 17, 22-24, 50-51,62--63, 72, 112-15 Uniformity, national, 91-92 United States, evils of textbooks, 1213, 31-34; see American influence

auo

Upper Canada Academy, 18 Victoria College, 18, 34 Visitors to Common Schools, 20

War and its aftermath, 96-99 Watson, Stanley, 101 White, E.T., 126 Whitney, J. P., 78, 80 York Common School, 1821, 7-9 Young, George Paxton, 55-56

161