Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/85

* HIGH PRIEST. 69 HIGH SEAS. provided with means by liis brctliren, in virtue of Lis position ; tlie other priests never addressed tile high priest but by i.s7i! kohen gadol, "my lord high priest.' Before the law, however, the high priest was enual to any other Israelite. See PRiE.sr; LEViTt: Aabox; Leviticus. HIGH SCHOOLS. A term that has been vari- ously cniiilciyt'il in different countries at different liuic-s to indicate a type of schools. In Germany in ollicial language it is customary to refer to the universities as high schools (Hochschulen) . In the middle of the sixteenth century in Edinburgh the designation was applied to a famous educa- tional institution of a liberal character, but in grade below the university. In the United States it is very generally used to indicate an important and definite type of schools which forms a com- ponent part of the public-school system. This term came into use between 18:i0 and 1850, when, in place of or by the side of schools called 'acad- emics.' which were maintained by endowment or at private expense, schools of a corresponding grade were established at public expense. Such institutions were variously designated at first. In Philadelphia the Central High .School yet retains its original name ; in New York the corresponding institution was knoTi first as the Free .eademy, and later as the College of the City of New York. This institution has since expanded in scope until it ofi'ers approximately the ordinary college course. In Baltimore the corresponding institu- tion is known as the City College, while similar institutions for girls bear the name of high schools. The Boston Latin School, founded in early colonial times, is a free public high school, fitting boys for college. The term high school came into use in Bos- ton when in 1821 the English High School was established as complementary to the Latin school. A few years later the girls' high school was founded. During the period of Horace Mann's secretaryship of the ilassachusetts Board of Education (18.37-4SI a system of high schools was instituted. This example of Horace Mann was followed by other educational leaders, no- tably by Henry Barnard in Connecticut. From the middle of the nineteenth century the move- ment in the establishment of high schools became very general. In many of the Western States high schools have from the first formed a part of the public-school system, and in some instances their maintenance is recognized by the Constitution of the State. During the year' 189fl-l'.t0n there were reported to the United States Commissioner of Education 6005 public high schools, having an attendance of 519,251 pupils. This was an in- crease in the year of more than 137 per cent, in the number of schools, and of more than 155 per cent, in the number of students attending. 'The courses of study, the terms of admission, and the length of time lequired for completing the in- struction differ widely, but in general the term liiffh school in this country means a school sup- ported from the public treasury, where tuition is usually (but not necessarily) free, and where pupils of both sexes are carried forward from the trranmuir schools to the study of 'higher' branches, and thus fitted for active life or for admission to universities, colleges, and technical schools. In its origin the high school, as also the academy, arose in answer to the demands for schools of a lower graile than colleges, apjx^al- ing to a wider constituency and satisfying more needs. For the most part the high school yet retains these characteristics. In the central and western Commonwealths of the Union it fits di- rectly for colleges, and especially for the State university; but this is due to the fact that there is a very great freedom of choice in regard to the subjects essential for entrance to college and university courses. The adjustment has been made by the college rather than by the high school. By far the larger part of high-school graduates do not enter college. However, high schools seek to meet various needs either by offering a variety of courses or in large cities through distinct schools. Thus, there are the classical courses or schools, which are distinct- ively college-preparatory in their nature ; the scientific or English courses or schools, which furnish preparation for professional schools or simply equipment in general ; there are also of recent years manual training (q.v.) high .schools or courses, giving a technical or industrial prep- aration, and commercial high schools, with a corresponding purpose in view. No part of the educational system of the United States is so responsive to local demands and to public opin- ion. Hence arises the greatest variety of local conditions in these schools in city and country. For the most part they are wholly under local con- trol, and are subject to general State supervision of only a nominal character. In some States, such as New York, this supervision is more intimate; in others, such as California or Michigan, it is exercised chiefly through the State universities. This amenability to local influences constitutes the greatest element of their strength, while at the same time the absence of general standards constitutes a most serious element of weakness. That the public high school is the representative secondary school of the United States is indicated by the fact that during 1899-1000 private second- ary schools numbered only 1632. with an at- tendance of 1 10.797 pupils, while the increase for the previous decade had been only 21 per cent, and 16 per cent, respectively. Consult : Butler. Education in the United fttates (Albany. 1900) : Brown. Histon/ of Sec- ondary Education in the United States (New Y'ork,'l902) : Reports of the United States Com- missioner of Education (Washington). See Elfcttt: CotusEs and STiniEs: Orammab School: Natiox.^l EufCATiox. Svste.ms of: Secondary Schools. HIGH SEAS. As a term of admiralty law in England, the open, uninclosed waters of the ocean ; that "part of the sea which lies not within the body of a country." It is used in contradistinction to bays, harbors, and arms of the sea inclosed within the fauces terrrr. or nar- row headlands or promcmtories. The high seas, or "the main sea.' to u*e Sir Matthew Hale's syno- nym, arc deemed within the exclusive jurisdic- tion of the Admiralty, up to high-water mark when the tide is full. The term has been much considered by the judicial tribunals of the United States, and the Federal Supreme Court has held it applicable to the open, uninclosed Avaters of the Great Lakes. This conclusion, however, was not unanimotis. .According to the majority view, the Great Lakes possess ever- characteristic of seas. They are of large extent, wholly navigable by the largest vessels: they separate States in many instances, and in some instances constitute the boundary