The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1850-05-07

such disadvantage as Parent has done
in respect to points about which the best
judges of such matters disagree, TO the
sacrifice Of other qualities Of such supS|
rior excellence and rare attainments That
none doubt their value Is this doing
as you would be done by7 1t would be
no difficult task for one with very little
talent al criticism or faultfinding to take
any Of the school books in general use
aud hud as much cxceptionable matter
as parent found in the selections
Which appear in his article.
Ii is not my object to analyze and de-
fehd those pieces. To those who have
examined this book with candor such a
task would be unnecessary TO those
who have not examined it, ii would also,
be labor lost still | would ask what ne
the dangerous effects that will be pro-
duced from reading such piccesl Take
for example, the story Of Mr.. aud Mrs.
Battle; evidently there's any danger ii is
that boy or girl reading such piece
would, after having grown to years Of
maturity, have their connnbal harmony
disturbed by the early impression made
upon their minds of the attractive, en-
chanting and fascinating picture of Mr..
aud Mrs. Battle. Surely Of such chill
dren | would say as Cowper said in reply
to Rousseau, when he complained of
teaching children by means Of fables that
they would deceivethc child, "The child
that cannot interpret the story of a
Cock or Bull must have a most uncom'
mon SKULL" and | think it may be said
Of most Of the pieces, that should child
mistake IN this matter. his cralium would
afford a rare speclmeni for the thumb
and fingers of the phrenologist. NJ doubt
the Mcssrs. Fowlers would make trip to
Vermont, on purpose TO avail themselves
Of so valuable n subject. Let no one
suppose from these remarks, that the wri-
ter regards the moral bearing of plects
in reading books of minor Importance;
on the contrary, he would have it dis
tinctly understood that deficiency in
this respect cannot be compensated BY
any degree of merit; but every man Of
reflection will perceive at once that the
selections, which would at first sight ap-
pear Objectionable, are not really so, il
he would consider that the low and nat
ural language in which such characters
as Mr. and Mrs. Battle appear is itse {
sufficient guaranty against the readers
initiating the characters. 1t is unnec-
essary TO pursue this subject further. Let
your readers take these selections aud
examine them attenlively, and their own
reflections will lead to safer conclusions
than foreign suggestions from any pen.
have but word or two TO say re-
specting parents structures OH the
system, for the very evident reason that it
requires but liule to show that Parent"
hasmistaken his calling when he is in
structlng US in this department. | will
begin where he begins In the first book,
or Primer, the child is rtquired, after
learning the alphabet, 10 be drilled in
reading fragments of words followed by
fragments of sentences" This is what
parent" says, and ii is false statement.
"Should the teacher prefer the omission
of these lessons he may pass on directly
10 words in three letters. Now If a
man undertakes to review book, and
his very frs. sentence contains such n
-palpable mistake-is it too much to say
ahat such man has mistaken his call
ing7 Let us take the second sentence
containing his second structure: "These
(ihat is, fragments Of sentences) cover
several pages, adorned with pictures to
illustrate these fragments, arranged in
grammatical classes, beginning with mod.
flying words aud phrases and connectiyes
and continuing on through all the gram
maiica classes Of words, which the lit
tie child is required to read and spell un
I'll he is able To distinguish the class tc
which each belongs wherever found.
This is not merely false statement bu
IT contains as great perversion as per
haps it is possible for the same numbe
Of words 10 contain on such a subject
What is the true statement "Thcs
words should be spelled until each {
them can be recognised as a whole, (thi
is as a whole WORD, as readily as an
letter in the alphabet" There are take
as specimens Of his structures, not {
containing more evident proofs of "Pi
rents incompetency-l do not know
J ought 10 call il lncompeteucy-bul b
cause they were most convenient, heiI
the two first. Query: could a man ~
ting such an article have the great eI
of education ia yiewl Are there u
hirelings in the literary world, who ca