The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1855-07-26
GNucational.
From Tie Massachusetts, TEACHER.
Easy Methods of Instruction.
BY MISS SARAH z. wIGGIN.

e.
God has created beautiful world, and
is continually forming countless souls to
dwell therein. The one great aim OF cd
ucotion is to train these souls; to awaken
and arouse them to full knowledge of
the strength and power within them, and
to direct Alright the operation OF that force.
Its'great effects should be to root out the
sin which so mars the beauty of the Crea-
tion,--to produce happy beings whose
lives shall be true and pure,-and to ena-
bic each one of us to say, when the day
reckoning arrives, "Lord, thou delivered
est unto me two talents: behold, L have
gained beside them, other two talents"
To accomplish this great end, the whole
human nature is to be educated; and eve
ry human being should become both teach
or and pupil to every nature with which
he is placed in contact. 1t is not the
physical man alone, neither is 1t the in
telieet chiefly that must be trained. The
Father has given us hearts and souls as
we'll as bodies and minds, and of the ele
mcnts composing these, we are to make
man as perfect as he is capable Of becom-
inc. If we fail to labor aSsiduously with
this purpose in view, We bury our talents
in the earth, rendering ourselves wicked
and slothful servants.
To the teecher, technically speaking,
is particularly assigned the training OF
that part Of human nature called intellect;
while too often to the child himself Is left
the care of the physical part, and to him
who " finds some mischief still, for idle
hands to do" the moral culture is given.
The 5ntcllect alone, however highly cul-
tivated, does not make the man. Why
then must the intellect be SO diligently en-
riched and trimmed and digged about,
while its associates are left to the weeds
and brambles? Every good and faithful
teacher, doubt not, feels the pertinency
of the question, and would gladly free
himself from certain sense OF untalthful-
ness which haunts him at times, on the
subject. But h0a0 is it to be done The
public school teacher is hired, and into
his hands is given the charge Of fifty,
hundred, or five hundred children, OF va
rious ages, capacities and requirements.
He is to work by system for gwen
time, and IN that time By that system GER
tain results must be produced. If these
results fail to appear,-the system Is per-
feet, there can be no flaw in tbat,-it is the
teachcr who is in fault, and lis name and
occupation are gone at once.
One must earn ones daily bread. Ii
one would enjoy life's blessings, he must
earn the wherewithal to purchase them;
for they must be bought, and sometimes
dearly too. In this way our schools too
frequently become pieces of complicated
mechanism; q sort of hand-organ, while
we stand by,-passive agents turning the
crauks. We have too much mechanical
systens, and too little thanking; too much
claiming of the nobler faculties of heart
and soul; too much binding Of the intel
lcct, and then forcing it to grind out con-
tinually its half-dozen tunes, and finally
to wear itself out with grinding.
Let US arouse ourselves from this stu
por. Let US free ourselves from this web
of necessity in which so many of US are
becoming entangled. Let US do what we
can to educate truly, never fearing tor
results; and let the motives to DC urged
in influencing us, be the dignity of human
nature;-the worth Of souls.
TO the female teachers of our land, Is
given generally, the beginning OF the great
work of education. As early as the child
is old enough, he is sent to Primary
school; and us in this place we have moth
ing to say of family education, which, at
ter all, is by far the most Important, let
US commence our acquaintance with him,
on his introduction to that establishment.
If parents have faithfully performed their
duties, the teacher has but to build upon
foundation already firm; but l am sor-
ry to say, in very many eases, strong,
though entirely false structure IS hrst to
be demolished, ere the true corner stone
can be fairly laid.
1t is very important that the Primary
school be not too large. If teacher
would really instruct proftably what Is
givon him in trust, lis mind should net
be overburdened with multiplicity OF
care,-a perplexing conviction that he has
more to do than he can DO. Neverthe-
less, a person may do some good to many
pupils, though he can do vastly more for
small number. In the first place, then,
let the number of scholars assigned to one
teacher, not exceed thirty or forty, that
we may not be continually disheartened
by the feeling that we would do our work
faithfully, but VIC have not time.
Here then our task is before Us. IhIr-
ty or forty little human beings, full of hfo
aud animation; and we are to ''waken' a.
is often said, ''their slumbering energies. y
Oh no! these energies are not sleeping,
even in the youngest child. They are all
alive, all awake; only waiting for the time
when he shall feel his own strength ana
power. We are to arouse within them
huneering and thirsting after kno"ledge'
that shall never rest satisfied with ne-
diocrity of supply, but shall go on lnoreas- rs.
ing in Intensity, till it has swallowed up
all of Gods creative mind that humanity
is capable of comrrchCndins; and whas
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