The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-07-12
NEW BOOKS.

HARgs First Second, Third and Fourth, Glass Readers
aud First Second, and Third Primary Readers Boston
Hickling Swan and Brewer.
series of Reading books adapted to the use Of
schools, and to the requirements of pupils, of all
ages and of all degrees of intelligence, is one OF the
best tributes which an author conversant with his
subject and capable of giving expression to his
views can offer to the cause of education But such
a series cannot be written by every man who claims
to be a scholar 1t requires nice appreciation o.
the wants of children; an accurate measurement OF
their average intelligence during the various stages
of their growth and pupilage, and instructive tact
in supplying their wants in the most judicious man
ner In this mainly consists the philosophy ofeduca-
tom and herein the greater number fbooks publish
ed expressly for the of schools may be said to be
deficient. To write educational works that take, as
it were, the pupil by the hand, and lead him. step by
STEP by easy gradations from the lowest to the high
est round of the ladder Of learning, demands subtle
powers of ysis, combined with great judgment
and discretion Any person may throw words OF one
syllable toget her and call it First Primary Rea-
DER" but even monosy Tables may be badly chosen,
and the form in which the simple sentences are ar
ranged may be still worse. For instance in a Pri-
mary Reader which is now in use in public
schools, the following sentences occur "le six
did nip" "Hop pop sop top" 80 my tup is fat
'Be not dull, but go to the DELI
How can child comprehend such sentences? What
does a child know of tup,' and "dell," and
"nip?' or what meaning can it derive from 60 Hop,
pop, sop, top?" child should be taught nothing
that cannot easily be made plain to a childish un-
derstandng; and the first words he learns to read
should be those of syllable which most CON-
monty occur in conversation. As with the first
Primary Reader, with the remainder of the
series-nothing should be introduced that does not
adapt itself to the degree of intelligence in the pu
pill; nothing that annOys, or puzzles, or perplexes.
The boy of eight years of age should not be sup
posed to be as intelligent as the boy of fourteen
and piled with abstruse terms accordingly. All
these things have been taken into consideration
in the admirable series of readers which Mr.. Hill
LARD has recently put forth. The fine scholarship
of Mr.. HGLLARD, added to the fact that he has for
many years made the ubjeet of education his study,
render him well qualified for the task he
has undertaken, and the high encomums which
have been passed upon his series of Readers
the best evidence of their superior excellence.
These books have already been Introduced into
many of the public schools, in other States of the
Union. In Cleveland, Ohio, The Teachers Asso-
citation unanimously petitioned the Board of Edu-
cation to accept the gratuitous services of Pro
fessor THoME in Reading and Eocution, condi-
ton that HILLAED's Readers should be retained. In
other cities similar testimonials to their merits
have been awarded 1t is not difficult to under
stand why these books should have given so much
general satisfaction. Their manifest superiority
consists in the perfection with which each
book is adapted to the comprehension of that par
ticular class of pupils to which it is addressed In
the First Primary Reader, the simplest sentences
made clear to the infantile mind whilst the eye
is educated by well engraved illustrations. which
tend to establish the contents of each page more
firmly in the memory. The same principle is
adopted, and gradually expanded, in the books in
tended for the advanced pupils. There is
abundant evidence ofschoarshp and fine taste more
in the larger ''Readers," and in all the series
there is everywhere visible the happy colloca-
ton of words, and the same judcious adaptation of
the ject matter Well bound well printed, on
clean white paper, these books appear to us to
fairly deserve the praise that has been bestowed
upon them; and are, therefore, gratied to learn
that the 'Book Committee of our Public Schools
determined, Saturday last, by unanimous
vote, to recommend to the School Board the i'm
mediate adoption of the series.
From John Murphy & Co..:
John p Walsh ITO Sycamore street
.s MAGAZINES RECEIVED.
THE PARTHENIAN for September, 1889 Quarterly Maya
zine, devoted Literature Education and the Fine Arts
BY the Young Ladies of the Baltimore Female High
School Vol. second. Baltimore: Sherwood Co.. 1889.
A very happy exempliication of the results of
education at the Baltimore Female College, of which
Professor n. G. Brooks is the distinguished rim
cipa. Many of the articles embraced in the pres
ent number of the Parthenian, give evidence of de-
cided talent and all evince careful and correct in
duction into the paths of literature ID. .s