New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1859-02-15

Mth @rltans 4aiIp Grtsttnt,


Nth @rltans Bully Grtst.nt.
Pnblic school Examinations, First District
The annual examination Of the public schools Of
the First District began yesterday. The frat On the
list In numerical order, being the jackson School,
claimed our first attention 1t is situated at the
corner of Richard and Pacanier streets, in tie up
town cottonpress region and equi-distant from An.
nunciation square and the Waterworks Basin.
Knowing that part Of the city to be inhabited
mostly by poor foreigners, we naturally expected to
find house-fn Of poor and roughlooking children
but greatly mistaken. It is true that in the
younger classes there were some who looked as il
they would prefer tumbling in the dirt and playing
hideandseek among the neighboring cottonbales, to
being cooped up in schoolroom but as q mass,
the boys looked orderly, clean and intelligent and
fthey had been receiving lessons in genty and good
behavior, as well in their regular bookstudes.
We were at loss to account for this, upon dis
covering the principal Of the school to be that vete
ran teacher, George W. Hardy, and his assistants to
be gentleman and ladies' of tried merit in their diff
fcult and arduous avocation. The number OF boys
in attendance 1885, divided into six departments
under the following named teachers G. W. Hardy,
Principal first assistant, j. J. Meyler second Miss
NJ. ]. Hamilton third, Mrs. NJ. Robinson fourth,
Miss A. E. Parks; and fifth, Mrs. 8. Mather
number Of lady spectators present at the exami
nation, and but very few gentlemen. We saw only
one School Director, and that was DR.. Lindsay the
President OF the Board.
As all the classes were undergoing examination at
once, we could not be present at all. We looked in
upon Mrs. Mather, with her abe Glass; and were well
pleased with the decorum Of her troop of little ones
and the evidence they gave Of attention bestowed.
Mrs. Mather is rare example Of contentment among
schoolteachers. She has been for eighteen years a
teacher CT abe classes in this city, seeking
promotion, and declining repeated OFFERS made to her
voluntarily from knowledge of her great merit as
teacher. Those who know her will not admit, that,
in putting educaton's first stamp the tender infant
mind, and keeping the little fellows in respectful
submission, she has any superior anywhere In Miss
Hamilton's room, where the boys were larger and
better looking, fine display made. But the best
Of all was in the room of the elder boys under the
immediate instruction of Mr.. Hardy. We sat there
a long time, listening to them in arithmetic, gram.
mar, geography, and history; and we must say
that they reflected very high credit, indeed,
| upon the school. Among the boys were q number
them to college or university, but who preferred put
ting them into common school and under public
teacher whose sterling merit they knew. Seven of
the boys do not belong in that school district but are
there through the application of their parents and
guardians to the School Board In their rhetorical an
ayss defamation, and composition, Mr. Harbys boys
displayed evidences of the most careful and studied tu
torship. The boys who particularly exceed in these
dopo rtp nopfs II VT.
Simmons, j. Todd, W. Warren, and g. Campbell.
Some of their original compositions, read in the
| intervals, were very good; and the best, we
thought, was that Of Master Weigle on "Indolencen
On the whole, the examination passed off excellent ly
WE'LL and we regretted that more of the Directors
were not present to see it. Cannot few Of you
spare an hour or two to visit the remaining examna
tions, Messeurs Directors? Wefeelabashed when we
find ourself the only masculine spectator, among a
crowd of ladies.
| WASHINGTON (GIRLs) ScHooL.-The examinations
OF the several departments Of this ourshing scho ol
atthe corner Of Magazine and Terpschore streets,
took place yesterday. The average attendance of
pupils is three hundred and fifty, and they are under
the direction Of most competent corps Of teachers,
Mrs. E. j. Reed being the Principal; Miss Th. Pear
son, First Assistant Miss E. Allston, Second Assist
| M,
Fourth Assistant Miss Rogers, Fifth Assistant
Dismissing the less interesting matter Of the ex-
aminations in the minor departments of the school
with the remark that each of them indicated proper
management, and that the pupils showed that they
had benefited much by the labors of careful and dill
gent teachers, we will confne our remarks to the
Principals department, where the exercises began
by the examination of the second class in the
| of md
day being devoted to the first Glass; the members
which, twenty-eight in number, were passed to the
"Girs High School," where they will be "fnished''
The class was first examined in English grammar, in
which study they showed great profciency-an ex.
preston which will apply truthfuly to every study
in which they exercised for, indeed, we never
saw pupils more thoroughly drilled than these nor SC
large proportion of given number indicating the
possession of unusual capacity Itwas apparent that
Mrs. Reed possesses the more happy than usua
faculty of successfully instling instruction, and
firmly but gently maintaining perfect discipline.
Exercises in reading followed the grammar exami
nation, and it evident that the pupils had beer
taught the of punctuation Marks and the rights
of each syllable to tone and volume of its own fol
both enunciation and pronunciation were sharp, clea
and correct and the emphasis thrown in with propel
discretion. Then came the reading of original com
positions, by Misses Cora R. Pritchard Isabel Hardy
Miriam Bette White, W. Coleman, Isabel B. Nixon
Isabel Mckenzie and Leonora Ezekiel, some of which
were very creditable to the young composers, who
displayed their literary taste and culture by the wei
selected poetca quotations with which several of the
compositions were embelshed. There were many
compositions handed in, which were not read fol
want of time, but day being allowed to the exami
nation Of this school.
Exercises in arithmetic, the book used being Da
vies University Arthmetic-Revised Edition." FOL
lowed, in which the pupils proved themselves to be
adopts even in the most abstuse departments of the
study Random questions from any portion of the
book were answered with great promptitude a dozen
being ready instantly to correct an error which one
might Inadvertently make the class passing triumph
antly through an examination which could not have