St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1860-08-30
EDUCATIONAL.
Correspondence Of the st Charles city Intelgencer
National Teachers Association.

National Teachers Association.
ELYRIA, Ohio, Aug. II, 1860.
Mr.. 1lLpRETH-Bear Sir When
| left your place said to my sister
that | thought | would send You a lit
tie account of the meeting Of the q" Ma
tional Teachers Association" held a
Buffalo this week. The trains failec
to connect in Indiana, 50 | did not
reach Buffalo at the opening of the
meeting, and as | was obliged to re.
turn to this place to visit sister, |
did not remain to the close. | am
therefore obliged to have recourse tc
the reports Of the Buffalo Express fol
some Of the proceedings. The Asso
citation is only two or three years old
1t is, as its name indicates, Nation
al" and intended to embrace the whole
Union. 1t affords teachers an ex
ccllent opportunity to better know one
another and to better know them.
selves. Almost every state in the
Union was represented Massachu-
settS hy lS6 teachers, and other States
by less number. J. ID. Philbrick, OF
Boston, is President for the year to
come.
Reports from several States on the
subject Of Normal Schools were made
Rev b. G. Northrop reported for Mas,
sachusetts, Hon. D. NJ. Camp for Con,
nccticut, Prof. D. II. Cochran for New
York, Mr.. Tillinghast for Rhode Island
Mr. Holbrook for Ohio, Mr.. Phelps fol
New Jersey, and Mr.. Wells for Iowa
The reports showed that the Normal
Schools of the States named were in
a hourishing condition and were high,
Iy satisfactory.
Prof Wickersham, of the State Nor
NAL School Of Pennsylvania, was in
troduccd, who read paper subject
" Normal Schools are Necessary fo
the profession of teaching" The mair
point discussed was, teaching shoul,
be elevated to the rank of a profes
sion, and that this was secured by the
Normal School, and by no other insti
tuition. After the reading of the pa
per, the Chair announced that discus
sion was in order on the paper jus
read, when remarks were made by A
Grccnlcaf, Of Brooklyn w. p. Phelps
Of Trenton J n Elligott, of New
York and J. n McJilton, of Balti.
more
\ resolution was offered by Mr.
Wells, of Chicago, tcstifying to the
worth Of the late Father Pierce, Of
Mass, principal of the first Norma
School in the world. This resolution
called forth remarks from several gen
tlemen who spoke in the highest terms
of the deceased. Passed by rising
vote.
In the evening "wednesday a
large audience assembled to listen to
an address by Professor Edward
North, of Hamilton College, and a
poem by Arson G. Chester, of Buffalo
The subject of Prof. North's address
was "Thc Scholarship of Shakespeare.
Its object was to rcfutc the prevalent
impression that the great Englisl
dramatist reached his high place il
literature without the aid of classical
culture. 1t was held to be unjust and
unfratcrnal for scholars to exclude
Shakespeare from their number, or tc
allow him to be excluded. Such an
exclusion need not injurc the cause OF
classical education, but the demands
of historical truth should not permit
it. AS for the opponents Of classica
education, when they planted them
selves on the assertion that Shaks
pcare was with them, they committed
a bIunder as stupid as that of Sin
bad's crew, in mistaking a whales
back for an island.
Prof. North's argument for the
scholarship of Shakespeare was baset
on the social position of his family
the known particulars Of his life, ant
the character of his works. During
the boyhood Of Shakespeare, his fathc
held honorable Offices in the borough
Of Stratford 1t is on record, in tn
College Of Heralds, that a coat O
arms was conferred on him. Still
more ancient and reputable was tn
| family of his mother, a beautiful an,
gifted woman, in whom her grateful
boy no doubt worshippcd faircr pro
totypc Of each heroine that wins al
homage in his matchlcss dramas. TIL,
inference is easy that the parents
would wish to see the son educated
as were the sons of other families il
the same social rank. This would i'm
ply thorough Instruction in Greek and
Latin, especially i'll Latin, which was
used in the keeping of public records
discussing religious and political qucs
tions, aud often in ordinary cores,
pondence. If Shakespeare went tc
school at all, he must have set on the
Latin form, and gone through the
Greek gradus with the other boys. II
is positively certain that Shakespeare
was sent to the free school at STRAIT
ford. He was probably kept there