The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1861-10-18
Books Recommended by the Normal
Board.
STATE OF MINNESOTA,
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRIrCTI

STATE OF MINNESOTA, 4
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION,
ST. PAUL, October 10, 1861.
This department is besieged by inquiries
in reference to the new series of books and
the law requiring it to be adopted. In
some cases these inquiries assum, the form
of complaints against the Superintendent,
the Normal Board, or the Legislature,
We think it proper to make this explain
alton.
The Legislature, in giving authority to
the State Normal Board to make selec..
tion of school books for the State, intended
to save the people from the expense of FREE
quent changes. 1t was an Act passed in
good faith for the benefit of the people. 1t
was not oppressive to any parties, and
only aimed to give the people the best
books for the lowest price. The Normal
Board acted according to the spirit of the
law, and made selection, which, if not the
very best, is good enough for anybody.
These selections were recommended to the
people, and they were told that if they would
adopt them they would not be changed for
five years. Booksellers, teachers, boards of
education and trustees, were assured that
this was as arrangement intended to benefit
all classes, by providing against frequent
changes. Under the old plan nearly every
town had different set of text books
Agents from various publishing houses
went through the land encouraging changes
OF books, and they were changed not peri
odically but systematically and frequently.
When mans business required him to
move he had to buy new set of books for
his children; when new board was elected
the first act was often to change all the
text books, by way of Informing the people
of the change in authority. Clark's,
Green's, Pinneo's, Fowlers, Browns, Wells,
Stills, Towers, Harris, Smiths, Buffers and
Covell's Grammars, were most used, recon-
mended and pronounced the best, with all
sorts of rhetoric. Teachers could tell the
difference between speaking English accord
ing to Pinneo or Green. Children, before
they knew the difference between a noun
and verb, were introduced into profound
discussions on the article. Boys had
changed the names of lenses five times be-
fore they had any idea of the thing itself. 1
have known poor little fellows to run the
gauntlet of the grammars until they were
utterly perplexed, Disguised aad ashamed.
The chase through Arithmetics and &C.
ographies, was equally interesting, and SO
of all other text books.
Now, men write to US as though the Le-.
gisature, Normal Board and ourself had
entered into a regular scheme to plumber
them or somebody else, because we have all
thought proper to recommend that one set
r..
be preferable to the old way. The particu.
lar Grammar teachers and the devotees of
the Arithmetic, "used when they were edu-
Gated" and the knowing trustees, who had
Themselves examined all the books and in,
stinctivey knew the best, and supercilious
critics of various classes, are all wanting to
know what scheme we have concocted, and
if we mean to punish anybody for not study
ing Green's Grammar and Robinson's Ma
thematics.