Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1865-11-17
SCHOOL REFORM, No. 4.
clAssplcArIoS.-A WORD TO TEACHERS.

clAsswIcATIoN.-A WORD TO TEACHERS,
Nothing can be more important in our uu-
graded schools, than thorough classification,
and yet, nothing has been more neglected.
Without this, they can never render their full
measure of usefulness. Hitherto, the varie-
ty of books has effectually prevented any
thing of the kind. Now, however, Osgood's
Spoilers and Readers, ElIsworths Penman-
ship, Brooks Arithmetic, MitchelI's Geogra-
phies, and Browa Grammars are adopted in
nearly all our districts, and arrangements
have been made to enforce their exclusive use
as soon as the sch ools open We shall thus,
at last, remove the great obstacle in the way
of classification, except in a few districts
where directors, in defiance of the law, still
refuse TO establish uniform series of books.
IF teachers make good use of the present OPP
portunity, most of our schools can now be
thoroughly classified, and the present winter
viii begin new era in their usefulness. Bad
classifc alton, however, is sometimes caused
not by variety Of books, but by the careless
ness or ineompetency of the teacher and it is
of this we wish to speak.
The classification Of school requires the
best skill of TIE teacher, Many fail in this
important particular. If the teacher lacks
Judgment or knowledge of human nature, we
can say little, here, that viii aid him. He
must peruse standard works, and study the
subject as it is presented in the practical de-
tail Of the school-room. We know of no
other way by which he can supply his def
ciencies But the failure often results more
from carelessness, than from ignorance on
the part Of the teacher He, naturally
enough, wishes to crafty parents and pupils
that should be excluded. In this way books
of too high grade have been introduced all
over the county. Schools are thus injured by
multiplying classes, and pupils waste time
in studying what they are unable to compre-
hend.
Half the pupils in the county use readers
Of too high grade. Those who should have
the Second, have the third; those who should
have the Third, have the Fourth and so on
through the series Nearly every school has
a class in the Fifth reader, when in truth
there should not be dozen Fifth reader clas-
ses in the county. Such class should rarely
be formed unless there are too many in the
Fourth reader for one class. The Fourth read
er contains enough to make good readers, and
far more than most pupils will ever learn in
the common schools. IT should be remem.
bered, too, that the formation of ew
class is no trivial matter. Halt an hour of
the teachers time is thus taken from the
,chole school and given to fer, not for
month or a term, but for years.
What we have said of Readers, is true Of
other books also. There seems to be a mania
for advance works. Pupils begin mental
arithmetic with the large book instead Of the
Primary, Hundreds who are studying Green
leafs national will never know half that is
in his common school, or in Rays third
part. The series now adopted consists of
four books The Primary mental, the ad.
vance mental, the primary written and the
advance written. The great majority of our
pupils require only the primary works. yet
Judging from the past we shall not be surpris
ed to see nearly all buying the advanced
works.
Nitchells Biographies are used. Nearly
all had his large Geography and Atlas the
most advanced and expensive work used as
test book in this country There should not
be one used in this county. No pupil learns
half that it contains. The primary and in
termediate are all that we need They con-
tain more than our pupils will ever learn.
They are also cheaper, and in more eonve
eht form.
In Grammar. too, they begin with the big
gest book they can buy. They overlook the
fact that they save money and learn far more
by beginning with primary book, OF the
series now adopted the primary should be
most used. Very few win need the advance.
We shall never again hare such an onpor
tiinity to correct the mistakes referred to
above. If the wrong books are aaee hought