Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1867-10-22
lcommunieated.l
Proofs Of Mr.. T. J. Brooks Scholarship.


Mn. COVER One of the issues be-
tween Mr. L. ]. Brooks and the peo-
pie, is.uron his literary qualifications.
He appeals to the people to decide
upon his scholarship He refers to
the present Superintendent for proof
OF his fitness 70 hold first grade GER
tifcate. have therefore considered
1t tair to examine the proofs which
are on file in the superintendent of.
flee, viz: Mr.. Brooks written am
swers TO the examination questions,
upon which answers he received the
| certificates of which he boasts.
There are some, | fear, who cons
slider that the only essential qualii-
cation for this office, is to be able to
secure q nomination. To all such, |
beg to say that, as teachers. we de-
sire our Superintendent to be man
Well acquainted with the English
language. We want a man who can
compose correct crediiable letter
or article, free from gross blunders.-
We want man who always writes
with ease, understands and follows q
few simple rules for the use OF capt.
tails, and does not wholly ignore the
existence OF punctuation marks. 1T
| is also desirable that he should know
how TO spell all common words. In
short, our County superintendent
must be able to furnish correct aud
grammatical "copy," whenever his
duties oblige him to procure anything
printed.
The contribution from Mr.. Brooks
a few weeks ago, was evidently the
best specimen he could produce, ls it
was written for the public, at time
when he was before the people for
criticism its glaring faults are sutfi-
cicnt proofs for any common English
scholar.
But the examination.papers writ
ten by Mr.. Brooks, in the spring Of
1866, when applying for first grade
certificate, deserve special notice.
We demanded and insisted that Mr..
PnTman should let him take the ques,
tio"s to his room, and take his own
time for writing the answers. This
was granted, though against law and
usage. After the lapse ofseveral days
he returned the answers, an d secured
but a second grade certificate The
appearance of these papers is dis
credit to the profession of teacher,
and do not show fitness for any pro-
fession; and | think all competent
persons who may examine them, will
agree with me, that Mr.. Purman
marked them much too high for their
merits.
We propose to print an exact copy
of a few extracts from these mostil
legible manuscripts, written at his
leisure, by this illiterate pretender.
f. will not ask space for all the ques-
tions, but will give them, where the
answers do not fully Indicate the
questions:
PnYsIcAL BIOGRAPHY Question
What is the character Of the chief
food plants ANIMALS or perennials
Answer-"The character of the
chief food plants are ANIMALS especial
~ in our latitudcs, as potatoes corn
wheat 4 garden vegetables"
Q-What are clouds?
A-"Clouds are merely masses Of
fog as we see along our rivers only
III a different position They are
much higher 4 are held there by
the ascending currents of heat from
the earth"
Observation-Disclosures the orr
gin of the war Of 1872.
A-"The origin of the war of 1812
or the great thing complained OF was
the fright of impressmenL" co called
a blockad Of her enemies ports 4 the
United states put an embargo on all
shipping on all vessels on within its
Jurisdiction tor 80 days also of a
boundary which was between them"
(Answer to question No. 1O.)-
''The U. S, GOVERNMENT is divided
into 3 departments judicial, Legisla
tive, 4 Executive. pesident is cho.
sen by electors from the different
states Judges Of the Supreme Court
are chosen by congress"
Theory AND ART OF TEACHING.
| Answer to question No. 10.)-"ln a
class you can illustrate the principle
until all can unders tand it Il it secures
more time for the students than If
you take them seperatel y providing
the class are together which they
should be kept 50 if possible it ami
mates the scholar to compete with
his classmate. / secures.a uniformi-
| ty OF illustration &. &c.
/ PnYsIoLoGY The following words
arc found in his answers "SierotIc,
Crystalline, Ventricals, Phiianges,
/ w.lls.' a
NATURAL PHILOSOPHY Pneumat
les treats Of pressure < Of fluids gas
SEES q Of their elasticity 4 effects in The
material world. AS in Nat Pl.iloso
| ply"
Optics treatsof light, Color, & vis-
sion"
In the fall of 1866, Mr.. B. again ap>
piled for first grade certificate, and
by the most favorable marking, man.
aged to obtain one. The following
sentences appear in his papers
/ HIsToRY-"Roger v ..iiams was one
of the committee appointed to draw
up the declaration OF Independence.
He was also one OF that body who
met at Philadelphia 10 prepare tor.
the struggles of the Revolution"
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES the
/ respiratory organs. A8
/ A-"The Respiratory Organs are
the breathing organs the breath is
hard to explain 1t comes from the
inhaling the air & exhaling it. We
draw the air into the lungs q by the
circulatory organs orthe heart
/ Having proceeded thus far without
answering the question, the applicant
dismissed the subject.
/ Question-What is an artery p