The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-09-21
SCHOOL TEXT HOOKS,

too sweeping, wo will modify It somewhat: Eiyei
q good teacher, II matters but little what tex
book ia uHed. We recolleot Attending a school
1t wasSoars ago-and in country whcro I'll,
people were loo poor to purchase tc1t book,
FOR their children. Tho toacher had printot
manual for each of the elementary branche
that were taught i'll the school. Tho only book
IN tho children's hands were "rcadcrs :" and vet
however incredible such all assertion may now ap
pear, tho pupils from that school won't forth will
thorough knowledge OF photography, arithmetic
geography and grammar, with a tolcrable acauAiu
taneo with history, chronology physics and natura
h'storyin fact quito as much OF these is usual,
icalnoI in oven tho best of common schools. How
| was it tonef
In the f1rst place, tho tsnchor had been regular
ly trained for his profession; he was not ashamed
Oft; mover thought it necessary to mako an apollo
gy for pursuing this avocation. IIo did not look
| upon 1t as stepping-stonc to something else
He therefore gayo it his undivided attention
Like the lawyer, tho physician, tho divine, or tho
engineer, ho madc all his studies subserEient Ia
his profession. q lie was secure OF his position.
he held his Office "during life or good bchayior;'
the children, therefore, had tho benefit of his ser.
vices from the beginning to The ond Of thor
scholastic career; and how great this benefit
none but thoughtful, earnest teacher can fully
appreciate. .. The children were compelled by
law to attand school regularly.
Now, rs to the motIod Of instruction: Every
thing was tnught orally. There wns plonty Of tim,
-soSen years, FROM O to 10; and every portion of
this time waH fully mapped ont. Each month OF oacb
OF tho soven years had its spooifc work allotted TO
Months were given to tho clements Of gram.
mar; and the tender mind was not burdened with
"rules," till tho nascent intelligence had gained
sufficient insight into the subject to perceive tho
| necessity of those rIilos. Definitions and rules
were written on tho blackboard, and cdpiod on the
slate by each OF the pupils. After tho teacher Ind
corrected the copies, thoy wero transferred
| to the Grammar Book" we had also "copy
books" for every other branch taught there A
great deal of attention was given to writing; and
spelling was taught, not from the dictionary, but
by "dictation." chapter in history was read by
| tho teacher, and overy member of tho first class
was required to write out over night as much Of it
as lie could recollect. The task was corrected by
the teacher next morning, aud such additions
made as were absolutely necessary; but In tho
main the pupils own language was permitted to
romain. There was thus every stimulus to excite
tho thinking faculties Of tho child, aud memoriter
recitationR we're discouraged indeed rendered
almost impossible by This method. 1t is needless
TO say that whatever was learned in this slow and
and seldom il ever forgotten.
We havo heard some objeetionB offered to this
method; one Of thom is, that it does not e1ertiso
the momoiy sufficiently; that learning by rote
is OF great service in sharpening the memory,
and that this object can only he attained by
making the child learn and repeat "by heart"
the oKact words OF tho author. Wo are hot dis
posed to discuss this nice point in pedagoglo, but
in our school this desideratnm was provided for.
In the first place, we had tho Catechism loneor
and shorter which do not recall pleasant recol-
leciions-for tho 'tMoral Law was not always
taught By moral suasion. In the next place, ne
were vol drilled in chronology, and ''r,,les" OF
grammar and arithmetic; and lastly, we wero re-
quire' to memorize and rante or de .lain, before
tho school and at examinations Selections from,
the hest poets.
We learned drawing and singing, and had abun-
dance Of tino for private lessons in foreign Ian
guases, music, &C., &C., and all this at scarcely
any outlay for text books
This, however, was in the days of old fogyism
and We OF course shall not he understood az de-
string to set that school up as model FOL tho
moro improved schools, senlinaries and academies
OF tho present day. We have occupied 80 much
space in the introduction to- our remarks on tho
text hooks that wo shalt not hs able to sivo more
than mere catalogue. Tho first difficulty that
presents itself to the teacher, il ho bo unbiased
in favor OF any particular author, ia the aren't
multiplicity Of school books. Every publisher In
the land has his entire sorios of teIt books and
some publishers have several series. Two
causes underlie THE evil First, it is a
vol known fact that no teacher ever yet found
text book which he did not think he could i'm
prove. He finds more ana more defecte, rs
he continues to use it, until. 'at least
his purpose becomes fixed to write out a
syllabus for tho uso Of his classes. This he
does. After whlo, the class and partial friends
urge its publication, and tho pedagogue, liko
tho politician, is "in tho hands OF his. frionds.'
He yields reluctantly, and with !. becoming
| modesty, and the world is CURSED with another
book Nine out of ten, or, perhaps, nineteen out
oftwenty, Of school-books that soc the light un-
der such auspices, are sborn to blnsh unseen"
They arc atill-born, and their author doomed TO
disappointment, akin to tho sprete iryIsia Jorae.
Happily, in the twentieth case, Mercury ateps up
| and forms partnership with Apollo, and the
| result Ia very profitable business. somo Of
| these writer's OF school-bools are in the en-
joyment Of larger incomes from thoir quasi lite
rary labors than authors OF any other class. This,
OF course, usually depends moro on the name and
BUSINESS capacity Of tho publisher, than on tho
talent OF tho author or the intrinsic merits
CT tho book. II the HARrEns OF tho Ap-
PLEroNs, tomorrow, wero to publish Q man.
ual Of trigonometry, OF rhetoric or logic, per.
fecGy devoid Of originality or Of ndaptabity, the
book would nevertheless sell, whereas a book Of
decided merit on any Of these topics not issued
under such or similar auspices, would never pay
the printer. .,r.i $50,
The following list Of text books offered to schools
we copy from tho Round Table: u.
Frat Lessons in Numbers, In the Natural Order
By John 81. French, LII. D. Harper d Brothers
A Manual of Arithmetic. By q. a. Fslter, A. II
Charles Scribner Co.
First Lessons In Numbers The same.
Primary Arithmetic The same. Il.
The Analysis OF Written Arithmetic. The same
Practical Arithmetic. The same.
Commercial Arithmetic Tho same
Juvenile Mental Arithmetic. By John F. stod
daId, A. m. New York: Sheldon Co.
| Rudfments OF Arithmetic, Tho ssme.
The American Intellectual Arithmetic. ,Th,
New Practical Arithmetic. Tho same.
A Primary Arithmetic. By G.. V. Quaokerbas
A. M. d. Appleton & Col !,f
An Elementary Arithmetic. The same.
A Practical Arithmetic. 's
Progress in Practical Arithmetic. by Horatit
A. Robinson, A. m. Edited by D. ". Fish. Ne5
York: Ivfson, Phnney, Brakeman & Co.
Progress In Higher Arithmetic. The same.
High Arithmetic. By A. Schuyler, A. NJ, Pro
fessor Of Mathematics in Baldwin University
Sheldon & Co. :,
LID, Professor OF Natural Philosophy and As
, tronomy in Yalo College. New York: Harper
Bros. p H.-
A Treatise on Algebra. The samc
Elements OF Geometry and Comic Sections
D Tho same. a#a
r % -