Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1868-12-17
educational.
EDUCATIONAL PAPERS.
PUBLICATION BY AUTHORITY OF KENT COUNTY
TEACHERS ASSOCIATION.


and view of q science. They are not pie-
pared upon sufficiently broad basis true,
il is much easier to find fault, or to point Out
what we conceive to be defects, IMAM 10 pro-
nosc n remedy. Aay one can see that certain
causes do not produce the desired eiiec's'ou'
Il is often difficult to tell precisely where the
error lies and how to provide remedy.
Many teachers. apparently without much
forethought, rush their ideas into PRINT eilher
for profit OF reputation and when TINS Is
the motive it is not commemorate one. a
man ought to have much experience anu
have thought deeply before he offers text
hook to the public One great fault Of many
Of our textbooks is that they want 10 teaeh
too much. They would teach in a few les
sons what can only be acquired BY long ana
earnest study. They thus hold up, to the
pupil, hopes that maturer Judgment VIII
rroye delusiye There are some good ones
but many more Indifferent and bad ones.
Ton many of them lack in clearness, and
Others are put in the primary when they pc
long 10 the high school, aud vice versa IL
must he said, however, that since the war eX-
traordinary efforts have been put forth IN the
preparation OF text hooks ior schools anu
co,lcges. The lad ones have by no means all
mon hanishea. but there is now little
excuse for retaining them. The general char-
sc,cr of the later text books, both new ones
,,nd reyisions. seems 10 leave but little TO be
desired than lheir more general ihifudt'4lnn.
Unfortunately publishers in Their zeal 70 Sc
,nrq An extensive use of, and large demand
tor ,neil books ttsor snnietin,es 70 means
moi lie most honorable 10 gain hcr ends
,hu. oicn All Indifferent book Is lA'rndhceu
because ii can be done cheaper than 10 in
,roduce GOOD one. ''The book for the
primary school should present facts and I'M
less judiciously selected and carefully ex-
pressed. The book for the high school should
present principles; selecting the broadest,
most comprehensive principles, and putting
Them If possible mo form in which they
sill be directly applicable % u.s.. Il seems
almost the work Vi u Lifetime To accomplish
this, but what noble achievement il wei
done. Perhaps il nay not be amiss 10 poin
out an example or Two Of the many Instance
in which our text books lack III clearlicss
Take this one, for example, from SOM 0
our Biographies l9lcndcd Tor hestinefs
''Ques. --Whtt is Il mountain: : Mis-
vast elevation Of land We roc rllcct nu
merous instances OF little boys and girls try
I'M to strain out these, to them, meaningless
terms; and il even tAcy succeeded the es
In. ,tatp. al
the term itself A child may know what
mountain is but instead Of, with such IN e.
PLANTATION ii will be in spite Of ii. Our pi
mary readers too have long furnished exam
pies OF this kind Of folly.
In majority Of cases the defining tern
are much more difficult and unu>ul IN
the terms dcSncti- the very opposite II i
Idea involved in definition. Ii the III
fish language were less copious than i
there might be some excuse for this, b
under existing circumstances there is nor
Here is another example from a teNt-bo
on algebra, said to embody the first prin
pes of the science. "A polynomis is \
Il be homogeneous wien all lis terms Are
for any one to understand what is meant
this definition unless he knows previou
when polynomial il homogeneous 4
hc needs no fcfiniiions and can make
awn. encyclopedia OF mathematical seize
81 The anne au,hor--a book that is in in
cases found only in the hands Of scholar
avs ia polynomial Is homogcneou. "
e,ch term contains the same number 1t
cral factors, much cl3alcr definition Il
lhe former. During ali our teaching
have not. to orr recollection, had sir
pupil 10 understand HE former delinit
and other teachers hsve lad The same
nrricnce Certainly NE author has an
,unmcly exchanged lis definitions. Of ii
M. ~ 4 very moor one. This can only 4
from a want Of the power Of adaptetio
,i,ontl,ar TIN ,,nlv ron,,a,. IN 5}.ie