Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1865-1872, 1868-02-21

pts iesch tue ftfuth, teach ~ thofOuPhly.
BE sure you are right, aud then 60
ahead"
| Let me ask. are you sure the course
that you ere puvsaisT u righl7 Are you
fully alive TO the importance Of the work
In which sou are engagedp IL IL sufficient
for You to ask the questions aud receive
the answers that are given 10 the ext
booksl Are the explanations and iliustrs-
/ tions that are given there sufficiently lucid
for the comprehension Of the pupil2 II
you 90 No farther than your Textbook. In
my opinion your work Is not we'll done.
Pupils understand more readily the words
of the teacher than those OF their ma usls.
An illustration with an ohject---if you
plesse, IN object iessoa--is worth more than
learned dissertation on sorne difhcult
question. Do you ssy that Jour school,
room Is not furnished with the necessary
apparatus. and therefore such illustrators .
are imposs ibe? BE man Of xpedienis;
and Why should not the teacher resort to
expedients as we'll rs any one else? The
farmers OF this country. forty and fffy
years ago, were men OF expcdients. They
narrowed their wheat with the limb or sop
Of tree. The only curry-comb used was
o cob or splinter, while the horse brush
was supplied by wisp Of hay. The
Tuckey hoes baked their bread upon the
same instrument with which they culiiva-
ted their corn. The saw, the hammer and
the sx were the only tools used by the
house carpenter, aud many a house has
been erected with no tool but the M. The
men ofthose times were men Of expedienis,
and lesson from them may be Of service
to us rs teachers, in this the afternoon Of
the nineteenth century. A teacher should
be man OF expedents. The necessity for
IL exists in almost every school room.
Some may think teacher should not stoop
to expedionts; but il he does not, many
difficult problems, many puzzling ques.
tions will pass by unanswered and uncx.
planned. Furthermore, the teacher that
will not stoop to the use Of expedieuts,
will not successfully use the proper ap.
pliances when thy are furnished.
The Black bourd l consider a "si,,e
qua non" in the school.room. There Is
absolute necessity for il; and if the school
is to be properly taught, there is no doing
without it. The black board is TO the
teacher what the Ok was TO our primitive
carpenters. 1t is to be used on nlno all
occasions. Charts and Outline Maps are
useful appenduges to the school room,
and should be lad to see more Of them
in use; yet much that is doue with them
may be done without them, If the teacher
learns to use his black board. Tho place
of the Globe may be supplied by an apple;
Geoinetrlcal forms may be whitIled out OF
shingle; the Power OF Attraction may by
illustrated by two pieces OF lead; Linear
Square and Cubit Measure may be rem
dered plain by practical examples in
measuring the desks, doors, windows. floor,
school yald, &c; Cubcal forms and blocks
for illustrating Cube Root may be made
in two minutes from turnip or potatoe;
the pumpkin vine will furnish the tube
for Syphon; common spool will serve
for Pulley; q striug aud halt dozen
spools will furnish System Of pulle, g.;
aud piece OF lean meat, which 10 the
thing itself, is worth more than ten pages
aud dozen charts in explaining the con
traction OF muscle. Ii the man of ex.
pedients could substitute a piece Of white
paper for clean shirt bosom, or cover
hole in the heel Of his stocking by stick
ing burr on it, why should not teach
era be able to supply in thousand ways
the various APPENDICES Of u well regulated
school?
Many persons think it strange that
teachers read so little. The world is full
OF reading matter, yet but little Of it ever
gets into the hands of the teachers OF our
Common Schools. There are several hun.
dreds Of different works that have been
published for the especial benefit Of teach
ers; many OF them for the teachers in the
rural districts; and set how very few have
ever found their way into the hands of
those for whom they were Intended? The
Teachers Assistant, by Charles Norihehd,
is book that no young teacher ought to
be without, yet not one in hundred pos
sesses it. Pages Theory and Practice Of
Teaching has been before the public more
than twenty years, Barnard's Journal Of
Education twenty-five years, other works
from twenty TO thirty years, and yet per.
haps one third OF the teachers do not know
that there has ever been book published
on the subject Of teaching.
All teachers have, or may have, some
time for reading, and If they would occupy
that time properly their work would be
easier done aud better done than il is. la
these books there are many special cases
treated, and such cases as are likely to.
and do come up in almost every school;
and although the manner of treating theu
may not be suited to all teachers, yet
something may be learned from u careful
review OF them. In many things the ex.
perience of most teachers is about the
same; and if one knew what the experience
Of others had been, he might avoid the
block upon which they stumbled. This
they we'll know, and yet it never occurs
to them that the very knowledge which
they need may be had for few paltry
cents, and the trouble of reading. If
man was going to make the tour Of Europe
he would first purchase and read the ex-
perience of those who had preceded him in
traversipg the countries he wished to visit;
but do you, as teachers, think it not worth
tho cost to spend either time or money in
procuring the experience Of others in tho
business in which you are engaged?
There is an educational journal in near-
ly every State. edited and published by
teachers, and for the exclusive benefit of
teachers; and yet not "a third Of those en-
gagged in teaching take such periodical.
rko ~a.Is HE Drsaa Nrrrant