Brownlow's Knoxville Whig. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1866-1869, 1868-11-04
Notes on Educational Matters.

Geography and the study of Geography nave
hoen badly neglected in most of our Tennessee
schools. Neither teachers nor parents have sch
proper value upon it. We hope this state oil thinsS
is now changing somewhat for the better. we kho"
of some good schools, at least wherein this lmpor
tant subject is getting something like the amount
of attention and labor it deserves. The text BOOKS
on geography recommended by the State Superin-
tendent for uniform adoption in public schools, are
certainly excellent and if ntellgently and faith
fully used by faithful and intelligent instructors,
they cannot fail 20 make themselves happily felt IN
the development and training of the present set OF
school children. AS hand books for school use
they have many very decided excelencies they are
carefully and jUdiciously graded in the series, the
maps in each aumber of the series are just fitted to
meet the wants of the pupil at that stage Of his
work, the map exercises are singularly Practlca
and common s2nse and details and particulars which
ought to be left out, have been left out We came
near emitting to state that the series thus ofciay
recommended is that of Monteith and McNaly-
Number Four of this series has treatise on Phys-
cal geography, as full and complete as it Is at all
possible TO give the time to in our common schools
thus making this number peculiarly and consPlcu-
ously useful in those numerous cases IN which the
pupil must do all bis work in one book, and that
moderate sized one.
Up to this point we have been speaking OF books
for pupils use But the teacher himself, if he ex-
poets to be successful instructor in this subject
must be student of something above and beyond
the manuals his children are using He must have
been warmed, expanded and elevated by repeated
and careful readings of that remarkable book, Guy
otis earth and Man"-a book concerning which
we shall say nothing here, because we hope to say
something rather fully hereafter, at a convenient
season. But we will earnestly call the attention
every teacher and of every intelligent man who ha
any fondness for geographical informatiOn-Wh(
wants to know all the while what explorations are
going on, what discoveries are making in hitherto
unknown or imperfectly known regions of the globe
and what remains unexplored and unknown-tc
the quarterly journal of Geography" published a
81 year, by Cotton s. Co., 172 William street, New
York. In this the lover of geographical knowledge
and geographical science will find matter of exceed
| ing interest. We here use the word knowledge t.
embrace all the mass of facts constantly getting
added to our stock of information, such as the dis
covery of Brooks Island, in the North Pacific and
the particulars of its exact latitude and longitude
and its fitness for coaling station for steamers run
ming between San Francisco an Japan or Shanghai
By geographical science we mean, among othe
things the plan and method Of development of eacl
continent, as discussed in Danas mastery paper
the Geological history of North America, given il
Nos l and of the Journal We can't leave thi
periodical without making special mention of thu
elaborate exhaustive and able description of Alaska
in No. = accompanied with much the best maps o
that region yet given to the public; Danas article
already above named the description of Abyssinia
with a good map in No. 2, and the article upon ou
Northwestern Territories, in No 3. As yet, only
three numbers are out. Surely every teacher and
every intelligent reader of history of the daily
news ought to be q reader of Colton's Journal o
| Geography.
Among the late issues of Harper s. Brothers, i
| "Popuat Education" by IS S. Randall Superintend
ent of Pablo Schools in the city of New York,
very neat volume of 256 pages in large clear, bolC
type on strong and fine paper. 1t is not tex
book in any sense not for classes in the theor.
and practice of teaching in normal schools. But i
is book for teachers, parents and all friends o
popular education to read. 1t opens wi tn state
ment of what education is and then, in successive
chapters unfods the authors ideas of how this edu
cation is to be given in the family and in the school
It lays DOWN and urges the principle that it is th
States Gty to furnish universal and free education
just as much to organize, maintain and carry OIL
the machinery of police, of any other department
of administration Among the chapters upon whicl
the author aeems to have laid out unusual pains ant
labor, ary those on Practical Education and Femal
education. (Why couldn't he have written the Ed
| ucation of Woman y