Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-05-20
TIE RUTLAND HERALD
THURSDAY, MAY Is, 1869.
Teachers Institute.

The preliminary lecture Of the Rutland
County Teachers Institute, now in ses-
sion at East Wallingford, was delivered
in the church at that place, on Monday
evening, by A. f. Rankin, Esq, Secretary
Of the Vermont Board of Education.
The lecture was well attended, attentive
" listened to, and highly spoken Of. 1t
was addressed to parents, and set forth
strongly the duties Of parents in the edu-
cation of their children, and their re-
-ponsibiity in sustaining the common
schools We would give an abstract OF
this lecture. but owing TO our inability to
oycrttko the p. IN. train on Monday
evening after they had half mile the
start, we were not present, and have to
depend for our knowledge Of ii from what
We heard of it at the Institute yesterday
The morning trains yesterday added
very materially 10 the large Numbers al
ready present, and. with what came in
from the surrounding country, the house
was filled Mt the hour of opening the In
stitutc, at ~ o'clock in the morning
Mr. Rankin commenced the exercises Of
the Institute hy reading portion Of
Scripture, after which he said that he de-
sired to make the exercises a. colloqual
rs possible, and that he wished the teach
ers present to answer as many OF the
questions asked as possible, and in that
way they would get at the true solution
of the queries proPounded, and make the
Institute more pleasant and profitable to
all concerned in it.
The Secretary then took up the subject
If Geography, and criticised the old text
hooks upon the subject and the old meth
od~ of teaching it. He thought that the
presentation Of numerous details in the
first instance was IL very faulty way of
teaching geography. That the endeavor
~ learn disconnected details had ten
daucy TO confuse the mind, and that to
make study profitable il should bc direct
ei 10 general principles and rules. and
that II students IN geography would de-
vote their time to the study OF the laws
underlying the science OF geography, in
stead Of memorizing particular localities,
49, capitals, So, that they would find
their study more profitable. Lifo il too
short ~ learn All science in detail. That
Naut1n -nid ~ he stood at the head Of
the scientific world, that he had but
gathered up few pebbles upon the shore
oi lsuDwlodge The idea il illustrated by
the building of huu-e mo one in build
ing house Hould think Of lacking on
.iiugla4 first, but would erect frame
aud then attach 10 it the do .uls OF cover
lng. gpr So geography should be studied
we .hould frat build frame work aud
h.untt.ud ~ tho details The Secretary
here commended new work on geo
graphy by Mr. Fay, recently tho Minister
ot the United States ~ Switzerland. It.
va- not designed us u book to suppressed"
ofhpr works s text books but us q rein
f1rctmcnt 10 them.
C.eogrithy should be divided into three
n,rrs or kind--astrononic civil. aud
,h,sic,I 1T. The astronomical treat. Of
,utlin.. and j. the basis Of the matherna-
,i.,I mart of ,,ao,r,pby and !. recon-.
,,.sodrd bv Mr. F,v =. 8, req,,,oe of the
sciences The secretary here exhibits
-ama. Mate ar via,v. fr,m the hook aud
pointed ont the relative po4ition of the
astronomical bodies. and asks tine class
how far the earth j. from the sun. They
r.nIs1 o5 0oo oo0 miles Mr. Rankin
tben .bo,ya that the truo na,, ,var,ga
distance il abopt 91 500 600 miles while
No,,+uro :. . oon ooo 0oo ,,;1as ~ i. 40
-. ,., - G.. -
- 49,, ana t,o aar,h : ;noa1cn1ab1v
,,or, +han tbot Ua said ba ;ptroduced
-, l;.+aua, 4,.ha,, .,a. ,,b,r, wa
III. oLo,,+ d;.+oroos 80 o,n1ioa 70 tho
-. II. -,
- :, !,
n.t;on Sc 1;.tonoo, ,,,,,r 80 ,f ~
u.t T., a. - - -
stapd;no of di.toroe os or,,1;oa % .bo
heavenly bodies astronomers have adont-
cd the plan Of est;matinc, distances bv
light years. Light passes about two hun.
dred thousand miles per second or
abont EIGHT times the circumference of
the earth, so that light would travel the
entire breadth of the solar system in
eleven hours. It would take about 10000.
years 70 oount a billion. Therefore. upon
the computation of the distance light ira
ueIs il ono year which astronomers term
. liybt wear the distances Of the heavenly
bodies are computed, and we speak of one