Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1869-05-26

in writing their own ideas, as soon as tnoy nav
learned to use their pencils in forming s,h"n,,S
He then spoke upon Primary ueogrnnPnS rds
should commence at home and proceed out"Wu7.
II is important TO call child's attention 10 lac.
that he already knows, in order that he may learn
Ia express his knowledge of the fact, ana compare
il with other knowledge. We first should COM
mence in the school-rOom. We Will then teach
diroction-right, left, front, back, up and down.
Next we mention the parts Of the room. As the
starting point of direction he would then place
the point of sunrise. From this we can obtain
Tho other points of direction. Then the pupils
should draw upon the board plan Of the room.
Next we have the school surroundings. Under
this head we have first, direction second, locae
ton of towns, fences, etc third, the route OF
each pupil 10 the school-room iourth, the 9rnW-
inc of these upon the board. Next he would give
the natural features of the country hills, noun,
tains, valleys, brooks, rivers, etc. lie would
send the pupils out 10 see all these things Tor
themselves 10 follow the brooks little way
and then let them report all they have seen. IN
the brook they cnn find nearly all the nnturll az
vision Of water, as well ns many Of those 81 inc
land, with little Imagination Tue DrooS en-
larged becomes a river, and the river may expand
into lake
From the school district he would pass to the
town. from the town 10 the county, from the
county 10 the State lie would have them learn
the productions of the county, its sources OF
wealth, the animals Of the county, the different
kinds Of industry and commerce. we must get
all of the pupils knowledge mmillarlzed before
thew start out into the region Of the unknown.
Prof Cruttenden next addressed the Institute
ON Grammar. We must express our thoughts
in sentences. When we find q relation between
two ideas we unite them in a thought. Although
contains one principal dea-a group, more tlon
one In building we must have foundation.
So in constructing sentence we have the subject
as the foundation We may take as the subject,
the name of either the actor or the receiver. No
other words can be made the subject II the
actor is the subject we say the sentence Is nc
lively constructed If the receiver Is the subject,
the sentence ~ passiyey constructed. by q
mood of a sentence, he meant that every sentence
expresses q mood or feeling Of the speaker. Ey-
ery sentence expresses the thought Of the Maria
tor, and at the same time the mood or feeling OF
the narrator The speaker urged upon the teach
ers present the necessity that the mood OF the
teacher be always pleasant one.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
Prof JohOnnot spoke upon the subject Of Dis
cipline. The first qualification Of the teacher is
ability tn control-trst, self. Teachers cannot
control others unless they are able 10 control self
He cautioned teachers against showing Partially
20 the children of the rich and influential II
any partiaity is shown it should be 10 the poor
children. Teachers should not bring out their
show classes before visitors representing them as
fair specimens of the school This is nothing
more or less than lying. Teachers should never
yield % passion or he Influenced by improper mo-
tvcs
Secondly teachers must have power 81 control
others This cannot be explained. II is partly a
gift Of nature, and comes partly from cultivation.
In order 10 secure this it IS not necessary to be
rough and b1isteruus, or 20 raise the voice above
the ordinary key, or To I've always watching pu-
pills One OF the most effective means Of secur.
ing silence in school is by keeping silent your
self II q teacher or lecturer IS troubled by whis-
perng, he can easily put stop 10 II 10y remaining
silent himself until others have become orderly
This is on account Of the sympathy which an
audience always has for the speaker. He had
never seen human being who could resist this
for thirty seconds lie would never commence a
school until perfect order has been secured The
next qualification Of the teacher Is ability ~ ex-
cite IN interest in study II teacher after a
fair trial fails 10 secure this, he had better leave
the profession al once. All persons are not fitted
to become teachers. To secure this interest the
teacher must first have a thorough knowledge OF
the branches taught IL will help him very
much 10 understand in addition 60 these, kindred
branches. lie did not believe any person could
be too wise to teach primary school Neither
did he believe every teacher 10 BE good enough for
physician good enough for small child Next.
the teacher should have knowledge Of the mind
taught lie should have q knowledge Of mental
philosophy In his opinion the time will come
when tins will be taught in the common schools,
even before grammar is taught
Thirdly, The teacher should have a knowledge
OF the natural order of mental Development.
Fourthly, The teacher should make in advance
careful preparation for each lesson. He should
understand it sufficiently well to be able 10 got
on without the aid Of the text book
Next, The teacher should provide the scholars
with plenty Of work 10 do,
lie recommended physical exercise in the school
room. This has always been useful whenever Il
has been tried, andprevents many diseases which
arise from bad habits in the school room. IL i.
also useful saiety-yalye for the restless ener.
~ OF small children
Next, The teacher should have a Systematic
order Of study and be obedient to his own rules
Wi'h the-S qualifications tho teacher viii find
the question OF punishment vanished into thin
air
Prof Cruttenden gave illustrations Of the Oh.
Jective method Of teaching arithmetic and at
the conclusion of-his remarks the Institute was
declared adjourned
There were about a hundred and fifty teachers
present, and if we may judge from the close at
tenton they paid to the speakers, they went hack
70 their school rooms with fresh interest and zeal
Tor their work and new sense Of the responsible
ity resting upon them.
Secretary Rankin and his assistants seem alive
to the necessity OF a reform in the present meth
obs OF teaching and we trust that their efforts
may be proved successful by reform in every
school room in the State
Mr.. Ira Ii. Adams, Of pomfret, passed the re-
lulred examinations, and received a State five
years certificate.