Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1873-03-25
From the chronological 5ournal.
lTcmOrU WOrship.

h'"cfO w W o"ePs
What blessed thing II would 10 if the
teachers of our country could study
Phrcnology long enough to learn that
there are several other faculties of the
mind which require culture besides the
memory. II they could feel that inven-
tion, Constructiveness, Ideality, and the
remaining mental organs need develop.
ment, instead of being allowed TO lie al
most dormant. what stride in advance
education would take
Visit any school, listen to the recila.
tions. how much original work il done
in the study of any scionco' First,
there is reading.class. Every member
rises in turn, reads "verse," is correct
ed in pronunciation. emphasis, or style
Of delivery, and the class files back to
make way for something else. How few
faculties besides memory were exercised!
| In nine out of ten instances no other; no
ones attention was directed to the senti-
ments expressed or facts stated, there
was no discussion, no criticism, no
thought evoked. 1.-THE same class every
second day were obliged to bring Tor .
reading lesson half dozen original lines
accurately spelled. illustrating some elo-
cutional nicely, with definition OF every
word ready in the mind, interest would
| be excited. mental action reused, Con-
structivcness, Causality, Comparison,
and other organs, would find work, the
whole mind with its various powers
would show lie, and the thought thus
elected would better aid education than
the beauties of any author proscd over
| in the usual manner.
Perhaps mental arithmetic follows
reading. and page after page is analyzed
glbly, the teacher smiles approyingly
and would dismiss the class only you,
stop her by asking Johnny Subtraction
to make problem or example himself;
then YOU find, rs before, memory is the
pack.horsc which does all the work.
! Suppose once in two or three days the
class composed and solved examples
made by themselves, would q simple re-
quest for homemade problem meet
such blank silence'
Thus the days work goes on even
grammar, which is pre.eminently concern
ed with the expression Of thought, fares
no better than the rest. Instead Of
pages upon pages of original written
illustrations from the pupils, there is on
ly vast catter of words called parsing;
a little thought is here required, but
memory does the chiet work.
And through the whole school AZ
college curriculum the same or very
similar plan is followed, with perhaps
semi.mOnthly opportunities to use tho
whole brain in writing themes. Were it
not that pupils must necessarily exercise
thought upon the every. day concerns of
lie outside the school-room, the ordinary
course of school education would make
more people incompetent for the business
of life than il now does. But, finally,
there comes blessed day, when the
education is finished" that is the mem
ory has been crammed 10 repletion.
while the other faculties have followed
the reapers at n distance, gathering as
cleaners the scattered grains. What
now ? Will memory do the worlds work
as it has done that of the school.room?
Now the pupil, male OF female. is ex-
pected 10 use grandly the boards Of
learning and the results of thought sup
posed to have been gathered and stored
in the workshop OF his own mind.
There lies the fault; the learning has
not been wrought over and woven into
the texture of the individual intellect.
1t proves but an outside starching and
dressing that must be principally washed
out or, at least, rumpled, crumpled, and
crushed before anything can be made Of
the fine, glossy. looking substance.
A course OF study, as generally man.
aged, does not materially aid one in busi-
ness of life Unless the intellect was
naturally uncommonly fine and vigorous,
it rather trammels than helps. 1t is on
ly after some years of efforts, struggles.
and mistakes, one throws off the idea
that his classical education will be Ui
much value in advancing success, and
finds that persistent work with all
the mental and physical power is really
the great helper on which he may rely.
Most of the students of to-day imagine
and believe, as once imagined and be
lieved, that the quantity of Greek, Latin,