The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1874-12-17
Parssts llslplsg cAIIsrsa il Study.

LperelAe iii pist IN giving tSisAeir
Sildd lekkm1|is . great hindrance to
their Improvement, and, consequently. :
great injustice done to a. The teacher,
for instance, gives papiT y lSsSon con.
sistipgr Of questions on we map: He
Enh2 him to look for tneF answers him
self, and, by habit, to GAIN facility in
finding places. The child, II lie cannot
find place Immediately, asks the parent
to find it for him. He complies; when.
FKH ls refused tt1e child would have
found it by himself after ! time, and,
while looking for the particular place,
would have gained genefal knowledge
IQf pthA Aikpetieo1f places On the msp
which would have been uaefula ct other
times. lHe would Slso have been form
ing the habit Of sol, dependence. ii
"Take another case, "A teacher, after
he has, In .the- class, exphinsda certain
rule inlsFitbmefie, And made the pupils
perform examples under, thar rule till
the process has become familiar, gives
them some Axsmpaes 10 b done out of
class. A pupil carelessly makes mis-
takes in dyiEfhs11. The teacher would
tell him to look ill Ia found his mistake
and correct it.. This would be good
n6ent4 H6d Pli14 h takes the exam.
- To bis tbra6t wAo4fnds the mistake
Tor him, and thus encourages bad
habits. ..a
Again, in arithpetic and algebra,
problems. are-oftsal given, concerning
which thege &c no particular directions
in Ae book, but the benefit of which
consists nths thought which the pupil
isAobligedto exercise in regard to the
manner IN which they are to be, solved.
In such a case, if the parent tells him
how to do them, does he not injure his
chiids Who, then, has reason to COM
platn-thepareit Or the teacher, whose
efforts 70 discipline fhe mind Of the pupil
are rendered unavailing by the interfer-
cnce of the parent ? But the parent will
reply, If l do not assist my child. he
will lose his marks or his standing in
the class Ifyous have committed the
training. Of your childs to judicious
teacher he will not make him lose credit
because, after having workeda sufficient
time over 9 problem, he has not been
able to solve II. He will reward him for
the effort, whether that effort is success
full or not. If the pupil has made mis-
take through carelessness, making him
lose his marks will be the best way to
make him more careful another time.
v" In studies which are not mathemati-
cal it will often happen that in a new
lesson there il something which a child
cannot understand In such o case the
.jadicious teacher will not blame the child
fee Qss beingSble to recite that particu-
larpasagrapA, but will explain it to him,
and the explanations thus given help to
make the recitation interesting. tss
~ ~ Again. NOW many parents help their
sehildren h vritinge compositions; thus
not only preventing them from strength
ening the powers Of their own minds by
exercise, butsteaching them to try to de-
ceive their teachers. I say try, for the
experienced teacher will not often be
deoeieA Il he is. Jadicious,, he will
give the pupil no credit for what he has
done with the assistance of another, but
will reward him for his own exertions,
however many faults there may be in his
style. The object is, not to have we'll
written essay copied by the pupil, but
to teach him to express his own thoughts
with facility. 49, u
But it may be said that all teachers
are not judicious in regard to this thing.
Then let the parent send his child to one
who is; and, even if this is impossible,
would it not be better to let him lose his
marks or his standing in the class than
to let him lose the benefits of proper
mental discipline?
hope that what have said may
lead some thoughtful parents to differ
ent course from that which they have
pursued, and think they will find that
their children gvfll have their powers of
mind more thoroughly educated drawn
QUIT than by the former method."'
: To the above the Observer adds the fol-
lowing: ~ Y
- ]" These points are well made, and we
have but one suggestion to add. Chill
dren should not be required nor permit.
ted to take any books home from school,
nor to learn any lessons MOI, TO write COM
positions out Of school, six hours a day
inschoolis time enoug hfor children to be
employed in study and Rotations: APP
ply this rule, and there will be no further
discussion of the question sd well an.
'swered by An Experienced Teacher"
.~JapaAsse Fans.