Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1875-03-31
Educational Notes.

the Faculty to abolish graduate speeches
at commencement.
EIGHTEEN students, five of them wo-
men, have just been graduated by the
Hahnemann Society of the Homu-
pathic College of Cleveland.
A LARGE number of German citizens
OF Indianapolis formally state that no
benefit is derived from the study of
German in the public schools of that
city, the reason given being that not
enough time is devoted to it.
The highest salary paid to male
teachers in Illinois is $3.50 month;
the highest paid to female teachers,
1920 The respective averages of the
sexes are $18 10 and 1913 As; in Massa-
chusetts, 1914 33 and 1914 a. In Massa-
chusetts one teacher in eight is man,
while in Illinois three teachers in seven
are men.
Rev. E1EAzER SMITH, for twelve and
a-half years, Chaplain of the State
prison at Concord, N. H., has recently
published some facts concerning the
300 convicts who have entered the in
stitution during that time. After stat
ing that about fifty of this number, on
one in six. could not read when they
came under his influence, he says
Of the 800, not one has been taken from the
learned professionalism one lawyer, physi-
clan. or clergyman known and recognized as
such by any of the associated bodies of any of
their professions. There is one physician but
he is not of the regular school of practice.
There have been two persons who have pre-
tended to reach, but belonged to no religious
ord nd hal tn nD4r H., Iol1
by churches not one editor, PRIMER, Or school
teacher. Further, as to religious teaching.
but one was member of any Christian
church, and not one in ten had regularly at
tended church. I have been so long connected
with the prison, and it's records and history
that can pretty confidently affirm that from
it's opening, some sixty years, there has not
been among it's inmates one clergyman low.
yer, physician editor not one deacon, stew
ard. church warden. Or class leader, nor one
son of q clergyman and have been able tC
learn OF but two persons who at the time OF
the commission Of the crime, were members
of any church.
MINNESOTA sold it's lands granted for
educational purposes by the United
States for SIS. 81 per acre; California,
S.; Michigan, So. 25; Iowa, 1927; Mis-
souri,, 81. 81; Wisconsin, $1.25. AS re-
CARDS the States which received only
land scrip, the price for which this
was sold ranged from Al cents per acre,
lii the case of Rhode Island, to 95 cents
per acre, In the case of Virginia.
Between these extremes two States sold
for 50 cents; seven for prices between
! 50 cents and go cents; one for 80 cents;
three for prices between 60 cents
and 70 cents; two for prices
between 70 cents and 80 cents; three
for prices between so and 80 cents; four
80 cents and 81. Of colleges receiv-
ing Government aid, to the questions
whether persons of color are admitted
twenty-nine colleges have forwarded
replies. Of these fifteen report that
such students would be admitted; nine
that none have applied; two that they
would not be admitted because provis
ion has been made for them elsewhere
two that no rule prevents their admis
sion, and one that the terms Of admis-
sion have not yet been settled.
IT is the opinion of the Boston Tran
script that the public schools are toe
weII Taught to Such numbers as a Gsn now
aggregated together. The single child
is mere atom in the mass, beyond the
ken, ID his individualism and character
1stlcs, Of the most enthusiastic teacher.
There can be no general adaptation OF
adjustment. Besides, the reciting OF
large numbers together wastes the time
of each in the ratio of the numbers re-
citing with him, and this brigade drill
style Of recitation is doing as much as
any one thing to make school time I'M
profitable and drive out of school that
favored element whose parents are able
to provide private tuition A small
| class OF pupils under faithful teacher
would learn something more than multi
plication and mechanical formulas.
Besides learning these things much bet
ter than they do now, they would learn
manners, and morals, and sympathy,
and consideration for others, and the
unbought graces of life, and the school
which IS no better than a>patent ma
chime TOR grinding out answers, would,
with the same material wisely subdivid-
ed and distributed, take on the air and
semblance of humanizing institution. !"
THIS characteristic illustration of the
parrot drill Of public schools, is given
by writer in the Penn Monthly: cit
is said that gentleman who fell in
with one of our school boys offered him
"a quarter if he would tell him the
names of all the capitals in Europe. It
was done and quickly. Now, said the
gentleman, I will give you another
quarter if you will tell me whether they
are animals or vegetables. Animals
was the ready and confident answer"
The writer says of geography ''By far
the greatest part of what is taught un-
der this head in our schools is the mer-
est phantasm of knowledge-1s rather a
deterrent from any further seeking
than help and an impulse to it, and
the time spent in memorizing the con-
tents of books and maps. in
every section and class of our public
schools, is for the most part sheer
waste. The student has no more real
knowledge, after he has completed the
course, than when he began. The facts
that he has learned, though correct
enough in themselves, are lies by i'm
plication, in that they are put forward