Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1876-02-11

On Resolutions-President NJ. II. Buck
ham, President c. B. Hubert. J. d. Miller.
On Place Of Next Meeting-H. F. Fuller,
j. S. Cilley. W. G. Crippen.
EVENING SESSION.
There wasa large attendance at the even
ing session and the exercises were Of much
interest. The session was opened with q
debate on the question, How shall His
tory be taught in common schools, partic-
ipated in by Messrs W. c. Crippen. of
johnson, and Seneca Haselton and l.. l..
Lawrence, of this city.
Next came an address. by the Rev. c. b.
Hubert, President of Middlebury College.
PRESIDENT HULBERT's address.
The American Republic traces its origin
to the Pilgrims and Plymouth Harbor, and
the Pilgrims to Wicklife's translation Of
the Bible This makes Wickliffe the father
of this country. His translation of the
Bible vas commenced in 1850, and that is
the date Of moral revolution-of a new
era in the calendar of ages. The disciples
of Wicklfe multiplied RAPIDLY, and the
Bible in the hands of the people poured the
illumination of truth on the errors and
denominations Of the Romish Church. In
l4I4, in obedience to a decree OF the council
of Constance. Wickliffe's bones were disln-
TERED and burned, and his ashes were cast
into the river Swift. From the Swift they
were carried into the river Severn. from the
Severn to the narrow sea and from the mar
row sea TO the main ocear and so distributed
throughout the world. Professionalism arose
before Luther-in Wickliffe's time. Moth
ing came to birth in the sixteenth century
that did not exist in embryo in Wicklifs's
time.
The speaker then gave rapid sketch of
the rise and growth Vi Professionalism from
Wickliffe's era, and Of the settlement of the
Pilgrims in this country. The history OF
the Pilgrims did not end with the lives OF
the Pilgrims themselves. Their principles.
their virtues and their moral ideas are the
foundation OF the Republic. Let US con-
slider the elements of empire among US
what are they? You may point to the vast
extent of our territorial domain and our i'm
mense material wealth-but do these form
an adequate foundation for nations great
ness? The answer is too obvious tor argu-
ment. Do YOU say the Federal Constitu-
ton the ballot box? the people-the prln-
ciples in the people ard the popularity OF
character their principles give them W hat
are these principles? The general intelli-
gence and education of our people, as re-
Elected in our public schools, our semina-
ries, colleges. and the press. But certainly
danger is possible even amid all these
things.
What. then, is the centre-piece in the
American r-thecorDer-stone Of our
nationality? | answer, emphaticaily, the
conscience OF the American people. 1t Is
seen in Justice, love of truth, honesty,
chastity. temperance, industry. benevo-
lence, reverence for an oath, and esteem for
the word # God and the Sabbath. In
reaching these principles have We not re-
turned 10 Wickliffe's Bible-do We not
scent the air of Plymouth Rock ? The Amer
lean ship OF state is the Mayhower enlarged.
There is no hope except in the principles OF
the Christian faith Let these be incul-
Gated by Bible instruction in the nursery,
in the home and in our schools and institu-
lions of learning This will be the guar
anty ofanother century of Republican gov
eminent in this country.
SECOND DAY.-FRIDAF MORNING,
The morning session opened with prayer
by j. D. BARLEY. Principal Of Burlington
High School.
ARITHMETIC.
The first exercise was paper on " How
much prominence should be given to the
study of Arithmetic ?" written by Prof &.
y. abbott, of Mercersburg. Penn. and
read BY Mr.. Pollens. The questions treated
were. What is the least time absolutely
needful for the mastery OF Arithmetic
How shall the work be condensed into thu,
time and At what age shall the study BE-
commenced The conclusions Of thg auth.
or of the paper were: /. That the pupil
could probably begin the Study OF arith.
metic very early. . That be should not
finish 1t till he arrived ava sufficient age
for grasping .the lntricacyes of the subject,
which. in the case OF Yhe average pupil,
even with good opportunities. might not
occur before the age of twelve to fourteen
years. That TIE best method of con-
tracing the time devoted &c the study is e
reduce the daily or weekly hours Of atten-
ton TO 1t, to- omit it certain terms, or tc
alternate " with algebra in the latter part
OF the Course A. That the relative I'M
PORTAGE of this study is greater than somt
Ter mans, as for instance Schopenhauer.
would make 1t, and 50 grea. that the study
of other sciences cannot be successfully
prosecuted without Il.
C. D. Mead, in the oral discussion of the
topic, thought that none too thorough q
knowledge Of arithmetic was now required
of our pupils that the plan of study
should be adapted TO the capacity OF the
average pupil that the work should be-
gin with the entrance Of the child upon
school work, and cannot be satisfactorily
completed in less than eight or ten years
time. Ordinarily one-third of the pupil 5
time should be devoted to this subject.
President Buckham said that the Difficult
ty in teaching arithmetic comes not in the
primary grades nor in the highest grades,
bat at some of the intermediate stages.
This is the universal testimony of teachers
The inference from this is obvious. The
elementary work of arithmetic Is within
the reach of very young minds. Its high
est work needs maturity. 1t is not best.
then, TO arrest the study when 1t begins to
be too abstruse for children and return to It
when the mind has acquired the requisite
discipline for mastering it.
j. d. BARLEY spoke of the general igno-
rance of scholars of the philosophy of COM
mon things and of the greater Importance
of some knowledge of natural science than
of all the possible applications of numbers.
.as+aI In
of the study of algebra before completing
arithmetic 10 his school, BY this means.
six months OF more Of time was generally
saved.
SHAKESPEARE AS READING BOOK.
Miss A. NJ. Guernsey, of Randolph, then
presented a paper on Shakespeare as
Reading Book" Taking as an introduction
the assertion OF Prof Breinerd. of Middle
bury, that " The study of English Litera-
tnre should be commenced in the school
room :" the questions were asked What
awaken in the minds Of our pupils deeper
interest in the literature of our mother
tongue? What results may be obtained by
introducing the writings OF the myriad
minded Shakespeare into our common
schools 1t can be done, though it requires
close, careful study, and it will supply the
want of - something new" which so many
teachers experience. 1t is better to view
these masterpieces as a whole. than TO
catch only the tantalizing gliWpses Of them
which are given in our textbooks
on reading This work is valuable
for purposes of elocution and may oe
made powerful auxiliary in the dreaded
subject of compositions Paraphrases, both
oral and written, 'impromp;u and studied,
should be required; the incidents of the va
rious plays, lists and descriptions of the
several characters, should be written. I'm
portsnt lessons for the present hour should
be CLEANED from this rich harvest field: val
liable hints as to manners and customs may
be found. Look for the descriptions of
sleep. of death, of morning, the illusions
to the Bible, the new and strange express
sions, parallel passages, and familiar quota
lions. Require theimemorizlng of portions of
the play that is studied, and the asking of
questions upon it. Since the eye should