Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-11-08
Teachers Instltute-Fourth Day.

NJ, Superintendent Mcdonald in
the chair.
The roll call showed 94 present,
| 16 absent and excused.
J. A. Smith and Miss STAFFORD
were appointed critics for to-day.
Miss Whittier and Mr.. Jorsy gave
some terse criticisms on Yesterdays
incongruities.
Frof. F. X. Simonds read very
interesting and instructive paper
on penmanship. He expressed
himself as not being particular
about the position, but advocated
elaborate training in the forearm
movement, as rudimentary aud es-
sential to success and mastery ex-
ecution. He said that care should
be taken in the selection of writing
material.
Mr.. Mann said he had often
thought that children should not
begin to write too soon, for the
reason that the labor required to
hold the pen or pencil draws too
severely upon the delicate fibers of
the muscle and develops angular
motions.
Miss Mobeck and others took
issue with him on this subject.
The Professor said that he pre-
ferred, always, long pencil or
crayon, to be used before
taking up a pen. This will cul-
tivate the forearm movement He
also urged the necessity of using
soft material in crayons and pen
ellis.
Mr.. Butterfield preferred the pen
first, and spoke in Illustration of
various advantages from its early
use.
Miss Mebeck agreed with Mr..
Mann in the use of long crayon,
but deprecated printing as an exer-
else for small children.
Mr.. Peck followed in support of
Mr.. Mann's suggestions, illustrat-
ing forcibly the oval movements,
etc. He gave some good rules for
spacing and correcting irregulari-
ties.
TheChair called upon Prof Allen,
who said that children are put to
work using tool which they do
not understand; hence they use too
much ink, too much everything.
He said that the old goose-quill
system exercised every muscle of
the body, tongue aud even the toes,
way down in the boots. Indeed,
he wore out some half-dozen pair of
socks and expended large
amount of muscle, and yet he
never could control the miserable
sliding, slipping and general free.
dom of the old quill pen. He
therefore recommended coarse pens
for beginners, since he must and
will see a mark. He preferred
short crayons, etc, in the begin
ming, and gave some good rules for
writing such as by counting, first
the straight lines, then the
curves. In the exercise of
curves count one on the
downward stroke and two on the
upward. He advocated continual
exercises of this character until the
movement is measurably perfect.
He Thought the slate should be
dropped out Of school exercises,
and suggested the use of small note
books with lead pencils instead.
Drawing and writing should
go hand in hand. He spoke
of the extraordinary advantages
demonstrated in Boston, New York
and other Eastern cities where
the tine has been equally
divided between drawing and
writing. lessening the time for
merly used in writing; he said
there had been too much theory
and not enough skill or practice;
he totally disfavored printing by
little children or beginners.
Professor Mann did not wish the
argument to GO off ON the thread of
the long and short crayOn, but he
illustrated still further the advant-
ages of using II long crayon or PEN
Prot. Lawlor, by request of the
Chair, took up the subject and said
that he did not think lie could add
anything of advantage to what had
been said. However, he gave some
valuable hints to more advanced
pupils who were ready for practical
work, such az bookkeeping, etc.
After q recess of ten minutes, the
subject of mental arithmetic was
introduced by Mr.. Cady, who said
that he regarded it as one of the
subjects or studies in which we are
to look very much to ulterior re-
suits. The meaning or definition
of the term mental arithmetic lies
below the ordinary acceptation of a
companion study, and, as science.
is highly philosophical and should
not be lost sight of during
the entire course of mathematics.
He said it may be principally and
fundamentally a resoning process
from cause to effect. He did not
propose to confipe the method SO
much to what we teach, as to how
we teach it. He regarded mental
arithmatic us more elementary
and, at the same time, capable of
the most complicated or advanced
processes. 1t addresses itself to the
simplest intuitions OF childhood,
dealing more directly with the rea-
son and not so much with the alb.
stract form of calculation. He
gave some good hints as to meth
ods of training IN mental arithme-
tic.
Prof. Lawlor said he had been
impressed with the possibility of a
slight Misunderstanding on the
subject. He WAS afraid some one
would think that there was time
when mental arithmetic could be
suspended as study. In his mind
the analytical and practical orl alb
stract features of mental arithmetic
go hand in hand,throughout the en-.
tire course of mathematics.
Mr.. McFadden suggested that, in
lieu of lecture on this subject, he
would prefer class exercise.
| Upon his suggestion, Prof. Allen
said that, while mental arithmetic