New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-08-09
BUSINESS EDUCATION.

TEACHERS COMPARING PLANS AND RECEIVING LES
SONS IN wRrTING-AN Essay ON CHIRoGRAPHI.
Nearly eighty representatives of business col
leges attended the convention wednesday IN Packard
College, No. sos Broadway The first business OF the
day was a writing lesson of hour given by ii. q.
Spencer OF Washington, in which the members were
pupils and were drilled accordingly. paper on Bust
ness Correspondence" was read by the Rev. l.. II
Sprague of kingston PENN the discussion OF winch oc
cuped the entire morning Mr. Dunton, OF Maihe' theh
transformed the convention into school, giving 10 each
man pen ink and paper and proceeded TO explain the
proper method OF teaching writing. The OLD gentleman
was deeply in earnest and made his eighty pupils as
sumo the proper positions with military exaeutuue'
Take ink; write m-O-O-n" came In Snort sharp tones
Of command and the eighty pens gded over the sneeS
Of foolscap with q scratching noise.
In the afternoon paper was read by II. W. Ellsworth,
OF New-York giving some statistics in regard TO public
schools. "There are" said Mr.. Ellsworth o6ooooo
adults in the United States who can neither read nor
write. This that One-sevenh Of the entire adut
population this land OF schools stand In need oil
vices Of writing teachers These fvean mar mhohs
of adults with an annually increasing army OF school
children numbering ten millions requiring erographc
instruction make formidable array Of Ignorance In this
essential requirement problem for educators
and statesmen To solve this problem there are 100000
teachers In public schools IN the prOporon OF QUE
vote onesixth OF their time TO instruction IN Wrlug
This is equivalent TO the entire time OF 10000 teachers
and 5000 men TO be spent wholly ~ the ART 3i tecnE
writing, and have average OF 800 pupils TO eaeh
teacher daily forty hour, average or minute
and third to pupil Hence II must be seen that
some more general method must be resorted to than
the ancient Of individual instruction. In tue IN
fancy Of the public school system, before paper had De
come cheap and universal classes taught 10 trace
letters with fOreiuger I'm tho sand. The era OF the
gray goose quill and fOOseap followed, when thr qnalh
cations OF the teacher confined To his ablly 10
make and mend pens for the young tyro by day, ana
write hun wise tOf cops slips by night But lne
sand-board and quill nave been Euppanted Jy the black
board aud steel pen. The writing MASTER who houished
In his primal grandeur them hears his death Ape ID lne
photograph and telephone"
There was a diminished attendance at the Teachers
Convention yesterday several members who live az a
distance having gone TO their homes. paper on the
Science OF Accounts and its COToaTies In Mental ana
Moral Philosophy read by Mr.. Folsom, of Albany,
and elected much discussion Papers ou The Claims %
the Subject OF BOOkkeeping by j. Van Sickle. ot OiuO
commercial Law" by III. II. Bowman, OF Minnesota
and poems by W. A. Talbot and j. H. lnnsley, OF New
York were rad. In OF the rooms Is collection OF
fine specimens of pen and ink drawing by d. T. Ames,
L. Z. Spencer and other penmen The convention WIZ
close to-day but the members have decided TO meet
annually