The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1879-12-26

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MODEL sCHGoK.
No. of males enrolled, 20
No. of females enrolled, 20
Total enrolment, %
Total enrolment in all departments, 2s6
Average No belonging, Normal
department, l2S
Average No. belonging, Prepare
tory department, 30
Average No. belonging, Model
School, 80
Total average No. belonging, lS9
Average age of pupils, lS.4 years.
No. who have taught school, 50
Average No. of months taught 10y
each, 10
GRADU ATEs. - ELEMENTARY COURSE,
APRIL 10, 1879.
Anna c. Anderson, Anna c. Bishman,
Ella NJ Bundy, Henrietta A. Crosby,
Mary \. Dullard, Mary 4. Finlay,
Ida NJ. Jacobs, Ada +. Simpson,
Henrietta Klatte, Jennie White,
Geo. VI. johnson, Nicholas Young,
ADVANCED COURSE.
Luella Bradley, Mary \. Davis,
Della Smith, Lucius Fancher,
Charles Johnson, Ole Srrumgarde.
liver Shelley.
COURSE OF STUDY.
There has been a steady advance dur
ing the last four years in the standard
Of scholarship required for adml sslon,
making the graduates Of the present
at least one year Of study IN advance Of
those of five years ago. This gratifying
result has been reached, not by sudden
and radical changes, but by slight adj
vances, almost imperceptible at the time,
thereby avoiding the opposition which
Il sudden and unexpected advance could
have been sure TO arouse. OF course this
has necsssitated the rejection of many
applicants, amounting to nearly one
third OF the entire number, but the dim
inished enrolment is more than com
pensated by the superiority of those who
do succeed in gaining admission. As Il
general rule, those who have reached the
age required for admission without hay
ing the necessary attainments, and are
unconscious of their deficiencies evenafter
examination, are not such persons as Lhe
State should seek TO educate for the
teachers profession. In nine cases out
of ten failure in entrance examination
is prima facie evidence of lack of the
natural qualifications necessary to be-
come a successful teacher. With rare
exceptions, every one who possesses the
power 10 become good teacher, viii, in
some way or other, perpare himself to
pass successfully the entrance examina-
ton now required. The elevation of the
standard of scholarship has thus rid the
school of most of the hopeless cases,
who were formerly admitted, nOtwith-
standing their failure was fore gone
conclusion.
THE ADVANCED COURSE.
As shown by the statistics, eight per-
sous graduated in this course during the
past year. 1t seems to be popular with
our pupils, and will no doubt become
more SO as its superiority becomes mani
fest by contrast with the lower course.
One year of additional study immedi-
ately following the elementary course,
makes a marked change, giving pupils
a breadth of culture and clearness in
the power of expression, utterly unat
tainable in the lower course. The class
of the present year read in Latin as fol
lows:
/. First and second book Of C,psar's
Commentaries.
2. First and second book of Virgil's
Eneid
3. Two orations of Cicero one against
Catiline and one OH behalf of the poet
Archias.
During the entire course, special at
tention is called to the influence of the
language upon our own, and every word
having a representative in English is
carefully considered; all the derivatives
are required to he named and the pro-
cess of assimilation pointed out. No
one can be said to he thoroughly ac
quainted with English who is ignorant
of the sources whence it has drawn its
materials, and the changes undergone in
the process OF amalgamatiOn. Having
graduated class in each course during
the past year, we have had good OPP.
portunity to compare them; the result
Of the comparison is strong conviction
that all who have the time and means
should be encouraged to take the higher
one.
In our last report We recommended a
short course in Anglo Saxon and early
English as essential to thorough
knowledge of the etymology and syntax
of our language as it now is. Pursuant 20
that recommendation, VIC propose to de
liver a course of lectures during the
next term, to our advanced Glasses, GOV
ering the entire subject. The aim will
be to show the ancient infections, in
order to explain the remnants which
still lingcr; the gradual transformation
of the ancient genitiye into the modern
possessive, the method of pluralizing
nouns; the formation of the prcterite
and perfect participle, the origin and
development of the substantive verb,
with so much Of comparative philolOgy
as may be necessary for illustration OF
the points discussed. In these lectures
we hope to impart such information as
will arouse a new interest in the study
of language, and enable our pupils to
put some meat upon the dry bones Of
technical grammar as taught in the
common schools Of the State.
NATURAL SCIENCE.
1t must not DC supposed that the in
creased attention TO language and liter
AZURE is TO be given at the expence of
other departments. On the contrary,
our facilities for instruction in natural
science have been largely increased 10y
the valuable apparatus purchased during
the year. For the first time since our
with the school, We have been
aDie to teach these branches in a truly
scientific manner. Text book study has
been very much lightened by the illus
trations and experiments of the class
room, giving our pupilsla better knowl-
edge Of the subject and saving time for
the study of additional branches. The
vouchers presented will show the
amount of apparatus purchased, but as
these will be seen by few, append
some Of the more important pieces with |
which tie institution has been recently |
equipped:
! Compound microscope, $50 diam.
Holtz electric machine and acces-
5aries.
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