The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1879-10-31

The experiment m common school
education made AZ the Massachusetts,
town ~ Quincy il worth the attention of
All teachers. Quincy j. the home Of the
Adams family, and that j. family fond
~ looking after public affairs and re-
forming things about them. Therefore
Mr.. Charles Francis Adams. Jr.. has
taken interest in the improvement Of the
Quincy schools. and according 10 his re-
port they are unquestionably better for
what has been done 10 them within four
or five years past.
When the school Committee put the
pupils 10 the test to see just how much
ihey were getting from their instruction.
which was furnished them at cost Of
more than Sl9 head annually, they
found that the knowledge acquired was
only superficial. that the scholars were
set 10 learn certain cut-and-dricd tasks,
and the measure Of their proficiency was
their ability to give parrot-like answers
to questions on them. They got train
ing Of the memory, but so far as con
cerned any real understanding Of their
studies and the capacity TO use what
they had been taught, they We're shame
fully deficient The teachers performed
their work in perfunctory way, follow
ing the prccedents Of many years, and
the youngstcr committed facts, rules,
and exceptions to memory without any
great interest In what they were doing.
and without any proper idea Of what Il
all meant Their time was spent in
examining their heads with undigested
and indigestible facts gathered from an
armful Of school books covering wide
range Of subjects of study. Poor boys
and girls No wonder they sometimes
played truant and went to sleep on warm
days over their monotonous tasks.
The School Committees reform began
in the primary schools; but first they
succeeded in engaging a. Superinten-
dent Of Schools young man Of enthu-
siasm in teaching, who had carefully
studied the German methods, for in Ger
many pedagogy has been elevated % the
rank Of special science. Instead Of
being drilled In the alphabet after the
old fashion. the children were taught 10
read before the blackboard almost with
out knowing ii, getting their knowledge
BY practice. When their interest flag
ged they were turned out 10 play games
and 10 stretch their legs. School going
under such circumstances became a de-
light instead of an odiouS task
In the higher schools the number OF
studies was reduced from seven 10 three
reading, writing, and arithmetic, the
two former including, naturally, not only
grammar and spelling. but also geogra-
ply and history. They We're taught by
incessant practice. not by the old way ~
imposing on the pupils lessons % be
learned by rote. Instead Of the Reader
Of ancient memory, the teachers used as
practice-bcoks Biographies, histories,
and articles in the current periodicals.
The pupils were 80 in the habit Of writ
ing that they grew to write AS readily rs
they spoke, and, incidentally and in the
way of practice. the art Of spelling
correctly was taught. and taught in the
only way in which i can Ne acquired.
a boy may stand AZ the head Of an oral
spelling class. and yet when he comes
% write words he may fall in his orthog-
raphy, as he does in his command Of
language when he Is set 10 the new task
Of setting down in black and white what
he can talk about glibly enough.
The results Of the experiment. ~ Mr..
Adams details them, have been most
gratifying. The scholars during three
years under the new system have made
steady progress: they approach their
studies more willingly. and show that
thew really know what they have been
taught The new plan. Mr.. Adams says,
l. "a complete negative Of the whole
present common school system, founded
on faith in the infinite capacity 81
children 10 know al an age little 81
every thing. Il That this method Of teach
ing i the sensible one we can under
stand. not only from the results attained
AZ Quincy. but also from knowledge 81
the manner u the working Of the childish
mind, lis quickness in learning by prac
ticc. and inability to grasp abstract
ideas or general principles. While
grammar. the old bugbear Of MI young
stcrs. may seem 10 them dry and in.
comprehensive babble when taught on
~ the text books. they imperceptibly 4
themselves acquire the habit of writing
their language dramatically. a. the,
learn the habit Of speaking il with pro
priety, when they are taught by practice
10 express themselves logically and will
clcarneSS and are corrected IN thci
errors.
All this improvement has been effect
cd at Quincy. and yet the cost Of publi
education has been reduced from 1872
annually per child 70 sl5.cs. Ncr Tor
Sun.