Sharp County record., 1879-01-30
ON. Quad" on Modern SchOOl-teach-
ing.

Mr.. Old F0gy came over 10 nave u
talk with me the other evening. He is
a school-teacher, and he seemed to be
laboring under the impression that l
meant to oust him from his situation,
simply because l favor the departure
from the present school system.
"Why, sir-why, SIR" he began as he
took chair, "if children don't go to
school to study what do they go there
for?"
"To learn" l replied.
"Ah! yes, to learn; but how would
they learn if they did not studyP"
"Do you know when the United
States Mint was first established" l
asked.
"Well-well-ah -ahem-I really don't, I"
he replied.
"Well, l will tell you. 1t was in
1892. Now, how long will you remem-
Der it," ..-N.
"Just as long as 1 remember any
thing"
"Certainly you will, and you have
learned it without study or reference to
a school-book. What's to prevent chill
dren from learning in the same wayP"
"But-but-it isn't regular" he
stammered.
"No, of course not. Your father cut
wheat with a cradle, and it wouldn't be
regular for you to cut it with a
reaper"
"But if children didn't have study.
hours and regular classes there would
be no order in schools" he protested.
"Instead of study-hours | would call
them hours of reference-hours in which
they were searching answers to queS-
tions. The classes would be the same.
| would ask questions which | knew they
could answer from text books, and their
search for them would be pleasure in
stead of study"
ell don't understand"
"Don't youP Suppose l ask you
what city in England is devoted to the
manufacture of cutlery ="
"Td answer Sheffield, of course"
"And SO would a school-boy, after
hunting it up. And further, he would
also find that coal and iron is mined
near by, and you would have a fine
chance to tell the whole school that
American cutlery is now being sold all
over Europe and right at the doors of
Sheffield. In telling them that ask them
what the knife blades are made of, how
prepared, and what substance is used
for handles. Let them 20 home and
ask their parents-let them 60 to ma
chine-shops or anywhere else where in
formation is to be had"
every irregular-very irregular" ne
sighed.
ayes, and if your aunt died before
your uncle it would be the same thing.
The textbooks say that an island is
body of land surrounded by water. just
so. That's cold fact known to all pu-
pills. But suppose | say: Children,
in telling me to morrow what an island
is, tell me also on what island great
soldier was kept prisoner until his death
and am further facts you can Don't
you admit, MIR. Old Fogy, that in an
swering that request they'd give me the
name of Napoleon; the island; the
ocean around it; the nationality of the
captors; the last battle fought by the
prisoner, and perhaps other informa-
! tion?''
"But what's the use of text-books?n
he growled.
"They are good for reference-noth-
! inc more. Let the teacher ask the
question, and the textbooks furnish
the answer, Before you went to school
at all you knew the alphabet, didn't
you"
"Of course"
."Did you learn it by study, or from
your motherP"
"From my mother"
"Yes, and from mother and father
and others you learned the names of va
rious animals, articles of furniture,
buildings, tools, and so forth. How does
boy four years old know horse from
cow?"
"He has been told" .r"
"So he has. There is no book to tell
him. And yet, when that boy is IA,
with his mind enlarged and his facul-
ties brightened,you contend that he will
not remember what he is told! If by
telling and talking parents teach chill
dren so much, what could teachers not
teach them in after years, when the soil
is ripe for seedP Now, then, your pupils
all know what the capitol of this State
cost?"
Well-well-perhaps."
"Can you tell YOURSELF" .
He chewed away at she question and
gave it up. ..
"Well, my way would have been to
take a newspaper into the school and
read aloud to all my scholars all about
the new building. Then would have
said: Now, children, in telling me
when the capital was removed to Lam
sing, tell me also how many members