The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-11-26

AS writer's MS converSatonalsts, as interesting,
instructive and useful women, they have been
far beloV what different education would
have made them. II women is to become a
teacher physician or lawyer, let her educa-
ton be such as will fit her for her vocation.
We have no fears of learned women as such.
Let us have our Somervilles and Martlneaus,
These. however are exceptions. BET
ter far for her to be able to instruct her chill
dren in the common things about her, TIE
world in which we now live, the things uaiiy
and hourly seen, the mel and women ann
events of the past than to be ignorant OF al
these and to ask her children to question her
about the languages OF nations and peoples
long since dead, of which they know nothing
and in which they have no interest.
Referring to the common schools, DR..
Woods says:
"The waste here from incompetent teachers,
from incorrect methods of teaching, from
wrong courses of study, from too closely fol-
lowing text books made to be sold (parts OF
which. and in some cases all Of which, should
be omtted), from commencing certain studies
too early, Or attempting portions OF studies
which cannot be understood, is enormous.
Saws a most popular president of one OF our
New England colleges 1t makes one shudder
to think Of the trash which scholars nave oeen
compelled to learn with the simple studies OF
grammar, orthography and arithmetic, to say
nothing of the waste of lal or in connection
with the classical studies and the higher math-
ematics.' The lime spent in teaching reading
bv the alphabet method is not only waste OF
two-thirds of the time, but cause OF the 1or-
nation of the habit of believing that words
have no meaning. And this idea that they are
learning something they are not expected to
understand is carried into other studies and IS
injurious to them in all their future school
years. There is too much reading OF words not
thoughts. Seven years, or from one thousand
two hundred to one thousand five hundred
1ovu iC ha time Suent arithmetic,
all the necessary rules aud examples OF Whlcn
are embraced in a small twelve mo- work OF
three hundred pages. This would be an aver
age of four or five days to one page, or SIX
lines a day. LII this study is attended to as the
mind develops, difficult parts OF 1t being post
poned until the student is prepared to under
stand them, aud only the necessary parts
learned one-half of the seven years may be
saved. All mere puzzles and parts oi text
books not used by the average man should be
omitted. Prof. Winchell, in 81 very able lee
ture, saws: 'We can drop from our schools one
half of the arithmetic with which they are
burdened and from our colleges all the higher
mathematics Accuracy and rapdity should
be the great objects sought in this study. Ii
spelling is confined to words which Will proDa-
blv be used selecting such as are to be
found in the reading lessons or as are
daily used, whose meaning is either KNOWN or
can be easily comprehended, much time
may be saved which is now spent IN a
|
words Arabic Or Sanscrit. 1t is somewhat
singular fact that in none OF the foreign or
dead languages do we, so lar as l know, ever
use a speler. What shall we say OF the SIX
Years spent in learning the names oil small
and remote villages and brooks III Patagonia,
nonds in Australia, or hills in Africa, which
are of no comparative value and will never be
remembered, and whose study seems only 10
detract from the interest which should be ielt
in so important branch. Suppose student
can tell where Edams land is, or what TWO
gulfs are between Cape Sem and Cape Bon, or
describe the lakes Of Australia, of what use
will it be? To learn the whole of geography
will require from a diligent scholar an entire
life. 1t cannot be thai six years are demanded
to learn what is generally learned and remenl-
bered of the one hundred and fifty pages OF ge-
ography."
Following other details Of criticism DIR.
Woods remarks:
"Iife is too precious to be thrown away in
this manner l am firmly convinced that II
these fundamental studies are taken up at the
proper time, not too early, and all unnecessary
parts omitted and taught properly. one-hail OF
the time, at the highest estimate, now oeVolett
to them would be ample"
Our limited space compels us to des:st
from further quotations from this thoughtful
and weighty address. The complaints OF
nlSulfecleu ldUOI theiclIi iIi@uS, 'ii'PiN' -
which we have given above, of wasted mon
ev. of abused and neglected capacities-evils
charged upon the school system OF the
country--are not the utterance of visiona-
rv theorist or crack-brained doctrinaire, but
of a iudicious and most competent educator,
of q teacher thoroughly yersed in all the de-
partments of education. Towhat extent the
structures apply TO the schools in our own
CITY and State we are not competent to say
though we are fully persuaded tha, the ame-
liorations effected of late years have proved
blessings indeed, and justify further inroads
upon the methods pursued i'll our boyhood,
and in the directions suggested by Chancel-
lor Woods.