Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-07-12
THE QUINCY SYSTEM,
THE NEW METHOD TO BE INTRODUCED
IN OUR CITY SCHOOLS.
Something of It's origin-The Primary
Teach ng of Leading Importance
The Qualification Requisite for
a Successful Teacher.

The Qualification Requisite for
Successful Teacher.
| In accordance with the recent action of the
Board of Education the method of teaching
known as the rational or Quincy system, is
soon to be introduced in our city schools.
more perhaps as an experiment than other
wise for practically nothing is known of it
in this section, and few even have much con-
ception of the course pursued in teaching
under this system. A lady teacher from
| Quincy, Mass, has been employed by the
Board for the present year, at a salary OF
81 600, and will arrive about the first of Sep
TENDER, or in time to commence after the
vacation which will follow the close of the
first two months of the school year. Thus
far the Board has not determined liz which
building or in just what manner
the new teacher will be employed
whether simply teaching under the new
method in one school, or at the same time
introduce it into more by giving supervisory
charge to the teacher for this purpose. This
will not probably be determined until after
her arrival and consultation upon the subject,
as to the most advisable course to be pursued.
| The question of interest at the present
| time is, what is the new method OF teaching,
and what evidence is there that 1t has estab-
lished itself beyond the experimental period?
This system of teaching was first devised and
successfully established by the renowned
philanthropist and reformer. Heinrich Pesta-
! lozzi, of Zurich, Switzerland, In the year
! 1775 During that year he collected about
| fifty small, homeless and more or less de-
PRAYED children and opened the school at
Newhof, near Zurich, and SO successful
! did it prove that it has come to be
the established method of public and
private educational institutions in Switzer-
land and throughout the German States,
except where education is mostly IN
der the control Of the Catholic clergy. There
| it is known as the rational or Pestalozzian
system. and is essentially the same as what is
called the Quincy system in this country. 1t
proceeds upon the theory OF drawing out the
natural reasoning faculties rather than mouth
ing from books, and that the best teachers
are required for the primary. A lady now
residing in this city, who was educated under
this method by thoroughly competent Ger.
man teachers, and herself taught it several
years, furnishes the following outline in rela-
ton to the theory of the system and qualif
cations of teachers. "A brief treatise on the
PRIMARY EDUCATION.
Primary education (the word teaching is
too limited) has three main objects. In the
first place, it aims at slow but comprehensive
mental development-slow,a as forcing pro-
cess, no matter how brilliant its results may
appear at the time to be, is unscientifc as
well as unwholesome. Education is an art
and science as much as medicine and
astronomy, and as capable of progress in
theory and practice. Secondly-It imparts
manual skill and trains the senses, as instru
ments for the acquisition of knowledge.
Music, drawing and school gymnastics enter
largely into this branch of instruction, and
the hygiene of the school. room is made of
primary Importance. Finally. the develop
ment of the mind as we'll as of the senses are
made instrumental in giving force and per-
manence to the moral education of the child.
These three educational elements-mental,
manual. and moral-are interdependent and
supplement of each other, and in the new
system are taught and carried along with
equal pace together. Primary education. in
its highest sense and best method of teach
ing, develops the mind and body, and forms
the character of the future man and woman
it aims to furnish the key to knowledge, and
to cultivate the heart.
THE TEACHER.
One of the most fatal defects in theory OF
the old system has been that primary educa-
ton Is of secondary Importance that the
object OF the primary department is to tesch
the children to read and cipher, and thus
prepare them to commence being taught in
the higher schools, and that any one who can
obtain the lowest grade OF certificate will
do well enough to teach in the primary"
While universities and colleges are in
measure protected against imposition, there
= oft b.t .l,a
lower paths of education, the so-called
teachers examinations are simply farce and
popular delusion. So far as a method
of ascertaiuing actual qualifications, the
primary department has all along been the
step child OF education, n veritable Cinderella.
Did young lady or gentleman desire genteel,
easy employment until something better
should turn up"-there was the school
room. and, if not well enough educated to
get a high grade certificate, they could at
least get the lowest and teach the little ones
Was professional man IN need of money t.
complete course at college, or waiting tor
an-opening, he took q school. Broken down
men OF letters of every shade and COM
plexion, preachers and Inerchants-how many
have taught school FOR a term or more as
handy exyedieut? Hence, in America,
primary teaching is no professiou-it is a
business an asylum, or milking cow, as the
case may be. Whoever thinks OF making
teaching q lifelong profession, aims with all
his might and main to get out Of the primary
as quiciliy as possible, as being good enough
for q raw beginner, but below the
DIGNITY or EXPERIENCED TEACHERS"
There used to be a saying that if a boy was
too stupid for the Law and too cowardly for
the army, he would do for the ministry at
least II may be said with greater force that
il person Is unfit for the arts and profess
sions, and too lazy to work, he is put in the
schoul-room to teach the little ones. The
latter have thus mentally beea led on skim-
milk and Cruel, administered by self-ap-
pointed and too often unfit nurses. In short,
the primary has all along been purgatory to
both teachers as well as pupils, with this diff
ference that they do not leave it with any
fitness for better things. Ia the new method
new at least to the American public-tbe
theory is reversed. Itputs its best, bright
est teachers inio the primary and there lays
broad and solid foundation for the wholz edu.
cational structure. Every stone in this foun
dalton is beWn by masterly hands and ex-
actly fills its place in the grand whole; it Is
constructed with a distinct, artistic end in
view; and is executed by thoroughly selected
master workmen. Subsequent workmen may
fail in the Flushing Of the edIfice, but the
foundation viii last for 4 lifetime.
Raw beginners. then, no matter how brill
liant the graduates from colleges or uniyer-
sites may lie in fact the latter are more es-
specially Objectionable as being too well stuffed
With book lore), are wholly unit for the work
of the primary, ualess they have been in
training for the work Without this there is
no royal road to success in the common school
under the new method. The slipshod, lazy,
superficial modes now in vogue are utterly
useless there la fact the best primary teacher
is be whose moral and mental tone has been
nellowed by time and experience man or
woman ia the prime of lite, full of high aspi-
rations, yet wisely coguizant of the proper
/ limits thereof. The new method starts by
placing its ideal of primary teacher very
high, fully aware of the fact that to place it
| low will invite iudolent human nature to he
content with mediocrity. Only by demand
| ing high standard of ability and continualis
pointing to oneistill higher can excellence be
obtained What then are the requisite quail.
| fcations of
A FIRST CLASS PRIMARY TEACHER?
In the first place. he must be able TO read,
write and speak the language in which he
teaches, correctly. fiuentiy and with logicdt
| precision The latter should be emphasized,
as the logical use of the language is marked
feature in the new system, and commencing
at the beginning. comes long before gram