Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-11-16
TEACHERS INSTITUTE.
THIRTIETH ANNUAL SESSION.


EoUCAT;OSAL. TOPICS DISCUSSED.
Urinary InsfructiOn-OrsanI anIzaiiOn-
MacCuliey On wit aud HumOr-
Class Criticism.
1Heslay .itternoon.-Prof. Byerly con-
tinued his lecture on grammar. After an
swering :. number Of questions propouudli
by members Of the Institute he said that
grammar was both an art and science,
and that as an art it should be taught to
the ci!ld rs soon rs it crawls or walks out
of its long dresses. Tuition should COM
meace when the child is not more than
ten months old. All slang and baby-talk
should be scrupuiously avoided. In the
school technical grammar should he put
Off as long as possible, but all improper
or incorrect expressions or phrases should
be promptly, corrected and repressed.
Such words as ':sich," git"
'gals," "pison,' "ile," "insens"
for onions) "attackted," "drownded,"
hisn, 'hern' :'lenth' " strenth'' and
other inaccuracies SD frequently made use
Of should not be tolerated Profanity,
and especially tho nick-named profanity,
such rs gosh,' "dod dang it," &C.,
should be Iepressed and prevented. Tau
tology should be avoided and such phrases
rs - cover up 60 and do it, should
not be allowed in the school room. Prof.
ByerIy gave many other illustrations of
slang phrases in use by children, and even
among ladies who claim to be educated it
is common to hear such expressions as
it is too awfully sweet for any thing
OK " the bonnet is Just awful nice.''
Primary Instruction.
Prof. Buehrle lectured on primary in
struction. He said there were more i'm
partart lessons than reading, writing and
arithmetic. The first point necessary in
primary instruction is obedience. The
second point is attention-active not pass.
i've atteEtioE--an1 this must come by good
teaching. The attention must be instinct
i've, controlled, voluntary, undivided, in
tense, fixed. These points can bc gained
by the teachers cheerful face 1t has been
said that the teacher should he good look
ing, and the lecturer believed that, other
things being equal, the best looking teach
ers should be chosen. Tho teacher must
tc earnest, enthusiastic, quiet, de-
cisivc the teachers's eye must see the
whole class, and to secure good results
the teacher must be standing while the
lessons are being given. Instruction may
be impaired by blackboard illustrations,
pictures, maps. charts, models, sc. The
lessons should be short and child-likc. Di-
rect answers should be required to all
questions asked, and the pupils who arc
lnattentive arc the ones who should be
most frequently questioned. The teacher
who cannot secure the attention of his
pupils is unfit to teach. The training Of
the conduct, the hand and the eye, is au
impai tiai matter, as is also the securing
OF an easy upright, graceful position by
the pupil while reciting.
Organization and Discipline.
Dr. French called attention to the most
difficult problem teachers have to solve,
namely, the organization of the school.
Unless it be properly organized we are
wasting our energies or doing our work
imreriectly. Our duty demands that we
pay some attention to what has been done
by cur predecessors. Perhaps it may not
be SO in Lancaster county, but in some
other places it is the custom when a
teacher takes charge of 4 school to make
all the pupils commence at the beginning
o! the book !: The proper way is to find
out where the last teacher left off and
Puisuc tho work from that point on.
Where the directors have not laid ont I.
teacher to- outline a plan of what lie is
going to do, or expects to do, during the
term, and there should be on the walls
cards containing the order of daily cxer-
cises. The essentials of the programme or
daily time table are Constant employ
ment for every pupil when the pupil is
not in class the programme should tell
him what to do when at his seat. The
proper length Of time for study should be
at least twice as long rs the time required
for recitation, and the proper time for
recitation is the time necessary to impart
all the child can readily receive. The
recitation OF no one study should exceed
eight or ten minutes for pupils in the pri.
mary schools and ten to twenty minutes
for the higher classes.
Prof. Moses l.. Brown continued his
lecture on Reading. Man as lie manifests
himself on the earth is both impressive and
expressive. He must first receive before he
can give. The latest deduction of the
scientist is that the convolutions of the
brain arc so many pulpy leaves, folded
upon each other and supplied with an in
finite number OF Of delicate nerves, ca
pable of receiving from the external world
IN infinite number of Impressions. Hav-
ing received them, considered them, ar
ranged them, and we arc prepared to give
expression to them. In the orator VIC find
the highest development of expression, in
the actor the next highest development,
and the next in the reader. The differ
cnce between the poor reader and the
good one is that the latter adds the grace
of high art to his expression, which the
other docs not.
Col. Parker, Of the Quincy school, says
A sharp distinction should be made between
reading rs a purely mental act and reading
aloud. The first is getting thought the
second is expressing it through voice and
action. In the mental act the entire con-
centrated attention of both teacher and
class should be given during tho lesson.
Pupils should not be required to express
thought until the thought is in their mind,
mentally read. II the thought is in the
mind two thirds is ready for expression.
If thought is not in the mind analyze by
questions. Hard words should be written on
the board before the reading commences.
Mistakes in pronunciation and cnunciation
should bc reserved for special drills.
Pronunciation is q matter Of taste and
custom but cnunciatiOn is Gods law.
Members of class should not know which |
one is to reai next. 1t is of great import.
ance that pupils should succeed in reading
every sentence properly.
The above rules laid down by Col. Par
ker were recommended Inv Prof Rrovn