Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1881-02-10
COMMON SCHOOLS
LOCAL GEOGRAPHY.
THE HOPE OF OUR COUNTRY
By b. NE

ers and schools, that there is dense
ignorance in local geography. One
supervisor, in his report last March,
says, The teachers who come to me
for examination T very deficient in
local.geography. The majority are
unable to locate, even approximate
ly, twenty-five per cent of tho pla-
ces al important az Liverpool. Ex-
aminations of teachers which have
been given by the writer, OF con-
corning which he has positive knowl-
edge, have gwen, among other sim
liar results, the following: Halifax
has been located in England, Berlin
in Siberia, Glasgow in Turkey, Ger
many in Asia, or if in Europe, south
or west of France, London south
sast of New York, the Volga in
Spain, and the Pyrenees in Scotland
These answers were given by those
who were we'll posted in every oth-
or subject taught in our schools.
This ignorance does not spring from
a verbal unfamiliarity with the
names of these places, for they have
had them at their tongues end for
years.
We get from the present method
of studying geography about the
same facility in locating important
commercial towns and countries
Understandings, as one would get
for picking a man out of a crowd
because he had seen his name in =
newspaper.
A visitor to a primary school not
fifteen miles from Boston, two years
ago, heard a rescitation in geogra-
ply conducted as follows: The ona
at the headof the class was called
up and required to answer without
any map twenty map questions OH
Africa; at least three fourths Of the
questions were concerning places
which are never mentioned any
where else than in geography. The
second in the class was then asked
the same questions, in the same or
der, and so on to the fifteenth and
last. Hore, too, much was.attemp-
ted and the wrong way was taken,
and the same faults characterize
the teaching in nearly all our schools
The object ofschooI instruction in
local geography should not be to
make walking gazeteers of the chill
dren, but to photograph on their
minds tho countries of the earth
with a few of the most important
towns, rivers, etc SO that when the
name is heard OF read the place will
stand out in view as distinctly as
does the position ofthe favorite ap-
pie-tree in the orchard on the old
homestead, when memory calls up
the scenes of other days.
To accomplish this result, with
the books now in use, is difficult,
but by no mean impossible. Since
writing the last sentence the mum
Der of towns in France and Euro
pean Turkey, which are given in
two of the Biographies which are in
use in the schools of this State,
have been counted; one gives lib in
france and 60 in Turkey, the other
166 in France and 80 in Turkey. Is
it any wonder that confusion is the
result of the study of such maps by
our children? We want library at
Eases, of course; but their place il
in the library or on the reference
table.-Maine Journal of Education
Al tho Teacher, SO the School
All school economy eenters in the
teacher; for the school is what the
teacher makes it. Do what you
will for a school in the way of build
ings, equipment, endowments, and
patronage, but after all the teacher
is the pivot on which Gee or fail
uT0 GuIHS. Ou hoNO OhiJ P
tograph the TEACHER morally and
intellectually, and you have the
picture Of his school.
If the study Of educational prob
lens. and educational history teach
es any one lesson moro dist nctly
than another. it il that educational
systems are good or bad, successful
or unsuccessful, in proportion as
they provide for securing and retain
ing the services of competent teach
erS.-J. u. Philbrick.
Word to Boys.-Boys, did you
eyerthink this world, with its wealth
and woe, with all its mines and
mountains, oceans, seas and rivers,
with all its steam boats, railroads,
and ~telegraphs, with all its millions
of cropping men. and all the science
and progress Of ages, will soon be
given over to the boys of the pres
emit age, boys like you? Believe it
and look abroad upon your inheri-
lance. and get ready to enter upon