Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1881-02-25

A0tttA -
with the slittering point Of the PEN
knife. This process occupied fully ten
minutes per day and during the remain.
ing Ave hours and atty minutes OF the
school day the youth ~ left to danels
his diminutivs legs six inches above the
floor and from the little front bench.
Children did not love school In those
fsr.off days and why should they. when
its exercises we're Q dread and its con-
fnenent . torture? Their minds were
then loaded down like . Chinese pack
mule and had poor chance for growth.
Every child.lik Instinct wa reprssssd
and every young inclination perverted
by rigid rules enforced BY physical
torture.
The contrast between the old and the
new wa never brought more forcibly to
mind than Wednesday ~aftsraoou. when
this representative OF the News visited
the two lower Glasses in the Gold Hill
Central School building and became an
interested witness OF proceedings there.
And here one little fact 10 worthy Of
record: The average attendance at the
Gold Hill schools il 81 per cent. OF the
enrolled pupils; and the wonderful part
| OF this 10 that this average IL raised in
stead Of lowered by the youngest classes
In the school.
One OF the most encouraging features
| Of the schools oil .today II, therefore,
that the sohool.room Is made attractive
to the youngest attendants. Amusement
10 combined with instruction. Youthful
tendencies are followed and made to con.
| tribu,e TO mind embodiment instead Of
mental torture, and physical education
10 made to keep pace with mental sd'
vsncemsnt.
The most Of yesterday afternoon Was
spent 10 company with Miss Lynch and
her babies. She has Q large family OF
little ones. OF these forty have COM
| plsted the Second Reader and are already
up to the grade OF the next primary
| class above. The babies number about
seventy more, half Of whom attend In
the forenoon and the other bali In the
afternoon. OF these the forenoon class
10 the more advanced. and, although
only six months in school. add. subtract.
multiply and divide through all numbers
up 10 twenty, and instead Of b-a ba-inR.
etc., read and write and spell with
facility, having been taught by the word
and phonic method.
While the exercises by the older class
in Miss Lynch's room and by those In
the class above In Miss wright's room
were Of more than ordinary interest. and
showed tho advantages Of the new sys-
tenn OF instruction, IL 10 Of the younger
| class that this item must mainly treat.
Mind embodiment 10 the great object
Of the improved modern school. and
everything which contributes to this is
sought ont and used. Active. eager eyes
are made to help the minds eye TO see
things ~ they are.
Iii difficult to make children 6 years
| OF age understand abstractly that two
and three make Ave; but set up Ave
| wooden pins on the floor and let the
youppster OF either sex bowl down two
Of them, and the child will at once nm.
\ derstand both the above fact and the
further one that two from i've leave
three. BY going on in this and similar
ways q little while the elements Of add
ton and subtraction and multiplication
and division are mastered and under
stood. This method Of instruction 10,
moreover. . we'll adapted to the
physical a. mental wants OF pupils,
and 10 much better than ruling them
into unnatural positions BY physical
torture.
Children levs pictures; and this love
In made conducive In the modern school
room not emily to ordinary education but
may be made to subserve even higher
ends. 1t 10 amusing to listen to the lit.
tie children 10 Miss Lynsh's room when
new picture 10 given them. Each will
look il carefully over and then tell the
whole story illustrated by II. Should
the most trivial thing escape the obser'
yation Of one Of them others will add u
NJ once. Not the least interesting por'
tons Of exercises OF this kind are those
in which entirely original ideas are
evolved from youthful brains. No two
will see the picture exactly alike. hence
almost endless variations Of ideas will b
presented, not few Of which will b
original.
And 10 .ths good Of all this ssksdi'
It certainly gives children individuality
and ID IL In this mere than anything else
that grown people differ. Then II en-
coursges the children TO form and e.
press opinions Of their own. gives them
seli.reliancs and prevents them from
copying oil their lives after some one
else. The advantages Of this system are
in fact 30 numerous rs almost to pre-
cluds mention.
In fact there 10 no telling what amount
Of true and native genius may DO devei
oped by proper mind embodiment in The
school-room. It may be years before
this takes definite shape. and IL may no.
be found in all in any prominent degree!
but 10 IL 10 there IL will be awakened and
manifest itself in one way or another
II 10 impossible to polish q brickbat
but. II In the clay OF its competition
diamond be hidden Il can be made tc
shins. though never 80 small.
There WAS one boy in the class; and Il
doth not yet appear what be will be, bu,
one Of these days somebody will see him
a. hs 10. He had yesterday gone through
his lesson in numbers BY the aid Of the
splints and sat down TO amuse himself
With them. He had been shown . skel,
eton Of tho human frame only . few day,
bsfors-a real. ghastly. bony sksleton,
q horror to most people--but be lovsdit
for all that. and learned more about II
thirty minutes than many grown people
know. So that afternoon hs set himself
to work ''to make . man. Of his splintl
-vorss materials than the Creator hat
in the frst place. o would think.
The material, poor - 1t was. ran on
before the boys ideas were completed
and he borrowed splints Of his neighbour
till be had al that was about him. Ths
result was soon standing upon his dssk
Then he commenced laughing. and KEEP
II up till finally Miss Lynch went ts
hin.
"whas have You there. -" (nsm'