Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-07-15

the teacher. Good reading must first be
taught by imitation. In the first place,
would have the class read together with the
teacher, so that each pupil will initiate the
teacher without embarrassment. Reading
may be considered as physical exercise.
| The breathing and respiration apparatus in
iuences all other parts of the body. If we
walk little faster than ordinarily, respira-
ton increases and makes the blood flow
faster; so it is with reading-do not allow
the habit of stopping or speaking too low.
l consider it good plan to begin the read
| ing lesson by an exercise in breathing. This
may be conducted in any way the
/ teacher thinks best. Another exercise
is copying the lesson, which fixes
| the words in the memory and takes
the place of review lessons, without the
pupil knowing it. Better assign a lesson in
copying to be attended to at home. You
may correct reading with grammar in this
way, by telling the pupil to copy the differ
ent parts of speech under one head. ALI
grammar is based ON spoken language and
should be taught in this manner. In this
way you review the reading lesson. In the
higher grades read lesson over yourself, in
your best manner, and when the children
| take it up they read it with more reverence ;
| have Just heard.
| Prof. Soldan recommended the prepara-
| ton of the lesson before the class by the
| teachers, as it enables them to put it in a
new light and ask better questions. He
recommended for the mode of conducting
rec1tatlons-frst, explanation of incidents in
| the lesson second, either tell the story or
read the lesson. He recommended the ex-
| plapatlon of thoughts, rather than words.
| Let the first reader be a good one, and
| then 1t will be well to read in concert, SO
that the class may initiate the expression of
| the teacher. He favored the memorizin @
of certain good pieces, and lastly, correct
grammatical exercises with it, by collecting
the different parts of speech
The second lecture was on Mathematics
by Prof. Dinwiddie, who demonstrated his
theories on the blackboard. which will be
impossible to report in language. He made
his views clear and concise by practical il
lustration.
The third lecture was on Geology, by
Prof. Hunter Nicholson. He spoke yester-
day of aqueous agencies. He said: 1.-The
solid earth is surrounded by two great
atmosphere and water They are
continually acting on each other Aqueous
agencies are oceans, clouds, rivers, lakes,
springs and ice, and act both mechan-
icaliy and chemically. Oceans and
clouds act mechanically, as transport
ing agents; springs and lakes act
both mechanically and chemically /;
rivers an1 ice act mechanically. They all
work together. Water is known in the
three forms, solid, liquid and vapor.' He
showed, by comparisons, the actions of
these agencies. He also showed the travel
and work of drop of water; how the sun
heats the tropics and pours continually a
volume of heat into the ocean, converting
the liquid into vapor. The air is heated
expands and consequently rises and carries
this yapor up, and, on the wings of the wind, it
lscarried to colder regions, gives up its heat
and forms clouds 1t passes on, accumu-
lates weight and finally comes down in great
wet drops. Most rain originates in the
Gulf of Mexico and Southern Pacific Ocean.
This RAIN that is brought up in this manner
falls upon tile tops of mountains. At first
it takes up drops Of dust, which makes the
streams muddy. Every bit of mud we see
in streams is represented by the work of
these drops. 1t flows down the mountain
sides into rivers, and finally is deposited in
the bottom Of some ocean or gulf. Another
drop strikes a limestone, forces it's way
through and then comes out. When it
first comes from the ocean it is pure, but
in falling it strikes through belt of att
mosphere surrounding the earth, takes up
corboric acid gas, washes out the air and
then percolates rocks, thus causing disin-
tegration- The mineral springs we have
are made by water percolating through
/ limestone, iron or sulphur. Another drop
is carried up and up to the regions of per-
petual ice, and falls either as snow or hail.
Amasses large bodies which slide down the
mountain sides, plowing and scraping
the ground until it reaches the ocean,
where it breaks and is carried out to sea
as an iceberg, and it deposits the debris
it has eroded from the earth's surface
Another drop some hungry little root of a
plant sucks up to build its organism. Thus
we have the different kinds of water. We
have the ocean teaI.ng and working away at
its banks with force that the most power
ful steam engine man could invent would be
but small tap in comparison with it.
Currents take the debris out to sea and
scatters it, and thus the revolution of con-
tinent building and wearing away continues
with unremitting energy.
The fourth lecture was one ON Mechanical
| Powers III Natural Philosophy, by Prof. s.
II. Lockett He showed by experiment the
power of the cord, lever, wheel and axle,
pulley, inclined plane, wedge and screw
His experiments were clear, SIMPLE and in
teresting.
At the conclusion of the recitations, DR.
Doak addressed the school for half an hour
His talks are always appreciated, and do
much good.