Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-11-18
TEACHERS INSTITUTE.
TH1RT1ETa ANNUAL SESSION


NEARING THE END OF THE MEETING.
Addresses by Deputy State Superinteu.len
Houck. sx-Superiuteudent Wicker
-Co-a,sht's Closing Enter
tainment.
Thursday Afternoon.-The attendance
was larger than at any former time during
the week, every seat and every available
foot of standing room in the aisles and
ante-rooms being occupied, and crowds
hanging on the window-sills and invading
the seats in the bench and the bar. 1t was
a jam.
Prof. Brown. on being introduced, said
he had been asked the other day whether
all persons could be made good readers by
proper culture. He answered, "No;'
that two in every three would make poor
readers, while the third might be inditfer-
emily good but not one in 4 hundred will
be good when judged by an art standard.
Hc would arrange tho good readers into
three classes. The vital, the emotional
and the mental. OF the mental class
Daniel Webster and Ralph w. Emerson
were eminent examples of the emotional
class, Henry Clay and John c. Calhoun,
were conspicuous, and Of the vital class
Beecher was distinguished representative.
He would read Mark Antony's: oration
over the dead body of Cesar, as it was the
best stump speech ever made, and besides,
contains the elements of the vital, the
emotional and the mental schools of ora
tory. He also read Counting a Hun
dred," from the Danbury News Man !;
and also g The Rhyme of the Rail-" all Of
which were we'll read and received with
applause.
A vocal solo by Miss Lizzie Stehman, Of
Petersburg, entitled, 'When the Tide
Comes in was next sung, Miss Steh-
mans voice being not quite equal to the
demands cf So large y room and so large
and mixed an audience as that before
which she appeared.
School Matters.
Professor French gave talk Oh several
important school matters. He saw no good
reason for having all the children Of all
the public schools turned loose every
morning and every afternoon for ten or
twenty minutes at 4 time in what is called
recess lie was convinced that more
vulgarty, profanity, Obscen;ty and other
evil practices prevail ON the school ground
during recess than during all the other
hours Of the day. 1t is true that in some
schools the teachers keep a supervision
of the pupils during recess, but the
proportion of teachers who do SO is
so small that it may be we'll questioned
whether it would not be well to abolish
the practice and shorten the school hours
accordingly. Prof. French related several
instances in which great reform had been
brought about among incOrrigible pupils
by abolisiiing the recess and shortening
the school session.
The keeping Of school records was an
other matter which Prof. French regarded
as important, SO that the names of pupils,
the time of their entering school, their
promotion and dismissal, graduation and
other matters Of interest may be easily
asccrtained-as is done ut West Point,
Dartmouth and other iirst-class schools
and colleges.
Another matter that did not receive
proper attention was the care Of school
property. lie thought this should be
conducted on business principles. An i'll
ventory Of the property should he taken
and tho teacher should be charged with it
and receipt for it, and 10 responsible for
all Of it that may he lost Or destroyed un-
less satisfactorily accounted for. In this
way from s2J to $50 might be saved every
session to every school district without
the loss OF Il cent to the teacher, rs it
would cause him to have more careful
supervision of the school property entrust.
cd to his care.
Another reform that was necessary was
the establishment of more friendly and
intimate relations among pupils, teachers
and directors. Many pupils are apt to re-
gard their teacher as their natural enemy
instead of their friend and instructor !;
and not !, few teachers regard the direct
Ors Us set of men whose prime motive is
to get out of them tie greatest possible
work for the smallest possible pay while
some directors seem to think that the
teachers are class of cOrmOrants who
want to get their salaries and do rs little
work as possible. All this is wrong and
pupils, parents, teachers and directors,
ought to regard themselves rs being en-
gagged in common cause and all working
for common good.
mended : that states, pencils, pens, paper,
the property Of the school district instead
VI HC COoO NOuIu W luOCu
less in this way and those things would
instead of the pupil, and all necessary sup
plies could be furnished the pupil without
fail and without waste. Necessary school
school district, and this would cost very
little if,Prof. lIciSes's suggestions were
adopted.
Deputy Superintendent HOuck Speaks.
Deputy State Superintendent uOuck
was next introduced and received with
loud applause. On taking the stand he
said lie was glad to meet the teachers Of
Lancaster county, many Of whom he had
frequently met before. He had Just been
informed that the number of them enrolled
as members of the Institute was 6l3,
larger number than had ever before been
enrolled in any Pennsylvania institute. In
general terms Mr.. Houck commended the
public schools of Pennsylvania and de-
clared them to be equal to any schools in
the country. There was still room for i'm
provcmcnt, however, and he hoped to see
them much better than they now are. He
cOntrasted their pleasant and hOurishing
condition now with the rudeness and un.
comfortableness connected with them
when he was boy. Then, as
now. could be seen capacious barns and
quarters for the pigs and cat
tie, while the public school house close by
was \ miserable shanty, unprOvided with
any educational cOnveniences. Even in
cities that lie had visited he had been
shown the splendid jails and court houses,
but when he had asked to see the school
houses he had been told that they were in
the back alleys and We're not worth seeing.