The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1882-12-30
Teachers County Institute.


Teachers County Institute.
WEDNESDAY MORNING.
Institute opened by singing, followed by
prayer by DR.. N. q. Schaefler. DR.. Schaef
fer then resumed his lecture on tho "Mem-
ory." The mechanical part Of the memory
was discussed in his fnrmer lecture, 50 he
now took the second part or the Logical
Memory. The following laws Of association
are of prime importance: LIST. Contiguiiy
Of Time and Place. 2nd. Similarity and
Contrast. 3rd. Cause and Eject. 4th Gem
erals and Particulars. The DR.. gave many
practical illustrations, proving the import
ance Of observing these laws. The next of
importance is methods Of strengthening the
memory, which are as follows. |. By repe-
titionj 2. By manifesting interest in what
you wish to remember 8. BY clear percep-
tions; 4. Memoriter exercises. These points
were discussed at length and many practi-
cal suggestions given to the teachers.
The Institute then sang "While the Morn.
ing Bells are Ringing" and after recess,
W. |. Marshall, of Fitchburg, Mass, was in
troduccd and lectured on the subject Of PEN
mauship. We aim at two kinds Of writing
Good writing, which is thatwhich is leg
ible and can be rapidly and easily executed. +.
2. Elegant writing, which is that which is
beautiful. LcgiblIty depends on the fol-
lowing; !, The form of letters; 2, The slope
ofletters 8. The arrangement Of the writing
on the line. The form Of letters depends on,
l, The position ofthe body 2, The position
Of the hand and arm 3, The holding Of the
pen loosely in any and all positions; 4, The
movements used, which are: l, Finger
movement, which is accurate, but slow 2,
The arm movement. :. All.the above points
were fully illustrated. The instruction Civ.
en- was practical and to the point, and was
received w!thsmarked attention by the In
stitule.
After singing "All Hail the Power oi Je-
sus' Name" Colonel James P. Sanford, Of
Iowa, was introduced, who by his wit and
humor kept the Institute in roar Of laugh
ter for about twenty minutes, after which
the Institute adjourned
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The Institute was called tn order at the
usual time, and after singing "Shall we
Meet Beyond the River" DR.. N. C. schnef
fer took up the subject of Decimals." The
things winch give teachers the most trouble
are the following: |, How to teach pupils
to write decimals; 2, Circulating dccimals;
3, Duodecimals; a., Division of decimals.
The speaker illustrated his method Of teach
ing these points and showed how better re-
suits could be produced if the subject was
properly fought. The snbject of Stocks and
Bonds, was tLsn fully discussed, and the
terms Bulls and Bears traced to their origin
and defined.
T. A. Snyder, Principal Of the Lehighton
Schools, then smoke on The subject of"Oral
Grammar" There are two distinct meth
oils OF teaching Grammar-the Analytic and
Synthetic. Beginners should be taught by
the Synthetic Method, and as they grow
older and better versed in the subject
they should be taught by1the Analytic
Method. The child first talks by using
words and suses sentences as his mind
grows stronger, and this, to my mind proves
c,nclusIvely that the child should be taught
the Science of Language in the same way
Teach first the parts OF speech and their
properties, before commencing to analyze
sen fences. Teach first the idea; then the
d d.fnition. Have the pupils form their own
definitions. Don'thave the pupils commit
long and a'struse de dtfnitions, but teach them
the subject so that they make their lesson a
matter of thought, and not an exercise Of
the memory. Teach them mainly through
the eye, by means Of objects and show them
how language is used, in telling about those
objects. If you teach Grammar in this wav
you will soon see the change in your Gram.
mar class, instead Of the dull, listless class,
you will have the active. live class. The
speaker illustrated his method of teaching
the parts Of speech-and their properties, so
as to make the subjebt practical, interesting
and instructive to the class.
W. II. RNuch, Principal of the weatherly
Schools, then read an essay on "The News
paper in the Public Schools" The follow
ing are a few of the leading thoughts
Americans are proverbially fast people
is done in hurry. We study
in hurry, we eat in a hurry, we drink in
a hurry, aud consequently we die in hur-
ry. And now, just as the 10th century is
winding up. there comes a stentorian voice
from New England saying that the news.
papers must he introduced into our schools,
or the intellect Of our pupils will shrivel in
to deformity. Few persons will deny that
we live in an ago wonderfully practical.
Therefore, it is argued that the news Of to.
day is of more practical value to the pupIl
than the history OF a dozen centuries ago.
And to keep up with the times, the pupils
must acquaint themselves with the current
news. But since thought is immortal ; since
thought is not checked by disease or death.
sluCe We Juluk on aller death the same as
now, since mind is infinite in the fulIest
sense Of the word and since culture means
the Strengthening, developing, libcralizing
and harmonizing of this Infinite mind there
fore, the storing OF facts aud the learaing of
news as factors in education, are subordin-
ate in rank and secondary in Importance.
Newspapers are not appropriate reading for
children. They cultivate wrong idea of
life. Some are sectarian, others are politi-
cal in their nature. Much of the matter in
the newspapers of to day is improper read
ing for the child. The essay was carefully
and well read.
The subject was then open for discussion.
J. NJ. Roberts, of Summit Hill, opened the
discussion. He differed with the spea ker
who had Just preceded him. He believed a
judicious selection Of papers would DO good
in the school room. We want more inter
est in our reading classes, and the use Of