The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1882-06-28
METHODS or INSTRUCTION.
BY A. c. HoLBERT.
CHAPTER NJ

| have chosen as the subject Of
this chapter the Teachers Library.
At first sight it may seem rs though
this was foreign to the main subject
OF these articles, but | think very
cursory examination viii satisfy
anyone that | have not gone out Of
my way to drag this subject into
them; if it do not / hope that q pc
rusal OF the chapter will do so.
( Many a young teacher actually
wishes to read, but is deferred by
various circumstances from doing
so. I. Many actually do not know
what books to read. ?. Cost deters
many from the purchase. 3. Many
are deferred because they claim they
have not the time any man who
will permit this motive to influence
him should get out of the profession,
or be got out Of it. There is no
room in it for drones.
For the benefit of such young
teachers as may no; know what
books to select, | may be permitted
to offer a few suggestions. The
j.. grand principle i'll reading Is, "much
not many" or, as | have given il
elsewhere, read much, but not
many books" bear this principle
in mind.
The first book needed Is an una
bridged dictionary. Get this if you
get no ether II is a library in it.
sell. After YOU get It use it. 1t is
not intended as an ornament; make
it your constant companion; study
it; let it be, literally, "A lamp 20
your path
What one shall you gvt2 This Is
Il question Of really not much im-
port. l have Webster, and follow
/ it. l nave followed it for years. sly
articles have appeared in various pc
riodicals and still appear. and wher-
ever | have sent them, my spelling
has met with no objections. Ii |
mad got Worcester, / should have
! followed it, and, / presume, the re
suit would have been similar. Many
persons tell me they make the for
mer their standard OF definition, and
the latter their standard of spell
ing. The New York Tribune dealt
the hardest blow to the popularity
OF Webster. After offering it as
premium, and distributing many
hundreds, or perhaps thousands OF
copies Of II all over tine country, the
prOprietors suddenly announced
that their correspondents must con-
form TO the spelling Of Worcester"
and they then offered the latter as a
premium. Now in my opinion this
meets an easy explanation They
had distributed dictionaries to all
who would likely care for them, but
by changing their standard they
could still excite their friends to
raise clubs for them, in the expecta-
ton of securing the second dictiOn-
any, for few men have the one who |
co not desire to possess the other. |
This think will fully explain the
action of the Tribune, which is oft !
en- quoted as bearing against Web |
ster. The desire was simply to make !
money, nothing else, and, so far as
| can see, has no bearing on either !
dictionary.
How shall YOU get the dictionary? |
If you want to obtain a dictionary |
cheap, you can get Up a club for !
some paper which offers the one YOU !
desire. Or if you cannot raise 4
club you can IN many cases get the |
dictionary by paying several years |
subscription for the paper in ad-
vance. This is a very good way, as
you get several years reading mat
ter IN addition 70 the dictionary for
the cost of the dictionary. But get /
the dictionary IN some way.
Next after the dictionary place |
Shakespeare. All Of poetry is there. /
The learning Of Shakespeare IS /
something extraordinary. With him |
you are always i'll good company. |
With Shakespeare YOU need never
be lonely. Ii | could have but two
books, besides the bible, | would |
take the two | have named. Next |
you want Macaulay's Essays Int
them you fird excellent language,
and they throw light upon many /
things connected with English his !
tory. Macaulay's History OF Eng /
land you w.ntot course Then you
want a fuller history of the United /
States than your school history /
Bahcroft's Centennial History, IN 4
six volumes, is Il very good one. /
Hallam's History Of the Middle /
Ages Is a work which will carry YOU /
back into that region. You want to
know something Of the men who
lived ages since. Gibbons Decline /
and Fall OF the Roman Empire, and
Grote's Greece will give you the
knowledge.
You viii want LongfellOw, and
Lowell, and Whittier, and Emerson.
and Holmes, and Tennyson, and
Byron, and Pope, and Milton, and
Poe, and Shelley, and Mrs Hemans,
and Barns, and Others to fill up
your shelf of poetry. But you can
buy cheap editions, and at a small
cost. You want several scientific
works. Darras' Geology. "a good
ehemistry-Wel's Chemistry good
"a natural philosophy. Crabbe's
synonyms every ones wants. Gray
Botany you will want Every one
wants Dickens and Scott You will
want 10 read up on astronomy, on
geometry, OF algebra, and viii want
good text books. There II another
work which II i the fashion 70 sneer
al and 70 decry, but aside rom some
cTotchets there is very much valua-
bic information in it. | refer to
GO0ld Browns Grammar Of English .
Grammars. | once heard a gentle
man say OF this work: Il regard it ]
as . compound Of pedantry and .
brain dribble." / was much cut
down at this remark and should ,
have scarcely known what to say
had he not added, is what friend
Of mine told me regarding that
book"
Then you never read the book
yourself" said /
~ never did" be replied. 4
L