New-York tribune., 1882-02-16
NOTES ON EDUCATION

Rochester University has 162 students 40 OF
The number being freshmen
In Connecticut last year 634 public schools were
In operation under the charge of 2,S02 teachers IN
winter and 27S3 in summer. The number oi pu-
pills receiving instruction was ll9,499'
The Rochester City Council are considering dhV'rS
amendments to the charter, which will tend 10 take
,bo con,ro, Of the schools out of the hands of
,o,;t;c;ars One amendment provides for the VOC
,ng NV separate ballot Tor each member OF the ocoo
Board.
sixteen of the new Rich scholarships of Boston
IrDiyersity-eight for each seN-wil be aVaiiaoie
for the next freshman class. Each freshman Grass
for the next years will have slN, cen anu t@n,S @
fhc whole number of siHty-Iour schoiaIshiiS VIII
come into use.
Il il pronoscd in Hartford to build new ihgh
school onlvouc story IN heighta large central hall
or assembly room to he lighted chiefly from ABOVE
and TO Toe surrounded by a corridor ana CLASS
rooms Safety in case Of ire ana din dhG " n'as" ihe ad M
cure by the abs nee OF stairs are III ~" ~ ' "
yantages Of this plan
II is complained that the system OF instruction Id
French at Harvard obliges the student to commit to
memory too many unnteresing and unprohtaole
selections. These do not + present the hGhos'
craces Of French literature AID are tragmentaIy Is
wei as drv There said "a be lack also III lio'
ing the student 10 wrlte French.
Oral lessons in language have been introduced III
oil classes of the grammar and intermediate graueS
of the pablic schools Of Burlington, Vermont ""iN
of the same kird has also been done IN the PRIMARY
schools. herein chdren's magazines have been pro
x;dod for complementary reading. 1t is encou agihg
grammar is everywhere Welding 10 IncIhou "s IA
felligent and elective the former one was ualu'
stupid and useless
The pullic schools OF The State Of New-York were
last year attended by 1,02l,2S2 cmidren-a smaller
number by 10000 than was recorded IN 1SoV' vi
the 80 SOC teachers employed 23,157 were women
The average annual salary of each teacher was
1915 OG-the whole amount expended IN saiailes
hong 81 775.5O5 o. The State has 11,24S school
districts and II .S94 schOOl-houses. The total
amount expended upOn the schools last NcII " 80 i
SIOsOS SO2 40. 1t may well he qqestlGnea , Wnr'd1s
Sbc e,ucotion provided was worth ms enormous
evneudlture Il certainly was not II IL ran III 'Ie
rats of the old methods.
There are 2l6 public school teachers IN lnHlahc
onolis. 227 OF whom are women. 1he Heh""e' VI
that city saws editonally: "ls II to 60 iorth as "u
irrevocabe decree OF our civilization lhaI 'o PI'
fessioaal educator is Intellectually lneilof 10 Ic
,rniIs they are required to instruct! The most
blatant champions of the old order OF thlngS' lAe
nrejudices of the past admit wOmen's capacity 10
teach while they deny that they have the capaclty
~ cost an INTELLIGENT ballot We hold that II
women are competent TO occupy positions
of professional educators. they are eoi'-
petent 70 exercise all the duties Of citizenship ana
rance and prejudice have set up mus Ql u.c';;s''&
disappear. In the discussion OF such suoS II lS
wellenough to begin al home. we give me hiiJ hiluJ
of the professional educators IN the pupIIc sCloIo
ot indianauois If there are those IN the citN VINO
believe that the women named are quthinrG "a "a
teach but are not qualified to vote, they are lnVed
,o sew 80 The theory of masculine muscle Vo,hg
has had ITS day"
The new methods Of instruction III the boatoL
primary schools have in the past Three years worked
wonders the only drawback being the want OF 'line
10 enable the teachers to acquire the needful kho"l
edge and skill These methods are in eiect those oi
unincv-methods which teach children to thlhk
rather than to merely remember. Naturally their IN
PRODUCTION met with opposition from the tribe OF cut
aud-dricd teachers-prncipally from the grammar
,nasters who saw the supervision OF the primary
schools taken from them and gwen to three super
visors skilled in the new work. me boston
Herald saws: at was supposed by many OF the
masters to be necessary to keep their grammar
schools filed, in order to retain their rank ana
ealarv and the full quota of teachers Tor then
schools The consequence was that IN many cases
pupils were hurried away from the primary 10 the
grammar schools before they were properly pre-
pared. and retained in the grammar schools much |
longer than the regular grammar SchoCi c0urse con-
tomplated" there Is movement III N dnG iar GUmu0i |
Board 10 place the supervision OF the primary |
schools again in the hands of the m3sterS-a move
ment which, it is to be heartily hoped, Will be un-
successful. The day of Tote-trachlng OF averages
aud percentages. is passing away, and new gen |
Grafton of teachers will not seek TO cultivate mem
ory AT the expense of every other faculty OF chus
mind.
There is no instruction given in the public sch OILS
of this country which is on the whole less user |
than that in geography. The study is too often pur
sued solely as a memoTizinC exercise, compreben- |
eion, reason and imagination not being taken into |
account at all There is of course III many school
rooms wiser method. which may be defined by the |
excellent suggestion made by a Nebraska te7cher III
The State Journal of Lincoln: "Ihe study natu-
rally begins with the school grounds, the childs
home. the city he lives in or frequents, and from
these passing TO the township and county as the idea
of distance and surface extent is developed. The
streets OF some well-known city would form good
basis for fixing the idea of latitude and longitude
for later uses To this point book, map globe
should be used-nothing but the blackboard and |
slate The teacher may pass rapidly to the |
geography of the State aud United States in simple |
outline with the use of maps. Following this, or III |
connection with IT, and before the introduction OF
textbook the child should be taught something OF |
tbe nomenclature of geography The idea of ocean, |
lake river mOuntoin, island and desert shouid be |
deyclOped With all the ingenuity of illustration the
Teacher il capable Of before he Is permitted the use
ot text book lie is prepared for book map, |
plOhe and the geography of the world, and when ne
shall have attained an accurate knowledge 81 the
general and imposing features, natural ana artlllcla
races of men and of the general character and as
tributi0n of the animal and vegetable ki gdoms ana
such like general information, The ography VIII |
le of further interest or use 10 hlm except as
work of reference and for use IN connection WIN le
study of history. When such result Is attained, |
and at whatever age, il is believed that the subbo-
Guent time Of the pupil can DE more prohtably EN-
plOyod on other studies"