The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-10-26

Same Of The teachers have grave doubt,
rs to the merits Of this plan. One of the
most prominent stated that he thought
better results could, in certain cases, be
reached if the fear Of bodily pain WAS
present TO the mind rs Il stimuiant to its
active exercise. For my own part. am
sure that with the judiciOus use OF the
rod of correction not only will much of
the 'fooIi-hness in the heart and head Of
boy, be taken out, but in many in
stances much knowledge be forrcd in
"Do the schools give lnnpr1 az
prizes? ?'
They do, though Tie system is not
generally regarded ~ a good one. Pres
ident Carlisle, Of Woiford College, read
this summer at Saratoga, before the Ma.
,ional Association OF Education, an essay
vigorously opposing the system, which
seemed tn be almost u"nnin"usly en-
dorsch. The effort is beng constantly
made by the teachers 70 get their scholars
interested in mental culture for its own
sake, and not on account Of q temporary
reward in the shape of an honor or ii
medal"
''Is there uniform system Of marking
and are pupils furnished with diaries for
the inspection Of their parents?'
"fhcy have no diaries, and the reports
made to parents are monthly At BoSton,
and 1T the two academies three times Il
year, at the end Of each term. The
keeps his book in his Own way. They
regard marks rs mere helps to memory,
convenient symbol, Indicating the gen.
cral standing Of each pupil
did the boys in the class. rooms seem
| ,,url, ~ thnir
They did. am sure that in each Of
! the class rooms visited the large major.
ty of the boys had studied their tasks
faithfully, and were anxious to take pant
! in the recitation. The disorder which
sometimes occurred grew out Of the in
tense interest aud excitement Of the
scholars 4 noted teacher of mathcmat-
! ics told me that when his class in gcornc.
! try got well under way it was not uncom.
/ mon for more than half Of them To he
! on the floor at once, and some even stood
upon the chairs in their anxiety lest they
! should not be called upon TO rcci.c."
! Were the methods Of teaching similar
! to those tn which ypu have beor accHs
! tomedw
at il difficult to answer yonr question
in a general way. think have seen
as good work done here, and the different
conditions being considered, have
known ~ satisfactory results 10 be
reached. There arc two advantages en-
j0yed by the teachers whom I saw. Que
have already mentioned, the maturity
Of development and exceptional ability
of their pupils; the other is the freedom
accorded to the teachers themselves. In
the Boston schools, the courses and text
books are laid down by the commissions
ers of the schools, but the teacher is free
to teach tho course in his own way. In
the academies the teachers are allowed
also to select their own text books. In
each instance q certain result is demand.
ed, viz the boys must know the subjects
taught. In reaching this result the
teacher is at liberty to employ any meth
cd he prefers"
"Do you think this the better plan? ?"
"Ies and no. With teachers of limited
ability u prescribed plan is best. The
gifted teacher, OH the other hand. can ,lu
his work best in his own way. have
known instances in which the so called
best methods have not been at all sue.
cessful, because they were not adapted to
the mental habits of the teacher employ
ing them. do not think there is any
one method of teaching any one branch
which eau be pronounced absolutely the
best. IIa is the best teacher, in the true
sense of tho term. whose pupils learn
and develop, let his method be what it
may"
"Tho teachers you heard and saw were,
Of course, good ones. Did the rectati0ns
all please you?'
"In most instances the work being
done seemed to me to be very thorough
and satisfactory. | was especially
pleased with the classics and malhemat
ics and with one recitation in United
States History. In each case could see
By tile questions asked and answered that
the boys were accustomed to think and
investigate as well IN to memorize. In
the higher classics | was much pleased
with the prompt and correct answers
given to questions in regard to nicely of
construction, &c, rs also with the ready
knowledge of the form Of the words and
Of their roots and derivatives. In m1th.
ST;a.:;;v; ;;vs;, 80, the boys Of the advanced
classes had evidently mastered and un.
dcrstood the preceding principles, and
were able To give reasons for the state
ments they made in the course OF their
demonstrations. Besides, in every branch
the interest displayed showed that the
teacher had trnnsfused into his pupils
| much Of his own enthusiasm"
| II suppose you found the Latin teach.
ers in all the schools using the Roman
pronunciation
"The Boston schools have the Roman,
but the academies cling tenaciously to
the old English pronunciation. ! had
| no idea of finding leading preparatory
schools. we'll within the circle of Har.
| Yards influence, using a pronunciation
which Harvard had abandoned. I was
further surprised to find reaction taking
place in the matter Of pronunciation Of
Latin. The prediction has been made
hy scsa!!a:ss VIC E::e carefully scanned
The field, that within ten years tho reac-
ton will have gained force enough to
make tho Latin, as spoken by our fathers,
the Latin which will be heard in all tho
prominent colleges and schools"
"What do you think Of the prospects
uf our own schools, as compared with the
results attained in the best New England
.chools?"
II have come back not discouraged,
not depressed. The space separating our
schools and theirs is not 30 wide as had
feared. OF course it will take time to
enable us TO reach the plateau to which
in century or more they have climbed.
We are not century behind shers, how.
over. In few years we can so develop
our educational system that the work
done by us in thoroughness and extent
will compare with theirs"
81 feol satisfied, confident, that our
educational future ia going to be bril-