Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-07-20

And Its Relation TO tho Public school.
president Burkhams address before the American
Institute Of Instruct oll

president Burkhams address before the American
institute Of Instruction.
All social and moral improvement come
and must come, from above and not below
IRON the superior and not the inferior strata
OF society; from intelligent plans and ration
al convictions, rather than from wants and
necessities. For Improvements in education
for right ideas and wise methods, we must
LOOK not 10 tie people, to the average intell-
gence and Interest, but to the superior minds
OF community, the men of large study and
generous culture. Let us divest ourselves of
Tie pre- judice which our somewhat rampant
fepublcanlsm fosters in favor of measures
uear 10 The average many rather than to the
superior few. The trnh is that the wisdom
aud virtue resident undcniably in the great
mass of the people arc inert and unavailng
until stirred up Ivy the superior minds III
which they are active principles. In all re-
forms-potlcal, religious aud educational
Tue people have to be organized, and led, and
hcarttned by the more advanced spirits. That
This ls specially true in the matter Of cduca-
ton will appear, from considering how in
competent is the ordinary Legislature to deal
with questions of education, how unsafe are
the interests OF the schools in the district or
town meeting If the two or three wise men
happen not 10 be present, and how easily ed.
ucatlon gets transformed into machinery
Tor religious pfopagandism unless iealously
watched against such Cncroachmouts.
The common school system was framed
and put in operation by men of liberal cul-
ture it depends for its successful manten-
ance every hour upon influences coming from
the same quarter.
First-Thc college must provide the learn
ing taught in the public schools. Element
AIRY knowledge is the most difficult of attain
mcnt. All the lore altainable by these schools
themselves never could have formulated the
lirst statement af Ian elementary geography,
earth is round like bal" 1t took ages OF
science TO work out that simple affirmation.
The simplest matters of the alphabet of srell.
lng,of writing, show the labors of the worlds
sages. The zero, SO easy to understand now,
was one OF the great discoveries of ma,hemat-
zeal science. improvements in modern text
books mark progress in profound and recon-
dite studies. The herculean labors of cx-
plorers in Arctic seas aud in the heart of
Africa, the delicate observations and intricate
calculations OF astronomers at home and in
the remolest islands, the researches of the
laboratory, the last attainments Of all the
sciences, find their way into the textbook
ii it is what n textbook ought to be, a com.
pend of the latest and highest Knowledge
attained on the subject. That scientific re-
search is systematized, fostercd, perpe,uated
mainly by colleges aud universities will not
be denied.
Secondly Colleges cherish the spirit of
learning in the community and thus help
schools Of all grades. AS the Supreme
Court OF State by its ability and gravity
preserves the respect for law in the public
mind and tends to debar pettifogging and
chlcanery from the lower courts, so the college
helps the humber schools to maintain a GER
tain degree of responsibility and dignity
amid even ignobe surroundings. 1t is said
that the parish schools of Scotland are kept
up to high standard by giving every boy to
understand that the University is in plain
sight from the school house window and the
the road to it opened from the school house
sters.. SO 1t ought to be in all our public
schools One door should open out to bust.
ness life, another to the University
ThirdlY-Thc public schools have right
to look to the colleges for guidance in the
philosophy Of teaching The art of teaching
is deducibe from the science of psychology;
Il Is form of practical psychology. What
the profoundest students of the human
mind can discover of its laws and workings
the primary teacher needs for use ia her
every day duty. 1t is safe to say that we
know very little as yet of the human mind,
and hence the maifold errors of our teaching.
But it is one of the significant aud hopeful
marks OF our present teaching that 1t en-
beavers to base itself on psychology, and is
eagerly inquiring for more knowledge in that
direction.
Hence the rail which ia making itself heard
for chairs of pedagogy in universities. 1t
NAV hp StInnnSpI that tho rNlnpn ,,cI
chairs is in normal schools But there is a
desire to see the subject of teaching carried
one grade higher than the normal school, TO
see the questions at issue take on more
thoroughly scientific form aud undergo
profounder investigation than in the normal
school. The mere existence of such chairs in
universities would impress upon the teachers
mind the deep reasonableness of the process
Of teaching, and might, perhaps, suggest to
committees and parents the question wheth
or unframed boys and girls are competent
teachers. Most of our modern improve.
ments in teaching have come from Germany,
where ppdagogk has recognized place
among the sciences. If English and Ameli-
can good sense shall be superadded to Ger
man research and enthusiasm, great gains
may be expected in the philosophy of teach
ing. 1t is not too much to hope that in the
course of the next century a method may be
devised by which bright child may learn
arithmetic in less than ten years, or, at least,
after having studied it for that length of
time, may have attained fair comprehen-
sion of it.
The college has not only a duty but an in-
terest in excrting itself to elevate public
school education. The desire for a higher
education will depend largely on the cond-
ton into which the public school brings the
minds of its pupils. If the process of ele-
mentary education is dull and wearisome
there will be no desire for more II minds
are awakened, ambition Is kindled, the fair
prospect OF knowledge opened to the view, u
higher course will be coveted.
The college should support and honor pub.
lie school instruction by unfolding its impor-
lance in a curriculum Of study. Proficiency
in the elementary studies should be more
emphasized in preliminary examinations.
The primary teacher should be made to feel
that the college is supporting her when she
insists on the Importance of correct spelling
and fair pcnmanship.
2. College instructors should take part in
Institutes and conventions, and serve on
school boards when they have opportunity
In this way the ideas reached by the advance
ed mind get voice and ad, ocacy. If vision
AIRY they have to encounter the conservatism
OF the more practical minds. If they are
sound and wise their merit and force will
make themselves felt. The most studious
and profound men are The most progressive
men. Let the managers of our educational
progress consult, more than they have
done, the thoughtful, silent men of the pro-
tession.
MIR. BILLINGS AND The UNI