The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1884-09-27

last Thursday OF visiting the Public
Schools Of this place aud of catching
a glimpse of their practical workings
their every day life, so to speak.
The session began this year on the
first day of September and the work
is now in full and healthy progress
Abont 200 pupils are enrolled in all
the departments and seven teachers
are employed. The pupils range in
age from q to Is years and comprise
every stage Of advancement from
mere beginners and chart learners to
young men and young ladies thor
oughly well qualified to begin a
course at the University.
The work is divided into FIVE de
partments and is intended to com
prise il twelve years course. though
snme of the brighter pupils complete
it in less time. Divisions A, B and
c are each subdiyided into two
grades. Division ID and the High
School have each three grades. Di-
vision d taught by Miss Annie Camp
bell, assisted by her sister, Miss
Matte, is the most elementary of all,
the substratum and foundation stone
of all the higher grades. We found
Miss Campbell Miss Matte was not
well enough to be present that day
surrounded by nearly sixty bright
eyed wee folks, many of them not
more than six or seven years old. A
very considerable per centum of these
had never been in school before and
were using nothing but states and
charts. Miss Campbell is a born
teacher. She las been engaged in
this elementary work for several
years and the perfection to which
she has affirmed in this direction is
something remarkable. She uses
the ''Word Method and class of
beginners who could not, even were
it to gain whole holiday, tell the
difference between the letter H and a
western cyclone, was learning to
read readily and naturally. States
are brought into constant requisition
in this room, as indeed they are in
all the rooms, and the youngest pu-
pills in school are taught to write
simple words and sentences. If the
Board should ever trade Miss Camp
bell off they will be grievously and
sorely cheated.
Pupils are passed from this diyis
ion to the next higher, Division G,
taught by Miss Dora Dorsey. The
register here shows 40 pupils. enrolled,
nearly 40 of whom were present and
right side up with care. A class in
language lessons was being heard and
gave evidence of superior drill. Black
boards and states were used freely
and everything was done edecently
and in order" In single years
work, Miss Dora has established her
reputation as teacher eminently
successful. All her pupils seem very
much attached to her.
Division B has an enrolment of
40, and was as busy as B-hive, not
with mischief but with the right kind
of work and study. Here Miss Laura
Shisler teaches the young idea how
to Shoot and does it we'll A class
in arithmetic was graphing with the
of rays Third" and do
ing it successfully, too. Pupils who
spend year or two under Miss Shis-
ler's careful and able instructions
are we'll prepared to ego up higher"
for she is called one of the most sue
cessful teachers in all the country
Miss SADIE Coyle has very inter
esting school in division A. 1t is the
right size, numbering about thirty.
We found class of Ii reciting in
common fractions and when the
states were examined not single
could be found, and every
member Of the class was made happy
with a big 10. They deserved ii.
Many of Miss Coyle's methods are
original and striking. Like all the
rest of the teachers she is very earn
est and persistent in teaching the
mother tongue and had one whole
grade recite several beautiful selec-
tions in concert and afterward other
selections singly. The pupils are en-
thusiastic in this direction and never
failed in their responses. 1t was one
Of the most pleasant features of the
entire day. If you want to see how
Miss Coyle is Succeeding just peep
into that room about three minutes.
The High School is taught by
Principal Hodges and Miss Elite
Boyers. 1t is very fortunate that
the pupils are in such competent
hands during their last years at the
public schools, for to many of them
it is, of course, their last school drill.
Here we found very interesting
class of 8, successfully doing battle
with Latin nouns of the second de-
clensien. We have no doubt that
Prof. Lorentz would be highly pleas
ed with just such class as that at
the University, though most of the
members are young ladies. In an
other room Miss Boyers was instruct
ing class of 10 young and promis-
ing mathematicians. They were in
Simple Interest, and it must have been
simple to them as we'll as Of much
interest, considering the ease with
which they mastered it.
A class in Language Lessons, under
the same instruction was trying to
unravel the mysteries of the verbs
.lie" and clay" and the success with
which they did it would put to shame
many a man who calls himself edu-
Gated.
To say that Mr. Hodges and Miss