Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1885-10-16
Educational.

us take very little pans to properly
address them. How few instructors
acl.nowledge. in daily practice, that
tie child is able to take cognizince
of the shape or form of bodies. In
Practice, how often we fail to recog-
nize the fact that the child has any
perception whatever of place, order,
magnitude and proportions; ability
to Judge of length, breadth, depth
heighth and distance; to perceive
colors of objects, to compare them
and Judge OF the harmony or discord
of their different shades when
mingled. Thus the perceptive pow
ers are often sadly neglected, and
we seem to proceed in our methods
upon the supposition that the most
important object of instruction is to
cultivate the verbal memory of our
pupils. TO accomplish this, artiti-
cial and unnatural methods are fire.
quently resorted to. No natural
motive can induce Il child to study
what is above his capacity, or com
nit to memory what he cannot UNI
derstand, hence the teachers only
resource is to act upon the vanity or
upon the fears of his pupils. Under
proper mode of teaching, children
rarely require any other motive to
attention than the pleasure which
the acquisition of knowledge ailulds
them. The habits of attention and
concentration are the great main
springs of education. The great Sc
cret in securing these is to interest.
Object lessons are highly calculated
to cultivate the habits Of attention
and observation, and children should
be accustomed to examine, analyze
or inspect every object of interest
around them. The habit of observ-
ing the structure, properties and
uses of familiar things, prepares the
mind for entering upon o higher
course of scientific inquiry. The
teacher must not allow his pupils to
wander in a wrong direction after
truth. He must be by THEN side to
shield them from danger and to
guide and correct errors and TO con
firm their discoveries. This pre-sup-
poses an ability on the part of the
instructor to properly lead or direct
the inquiring mind in search of
knowledge. The young child is not
competent to select proper food for
the nourishment of its physical sys-
tenn. Food suitable in quantity and
quality must be selected for it.
Suitable aliment must be chosen and
properly administered. for the devel-
opment of each faculty of the dawn
ing mind. 1t should be wisely
chosen and judiciously administered.
Am | adequate to the task, should
be question of serious moment
with each and every one about to as
sumo the solemn responsibility OF
training the immortal mind.
The time has arrived when it is
generally admitted that to become
familiar with the best methods of ex-
ercising the powers of the mind in
their proper order, a studied pre-
paration is required. 1t is unwise
to suppose that incompetent teach
ers can train up the successive gen
erations of children to be worthy cit
liens and great people. If we are
to have public fund for the educa-
ton of Children, it is equally impnr-
tant that means should be provided
for the preparation of teachers.
Money expended to pay poorly quail
flied instructors is as surely wasted
as if used to pay unskilled cooks.
dressmakers or mechanics who know
just enough to waste their material
and spoil their work. Special in
ducements should be held out to
young persons of character and abil-
ity to enter upon a course Ct prepar-
alton to fit them to be teachers in
the highest sense of the word; and
does not the term include that of
mother? Every parent should be
trained teacher, and until that time
arrives educators will labor under
disadvantages difficult to overcome,
but we must work up to that reform.
Important and awfully responsible
are the duties devolving upon teach
ers. Good workmen cannot expect
the best results if provided with poor
material; but what can be anticipat-
ed from the hands of the uneducat-
ed and inexperienced? We cannot
afford TO experiment and triflc with
the immortal mind.
VIM. +. Phelps, NJ. A., in his
Hand Book to Teachers, says:
"There are immortal principles in cd
ucation, ard there are methods based
upon them. The young teacher
must be trained by instruction, prac-
tice and criticism to a. knowledge of
these principles and methods, and to
their judicious application to the de-
tails of school work. Education does
not consist merely in imparting
knowledge. 1t is rather the forma-
ton of character according to a high
standard of manhood and woman
hood. The'e principles cannot be
learned by the great mass of teach-
ers unless taught in institutions set
apart for the work" Those of us
who are Interested in the highest
welfare of our Territory, should do
all in our power to hasten the day
when we can join the sisterhood of
States, SO that we may unite our eff.
forts with those who have learned by
experience, that proper system Of
training in Normal Schools will
vastly improve the average quality
or natural endowments OF a teacher.
" For more than a hundred and Fifty
years in Europe and an entire gener-
alton in America, the Normal School
has been bringing forth fruits meet
for justification, and it has already
taken its place as an indispensable
adjunct to complete common school
system. Phelps.
Prof. Powell, of the University of