The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1885-02-27

ence physically and morally. The teacher
should be strictly moral himself. lie
should govern by love when possible, but
punishment is often necessary for restraint
God himself is unable to govern men with
out punishment. The parents do not re-
spect and encourage the teacher enough
They should sympathize and aid him. The
teacher, on the other hand, often teaches
only for the money. He must be interest
ed in his work and interest the parents.
Prof Noetling next presented the sub
ject of writing He said that it was
waste of time to spend ten or twelve years
in learning to make such miserable
scrawls" as most of us make, and that bet
ter results could be accomplished in less
time by using proper methods in teaching
it. He would do away with copy-books
and writing exercises as such altogether.
Set the pupil to writing the very first day
he enters school. Let the pupils write
their lessons and always see TO it that they
do their best. He would do away with
| states in school and use writing tablets in
stead. Small pupils should never be allow
ed to use the ordinary thick pencil-it is
too large for their little fingers TO handle.
The teacher should give special attention
to pen-hodlng placing of book and posi-
| ton. Only one form for each of the let
ters should be given this form should be
permanently placed on the blackboard or
| wall, and all written work should be dill
gently compared with these. AS writing
exercise dictate paragraph or two twice
or three times week. Have it carefully
| written, then criticise it carefully AS to
writing, spelling and punctuation.
Mr.. McHenry of Berwick, one OF the old
| est, and said to be the best school director
in the county, said several things that
would have done every director of our part
of the county good to have heard. Parents
should be interested in such gathering,
directors should speak, and teachers should
| jot down their difficulties and bring them
with them for discussion. Schools should
| be up with the other business interests Of
| the country in most towns it is so, but in
| Benton, he was sorry to say, it is not
| while Benton has made advancement in
other directions, the educational interests
have fallen behind. The school house does
not compare favorably with the other
buildings Of the town. 1t should be i'm
proved as the dwelling houses are made
better The site should be carefully Sc.
| ected, the house should be substantial,
good and pleasant; good wages should be
paid to teachers; low wages drive all the
| good teachers out of the country. In Ber-
| wick they have spent good many thou
| sands of dollars for school property, and he
did not think that anybody was five dol
lars poorer for it. Directors should visit
schools. Teachers should always recog-
nize pupils on the street. Moral suasion
| failed in Berwick. The two-term system
is poor one.
Miss Carrie Turrell conducted an exer-
else in reading. She brought number Of
her pupils OF the fifth reader grade with
her. They read very WE'LL the audience
paid strict attention during the whole ex-
ercise, and after it was over Mr.. McHenry
arose and said that it had paid him for his
long cold drive from Berwick, If he had
heard nothing else.
Prof. Heck spoke short time on How
Ito Teach History" He thought that we
had got too much philosophy in teaching
history. Begin almost anywhere with the
subject. The philosophy of history is not
interesting to young pupils, and should
hardly be taught in public schools. They
should be set to reading historical books
and stories, such as Robinson Crusoe, the
stories Of Walter Scott or Cooper. The ge.
ogrsphy of a country should be taught in
connection with its history. Such a story
as the Green Mountain Boys will interest
young pupils so that they will desire to
know more. They are not interested in
history as presented in the ordinary text
book, but in bloody stories and Indian
wars. The inter-colonial wars are interest
ing to them; all these are interesting and
history he called schoolmaster's history.
committing lot of dry "DETAILS to memory,
that is worse than useless. A history to be
interesting should be continuous story,
not chopped up into chapters and para
graphs as most of our school histories are.
Pupils should not be allowed to commit
the language Of the book. To avoid this,
give so long lessons that they cannot do it.
Interest them by telling interesting and
funny stories. Don't catechise your pu-
pills, but let one tell till you think he has
told enough, then another, etc. Let every
fifth lesson be review; give each pupil a
topic in recitation, let him think over il,
then get up and tell what he can. Pupils
do not read one-tenth enoughi give them
books, not Bancroft and Macaulay, but
books that are interesting to them, interest
them in the newspapers. No othe- branch
taught in public schools is so important as
history. BY reading history man is able TO
live thousands of years in life time.
Prof. Noetling made the last address OF
the day He said that method, as used in
connection with education, did not mean
a mechanical way of teaching. The teach
or must study the mind Of the child. The
means he employs TO reach its mind is
what Is meant by method A good bit of
time Is lost because the pupils mind is not
reached. The teacher should think more,
and ground his methods on knowledge.
Children thirst for knowledge. To keep
up this desire, the teaching must be in nc
cordance with the mind OF the child There
is science of teaching, and the teacher
should know it. A good place to learn il
lis at a Normal school Teachers from the
Normal, however, will not teacn for $50 90
month. 1t is bad ecoromy to employ
poor teachers.
DR.. ID. j. Waller, Jr., leclured in the
evening on "Public Schools" He spoke
OF public schools as the mainstay Of the
government. The lecture was interesting
and instructive, aud was well attended
J. f. RosBINs