The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1885-01-09

Prof. Sanford continued his remarks on
writing. lie thinks that all can become
good writers. Teach your pupils TO write
their names first Of all. Hav care to
pen holding. Copy books 1 and would
be of no use in this system Cut extracts
from papers and have pupils write them on
the board. Thus you teach reading and
writing at one time,
Prof. Ballet, of Col. Parkers Normal
School was then introduced. He spoke of
machine education. The body should be-
come machine. The hand makes letters
and words automatically in writing The
mind should not be made a machine. 1t
should be taught TO think.
THURSDAYS SESSIONS.
Prof. Harrison began the mornings ses-
sion with a talk on pronunciation. lie
showed how many people mspronounced
through carelessness, as God blesh you,
Let me kish you.
Prof. Ballet was the next speaker The
following are a few of the things he said .
The teacher is of greater consequence than
books and apparatus and fine buildings. The
teachers are as rule unfit to teach. 1t i. a
wonder that there are any purils that like
school, The desire for knowledge Is born
with the child but is crushed out of him
by poor teachers. Teachers go on the plan
that the child was created for the text book
and not the text book for the child.
Teachers give the child too muci. 20 lcrn
and cajole them into lerning it by offering
them the choice of two evils-100 per cent
or less per cent. When this inducement
fails the evils ar increas ed The child is
kept in. This fails, and flogging is the
last resort. But the lessons becorde so re-
pulsive to the child that he woulL suffer
anything rather than learn them. The
teacher is sort Of caterer Knowledg is
food for the mind. The mind Graves
knowlcdg as eagerly as the stomach does
bred and meat. II the child had its food
mesured out day after day.as it has its les
sons and wer required TO eat it all with the
same regularity as its lessons, food would
become repulsive to the stomach and no
amount of persuasist, such as keeping in
and 1ogging could induce the child to eat
its food. Teachers ar bad cooks they cook
too much and compel those for whom they
cook to eat it all and because they cook
food not suited to the condition of those
for whom they cook. He thought it wrong
to compel apupil who was fit for promo
ton to wait til the regular time for promo
tion. He should be promoted as soon as
he is qualified. The object of thought in
geografy was too frequently the map. The
map was lines and dots and colors and no
more to the child The dots wer not cities
and towns with streets and houses. The
rivers wer crooked lines.
Prof. Sanford spoke on geografy for ad-
vanccd pupils. He thought that teachers
taught too much geography. He thought
it of little importance to know many places
outside of ones own state, and the farther
the place is from ones home the les geo.
grafy need be known of it. In his schools
the descrptiv parts are used as supplement
tary reading.
DR.. Waller spoke on school discipline.
The teacher must cultivate in his pupils Ii
habit of prompt obedience. To do this
you must give frequent recrcativ exercises
to keep the pupils busy. Reverence for par
ents and superiors must be developed Pu-
pills should be taught mercy but the
teacher must hav all the traits of charac.
ter that he would develope on the pu-
pill.
Prof. Heck was the first speaker OF the
afternoon session. His subject was Local
Geography and History. He said that few
young pupils were interested in the study
of geography and history; because in geo.
grafy the object of thought was the map
and not the real mountains and rivers and
towns and oceans in history the event is
too remote. The Imagination is the most
important faculty by means of which we
| learn.
I'VE have followed the phonetic spelling
| of the Secretary. .-ED.