The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-17
A DISTINGUISHED INSTRUCTOR.
A Talk with Prof. William Harris About
Educators and Education.

Mr.. VIM. T. Harris, of Concord, Mass, is in
the city to-day, the guest of the Misses Nchol-
son, on Broadway. Mr.. Harris was for thirteen
years the superintendent of the st. Louis
schools and twenty-three years connected with
them when he resigned, june 1880, for the pur-
pose of visiting Europe and studying the educa-
tional stems of the old world. As token of
esteem the prominent citizens of St Louis pre-
sented him with gold medal weighing twelve
ounces, and costing $400 The medal was an
allegorical representation of education-a female
figure seated on a bench with open books in her
lap, and closed ones by her side with children
at her side receiving instruction.; encircling the
figure, in Roman capitals, the name of the great
educators-Plato, Aristotle Socrates, Pestolozzi,
Hegel, Frebe Arnold and Mann; and, the
| reverse the legend: From citizens of ST Louis
to VIM. L. Harris, in grateful recognition of
twenty three years of faithful and distinguished
service as teacher, principal, assistant superin-
tendent and superintendent of st. Louis public
schools-1857-80." In addition, letter of
credit for $1,000 was presented him to meet
the expenses in part of his European journeys
Mr.. Harris was eminent philosophical edu-
Gator, and his reports-bulky volumes-of the
condition, methods and progress of the ST. Louis
schools, were and are in great demand in the
United States and Europe, while his six lectures
on the philosophy of education have been given
in many cities of the Union-in indianapolis at
the request of Superintendent Tarbell, aad also
at the State University
In 1867 Mr.. Harris founded the Journal Of
Speculative Philosophy, published by Appleton
q Co., which he has since edited, and in which
he has published many philosophical DISGUST
tons and ranslations-notably translations and
| treatses on the systems of Kant, Fichte and
Hegel. Mr.. Harris is now preparing book on
the Hegelian philosophy. Mr.. Harris has always
had a warln coterie of friends in this city, nota-
bly, Messrs Shortridge Geo. p Brown, Horace
Tarbell, Superintendent Lewis Jones, the Misses
Nicholson, Mrs. NJ. w. Sewall and others, who
met him in classes or in parlor conversations
from time to time the last ten years. 1t is
whispered that the strong pathological and meta
physical bent given our schools under the leader
ship of Messrs. Shortridge, Brown, Tarbell and
Jones, particularly in the study of language,
which is after all, it is and has been taught in
our schools, simply species OF metaphysics In
disguise-is due to the spirit and influence of
these Harris lectures and conversations, and
that the State Normal School is saturated with
the same spirit and feeling.
Mr.. Harris has lectured here several times on
literary subjects, the first and second parts of
Faust; "Meisters Journey and Apprentice
ship; and on the Masters of Italian Art He
| is now giving a course, in St Louis, on the
| Philosophy of History" and will lecture here
| soon before the Art School He has also a
prominent part in the Concord School of Pniloso-
| ply. For several years he has resided in Con-
cord. in the old Alcott property, by the residence
/ of Hawthorne. He has a competence, but can
not cut himself away from his educational
| friends and schemes, though devoting most of
his time to pure literature His lectures on
literary topics are usually in parlors, and
1 20 fr.a tla i,1cf
! given on the Divine Comedy OF Dante
''How is Mr.. Alcott doing now, Mr.. Harris2"
Fairly we'll His side is paralyzed, and he
| keeps the house, but he is In good spirits tie
spends much time in looking over his great scrap
hooks, forty or fifty of them, made through a
| long series of time, travels and conversation.
| He is troubled with aphasa, and cannot carry
on a long conversation; but he enjoys the society
| of hiSI friends and of his family. His daughter
/ LoDfse, }fvines with him in the village.
| She is troubled with writer's cramp, and her
physician has forbidden any mental labor for a
| time. am living in the old Alcott property,
| adjacent to the hcme of Hawthorne, on the Lex
| ington road"
| us Concord the same without Emerson2"
| mo, that could not be- though we still feel his
presence. The ideal halo still attaches to Con-
| cord, however"
what will the school of philosophy busy
| itself with the coming summer9"
with the Study Goethe, as last year with
Emerson. We shall close with symposium on
1
be the Outcome of Natural Science Mr. John
| Fisk writes me that he has something to say on
| that subject, and on the negative He is devout
| student of science, and more and more believes
| that it leads to spritualism-not of course in
| the ordinary use of that term Our school is
success, and has accomplished the mission for
which it was sent 1t was never intended to be
a set institution, but merely a school
of us were interested in, and as a help to others
who wished to study the same. Mr. Alcott orig
! mated it. The management is the same as at
| first. Mr.. Sanford is the business man, and
| suppose may say that am now chief consult
| ant. We had increased numbers last year. and
| the outlook is for a large assembly the coming
summer. Newspapers made much good natured
| sport of it, but they sent their best reporters,
| and as even these failed to catch its spirit and
| could not successfully condense its long papers,
we just made them abstracts of them ourselves.
That is the reason they were SO explicit and
readable, as you just observed"
| what do you think of our Western city
schools, Mr. Harris, as compared with those of
| the EastV
| Il think in many respects those of the West
| far outstrip them; they more vigorous and
/ not SO formal"
Mr. Harris spoke very highly of our city
| schools. with which he has been quite familiar
| through his long comprehensive with their SUI
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Brown, Tarbell
and Jones. He is very much averse to corporal
punishment, and when lady remarked that a
poor little boy had been severely whipped re-
Gently by one of teachers that the very
pupils felt distressed about it, Mr. Harris dis
cussed the method Of suspension as substitute
| for corporal punishment He said his
way in st: Louis was to have the teachers
| suspend incorrigibles; and then he assigned
| them to another school. "Some would say, 'Ah,
that is victory for the pupil over the teacher
but on the contrary, it gave the pupil long walk
| across the city, put him in new set and on his
| dignity; and if he was suspended again the par
! ents could not say it was account of the spite
of the teacher. The plan worked WELL it enlisted
| the parent as moral power over the pupil; the
| most stubborn Were soon thoroughly annealed
| by tn process, and it punished the children,
and at the same time kept them in school-the
| main end"
Mr. Harris believes in long recesses and