The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1886-03-24
lrR Nosu.I SCHOOLS.

Now that students are abont to select til
schools they mean to patronize during th
summer. let US say q word in favor of on
/ Normal Schools. A complete Normal Schoc
may be defined TO be one so organized as {
give instruction. according to the best meth
DDS, in ali the branches named in Teach
er's Certificate. including the Art of Teach
ing. while preparatory school is designe
to prepare students for college. In a Nor
NAL School there must be two or NOR
teachers for nobody can teach all III
branches well enough even II he had IN
time also, sufficient number OF students
otherwise il must still be failure In l
large school. with competent force of in
-tructors, all may expect to find classes II
their fayorite studies, while numbers vii
impart the spirit and momentum which car
scarcely be looked for in smaller one. A
present about three of these may be tolera
bly, well supported, especially if their prin
cipals will take charge of the Public Schools
during the winter, until their patronage
NAV be sufficient without il. Prof. Meese
by his enterprise and energy, has already
gained this point, and others may as well
Now among those who have been teaching
there are MANY who should aspire to ths
honor and the advantage Of permanent
certificate This object can be secured iu
our own Normal Schools. whose principal:
are members OF the committee, and will
best know how to direct their studies. The
acquaintance, too, which they will form
within the county may be of great adyaE-
tage to them, and if they afterwards attend
the State Normal, they will enter the higher
classes, and save both time and money.
Without disparagement to Others, we
claim that we have q combination capable
of doing great deal Of work in the best
style, under my personal observation
while my extensive acquaintance in this
and the adjoining counties, among School
Directors and other prominent citizens,
many of whom were among my former pu-
pills, may enable me to secure good places
for the most deserving. have always done
this with pleasure, especially for the ladies,
who. while they are Natures own Teachers,
are sometimes without employment.
The Art of Teaching, as developed in the
old Normal. had been carefully studied by
means Of repeated visits to the State Nor
NAL and the best graded schools. At the
outset we also had valuable aid from two
specialists. Comstoek' 5 Elocution was ably
illustrated by Cyrus Elder, Esq, who had
been one Of his pupils and penmanship by
Mr.. Mallory, whose services gave us some
excellent teachers in that branch We have
now employed another specialist for Vocal
Music and Penmanship, who will also assist
us in other school work, The great neces-
sity of the time was to create body ol
Teachers, and the recruits we were collect
ing for that purpose needed first of all good
elementary training. For that reason, the
main benefit we then derived from the les
sons in elocutioR was, that We learned "a
drill pupils by an easier and more effective
method than We bad previously employed
The success of our efforts Is well known
we may now give few ideas based upon
our experience.
The composite character Of eur Language
and the conservatism of the race have made
the study of orthogrsphy very difIieult-a
difficulty still farther increased by careless
pronunciation. For instance the question
why there should be an q or an in an uu-
accented syllable NAV require a Latin schol-
ar to determine yet school-b0y wiil easi-
Is learn to spell the word, if he has been
taught to pronounce it correctly. Pupils
who are not made to distinguish certain OF
our obscure vowel sounds will be everlast-
ing blunderers. Yet we have Teachers who
have neither been properly trained in the
elementary sounds Of the language, nor
taught to pay attention to the directions
contained in the very books they are using.
How long will it be before such Teachers
learn to give out spelling exercise correct
ly? \ Normal School cannot afford to neg
lect this branch, and articulation and pre-
nunciation should 20 with it. Ny advice
to a student would be: Take your Diction-
ary with you, for if your teacher under
stands his business you will need il and
by all means learn to spell well, that you
need not write a bad hand all your life to
hide your bad orthography.
Every shade of meaning can be expressed
by words, aided by the notifications of en-
phasis and infection. The simplest ques-
ton can thus be made to suggest great va
riety Of answers; yet child will always
emphasize correctly, and an adult can do no
more But when We come TO read or quote
the language of another, the trouble begins.
The art of reading. then. would seem TO con-
author, and adopting his words as our own.
This is not to be learned by a system of
rules, but by actual practice. A class in the
Public Schools can be readily iaEght, and
will make good critics in reading; yet
Teachers, though they may be familiar with
the theory of treatise, are apt not to read
any better on that account. once brought
package of readers into large Institute
in an adjoining county, to show them our
method of teaching The selection was a
dialogue in a familiar strain, but the exer-
else seemed to be revelation to them.
They criticised each other just as so many
school-boys might have done, and could see
the correct reading after it had been pointed
out to them; yet it seemed they could new
or Q2G .ars+a rrf- 10, u.
emphasis. Again, the art of reading might
be SAID to consist in naturalness. This
would be true il the natural manner were
always free from defects of utterance. and
adapted to the subject and the audience
But the daily reading exercise conducted in
the mode of the old Normal will teach a
correct and natural style for reading and
public speaking. free from defects Of all
kinds, besides strengthening the voice and
helping to cultivate literary taste. This
vocal culture will be further promoted in
our school. by lessons in Vocal Music by an
able Instructor, without extra charge What
= blessed thing it will be, if we can teach
students to read and sing the sweet songs OF
Zion, and to render the text of the Sacred
Volume with neatness and propriety, in the
intervals Of their severer studies Let u:
have Shakespeare and the Bible in the Nor.
NAL, the one for the study of literature. and
the other tor the life, while we revereutly
invoke Gods blessing upon both
JOSEPH j. SrurznAN.
PoLfTIcs IN THE G. A R.-Iu a recent
speech made by Gen Isaac S. Cattin at I
Camp Fire. he said Keep out OF it, fol
Gods sake, the demon of partisanship Fol
the sake of Grant and Hancock. keen n,