The Portland daily press., 1886-07-10

Of Nashua; c. C. Rounds of Plymouth; W. A. Rob
iii9Yn iT9YenrmontMM ii. Bucknam of Burlington; E.
Conant of Castleton; Justin Dartt OF Montpelier /;
Judah Dana of Castleton; J. nj. Hit OF North
field: o. w. Lanton OF Burlington
The other officers are:
Secretary-G. G. Church of Providence, r. l.
Assistant Secretary-Ray Greene Hullng OF
TT TTeasurer|James 9 W. Webster of Maiden,
Mass.
Councillors. W. Patterson and E. H. Rug,
giles of New Hampshire; Homer b. Sprague OF
California; j. L. Burrell, Francis Cogswell, NJ &.
Daniel, j. G. Edgerly, j. A. Hill, j.. Kneeland,
w H. Lambert, ". A. Mowry,. A. T. Marble, b;
F. Tweed, G. A. Walton and A. L. Wlnshp OF
Massachusetts; A. j. Manchester OF Rhode Is
land.
A business session was held tonight, at
which reports of the treasurer, auditing and
neurology committees were presented and
accepted. Then followed a lecture by Ed
ward Atkinson upon the Connection OF
Economic Science with Education
The address of Mr.. Edward Atkinson was
entitled "School instruction and the Labor
Question" He called attention to the fact
that after the contest between the advocates
of classical and of scientific instruction had
been determined Gf it ever should be- the
biggest part of the school problem would De
left untouched; to wit, the secondary euuca.
tion of the average boy or girl Wnat Is IL
now? What ought it to be? ;,
Referring to the labor question, he sald
that the dangerous classes in this country
are those who are either foreign born OF
the children of foreign parentage whose
families have been too poor to permit them to
remain long in the common schools. The
school itself is, perhaps, better educator
than what is taught in it, in all social mat
ters. 1t is thoroughly democratic IN us IN
fiuenceS; but in its associations and III the
opportunities which it opens 1t is antag-
onistic to Socialism or to Communism.
Referring to the census OF 1880 he pointed
out that in the census year, among those who
worked for wages, or for gain III money OF
any sort, numbering 100000, over LOO
COO were boys and girls, nearly seven pei
cent of the whole number of persons upon
whom the material welfare of this country
depended rather more than one-half occupied
in agriculture, the rest engaged In getting q
living in factories, shops or domestic service,
This happens not by the arbitrary Will OF
narents. but because as yet chlldren's wages
cannot be spared. Hence one of the greatest
pending questions is. What can we 90 Iol
children who must of necessity leave the
schools at the age of twelve, even young
er?
ters. They haven't time for accomplish
ments. They should have some appreciation
of geography, arithmetic and of the relations
Of men and women to each other IN society
the facts Of life, taught not from textbooks.
but by object lessons. Taxing geography as
called object lessons in comparative geo
graphy and comparative history, to be
taught by the mural decoration of the walls
of school rooms. He would have painted
upon the wall of every school room graph.
ical comparison of the areas of the several
States of this country and of Europe, asking
the pertinent question, How many children
leave school with any accurate ideas upon
the comparative areas OF States ana coun
tries? Upon another wall he would indicate
graphically the relative portions OF arabic
land, pasture land. mountain and timber. II
the United States. with that part WhlcI
is now occupied by the several crops
of this country; to be corrected year By
year from official reports, giving lessor
in the application of arithmetic to the
facts of life. He proposed to put upor
| another wall a graphical representation. o.
the relative burdens upon different civilized
nations-one indicating the relative burder
of the standing armies OF this country ana o.
European States; another the relatlve ta1a
tion for national purposes another the rela
tive Indebtedness of nations-remarklns
that from Martins Year Book and the Off
cial reports of the United States a whole
arithmetic might be compiled which Woult
not only serve but would call attention Il
Gut ldCtS VI Hit, do dllOLhiCtiO Jooo
actual machinery is used in the labrato riei
of the Massachusetts, Institute of Technoio
| gy. For instance, in the labratOry of thu
mechanical engineers cotton. machinery i
made use of to teach the principle OF mechan
| ical engineering not for the purpose O
| teaching the art of cotton spinning; but i
| does no harm to the student that at the ent
| of his course Ee has not only learned tn
principles of mechanical engineering, but b!
| has had impressed upon his mind the practl
cal application of these principles to one @
the leading arts So Mr. Atkinson Woult
| teach arithmetic, geography and modlcun
ports. DC documents and facts Of life IN tne wa =
fff fBfaetes HtsSst ii tie 1scSqf ST rnroughout b
statistical tables and graphical description
| of the application of his method. Th
| ground which he took was this: that the ed
ucation of man begins after the instruction
| of the common school has ended. The thing t.
| be done in the school fer the average boy, il
not to give an education but to indicate t.
| the man or woman how they may make thei
/ own work in after life serve the purposes 0
true education. Mr. Atkinson was rathe
| severe upon the so-called self-educated mel
| and the extremely practical men, remarklns
| that they generally proved to others, if not t.
| themselves. that they had been under the in
| struction of very poor masters.
| Some of the comparisons made by Mr.
| Atkinson were astounding to his hearers
| 1AS, IOl 1llobdlltC, oO bliC udbd Cdu W
| found on which comparison may be made
| the relative condition OF the United State
| and of France is this: In this country onl.
| one man in three hundred and fourteen il
| called upon for service in standing armies o.
nayies, while in France, in the state of pas
siYe war which is miscalled peace, one maj
| in thirteen is now under arms. In this coun
try taxation for the support of the Nationa
Government taxes not exceeding q to PEI
cent Of the annual product. In France i
probably takes from II to 10 per cent of thu
| much smaller product per capita of tina
country.
Mr. Atkinson referred to these matters in
cidentally, as being subjects which might bt
| carefully computed and made useful in OBJ
| ject teaching in the school hereafter in ordel
| that children may attain better comprehen
! sion of the advantages of their own country
| than they now possess.
The committee on resolutions reported /;
resolution thanking the retiring President
Hon. ]. w. Patterson, for his services.
A resolution was also adopted favorins
federal aid and recommending that an inter
State educational convention be convened
and committee be appointed to take step'
to promote national legislation in the prem
ises. The chair appointed Messrs. Carrigar
of Massachusetts, Newell of Maryland ant
Sprague of California as such committee.
Resolutions were also passed thanking E
c. Carrigan for his efforts to secure tht
passage of teachers tenure of Office bill
also thanking General Manager Tucker o.
the Maine Central railroad for courtesies
extended.
The convention then adjourned sine die