The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1889-11-15
EDUCATIONAL COLUMN.

Scarlet fever has broke up the school
some at Byron.
Morrice opened its Lecture course We'd
nesday evening, Nov. 6. with Lieut.. Baker,
of Lansing. The lecture was success in
every way.
Miss Carrie Fisher opened her school in
Burns No. 1, Monday last.
Prof V. G. Lanning will have the
Knagg's Bridge school this winter term.
Miss Josie Miner closed a very successful
term of school at Knagg's Bridge We'd
nesday Nov. 6, day or two early on ac-
count of scarlet fever Miss Miner is visit
ing friends in Lansing this week.
Sec'y Mcbride and your Ed. attended the
Clinton Co. Teachers Association Saturday
last. Not much enthusiasm, nor discus
sion, nor fun, nor work, nor good time or
feeling.
Any teacher desiring set of so monthly
report cards can secure the same by send
ing cents in stamps to f. c. Smith, New
Lothrop. They are not the finest thing we
ever saw but they are for the money, try
them.
The art of being understood is an exceed
ingly important one for the teacher. The
repetition of words without knowing their
meaning, is immoral i'm its tendency. IRE
citing" has been the curse OF a hundred
generations of teachers. The doctrine that
child should commit sentences to memory
in the hope that some time in the future
the meaning of the words learned will be
apprehended is extremely hurtful. Some
body has paraphrased General Dixs famous
order, "If any man pulls down the Ameri-
can flag, shoot him on the spot" as follows:
IF anybody removes the United States
colors from the pole, enter complaint
against him at the earliest convenience, and
have him committed for trial at the next
term of the supreme court of the county"
The expression of Christ, "Are not two
sparrows sold for farthing? and one of
them shall not fall to the ground without
your Father" is ineXpressibly fOrceful, but
it has been changed as follows: ''The
feathered tribes are considered of small inn
pOrtance and yet they share the protection
of Providence" Look at the difference
Here is a story we read the other day, illus
trating this point. Two famous English
lawyers were Erslxine and Balfour. Bal
fout's style was gorgeously verbose. Frs
kine's was crisp and vigorous. Coming into
court one day, Erskine noticed that Bel
four's ankle was bandaged. why, what
is the matter ?" asked Erskine. Instead of
replying, 81 fell from gate" Balfour
answered i'm his usual roundabout manner,
IL was taking a romantic ramble in my
brothers garden" he said, "and on coming
to gate | discovered that l had TO climb
over it, by which | came in contact with the
first bar, and grazed the epidermis of my
leg, which has caused slight eXtravasation
of the blood" ''You maythank your lucky
stars" replied Erskine, ''that your brothers
gate was not as lofty as your style, for you
certainly would have broken your neck"
A teacher recently asked youngster of
twelve, ''Do you comprehend the import of
the Declaration of Independence ''Yes,
sir" he answered ''Well sir, what is it ?"
81 don't KNOW" the boy blubbered. A
young teacher asked a messenger boy in
this city, "Please enlighten me as to the
most expeditions route to take to reach the
city hall ?" ''What ?" the messenger drawled
out. The question was repeated II don't
catch on, the boy snapped out. Then the
young miss talking SaXon-English said, 81
want to get to the city hail." ''Then why
didn't yer say so fust. Git on that car and
go thar" and she got on that car and went
there.
WRITING.
The watchword of popular education i'm
its various divisions is progress.
For the last few years there has been
steady, though slow advancement, in pen
manship, or rather writing, in onr public
schools The idea that good penman is
born, not made, is false. So the idea too,
brought forwardb y the pupil, can never
learn to write well is absurd. He can learn
to write rapidly, uniformly, beautifully, as
well as he can learn to read rapidly, dis
tincily and with expression.
There is limit to improvement. The
most essential thing in teaching penman-
ship is to commence right; to insist on
proper position of the body, feet, paper,
pen, and hand. All successful teachers of
penmanship admit the fact that correct
position and easy movement lie at the
foundation of good writing. Without these
two essentials any high degree of proficiency
in this art is impossible. Stick to system,
movement, principles, and form. Some
ignore principles, but we must have some
name for parts of letters, it makes no diff
ference what we call them elements
characters marks, lines, or curves. They
are at all events fixed forms and must be
regarded as such. The tendency is to reach
beautiful penmanship by some ''royal road.n
1t is said by Father Spencer that we can
never do anything better than we know
how. What a world of meaning i'm these |
few words to the student just commencing |
to write. 1t means first to find out what |
you must do and where you must COM
mence. 1t means learn position, learn pen
holding. learn movement, or rather move |
ments and how to combine and use them. |
1t means study the principles and proper
tions of the letters, for there is where much |
deception is practiced by many teachers of
to-day.
In the study of penmanshp movement |
must receive special attention, from teaches
and pupil and be continued until control is
gained over the arm, hand and fingers.
Some teachers pretend to discard whoe-arm
the very key to ease and grace i'm
writing. When some degree of control is
gained over the arm and some proficiency
in movement Is reached, the student should
be thoroughly drilled in muscular move
ment, as one writer has said 'the move
ment of movements" But during all this
time due attention should be given To posi-