The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-02-14
IEAgi1ETTERs.Wl Wat:


sso,;.sd scT;is called, because it can be
! made Ito write OF sgec cord sound svibra-
stionis,y aud then, ,at ths Hill!of the; opera
I. tor, to reprod duee lem an ind e6nite mum.
berof times: u believe it never has; been
81 I put ia any special use, but IS sis only 8
curious. .toy. .illustra rating onei eiofs the many
aonderfnl properties Of electricity
almost every 8; work I Of fsart sss origi.
nally suggested tos th hesmind Of f.ihesartist
sl,ys some natural i object; the inquiry
arises Whence did I. Edison derive
shis idss 81 q machine that possesses the
almost nj ftacqlons power q. storing 5ap
sndi giving ont articnlate words Is il
the counterpart Of some object Of nature
which made the subj ectiof finvestiga:
tion TIE previous history OF an inyen-
s storS sometimes gives US g clews st the
sansWssto such questions as the foregoing:
4 sMr: Edison, ii mistake not, was born in
s. / ;asssrmnsa, mn district. He, hen, most proba:
SSSblysatte ended, during his boy hood, ansold
field school, ,a's and was taught TO spell and
read ins w Webater''s Eleme entary Spelling
sBook. These being the .possib sur.
3srou1dipga of hia outhful days, itmay be-
further poss!b that one Sof the young
@ readers, ground Eoues 81 the antiquated A.
process; furnished him . model:
Assuming this; to be true, the solution is
aeasy d and natural. N doubt his acute
!. mind could have led him TO observe that,
THE process Of mental training lSl his l.li!
iuvenile Companions were undergoing,
they were passiivsll receiving the impress.
ssions made upon them By their teacher
Now, he might raise the query. ~ by;
could IL. not construct & something Of
matter; that would be- Just IS cspstab,llee' s b,le'
sstos external Influences as these. listless,
passive pupils . As:iis we'll known mat
ter, under the. influence Of the, ,galyainllic;;
current, can be made TO assume almost
te.lke attitudes Z:
f,snoN. the preceding remarks give us
a!hint at the genesis Of this machine, its
5celeb brated sinYento does not. perhaps,
deserve al the honorathst is usually
accorded to men who ,startle the world BY
swonde ul:inyentiye genius. The fact is,
Monograph making lin somewhat
sfgurative ser ;;e, indeed, but neyerthe-
sless phonograph making still is an old
craft. Another fact worthy of Especial
notice is that, not matter, as 10 Mr..
Edison, sinvention, but the mental facnl-
i ties 81 young children were used by the
Sold smasters'' in the construction of the
original spbon nograph: should rather
5ssy the mental faculty, for the child was
1 supposed to possess only one, that is
memory. the modern inatrument
should effect such resolution in the art
/ as sossause all makers to con6ne their
smanipniasions to insensible matter its
inventor r3Would be accounted the greatest
Sbenefactor Of the age. Unfortunately
sfor the rising generation, this has not
yet been accomplished. In other words,
dropping the figure and speaking plainly,
is it not true that teachers may be occa.
J. .isionaily found who still persist in treat
4 ing their pupils IS machines, rather than
!. as intelligent beings, whose mental
yelopment is not q process of building,
shut Of growth !? This method of fteaching
-if such It may be called-is sadly prev
s alent 10 one particular department OF
primary instruction, reading. From its
Importance, sreading ought TO- rank as
ons Of the affine arts. Yet many teachers
shope tosmake proficient readers Of their
pupils By q tedious process Of lesson
getting and reciting, which, at best, can
enable them only to reproduce mechani-
cally the impressions made on their
minds. Such teachers seem to regard
child as an initiative being which is
5 true true s aud as Only an initiative being
which is acertajnly not true. Acting on
this principle, partly true, partly false,
t:ifthsYcafq5 ths learner, step bycetep; a4d
3 al such powerful steps-throngh the mazes
of the:alpha habet, then ;throught.tte misty
columns of the q ;, abs, AL the while
ssfondly believing that the pupil is actu-
ally Earning something. a careful
analysis Of this process would most prob
ably; reveal the fact that all the benefit
dsrived from It is the ability to repeat,
81 parrot like, certain soundsG:to which the
pupil has been apassfvss listener. The
feat Is accomplished by sheer force Of
memory Absolutely nothing has been
;auakensd 10 the mind except, perhaps, a
feeling Of disgust and indignation,
hon. 81. length, ,3the pupil eanrepeat by
rote the stWenty.sfx. letters and "spelp a
few little words, the teacher begins ia
sfatter himself that his labors are about
sstos Be crowned with success. Hes has
Indeed succeeded making q phono.
srsphof HE pupil