The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-09-02
THE PEABODY INSTITUTE


-s,inE Dai's Session, with Promise Of u
Profitable Season.
The annual Peabody Teachers Insti.
for Wheeling opened In the Y. NJ.
G. A: hail yesterday morning. The In.
structors employed, the topics consider.
ed and tho interest manifested already
give every promise Of one Of the most
and enjoyable institutes ever
held in Wheeling.
The Institute was called 10 order yes.
ut 0 a. IN. by Superintendent W.
II. Anderson, and was opened with
prayer by DR.. N. @. SchaelIer, one OF the
State Superintendent Morgan was
then introduced, md In n short talk gave
Idea OF what the work OF the 1nsti.
tute will DO. Tho work, he said, will
be different from whit has been here
tofore. 1t will DO higher work and bet.
ter work than has been done heretofore.
Superintendent Anderson asked the
teachers to remember that this was To
BIO a week Of work, and he urged them
TO pay stric. attention to all that Is done.
Lilo also announced that tho sessions
would be from 0 to l2 q. IN. and from 2
to ! p. III.
Dr.. SchaeTer, OF ku.z!owu, Pa, was
introduced, and gave livery pleasant
talk oil the object Of institute work. It
10 not the chief purpose OF an institute
10 Introduce new methods. Good work
Ia done in all schools. II M i~ngtitute
makes us Bee something new in old
methods, It has done a great good for us
all. 1t Is not the purpose OF an institute
merely TO give the teachers a good time,
though We may all have n good time.
Education is not merely methods and
devices. The teachers duty primarily
is 10 direct. II he Is not better than the
method he employs he Ia a failure in
the school room; he is not up on the
high platform OF al artist doing good
work in the achooi room.
All methods get their value from the
teacher back OF them. II this institute
does not send you hack to the school.
room better prepared to study the child
under you, il is a failure; but II it does
this, it is a success even il there is not a
method presented.
TIE WORK OF TIE TEACHER
Is not appreciated as 1t should BIO. We
ourselves are too apt to belittle 1t. The
teacher every day touches the strings OF
a harp that will vibrate throughout the
ceaseless uges OF eternity. II on earth
there's nothing great but man, and in
man thcre's nothing great but mind,
then where can there be q greater call.
ing than that Of teaching?
Dr.. Payne, Principal Of the Peabody
Normal College, OF Nashville, Tennessee,
wag next introduced, and after a few
preliminary remarks, spoke on the sub.
ject Of Teaching"
To teach is to Cause to know. Teach.
ing sometimes ends merely 10 knowing;
but i. may also end in doing. We know
such branches as geography and history,
but we not only know arithmetic; we
do it also. We must first know aud
then DO.
The ROO that We have taught ia the
pupils ability to reproduce what he has
learned. All good teaching ends in some
communication OF power where possible
the test OF knowledge should bein doing.
This is done in the recitation. The good
teacher lesds the pupil to do for himself.
Aristotle said the teacher should learn
make himself uselees. knowledge is
the firm belief OF what is true ON suli.
cient grounds. The two sources OF be.
lief that constitute knowledge are expe.
rience and testimony. No one can tell
iust when belief passes into knowledge.
Most OF our knowledge is based on testi-
mony. Our knowledge based On test.
mony comes TO us through books.
THE PRIME ART OF TIE scuooLRooM
is 10 neuist the pupil in the interpreta.
ton OF books..
After Il short recess and roll call Dr..
SchaefTer talked on the subject OF His
tory. uc began by asking the question:
What is science?
From the etypology OF the word one
would think It meant knowledge, but
all knowledge ia not science. Neither
is knowledge systematized science in
the true sense Of tie word. Science is
the knowledge Of events and their
causes, Thia 10 SCIENCE as applied TO
history. 1t is a scientific knowledge OF
history that we need; otherwise our
knowledge will be merely a statement
OF facts. There arc three stages in the
teaching Of history-introductory, text
book and advanced. Ia the introduc.
tory stage it should be taught incident.
ally, by stories, incidents, etc. History
and geography should be taught
together.
Noon having arrived the Doctor
stopped, TO take up the subject again
where he left OF.
In the afternoon, after roll call, a song
was sung, led by Miss Boasberg, Miss Eta
Roberts ut the piano, Dr.. Payne con
tinued his talk on teaching. No good
teaching ia possible without a test. We
must have an ideal. One of the finest
diGcIpllnes in a school is to take q
thought from an e4presaion, embody it
in words OF yonr own and then deliver
it. There are two schools OF teachers,
One teaches from whom all learn nearly
everything by experience, the other
from whom ve learn most from testi.
mony. The mott OF our knowledge must
SohiS 'sotb tup IulCi PtctalEUu VI UUOkS.
This does not prohibit the pupils from
making discourses for themselves.
THE GREAT BUSINESS OF THE TEACHER
Is to disseminate the wisdom OF past
age5 among tho rising generation. An.
other view ia that the teacher is 10 train
the minds Of his pupils SO that they can
re-discover these truths.
The Interpretation Of language re.
two things: First, the words must
lie significant and have . meaning
words may DO empty or full; second,
the ideas suggested by the words must
he see in their proper relations.
Thomas Hobbs said; "Wcrds are wise
mems counters and the money OF foola,"
Words come to us empty vessels,
come to US to be filled. Is it nee.
eaaary that the iull meaning OF every
word be given to the child? It is man.
ifest 1t must bs given more fully as the
child grows older.
Alter a short recess DR.. Taylor con.
his talk on history, and BY an
nntliue on the hlsct hoard ha illuqtrntoJ