The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1891-01-14
The Teachers Institute.

The Washington county teachers insti-
tute was held in Montpelier last week. be-
ginning Thursday morning and ending at
noon on Saturday. The day sessions were
at the Union school building, and the build
ing OF the Church of the Messiah and the
Seminary chapel were used for the evening
exercises. The registration of Thursday
showed an attendance of 1873, but during
| the following days the number Increased to
236. Taking the large attendance and the
! character OF the exercises into considera.
| ton, the institute was as whole very sue
ceSsful, and Supervisor Booth, who was
| responsible for the arrangements is to be
congratulated. In this connection it is
proper to say that the visitors were much
pleased with the generous reception and
cordial entertainment given them by the
| people of Montpelier. The only really re-
grettable feature Of the institute was the alb
sence of Superintendent Palmer who was
detained at his home by illness.
The institute was opened with prayer by
! Mr.. Booth, after which Rev. G.. w. Gal
| lagher gave the address of welcome Incl
dentally he called attention to the import
ance OF the common schools and of their be-
ing open to all, exhorting every teacher of
a public school to loyalty. Teachers are
| conservators of society; their office is dig
niied and sacred. They should make their
work profession and not makeshift. In
conclusion he called attention to the theory
| that education consists of a knowledge of
| form, number and language.
Superintendent Palmer being unable to
be present, superintendent Redmond of
Lamoille county spoke on The Scope and
Function of the Public Schools" He made
a comparison of the nineteenth century
with others in the advancement of knowi-
edge Progress is estimated by the power
of heart over head rather than the reverse
The possibilities of the little boot black were
pointed out The public school is the as.
Stimulating organ of the body polite. Christ
was teacher; all great minds in the
worlds progress have been teachers: but
the influence of the public school teacher is
unsurpassed.
Mr.. Redmond was followed by Professor
ID. l.. Maulsby of Goddard Seminary, who
spoke on " The Teachers Reward" Do
not be discouraged, said he, if the child
does not realize the necessity of cleanli.
ness, order and punctuality, for in the
graver years of manhood they will look
back and bless you. Tom Brown never
spoke his love and veneration for his
teacher until DIR. Arnold's death. But his
appreciation as pictured in the closing
chapter of Tom Browns School DAYS is
none the less sincere. Hope, for in spite of
all discourasements we shall surely receive
our reward if we are faithful to our trust
Owing to the absence of Miss Colley of
Waterbury. Superintendent Hall of Wind
ham county spoke on the subject intro
duced by Superintendent Redmond. He
y
added new thoughts. Consistency in poll.
tics is thing of the past. The election of
the author Of Peck's Bad Boy as governor
of Wisconsin by the party that complains
OF the lack of godliness in the public schools
was referred to.
Superintendent Goodhue spoke of the
pleasure the institutes afford, and to the
great interest these have awakened in the
teachers. In speaking of the new school
law he quoted Emerson's saying that " Leg
i islatiOu can not lead The state hut tla stare
must lead it.
The institute met again at half-past one
o'clock, when Superintendent Goodhue
gave very pleasing and Instructive talk on
the subject " Errors in Teaching" /" followed
by Superintendent Redmond, who spoke on
reading. MIR. Redmond said that English is
OF prime Importance. We think in words
We lack thought if we lack words Teach
children to think, to express their thoughts +"
Next on the programme was " Physi-
ology, How Best to reach It?' Supervisor
Hall discussed this subject. He said that
physiology should be taught thoroughly and
scientifically, as other subjects should he
taught.
Principal o. ID. Mathewson of Barre next
read paper on arithmetic. He said that
his purpose was to offer a few suggestions
as to the way of teaching the subject.
First, he would urge thorough training in
mental arithmetic. Pupils who have had
proper training in mental arithmetic will
make more rapid and intelligent progress in
written arithmetic than those without such
mental discipline Strive to cultivate self
reliance in the pupil Encourage, stimulate
and supplement, if necessary, his efforts.
but never supersede them. Never strive to
teach arithmetic by authority, but by dem
onstration addressed to the pupils intelli-
gence. The mental arithmetic NAV be prop.
erly continued throughout pupils school
course. In teaching mental arithmetic two
things should be arrived alto develop the
pupil's power Of calculation, and to deVelop
his analytic or reasoning faculty. In devel-
oplng the former, the questions should be
solved rapidly, without pausing for expla-
nations or analysis. Great care should be
taken IN developing the analytic faculty
that the processes do not degenerate into
the repetition of mere formula that has
been learned by "heart." Teachers need
to be reminded frequently that the power OF
the mind depends only in "A slight degree
upon memory. Mr.. Mathewson urged the
importance of mental arithmetic because he
believed more should be done to relieve pu-
pills from their bondage to written figures
Pupils who have been carefully trained in
mental arithmetic find the transition to
written work an easy one-Or, better they
perceive that the latter is but the outgrowth
of the former, and that the office of the
slate is only to aid the mind in retaining in
termediate processes and results. As TO
rules, the pupil should be taught to regard
bItul dS dllnlIdbIt expressions OF some
thing he already knew, rather than as some
thing to be memorized for their own sake.
In the higher departments of arithmetic
the chief difficulty lies in presenting TO the
pupil clear idea of the business transac-
tions in question. From the very first, the
teacher should strive to bring his pupils into
touch with actual business ideas. Would il
not be far better TO Insist upon the mastery
of few principles, supplemented by much
easy, practical work, than to go through the
book half understanding it? Pupils should
be trained to know and TO Judge of the rela-
tions of various measures. These should
be taught effectively. In conclusion Mr.
Mathewson urged his hearers to make their
work practical. Firmly fix in the mind of
the pupils the fundamental principles of
each department. In proportion as this
system shall prevail which shall give due
prominence TO the purely mental work in
arithmetic, will the studies of childhood
and youth in this branch become the true
foundation for the practice of maturer
years.
After discussion of Mr.. Mathewson's
subject, Miss Hattie ingalls, of Northheld
read very interesting paper on "The First
Three Years in the School-room" This
was followed by some answers to questions,