The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-08-04
THE TEACHERS MEET.
Annual Institute of King and
Kitsap Counties.
ATTENDANCE is VERY LARGE.
Miss Christina Hyatt. of the st. Louis
Normal School, Gives an Inter-
esting Paper.

The annual teachers institute of King and
kitsap counties began at the Central school
building yesterday. The gathering was much
larger than was expected, the number present
being l90 The feminine gender was predom-
ipaut, and all parts of the two counties were
represented. Professor " A. Pursey, superin-
tendent OF the King county schools, called the
meeting to order and delivered a brief i'm
promptu address of welcome. Professor o. S.
Jones brought order out OF chaos in consider
able less time than the record, ana assigned the
members of the institute to their respective
classes.
Miss Christina Hyatt, of the st. Louis Normal
school, delivered the opening lecture, on the
subject, "The Conditions Necessary for the Sue
cess OF the Teacher, Personally
The lecture was illustrated by printed black
board diagram, to make the topics more inter-
estiDg and impressive. She noted that charac-
ter in the teacher is the chief requisite, since
she is expected not only to develop it in others,
but to remodel ii as well. Books offer child
vague assistance" she said, compared to that
which comes from his teachers feelings,
for her most valuable influence comes,
not from what she teaches from books
SO much as what she shows by her life of pa
thence, kindness, forbearance and gentleness. I"
Here Miss Hyatt told OF q novel method she used
TO keep these last words constantly before her in
the school room, by spelling them backwards on
a card, so that the casual observer could not in
terpret them. Sand many time Miss Hyatt
went on, "was this little companion a magical
talisman to check cross tone or an ugly word,
where a pleasant substitute was ever so much
more effective, for the reason that it was right"
Cheerfulness was another quality that Miss
Hyatt especially recommended to the attention
of all teachers. The presence of these qualities
was sure to denote the absence OF their converse
the absence OF everything included in the de-
risive term "school marm.'
The speaker continued, emphasizing the
necessity for broad mental vision and keen per-
ception in the teacher. "The teacher must not
have acquired the knowledge she would i'm
part" she said, "but must have gone beyond it
all around it. She must have seen it in its
true relation to other facts and truths; she must
know out OF what it originated, and to what
others it will eventually lead The truth is,
none of US can ever teach all OF what We know.
There is much lost in the very act of transmits
ion itself"
Miss Hyatt said that she once spent twenty
three hours preparing, selecting, rearranging
and assimilating single piece of work. She
gave it to her class in two hours and quarter
and all they remembered they afterward repro
6uced in forty-ffve minutes. This was in spite
OF the fact that it was so interesting matter as
the life of Humboldt.
The lecture was interpolated with ex-
tracts from letters by George Rowland,
superintendent of Chicago schools; J. B.
Calkins, of Nova Scotia; Editor A. E. Win
ship Louise Parsons Hopkins, supervisor of
the Boston schools, and Mrs. Z. S. Phelps
Ward
Professor 0. S. Jones lectured on percent
age" dwelling on the Importance of thorough
ground work in fractions and decimals; and F.
]. Browne talked of "Physics." In the after
noon he reviewed the broad subject of algebra.
Today he will take Up factoring and multi
pies.
In the afternoon Professor Jones expounded
the school law. He invited attention to the
fact that the Legislature had altered the laws 30
much that it was a waste OF time to read the
code OF $780, and went on to tell briefly what
was in the statute books of 1891.
Professor w. J. Meredith told what the sen
tence is as a part of series OF lectures on
"Grammar." Then he dissected the sentence