Los Angeles herald., 1891-03-12

The meetings OF the County Teachers
institute continue to be attended with
unabated interest by the 500 teachers
now in the city. Yesterday mornings
session was prompt in opening in all
five sections. The High school section
had four excellent addresses: Physics,
Mr.. James ID. Graham; Algebra, Miss
Clara Lillibridge; Elementary Geom-
etry, Miss Geneveve Sharpe; Plane and
Solid Geometry, Mr.. James N. Pember-
ton. These addresses, while interesting
to teachers, would be rather dry read
ing to the general public.
In the other four sections there we've
forty minutes devoted to discussion OF
the subjects already treated upon by
the instructors yesterday. The leaders
OF the discussion were as follows:
First secton-Mrs. N. F. W. Pond,
Miss Helen E. Hunt and Miss Rose H.
Hardenberg.
Second section-Mrs. Fannie H.
Byram, Miss Mary A. Parmlee and Miss
L. M.sSnyder.
Third section-Miss Lizzie B. Moore,
Miss Allie M. Felker and Miss Carrie
Lorbeer.
Fourth section-Mr. J. H. Strine, Mr.
j. Il. West and Miss Edith M. JOY.
Prof. Alex E. Frye continued his ge
ography lessons, speaking, among other
things, of map drawing, and showing
how too much exactness was required
in the maps drawn by children. The
~lo1 he l. 81, arl
where he showed that general forms
children, were marvels of simplicity
and certainly were possible for any
child to draw. His comments on the
efforts of map drawers to delineate the
coasts of countries contained within the
Arctic regions where surveys are impos-
sible,. and where no man knows what
the coast line is, were certainlylsensible
and to the point.
The drawing lessons were continued
under the direction of Prof. Swafford.
The teachers were treated as if they
were children, and certainly acted like
them somewhat. The efforts of the la
dies to sharpen their pencils previous to
the lesson were certainly calculated to
stimulate the stationery business by
creating demand for more pencils,
and showed that however cultivated
these ladies are, they shared the ina
bility to sharpen a pencil with their
less educated sisters.
Mrs. j. Powell Rice continued her
music lessons, showing her idea OF the
use of colors in teaching the children
vocal music. A color was used to inai-
cate each note.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
After the opening of the session which
was, as usual in the main assembly
hall, the first thing on the programme
was recitation by Miss Foy, Hiawa-
watha's Wooing. The piece was rem
dered in way to bring out all the
beauties of Longfellow's beautiful poem.
Superintendent Keyes, of Riverside,
opened the main part of the programme
with an address upon Foundations of
Pedagogical Study. The address was in
Professor Keyess usual forcible, half
humorous style. He held up to ridicule
the idea that teachers could teach child
rem without special preparation, and
said that those teachers who learned to
teach by teaching, have done so at the
expense of whole school houses full of
children. He re-affirmed the statements
OF former speakers that study OF psych-
ology was a necessity for teachers, or
rather study of psychology and physi-
ology in combination. Teachers must
learn that their scholars are, first OF ALL
animals. Think of trying to make
boy good by keeping him in at recess
and depriving him of necessary sun
light, fresh air and exercise. The bad
boy needs fresh air and exercise as much
as the good boy. Methodology is studied
instead of the science of developing the
human soul.
fve-minute recess followed, and
then Miss Cora Slack read an excellent
paper upon school-room decoration,
pointing out the uses of making the
school room beautiful and the means Of
decorating the same at slight expense.
Her paper was earnest and thoughtful,
and was warmly applauded.
Next came Prof. Keyes again, with an
address upon Fundamentals of Arithme-
tic. As usual, he criticised freely the
methods CT arithmetic teaching in vogue,
and exempli6ed methods that certainly
seemed wonderfully simple to the or
dinary observer. He proved the cor
rectness of his views by putting the
in simple addition and multiplication,
wherein they proved themselves just as
deficient in speed and correctness as the
professor said they would be.
The question box developed several
questions upon Prof. Keyes's statements
in previous talks, which he answered
clearly and conciselv. There were no
other questions in the box.
Mrs. Brown, of this city, was the next
feature of the programme, with song.
She was enthusiastically applauded.
discussion of school organization
and government took up the remaining
hour of the afternoon session, intro
,duced by the following short papers and
addresses: Requisites in the Teacher,
DIR. A. w. Palmer; How to Begin, Miss
Margaret K. Scott; Means to Be En-
ployed, Mr.. G. L. Ennis; Rules, Prof.
James A. Foshay Punishments, Mr.W.
e. Bray; Discipline on the School
Grounds, Miss Janet Henderson. Among
the subjects touched upon were: The
necessity for specialists in the teaching
as we'll as other lines the need for con-
tinual study on the part of the teacher
in order to keep pace with the times;
the need OF earnestness and enthusiasm,
as we'll as preparation for the work; or
derly arrangement of lessons and recita
tions, and the need of a regular daily
programme; punishment usually un-
necessary, but should be prescribed, for