Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-03-05

ard ard S7th may be preserved.
Two inln2s seem TO be necessary for q
fair tss; Of thi. method, fiesi, that the pas
sage of Lstia given the boy when be seek
admssian TO college new to him, and sec
oBd, thst be De no. required after he is
once within the college TO 60 back to the
old method
With this aid from those whose approval
| we 81 ek, xe could enable the boy to depe cd
: upon himself; since if he stand as ali, he
mus, ..and upon his own feet. and feeling
. the strensth thst comes from standing and
walkinz, be would BOT be 20 ready to ride
over Li, college course.
Among the irst books fcr Latin s.udg--
and their name 10 .esioa-theVe is room for
one more; one that shsli neither be bur
dsnsd by ruboith nor eosied so deeply With
simplicity that the agreeable flavor is about
all that remains to 'hs pupil.
II may be thought that in this paper too
little stress has been laid upoa forms and
eos structi9u., snd lest a false impression
be left in the mind Of any teacher, will
try to .t.ts my convictions upon this point.
The old msthod seems to make forms, rules
and constructions the end Of study, whereas
. | would subordinate forms and construe-
tiors to their proper place, means to Al
end, rules Of grammar should te replaced
b. The students reasons. While | would
seek TO avoid wasting time upon that which
the pupil ls not likely TO meet with, instant
recognition Of familiar forms and consruc-
tons should be insisted upon.
The old say ssys Guess at the sense
Of this passage and then, if you are not ex-
hsusted BY the ef fort, commit to memory
the constructions by carefully looking up
.omebody's copious grammatical refer
efces, determine the mood and tense Of the
verbs"
The new way recognizes the fact that q
eoncep plion Of the force of those forms and
constructions must exist in the mind Of the
pupil before he can grasp the meaning Of
the author, and aims to teach bim to find
his own way to the suthor's thought
by well known indications. At the came
time it takes account Of the individuality
of the pupil, does not Insist upon his call
ing this an ablative of cause because the
teacher sees it so. To him it is means,
next year is may be cause, for who Of us
does not recall that with his growth has
come new light upon many a passage, and
that what appeared last year to be means
and result, has come now TO seem cause
and purpose.
The old method struggled painfully
through oue, two or three books of Caesar,
the new resds under standingly FIVE or six.
The old found ii difficult to cover so pages
| Cicero, the new gets = far clearer idea Of
$50. Thea,ld left Il eis still wsnderer,
or at best anchored in Csjetas port, The
new accompanies him to the home Of La
WINS and stands With him above the pros
trate Turnus The old sought TO fill the
boys mind with facts, the new would form
the mind and heart by placing within his
reach The key to the treasure house OF the
| Tbsr.
| This method is not well calculated for
| showing Of the pupil and makes far greater
demand upon the teacher. II, then, the
| chief concern is to avoid careful prepsr
alton for each days lesson or to have
| George or Jennie appear well where visi-
tors are present, l do not recommend this
| method.
Il is to be deplored that false economy
allows to each school so few teschers and
conse uently to each teacher so little time
| With his class. When the public shall real
ize that the personality Of the teacher con-
| tributes more TO the education Of the pupil
than his book, then will the teacher be al
lowed more time with his class.
have come to believe that the two points
to be dweit r}on in teaching Latin or
Greek are sight TRANSLATION and composition
work by such method ss Daniels, in
Latin and Prof Woodruffs ia Greek.
The sight work especially needs skiilful
| handlirg. There is always the temptation
to call upon the bright pupils Much more
ground can b. covered in this way Il is
fatal mistake. The bright boy needs little
he lp from the teacher save what he can get
from the recitation, while the dull student
| will sadly miss his share of attention, II 1t
be bestowed upon another,
Then The teacher is likely 10 help two
much Better one sentence mastered by
the pupil than page translated by the
teacler. Never do for the pupil what he
can d. for himself is maxim that all
tea chers should heed.
The most essential qualification for good
Ls,ln teschiug is enthuslssm, genuine love
for the subj act. IL any teacher tiods his
| Cesar, Cicero or Virgil distsstefui, it will
be safe to lock for the reason at bis own
door. l know OF no remedy for such
| case except faithful work upon the subj 7ct
most dissgreeable, and | have never known
| this to fail when properly administered.
| A msu who had been long accustomed to
lie Homer. | believe that the feeling
nppermost in my heart -as one of profound
pity for any person who could spend ,he
best yesrs Of his life in teaching Greek,
and develop no love for the worlds grand
est epic
| Emerson says FIR everything yoa have
missed, you have gained something else."
| IL would probably not be difficult for the
| aversge Maine teacher to realize that the
pursuit of his profession involves some
| sscrifi ,es. But il is not to what the teacher
| has lost ihst would call attention, Every
| tescher should prize his calling for the OF
| por,unities Of growth that it affords him.
| Il will be found profitable both for himself
and his classes to take up something new
each year. Such practice will be means
| of added strength and will serve to keep the
teacher in 81 mpsthy With his class.
A serious difficulty encountered by those
who would teach Latin is total lack of pro-
| fessional training. The youpg teacher
fresh from college takes his cisss and
lesros TO teach by prscticipg upon his
| pupils. Much ime would be saved aod
mistakes avoided if such teachers could,
somewher in our State, be given an oppor-
| tunity TO learn methods.
| for the cause Of educstion than by estsb-
fishing department wherein those wishing
TO teach classics could be trained in meth.
| ods by skillful iesehsr?
| Mr.. Parsons held the closest attention OF
his audience throughout. His opponents
we're ripe for discussion, which VS., to fol-
low, led by Prof. N. L. Bsssett of the
| L niversitg. It was the hour Of noon, how
ever. and the meeting vas adjourned till
afternoon. At 2 o'clock every seat in the
| room vss taken, and many stood outside
| to listen to the interesting dist ussion which
Prof. Basset, opened. Prof. Bsssett stood
s,sunchly By the old method Of teaching,
relating several anecdotes, amusing and to
the point, scoring his opponents quite eject
| usliy.
Rev. j. L. Seward spoke in favor OF the
old method. He vas followed by Mr..
Powers OF Gardiner, who supported the
views of Mr Parsons.
| Prof o. b. Drake Of the Maine Central
Institute. was also among the speakers,
The discussion closing with brief remarks
by Prof. Bssset, and Mr.. Parsons.
Methods in arithmetic Was the topic of
the next discourse of the afternoon deliv-
cred by G. | Aldfich. superintendent of
schools At Nevton, Mas. Mr.. Aldrich
t.poke OF the care that should be taken in
adopting new ideas, relating story of the
boz who said, "It you pour new ideas into
old men '.will bust EN- >
He thought arithmetic vas given TO much
time IN tue schools; too much attention was
given drilling scholars over long snd in
possabie ex IMPLIES in long division when
thu pupil nsd better be studying the prin-
cipsis of percentage and business calculs-
tons. The teacher should have clear
!. conception Of the results to be brought
about in directing the attention Of scholar
IN the different lines not give out lessons
lin subtraction because il is the next IN the