St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-12-11
vG-very Good. Good. Pair P


The V. g.. department indicates at
tention while at school.
The five absent marks could make lit
tie or no difference i'll recitations. The G
and V. &. in science ~ implies knowi-
edge of words and language.
am at loss to understand how
pnpil can be ''P" in all the necessary
branches and "G'' in the nonessential.
l know that her composition last
month was copied verbatim from one
placed in her hands by her teacher, and
that one copied, by an older pupil, from
the encyclopedia.
Today l have a specimen of the work
in arithmetic. My child tells me she
has taken $40 steps from the school
house TO our home, and each step is 10
feet; required the distance in feet from
the school house to our home. The
child did not know until told her that
she should multiply $40 by rs; and,
after telling her this, she fails TO secure
the correct result, making a mistake in
multiplying by g. After three attempts
she has to be prompted.
Illustration of her work: q $40 di-
vided by 3 -1725 X2= 35T.
When a child reaches the age of thlr-
teen, and cannot divide $40 by Tor into
3s) 60 there must be something wrong
somewhere.
If the child is slow or dull In certain
| things she should be Instructed in those
| topics, even at the sacrifice of science,
| geometry aud German.
AS common people we desire common
| schools for our common children. Yet
| we are paying nearly $1,000 per year
that our children may be robbed of val
liable time; time devoted to torturlng
! insects and reptiles. that should be used
| in acquiring useful education.
| | have no wish to criticise teachers or
| methods. / state facts that are known
| to many parents, patrons of the public
| schools. One other illustration: A
| pupil in the Fifth grade does not read
| for eight consecutive days; complaint
Is made to the principal of the school /;
the next day the child comes home
overjoyed:
"Oh, papa, read today"
"How mnch?"
Two and one-half lines"
| j. p. Monroe, IN the Educational Re
view, says: "Given the tools of read
ing, writing and figuring, the good
| teacher will make these serve every
purpose of primary education" BE.
yond giving him the tools of knowledge
the primary teacher can do little toward
increasing the child'S stock of infOrma-
ton. That will come to him outside
the school ROOM"
"a hasty clutching at many things is
easier and pleasanter for teacher and
pupil than thorough mastery of one
topic"
1t is pleasanter for the teacher to
watch the cricket and the snail than tC
teach the dull pupil to read and write
1t is easier for the pupil to copy from
the blackboard the description written
by the teacher than to solve problems
or learn lesson in history. E. B. Ed
wards, of Brown university, says: Too
much information in detail confuses the
mind A little knowledge we'll grouped
aud ordered is the ideal education
The American of today is inclined to
follow "fads." This can do little harn
when it comes in the line of natural
things, but when our children are sacri
feed that some professor of science ma!
ride his hobby, when our TEACHERS art
amused and Instructed, instead of beinl
employed in teaching what will be use
full to the children, it is time to call
halt.
lessons in Science" by Prof. Scot
in "School Education" furnishes de
lightful review for those who have
years ago, passed from the university