Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-09-27

Clearness.
 Harmony.
 Energy.
 Figures of rhetoric
 Smile.
 Metaphor.
 Personifcation.
 Allegory.
 DRAWING.
 Construction, representation, decoration.
 PROMOTION FROM GRADE TO GRADE.
 The annual promotions from grade to grade depend upon the results of written review examinations held near the close of every term. Pupils of Grade I and all grades above take these examinations. This plan is not entirely satisfactory, Teachers in every grade find that pupils are sent to their rooms who are not fitted for the grade. The system of written ex- aminations is in part to blame for this. No set of questions can be prepared which will fairly test the qualifications of u pupil for advancement The object in giving these examinations Is not simply to determine the promotions but to ascer- tain the progress of the pupils in every part of their school work, but it Is not possible to cover all this ground within the necessary limits of these term examina- tions.
 The persistent urgency of some parents that their children be promoted, especially when nearly up to the passing mark, is very hard to resist. Teachers are dis posed to look favorably upon such pupils and to hope they may do better In the next grade.
 Sometimes pupils who do their work well in one grade are not mature enough | to succeed in advanced studies. What can be done to remedy this state of thingsy Theoretically the best plan would he to do away with these examinations and let the promotion depend entirely upon the judgment of the teacher who has had the pupils under her close supervision for a year and who certainly knows better than any few examinations can determine what are their qualifications for higher grade This plan has been tried here and in prac- tice does not work satisfactorily. Parents of pupils who were not promoted are of tended with the teacher and complain bit terly of partiality towards those children ! who are advanced. The teacher has no defense against this charge except her own statements which the aggrieved parent will not receive.
 If there arc written examinations a parent can be easily convinced by looking over the papers of the child. The written examinations are looked upon by the pnpils also, as n fair test.
 l Another plan was that the teacher should select the best scholars of the class for pro motion and require the examination of the rest. In this case. also. a like charge of partinlity was brought against the teacher. The teachers themselves prefer the written examinations for their own protection. | Another plan was to have eight written examinations during the year. This was tried two years. It was found to be ex- ceedingly burdensome, as it required every teacher to correct about ], 2,OOO papers in year. This had to be done out of school hours, and was so exhausting that 1t seriously impaired the efficiency of the teachers for their regular work.
 In every room the subjects in which pupils are found most deficient are some of the simpler principles of arithmetic, elementary grammer, reading and writing. They may have been very well taught, very good scholars and very successful in lower grade, but are not mature enough to remember what they have studied the previous year, therefore ire quent drills and reviews of the important subjects of former years must be con. tinued in every grade. It is difficult to obtain time for this. Every teacher feels that the regular work of her own grade, together with that called for by special teachers, is us much as she can attend to
 But the greatest hindrance to the pro gress of pupils Is found in influences out side of the school and beyond its control.
 wequote the following from the report of last year:
 Irregular attendance, the influence oi the street, of entertainments, of places Oi amusement, some of them quite harmless
 in themselves are potent to draw children away from study. Teachers earnestly complain of all this, and affirm that chil dren do not study at home, and very little
 in school when their minds are excited by
 these outside attractions. School authori
 ties have very little control here. Parent:
 are at fault"
 Teachers often report that matters out
 side of school hours sadly distract the at
 tention of the pupils. For weeks together
 the party, the picnic, the entertainments , the fair, the sociable are looked forward t' , fill the minds of the pupils to the exclu
 sion of school work, and the school is O ! secondary importance. Your childreI cannot advance in their education, the,
 cannot be fitted for promotion, they can
 not form good habits of study with thi
 whirl and excitement of outside attrac
 tions.
 Teachers not infrequently report tha 20, 50 and even 70 per cent. of their classe . for weeks together lose interest in schoo ' because of these things. In addition C ? these the weariness and fatigue caused b , late hours make pupils physically unabl ! to accomplish their school work. If ever. . parent would regard it of the utmost i'm , portance that the school should rank frs
 and these other things should not be a . lowed to encroach at all upon it ther
 would be far less comlaint of poor scholar ship and unfit promotions. i It sometimes happens that pupil is yer . we'll qualified for promotion except in on
 study. Shall he be held back for this sir
 gle deficiency or promoted on his othe studiess Which course would be bette | for the school, which would be better fo 6 the education of the pupils It is one ( the evils of the graded system that 1t dos not provide for such a case as this. n It Is claimed that by making promotion
 two or three times year and by advan II ing pupils in one or more studies an d keeping them back in others, all sue c cases can be provided for. This in mea
 ure does away with the graded systel and requires a much larger teachiug fore This whole subject of promotion h.