The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-06-21
THE TRAINING SCHOOL.
Supt. Ballet of Springfield Gives the
Address.

The Child and His Training Discussed
Observation-Disclosures of the
Sch DOL.
The graduating exercises of the Port
land Training School for teachers oc-
CURED last evening in the assembly hall
of the High School. The stage was pref
tily decorated with palms, ferns and
flowers. A large audience were assem-
bled. Mr.. VIM. H. Brownson of the
school committee presided. Mr. George
Allan of the committee was also present.
| Mr.. Brownson introduced Mr.. Thomas
M. Ballet, superintendent of schools
at Springfield, Mass, as the speaker of
the evening.
Mr.. Ballet, after speaking briefly of
the value of a training school, went to
his subject for the evening, 1.-THE Edu-
cation of the Heart and Feelings" Feel
ing is the root of our whole psychic life
and it is also the root of intellect and
will. This being true, primary education
ought to aim at the child's heart.
kindergarten systems ought to reach the
oh1ld's whole emotional life. Interest
is one of the most important forms of
feeling. You teachers know that intel
lectual progress is conditioned on inter-
est, which is a form of feeling. Better
for child to leave school ignorant of
subject provided he is filled with a
desire to learn, than to have him leave
school SO filled with his subject that he
will put his books away in the garnet.
| 1t is impossible to interest scholars if
they have only one set of readers, one
series of arithmetics, etc. In Portland and
other progressive cities the, text books
are now diversified, and teachers are
not compelled to depend on the old series
of readers, or series of Biographies.
The text books of the old system were
lntrlnsically dull, and many otherwise
promising youths were expelled from
school because the books were not inter
esting. The soul must be fired with in
terest before the intellect can be trained.
| The emotions in children are not i'm
planted from the beginning, but are de-
veloped as years go on. Affection, love
in the highest sense, are developed
through years
| All this indicates that there is vast
significance to us as teachers in the study
OF the child's emotional nature. Even
more progress is to come from this study.
| than that from the intellect and the
will
| The selfish impulses of character develop
flrst, and are natural to children. Grad
ually the unselfish impulses develop,
and under proper training overcame
the selfish impulses The time of CON
f1ict between the two kinds of impulses
is very important for the child, for if the
selfish impulses remain masters of the
tield, the whole future moral life will be
warped. Feelings develope by exercise.
Gratitude is not developed in child S
heart by proving that he ought to graft
tude. The oftener the child feels grateful
the stronger the feeling of gratitude
grows. Exercise strengthens and makes
perfect. just as we train the intellect
by drilling it in school, SO the feelings
may be drilled Everytime you lose your
temper you make it easier to lose it
again. Every time you entertain feel
ing, it is easier to entertain it again. In
this way, according as we entertain
kindly or unkindly feeling, we develop
character Character developed in this
way is engraved on the very features of
the countenance and structure of the
body.
Art interprets concretely the moral life.
Homer made the soldiers who fought
the battles of Greece. An abstract trea
tise on yalor would never have done for
the youth of Greece what the poem did
when it presented the heroes in living.
concrete, pictorial form.
In the schools the children must be
taught in way to awaken the emotions
History, paternalism and literature. NAV
be taught in a way to arouse the enthu-
siasm of the scholars. But the teacher
must have fine feelings and deep sensibil-
ities
Speaking of literature, Mr. Ballet CON
demned the too scientific teaching of
literature, which KILLED the spirit of the
whole in favor of q technical dissection of
the text He knew of one school where
even the Lords Prayer was parsed. La
tin and Greek ought to be taught in a
way to get at the spirit of literature
MT. Ballet then proceeded to consider
psychologically certain specific features
OF the human character; and the proper
treatment of these features in the educa-
tion of the child.
Mr.. Brownson briefly addressed the
graduates of the school, and presented
the diplomas. The graduates number
nVe: Misses Edith Florence Delano
Annie Wilson Doughty, Trulette Poor
Parsons, Mabel Skillins and Clara
Blanchard Smart
"A vote OF thanks was extended to the
speaker of the evening.