Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1895-12-12
IOWA COUNTY TEACHERS MEET

AAO hloo hoOcibS Va ChC lOWh
County Teachers convention was held
at Dodgeville, on Saturday last. 1t
was well attended by teachers from
Cobb, Dodgeville and this city, as we'll
as by teachers from the county at
large. The convention is the result of
the proposal made by Supt. Jolley,
during the institute of October last,
for an organization of the teachers of
this county, for mutual benefit and
association. The success of this first
meeting shows that such plan meets
with hearty approval and support of
the teachers from all parts of the
county.
The meeting was called to order by
Mr.. Jolley, and the permanent organ
ization effected, with Mr.. Jolley, as
president; Miss Livingston, of Dodge
vile, vice president; and Miss Jones,
of the same city, secretary and
treasurer. Mineral Point was decided
upon as the place of next meeting, on
the first Saturday of February. The
topics selected for discussion at this
first meeting were: geography, physics,
and current events. Papers upon the
first were furnished by Miss Jones and
Miss Malroy, Of Dodgeville, and Mr.
w. J. Hammill, of this city. The
trend of all three papers was toward a
wide use Of obseryational work in the
study of that subject.
Miss Jones gave very profitable
and suggestive paper upon the teach
ing of pupils to observe more closely
the great nature element water--in
all its forms, solid, liquid or vapor.
From this they could more easily
understand its properties and char
acteristicts and appreciate how great a
factor it is In modulating and modify
ing the earth's surface, and how
essential it Is for mans welfare.
Miss Malroy's paper was a discus
sion of soils. The class in geography
needs only to be taken to railroad
cut to have their eyes opened to what
soils really are. There they can see
the top layer Of dark silts, then the
coarser. brown soil, and graduation TO
the solid rock further down. Thus the
child sees and understands how soils
are formed by the disintegration of
rock, and how the darker or upper soil
Is the true soil colored by decaying
vegetable matter. Then the children
could be brought to appreciate it more
fully, by the planting of seed and
and having the plant watched care
fully, and conclusions drawn as to the !
treatment of the soil by vegetation.
In all, the paper was suggestive and
valuable one.
Mr. Hammill's paper was one upon
field work In geography. The sub
stance Of 1t was, that since geography
is an observational science it should
use the same methods as geology,
zoology, botony, and engineering;
namely, more field work. This work
was not to substitute the class room
work but merely to supplement and
explain it, One hour week with the
class in the field, during the agreeable
months of the year, would do much to
interest the pupil in the world around
them, and place some animation in
the dry facts of the text book. The
paper went some what more into
detail rs to the topics which could be
best illustrated The writer thinking
that this locality was surpassed by no
other in facilities for excellent work in
this department,
The papers brought forward some
discussion from Prof. Schuster, of
Dodgeville, and other teachers of that
city. On the whole, suggestions were
we'll received. AS the papers were
only Introductory in their nature, it
was decided to continue the subject at
the next meeting.
The discussion by Mr.. ,Iolley was
upon the subject Of physics, with the
use of some experiments in specific
gravity, pendulum and the pulleys.
The interesting experiments were Of
particular value t. show how an
ingenious teacher with the use of a
few tools can make apparatus to fit a
physical laboratory with all the
struments necessary tn axplain and