Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1895-11-02
TEACHERS OF ILLINOIS
important Convention of Instruct.
ors at Elgin.
of the Nation Asked Co Send
Their Views on Vital Questions of
the DAY.. Sterling Nor
tons Views Given.

F,gin. H., Oct. 25-Second only 10 tha
National Educational association al
Denver in July, was the convention OF
instructors which met at the First Con
grebational church in this city this
morning, for the discussion of THE Re.
lation of the School Work to the Life
Work. The occasion vas the annual
meeting of the Northern Illinois Teach.
srs' association. but a national charac'
ter was lent 10 the proceedings by the
contribution of views on the subject OF
the day by educators from all parts o,
the country. Several weeks ago letters
were scattered broadcast owe the coun'
try, in which the views OF
and others connected with or interest
&c in educational problems were asked
IN the following questions: Ought the
Public School Work to BE as Helpful t.
Prospective Farmers, Mechanics, Manu-
facturers and Merchants as 1t Is Il
Those Who Will Become 'Professiona
Scholars us the Public Schoo,
Work, as 1t Is Now Mapped Out in OuI
Best School, Equally as Helpful as 8
Preparation for the Life Work TO Al
Glasses Who Accept What Is Offered?'
The replies to the first question were al
most unanimously Yes" but to the sec.
ond question the majority answered
90" making various suggestions. TIL,
replies were made public this morning
Edward Atkinson OF Boston. though
that the object of the school was to teach
children how to learn. rather than tt
give them learning upon any particular
subject. His experience had led him &c
fha xiay- that ohft1rar xFara fanuht IN
read. write, cipher, ETC., but that few
could do this In a comprehending way
after leaving school. II the one objec.
tive point of instruction had been to de.
velop the brain as the instrument Of
thinking, and the hand as the tool OF
working, there would have been less OF
this difficulty ard no reason for asking
if the chool were successful. j. Ster.
ling Morton. secretary of agriculture,
said among other things, that he was
quite convinced that the study of arith.
metic, geography and grammar was not
continued a sufficient length Of time In
the schools of many states. Rev. +. w
G~unsaulus, the well known pulpit ora.
tor and lecturer, was of the opinion that
a steady improvement was In progress
in educational methods, and that the
idea of arranging instruction exclusive.
ly for the professions would gradually
be eradicated. u. X. Brockway, sup
~erintendent Of the New York State Re-.
formatory at Elmira, New York
against whom an influential New YorA
paper waged a bitter warfare a few
months & on accoun Of his alleged
cruelty to the inmates OF that institu
ton, gave 1t as his opinion that the
principal defect of the public schools:
was superficialism, making the pupil,
deficient alike in industrial, manual anc
physical training. General Francis A
Walker. the famous political economis'
of the Boston Institute of Technology
said that nothing less than omniscienct
could organize a school course which
would be in precisely the same degre,
helpful TO every class of students. TIL,
convention was opened by an address.
by Colonel Francis w. Parker. for many
years connected with the Illinois nor
NAL school, on Education Into Citizen
ship The remainder of the session
was occupied with a discussion of Col
onel Parker's views.