The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-04-14
Professor Millard's Paper Be-
fore County Teachers
THE ASSOCIATION MEETING
The Hutchison-K Reyes War Again in
Evidence
Several Addresses on Educational r1atters
of Timely Interest to
Teachers

The Los Angeles County Educational
association met at the high school yester-
day at 10 am.
The mutterings of the wordy war that
has been going on between the secretary,
Edward Hutchinson. and President Reyes
OF Throop university were still distinctly
audible. Mr.. Hutchinson read as part of
the minutes statement of the contest at
the last meeting. He quoted hi S former
report of Mr.. Reyes remarks and the adj
ditional phrase which the latter had asked
o have inserted. He also gave in SUBJ
stance the debate between Mr.. Keyes an d
himself. Mr.. Reyes was not present at
Yesterdays session, but the insertion of
The debate was resented by the delegates
from Throop.
Professor A. N. Hamilton moved that
all mention of the debate be omitted from
the minutes. He also objected to the
stat sment that the session had been the
stormiest ever held by the association.
Mr.. Hutchinson did not object to the
omission of either statement, but he did
object to the constant use of the word
correction" in regard to those state
ments and in all other matters of opinion.
Mrs. +. s. Burt of Pasadena read
paper on the subject Do Primary Teach
ers Make Errors in Keeping Pupils Too
Still? She argued that compulsory still
ness is unnatural to small children, that
they cannot develop physically or mental
ly in such position. She read number
of letters from teachers in ali parts of the
United States. The majority were OPP
posed to the work which required too
much stiffness of small pupils.
Mrs. F. II. Byram OF Los Angeles read
paper on vertical script. She believed
that the system OF oblique writing was
;pi in, al r,ct 1n,au Tho
sary twisting and turning III seats, caused
in the main by the oblique writing re-
suited in many physical ailments, among
which spinal curvature was not the least.
A great many European and American
cities had already adopted the vertical
hoped that it would be universally
adopted.
Professor j. B. Willard of Los Angeles
read a remarkably excellent paper on Who
Are Detectives.
He said: Child study presents itself
in almost endless phases. whether you
regard the material to be studied. the
method by which the subject is to be APP
preached, its subdivisions, or the differ
entiation of the various topics into which
the subject naturally divides itself. The
subject of the inquiry is infinitely com
pick. and am almost forced to believe
that the results OF the study, not infre-
quenty, is to confuse the mind rather
than to make any permanent impression
upon it, Material certainly is at hand
and an urgent need of more reliable
knowledge of the child is urging us for
ward, but the difficulty seems to arise in
extending the observation over suffi Gent
held to warrant the general truth of the
result-the obtaining of reliable data to
make that result trustworthy.
have faithfully endeayore to arrive at
some conclusion in regard to defective
children, but the very magnitude of the
subject was discouraging from the start.
Every child is proper object of study
under this subdivision, because all are
defective to greater or less extent All
mental, physical and moral qualities can
be spoken of only in relative terms.
Qualifying words only have force as they
are used in comparative forms, and so
children are good or bad. weak or strong
only in comparative sense. A pupils
power to receive truth, to perform labor,
TO cheerfully subject himself to discipline
or to perform the various duties of school
life only appears great as that of his fell
lows appears less. IL, then. any classified
ton is to be made standard of grada-
ton must first be obtained by which all
must stand or fall.
This is absolutely impossible A per-
feet child is myth, dwelling only in the
realm of the teachers Imagination, re-
ficcting forth such lights and shadows,
SUcu dttTlDuteS Vi grace ana peTIeCtlOn as
each teacher has used in clothing his
separate ideals. Every teacher has, or
should have, his ideal of perfect child,
and his professional work consists in
bringing his pupils so far as he is able to
his standard of success.
Surely, all opinions of defective children
will vary greatly, and perhaps no cassiti
cation can be of any permanent value. ex
cept when defects are of such marked
nature as to require an entire change of
methods of instruction and environ
mcilts Such discussion could not be
expected in q paper like this. neither do
the needs of our schools require it.
The inability of a pupil to do fairly
we'll in his class would indicate defect
somewhere in his mental, physical or
nervous nature, and it is the business OF
his teacher. with all patience, to dis
cover the defects and apply the remedy
In the child study that | have made, ali
some single line of work and classify
those that manifest the greatest defects
on the one hand and those that show the
highest skill on the other, and by some
system of comparison endeavor to deter
mine the causes by which this great
difference was brought about.
The fifty best spoilers in the first eight
grades nearly an equal number being
taken from each grade, were compared
with the fifty poorest spoilers taken in
the same way with the following results
Fifty poorest Fifty best
Subjects. spoilers. spoilers.
Average age .......... IL years IL year
Pes cent having eye