The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1895-01-15
HOW no MAKE GEOGRAPHY REAL TO
PUPILS

I LIS.
Teachers in Geography often la
ment their inability to impress their
pupils with sense of reality in the
places and peoples considered in the
lessons.
Pupils read and hear about distant
places with only vague ideas that
such places exist; their conceptions
thereof being analogous to those re-
garding Aladdin and his wonderful
lamp; only passive crclance is award
ed to statements, whether of lecture
or print, by the average scholar; he
hestows but slight attention when it-
tie interest is felt, and progress is
slow, difficult, and little gratifying Ia
the teacher.
Need of power to awaken interest
and enlist sympathy is especially felt
i'll this important branch. To bring
to their minds consciousness that we
have to do with solid mountains, heav
ing oceans, leagues of veritable ter
rlt"ry, wide and strongly rushing
rivers, expansive lakes, compact cities
and Ewing, struggling, enterprising
meE and women, lis II cunsumation
devotc'lly to be wished.
1t has seemed impossible to devise
means to this end, yet it may be read
'Iy effected through rl.e power of as
/ Sucialion
We have at our command an in.
valuable agent to aid It's in convert
ing that which is so vague and shad.
owy in the minds of our pupils into
/ very tangible realities; to render con.
crete the abstract; to establish active
consciousness ofthe genuimcness of the
facts we teach, and to crystalize sepa-
rate molecules % knowledge into Il
complete and homogeneous entity, so
that the instructions acquired, instead
OF proving superficial and feeble,
shall become profound and abiding.
Lecture your scholars with the sill.
yer tongue of eloquerce, and add
theret" all the charms of pnetical fam
cy, all the grandeur of forceful de-
scrlptivc portrayal; arouse in them
enthusiasm like un Your own. and
You still fall short in your effort to
impart definite conception of the true
existence of the place described.
Tell them of the magniiicencc of
Berlin, the colossal industries of Lon
don and the strange and remarkable
peoples and customs of distant coun.
tries. Preach to them of the Ancient
Roman Empire, its irrepressible rise
and glorious development; and its
heroic achievement. its lnmentnble de-.
generation and final decay; and tell
them they may still visit the scenes of
OF all these events, and stand upon
the ground once covered by the Getty
Of Seven Hills" They will accord
taclt acquiesencc III all YOU say, as
they do to records of the miracles in
Holy Writ, simply for lack OF desire
or inclination to doubt. But YOU
have IN no degree awakened active
consciousness of the reality of any of
these places or peoples; nor are the
Rome and its inhabitants, the cav
French Emporium and its four mill.
ions of souls less unreal and remote
than the Palestine and lis people, of
twenty long centuries past.
Teach your Glasses of Russia or of
South America, and you are confront.
ed with the same in Inference to peo.
pie and place, with which they are
neither in interest or sympathy, be-
cause we have failed 10 induce q
sense of utilization with their BROTH
ers and sisters Of these lands; which
can he done only by bringing then,
into the knowledge Of, and participa-
ton in the present daily lives Of the
people the geography of whose coun.
try we are trying to teach them.
Let NJ, then, attempt this by means
which will serve in lieu of personal
experience, and az we can not on
with our pupils and show them strange
places and scenes, let us visit for
them, anG let them sec with our ewes
and hear with our ears, thus, by
proxy, establishing conjunction Of
head, heart and hand between them
aud the people Of foreign lands
Our subject being France. let MS
arrange letter supposed to be writ.
ten by some one with whom they are
acquainted, and who j., we will say.
now IN France. In this letter de-.
scribe as wildly as possible many
scenes TINT are described in their les.
son. Relate incidents MS if they acln.
ally occurred to 'hc writer, and Won
at once enlist their sympathy, and o..