The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-12-31
TEACHERS EXCITED.
Final WTang1e Over PEN
sions at the Meeting Of
the State AssoCid-
tion.
MILITARY DRILL CONDEMNED
The Manual Training Fad-Election
Of officers Retirement Fund
Resolutions.
MILITARY DRILL CONDEMNED
Special to the Jersey C9tu Wears.

TRENTON, Dec. 81, 1Ss6.-The New
| Jersey State Teachers Association, after
one of the most interesting and irstruc-
tive sessions in the forty-two years of
its existence, held its last meeting in the
auditorium of the State schools yester-
day morning. The change of the annual
sessions of this body from July to De-
cember, if the attendance is any criter-
ion, is one that has met with the hearty
| approval of all the teachers.
Yesterday the attendance exceeded 800.
NJ. L. Cox, Dover, read the report of
the Committee on Educational Progress.
He advocated a printed course CT study
for perusal by parents. He claimed thai
the commencement lays of the schools
could be used to great advantage in Inn
| parting more or less instruction to par
ents. Owing to the law of 1891, peda-
gogieaI libraries will be in existence in
every county within another year. He
referred at length to the study of chill
dren, which is conducted in the State
Normal School. Included in this work
is the compilation of a child's vocabu-
larry.
The committee dep1ored the absence of
uniformity in the method of examining
and promoting pupils, and advocated the
adoption of a system uniform throughout
the State The issuing of diplomas by
counties was advocated on the ground
that such credentials are symbols of a
definite amount of training, and spur the
recipients to their best effort in after life.
Pedagogical libraries, professional So
cial circles, professional reading among
teachers and the Investigation Of educa-
tional questions were advocated. This
year. the report states, a pedagogicai
library will be established in nearly every
county in the State, and many meetings
viii be held so that the unskillful teach
ers will be benefited by frequently meet
ing the better teachers, and have oppor-
tunities to study their methods. After
teiling OF the satisfactory results of the
summer school last July at Dover, the
report the appointment of
q committee to formulate a feasible plan
Ior the establishment of a summer school
IN eacn county or Congressional dis
tricf, where pedagogical instruction ana
higher culture will be given to teachers.
The subject of military training in the
schools was discussed at great lenrtb in
the report, ard, while it was admitted
that there had been favorable results
from drills. the feature was not recon-
~%NCAt ti1C ttpbIl Sdlu, SnGHfG
teach pupils to settle differences by I'M
manitarian means instead of fostering !
warlike spirit II the physical yigor Of
the boys is to be promoted in the
schools, the committee argued that the
girls also should be considered. and that
gymnastics would produce more desir-
able results than drilling, because the
latter does not meet the physiological
demands nf tho hn1Hr 49, x-~-.-A
~fulness.
In conclusion, Prot Cox said-Let
the soldier be abroad if he viii; he
can do nothing in his age. There is
eyes OF some, perhaps Insignificant. The
schooimaster is abroad; and trust 10
him. armed with his primer, against the
soldier in full military array.
Henry r. Russell, Phi. B.. of New
York City, delivered a very instructive
and interesting address on Manual
raining Homemade Apparatus in the
He argued that pupils should be in
strueted In the use of tools. He said
rat when en-. the true value Of manual
function of the brain and muscular
movement would be more highly appre-
| clated by both parents and teachers.
During the address Prof. Russell exhib-
tied many workshop appliances made By
the pupils of the public schools in New
York n explained to the teachers how
expense.
Among the resolutions adopted was
one asking the State to approve a GER
tain style of architecture for school
houses; another requesting that the re-
quirenents for teachers, certificates is
sued by counties, be made uniform; an
summer school in each Congressional
district, and one appropriatsng S100 for
the teachers Of New Jersey. who will
attend the meeting of the National Ed
vocational Association to be held next
| summer in Milwaukee,.
When Superintendent shearer Of Eliza
beth presented the report of the Commit
| tee on Pensions, w. E.. Bissell, Principal
Of the Burnet Street School IN Newark,
threw a bomb into the carhp Of the advo-
/ cates of pensions. The report of the conn
mittee gave a detailed history of the eff
forts to secure the enactment of a law
| 5000 annually out of the State funds, and
said thai a result of the agitAtion was the
! teachers retirement fund law, passed by
! the Legislature last year.
THE law, as it now stands, is i1nper-
fect,r the report continued; s'yet 1t is the
best that could be had under existing cir
cumstances. There are many Imperfect
lions In the present law. Among the nu-
/ merous amendments which will be sub
| mitted to the incoming Legislature is one
changing the manner In Which the Board
of Trustees are formed, so that it will con-
eist Of three members Of the State Board
Of Education, three members of the State
Teachers Association and the State SUI
perintendent of Public Schools. An effort
will also be made to amend the law SO as
to extend the time for allowing teachers
to Join. and making 1t obligatory for those
becoming school eache In the future,
after q certain date. to join the Fund AS
sociation.
MI. B.eeell. after the report had been
read, stated that the State Teachers AS
sociatiQn We 70 p~snsion-grab organiza.
i teachers trying to put their hands into