The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-10-17
HUNDREDS OF TEACHERS
ATTENDED THE ANNUAL STATE TEAOHERS' MEETING YESTERDAY

Papers Read by Various We'll Known Edu-
 cators-Section Meetings Held at United
 Church, Bosrdman School and Harmonic
 Hall-Business Meeting and Officers
 Elected-Meeting Largest Ever Held.
 Eighteen hundred school teachers took possession of the central part of the city yesterday, and as the small boys crossed the green they involunta- rily shivered and made a bee line for places of safety, from force of habit, as they saw the crowds of teachers en- tering and grouped in front of United church. This terror of the urchins was groundless, as the teachers were here on peaceful mission, to attend the annual meeting of the Connecticut State Teachers association. The number present was the largest which has ever attended the annual meeting of the association.
 Sessions were held in United church (which was the headquarters), in Unit ed church chapel, in Harmonic hall in the First M. E. church and at the Boardman Manual Training school, and about eighteen hundred teachers were present from all parts of the state.
 The sessions began at 9:30 yesterday morning. That in the United church was opened by devotional exercises by Rev. Frederick Lynch, assistant pas tor of United church President H. D. Simonds of Bridgeport called the meet ing to order, and N. L. Bishop of South Norwalk addressed the teachers on the subject of permanent organization. He explained the object of the association, which is to provide suitable anpuities for teachers who have grown old or broken down in the service, and ex- plained the development of the guild since it's inception last year.
 He said that very few who adopt ed- ucation as a business ever leave it, and the necessity for such an organization as the proposed one was obvious
 J. A. Graves of Hartford and George B. Hurd of this city also spoke of the work of the guild, explaining the pres ent membership and advising all who could to join. Guild headquarters were established in room in the church, and meeting will be held there at 11:30 to-day.
 President Simonds then introduced Merrill Edward Gates, president of Amherst college, who read a paper on Sidney Lanier, Artist and Teacher" The paper was an eloquent tribute to the life and work of the dead poet, whom the speaker compared to Long, fellow, Whittier and Emerson, and whose genius, he declared, transcended even Poes.
 MT Gates paper concluded the meet ing of the general section, and the church was given over from il o'clock until noon to the grammar school sec ton. c. w. Foote, superintendent of the city schools of South Norwalk, called the meeting to order and intro duced Dr. Edgar Dubbs Simmer, as- sistant superintendent of New York city's common schools. Dr. Simmer read a very interesting paper on Sources, Methods and Aims in the Study of the History of Education"
 At Harmonic hall the Kindergarten section was presided over by Miss Ra- chel King of New Haven. At ii o'clock in the morning a paper on '"The Influ- ence of the Kindergarten on Race De- velopment' was read by Miss Amalie Hofer editor of the Kindergarten Mag azine Chicago.
 THE AFTERNOON EXERCISES.
 At 2 o'clock the grammar school sec- tion convened at United church and was presided over by w. c. F'oote, su- perintendent of the city schools in South Norwalk. An interesting address was made by Prof Brainerd Kellogg of the Polytechnic Institute, Brooklyn, N Y., on Some Things in English Adopting it to Style" The paper was an able one and one of great value to all teachers of grammar schools. Prof. Kellogg emphasized especially the ne- cessity of paying attention to deriva- tions formed in English and in cor rectly applying them. At the concul- sion of his paper, the subject was dis cussed, the discussion being taken part in by Prof Jennings of New London, Prof. Ames of Hartford and other well known teachers.
 After the discussion of this paper had been concluded, Harry Houston, su- pervisor of penmanship in New Haven schools, gave an interesting talk on HOW 10 Iedcn NeTLlcdl WIllluS, H. Iustrated by blackboard work. MT. Houston's talk was a practical one and of great interest. He claimed that we should consider as good writing all that is easy to read and easy for the writer to write. In teaching the method of writing he said that teach CTS are too apt to place too much inn portance in the slant of the letter Slant is a matter of Individuality, and writing may be legible if it is not per- fectly vertical He said that too much time was spent in teaching what was thought to be the proper movement, and the best way to teach holding the pen is to stop teaching it. If we ask business man to select a specimen of good writing, he will select one to write easily and legibly. The subject was discussed by Prof. Graves of Hartford, ex-supervisor of writing books of New Haven, Principal Felton of Brooklyn, N. Y, No. 15 school; Principal Gunlad of East Norwalk, Principal Ames of Hartford, and MT. Atkinson. After the discussion, Prof Alfred Hudson, who has charge of the physical culture of the South Norwalk |schools gave an exhibition exercise with double Indian clubs.
 At o'clock the business meeting was held with President Simonds of the as