The morning times., 1896-09-28
ONE HOUR N 4 CLASSROOM
Last Years knowledge a Bit
D.mmed by Vacation.
Observation-Disclosures
How the Little Ones Are Recalling
Year-First Week OF the Season
Urksone for Teachers and scholars.
Rubbing-Up Process.

The first week of the new school yeal
closed Friday afternoon, and at
| O'Clock thousands OF little arms stretched
out and half as many small backs relieved
themselves OF their kinks and prepared fol-
the first two days vacation. for the be
| ginning. week OF school Ii always one oi
| tue most tiresOne In the whole year.
Lessons were under fairly .jOd headway
| before the five days were gone, however,
and when a Times reporter wished several
| OF the class ROOMS Friday be fouGd that
the pupils were rapidly growing accns-
toned TO their rene wed duties and were
becoming Interested already In their work.
A splendid attendance was noted, for SO
| early In the year In almost all OF the
| rooms.
A beginning class in history was the first
one visited by the reporter. The youngsters
had learned something about the study last
| year and the teacher was giving them
| sort OF review.
who was the third President OF the
| United States" asked tho teacher. Halt
| the pupils in the rooE. Aeld up their ha ands
A little girl with a very curly head answered
correctly.
THIS WAS A POSER.
Who was the eighth one," queried the
teacher. The hands did not 60 up Inn
| mediateiy after thts. II required little
| calculation and every face in the room
showed what was going on in the brain.
Then q goodly number OF hands assembled.
The teacher waited another instant and a
few straggiers came up one by one. some
OF them with an uncertainty that showed
that tbeir owners hoped the school mis-
tress would not strike On them Tor an an
swer for they were not quite certain.
You may answer. Edith.' said tue
teacher.
iar Hn HHN<,r
sponsc In piping voice.
Two thirds OF Lue hands went down but
the rest waved more tranucally in tue
air and the beads OF the girls shook In a
determined manner that showed they had
convictions and were going to stick to
them.
Carrie perceived the teachers nod and
answered tina. Martin Van Buren, was num-
ber eight THIS conclusion was correct and
all hands went down save one. This re-
malned up a little longer than tile others
and showed that its owner had still another
gentleman in mind than either Harrison
or Van Buren,. When she saw that she
was alone, however, sue quickly drew in
the little member.
DATE WAS TOO MUCH.
When the teacher asked who discovered
America there was not a scholar in the
room who did not raise her hand but
the date OF the discovery was asked. There
was only one girl in the room who was able
to tell the date of tue landing of the Pill
grim Fathers.
The reporter stepped across the han and
came In contact with geography class.
where the members were boys of from
twelve to fourteen years They had taken
up the study in the middle OF the book where
they left off last year. They were study
ing the Asiatic continent and lad had
just finished giving the boundary of Siberia.
What Is the capital OF China, Freddie?"
asked the teacher. Freddie had either
neglected to fix that point firmly Iii his
mind or else his idea receptacle had been
over-impressed by the sights h c sa W a few
days ago and he promptly replied: Lii
Hung Chang"
Strangely enough only half a Cozen Of
the other boys grasped the import OF the
ludicrous reply Immediately and sew
eral seconds passed before the whole school
was in laughter. Even the teacher could
WHO had created the mIrth did not seem
10 mind 1t and presently lie laughed him
self.
A LITTLE PARROT-LIKE.
As a whole the class appeared to have
learned itslesson well and the a ms wers were
generally correct and almostaiways ready
In fact this last fact was so evident that
one is led TO believe that probably the
school boy or girl OF today acquires too
much OF his kno Wedge merely 10 deliver
it by rote and that possibly it is not of the
enduring kind that comes with solid but
slow thinking.
A perceptibe feature was the general
mastery the pupils had over the hard ori.
enIai names. aud in most instances the Jaw
breakers were rolled out with marvellous
nicely and distiuctness. They always
nnE Ea NIL . f1,ar
time scholar showed an inclination to
humble his words his teacher caused him
10 repeat his answer until all of his CON-
panions could hear what he said.
An observable feature in a grammar |
class was that two of the pupils. while |
The reporter was present. in giving defini-
lions to certain elements used ungran,-
natical sentences. Whether the teacher |
did nothear all of what they said was no. |
apparent. but both OF their answers were |
correct SO far as facts were concerned, |
and the teacher went OIL to another sub |
Iect.
IDEAS OF A CIRCLE
Mamie. what is a circlee" asked the |
teacher of geometry class that had some |
hey studied arithmetic.
Mamie concluded that it was THAT
PORTION of plane bounded by curved
line, every point of which is an equal dis
arce from point within, called the
,enter.''
what is a point?" Questioned the In
'tructress. This one was not so easy |
md when the pupil of whom it as asked
ailed TO answer. there We're only q few |
lands Went up to indicate that their owners |
sne something about the answer. Three
,irls staggered at it before ole was found |
who knew the correct reply.
Define line.'
1t Is path made by point" responded
dary, to whom the question was first put
Yes, but there is"
The teacher did not have time to finish
or flaxen haired lass In the front
nswered that it was that which had
engIh, but neither breadth nor thickness.
''Do you know another answer, Ethcl?"
sked the teacher.
Ethel did. and she asserted that line |
ras the shortest distance between two
oints- Nobody seemed to dispute the sug- I
estion until the teacher asked il that was |
orrect. There were several head shakes
] the affirmative, Not all were mapping,
owevcr, and little girl with red hair !
,terposed that the last definition given |
"a 8 the one Tor straight line'' She
laced such a heavy accent on the |
straight" that some OF the others had to |
nd she smiled, too, when the teacher told
er she had answered correctly.
After this some of tie pupils went to |
he blackboard and drew circles and angles
nd triangies and explained them and re- ,
srlained them. They made segnlents, aud
res and bisectionS, and by the practical
arf,-cQ O lnh tn b. 1