St. Paul daily globe., 1896-03-15

| dlVldual mind. On every hand are
partial incompetents who have been
educated in the schools. No one
| realizes this more fully than the men
and women who engage in the work,
they having partially reached con-
sclousness. The schools are now about
at the halfway point between the
time when reading, writing and spell
ing were torn apart, and taught sep
arately, and the day when each thing
VIII be taught in its relations. One
time the child was whipped because
he didn't have his spelling lesson. was
trowned upon in the isolated reading
CLASS Where the sipg-song habit of
Word-calilng was forever fastened
upon him. while inn another hour he
was burdened with the mere mechan-
les or writing, WHICH last-named ac-
complishment he was to use later on
In writing compositions on The
Pleasures of Anticipation and like
SUBJECTS, all carefully removed from
any experience or knowledge of fact.
is 1t any wonder that the girl went
! nome with headache, while the more
courageous boy ran away? In bright
contrast, these three subjects are now
unified in the writing lesson. Our
seVen-year-olds are writing sentences
about things which they have investi-
gated, and then reading their own
stories with natural expression, correct
! Spelllng being an incident in the proc
ess OF handling ideas. Through your
generous recognition these same chill
dren are today reading their own stor-
les in the little printed leaflets recently
distributed. Somehow these little les
sons have charm which l cannot de-
hne, but Which is never found in the
ordinary reader; the breath of life has
touched them and they tempt the chill
uren 10 read. Here the thought sug-
gests itself that in.the further develop
ment or the newspaper, fresh material.
specially adapted for use in the
schools. may be delivered at the school
| mouse every morning
10 show the tendency of the day
ana hour in school work let me call up
| suggestions given to the teachers in
our october grade meetings. The SUBJ
Ject chosen was The Commerce of the
Great Lakes which subject presented
itself In connection with the deep wa
| terWay convention then in session at
Cleveland. Not only is history taughf
as such in all grades, but important
current events receive attention. Chill
ofen come to know, through attention
IN the schools, of the Chickamauga Gel
ebration and the Atlanta exposition.
They are not left in ignorance of the
Venezuelan difficulty and the Arme-
man troubles. This is among the elder
dents message did not escape inquiry.
Pupils should be trained to use the
| daily newspapers.
1.-The commerce Of the great lakes
| was selected because a deep water
way to the sea is of great Importance
and wide interest. 1t was opportune
inasmuch as it was in the public eye at
the time. The papers and magazines
| offered articles and illustrations and
1t was therefore economical for the
| schools to take advantage of this ma
terial while at command.
This subject of the lake commerce
should be handled as the center about
which many things group themselves
in their natural relation. The teach
ing of unrelated facts makes of the
school burden to children, and to the
teachers almost unbearable drudgery
| When organization brings these same
| facts into vital relation the scene
changes, school becoming delightful
| employment for both teacher and child
| The great lakes are a natural unit, be-
ing one of the most important features
of the continent. Their geography must
| be learned and so pupils are led to
make maps showing their location and
| outline. Detroit, Buffalo, Cleveland
Duluth, Milwaukee and Chicago are
grouped as lake cities and studied in
their several relations to this great
commercial highway. Contrast memor-
| izing a few cold facts about Cleveland
in connection with study of the ar
! bitrary, or civic, division called Ohio
as against seeing this important port
in it's wonderful relations to the min
eral wealth of the northern peninsula
and the coal fields and iron mills of
Ohio and Pennsylvania. The lines Of
| freight vessels making for Cleveland
| and Ashtabula with their cargoes Of
inRnT11ino t1-ai iIocs
| from Pittsburg with the coal supply for
Duluth and Chicago make of Cleveland
a center of real interest; it is a picture
of the moving commerce and holds the
| children.
"In this same connection there was
| suggested study of the Sault Ste
| Marie, with its expensive canals and
locks, having tonnage double that of
| the SueZ canal. Further, this geogra-
| ply work leads into a consideration
| of the Lake Superior mineral region,
with it's mines,i shipping ports, ore
decks, etc, as well as some inquiries
into the manufacture and use of this
great output of ore. 9i
''This subject can scarcely be studied
without directing attention to the YES
sells used, their character, carrying ca
| pacity and the like. The large whale
| backs, with their various cargoes, and
| the passenger boats, with their living
| freight, all take on new interest
| Where are these boats going, how far
is it, how long will it take them, what
do they carry, what do they charge?
These and a score of other questions
suggest themselves. lit should be I'M
| derstood with reference to this that the
children consult books and people I'M
til in some instances the teachers are
overrun with the materials brought i'll
by the children from day to day.
rt yxyI,Q IN
tereSted. They are so happy when an
opportunity to do something presents
itself; like ourselves they are enam-
ored of action,
'"The story of Robert Fulton and his
steamboat was suggested in this con-
nection, also the wonderful tale of La
Sale and his voyage to Green Bay on
the Griffin" in 1879. By contrast,
these accounts help to a true knoWl
edge of the vessels of today. History
charms when related to the present.
Here the opportunity comes to have
the children write; here is something
they know, in fact. 1t is a pleasure to
write when one has something to tell,
and children are no exception to the
rule. School compositions are no long
er q grievouS burden"
Much has been written and said in
Detroit concerning the carrying out of
Miss Coffin's ideas. She has been crit
| icised by the press for certain imper-
! fections appearing in the folders, and
has retaliated by saying: "If the arith-
metic problems had been Supt. Robin
sons, they would have been literary
crime. If they had been Miss Collins
problems, the offense would have been
equally heinous. But, being the teach
ers' problems, they were the product
of the educatiopal system long in
| vogue in Detroit ,and elsewhere.