The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-03

vantages to the scholastic ladies who
may wish to do little shopping in the
City, their deliberations while in session
being undisturbed.
However, it must not be for moment
thought that the fairer portion of Califor-
MAS pedagogues monopolize the meeting
Not by any means. There was a fair sprink-
ling of the tyrant man, though, to be sure,
his somber black and gray were well-nigh
ecllpsed and set at naught by the SHIN
mering sea of nodding plumes and rustling
silks.
An impalpable and indescribable atm os-
phere OF refinement pervaded the entire
assembly. Amid the participants in the
opening session yesterday morning, al
though the High School auditorium was
crowded to repletion, not an unkind or
impatient word, SO far as known, was
spoken. Men and women were there who
had grown gray in the high vocation of
forming future pillars of the Republic,
whlie there were many Others, mere
novlces IN the pedagogic art, who had
come, with pencil and notebook in hand
to learn how they might profit by the wis
dom and experience of their elders.
The spacious passageways of the High
School building were EMPOWERED in wav-
ing palms and ferns, while the feathery
foliage and blood-red berries of the pepper
tree lent grace peculiarly their own to
the enhancing scene. In the auditorium
ali the windows were banked with flowers,
the chrysanthemum, 'the star of winter"
as 1t Is sometimes called, being most con-
sp1cuous. The National colors were everv-
where. Shields, rosettes and graceful fes-
toons of red, white and blue crepe de
chine gave to the affair truly and in
tensely patriotic aspect, while Old Glory,
ctrJ
breeze above all else.
lhe tlrst part of the morning session
was consumed in the work of organizing
the meeting and making provision for the
systematic conduct of affairs. The presi-
dent, Earl Barnes of Stanford University.
displayed much ability and diplomacy in
arranging matters to every ones satisfac-
ton.
Messrs. B. P. Russell of San Jose and
K. F. Pennell of Chico acted as vice.
presidents, while Miss Anna G. Murphy of
Sacramento made an efficient secretary
with w. f. Hall of Oakland as her assist
ant.
Proceedings opened with. an able paper
on courses of Study" by j. l.. Linscott
OF Santa Cruz. The essayist stated that
some Improvement in present pedagogical
methods was imperatively demanded
Children, he maintained, should be made
to love school life, and aspire to the lows of
an intellectual existence. To this end Mr.
Llnscott contended that school children
should be introduced to the fields of inter-
esting knowledge, so that they might
make progress therein after leaving school,
They should also be trained in the tools
which they are expected later to make use
of in life, namely, reading, writing and
reckoning. So far as the lower grades were
concerned language should take prece-
dence of mathematics. The success in
later studies depends a great deal on the
study of language in the lower grades. All
work in numbers, however, should not be
excluded from the lower grades. In the
primary grades, in which number-work is
introduced, it should relate to mechanical
processes.
The speaker hoped that the paper, while
1t gave very few definite answers TO the