The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-09-02


teachers institute. If there IS any diff
ference the interest was better and the
attendance larger, When 9 o'clock came
the han was well filled and all were ready
for business annie Laurie" was sung,
the roll was called, after which superin-
tendent Anderson announced that those
wishing to attend the high school are to
meet at the Y. NJ, C. A. hall next Mon
dial morning at . o'clock, and those who
cannot come are requested TO send their
names and the class TO which they be-
long. He also spoke of the text book
fight occurring at the board OF education
Tuesday night He said that the text
books are OF little Importance compared
with the teacher that handles them. Any
text book Is a dead thing In the hands OF
a live teacher and no text book can COM
pensate for the lack of ability In the
teacher.
He introduced Miss Bucklee, who con-
tinued her talk on language speaking
particularly of the motives that induce
children to use language. After hasty
review OF what she said yesterday, she
continued by saying that everybody likes
to tell something new, Yesterdays paper
will not do for to-day; the morning paper
will not do for the evening OF the same
day.
As a great deal can be gotten from the
children In the shape of language by get
ting them to tell something new, In all
our teaching. attention should be paid TO
language, although II may be subordi-
nate Never give anything for the sake
of the language alone, but more for the
thought contained. Under guided prac-
tice In language, she noticed the aim.
We should have four things In mind, viz,
fluency, conclseness, a vocabulary and
correctness, both grammatical and
rhetorical. What does fluency mean? It
is that fullness Of expression that brings
out the whole truth. 1t Is completeness
Of expression, II should come first or It
may never come at all, 1t Is not nearly
so bad to make a mistake In grammar
as II Is to fail to make plain what you
mean. Fluency is not the relating OF
facts, but the bringing out of much
thought II the child has not much TO
say, II is the business of the teacher to
furnish the material to give food for
thought There Is no such thing as pow
NANs VI AllNhkHAt WITCH lllElN 10 81 llAANAA
food for 1t. When the fuency Is secured,
It is then very easy 10 trim down the
language to cnnciseness. We fail TO pre-
pare our pupils for business, unless we
teach them conciseness of expression. 1t
Is no wonder that the boy after hearing
the long wnded expressions often given
In the school room that he gives vent to
his feeling in such slang as rats" etc.
The talk was greatly enjoyed
After singing Flow Gently Sweet
Alton" Miss Chapman was introduced.
She first called attention to the exhibit Of
drawing In the reading room. II consists
of samples brought by her from the
schools Of Joliet Illinois. 1t Is from the
regular daily work OF the schools. Miss
Chapman in answer to a question as to
the size of the city Of Joliet, said 10000,
|. Q. about the size Of the city OF Wheel
ing. She has been supervisor of draw
Ing for five years, every month In the
year every week in the month, every day
in the week, and she considers that they
are merely started In the great work.
She was very much surprised 10 find,
that we had only had a supervisor one
week In the month for two years, and
that now there was talk OF stopping even
that. She made the assertion that the
teachers were considered geniuses, or the
subject Of drawing was not held In very
high esteem In our city Her lesson was
drawing of objects at distance. A cot
tage was sketched, and then the teachers
were all requested to bring a drawing
with them on tomorrow.
After a recess Of fifteen minutes and
the singing OF America, Prof Black con-
tinued the subject Of Arithmetic, DWELL
ing on decimal fractions In
particular. Decimal fractions should be
taught in their relations TO common frac-
tons The greatest difficulty In the
study Of declmals is writing them, and
the greatest stumbling block In the writ
ing, Is the little decimal point. He gave
an interesting method Of having the
pupils find out where the point should
be placed. There are two points In the
writing OF declmals. First, placing the
point; second. filling vacant places. He
made the point that no incorrect express
sion should be placed before the pupil
until he IS able 10 know the right from
the wrong. False syntaX should be used
only in the higher classes. The child
should never be required to write decl-
NAL until 1t has a true picture Of 1t In the
mind He showed how to impress upon
the child the various operations in decl-
nal fractions, |. e., changing from decl-
mails to common fractions, and from
common fractions to decImals. Mr..
Blacks talk was plain and practical
throughout, and was greatly enjoyed by
all.
In the afternoon the institute was
opened promptly by singing Swansea
Market" The roll was called, after which
another song was sung. Prof. Black be-
gan by saying that he would take for his
text this afternoon the query propounded
yesterday. "Whnt Is back OF the motive"
Taking as our starting point the doing,
let us reason from the doing of the act
back TO the motive. The child does the
act because he wills 10 do It. He Wills to
do II because he feels like II, he feels like
II because an impression has been made
upon him through his senses. He has
seen, heard. felt smellcd or tasted some
thing that has caused him to feel like do
ing the act done. If we can control the
emotions there Is no trouble In governing
the pupil. All emotions should be allow
ed to work themselves out; whether they
bc good or bad II Ia the province Of the
teacher to strive to cultivate pure emo
tons. The stFeagest emotions we have
to contend with In the school room are
Jealousy anger, pride, fear love, ambl.
ton, selnshncs8, spite, dcccltfulncss &c.
We ought to train our children so that
they lose their self consciousness, no that
they will be Themselves We should then
try to cultivate the best emotions Tho
emotional state In which the child Is In, Is
back Of the motive,
A auartpttc consisting Of Mcgsrs.
Black and Hammond ana Mlgs'a Robin
sun and Wlnchcr sang "Swancc River"
In manner that called forth loud up.
plduHc. Miss Chapman spent the time
until recess with a lesspn In drawing She
skctchot landscape IN the board, In
which were trees, q house, Sc, the lclch-'