The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-04-23
WORK OF GRADED SCHOOL
WHAT A VISIT TO THIS PROGRES
S,VE SCHOOL TEACHES.

Marvellous to See Children, Who a
Year Ago Did Not Know A.
phabet Reading Tables.
Yesterday in response to an invitation
from Superintendent Howell, quite a
number of friends and parents visitea
the Centennial Graded School and saw
the work as it is carried on in that pro-
sressive school. In every room was some
thing of interest, and no speclal pro-
c-ramme could have been more entertain
ing than the usual work OF the school,
which the visitors saw yesterday.
Each teacher also had specimens OF work
done by pupils In every study: Spelling.
cOmpositiOn, literature, arithmetic, gram
mar. hisfor, ography, botany, min
eralogy,
The W.; throughout the whole
schc,7 lere has been a great
inn, the adoption Of YER
ticl!
In ~l's room, who has the
pupils september and
Januarg sang, spelled,
wrote a. script and print.
One Wi this room can
hardly be-, hl,uren that a year
ago did not X the alphabet, can now
read at sight 1ab.es and poems written
by the teacher. The following was
written on the black board, and read by
the children as fast as written. They
had never seen it before:
A LITTLE BOYS COMPLAINT.
In winter l get up at night.
And dress by yellow candle light.
In summer. quite the other way,
j go to bed by day:
/ have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
And hear the grOwn-u, peoples feet
Still going up and down the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is fair and blue,
And should like so much to play
l have to go to bed by day?
Mrs. Patterson. Miss Riddle and Miss
Bailey have second year pupils. Their
scholars can read almost anything, if the
subject is not too deep for them. They
can read locals and advertisements in
the newspapers. Mrs. Patterson has an
interesting collection of charts of the
stars made by her pupils. With each
constellation they have written the clas-
steal myth connected with it.
Miss Riddles pupils were modelling
with clay. This is taught in all the pri-
mary rooms. Her pupils have a record
of the weather this year kept ON large
calendars Each child pastes on his cal
endar a colored piece of paper to repre-
j.,
In the other rooms above this the wea-
Their record is kept in blank books, and
the direction and speed of the wind, and
the thermometer record is kept.
Miss Fleming. Miss Bellamy and Miss
Mills have third year pupils. Miss Mills
has also some first year pupils.
In these rooms spelling, reading writ
ing, composition, study Of the stars and
of nature are carried further ON, more
attention is paid to arithmetic, and ge-
ography and history are begun. In three
years the pupils have easily learned to
read anything they may have occasion to
read, and to write letters, and have
observed good deal in the world around
them to serve as a foundation for geOg-
raphy and science study.
Above the third year all children sit
in the large study hall, and recite reading
and spelling to Mrs. Terrell, arithmetic
and geography to Mrs. Barbee, history
and grammar to Mrs. Williams, botany
and nature study to Miss Hale, and ge-
ography and mineralogy to Miss Royster.
Miss Bailey's scholars take much inter
est in botany. They are now watching
some seeds spront IN boxes in their room.
The course In nature study and SCI
ence has recently l,esas afided. Nrch shaa
been done In this direction, considering
that nothing Of the kind was, ATTEMPTED
before last year. The geography course
is now receiving special attentdn. 1T Is
now a rational, we'll graded course from
the first year to the last. fs>a@,S 80
Geography as taught at the Centennial
School means a great deal more than 10.
eating places ON a map. 1t is begun in
the lowest grades with pictures Of pla-
ces. The children begin map study by
drawing plan OF their school room.
Then they study the may of Raleigh, then
Wake county, and they branch out on
the railroads all over North Carolina
and then study the whole world. In sew
eral rooms are good collections of pictures
for illustrating counties and cities over
the world.
Miss Royster teaches largely by means
of outline maps that she makes and prints
copies for every child. The pupils fill
them in with rivers, towns, mountains
etc. She showed a series of maps of the
United States ON which the pupils hat
located the regions producing cotton
wheat, beef, forests, etc.
Mrs. Williams also uses maps largely
in her history classes. Her pupils have
made maps showing the Spanih, English
and French settlements in America, thu
growt'. Of ;he United States the wars
etc. Such study impresses fats upor
children moe than mere reading can do
The mosts striking feature of the schoD
is the interest of children, as well ii
teachers, in all the school work. .HonG
70 school is evidently a pleasure TO these
children and the happiest, most friendly
even affecticnate relations exist oetwecI
pupils and teachers. The discipline wa.
perfe. rather the order. for there
seemed no need of discipline And this
"as what plea sed US most in our visit.
TD-1aV no inv School ux-ilI racpiyf