The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-06-01

Misses Mary Carpenter, Mary DAN
iels, Jane V. Fellows, Lila Frable, Clara
Gibbs, May Adele Graves, Louise b.
Leader, Rahel Powell, Catherine L.
Quinnan and Rose 1. Shields, members
of this years graduating class at the
Scranton Training school for teachers,
gave a public exhibition of the work
in the school room yesterday after
noon at the high school. The exercises
were intended as a preliminary to the
commencement night entertainment,
and as an opportunity for the public
to see the methods used In the training
of prospective teachers.
AS there are no final examinations
possible according to the conduct of
the training school, superintendent of
Schools George Howell and T. j. Jen-
nings, John Gibbons, F. T. Worm
ser, A. l.. Francois, L. J. Lam
gan and George Carson, mem-
bers of the school board, were pres
ent in a semi-official way to criticize,
favorably or otherwise, the work that
has been done by Miss Mary E. Sykes,
instructress at the school.
The criticism was all compliment
ary-to both teachers and pupils, and
effectively expressed his pleasure with
the work of the day.
WORK WAS PRACTICAL.
The room was comfortably seated
with friends of the class. The work
had been nicely arranged by Miss
Sykes. 1t consisted of practical teach
ing of classes of pupils from Miss
Rafter's room in the high school. These
pupils were little girls and boys, whose
ages vary from and IL years, chosen
promiscuously and with no thought of
their peculiar intellectual fitness for
public parade. One of the children was
a little colored girl, two were Italians.
1t showed forcibly the cosmopolitan
character of the school.
The pupils were divided into classes
of six or seven, and each member Of
the graduating class was allotted 10
minutes of time for teaching on given
subjects of reading, language and num-
bers.
noticeable feature Of the work was
the confidence and complacency of the
embryo teachers. Susceptibility to
nervousness on public appearances
seems to have been wholly overcome.
At times during the exercises the
teachers sang the ditties that are sung
in the real school room. After the eX-
ercises which concluded at 3.45 o'clock
Miss Sykes requested Superintendent
Howell to address the class. The re-
sponse WAS one of the finest short ad-
dresses that the eloquent superintend-
eilt has made. He first conducted A.
short severe drill of the teachers, The
answers came unhesitatingly and cor
rect. In giving his direct address to
the graduates Superintendent Howell
said:
PROFESSOR HOWELL'S ADDRESS.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said he would
cross the ocean to talk with one great
man meaning Carlyle rather than see
all monuments and treasures of art in
Europe. What does this mean, does the
sage of Concord place personality above in
tellectual achievements above knowledge
Itself? es, and today when you turn a
golden leaf in the calendar of life write
upon its margin, personality, far more
than my learning shall determine my val
lie as a teacher" The teachers worth
lies more in what he is than in what he
knows. You may have the philosophy
of Rosenkranz, a Mann, a Parker. a.
| a personality which will impress itself
upon your pupils, you fail in the work Of
education. You become a school keeper,
not school teacher.
Personality is not sufficiently recognized
as an educational factor. Human beings
are constantly exerting an unconscious
influence upon one another insensiby
moulding character, conduct and destiny.
| In chemistry there is process called
catalysis, a process by which one sub
stance changes others yet remains un-
changed itself For instance, starch in
the presence of an acid is converted into
sugar while the acid is unaffected. Silver
and gold can decompose the binoxide of
hydrogen without any effect being pro-
duced upon themselves. This power of
| catalysis, however, is not confined to the
inorganic world. 1t is a common process
in the organic world. We see it constant
ly In the processes of termination and
| fermentation, aye, in the secretion of
| blood itself. In fact a careful examina-
tion of the cause of growth and decay,
| life and death, will reveal the fact that
| they are all produced by this powerful
yet unseen catalytic power.
| Again let us continue the analogy.
| What makes the tree frog green like the
boughs and branches OF the tree, the
| grouse brown like the moors the skate
tawny like the sandy bottom of the sea,
| the polar bear While ike the snow clad
fields OF the frozen North, the Arab brown
like the parched sand of the desert?