The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1897-03-15
HOW To TEACH
Hilo Pedagogues in a
Quarterly Session.
Interesting Discussion and Detail
of Experience-Kinde
ten Work.

2 gram COMMITTEE Tor the DAY were MISS
= L.. Hapai, Mr.. Freitas and Miss E.
2 Richardson. They are to congratulat-
ed on the interest and success of their
program. There were 80 members and
: 10 visitors present.
Miss Severance's class, from the sec
ond year in school, told the story of the
. !"Old Woman and the Pig" This, and
= all other class work, was from child
rem of many nationalities. The recita-
tion was to show the interest of little
children in stories. and their ability to
reproduce them intelligently.
Miss Weights class in numbers to
six was composed of first year child
ren, who have not been in the study
for about four months The work was
in the four rules, with peanuts as OBJ
jects in hand, varied by other concrete
examples about boys, girls, birds, etc.
Later in the day question, perhaps
suggested by work in this class, turned
up from the box. Why is it so hard
to make children studying concrete
numbers give the name of the object
in making reply? Answer by Mrs.
Townsend. The child's mind is occu-
pied with the number work-the result
in number he strongly apperceives,
but scarcely even perceives the accom-
lpanying circumstances.
Miss Guild, of Hilo Free Kindergart-
len, presented on a blackboard a plan
of kindergarten work, naming the gifts
and their uses which occupy the little
child for perhaps two years in school.
She read selections on the subject, and
she remarked that the purpose of the
gifts was to induce creative Self-ac-
tivity. On the table were displayed a
variety of kindergarten gifts, and some
: of the handiwork of the school. Miss
Guild also described, by request, pro-
gram for the week of Washington's
birthday, making the hero the center
of the weeks lessons and plays. The |
children were delighted to make guns /.
of sticks. forts of cubes and flags of /
'colored papers.
Mrs. McStay, on Nature Study" |
showed the bean. pumpkin, or other
seeds in germ and in progress of I
growth. She described different meth :,
ods of plant growth, from germ to root.
stalk. leaf and flower. The seed feeds
the growing plant till it is able to sus- i
tain itself from the roots; the bean
mounts on the stalk; the corn, follow
ing another plan of growth, remains in 4
the ground, nourishing the young
leaves that rise, enwrapping each
other, as the child discovered, who ex- ;.
claimed:
"Oh. see; the mother leaf holds the
baby in her armsy'
A class was at work during the lee
ture, drawing from sprays of leaves.
The drawings were outlines very well
representing the sprays. Books of SIM
liar drawings were passed around, also,
the smaller books of the primary class
who had drawn the bean and other
seeds in growth, etc, to illustrate the
plant lessons.
Miss McCord read extracts from a
work by Cath. Arken on Memory and ,
Attention" According to this author. l;
almost incredible power of memory is !
cultivated by test exercises. One sort of
test is made with revolving black
boards. on which groups of words fig
ures, etc, are written, turned into
view for a few seconds, and then
dashed out of sight. the observer to
tell accurately what he said. Similar
tests have been made in the Hilo Union
School. The author sums up all her !.
remarks on memory in one word-at-
tention.
MISS DtN Idih on ran Lessons !,
gave plan for teaching oral geography
through four or five of the earlier
school years. ending by introducing the
class 20 books when they had acquired |,
enough English to understand them. /,
The study of place requires much Ian
guage-words used in naming relative I.
positions of objects-left, right. top,
bottom. etc. 1t is we'll to begin teach
ing near objects. and proceed to those
more distant. and not in view. Teach
east out doors from the sun rise; fol-
low with the other points of compass. /.
Apply this knowledge inside the room
to the sides and corners of school Ia
BILE. platform, room-to small objects
moved about on tables or desks-to
relative positions of pupils in the room.
Draw plans of school room. building,
yard. the street, the town, the island,
and, finally the group. Make particu-
lar study of the district in which we
live. BY this time the children may, !!
perhaps, use a book for the study of
the continents, but the language of
our biographies is very difficult. Miss
Deyo illustrated her remarks with
maps and plans, and pointed out an
excellent schedule of work on the !,
board. She said lessons about land,
water, snow, the seasons. soil, plants.
the natural divisions, etc, should be
introduced accompanying the map |,
work.
Miss Richardson's class of boys in
physical culture went beautifully
through a fine series of exercises in
tended to develop every part of the
body. The first half. scheduled on the
board as belonging to the upper part
of the body, was accompanied by
dumbbells.
Mr.. Malterre read for Brother Henry
of ST Mary's School an instructive pa
per on fractions, accompanying it with
blackboard illustrations.
The program ended with the discus
sion of a few questions from the ques-
ton box. The Committee on Program
for May 21 is Mrs. McStay, Miss Nc
Cord and Miss Hill.