Evening journal., 1897-12-08
TEACHERS IN SESSION
Doctors Elson and White the
Speakers Yesterday.
ABOUT TWO HUNDRED THERE
PROFESSOR KING HELD THE
LARGE AUDIENCE SPELL
BOUND BY HIS EVOLUTIONARY
POWERS LAST NIGHT.

POWERS LAST NIGHT.
Professor Wilkinson, of Delaware
City, called to order the afternoon ses-
sion Of yesterdays institute. The exer-
cises were opened by singing the ma
tional anthem, after which Professor
Wilkinson introduced the first Of the
afternoon instructors, Dr. H. w. FL
son, Of Philadelphia. His subject was
How to Teach History" He spoke
to a thOrOuhgly interested audience for
fifty minutes. His remarks, briefly
quoted, are as follows:
An institute is a place wherein the
teachers acquire new information, new
methods and new ideas. Each teacher
has her own method as a matter of
course, but she comes here for new
points Now what you want is some
thing that will help you. Each teacher
should cOnfine herself to but one sub
ject, as she should thoroughly under
stand her subject before endeaYOring
to teach the pupils Every teacher is a
student, and as such should be willing
to learn. History is the worst taught
subject in any of cur public schools l
do not refer to the schools of New Cas-
tie county particularly, but to each and
every school in the county.
History is the most interesting Of
all our studies. 1t is far more inter
esting than the sciences, because, how
ever interesting a science may be, yet
our interest in it is acquired; with his
tory, we study of humanity, and our
love for humanity is natural. A bota-
mist is searching for a flower in the
Hfn.N do
baby Immediately all interest in the
plant is lost in the newly awakened
love of humanity. a geOlOgist will
seek fer stratifed formations in the
earth. and comes across fossil remains
OF human being. Immediately this
all-absorbing subject takes his mind
OFT the scientific to the historical be-
cause it appeals to the human heart 90
He related the stcry Of some miners
who had been in the California gold
regions for ten years, and totally re
moved from outside society. One night
they went to a San Francisco theatre.
and while the orchestra was playing a
beautiful selection, a baby began to
cry. Immediately one of the miners
sprang to his feet and wanted the or
chestra to stop so he could hear the
baby cry" He said that we should
study children and adapt ourselves to
them. History is really but the study
Of the lives of our parents, grandpar-
and the events by which they helped
to make history.
"We don't get a ground work from
text books of the present day. Some
people are not sufficiently satisfied
with our American history, but like
that of Europe, because of the glamour
which surrounds the thrones of roy
atty and further details. But Ameri-
can history should be by far the more
interesting, because of its treating OF
the very Institutions which we now
enjoy"
He also spoke of The Indians, show
ing the characteristics OF their dOmes-
tic environments. how the brave,
raised in wigwam of filth, was hard
hearted and cared not when his child
died, but the heart strings of the mo-
ther were touched, as she betOOk her
sad way into the centre of the vast
wood and laid her dead into its lonely
tear-mOistened grave.
Then again" said DR.. Elson, look
at Alexander Hamilton, the great
leader of the Federal party in New
York. What a political writer and an
orator he was. How some po-
litical enmity, raised in New York at
the beginning Of the century, caused
his death at the hands OF Aaron Burr. E"
He showed about John c. Calhoun's
tragic life, as a means to prove that
history was but an aggregation of BIZ
Ographies, and the more we studied
them the more we would become in
tCVested in them. History, if not prop
erly presented, becomes uninteresting.
There are rules whereby we should
teach, the first Of these being don't
hurry: get a groundwork CT dates
and facts these are nothing but q
skeleton, but as soon as you have a
skeleton clothe it with interesting flesh
ard breathe the breath of life into st.
and it wiz have the semblance Of a liv-
ing thing. THE skeleton is as necessary
to history as 10 is to humanity. If you
meet fifty people in one day you viii
not remember them all the next bu,
if YOU meet The fifty. a few at a time
you will have q much better idea and
remember them better. The second
rule for the guidance Of the instructor
and student is TO take nctes.' Unlesa
we take notes on what we learn our
ideas get confused and we are at sen.
The historian makes a selection Cf the
many thousand details CT records, and
by a judicious selection he places the
ohief Of these before the people. Tho
teacher should in turn take out what is
best for the pupil to know, pick cur &
particular date for a central piece and
group ether dates around that one
Dates are to history what a map is TO
geography; that is, they are absolutely