The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-04-23

education advocates. while the good
sense OF the present times has maoe il
impossible for even the fad fakirs to
teach grammar without books. Tn
spelling book and the grammar had
hardly regained their legitimate places
in the curriculum Of studies when the
new education promoters discovered
the great virtue Of nature studies. III a
teacher did not teach astronomy. bot
any. geology. chemistry. zoology. ETY.
mology and all kindred sciences TO the
neglect OF everything else the new ed
ucation' crowd set up the cry old
fogy.' behind the times and other
rather uncomplimentary appellations.
Butte did not scape this new fad.
The press states that the time Of some
Of the schools and the children was
taken up with the cultivation Of tad
poles and the study of insects and
crawling things not always pleasant To
mention. Nature days. bird days, 20
ology days, botany days and other days
took up the time of the schools and to
a great extent interfered with the
work of the teachers. But Butte had
a new education and an experience
and the school are now working to re-
cover from the effects OF t..
Under a title OF The Fads" Mr.. Hen
bricks report has the following. besides
quoting Supt. j. NJ. Greenwood OF the
Kansas City schools and president of
the National Teachers association. and
the 81. Paul Dispatch:
The great damage to the public
schools does not occur through the
agencies of superintendent with pet
methods for teaching language. arith-
metic or spelling. Experienced teach
ers can readily comply with the direc-
lions i'm his line. They can comply and
put good sense and individuality in
their efforts, thus securing desirable re-
suits. The damage to the schools
~-.-A 49,. - Lila - An
the quacks. the would-be Napoleons In
the world of learning. the Barnums In
the profession of teaching.
There Is no new education. There Is,
however, a modern education adapted
to the times. This is a growth in meth
DDS, modes n extent of instruction.
The new education schemes are ridi-
culed in the communities where the ia
kris were allowed to get a foothold. 1t
was not many a ago that to alloy
the children In the schools to spell or
learn the letters of the alphabet was
rank heresy. 1t was old education.
Under the alluring cry of new duca-
ton the spelling book was debarred
from the schools. The results were soon
so unsatisfactory as to arouse the in
dignation of the public. And to-day
the spelling book is again in the schools
and the eachers who had the nerve
and good sense to resist the demand OF
the new education cry. have the salts
faction of knowing this illogical folly is
as dead as Ii should be.
The charge made that Butte has the
old system Is mainly due to two facts:
First, dense ignorance OF the system
and condition OF the schools: second,
the teachers are not in the advertising,
experimental and circus business; they
are teaching school every day and are
not hunting around for phenomenons
for show purposes. These conditions
may not be satisfactory to outsiders but
they are eminently satisfactory to the
parents and children OF Butte, who are
making many sacrifices in the cause OF
education. IL is a great mistake for
any one to imagine the 'inquisition is
still on in the Butte schools, or that
~antiquated methods of the past pre-
vail because we do not adopt the
schemes, fads and fancies of every
fakir who strikes the country. To some
of us the new education cry Is an old
story, worn out years ago In many
parts of the world no teacher, prin-
cipal or school officer of successful eN-
p%erience will admit that he is operat-
ing a new education. The term has
been made odious by the same mode OF
advertising employed by the quack doc
tor I'm selling his 'cure-alls.' The term
is meaningless and its promoters are
often only pretenders. While Butte
has no new education II has a mod
ern education. The teachers are first
of all carefully selected and required
to pursue a course of reading and pro-
fessional training during the school
year. The teacher who has stopped
growing intellectually or who is not
progressive. hould have no place in the
public schools of this or any other city.
The Butte schools are teaching read
ing. writing, arithmetic, language,
spelling, geography, history, good citi-
zenship, obedience. industry. punctual-
ity. etc. i'm a modern, IL not q patented
way. There In nothing old or anti
quated about the methods or modes
employed. provided the leading univer-
stiles. normal schools. training schools
and colleges throughout the land. rep
! resented i'm the corps OF teachers. are
not behind the ines. The Butte
| schools have not by any mean reached
a state of perfection. They must al
ways be growing better. The standard
of teaching this year must not be al
lowed TO be high enough for the com
ing year. Butte does not need nor do
we want the new education. the fads
and fancies. But we must have the
most sensible. the most practical and
the best education to be secured