The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-11-04


used. and the modes of travel All of
these things form a part of the his
tory of the family, and the same
things are true of communities and
states. There is history in everything
around us, there is good lesson in the
old ruined building. Its fallen walls
retain traces of the manners and GUS
toms of the time when the building
was in style, and IA comparison of the
conditions then and now form an idea
of the progress of the nation.
The object of teaching and learning
history is to make good citizens. Miss
Harris would not tell her pupils that
George Washington never told a lie.
How do we know he didn't? She
would rather tell them Of his patriot
ism, craftsmanship. and greatness
and tell them that the Father of his
country was at one time little boy.
She would tell them the early strug-
giles of the great Abraham Lincoln to
obtain the means to educate himself
and that the first book he ever got
was at a price of three days LABOR.
Professor w. A. Kelley, Of Archibald,
sang Madeline" and was compelled to
favor the teachers with another song.
ashore"
LACK or INTEREST.
Superintendent y. t. Hover of the
Wayne county schools, addressed the
teachers on the lack of interest too
otter found in their work. He wasn't
ten minutes at the institute before he
realized there are some teachers in
this county who are failures. Pur-
poscly he remained at the rear to OBJ
serve the interest taken from that
section In the lecture. Alas! he found
some of the teachers chatting and hav-
ing good time and making so much
noise that he had to move forward
several seats to hear.
superintendent Hover did not es-
tablish himself favorite with the
teachers. He was freely criticized at
recess for drawing, they assert. too
calamitous a picture of the irregulari-
ties iii the school room. One teacher
said he made the same sort of an :m-
preston as the kindhearted old lady
Marshall p. Wilder described, who
called on the heart disease patient
to offer cheer and encout agement.
and wound UP with "Well gcod-by dear
child and l hope I'll be able to come
around soon again before you die,
DR.. Smith. acting principal of West
Chester state Normal school, was the
last speaker of the afternoon session.
His subject was the "Nices of the I'M
agination." He treated an abstract
psychological subject so nicely ia the
simplicity of his presentation that
| even a child could understand. The
| term Imagination does not apply to all
! the picturing power of the mind. nor
| E,,I ,s,l,
! passes through the mind is a product
of the imagination.
| A man will say, Il can't for the life
| of me imagine what such a thing
means" The proper way TO put that
is to substitute understand for imag-
| inc. Imagination and understanding
are two very different things. The
! picturing faculty of the human soul
coupled with the judgment constitutes
the imagination
MATTER OF A STANDARD.
The question, Whose judgment
shall be the Standard" is most per-
| tinent. There are two kinds OF imag-
ination, that kind which proceeds
| from some other persons judgment
| where for instance we read book
| with pictures and are told bv the au-
thor what to look for in this picture
| and in that. Invariably we are sway
ed by The judgment of the author. We
prepare to receive his judgment when
we begin to read the book. The other
| kind is the creative imagination, re-
| quired when "A person begins to write
u book. Ii is the type founded upon
| the individuals own Judgment.
| The experience in life constitutes
the basis of all reasoning by analogy.
| What is in a new dress, Il new house?
| All the material put into either is as
old as the hills. The stuff has simply
| been moulded out of its chaotic state
into a new relation, that is all.
oh the dangers Of becoming vision
| airy by being out of the control of a
strong judgment. 4 man once invent
cd an appliance for railway purposes
| and he figured out the sum of $2500O0
which he was going to sell it for the
| next day. The scheme carried all
| right UP tn the point where the inVen-
tion was to be accepted and the money
paid to him. The firm he was nego-
tiating with found the invention inn
practicable and II didn't work.
The imagination may become very
seductive when 1t is obedicnt to the
feelings. The danger in that is that il
dspCses of obstacles by imagining "A
way they can be disposed of. That
makes the person unsuccessful in this
matter-of- fact world.
CORRUPT IMAGINATION.
But the worst species of the imagi-
nation Is the corrupt There is no evil
dence in Psychology 10 show the era
sure of an impression from the mind.
An impression once made, and the ef-
feet of it is horne forever. tie exceed
ingly careful then, he said, of the per-
ceptions of your children. 1t makes
all the difference in the world what
the boys and girls are called upon to
see think about, do and say, what
books, papers, and magazines they
read, and what cOmpanionship they
are permitted to have.
, Every city, town and village should
be exceedingly vigilant in the manner
! of men allowed to occupy the corners
where the children are wont To pass
Every time child goes out there Is toe
much danger of meeting with unneces'
sary filth in the shape of profanity
vulgarity and indecency in all its
forms.
Keep the mind of the child actively
and pleasantly engaged. There Is NJ
such thing as inactivity. Present ol
correct every tendency toward moo,
DIV or Drooding disposition. Fill tho
r mind with good or II win hecomt
| choked with bad Urge the wron1 Al