Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-12-27
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orally to lmpoverish the child. Polse,
ekll and strength were not to be ac-
uuired In any school where the pupils
did a little OF everything In a hurry and
nothing thoroughly and slowly. The
greatest gift child received In an ele-
mentary school was the gift OF lam
guage. the power TO talk and write with
facility. Involved distractions could
only make the child dull, Rather than
attempt 10 satisfy every desire Of the
child to learn the offer should be to
make the child eager to learn and equip
the pupil with the means Of learning.
Right methods Of thought were needed.
The child should feel that he knows
rather than know that he knows. The
world Of the useful Is The world Of fact.
but fact must be transmitted by the
Imagination. lie believed In conduct
Ing the school on the same principles
that refined parents conducted the
home.
sUPT. COOPER.
supt. Frank Cooper Of the city schools
was then introduced and warmly re-
celved. There are two kinds Of people,
said Mr. Cooper, the theoretical and the
real The former was always normal,
the latter sometimes normal, sometimes
an alteration, and sometimes abnor-
NAL The word cripple" might define
an Intellectual or emotional condition.
These alterations made people run too
fast on one side, and hence they ran IN
circles. He was reminded Of pudd'n-
head Wilson and tn. thumb marks--no
two Of them alike. So with these cir
Giles, no two Of them were alike. The
characters OF all boys were different
Into their lives, aside from their own
differences OF being, flowed the racial,
and family influences, always at work.
always felt These influences might be
multiplied almost Indefinitely, and they
all were TO cOmplcate the work Of the
school teacher. In France II was the
duty Of the school 10 make Frenchmen
out OF the sons and daughters Of
Frenchmen. In Germany II was the
duty Of the schools 10 make Germans
out Of Germans and so on. But in
America 1t was the duty Of the schools
to make Americans out of-Dutchmen.
Yes. and out OF Italians out Of French
men, out OF Etheopians. out Of the sons
and daughters of all the lands In the
world This was one OF the difficulties,
one Of the problems, met in every
American school every day. Then
there were some laws OF childhood that
were universal All children desired
recognition. Every child. too, desired
70 learn, but differed widely At TO what
IS desired 20 learn The maxim treat
everybody alike" would be mos, dis
astrOus II applied IN the schools, and
when 1t was disregarded altogether 1t
would be good thing. To treat every
body alike, In the school would imply
that every school child was alike in
respect 10 character. This could be
illustrated by taking a blue pencil and
making a mark ON papers OF different
tlnts. In each case the mark being
radically different from that obtained
by making q mark on a sheet Of white
paper. In school government the
treatment must be suited TO the indlvld-
ual SO with the courses OF study.
They might be varied but the character
" the pupil could not be. Teaching
must come 10 be more nearly personal.
Affairs to childhoon must be reared up,
and systems sacrificed n Jre and more.
BY and by IN the public schools platoon
movement must give way to individual
needs. There must be more frequent
classification. II Is difficult to hold the
quick pupil back to the pace Of the
slow ard to push the slow one up 70 the
pace Of the quick. That means fire.
quent reclassifcation and a readjust-
ment Of fixed limits. The same thing
In the same time Is not good emphati-
caliy not good. for all pupils. The
teacher does not need new conservation,
but new direction. so as to give II new
force. The ir1lvldual must be respect
Cd. and standing on the threshold Of a
new century, we can see the dawning
Of better things, especially for children.
DAVID S. JORDAN.
DR.. Jordan. who had entered while
Prof. Cooper was speaking, was intro
duced. and after q good natured refer
ence to his first visit several years ago,
the session adjourned
At s o'clock this evening, Dr. Jordan
will lecture at the Assembly Hall. his
theme being THE Value Of Higher Edu-
cation"