The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1899-02-18
LABORATORY WORK IN TIE
SCHOOLROOM.
[ELLEN M. AUSTIN

or prOfpeS sion there 10 nOthlrg so muCn
needed as sensible teachers" "Ah!
there's the rub Not that am willing
to admit that teachers are more lacking
in sense than other people, but the
work requires an unusual endowment.
Surely, it is lot an easy thing to be a
progr eseive teacher without being fad.
chaser, to be conservative. without be-
ing a moss-back Appreciate the edu-
Gated, thinking teacher who has the in
dependence to wear no tag OF school or
sect. The teacher who can appropriate
the good OF the child study cult, the
epoch period or any other teaching
propaganda without getting into a con
trac,ed rut where che is vainly try ing to
follow some leader in this line. Again
and again has it been repeated and still
we reiterate it with emphasis, 1.-The
teacher who is not more than the
method will ruin any me'ht d. Right
here lies the danger. Child study 10 the
rage. The teacher feels that unless she
makes some attempt in this line she is
not in the swim She has no qualifica
lions for the work. Absolutely no in
terest in it. Instead of grasping the
great grand plans of the sympathizers
with this movement she looks upon il
as something she must force upon her.
self. A fad is based upon at least a
partial truth. The fad that is nearest
the exact truth is likely to be most dan
gerous. Why is it that we teachers are
80 often deceived in these things? Is ii
that we are continually trying to find
some royal road to learning? We favor
improvement, progress and better meth,
DDS. The detrimental process Of contin.
ually experimenting at the expense OF
the pupils we deprecate. One year the
synthetic method OF reading overturne
our whole structure; next, vertical writ.
ing or some special system Of drawing
will solve the knotty problems Of the
school room. How soon will we see
that superseded by clay modelling? Al
the beginning Of the next year possibly
the whole teaching profession tumblet
over one another like flock OF sheep ir
a rush to be the first to shout for thu
Speer number work. Is it not time w
stopped and aeked ourselves the ques
ton, where are we at?" One after
noon while visiting at farm house il
the interior OF the wolverine state m,
attention was called to large aock o
sheep. who were circling around ant
around a large barn and straw stack
Upon looking closely l discovered tina
the bell sheep that all were following
was SO near the rear one that he wa
blindly following him. How much O
that sort OF thing is being done. 1t i
the old play OF Simon says thumbs up
up 90 the thumbs or off comes the head
Again the superintendent says wiggle
waggle and wiggle.waggle it is, even
it be in ir1becile, idiotic imitation
Some OF US who are still young in every
thing but years have seen the pendulum
swing backward and forward 80 man
times that we are ready to generalizt
, Education is still growth, develop
ment. Better knowledge OF psychi
, laws can but be helpful. This know
, edge can hardly come from the har
hazard manner in which much OF tn
so-called child study is carried on. TIL
young teacher who has read one or tw
articles upon the subject buys a psy
chology and possibly reads few chap
) ters and lmagines she is equipped to d
| scientific work in the child laboratory
She discovers that Johnny Smith ha