The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-03
CONVENTION ENDED.
Commercial Teachers Lis
ten to Interesting
Papers.

| The second days session of the COM
merciaI teachers convention began
| yesterday morning at 10 o'clock in the
rooms of Becker's business college,
with almost all the delegates of the
| day before present The first paper
was by w. H Drake of the Drake
business school of Jersey City. Owing
to Mr.. brakes absence, the secretary,
Charles NJ Miller of New York read
the paper, which was on Arithmetic
in business" The paper dealt with
the use of a thorough teaching of
business arithmetic, as that taught in
the common school as usually INSULT
| cient for use in business affairs. There
was good deal of discussion following
these remarks. This was followed
with an address by H. H. Howe Of
Paterson, N J., on Where to place
the emphasis on. the law course
The shorthand section held a session
at the same time, the first paper being
by Charles Plat of Hoboken, n. j.,
who had for his subject, How to teach
the alphabet, and the hooks, circles
and loops" A paper on When should
dictation begin? Thoughts on the best
method of developing a speed of 1875
words minute in a reasonable time,
say six months was read by Miss
Emma A Tibbetts, vice president of
the association, of Salem. n. J. Bill
ings of Paterson n. j., spoke on Best
| means of beginning transcribing on
the typewriter"
The last paper of the morning was
by the secretary, Charles NJ. Miller of
New York, who spoke on ITO what ex-
tent can a practical department be
conducted in school work?" At the
close of this address, Mr.. Miller was
given a vote of thanks, and he was re-
| quested to have the paper put into
print for the benefit of those who were
not able to be present.
The substance of his address fol-
lows:
There is perhaps no department of
our school work that has been so little
| developed or promoted, and yet at the
same time one that has been so thor
oughly advertised and held before the
eye of the public as a practical short
| hand department Business educators
| have long felt the great need in their
work of a department wherein a stu
dent could put into practice before
| he left school what had been taught
| him, a place where he could open an
!
his goods. could buy them, etc.
The practice department has come
| to be the most important in the bust
ness college, due largely to the fact
that the owners of the majority of our
| business colleges were men who began
life as bookkeepers and afterward drift
| ed into the school business. The own
ers themselves being bookkeepers and
| having business experience, devised
/ their own methods of affording prac-
| tice."
In speaking of the development of
| the teaching of shorthand, he said:
| 1.-THE court reporter as teacher has
| about disappeared, as he should have
done long ago, and others have taken
his place who, while not possessing the
| rare shorthand speed that his predeces-
| sor had yet possess something far
more important from a teaching point
| of view, and that's a clear, clean-cut
| theoretical knowledge of the principles
! contained in his text book Generally
he is no doubt teaching by accident"
| A transformation is coming about so
! that very soon the shorthand depart-
ment will contain many more students
/ than will the commercial department
inexperienced stenographers are being
less and less tolerated from year to
! year and the aim of the business
school instructor is to overcome this
| protest against inexperieDce. In order
| to do this, shorthand must be devel-
oped to it's fullest perfection, and the
| first requirement should be that tbe
| teacher be an expert stenographer and
! typewriter operator himself. He
should be man who has seen active
service in various lines
What such a teacher needs 10
| strengthen his department is a proper
classification of the language used and