The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-12-09

Interesting Address by Pro-
fessor Griggs Feature of
Afternoon for Gram
mar Teachers.

Iner6 was q marked falling OIL IN the
attendance of the Hudson County Teach
ers' Institute convention yesterday after
noon at School No. 8, because while tht
teachers are compelled to attend these
conventions under penalty Of a days pay
If absent, many Of them get tired and sir
away during the early part of the after
noon session, and as these sessions were
being held in two parts Of the city, Nos
] and 8 Schools. this was easy to do be-
cause the teachers who had attended No.
l in the morning were expected to at
tend No. 9 in the afternoon and vice
versa.
In No. 9the exercises were more partic-
ularly for the pupils. ME af-
ernoon session opened at two O'Clock
with an address on Language by Dr. G.
I. Aldrich, who divided his subject into
four heads, reading, oral expression, writ
ten expression and grammar, turning his
attention first to the great Importance of
the last named head, grammar. In read
ing, he said, the children, must first be
taught to secure an early, complete and
~pieasurable command of the art of read
ing, and then a love for the reading of
good books. He dwe1t upon the import
ance Of this for some time, showing how
a child shouId be taught to quickly
grasp and digest the contents of a book.
Following Mr.. Aldrich's address was a
military drill in calisthenics by the Cadet
Corps of School No. 9, which was SPLEEN
didly lone and proved very interesting,
being heartily eneored at its conclusion.
Professor E. H. Griggs, of Brooklyn,
ave the address of the afternoon. 1t was
on the Influence on Parent and Teacher
on Moral Education" He spoke of the
sense of moral training in the negative
sense, which, he said. belonged to a per-
iod long past. but today moral training
meant something more. 1t meant the
building up of character to make a raj
he said, was the kind of moral education
needed in the home and school.
Mature teaches that we cannot do
wrong and live" said the speaker, ssand
the world personally is always lifting or
degrading US. Children are so easily
mouEded in our hands that we must
stamp our individuality upon them"
The child's world, Mr.. Griggs said, was
a personal world. To him the cold was
not caused by so many degrees below
zero. but by Jack Frost. Thu method of
restricting a child's playmates. he
thought, was very undemoeratic, and
then passed on to show how the average
was ap to treat children. w bet
Them said he, when we like them "and
we neglect them when we dislike them.
When they are very young they interest
but when they become about eight or
nine years old, when they are awkward
and conscious of their feet, legs and arms,
we leave them, just at the time they
most need us. In the home and school
parents or teachers are judiciary, execu-
tive and legislature. What they do. think
and say has its effect upon the children"
IN teaching children, Mr.. Griggs said.
the first essential was sincerity. If a
made a mistake with a child the
only safe thing to do was to acknowledge
it. The children must not reverence the
person. but the aim OF the person for
them.
Treat the child,'' said he. more like a
human soul than like something so many
years old and so many feet high. Children
are keener in response to justice and IN
justice than adults. A child may not
why he dislikes this or that person.
it is because the person is i~nsincere"
In speaking Of the love of a child, Mr..
said, Love is hard to teach be-
cause it is an inward virtue. Courtesy Is
the behavior of love. Teach love through
its behavior. Teach not only what we do
what we try to do. Children copy
only our deeds but our ideals"
After Mr.. Griggs' address was an inter-
mission of a few minutes, and Miss Dynes
Of the State Normal School. gave a very
Interesting talk on sCivics," dwelling
upon the Importance of i~nstructing the
children in the government of their own
city. The Cadet Corps closed the pro-
gramme with the flag salute.