The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-02
nYWArS 70 %KNOWLEDGE.
Southern yelplnE schools and Geography 10
PLAY and song,


PLAY and sons
Fifty years AGO the "yelpin' school was
common throughout rural districts souih o'
Mason and DINon's line Nowadays II exists
among the mountains. but even there orIy III
the remOter, more sequestered CoveS' "her'
railways and summer tourists do not pehe-
trate. The yelpin' school Il II variant oil the
old field schools, which the free schools have
driven out Of existence. The name comes
from the fact that the pupils not only study
aloud but are taught to pitch their voices IN u
high. droning key. Indeed. the pupil who
yelps loudcst and shrillest IL thought 10 dis
charge hest the whole duty OF n pupil, One
who mumbles or whispers. il In danger OF a
thrashing, and one who tries to learn silently
is foreordalncd to the dunce-cap.
The yelpcrs do not sit stlll. Instead, they
march up and down the floor. book in hand
informing the lesson, and occasionally closing
the book TO rap the side OF the head with H.
Seven times In nine II II n spelling book Spell
ing books are the only ones imperative, Every
pupil, from least to greatest, spells morning
and evening, School begins close 10 sunrise.
and lasts until shutdown. Very few OF the
pupils have more than two school books-tho
spellcr. and a grammar. geography. reader or
history. The master himself often owns the
only arithmetic. and sets sums out Of II for all
u bN p'NN' oldlN Nv hii' W. - '
four rules. and since they are for the most part
quick and keen at figures. turns them out
mathematician well able to count all the money
they areiikely ever to handle.
The true glory OF a yelpin' school, however.
Il at the school turnout then everybody.
big and little. comes out on the platform facing
u big bush arbor, and yelps In concert without
any prompting whatever. Mistakes are rure-
II they we're made nobody could hear them.
Fortified by this happy consciousness the
yelpers get through with u rush and swing
They sway their bodies lightly In time to the
yelping, ne later. when the mountain fiddle
makes a musical intcrludc. both they and the
audience keep time with head and hand.
Various and sundry enterprising citizens
have seen millions In the potentialltie- Of rural
Ignorance and rural desire for KNOWLEDGE
For example, there was the man who sixty
wears back travelled about, proclaiming that
he taught arithmetic TO the rule Of three IN
just six lessons, he had a system Of ready
self could rattle it on like the wind, but to the
lay mind it seemed that the dinerential cal
caln, was child Pl9,y in compsTi.o o9 .ob The
ars-only a dollar for the course. But after
the last lo.soT When the pupil, SGT ned h3 'Rs,
they only needed his chart To clear up every
thing and that the chart was To- be had Tor
the sum Of S.. or course he did not sell n chart
TO every punil. but enough bought them TO
keen tho professor in clover for several years,
Another person tried TO set the whole coIntru
each school district set M. what he STYLED, a
radiatnr-thAt is TO say. "A hall full, Of chairs
and tables, where old and young could congre-
gate Ia instruct themselves IN the facts OF his
tory and geoGraphy. He had wooden maps OF
all countries. pierced Tlth smau holes AZ rne
specially striking event had takep place, In
playing geography, pure md simple the group
tain. then each Of the captains drew from
n pile NJ ono side q tiny wooden block. with a
pin I'm one end, with the name Of a city upon
one OF It's four sides, and the Leading facts about
that particular city printed upon the others
one city 40 drawn marked the beginning OF 9
n. Players on each side drew in turn further
blocks. and stuck them IN their, respective
holes. The aim was. a. in the children's game.
Tit. Tat, To-" 10 keep the attacking captains
from reaching the city Of his destination Chance
had something TO do with, the results; but At
and direction very much more. Notwithstand-
ing the fact that playing geography was In
s%tructive. the public did not take 70 IT,
II was in every way more valuable, however,
than the craze for SINGING geography. which, In
wildAre. The men responsible Tor Il were from
the Nutmeg state. and allied themselves
shrcwdly with, the then universal tin pedlers;
Thus they and their system were transported
at q low cost TO the very remotost parts Of the
rural districts. They had well oiled tongues
and plausible manners, 50 they had little diff
Guilty in getting around leading citizens every
where. getting further free use Of churches To
serve A.. school rooms. and, thus starting out
NiNl ~ h'h w ~ '"' ''N''F $3.50
penso. -.
They had hooks, Of course books fearful
and wonderful. These they did not offer to
sell. Instead, they rented them to pupils. say
ing with transparent canfor that the school
would not last long, and after, IT was over the
books would be needed for fresh pupils in n now
place. but would be Of no earthly use to the
graduates. The teachers. went about in pairs
Ing the other distributed the books, kept an eye
on the lagRard and the slothful, and gave ear to
ANYBODY who had trouble with a name 40 nitric
otn ha could not readily Inv bia tOnula 10 IL.
plastic mine 10 the tune Of "Old Hundred"
between liz States divide, It's space.
New Hsmnshlte. Mass, ehus.'!S Maine.
Boston. on Massachusetts, Bay,
Der Massachusetts, state holds sway
Montpelier. Vermont Portland, Maine;
Connecticut has capitals twain
Hartford. New Haven, each a town
OF credit, sPd Of tsr rsnown;
Providen &c and Newport are her pride.
The Middle States we're sunt TO a hitting. roll
which celebrated the surrender Of the British
war>hip Guerrter". Can't. Dacre,. 20 the Constl-
tuition. Capt. Hull. One verse ~ II ran:
when proud Dacre came on board to deliver UP his
II. was ioa,h to par, with II. q looked so handy, o.
20. keep your sword - says HUI; what makes you
Come, cheer 10 and let: tsks a It'll. brandy; o. -,
For my Yankee boys a nghting are the dandy, Or
Hence this:
New York Stat. is big and old. BY the Hudson river
bold,
with New Jersey lying south, so Nat and sandy, o.
wits the State Of William Penn, who was brother TO
all men.
From the psuper To the prince. lying handy, o.
Pennsylvania Keystone State, living handy. o.
There was a similar verse to fn the capitals
and chief citi $ in memory The Southern
States were sung to the tune Of Yankee Doodle"
and the utter rout of metre. rhyme and rhythm.
After the songs ieft these United states they
did not bother themselves with details nor
very much with rhyme, The name OF a country
shaped a sort Of droninE recitative: the capital
came after as a chorus, thus:
British America british America,
Kings ton! King toni
A tuning fork In the hands of the man on the