River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1900-07-26
SCHOLASTIC TRAINING.
Questions which Demonstrate the
difference Between Guesses
and Actual Facts.


Several gentlemen in the lobby of an
uptown hotel few evenings since we're
discussing the agitation in the Star for
a complete change in the system OF
teaching in the schools of Washing
ton, says that paper.
The consensus of opinion was that
such change was most desirable, and,
since a couple of the group came from
other cities. il was agreed that the in
novation could be followed with profit
elsewhere.
ut seems TO me-" said one of the
speakers, who is an official of prcmi-
nence in one of the departments, that
more attention should he paid TO the
teaching of facts needed in everyday
life, rather than pursuing inquiries as
TO the antecedents and physical history
of the pupils and their parents.
My duties make the knowledge of
geography an essential requisite, Nat
urally geographical situations and dis
tances are constant mental pictures
with me. But it is surprising, and in
this connection the position of the Star
is substantiated. how deficient is the
average person in geographical matters.
and in this | include the average pupil
in our high schools, but except the
teachers, whose business it is to know
such facts
For instance, now that we have pos
sessions in the far Pacific distances and
parallels should be known TO all, es-
pecially TO pupils fresh from their
I ka1 .,.l-
relative attending one of our high
schools, the distance by sea from New
York TO Colon, and from San Francis
co to Panama. He should have been
able to answer this question offhand.
He said he had forgotten. | then asked
him TO draw a logitudinal line from
Washington south and tell me what
countries il would divide. He went a
Thousand miles out of the way easterly.
! will wager a champagne dinner that
these questions, as simple as they APP
pear, will stump the average man To
answer offhand, vet in school they. and
like geographical facts, should be so
thoroughly ground into the pupils
that they should never be forgotten"
II will admit that they floor me-"
said one Of the gentlemen,
ut is 1851 miles from New York to
Colon and 3,277 miles from San Fran
cisco TO Panama, on the other side of
the isthmus. II is a safe bet that nine
out of ten men will give the latter dis
tance as being not over 1000 miles.
have made the test dozen times. They
don't take into consideration the big
bulge on the western contour Of the
continent.
'To the second question the average
resident would say the line would
pierce Brazil and eastern Argentine
Republic. Instead il goes on the west
side of the South American continent,
strikes Lima. Peru, and goes down
into the Pacific 500 miles west of the
coast of Chill. near the Juan Fernandez
or Robinson Crusoe islands.
at is so with other geographical
facts" continued the official. at is
safe two TO one bet that the average
man will fall down on the correct an
swer. offhand, to the above questions,
and to these. which ! will accompany
with their respective answers:
Sikh, AldS kds Is associated Win tne
arctic circle, yet St. Petersburg is
about on the same parallel. Washing
ton is a trifie below the fortieth par
allel, and on line with Lisbon. 1t is
! hard to associate the frozen coast of
Labrador with dear old London, and
the green. fertile British Isles, as il is
| to mention Quebec, where they are
frozen tight for six months, with sun
ny, gay Paris. Madrid is on parallel
with New York, and Cairo with New
! Orleans.
a good catch question is: II a stake
were driven into the ground in the
white house grounds, where would it
| come out on the other side of the
! globe?"
Where" was asked.
I'm the Cobb. or great desert Of Turk
ettan, considerably west of the Chinese
empire. So. you see, If the average
person answered this question by say
/ ing in China as would be the case,
! Won would win he bet -