The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1901-06-14

the entire course of Mathematics in s.
College curriculum, without such an
appreciation.
The former, full of conscious power,
filled with the realization that every
fact has the reason for it, every end its
antecedent cause, takes up Algebra,
Geometry, Trigonometry or any of the
higher branches in the order of mathe-
matical development, and mounts to
higher planes of development with the
ease and grace of a trained athlete;
whereas, the latter, uncertain of his
facts, ignorant Of his ends, seeing no
relations which will develop new con-
clusions,--parrot-like he can rehearse
what his memory has garnered and his
mind has not digested. A mental dys-
peptic, filled with undigested facts and
ends, fearful to express view on any
subject, quoting authorities in justifi-
cation for one view of the case and
another for a different view Of the
same. He never faces an issue and
never draws a conclusion. His course
is marked by an awkward, shambling
mental gait in whatever course his
lines are cast. In the language of
Cowper,-"He will not with percmp-
tory tone assert, the nose upon his face
his own"
No teacher within the sound of my
voice will claim that this is an exag-
geration. Within every experience,
cases of this description have come
under their observation. Man and
woman would never have been made
as they are, had they been intended
as receptacles for facts alone. Train
the child, and facts will follow. We
all love to do that which We feel We
can do. Conscious power is the most
gratifying realization. Education can
only mean trained faculties.
In every department Of our work,
we realize that the wordy teacher is
the poor teacher. He or she who talks
the least is the best teacher. The talk
ing pupils bespeak the we'll managed
school room, when the talking is rele-
want to what is under consideration and
we'll framed. Time was when the end
OF the school room which the pupil
faced was decorated with a raised plat
form known as the throne of the mas
ter. The wall in the rear of the same
was decorated with hickory of un-
usual length, and the motto,-"Speak
only when addressed, and then prompt
ly" was the only maxim seen on the
wall. Such barbarism was in keeping
with the times. Today, We enter into
the very life Of the child, the youth
and those of maturer' years. We gain
their love, their admiration, their re-
spect by being of them. The touch of
sympathy ties pupil and teacher to a
common purpose. You help only as
it is needed. Clear away difficulties
only as it becomes necessary. We
realize that it is only by effort that
strength comes. This principle threads
every phase of educational develop.
ment from the kindergarten to the
postgraduate work of our Universe
ties.
Fifty years ago, the Univel sity Pro-
fessor as we'll as the public school mas
ter felt it necessary for the mainte-
nance of proper dignity, that he
should over-awe his students by wise
and vicious look and a Grabbed method
Of speech, into deferential respect.
The students witnessed in distant seats
the marvellous feats he performed with
philosophical and chemical apparatus
very much as we now look upon the
juggler's art of legerdemain. A kind
of entertainment. A fatuous perform
ance so far as instruction is concerned.
How changed the conditions today!
In every well ordered College, the Pro
fessor in every department, is the stu
dents companion. They touch elbows
over the tables of the laboratory. He
moves from one to the other, helping
little here, suggesting a little there.
The tyro is learning, is gaining strength
by the exercise of his own faculties.
He is drawing his own conclusions,
and from the harvest of his individual
errors, he gains the knowledge of how
to avoid them in future Investigations.
At the desk and in the field with note
book in hand, he is for himself collect
ing data, then comparing the same and
drawing conclusions from his logical
comparisons. This is training, and 1t
matters little how few the facts he re-
members, provided his reasoning pow
ers are trained to garner the facts as
the result Of the use of these two great
instrumentalities which have made the
18th Century the most fruitful period
since the beginning of time, IN crea-
tions calculated to demonstrate mans
power over the great trinity which
constitutes the universe, e,-spirit, force
and matter.
Do not understand that it is the rea-
soning faculty alone which should
alone claim our attention in the devel-
opment Of the individual. Our work
is all development, not creation.
The human mind in the beginning is
h,,f = GOOD h,.l -