The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1901-01-03
MAINE, THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 1901.
THF MAINE pEDAGoGuEs.
Hold Their Annual Session in Lewist'

Hold Their Annual Session in Lewiston.
The Maine Pedagogical Associations an
nual meeting opened in Lewiston, Dec 26th,
with large attendance. Devotional exer-
cises were conducted by Rev. G. N. Howe
Addresses Of welcome were given in behalf
OF the city and social board by Mayor Fur
bush and President L. G. J0rdOn of the
association, responded.
| Albert F. Richardson, principal of Cas-
tine Normal school, presented a practical
article on sWhat Consideration May the
Normal School Expect at the Hands Of Su-
perintendents 2" A general discussion fol
The society voted to have Prof. L. G.
Jordan prepare history of the Organiza-
tion.
In the evening President Hyde of Bow
| doin delivered an address on s'The End of
Education" He spoke first of the care
| sical welfare. You cannot teach good
school and make your own dresses, or spec
ulate, or work vacations. City children
| don't have half chance with country
children. They have no means Of acquaint-
| stacles, or realities.
The kindergarten begins to solve the
! problem for city children of early age.
Normal training goes farther toward it as
| the children get older. Steadiness, patience,
persistence, cheerfullness are developed by
this work, as can never be attained by mere
book learning. Girls should be taught sew
| ing and cooking if they are to grow up other
| than inefficient competitors in life
| The curriculum for children from to IA
| years of age should contain English, mathe-
matics, geography, history, natural history
and art. English includes reading, writing
and spelling. Much reading is trying to get
| the words off the readers mind rather than
the thought into the hearers mind. One of
the most helpful ends of education is to
send to our working mems homes children
who enjoy the best reading and can read
as others enjoy hearing them. Defamation
is reading prepared more elaborately.
Arithmetic should be reduced to few
principal subjects. The mathematical con-
science is the knowledge that there is only
one way to do right, and hard to find, but
many ways to do wrong which no fool can
miss. Rational examinations include brief
written review Of definite facts, the most
important Of which have been committed to
memory. The greater part should be by
the aid OF all the books, maps and helps
obtainable. The end of education is to be
able to do, not merely to remember.
President Hyde's address was followed by
a musical program by local talent and re-
ception by the Lewiston teachers.
The principal subject Of discussion at the
Schools" Miss Snow, the president, said
that to raise the quality Of school work in
one place was to help to higher standard
in all parts of the State. Miss Lincoln Of
Pennington Normal school spoke of the
work of the poem in the rural schools Mr..
Payson Smith spoke of the schools typified
by the ''Little Red School Houses" An in
teresting discussion followed, which was
participated in by Principal Moody of Au-
burn, Prof. Richardson of Castine, Prof.
| Winslow of Bath.
Miss Ardelle Tozer of Old Town read
paper on cart Education in Rural Schools"
| Prof. W. G. Mallett, superintendent of
| schools in Pennington, spoke on "The Grad
=! ing of Rural Schools.
At the afternoon session Principal George
Phenix of the State Training School of
Willimantic, Conn, delivered an address.
Phases of Educational Thought" In the
evening, Henry T. Bailey, agent for the
promotion of industrial drawing in Massa-
chusetts, spoke on "Beauty in School Work"
Principal George p. Phenix questioned
the statement of Mr.. Smith, who attributed
Little Red School House." He claimed
that it was the industrial training which
| they had received in their homes rather
| than that received from the schools. He
| did not believe in setting tasks for children
| in order to discipline them, without defi-
mite object in view, but considered it mere
| waste of time
| Spelling is an observation study but does
not teach children to study rocks or trees.
! The elementary school teaches too much
much time about it. You can drop out the
| first three years of arithmatic and find at
the end of five years that your pupils have
advanced just as far as if they had put in
the whole time to that study.
| How many of you have ever used cube
root outside of school room? Addition,
multiplication, division of whole numbers
and fractions, and percentage. Is it worth
While to spend eight years in studying these.
AS substitute | would recommend the
reading of good literature and history.
Machinery has given more leisure to the
working classes and they should begin to
use their leisure for self-improvement.
| DR.. Baillett spoke encOVagingly OF Maine
, schools. He said that the large number of
! Maine teachers who had obtained situations
in Massachusetts showed that good work
| had been done in them. He also spoke OF
ex-Speaker Reed and Congressman Little
field as examples of great men who had
been fitted for positions of responsibility
| from the Pine Tree State. He emphasized
the work done through compulsion in
European evening schools, such as drawing
| hand work for girls, commercial branches,
etc.
| "We have the best primary schools in the
world because our children are happiest in
them. European teachers are better inform
| ed and get more work out OF their pupils:
| They read more and look ahead to lie OF
teaching and do not live from hand to mouth
as our teachers do. The women have not
! the chance, especially in Germany, that they
have here. All European countries have
! their highest interest in the High schools.
81 believe in some electives in the High
school but not too many. The teaching in Ger
many is more uniform than here. The time is
coming when we shall demand more scholar
| ly work in our teachers, after they leave the
: colleges or university. If we do not love
! study enough to pursue it without being
driven how can we expect our pupils to do
SOP"
| The session closed Friday, several eastern
Maine teachers taking prominent part in
the program Of the day. Prof. Franklin G.
Robinson of Bowdoin college was in charge
of the department of superintendent, and
| opened with brief talk on Lessons
| from Experiences in the Work of a Superin-
/ tendent.
Prin. Prescott Keyes of the Bar Harbor
school had charge of the department on
secondary schools, and among the topics
considered were the following:
| College and Preparatory Schools as Mutual
Helpers, Prof. W. A. Houghton, Bowdoin
College.
Are We Doing Our Duty By the Students
| Who Are Not Going to College? I'll. w.
Foss, principal of Higgins Classical lnsti-
| tute
Paper followed by general discussion.
! Tho RuSipaSC Gourca in the HIGH school.