El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-04

not close without touching upon (and
so tenderly it is like caress) some
lof the recent animal stories. Who
could read Bob, Son of Battle by OIL
livant and not feel more dignity and
strength of soul; then that tender
story of another Bob by Sidney Lanier.
or The Wild Animals 1 Have Knswn'
and the Trail of the Sandhili Stag by
Ernest Seton Thompson, or the quaint
and humorous fables of Joel Chandler
Harris.
"Of books of poems, many I have
found to delight me since the Metho
dist hymn book inspired me to rhyme.
They stretch all the way from the
Bhagavad-Gita, that delightful episode,
from the Mahabharata, that great In
dian epic and bible of the Hindeos.
down by way of Sir Edwin Arno1d's
Light of Asia to the lighter, merrier
but no less matchless strains of Eugene
Field and James Whitcomb Riley
Another interesting paper was
Teaching morals in the school room.
How and When?" by Miss e. L. Dav-
idson.
at has been said that the educated
william is the worst" said Miss Dav-
idson. knowledge is power but with
out a regulating morality it creates
great deal more trouble. Moral teach
ing is more difficult than the mental.
Lessons in morals may be taught by
precept and by example. If it be by
precept let it not be in the form of
sermons but IN the more attractive way
of sweet story bearing upon the sub
ject. Another and probably most
pleasing form of preceptive methods is
by the use of pictures. Some pains
taking work on the part of the teacher
| in procuring pictures illustrative of
kindness, honesty, etc. which will
produce that which will form the basis
of impressive lessons. Precept will do
| much to teach child it's duty to God
and man but it will not always do it.
Much is also the result of the intuition
| of the teacher as to the character of
the child Children must be led from
right feeling to right doing. Instead of
| making them understand that this or
| that is right they should be made to
! feel that it is so. Each days work in
| the school brings opportunities for
teaching morality. Whether these les
| sons are to be public or private. per-
sonal or general immediate or deferred
is not for me to Say-that is question
which each teacher must decide for
himself. The only invariable rule that
can suggest is to omit no fitting oc-
casion and conscientious judgment
should decide at to the fitness
In connection with this subject SUI
perintendent Putnam said that the
question of developing the moral
strength of the child was as much the
duty of the teacher as to teach him
arithmetic. The public schools were
much criticised on the ground that
teachers were not developing the spirit
ual and moral side of the child's life:
I,n ~.
sometimes thought that the charge
was not ill founded.
I'VE are not allowed in the public
schools to read or discuss the Bible,
said Mr.. Putnam, but we can take up
and discuss moral questions. It is a
question in my mind whether it would
be better to have a fixed hour for that
purpose or to seize an opportunity
when it presents itself. / am inclined
to think. however. that it is best to
handle these moral questions as they
arise. When a pupil has been 9uilty
of an immoral act and everyone in the
room knows it then 1 think is the time
for the teacher to speak of it and to
try to lead the children to see the
wrong and the effect it may have upon
their minds"
He then referred to several instances
where boys had been sent to him for
misdoing. and in the silence of his own
room he had talked to them of the con-
sequences which their acts might have
upon the shaping of their future lives
and character. He urged the teachers
present to avail themselves of every
opportunity to impress the lessons of
morality upon the minds of their chill
dren.
The session closed with q song by
Miss Trumbull. The selection was
Forgotten" by Eugene Cowles, and it
was rendered by Miss Trumbull with a
delicacy of shading and purity of voice
that delighted everyone present
The other subjects discussed at the
meeting were as follows:
Literature for county schools, by
Miss Hannah Ellison; the Spear Meth
cd of teaching, by Miss Allie Fitzpat-
rick; Teaching English in Mexican
schools, by Miss Jessie Burford; How
teach spelling, by Miss Sue Dix; I'm
portance of physical culture in public
schools, by Miss Pearl Durham; SYM
pathy as a factor in school manage
ment. by Miss A. Brady; influence of
FrOebel upon the educational thought
of today. by Miss Lula Jones; Educat-
tiopal shams, by Miss Kitty Gorbutt:
Since the Bible is not taught in our
public schools. how shall teachers de-
velop religious sentiment among the
children? by Prof P. J. Phelin.
QUESTION ANSWERED.
Yes. August Flower still has the
largest sale of any medicine in the CIV
lized world. Your mothers and grand
mothers never thought of using any
hing else for Indigestion or Bilious