New-York tribune., 1902-06-29
sTATETEACHERS TOMEET
TON WILL ASSEM-
BILE AGAIN IN SARATOGA.
ru.T EMINENT AUTHORITIES SAY OF
IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATIONAL
WoRK-PRoGRAMME OF
SESSIONS

.s..- seven years. in which time it has held its
vel conventions in many different cities Of
-. state the 1Gew-York State Teachers Associa-
-, returns this year to Saratoga, where the con-
W. .,on will be held next Wednesday and Thursday
~. organization is ffty-seven years old, and for
=. e-st fifty years of its existence it always held
-. meetings at the famous watering place. Then
.sroneh the efforts of John T Nicholson who was
1.-TWO years president of the association, and who
.eisted that travel and a change Of scene was an
,solute essential to true teacher, the society
esn the custom, which 1t has since adhered to. of
o+,np In q different city of the State each July.
= 1907 the association in this city. Next year,
t,s understood. Ithaca will be the ralying point.
The purpose OF the New-York State Teachers
,oc;ation IS TO learn. Throughout the rest of the
e- II IS tne duty of tts members to teach, and
i.a other minds. At the meetings OF the associa-
.,cn the teachers themselves seek to learn how
t,rovs their art, and how TO lead other minds to
,ssbe- levels and with surer guidance.
The benefits of such association have been
,scognIzed. and membership has increased until
n now numbers more than six thousand. The i'm
ro-tance Of these gatherings. however reaches far
terond the few thousand teachers who attend
them What each teacher gains by intercourse
with other minds will later be impaired to his
nupils and so the thought is disseminated up and
down the land.
The teacher one Of the chief factors of
c;rilzation is becoming more and more recognized.
The fact that citizenship manhood and morality so
hand in hand with education is a truth which is
almost Unborn in the American mind Neverthe-
less the work Of education, its many details and
,smtfcations like everything else. needs constant
vigilance constant study and Improvement to keep
apace with the demands Of the age
AT all of the conventions Of the New-York State
TEACHERS Association the mission of teacher and
lis relations to society are after all the subject
which interests most There are special meetings
held on special courses Of study, which have come
IN be called -side table talks. where botany, draw
anal -7irc afc
who follow these particular lines Of work; but it
Is main to see that at the meetings when
.ome educator talks simply and merely about teach
srs and what they IN the world for, the In
terest Of the audience is the most intense.
1t Will be interesting. therefore, to the average
teacher 70 what of the leading educators
snd writers believe to his mission and what
lessons he can learn at conventions.
Charles P Skinner, State Superintendent OF Public
Instruction says that he believes the chief beneht
N be got from an interchange OF thought and
discussion OF the whole field Of teaching such as is
possible at these meetings Is that 1t prevents the
teacher from standing still The chief danger, ne
SAYS Is that 1t Is easy for teacher to get into
nut and TO drag his pupils into the rut with him.
With the natural result that the pupils quit school,
1t their earliest opportunity. He adds:
One o. the greatest dangers in our system of
education to-day, in spite OF all that is being done
difference ane ineficiency Of many teachers. the
tendency on ther part t. to ne S w wlfm
IS the danger OF standing still great as in the
'e lie teacher. r. but to the pupil and the state
No man can teach all he knows vital force' IKE ake
Much depends upon the medium through which ,t that at
9iss brist or dui Whether as in electricity. power
goes through good conductor Many people know
impar.ing i What they know, Of reasoning out. step
BY step. the best process Of giving instruction
Edmund Clarence stedman has this to say Of the
teacher:
be too warm for they are among our most faith
tul. jealous and even heroie workers Unseldshness
exercise Of its functions Their worldly gains are
s sSss y ses sc appa and shfa5 s rh
should be better paid. and there should be more Of
noblest Of vocations have ever seemed to me those
are to human welfare in this present existence The
physician sees that he is relieving anguish increas-
nows that tn ne is impsrting % that without Which
earthly happiness and achieyenents are not greatly
within The limits Of their skill and knowledge very
mental well being OF their charges is quite thrown
away.
Sir Walter Besant. ths English author who died
about year ago. In commenting on recent con-
vention Of the association said:
Il were able to address your great army Of forty
thousand teachers In whose hands lies to great
s1tent the future OF the United States Of America,
would endeavcr to move them toward the recon-
Citation of the Anglo-Saxon race Now, 1 would
10 ce scer in army 9RsH eo oT hT f Years. Years. time
viii consist. Of six great nations-the States, the
Zealand and Great Britain. 1t largely depends
upon your association and such associations as
federation. none being before behind the other
he whole world in the cause Of peace and ciVaa
ton and order-or whether the six nations shall
be all ready at any time to fly at each others
hroats
Hamlin Garland, the novelist Of Western life.
says Of teachers:
sympathize most heartily with all educational
work and as for teachers-I was one Of them my; ny;
serious art instructs. If l were allowed TO say a
is dead or diving; let the young mind know that
American literature is to-day more vital. nat
lens to deal with which make it less genial. less
Longfellow and Bryant.
F. Marion Crawford, the novelist. writes:
often think that teachers, like many great
artists. labor for posterity than for any pres
fss a TOT 5rer and dsapnointents
Their reward is IN the gratitude of grown men ana
.omen, and seldom reaches directly those to whom
1t is due. You look for 1t in results. and such re-
sults are especially slow. Yet there must be a
and unmlstakable growth Of thought in our coun-
oa you. in your own districts, you must De per
sonRly aware of an Improvement which IS con-
pupils Education is to the mind and to the char
ecter what faith and religion are TO the soul; the
Perfection: and you who spend your lives in i'm
De called the ministers OF civilization
Dr.. Edward Eggleston the historian. has this
advice for the teacher:
Have line Of special study. You cannot be
profound every subject You are too busy TO
pe learned in any broad department of knowledge.
But find some congenial nook in human knowledge
and make yourself a place IN il. Let it be some
sIaau and narrow speciality, but about that know
a. YOU acquire. 1t viii correct the necessary
snperhciality Of your general knowledge. 1t VIII
prove cool and quiet corner where your mind can
INC .ho retreat from the shallow gossip Of the life
apout you, from the epbemeral literary sensations
:. me day, from the vulgar war OF contemporary
pontics Here III your own little investigation re.
eaIcilg rerfoS of history order OF