The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1903-11-13

The Morris County Teachers In
stitute is holding two-day session in
the High School building in this city
with an attendance of about two
hundred and fifty teachers and
principals.
The meeting was opened at 10
O'Clock a. m. yesterday by County
Superintendent Matthews. The de-
votional exercises were conducted by
the Rev. Albert Erdman, of this city.
Miss M. Summers was then intro
duced and the first period of the
Institute was devoted to talk on
Thought and Form
Miss Summer discussed principally
the teaching of English in the ele-
mentary grades and emphasized the
Importance of attending to the though
expressed in the child's reading and
composition, as well as to the out
ward forms of the words and sentences.
She took up the subjects of arithmetic,
geography and spelling, and explained
how present and past methods in
these subjects have failed to develop
properly the thought side of the
symbols used.
After an intermission of fifteen
minutes, DR.. U. N. Hailman addressed
the Institute on the subject, "Com-
mon Sense in Education" Among
other things DR.. Hailman discussed
the subject of calisthenics and the
place they should hold in the school
curriculum. He criticised the old and
quite prevalent practice of employing
gymnastic exercises as a means of
recreation, and announced the some
what surprising fact that such eX-
ercises are more fatiguing with
reference to mental energy than al
most any other kind of instruction.
He added that the kind of instruction
which caused the least mental fatigue
was religious instruction. He said
that vigorous play out of doors was a
good thing, so far as fresh air and phys
ical vigor were concerned, but that
such exercise gave no mental rest. He
advocated the one session a day plan
for schools, calling attention to the
fact that great writers and thinkers
claim that they cannot give more than
three OF four hours at a time to con-
tinuous mental work, while the public
schools require of children from five to
six hours.
DR.. Hailman stated that in many
of the Indian schools where the single
session plan had been adopted, he had
found that the pupils actually made
greater progress in three years than
our own American children have made
in four years where they have been
kept in school from five to six hours a
day.
The afternoon session was convened
at O'Clock, and Miss Summers occu-
pied the first period, taking as her sub
ject, " Learning by Doing" In this
talk, Miss Summers made an earnest
plea for the instruction of pupils in
those branches of manual training
most closely connected with their nat
ural inclinations and environment.
She urged the teachers to make use OF
the materials at hand.
At the last period of the afternoon
session Mr.. Frederick Manly, of Bos-
ton, was to give an address on Motif
in Composition" but by special request
changed his subject and gave his pop
ular lecture on Shakespeare play
Merchant of Venice" dealing par
ticularly with the character of ''Shy-
lock-" The lecture was a rare treat
to all who heard it, both in master
full presentation and the original treat
ment of the subject. Mr.. Manly, who
is a recognized authority on the in
depreciation of shakespeare plays,
regards "the Merchant" of Venice as a
tragedy instead of comedy, and sue
ceeded in establishing his somewhat
new position.