Arizona republican., 1903-12-25
CLOSING SESSION
Last Day of Go. Teachers
institute
The Four Days Gathering of More
Practical Benefit Than any Of the
Sixteen Preceding Institutes.

The eighth grade room OF the Cen
trail school was filled yesterday morn
ing to its utmost capacity in the last
half days session of the Teachers In
stitute.
The meeting was called to order at
n few minutes after nine o'clock, by
Supt. Fulton. Under the leadership of
Prof. Todd, the institute then sang
couple of Christmas songs, after which
Rev. McAfee offered the Invocation.
The assembled teachers then listen
ed to a couple of readings admirably
rendered by Miss Margaret Stewart,
the first a selection from Kipling, and
the second a specimen of Irish dialect
These were generously applauded, and
Miss Stewart responded to an encore.
Miss Olive NJ. wilkins then followed
with another instructive talk and mo-
del lesson in drawing. Her aim this
time was to show what country teach
ers with limited facilities could do
with this much neglected subject She
conducted one class, consisting Of pu-
pills from the Phoenix schools who had
been given previous instructions as to
what they were to do, and another
class of all the teachers present, who
wished 10 learn her methods. Under her
direction they copied from nature-a
spray of leaves placed before the class.
She mentioned the objects most inter-
esting as sub jects for children, saying
that the first thing they always want
TO draw is a house, and showed here
their crude and faulty work could cas-
lily be corrected and made mere accur-
ate.
BY calling attention to the fact that
distant objects look more indistinct
than nearer objects, and that no lines
in nature are stiff and hard. she illus
trated the fact that drawing should
be done with a blunt pencil. and with
soft gray lines. Her work was both in
teresting and practical, as it gave
number Of devices that will be of
practical benefit to the country school
teacher.
In the general discussion that follow
ed Supt. McDonnold stated that a
very common mistake made by the or
dinary teacher Is to pay too much re-
gard to the results. Teachers often try
to have a good picture produced rath-
er than to have the childs senses
trained. which latter is the far more
important object.
After the discussion Supt. McDon-
mold gave the last of a series of three
comprehensive and valuable addresses
on the subject OF language.
Taking up the subject where he
STOPPED the day before, he began with
the fourth division of the outline-that
of the teaching of facility of express
sion. He first mentioned the ways in
which this facility might he attained,
recommending that pupils should be re-
Ouired TO make complete TecitatiOns,
that is, one child recite the whole les
son In consecutive form without ques-
tioning by the teacher. By having the
pupils give oral accounts of his exper-
fences. or by having a child take
charge of the recitation, and do all the
talking. questioning, and defending of
his position. while the teacher takes
a back seat, this same result may be
attained. He also recommended having
the child review popular books orally,
and dramatic descriptive poems, or
books. such as Hiawatha; saying that
the sixth grade last year had derived
great benefit as we'll as pleasure from
such dramatiZation.
Supt. McDonnold then proceeded to
sub-divide the subject Of facility. say
ing that exactness, choice and variety
should each be given attention. The
thousand words in the English lam
guage, no two of which mean exactly
the same. shows that a person who
can use the language with ease and ia
Cility must have had long and care
full training But children, he said.
have poetic natures and often surprise
their teachers by the aptitude with
which they respond to this training.
The fifth division of language
training is written composition.
too often a bug-bear in school
life. If, however, as has been
said before, the mechanical forms
are taught separately. and the word
composition" IS less used, this aver
sion may be at least partially over
come.
In the seventh and eighth grades.
the teacher should insist upon organ
tied thought and outlines of the COM
positions should be made, but not till
after the composition is written.
Further, the subject assigned should
rot be too broad. but rather should be
sub-divided, fer instance: assign as
a subject, The Last Days of Column
bus" rather than Life of Columbus.