St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1903-11-04

missed the great sense OF proportion and |
squandered the energies which should |
have been devoted to the few things |
that are needtul on variety OF burdens |
which the importantly of Others or the
false conscientiousness of himself has laid
upon him; or else, and this is by far the
most common and serious cause. he has
failed to merge his own life in the lives OF
his scholars, so that they have felt him
helper, leader, friend in the solving OF
their individual problems and the &C.
complishment of their common work.
On the other hand, will guarantee per-
feet personal success in any school to any
well trained teacher who will faithfully
incorporate these five principles into his
personal life. The teacher who is
healthy and happy with Epcurus nights
and mornings, holidays and vacations,
at mealtime and between meals, who
faithfully forti6es his soul with the Stole
defences against needless regrets and su.
perfuous torebodings, who now and
then ascends with Plato he heights from
which he sees the letters OF his lite writ
large, and petty annoyances reduced to
their true dimensions; who applies the
Aristoteian sense OF proportion to the
distribution OF his energy, so that the full
force OF it is held in reserve, to be spent
on the things that are really worth while;
and, finally, sees in the lives of his schol-
ars the supreme object for which all
these other accumulations and savings
have been made and devotes himself JOY
FULLY and unreservedy to the common
work he tries to do with them, for them
and through them for their lasting good
| this teacher can no more help being
personal success as a teacher than the
sunlight and rain can help making the
earth the fruitful and beautiful place that
it is.
At the close of President Hydes ad.
dress the St. Johnsbury teachers gave
reception to the visitors in the Fairbanks
Museum. Music was furnished tor the
occasion by Youngs Orchestra and all
thoroughly enjoyed the social hour and
the opportunity to casually inspect the
treasures OF the institution.
The session Friday morning was held
in the North church. Miss Nellie ]. Carr,
organist at Grace Methodist church, pre-
sided at the organ and the devotional
exercises were conducted by Presiding
Elder Sherburne. The address of the
morning was by Prof. H. II. Horne OF
Dartmouth College upon 1.-THE Art OF
Questioning" He said there were three
kinds OF questions, preliminary, exam
national and instructive. He then pre-
sented ID ideals OF a question. First,
question should be asked before the pupil
who is to answer it is named. In this
way the teacher secures the attention of
the class and multiplies his efficiency by
the number of pupils. Second, the ques
lions should not be asked the class in
regular order. Any regularity IN cues
tioning quickly becomes mechanical and
the answers are like it. Third, be wary
OF repeating question once asked. Fire.
quent REPETITION puts premium on mat
tention, loses valuable time and helps the
unprepared to get ready for the answer.
Fourth, there should be sufficient pause
after the question is asked before the
pupil is named for all the class to think
intense thinking for every member of the
class. Fifth, avoid the questions that
. have yes or no answer. The teacher
? should cultivate connected answers to
I every question. Sixth, question should
be clear. 1t should be expressed in such
simple language that every child could
, understand. Seventh, the question bs
: brief. A short, snappy question wakes
l up the class like an electric shock. 1t /:
! the besetting sin OF the teacher to do toe
, much talking in the classroom. Eighth
aquestion should be colorless. 1t should
: stand upright and not lean to thu
e answer. Ninth, the question should b.
t definite. 1t should ask for what thu
t teacher wants. An aimless question lik
! an aimless shot bags no game. Tenth
t the question should always be asked tn
: individual and not the class. 1t degrade
D the question to ask it OF everybody. Blu
f. a question of an advanced character
which goes beyond the lesson, may b
:, asked the class, and should be regularl
asked at every exercise, particularly a
= the close. Eleventh, the question shout
- be adapted to the capacity OF the pup
h 1t must not be too easy to bring his min
- down to lower level neither must it
= above his comprehension. Twelfth, tn
- question should exercise the pupils jude
= ment and not simply his memory. Tn
a pupil should be taught to think. Thil
IL tenth, the question should be logica
- The questions should connectively folloV
10 and naturally prepare the way for eac
,s other. Fourteenth. the question shout
=, be suggestive. 1t should stimulate an
:. not satisfy 1t should start many train
f of thought away from the teacher an
~ away from the schoolroom. Our mod'
: is the Great Teacher. His question
:, n were original, practical and personal.
!, Prot. Horne concluded his address wit
~ these practical recommendations: Tt
~ teacher should be just as ready to receiv
~ question as to ask it; he should cult
i. vate the habit of seltcriticism; he shout
~ occasionally write down the question
-, proposed to ask; he ought to read, chez
r. and digest the worlds best literature Q
st the subject, and finally, he ought dali
., to ask himself whether these thing
% be so.
The Latin conference was attended b
~ a large and interested audience. TT
j main topic, "How may Latin classes
l., carried On the first two years of the
=, ~ work with fewer losses in NUMBER" VIZ
~ presented by Principal L. S. Hastings
- Nashua, N II. He gave a forceiul an
- helpful talk his chief thought being thu
- these years of Latin study must be Wit a
Il lied and enriched to the utmost, thu
- their practical as well as their literai
~ value may be duly appreciated by Il
ne student. Various methods of treatmel
ID of the subject were suggested, grown
;s out of a long experience IN this depar