The Greeley tribune., 1906-08-09
CLOSES TOMORROW AFTER
INTERESTING SESSION.
Fine Lectures and Instructions
10 Teachers in General
Has Been a Large
Attendance.

in every respect. The lectures have
been as fine as could be heard at any
chautauqua course in the state.
Take Monday forenoon for an ex-
ample.
After the opening exercises con-
sisting chiefly of music lead by Mrs.
Bell, Mr.. Miller, superintendent of
Fort Collins schools, gave an in
tensely interesting talk OH educa-
tional psychology. In the course Of
his talk he laid stress upon the me-
cessity OF putting the same thought
before the plastic minds of young
pupils in different words, for, "
said he, words do not convey
thoughts This was undoubtedly
new to many, and quite contrary to
the generally accepted idea, but the
speaker went on to make it perfectly
plain that words only call up impress
sions of things previously seen or ex-
perienced. For instance the word
book" calls to the mind the thought
OF group of printed pages within
two outside covers, because the mind
has associated the work with that
concrete expression; if the word had
been associated with different ex-
preston, flower vase for instance,
that thought and not that of the
printed pages would be called up.
Hence, words do not convey
thoughts, but only call up ideas.
Teachers often have difficulty as a
result of this fact. In their ex-
plantations of things given to their
pupils often the words they use and
that exactly express the ideas in
their own minds call up entirely
different ideas in the minds of their
pupils. 1t is therefore important
that teachers use different modes Of
expression, to the end that associated
ideas in the minds of all pupils may
be reached, and the subject in hand
understood.
Next came methods by Mrs. Bell,
assistant in the department of educa-
tion in the state university. After
running over a list of words generally
mispronounced she passed on to the
main subject. She began by stating
a problem that. faces every teacher,
that OF fitting the lesson to the class.
There is always the bright, quick,
overstepping mind that takes every
thing at a leap. and there is also the
slow. laborious mind that must dig
everything out by the hardest, and
there are all the grades that lie be-
tween. Now how to give a lesson
that is long enough and hard enough
to keep the spirit employed and out
OF mischief, yet not so long nor so
hard as to utterly discourage the
last is problem that every teacher
must solve to great extent for her.
self. But she should make a careful
study of her pupils. Sometimes
minds utterly unable to grasp one
phase of subject may get at another
phase easily. Mrs. Bell recon-
mended rereading lesson many
times, each time searching for diff
erent point. She took for instance
the story of King Midas, and sug-
gested that all bearing upon his per-
sonal appearance to be searched out !;
then all pertaining to his character
before the touch Of gold, then all
following it etc. In that way
every mind would probably find
something that would appeal to it,
although the whole story might not.
DR.. D. E. Phillips, head of the
department of psychology in the
Denver University. occupied the
period otherwise belonging to Miss
Carson. His subject was "The Art
OF Literary Interpretation He
spoke of recent book, the author
of Which was said by critic to have
complied with all rules of litera-
ture." Rules of lterature-with
accent on the rules Then he
told of the early struggles of Goethe,
how when he presented his first
effort to the publishers it was re-
fused; how the young writer, once
over his first keen disappointment
concluded that it must have been be-
cause through his ignorance of the
rules of literature he had violated
them; and he set himself to the task
OF learning them. For three years
he studied untiringly, calling to his
aid every pointed Naga available
upon the subject. Then after the
rules had been mastered he tried
again, and. to his dismay failed
again. And continued to fail until
In sheer recklessness Of results he
threw all rules to the wind and
wrote as he felt, from the depths Of
| his own soul and hpbo1d, no had