Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-08-25
BLAIR TOMORROW
State Superintendent of Public
instruction to Address
County Teachers.
PUBLIC MAY HEAR HIS TALK
Two Hundred Fifty Registered With
More Coming-lnteresting
Lectures Are Given.

| ioloiioW AFTERNOON VIII be the big
day at the county teachers institute
which is in session at the high school
superintendent S. J. Ferguson has pre-
pared treat for the teachers in I'll
shape of talk from Francis G.. Blair
state superintendent of schools. Sn
lperintendent Blair will discuss prom
lnent educational topics The general
public will be welcome TO attend this
lecture. 1t will be given at the high
school assembly room at 3:15.
| Professor McKenny addressed the
teachers at the county institute this
morning on Curiosity, Interest and
Attention. and told how all operate
| together TO aid in the education Of
| the child. He said that it is the in
| terest which is aroused in child
which guides it in what it does or at.
tempts to do. Professor McKenny ex-
planned that there are two kinds OF
interest the one which is evinced in
! things which meet natural desire
and the one which is shown i'll things
| of commercial value. The first is the
better kind to work with in educating;
but the second will do if the other
cannot be aroused. There are times
when the first sort of interest is
aroused in the wrong direction but
the speaker thought that with the
| right kind of work it could be changed
to the right path.
| For Instance" he said, ''if a child
is interested in reading books let him
| read them if he wants the blood ana
| thunder kind of book. When he is
once thoroughly interested in reading
give him books just as interesting bu'
of higher class of literature and his
interest in reading will not flag, while
J the good done by the change is
great" 1t is curiosity which prompts
interest and interest leads to atten
ton. 1t follows then that a child
gives the best attention when mos
| interested The teacher who causes
children to be interested in things 70.
which they have no natural curiosi; y
is the most successful type of in
istructor."
| Teaching Reading Easy.
| Miss Hamilton lectured this morn
ing on reading in the primary depart
ment She told how easy it is to gel
a child TO read when there is mo
tive in it which leads the child. I'm
pressing upon them the fact thai
books are but the records of the plays
and the stories which are of so much
| interest to children supplies a motive
in most cases and they are at once
eager to read the books. The work
of teaching pupil to read starts witt
the formation of words and sounds
which can be taught to them by games
and stories. After the child has mas
tered small vocabulary, it should be
encouraged to make it larger by the
addition of words and phrases.
Primary Work Important.
Yesterday afternoon Miss Hamilton
in her lecture. told the teachers how
that teaching would not be a hardship
The first thing to do is to appeal tt
the interest of the child and to make
it feel that school is not prison, bu
rather a place where there is consid
icrable enjoyment The desire to reat
should be developed early in the child
and Miss Hamilton said that the hes
way is to relate children'S stories ant
to read to them Children's stories al
lpeal to nearly all children, and befor,
long they want to hear more The de
sire 10 hear them soon leads to tn,
| Il 10. ,INI L.
then teaching becomes easy
Professor McKenny took primar
work as his subject, also, yesterda
afternoon. His talk was on the deve
opment of the child along educationa
lines. He spoke of this developmea
of the child as being the principa
function of the teacher Professor No
kinny also thought that the first ste
!: in teaching is to cultivate the desir
to learn, and his method for instillin
this desire into the pupil was much tn
same as the one laid down by Mis-
! Hamilton.
Many Have Registered.
4. A large number of teachers have re,
istered during the first two days {
| the institute and more are coming i
all the time. 1t will be probably th
best attended institute ever held hel
if the number keeps swelling by ne
+ arrivals each day as is expected. Fo
S flowing is list of those who have re
istered:
. Rock Island-Elsie Johnson, AMI
Gran, Clara Grandin, Mary Moor
| Anna Canty, Nina Lennon, Maut
II Huesing. E. l.. Philbrook, Estel
Grant. Abbie Burns, H. B. Hayde
| Lizzie Martin. Florence Morrison.
! e. Brown, Julia Anderson, Virgin
Ray, Bertha Jonassen, Maude Robel
son, Mae Cutler, Jennie Murph
Bridgie Ferry, Emily McCurdy, Ma
garet Wilson, Mary Brennan, Idesl
| Wakefield, Minnie Martin, Leono
Witherspoon, Natalie Mirfield. Aim
Johnson, Lucia Robbins, Mary La
nen, Sara Hitler, Mrs. Louise Koc
A. F. Philbrook, Ethel Young, Il
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