Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-10-28
Or. Haney Speaks on Manual
Training in Secondary
Schools.
FISK QUARTET SINGS
v 7. Wycr Gives Interesting Address
--Brnin Building ny Rev. u. =. Gift
Observation-Disclosures sscs Meet
Scinoimrstcrs Have Ham
qurt ~ Y. VI. c. A.

The second day Of the annual CON
'ention of the Vermont state Teach
,rs' association opened Friday
morning at nine o'clock in the First
Church with devotional exercises led
by the Rev. George Y. Bliss, ID. H.. rec
,or OF st. Paul's Church. G.. n. Hui,
,hoirmaster Of -. Paul's Church, led a
Ihorus of children. made up of classes
from the Adams and Pomeroy schools,
in three songs, The Lord Is King"
lullaby. and a hunting song. John
c'arror sang two solos, Jesus, Lover
OF My Soul" and "The Little Irish
Gil - The second was in response to
an .Eore.
- 7isk University quartet was
present and gave, In all. four seleo-
lions which were received with tho
sam spirit OF appreciation that met
all Of their work last week. The
manager announced that the quartet
would be In Vermont the latter part
ot November and that 1t would be pos
sible to arrange for concerts at that
time
TEXT BOOKS AND OTHERS.
Two addresses followed the music
and devotional exercises. The order
given on the program was reversed
and James I. Wyer, Jr. director of
the state library. Albany, n. Y, spoke
first on Text Books and Others" The
second address the title OF which was.
"Pr8ctical Phases of Teaching the
Manual Arts" was delivered by James
p Haney, NJ. D., supervisor Of man
ua arts, New York city
MI Wyer began his address with
the statement that he was a book
agent and things began to look dark.
but when he explained that he was an
agent for all good books, no matter
by whom published. the weather
cleared Mr. Wyer made a convinc-
ing plea for good literature In the
,chools as a means of education.
Mr. Wyer said that too much school
teaching is done from text books. 1t
Is too mechanical ana lifelcss. The
good teacher should take nature and
literature in connection with the text
book as means OF instruction. And
then he went on TO tell Just what he
meant by nature lest he be misun-
derstood
He said he did not mean the study
OF the subject through text books.
= nor the KIND or nature STUDY zone ny
some good. but interchangeable. persons
who romp over the country trying "a
find out all about the birds, and who
write such books as How to Tell
the Birds from the Flowers He
characterized the male of this species
as having a mild blue eye, gentle
manner no plumage on the top OF
the head, usually to be found in the
woods in summer and the lecture
room in the winter. The female is
small and busting. Keeps up a con
Ftant twitter. has slightly bedra ggle(
plumage and is seldom known to pnir
Evidently Mr.. Wyer is not in complete
sympathy with the nature fakr, He sai'
that nature study is a state OF mind or
mental attitude rather than any body o
rules and principles. 1t cannot be printed
and pasted up in the school room of
city. And the speaker here handed thu
cities one by calling them the 'sordit
plague spots Of sordid civilizations
There are few born teachers And TO
this very reason literature is all tn,
more valuable an aid for it helps thos,
who are not born TO the work The frs
,bject of any school should be to teacl