Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1909-12-02
ALL BUT FOUR
TEACHERS PRESENT

IInUIIEuU ] uIUIUI
The opening session of the Montour
county teachers institute was held in
the high school room Monday after
noon. OF the seventy five teachers of
the county all but four were enrolled.
The showing in point of attendance
was a little less fiattering than last
year when all the teachers were enroll
ed at the opening session. In all prob
ability today all the teachers employ
ed will respond to the roll call.
The devotional exercises Monday
were conducted by the Rev. Joseph
f. Guy. pastor of Shiloh Reformed
church. Dr. George Leslie Omwake, of
Ursinus college and DR.. Paul Martu u
Pearson of Swarthmore college, the
principal instructors of the week, each
occupied period In the Introductory
addresses the speakers were able to
touch only lightly on their subjects.
Each, however, made most excellent
impression, showing not only that he
was complete master of his theme and
had new and original ideas to offer,
but also that he was u speaker whose
personality and methods employed
were such as are bound to please and
attract. 1t required but one short ad
dress to bring speaker and teachers on
excellent terms.
DR.. Omwake occupied the first period.
He explained that his lecture would
be mainly III the field of educational
theory, being simply a portion of his
course in the Philosophy of Education
which he gives to the seniors of Ursi-
nus college, who aim to make teaching
their life work. His opening address
was on the "Vital Forces of the
School ="
He made clear the distinction be-
tween those features of the school,
which are merely material and those
which are organic. While we all realize
that the teacher and the pupil repre-
sent vital forces we do not usually ac-
cept the full implication of this fact
III our educational thinking, rs is seen
i'll the figures of speech by which the
teaching process is so often described
We must beware of all analogies,
similes, parallels and allegories in our
educational thinking. Human life can
be fully congratulated emily in terms
of itself.
A corollary to the main proposition
of life itself is growth. Here the teach
eI must keep i'll mind two principles,
that of completeness and that of prep
aration 1t is mistake to think
that maturity is essential to complete
ness Life can be complete at every
stage and indeed should be. This makes
it necessary for the teacher to know
life not merely from the adult view
point but III its genetic aspects. He
will find present i'll children many
things that are according to the stand
ards of grown up people, undesirable,
vet which are present in child life by
nature and which constitute Legitimate
steps in his growth.
To be complete at every stage is also
to be prepared Life is always prep
aration. Education must take account
of this. Preparedness saves the pupil
from failure. For child to experience
repeated failures is to acquire the
habit of failure. Many men fail in life
because they have been educated to it.
The teacher also is vital force and
needs to grow. The best way for a
teacher to keep from reaching the dead
line is to keep close to child-life, to
live in the child's realm of experience.
Further both teacher and child must
be contributing forces. Both some
times go to school to get out of it"
all that they can. Such an attitude is
fatal. Life and growth fall short with
out fruit-bearing. Progress is made
only by the clash of minds" and
when the minds of teacher and pupils
meet the Kingdom of ideas has been
enriched. 1t is only i'll this sense of
contributing to life instead of getting
out OF it all that is possible, that the
great paradox of our Saviour becomes
Ineligible: ITO him that hath shall
he given, and from him that hath not
shall he taken away even that which
me hath. "
DR.. Pearson occupied the last period
of the afternoon He spoke ON the
necessity of having the voice under
control, Illustrating the disadvantage
that teachers, especially, are under
who fail to properly modulate their
voices. He attributed the lack of good
order in many schools TO the demoral-
i2ing effect of the thin shrill voice of
the teacher. We are strangely affected
by sounds and our voices come to take
on the tone of voices that we hear. The
teachers voice should be we'll trained =;
it should be firm and under perfect
control.
DR.. Pearson outlined short exercise
calculated to give self-control and to
develop deeper tone
1t is the teachers duty not only to
get tho proper voice herself but al
so to require the pupils to modulate
their voices to suit the room in which