The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1911-02-02
EDUCATIONAL.
HOW TO KEEP UP ENTHUSIASM
in THE SCHOOLS.

| Paper read at the Reedsville Teach
ers' Meeting by Catherine M. Doolan.)
So much has been said about the
conditions in our public schools, that
it seems as if it were almost impossible
to speak further upon the subject.
The questions occupying the minds
of educators today is;-"How to remedy
conditions and keep pupils Interested y
The Importance of the rural school,
the number of pupils who get their
| instructions within its walls, the good
| that Wisconsin has done, is doing and
continues to do, in the way of raising
the general level of intelligence of
our people, Americanizing our foreign
population, leveling class distinctions,
and increasing the welfare and happi-
ness of our citizens cannot be over
| estimated.
The main thing in a school room is
the teachers definite aim, for a definite
aim is a time saver and tends to make
the teacher original.
The hardest month of all the school
year to deal with is the first month.
1t has been long time since
the little fellow, and the big one, too,
has had a school book in his hand.
From June to Sept. he has been
playing and never once thought of
study. His mind has been far from the
teacher and the school. In fact, he
has forgotten how to study, and to get
down from the freedom of vacation to
| the drudgery of the school room is Il
| long step which can not be bridged
even in the first month of the term
| for children are children and nothing
else, and have not spent all their
leisure time in thinking of school and
study.
In reading children of today are in Il
paradise of books and in the primary
grades only the best of these should be
! read to the children. 1t is, then, later
on, great treat to witness the enthus-
| iasm of a child over a book, in which
he has discovered a story, familiar to
him, through having heard it read by
his teacher of primary days.
permit my primary pupils to cut
out, at home, objects for phonic cards
and to paste them on manila squares,
with the symbol of the sound which
the illustration stands for, also cutting
| out objects, pasting them on squares
| and writing two words aboutit. When
| their class in reading comes up to re-
| cite, | ask one pupil to read it and ask
the others to read it as well or better
| the next recitation period.
In the primary classes, | ask them to
tell me four things they noticed on the
way to school, and use the word "saw"
when telling me, thus getting answers
like these; 81 saw telephone wire, a
bridge, a cloud and dog" or 81 saw
tree, a home, woods, and a stone
pile" Then | ask the others in the
class to tell me about the four objects
named.
In numbers" | have squares of ma
Mia and let them set figures on those
cards found in the table they are study
ing, as, / l., , ,, ; +l==,etc.
have number chart" that we
call running up and down stairs. y
The numbers are written in irregular
order, on the stairsteps of the chart
and the pupil is to add, subtract, or
multiply each number by the number
OF the table he is studying. When he
hesitates or stumbles, he ''crawls down"
and another member of the class takes
Misplace and attempts" it,, time them,
thus arousng their enthusiasm.
Every Wednesday p. M. we have a
spelling match between the pupils of
the and = years, the best of those
with the 7th year and the best of those
with the sth year.
| record the daily standings of each
pupil and at the end of the week the
pupil with the highest average stand
iiS 80 tNi iihlbA'N W give odu lllc NOltS,
| try the same scheme with class in
adding, often adding set myself, thus
helping to keep up the enthusiasm,
for there are several pupils that like to
beat the teacher"
Try a few of those schems in YOUR
school room and compare your attend
ance next Monday morning and the
following Monday.
let my pupils in numbers make "a
prime and composite number chart of
the numbers from to 100, 10 spaces
long 10y 10 spaces wide placing the
prime numbers in with black pencil
and the composites with blue pencil.
In a short time the pupils remember
the primes down or up, right or left.
Then let two pupils make chart
of the factors Of the composites from
up to 100, the first pupil selecting those
that are products of the multiplication
table and the other pupil selects those
in class which are not products OF
the multiplication table.
| let other pupils make a weather
chart with simple drawing at the top;
others to make outline maps for others
in class to fill out, and then in al lines
exchange work for pupils to mark.
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