Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-08-29
TEACHERS HAVE
BUSY DAY At The
COUNTY MEETING
Institute at High School on in
Full Sway With Many in
Attendance.
MEESE TO SPEAK TONIGHT
Will Discuss Illinois History Including
Black Hawk War and the
Mormon Period.

Today was busy one at the teach |
ers' institute. DR.. Coffman and Miss
Fox delivered lectures both at the
morning and afternoon sessions. At
p. m. Superintendent Ferguson met
the class OF beginners, and at 1885
he had another meeting of the district
teachers of the county. AT this meet
Ing Mr.. Ferguson outlined the general
plan OF the years work and gave in
structions that will tend to unity and
harmonic the work in all the schools.
This evening at 7:45, W. 4. Meese
will give the second and last of his
lectures on Illinois history before the
teachers OF Rock Island county. In
his lecture tonight Mr.. Meese will
deal with the Black Hawk war, the
Mormon period in Illinois and con-
clude with a number OF slides portray
ing the everyday life OF Abraham
Lincoln. Some facts will be brought
out in this part OF the lecture not us
ually heard in lectures on Lincoln.
MORNING PROGRAM.
At the opening of the institute this
morning Mr.. Philbrook sang for solo
Loeb Loman," Scottish ballad. Miss
l8oX then took charge. She spoke on
Modes Of Expression, dealing chiefly
with the manner in which children
tell stories. In the afternoon, her
theme was the Farm and the School
DR.. COffman continued his theme
OF yesterday afternoon, speaking on
the relation of home and school train
ing. In his first talk on the subject.
he said in part:
In school the moral basis OF gov
eminent Is justice ia the home az
fection. The school should engender
a feeling Of respect. The parent has
no right 10 ask more than that the
teacher be fair. II the terms of en-
oearment which teachers use in the
lower grades continued in the upper,
they would become absurd.
GOVERNS CoNDUST.
THE school is concerned chiefly
with conduct; the home. with charac-
ter. a boy OF bad character may abide
by the rules of the school. and his
conduct is all right so far as the
school ia concerned. Conduct be-
comes character only when it be-
comes habit.
The two things the home should
exercise rigidly are authority and ODE
dience. Much OF the difficulties Of
discipline in the school would be OBJ
Waited /! these things were attended
TO rigidly in the home. II is not fair
10 place on the shoulders of one insti-
tuition the responsibilities OF an
other"
TRACES DISCIPLINE.
Continuing this morning, DR.. Cof-
man traced through the steps Of dis
Clpline IN the schools which he said
had come down from medieval times.
Three of them. retaliation, repres-
sion, reformation. he declared we had
passed through. and that We are now
10 the fourth. prevention.
In the old fashioned school," he
said, 1T was an eye for an eye. II
the pupil annoyed the teacher. the
teacher In turn annoyed the pupil
Then came repression, punishment
not for the offense committed Sc
much for the offensa committed sc
much as to prevent its repetition by
the same OF some other pupil.
OPPOSES PUNISHMENT.
Corporal punishment does not de
ter from misdemeanor: capital pun
ishment does not II is only the Ger
tainty that punishment will follow
that deters. That is why England ha.
less crime per capita than this coun
try"
The speaker held up 20 ridicul,
many Of the old forms Of disciplin
ing. lie told OF a principal OF a high
school in Indiana who attempted &c
prevent hardness by having those
who came late stay and make up III,
time committing passages OF Latin
He stated that there we're 700 cases o.
hardness In that school during the
year.
We sometimes hear a great dea
about example That alone will moi
secure discipline a teacher may b,
ever so careful about her dress. anC
yet there may be pupils in that schoo
who are not even careful about get
ting the mud OF OF their shoes befor,
coming into the room. II. however
that teacher told those pupils tina
the next time she wNpted them TO see
that their shoes we've clean before
they came in. and made them under
stand. she would get better results
There are times when precept fl
much better than example"