The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-12-03
Christmas gifts at BoYce,s.
adv.
The Teachers, Institute.

| The NEWS did not have any account of
the Teachers Institute recently held In
Mount Holly, mainly because it did not
really think there was anything worth re-
porting, for as a general proposition
teachers institutes are not worth the time
and money spent on them.
But there were one or two sessions at
Mount Holly which must have been rather
interesting. The speakers were gentle
men of prominence and supposed ability
but there were one or two of them who
either lacked judgment or ability, posi-
| bly, both.
Professor James M. Green, who has
charge Of the Trenton Normal school,
seemed to have 1t in for country schools in
general and made particular mention of a
school in Burlington county. He used for
the basis Of his remarks a paper written
by graduate of school In this county
In which the composition was open to
criticism. Reading from this paper the
learned professor laid especial stress on
sentence which read, "the building had no
floor" The speaker stated that all build
ings had floors, but he overlooked the fact
that majority of people. not SO well versed
as he is, generally concede that a building
that has only ground floor is build.
ing without floor, and that was what
was meant by the writer, As a fact the
paper was never meant to be offered for
criticism, 1t was simply the notes made by
the student who was speaking on the SUBJ
1ect, and when the talk was over the
teacher asked for the paper and marked It.
In order to fairly criticise it should be
necessary for the person undertaking that
task to be In position not to have any
come back" on himself, but In this in
stance and during his talk the head of the
state school plunged in and frequently
slipped up by using such phrases as che
don't know, she don't know, and so on,
besides getting mixed up on other SEN
fences like "the cows is In the field"
This latter is not verbatim reproduction
of the words, but the grammar was Just
that way, and the errors he made during
his talk were so glazing that there were
many who, If they had shut their eyes
would have wondered If 1t was the Pro-
fessor who was talking
Professor Green went out of his way to
criticise the Burlington county schools.
Many of those who have come from the
Normal school were placed on a first-class
foundation In this county before they
started career at Trenton, There are
teachers in this county who never had the
extraordinary advantages offered by the
Trenton Normal school, but who, never
theless, are doing at least as good work as
some who have come away from the state
capital with the Green trading stamp on
them.
An instance that came under the notice
OF the writer was when, during the illness
of the late Professor Cook, it was necess-
airy to get teacher to aid the acting prin-
cipal. The District Clerk of this town
ship went to Trenton to ascertain whether
Professor Green could give the name of
some one qualified for the work. The In
quirer was told Of two graduates from the
Normal school. one at Newark, the other
in town several miles distant. Both
were interviewed. and both declined to
act, because their instruction In mathe-
MATES had not been such as to give them
confidence on that subject. And the Dis
trict Clerk went to Philadelphia and got
graduate of the high school of that city
who filed the position to the satisfaction
of all.
So that 1t is apparent that little lapse
in composition is serious matter In the
eyes of very few.