Oxford Democrat., 1914-04-28
Large Gathering Of Teachers.

Large Gathering Of Teachers.
PROFITABLE CONVENTION OF THE o.
FORD COUNTY ASSOCIATION.
Bright weather and satisfactory tra
arrangement assisted In making lare
attendance 1t the annual meeting OF Il
Oxford County Teachers' Association
I which was held ct South Paris on Fl
day. Very interesting and proftab
sessions were held, and the time was fu
ly occupied.
A special train on the Rumford Fall
division brought the teachers OF th
eastern part of the county to Mechsni
Falls, and they arrived here on the fore
noon train, while others came on th
down train. As the up train was hal
an hour late and the other much more
there was necessarily some delay i
opening, which had been set for 1890.
At little after II the meeting va
called to order by President L. w
BIaisdell of Canton. A solo was sum
by Miss Emma Mary Mealand Of Nor
way, she playing her own accompani
ment. Prayer was offered by Rev. A
T. McWhorter of South Paris, q violiI
solo was given by Miss Grace Dean o
South Paris, Mrs. Agnes Morton accom-
panying, and brief welcome to Soutf
Paris was given by Arthur E. Forbes.
Burr r. Jones Of South Paris - secre
tary gave brief report of last year,
session, and as treasurer reported re
csipts for the year Of $37 80, and no dis
bursements, leaving that amount now II
the treasury. Committees on resolu
tions and on nominations were appoint
ed.
The first address of the program wal
BY 8. L. Andrews, NJ. D., of Lewiston,
on "Conservation of Vision" DR.. An
drews stated at the outset that this ad
dress was part of q program of educa
tion undertaken by the American Medi
cal Association to show people wba!
they should do and what they should
not do with their eyes. DR.. Andrews
instanced the somewhat startling fac,
that there are In this country OO,OO0 de,
pendent blind people, and that probably
three fourths of this blindness is need
less. he enumerated some OF the most
common and most serious eye diseases,
and described their symptoms and ef'
fects, in untechnical language. One OF
the facts he emphasized was that
most troubles of the eye are infectious,
some of them highly SO, and no one
should ever use towel or handker.
chief which had been used by any one
with sore eyes. Any trouble Of the eyes
which causes redness or discharge
should receive attention, as should any
injury to the eye by violence, even
though they may seem to be trivial. He
cautioned particularly against the use of
any "patent" remedies, some of which
are advertised in false terms, or the use
OF some of the cheap extracts, which
contain wood alcohol. 1t was an inter.
esting talk.
Professor Arthur j. Jones OF the Uni
versity of Maine gave the second ad.
dress of the forenoon session, on the
topic, "What Teacher Can DO to I'm
prove His Own Efficiency" 1t was a
talk which was we'll received, but no
summary can be given, as the fire alarm
sounded just before he began, and the
reporters we're on duty at the blaze.
Dinner was served in the dining room
of Grange Hall by the Ladies' Aid of the
Baptist church, and was we'll patronized
by the visiting teachers and others.
The first part of the afternoon pro.
gram was at the high school building,
in three sections in different rooms, the
programs being as follows:
RURAL SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
Chairman, Superintendent W. s. Mcnamara.
"The Daily Program" Miss Lillian l. Lincoln.
FarmingtOn state Normal School.
Teaching Exercise in Fourth Grade Reading.
Miss Lena L. Franck, South Paris
I"Agriculture In Rural Schools"
Miss Mamie <. Foss, Rumford
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
Chairman. Superintendent T. c. Morrill,,
Two Part Singing. Fifth Grade Pupils.
Miss Emma Mary Mealand. Norway
Miss Helen Cole. Norway
"Problems Of the Elementary Schools"
Principal W. G. Mallett,
Pennington Normal School
Model Teaching Exercise with Third Grade
Pupils. Miss Tessa R. Thibodeau. Norway.
SECONDARY SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
Chairman. Principal v. X. Bracket. BuckGeld.
"Some Suggestions About Teaching Geometry"
Principal J. L. Dyer, Oxford.
Teaching English in Secondary Schools"
PriucipalS 8. r. Oldham, Maine Central Institute.
Rumford.
Following the department sessions, a
general session was held at Grange Hall,
aud an address was given by Frank w.
Wright of Cambridge, Mass. on "The
Science and Sentiment of Education"
Mr.. Wright is a young man who makes
educational work his profession, and is
very earnest in it. he addressed him
self particularly to the rural school
problem as Names problem. The ru-
raj school has failed In its work, he
said, If it does not turn It's results back
into the community where 1t is, rather
than sending them to the city. To re-
organize the rural school and solve it's
problem certain things are necessary.
We must have trained body of rural
school teachers. Pay the rural teacher
as much as the city teacher, or more.
Put the unframed teacher in the city
school, and let her work toward the ru-
raj school, instead of the reverse. We
need better rural school buildings, a re-
constructed course of study, and we
need teachers who are not city y-sick.
The rural school is worth the best you
can give 1t, and more than most of us
have. Believe that child.life is the most
interesting of all life. The teaching
profession is the magnetic power of the
teacher dealing with her pupils.
A question box was conducted by
Principal w. G. Mallett of Pennington
Normal School, and numerous ques-
tions of interest on variety of subjects
were asked and answered.
Supper was served In the dining hall
BY Mt. Pleasant Rebekah Lodge.
Music by the Norway High School Or
chestra, under the direction Of Miss Mea.
land, opened the evening session, and
they were warmly applauded. Other
entertainment numbers during the ses-
sion were violin solo by Miss Clara