Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1914-05-14
Phoenix Teachers
Held Meeting

The Parent-Teacher Circle OF Phoe-
nix met in the school building Friday
afternoon at 3 p. m. The meeting
was opened by a piano solo, "Shep-
herds Dream" by Aubray Furry.
Mrs. c. E. Gore of Medford ad-
dressed the meeting on the Montes-
sori system of training children and
illustrated her remarks by part Of the
apparatus, passing the different arti-
Cles to the children present, who at
once showed great interest, set to
work adjusting the various sizes of
blocks, testing the almost impercepti-
BILE differences in weights of wooden
squares, etc.
Attention in this country was first
directed to the Montessori system
few years ago by S. S. Mcclure, who
travelled to Rome to study the theory
and gave it wide notice in his maga-
zine.
DR.. Montessori is an Italian woman
physician and the condition of the
schools of her country, wherein there
was no provision made for feeble
minded children outside the insane
asylums, set her studying to find a
method whereby these children might
be given a better chance in life. Her
work among these led to such won
derful results that she was approved
by the Italian government and her
methods studied all over the world.
These naturally handicapped children
were enabled to produce results un-
der her teaching that equaled those
of normal children under the condi-
tions that existed then in the public
schools. While the world was ac-
claiming her wonderful work, Dr..
Montessori was down on her knees
seeking the reason why" She knew
If so much could be done for undevel-
oped children by her understanding
and sympathetic work with them,
more could be done for the bright,
normal child if its education were
properly conducted.
Educators all over the world now
agree that initiative in the child, so
apparent in early years, is crushed
out by too much supervision and con-
stant help. Liberty is a strong fea-
ture of the new method, but in so
far only as the child's own rights and
the rights of others are recognized.
All the teachers of the school were
present, and the mothers present
were Mesdames Furry, Hearn, French.
Webster. Reames, Peck, Corliss, A.
S. Furry. Frost, Thrasher, McClain
and Elmer.
Messrs. Richards and Scott exhib-
tied several pictures in water colors
by the famous Norwegian artist, Gull
brand Sether. His subjects are i'm
pressively simple, but of them all
those picturing the cold northern
streams reflecting violet depths of
sky torn asunder, where the radiant
moon swims in sea of clear. intense
blue, the ice lying in the cold, white
snow, most closely show the intense
power o. his splendid execution. The
school needs and will purchase sew
eral pictures, some OF which will be
chosen from this group.
The school has five rooms. is stu
ated in a natural park and the
grounds are beautifully clean. They
have seven swings constructed of gas
pipe and chains, 'of which the chill
dren and teachers are very proud.
And such flowers! The windows are
all aglow with blooms.
Three of the rooms have organs
for the musical exercises. and one
room has a piano. The result of the
parent-teacher cooperation can have
but one result for the children, and
that the best.