not to be idle, but as seed in good ground, to bring forth thirty, sixty, or an hundred fold. Whenever text-books properly arranged can be obtained, these should be in the hands of the pupil; and when he has finished his own investigation of the topic assigned for the lesson, he learns what his book tells him upon it, and thus enlarges and fills up the outline he has obtained by his own research.

Thus are secured the three great desiderata of all methods of teaching. First, a thorough interest in, and independent investigation of the subject under consideration. Second, close and prolonged reflection upon the subject matter presented. Third, habits of intelligent, earnest, and, if we may so speak, appropriating study of books.

The same general plan is pursued when we enter upon those subjects which are outside the range of objective research. If results from processes of reasoning are to be made the subject of study, the pupil is first led over the first steps of that process, so far as he is capable of taking them. He arrives at intelligent conclusions from the data accessible to him; and then by studying his textbook enlarges or corrects those conclusions, as may be required by the influence of conditions which he has not sufficiently taken into account. Throughout the whole course of instruction we aim to make him not only a well informed man, but an independent investigator and correct reasoner upon all matters that come within the range of his investigation and reason. At the same time by requiring him to accept on the authority of others many important truths which are beyond the range of his investigation, we cultivate in him the element of faith; and by showing him the need of constantly correcting, to a certain extent, by obtaining more complete data, conclusions which had appeared perfectly natural and correct, we guard against rashness in drawing conclusions and the blind adherence to prejudices in place of intelligent conclusions. This, Mr. President, is the outline of what we conceive to be the philosophy and method of all really valuable oral instruction.

HINTS TO TEACHERS OF READING.

"What method do you use for bringing out the voice?" is the question re. peatedly asked of teachers in Reading, and by many would-be critics, by whom he who has most volume is accounted the best reader. I would by no means undervalue this important property of voice, but I would suggest that in devotion to this adjunct to expression we may lose sight of those minor graces, without which reading were flat, stale, and unprofitable." We want something more than a loud tone; we want naturalness, and all those niceties of vocal touch which give evidence of delicate perception and true taste. Bad reading is in the main, caused by many little things, so little and so common that they indi' vidually escape our notice. That this is true has been proved in my experience with many classes fresh from the public schools. I find universally the same faults, which must be due either to the uncultivated ear of the teacher, or the pupil's blunt perception.

There is constraint in the manner of the reader, a fear of those who listen, which precludes all expression of feeling. A child who is taught to read at home is rarely troubled in that way. While he is in school, nothing effectual is done to encourage him to throw aside that timidity which naturally falls upon him in the company of so many strangers. The older the child, the harder the task of unfettering him. The example of a fine reader will loosen the first rivet. Place the picture of the poem, or prose sketch, if it be such, before the "mind's eye" in a few, vivid, striking expressions; fire their souls with your enthusiasm, and, trust me, the chains will no longer be felt. The magnetism of the eye, still more the magnetism of voice, brings the class en rapport with yourself, and you may lead whither you will.

Another prominent fault is imperfect articulation. I do not mean that thickness of utterance which renders one difficult to be understood, but those careless slips from one word to another which destroy all diguity of expression, either by producing ludicrous combinations, or altering the movement of a line. The difficulty occurs most frequently with words which end in s, that letter being transferred to the next word, and doing for two. It occurs, also, in words which "What a piece of end in t or ch, when such words come before a vowel, as, work is man!" which is given in this form-" Wha ta piece of work, etc." "The sky is changed; and such a change!" The rhythm of the line should be as marked; as usually read it becomes-"The sky | is changed; | and su cha change!" Order in the last two feet becomes chaos, and the sublimity of the scene vanishes in a breath. A very slight pause after the first word restores the harmony.

Occasionally a scholar reads in the minor key, a good thing in its season, but one of which, like some other good things, it is possible to have too much. In such case, it is of no more use to begin the reforming work with the voice, than to attempt curing a sick person by applications to parts farthest removed from the seat of the disease. Watch the daily life, the mental action, in that scholar, and you will find everything written in the same key. Begin the work there. By encouragement, reasoning, persuasion, above all, by communicating cheerfulness, change the key of that child's thought and feeling, and the voice will not be slow in harmonizing.

Another thing to be watched is the use of the circumflex inflection. Except in rare instances of distinctive emphasis, it belongs to the expression of irony, raillery, and kindred emotions. But, in the expression of a contrast, pupils whose attention has not been called to the matter, will invariably indicate the contrasting words, by a circumflex, as, “I would rather play than read,” instead of the honest up and down slides-"I would rather play than rea'd." I have found the most effectual way of remedying this, to be exaggerating the wrong inflection in such a way as to make it extremely ridiculous. The more undignified, the stronger the impression; then fix the right form by persistent repetition.

The worst fault to contend with, particularly with those who have no musical ear, is peculiar to prose reading. Through the long sentences, the voice at the end of each clause, and sometimes each phrase, is suspended between the level of the sentence and the cadence. It is an indescribable tone, a dropping of

the voice not far enough for an inflection, and too far for anything corre sponding in natural expression. It is a tantalizing sound, a sort of dismal holding on, without a touch of nature, acquired evidently by considering reading a mere mechanical exercise, in which certain sounds are to be given, and certain pauses made. The pupil must be induced to read as he would speak, and he will break the monotony of the long sentences, by harmonic slides. It is this fault, more than any other, which makes prose reading so dull and lifeless. These are some of the little things which we often forget to watch. I am tempted to add something about pronunciation, partly for what I hope to receive in return. We have lately become alive to the fact that we are pronouncing a long list of words wrong, by reason of giving two strong accents, as ter'-ri-to'-ry for territory, dic'-tion-a-ry for dictionary, cir'-cum-stanc'-es for cir'cumstances, etc. We can manage the reform very comfortably in such words It is comparatively easy to say sec ́-retary, per ́-emptory, etc., when the accented syllable is the second from the offending penult. But what can our Yankee tongues do with such words as obligatory, judicatory and a host of others, in which the accented syllable is the third or fourth from the penult? Shall there be a secondary accent? I shall be thankful to any one who will free me from this perplexity.-F. A. R., in Massachusetts Teacher.

GOOD READING is a rare attainment in our schools. Impressive reading superadds to this some degree of adaptation of the tone of voice to the character of the subject and of the style. Instead of it, we meet with a lifeless, drawling, monotonous style, by which the sense of the author is obscured, lost, or perverted. In such cases reading is a mechanical, not an intellectual process. We can scarcely call this an attainment. An ability to read to this extent can be of little benefit to the pupil; it will not induce him, after he has left school, to read for amusement or instruction. Before he will do this, reading must have ceased to be a task; he must have acquired the power of reading with fluency and intelligence. And if he does acquire this power, the benefit, great though it be to himself, as a means of intellectual advancement, will not be exhausted upon himself, but will extend to others. It is of great moment that as many as possible among the poor should be able to read aloud, so as to be well understood, and listened to with pleasur.-English Journal of Education.

IGNORANCE IN ENGLAND.-The Children's Employment Commission recently published a report of its labors in and about Sheffield, which wrings from one of the London journals the prayer that Dr. Livingstone would give up Africa for a while, and turn his atttention to Sheffield. Messrs. Tremenhese and Tufnellwhose veracity can not be questioned-are the authority for declaring that they find in Sheffield lads of fourteen years of age-good lads, too-with money in the savings bank, who are entirely ignorant of everything but the trade by which they live; who have no knowledge of God, or Jesus Christ, or the Bible; who have never heard of Paradise, and who believe the Garden of Eden to have been a tavern; who are not aware that they live in England; who go to chuch sometimes, because they are sent thither, without knowing whether it is a Protestant or a Roman Catholic church, or for what purpose they attend it.-Amer ican Correspondent.

School Officers' Department.

The articles included in this Department have special interest to school officers. Those not otherwise credited, are prepared by the editor. Brief communications from school officers and others interested in this feature of the MONTHLY, are solicited. Questions of interest to township boards of education, will receive due attention.

SCHOOL RETURNS.

Another school year has closed, and school clerks are required by law to prepare a statistical record of its success or failure. They have doubtless received from the Commissioner the requisite blanks, and it is hoped that many are already engaged in filling them. We would urge upon all the importance of giving early attention to this duty, and of discharging the same with great care and faithfulness. The value of the school statistics of the State as a whole depends upon the accuracy and completeness of the returns from the several districts. Every township has been supplied with blanks for teachers' reports, and each clerk should be in possession of all necessary data for his annual report. All school returns to the county auditor must be made this month. We shall look forward to the general summary with interest.

EMPLOYMENT OF TEACHERS.

School directors will soon be called upon to discharge the most important of all their official duties, to wit: the employment of competent teachers for the schools under their control. Whatever else they may have done, all will be of no avail unless this duty be done wisely and well. "Without good teachers," says Dr. Channing, "a school is but a name." Search, then, for good teachers as with a lighted candle, and, when found, employ them, expecting to pay good wages. Bolt your school-room doors against incompetent teachers at whatever price they may offer their services. The true maxim is-" Good teachers at the price of good teachers, but, at any price, good teachers." Is your school small? Remember that a poor teacher can not teach well even a single child. Is your school "backward"? Employ the best teacher you can find. A desperate disease demands a skillful physician.

FEMALE TEACHERS.

Women are everywhere demonstrating their ability to teach and govern schools of all grades with the highest success. Some of the best normal teachers in the country are women. In Massachusetts about six-sevenths of the

teachers are women,* many of whom are graduates of the normal schools. Their success in every class of schools is generally conceded. In New York four-fifths of the teachers are women, and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction points to the fact, in his last annual report, with undisguised pleasure," declaring that "it is impossible to over-estimate the value of the influence thus brought to bear upon daily developing mind and character in our schools." Indeed, the evidence is abundant and conclusive that women are succeeding in the great majority of schools just as well as men-not only in teaching, but also in governing. So far as I am able to get information, the female teachers employed in the winter schools of the country districts, are succeeding better than the average male teachers. This is due, in part, to the fact that they possess, as a general rule, higher qualifications.- Twelfth Annual Report.

THE TEXT-BOOK QUESTION.

GENEVA, O., July 11, 1836.

E. E. WHITE, Esq.-Dear Sir: I am pleased that you have taken up the " textbook" question in the MONTHLY, and have promised us "more anon.”

It seems there is to be an increased effort on the part of publishers and their agents, to crowd new books into our schools this fall and winter, whereas the "reconstruction we need is in the opposite direction. It strikes me that this question is of the highest importance, and that its discussion before the winter and fall schools commence is needed; and I think a series of articles from your own pen would have more influence than if presented in any other form or by any other person. As you have had much experience as teacher, lecturer, commissioner and editor, and have the data all within reach for showing the past and present condition of the schools of the State, your utterances would and should be accepted as being "by authority."

If a State series ever is adopted in Ohio, the whole question ought to be thoroughly discussed and understood in advance. The evil of having a multiplicity of books is more apparent, and is really greater, in village schools than in ordinary country districts, partly because the schools are more crowded, and partly because there is a greater “floating" population. Parents who have books which they bring with them from country districts, if required to lay them aside and purchase new books, fret at the village regulations and censure the teacher.

REMARKS. The intimation of our correspondent that our utterances upon this vexed question may be accepted, to some extent, as "by authority," has wellnigh frightened us into silence. We can only venture a little of the "more anon," unwittingly promised, by first entering a caveat against any one's accepting our views as oracular. We desire the privilege of speaking our mind with the assurance that what we say amiss will be rejected.

It seems to be generally admitted that a uniformity of text-books in a given school is essential to the highest success in teaching. In the graded schools of our cities and towns this uniformity is generally secured; but in the country dis

* In Ohio sixty-seven per cent. of the teachers are women.