and they are many — to

Would it not be well for these persons overcome their scruples and favor the assembly with their own opinions, which will certainly be as valuable as those to which they themselves have listened, and may be much more valuable? It will, at any rate, give them a great deal of satisfaction to speak, and they will not be likely to complain of the stupidity of the exercises. They say that the greatest talkers are not the best teachers. Very true; but those who do not talk are not, from that fact, necessarily good teachers, nor are those who do talk, from that fact, necessarily poor teachers. We maintain that all of the best material is not brought forward at our county conventions. There is a lack of freedom in discussion, and many who might add greatly to the interest and profit of such gatherings, conceal their light beneath a bushel of diffidence. If there could be an increase in the attendance, and a more general and hearty participation in the exercises, there would be less grumbling and more profit.

ESSEX.

AN APPEAL.

"THE march of progress is truly westward," said I to myself, as I glanced at a programme of the Illinois State Teachers' Meetings, held in Bloomington last December, in which an active part in the literary exercises was assigned to ladies. Ladies were invited upon the rostrum to present the result of their labors, or their thoughts to their brother and sister teachers, and, no doubt, were expected to express their doubts and their convictions, in the discussions of the hour.

I was present at the meeting of the New York Teachers' Association, held in Watertown last August, where ladies were suffered to take part in the discussions, and where they were chosen upon some of the committees, curiously enough, as one of their number facetiously expressed it," chosen upon the drudgery committee," to devise means for defraying expenses to collect contributions, or something of that sort,— while at our own association meetings, we are not even allowed a membership, though graciously permitted to attend the deliberations of these august assemblies.

This difference in woman's intellectual treatment, reminds me of her varied social condition in the different grades of civilization. Among enlightened nations of the present age, woman stands ever by the side of man; in the middle ranks of Germany and the adjacent countries, she holds the plough and garners the wheat; and in countries farther east, behind her veil, she may witness that in which she can never participate.

Now, gentlemen teachers of Massachusetts, will you remain Turks and semi-barbarians in this respect, or, while woman labors side by side with you in this important mission, will you graciously accord to her her rights and privileges?

A TEACHER.

TEACHING BY PATTERN.

THE following objections to Normal School teachers were once urged in my hearing, by a school committee man of no small com

mon sense:

"The pupils of these schools always have a cut-and-dried system of school keeping, which they believe can be applied with little trouble to any school. They believe that it need only be tried in any school, to make everything straight. No matter if the system is formed for large and well-graded schools; it must be applied to the smallest district school, made up of all sorts of pupils. They expect to make everything move in clock-work order, at once. They either fail, or else spend the whole term in trying to establish their notions, and accomplish very little for the real good of the school. Most of them gain the ill-will of the pupils by their endless picking on little things, and so they accomplish nothing until a few terms experience has taught them to cut their coat according to the cloth, and to pay more attention to matter and less to form. I had rather employ anything in the shape of a teacher; than a young Normal graduate, who pities all poor committee men that have never attended Normal Schools."

Without admitting that the objections, above mentioned, apply in the least to the majority of Normal graduates, it is my opinion that some districts have a right to complain. In a country school,

made up of heterogeneous material, much straitened for space and time, and largely composed of pupils who can never, at best, get a very complete education, is there not danger of over-critical observance of small things to the great neglect of weightier matters? For example, I have seen a teacher consume nearly half the time of the school in training the pupils to certain marchings and countermarchings, formal positions and mechanical movements, well enough, doubtless, in certain graded schools, but by no means the needful thing for active minds really starving for instruction. Others fritter away the time in a vain attempt to break up habits which are inveterately rooted, and are really of small importance. For instance, I have known a certain teacher spend nearly half the time allotted to an arithmetic class, for the entire term, in teaching them to say "example " instead of "sum," and "two times two are four," instead of "is four." So in grammar, time is often misused by a rigid requirement of certain forms of expression, which are, at best, the mere husks of the science, to the gross neglect of the real knowledge of language. The rapid rotation in office, common in our small districts, probably introduces a new teacher into the school when it next assembles, and half another term is lost in unlearning old ways and learning new.

The lesson contemplated in the above is this: Never sacrifice substance for form. Consider that a pupil may make a very respectable and useful man, even if he says "sum" instead of "example," and drops g final from the present participle. Be formal as you like, be exact as you like, but do not "tithe mint, anise and cnmmin, and omit the weightier matters of the law." And while you study to know the best systems of teaching and governing, remember that the very best are original to the men who use them best. The system which works so admirably in the hands of the inventor, may be in yours a cumbrous and unwieldy affair, crushing you and your pupils into hopeless inefficiency. Your own mind must suggest to you expedients, methods, devices, which no book can teach you, no teacher can impart.

H.

An old proverb has it: "All things have two handles; beware of the wrong one."

A VISIT TO PRIMARY SCHOOLS, BY A SCHOOL

COMMITTEE MAN.

HAVING been chosen by my towns people and friends as one of the school committee, and being somewhat in the dark as to the duties devolving upon me, and the state and standard of schools of the present day; to post myself a little on the subject, I started, one winter morning, (leaving my boy Tom to do up the chores,) to visit a neighboring city, that had been long distinguished for its good schools. A short half-hour's ride in the cars took me to the place, and starting from the depot, I commenced my exploring expedition. I soon found a small school-house, and judging from the collection of children about, that it was near the hour for school to begin, I began talking with the little urchins, and waited for the teacher. I found by the little fellows, that there were two schools in the building, and, being somewhat clumsy at going up stairs, I decided to visit the lower room; so, when the teacher came, I told her I should like to see her school a few minutes, and gave my name, Mr. Brown. "O," said she, "William's father - come right in," and before I had time to say I was n't, she was leading me into the school-room, followed by the children; and such a clatter, I must say, I never heard before! It seemed as if the children had reserved their greatest energies for the schoolroom. Such pushing and tumbling! If I had not been a man of more than common firmness of tread, I should have been sent headlong down the steps; but by dint of perseverance I effected an entrance and was shown a seat on the platform, which, by the way, was four feet square, occupied by a large table, two chairs, and sundry other things. My chair was half an inch from the edge of it, with just room enough to get into it. I sat down, however, in momentary expectation that by some involuntary movement of mine, down I should go some two feet, upon the floor. Meanwhile, there was talking and laughing and jumping all over the room. The teacher rang a large bell with great violence; two or three children sat down; the bell rang again. "Quick, or I'll use the stick!" Modified pushing and quarrelling continued. "Order, I say, when I strike the bell!" "Come along, boys." "Why don't you

move?"

"Be seated this minute; I never saw such children!"

Finally, they were all in their chairs. "Now, I want to hear the clock tick the moment the bell rings!" Then she rung the bell enough to make one deaf; but there was still so much noise that I did not dream of hearing it, though it hung just back of me. After ringing the bell three times, to hear the clock tick, they all began to repeat: "Who is the king of glory?" "Louder, boys!" "The Lord of Hosts." "John, go down and get some coal," and so on, with such interjectional clauses, as "Sit in order, Tom," etc. Pulling a child's chair round, she tipped it over, and the child cried, while the others laughed. "Well, I do n't care, sit round, then!" "The Lord, mighty in battle" - then the boy came in with the coal and made such a noise that it broke them up again. At last they got through; then recited the Lord's Prayer in the same way. It was, "Our Father, who art"-"Louder, boys," then "faster,"—" do n't drag, "etc. etc., to the end. Next in order was singing; but before the close, I felt glad indeed, to get into the open air again, and most sincerely pitied those poor little children who had to stay so much longer every day, with such a teacher. I attended to some business down town, and just as I got through, met a friend, and among other things, mentioned visiting the school. When I named the teacher, he would not hear of my returning that night, but the next morning I must visit the other school, in the same building. I consented, but with fears that I might derive no more benefit than from my other visit, but I was greatly mistaken.

The teacher met her pupils with a pleasant "good morning." When she opened the door and passed in, they followed, one by one, with hands behind them, took their seats noiselessly when the clock struck, and looked so pleasant and still, that I loved them every one. The teacher locked the door, then read from the Bible the morning lesson, explaining and impressing its truths; then asking help of the Divine Father in guiding her little flock, she prayed for them all, after which they repeated the Lord's prayer as if they felt what they were saying. They sung and then began to recite their lessons, which seemed to be well prepared, when I was obliged to leave. While there, I saw that by her quiet dignity, the teacher won the love and respect of her pupils, and, notwithstanding my disturbed feelings of the previous day, I felt that I had