Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

ment, on manners, on visitors, and six assistants; all these are chosen by ballot each week. There is a Secretary and Treasurer beside. All these make reports which are written in books.

Now for the aid these committees can give I had two boys who were execrably bad. I brought the matter before the Committee on Order, which consisted of five boys; that committee reported a resolution condemning their conduct; the boys laughed; the school pressed the resolution; the boys laughed again. I said that the worst people liked the approval of their own companions, and asked the question: "Are you not doing worse than you think?" The other scholars now let them severely alone at recess, before and after school. This produced a decided effort to reform. Of course I was at work all the time myself, but I had the school at my back. In fact, I think that the scholars may powerfully aid in repressing bad

ness.

5. Keep a good, bright lookout. Badness is evidenced by small things, and these must be watched for. Vile words, lying, cheating, laziness, etc., must be attended to perpetually.

6. Cultivate manliness. "That is unmanly," will fetch many a boy down; yes, even when "that is bad" won't touch him. Boys ape men; to wear tall hats, carry canes, smoke tobacco, is, they think, manly. Try and have them imitate the virtues, not the vices of men.-Exchange.

The Spelling-Book.

"Words give wings to thought."

Is the spelling-book losing ground?-It is said that nineteentwentieths of those examined for the Public Service under the competitive system in England fail in spelling. Those placed by government in control of educational affairs, report, "Spelling is not what it ought to be. Text-books should be used for this subject." "What we want is to teach spelling, and not merely to practice spelling." A spelling-book revival in England seems to be the result.

In the foremost educational center of our own country, the experiment of teaching spelling without the aid of a special text-book has been tried, with results so far from satisfactory that the spelling-book has been restored. Wherever the subject of spelling has been most seriously considered, a strong reaction in favor of a suitable textbook, is evident.

Is there a substitute for the spelling-book?—In the lower primary grades, the work of copying words and sentences from the blackboard and of writing exercises in connection with "oral language-lessons" is undoubtedly far more profitable than conning the "primary speller" as now constructed.

For the more advanced grades, copying from the reading-book, writing compositions, and making abstracts of daily lessons in geography, history, etc., afford good practice in spelling; but will and can the average teacher, without sacrifice of the time belonging to the subject matter of the "lessons in geography, history, etc.," exercise that unremitting vigilance in criticism, correction and recorrection which is necessary to make these "abstracts" in any measure a substitute for daily exercises in the spelling, pronunciation, and use of short lists of judiciously selected words?

There are certain difficulties in spelling which are well known to be common and almost universal. So far as these are found in words that are, or should be, in the pupil's vocabulary, is it not more economic to meet them directly and persistently than to wait for them to occur incidentally at long intervals in the work of copying or of general composition?-Preface to Reed's Word Lessons.

Dr. Blair's Historic Periods.

ANCIENT HISTORY-B. C.

I. Antediluvian.-Creation, 4004, to Deluge, 2348.

II. Confusion of Languages.-Deluge to Calling of Abraham

1921.

III. Egyptian Bondage.-1921 to Exodus of Israelites, 1491.
IV. Trojan War.-1491 to Dedication of Solomon's Temple,

1004.

V. Of Homer.-1004 to Founding of Rome, 753.

VI. Roman Kings.-753 to Battle of Marathon, 490.

VII. Grecian Glory.-490 to Birth of Alexander the Great, 356. VIII. Roman Military Renown.-356 to Destruction of Carthage,

146.

IX. Civil Wars of Marius and Sylla.-146 to First Campaign of Julius Cæsar, 80.

X. Roman Literature.—80 to Birth of Christ.

MODERN HISTORY-A. D.

I. Ten Persecutions.-o to Crowning of Constantine, 306.

II. Northern Invasions.—306 to End of Western Roman Empire, 476.

III. Justinian Code.-476 to Flight of Mahomet, 622.

IV. Saracen Dominion.-622 to Crowning of Charlemagne, 800. V. New Western Empire.-800 to First Crusade, 1095. VI. Crusades.-1095 to Founding of Turkish Power, 1299. VII. Papal Schism.-1299 to Taking of Constantinople, 1453. VIII. Reformation.—1453 to Edict of Nantes, 1598.

IX. English Constitution.—1598 to Death of Charles XII, 1718. X. American and French Revolutions.-1718 to Battle of Waterloo, 1815.

These twenty periods of the World's History, as arranged by Dr. Blair for his work on Chronology, have been written out for the JOURNAL at the request of the editor. Although written entirely from memory, without reference to any historical work, I believe they will be found correct in their names and dates.

Respectfully,

N. B. WEBSTER.

National Aid.

The Blair Educational Bill passed the Senate of the United States on the 7th of April by a vote of 33 to 11. As finally passed the bill appropriates $77,000,000. This sum is to be expended yearly for ten years. The first year the sum of $7,000,000, the second year $10,000,000, the third year $15,000,000, the fourth year $13,000,000, the fifth year $11,000,000, the sixth year $9,000,000, the seventh year $7,000,000, the eighth year $5,000,000. This sum is to be placed to the several States and Territories in proportion to the whole number of persons in each, who, being at the age of ten years and over, cannot write. The compilation is to be made according to the census of 1880.

According to this authority there were 6,239,958 persons above the age of ten years in the country, in the year 1880, unable to write, this would distribute the $77,000,000 as follows:

[blocks in formation]

CHARACTER THE END.-Superintendent Peaslee, of Cincinnati, O., writes the following:

"What the schools need is not more of arithmetic and grammar, but more of heart culture-of æsthetic and moral training; less cramming and driving for per cents, more moral instruction. The world needs good men, as well as good accountants and grammarians, and there is to-day less lack of intelligence than of public virtue and private fair dealing, less lack of knowledge than of an inclination toward a noble life-a life of justice, kindness and mercy. In forming noble and upright character, more, in my opinion, depends upon the influence of neatness and beauty of execution of all work done by pupils on slate or paper; upon school rooms tastefully decorated with portraits of the good and the great and with other pictures; upon grand and ennobling thoughts from literature, correctly taught; upon well selected songs; upon birthday and other celebrations;

*

*

*

than upon all the arithmetic, grammar and geography taught in the schools."

This is much in the line of the following paragraph that appeared in the first Bulletin of this series:

Nothing else that is taught in the public schools has so much to do

with forming character as the reading lessons. In the first place, learning to read is itself an admirable discipline; and in the second place, the lessons, if well chosen, tend at once to stimulate thought, to develop the sentiments, to give directions to the nobler passions, to call out the sympathies and affections, to furnish lofty aspirations, and to strengthen the will. Especially is this true of the prose lessons in biography, in history and in eloquence, and of nearly all the poetical pieces found in the well edited Readers. The teacher of a reading class, therefore, may be a moral teacher in the best sense of the word; almost without appearing to do so, she can inculcate patriotism, truth, honor, reverence and most of the moral virtues. The reading lesson gives an opportunity to develop character, without lecturing or preaching, that the good teacher will not lose.-Cleveland School Bulletin.

WHAT if God should place in your hand a diamond, and tell you to inscribe on it a sentence which should be read at the last day and shown then as an index of your own thoughts and feelings; what care, what caution would you exercise in the selection! Now this is what God has done. He has placed before you the immortal minds. of your children, more imperishable than the diamond, on which you are to inscribe every day and every hour, by your instructions, by your spirit, or by your example, something which will remain and be for or against you at the judgment.-Payson.

A CHILD learns best how to spell a word when he wants to use it, and the wise teacher will continually give him an opportunity to create that want. She will never be able to find so good a spellingbook as her little class will make when they are reaching out for words to express their thoughts.-N. Y. School Journal.

HON. L. D. BROWN.-Education, in noticing the election of this gentleman as State Commissioner of Schools for Ohio, says, It is too soon to outline with much fulness Mr. Brown's policy as Commissioner of schools of Ohio. It is known however that in addition to carrying forward the admirable work of his predecessor in office he will make special effort to render more truly effective the present school laws of the State. His large experience as a school examiner has convinced him that one way of liberalizing the entire profession

« AnteriorContinuar »