66 who must herself be interested in language, and adjectives to their names to express the states able to trace it, as it gradually came into being and qualities of the things. I let one child tell to express man's ideas; and who must also have me the adjectives of color, another those of quantity, praise, &c.; and afterwards point them out a nice knowledge of its rules and refinements. I represent a man in the infancy of the world. in the book, with the nouns they describe. Then He is surrounded by sensible objects, and appro. I say, here are two birds with sweet notes, but priates a sound or name to each; he gives names one sings better than the other; how shall we also to the emotions they excite in himself; and mark the difference in their voices? We can do he names persons. Thus he forms three kinds it by adding two letters to the adjective which of nouns, of which I first give instances, and describes them. But I will inflict on you, my then each girl writes an example on the black-dear Mary, no more similar processes; you may board, and tells us whether it is abstract, com- not have my fondness for details. We examine mon, or proper, and why. Then in some book, every part of speech! first show the need of exthey point out the nouns; and say whether each pressing a certain class of ideas, then the words expresses an emotion, idea, thing, or person. invented for the purpose, and then point out At first they call other words abstract nouns; these words in a book. We use each part of speech in forming and say they have an idea of black, an idea of forward, but at last they learn to admit no words, analyzing sentences, while its meaning is fresh but such as not merely suggest a fact, but them. in the thoughts. I am a great economist in this selves express the fact. They continue this un- respect. I never let my pupils learn words or til they can point out all the nouns in a page rules to lay by, but bring them into use at once. without fatigue; then I introduce number; ask I cannot bear to have a child learn, and forget, how the savage could express to another whether and learn again; and use is the only mode of he had seen one lion or more, and show how engraving knowledge. After the first simple" much shorter it is to say lions, than to repeat language, which answered the most immediate the word for each; then they point out the num-purposes, slighter feelings and distinctions were designated; a great variety of modes of expres ber of each noun in the printed book. Next I take pronouns, words standing for sion were created. Not only new parts of speech, nouns. I show how inconvenient it would be, but new ways of changing and combining the to speak the name at full length, every time we old were formed, and relations were expressed Elizabeth, layby varying the position of words in a sentence. ment on the person; to say aside Elizabeth's writing, and take up Eliza. I think children taught as I have described, beth's book ;" and it would have been still worse would find no difficulty in understanding this. in ancient times, when the names were often They would find blank verse as easy as simple very long. Think of a dialogue between a Sar- prose, because they would be guided by the danapalus and a Melchisadec, in which these meaning.-Theory of Teaching. names take the place of you and me! Children perceive at once the tediousness and uselessness Instead of requiring children to listen to, or to of names when both parties are present. Lexplain grammatical person, and have each pro-repeat what they will forget as soon as they can, noun learned and declined, whenever it occurs. and what can do them very little service while They tell to what the relative and personal pro- they may chance to remember its that nouns refer; if adjective pronouns are men-land is situated between the 63d and 67th detioned, I say they only point out their noune, grees of north latitude, and the 12th and 25th degrees of west longitude; is 280 miles in length, they do not stand for them. The savage observes also that the things and 180 in width; and that its population, acis 53,000;"-and so around him, act; the tree grows, the water cording to the last census, flows, he himself moves; these are all acts, but forth; instead of this, let the scenes, the occunot the act; each must be expressed by a sepa-pations, the habiliments, of an Iceland family, rate word, and these words being thought the during their few summer days, and then during most important in the sentence, are called the their long wintry months, be graphically dewords or verbs. Then I explain the active verbs, scribed (and with an admixture of humor) and and have lists of them made on the blackboard, aided by the best pictorial representations that and sentences formed in which they are used, may be at hand. Descriptions of this sort, illuand the reason given for their being called ac- minated by the pencil, and vivified, when the tive. The agent and object are named, and I means of doing so are available, by poetic exnow explain the cases of nouns, and state that tracts, will never be obliterated from the memo. the nominative and object may be distinguished ry; and if this same method be carried forward,' by their position and the probable meaning of round the globe, the result, especially with chil the sentence; and that we used to express pos- dren of vivacious minds, will be a general invi. session by such an expression as "John, his goration and enrichment of the faculties, appaJohn's book." rent ever after' in almost every sentence that is book," afterward contracted to written or uttered. HISTORY. The other kinds of verbs are practised upon and sought in like manner; the passive form I The TRUTH of history is always found to be a' show to be sometimes more convenient than the powerful recommendation of it, with children; active, as when the object is one and the agents and if it be thus conveyed in a vivid form to the many. For instance, the bird is tired," tells conceptive faculty, it may supercede fiction, or us all we wish to know.. We might say, flying. weaken the taste for it. Moreover, when hissecking food, hopping from branch to branch, &c. tory is so taught as to lodge it firmly in the imhave tired the bird. Then I show that our imagination, and it has this peculiar property, that aginary savage found in objects, certain diversi. it quickens the moral sentiments, and is a means ties this tree was green, that bare, and he added of effecting an association, vastly important, be preserve his own premises from filth and disorder, and protected the school-house and play. ground from abuse; let all such actions be presented to the school as good, and worthy of imi tween the moral emotions, the imagination, and the reason; and this assimilation of ideas is effected, not by formal attempts to bring it about; but by that purely spontaneous process which goes on in the mind when certain scenes are pretation. Commendation not only encourages and sented, embodying such and such elements of our moral nature. animates those who do well, but inspires the desire to imitate in others. Along with so much continuous narrative as In cases where a teacher assumes the care of may serve to give coherence to children's ideas, a school where there are many children who there may, with advantage (in regard to the have formed bad habits, it is very important that conceptive faculty) be mingled what may be he should imitate Christ in his feelings and determed historical portraits, not indeed of indi- portment towards sinners. In such a case, it is viduals, but of classes of men, and of those clas. very important to convince his pupils that, howses which have had existence through long peri. ever bad they are, he is still their friend, and ods of time, and which are rarely made to fig- ever ready to do them good. He should state to ure, in a distinct manner, on the pages of his- them that he is aware that they have formed bad tory. Thus we should present, in succession, habits, and that the labor of curing them is great and actually pictured, as well as verbally de- and difficult. He should carefully notice all atscribed the Egyptian Pharaoh, and his magi- tempts to do better, and where there are efforts cians the Persian Magi, and the Cyrus (the made to improve, occasional failures should be Shah of three thousand years ago ;) then the he-spoken of with words of kindness, sympathy, roes of Homer's romances, and the real warrior and encouragement. And all teachers need to be careful not to be statesmen of Athens, Sparta, Thebes, Macedon. Next, in solemn procession, come the Ptolemies, so frequent in finding fault, and so severe in and the Antiochus's; along with the Jewish manner as to produce the feeling of hopelessness Pontiff, and the Rabbis. The consuls, the dic-in efforts to please and satisfy. When a child tators, the orators, and the emperors of Rome, first western, and then eastern, bring up the train of the dramatis personæ of ancient history. In more lively and picturesque guise, advances the troop of European. actors, including the popes, the abbots, the monks, the bishops, the barons, and the Scandinavian chiefs; the knight of the Crusades, and the Templar, with his companion Saracen; the bard and troubadour, the pilgrim, the bourgeois, the buccaneer; and the more modern representatives of each. feels that, however earnestly he may try to do right, he has such bad habits already formed that he shall not succeed so as to please his teacher, all motive for exertion ceases, and he becomes reckless and hardened. The great art of curing faults is, so to secure the affection and confidence of a child, that he shall be a cheerful co-worker with his teacher, assured of approbation in success, and of forbearance and sympathy in any failure. In cases where the morals of a school are very bad, it will be wise for a teacher to let many. things pass unnoticed that in a better communi No philosophizing, no continuous moralizing, no rudiments of political or economical science; nothing but painting to the mind's eye, and acty he would reprøve. tual painting to the bodily eye, should belong to the first conveyance of history. So conveyed, it becomes wind an nalienable and inexhaustible opulence, and when, in due time, it comes to be wrought upon by the severer faculties, it yields its sixty and hundred-fold of substantial wealth. MORAL EDUCATION. Some one, two, or three rules of duty can be presented at a time, and diligent efforts be made to remedy habits which violate these rules.. When some gain has been made on these points, then one or two more can he added, and thus a GRADUAL advance will secure far more success than attempting every thing at once.-Miss Beecher. THE TEACHER: While it is indispensable to notice and reprove faults, it is no less important to notice and ap. prove whatever is commendable in children.- WHAT DISPOSITIONS HE SHONLD CARRY INTO THE And much care should be taken to observe whatever is right, for it is much easier and much better to govern by motives of pleasure rather than those of pain. Whenever, therefore, any cases are observed of kindness, firmness, patience, truth, and faithfulness, let them be spoken of, not in such a way as to awaken vanity, but s'mply with approbation as RIGHT, and worthy of imitation. For example, if a child gives up some gratification in order to relieve some poor companion, or furnish a destitute schoolmate with clothes or books; if a child has aided or defended a companion when laughed at, or ill treated; if another has found some tempting article, and, instead of secreting it, has sought out the owner and returned it; if, when insulted and provoked, another has refrained from angry words and all retaliation; if another has refused to believe evil of a companion, and endeavored to stop an injurious report; if another has taken care to SCHOOL ROOM. We make the following extract from an admirable address made to the Geauga Co. (Ohio) Teachers' Institute, by the Hon. William L. Per kins. The teacher must have over himself complete control. In the government and control of rational beings, the world over, whether in families, schools, social societies or states, it is an axiom, that he only can do it successfully who has conquered and habitually contro's himself. Shut up six or seven hours a day with 50 or 70 children and youth of various ages, tastes, tempers, intellects and habits; classes to hear, questions to answer, sums to examine and correct, pens to make and mend, rogues to watch, penal. ties to inflict and rewards to award, all or many of them at once, requires inexhaustible patience and imperturbable self-control. It must be exer cised, however, and self-discipline will accom. plish it. If the failure of every urchin to setup as straight as a candle, be as still as a mole and as mute as an oyster, irritates him, if when every thing goes wrong and nothing right, he is fretiul and peevish, if on any occasion he exhibits passion, the teacher may depend upon it, the children who are close observers, will be promptly aware that their teacher is not perfect, but like themselves a frail erring mortal-a very dangerous discovery. They have found his weak side, and will be sure to attack it. pay him, if it be but with a smile too; and then he is happy for that day. But, if on the contrary, he is met with a frown, or unnoticed sent to his seat, a warm little heart, all gushing with tenderness, is chilled and frozen. He must be a man of good principles and good Next to the influence of parents, the manners. example and deportment of the school master goes, farthest to form the morals and manners of the pu pil. He sits a sovereign on his throne. His behest is law. To it his young subjects bow with implicit reverence. What he believes, they believe. What He should be fond of his occupation. In it he he asserts, they repeat. His manners, even to should be an enthusiast. I use the word in its the mode of entering the room and taking off his They embrace his sentiments. good sense. He must love to teach. Love to be hat, they copy. surrounded morning, and noon, and night, with his likes and dislikes they adopt; a quiet, per. a group of young immortals, fresh from the pure vading influence goes out from him, whether he hands of their Creator, ready to receive the im- intends it or not, and enters into their being with press which it is his duty, high privilege and un. potent influence, and moulds and forms their, equalled pleasure to give. He must love to see characters, because they love and respect him. their little minds bud, blossom and expand-love If then he is a man of high toned moral feeling, to watch their progress along the highway to the and agreeable, well trained manners, his value world to which he is bye and bye to introduce is above all price. Let there be no stain upon them as full formed men and women of his con- him, not a spot at which malevolence may point struction. Thus will his daily employment be or even fastidious propriety justly except. If his highest delight. Thus will the school room to all these exalted qualifications we can superbe to his pupils a place of pleasure above all oth-add sincere piety in the teacher, without a tincChildren love those who love them; and ture of sectarian spirit, we have a perfect ininstead of parents being obliged to drive them to structor. school, they will be scarcely able to keep them away-instead of its being a place of weariness to the teacher, to which he goes with reluctance, at which he stays with impatience, and from which, the moment his tardy hour arrives, he flees with unfeigned sense of relief; he will has ten there before his time, the hours will be too short for his exercises, expire before he is aware and he will dismiss his school with regret. ers. Is this too much? Aim at it my friends-with sound common sense and unwearied industry as a foundation, it is all attainable. You, whose business it is to instil into your pupils a desire of excelling, make your own mark high on the scale of perfection, and thus lead them on by your bright example. CHANGE OF TEACHERS. The evil exposed in the following valuable report is not peculiar to the State of Connecticut. Our own statistics show the general preva lence of the same error in the management of By the raport of 1045, is appears the schools. that the number of teachers employed in the summer term, who had taught the same school less than one year, was......... 4,409 And the number in the winter term of the same class,... Total,..... And that the whole number reported as was. 3,991 8,400 3,492 He must be habitually amiable. He must win the heart of his pupil. The key to it is kindness. A little girl was showing to a sympathetic young lady, at her request, the fine things which her father had brought home to her, but made no expressions of gratitude to the father who had so carefully provided for her. The young lady said you must love your Tather very much my dear, though you do not speak of him. She turned away from her finery as if it possessed no value in her eyes, and, sobbing, replied, "he never speaks kindly to me." Some teachers seem to suppose that to return a smiling salutation, and to mingle their hearts with those of their pupils, is to relax their authority, and let them. selves down, as they term it. Now so far from or less than one-third the whole number. that, it is the first step towards establishing au We hope that the trustees of the several disthority. He should satisfy the pupils that he is a kind and generous man, deeply interested in tricts will consider if the reasons suggested in their happiness, and withal, that "he is one of the following report, are not sufficient to induce If the firmness and resolution, who will not allow any them to secure permanent teachers. thing wrong." I do not like the teacher, said a school will not maintain a male teacher, it will little boy, and I do not wish to go to school, usually amply remunerate a female, who will Why, does he whip you, my son? O no, he ne become immeasurably more useful, because faver punishes us. Does he scold you? No sir,miliar by long residence with the state of the but he is so cross. No body ever established district and the wants of every pupil, and able authority by scolding, or ever ensured obedience to adopt and carry forward a judicious and proby it. It is a downright vice in man or woman.gressive system of education. Nor will there "I pray you avoid it." Cheerfulness and kind-be difficulty in enforcing discipline over the older ness, like the sun, warm and animate; and and perchance rude boys of the winter school, there is that at the bottom of the heart of every if the teacher is selected with reasonable care child, which never fails to respond to it. When by the trustees of the district. We have seen the little fellow comes in in the morning, with the experiment tried repeatedly, and under most his eyes sparkling with animation, and his face unfavorable circumstances, but with entire sucsmiling with pleasure, the teacher ought to re-cess. Five of the best schools in Albany county in the winter of 1844, were taught on the Helderburgh by females.-[ED. [Extract from report made by Hon. J. T. Norten, on the schools of Farmington, Ct., to the Legislature, May, 1845.] DISTRICT SCHOOL JOURNAL. ALBANY, DECEM ER, 1845. TEACHERS' INSTITUTES. We could fill this number of the Journal with extracts from the proceedings of these admirable Institutes, illustrative of their benign influence on the great common school system; but the whole subject will be soon brought before the people by the Head of the Department, and we shall take that opportunity more fully to present their claims on the fostering aid of an enlightened Legislature. PERMANENCE OF TEACHERS.-The chief advantages of a continuance of the same teachers are uniformity of discipline, and systematic arrangement of studies. It is as reasonable to expect a child will be well trained when placed every six months under the charge of a new guardian to exercise parental control, as that our children will be well disciplined under a constant change of teachers. It usually takes a teacher, particularly a good one, half a season to get his pupils well trained in his harness; while an experienced teacher in the same school will have them all ready at once for their work. In the meantime we call attention to the fol But the chief objection to a change of teach-lowing bill, which was drafted by Mr. Coe of ers is a constant change of studies, and methods Allegany, but brought forward so late in the sesof study, which have an effect to dissipate the sion of the last Legislature as to make action mind and render the scholars superficial. A new teacher cannot know the state of a scholar's impracticable: No. 350. Reported by L. H. Brown, from the commit them into new studies or new methods of study, tee on colleges, academies and common schools and pushes them forward, so that they may ap-read twice, and committed to the committee of pear to have learned a great deal. However suc AN ACT IN RELATION TO TEACHERS' INSTITUTES FOR THE INSTRUCTION OF TEACHERS OF COMMON SCHOOLS. The People of the State of New-York represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: cessful he may have been in his undertakings, his the whole. scholars can only have begun to acquire a perfect knowledge of their new studies or peculiar methods of study, when another teacher comes in with different studies and methods of study, and those of the previous teacher are laid aside, unperfected. Some few scholars have sufficient talent and industry to break through with the difficulties and become proficients; but as a SECTION 1. The treasurer shall pay, on the general thing, much of their knowledge is superficial. Go int such a school and question a warrant of the comptroller, to the order of the scholar of 12 as to his studies: Have you superintendent of common schools, out of the tudied grammar?' 'Yes, two winters.' Question him, and he understanus non principle. annual surplus now appropriated by section ten, 'Have you studied geography? Yes, four of chapter two hundred and thirty-seven, of the years. How far have you studied?' To Laws of one thousand jeight hundred and thirty. Europe.' Why have you got no further? Be eight, to the capital of the common school fund, cause every teacher puis me to the beginning.' And so on in arithmet c, history, &c., and still arising from the income of the United States' de worse in writing. Now our schools with per- posit fund, the sum of four thousand dollars anmanent teachers have as regular a system of nually, which sum shall be apportioned by the studies as they have in college; and when a superintendent of common schools, to those coun. scholar has thoroughly completed one, nto another. And little valuable can be acties in which Teachers' Institutes for the instrucquired in any other way. It is true, this slow tion and practice of teachers of common schools ind sure method of improvem nt may not be so in the science of education and in the art of teachstriking to a parent, but its utility is very obvious to the school visitor. And while he may hearing, shall be established; such apportionment some parents suggest, that an improvement may to be in the ratio of the number of pupils over be made in this or that by a change of teachers, seventeen years of age, who shall have attended he may reply, it is true some things might be such institute during a period of not less than improved, no teacher is perfect in all things; but you will not find one teacher in a hundred, two weeks; provided that in no case more than who, all things considered, will do as well in one hundred dollars shall be apportioned to a your school as the one you now have. I would single county, nor more than one dollar for each therefore advise you by all means to continue pupil, him. he goes As a general fact, a competent efficient female teacher in a summer school, will, if continued in the same school, make a better teacher for the winter school, than any male teacher in her place. SECTION 2. The amount of money apportioned by the superintendent of common schools to each county complying with the provisions of the first section of this act, shall be paid by him on⠀< the first day of December of each year after the passage of this act, to the order of the county superintendent of such county, to be by him expended in paying for the services of instructors, and in defraying other expenses necessarily in curied in establishing and sustaining Teachers' Institutes for the objects specified in section first of this act; and such county superintendent shall forward to the superintendent of common schools, an accurate account, in writing, of the manner in which such money is by him expend. ed, specifying the items of expense, and the amount appropriated for each item, and such account shall be rendered within thirty days after the money shall have been expended; and such county superintendent shall therewith transmit a report of the number of pupils attending such institutes, the length of time they attended, together with a general review of all the proceedings in relation to the same. TEACHERS' INSTITUTES. veloped and illustrated in the Normal School by the "RESOLVED, That we will use all reasonable measures to procure from the Legislature an appropriation out of the unappropriated surplus of the School Fund set apart for Literary purposes," to aid in defraying the expenses of Teachers' Institutes in every county of the State." There are, as it will be perceived, two points of view in which these Institutes are destined to exert a most beneficial influence upon our whole system of Common School Education; the one by affording a connecting link between the State Normal School at the capital, and the several school districts of the State: And the other by that direct preparation of the several teachers of each county for the practical duties of their station, which such a local organization, temporary though it may be, is capable of affording to not actually witnessed its operation. Another important effect of these periodical associations, and one, too, which in our judgment constitutes not the least among their claims to public favor and support, consists in their tendency not only oelevate the qualifications of teachers as a body, but to raise them to the rank and dignity of a profession. An annual appropriation of one hundred dollars to each of these Institutes, from the unappropriated surplus of the Literature or Common School Fund, will place our schools, within a very brief period, upon a high eminence INTENDING to call the attention of the friends of progressive education to the consideration of these invaluable appendages to our Common School System, we were about preparing a gen- an extent which few can realize, who have eral sketch of the peculiar advantages which they possess over every other plan heretofore devised for that "internal improvement" of our schools, so desirable to every enlightened citizen -when we met with the following report and resolutions, adopted by a recent convention of town superintendents in Otsego county, L. R. PALMER, Esq., Co. Supt., in the chair, and Dr. J. S. SPRAGUE, secretary. This document so fully and clearly expresses what we had intended to present, that we cheerfully adopt it, and commend it to the attention of all those who feel an interest in these most useful institutions. Then all those attributes which go to make up a resolution with which it concludes will, we trust, be generally acted upon, and meet with a favorable response from the legislature : "Mr. Brows, from the committee on Teachers' Institates, submitted the following report and resolution: "The beneficial results arising from these Institu-1 tions, when well sustained and properly conducted, are palpable to the most casual observer; and of their utility as a means of elevating and improving the character of our Common Schools, there cannot exist a reasonable doubt. Their influences are already extensively felt in this county and throughout the State; and in a majority of the counties, Teachers' Institutes are reg. ularly organized, annually or semi-annually, with the They constitute the princi most triumphant success. pal agencies through which the benefits of the State Normal School are to be diffused among the people, and invigorate the whole school system. The county pupils meet the teachers of the several counties in County Institutes, assembled from every town and seetion of their county, and in the consequent interchange of sentiments and opinions, impart to the teachers of the county all that is valuable in the improved methods of teaching and conducting elementary instruction, as de thorough, sound and practical education; and lead to the permanent organization of a County Normal School in each of the counties of the State. Can the sum requisite to accomplish these great results be more judiciously invested by an enlightened legislature? It is peculiarly gratifying to learn that Mas SACHUSETTS has already, through the direct agency of her accomplished Secretary of the Board of Education, the Hon. HORACE Mann, engrafted this portion of our system upon the practical administration of her own. OHIO, MA. RYLAND, RHODE ISLAND, MICHIGAN and NEWJERSEY are taking measures to follow this noble lead; and thus NEW-YORK will have the envi able honor of placing herself in the front rank |