HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1889-6-14, Page 7t
JUNE 14, 1889.
fingers, ant patches in the tore taut, iucliates the others, and is a raekiug the c.11il:l 1t Mere receptive
gowns, and put all disorderly lioulte menus of sneering the °there, For ouaehiu' . He °parole not bo allowed
and onion into beautiful order. thia reason I will not notice them to auswcr ill the words of the teacher
and thou I would drill myself into separately. any MOM than in the htuguaga of
keeping thane so. to all l teeing oar atm sietald ba rile 10/1.4.1X1)k. Ifo a 11/111,1 bo 41111/10i
If, on looking at tuyaolf caolty to footer a love for reading, arid to to oxprctl iii: thoughts or the
and ethically au if I were somebody cultivate a testa for the right kiwi thoughts of the author' iu his own
from the tropic° or the paha just of literature, so that when at papil
presented, 1 (locoweed toet there 1 leaven oci,00l be will centime° Ins
was really not ono art, tioeotnplisfu. education iudopeudeutly of any
mant or trade that t knew, I would other teacher than the author of the
set about learning suluuthiug at bolt ho may be reading.
ono°. A sweet, browu•eyod girl in Ilistory presents a vast field of
my parlor one oveoiug told mo she reading, into whieti the atudout is
was studying stenography. ushered Ly the teacher, and over
"With a view of supporting your• which lie may roan!, born pausing
self ?" I said. to pluck a fragrant !lower, there to
"Certainly. Papa has enongb to gaze upon sumo fascinating ',ano-
de to take care of the others, I rams, auou he feels hie wbolo soul
want to help educate the little vibrate with emotion over some stir
ones," ring 160110 in the great drama which
"But do you find it easy r has beau coated in the centuries
"Not very easy yet," Phe replied ; gone by. What child is not aroused
"brit I em learning i4 thoroughly. to Melo after higher clime by the
If I become a stenographer, I in- narration of the struggles for free
tend to bo the boat stenographer dont of each men as Allred, Lang -
that my teaoher can possibly make ford, Montfort, Wallace, Tell,
of ins." Luther and many others, who op -
Whether or not my readers shall posed tyranny, error and supereti-
ever epee to ware money for them tion in their varied forma ? What
.elves, if they are poioess0c1 of
Common aena0 they w111 appreonite
the convenience of having a tool in
their hands which they will know
how to neo if ever the time of Want
shall come. This is the ago of the
epeoialist. General information is
apt to be vague and inexact. Gen-
eral information is apt to be vague
and inexact. (those for yourself
a epe0lal line, and resolve that on
that line yon will rise to a high
rank. Tho finest fruit grows ou
the Highest boughs. There ie always
room at the top.
History in Public
Schools.
THE BRUSSELS POST
cblibtetz's g.ziter.
T11011OUGIINEleS.
A few menthe ago, in it 6or11110
inland city, a woman found herself
thrown upon her owe re8nuree+l.
Icor husband, gulag out in the
morning in health, strength and
fn1no88 of aotivity, was .caught be.
two= two Oars throb came crash•
ing together, and, maimed for life,
was brought home to the brave
little woman, who must henceforth
be the bread -winner, and care fur
him who had generously cared for
her. But whet was she to do te
,Like ,many another home keep-
ing woman, she had boon trained
in no bread -winning art. To the
slightly held a000mpliabments of
girl -hood, what used to be styled
the 'ornamental braaobee,' in in
n000nt oblivion of the mockery thus
described, atnee nothing is omit
mental whish la notparfeotiy rauder-
ed or daintily executed, she had
added nothing. Bather bad she
lost during the busy years of wife
hood and motherhood the little ekiri
once attained. Of course elle a old
MAY ; but sowing menet slavery,
and tho gaining of a more pittance
at the best. Her courage would
have failed had not love uervo.l her
to do what she feared wee at best a
forlorn hope.
"I can make cookies," obo sold,
"Aunt Debby taught me to du that.
Perhaps I may succeed in keeping
a roof over our heads by my °kill
in baking cookies."
It came to pass that her first tray
of cookies toothsome, melting is
the mouth, delicately baked to a
pale golden brown, was placed by
a sympathizing friend on a conntar
in his shop. A Lady, one of those
seueible mothers who do not feed
their children on Indiscriminate
compounds perilously rich, obeery
ed these home -looking cakes, and
was reminded of bar ohildish fea,ate
in the old farmstead in New Eng
land.
"Precisely," she exclaimed, what
I want for Ethel's luncheon party
to -morrow. I will take the trayful,
and I will leave an order for cookies
to bo sent me every Saturday.
Ono told another of the wonder-
ful good cakes, and before long the
orders came in so fast that our
friend found herself in business.
The one homely thing which she
had learned to do thoroughly was
the dependence of the entire house
hold.
A boy on a Now England farm
was impatient that day after day,
when other boys were playing, lie
was obliged to go off on the hills
with the sheep. "Never mind
Jonathan," said a wise old uncle,
consolingly ; "if you tend the sheep
you will have the sheep." Mach
the lad puzzled over this utterance,
which seemed to him like an enig-
ma ; but in duo time, when be was
Jonathan Sburgee. a great merchant
with ships going to and fro on the
high sear, he found out what the
good old man meant, viz„ that dili-
gence and fidelity always briug their
own reward to the industrious.
"I had excellent opportunities,"
remarked a lady one day, "but
when I went to sahool 1 did not im
prove my time. To get through a
loasou in any way, so as to escape
being marked down, was the extent
of my ambition and only when le
was too late to repair the mischief
did I awake to a 80nae of my folly."
"1Vly dear," said the Bev. Samuel
Wesley to his wife Susanna, as she
patiently taught one of the children
to read—"My dear, you have told
that child the same thing twenty
tiros over,"
"Yes, my love," rile answo}'ed :-
"I found that nineteen times would
not do."
O1 a pertain ma0 it was said not
long ago en my preeenoe, "He 18
not brilliant nor clever, but when
he knows a thing he knows it root
and.leranoh, and nobody needs to
go over his work for it i8 sure to be
right."
I
toy be writing to somebody
who acknowledges in her own seoret
heart that she is nob thorough. She
knowe that she uses pins instead of
strings, loaves buttons hanging by
18 thread and drops them in oon8e-
quence, forgets that a stitch in time
saves nine, audio generally incense-
quent and cnreloas. Shall I tell
her what sort of a housekeeper she
will make if she ever has a house ?
Probably snob a ono as Mrs. Jelly -
by made, the lady with a mission,
whose porbraib is drawn in Bleak
House. Go to your bookshelf,
take down the book, and read the
wonderful eataloguo of the midoel-
lany which came out of the closets
on the occasion of Oaddy'0 marriage.
Yeti think there is no danger of
your ever roeon:Ming bhis &teens
incompetent 2 I hopo not, but it is
very easy to slip downhill when
once you have started, and climb-
ing up is hard work. In your place
I would begin tide very day to
Inonc'l ovoy root, darn all the holes
in the stockings, repair the glover
ity 6Y. U. tough, Principal or the 1116 1186
Model School.
Presidelit and fellow teachers :
History is a subject that has been
very little diaouseed at our meetings,
and I believe thie is a mistake. We
have to devote a oonsidorable por-
tion of our time to the teaching of
the subject, and have not paused to
consider whether wo could not more
profitably expend the limo on some
other subject. This paper has been
undertaken with the hopo that a
lively discussion will be evoked. It
will do us all good to get some of
our rough corners ground off, and
perhaps after hearing of the difficul-
ties of others we will bo encouraged
in our own work.
"What is the use of studying bis
tory ?" is a question that has fre-
quently been asked me by pupils.
They can see the value of reading,
arithmetic, writing, composition, tee ,
but history requires so motile time,
and there is so much that requires
explanation that they conclude it
could bo better to put the time on
the other aubjecte. "Wo can read
history for ourselves after leaving
school," they say. Can wo censure
pupils for not wishing to study a
subject which affords no practical
benefits ? But, someone may say,
you do not make it interesting
enough, or they would love the sub-
ject. Of suoh I ask in passing,
Oen you make history interesting
and prepare a class for entrance in
from six to eighteen months, with-
out eaorificing time that should be
devoted to other branches ?
But my pupils are nob the only
persona who regard history in this
light. H. Spencer says, "That •bis-
tory as now written is useless. 11
does not illustrate the right principle
of political action. Tho groat mass
of historical facts are facts from
which no oonclusions can be drawn
—unorganizable feats, and, there.
fore, recta of no service in eetabliah-
ing principles of conduct, wbicli ua
the chief use of facts." Bain says,
"The full bearing of history oannot
be understood without much previous
knowledge and some experience of
the world, and where these reguisitea
are found thorn is little need of a
teaoher. The historical works, an-
cient and modern, are the self -
chosen private reading of our mature
years." 13y way of parenthesis I
would say, 1 have found my exper-
ience coincide with the above, I
have Annul my beat students of his-
tory to he those who are great
readers. Mr. Payne says, "That
history, as taught in all our
better schools, has an almost in-
comparable culture value, amend, I
think, only to literature." Ho grades
history as follows : Practical value,
direct -low, indirect-inedium ; diseip.
unary value, specific -low, Tnnio,
High. I believe Mr. Payne is right,
but in this utilitarian age culture is
given a subordinate rank,
In my opinion, the alma of teach-
ing the subject are 08 foliowe 1--
Ist, To oreato in pupils a twat() for
reading. 2nd, To train pupils to
form opinions for thomselvoa, 8rd,
To At pupils for the duties of Citi.
xenohip, 4th, A8 a moans of aut.
Wm.
'Phone alms aro inseparably, eon -
noted and the furet, to a sonnei tot.
T1111 TEXT -01(1K.
13014wiu 801y8 "As fur 88 mere.
ly lntelleotual educ;:thin is 0eucera•
ed the moae important lesson that
on be learut by the Immix fa liow
!0 use the toxbbool: to the beet 1
tldyan1ag0. Tito treueUre(1 limit.
words, Thee WO 41101111 not write ledge and wieder!' of the c 1 r:i is •
full 018111316113 all 1110 btaol:boerd, as stored in boto,n, ami tb,-
a rule, bat o(Ily saggoative words to gaining this knowledge from their
assist the memory of the child. Oar0 pages sb°uld be communicated by
011141 ate) he taloa that pr2v1,4,11 is every teacher to every pupil. Can
made for independent thought and we make the Public School text -
reading ou the part of the pupil. book "understandable," or "learn -
"Never do for a WAR what he can able ?" Without fear of contradie-
do for himself," 1a a good rule. "I)o tion 2 I answer, no.
not epoonfeed children," is another. Again, Baldwin saya :—"The
Thou the query arises, Should the language of the text.boolt should be
chalk bo used after or before the correct and choice, and the style
elites have studied the 10880n for olear, vigorous, and vivaefoua. A
themselves ? I think, with rt suit- textbook written in a style beyond
able textbook, ntoattoP the lonsone the capacity of the pupil is nee only
should be studied by the elms before useless, but positively injurious,
the topic is taken up by the teacher. 8in00 either the pupil become+ die
(It being understood that the lesson gusted with the study and no•_lects
l
has been properly assigned.)Th .) Th 't altogether, or he cotntnits to wptn-
challt should bo used for the purpose ory the language of tho book under
of summarizing the chief points in the °mini ua impres lett that he is
the lawn. acquiring knowledge, lend time his
mental habits ere csrioristy,
pmrm(inarltly, vitiated "
Does our text -book meet the re -
Baia 2 .Cho belt tt1�tt can b+:
said about tiro au'hrito f8 ilial 01,4
resemble Cromwell in that they live
a century or two 11(160x( their time.
When the "c(icuiug t,aob're" will
have prepared the great -grand -par-
ents, grand -parents, and li;pent, of
the future generiteotis to speak and
understand a style a step in elvauee
of Johnsonian English the book
may be of use, Until then I move
that it be relegated to the shelvee of
some mu80um of curiosities there to
remain till resurrected by some
searcher after the "Curiosities of
Literature," and I hopo that the
authors and tho authorizers of the
book will long ere that have receiv-
ed (in this life) their reward for the
wrinkles and grey hairs they have
produced on the heads of teachers
and children by their lack of know
lodge of child capacity.
Here are a few specimens of bin
guago from page 110: "Bute t,e-
came the beat abutted mita in the
country," "inveighed." "inadequ
atoly compensated," "legil tr.va
mala," "profligate," "scurrility,"
"declared the eommeu'e of Wilkee
seditious," "maladtniufstra.hie ."
Here is a sentence from page 111:
"Meanwhile, the Grenville ministry
had passed away with ire suttee°ors
under the leadership of Leek Rock-
ingham and the Duke of Grafton,
and was followed by the adminlstra
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 )
The °inject i:r lea remembered
child doe not ruCeft cvitll horror through the details, and the skeleton
from tales of oppression, 0on84 of should be picked after the meet 1118
cruelty and brutality perpetrated by
those who fancied they had tae
'divine right' to lord it over (lad's
halftime on this fair earth ?
Those emotions shuald be utilized
in developing lofty sentiments and
encouraging nobility and iadepeud
0030 of oharaoter. We ehuted train
our children to love right because it
is right, to sympathize with the op -
profiled, and to assiet those In
troablo, or the unfortunate.
I believe there to no subject which
can be made more interesting than
history, and none which will give
broader views, and remove the oou
(cite, prejudices and bigotry of the
narrow minded. True, • if a man
read but one author, he will imbibe
his views, and may think that what
ho does not know about the subject
is not worth knowing. But, if he
read end' extremes ae Macaulay
and Lingard, and see the character
of some of the prominent persons
who have figured in the past por-
trayed in each opposite colors be
will bo led to think that the most
important thing in the work of edu-
cation is to encourage thought. We
have too few thinkers in the world.
The groat mass of people is led by a
few. There is always hope for a
man when he begins to think.
Turning from the arbors mention-
ed, Ino is compelled to road some
moderato viewed historian, such ae
Hallam or Green. After reading
suoh a variety of ways of looking at
the history of the same events, he
would bo led to determine that it is
best not to pin hie faith in history,
politics or religion, to any individ-
uals omit sleeve.
As we read the characters of men
and women, as depicted iu history,
we are led to ooneider how far our
characters correspond with theirs.
We are induced to show the faults
and to aim to cultivate the good
qualities of others. Wo see that
few come near the attainment of a
full-orbed manhood, and we aro en-
couraged to greater aotiviby by see-
ing the lofty position that frail
humanity has sometimes reaehed,
and as wo read of the work of such
mon as Wilberforce, Howard, leo.,
we resolve to take our stand in the
ranks of those who are engaged on
the side of light against the forces
of darkness, and to endeavor to do
and dare and, departing, leave the
world the bettor of our having lived.
Again, let us consider the division
of the subject into the customs of
the people, religious advancement,
progress of literature and education,
biography, explorations, commercial
and manufacturing enterprises, i0•
venbione and discoveries, struggles
for freedom and political reform, and
other topios. How well calculated
they are to draw out and cultivate
the nobler motives. How well
adopted some of them are to interest
the student and to aid in the acquisi-
tion of knowledge of the world which
will fit him to perform the duties of
citizenship.
How much better fitted to en-
noble the oharaoter and prepare a
youth for the stern realities of life
than our yellow -covered literature,
or snob sentimental nonsense a0 is
written by the popular novelist of to-
day, who is flooding the county with
0130 work after another, as if he had
a feverish anxiety lest he should die
before his work is done.
Our children will read something,
and what is the great queation that
concerns parents and more espeoial•
ly teachers, and those who £rem°
the program of studies for our
scholars. Aro we, as teachers, to be
placed in a position 10 interest.
pupils so that we can guide this
love for reading in the right dim -
time or not ?
110w TO TLA011 11±5±011±,
1 110110V history should be taught
by means of the chalk and 11a0k-
board. Thou the queation arises,
holy -mach should w0 put ou the
blotokboahl 11 Wo ni.ust guard against
been takeu elf, not before, We
should take advantage of the "taw of
a400Oittti011 mid euggeation " We
malts au cat1it10 for the 1urpo33 of
assis1iug the memory.
I think the boot method is to got
the pupils to tali whist they can of
the topics muter cousidsration, and
thou reward their exartioua by add
ing, to the Imo .lodge obtaiued by
independent effort, some iuterestiag
facts. Then place a eynepsts of the
Mason on the board, drawing as
much as possible from the pupils,
:;till there are many lessons which
must be carefully taught before the
pupils eau grasp the meaning. The
teaoher must be prepared to give
different opinions on many topics
and assist pupils to form conclusions
from them. rake for instance the
Execution of Charles I. Here pupils
must bo led to see that by the pro-
visions of the Great Charter the king
dud not receive a fair trial and that
therefore hie sentence and exeoation
were not justifiable.
This topic affords the teacher an
opportunity to impress a great moral
principle, that of patio to all.
±011± 00Un8P IN 1115T01±.
Can history be taught profitably
and properly with our present course
and textbook 2 From my exper.
fence, after trying many methods, I
do not hesitate to avower 111 the
negative.
The field is too large to work
profitably in the time at our die
poral. To prepare au average class
for entrance examination in one
year, at least one llottr a clay must t
be devoted to history, in order to
make a fair tvork on the 'loading
features,' but when we see the papers
set and find that the meaning given
to 'leading features' by the man who
sets the paper is not in accordance
with our ideas, and that some of the
questions aro of suoh ct nature as to
require a mature mind to auewer
them, we are iuoliued to think that
to teach the subject as it should be
taught, in order to cultivate a taste
for reading and to train to indepen-
dent thought, we would require
about six hours a day.
The prosect 'course, enstead of
advancing the cause of education,
hinders it. Ask the librarians of
our Mechanics' Institutes how many
of our young people read historical
works. Ie it any wonder that pupils
are disgusted with the subject ?
Instead of giving them an appetite
for such food we make the subject
11611809118.
We give them the bonds of the
fowl and ask them to digest these
Aral, then wo turn them adrift to
complete the structure out of those
dry bones.
I believe Quick is right when he
says, "I neither despise a knowledge
of history and geography, nor do I
think that these studies should be
neglected fox foroigu languages or
science ; and et le because I should
wish a pupil of wine to become in
the end thoroughly conversant in
history and geography, that I should,
if possible, conceal from him the
exietenoe of the numerous school
manuals on these subjects. Wo will
suppose," he continuos, "that a par -
ant meets with a book which ho
thinks will bo both instructive and
entertaining to his children. But
the book is a large one and would
take a long time to get through ; so,
stead of reading any part of it to
them or lotting them road it for
themselves, ho makes them learn the
index by heart, The children do not
find it entertaining; they get a hor-
ror of the boob, which prevents their
over looking at it afterwards, and
they forgot the iudex as some as
they possibly cat. Just such is tho
sagacious plat adopted in teaching
history la schools, and such are the
natural ooneequeuoes. Wo give the
epitome first, stud allow it to pro -
cede, ar miller to supplant, the
knowledge epitomized. Tlio child -
von are disgusted, and no Wender,"
7
TH , XK' F T FRIEND
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Montreal, P. Q.
•
CROLM
ETHEL
LL&
The under, igned having completed the change from the stone to
the celebrated Hungarian System of Grinding, has now the Mill in
First -Class Running Ordei
and 10.11 be glad to see all his old customers and as many now
ones as possible.
Flour and Fowl Alwi vs spa Ewa.
Highest Price ptticl for any quantity of Good Grain.
W M. MILNE
1101.11.311203101.0.4
n
k43 s'�, 1x1'
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rya +v`Y►ikz Ott 4 h i i
CARTS, CROQUET SETS
and itand. Dasl is
�R C�=TTiJD A
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Al the uecessag School $uppl .e's'
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