NEW SERIES.-VOLUME I.

OLD SERIES.-GOLDEN ERA, VOL. XLIII.

James G. Kennedy.

THE sudden death of James G. Kennedy was a shock to his personal friends and a loss to the State. Mr. Kennedy was a strong man, full of mental and physical vigor. As Superintendent, teacher, and principal, he was a success, and his plans for the San Francisco Normal School carried into effect would have made it known and respected throughout the State. His life work is His life work is now over, and his memory to those who loved him will be a richer legacy than the companionship of any of the living.

A Piece of
Arrogant

Impudence.

NUMBER 5. ESTABLISHED 1852.

THE Committee to raise funds in Oakland to secure financial aid to purchase a site for the Wilmerding School sent a begging request to the teachers. The teachers, who have an educational but no financial interest in the establishment, did not respond liberally. The committee then held them up to ridicule in the press. The teachers who refused to subscribe did right. The property-owners, the men who collect their interest and their rents, and do nothing, should raise $100,000 in a week. It will enhance the value of their property. The capitalists, who sit with folded hands, enjoy the enterprise of the committee in trying to secure funds from the school-teachers. It is most unwise, uncalled for, and certainly should make the committee a fit subject for that merciless weapon-the ridicule of all just people. It is proper for the Oakland teachers to subscribe to help entertain the State Teachers' Association, or for anything that will help them personally or professionally; but that they should be badgered for a subscription that banks, real-estate owners, and business-men will reap the benefits of is impudence. As Professor Griggs would say, "It is immoral!"

Live

*

A TEACHER in the city of Oakland beObjects. lieves that objects are better than pictures for teaching observation lessons. So she substituted a real live cat for the picture, and the children were delighted. They wrote stories about its fur, its legs, its claws, its tail, its eyes, and one, who was devoted to the muse, gave a poetic effusion of the cat's mews. recess the cat ran away. The little girls cried-the whole school was in an uproar-but "the cat never came back." Blackboard stencils and reading-charts, with pictures, are considered more convenient, if not on so sound a pedagogical basis as the real, live cat.

The State

* * *

At

THE State Teachers' Association will Association. meet in Oakland on the second, third, and fourth days of January, 1896. An effort will be put forth to make this a notable gathering of teachers. Earl Barnes, the President, and the Executive Com

mittee are at work on a well-balanced program. Wayne P. Smith, the new man in the San Jose State Normal, and Dr. Dresslar, of the Los Angeles Normal, will meet the teachers of the State in formal addresses. The Universities will not fill so many places as hitherto on the program. The aim is to treat more particularly of those questions that have a vital interest to the teachers and have a nearness to experience. The Oakland people will prepare to entertain the teachers handsomely.

* * *

A Fable About THERE was once upon a time a merchant Competition. who controlled the trade of a certain neighborhood. He grew sleepy and careless. He sold stale goods to his patrons, and made no effort to get either new or standard merchandise. A man came along and started a store, with new goods, on an opposite corner. He made an effort to get new and standard The people patted him on the back and were glad. The merchant who had grown careless grew active. He put a new cover on his Pacific Educational Journal, read the proof carefully, wrote up the State Normal Schools, gave space to the State University, and improved his store in many ways. Verily, verily, saith the prophet, competition is the life of official school journals.

wares.

I

AN ATTRACTIVE SCHOOLROOM.

BY S. ROSELLA KELLEY.

T hung in our County Superintendent's office-a photograph of a real, live schoolroom in California. I studied it carefully, that August day,-perhaps with more interest because I had seen the original and knew it was a truthful picture.

It was the second grade of one of our city schools. A box of drawing models was on each desk, and the photographer had caught the bright, expectant look on each face as, holding a cube in both small hands, they waited for instructions from the teacher.

All around the room one could see blackboards covered with number work and stenciled illustrations of many lessons in phonics.

conspicuous among them was a late number of a school journal. Flowers were on the desk and in the windows. A little alcove in one corner contained a variety of seeds mounted on cards and labeled. Here were the winged seeds of the maple, taking our thoughts back to our native New England, cotton-seeds from Dixie land, cockle-burrs, caraway, and coriander, with many beautiful grains and grasses.

Our favorits poets smiled on us from the walls. Venetian shutters excluded the fiery heat glowing on the pavement and scorching the roses beneath the windows. And where, all this time, was the presiding genius who made all things so fair in this ideal schoolroon? She was in the background, helping a dear, dull, little fellow to comprehend some vexing question.

Yes, this is my ideal of what a schoolroom ought to be-clean, beautiful surroundings, busy, orderly pupils, and a loving, patient teacher.

And when I know that this teacher has lived, loved, and labored here eight years, I do not wonder that good results have followed and the influences of a cultured womanhood have stamped themselves on her

environment.

If the teacher could know that her position in the school were permanent, would she not feel the pride that comes with possession and put more of the beautiful into her work and surroundings?

On the other hand, perhaps, a progressive, wideawake teacher may make herself so valuable to a community that it cannot afford to do without her.

And yet, the teacher, unaided, cannot make the schoolroom what it should be. Out of her slender purse she cannot provide the furnishing. It takes tact and tax from the patrons and trustees to secure even the necessary improvements in our district schools.

I know a little woman who has for two years tried to "keep school" in a room with dingy walls, remnants of window curtains, a battered and ink-stained pine table, that must serve the place of a desk, and nothing pretty or attractive around her, except forty-two of the dearest and brightest children that the sun ever shone on, and often a lovely bouquet of roses, such as California alone produces.

This little woman is going to compromise, the coming year, and ask the trustees to provide the useful, such as new window-shades, shelves for her books, and walls cleaned and newly tinted; then she will furnish the ornaments-pictures, table-cover, books from her private library, etc.

I hope, in another article, to tell you how she has succeeded.

As one's capacities become enlarged, his tastes purified, and his aims exalted, he has less and less concern over the question of "the ethics of amusement." He finds that the richest pleasures are highest up. As the spirit attains more, the senses demand less. — Philip

[The following studies, issued by the Department of Education of Leland Stanford Jr. University, afford excellent material for developing the powers of the child to think. They also afford unconscious tuition in English. A child will choose its own words to express its own ideas. The words will therefore be stronger than when the child is consciously writing an exercise called composition. An excellent drill would be for teachers to give the pupils the outlines for language and composition work. Then send the results to Earl Barnes, Leland Stanford Jr. University. The papers will have an additional value to him, because the child doing this as regular work would not be guilty of self-consciousness.-THE EDITOR.]

Punishment for Weak Time-Sense.

ou will place us under obligations if you will give your class as a composition exercise this little story, with the question, and send us the papers, each marked with the age and sex of the writer. Of course, there should be no discussion before the writing:

"One day, when I was about seven years old, I went to a neighbor's to play; and my mother told me to be back by six o'clock. I was enjoying myself so much that I did not know how fast the time was passing, until I noticed it was getting dark. Then I ran home as fast as I could; but it was half-past six when I got there, and the family had been to supper. My mother scolded me for being late. Was it just or unjust, and why?"

Class Punishments.

One day the teacher left the room, and while she was gone several children in the room began to make a noise. The teacher heard the noise as she was coming back, but did not know which children were out of order, and none of the class would tell her. So she kept the whole class in after school. Was that punishment just or unjust, and why?

You will oblige us if you will give the above little story, with the question, as a composition exercise, and send us the papers, each marked, with the age and sex of the writer.

Punishments in School or at Home.

Please have your children write, as a composition exercise, the answer to this question: Have you ever had an unjust punishment? If so, what was it, and why was it unjust?

Of course, there should be no discussion before the question is given; and we shall probably get better results if the children do not know that they are writing for any particular object.

Another day, please have the class write on: Have you ever received a punishment that you considered

just? If so, please describe it, and tell. why you considered it just.

We should like all the papersthose that are imperfect as well as those that are complete. Each sheet should have the age and the sex of the

Job Wood, Jr., has a reputation to maintain. He is credited with being the best institute superintendent in the State. In his introductory address, at the Monterey Teachers' Institute, he made some valuable suggestions touching the various phases of the duties of teachers, parents, and pupils. The Institute was devoted largely to papers and discussions from a psychological standpoint. He had an array of well-known names-State Superintendent Black, Professors Brown, Barnes, Jenkins, Griggs, and Dr. Dille and Harr Wagner on the list of instructors. The Monterey teachers showed themselves to be thoroughly wideawake and progressive, and Mr. Wood maintained his reputation. as an able presiding officer and a good organizer.

"The one prudence in life is concentration; the one evil is dissipation; and it makes no difference whether our dissipations are coarse or fine."

"Nature is upheld by antagonism. Passions, resistance, danger, are educators. We acquire the strength

we have overcome."

WHO, WHEre, when, WHAT, WHY. Language Lesson on the Value of Work for Third or Second Grade Pupils.

BY ELLEN M. HENSEL.

[The purpose of this lesson is to teach the children that certain words have a value in asking questions. The method of teaching this is the following story.-E. M. H.]

Ο

NCE upon a time there lived, away across the ocean, five little boys, and the name of each little boy was Willie. When these boys lived across the ocean they did not know one another; but all their papas decided to come to our country at the same time. They happened to take the same ship; and as they were on it many days, of course the five little Willies became acquainted, and so did their papas and mammas. When the big ship reached America the five families did not want to leave one another; so they all went to New York. The five papas bought five lots, all in a row, and had their houses built exactly alike.

Here is a picture of the houses. You see each house

spells, Mr. H-e-n, but I am going to ask you what you think he called himself. No; it was not Mr. Hẽn, but just plain Mr. Hen. He said it wasn't worth while to worry about one's name. But his neighbor, Mr. H-a-t, did worry about his name a great deal. Just think of being called Mr. Hat! He couldn't bear that name, and insisted that every one should call him Mr. Hat. The last gentleman-Mr. H-y-thought just as Mr. Hen did, that a common name was good enough, and so he let people call him Mr. Hy..

At last the five houses were all finished; and then the five little Willies, with their mammas and papas, moved into them from the hotel. Oh, what a good time those little Willies had then! But there was one thing that troubled them, and that was that each boy's name was Willie. In the midst of some very nice game they would hear one of their mammas call Willie, and then all of them would have to run to see which one of them was called. This bothered them so much that they decided to take nicknames. [Have class tell

HO

HERE

HAT

HY

has a door-plate. What is a door-plate? [Have children answer.] These five gentlemen had only their last names on the door-plates. The first papa's name was Mr. H-o. What does that spell? Yes; but he thought that Hō was too common a name, so he called himself Mr. Ho. The house of Mr. H-e-r-e was next to Mr. Ho's house. What would you say his name was? It does spell Here, but this gentleman's wife thought that it sounded much nicer to be called Mrs. Hêre; and so this papa was known as Mr. Hêre. I won't have to ask what the next gentleman's name

what a nickname is.] But they couldn't think of any good nicknames at first.

One day they were playing in front of their houses, when one of the boys said he had thought of some splendid nicknames. He proposed that each one of them should take the first letter of their first name and put it before their last name, and then call it as if it were one word. The boys were anxious to see what their nicknames would be; so one of them took a piece of chalk from his pocket and wrote a W before the name on every door-plate, like this:

WHO

WHERE

WHAT

WHY

I want some one to tell me the nicknames of these little Willies. [Get the pupils to give the names: Who, Where, When, What, Why.] Everybody was glad when these Willies at last found some nicknames; but their mammas did not like the chalk on the front doors, and the boys had to rub it all off again.

66

Now, I am going to tell you something more about these boys. They were always asking questions. But the part that is strange is that they did not ask questions about the same things. Who always asked questions about persons; but Where asked about places. When didn't care about persons or places; but he always wanted to know what time it was. What asked about things, and he was always saying: "What is this?" or, What is that?" Why was a boy who thought more about things than the other Willies. He wanted to know the reason for everything. [Be sure that the pupils understand the meaning of the word "reason."] Finally, these boys became so well known, on account of the questions they asked, that people began to use their names in asking questions. Didn't you ever notice that we use Who when we want to ask about a person? We say: "Who has been here?" or "Who are you?" But when we want to ask about a place we say Where? So with the rest of these names we use When for time questions, What when we ask about things, and Why when we want to know the reason for things.

I wonder how many of you can write sentences and ask questions using these five names? All take your slates and try, and I'll put a list of them on the board, so that you won't forget what each name asks about. [Put the following list on the board:]

T

HE use of the metric system of weights and measures is now practically universal in scientific investigations, and is slowly being introduced among manufacturing establishments making machinery for export to South American countries, where the system. is employed. There are a number of societies in this country and England which are endeavoring to have it adopted for ordinary purposes by English-speaking people, but have not met with much success as yet.

The English society for this purpose, the New Decimal Association, has just published a report of its last meeting, which contains some interesting information. Thomas Kyle pointed out a number of inconsistencies against which the British tradesman has to contend. There is the troy ounce of 480 grains and the avoirdupois ounce of 480 grains. When an apothe

cary sells drugs at retail he uses the first measure, although he buys them by the second. There are also three separate dram weights, the avoirdupois, fluid, and apothecary, containing 27, 54, and 60 grains respectively, says the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

Over 200 separate ways of selling wheat are used at the present time in Great Britain. For example, a bushel of wheat weighs sixty-two pounds in Gloucestershire, seventy pounds at Monmouth, and eighty pounds in Newtown. In Nottinghamshire a bushel of potatoes weighs eighty-four pounds, while in Cornwall it weighs 224 pounds, nearly three times as much. The standard hundredweight is 112 pounds, but a hundredweight of cheese in Cheshire is 120 pounds. A butcher buying meat at wholesale expects but eight pounds in a stone, although it usually contains fourteen pounds. The man who wants a little ale and orders half a pint receives ten fluid ounces, but the uninitiated imbiber who calls for a glass cannot complain if he gets but nine, eight, or seven ounces, although half a pint and a glass are generally regarded as synonymous.

R. A. Hadfield, one of the leading English steel manufacturers, said he saw no good grounds for attempting to defend a system under which the ore in one establishment he knew about was first weighed in Cornish tons of 2352 pounds, was then finished and weighed by long tons of 2240 pounds, and was finally sold by tons of 2000 pounds.

NOTE. Encourage the children to express in their own language their ideas of number by drawing pictures and telling number stories; as, "Four flags were standing up; one fell down and three were left." Subtraction may also be illustrated by drawing a line through the number taken away.

(From "The Werner Primer." Copyrighted.)