certain inflexible rule of politeness be imposed upon them, toward their superiors at least, just as it is on men in the army? The attitude of American parents and children toward each other always surprises a Chinaman, and impresses him unfavorably. His whole nature is imbued with filial ideas so radically different from those current here that it is almost impossible for him to appreciate the American point of view. The Chinese parent expects implicit obedience on the part of his child, and he is not disappointed in his expectations. American children are sometimes obedient, but not always The Chinese parent governs by authority, the American by affection. The Chinese parent says solemnly to his child: "It is your duty to obey me. All the authority of law and custom demand it. You must!" The American parent says: "I shall be displeased if you don't obey me, and you shan't have any more sugar plums." Both systems have their advantages and disadvantages.-Wu Ling Fang in Frank Leslies Popular Monthly. "THE CHILD." Probably there is not in all educational literature a more mischievous phrase than "the child." Formerly we had children,- actual entities, real beings. Now we have psychology and an abstraction "the child." is not a real being. The Lord never made him. He has not been created but excogitated. He is like nothing in heaven or earth. Children have endless variety. "The child" has no variety except such as marks the different psychological sects that have manufactured him. "The child," we are told by one school, must reproduce the experiences of the race." Primeval man had nythologies. Therefore the nineteenth century child must go through his "mythological age." But when we really set to work to teach him those Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Norse mythologies, we find a great deal that we really could not impart to our children, besides a great deal that we had better not. By the time we have expurgated the legends of all the envy, revenge, cruelty, falsehood, and some other things, there is often so little sparkle left that eager young souls find them rather flat. The great novelists and poets-whose power is in their deep knowledge of human nature - have ever given us individual children, never "the child." How perfect in this, as in all other respects, is the wisdom of the Great Teacher ! Christ never spoke of "the child," but said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me. "He took them up in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." He said: "Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven;" and "Whosoever receiveth one of such children in my name receiveth me." James Champlin Fernald, September Atlantic Monthly. THE ERA OF EDUCATION IN CUBA. One of the greatest educational enterprises ever carried out successfully was the bringing of nearly one thousand five hundred Cuban school teachers to the United States to take a special course at Harvard University. This is one development of the tremendous work that is going on in Cuba. When the United States government turned its attention to educational affairs in the island, there were not more than four thousand children attending the public schools. Now there are three thousand three hundred public schools, with three thousand five hundred teachers and one hundred and forty thousand children in attendance. Opposition to the movement, at first strong and bitter, has now almost entirely disappeared. — Munsey's. ΤΟ COLLIS P. HUNTINGTON Who was first to lead the steal-shod cavalry of conquest through JOAQUIN MILLER. [The death of Mr. Huntington removes one of the most forceful characters of the West. The above dedication to Joaquin Miller's complete poems is perhaps the most beautiful tribute ever paid to the great railroad builder and manager. August 17th, during the burial of Mr. Huntington, all work was stopped on his railroads and industries controlled by him for the space of seven minutes. It is estimated that fifty thousand stood idle. Not a blow was struck; not a word spoken. Fifty thousand men with bowed heads. What a tribute! His advice to boys will make a splendid reading lesson for the opening of schools. In his busy life he had time to study conditions. In fact, it may be said, that Huntington never forgot he was a boy.-THE EDITOR.] Now, a few serious words to the boys with stout hearts and strong arms, and nothing in their pockets, who have got the sober work of making a living before them. Take that work which is nearest to you until you can do better, and work with a will, doing it as well as you possibly can, and so steadily that one might almost think the Fates were doing it, yet turning your thoughts away from your mere manual labor to watch out for something higher and better. Do this and you will surely succeed. Be always true to yourself; work with an honesty of purpose, and spend no money for the things you do not need. I never in my life used tobacco, and until I was nearly fifty years of age I did not know the taste of wine or distilled liquors. It is interesting and instructive to figure out how much money a boy, commencing at 15 years of age, could have by the time he is three score and ten years, if he should save 25 cents a day, and compound it semi-annually at 5 per cent interest. Too many young men who go out to work watch the clock to be sure they don't reach their work one minute before the appointed time, or leave it one minute after the regulation hour for closing has struck. It is a great mistake; for the hard times are sure to come when those who employ labor must part with some of it in the interest of a necessary retrenchment; and then it will be found that those who loitered on their way to work and hurried on the way from it will be the first to be dispensed with; while those who showed their interest in their work by not watching the clock lest they should give a moment more of their time than they had agreed to give — those who stayed behind to clean up their desks and to finish their work rather than their day — will be retained. Those who work well for others work well for themselves. Those who do not frequently find their reward in the poorhouse. How often have I observed that the manufacturer who made the best article he possibly could for a certain price grew steadily richer; while he who made the poorest article he could sell for the same price grew poor until bankruptcy resulted. To be successful, in the best sense of the word, one must work with an honesty of purpose, giving full weight and measure, and doing all things well to the whole extent of his ability. The desire to get rich in a hurry mars the happiness of many men, for wealth is of slow growth; but it comes at last to him who does not waste his moments, but works with all his might, and lives on less than he makes. Riches thus acquired bring comfort and happiness. Do not forget, though, that there is "a withholding that leadeth to poverty," not only in money, but in happiness; for the poor we have always with us, and to them we must always be ready to give our portion. I do not refer to those jackals in human shape who howl along our track with the outcries of the improvident, who think the world owes them a living, who want to gather where others have sown, who want to pick up something without laying anything down, and make those who save divide with those who will not; for to give to these is almost a sin, because giving to them makes the world worse instead of better. Beginnings in Music. JULIET POWELL RICE. The teacher, desiring to secure an easy and natural expression from every pupil, has not drawn the attention of the class to any particular kind of time. While various kinds have been used in the songs, and different movements have been given, and the teacher has observed the individual child, no mention of these facts has been made. All work has centered on a simple form of measure, and a regular recurring pulse. Since all pupils have proven their ability to step in time or to clap hands, . as the case may be, they are now ready to study rythm. At least the older children are, and are first led to see it is not possible to fit a two-pulse movement to a three-pulse tune. Some time is spent in proving this, and here again the child learns by doing. He finds that while he can mark time to "Marching Through Georgia," and feel the accent strongly, this movement will not suit a waltz time. "America was chosen because it was three-pulse time, but the music is peculiarly phrased and does not well represent a three-pulse rythm Both the four and the three-pulse time must be so strongly marked that the difference is easily discerned by all. By their own efforts the majority of the class find there are different kinds of time, and, while the interest is intense, the proper name is given to each, and a representation is drawn on the blackboard, using first the quarter note as the unit. The teacher erases and the pupils are asked to imitate the work done by the teacher,—not to copy, but write from memory that which he saw the teacher do. It thus becomes his own. As various kinds of time are beaten or marked, in any physical manner best suited to the needs of the particular occasion, a representation of it is placed on the board. The eye is thus helping to store up knowledge for future use. Time representation is given without the use of the staff, or clef, at first, because the value of the length of notes should not be confused with the tone. Long and repeated explanations are avoided, and only those signs are taught which explain or represent that which the child has done. Example: The time is first marked by hands or feet to a three-pulse song, and the attention of the class is directed to the strong beat. Strong, weak, weak-strong, weak, weak-in groups, till all feel the rythm. The teacher then places a group of measures making at least four measures, and any multiple of four is still better, because it then contains the element of a phrase. The measures are each filled with three-quarter notes and read by the class, strong, weak, weak, etc., and erased when the class are sent to the board to write that which they have seen and vocalized. In like manner notes of equal value are used in many kinds of time until various forms of rythm are well established, and the relative values of whole, half, quarter and eighth notes, and their equivalent rests, are fixed in the mind. Broken time is developed in the same way. For instance: A four-pulse measure contains one half, one quarter and two eighth notes, and again one quarter note, an eighth rest, eighth and half note, and all the signs used are taught to express something the pupil has himself done, and is written by the teacher first, and never copied by the pupil, but another group of similar form is developed each time, after which it is sung by the class on about G, second line, treble clef. After this work is carried on a few weeks, the pupils are able to scan a song the first time they hear it, and recognize the time as two or three-pulse measure. The staff representation of tone is developed in the same way as time has been-that is, by self-activity. The pupils are taught to write what they hear and what they sing. Example: By the use of the C pitch-pipe, the teacher herself sings the C scale and the class sing with her and without her. She draws the staff, counting as she draws one, two, three, four, five, drawing the lower line first. She then places the treble clef in its proper place, and writes the scale as they sing it, either ascending or descending. After the class sing it from the representation, it is erased, and pupils are asked to write it rrom memory. As the C scale is the nucleus around which the beginnings of tone representation are built, the pupils will have much practice in this key, and, therefore, are not kept on this scale to perfect themselves in forming notes, etc. During the first lesson the D scale is also sung and written by the teacher, but after this, all new scales are found by the pupils themselves. They are told that any tone of the C scale may be sung as doh in a new scale, which is proven by singing to any tone and calling it doh. In this case it is mi. The teacher then directs the class to sing a scale from this pitch and a pupil writes as they sing, after which the teacher places the signature of four sharps. As she draws, she says: "When we have four sharps, we put doh on the first line, and because doh is on the first line, it is called the E scale." erases and calls on a member of the class to write it from memory. She All staff forms and signs are taught to represent through the eye what the voice and ear already know, and each representation is so vividly pictured that explanations are superfluous. There is no effort to teach the theory of transposition of scales. That will come later. Only enough scale work is done to show that relationship of tone is the same in all keys, and to teach pupils to associate key notes with signatures. They are now expected to write what they sing, and can do it, The first complete tune they write is "Lightly Row," and out of sixteen who made the attempt there were only two who failed, which is as good a showing as we have in any other study. too. Review of the San Francisco Course of Study. [Written at the request of the Editor by Frederic Burk, President San Francisco Normal School.] If the assertion had been made six months ago that a new course of study could be drawn up for the San Francisco public schools which should satisfy all persons concerned, the utterance would have been accepted as evidence that a new humorist was preening his feathers. Yet the unexpected has happened and it is no joke. The explanation of the phenomenon involves several factors. In the first place, it is a good course of study. It is both conservative and progressive; both directive and suggestive; both simple and plain spoken, and yet leaves plenty of material for the imagination. The method of its construction was fortuitously wise. Early in the Spring the Superintendent and his deputies called in a large number of experienced teachers of the department in a series of methodical conferences, and the result of these meetings was drawn up in written form. Then the Board of Education requested a number of principals, heads of departments, and teachers of recognized special ability in the several fields, to prepare suggestions of material, and after a long series of conferences these were also submitted in written form. At this point it was decided to call in an expert editor, in the person of Professor Cubberley, who already in his wellknown San Diego Course of Study, had registered the high-water mark of courses of study in California, and who has made a detailed study of the courses of study thruout the nation. Professor Cubberley devoted several weeks to the work, consulting with Superintendent Webster upon problems of practicality and practicability, and with members of the Board, President Cecil W. Mark moved to Palo Alto in order that he could give his evenings to the study of the problem with Professor Cubberley. Every detail in the work has therefore been characterized by deliberation and exhaustive consultation. The raw data and material came from teachers of ex |