us. The view which Emerson takes of nature places hir in the idealistic school of philosophers. He suggest that what we call nature is but the projection of th creative spirit. The unseen is perhaps the real; fo that which we see is transient and sooner or later ma pass away forever. The highest culture, therefore, i attainable from the standpoint of the ideal philosophy for the problem that may well engage human researc is, to quote Plato, "for all that exists conditionally, t find a ground unconditioned and absolute." From his discussion of nature, Emerson draws man useful lessons. We can mention but a few: "Th happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesso of worship." "Once inhale the upper air, being ad mitted to behold the absolute natures of justice an truth, and we learn that man has access to the entir mind of the Creator, is himself the creator in the finite. "A man is a god in ruins. When men are innocent life shall be longer, and shall pass into the immortal a gently as we awake from dreams." How comforting too, is the sentiment which Emerson quotes approv ingly from George Herbert: "For us the winds do blow, The earth doth rest, heaven move, and fountains flow As our delight, or as our treasure; The Examination and the Examinee In Elementary Science. By John Waddell, Ph.D., D.Sc., School of Mining, Kingston, Ontario. Definitions accurately and exactly learned may doubt The pupil beginning the study of science shoul realize from the very first the necessity of accuracy an exactness. He should learn that his knowledge, whil necessarily limited, should be definite and distinct. A hazy idea of principles and facts is most unsatisfactory The term science denotes knowledge, and knowledg should be exact and not of a general and indistinc kind. General knowledge has been wittily described a definite and dense ignorance, and it must be admitte that many examination papers exhibit on the part o the examinees a great deal of general knowledge. Accuracy of observation is one of the essentials o any scientific training, and any training is to that ex tent scientific in which accuracy of observation is in sisted upon. If leaves are being examined their shap should be accurately observed, the character of thei margin, the texture, the surface, and other peculiarities so that the pupil will realize that he knows somethin about the leaves he has studied. If flowers ar examined their peculiarities should be noted and what ever object is looked at the observation should be accu rate so far as it goes. An examination paper can tes such accuracy of observation. Taking an illustration it suggested. It is very impor. stinguish between what he sees , still more important, to distinsees and what somebody else inost of our science students learn ebody else has inferred, usually of the facts from which the inthis inference, which we call a the fundamental fact and the upposed to hang upon it rather uch a theory is the atomic theementary chemistry, when asked phenomenon, are all too apt to atoms and molecules and in such that their knowledge is of the above. to relegate memory to a very e study of science. We are told is that the pupil should undermember facts. But the concrete n to the abstract and principles ru facts, are best illustrated by nitely remembered in connection that it is more important to train or himself than to give him the gation, but the time is too short e all he should know. It is in in geography. The most comge of geography is to be got by traveler knows how to observe. to be content with a knowledge at second hand. So in science; must rest content with getting - and to get a clear view of the a firm grasp of the principles, the mind. Hence, in an examinastions involving an exercise of f place. The examiner should be ng questions of this kind. The d not be out of the way ones. sense be catch questions, they that any candidate in that grade know. For instance, in chemislearn how hydrogen is prepared ydrochloric acid, and the properces, and a question on matters I suited to an elementary paper. I dioxide illustrates what I said ne facts in science second hand. or the pupil to perform an experia given amount of carbon, carbon as much oxygen as carbon monknow the fact. Unfortunately fact he does not realize that the n learned by experiment, but is ms and molecules in such a way considers carbon monoxide and eated by a kind Providence to iltiple proportions. Examinations t function in stimulating the mind a number of facts. The over his work with the view of an tell a straightforward tale to oing so finds that the facts gain wn mind which they formerly did uld not consist entirely of quesuld be such as to test the examierlying principles, and the relao each other. It would be well if aminee is not likely to have met There should not be too many questions of ter, for the examinee should not meet too much that is strange, but on the other hand the examinee should not have acquired so superficial knowledge of the subject as to be nonplussed by a change in form of question. There are not a few examinees in chemistry who could tell how carbon dioxide and chlorine are made but would think they were asked something out of the way if requested to give the action of hydrochloric acid on marble and on manganese dioxide. The science student should endeavor to cultivate accuracy of observation, exactness in the knowledge of facts, a clear insight into the relationship between kindred facts, and an appreciation of the principles involved, the examination should be of such a kind as to determine whether the candidate has made this endeavor and how far he has been successful, and should stimulate the examinee to strive in the best manner for the attainment of a thoro understanding of the work gone over, and for such a mental training as will be of permanent value in future life. "Make Me Beautiful Within." By GRACE ADA BROWN, in October Primary School Now which was the sage who prayed The often quoted prayer Make me beautiful within "? Plato, the gracious Greek With illumined brow and cheek And perfect lip and chin, Ah! but what of Socrates With his rough and rugged brow Were the god-men then, as now. But his beautiful "within" And the light of his high soul Shines to-day o'er many lands. 'Mong the mists of silver seas From the dear dim long ago, To be gliding to and fro; Praying "Make me white as snow." For these sages of the past Are the teachers now as then ; Guided by a voice divine, Walking with their robes unstained Till the highest heights are gained To unveil the gods in men ;With no thought of mine or thine: "Reach the Truth and hold her fast, Care not how, nor where, nor when." So we teachers of to-day Who the teacher's meed will win Need to keep our garments white, As we climb and ever climb; m ed по WO est bee str wed tha E ure mot prec her the pers bring deals great prefe of th mean sacrifi human child o Wh notices or girl estheti forded and ch Teache him, an publica righteo a high sacred deprive verse h upation. Chief among them are For developing all that is best and sweetest and manly in woman. There is no doubt in my t the Lord intended women to be the rightful of children in their earliest years. This does ude the possibility of a man's doing excellent he primary school. In fact, some of the greaters of little ones in the history of schools have 1. But their characters and lives only help to en one in the conviction here expressed. They cessful because of the ideal something in them erhaps best characterized as mother heart. woman has been endowed with a peculiar treash in its ideal development reveals itself as od. Now, a mother of a family has many opportunities for developing this ideal side of re; but she has not half the scope afforded to ner in the primary school. The mother's own ambitions are left too much play room in the up of her children. The mother of a family h her own flesh and blood, and tho her love be Hoes not ask of her the sacrifice of personal ces and prejudices that are constantly demanded eacher. And nothing is quite so efficient a f developing ideal motherhood as these very . They nurture a love that sees in every eing, whatever personal appearances may be, a The All-Father. school opens in the morning and the teacher mong the children, who come trooping in, a boy acking in almost everything attractive to the sense, her heart is glad at the opportunity afor bringing joy and sweetness into a blighted It is the joy that filled the Great rless life. when a suffering human being was brought to which explains why he felt happier among s and sinners than in the society of the selfs Pharisees. The average mother would build oard fence around her own, admitting to the nclosure only "the nicest children"; she would her child of the greatest advantage the unis in store for him: the possibility of develop and the smile with in themselves an education to the other children; To the Yellowstone Canyon. And to what end? Were't but to bar the stream that frets thy walls, CHARLES WINSLOW DEANE. ne of the most respected edu, to whom American public is and national education, gened in many ways, has resigned endent at Dayton, Ohic. He er 1 and devote himself to the . His position at Dayton has, most unenviable one. He has les and political obstructions. complished much good for the on teachers have been made and inspirational influence. nditions have been worse. Miss presence as supervisor of priI those principals and teachers as worthy of their best thought has left, and is now the princiing school of Baltimore. The her a farewell reception, at 'If I had had, one year ago, an of such a loss as this, I should ent and more telling efforts in est interests." And yet, people rmed concerning the state of zens, generally, are far too tolce?-when ring rule is laying 8. Usually the magnitude of t realized till the people at large g to suffer severely in conseat the loss of Miss Brooks will science and establish a more uct of public educational affairs, ent years. twelve the work becomes gradually inaccurate, and is less in quantity and quality in the afternoon. doubly by Miss Brooks's coming, intelligent, devoted, and enerschools to support the re-organhool. Wu Ting Fang, the genial Chinese philosopher who has been recalled from his post as minister, evidently believes in American educational methods, for he has enrolled his son Wu Chaochu for a two years' course in the Atlantic City high school, under Prin. Henry P. Miller. Wu Chaochu like other boys is fond of sports, but, as he says, is more interested in his studies. He possesses the sharpness and acute inquisitiveness of his father. From the Atlantic City high school which, by the way, has been wonderfully strengthened by the principal now in charge, Young Wu will probably go to Harvard. கூ The Three R's With a Difference. All teachers teach the three R's, but those who do no more are poor teachers. When Ralph Waldo Emerson's daughter told him of certain studies she was placning to pursue he remarked, "It matters very little what you study; it matters everything with whom you study." The three R's will rightly form the bulk of the studies in all the school-rooms of the country. These have been the main things for all ages. But what a difference in results. Take an illustration: A young man went to a village proposing to open a school. The people told him they had a school already that was free to all, but that if he chose to open another and assume the risks there was the basement of the church and he might use it. He accepted the offer and began. He was asked what he was going to teach. His answer was, Arithmetic, geography, reading, spelling, and writing." The people thought it strange he should simply cover the same ground as the other teachers and they watched the outcome with interest. The school opened with five pupils. They reported, "He doesn't teach like other teachers exactly; he is a good teacher." There were a good many in the village and vicinity who had a smattering of the three R's. They could read, but they read nothing of value. They knew a number of geographical names, but without any proper conceptions attached. They could spell a good many words of whose meaning they had no idea, to spell well being thought a great accomplishment. They could 66 cipher" but could not add up a column of figures with accuracy. Their penmanship was legible but they did not know how to use capitals, nor how to put a letter together in proper shape. The new school rapidly increased in numbers. The larger girls and boys seemed to feel that here was an unusual opportunity and by November the room was crowded, nearly one hundred being in attendance. This was a subject of much comment at the village store. "He teaches the same things they do down at our school-house and yet--and---won't go there, and they have to pay Mr. Sparks too." It was a problem they could not solve. One young man, being asked to point out the difference between Mr. Sparks' school and the other said, "Well, we get hold of things and understand them as we never did before. Now we want to read books and know more. We got tired of going to the other school. No one is tired of going to this school." After fifty years had gone by two pupils of this looks upon the learning of the three R's as an the other as a means to a higher end. The formald define education as knowledge of the three R's ter as a comprehension of the world and of himself. of the saddest things for an educated person to described by a writer in one of the magazines. ad gone into an elevated region of the state for ealth and had taken up her residence in the family ell-to-do farmer. ere were two sons, one eighteen, and the other y years of age, both intelligent young men; the was the sole trustee of the school-a very decent ng less than half a mile away. What amazed me he utter indifference of these young men to the around them. One was already courting a bor's daughter and expecting to marry her in a or two. They read no books except some cheap five en-cent novels they secretly bought in the village. hey could do farm work, they had learned a routine their father, but it seemed to me they lacked the and sturdiness he possessed. He was about as grounded in the rudiments of knowledge as they, ot opposed to their having more education, but they ot want it. he new school teacher came to this farm-house to and then I thought I discovered the cause of the lity of these young men, and of the young people n general, for I found they were types of what ed in other farm-houses. This man possessed a In degree of scholarship, but it had not affected haracter; it was laid on the outside, as we see o put on coarse bricks to make them look like He was harmless, without a definite purpose, no clearly defined ideas; but able to tell whether d spelled 'plague' right or not." is may seem a severe arraignment of the school m we extol so much. But is it not true that we t too much of the three R's? Is it a knowledge of that distinguishes people? Did this set apart Washington or our Lincoln? All admit the value is in knowing how to read and write, but is not beril that the advance made possible by the three not taken? good many studies of tramps have been made and agreed that without exception they possess a edge of the three R's. One writer who lived g them in disguise says they brought in newss and books from their begging expeditions; a novel would be read and criticised. It is plain, fore, that while the three R's may be conveniences vilization they certainly do not form, purify, and ole human character. Indian Day Schools. y schools are coming to be recognized as perhaps nost important factor in the civilization of the ns. The system in operation at the Pine Ridge ey, S. D., is described by J. J. Duncan in the ern Workman for October. ere are thirty day schools on Pine Ridge. A brief iption of one of them will give the reader a genidea of all. There are two main buildings, one a l building with vestibules, and the other the Lers' cottage. The cottage has four rooms, one industrial room for the girls, the remaining three he exclusive use of the teacher and his family. cost of the buildings is, in round numbers, $2,000. nment has forced off from fortu to school time between nine and four is required to be voted to industrial work. During this hour the b saw wood, carry water, clean the premises, m gardens, etc., under the supervision of the teacher. girls are taught sewing, washing, ironing, mend cooking, and sometimes fancy work under the su vision of the housekeeper. None but male teachers employed at present on this reservation, and t wives are housekeepers. The teachers receives $ per annum and the housekeepers $300. The aver attendance here is probably as good as at any of white district schools, and in some cases it is better Educational Meetings. Secretaries of teachers' organizations are requested to no the editor of dates of meetings and of election of officers. Oct. 10-11.-Illinois Schoolmaster's Club, at Peoria. Oct. 11.-New York Society for the Study of Class-r Problems. Oct. 11.-Schoolmaster's Association of New York vicinity, at New York. Oct. 11.-New York Schoolmasters' Club, at the St. Deni Oct. 13.-New York Grammar Teachers' Association, at mal college. Oct. 15-17.-Joint meeting of the New York Counc School Superintendents and Massachusetts Superintende Association. Oct. 16-18-Eastern and Northeastern Iowa Teachers' sociations, at Cedar Falls. Oct. 17.-Connecticut State Teachers' Association, at 1 Haven. Oct. 17.-Essex County Teachers' Convention, at Peab Mase. Oct, 18.-Brooklyn Principals' Association, Address by J. M. Rice, editor of The Forum. Oct. 23-25.-Rhode Island Institute of Instruction at Pr dence. Oct. 23-25.-Vermont State Teachers' Association, at lows Falls, E. G. Ham, Montpelier, secretary. Oct. 23-25.-Northern Illinois Teachers' Association Rockford. Supt. R. B. Hayden, Rock Island, chairman executive committee. Oct. 23.--Worcester County Teachers' Association, Worcester, Mass. Oct. 31.- Plymouth County Teachers' Association, at H ham, Mass. Oct. 31.-Franklin County Teachers' Association, at S burne Falls, Mass. Nov. 14.-New England Association of School Superin dents, at Boston, A. J. Jacoby, Milton, secretary. Nov. 20-22.--Northern California Teachers' Association Redding. Nov. 28-29.-Massachusetts Teachers' Association, at 1 ton, Supt. L. P. Nash, Holyoke, secretary. THE SCHOOL JOURNAL, NEW YORK, CHICAGO, and BOSTON, Is a weekly journal of educational progress for superintendents. I cipals, school officials, leading teachers,and all others who desire a plete account of all the great movements in education. Establishe 1870 it is in its 33rd year. Subscription price, 2 a year. Like o professional journals THE SCHOOL JOURNAL is sent to subscribers specially ordered to be discontinued and payment is made in full. From this office are also issued three monthlies-THE TEACH INSTITUTE, THE PRIMARY SCHOOL, and EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATI (each $1.00 a year,), presenting each in its field valuable material for teachers of all grades, the primary teacher and the educational stud also OUR TIMES (current history for teachers and schools),semi-mont 50c. a year. A large list of teachers' books and aids is published an others kept in stock, of which the following more important catalog published: KELLOGG'S TEACHERS' CATALOG. 144 large pages, describes and i trates our own publications,-free. KELLOGG'S ENTERTAINMENT CATALOG. Describes the cream of literature, over 700 titles,-free. KELLOGG'S NEW CENTURY CATALOG. Describes and classifies 17 the leading pedagogical books of all publishers. A unique and valu list 2c. Send all orders to the New York office. Books and files of periodicals may be examined at our Chicago (266 Wabash Ave.) |