7. "The girl speaks distinct;" say, distinctly. 8. "He lives at New York;" say, in New York. 9. "He made a great splurge;" say, he made a blustering effort. The first savors of slang. 10. "My brother lays ill of a fever;" should be my brother lies ill of a fever. VULGARISMS The following words and expressions should be strictly avoided in conversation and in writing. Only a few of the many hundreds in use are given, simply as suggestions. 1. " Acknowledge the corn,"-instead of to admit. 2. 'Ain't,"—instead of am not or isn't. 3. "Awful," instead of ugly or difficult. 4. "Beat out,"-instead of tired. 5. "Dreadful,"-instead of very. 6. "Hopping mad,”—instead of very angry. 7. 8. 66 66 'Strapped,"-wanting or out of money. 9. 'Female,”—correctly used with reference to sex alone. To speak of a woman simply as a female is ridiculous. Record of The teacher should keep a record of all the mistakes made by the pupils, and encourage them to do the same. Once a week these should be mistakes. written on the board, and corrected by the pupils, the teacher assisting when necessary. The pupils should be required to copy in a note-book the exercises in a form similar to the above. Let the pupils learn the correct way of speaking by a correct use of the term. Arbitrary rules are of little use in the beginning. Outlines of The teacher, at first, will assist the pupils to classify subjects, draw outlines, and form correct compositions. tabulations. Questions may be used for a brief time, to teach classification; but should be cast aside as soon as possible. The teacher should always require pupils to hand in an outline of the subject. This plan will cultivate individuality and originality and give the pupils a training, intellectually, that will prove of great service in after life. Thought the The teacher must not attempt to do any more than she can do well. It would not do, for inone essential. stance, to select an object in which the properties to be illustrated were not well developed, nor an object with which the pupils were not familiar. Every lesson should be given in such a way as to draw out the perceptive powers of the pupil by leading him to reflect on what he sees, or to analyze the object before him. Powers are to be strengthened only by teaching the pupil to THINK upon what he sees. Important 1. Prepare yourself beforehand on the subject, fixing in your mind exactly what aspects you will suggestions. bring up, just what definitions and illustrations you will give or draw out of the class. 2. Have the work marked or written down in the form of a synopsis. 3. Use the board in all exercises; write on it technical words, classification of the knowledge brought out in the recitation, and, whenever possible, illustrative drawings. 4. Whenever the subject is of such a nature as to allow it, the teacher should bring in real objects illustrative of it and encourage the children to do the same. 5. Do not burden the pupil with too many new technical phrases at a time, nor fall into the opposite error of using only the loose common vocabulary of ordinary life, which lacks scientific precision. 6. Discuss the topics thoroughly. 7. Do not overburden the pupil's memory. 8. Do not distract his power of attention. 9. Never take up a topic that you are unable to explain and illustrate so clearly as to make the pupil understand it. 10. Avoid all phases of the subject that will tend to confuse rather than enlighten. 11. Draw out in a conversational way the experience and information which your scholars already possess on the subject. 12. Never omit to show by a synopsis on the board. what has been discussed in the lesson, its classification and relation. 13. Require short weekly compositions of the pupils, expressing in their own language their ideas on the subject. Topics for By spending ten or fifteen minutes each day, in a familiar, conversational lecture, upon some topic or object, selected from the following brief talks. list, not only will the scholars be interested and learn many new truths in a way to remember them, but the teacher himself will derive great advantage from his preparation for such an exercise. Whenever it can be done, the means of illustration should be at hand, to demonstrate to the eye, and thus fasten upon the mind the facts and reasoning of the lecturer. The curiosity of the pupils should be excited, and questions and remarks should be encouraged, for by these means they will be led to closer habits of thought and observation. 8. Bread. 9. Ivory. 6. Wax. 10. Chalk. 11. A pin. 12. A pencil. 13. A brick. 14. An acorn. 15. A cork. 16. A stone. 17. Cinnamon. 18. Nutmeg. 19. Ginger. 20. Gloves. 21. Water. 22. Oil. 30. Cotton. 31. Flax. 32. Silk. 33. Gold. 34. Silver. 35. Mercury. 37. Copper. 42. Granite. 44. Slate. 45. Feathers. 46. Coral. 47. Gutta-percha. 50. Spheroidal form of the earth. 52. Commerce. moon. pass. 59. Circulation of the blood. Questions for Debate Is the farmer the most useful member of society? Has civilization increased human happiness? Do inventions improve the condition of the laboring classes? Is the expectation of reward a greater incentive to exertion than the fear of punishment? Do savage nations possess the right to the soil? Is the mind of woman inferior to that of man? Has increased wealth a favorable influence on the morals of the people? Did the Crusaders benefit Europe? Was the invention of gunpowder an evil? Is the existence of political parties an evil? Is the pulpit a better field for eloquence than the bar? Subjects for Compositions Spring. A Thunder-storm. What becomes of the Rain. Blessings of Hope. Flowers of Memory. The Prairies. Unity in Diversity. Snow. Mountains. Forests. The Beauties of Nature. Our Country. The Study of History. Peace. War. The Ruins of Time. The Fickleness of Fortune. A Dream. A Ray of Light. A Drop of Water. Immutability of Change. Never Give Up. Benevolence. History of a Looking-glass. Power of Mind. The Bible. The Sunny Side. The Aurora Borealis. The Earth. The Shady Side. Human Genius. Aim High. Past and Present. Book of Nature. The Starry Heavens. |