Dr. 12/001 John Olmsted & Co. Cr. Mar 4 By Cash in full, | 25100 cake cent coal city (eu) cup (cy) cylinder The teacher need not prefix the ca ce &c. to the words, till he has shown his pupils 100 2400 by repeated and numerous examples that this is the universal rule; after which it is useful to prefix them and require the pupils to do the same. Subsequently to this it may be well to write down the rule. "C is hard before a, o and a; soft before e, i and y;" and leave it standing on the slate. The difference between this and the old method of teaching the same thing, is that it was formerly customary to commit the rule to memory, in the first place whether the thing itself was understood or not; whereas, with the aid of the blackboard, &c. teach the thing itself first, and the rule Cr. afterward. At the time of recitation, the members of the class may be required to make such entries upon the black board as would be required in ordinary business transactions, as above, and then post them similar to the following method. There are many things which teachers think it important to inculcate in school which can hardly be classed under either of the foregoing heads, although they have an important relation to the subjects of several of them. Such are the sounds of the letters, or the elements of English utterance; a knowledge of the powers used in composition; the use of some of the abbreviations; the use of numeral letters, &c. There are several ways of teaching English utterance. One way-perhaps among the best is that which I am about to mention, involving the free use of the blackboard. Suppose the teacher wishes to present to his pupils the various sounds of the letter c. After assuring them that it has two sounds, its natural soft sound on that of s, and its unnatural or bad sound, on that of k, he thus illustrates the difference on the blackboard; requiring them to copy the whole directly upon their slates. This single example may suffice, as an illustration of the method proposed of teaching the sounds of the letters by the aid of slates and blackboards. A thousand other illustrations might be added, but they would be mere repetitions of this. To teach the pauses in composition, we have simply to write them and apply them on the blackboard, according to their re spective uses. For my own part, I never care to teach children the use of them at all, except in connection with composition, as I have already stated at the close of the chapter on that subject. Still as many teachers prefer to have their pupils commit them to memory, or at least understand that they require a suspension of utterance for a longer or shorter period, it may be well to devote a few moments to that subject. Let a plain English sentence, then, not unlike the following, be written down, in large, staring letters on the black board. Samuel, bring your book to me; I wish to hear you read. Here I would say, are three of the more important pauses; the comma, the semicolon and the period. The first is the comma; you may imitate it, on your slates. The next is the semicolon. The third, and last, is the period. They should write them all. Next they should understand, by my own example, that at the comma, whenever we come to it, in reading, we should pause long enough to say distinctly one; at the semicolon, long enough to say one, two; and at the period, long enough to say one, two, three, four, five, six. In a similar way, should we proceed to teach the use of the colon, the exclamation point, the interrogation "point, the caret, the parenthesis, &c. This is merely teaching them practically, rather than theoretically; I claim for it no merit, on account of novelty. The only caution, I need add, is that which is always very much in point, "Make haste; but make haste slowly." The abbreviations used in composition are best taught, in a similar manner, on the blackboard. For this purpose, as it is in the case preceding, the blackboard and slates have better advantage over books, except that they save the expense of the latter,and render the subject of study a little more tangible, as it were, and therefore a little more practical. Merely committing such things to memory, does not answer, well, the purposes for which it is intended. I never knew a pupil who fully understood them, in that way. Some of the best readers; and the most liberally educated people whom I know, say, for the following, Messrs. James Myrick & Co.; Gentlemen Sirs James Myrick & Co. And why this? Because, in the table where they committed it to their. memories, the words Gentlemen, and Sirs both stand opposite the abbreviation that the pupil may have his choice; and as there was no direction about it, they took both. The blackboard may prevent such errors. The numeral letters, like the pauses and sounds of the latter-and for the very same reasons-are best learned from the blackboard. The process need not be long. With very little pains they are both easily understood and readily retained in the memory. One valuable method is to make, for example, a V in the middle of the blackboard, and after asking what it stands for, then ask the pupils to tell what shall be added to it to make it represent six; what to make it stand for eight, &c. So of X, XX, C. D, M, &c. Another good exercise is for the teacher to write a certain number on the blackboard or the ordinary characters used. in arithmetic; say 24; and then require his pupils to write on their slates, the numeral letters which represent it. * Another exercise on the blackboard consists in making corrections of misrepresentations. Nothing is more common among us than to mispronounce words. Hundreds-perhaps I might say thousands of words we almost daily use among us are pronounced awkwardly by many well bred people; and, by others, entirely wrong. A small number of these words should be placed on the blackboard daily, when it can possibly be spared, and kept on it; and the pupils occasionally required to pronounce them till the error is effectually eradicated. A similar course may be pursued with errors of expression, such as the use of double negatives, the disagreement of the verb with its nominative case; the common and frequent violation of the rule "the verb to be has the same case after it as before it," &c. Also the usual contractions of "have not," are not," &c. into haint and aint. Let the teacher write, on the black board, haint have not And let them stand there a few days, and let him occasionally drill the pupils on them, and an impression will be made which will never be forgotten. So of "I hain't got no book," and "how sweetly the birds sings!" "It was me that did it," &c.only place them on the blackboard, and place the true English expressions opposite to them, and proceed as before; and your success, though slow, will be sure and certain. I al Let me mention one thing more. fuded to the art of subscribing a letter, directing one to a friend, writing a note, &c. How much of awkwardness there often is in people who ought to know better, in managing these little things. Yet the blackboard and a little ingenuity and patience, might prevent it. How easy it is to make a long square, in the form of a letter, on the blackboard, and then write within it just as we ought on the back of a letter !-Suitable remarks might be made on the proper way of writing one's name in a book, &c. &c. In short, there is hardly any thing, which it is necessary for us to know, which, in its rudiments at least, may not in this way be inculcated; and, on the principle that what is addressed to two senses, the eye and the ear is longer retained than what is addressed to but one, be made eminently practical. CHAPTER XIX.--MORALITY. There are several ways of teaching mor als and religion with the aid of the blackboard. Some of them are direct; others call indirect teaching. are indirect. Let me begin with what I 1. Furnishing employment to the pupils of our common schools, has of itself a moral tendency. To keep children as well as grown people occupied with that which is useful, or even with that which is not hurt ful, is one means, among many, of keeping them out of mischief. struction and prevents evil, has a moral tendency. But these employments, throughout, may be positively useful, as well as negatively so. The wise and benevolent teacher-he who not only seeks to make his pupils wiser but also better, will often be able to give a moral turn to his lessons in mere science. The words and sentences selected for various purposes-spelling, defining, reading, &c. may be such as will slowly but surely effect the heart. Such a tendency, morc especially, may be given to all anecdotes, lessons on biography and history. 3. Morality is also indirectly taught by the habits of industry which are acquired., For it cannot be otherwise than that the lazy custom to which our pupils are subjected, in being confined from hour to hour on the school bench, literally doing nothing-if indeed the teacher can succeed in making them do nothing-has a tendency, so far as it goes, to make them indolent through life. On the other hand, I cannot doubt that by imparting the busy hum of industry, slate and blackboard instruction have a good tendency. I do not of course, forget that bad men are often highly industrious; nevertheless this does not militate at all against what I have said. 4. Once more. How many a time have I seen a school become noisy, unaccountably so, especially towards its close, in spite of all which could be done by the best teacher. Now a part of this evil is justly chargeable on a want of employment. But let a teacher, in these trying circumstances, call the attention of the whole school to the blackboard. Is there no experience, either in all the wide range which has been gone over in this book or that wider range which will be afforded by the efforts of an ingenious teacher, which is adapted to arrest their attention and thus restore quiet and order? If there is not, then I have not studied correctly the human heart, and, above all the character and habits of infancy and childhood. How long would it take a teacher to sketch, for example, most of the Mediterranean sea and say; Here is the rock of Gibraltar; and so relate some anecdote about it. How long to make a picture, of a whale or a seal, or a ship, and say something respecting it, &c. &c. But morality may be taught directly by the aid of the blackboard. How may teachers procure printed cards, containing valuable moral rules and precepts, and hang them up in their school rooms. How many, too, think they have a good moral tendency! Perhaps it is so. But admitting all that is claimed for them, the effect cannot last How much long; it must soon wear out. more valuable are precepts written on the blackboard, to remain for a time and then erased, and their place supplied by others. Whether or not these precepts when strictly moral and religious, make much permanent impression, there is a class of precepts which, by helping to establish order in school have a good and I may say, moral tendency. Children are, too often, forgetful of what is told them in school, even when their general purpose is to be obedient. Tell them to do but one thing at a time, and they will endeavor perhaps to conform to your wishes, as long as they remember it, but if they forget it, in five or ten ninutes, what then will you do? Tell them over. again, do you reply? The reply is a just one; but can you not enlist the blackboard as an aid in this business of telling things over and over again? Can you not write down your precept, or rule, rather, in large letters, and let it stand there in full view of the school, till it becomes needful to substitute something else in its place? It could do harm to no pupil; while it might save much trouble with a large class of those whose worse fault is that of forgetfulness. How many valuable rules, in manners, morals, &c. might thus be presented to the minds of the pupils of a school, in the course of a single quarter! One advantage which they have over those which are printed and hung up in the room, is, that they do not remain long enough to become stale, before they are removed to make room for something else. But again; set lessons or lectures on behavior or morals, may be far better inculcated-if teachers choose to lecture their children at all in this way-by aid of the blackboard, than without it. Let a person for instance, be endeavoring to show the influence of evil example. He wrote, perhaps, on the blackboard; the words of Solomon, "one sinner destroyeth much good." Now though he may not now forget his own text or motto, while speaking, yet not a few of the pupils may forget the text; and is it not well to have something to recall it to their minds? How many an adult who suffers his mind to wander in church, during the sermon, forgets the text, and unable to get hold of the subject of the discourse, as to aid in recalling his attention, remains for some time, in a state of listlessness; and loses much of the discourse? Would not such people be greatly aided if the text were written in large letters on a blackboard behind the minister? But do children need wander less, while the teacher is lecturing them, 1. Have I told any lies to-day? 2. Have I spoken the exact truth, neither more nor less? 3. Have I SO spoken, as always to convey the truth to others; or so as to mislead them, although my words were really true? Is not this the same as telling a lie? 4. Have I been honest, taring nothing but what was really my own? 5. Have I used the property of my parents and others, so as not unnecessarily to injure it? 6. Have I been obedient to my parents? 7. Have I acted as if I loved them? Have I acted towards my brothers and sisters as if I loved them? 9. Do I love all my friends? 10. Have I been 11. Have I been grateful for every mark of kindness? faithful to my friends, by taking their part, when injured, either by word or deed! 12. Have I treated all my superiors in age and station with proper respect? 13. Have I allowed myself to show, or even to feel, anger or revenge? 14. Have I felt fretful or sullen? 15. Have I been polite to all,-acquaintance and friends, as well as strangers? 16. Have I been uniformly mild in my manners, and used no roughness of speech? 17. Have I been pleased to see others happy, and sorry to see others suffer, or to see them act amiss! 18. In talking or thinking of others, have I looked more at their follies or faults, than at their goodness? 19. When I have seen others injured, have I felt for them, and taken their part? 20. Have I been liberal, and ready to share with my friends and playmates? 21. Have I been ready to forgive those who have injured me? 22. Have I been careful not to injure the property of others? 23. Have I been cruel to animals? 24. Have I been ashamed or afraid to do what was right? 25. Have I acted right, even when 1 felt a wish to do wrong? Have I striven to gain a command over myself? 26. Have I been very careful to do the right, and avoid the wrong? 27. Have I been anxious to learn what was good or useful? 28. Have I idled away my time, when I onght to have been busy? 29. Have I been impatient, or have I been persevering in my studies or work? 30. Have I been careful, or wasteful, of my 31. Have I been greedy, or food, clothing, or books? ate or drunk more than was proper? 32. Have I been patient in pain, sickness, or trouble of any kind? 23. Have I been cheerful, or have I allowed myself to imagine affairs to be worse than they really were? 34. Have I allowed myself to think " how good I am," or have I looked rather to my faults, and felt sorry they were still so many t 35. Have I been nither bashful nor affected! 36. Have I kept iny dress, books, and bedroom, neat and clean? 37. Have I put my books, clothes, and tools, in their proper places? 38. Have I been anxious for improvement, both in my conduct and in my studies? 39. Do I regard my Maker with reverence and awe? 40. Do I feel very grate ful for His uniform kindness? 41. Have I a strong feel ing of love towards Him? 42. Do I feel a perfect confi dence in His goodness and care? 43. Do I feel completely resigned to His will, assured that He always acts for the best, though I may not understand it? 44. Is my sorrow for doing wrong of such a nature, as to lead me to do right, or does it produce no change in conduct and disposition? 45, 46, 47, &c., to be filled up, at the discretion of the parents, or under their direction. A few of these questions will require some explanation for the youngest children It is thought better to leave this to parents or teachers, than to be very diffuse. But this Record would form a useful exercise, not merely for the scholars: the greater part of it is equally applicable to the teacher. Were my pupils punctual in attendance, to-day? Have I taken proper pains to show thein and their parents the importance of punctuality, as a duty, both to themselves and to the other members of the school? Do they improve in this respect? Have I introduced cleanly and orderly habits? Has my conduct been a pattern in this respect? Has there been no rude couduct around the stove? Has the room been of the proper temperature to-day? If not, was it not owing in some degree, to my inattention? Have I attended properly to excluding the glare of sunshine? Are the windows properly curtained? Are there a mat, scraper, pail, dipper, basin, and towel, in the room? If any of these are wanting, have I made proper representations to the committee? Have I taken sufficient pains to teach the scholars to use their books without injury? Is the discipline on the best possible footing? Do the children improve in reading? Are they fast leaving off their bad habits in this respect? Do I never neglect questioning them, as to what they have read? Do their habits of attention and observation improve? Have I taken proper pains to cause them to use right positions of hand and body, in writing? Do they make visible improvement? Do they steadily improve in elocution and composition? Do they use no grimace nor awkward motions, in the former! Are the orthography, punctuation, and grammar, properly at tended to, in the compositions? Do they advance, in propriety of expression and command of language, or do I allow them to hang back, or remain stationary? Have I formed a list of local improprieties of speech? Do I fre quently exercise the scholars with it? Has this exercise any practical effect, in correcting their language? Do my pupils improve in written arithmetic? Can they add long sums rapidly? Do they habitually use all the abreviations I have taught them? Have I taken sufficient pains in this respect? Can they explain the reasons for every operation? Do I frequently call on them to do this? Do they make much progress in mental arithmetic? Do I myself per form the questions simultaneously with them? Do I frequently require them to describe and give reasons for their mental operations? Do I never allow them to have the book? Do I encourage the slow, and prevent the bright from doing more than their share? Do I see that all the pupils perform every question? Is not my classification capable of improvement? Have I given this important subject sufficient attention? Do my pupils advance in their other studies? Do they appear to love and respect me? If not, do I feel sure I am not to blame? Have I explained the nature of the Record for Self-examination to all the parents and guardians? Have I daily practised it with those whose parents have placed them, in this respect, under my care? Is there any apparent moral improve ment? Do I take sufficient pains to prevent its degenerating into a mere form, by my inattention? Do I embrace every opportunity of referring my pupils to the Table of Virtues! Do I take sufficient pains in explaining the terms to the younger pupils? Do I possess uniformity of temper, decision and firmness, patience and perseverance? Am I uniformly pleasant and affectionate in my manners, and at all times disposed to sympathize with my pupils? Do I never allow myself to deviate in the slightest degree, from truth, either in thought, word, or action? |