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It is not well to read all the pieces of any selection in course. Seldom do we find a selection wholly faultless. Some pieces are not fit to be read at all; or rather, it may be, are wholly unfit for school-reading. Choose such pieces as are plain, easily understood; such as the pupils will be interested in, and such as are calculated to exercise the voice in its various intonations and inflections. Some pieces not only admit, but they require, to be read several times. I have already said, begin with the simplest narrative, then pass to conversational pieces and dialogue, and finally to the most impassioned strains. of poetry and prose. There is quite too strong a desire in our schools to get children to reading in the loftier and more difficult kinds of composition. I would keep them long in simple prose, and especially in conversational pieces and dialogue. For this kind of reading, the Mt. Vernon Reader furnishes very good pieces; as do also many other selections. Very good examples may be found in the Scriptures; as in the fourth, eighth, and ninth chapters of St. John; though I do not approve of making the Bible a class-book in school for teaching reading.

Every reader, before he begins, should understand the character of the piece he is going to read. He must catch, he must feel its spirit. Much depends on this. There can be no good reading without it. They must have a premonition, at least, of the drift of the piece; whether it is argumentative or impassioned, grave or humorous, plaintive or lively, so as to bring their nervous system into harmony therewith, and be able to strike at once the key note. For want of this many a good piece has been utterly despoiled of its impressiveness in

very act of performing, one keeping a sharp-look out for the pauses, (stops and marks,) and the other having a clear perception of the spirit and meaning of the piece to which he is giving utterance, and holding his nervous system all the while strung in harmony with it, and you will need nothing more to convince you which is the true method of teaching how to read. "I would rather hear a person read who does not know that a comma is a pause of one syllable, and a semi-colon, two, and yet can comprehend an author's meaning, and apply the rules which nature suggests, than one who has acquired a servile habit of applying arbitrary rules, without taste or feeling. The sense of a passage, and not its punctuation, should guide your reading. Nothing is more common than errors in typography, by which, owing to the misplacing of a comma, the sense is destroyed. Emphasis and intonation must also be left to the judgment of the reader.”*

Finally, attend to one thing at a time, whether it be articulation, accent, inflection or something else. Whatever it may be, let it, for the time, absorb the attention. Dwell upon it for considerable length of time, and with frequent repetition, until the difficulty is mastered, or the principle fully understood, and its application made easy. This is a good rule in teaching all branches-" One thing at a time."

I have referred to the works of Porter and others for rules. These works you may not be able to command, neither are they necessary, though useful. After the mechanical drilling is thoroughly done, nothing is absolutely necessary to good reading, but a just conception of the piece.

*The Fireside Friend, by Mrs. Phelps.

LECTURE VII.

ON

SOME OF THE DUTIES

OF

THE FAITHFUL TEACHER.

BY ALFRED GREENLEAF,

BROOKLYN, N. Y.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

In the present lecture I propose to consider some of the special duties, the right performance of which would entitle a teacher to the honor of fidelity. Our duties result from our relations. By considering therefore the relations which every teacher sustains to his pupils, to himself, to the fraternity of teachers, and to the community at large, we shall, I think, readily embrace or comprehend the whole subject.

I. His duties to his pupils. It has very justly been said that a teacher stands in loco parentis,-in the stead, or place of a parent. He ought, therefore, in all his ar

rangements, to aim at securing their highest possible physical, intellectual, moral and religious well-being.

1. Their physical education. By this I mean securing the health and proper education of the body, as such, in contradistinction from the intellect and the affections. This object he will endeavor to accomplish both by his general arrangements and by specific instruction.

Every teacher knows that however attentive and welldisposed his trustees, committee, visitors, or patrons may be, the proper ventilation, temperature, and cleanliness of his school-rooms, and of the grounds pertaining, must depend almost entirely upon himself. They will furnish the means, but he must apply them, or cause them to be applied. It is no apology therefore to say that his committee are negligent, or that his scholars are careless, and will do thus, or so; he must be the presiding genius in this department, nor will he find it difficult, by judicious, persevering effort, to accomplish all his wishes.

In effecting these results, as in all others, he should avail himself of the aid of his pupils. In every school there are some who naturally love order, neatness, and propriety. Let him make a selection from these pupils, and request one, who sits near, to take charge of a door; others of different windows; and others, again, of such other posts as the wants of his school and his system of government may require. These assistants should be changed occasionally, till all have acquired habits of order, neatness and propriety, that shall influence them through life. And let not the formation of these habits be considered a matter of slight importance; for, "happy is the man whose habits are his friends."

The order of a school, as well as the health of the

pupils, will be greatly influenced by the manner in which the scholars are seated, and by the regularity and frequency of the recesses. Every school-room should be furnished with a thermometer and clock, by which the temperature of the rooms and the length of all the exercises, should be regulated. In many of our best schools, no single recitation continues more than thirty minutes, and a recess, varying from two to five minutes, occurs every hour, during which all the pupils are required to change their positions. If this single rule were adopted in all our schools, and due attention were paid to the proper manner of sitting, standing, exercising, &c., we should hear less of the curvature of the spine, and of the thousand other ills to which flesh is heir.

By the proper education of the body, I would be understood to mean something of the old training to which the Greeks and Romans were subjected. In the present state of public opinion, a teacher would, by many, be considered far out of his proper sphere if he were to give much direct instruction upon such matters; and yet, who does not know that it is of the highest importance to the scholar, rightly to understand the laws, upon the due observance of which his health and life depend;-and to have the full and ready use of his eyes and ears,-of his hands and feet, and of all his bodily organs and senses? And who does not also know, that without some degree of education, discipline, instruction, and practice, in these matters, such a result is seldom or never attained?

Let the teacher, therefore, who would be faithful, manifest a friendly interest in the different exercises and amusements of his pupils,commending such as serve to

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