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AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF INSTRUCTION.

FOURTEENTH ANNUAL SESSION.

Journal of Proceedings.

PITTSFIELD, August 15, 1843.

At half past nine o'clock the members present were called to order by the President, and the session opened with prayer by Rev. John Todd.

In the absence of the Secretary, Solomon Adams was appointed to act as Secretary pro tem.

The President and Secretary pro tem. were appointed a committee to report the doings of the meeting for publication.

Voted, That S. Adams, J. Kingsbury, W. B. Fowle, S. Pettes, Harrison Gray, W. D. Ticknor, and S. J. May, be a committee to nominate officers for the ensuing year.

At ten o'clock, A. M., the Introductory Lecture was delivered by Heman Humphrey, President of Amherst College. Subject, "Moral and Religious Education."

Adjourned, to meet at 3 o'clock P. M. At three o'clock, P. M., a Lecture was given by S. Adams. Subject, "Classification of Knowledge."

Remarks and inquiries relating to topics suggested by the lecture, were made by H. Hubbard of Pittsfield, W. B. Fowle and S. J. May. Cyrus Mason of New York

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inquired how reading is taught by means of words first. Mr. Peirce being called upon by the President to give an answer, consented to give a Lecture on the subject, after a recess. Adjourned till half past 5 o'clock, at which time, the Institute being called to order, Mr. Peirce delivered a Lecture on the manner of teaching children to read, by beginning with words; after which the Institute adjourned to meet at half past 7 o'clock.

Evening. On motion of Cyrus Peirce, it was voted to invite all persons present to take part in the discussion, the subject of which was Corporal Punishment.

Cyrus Mason gave an account of the Grammar School of the University in the city of New York-a school of three hundred boys, which has been successfully conducted for several years without corporal punishment.

Cyrus Peirce continued the discussion, recommending the Common School Journal, as furnishing an able discussion of the subject. He proceeded to argue the practicability of dispensing with corporal punishment.

D. P. Page stated some difficulties which stood in the way of abolishing corporal punishment, and questioned the practicability of doing so in the present state of things.

On motion of W. B. Fowle, adjourned till 8 o'clock to-morrow morning.

Wednesday morning. Met agreeably to adjournment. Listened to a Lecture, delivered by D. P. Page, on the "Advancements in the Means and Methods of Public Instruction."

Wm. B. Fowle read a report concerning the publication of G. B. Emerson's Lecture on Moral Education, which was accepted.

Voted, To intrust 200 copies to A. Greenleaf of Brooklyn, N. Y., for distribution, and an equal number to E.

H. Kellogg of Pittsfield, to be distributed in the various towns in Berkshire county.

On motion of Mr. Pettes, voted that 2000 copies of D. P. Page's Lecture be printed by the Censors, for gratuitous distribution.

At 10 o'clock, a Lecture was given by A. Greenleaf; subject, "The Faithful Teacher." Remarks suggested by the Lectures of the morning were made by C. Peirce, C. Mason, A. Greenleaf and G. B. Emerson.

The President read a communication from Miss Catherine Beecher in regard to making The Science of Domestic Economy a branch of study in all Female Institutions. Adjourned till 2 o'clock, P. M.

On coming to order at 2 o'clock, the Institute resumed the consideration of Miss Beecher's communication. After some observations by Prof. Agnew, S. Fettes, A. Greenleaf, H. Hubbard, and C. Mason, the following resolutions were passed.

1. That, in the opinion of the American Institute of Instruction, the Principles of Domestic Economy are proper subjects of school instruction, and should be introduced.

2. That a committee of three be appointed to prepare and publish a report on the subject of the foregoing resolution.

G. B. Emerson, C. Mason, and A. Greenleaf were appointed on this committee. At 3 o'clock, R. S. Howard delivered a Lecture. Subject, "A few of the Hows in Teaching." The Lecture was followed by remarks and questions by Messrs. Greenleaf, Mason, and Agnew. Recess till 5 o'clock.

At 5 o'clock, the Institute listened to a Lecture from Prof. Agnew, on the "Moral Dignity of the Teacher." Adjourned till half past 7, P. M.

At half past 7, W. B. Fowle called up the subject of corporal punishment in schools, and detailed at some length, his own experience without corporal punishment. He was followed by G. B. Emerson and Prof. Agnew.

On motion of D. P. Page, it was voted that each speaker for the remainder of the evening should be restricted to five minutes.

Under this restriction, the discussion was continued by A. Greenleaf, W. D. Ticknor, R. B. Hubbard, of Worcester, C. Mason, S. J. May, C. Pierce, and J. Kingsbury. Adjourned till 8 o'clock to-morrow morning. Thursday, 8 o'clock, A. M. Lecture by R. B. Hubbard on the "Defects of Common Schools." At 10 o'clock, Dr. Lambert gave a Lecture on Anatomy and Physiology, with illustrations by means of a highly finished "Man model." Adjourned.

At half past 2, the Institute received the report of the Nominating Committee, which was as follows.

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Joshua Bates, Middlebury, Vt.
Jacob Abbott, New York.

Horace Mann, Boston, Mass.

Peter Mackintosh, Jr., Boston, Mass.
John Kingsbury, Providence, R. I.
Elipha White, John's Island, S. C.
Samuel Pettes, Boston, Mass.

Nehemiah Cleveland, Brooklyn, N. Y.

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