Have all write the same Copy. you cannot classify them in writing. But you can just as well as in other branches. Every class suffers from the irregular attendance of members. Have the copies come in regular order, and if a pupil is absent when a particular page is written, either require him, on his return to school, to write the page after school, or leave it blank; and if at the end of the term there are several blank pages, just explain to the committee and parents the reason, and say to them that there are just as many blank pages in all other studies, only they are not so distinctly visible as in this particular. This may cause some to see the evils of irregular attendance in a new light. It will frequently happen that a whole class will err in the same particular, or in making the same letter. When such is the case, go to the blackboard and imitate the wrong letter or letters, and show wherein the defect is. Then make a letter as nearly correct as possible, and require them to spend two or three minutes in forming the same letter on slips of paper. The following sensible and judicious remarks and directions I take from the cover of one of the best systems of penmanship now before the public.* I commend them as worthy of observance. "From an experience of many years, we are satisfied that there is no short and easy method of ac * Payson, Dunton, and Scribner's, published by Messrs. Crosby, Nichols, & Co., Boston. Valuable Rules. quiring a rapid and graceful style of penmanship; and that those who profess to teach the art of writing in twelve, twenty-four, or double that number of lessons, may be justly regarded as empirics. "Learning to write well must always be a work of much time and effort, since it involves a careful training of the eye and hand, and a gradual development of the judgment and taste. Great natural obstacles are sometimes to be overcome; but by careful and well-directed efforts, with a good system, any one may learn to write well, and most persons may learn to write elegantly. "Good writing is characterized by legibility, rapidity, and beauty. In order that these ends may be attained, the following rules must be carefully studied and implicitly observed, all of which the authors submit to the careful attention of the public. "1. OF POSITION.-Sit with either the right or left side turned a little towards the desk, in an easy, natural position, but do not lean against the desk. "2. Hold the pen with a gentle pressure, between the thumb and the first and second fingers, keeping the muscles of the hand and arm so relieved that the motions may be free and easy. "3. OF POSITION OF HAND AND ARM. The hand and arm should rest very lightly upon the desk, in order to secure freedom of motion and rapidity of execution. "4. REMARKS. Before commencing to write. after a copy, the pupil should carefully notice the Rules, continued. to form and proportion of each letter, and he should also examine each word as soon as it is written, see wherein it differs from, or agrees with, the copy, and then try to improve it the next time. This course, diligently pursued, will certainly secure a good degree of improvement; while, by an opposite course, the time of the pupil and the labor of the teacher will be entirely wasted. "5. OF ORDER AND NEATNESS.-Write nothing but the copy on the book, unless directed to do so by the teacher; but try to keep the book clean and free from blots, and never cut out a leaf. Keep the pen clean, and ink thin. A habit of neatness and order is of very great value to a book-keeper or business man. 6. THE PEN.-Never touch the point of the pen with the fingers, nor wipe it on the hair, but on a pen-wiper, made of some kind of cloth. It should be wiped often, and always when you lay it aside. Do not hold the pen between the teeth while turning the leaves, etc., but place it over the right ear, where it will be less liable to make blots than elsewhere.. "7. OF POSITION OF LEFT HAND. — The left hand may rest on the paper above the line on which you are writing, but never below it, as the oily matter of the perspiration, on the paper or the pen, will prevent the ink from flowing freely." MUCH time has been devoted, in most schools, to the subject of Grammar; yet the real attainments of pupils, for all practical purposes, have been very limited and unsatisfactory. In this branch, more than in any other, have pupils been allowed to repeat words, definitions, and rules, which were to them but empty sounds,—meaningless expressions. In many cases, scholars have committed to memory the entire contents of a text-book, without gaining any true knowledge of language or grammatical science. What I have said of geography is quite as true of grammar, that words are too often learned and repeated on the recitation-seat, without "What is a vowel?' imparting any definite ideas. asked a teacher of a girl. "A vowel is an articulate sound," was the ready answer, in the language of the book. "And what is an articulate sound ?” "A melodeon," answered the girl. To her mind, a vowel was but another name for a musical instrument, or melodeon. Anecdote by Professor Russell. Some of the most discouraging cases you will meet with will be those in which pupils have “been through the Grammar," and learned little but words. Professor Russell gives a case in point. "A boy, who had studied grammar a long time, got tired of 'Will you tell me what of grand, stylish.' 'It means "What does "vague" mean?' 'I don't know, Sir.' ing very determined about it, Sir."" And yet this lad, like hundreds of others, had a sort of impression that he knew all about grammar, and felt it almost derogatory to his standing as a scholar to have his attention called to it as a suitable branch for him to study. If you meet with such a case, as you undoubtedly will, your first ef fort must be directed to convincing the pupil that he does not comprehend the subject. This will be no easy task, and yet it must be accomplished. You must strive to convince him both of his lack and * |