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Hard labor.-Analysis of words.-Writing.

this way I account for the fact that so many cease to read as soon as they leave school. It costs them so much effort to decipher the meaning of a book, that it counteracts the desire for the gratification and improvement it might otherwise afford. It should not be so The teacher should be a model of good reading; he should be enthusiastic in this branch, and never rest till he has excited the proper interest in it among the pupils, from the oldest to the youngest, in the school.

It would be well if our teachers could be somewhat acquainted with the Latin and Greek languages, as this would afford them great facilities in comprehending and defining many of our own words. As this cannot be expected for the present, a substitute may be sought in some analysis of our derivative words. Several works have somewhat recently been prepared, to sup ply, as far as may be, the wants of those who have not studied the classics. I should advise every teacher, for his own benefit, to master some one of these.

3. WRITING. It is not respectable for the teacher of the young to be a bad writer; nor can it ever become so, even should the majority of bad writers continue to increase. The teacher should take great pains to write a plain, legible hand. This is an essential qualification.

4. GEOGRAPHY. A knowledge of the principles of Geography is essential. This implies an acquaintance

and authors of text-books, it is impossible to say; but surely it is an evil gratuitous, widely-prevalent, and threatening the most alarming conse "uences."

Geography.-History.-Mental Arithmetic.- Anecdotes.

with the use of globes, and the art of map-drawing. The teacher should be so well versed in geography, that, with an outline map of any country before him, he could give an intelligent account of its surface, people, resources, history, &c.; and if the outline map were not at hand, he ought to be able to draw one from memory, at least, of each of the grand divisions of the earth, and of the United States.

5. HISTORY. The teacher should be acquainted with history, at least, the history of the United States. He can hardly teach geography successfully without a competent knowledge of both ancient and modern history. It should, in, the main, be taught in our common schools in connection with geography.

6. MENTAL ARITHMETIC. Let every teacher be thoroughly versed in some good work on this subject.* Colburn's was the first, and it is probably the best that has been prepared. That little book has done more than any other for the improvement of teaching in this country. It is not enough that the teacher is able in some way to obtain the answers to the questions proposed. He should be able to give, in a clear and concise manner, the reason for every step in the process he takes to obtain them. It is this which constitutes the value of this branch as a discipline for the mind.

I may never forget my first introduction to this work. On entering an academy as a student, in 1827, after I had "ciphered through" some four or five arithmetics on the old plan, my teacher asked me if I had ever

* Prof. Davies' Intellectual Arithmetic was not published at this time.-PUB.

Desirable result.-Principles above rules.

studied Mental Arithmetic, extending to me the little book above named. "No, sir." "Perhaps you would like to do so." I opened to the first page, and saw this question: "How many thumbs have you on your right hand?" This was enough; the color came into my face and I pettishly replied, "I think I can find out the number of my thumbs without studying a book for it." "But," said the teacher, "many of our young men have studied it and they think they have been profited. If you will take it, and turn over till you find a little exercise for your mind, I think you will like it." His manner was open and sincere, and I took the little book. In three weeks I had mastered it; and I had gained, in that time, more knowledge of the principles of arithmetic than I had ever acquired in all my life before. I no longer "saw through a glass darkly."

This everybody de

7. WRITTEN ARITHMETIC. mands of the teacher; and he is scarcely in danger of being without fair pretensions in this branch. He should, however, know it by its principles, rather than by its rules and facts. He should so understand it, that if every arithmetic in the world should be burned, he could still make another, constructing its rules and explaining their principles. He should understand arithmetic so well, that he could teach it thoroughly though all text-books should be excluded from his school-room. This is not demanding too much. Arithmetic is a certain science, and used every day of one's life, the teacher should be an entire master of it.

Bigotry in grammar.-Cause of it.-One book.

8. ENGLISH GRAMMAR. It is rare that a teacher is found without some pretensions to English Grammar; yet it is deplorable to observe how very few have any liberal or philosophical acquaintance with it. In many cases it is little else than a system of barren technicalities. The teacher studies one book, and too often takes that as his creed. In no science is it more necessary to be acquainted with several authors. The who has studied but one text-book on grammar, person even if that be the best one extant, is but poorly qualified to teach this branch. There is a philosophy of language which the teacher should carefully study, and if within his power, he should have some acquaintance with the peculiar structure of other languages besides his own. It can hardly be expected that the common teacher should acquire an accurate knowledge of other languages by actually studying them. As a substitute for this, I would recommend that the teacher should very carefully read the little work of De Sacy on General Grammar, also the article "Grammar" in the Edinburgh and other encyclopædias. In this science the mind naturally runs to bigotry; and there is no science where the learner is apt to be so conceited upon small acquirements as in grammar. Let the teacher spare no pains to master this subject.

9. ALGEBRA. This branch is not yet required to be taught in all our schools; yet the teacher should have a thorough acquaintance with it. Even if he is never called upon to teach it, (and it never should be intro

Algebra.-Geometry.-Surveying.-Natural Philosophy.

duced into our common schools till very thorough attainments are more common in the other branches,) still it so much improves the mind of the teacher, that he should not be without a knowledge of it. He will teach simple arithmetic much better for knowing algebra. I consider an acquaintance with it indispensable to the thorough teacher, even of the common school.

10. GEOMETRY. The same may be said of this branch that has been said of algebra. Probably nothing disciplines the mind more effectually than the study of geometry. The teacher should pursue it for this reason. He will teach other things the better for having had this discipline, to say nothing of the advantage which a knowledge of the principles of geometry will give him, in understanding and explaining the branches of mathematics.

In

11. PLANE TRIGONOMETRY and SURVEYING. many of our schools these branches are required to be taught. They are important branches in themselves, and they also afford good exercise for the mind in their acquisition. The young teacher, especially the male teacher, should make the acquirement.

12. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. This branch is not taught in most of our district schools. The teacher, however, should understand it better than it is presented in many of the simple text-books on this subject. He should have studied the philosophy of its principles, and be fully acquainted with their demonstration. If possible, he should have had an opportunity also of

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