OCR Text |
Show FOR TEACHERS. Notes from my School Room. By. J. L. Townsend. Order. There should be a season for the arrang-uietiis of the daily programme. Some principles will govern the length of time and the order of recitations and ex-ercises. 1st-- Pupils are very nervous immediate-ly after play, and can then neither write or draw with accuracy. 2nd. Pupils are iicaiiod with long at-tention to study in the late afternoon, and am then imlitu'd (< r deep mental labor. 3rd. Change of occupation rests both mind and body, quite as well as absolute rest. Drawing and penmanship exercises should then precede intermissions or re-cess. Mathematics and Grammar should be the studies of the forenoon, as both require much exercise of thought, and are so un-like, that the change rests the mind. Reading, requiring the least effort of any common school study, the first hour of the school day, the noise of the recitation, the whole school, from the lessons of the hour. In all class of 20 to 30 pupils some will be apt in memorizing, some good in analy-sis and judgement, and poor in memorizing. The first In this arrangment of classes don't di, vide and subdivide into classes a. b. c. and e, g i v i n g but 10 minutes time to a recita-tion. A pupil who is backward in study, and memorizes with and give ample time to recitations, in which questions to develope and judgment, may be substituted for those of text books, REASON and judgment must be culti-vated in preference to the memory. The backward pupils of of bun led recitations, wil develop into the very best, when a snlllelent lime li given for r w h a l i o n s lu when they may think and answer Discourage too much dpbnrlnj;, A pas-sion for it is common everywhere, and is like solving charades and puzzles, mere-ly a pastime, rather than a study. One principle of mathematics thoroughly mastered is I f possible arrange to seat classes in a semicircle; in chairs, all attempts at prompting, and pupils learn to be self Never place the school under the espion-age of " monitors." Rather learn to gov-ern by the eye that sees intuitively every desk and pupil There are certain electrical atmospheric changes, to which susceptible, which cause occasional out-breaks of disorder even in the best govern-ed schools. Those changes are generally increased by the marked before snow and thunderstorms; but even when the weather continues fair they frequently occur. nervous systems of the pupils, a state of resltessness is changes, a time of play and pranks is indulged in by all. I f teachers will e i n m l n e their p l a t e r s, where ft record of dally deportment ham been made, ihey n i l ! s<> 8 that t l i e m a i l - mu 111 o f ili. boha. vfor, w i l l eolnt'lda with the recorded sudden barometric charges oftha Obnetvn'orlBh. What lo lia wlian llioso oiitbrcnks of morrlroent ( wenr, Lower tho volco tn on undflHonein ill reel'etIon , snd do not add to tbe &> i* a by loud talking. B B I lsi- JaiH in Ronrnlnit by reiiewud a i t e i t l nn to dH'fplIno, a m l t f au unusuHly o a v e i e d i s - order, have ( tie pupils lay aside otery-thine, clear tlie desKs, nnd tnkt f r om posl* [ ton. Let the teacher then In a low roue of voice r e n d m r t f intoreating and lulatlnir story, lliat w i l l snotb. tho tntiogt, and re store all to silence. Then he r/. ny again remimethe program me of recitalluna anil It I s b a r d l y pmbable tbn ( anutlxr outbreak will occur, until other changa enaue . [ To be Continued.} |