| Show THE SCHOOLBOOK CONVENTION J A convention of school superintendents superintend-ents moots in this city on May ilL to select books for the use of the schools throughout the State for the ensuing flvo years The Board of Education In this city also Is to select books for the city schools for the same period ot time The work that Is thus about to be undertaken IH I hardly excelled in Importance Im-portance by any that Is to be done in the State Lirgely upon the selections to be made will the standard of lie I school vorlc rest whether It Is to be on a basis of uptodato and correct Information or on ancient data and I slipshod methods of presenting the studies For let it be known l textbooks I text-books are about the most erring and Incftlcicnt things there are unless it he other textbooks They are tlaully in every way In scope in text in grasp of subject In quotations in I binding in print A textbook will glaringly mangle a poem and give no hint that the poem is not presented perfect and entire It will have one sort of punctuation on one page and another sort on another page in treating of the California emigration it will omit one of the great routes of travel we have seen one that spoke of all but the overland over-land route which had the greatest travel of all probably equaling all the others put together t It will be a great task to select from the vast list that will be submitted those that are 1 the least imperfect But higher than this the duty will be to select books that give the best and broadest instruction that are patriotic In tone pure In thought and thorouGh In treatment The Interests of the taxpayers also must be considered We have textbooks text-books now presumably they were selected se-lected with reasonable care live and ten years ago and while we would not suggest adherence to that which is an tiquated we do say that changing for the mere sake of changing should not be made The books that deal with subjects on which the census returns have made changes in figures should of course carry the latest statistics not only In this country but throughout the world those geographies should he preferred which present maps on a uniform uni-form i scale the arithmetics that have I the least padding the grammars hat abjure grammar the readers that give the best literary quality the spellers that drill most thoroughly In ordinary words and that do not dwell on freaks Withal some disinterested person I skilled in the mechanical art of bookmaking book-making would he oC great service to the convention If his knowledge could be made available 3t I is a heavy and troublesome lack that the superintendents superintend-ents have before them we trust that they will give It their best energies so that the result of their labors will Inure to lie bandit of the pupils and to the credit and advantage of the State |
