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DEPARTMENT OF COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS.

In the absence of any communications for this Department we make some valuable extracts from Circulars of different Superintendents, copies of which have obligingly been sent to us:

ENCOURAGE COMPETENT TEACHERS.

We greatly need more good Normal Schools, expressly designed for the training of teachers. I am pleased to know that Normal Classes are being formed in the County, in the High School at Fond du Lac, and in the College at Ripon. I hope those designing to teach will avail themselves of the best advantages at their command, that they may not only understand the theory, but be experts in the practice of teaching.

And yet the fact that young and incompetent persons apply for certificates is not all the fault of the candidates themselves. Many such persons come to the Superintendent with a request from a district board that the bearer be approbated to teach their school, because the school district is poor or has little money in the Treasury, or because the school is backward, and they cannot afford to pay for a good teacher. Now this is bad logic. No district can afford to hire a poor teacher. If you secure a man to superintend your farming operations in your absence, you secure as good a man as you find. If you hire a head clerk, or a master mechanic, or a house-keeper, you look for the best. Now apply the same principle in securing educators for your children. You cannot afford to entrust this business in the hands of novices, or incompetent persons; much less to teachers of questionable character and habits. In the bands of some teachers your child may become a stinted dwarf in intellect for life. Entrusted to a bad person the child may be-how easily-ruined. But scratch the green rind of a sappling, or wantonly twist it in the soil, and the crooked and gnarled oak will tell of thee, for centuries to

come.

One district clerk brought to my office a child thirteen years of age, and requested me to examine her. This child having no certificate was placed in the school contrary to law. On visiting the school I found it as I expected. The average number was four. The teacher said some days no scholars came. This district presents quite a respectable list of scholars when the annual report on which to secure money is presented. It is sheer nonsense to approbate mere children to teach school. And the schools will be small and backward, and education will be neglected, just so long as extremely young or incompetent teachers are employed. This is what has induced, and what will continue just this state of things. If you wish to secure the services of some one who shall act as your agent in securing volunteers to save your town from the draft, you look for a man who is adapted to the place, and who will do the work thoroughly. The cost is secondary consideration. You expect to pay what the work is worth. Do the same thing with teachers Some of the best teachers in this county have been thrown out of employment the past summer, because they could not support themselves on the prices offered, while others have accepted wages which would not cover their board at ordinary rates. The price of almost everything which teachers have to furnish is increased threefold. I beg that you will take this into such consideration that your teacher shall receive a fair compensation. I. N. CUNDALL, Supt. Fond du Lac Co.

THINGS TO BE REMEDIED.

A majority of our schools are poorly supplied with text books. The excuses are, distance from book-stores, ignorance of the kind required, forgetfulness, want of means,

&c., &c. Sometimes weeks pass before classes can be properly organized-sometimes two or three read from one book, or prepare their lessons from one arithmetic, geography, or spelling-book. Some are not supplied with pencils, paper, copy-books or slates. In some schools there are found almost as many different kinds of text-books in each of the branches taught as there are pupils in the school. Schools thus furnished admit of no classification, are hard te conduct, and are productive of little good to the pupils. Irregular attendance, and want of punctuality, are crying evils in many of our district schools.

From these causes the short term of three months is shortened in respect to a large number of children, by one, two, and sometimes three and four weeks. And this often happens from trivial causes. Those that complain the most of high taxes to support schools are generally the persons that lose the most by irregular attendance.

St. Croix county in general, may justly be proud of her school houses. For the most part they are well built, convenient, and comfortable. But there are painful exceptions. Some are mere shanties, cheerless and inconvenient, without desks or blackboards. Some quite respectable in outward appearance and design, are yet unfinished, and although in exposed situations, are unsupplied with outbuildings or inclosures. Provisions most essential to decency and modesty in the habits of children, and often postponed and neglected even in districts where their importance is admitted and where liberal expenditures have been made.

To remedy these evils I would respectfully offer the following suggestions:

1. That the District Boards determine what text-books shall be used in these districts, respectively, and exclude all others.

2. That each district remote from a book-store, make an appropriation sufficient to purchase books and stationery to supply the wants of the school during the succeeding term, and authorize the treasurer of the district to sell or dispose of books and station. ery to the children as they may need them. The treasurer might entrust to the teacher the business of supplying the school.

3. That the School Register of the preceding term be exhibited at the annual meeting, and read by the clerk, and an estimate made of the loss to the district from irregular attendance, and that measures be proposed and discussed in the meeting for improving the school in this respect.

4. That the District Boards call the attention of the electors to the condition of the sehool house-to the necessity of enclosures and outbuildings, black boards, wall maps and charts, the most indispensable requisites to a profitable school. *

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Permit me to earnestly recommend the frequent visitation and inspection of the school under your charge, to use the utmost care in the selection of your teachers, and if possible to retain such as have proved themselves capable and faithful, and to provide liberally and promptly for the little wants and comforts of the school room, so that both the teacher and children may feel that they have faithful guardians and friends in the District Board. A. H. WELLD, Supt. St Croix Co.

EDUCATION ALL IMPORTANT.

Permit me to urge you to provide liberally for the education of your children the coming year. Do not, under the plea of "hard times," cut down the time of your school, and diminish the means of its support. The times are pressing, all admit, but retrenchment may better commence any where else than in matters of education. You may, if you think best, limit your family in clothes, and if need be, in food also, without producing lasting injury, but to starve the minds of your children, is to injure them for all future time. No parent can afford to do this to his child Let us first of all, provide for the security of the virtue and intelligence of our children, thus laying the foundation of their future usefulness and happiness.

A. D. HENDRICKSON, Supt. Waukesha Co.

JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.

I would also take this opportunity to recommend to each District Board that they procure for their district at least one copy of the Journal of Education. As this pamphlet is the official organ of the State Educational interests and contains much needed valuable information concerning schools it is to the true interest of every School District to subscribe for the same The terms of subscription are only one dollar per annum in advance. All communications can he addressed to Rev. J. B. Pradt, office of the "Journal of Education," Madison, Wis. WM. C. WRIGHT, Supt. Richland Co.

ARRANGEMENT OF SCHOOL HOUSES.

In more than a hundred school-houses which I have visited this summer, I have not found more thau about twenty, in which little children can sit comfortably, or without danger to their health, for an hour. The seats are nearly all too high. They may answer for grown up men; but the mass of children that attend school are not so tall; nine inches is high enough for seats for small children. Ten, eleven and twelve inches for children ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen and fourteen years of age. But in many instances I have found children placed on benches with their feet dangling four, six and sometimes eight inches from the floor. Who can live in any comfort while thus seated-to say nothing of improving the mind by study-especially when the seats are narrow (and sometimes slanting downwards the front edge, or at best only level,) and with a perpendicular back? How often have I been moved to pity, at the sight of so many children writhing and twisting themselves in every direction, in the vain effort to escape the uneasiness, discomfort and absolute pain needlessly, I had almost said wickedly, inflicted on them by means of the ill-devised seats which they must occupy from day to day. In some instances this difficulty of the seats can be remedied by a single day's work of some public spirited person handy with tools. Remarks on this subject, with measurements, will be found in the last edition of the School Code, to which attention of the meeting is referred.

In many instances the desks are zo far from the seats that children cannot learn to write, and are in danger of becoming round-shouldered if they habitually use the desks for any purpose.

The windows should be so arranged as to let down a few inches from the top, for the ventilation of the room. In winter the air of most of our school-rooms is very foul and unhealthy. The mind cannot work successfully while the lungs are inhaling a depraved atmosphere. Will you not vote to have this done, and appoint some reliable man to attend to it? D. W. ROSENKRANS, Supt. Columbia Co.

OUT-HOUSES.

On the above topic I will take the liberty of transcribing a paragraph or two from the last report of the State Superintendent:

"There is nothing in the whole range of labor in the educational field that calls so loudly for steady, persevering efforts, as does this work of making the people realize the absolute necessity of providing suitable out-buildings for the accommodation of pupils at school. There are facts gathered from all parts of the State, that if narrated in their true light and bearing, would crimson the cheek of any human being for very shame. School-houses are found standing upon high naked prairies, and with windows upon all sides so low that persons within the house can easily see what is without, windows having neither curtains nor blinds, and yet no provision whatever is made for either sheltering or screening the young of either sex while attending to the inevitable calls of nature. A few dollars are saved, but will the money saved repurchase lost refinement and sacri

ficed virtue? Will it procure for the men and the women of a few years hence the lost jewels of modesty and chastity? Will it quench the flames of passion that may be enkindled in the breasts of the young at a time when prurient imaginations often bear sway? Will it restore wasted health, impaired intellectual ability, and lost character? "A school-house without suitable out-buildings should be indicted as a public nuisAs I have passed through the State and found here and there a specimen of this kind of economy, it has weakened my faith in the boasted refinement of the American people. So long as a single plague-spot of this kind remains, the efforts of all good men and women should be redoubled for its eradication. Within the past two years there has been marked improvement, and hope is enkindled anew."—Ib.

ance.

DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY INSTRUCTION.

LINEAR MEASURE.

Requisites for the Lessons.—The teacher should be provided with laths or thin strips of wood, varying in length from one inch to one yard. At least six of the shorter measures should be procured, viz: six laths one inch long, six two inches long, etc., up to twelve inches. These will afford employment for several children at the same time.

Outline for early lessons.-The different measures from one inch to one foot being placed on a table, several children may be requested to find the shortest measure or lath upon the table. The attention of all being gained, the teacher may tell them that those selected are one inch long. All will repeat in concert looking at them carefully-" The laths are one inch long." The measures being thrown down upon the table, six children may be directed to find a lath one inch long. Let them arrange themselves in a line facing the school, holding their laths in their hands, and the rest observe and decide whether correct. The teacher may now take a two-inch lath and after gaining the attention of all, may place the one-inch lath upon it twice and allow the class to decide how long it is. All will repeat "The lath is two inches long." Six of the class may be sent to pick up laths two inches long, others one inch. All should observe and decide as before. Proceed in the same manner to give the children practice in distinguishing the length of other measures. We usually send seven or eight little ones to the table upon which the laths are lying at the same time to pick up measures of different lengths. After they have selected 'them they arrange themselves in a line facing the school and each one in succession holds up the measure and says "I was told to find a lath (for example) six inches long." All observe, as the teacher measures it by the one-inch, and count the number of inches as it is proved whether it is right or not. Practice may be given in counting by two's and threes in the measuring process. The question should be frequently asked how many times did the oneinch measure it? How many times did I place the two-inch measure upon

this?

How much longer is the four-inch lath than the two inch? etc. The ideas of division as well as addition and multiplication may be developed in this manner.

Drawing Lines.-Children may be allowed to find measures of a specified length and pass to the board to draw lines of the same length. We usually send six to draw lines of the same length and request those in their seats to draw upon slates. Those at the board after drawing are allowed to pass among the desks and measure the lines upon the slates giving each child an opportunity of seeing whether he is right or not. The class may be kept very much interested during these exercises. As many children should be kept busy as possible. "Activity is the law of childhood;" and acting upon this law, they never weary, even when there is a sameness in the lessons.

Order of Exercises for following Lessons.1. Review previous lessons; 2. Distinguish 1, 2, and 3 feet; 3. Class draw lines 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 inches long, and bisect them; 4. Class judge of the length of books, slates, pencils, etc; 5. Draw parallel lines (for example) 6 inches long two inches apart; 6. Draw circles having a specified diameter; 7. Measure off one, two, and three feet of cord or tape; 8. Class make out by actual measurement aud commit to memory the following table.

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Learn the names of the letters, the "a-b-ab's," little words, and big words,— pronouncing all the syllables,-and then read. The child thus taught, in the course of many years learns many words,-few of which, however, convey any idea to the mind. Each letter, each syllable, each word is a new fact to be learned and remembered by a single act of memory. Children thus taught regard fluency of utterance as the climax of good reading. And the result of the process is that they can name words arranged horizontally, as in readingbooks, as glibly as when arranged perpendicularly, as in spelling-books. The writer was thus taught, and he distinctly remembers being called upon to exhibit his unusual powers of reading long before he dreamed that reading is any thing save calling over words as written. And he remembers just as distinctly that it was full two years after he could "read in the Testament" that he learned to his joyful surprise that there are "stories in books." The date is fixed by an old copy of the Farmers' Almanac, in which the first "story" was read. All before that had been literally only "words, words, words." And at least

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