Page images
PDF
EPUB

ten-fifteenths the mother's present age, or twelve times the mother's age five years ago, must equal ten times her present age. The difference between ten and twelve is two, hence 2: 5:: 10: mother's age five years since. From which it appears the mother's age five years since, was 25 years; now it is 30, and Alice being one-third of 30=10 years; the difference in their ages is twenty years, and when Alice is one-half her mother's age, twenty years must be the other half: hence when the mother is forty years old, Alice will be one-half her age, which time will occur in 40-30-10 years.-WM. B. MINAGHAN, Chilton.

PROBLEM OF THE LOCOMOTIVE.

It is obvious the result to this problem is, theoretically, not attainable.-M. BRIER, Baraboo.

NEW QUESTIONS.

85.-A fountain has four receiving pipes-A, B, C and D. A, B and C can fill it in six hours; B, C and D in eight hours; C, D and A in ten hours; D, A and B in twelve hours. It has also four discharging pipes-W, X, Y and Z. W, X and Y will empty it in six hours; X, Y and Z in five hours; Y, Z and W in four hours; Z, W and X in three hours. Suppose the pipes are all open, snd the fountain full, in what time will it be empty?-A. N. SEARLE, Lynxville.

86.-Place five fives in such a manner that they will exactly equal 556.-D. M. 87.-Will some one please inform the readers of the JOURNAL, of the names and terms of office of the several Chief Justices of the State of Wisconsin.—Ib.

88.-Will some of the contributors to the JOURNAL furnish the readers of the same, the names and respective terms of office of the Speakers of the House of Representatives?—Ib.

89. Also furnish the names and terms of office of the several Vice Presidents of the United States; and mention those who have afterwards held the office of President.-Ib.

90.—What are the names of the respective State Superintendents of Wisconsin? -HENRY CROUSE.

91.-Will A. F. N. tell us whether prepositions show the relations of words or of the things represented by the words? In the sentence-"John is on the table." Does on show the relation of the word John or is to the word table or of the person John to the thing table?-W. D. HENKLE.

92. Is it consistent with the health and educational progress of scholars to lunch at recess, between nine and twelve, and at recess, between one and four o'clock?-H. CROUSE, Eau Galle.

Required, the length of one plank, allowing no waste in

93.-Given, 841⁄2 square feet of three inch plank. edge of a cubical box, which can be made from the sawing. Arithmetical solution desired?-M. BRIER, Baraboo.

94.-What is the best evidence we have that the city of Rome was founded 753 years before the Christian era?-L. C.

95.-Suppose two gentlemen should each have a daughter, and should each marry the other's daughter, what relation would their children be to each other? 96.-Are" diagrams" of any real use in teaching grammar?

Hereafter we shall give less space to mathematical questions and answers, and. more to those of a general nature, as being of interest to a larger number of readers.-EDS.

Editorial Miscellany.

STATE CERTIFICATES.

A good thing was done in the Legislature in tabling the bill to grant a State Certificate to graduates of the University on the same terms as to graduates of the Normal Schools, viz: after one year's successful teaching. The reasons against passing such a bill, are: 1. That it would give to graduates of the University a privilege not accorded to the graduates of other colleges, and upon no apparently good grounds. 2. That it is the same sort of absurdity—the difference being in degree rather than kind-as it would be to enact that every graduate of the University who practices medicine successfully a year shall be entitled to a medical diploma.

It is true that the State makes provisions for the maintenance of public schools, and is therefore interested in supplying them with teachers; but teaching should be elevated, as much as possible into a profession, and what the State can appropriately do is to build up institutions for the professional instruction and training of teachers. Hence we have Normal Schools. To say that a course at the University, -with a little subsequent practice--and this is what such a law virtually would say-is all that is needed to fit a man or woman for the profession of teaching, is equivalent to an admission that Normal Schools are unnecessary. When our University becomes a University proper, it may not inappropriately have connected with it a chair, or rather, a school of didactics, with all the apparatus and appliances necessary to impart, in its highest sense, the science and the art of educacation. This is a more imperative social necessity than a law or medical school. But the Legislature has done another good thing, in modifying, on the recommendation of the State Superintendent, the existing law in regard to State Certificates. As the law now stands, candidates may receive such a certificate, good for five years, on passing a satisfactory examination on the branches now required for a first grade county certificate, and on one or two more. This will tend to build up a professional, or at least a semi-professional corps of teachers, and will meet adequately the aspirations of that class of teachers who,though they do not perhaps in tend to make teaching a business for life, are not unreasonably willing to be exempt from examination-yearly, or as often as they cross county lines.

Another feature of the new plan is, that the examination for this certificate, if successful, will be good, as far as it goes, for a life certificate, so that the holder will only need to be examined, whenever he may be ready, on the additional branches required to obtain the higher grade.

It is proposed that the examining committee shall hold sessions in different places to accommodate different portions of the State. Details will be announced hereafter.

NORTHWESTERN BUSINESS COLLEGE.-Mr. Worthington's establishment, which has been in operation in this city several years, and has always, we believe, given good satisfaction to its patrons, is now more pleasantly located, in its new rooms, in Ellsworth's Block, near the Methodist Church, and forms one of the several excellent educational facilities of which our city may boast. See advertisement on second page of the cover.

3-[VOL. II.-No. 3.]

STATE TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION.

EXECUTIVE SESSION.

The Executive Session of the Wisconsin State Teachers' Association was held at Madison, December 28th, at 2 o'clock P. M.

Present: Messrs. Shaw, Albee, Graham, Kerr, Whitford, De La Matyr, Parker and Earthman. President S. Shaw in the chair.

On motion, it was decided that the next annual session of the Association be held at Madison, July 9th to 11th, 1872. The arrangement for the entertainment of teachers rests with Messrs. Shaw and Parker.

Arrangements for music are to be made by W. A. De La Matyr. The arrangement of the Programme is left with the President of the Association.

After the discussion of other matters, such as the length of each session, the invitation of lecturers, etc., the meeting adjourned.

S. SHAW, President.

A. EARTHMAN, Secretary.

[ocr errors]

BUSINESS NOTICE.

We are thankful to old subscribers, who from time to time pay up their subscriptions on the first volume of the Journal, and to those who renew; but we submit that it is hardly a fair thing to let us send several numbers of the second volume and then stop, and say we do not wish to continue "--without appearing to consider that it has cost us anything to print those numbers for which they do not offer to pay. We took pains to request, in the November and December issues, that those who wished to stop would notify us in season. It will not be improper therefore for those who did not conclude to stop, at the end of the year, to send along a dime or so for each number received since, if they conclude to stop now.

CONSTITUTIONS.--We would inform teachers and others that copies of the "Constitutions of the United States and of Wisconsin," prepared by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, are again for sale, at 50 cents per copy, by ATWOOD & CULVER, Madison.

ILLITERACY.-From Gen. Eaton's report for 1871 we gather that there are 5,660,000 persons in the United States who cannot read or write, four-fifths of whom are in the Southern States. Of the Northern States, Ohio has the largest number of minor illiterates, the number being 47,654. The total number of illiterates in the leading Western States are as follows: Ohio, 173,149; Indiana, 1 7,015; Wisconsin, 55, 65; Iowa, 45,669; Missouri, 22,385, of which 60,622 are colored. Pennsylvania has 222,351 illiterates, and New York, 241,152. The largest illiteracy, according to population, is in North Carolina.

CREDITS.-The editor of the National Normal took us to task some time ago because he found eight of his excellent" Notes for Teachers" credited, in the Virginia" University Monthly ” to the WISCONSIN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION. The fact is, we found them, without any marks of paternity, in a newspaper, and sent them along, but are pleased to know who is entitled to credit.

INSTITUTES.-Prof. ALLEN has arranged a series of Spring Institutes, extending to the middle of May. He has been "instituting "a few weeks this winter in Vermont, and says that while the teachers of that state may excel our own in general culture, they are not "up" to them in method.

GOOD EXAMPLES.-The Kilbourn City Mirror has an " Educational Column," well conducted by B. R. Anderson, Principal of the Public Schools in that enterprising village. The Waukesha Democrat has a similar column.

Educational Intelligence.

WISCONSIN.

CHIPPEWA FALLS.-The Graded School here has the following corps of teachers: Prof. H. C. WOOD, principal; Miss Lucy Flanders, assistant; Miss Ada Poppleton, Intermediate; Department, and Miss Clara Gregg, Primary Department. In the First Ward School, Mr. P. Thos. Kiley is Principal, and Patrick Jennings Ass't. EAU CLAIRE.-Here Prof. H. C. Howland is in charge, assisted by Misses Cordelia Patten, Mary F. Cowles, Isabella Borland, Ella Butterfield and Alida Kemp. WEST EAU CLAIRE.-Of the Graded School here, Prof. A. J. Hutton is Principal, and Mrs. H. F. Adams and Misses Ella Darling, Carrie Darling, Victoria Parrott, Mary Devitt, Martha Kidder and Maria Shaw are his co-laborers.

THE Galesville Journal says the "University" there has quite a valuable collection of specimens in Geology, Natural History, etc., but no proper means for keeping them.

THE editor of the Kenosha Telegraph, who has made a visit lately to the school of Mr. Barns, in Racine, says:

"What most impressed us in the school as we entered, was the spirit of cheerfulness which shemed to pervade the room. After all, the step between order and cheerfulness is very short; they are both brought about by a peculiar blending of justice and mercy. Mr. Barns's maxim is, however, 'Justice first and mercy afterwards.'

Kenosha county we observe keeps up vigorously its Teachers' Associations, under Supt. Maguire, successor to Mr. Barns.

POLK COUNTY.-We have received a copy of a very neatly printed "Educational Record," of this county, for 1870 and 1871, published by the Polk County Teachers' Association. It contains the proceedings of the Association and of the Normal Institute, important parts of the School Law, and other useful matters, and is issued under the editorial care of Chas. E. Mears, County Superintendent, and Jas. W. Dean, Assistant Editor. We quote a paragraph:

WISCONSIN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.-Our State Superintendent and his Assistant, as editors, are making this publication a very valuable one for the teachers and school officers of Wisconsin. Thirty copies have been taken in Polk county during the last year. Let us double the number for 1872. We will furnish it at $1.25 per year, 25 cents below the regular price. These are club rates with our comission given to the subscriber. By a law now in force, district and town clerks are authorized to subscribe at the expense of the school district or town."

VERNON COUNTY, as well as its neighbor, Monroe, is moving a little in the matter of the "township system." A teacher very pertinently asks, through the Viroqua Censor, "would it not be a good idea for the several towns in this county to adopt the town school system, as passed in 1869 by the Legislature? I have read the act carefully, and do not find anything wanting in it to make our common schools The town system would, in my opinion, do away with many of the difficulties the people have to contend with. Every district clerk has, or

a success.

* * *

ought to have, a copy of the act; all persons can obtain it from them to read.

PERSONAL.

J. H. GOULD, formerly a teacher in this county and in Albion Academy, is in charge of the Rochester (Racine county) Institute.

LA CROSSE COUNTY has a veteran and permanent teacher, in the person of B. E. Baxter, who has taught seventeen terms, and eight of them in district No. 2, Bangor.

PRESIDENT E. A. CHARLTON, of the Platteville Normal School, is on leave of absence, for impaired health. His present address is Saratoga Springs. We trust he may soon be restored to health and to his important charge.

Rev. W. È. MERRIMAN, President of Ripon College, Wisconsin, delivered the seventh lecture of the Boston Course on Christianity and Skepticism in the Old South Church, Boston, last Sunday evening, upon "The Limitations and Connections of the Personal Work of Christ in the World."

GENERAL.

OVER one hundred ladies are studying law in America.

THE GRADUATES from American colleges number 35,000.
WILLIAMS COLLEGE has graduated thirteen college presidents.

A HARVARD STUDENT defines flirtation to be "attention without intention." A COLUMBUS LAWYER told" His Honor" that the eyes of the "vox populi” were upon him.

AT VASSAR COLLEGE there are now gathered over four hundred young ladies from all parts of the country.

THE number of women studying at the University of Zurich has so greatly increased of late that they now form a tenth of the matriculated students.

ACCORDING to the new Catalogue, Michigan University has 1,207 students in all its departments, which is, believe, the largest number of any college in the country.

Hon. FRANCIS L. CORDOZO, a colored man, and graduate of Oxford, England, late Secretary of State for South Carolina, has been elected Professor of Latin in Howard University.

AN OLD LADY has been collecting all the political newspapers she can lay her hands on, to make soap of. She says they are a desperate site better than ashes, being almost pure lie.

IT is affirmed that steps are being taken to secure from the highest legal authority in Massachusetts. a decision of the question, whether a college has a right to compel a person of legal age to attend church.

THE PRESIDENT of the Michigan University says their best scholar is a girl, Miss White, of Kentucky, who has solved a problem in mathematics that for fifteen years has puzzled the graduating classes, each class numbering one hundred

men.

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA, located at Lincoln, the capital of the state, has an endowment in lands that will soon be worth a million of dollars. This year the state has expended seven thousand dollars on the nuclei of its library, cabinet, and apparatus.

TWENTY-EIGHT ladies have recently entered the University of Edinburgh, most of them for the purpose of studying medicine. Last year many of the professors objected to female students, but they have been overruled by the council, and must submit.

THE GREATEST PAY ever received by a singer was $208,675, paid to Jenny Lind, the Swedish Nightingale, for ninety-five concerts in this country, being at the rate of $2,196 per concert. The highest price ever received by Nilsson was $22,000 for twenty nights opera, in a New York engagement.

« PreviousContinue »