Imagini ale paginilor
PDF
ePub

mitigated bosh. How's that, Parson, since you claim all the truth for your side?"

"I think I know why our temperance lecturers and writers fail to reach you," replied the other. "The majority of them take the wrong field, they make temperance appear as the handmaid of religion, of sectarian religion, and thus fail to impress a large and ever growing element of our population—those who belong to no church, and whose leaders thus find ample occasion to cry out against temperance as a mere churchdogma, warning" the people " against supporting a measure which will straightway lead them into the arms of methodism, and (so they say) which will end in establishing a bigoted state-church, and a sort of Protestant Inquisition; none but "Reverends" will then be elected presidents and governors, and liberty will leave us forever."

"Well, isn't there a grain of truth in all this? You can't deny that it is the church party-those who want the bible read in our public schools, etc.. who support the 'temperance movement."

"I do not deny that many, perhaps the great majority of our temperance advocates, are religious; but there are many who do not profess Christianity, and who are kept from supporting the cause because many of its adherents make the great mistake of identifying it with their particular church, or at least with religion in a general sense."

"But what is it if it isn't a religious 'movement,' I'd like to know? I say it's the Methodists that got up the whole mess."

"I, for one, deny that temperance is identical with any church; if it were a mark of her superior truths, then the Mohammedans would be in possession of the true faith. Temperance is simply a question of moral excellence and of physical and psychological laws-just the same as the moral law of chastity, and the laws of proper nutrition and of mental culture. It involves the important question of its good or evil influence on our moral, mental, and physical self, and the decision can be rendered only by a jury composed of eminent moralists, philosophers (not sophists, mind you, no matter how eminent), and physicians. If such a jury were to deliberate on the matter and, in the light of science, decide, there could could be no doubt as to our victory—or, rather, there is no doubt, for science and logic have long ago decided in our favor, and the history of every day of the year confirms the opinion that temperance-that is, a moderate use of every gift of God-is the true path to health, wealth, and happiness."

Show me the nation that has the best schools, and I will show you the foremost nation. If the world does not acknowledge this to-day, it will to-morrow.-JULES SEMORE, Frauce, 1865.

CHART OF THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS.

PY E. PHILBROOK, WAUsau.

MESSRS. EDITORS: In the May number of the JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, is a Table of Elementary Sounds, called "Ritic Chart," by C. A. Thompson, of Kilbourn City.

The arrangement is reformatory, and in the right direction; yet there are omissions of well established sounds, compounds put in with elements, and other objectional features in the filling out of the scheme, that will render it unfit for general use.

The Ŏ in not, the a in past, and the w in will, are omitted; q is put in as an element, and as distinct from k; and in the list of vowels, ar in art, stands as a long vowel element, and as the cognate of er in her, which is placed in the column of short vowel elements.

The truth is, ar in art contains two elements, a in father, and the smooth or untrilled r=är; and er in her contains two elements, e and the smooth r=er.

The terms "Tense" and "Lax," for long and short vowels respectively, I do not think are the best; nor as good as the terms now in use. I forbear to criticise more at present: but send you my scheme and classification of the elementary sounds, with definitions of terms, where necessary to the understanding of them. I have purposely made my Chart conform in appearance and arrangement with Mr. Thompson's, as far as my sense of propriety would permit; so that the two charts may be more easily compared, and their merits judged of.

[blocks in formation]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Syllabic characters, to be used in a New Alphabet, for the sake of brevity.

[We are unable to give some of these characters, as the printing office contains nothing of the kind, but we would explain that they are designed to represent:

1. The "voiced" sound, heard in the last syllable of eli-sion.
2. The "whispered " sound, heard in the last syllable of na-tion.
3. The "voiced " sound, heard in the first syllable of ex-ample.

4. The "whispered " sound, heard in the first syllable of ex-cellent. For the last named whispered sound, x and x are proposed to be used, as now; for the last named voiced sound, as heard in example, x, ~, i. e., the same letters, underscored.-EDS.]

DEFINITIONS AND REMARKS.

A vocal is an unobstructed sound, and is, or may be, the "base of a syllable." The character representing it is called a vowel.

A coalescent is an unobstructed sound, but is never the base of a syllable. It always precedes a vocal, and coalesces with it.

The primary vocals are by some called long vowels, and the secondary vocals, short vowels.

The primary and secondary vocals are cognates of each other.

In emitting the vocal glides, the sound begins with the organs in the position for emitting one vocal, and glides rapidly to, or toward that of another. If each of the parts cannot be given by itself, distinctly, the glide is called a pure element, as u in tune; but if each part of the glide can be given by itself distinctly, it is called a proximate element -a diphthong, as oi in oil, aĬ.

The coalescents are both vocal, and whispered: two of them are cognates of each other; the other two have no cognates.

The obstructed sounds, and their characters, are, for convenience in speaking, sometimes called consonants: but w, wh, y, and h, should never be called consonants, because they represent unobstructed sounds like the vowels: they form an intermediate class, and may be called coalescents.

The abrupts are by some, called explodents. The abrupts and simple continuants are arranged in pairs, voiced, and whispered.

The voiced sounds are by some, called subtonics, and by others, subvocals. The whispered sounds are also called atonics, mutes, or aspi

rates.

The incipient trill, or smooth r, is always preceded by the sound ä as in art, or e as in her: when by the former, the letter a is always expressed; but when by the latter, a vowel is sometimes written, as e, u, etc., and sometimes omitted, and the vowel power included with the r: in this case, the r is an impure diphthong, as in sour.

A diphthong is one, or two letters representing two elementary sounds closely united, one, or both being a vocal. The term dipthong is also applied to the combined sound thus formed.

If both sounds are vocals, it is a pure diphthong; but if only one of the sounds is a vocal, it is an impure diphthong.

NORMAL SCHOOLS AND STUDENT'S.

A LETTER.

[Though not intended for publication, we give this letter for the sake of its suggestions.]

GALENA, ILL., April 16, 1872.

Rev. J. B. PRADT-Dear Sir-Your favor of the 11th inst. has just arrived, and I know you will kindly permit me to answer the same. My views of education, or better, of primary education, coincide with the short articles sent to you; but I can hardly see that they are ahead of the times. Thousands of teachers and millions of citizens think as I do; this I verily believe. No people in the world is as progressive as the American, and I do not doubt a moment in regard to the great educational development of this grand nation, in the near future. Why not? If we carefully watch the proceedings of the Farmers' Clubs, the Agricultural and Horticultural Societies, the discontent of our leading citizens and practical men with the management of our educational institutions, even of our Normal Schools and Industrial Universities, we are led to the belief that our schools will be forced to economize both in time and money, to adopt a more practical direction in our educational system, and teach our children according to the wants of our people. Wisconsin has certainly made great progress in the proper direction. But would not a law that would exempt a student who has finished properly the first year's course of a State Normal School, for two or three years, from examination by a county superintendent, fill these schools at once with candidates for teaching instead of academic students? Would not a proper gradation of this kind work wonders? Do not those schools generally attempt too much, run too high? Is not the beginning of the education, so far as the common schools are concerned, neglected? Do we give the proper, definite methods in the Normal Schools to teach the common English branches? After the scholars have learned to think, read, write and reason, or after they have, by proper developments, gained strength and self-reliance, then they can be taught by a college graduate as well as by a Normal School graduate. If I am ahead of the times I cannot help it, but I think every teacher should stand on the same ground. Only a little reflection must necessarily lead them to the same result. What I say in regard to the common branches, but especially of "Natural History in No. 6 of the Prairie Farmer," is daily practiced by the intelligent farmer and mechanic in the education of their children at home. Why do not our teachers adopt the same plan? Are they not in the parent's place?

« ÎnapoiContinuă »