IN THE SCHOOLROOM Elizabeth R. McCormick, Editor, Superior, Wisconsin A Song of Neighborhood Come close and let us wake the joy By Edna Murray Ketcham FROM LA FOLLETTE'S WEEKLY Our fathers used to know, When to the little old schoolhouse When neighbor's heart to neighbor warmed In thought for common good We'll strike that fine old chord again A song of neighborhood. Out in the world we all have learned It's tired our souls and shorn our youth Of dreams and visions fair. In thought for self we may have lost The fathers clove the wilderness They joined their hands to rear, And here they met and talked and planned Their future we are living now, Here we their purpose feel. The little old red school has gone; It's spirit must not go, For what it to our fathers meant We find the strength of all. Special Promotions We frequently hear teachers speak of the average pupil. That term is supposed to mean the one half way between the two extremes of intelligence. The supposition has always been that the larger part of the civilized race has a mental variation around this middle point on the scale. It is on this basis of the average pupil that courses of study are or should be planned. If courses of study are rightly constituted, should there not be, in every school system, just as many "specially promoted" as there are “failed?” ́ What is the reason that teachers are usually so ready to give the weak pupil his place on the failed list, while they so rarely sift out the bright pupil and give him an opportunity to do his best in the class ahead? One reason is this, the dull pupil is always a source of annoyance to his teacher. He must have special help. He keeps the rest of the class back. He brings down the average of the school. In a word, she knows him because he is forced upon her attention. Perhaps, too, without realizing it, she ranks him in the race where the pace is set, not by the average pupil, but by the brightest one. The bright pupil, on the other hand, gives her no annoyance excepting that from mischievous pranks played in the moments when he finds nothing else to do. He is the one that she can always depend upon for an answer. He always makes a good showing when visitors are present. He brings up her room average on examination days. He sets a pace for the class. He does what she learns to expect from him. She finds in him a sort of relief. It rarely occurs to her that he is able to do more than he does and that in justice to him she should promote him to the next grade. He isn't bothering any one so she lets him jog along with the others. may not like the bother of transferring reports, change of register, etc. Another reason that failures are many and special promotions are few is that courses of study are wrong. They are made to fit the supernormal pupil rather than the average one. As teachers we can remedy this only by bringing definite illustrations of difficulties to our superiors. It lies with principals and superintendents to give us the right kind of a course of study. Let us ask them to give their attention to this possibility of doing the better thing for both the supernormal and the subnormal pupils. Let us convince them that with a properly adjusted course of study there will be fewer children discouraged by failure and fewer children made indolent by work that is too easy. The teacher may recognize the supernormal pupil and make an effort to have him put where he belongs but fail because special promotions are not favored by the principal under whom she works. He likes to have his school machinery run smoothly and there is always likely to be some friction caused by a special promotion until the object of it becomes adjusted to the new situation. Then, too, the receiving teachers Let us begin today to pick out the pupils that we shall recommend for special promotion. Let us see if we can not balance our list of failed with our list of specially promoted. Story Reproduction Story reproduction is one of the most valuable exercises for the language period. It is one of the very best means for adding to a child's vocabulary. It is better than formal drill for fixing correct grammatical forms. It is particularly valuable in teaching English to foreigners. Too much of it may be done, however, if carried to extremes. While helping pupils in the formal or mechanical side, it may weaken them in the power to express their own thoughts. Have much story reproduction but use some of your language periods in getting pupils to make simple, correct, and connected statements about things and events which interest them. In a discussion with a teacher of English in the high school of a certain city where the reproductive method in language in the grades. is used almost exclusively, I heard her say: "They excell in form but they haven't a bit of originality. They will gather material for but if I assign a subject upon which they can their theme from magazines and encyclopaedias not find anything written they can do practically nothing with it. Writing original thought, simple thought it may be, will make children know that they know. Children must be given experience in expressing their own experience. Headwork Plus Handwork No. 3. Couch for Doll House. With ruler and pencil lay off oblong as planned in No. 3. Fig. I. Cut on unbroken lines. Fold [May two arms cut from one piece of inches and half inches, the additional problem of For the Very Little Ones Folding paper is always a source of enjoyment to the youngest children, and provides valuable 2, જે training for their little fingers. Repeat the simplest folds a number of times before attempting anything difficult. Success in more advanced forms depends upon the accuracy with which fundamental folds are made. Repetition does not prove tiresome if each form becomes an imaginative something. For instance, No. 1 becomes the baby's shawl. For No. 3, open the paper and fold a triangle with the other two opposite corners touching. Open again and fold one corner to the center. This makes a sailboat. By folding the opposite corner to the center we get a simple kite form as in No. 2. This may be fitted with string and tail and furnish some amuse 3, ment. Sleeping May Over the hill where March winds sweep, Lies a wee baby, fast asleep; In her hand is the tender green grass blade, SMTWTFS 1234 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 DAY BLACKBOARD DRAWING FOR MAY How Blue and Gray Blend Oh mother, what do they mean by blue? I heard from the lips of a little child And smoothed away from the sunny brow "Why, mother's eyes are blue, my sweet, And the love we bear our darling child "But what did they mean?" persisted the child, And one of them said he had 'fought for the blue,' "The one of the blue had lost a leg, And both seemed worn and weary and sad, Yet their greeting was kind and warm. They told of battles in days gone by Until they made my blood grow chill. "They sat on the stone by the farm-yard gate, And talked for an hour or more, Till their eyes grew bright and their hearts seemed warm With fighting their battles o'er, And parting at last with a friendly grasp, In a kindly, brotherly way, Each asking of God to speed the time United the blue and the gray." BETWEEN US 1. Do you think it is all right for teachers to do crocheting and other fancy work while attending meetings called by superintendents and supervisors for the purpose of discussing school work? I am more than surprised, not to hear that such a thing is done at teachers' meetings for I have seen it myself more than once, but that there should be a question in any teacher's mind that such a procedure could possibly be considered proper. Common politeness, it seems to me, would require that teachers give their undivided attention to their leaders at such meetings. If they can not, or do not care to do this they ought to remain away. Strange, isn't it, that it is never the teachers who know most about teaching or who do the best work that do the thing described above? 66 II. (a) Do you believe that children should learn definitions of such terms as "divisor," "subtrahend," "product," greatest common divisor," "denominator," "denominator," etc.? (b) Do you think they should be required to use them when discussing steps in their examples? (a) I believe they should have definitions for these terms. Teach them what they mean, inductively, and they will have no difficulty telling you what they mean if occasion demands it. The learning of definitions went out of style, not because definitions were not important but because teachers attempted to teach them deductively and in most instances didn't carry the deduction far enough to make the children really think what the words meant. (b) I see no reason why pupils should not use these terms and many reasons why they should. Children love to use big worls when they understand them. "Greatest common adivisor" or "least common denominator” are not more difficult to pronounce then "Bartholomew Kropiloski" and if a new boy should come into your school with such a name your children would soon be using it. III. What shall I do with the children who do good work in all of their studies and who always have their tasks finished before other members of the class, who cause much annoyance by getting into all sorts of mischief? Promote them. the so called "Montessori Method" which we hear mentioned so frequently? It would not be possible to give anything like a satisfactory discussion of it in this place, so I have decided to offer you some references and let you read for yourself. See the following: (a) The Elementary School Teacher. V. XII, No. 6, February 1912. (b) McClure's Magazine: V. 37:-19. May 1911. (c) "The Montessori Method," by Madame Mortessori. Published by Stokes Pub. Co., New York. $1.75. V. Do you think I ought to correct my pupils' number papers every day? I have fifty pupils. My advice is: Throw one-half of them in the waste basket without even looking at them. Glance at half of the remainder. Look for the worst errors in the other one-fourth to determine what phases of the work needs your attention. Save your energy for real teaching. Give a test occasionally and mark the papers carefully. Teachers are doing too much testing and not enough teaching. VI. Can you suggest a few desirable books on the subject of school gardening and tell me where I can get them? (1) Among School Gardens. M. Louise Green. $1.25. (2) Children's Gardens for Pleasure. Henry C. Parsons. $1.10. (3) The Nature Study Idea. L. H. Bailey. $1.00. (4) How to make School Gardens. H. D. Hemenway. $1.00. (5) Children's Gardens. Louise Klein Miller. $1.20. (6) Agriculture for beginners. C. W. Burkett. $ .75. Hall & McCreary, Chicago, Ill., will secure any of the above for you. Things to Find Out Who was Clara Barton? Who was Florence Nightingale? What incidents in the lives of these two women are interesting to us this month? What do you know of the work of the Red Cross Society? Do you consider its work IV. Will you please tell us something about great? Why? |