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About The Sioux County journal. (Harrison, Nebraska) 1888-1899 | View Entire Issue (July 23, 1896)
EDUCATIOXALCOLUM N NOTES ABOUT SCHOOLS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. Batter Rmiu Aim Often Obtained froas the Aim pic Country School than front the Elaborate Citj Institution Honor Conferred Upon Prof. March Weak Point in Oar School System. A writer In Scribuer's takes up Presi dent Eliot's sust-niuu that instruction ill preparatory schools is less thorough here than in Europe, auil after approv ing of it advances the theory that the real fault lies at the beginning with the priuiary departments. He says: '"The European methods of priuiary instruc tion proceed on the idea that children are young plants that develop by pas sive absorption iu the right conditions of growth, as a peach ripens against a southern wall. They receive their daily Instillation of writing, ielliug, gram mar, In reiterative donee that have the unhurried persistence of suns and rains." In this country, on the contrary, there is a lark of quiet and nynst'. Everything goes with a rush. "The conscious self of American boys aud girls is earlier roused to action, aud they be-onie individuals sooner; indi viduals before the time when it Is ri sible that they should l anything but raw and Immature ones. Such material in the hardest to handle in the final In terest of culture." There is a refinement of distinction fu all this that is not calculated to 11 iuniine the subject, aud that is not nec essary, seeing that the facts are of the roost obvious sort. Primary instruc tion In the I'nited States is carried on principally in the public schools, and by its very constitution the public achool system must be inadequate to the needs of the pupils. It violates the most essential of educational princi ples in teaching by the mass instead of by the individual, and this defect is now and always will lie unavoidable. The pupil as he is finally turned out Is a machine-made instead of a hand-made product. He has changed teachers from year to year and missed that most Im portant of all things In education, the personal influence of the instructor. Bead, what Dean Stanley of Hugbea had to say of Dr. Arnold and you will appreciate what that loss means. The American boy who has gone through the public schools can summon up no awn memories. He has been put In at the mouth of the machine, passed his teachers one by one like so many cogs on the Journey, and shot out at the spout. It is a case of rough finish, and there are a great many bad spots that haven't been treated. The more elaborate the machinery the more deplorable is the result. A simple country school, with a really In telligent and sympathetic teacher who has charge fronj start to finish, Is bet ter than one of our big city institu tions with its eighteen or twenty rooms. And born teachers are the greatest de sideratum of ail, impossible to find In anything like the requisite numbers. Man of Gr 'at Learning. Professor Francis Andrew March, of Lafayette College. Pennsylvania, who has been signally honored by Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Is the seventh man in the world to be given the degrees which were conferred on him by the great English institutes of learning. Prof. March has received the degree of D. C. L. from Oxford and from Cambridge the degree of Lit. D. Prof. March now has these degrees: LL. D., L. H. P.. Lit. I)., and D. C. L., whlci are the highest scholastic degrees that any American ever had conferred npon him. Only six men !n the world have ever received both these degrees from the great English universities. They PROF. MARCH. are the highest degrees each confer i,. Professor March was lorn in MM bury, Mass., Oct. 25. 1825. He w, s graduated at Amherst iu 1845. aid after serving there as tutor In 184"i 9 studied law in New York and was a. Biitted to the bar. In 155 he hecan e tutor in Lafayette College, where le jwas made adjunct professor in ISM, professor of the English language ai comparative philosophy in IKT7, and p 1877 lecturer In the law department. In 1870 he received the degree of LL. J1). Ifrorn Princeton, and from Amherst o 4871. In 1KX7 he received that of L. 1?. t). from Columbia. In 173 he w s elected presiden of the Ameriiin Philological Association, and iw 18V6 became president of the Spelling llr form Association. He l an honors rf member of the London Philological S -elety. S tnemlier of the American Phll.r opblcat Society, 'and a vice preslder t of the Ioodon Xew Shakspeare Society, He l. beside, a noted author, and ha written magazine articles, literary e sayt, historical dictionary sketches), and college text-books. Gradantloa Kaerrlaea. The worth of these annual exblbttlot'e to not to ba rated by the quality of the oratory or the originality of the e My. It to sot what those xerctooa KM to th paUle that determines Car n&sa. tot via am imi to Ue pnpll and their parent. For years this day ha been looked forward to ma the goal of a worthy ambition. It ta the twautlful close of a long period of hard, patient, day by day work. A di ploma, a share In the festivities, an op portunity, perhaps the ouiy one In their lives, to appear In public has been the leading incentive. Few pupil can study year after year merely for the sake of study or Its di rect results. Most of them need a visi ble, a tangible object to quicken their purpose and bold them loyally to It. The diploma, the brilliant closing ex ercises are ever kept In mind, and through cold and wet, through hot and sultry weather, through easy and hard time the thought vision It might be called urges them not to fail or flag, but hold out steadfastly to the end. The cost to parents of these exhibi tions is not as great as it appears. lieau tiful, dainty gowns are not necessarily expensive. Fine fabrics, rich lai-es are neither required nor desired. Simplic ity, charming as It is inexpensive, is most becoming to the girl graduate, and nature herself gives the lcst orna ments la the beautiful flowers that at this season of the y.-ar may be had without price. It is sometimes urged that these ex hibitions are fitting for high schools, but are too pretentious for grammar schools. This is a mistake. Ev.ery in-dui-ement should be held out In the lower grades to keep pupils in school until they have the passable education which the grammar schools afford. The diploma, the graduating exercises are ofter the strongest Incentives to hold pupils in the grades until they have fin ished the prescrilied course. It would be a great mistake to underrate their worth and pronounce against them. Chicago Chronicle. School Panlahroenta. Let the teacher submit himself to th j following examination on "School Pun ishments." The thoughts brought up by the various questions will be pro ductive of good: 1. What two general classes of moral action are there in school life? Give Illustrative examples. 2. Illustrate the question. "Not law but driii.""' 3. What do you think of prohibitory rules with fixed penalties? 4. Are we Justified In adopting a rule before we are sure of Its enforcement? Why? 5. Should there ever be "dead stat utes" In a live school? Why? 6. In the absence of a rule against a certain offense, may the teacher pnn lsh for the offense? Why? 7. Is It any more the duty of the pu pil to obey than It Is the teacher's duty to enforce obedience? Illustrate. 8. What are the chief disadvantages In having too many penal offenses in school? 9. What Is the true test of the efficien cy of school discipline? Illustrate. 10. What are the ends or objects of school punishment? 11. Does a pupil who deserves punish ment always need It? Give examples. 12. How may punishment reform the wrong-doer? IS. How may punishment deter others from wrong-doing? 14. In this case Is an appeal to fear legitimate in school discipline? 15. When Is punishment justifiable? 16. What may we consider condem nation of wrong-doing and the end In punishment? 17. What place does this end of pun ishment have in schools? 18. Name the chief characteristics of effective punishment? 19. Comparative effectiveness of cer tainty and severity of punishments? 20. What can you say of the import ance and best methods of detecting of fenders? 21. Why should punishment bear a Just relation to the effense? 22. What are the effects of unjust punishments? The Kn Hah La' snage. We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes. But the plural of ox should be oxea, not oxes. Then one fowl is a goose, but two are called g-ee. Vet the plural uf motiRe should never be nieese, You may lind a lone mouse or a whole nest of mice, But the plural of nonse ia bonnes, not hice. If the plural of man is always called men. Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called Ien V The cow in the plural may be cow or kiiie. But a cow if rcieatei.l is never railed kircc. And the plural of vow ia vows, never vine. If I speak of a foot and you show me your feet. And 1 give you a boot would a piir be called beet? If one is a tooth, and a whole tot are teeth. Why shouldn't the plural of booth lie called beef h 7 If the sing-liar's this and the plural is these. Should the ;ilnrnl of kiss ever be nick named kfese? Then one may lie tbat and three would foe those. Yt hut in the plural wonid never be hose. And the plural of cat ia cats, not cose. We speak of a brother, anil also of brefh ren. But though we say mother, we never say met u ren. Then the masculine pronouns sre he, his and him, But Imagine the feminine she, shin and shim. So the English, I think, you all will agree. I the queerest Inngnnge you ever 8ld see. The Commonwealth. An English professor recommend to persona suffering from dyspepsia, con sumption and anaemia, or any who need to take on flesh, to eat re-y thin slices of bread and butter. Th. Idea Is that It Inducea people to eat much more butter, a quality of fat moot essential to their nutrition, la a form agtlfat which rhey will sot reheL WORK BYVTHE WOMEN SOMC OFHTHE VERY LATEST IDEAS IN DRESS. I- Eosae Ola Fashion Still Admtaaible-Gone-br Mode that Ar Available for BemodellBg; How Ont-of-Date Sleeves Mar Be Made Over. ;.$' Gotham Fashion Goanip. New Tors eorreponderiw: uiEfls or new fishions are wel- .me to women at all times, but what most women want, i .r.f than lnforma t j'l about new styles, is what old fashion are still admissible, and what gone-by modes are availa ble for remodellug. They read the ex h a u s t I v e review with all due respect to iu autboritative nfiss, but yet with a list of old gowns and pieces in mind. Here are a few Items that are likely to be In an ordinary collection of such dresses and accessories, and that are still serviceable; velvet sleeves, wheth er velvet appears In the gown else where or not, are all right. Sleeves of color and material contrasting wfh the gown are not only still permitted, hut tbey are stylish. The sleeve ' close to the Inadmissible If It Is a stand-out puff at the top of the round kind, or If it is stiffened. Such a sleeve may be remodeled by splitting It over the top and round of the arm and In serting a point of material, contrasting TJUMMl.VI THAT WOCLD DtSOt'TSK WEAR. If you like, or borrowed from the lower part of the rleeve. This point should follow the line of the shoulder and artr. and the puff should spread either sidtj from It. The result is entirely in "form," and the change Is made very easily. Of your li g-o'-mutton sleeves you'd better cut off to the full part and then push the full part up into a puff -setting in a flat point over the shoulder, or else binding down the fullness to fit the shoulder by a baud of ribbon that ties aliout the arm Just below the shoulder. This first picture presents a very pret ty pattern of sleeve, into the making of which an old leg-o'-mutton sleeve may enter, but It should lie understood that the model shown was an entirely new design. Tbat fact should render the Intending copier all the more eager. A piece taken out of the upper part of the sleeve will make it conform to this shape, and its very top Is masked by cape epaulettes. Iu copying in the man ner suggested, the stock of stuffs in hand will determine what materials are to be used, but in this model black and white and mastic colored taffeta were used. The skirt had no trimming, and the bodice of the mastic goods had a yoke of the striped stuff, which was alike back and front. The back of the bodice was plain, but the front was draped In deep folds, the fastening com ing at the side. The epaulettes are prettily trimmed with black silk passe menterie, but six months ago their trimming would have been spangled, and the left-over stock Is likely to In clude some of this garniture. Very AOA1E THE IKIHTt' HEM IS MASKED. likely It Is as pretty as It can be, but Its day la about done, so It Is much better to lay It away than to use It again Just BOW. , The woman tbat never throws away dreaa, and who even successfully ro state the fascinations of a dicker with an old cto' mm, is often laughed at be cause of the amount of her accumula tions. This sort of woman will present for ber grown son's Inspection a sample from a piece bag which she insists was part of bis little dress as a 2 year-old. But the laugh Is sometimes on her side, and now Is the time when she feel triumphant as she brings out some old gown with tight-fitting sleeves. Isn't she glad she saved It! She can put In over the sleeve at the a r mimic a frill OXE SCHEME OF trimming for skikt a.io Homes. of some contrasting material that will hang softly, or to Just alove, the elbow, and the sleeve Is all right. This use of a very old sleeve has one advantage, in that the dress of which It was origi nally a part Is long since forgotten, so the makeshift cannot be traced to Its source. With respect to skirts, the new fash Ions are right In line with practical economy. Much Is saved by their lie Ing no longer a need of stiffening, the skirts are narrower, so that less mater ial is used, and best of all is the trick of trimming summer skirts at the hem. This Is very generally done now, and whether It will last Into next winter or not. It is at present a boon to the econ omises The skirts of the next two pictures were brand new, but how many worn plain skirts there are that can be similarly trimmed and thus made to give a lot more service. In the first In stance, the skirt was bordered with a full niching of silk muslin, beaded by black velvet ribbon; in the other, ruchlngs on skirt and bodice both were chiffon. The material of the first dress was white pique, draped, In the bodice, with finely dotted tulle, and at the top a handsome yoke of ecru lace was fin ished with loops of black velvet rib bon. The second of this pair of dresses was made from broehe taffeta for the bodice, and white serge for ttie skirt. Plain white serge was used for the vest, which was topped by a band of inser tion. This outlined a small, square-cut-out. wlilch may be filled. In with tulle, If desired. Small bands of em broidery trimmed the sleeves, and for final finish there was a sailor collar of LA. HUHR TO TIE KNOWN A8 2fEW. sfe to .se lace, from which hung a ruffle of pleat ed chiffon. ' ' Most collars are now very high, some of them ridiculously so, when donned by women whose necks are short, but now and then the neck Is cut a trifle low, generally square. The lust dress described was of this type, and so Is the next one, the fourth being particu larly rich. Of fine black silk, Its skirt was trimmed with three rows of black moussellne, each one finished with ruf fles as It crossed the lower two hori zontal bands. Alternate baud of em broidery and silk gave the liodice a plastron of moussellne showing at each side a ruffle to harmonize with the skirt panels coming fit the bust' line, and the tiny basque belngtrt match. Over the sleeves there were epaulettes of the goods trimmed with embroidery. An excellent model for the employ ment of that very popular material, llnon, Is shown In the final Illustration. For It even the resources of an attic full of piece bigs are of no avail, for the stuff Is so new a weave that the old stock does not Include it. This makes a dress of It nil the more desirable a possession, and this one bus, besides, much attractiveness of Its own. The goods Is pleated and lined with rose pink taffeta, and the open-work hands of Hnon embroidery are also underlaid with silk. With the last two pictures this collar makes a strong contrast, but Its sort Is more frequently aeen than the other wind. It la a high col lar topped by a "saucer" collar, both of the embroidery, which also gives the belt. Oeorrlatt IsM. ' A Good Honda Lena on. One of the strongest arguments for good roads Is furnished by the recent experience of the town of Conewango. Cattaraugus County. New York. The town elections there this soring had to be postiwined until May 14 on account of the utterly impassable roads. The town clerk was unable to get to the polling place at the other end of the town with the ballots, and voters were ml red iu every direction.-Buffalo N. Y.) Times. Ksllnta as Unlln. Properly placed ballots will do much toward making the roads good. "Where there's a will there's a way," and the first thing to be done is to place those In charge of road making who are in sympathy with the work and go about It Intelligently. This Impression Is growing among Wheelmen, and the recent victories achieved In the courts and In the State Legislatures are unmistakable proof of their power when united In a Just cause. Thorough organization on the pa rt of the wheelmen Is still the hoie and strength of the good roads movement. A recent number of the Molina (I'a.l American says that the bicyclers of Montgomery County will likely play a leading role In local politli-s this year. They are out for good roads, and If they don't get them they will know the reason why. It Is estimated that there are on an average 25 bicyclers or good roads people In each of the 110 districts of the county. These will be organized In the most thorough manner. The chief duty of this good roads league will be to hunt the scalps of legislative candidates who still cling to the old fogy notions about road build ing. It Is claimed that 25 earnest workers In each voting district will wield a powerful Influence at the pri maries. What these bicyclers want are live members of the legislature who will support a good road law in the next session. The good roads peo ple have Issued a campaign button, and It has caught this town and other towns completely. Out of the Knt. Cood roads are best for man ami beast. Fix the road and throw away the whip. Put In a word for broad tires when you get a chance. Water Is a good thing, but too much of It will spoil a road. Io all the intelligent work you can for the betterment of the roads. St Louis has a new and able pub lication, the Cood Koads Advocate, which will devote Itself to the work of Improving streets and highways. The Good Iloads convention and Bi cycle Meet to convene In Galveston, Tex., June i) to 13, Inclusive, will at tract 20,(sXl visitors. It Is thought. Over 2,XM) bicycles will parade. The cycle path Is a protest against bad roads, not a desire of the wheel men. Give them good roads and they would not ask for a path. France has l.'SO.OOO miles of splendid roads. I have ridden all over that country aud there Is no cycle path. It costs France $lK.i,itO,os) a year to keep those roads in good repair. The assessed valuation of personal real estate in the State of New York Is $.".Osi,cmKj0, yet there Is no State appropriation for the maintenance and making of roads. Isaac B. Potter. Flat-Iron and House Numbers. It needs but a backward glance to assure the veriest grumbler that, so far as the conveniences of life are concern ed, he lives lu a day of privileges. What housewife would now satisfy herself without flatlroiis for smoothing and glossing her linen ? Her ancestress, even ns lute ns the time of Elizabeth and James L, hud to be content to use large heated stones. These were ln-scrlU-d with texts of Scripture, and were as well recognized household ar ticles as are our own smoothing Irons. In nn article In Notes and Queries Is found a quotation from an old Eng lish book which says, "She that want etli n sleek-stone to smooth her litieti .will take a pebble." It Is a big step forward when these smooth stones were superseded by Imjx Irons. The lxx held charcoul, and not hented Irons, such as were used much later. But If we should find it trou blesome to get along without flatlroiis, we should !e yet more so If deprived of ome of our other privileges, such, for fiuinple, ns the numlicr on city bouses. Think of having to look for a "Mr. Jones, In Whltechapel, not far from the Blue Boar." There were days when the house number was nn unknown thing, and only business signs, coats of arms, and house names marked the dif ferent buildings, Berlin is about to celebrate the hun dredth anniversary of the house num ber. It was In 171. that the city was Orst numbered. Did these good old German Inno vators put odd numbers on one side of their streets and even numbers on too other? No. The started from the Brandenburg gt and numbers 9 straight ahead, taking no account of change of street. As they proceeded the numbers grew higher, the height to which tbey at tained teiug limited only by the sup ply of houses. The first bouse they numlered was number one. the last the number that lietokciied the total number of nouses In the city. Not the best method of numlsring. but infi nitely better than no method at alL Amusing Itcpli-s. When Sir Kowland Hill revolution ized the British jsistomce by Introduc ing cheap postage, one of bis devices for facilitating the operation of hi scheme was the prepayment of letters and other mailable matter by means of small adhesive paper lalsds, repre senting a duty of a penny and two pence. Now two billions six hundred and thirty-two millions of bit of paper are stamped, gummed and sent annual ly to the poMtolllces of the Cultel King dom. Mr. Haines, a former Inspector general of mails, tells this anecdote alKiut the indirect usefulness of postage stamps: It Is known that the blank margin of jMistage stamps Is useful In many ways. Once, at a Midland postoffii-e, a little girl came to the counter and asked for some "plalster from .the postage Ktami. 'What do you want It for?" the Hst master asked. "Please, sir, we want it for mending feyther's hose," the girl replied. Mr. Anthony Trollope, the novelist, was a Hstoffice surveyor, and once be ing at an Irish postofllce on a Sunday wished to inspect the official looks. The oxt master suggested that as the day was not one on which be trausact- I ed business the inspection lie deferred till Monday. "I'll sit where I nm until the books are produced," snld the irritated sur veyor. 'Then, sir," answered the postmaster, "you'll Just sit there till you die." Exit Mr. Trollope. Mr. Balnea also tells of an Irishman who applied to a postmaster for a money order. When the applicant gave his name, the clerk, not catching It, asked; "How do you spell It?" "Sure," answered the Irlshmau, "Bnd If a fine clerk like you can't spell It, how d'ye think a poor man like me en?" The Oldest Itoae-Ilush in the World. The oldest rose-bush in the world Is found at Hlldesbelm, a small city of Hanover, where It emerges from tho sutwoll of the Church of the Cemetery. Its roots are found In the subsoil, and the primitive stem has been dead for a long time, but the new stems have mad a passage through a crevice in the wall, and cover almost the entire church with their branches for a width aud height of forty feet. The age of this i.ee is Interesting both to botanists and gardeners. Ac cording to tradition, the Hlldesheim rose-bush was planted by Charlemagtm In axi, and, the church luivlng been burned down in the eleventh century, the root continued to grow In the sub soil. Mr. Ilaener has recently published a book upon this venerable plant. In which he proves that It Is at least three centuries of age. It Is mentioned in a poem written in loiX), and also In tho work of a Jesuit who died lu 1073. "Hermons in Stones." The phrase "sermons In stones" Is best known from Its urn; by Shuks peare In "As You Like It," where he says: And this our life, exempt from public haunt, Finds tongues in trees, books in the run ning brooks, Sermons in stones and good in everything. Five hundred years before the birth of the Bnrd of Avon the same expres sion was employed by St. Bernard, who, in one of his letters, wrote, "You will find something far greater In the woods than you will find In Ijook. Stones and trees preach sermons such as you will never hitvr from men." Wordsworth has the same Idea iu tbu lines One impulse from the vernal oo 1 May teach you more of man, Of moral evil and of good, Tliau all the sages can. The Original "Cherry ltipe." The marriage of "Cherry Hlpe' took place last week. The original of Millais' picture was Miss Amy llamage, daugh ter of a near kinsman of W. L. Thomas. Mr. Thomas saw her at her children's bull In her Immortal mob cap, bib and tuckers. Instantly recognizing her val ue from a pictorial point of view, he curried her off next morning to see Mllllas, who was so csptlvated that he set fo work at om-e on the canvas which proclaimed the face and the costume of the dainty miss to the ends of tho earth. Miss Itainage Is now alsuit to marry a Spanish gentleman of jiosltloti and will transfer her peculiarly English typo of beauty to the Manillas. . Pi-ollt in a Hong, "Tommy Atkins," which during the first year of Its existence brought to the publishers an Income of some fS, fHK), or a little over $500 a week, was purchased by them for 1 guinea. Philosophy of the Home. A philosopher olterves: "Six things are requisite to create a happy home. One of these Is a good cook and thti other five, are money." Tho women are always wondering what makes some other woman look so old. A bnd husband, of course. We hope they don't Imagine that Time bad anything to do with It Whenever we hear a school girl get up In the presence of her teacher and recite a piece making fun of old maids, we wouder how she dares. An actress la "a charming young so tress" until she ia fifty-ore.