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trying to render a beautiful piece of music when he mistook a fly-speck for a very high note and tried to sing it. Several years ago I heard a teacher give a lesson on The Village Blacksmith, taking the word "chestnut" as the key-note of the poem. The lesson was really a "science-lesson" on chestnuts. I once heard Tennyson's Lady Claire spoiled in like manner. The lily-white doe which Lord Ronald brought to his cousin was made the turning-point of the poem. The doe, the number of its legs, the length of its tail, the shape of its ears, the color of its eyes, its food, the species to which it might have or might not have belonged, these were the points brought forward for consideration, while the ethical lesson underlying it, the one thing that tended to make the poem sweet and poetic, never came up at all. One teacher will take an essay of John Burroughs and turning its poetic side out make a poem of it, while another, turning its scientific side out, will makc the most abominable prose of it. Collateral reading does little more for poetry than to spoil it, since it tends to destroy its totality and break it up into epigrams; nevertheless, preliminary reading may pave the way for it. Studies similar to Romola, Hypatia, Ivanhoe, and Julius Cæsar require preliminary reading, geographic, historic, and classic. The study of Dante requires all this, and collateral reading also. But all collateral reading in connection with studies of purely artistic value comes under the head of "lumber."

In addition to the laws of art already memtioned, the child can easily see that the work of art which portrays a national life, a religion, is greater than one which shows some pettier feeling. Macaulay tells us that religion is at the foundation of the best art, and that national life is at the foundation of religion. That Homer reveals the most intense feeling of a great nation is sufficient reason why he should be read. It is not above a child's comprehension that the greatest work of art will have universal types in the foreground and universal life in the background. Hector and Andromache caressing their babe in the foreground form a type of the universal. Every manly man would linger to kiss his wife and babe before going into battle. The great contending armies in the background make a type of universal or national life in the days of Homer. Millais's Huguenot Lovers is another picture of the sort, although the national lite is suggested rather than represented. Romola is a wonderful illustration of this law. Her trials are just such trials as women in general have, especially if they are loyal and high

minded; while the contending of different religious factions is a universal state of affairs. As revealed in that book, it was the national life. The Tale of Two Cities, Ivanhoe, and indeed any of Scott's works, the drama of Julius Cæsar, Picciola, Les Misérables and Ninety-Three by Victor Hugo, Cooper's novels, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Courtship of Miles Standish, all stand the test of this law.

SPEAK THE TRUTH.

Speak thou the truth. Let others fence,
And trim their words for pay;
In pleasant sunshine of pretense
Let others bask their day.

Guard thou the fact: though clouds of night
Down on thy watch-tower stoop,
Though thou shouldst see thine heart's delight
Borne from thee by their swoop.

Face thou the wind, though safer seem
In shelter to abide;

We were not made to sit and dream;
The safe must first be tried.

Show thou thy light. If conscience gleam,
Set not thy bushel down;

The smallest spark may send his beam
O'er hamlet, tower, and town.

Woe, woe to him, on safety bent,

Who creeps to age from youth, Failing to grasp his life's intent, Because he fears the truth!

--Home and Club Life.

MRS. WASP AND MRS. BEE.

Said Mrs. Wasp to Mrs. Bee,
"Will you a favor do me?
There's something I can't understand;
Please, ma'am, explain it to me.
"Why do men build you a house,
And coax you to go in it,

While me, your cousin, they'll not let
Stay near them for a minute?
"I have a sting, I do confess,

And should not like to lose it;
But so have you, and when you're vexed
I'm very sure you use it."

"Well," said the Bee, "to you, no doubt,
It does seem rather funny;

But people soon forget the stings
Of those who give them honey."'
-American Bee Journal.

TWO PICTURES.

The sun was shining calm and bright,
The meadow grass was deep;
The daisies and the buttercups
Were nodding, half asleep;
And overhead the sparrow sat
And dozed upon the bough,
For all the world was sleepy, then,
When Johnny drove the cow.
The sun was like a flaming beast!

The field was like the sea!
The grass, like angry snakes, did hiss
And wriggle at his knee.
The sparrows turned to goblin imps
That yelled, and fluttered on,
As, through a world gone raving mad,
The cow was driving John. -St. Nicholas.

CONTRIBUTIONS.

NOTES FROM JAPAN.

It is really quite interesting to one on the outside to watch the drift in educational affairs in this empire. Much the same questions are arising here as in Occidental countries, and growth seems to be much on the same lines and in the same ways; and yet there is also diverse development and differing ways of dealing with the various problems. To illustrate both similarity and diversity I have culled from various sources a few items as straws to "show which way the wind blows," and call your attention to the following paragraphs:

The Formosan educational authorities are assiduously discharging their duties. On the 26th of May the first female school in Formosa was opened, being subordinate to the national language school under the direct control of the governor-general's office. Forty-eight girls and women applied for admission and lessons were started the same day. It is noteworthy that of the total, seventeen are married and thirty-one unmarried, and that their ages range from about fifteen to about twenty-nine.

It is suggested that the practice of the Wasida middle school be followed by all elementary and middle schools, namely, that smoking be strictly forbidden. There is no doubt that smoking commenced at an early age is injurious in many ways. Expense is not now a consideration, but in ten years time it is likely to become so, as the Japanese are beginning to understand that the taxation of luxuries proves in most countries to be one of the chief sources of revenue.

Whatever may be the cause, the people in the northern parts of Japan are setting an example to those living in the south in the matter of school education. We noticed a few days ago that a certain merchant and his wife. in Fukushima, set aside a plot of farm land worth about 1, 100 yen as an endowment to the common school of that town.

A similar act by owners of fishing grounds in Isoya District, Hokkaido, is more noteworthy. The catch of herring was unusually large this year, and the headman of the district and other local worthies conceived the good idea of using this opportunity for creating a fund for the Isoya Common school. A special committee was elected for that purpose and the principal fishermen were persuaded to give contributions.

The

call was readily responded to, and from the two villages of Notsuto and Shimakotan about 25,000 yen have already been collected, several individuals having contributed sums of 1,000 yen.

[I have also seen somewhere an item about a legacy of 10,000 yen left by a gentleman in Yamaguchi prefecture (in the western part of the empire) to three common schools in his county.]

Mr. Sen Katayama, M. A., author of "A Railway System," and "Present Society in England," has recently established at Misaki Cho, Kanda, an interesting work under the name of Kingusurei Kwan (Kingsley Hall). Its object is to promote a good Christian education among the poor unfortunate classes of our people in Tokyo, and to study their social condition in order to their advancement and happiness.

The abominable rule to strictly preclude the physically defective students from the higher middle schools, has been abolished by the recent conference of the directors on the condition that they possess other superior qualifications. We hope this will be adopted by the ordinary middle schools also.

According to the existing system, about 7,500 students can be accommodated in the ordinary normal schools in this country, and at least one-fourth of the number should turn out as teachers every year. But the fact is that only about 1,500 enter the educational field, the rest seeking more lucrative employment. At any rate, there is an annual deficiency of about 3,500 teachers. Even if an effective system for raising 2,000 more teachers than at present be found, still it will take twenty long years to fill the present deficiency of about 27,000.

One of the proposals introduced by the educational department for discussion at the Normal school directors' conference on the 2d of June, relates to the curtailing of the four years' course of the normal school students to two years, in order to meet the keenly-felt want of common school teachers without an increase of expenditure. The Hochi vehemently protests against this measure, with good reason, and trusts that it will not pass through the council. The same paper remarks that the course of the normal school students formerly consisted of two years, which was increased by the late Mr. Mori to four years, and thus better qualifications for the educational staff of the country have been secured. It is true, the Hochi notes, that the vacancies for common school teachers were 23,000 in 1895, and 25,000 in 1896, and no doubt the figures further increased this year, but it is a most short-sighted measure to apply a temporary remedy at the risk of incompetency. The standard of efficiency is already low enough in all conscience; one of the crying evils of the educational system at present is

that good men are not sufficiently numerous, and to reduce the time of training is the very worst thing that could be done.

The higher normal school for young ladies permits only thirty students to enter the special course in household economy. Candidates for this course must apply before the 30th of June next. It is required that.candidates be persons of good morals and that their health be such as to meet the standard required for school teachers. They must be graduates of the higher female school of six years' course or of the normal school of two years' course, or must have attained an equal standard of proficiency. They must also be between the ages of seventeen and thirty. Tuition free.

the benefit of Japanese who wish to acquire a knowledge of foreign languages, some daily papers give English columns; there is one English daily, called Japan Times, published and edited by Japanese; there is a monthly magazine called The Far East, which publishes English, German, and French articles; and now comes a new monthly called The Foreign Language Magazine, which is to contain in each number articles in eight languages (English, German, French, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Italian and Spanish). Verily, Japan is becoming quite cosmopolitan.

ERNEST W. CLEMENT.

Tokyo, June 25, 1897.

BOOK TABLE.

University Publishing Co., 43-47 E. 10th St., N. Y.

-STANDARD Literature SeRIES, of from sixty-four to one hundred thirty pages each, sold at 121⁄2 cents each for the

single numbers and 20c for the double, has much to commend it to the favorable attention of teachers and pupils. The books are well printed and neatly bound in stiff paper sides. They are selections where essays, poems and short stories are presented, and abridgments in the case of larger works of fiction. It is the latter that attract most the atten

The number of graduates of higher schools seeking admission to the Imperial university has been so great that comparatively a small percentage of them are taken into the latter institution on competitive examination. Now that the Kyoto university has been organized, the students will be freed from the inconvenience hitherto caused by the limited accommodation of the university. Another difficulty tion of the reviewer, and we are surprised at the success still remains here, that is how to distribute the graduates of different higher schools, there being the possibility of a majority desiring to enter the university in Tokyo. In case of applicants to either university outnumbering the limit they will be distributed by lot.

A SOCIAL SCIENCE SOCIETY was founded lately in Tokyo. In order to accomplish its object, it publishes journals four times a year, and holds lectures twice a year. It will also have occasional social gatherings. It is established by Christians.

SOCIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION SOCIETY. This was lately founded on the proposal of Mr. Sen Katayama, M. A. It holds a meeting once a month in the Tokyo Y. M. C. A. building. The object of the society is the study and investigation of social phenomena, beginning with those in the great city of Tokyo.

The near approach of the time when, by the new treaties, this country will be thrown open for mixed residence," is the occasion of many enterprises tending to bring Japanese and foreigners to a better understanding of each other. For instance, for the sake of the increasing number of tourists and business men who will be drawn hither, a book ambitiously called "Japanese Self-Taught," has just been published, which, though not intended to be a thorough grammatical treatise on the Japanese language, really gives a very practical treatment of colloquial phrases in both the "familiar" and the "polite" styles. Again, for

with which this work has been done. To test it we selected Cooper's Spy and Scott's Rob Roy for more detailed examination. We found the unity of the plot well preserved, and the delineations of character little affected by the abridgment. Long descriptions, discussions and discourses which only annoy and hinder young readers are here cut out so that the story drives right to the point as a boy likes to have it. It is indeed a service to young readers to help them thus to an earlier appreciation of Scott, and Dickens, and Cooper, for they will go on to other full works of these writers after they have got a taste for them. The list of books in the series is already a long one. On our table we find COOPER represented by The Spy, The Pilot and the Deerslayer, SCOTT by Rob Roy, Kenilworth, and Lady of the Lake; IRVING by the Alhambra, The Sketch Book, and The Knickerbocker Stories; DICKENS by Christmas Stories, Paul Dombey, and Little Nell; TENNYSON by Enoch Arden; JOHN P. KENNEDY by Horse-Shoe Robinson; BYRON by The Prisoner of Chilon; BULWER LYTTON by Harold; JONATHAN SWIFT by Gulliver's Travels; HAWTHORNE by Twice Told Tales, Wonder Book, and the Snow Image; VICTOR HUGO by Ninety-Three; R. H. DANA by Two Years Before the Mast; and LONGFELLOW by Evangeline.

GOLDEN ROD BOOKS, four volumes, are a very attractive series for supplementary reading, edited by John A. Haaren. Rhymes and Fables is a collection for the First Reader Class (12c.), SONGS AND STORIES, a charming compilation for the next class (15c.), FAIRY LIFE, tales in verse and prose (20c.), for Third Reader grades; and BALLADS AND TALES, from popular ballads and famous stories, for still older readers.

Houghton, Mifflin & Co.

---POEMS AND ESSAYS BY RALPH W. EMERSON. (Riverside School Library; 94 and 142 pp.) Contains about forty short poems, arranged under the rubrics, Patriotic and Occasional Pieces, Nature, and Life and Character; followed by the essays on the Fortune of the Republic, The Young American, American Civilization, The Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln, and the American Scholar. The introductory matter contains an appreciative estimate of Emerson, as especially a poet, and a biographical sketch which contains a brief and clear ac

count of Emerson's manner as an essayist. The volume is convenient, beautiful in paper and print and substantially and attractively bound.

Journal of Education

Vol. XXVII.

MADISON, WIS., OCTOBER, 1897.

ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO

JOURNAL

208 East Main Street, Madison, Wis.

J. W. STEARNS,

A. O. WRIGHT,

No. 10

now touches in its yearly meetings, and gives OF EDUCATION, promise of a vigorous and profitable gathering. It is unnecessary any longer to urge attendance at these meetings, as wide-awake teachers have learned their value, and the difficulty is to provide for the large crowds sure to be present.

EDITORS AND PROPRIETORS.

SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $1.00 A YEAR.

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A COLLECTION of geography topics will be found in this number of the JOURNAL, chiefly pertaining to three phases of the subject, descriptions of interesting scenes and conditions, as the articles regarding Hawaii, Alaska, and Atolls; dynamic geography as in the articles on the Mississippi River, mountains, and political geography; and method and plans of teaching. Those of the first and second classes will be found useful to be read by pupils. the next issue we propose to give especial attention to the present problems of the rural schools. The subject of the Literature article will be Bryant.

In

ELSEWHERE we publish a preliminary program of the coming meeting of the Wisconsin Teachers' Association. It shows at a glance what a wide range of interests the organization

CONFIRMATION of what we have been urging as to the necessity of skilled supervision for our schools, is afforded by. the following passage from the Report of the Committee of Twelve on Rural Schools: "If supervision is to be effective it must be the product of skill and experience. As well put an ordinary seaman, selected from the crew by lot, in charge of an ocean steamer, with its precious cargo of lives and wealth, as to place a raw, uncultivated man or woman, selected by the chances of a political convention, in charge of the schools in which our youth are being trained for citizenship. The sub-committee is of the opinion that certain qualifications, moral and mental, should be exacted from every one who aspires to the duties of a supervisory office."

SUPERINTENDENT HARPER'S discussion of the validity of appointments by a retiring school board, published elsewhere in this issue, is timely and important. It makes evident that this subject is by no means so fully settled as has been supposed. The danger ject to abuse must be apparent to every one, that such a right if maintained would be subso that it would have to be carefully guarded. It is a misfortune that the constant and necessary renewals of our boards should involve a yearly tenure only for teachers, and doubtless this has contributed to make the profession a migratory one. That phase of its history, however, seems to be slowly passing away. We have never seen so few changes in important positions as the present year. While this may be due in part to the hard times, there seems beyond doubt less disposition to make unnecessary changes both on the part of boards and teachers. Thus the remedy for changes of teachers is not to be sought in the point here in issue, but in the growth of sound opinion on that matter.

WHETHER hostility to England is inculcated in our school histories by their treatment of the wars for independence is discussed by Goldwin Smith in the North American Review for September. Prof. Smith, as an Englishman and the author of a very interesting brief history of this country, may be considered a competent judge on the subject, and it is therefore gratifying to find him writing, after examining certain of the manuals: "I must confess that I do not find in any of them aught of which an Englishman could seriously complain." This is as it should be. It is absurd to foster the animosities of a struggle now more than a century past. A friend, however, suggests that while the text-books are free from blame in this matter, some of the teachers may not be. They sometimes confound patriotism with this anti-British acrimony, and echo still the outworm animus of former Fourth-of-July orations. If this is true it comes of the lack of thoughtfulness, which tends to make the study of our history emotional and memoriter, instead of a rational consideration of the issues and principles involved. We must substitute thoughtful discussion of issues for the recounting of events in our history classes.

ers.

PROFESSOR SMITH in the article above referred to, makes another remark which deserves the careful consideration of our teachers of American history: "The Revolutionary War does, in fact, fill rather a large space in the comparatively brief annals of the United States. Its chief actors are the national heroes and the national types of patriotic viftue. Its incidents, or those of the war of 1812, are about the only matter by which an ungifted American writer can hope to enliven his work and appeal to the imagination of young readIt is not in American school histories alone that a disproportionate space is occupied by the annals of war. Thirst of martial glory is nowhere extinct, and nothing is so picturesque as a battle. It is not easy to present in a form interesting to a child a series of political events and characters, the issues between Jefferson and Hamilton, the struggle between Adams and Jackson, or even the political contest with slavery. Nor can an ordinary writer lend picturesqueness to the progress of social improvement, of commerce, or of invention." This probably tells correctly the real reason why so much space is devoted to war in our school manuals. We must ardently hope, then, that soon some "gifted writer" will effectively develop in a school text these neglected topics.

CRITICISMS AND AIMS OF GEOGRAPHY TEACHING.

Notwithstanding the criticisms upon our teaching of geography it must be confessed that our people in general are well informed on this subject. We are a nation of newspaper readers, and intelligent newspaper readers, who not only locate Cuba, Venezuela, the Phillipine islands, Khartum, Klondyke, Afghanistan, and so on, but usually know something of conditions in different countries. This is certainly due in large measure to the teaching of geography in our common schools. Examinations confirm this conclusion, as to the success of the teaching. There is perhaps no other subject upon which the candidates appearing at the State examination do so well uniformly as in geography-we do not mean what is technically called "physical geography," in which the results are far from satisfactory, but the descriptive geography of the elementary schools. In this we certainly have been prone to under-estimate the results of teaching. It will be seen, however, that the prevalent criticisms when rightly understood do not deny what has been said. They affirm only that time is wasted on the subject, and that our processes are mechanical where they ought to be vital.

In developing the latter point quite too strenuous emphasis has been placed upon the need of something more than the geography of position. Constantinople must be something more than a black dot on a map, placed on the Bosphorus. The pupil, we are told, must see the sumptuous eastern city, its imposing site, its mosques and palaces, its streets thronged with strange peoples, and so on. To add to the force of this it is not necessary to speak contemptuously of the "dot on the map." In fact that is of great value. The map with its lines and dots is a kind of symbol by means of which complex relations are readily apprehended and retained in memory. It is the very center and heart of sound geography teaching, which aims constantly to grave this upon the pupil's mind. From this he must work to get what knowledge he can by inference, and to this he must refer whatever he learns from other sources. Its dots and lines he must indeed be able to interpret into things, but it is easy to push the process too far, and lose the general result-location geography-in a confusing mass of details. Descriptions of cities, for example-how monotonous and unprofitable they are for the most part. And who will claim that he is able to form even a tolerably correct picture of a great State, with its varied surface, its

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