X. NATIONAL TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION PROCEEDINGS FOR 1864. PREPATORY NOTE. THE official record, or Journal of the Proceedings of the Sixth Session, or FIFTH ANNUAL MEETING of the National Teachers' Association, held at Ogdens burg, N. Y., on the 10th, 11th and 12th of August, 1864, and such of the Addresses, Lectures, and Papers read during the session, as were received by the Committee of Publication up to this date, are printed in pamphlet form for distribution among the members who have paid to the Treasurer the annual fee of one dollar required by the Constitution. Additional copies can be obtained by members, or others, for fifty cents per copy, on application to the undersigned. The Committee were not successful in their efforts to obtain an abstract of the proceedings of the several State Teachers' Associations for 1864, to be published in this pamphlet, in pursuance of a vote of the National Association at Ogdensburg. They are authorized by the Editor of the American Journal of Education to state, that if the president, or any other officer of each of these Associations, will coöperate with him, he will prepare, before the next annual meeting, a history of all the principal Associations, National and State, which have been formed for the promotion of education in the United States. X. PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH ANNUAL MEETING AT OGDENSBURG, N. Y. Introductory Discourse before the National Teachers' Association,... XIII. COLLEGE PROFESSORSHIP OF PEDAGOGICS,. 139 145 145 175 Abstract of a Lecture by Prof. Hill, of Harvard College,. 175 XIV. NATIONAL BUREAU OF EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS,.... 178 Read before the National Teachers' Association by S. H. White,. 178 XV. ASSOCIATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES,... 185 Read before the National Teachers' Association by J. L. Bulkley, 185 The folios are in continuation of the Proceedings of 1864. t The Committee are indebted to the Editor of the American Journal of Education for this Memoir and Portrait. XI. METHODS OF TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR. INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS BEFORE THE AMERICAN TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION, At Ogdensburg, New York, August 10th, 1864, BY W. H. WELLS, President of the Association. We have abundant cause for devout gratitude, that notwithstanding our country has suffered another year of desolating war, we are again permitted to assemble in quietude and peace, for the purpose of discussing the great interests that underlie the whole fabric of our existence as a free nation. Many of those who shared with us in these counsels one year ago, have gone forth in obedience to their country's call, and are now in the field imperiling their lives in defense of the Constitution and the Union; and others have already sealed their devotion to these high interests by the sacrifice of their lives. All honor to our brave brethren in the field. Most nobly and worthily do they testify to the patriotism and loyalty of our profession, and most generously have they gone forth as our representatives, to fight and bleed in our behalf. All honor to those of our brethren who have already fallen in our stead. Their heroic deeds and their noble self-sacrifice challenge our admiration and demand of us a tribute of undying gratitude. May their loss teach us new lessons of patriotic devotion to our country, and may we learn from this costly sacrifice to place a still higher value upon our existence as a free and undivided people. The objects for which the National Teachers' Association was established have been very fully set forth in the able address of Mr. Russell, at the first meeting, in Philadelphia, and in the addresses of several of my predecessors in office. The American Institute of Instruction had its birth in New England, and its home is there. It has often been tempted to emigrate farther west; and about the time when it became "one and twenty," -it did actually break away from the old messuage, and venture as far away as Troy, taking good care, however, to keep on the east side of the Hudson, as near as possible to the limits of the old homestead. Here the coy adventurer received every kind attention. The accomplished mayor of the city extended to him the hearty greetings of the Trojans, and he was most affectionately welcomed to that far-famed Ladies' Seminary which has so long been associated with the honored name of Emma Willard. My good friend Philbrick and others before me well remember that delightful dinner at her elegant mansion, those pleasant drives in her carriage, and those delectable soirees, in which the talented and accomplished Mrs. Willard shone with all the splendor of Elizabeth Hamilton or Lady Montague. But notwithstanding all these attractions of wit and beauty, and the most abundant enjoyment of the very nectar of life among the hospitable Trojans, the adventurer returned to his native air, and no courtly invitations, no fascinating charms have ever again been able to divert him away from the hills of his New England home. There he stands, in all the strength and beauty of manhood, a monument of educational progress and of educational power. The National Teachers' Association occupies a position entirely different from that of any other existing organization. It is the offspring of the various local organizations of the country, and acts in harmony and coöperation with all of them. On this our seventh anniversary we have come to the fartherest limit of extra New England soil, to hold our sixth annual session. Though we have planted our standard in the Empire State, we do not intend to put on any imperial airs. Most heartily and deferentially do we bow to the grand patriarch of all American Educational Associations, the American Institute of Instruction. Many of us have taken special care, while providing ourselves with tickets to the National meeting, to have also a coupon attached which will enable us to attend the meeting of the American Institute at Portland, where we hope to enjoy the inspiring and healthful influences of that time honored educational fountain. Various modifications in the organization and exercises of the National Teachers' Association have, from time to time, been suggested, some of which deserve our special consideration. 1. A very general desire has been expressed by the members of the Association, that the character of the exercises should be somewhat modified, and that more of our time should be devoted to practical educational papers and discussions, without any attempt to provide a special intellectual entertainment by a programme of set lectures. The exercises of the present meeting are arranged in conformity with this recommendation. 2. Another proposed change, which has met with considerable favor, relates to the frequency of our sessions. By the original constitution, the meetings were to be held biennially, but the word biennially was changed to annually at the first meeting of the association after its organization. It is now proposed to return to the original purpose, and so amend the constitution that the meetings may hereafter be held only once in two years. It is essential to the full and complete success of the Association that every portion of the educational field should be represented at its meetings. Every State now has its own local Association. In New England, the American Institute of Instruction holds an annual session of three days. There are also numerous Teachers' Institutes and other educational gatherings, which draw largely upon the time and pecuniary resources of teachers. Under these circumstances, it is hardly to be expected that even the most earnest and devoted educators will present themselves every year at a National meeting, which requires thousands of miles of travel, and makes large demands upon their time and means. If the meetings were held biennially, they would secure a more certain attendance from all sections of the country, and it is believed they would also produce richer and more abundant fruit. 3. A third modification has been suggested, which in the estimation of some of our members would add greatly to the efficiency of the Association. It is this: that a portion of each session should be devoted to the consideration of questions of common interest to all classes of educators; and that during a portion of each session the Association should be divided into several sections, each section engaging in the discussion of questions in which only a particular class of educators are directly interested. Thus editors of educational journals might constitute one section, devoting their time to questions relating to editorial labors; college officers another section; school superintendents another; High School teachers an other; Grammar School teachers another; primary teachers another; etc. This modification would not require any change in the constitution. An experiment might first be tried by devoting a single half day to sectional exercises. If the experiment proved successful, these exercises might be increased at pleasure; if unsuccessful, they might be abandoned. I turn now to the most important object of the National Association-educational advancement. We live in an age of educational Greater improvements have been made in educational methods, since the establishment of the American Journal of Edu cation in 1826, by William Russell, than during any ten previous centuries combined. In methods of primary instruction, greater improvements have been introduced in this country during the last ten years, than during any previous century. But the field of improvement is by no means exhausted. Errors in discipline, in in struction, in organization, still abound; and while it is the priate work of all educational Associations to strive for the removal of these errors and the introduction of better systems and methods, it is emphatically our mission to labor for the accomplishment of this great end. It is not enough that we bring together the ripe fruits of all the different local Associations, and combine them in one rich feast for the enjoyment of all who may attend these meetings. We have a more important work than this to accomplish. We must devise, originate, invent. We must make constant incursions into regions which are as yet only partially explored. We must exercise the utmost sagacity in discriminating between true and false improvements, and guard with jealous care against all injurious experiments with erroneous and impracticable educational schemes. Standing on the high platform of all the experiences and improvements of the past, it is our privilege and duty to rise still higher, and unless we do this, our Association fails to accomplish its highest mission. Passing from these general remarks upon the organization and office of the National Teachers' Association, I desire now to invite your attention to a few hints in relation to a single branch of school instruction. The more I observe the prevailing systems of instruction in English grammar, the more I am convinced that we need Jimportant changes in our methods of teaching "the art of speaking and writing the English language correctly." It is all-important that pupils should become thorougly acquainted with the structure and usages of the language, and learn to discriminate accurately between correct and incorrect forms of expression, and this part of grammar is generally well taught already; but this is by no means the highest object to be sought. Every teacher knows full well that a pupil may be a very good parser, and yet not be able to write a half dozen sentences correctly; that he may be able to analyze difficult examples in prose and verse, and yet be very deficient in the art of conversation; that he may have the whole grammar book by heart, and yet not be able to make a respectable speech. We need to spend more time in cultivating a command of language; the power of expression; the ability to speak and write with correctness and ease. |