copies may be obtained for 20 cents, and this number will no doubt give material aid on the subject. There is an element of morality, of noble thoughts and aspirations in Bryant's works, which, happily, was a strong characteristic of his life. "He was my master in verse," wrote Longfellow, "and throughout my whole life I have had the warmest regard for him." This personal respect and admiration was won by his sincerity; in Bryant's death the nation lost a true poet, a friend of humanity, a man. BESSIE L. PUTNAM. SOURCES OF INSOMNIA. "The healthy alternation of work and rest is thus provided for; for the very existence of waste materials, generated during the activity of the brain-cells, tends to interfere with the absorption by the brain-tissue, from the blood, of the pabulum necessary to energetic action; but if from any cause the brain is unduly stimulated, whether by emotion, thought, or external impressions on the one hand, or by acceleration of the blood current and bloodsupply through the cerebral vessels, then the supervention of sleep will be delayed and possibly prevented for a prolonged period. In this connection, the introduction of exciting drugs into circulation, from without, or the absorption of irritating poisons formed under conditions of dis Insomnia, scarcely recognized as a pathological condi- ordered digestion, or in consequence of bodily fatigue, must tion a generation ago, has gradually become the prevail-be remembered as fruitful sources of insomnia.... ing complaint of the age. The exciting causes are, generally "The production of sleep depends mainly on two great speaking, familiar to all of us; we know that it is attributa-factors; viz., the inactive state of the brain itself, and the ble to over-work and mental worry; but it would be perhaps comparatively small quantity of blood circulating through difficult to find a better definition of sleeplessness in relation its vessels; but another important influence must not be to its causes than that given by A. Simon Eccles in an ignored-recent research has led to the conclusion that article in The National Review, by which he ascribes it to "interference with the proper rhythm of rest and work.'' The following is Mr. Eccles' explanation of the way in which the disturbing causes operate: certain materials are formed in the body during sleep which, after a time, stimulate the brain-cells and produce wakefulness, while exactly the reverse process occurs during the time in which the individual is awake, so that after "In order to appreciate the commoner causes of sleep-a period of wakefulness a storage of sleep-inducing matter lessness it is necessary to refer to the most recently adopted is effected, which when sufficiently accumulated tends to views in regard to the production of sleep and the condi- drowsiness. tions on which its proper quantity and quality depend. "This being the case it is easy to understand the exist "Formerly, sleep was supposed to be dependent on a ence of rhythm in wakefulness and sleep; but if this prostate of comparative bloodlessness of the brain, and by the cess, the manufacture of soporific material, is disturbed by condition of the circulation of the blood through that orthe introduction of stimulating influences, whether psychigan the character and duration of sleep was held to be mod-cal or physical, especially if such antagonism occurs at or ified. This view is still regarded as correct by physiologists about the waking period, it is not difficult to upset the of the present day; but since physiological chemistry has rhythmical alternation of vigil and sleep on which health thrown more light on the processes of repair and waste, it depends. Sleep is postponed, the activity of the brain and has been shown that in addition to the part played by the circulation is increased, the circumstances of ordinary life blood circulating through the brain, inducing wakefulness or sleep according to the increase or decrease in the rapidity of the circulation and the variation in the size of the bloodvessels, the actual chemical condition of the brain-cells also serves to determine the existence of sleep and wakefulness. "As the formation of clinkers in a furnace reduces the fierceness of the flames and interferes with the activity of of combustion, so the accumulation of fatigue products within the brain cells, formed during the waking hours, tends to induce unconsciousness by reducing the activity of chemical action and interchange between the blood, the vehicle of nourishment, and the brain cell needing replenishment. compel undue prolongation of wakeful hours, with the inevitable reduction of the normal period for repose, until, under the rhythmical conditions so induced, the habit of sleep is lost, and the individual is no longer able to obtain rest, even when the circumstances initially the cause of insomnia have ceased to exist. A vicious conditions of affairs such as this cannot be successfully combated by the abuse of narcotics, neither will the temporary use of soporific drugs be useful in re-establishing physiological rhythm, without recourse to the less artificial aids to the inducement of sleep indicated by Nature herself.” The Weekly EDUCATIONAL NEWS at the price of a monthly. THE UNPARDONABLE PEDAGOGICAL SIN. BY CAROLINE B. LEROW! supplied by a great endowment upon the other. How outrageous for his superior attainment to presume in any way upon the interior! Is it not the sure sign of a mean and petty soul, the contemptible spirit which leads one to the Sarcasm is the unpardonable sin in a teacher. It is "strike a fellow who can't hit back"? And so far as almost unpardonable in any person, at any time, in any child is intellectually incapable of appreciating the place, under any circumstances. "To tear the flesh like "smartness" of the verbal assault, except in its effect upon dogs" is the real significance of the strong, harsh Greek himself, it is really a wanton waste of raw material upon words, which by easy and natural transition becomes iden. the part of the teacher. tified with an intellectual and verbal laceration of a corresponding character. Sarcasm is the expression of contempt, anger, jealous bitterness, disappointment; of "malice, hardness, and all uncharitableness," in language more or less disguised, in a form of words which in letter may not offend, but which are in spirit as objectionable as they can be made. Sarcasm is employed by two classes of persons-those who really possess and need some vent for anger, contempt, or bitterness of spirit, and those who by the use ofthis form of phraseology seek to imply superiority, criticism, or patronage. It is considered to be a "smart" style of speech, and really does require, on account of its double, veiled, insinuating nature, a greater degree of intelligence, skill, and quickness than pertains to ordinary, straightforward utterance. Very much of the temptation to its use by those who are competent to handle this verbal weapon can be accounted for on this ground. A sarcastic teacher can never be a teacher in the true sense of the word. There is nothing that so hurts the child, so hampers his progress, so hinders his development as sarcasm on the part of the one from whom, above all others, he has a right to expect sympathy. The proverbial "bull in a china shop" is not more out of place-and does infinitely less mischief-than the sarcastic man or woman in the schoolroom.-Journal of Education. THE YOUNG TEACHER. BY SUPT. B. P. HOLST, BOONE, IOWA. Many difficulties usually attend the first term of school. This applies with more than ordinary force in localities. where the young teacher is placed in full charge of some thirty boys and girls, and told to manage the school according to her own idea. To realize that difficulties attend under such circumstances is often a long step toward securing success. The relation of teachers to pupils is that of youth de pending upon maturity, weakness upon strength, awkwardness upon skill, inexperience upon expertness, igno- Besides the newness and strangeness of the relations berance upon wisdom. Can anything more revolting be imagtween teacher and pupils, there are other difficulties. The ined than for this superiority of age, strength, and wis- floor is unswept; the black-boards are out of repair; several dom to browbeat youth, weakness, and ignorance? We window panes are broken; the course of study and school rebuke the boy who strikes a fellow smaller than himself. We have contempt for the fighter who will "hit a man after he is down." We profess sympathy for the "under dog in the fight." Is not the corresponding schoolroom situation still further intensified by the fact that children are helpless not aggressive, the "fight" is wholly on one side, and the victory assured from the outset? registers were left at the director's home; the text-books are diversified, and, in fact, many pupils are not supplied in this line. To straighten all these things, and many others, and have a model school the first day would perplex even a college president. In order to assist those having limited experience the following suggestions may be found of some value: 1. Apply only for such a school as you feel sure you can teach and govern. 2. You should strive to secure and maintain order from the first. More than half the failures in school work are on account of inability to govern. Setting aside cases of persistent obstinacy or disobedience, even these in the majority of instances being largely the fault of the teacher, the mistakes of the child are a natural result of his groping through blindness and dark ness into light. He blunders, makes false steps, stumbles, and falls. What more natural than that he should do so? 3. Practice the same degree of order and presence of In what other way can he ever progress, grow, and learn? mind that you would secure from your pupils. Losing The very relation of teacher and pupil is a tacit acknowl- control of one's self is the surest way to lose control over edgement that there is a great lack upon one side, to be others. 4. Do not cease to study. That you hold a teacher's They will not; and they will keep away from the institutes certificate does not release you in this respect, but requires unless they think it wise to invest so much time, energy, even greater care and consideration in educational advance- and money in propitiating some presiding deity. ment. 5. It should be your earnest wish to present every lesson in the most practical way. In order to do this, constant preparation for the recitation is required. Teachers of long and successful experience find this necessary. One mark by which these worthless institutes are generally known is that the instructors are chosen, one or more from among those to whom the county superintendent is indebted, or hopes to be indebted, for valuable political service in some past or future campaigu. The ignorance of some of these is appalling. To conceal it they keep within the limits of the most elementary text-boks, as tomatter, and as to method-well, the language of literature is inadequate to portray it, and we do not like to admit any other to the pages of The Journal. We are often told when protesting against this murder of the innocents, that "it is all these teachers can understand." That it is not all they can understand is manifest when the institute of the 8. Consult freely the course of study. It will help you other sort is visited, when an instructor who knows someto build up the school. See to it that the school records thing and has the art of giving utterance to it, stands beare kept properly for each day of the term, and be critically fore the teachers. It is not the teachers who are the incacareful to guard against tardiness and irregular atten- pables. They always meet with a glad response any skillful presentation of the best that is known in the realm of 7. Take some educational journal; attend teachers' meetings; read books on teaching; and make it a point to attend regularly at the county normal. All these are powerful agencies to secure success. dance. 9. There are other marks by which these worthless institutes Consult with parents and the directors about unusual teaching. cases of discipline before you take action. Let an earnest zeal and a sincere desire prompt you to improve your may be known. Among them is the indifference of the school. Exercise earnestness in both discipline and struction, and your beginning will be full of promises. WILL THE COMING TEACHER ATTEND THE in-county superintendent to the work done in the classes. He may be present at the opening session, but is "at his office" or elsewhere for the rest of the day, or most of it. He ought to follow, as nearly as possible, the work of every instructor. Again, the instructors themselves take no interest in any If all the teachers who attend county institutes were ex-work but their own. So far as practicable they ought to amined upon this question, the majority would answer it know what the others are doing. An instructor that never substantially as follows: "No, he will not, unless such listens to any voice but his own loses many hints that attendance is necessary in order to secure the certificate of would improve his own teaching. qualification required by the law, or to secure or retain But it is needless to point out in detail the marks of the good will of the superintendent." This statement in-good and poor institutes. One cannot breathe the air of dicates the commanding purpose which impels a large num- the one without feeling inspired, nor can he enter the other without a feeling of depression. ber of teachers to attend. It Now this is no valid criticism upon the institute. The Journal has entered upon a campaign against the may be true that a majority of the teachers have so weak worthless institutes in the country in the interest of the and torpid an interest in the real functions of the schools great mass of voiceless teachers upon whom this wrong is and in learning more rational processes by which it may perpetrated. Most of the conscious sufferers are intelligent perform its office, that they would not, of their own motion, aspiring women, who have not yet learned to defend themattend even an ideal institute, for the improvement of their selves, and who have not the courage to enter their protest. teaching. But there is a wail of complaint coming up from The men can take care of themselves. They have votes. the saving minority who do feel the importance of the We take no pleasure in bringing to view one of the school to the children, and who seek the institute for help in making it a better means for their education. They ask for bread and receive too often only a stone. Why should they voluntarily repeat this experience year after year skeletons in our educational closet. But we can see no other way to hasten its banishment. We are told that never before were teachers so hungry for inspiration and boys is to remind them occasionally, "Not to forget that they are gentlemen." They will straighten up at once, with a different feeling entirely. At least I find it so with my boys—and I always treat them as if they were gentlemen. I tell them sometimes how proud I am of them when they do some particular praiseworthy act." And this last, how necessary, for some teachers seem to guidance. They are ready to pass on to something better state's, and violations are punished, as you know, by susthan the mechanical formalism that has been trying for pension or expulsion. All I have to do is to enforce them years to satisfy this aspiration for better conceptions and if necessary. One way I have of restraining my large better ways, by the discussion of the fine distinction be tween tweedledum and tweedledee. Why, we listened to an institute lecturer on physiology, recently, who devoted his energy to the discussion of such momentous questions as the reasons for the preference of the terms chylefaction andchymefactiou to chylefication and chymefication! He had, seemingly, been studying a medical dictionary, and the whole exercise was a naming of the technical terms used in des- be on the lookout for faults more than they are for virtues cribing the digestive process, and a quiz upon the same. -and what is more exasperating to a high-spirited girl or There was very little evidence that the teachers had a clear boy than to have some body constantly seeking to find out notion of the steps in the process which they were trying to all the bad and ignore all the good? The boy knows there This was one of the less objectionable of this class is some good in him, and he rebels, because of lack of apof exercises which we have in mind. The day is approach-preciation. It a teacher would only take more pains to ing when the refinements of form will cease to take prece- seek out the good and command it, she would be surprised to find that the good overbalances the bad nearly every time. name. dence over the substance which the form embodies. This Then a teacher must always command respect. she cannot do if she has any disagreeable habit. She must be extremely neat in her attire. It is better to wear quiet colors, as color often has much to do with the quieting of some children's nerves. I have heard that a teacher who always dressed in dark green had the adoration of her pupils. You know there is something restful to the eye in green, and I have an idea that she owed a large part of her success in knowing how to dress.-Mrs. A.E, C. Maskell in The School Journal. HOW TO GOVERN A SCHOOL. A teacher who cannot govern himself, cannot govern a school. If a teacher carries a restless spirit into the school room, she will find restless pupils. If she shows anger, impatience, carelessness, untidiness, she is met with the same. So she must always keep calm, cool, collected. A number of rules do more harm than good. They make a pupil feel as if he was shut up in state's prison, crushed under foot by laws that rasp instead of benefit. The best teacher I ever knew had only one rule-and that was hardly a rule, the yoke of it was so easy because of the teacher's interest in her work. This rule was, "Always keep busy," "for," says she, "if I can only keep my pupils at work, they will have no time for mischief." "But how about outside?" asked one. "Do your large boys ever swear, smoke, quarrel, fight, mark or deface school buildings?" "No, never," smiled the teacher, "for that is all covered with our school laws. They are not my rules but the A BIG GIFT FOR THE UNIVERSITY.-Provost C. C. Harrison, of the University of Pennsylvania has announced that he has received an additional contribution of $50,000 for the university from a generous friend, whose name is for the present withheld. The special object for which the money is to be use is also withheld until the next meeting of the Board of Trustees. New schools will be erected in the twentieth ward; on Baltimore avenue and 46 street; on Porter and also 5th sts, twenty-third ward Philadelphia. Plans are made for new schools in section 36, 25, 31, and 16, all improvements. A new three story school house will be built on the corner 5th and Porter's streets, and an addition to school 17th. street and Wood. $85,000 has been appropriated for a school-house at 54th street and Lansdowne avenue. Frank Miles Day is preparing plans for a $150,000 club house for the students of the University of Pennsylvania. EDUCATIONAL NEWS. A WEEKLY EDUCATIONAL JOURNAL PUBLISHED BY THE EDUCATIONAL NEWS CO., Philadelphia, Pa. Lock Box 1258. ALBERT N. RAUB, RATE OF SUBSCRIPTION. (Postage prepaid by Publisher.) Single Subscription, per year, in advance, Entered at the Post-Office at Philadelphia, Pa., as Second-Class Matter. Office 1020 Chestnut Street, Room 2. SEE THIS OFFER. PREMIUM BOOKS. Editor $1 50 EDITORIAL NOTES. We notice by an exchange that New York now by law permits the State Superintendent, at his discretion, to issue a teacher's certificate without examination to any college or university graduate of three years' experience as a teacher. This is known as a college graduate's certificate and may be revoked at any time for cause. If this statement is correct it is wise legislation. Pennsylvania has done something 7 similar, but we think in a much narrower way, in permitting her State Superintendent to grant a permanent certificate to college graduates, but to those only who have had three years' experience in the public schools. This is our recollection of the law. If it is correct, then Pennsylvania's law is narrow because it gives the certificate to a college graduate of three years' public school experience while it shuts We give below the names of twenty-six extra good stand-out quite as able and presumably abler men who are ard books, any one of which will be sent free as a premium to each subscriber to the WEEKLY EDUCATIONAL NEWS who will send $1.50 in advance for the paper for one year and 10 cents to pay postage on the book. the professors of colleges and the teachers of these graduates. Indeed, if literally construed it would shut out the State Superintendent himself unless the Normal Schools are to be considered public schools, for as we recall it his experience has been wholly in Academy, College and Normal School. The law also shuts out the most highly salaried school officer in the commonwealth, the Superintendent of the schools of Philadelphia, who is ranked among the most effi cient educators and teachers of this country, for he has had no experience as a teacher in the public schools of the State, unless as before stated, the Normal Schools are recognized as public schools. Why is not experience as a teacher quite as valuable in the private school as in the public school? Why is not experience as a teacher as valuable if acquired in the state of New Jersey, or Delaware, or New York, as if acquired in Pennsylvania? Would the state insist that a doctor or a minister must acquire his experience in Pennsylvania in order to have a practicing diploma in that state. The law is narrow and it ought to be amended, that For $4.00, we will send the Forum and the weekly the best teachers may be secured let them hail from EDUCATIONAL NEws one year, the cash must accompany the order. where they may. The time was when a large per For three dollars, we win send the EDUCATIONAL NEWS centage of the Normal Schools of the state had for weekly for one year, and Macaulay's History of England their Principals men whose experience and training ols, cloth, worth alone $375, had been secured chiefly outside of Pennsylvania, but |
