would be extremely difficult, and in many cases quite impossible. It is precisely on this ground, to wit that whatever is necessary to the mutual welfare of the state and nation, should have the mutual care and attention of each in their proper spheres, that we urge education as a national, and not alone as a state duty. And hence we embrace this early opportunity to urge the consideration of the subject upon the national mind. We ask American citizens everywhere to study the relations which the absence of common schools sustains to the great rebellion. We ask them to remember that according to the census of 1850, there were nearly half a million of the native white population of the revolted states, over 20 years of age, who could neither read nor write. We ask them to remember that the number of legal voters in the United States who are in the same deplorable state of ignorance is greater than the usual majority by which a President is elected. We ask them to note the fact that where there are no common schools there are the demons of treason and secession, and that where the schoolmaster is abroad there are loyalty and patriotism such as were never before recorded in the annals of history. has not the sanction of usage. Any system which does not harmo utilitarian tendencies certain to be swept all-pervading tide of gress. We have refer a system of popular system of education fo rather than for the fav the latter need not our Among the new thir tion whose importance o sideration, is what has the system of "object It has been said that th of this system are not they have been practis ages, and have led to vances which have bee science; that we have re nothing new when we h hered to them; and that advocates of "object are merely making a n tion of old principles t education, where before been most unaccountably There is some truth in yet the advocates of t differ among themselves ciples as well as in practi we have in some schools t method, as taught in Engl and there is also growi American method, differin of its features, from the We can best illustrate t ence in principle betwee methods, by referring to th THE OLD AND THE NEW IN EDU- ent modes of teaching el CATION. reading. The English mo WE are not easily induced to run only adheres to the old after new things in education, merely because they are novelties, neither are we of that other class who abjure everything which teaching the letters of the before words, but insists ginning with what are c elementary sounds of th his is in violation of the principles f the object system, as regarded y the advocates of the American ethod. The American method teaches lementary reading by beginning vith objects that are well known to he child-followed by words as he representatives of the object; and one of its fundamental principles is, that ideas should be presented before words-that the thing signified should be apprehended by the mind, before the arbitrary sign is taught. Here is a principle, susceptible of very wide application in building up a system of education; and the American system claims that it is the basis of the only true theory of mental develop ment. But let this whole subject of object teaching, both as to its principles and its practice, be thoroughly discussed by our educators, without prejudice or partiality, and fairly tested in the school-room, and we shall settle down, eventually, upon the true system. The English method, slightly modified, and as practised in the Oswego Schools, is explained in the excellent works of Mr. Sheldon; what is more peculiarly the American system, is set forth in the works of Mr. Wilson and Mr. Calkins. The works of Mr. Wells and Mr. Welch will also be found useful in aiding the teacher to arrive at correct conclusions upon this important subject. We shall again, from time to time, refer to this interesting subject-"Object teaching"; and we shall discuss again and again, THE OLD AND THE NEW IN EDUCATION." TEACHERS' INSTITUTE IN CALI OUR FORNIA. 21 UR thanks are due to S. I. C. Swezey, Esq., of San Fran cisco, for a copy of the "Proceedings of the California State Teachers' Institute," a pamphlet of 166 pages. This Institute was held during six days of the week commencing on Monday, May 4th. It is recognized by law as one of the educational agencies of the State, the Superintendent of Common Schools being ex-officio the President thereof. Some conception of the magnitude and importance of this meeting may be formed when we state that there were 463 registered members present, representing 31 counties, and including four from the territory of Nevada. The lectures and discussions embraced a wide range of topics in nearly every department of education, and the entire proceedings evince a degree of talent and zeal, tempered with discretion, that confers great credit on the educational head and heart of California, while it promises the most auspicious results for the Golden State. The principal lectures were by Superintendent Swett, on the "Duties of the State to Public Schools," and "Concerning Common Sense in Teaching;"-both of which prove that Mr. Swett is a man of “ common sense,"-by the Rev. Professor Willey, of the College of California, on "The Place and Relations of the College in our System of Education," which shows that Professor Willey sustains the right "relations" to the right "place,”and by Mr. Swezey, on "Normal has been there, and speaks whereof men our auriferous siste he knows. The lecture of Mr. become as rich in moral Swezey is thorough and exhaustive, as she is now in mineral and ought to be widely circulated We bid the noble 463 on both sides of the mountains. God speed. Under the guidance of such EDITOR'S MISCELLANY. WE understand that the acts of the Legislature of Western Virginia will make a compactly printed volume of some two hundred and fifty pages. Among others is a very superior and inherently efficient free school system. Think of it-the Massachusetts or New York school system on the soil of what was once the "Old Domi nion." What a mighty stride towards-shall we say civilization? -yes, for such it is! If the legislature had done nothing but inaugurate that free school system, it would have merited the lasting gratitude of every man and woman within the State who realizes that the perpetuity of all liberal and Christian government rests for its foundation on the intelligence of the million, and that without the one the other is never for a moment secure. Nothing so separates the dross from the gold as the fire of the furnace. Who can tell what the Great Rebellion shall profit America? Who is able to recount what development War shall give to our favored Land? Shall not the schoolboy of to-day live to see a district school everywhere in the South? And the apparatus of the schoolroom familiar to the eyes of every Southern child? And the SchoolMaster, even the radical New England School-Master, at home every hamlet, and a very welcome visitor at every hearth of the Sunny, now suffering, South? in A MODERN CRITIC says we need some one to correct our pronunciation of the Lat hides from us the genius guage, renders its quant telligible, and leaves us conception of the intonat "vivifies the soul of wor "WHAT," asked t master, "is the term appl crime of possessing two one time ?" "Bigamy, the scholar. "And if ther than two, what should yo than two, what should yo then chancing to cast his a map of Utah that deco wall, he smiled, and confid swered: "Brighamy, sir! The scholar reflected a MR. C. W. H. Cathca Commissioner of Common for Ohio, who entered duties in February last, his resignation on the 11t He has since vember. rested on a charge of com a conspiracy to release th prisoners confined at Cam and in the State Prison. I is said to be beyond all It is a singular circumsta such a man should have b vated to such an office in th loyal State of Ohio. E. E Esq., editor of the Ohio tional Monthly, has been ap as his successor. THE College of New Je Princeton, has nearly receive learn, the amount required it on an enduring financial b THE work of securing endownents for the New Jersey Colleges s going forward very successfully. Through the untiring efforts of President Campbell, of Rutgers, ided by his able Professors and the many zealous friends of old Rutgers, the amount subscribed has reached nearly $100,000 for that estimable seat of learning, and it will soon be beyond the fluctuations attendant upon commercial revulsions. WE are gratified to announce that John J. Blair, Esq., of Warren Co., has endowed the Chair of Physical Geography and Geology in the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, in the sum of $30,000. This is the chair so ably filled by the distinguished Physical Geographer Professor Arnold Guyot. Henceforth Physical Geography is to take its place as an indispensable element in liberal education. LARGE beds of graphite have recently been discovered in Siberia. This is good news for artists and men of business. Since the mines of Cumberland have in a great measure given out, our lead pencils are none of the best. AN absent-minded professor, in going out of the gateway of his college, ran against a cow. In the confusion of the moment, he raised his hat, and exclaimed: "I beg your pardon, Madam." Soon after, he stumbled against a lady in the street. In sudden recollection of his former mishap, he called out: "Is that you again, you brute ?" BATES COLLEGE, at Lewiston, Me., now has two hundred and seventeen students of both sexes in the seminary and collegiate departments. The college is conducted on the Oberlin plan. Some of its friends in Boston have promised it fifty thousand dollars when an equal sum is raised in other quarters, and 23 SOME learned chemists have been trying to find out the cause of the color of salmon, which is not half so important as to know how to catch them. Dr. Davy Macon says: "Their color is partially due to the nature of their food, and a special secreting power." A safe opinion. THE late Lord Stowell was as fluent in Latin as English, and very generally used that language in his after-dinner conversations. We doubt if his guests always understood him. THREE THINGS.-Three things to love-courage, gentleness, and af fection. Three things to admire— intellectual power, dignity, and gracefulness. Three things to hate cruelty, arrogance, and ingratitude. Three things to delight inbeauty, frankness, and freedom. Three things to wish for-health, friends, and a cheerful spirit. Three things to pray for-faith, peace, and purity of heart. Three things to like cordiality, good humor, and mirthfulness. Three things to avoid-idleness, loquacity, and flipThree things to culpant jesting. tivate-good books, good friends, and good humor. THE number of legal voters in the United States who are unable to read and write is greater than the ordinary majority by which a President is elected. THE Constitution for the incoming State of Nevada requires the Legislature to pass laws compelling the attendance at school of all the children between the ages of 6 and 14 years within the borders of the State. Strange it is that we must look towards the land of the setting sun for the rising of the star of hope and promise to the full fruition of our free school system. MRS. CHAUDRON, of Mobile, has prepared a series of reading books for schools, the matter being taken LITERARY NOTICES. WATSON'S HANDBOOK OF CALISTHENICS AND GYMNASTICS. By J. MADISON WATSON. 8vo. Cloth. $1.60, prepaid by mail. Published by SCHERMERHORN, BANCROFT & Co., 180 Grand Street, New York; 25 North Fourth Street, Philadelphia. PART FIRST of this volume, under the head of Vocal Gymnastics, embraces thorough and practical articles on Respiration and Phonetics, a masterly treatise on Elocution, and Recitations in Verse. PART SECOND, the most extended and varied course of exercises in Calisthenics ever published. PART THIRD, an exhaustive course of exercises in Gymnastics, with wands, dumb-bells, Indian clubs, and hand-rings. This is the only gymnastic drill-book, with words of command, and classes of movements, systematically arranged, in any language. It is the first work that seizes the theories of educators and philanthropists, "the forms of things unknown," and "turns them into shapes." In a word, it presents, in a simple and well-defined form, the means of rendering physical culture easy and certain to the rich and the poor, to persons of all ages, either individually or in classes. Exercises for the lungs, the voice, the organs of speech, the joints, and all the muscles, are strictly classified, involving a prescribed number of positions and elementary movements, with an almost. innumerable variety of combinations. These movements are executed simultaneously by several persons, in exact time, in connection with counting, phonetics, recitations, or music, either vocal or instrumental, thus insuring geniality and generous emulation alike in the school, the family, and the gymnasium. NINETEEN PIECES OF APPROPRIATE PIANOFORTE MUSIC are introduced. Those not composed expressly for this work are selected and arranged from the choicest productions of the ablest masters by the well known and eminent musicians and composers, G. F. BRISTOW and H. B. DODWORTH. The wood-cuts are more numerous and better executed than those of any corresponding work, either gymnastic or military. They are from original designs, illustrating positions actually taken, and movements executed by the author. printed on fine and heavy tinted paper. The typography is unrivalled. It is A work of equal merit has seldom been produced. It has already been adopted by the Board of Education of the Public Schools of New York City; and many orders have been received before the book came from the press. WELLS'S GRADED SCHOOL. Supt. of the Chicago Public Schools. Price $1.00 By W. H. WELLS, by mail. A. S. Barnes & Burr, New York. Tuis work embraces copious practical directions to teachers, observations on Primary Schools, School Discipline, School Records, etc., etc. Many of our best teachers, at least the best minds, have no well defined conception of what a graded school is, and what the course of study should be; hence they work on no plan. circumstances determining the course, and precluding all hope of a proper classification and graduated system of training. To such we commend Mr. Wells's timely treatise as one that will organize, divide, systematize, and render fully operative, school-room labor. THE NORMAL: or METHODS OF TE COMMON BRANCHES-ORTHOEPY, O GRAMMAR, GEOGRAPHY, ARITHMETIC CUTION. By ALFRED HOLBROOK, Pri South-Western Normal School, Lel Price $1.25. Barnes & Burr, New Y THE plan of teaching spelling is worth deration of progressive teachers. The finitions; improved methods of teachi allotted to Grammar includes classifica gy, Syntax, and Analysis, to primary a classes. In Geography, the entire outline of t thods of teaching primary, secondary, a classes is embraced. The instructions for Map Drawing a gestive. Mental, Written, and what is termed Arithmetic are taken in order, and w novel methods of demonstration that to attract the attention of teachers. Elocution has received its full meed This book is brought out in the unif BROOKS, A.M.. Professor of Mathem Mr. Brooks, in presenting his Normal handsomely acknowledges his obligati and to other works which have followed brought to the task of preparing his reflection, and several years' successful as a teacher. His method of treatment ductive and Deductive, embracing A Synthesis. His arrangement is logical; and demonstrations are simple and clear The following feature are claimed as this work: new definitions of Numbe Last Common Multiple, Ratio, etc.; ne cise method of explaining Greatest Con sor; the development of Fractions by t methods; the Analytic and Synthetic developing Involution and Evolution greater attention to Involution as a pre Evolution. This book is the third in Mr. Brooks being preceded by Normal Primary Arit Normal Mental Arithmetic. These w notice at some future time. The following letter, ad shows how these valuable to the author of Willson's F are esteemed in Pennsylvan HIGH SCHOOL, LANCASTE November 12, 1863 DEAR SIR:-Your series of Readers do a good work in relieving our comp and academies from certain pressure bears upon them. The Educational prog age seems to demand that natural histo natural sciences be introduced into thes branches of study that deserve to rank ance next to the old gentleman's " Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic. |