he will question about again and again, always spending some part of every hour over the back lessons. If the boys are old enough to take things down correctly, he will dictate to them a vocabulary of the marked words, and make them learn it. He will have the marked sentences learnt by heart, and will practice the pupil in variations of them. . He will dictate for translation into the foreign language sentences involving the marked words and constructions. When one of his marked words or constructions recurs, he will require his pupils to point out where they have met with it before. His pupils will thus by degrees get familiarized with a part, and that the most vital part, of the language. Rate of Progress. One of the most interesting and most difficult problems in teaching is this—How long should the beginner be kept to the rudiments? If the boy is pushed on, he goes floundering about in the higher parts of the subject, and perhaps never knows any thing as he ought to know it. But, on the other hand, if the teacher delays long in the elementary part, the boys get bored and discouraged. They want to 'get on,' and to have some new ideas. Then, too, in some subjects the elementary parts seem clear only to those who have a conception of the whole. As Diderot says (I quote at second-hand from Mr. Keane, in Quarterly Journal of Education, Oct. 1873),—*Il faut être profond dans l'art ou dans la science pour en bien posséder les éléments.' 'C'est le milieu et la fin qui éclaircissent les ténèbres du commencement.' ('Le Neveu de Rameau.') This is so strongly felt in Cambridge that I believe the practice now is to ‘rush' men through their subjects and go back to them for elaboration. This plan would have found little favor twenty years ago. “Slow and sure' was then supposed to be the true motto. Dictation. Dictation should be done in copy-books, not on loose sheets of paper, If only selected words are written, and these are put down in columns, there will not be much difficulty in correction. I like the plan of giving out chalk pencils when the writing of the dictation is over, and letting each pupil open his book and underline in his copy-book every word he has misspelt. The leaves of the copy-book may be creased down the middle, and the right hand column left for the re-writing of words spelt wrong in the column to the left. From time to time the pupils may be questioned about the words in the right hand column. For exercises, there are many devices by which the pupil may be trained to observation, and also be confirmed in his knowledge of back lessons. The great teacher, F. A. Wolf, used to make his own children ascertain how many times such and such a word occurred in such and such pages. As M. Bréal says, children are collectors by nature; and, acting on this hint, we might say, "Write in column all the dative cases on pages a to c, and give the English and the corresponding nominatives.' Or, "Copy from those pages all the accusative-prepositions with the accusatives after them.' Or, .Write out the past participles, with their infinitives.' Or, “Translate such and such sentences, and explain them with reference to the context.' Or, questions may be asked on the subject-matter of the book. There is no end to the possible varieties of such exercises. Preparation by Himself. M. Michel Bréal, in his 'Quelques Mots sur l'Instruction Publique,' remarks that all learning is often supposed to be done in the absence of the teacher, whose function becomes that of an examiner appointed to ascertain whether the lesson has been properly learnt. It would be more reasonable to consider the 'prepared' construing lesson, as Professor Pillans would have us consider uncorrected exercises, mere raw material, which is to be worked up into knowledge. But then comes the difficulty. The boys will prepare their work very ill, or not at all, if they think they may not be put on, or may not be punished even in case of failure. So a great amount of the form-master's thought and energy is expended in testing the boys' preparation and awarding marks for it or punishment for the want of it. Some men spend years in struggling to get due preparation from the boys, and are at length obliged to acquiesce in failure. Perhaps all the time the master has been demanding impossibilities. The boys, he thinks, should have made out before they come to him the meaning of the piece set, and should be able to construe it with tolerable fluency. But if the boys had done their best during the whole of the time set apart for preparation, they would perhaps have only made out a small part, and would not have prepared any thing like a translation even of that. In point of fact, many of the boys do 'prepare' the work after their fashion. They go through it, and turn out in the dictionary any odd-looking words. This is their notion of preparation, and whether the piece is long or short makes little or no difference; so the master finds that he can increase or decrease the quantity of preparation, but can not affect its quality. Mr. Oppler has told us that his plan is to let the boys make out the piece with him, and I have no doubt this is the best way, with young boys at all events. If the construing is easy, the master may question it out of the boys, hardly telling them any thing. Unknown words he may give on the blackboard, but it will be found that many words will be recollected which the boys, if left to themselves, would turn out in the dictionary; for boys left to themselves do not use their heads so readily as their fingers. When a piece of the foreign language has been worked through in this way, it may be “prepared' for fluent construing, and the boys may also be required to know the substance of it, which is quite distinct from knowing the construing. On the subject of work done in the absence of the master, see Bréal, Quelques Mots,” &c., pp. 188, ff. The conclusion he arrives at is this: ‘La force mortrice est hors de la classe, laquelle marche à la remorque de l'étude' (p. 188); and yet c'est la confection, et non la correction, du devoir qu'il importe au professeur de diriger.' (p. 194.) True Student Life. Studies and Conduct : Letters, Essays, and Thoughts, on the relative value of Studies INDEX TO SPECIAL EDITION. 0 Abstract Thought, 149, 447, 457. Bach, method on piano, 352. BACON, FRANCIS, 71, 92, Essay on Discourse, 177. Essay on Riches, 255. Essay on Studies, 103. Essay on Travel, 235. Bacon, Nathaniel, 140. BARROW, Isaac, 13, 93, 94. Beauty, sense of, 47, 393, In age, 397. Behavior, in children, 316. Benevolence in trifles, 136. Bent, the Natural, 148, 107. Bequeathing property, 263. Beza, remarkable memory, 90. BIBLE, Estimate of, Humbolt, 273. Sedgwick, 228. Jerome, 293. Southey, 101 Newman, 274. Taylor, 286. Raumer, 809. Whately, 108. Bible, influence on nations, 274. Biblical History, 157, 361. Biographies, 50, 229. Biology, 470, 478. Birth-day festivals, 331. Boarding-schools for girls, 364. BODLEIGH, SIR THOMAS, 71, Letter to Francis Bacon, 71. Body, 14, 44. Boethius, 372 Bolingbroke, 12, 139. Book and Voice, as a teacher, 22, 529, 544. Bacon, 108, 110, 205. Herschel, 205. Barrow, 94. Hillhouse, 208. Burleigh, 74. Locke, 222. Carlyle, 203. Macaulay, 206. Channing, 207 Masson, 27. Choate, 206. Milton, 205, 223. Cicero, 209. Moon, 208. Cowley, 208. Newman, 530. DeQuincey, 193. Potter, 215. Everett, 211. Rice, 210. Fuller, 91. Sedgwick, 228. Franklin, 213. Verplanck, 219. Grimke, 230. Watts, 216. Hall, 82, 84,210. Whately, 104. Heincius, 215. Winthrop, 209, Book education, 28. Book-learning, 212. Books, care of, 229. Books, difficulty of recommending, 31, 203, 370 Botany, as a school study, 359, 491. Henfrey, 469. Wilson, 49, Hooker, 472. Boyle, Sir Robert, 227. Boy-training, Greek idea of Brothers and Sisters, 312. BROUGHAM, HENRY, 163, Letter to Z. Macaulay, 161. Training for public speaking, 162. Teachers of mankind, 164. Advice to his Son, 75. Advice to a Friend, 95 Model for English Student, in oratory, 162. Conversational Power, 187. Letters to a Young Man, 203. Ambition avoided-Modesty-Wealth, 528. Female Education, 289. Sisterhoods, 402. Education and the Teacher, 22. Books and Reading, 207. Letters to his Nephew, 130. Letters to his Son, 125. Professional and oratorical training, 166, 538. Macaulay, 440. Martineau, 445. Southey, 443. Temple, 417. Tyndall, 481. Vaughan, 446. Whewell, 458. Letters on education of his daughter, 379. Competition, 441. Learned by translating from other languages, 165. Promoted by writing out notes of lectures, 495. Ambition, 124, 523. Industry, 71. Inferiors, 76, 137, 327. Lending, 237, 266. Modesty, 70,293,322,370. Money, 249. Objects in life, 147. Occupation, 79, 107 Order, 90, 247 Profanity, 70. Profession, 79, 97. Profligacy, 184. Reverence, 67. Sarcasm, 128. Sensuality, 95, 97. Silence, 80, 184, 528. Sleep, 81. Sunday, 84 Travel, 71, Independant, 95. Wife, 75. Steele, 184 Swift, 179. Taylor, 88. Mackintosh, 368. Dacier, Madame, 336. Value of morning hours, 397. 1450 DeMaistre, on education of Girls, 381, 398. Endowments, 430, 528. English Bible, 2 English Classical Scholarships, 437. English Language, 208, 423, 429. English Literature, 208. English and Scotish Universities, 499, 516. Envy, and covetousness, 313. Erasmus, 223, 373. Esteem of others, 67, 125, 142, 370. Ethics, 511. Euclid, 198, 461, Repugnance to, 490. Eunapius, at Athens, 538. Evening reading, 365. EVERETT, EDWARD, 211. Books, Libraries, Reading, 212. Example, 53. Excursions, 159. Exercise, 37. Experimental Sciences, 420, 469, 490,507. Experience and knowledge, 14, 89. Extempore speaking, 162, 165, Perfected into Oratory, 163. Eyes or No Eyes, or Seeing, 289, 486. Facts, the basis of scientific induction, 491. Fairness, 318. Faith, 275. Dress, 81. Fagging, 37. Familiarity, not accuracy, 501. Family Government, 296. Family Reading, 223. Family, School of, 23, 295, 369. FARADAY, MICHAEL, 449, Existing education does not train the judgment, Natural science develops laws, 452. Fancies, 94. Fasting, rule, 293. Father, 'duty in education, 306, 342. Fear of the Lord, 67, 101, 135, 283, 290. Fear, or Cowardice, 69, 311. Fear, as a Motive, 69, 96, 101. Feltham, 223. Female Education, 30, 289. Belongs to the Family, 307. Female Employments, 399. Jacobs, 437. Fencing, 136, 158. Johnson, 15. Fenelon, 297, 307, 323, 332, 340, 344. Lalor, 20, 84. Fiction, Works of, 229, Raumer, 304, 338. Whately, 118. Lowe, 121. Field Sports and Excursions, 158. Martineau, 445. Flowers, studied with an artist's eye, 359, 491, Botanical or scientific aspect, 491. Fliedner, Pastor, 399. Fluency in speaking, 468. Newman, 529. Food, 85, 316, 321. Paley, 15. Foreign languages, important to a knowledge of na- Parr, 17. [tive, 501. Pope, 11, 421. Forms, ignorance of, 247. Raumer, 335. Foundations, 480, 527. Ramsden 17, 19. FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN, 212, 249, Poor Richard-or the Way to Wealth, 249. Indebtedness to Books, 213. Short, 13. Fraternal feelings, 313. Free services, 209. South, 13, 92. French Language, 138. Stewart, 21. Freshmen, at Athens University, 539. Wayland, 22. Friendship, School of, 27. Whately, 18, 124. Frivolity, and Ignorance, 384. Wheweil, 11, 458. FROUDE, JAMES ANTHONY, 515, Address to Students of St. Andrews, 515. Ancient English and Scotch Universities, 516. Object of Modern Schools-High and Low, 518. Education should prepare for occupations, 519. Higher education should be less classical and or- namental, 521. Literature as a profession, 523. Fry, Elizabeth, 411. FULLER, THOMAS, 89, Memory--Books-Travel, 90. |