120 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



a " School for Observation " appears to be 

 original to the St. Louis system. This school 

 for observation differs from the " Model 

 School " in that the Normal scholars here 

 simply observe the process of managing a 

 school as conducted by highly-competent 

 teachers, while in the Model School they 

 make experiments in teaching. The school 

 selected for observation is one of the district 

 schools of the city. The members of the 

 senior and middle classes of the Normal 

 School are sent regularly to the "School 

 for Observation " in order to acquire a more 

 thorough knowledge of their future profes- 

 sion. 



The experiment begun two years ago, of 

 establishing a Kindergarten in connection 

 with one of the public schools, has, accord- 

 ing to the Report, proved a decided success. 

 Like every effort toward new and improved 

 methods in education, the project, at the 

 outset, met with strong opposition. It was 

 urged that children enough would not attend 

 to justify the expense. The younger chil- 

 dren of three and four could not be suffi- 

 ciently interested ; small children would not 

 attend regularly ; the training would unfit for 

 ordinary primary work; the physical exer- 

 cises would be injurious to health ; and so 

 on, to the end of the string of imaginary 

 difficulties that objectors are forever ready 

 to throw in the way. The result was that, 

 when the school opened, the room was 

 quickly filled. At the beginning of the sec- 

 ond year nearly all the children of the pre- 

 vious year reentered, and a second room of 

 equal capacity was found necessary, and 

 this also was filled. The average attend- 

 ance was ninety-five per cent., exceeding 

 that in tlie primary rooms. The children 

 advanced to the primary department made 

 rapid progress in its studies, excelling rather 

 than falling behind their fellows. The phys- 

 ical exercise produced a marked improve- 

 ment in the health and general appearance 

 of the pupils; and, finally, it has been de- 

 termined to establish Kindergartens in two 

 more of the public schools. 



This and other parts of the Report show 

 what preceding reports from the same 

 source had previously shown, that the au- 

 thorities in St. Louis are alive to the neces- 

 sity for improvement in our methods of 

 primary instruction, and it would be well 



if school-ofiicers in Eastern towns could be 

 charged with a similar spirit. The streets 

 of New York, for example, are swarming 

 with children from three to six years old, 

 receiving at the most impressible period of 

 their lives the lessons that only the streets 

 can teach. If, in place of these abominable 

 associations, they were gathered into Kinder- 

 gartens, the formation of habits that later 

 become actual obstacles in education would 

 be in great part prevented, while a positive 

 advantage would be gained in the training 

 which such schools afford. 



PUBLICATIONS EECEIVED. 



Reference and Dose Book. By C. Henri 

 Leonard. 16mo, 80 pages. Price, 75 cents ; 

 and Vest Pocket Anatomist. By same. 

 16mo. Price, 50 cents. Detroit, 1875. 

 Pp. 56. 



The Origin of the Sun's Heat and the 

 Chemical Constitution of the Matter of his 

 System. By William Contie. Troy, 1875. 

 Pp. 23. 



Tinnitus Aurium. A Consideration of 

 the Causes upon which it depends, and an 

 Attempt to explain its Production in Accord- 

 ance with Physical Principles. By Samuel 

 Theobald, M. D. Baltimore: Innes & Co., 

 Printers. 1875. Pp. 13. 



Circulars of Information of the Bureau 

 of Education. No. 6. Washington : Gov- 

 ernment Printing-office, 1875. Pp. 208. 



On the Flexure of Continuous Girders. 

 By Mansfield Merriman, C. E. 1875. Pp. 12. 



Printing for the Blind. Reply to the 

 Report of a Committee of the American 

 Social Science Association. By the Trus- 

 tees of the American Prin ting-House for the 

 Blind. Louisville, Ky., 1875. Pp. 16. 



Have we Two Brains ? Soul and Instinct, 

 Spirit and Intellect. Address by Rector of 

 St. Mary's Church, Station 0, N. Y. 1875. 

 Pp. 12. Price, 10 cents. 



Alimentation of Infants and Young Chil- 

 dren. By B. F. Dawson, M. D. New York: 

 William Wood & Co. 1875. Pp. 22. 



Catalogue of the Iowa State University 

 for 1874-'75. 



