96 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



<? 



OUB SCHOOLS. 



tJR Common 



S c ho o 1 s have 

 been often call- 

 ed the glory 

 of New Eng- 

 land, and truly 

 they lie at the 

 foundation of 

 our New Eng- 

 land character. 

 It is the quick- 

 ened intellect 

 which gives to 

 the men and 

 ■women of New Eng- 

 land the activity and 

 energy and self-reliance 

 by which they are distinguished 

 wherever they are found. They 

 _ are conscious of power and of re- 

 sources which enable them to meet the emer- 

 gencies and encounter the difficulties of life. 

 'Xhe training which our children receive in 

 isnental arithmetic, by which they are taught to 

 analyze intricate combinations of numbers, 

 and reduce them to their simple elements, is 

 an admirable foundation for the future study 

 of the higher problems of language, physics 

 and mental philosophy. 



When we see young lads and girls working 

 out with nimble fingers difficult questions, by 

 means of algebraic symbols, and reaching re- 

 sults in geometry and natural philosophy by 

 the closest applications of logic, we are con- 

 vinced that they are acquiring a power that will 

 fit them to wrestle with the dangers and diffi- 

 culties that lie in the pathway of life. They 

 feel like well armed soldiers, inspired with con- 

 Bcious strength and courage to face every ene- 

 my that may cross their path. The undevel- 

 oped and unfurnished intellect yields to diffi- 

 culties, and sits down in despondency ; but the 

 thinking person, who has been taught to look 

 into the causes of things, instca^l of lying su- 

 pine, will carefully examine the circumstances 

 by which he is surrounded, and find or con- 

 trive the means to control them or turn them 

 to his advantage. A yoimg person who has 

 learned to make the effort necessarj- to com- 

 prehend and apply the principles embraced in 

 the several branches of Icartiing taught in our 

 schools has acquired a command of his facul- 



ties that will be of inestimable value to him 

 through life. He has learned to fix his atten- 

 tion, to reason from antecedent to conse- 

 quence, — from cause to effect. lie is like the 

 artist who has acquired the command of the im- 

 plements of his art. He is no longer a mere 

 theorist, but a skilled workman as well. 



The good teacher aims to teach each pupil 

 to reach results for himself, without seeking 

 assistance from another. In the power to do 

 this, more than in anything else, the true gen- 

 ius for teaching is manifested. 



And so of the pupil. The habit, early ac- 

 quired, of relying upon his own resources, and 

 his own exertions, more than anything else, 

 ensures success. 



More than forty years ago, we were teaching 

 school in a town in this State. A boy about 

 twelve years old was studying arithmetic and 

 Virgil. One Friday afternoon, he came to us 

 with a difficult sumand said he did not see how to 

 do it. We looked at it, and said to him "You 

 can do it if you think closely." He went to 

 his seat and worked the remainder of the af- 

 ternoon. The next forenoon he worked all 

 the time he had after reciting his lesson in Vir- 

 gil. Saturday afternoon he spent chiefly in 

 his chamber, instead of at play. Sunday 

 morning, after breakfast, he was missing until 

 just before the second bell rang for meeting, 

 when he came running into the room, slate in 

 hand, and with an exultant smile on his face, 

 exclaimed, "I have done it." We then felt 

 sure that he would succeed in life. He had 

 fought a hard battle, and achieved a victory. 

 He has since occupied a distinguished place as 

 a man and a scholar. That one victory taught 

 him the value of self-reliance and persever- 

 ance. 



The amount of knowledge actually acquired 

 may not be very considerable, or of much real 

 value. But the learning to think, to investi- 

 gate, to reason, to adapt means to the end 

 sought ; in short, the learning how to learn, is 

 the great thing to be had in view. 



The scholars in our Normal Schools, who have 

 well improved their advantages, are prepared 

 to apply themselves to any branch of study, 

 because they have been taught to examine, to 

 analyze, to reason. The great object in these 

 schools is to teach how to teach. But the 

 foundation of the art of teaching is a compre- 

 hension of the way in which the mind acts in 



