36 
i 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
(BJuinitioiial Utjmrtmmt. 
BY L. VVSTHEREJ/L, 
NORMAL SCHOOLS. 
In the winter of I838 ti rich merchant in 
Boston proposed, through the Secretary of 
the Board of Education, which was organized 
the year before, to give $10,000 to be used 
by the Board, provided the State would ap¬ 
propriate an equal sum, to open a Normal 
School for the flitting of young men and 
women for the vocation of teaching. The 
proposal was accepted hy the Legislature, 
and the Board of Education were intrusted 
with $20,000 to try a Normal School. This 
was regarded by all as an experiment. 
Accordingly the first Normal School in 
this country was opened in Lexington, July, 
1839. Another was opened in Barre, in 
September of the same year. One year 
from the opening of the last, another 
was commenced in Bridgewater. These 
were all regarded as experiments, made in 
order to test the utility of Normal schools 
in connection with the free school system of 
Massachusetts, which had then been in op¬ 
eration nearly 200 years. Thus by experi¬ 
ment has the Normal School system been 1 
approved and become a part of the State ' 
system of public schools in the aforenamed 
State. 
The experiment has been made in this 
State, not as in our sister State by opening- 
three district schools; but by* establishing 
one at the Capital. And the result of the 
experiment is that the Normal School 
has come to be regarded as a part of our 
State system of public schools. 
That Normal Schools, or Teachers’ Semi¬ 
naries, have to some degree been successful in 
our country is not strange—it would rather 
be strange had it been otherwise. That they 
have been so conducted as to be productive of 
the greatest good, we arc far, very far, from 
believing. They were originally designed, as 
we have supposed, to teach the art of teach¬ 
ing, or in other words, to take young men and 
women and train them in the.art of train¬ 
ing others. Instead of this however, they j 
have become Seminaries for teaching the 
higher mathematics, and in some cases the 
modern languages. Now we look upon this 
as being wrong. The candidate for the Nor¬ 
mal School, like the candidate for the Law, 
or Divinity School, should befitted to study 
his profession on entering the Seminary— 
and go thither to learn the science and art 
of school-keeping, not to learn the elements 
of the knowledge which ho is to communi¬ 
cate. The Normal School should be regard¬ 
ed as the Medical School, exclusively pro¬ 
fessional. And the State should, after hav¬ 
ing demonstrated the importance and ne¬ 
cessity of Normal Schools in fitting common 
school teachers for the responsible vocation 
of teaching the young, so multiply these 
Seminaries as to meet the wants of the State, 
—that is to say, so that every school district 
that demands a professionally educated 
teacher shall be furnished with a Normal ito 
who can show a diploma for a license. Let 
it [the State] begin at once by doubling the 
present number, this session of the Legis¬ 
lature, and so continue to do every session 
until the requisite number of Normal Schools 
be opened to supply the demand for good 
teachers all over the State. The State hav¬ 
ing undertaken the important work of aid¬ 
ing those who desire to become teachers, 
should at once open a Normal School in 
Rochester for the benefit of the candidates 
for teachers in Western New York, so that 
they shall no longer he compelled to journey 
to Albany to study their chosen profession. 
“SHALL WESTERN NEW YORK HAVE A 
NORMAL SCHOOL V’ 
Messrs. Editors: —Under the “Educa¬ 
tional Department” of No. 2, Vol. 3, I find 
the above important question heading a cau¬ 
tious and very sensible editorial, which prom¬ 
ises “ more anon.” From this, judging from 
the judicious choice of sentiments expressed 
in this department of our welcome Rural 
heretofore, we anticipate with great confi¬ 
dence, a just and watchful guardianship over 
the correct “training and education of chil¬ 
dren,” whilst wo may reasonably look also 
for something more than “non-intervention” 
from the same source, when the direct tax 
to make “ Free Schools’ is unduly appro 
priated. 
In an acceptably brief newspaper commu¬ 
nication, there is not sufficient room to dis¬ 
cuss the question of more ability to do good 
or evil, possessed by our “ one man” power, 
through State and Town Superintendents 
of Schools, than that formerly possessed hy 
Commissioners of Common Schools and of 
School and Gospel lots, and Inspectors of 
Common Schools. In some towns these of¬ 
fices, formerly requiring nine choico men of 
tho town, are now concentrated upon one; 
and without saying such power has or has not 
been exercised, we may easily see tho pos¬ 
sibility of political favors being the result in 
| the use of funds, to tho detriment of those 
j for whose benefit such funds are designed. 
If more Normal Schools arc to be cstab- 
j lished in our State, to he a source of dis- 
| pensing favors equally to all classes, let vs 
j hfive them; — but, on the contrary, if, by the 
! advantages of concentration of action, the 
privileges of one class are by custom increas¬ 
ed until they become a■ law, and others 
loft to justly complain, and that without 
remedy, then away with your normal schools 
| and their unhealthy influence, tending to di¬ 
vide this happy people into classes establish¬ 
ed by favoritism rather than real merit. 
The mechanic who lias served long years 
in day and night toil to obtain a knowledge 
of his art, if a “journeyman,” must labor at 
least 10 hours, and oftoner 15 hours for a 
day, and 2G days for a months. 
The school-master was formerly required 
to be on duty the same number of days for 
a month, but only six hours each day. To 
release children from too much confinement 
it seems proper to give them Saturday after¬ 
noon—hy some, this time has boon claimed 
to belong teachers, and also that four .weeks 
•of 5£ days each, make a month of only 22 
days. Next, they claim pay for all holidays 
including Thanksgiving, and finally, as if 
“progress to perfection was their aim, some 
claim the whole of each and ever aturday, 
which would leave only 20 days of six hours 
each, or a f raction less than one third the 
time required of the mechanic for a month. 
This growing favoritism may answer the 
purposes of “ free trade’’ but in it 1 can not 
discover a feature of “ equal rights.” 
An important principle is here involved 
also. Trustees must report how many 
months school has been kept in their dis¬ 
tricts. Perhaps some districts may bo hon¬ 
estly'represented as having complied with 
the required time of school kept, to obtain 
their quota of public funds, but upon strict 
scrutiny they may fiiyl their months have 
been too short. As far as my small knowl¬ 
edge extends, this question of time it unset¬ 
tled. As editors and publishers are “bound 
to know everything,” we look for something 
upon this subject, that will enlighten us 
through the Rural. 
When I took up my pen 1 designed say¬ 
ing something upon tho promiscuously ob¬ 
tained material of which teachers are 'man¬ 
ufactured — of the influence the normal 
school can have over them, and the proba¬ 
ble controlling influence of the State Super¬ 
intendent over the whole, through his Town 
Superintendents and their normal school 
teachers, which must inevitably result to the 
advantage or disadvantage of all taught in 
our Common Schools, and finally to the vi¬ 
tal interests of our great State.—but not 
having time, space, or ability, 1 leave it for 
tho able editor. 
In conclusion, allow me to submit one 
question—perhaps your reader may discuss 
the subject profitably. What public officer 
of our State possesses tho greatest power to 
influence her future destinies ? 
Yours, &c., A Trustee. 
School District, January 12, IS52 
EARLY TRAINING AND EDUCATION CF 
CHILDREN.—N0. 2. 
Having, in my former communication, 
spoken ol what I mean hy “Training,” I 
will now consider that which relates to the 
department of “Education,” according to 
the more common acceptation of the term. 
Hero also I give the substance of my own 
experience. 
As soon as my little pupil could make hcr- 
se't understood by her young English, 
(which was before a year old.) she noticed 
some letters and figures on a stove in the 
sitting-room, which appeared to be matters 
of much interest to her. These were ex¬ 
plained to her, and very soon she would 
amuse herself by calling over their names. 
A picture of a hat, house, or boot, in a news- 
paper, would attract her attention, when the 
article itself would he shown and named to 
he:. or perhaps she would point it out hor¬ 
se and soon the letters were pointed out, 
to i eiyll-A-T, &c. But she was never re¬ 
quired to remember them. That was left> 
entirely to herself. The next thing perhaps 
would he the picture of an animal which 
mi lit he shown to her, with the letters that 
spc.I the name. Soon after, the animal it¬ 
self might, perhaps, be seen, when she would 
run and get the picture and name the ani¬ 
mal In this manner, without any effort on 
the part of her instructors (her mother and 
myself,) she learned the names of many 
things, and tho letters that spell the names; 
and before I was aware of the fact, she had 
learned most of the letters of the alphabet, 
am would often be found repeating them 
from a piece of paper, hook, or any thing 
else that might fall in her way. She was 
never required to do this, but her curiosity 
was encouraged ; and almost without labor 
or effort on our part, she had already learn¬ 
ed to read, and wo scarcely knew how. A 
similar course was pursued with tho others, 
varying somewhat according to their tastes, 
fktnite niiii Hoiogmjiljies. Mo. 3. 
OLIVER GOLDSMITH. 
Oliver Goldsmith was born on tho 10th 
of November, 1728, at the hamlet of Pallas 
county of Longford, in Ireland. His father 
was a poor country curate, with an educa¬ 
tion above his fortune, and generosity great¬ 
er than his education. His children were 
learned, says the son, “ to consider all the 
wants of mankind as their own, and were 
perfectly instructed in the art of giving 
away thousands, before they were taught 
tho necessary qualifications of getting a I 
farthing.” 
This is the key to the wholo career of! 
Goldsmith. He worked hard, he spent free- | 
ly, and his simplicity of heart and want of 
acquaintance with the ways of the world, 
led him from one extreme to another—from 
comfort to poverty—from extravagance to 
parsimony, from which, however, no one 
suffered but himself. His works have be¬ 
come classics—a part of our English Litera¬ 
ture which will endure forever — and wo 
need neither enumerate their titles or dis¬ 
cuss their character. Nor need we relate 
tho scenes and adventures of his varied life, 
though so full of interest,—for there arc few 
of our readers but have met them again 
and again. 
Washington Irving has given the Ameri¬ 
can public a brief Biography of Goldsmith, 
prefacing an edition of his works, which are 
to be found in almost every District Library. 
We copy the opening paragraph : 
There are few writers for whom the reader 
feels such personal kindness as for Oliver 
Goldsmith, for few have so eminently pos¬ 
sessed the magic gift of identifying them¬ 
selves with their writings. We read his 
character in every page, and grow into fa¬ 
miliar intimacy with him as wc read. The 
artless benevolence that beams throughout, 
his works; the whimsical yet amiable ^views 
of human life and human nature; the un¬ 
forced humor, blondod so happily with o- 0 od 
feeling and good sense, and singularly dash¬ 
ed at times with a pleasing melancholy; oven 
the very nature of his mellow, and flowing, 
and softly-tinted style, all seem to bespeak 
his moral as well as his intellectual qualities, 
and make us love the man at the same time 
that wo admire tho author. While the pro¬ 
ductions of writers of loftier pretensions 
and more sounding names are suffered to 
moulder on our shelves, those of Goldsmith 
arc cherished and laid in our bosoms. We 
do not quote them with ostentation, hut 
they mingle with our minds, sweeten our 
tempers, and harmonize our thoughts; they 
put us in good humor with ourselves and 
with the world, and in so doing they make 
us happier and better men. 
or dispositions. Their early training had 
made them careful of books, so that they 
never destroyed them, though early furnish¬ 
ed with them. [I shall probably enlarge on 
this in another number under the head of 
“ Moral Training of Children.”] 
The advantage of this course was appa¬ 
rent from tho beginning. It inspired them 
with confidence. It exercised the young 
mind, as well as tho memory, and neither 
of them to excess, in as much as all was vol¬ 
untary. Nature took its own course. But 
the advantage was seen more strikingly in 
the fact, that none of them would read at a 
later period, any thing that they did not un¬ 
derstand; and the effect of this, (which is 
lasting,) has been, to make them intelligent. 
And even to this day, tho objection, “I do 
not understand this,” is a sufficient reason 
for not learning it. It must be understood 
first. 
In regard to tho “endless questioning,” 
of children, it is proper to remark, that al¬ 
though I admit that this is nature’s method 
of gaining information, yet I maintain, that 
it requires-to be managed with judgment.— 
If not regulated and sometimes even re¬ 
strained, it often degenerates into a habit of 
questioning without motive or object. This 
is evident from the fact that children who 
have been indulged in this respect without 
regulation or restraint, frequently askques- 
tion after question, without waiting for an 
answer, or appearing to expect it, or attend¬ 
ing to it when given. Hence, arises that in¬ 
tolerable heedlessness of some children, a 
habit of not giving attention to what is said 
to them. Hence, also, that prying inqusi- 
tiveness of others, that seeks to know every 
body’s business but their own; whose object, 
however, is not information, but a mere love 
of talk, or at best tho gratification of an in¬ 
termeddling disposition. For these reasons, 
their questioning requires to be always regu¬ 
lated, and sometimes judiciously restrained. 
It is not difficult to determine how to j 
treat tho inquisitiveness of children. A ju¬ 
dicious parent can, in general, easily ascer¬ 
tain a child’s motive. Whenever that mo¬ 
tive is information, tho question should al¬ 
ways bo answered, or a reason should be 
given why it is not. When tho question is 
without motive, merely for the sale of talk¬ 
ing, or for the gratification of an idle* curi¬ 
osity, it should be checked rather than an¬ 
swered, and tho reason given. When the 
answer would be improper, the impropriety 
should bo shown, or stated, with the promise 
of an answer when circumstances shall ren¬ 
der it proper. 
Children taught in the way'shown above, 
soon become fond of reading, and generally 
make the best readers. Being never re¬ 
quired to read any thing without under¬ 
standing it, their reading is more like con¬ 
versation, being free from that lifeless, draw¬ 
ling, sing-song, manner so often acquired at 
the school. The love of reading restrains 
them from indulging, or wishing to indulge, 
in many of the silly practices of early life. 
Reading becomes amusement, interesting- 
books, (which should be liberally furnished,) 
become most agreeable companions; and the 
whole business of education becomes a pleas¬ 
ure instead of a task—a matter of clioicc in¬ 
stead of compulsion. Ir 
Down East, Oct., 1851. * 
THE TWIN SISTERS. 
! We know of a farmer in Connecticut who 
I * ias > :l P air ot twin daughters, of whom a 
j capital anecdote is told. They both attend- 
| ed tho same school, and not long since one 
j them was called up by the master to re- 
j Clte a lesson in geography, which she had 
learned very imperfectly, and in fact, could 
not go on at all. The teacher, who was get¬ 
ting quite out of patience, was called to 
another part of the room, and just at that 
I moment the twin sister sprang to tho floor, 
unobserved, and pushing the delinquent 
scholar to her seat took her place. The 
master proceeded with the questions which 
were answered with a degree of promptness 
I an< ^ accuracy which, at the close, drew forth 
from him a few words of commendation.— 
I lie joke was not discovered by the teacher 
until some days after. Of course, it was too 
j good and successful to occasionally offence. 
| — Conn, paper. 
Ants of Business.— Nothing is more in¬ 
teresting than to seo an army of ants enga¬ 
ged in divesting a tree of its foliage. In doing 
i so, they manifest an intuitive system and 
: order which is truly surprising. A regular 
file is continually ascending on one side of 
tho trunk, while another is descending on 
tho opposite side, each one of the ants bear- 
ing a piece of a leaf of the size of a sixponce 
in his mouth. A large number appear to 
bo stationed among tho upper branches, for 
the sole purpose of biting off the stems of 
the leaves, and thus causing them to fall to 
the ground. At the foot of the tree is 
another department, whose business is evi¬ 
dently that of cutting tho fallen leaves into 
small pieces for transportation. A long 
procession is kept constantly marching, la¬ 
den with leaves. 
Read not to contradict and confute, hut 
to weigh and consider. Some books are to 
be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some 
few to ho digested; that is. some books arc 
to be read only in parts, others to be read 
but not curiously; and some few to be read 
wholly, and with diligence and attention.— 
Reading maketh a full man, conference a 
ready man, and writing an exact man.— 
Lord Bacon. 
Too much fancy is not necessary in our 
conversation, or writings; it begets vain and 
puerile ideas, which tend neither to make 
us wise nor better. Our thoughts should be 
produced by good sense and right reason, 
and ought always to ho tho effect of our 
judgment. 
| nbbntl; llrnbiiign. 
MORAL COSMETICS. 
Ye who would have your features florid, 
Lithe limbs, bright eyes, unwrinkled forehead, 
From age's devastation horrid, 
Adopt this plan : 
’Twill make e'en in a climate torrid, 
A hale old man. 
Avoid in youth luxurious diet: 
Restrain the passions’ Lwlc^ riot; 
Devoted to domestic quiet, V 
Be wisely gay: 
So shall ye, spite of age’s fiat, 
Resist decay. 
Seek not in Mammon’s worship, pleasure, 
But find your richest, dearest treasure. 
In God, his word, his work, not leisure ! 
The mind, not sense, 
Is the sole scale by which to measure 
Your opulence. 
This is the solace, this the science, 
Life’s purest, sweetest, best appliance, 
That disappoints no man’s reliance, 
YVhate'er his state: 
But challenges with calm defia: ce, 
Time, fortune, fate. 
TEACHINGS FROM THE SKIES. 
BY W. II. BRISTOL. 
YY iien I say that the heavens above and 
.around us, were framed and given for a field 
wherein the human mind can develop itself, 
I know I do not err; and when I say that 
they were instituted especially for man’s 
spiritual elevation and advancement, 1 think 
that it is true. Had wo hut the. world 
whereon we live, and nothing but it, our 
means of knowledge would be limited, and 
the sources of thought be materially cur¬ 
tailed. 
Observation is the mother of thought.— 
It is from the outward creation that we gath¬ 
er the fadeless principles of wisdom, and 
from this source are our instinctive powers 
excited and advanced still more. The nico 
distinctions and differences of Philosophy 
have all been caught, like light, from the 
informing sky, and we have thus been able 
to add almost daily to this treasury. The 
speculations of Astronomy have been assur¬ 
ed, other important fat 1 1 and acute relations 
have been revealed, and we can ever look 
to the shining heavens, as to fountains of 
wisdom. The Sciences have here been aug¬ 
mented and developed upon an ever increas¬ 
ing basis—one that will outlast the skies 
themselves. 
Literature from this arcana lias received 
the brilliancy and beauty of detail, the charm 
of description, as well as the power and 
majesty of its language. And, Literature 
can receive its only perfectness from this 
source of Light and Beauty; for it is here 
that God lives in the glory of His works. 
From this beauteous and genial realm, 
has immortal light descended upon the fresh 
soil of Poesy, and tho feelings and aspira¬ 
tions of man, have been heightened to the 
sublimity of song, which, like a collossal 
Alp, rises and glows in the bright depths of 
the sky. The poet would never have sung 
his lofty theme, would never have risen on 
the wings of inspiration to search the bright 
regions where the mellow murmuring of tho 
stars ever breathes upon tho ears of angels, 
never Mould he have kindled the fire of his 
inspiration on tho altars of Heaven, or 
learned from the tutorship of Divinity, tho 
vast and unspeakable instinct of his tower¬ 
ing conceptions, nor would be have freight¬ 
ed the chords of his delightful lyre with 
the effervescent essence of a glorious im¬ 
mortality. 
The Philosopher has gathered lys grand¬ 
est truths from this field ; he has led his spirit 
soar above, to tie with golden cords the roll¬ 
ing spheres together in one terial group; lie 
has risjcn on the wings of inspiration, till his 
laboring mind lias become almost exhausted 
with its ranging through illimitable space, 
lit up with tho effulgence of magnificent 
creations; ho has poised those spheres on 
the hand of God, and thou returned to tell 
the news to earth,—thus comes the vision of 
Infinite Power. 
The Astronomer lias thrown bis glance 
through the broad ethereal, and thus has 
gained the mighty magic and grandeur of 
bis dreams. Indeed, how true it is that the 
heavens are spread with shining presences— 
monitors of M'isdom, and mothers of thought! 
From those how much is made up. Nearly 
all the mind’s treasures are drawn from this 
wide domain of imperishable wealth. Wo 
have free access to it, but it demands exer¬ 
tion to study it—exertion is the key to suc¬ 
cess. 
And thus must it ever seem to me, that 
the Great Intelligence planned and formed 
tho outward existence for tho special pro¬ 
gression of man’s intellectual powers, and 
thereby to teach mankind of Himself. In 
our very existences are blent the fadeless 
principles of the Deity, and we bear the im¬ 
perishable impress on our souls, stamped 
there like a golden seal, and as wc live, so 
every day we learn something from the skies 
to furnish and adorn the chambers of our 
own intellectual being. 
Lewision, N. Y., Dec., 1651. 
