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About Christian herald. (Portland ;) 1882-18?? | View Entire Issue (March 28, 1884)
T ' . California Department. ' CONDUCTED BY PROF; J. DURHAM. ■ v /. .: - ’ ■ ' All matter intended for th» department should be addressed to Prof. J. Durhi urham, Washington) Cornets, California. Grabbed Golden Grains. A laborer is needed at Hollister and Gilroy. meeting at Sacramento, assisting Bro. Ware. Sunday-school Evangelist is ex pected at Santa Clara District Meeting, to convene in April. Dr. W. A. Belding is gathering in the dollars for the San Francisco chujeh. His work moves steadily —~ o n. ' -.'"..-Ji-.- „-FF:.......... .... _ .. Pres. McCullough is conducting a protracted meeting - at Santa Clara. Four have been added up to the present. State Sunday-school Evangelist will spend last of the month in the District Meeting of the Sacramento valley, at College City. The railroad company have changed the name of their station at this place, to Irvington do not know whether the Post Master General will change the post office or not. Bro. W. B. Berry, of Napa, will hold a few protracted meetings in the spring. The brethren at Napa will give Bro. B. leave of absence of a short time. He is an able man, and he thinks his health will be much improved, besides he can do a great good. - Call for him. It is expected a grand work will be done for the cause of Christiani ty this year all over the land. Al ready the word comes from Illinois that the demand for laborers never was greater, and the supply is not equal to the demand. Meetings are being held in every direction with grand results, as many as 200 additions at a time. There are more fields being worked in Cali fornia than ever before. Plans for an aggressive movement are being shaped so that it is expected that the redoubts of the enemy will be stormed fiom every direction. Let us “ trust in the Lord and keep our powder dry.” * • Hon. Thos. Lane, of San Jose, one of the ablest lawyers of the State and a staunch member of the church has presented Washington College with a large book case, which has capacity enough to con tain over a thousand volumnes. A number of donations have "already been made to the -library. It is expected that many more will be added during the year, and by the beginning of the next session a reading room will be opened, as we have plenty of room for such pur- "poses. TKtTLesTT^ American literature wij,l be select ed, and the time for reading sys tematized. Educational Department. CONDUCTED BY PROF. JT. D. HAWKS. AU matter intended for th¡8 department should be handed or sent to Prof. J. D, Hawes, Monmouth, Oregon. ~ ... I---, —rr— T"1 ‘ T Methods of Teaching. . One of the Pestalozzian plans of presenting a subject was to proceed from concrete to abstract. To do practical work, and’ proceed to theory by a reasonable” process. How often is this lacking in our present methods of presenting subjects. We first go into some California has been visited with abstract theory, and after all the 1 ' f and interest . w. X z. ..z\r.; . in ¿Viz. ■ > V . . z. Z.4* 1 is o a bountiful rain. Although it was , ‘ life the z. subject so late in coming that the “ oldest goneTwTnieir^^ inhabitants,” the pluvial records for We could name several subjects foity years, the Digger Indian signs that is so taught by the most ad and the squirrel and goph,er signs vanced teachers of to7day. Notice- an~proved conclusively thaFa great" ably among drowth was sure to befall us. Men is algebra. We begin with pluses had begun to count how much j and minuses, x’s, y’s, z’s, &c., and would be their losses, cut off their by the time the student- gets to the expenses, look gloomy and dismal, practical part of the work—equa joy was turned to mourning, sad tions—the study, has lost all its in- ness was depicted in the counte- "terest, and they drag wearily along nonces of many ; yet some had not not caring whether they ever mas lost hope ;-Some had strong faith, ter the subject or not. Wilson's others more. Now railroads are Elementary Algebra is the best be- ami ■ginaer^Algabi^w^ good harvests are assured. Some on the subject of Elementary Al are almost sorry that their signs gebra, and is purely on the Pesta- lozzian principle. We have used it did fail. and can speak understandingly of Sister Sarah E. Smart is editor its merits. /. - of the Christian Monitor, devoted Another subject that is so often to home literature and religion ; it disgusting to the young pupil be is one of the neatest and spiciest cause taught on this same method magazines that is now pubttstfBd.' of too much dry theory, is the sub The magazine is the only one edited ject of grammar; instead of teach by a sister, and of course the sup ing practical work—-the right use port that the sisters will give the of our own language, by good, periodical will show that they practical examples that awaken in know a woman can edit and con terest—we hear the teacher ask, duct a paper. Sister Smart’s face “ What is grammar ?” “ Why is and voice have not' disappeared grammar called a science ?” “ *Vhy from my memory, for her amiable, is it called an art ?” before the first self and promptness in duty for principles of sentence-building and several years in the class room, uses of the commonest words known back in the prairie State, many, to the pupil; no wonder we hear many years ago, are fresh in my pupils saying, “ I hate grammar.” mind to-day. Her worthy com We^iotice with pleasure the move panion, who is one of the leading ment of all the educational journals editors of the Christian Evangelist, was her class-mate in college. of our land Vvaking up to this anti While she in her sweet modesty quated method of presenting sub Prominent kept in the Garret, he was Smart jects to beginners. enough to bring her out and make among these journals in this work her as Smart as himself. The is the Canada School Journal, of sisters of the United States are giving her a good support, and Toronto, Ontario, which is, at pre others will help her in her good sent, carrying on a crusade against work. Sister Goodwin edited the the present unreasonable method of Monitor a number of /ears, but her teaching history, as totally outside age and infirmity caused her to of the Normal method of proceed withdraw from the great responsi bility of the paper. Only $1.25 ing from the known to the un per year. Send a dollar and two known, We think that it suiósthe bits to 913 Pine street, St. Louis, schools of Oregon as well as the Mo., and get the Monitor. schools of Ontario, and so we, " ~ ■ i-i J,. i ."in. ■ ■ > t catching the inspiration from our neighbor, attack it here. First we should begin with the current events of the day, what is going on in our own State and nation now,’ and branch out and back ; proceed from the practical to the abstract. What do we care for the Norsemen and Incas; etc., until we know something of what is going on at present. -We venture that there - -h u n d reds — of them in the schools of our own State who could not tell you the name of our present representatives in Congress, nor the present Secre tary of State, *t>r Secretary of the ■t r eas ury, -b u t no uld tell you-. all about John Smith, Pocahontas, De Narvaez, Ferdinand de Soto, and others, a great many of whom we doubt ifyerjthere was anybody bo foolish as to do what they did to get their fame. We would suggest thajt the first lessons in History be on the current events; let the teacher give familiar talks on the eVents of the present; bring a newspaper to school, and get the pupils to bring papers, each telling something of the acts of Congress at the present time, and it will help along the study of history very materially by relieving it of its present drudging. In this we also need not to blindly follow the plan laid down by the book. . A little ingenuity will come in very useful jtlst here. V j ► ♦ ------------------- ♦ < ♦-------------- ------ Six Principle» of Pedagogy. —■ — 1. Education . should proceed from the known to the unknown, both in the choice of.subject and in method of instruction. Lessons should start, in the concrete and end in the abstract. Instruction should rise from particulars to generals. 2. As the blood is the life of the body, so memory is the life of the tuind. It should be assisted by all possible means, and its worsi abuse is to require pupils to memorize4 what they do not understand. 3. All mental development is.an advance from vague conceptions to definite knowledge. Definite knowledge implies familiarity with the subject, and this familiarity comes of much repetition. 4. The chief office of instruction is not to impart knowledge, but to teach the pupilshow to obtain it for themselves. Books are supplemen tary. The process of self-develop- mene must be encouraged to the utmost. 5. Study must be made interest ing either in its subject or its re- - '
