take too long to call the roll in this way, the monitor, therefore, must be required to keep a little list of his own class, and mark the merits himself upon it, transferring them once a week to the general list kept by the master. Then order the classes highest, first, to walk lightly with hands behind to their seats. It is better that they stand behind their seats untill the signal is given to sit all together. All this may as well be done in five minutes as in fifty.

10 o'clock. Call the monitors of reading around your desk, to read to you. Then order monitors of slate writing to their stations at the head or end of each form.. Let an intelligent monitor, with a clear voice, called the monitor of dictation, say 'Take slates.' Each child lays his slate before him.- Clean slates.' Each child rubs untill the bell sounds for all to stop together, and put their hands behind at the same instant.

In some schools on this plan the slate is immoveably fixed in the the form, in others there is a place into which it fits but is not fixed. We think it better to dispense with the former plan that the children may be able to carry their slates out to their ciphering stations, and with the latter that the surface of the form may not be uneven when they write on paper, and with both that the children may sit nearer each other than the fixed slates will allow, in case the school is crowded.

It should be recollected that the children have all been classed in writing, but do not sit according to that classification. It is necessary, therefore, that they leave their seats to be classed. To do this, the monitor of dictation says, 'Ready! then, 'rise!' 'walk!' Let them follow the head of the class to the side of school room across the broad aisle, and remain in single file, and turn round, Then let the highest row file off to their writing stations and the rest follow. It takes some time to describe this movement; but two minutes are sufficient to execute it. The monitor of dictation will keep order, while the classes are writing; but if the school be very large,he may have a colleague called monitor of order. After the slates are filled with words, (three long words or six short ones,) the monitor of dictation orders the slate monitors to examine slates. They do this, marking errors in spelling, badly formed letters, &c. These monitors should have their own slates alsó, and write the words which their classes write; and, before they are directed to examine their classes, they may show their own slates to the monitor of dictation. This is a salutary check upon the monitors; but if they are not required to write themselves, they should keep behind their classes all the time, instructing and correcting them.

When they write on the slate, let such as are capable write the same word, which must be one in the regular spelling lesson. The little children who cannot write whole words, must write letters, or parts of letters, and their monitor must set them copies untill they

can write from dictation. Every child must write something, and of course must have a slate and pencil.

The monitor of dictation goes to the highest class, and spells very distinctly the word they are to write. He then goes to the next class and gives them a word from their lesson, and so down to the classes which are unable to write words.

10. Send off your class of reading monitors. Ring the bell for writing to cease. Give the word 'ready!-rise!-walk!' and then let them file off to their seats, as before writing. They should however have a merit, if they have written well and correctly, and you may mark them by calling each name, or let the monitors do it en small lists.

10 h. 35 m. Ring the bell for spelling monitors to go to their stations. Say, 'ready! rise! lead off, highest first, to spelling stations.' While the classes are spelling to you, you will hear the monitors of arithmetic recite, or inspect their work. If you are unwilling to take them from their spelling, you may take some other half hour less inconvenient.

11 o'clock. Ring for silence. Mark merits. Lead off from the head of the highest class.

11 and 5 minutes. Hear the grammar class yourself Monday, Wednesday and Friday-or that in geography Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The rest of the school may be employed in copying a word written on the board, or in saying the multiplication tables, &c., after a monitor, altogether, or finally, in spelling altogether, but in a low voice, the words of the day's lesson. By all means require them to do something.

11. The classification for writing on the slate, will not always do for paper also. Therefore, after you have examined their former writing books, and selected your monitors for writing on paper, let them proceed-ready!-rise!-walk!'-as they did before writing on the slate, and then file off to the new seats. Then let the monitors give the books and pens of their classes to them.

It is well to have two sets of monitors, that one set may be on duty a week, and the other relieve them next week. Then you may teach the class of monitors not on duty, and oversee the whole school, particularly the lower scholars, who do not write on paper, and may be employed on the slate.

If there are not good writers enough for two sets of monitors, and you have but one set, you must contrive to let them write a little while between or during some of the other exercises; although this is not very important, because they have practice in setting copies for their classes, which duty may be performed in the recess between schools, or at some spare moment in school time. Monitors seldom need to be told when to do this, for they easily #nd an opportunity themselves.

12 o'clock.

Make each child show his copy to you, and give him a merit or demerit as he deserves. Dismiss as fast as you examine.⚫

AFTERNOON.

2 o'clock. Call to order. ing.

Mark for punctuality as in the morn

21. Order out for reading, as in the morning. Mark merits, &c 23 Order writing on slate, as in the morning. Hear monitors of reading or arithmetic yourself.

31. Order monitors of arithmetic to stations. Order arithmetic classes to their monitors. Let them recite intellectual arithmetic one day, and practice on their slates the next.

4 o'clock. Mark merits, and dismiss.

This order of exercises may look formidable, but the teacher is assured that he will understand the routine of the whole business thoroughly in a day or two, and so will the children. It will be necessary, now to give a few miscellaneous directions, which could not conveniently be inserted elsewhere.

In reading, let any child who can correct another go above him. But as their anxiety to correct will produce confusion unless regulated, let each who notices a mistake hold up his hand, but not speak untill the monitor tells him. The monitor must let the nearest to the reader speak first, but no one must speak who did not hold up his hand. If any one mis-correct, he must go down one for interrupting the reader.

In writing, whether on the slates or paper, oblige every child to begin with single letters, the younger scholars because they must learn them of course, and the older scholars because they cannot teach correctly, unless correctly taught the elements. As the monitors will not know how to mend pens for themselves and their classes, you must call them around you at an early day, and teach them in a class. After you have once taught a class to make pens, the younger children will learn without troubling you. In spelling, it is important that you drill the monitors, before employing them to teach classes. For this purpose, call around you the monitors of spelling. Require them to stand with hands behind that they may do the same by their classes. Pronounce the word to be spelled very distinctly. Require the child to pronounce it before he begins to spell. If he spells it wrong, those who discover the error and can correct it, may hold up hands as in reading. The monitor directs the nearest to the speller who held his hand up to correct, and it is desirable in long words that he should point out the other's error before he spells the whole word. If he correct and spell the word rightly, let him go up, and let all who go down spell the word for which they lose their places.

In reviewing to obtain new monitors of spelling, you will omit writing on the slate, and occupy the time usually devoted to that exercise, and spelling at the stations, to the review. This will be long enough, for it will not be necessary to have every word spelled, that has been spelled since the last review. You had better keep a spelling book of your own and mark every word that presents any difficulty with a pencil, and then this will serve as a guide to the monitor of dictation in the selection of words to be written on the slate. Be sure to set a new lesson every day for the spelling classes, and let as many as can spell the same lesson, that more may have a chance to rise to the dignity of monitor. In arithmetic you will be perplexed in several ways. You will find a variety of 'arithmetics' in the school, from Pike's octavo to Temple's primmer. You must use all your influence to have these discarded. Let each child under six years of age be furnished with the Child's Arithmetic, a little intellectual system just published by the teacher of the monitorial school in Boston. As soon as the child is master of this, let him procure Colburn's First Lessons of Intellectual Arithmetic,' to which the former is a suitable introduction. Regular lessons can be given in these, and they contain directions for their use.

In written arithmetic, introduce if possible Colburn's Sequel. Those who have ciphered considerably must have it, the monitors should use it as a guide in teaching beginners. Not that the use of either of these books is absolutely essential to the introduction of our system, but because, as we said before, in the choice of instruments, it is preferable to select the best.

Pay particular attention to numeration. Let the smallest child begin to make the figures, as soon as he has learned to write the alphabet. How the very youngest may be employed in counting you will learn in the Child's Arithmetic above mentioned.

In grammar and geography, if you use those prepared for the monitorial school in Boston, you will need no other directions than those in the books.

We will recapitulate the titles of such books as have been prepared for the monitorial system, remarking that they are not recommended as containing more information than is to be found in many other books, but as presenting the information in such a way that monitors can use it in teaching their classes.

1st. The Rational Guide to Reading and Spelling, by Wm. B. Fowle. The peculiarity of this spelling book is that the words are better and more minutely classed than in any other, and the reading lessons are adapted to the understandings of children. Price, 25 cents.

2d. Popular Lessons, being selections from the writings of Edgeworth, Barbauld, &c., 50 cents.

3d. The American Preceptor, the Boston improved stereotype edition, 37 cents, or if preferred,

4th. Scripture Lessons, Boston edition, edited by Wm. B. Fowle. This selection is from both the Old and New Testament, and will be found more suitable for schools than the whole Bible or New Testament. 374 cents.

5. Pierpont's American First Class Book, for the highest classes. $100.

6. English Grammar, with practical exercises, by Wm. B. Fowle. 20 cents.

7. Practical Geography, by Wm. B. Fowle. 25 cents.

8. A School Atlas of modern date.

9. The Child's Arithmetic.

cts.

10. Colburn's First Lessons. 37 cts. 11. Colburn's Sequel. $100.

12. After the children are well acquainted with the spelling book, the higher classes may be allowed to write lessons from Guy's Orthographical Exercises, an ingenious little book, which ought to be better known. 20 cts.

13. If elocution is taught, the American Speaker, by Wm. B. Fowle.

The above are the nominal prices, but considerable discounts are usually made from them. The books may probably be found in most of the Boston book-stores, but if not easily found, they may be obtained by a direct application to the publishers of this Journal.

We have alluded to merits and class lists. The system of rewards and punishments our experience recommends is the following. Let a fixed price be established for every exercise; for instance, let an attentive reader be allowed one merit; but if one has been very inattentive let him have a demerit; give to every speller who has missed no word in the lesson one merit, if he has missed only one word give him half a merit. If he misses more than three give him a demerit. So in arithmetic, writing and the other branches. Give a monitor half a merit more than the best of his class receives, provided he has done his duty. In fine, let there be a fixed reward, if possible, for every thing, that as little as possible may be left to the judgement of the monitors, and that the children knowing how many merits they are entitled to, as well as the monitor does, may see that he does them justice.

The teacher may be as particular as he pleases in enumerating the branches under which merits are awarded, but we think the following will be sufficiently particular.