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able, to render a want of success in the employment, a subject of much regret. This remark applies to almost all instructers from the primary schools up to the higher schools; and it has no very remote bearing even upon some of the instructers in our colleges. Three classes of men have furnished the whole body of instructers. 1st. Those who have undertaken to teach, who had no better reason for it, than that the employment is easier, and perhaps a little more profitable, than labor. No doubt many excellent instructers belong to this class. A college education is by no means essential to a good teacher of a primary school. But it must be confessed, that many of this class have been most lamentably deficient in those literary qualifications, which are essential to any instructer; and perhaps, still more deficient in their notions of decency and propriety, which never approach to refinement in manners. In the same degree, the schools may be made a most efficient instrument for improving and elevating the state of society when under the direction of men, who have themselves been properly taught, they may be the means of disseminating or perpetuating grossness in manners, and vulgarity, when under the direction of different char

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2. A second class are those who are acquiring, or have attained a public education; and who assume the business of instruction as a temporary employment, either to afford a pecuniary emolument for the relief of immediate necessities, or to give themselves time to deliberate and choose some more agreeable and profitable profession. This is, probably, the most useful class of instructers; although their usefulness is much impaired by a want of experience and engagedness in the business. The thought that the employment is temporary, and that their ultimate success in life is not much affected by their success as teachers, cannot fail to weaken the motives to exertion, and discourage the sacrifices necessary to the successful teacher. The duties of the instructer are so arduous, under the most favorable circumstances, that he needs all the motives to perseverance, which exclusive devotion to the business, or self-interest can suggest. His prospects of happiness, and respectability in life, therefore, should be more identified with his success as a teacher.

3. The third class is composed of those, who from conscious weakness, despair of success in any other profession, or who have been more thoroughly convinced by unfortunate experiment, that they cannot attain distinction, perhaps even subsistence, by any other means. There may no doubt be found individuals among this class, who are respectable and useful instructers. But as a class, they are the most exceptionable, of the three. To develope the powers of the human mind, in the most successful manner, re

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quires a discrimination and judgement, which, it seldom falls to the lot of men of indifferent talents, to possess. In the science of instruction, there is full scope for the best talents, and the largest acquirements. All the elevated qualities, either of mind or heart, which are necessary to ensure success in any of the professions, are essential to the accomplished instructer. And some qualities are required, which are not so important in any other profession. How can he hope to arrange and adapt the studies of a child, so as to call forth and strengthen the different powers of the mind, in their natural order, and in the most successful manner, who is not capable of enumerating those powers; much less of analysing them and understanding their mutual relations, and dependencies. Such, however, is the present condition of our country, so numerous are the demands for instructers in the primary and higher schools, and so various are the private interests, which will be felt in the selection of them, that it is, probably, too much to expect all to have the discrimination necessary, in order to become accurate and original observers of the phenomena of the youthful mind. But we have much to hope from those, who can better appreciate the importance of a correct system of instruction,-for the encouragement of individuals,—and the patronage of those large towns, which carry education to its greatest perfection. It is to these sources, we must look for the first examples in improvement.

There is no science, which is so difficult to be reduced to general principles, as that of education,-none where the faithful and patient induction of large experience is so essential. Although there undoubtedly are some general rules, to which the inexperienced instructer may be referred for direction, yet these are much fewer than is generally imagined. Every mind, especially in its early developement, presents exceptions and qualifications to almost every general rule, which can be adopted. So various and multiform are the phenomena of the youthful mind, so intimate the connexion, and so strong the mutual influence, of the powers of the mind, and the affections of the heart, and so fleeting and evanescent is the nature of the evidence, by which all these must be detected and classified, that he must be skilful, indeed, who presumes to offer any thing like a complete analysis. This is not now to be attempted. But from this view of the subject, it would seem, the skill of the instructer is evinced, much more in his ability to detect minute differences, and to call forth those tender and fecble powers, the evidence of which is so faint, as to admit a doubt of their very existence, than in his force to drive on the system of things,' which has been established for ages. It is as preposterous to reduce the infinite variety of young minds to precisely the same discipline, calculating upon the same result, as it would be, to hope to

make all men look alike by law; and it is as cruel as it would be to break their bodies, at once, to the bed of Procrustes. It is one thing to learn, and another to teach. It is very possible to possess vast stores of knowledge, and not be able to impart them, even to the willing and anxious pupil. To fix the volatile, to stimulate the sluggish, and overcome the obstinate, demand an acquaintance with the human mind not quite innate, nor likely to be acquired without some experience.'

IMPROVEMENT OF COMMON EDUCATION.

[The following paragraphs are extracted from Mr. Burnside's Address, from which an article was taken in our last number.]

The spirit of the age seems to me to call for an entire change in the manner of imparting knowledge to the infant mind; a change, better adapted to the order of nature, and more suited to the gradual expansion of the mental faculties. The method formerly adopted in all our literary institutions has been what is technically denominated the analytic. It consists in requiring learners, first to acquire, artificially, abstract principles; and afterwards, in teaching them the particulars from which those principles were deduced. In the study of language, for instance, so soon as chil

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*It is a matter of regret that the terms analytic and synthetic are so often incorrectly, or at least vaguely, used. Some writers on education make use of these terms with reference to the business of the teacher, and some with reference to that of the pupil; whilst others apply it exclusively to the method of teaching or of learning. Much confusion and misapprehension accordingly result from this want of well defined phraseology. The method which has hitherto been most extensively adopted in instruction, employs both synthesis and analysis. Take the subject of English grammar, for example. In the department of etymology, the book and the teacher set out with the synthetic proposition. There are in English nine sorts of words;' and directly afterwards comes the analysis of this proposition, in the form of a succession of paragraphs, one of which is devoted to each of these nine sorts of words. The advocates of the inductive method would--and, we think, justly-invert this order, by first laying down each of the nine parts of speech, and then summing up the whole number in a general remark: they would, in a word, proceed from analysis to synthesis, and not from synthesis to analysis. As teachers, they would set out with analysis: hence their proneness to apply the term analytic to their own method of teaching, and synthetic to the opposite method. Again, persons, who in this affair occupy the place of spectators watching the developement of a process, rather than of active performers in the management of the business, naturally and properly incline to call this method synthetic; because it issues in a synthetic result, towards which it seemed gradually tending. Here then arises coníu

dren have charged their memories with the parts of speech, and before they are able to make any practical distinction between them, they are tasked to commit the rules of syntax, and immediately to apply them to the analysis of sentences. Now we could not state to them any propositions more abstract, more unmeaning and tedious. How extremely uninteresting and disgusting they are to children, is manifested by the vacant stare and the restless impatience for liberation of these little prisoners, when undergoing the drudgery of recitation.

The same method of instruction has been extended to all other branches of juvenile studies. The time is well recollected when lads could be introduced to the study of Latin, only by the use of grammars, altogether written in that language. It is really matter of surprise, that the absurdity of this manner of teaching has not been sooner exposed, and children relieved from the severe penance it has imposed. We all remember, how unwelcome to us, were the restraints and the exercises of school; and parents are still giving daily utterance to their complaints of the difficulty of reconciling their children to the requisitions of instructers. The reason of this may be found in the plan of instruction, and the severity of discipline, which its execution renders necessary. Children seldom submit to mere exercises of memory, without compulsion. But reverse the mode of communicating knowledge; proceed with them synthetically; that is, first present to the infant mind the objects, and the particulars, which naturally first arrest the attention, and they will save you almost the whole trouble of teaching them rules. They will form these with great facility for themselves, and every step of their progress will thus become natural, easy and delightful. Upon this plan, judiciously executed, the great aversion of children to their school, would give place to a fond desire for its advantages, and occasions for coercion to study would be heard of no more. Experiments upon this plan, are trying with triumphant success in our metropolis, in other parts of our country, and in England. Let us delay no longer to secure to the youth of our charge a paticipation of its benefits.

One other improvement, already alluded to, possesses strong claims upon public attention. It relates to the office of instructers.

sion: the teacher claims the credit of teaching analytically; while a critic perhaps is complimenting him on his success in teaching synthetically. There is, iu fact, no absolute error on either side; and the whole matter would not be worth remarking, but for the hindrance to improvement which is always apt to result from a want of precision in the use of words. Perhaps it would be better to dispense with both of these scholastic terms of which we have been speaking, and to substitute the word inductive, as in all circumstances the proper term for designating that method of instruction which proceeds from particulars to generals. Ed.

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Most of our schools are taught by those, who do not consider the duties of that station as their appropriate employment. They have no intention of making them the business of any considerable part of their lives. To occupy an interval of time, which might otherwise be vacant, or to enjoy opportunities for extending the circle of social intercourse, or to obtain pecuniary relief from immediate want is the only inducement to the undertaking. Hence it is, that instructers are perpetually changing, and schools are seldom taught more than four months by the same person. I need not attempt a description of the disadvantages, the embarrassments, the losses both of time and money, which are thus occasioned to the community. It is little less than folly to expect of instructers of this description, anything like an equivalent for the provision, which is annually made for the promotion of education. On this subject, we seem to disregard the prudent maxims, which usually govern us in other concerns. We are not satisfied with occasional religious instruction. We choose that our minister should dwell continually among us. We desire the full benefit of his experience, and intimate acquaintance with our condition: we justly consider that to be most useful he should be identified with all our interests, and endeared to us by the tender tics of father, companion, and friend. We employ the same physician in our families, because we value his long tried knowledge of our general health, and habits of life; and for similar reasons we commit our legal rights to the protection of the same counsel, who has given us repeated proofs of capacity and fidelity. Yet we, every few months, surrender our children, the objects of our tenderest regard, to the guidance and management of strangers; as if it were of no consequence to them, what is the experience, ability, or disposition of their instructers.

The only remedy for the evil, as I apprehend, is to make the superintendence of our children, a professional employment:—and surely no profession is more necessary or more honorable. Like all others, it comprises both a science and an art, which can be comprehended only by time, by patience, by industry, and experience. If there be any human pursuit, which requires a devotion of the whole of an active life to ensure the greatest success, it may well be doubted whether any one has paramount claims to that of training youth to knowledge, to virtue, and to practical usefulness. An Institution, therefore, especially calculated to prepare such individuals to enter on this profession, as should make choice of it to the exclusion of others, would be among the wisest acts of legislation, which has given dignity to our Commonwealth. In this enterprise, as in several others, our sister republic of New-York is pre-eminent. A seminary like that I have suggested has been recently recommended by her enlightened chief magistrate; and strong expecta

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