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them acquainted with the routine of the school, to show them that late coming must-though it might not in their school life-deprive their children of a portion of their instruction.

The first thing, then, a teacher should do is to keep a record of late scholars, and of absentees. For this purpose a book with an index, ruled as below,* might be prepared.

The index should consist of a column of the name, and a number of columns in which to collect the aggregate amount of minutes late, and hours lost. This book should be committed to the charge of a monitor whose duty it would be to enter the name of the late comers with the number of minutes late.

But a single record of these things is not all that is required. At the end of every week, every month, every quarter and at the end of the year, a note should be sent to the parents, stating the number of minutes lost in each period, with a remark that such a loss of time cannot but be highly injurious to their child's character and progress.

The value of this plan is that it throws the responsibility of punctuality where it ought to rest-on the parents; and if persevered in will be found greatly to reduce the number of the late comers.

The next step is with the children.

1. The school should open for the assembling of the children at least a quarter of an hour before school hours; and the teacher should be present at the opening. This is essential. If he would have his children feel that "school is a pleasure" he must not shew, by coming just in time or a few minutes too late, that he comes reluctantly. The example of the teacher is highly conducive to right feeling in this respect. He should be the first to come and last to go, and all his conduct should show that the school-room

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is a place where he finds the highest gratification.

2. Just as the clock strikes nine or two, and ere the sound of the last stroke dies on the ear, the key should be turned in the lock, and the devotional exercises commenced; this should be succeeded by marking the attendance lists, that those who are present may witness that their punctuality is observed and recorded; after which the door should be unlocked, the latecomers admitted, and their names entered in the "Lost-Time Book."

3. All who are admitted at the close of marking the books might be permitted to join their classes, but lose place there at the discretion of the teacher.

4. All who come after the lessons are commenced should be kept from joining the lesson of the first halfhour; standing in a line they might look on, but not engage in any employment. This should be made known to the parents, taking care that this first lesson be one which is in high esteem with them.

5. All late-comers should be excluded from the play-ground during the morning and afternoon recess.

While the above means will, if carried out uniformly, increase the number of those who are punctual, no plan we conceive will ensure regularity, but that of a monthly or quarterly prepayment.

Cleanliness may be obtained by a personal examination of the children on assembling, and those who have come without washing should be quietly desired to return and wash; treating them as late-comers on their return. On nicely-combed hair, neatly brushed clothes, and well-polished shoes, praise should be bestowed as the teacher passes along the lines. About twice weekly all should be desired to put up their hands, who have washed their teeth daily, or combed

Aug. 23, Geo. Page | Hungerford St.

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their hair with a small tooth comb, | and washed their feet since the former enquiry.

To secure a quiet and respectful manner on entering and retiring from school, an effort should be made to inspire the children with respect for the school-room, by forbidding any conduct in it which would not be allowed in the dwelling of well-bred people; and by impressing on them that they should conduct themselves as children as they would be expected to do as men. They should be frequently reminded that on entering a dwelling a man takes off his hat and salutes those he may find there; in like manner when they enter the school-room, they should remove their caps and bow to the teacher and children. They should then take their places quietly at the line marked out for them, and wait in silence for the signal to move, when they should march to the place where pegs are placed, and each as he passes should hang his cap. In like manner, on returning from school, they should march past the pegs, and on reaching the door should salute the teacher, and then quietly pass home. If any boy acts rudely or attempts to rush out, he should be desired to go to the tail of the school, and to make his exit last.

QUESTION II.

As children must be employed there will be fewest temptations to idle noise, where the children are furnished with sufficient employment and a motive to perform it. But the noise of a good school is generally the result of the energy thrown into the teaching; to lessen this, if possible, and to produce an air of quiet diligence, the following things will need attention.

1. The Master's own voice should never be heard in the school, except in teaching. Should he deem it necessary to address a boy in a class, it should be in a quiet tone, so as to be heard only by the parties addressed.

2. All movements and changes should be accomplished by a well-understood set of signals.

3. In draft or class instruction the

voices of the teacher and children should be no louder than is necessary for all in the class or draft to hear.

4. On the first appearance of noise, the duties of the school should be suspended and quiet produced.

Decorum or propriety of conduct is the result of habit rather than of rule, yet the teacher may do much to secure it, by frequently directing the attention of the children to the subject; by such dispositions of the children as will impress them in favour of neatness and order; by checking the first deviation from right posture, by allowing no improper familiarity towards himself; by requiring courteous treatment of each other, and by noticing with displeasure the slightest rudeness towards himself or the children.

In addition to these things, the children should be taught that a good posture is healthful, but a lounging one the reverse; and that inattention is rude and unkind; that boisterousness is highly unbecoming and never encouraged in good society; and that in all their intercourse with each other and their teacher they should act as they would be expected to do if men.

Praise judiciously bestowed has great influence on the manners and habits of children. Acts of courtesy when witnessed by the teacher should receive praise. As a general rule a teacher should be on the look out for things to praise rather than for things to blame.

To secure subordination the teacher in lessons of review should train out the evils resulting from the want of it. The reasons of the rules of the school should be clearly explained, and often referred to; and the children should be interested in carrying the rules into effect.

The giving of orders is a point of great importance. The arrangements and regulations should be such, that few orders should be needed. No order or signal should be repeated twice. Instant obedience should be required.

Delinquencies in these matters arise either from forgetfulness or design. In the former case a glance or a word will

often be sufficient to remedy the evil. | Where it does not, loss of place in class perhaps would. In cases of wilful

wrong-doing, the child should be expostulated with, and lose position; if that is not sufficient, he might be required to stand a little way from his class, but not so far as to prevent him receiving his instruction. If these methods fail to recover him from habitual neglect of his duty, severe measures must be resorted to, according to the circumstances of the case and the character of the child. Pain must be inflicted either in the mind or on the body, The good Teacher will aim at the former.

To make the punishment effective, the child must understand the reason of its infliction, and must feel that it is deserved. He must also from the calm, quiet, gentle, loving manner of the teacher, feel that his good, and not the teacher's gratification is his aim.

QUESTION III.

"As is the master so is the school" is becoming a very general opinion with respect to elementary schools. Without fully assenting to the proposition, great allowance having to be made for home influence and local character, yet it cannot be denied, that the discipline of a school much depends on the character of its master.

To secure good discipline it is essential that the master attend to his appearance, disposition, manner, and habits.

1. In appearance he should be an example of neatness and cleanliness; avoiding all that is foppish on the one hand, such as gold rings on his fingers, and gold chain dangling on his breast; and all that is slovenly on the other. If his own shoes are not daily polished, his clothes neatly brushed, his hair nicely combed, and his teeth cleaned, he cannot with much effect or consistency enforce their observance on his children.

waywardness: he should be loving, having the best interests of his children at heart, and willing to endure any amount of fatigue and labour for their benefit:-he should be patient, remembering how difficult it is to sustain his own attention even now, and what little acquired power of doing so children can have.

3. His manner should be quiet without bustle, with perfect control over his voice, his temper and his movements; for if he has not, how can he blame his children for not possessing it? It should be earnest without affectation; in every lesson, every act of discipline and all his arrangements, studying the well-being of the children :-it should be firm without vacillation; what he is at one time he should be at all times; uniformity of manner having a very powerful influence in producing a feeling of certainty in the breasts of the children that discipline will be maintained.

4. Hishabits should comprise punctuality, diligence, sound judgment, and impartiality.

(1.) Punctuality. He should be at the school to receive his children, and not let them wait, as is the practice with some teachers, in the street, and sometimes in the rain to receive him. He should be at his post at least a quarter of an hour before school-time, to see that his monitors prepare books, slates, chalk and other apparatus for the work of the classes and drafts. His punctuality should extend to the closing of the school, and to the beginning and ending of lessons; few things are more subversive of discipline, than allowing a lesson of one class to intrude into the time of another.

(2.) Diligence. The working of an elementary school, involving as it does instruction in a great variety of topics, to children of very dissimilar ages and attainments and involving constant oversight in order that all shall be faithfully employed, cannot be effectually carried 2. In discipline he should be kind, wil-out, without great diligence on the part ling to make every allowance for the forgetfulness of his children, from which more faults spring than from

of the master. Who ever else idles, he must not. He has no time for anything, person, or subject but his school, his

Let

scholars, and their instruction. him begin to play, and the contagion spreads to all his classes. Not a moment in school should witness him unemployed, or employed in things foreign to his office. He should be

able at all times to draw attention to himself as an example of diligence and faithfulness in the discharge of his school duties.

(3.) Sound judgment.-He should be careful to investigate all cases of discipline, by searching for evidence, comparing statements, considering character and circumstances, and by being very slow in coming to a decision. He should endeavour so to decide in matters of discipline, that his decision, however often it may be reconsidered, may never need to be reversed. If the evidence be not strong enough, let him hesitate, that his children may see that he is not hasty to decide. This will give them confidence in the soundness of his judgement.

(3.) To this habit of sound judgment should be added as essential to it, that of strict impartiality. Sometimes for the same kind of offence the teacher must award different punishments. because of the difference in the character of the offenders; but in these circumstances it should be felt, that the punishment is as severe in the one case as in the other. This will give the children confidence in the justice of his decisions, and their acquiescence in the discipline will be more willingly rendered.

QUESTION IV.

How to secure diligence in school work has been already shewn in the answer to question 4, in the number for August, page 157.

To secure accuracy, the following things are necessary :

1. Let there be a definite amount of work appointed for each lesson.

2. Impress the children that to doa little well is worth more than doing much ill.

3. Revise all the written exercises very carefully.

4. In such a case as incorrect spelling, require the mis-spelt words to be written a certain number of times correctly.

5. In Arithmetic, let the children not count as done, any sum whose answer was not right in the first operation.

6. In the examination of a readinglesson, let the very words of the book be required in the first instance; the putting the substance in their own language being afterwards obtained.

7. Use books rather than slates for all the written exercises of the higher classes.

Truthfulness is a thing of growth. The dishonesty of copying from their neighbours should be frequently impressed upon them. If any answers be copied, they have taken that for which they did not labour. Then, besides the dishonesty, the falsehood of exhibiting as their own that which they have copied should be shewn. It should also be impressed upon them that if in Gallery-lessons they take up the answers of the thinkers around them and give them as their own, they are acting a lie. This is a point of great importance. The teacher had better have a dull gallery with truthfulness, than one with apparent intelligence and much falsehood.

While constant vigilance will be required on the part of the teacher to detect instances of deceit, yet, in all school operations, he should shew his children that they are trusted; there should be nothing in his tone or manner to indicate that he suspects them.

When an instance of untruthfulness does occur, as for instance in working Arithmetic, quietly pass the slate without marking it. The appeal will be felt. In a case of confirmed habit, remove him from temptation.

(To be Continued.)

No. 20.

PAPERS FOR THE SCHOOLMASTER.

OCTOBER 1, 1852.

Lates of a Lecture on the Preparation of Lotes of Lessons.

The preparation of notes of lessons involves a very important part of a teacher's engagements out of school. Apart from the time he may devote to reading up any new subjects, or to the revision of those already mastered, no inconsiderable portion will be required by a junior teacher for writing up notes. The former may or may not be done, the latter must; whatever his efforts after scholarship may be, they will be destructive to his professional character, if made at the expense of school duties. Neither may this duty be considered as done when a bare outline sketch of a subject is made and carried to the school, trusting to the power of suggestion to bring in from the knowledge floating in the mind, the matter required for filling up the outline, so as to make a lesson. The subject of the lesson, whatever it may be, should be read up specially for the occasion, so that the "notes" may be a recent deposit of matter, actually collected and arranged for a defined purpose.

Both for the purpose of mental discipline, and the acquirement of exact knowledge, perhaps no method will yield you so large a return; hence you should be encouraged by the consideration, that whilst preparing for your school-work, you are doing so in a way of very considerable advantage to your own mental improvement.

Not a small amount of that nervous excitement and timidity, manifest in the efforts of some teachers in giving a lesson may fairly be attributed to their consciousness of wanting a complete mastery of their subjects. It is evident therefore that if you study your own comfort and success in teaching, and the improvement of your class, you will spare no pains in going to your work, charged with suitable and well-arranged matter.

Notes of Lessons are of two kinds, Teaching Notes, and Full

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