a The English protectorate, or guardianship, over Turkey, is proving to be no comfortable matter. The inevitable failure of the Sultan to carry out the promised reforms, has compelled a threatening attitude on the part of good mother Britannia, who seems just now to have a quite sufficient number of refractory orphans in charge. South America reminds the world that she still exi:ts, by getting up a rum. pus of her own not an insurrection this time, but a genuine national war. Chili on the one side and Peru and Bolivia on the other, have allowed a bound. ary dispute to develop into an occasion for waging a war which neither side bas the means for carrying on. The newspaper accounts of the capture of the Peruvian iron.clad, Huascar, by the Chilian iron-clads, read like the most romantic of naval tales. GENERAL, What events are truly historical ? Of all the matters whose record in our daily newspapers creates a passing sensation, how many will attract the attention of the student even ten years hence? Clearly but few. History as we care to know it, is the record of human progress, and especially of national growths. The question is, then, What events bear with power on the development and per. fection of the world, favorably or unfavorably? Tried by this test, the glaring headlines of the dailies stand chiefly for trash; and this department is in danger of noting too many rather than too few facts. It might reasonably be asked, for instance, what real historical importance can attach to the grand reception of Gen. Grant or to the passing away of a political war horse ” like Sen. Chandler, however sturdy or admirable in his way? The answer would require more space than we can spare, and then might not be wholly convincing. Any one who has read European history enough to get a reasonably clear idee of the “ Balance of Power" doctrine, will be interested in tracing its influence upon the present situation. It is no longer families that are feared, and royal morriages have no such significance as formerly, but the balance of power is still the chief factor in European politics. The Hapsburg family was once the great bug-bear of Europe; now, it is the great territory and resourses of Russia that exciie jealousy and fear. England fears Russian aggression upon her Asiatic dominions. Austria fears a further advance of Russiu toward the Mediterranean. Germany does not enjoy so power: ful a next neighbor while she is compelled to wytch France on the other side. Italy, on the other hand, does not forget to dislike and fear her ancient oppres. sor, Austria; while the peoples still under Turkish misrule see no deliverer but Russia. Thus the whole condition of Europe is that of anxious and suspicious watch. fulness lest some one power or combination achieve an unsafe preporderance of power, no one knowing how soon the war-cloud may burst. And the lamenta. ble fact at the bottom of the whole business, is tbat every nation believes every other to be wholly greedy, untruthful and unscrupulous; and we have the spectacle of civilized, Christian nations trying to live together on principles long since condemned among civilized and Christian men, 3- Vol. IX.- No. 12 EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS. WISCONSIN TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION. Executive Session, to be held at Madison, Dec. 29, 30, 31, 1879. The Association will meet each evening in Joint Session with the Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters. PROGRAMME. Monday Evening, December 29. 7:30. — Address The Nature and Methods of Science, with Thoughts on Teaching Science — Rev. A. L. Chapio, D. D., Pres. Acad. of S., A., and Letters. Tuesday Morning, December 30. 9:00. — Opening Exercises. The Present Condition of the Schools of the State - Supt. W. C. Whit ford. Emery, J. S. Dore. Westcott, I. N. Stewart. Terry, F. W. Isham, D. McGregor, Miss A. Hosford, A. J. Hutton, G. W. Foster. Tuesday Afternoon. Tuesday Evening. 7:30. — The Arts of Engraving and Etching (Illustrated by examples of work. by the Great Masters) - James MacAlister. General Business. Wednesday Morning, December 31. Mathematics: Its Scope and Place – W. D. Parker. G. S. Albee, Miss S. A. Stewart. A. F. North, A. A. Miller. W. C. Whitford, Robt. Graham, John S. Döre, T. F. Frawley, Miss Betsey M. Clapp. : Wednesday Afternoon. Principals' Association. Wednesday Evening. "The Education of the Deaf and Dumb (Illustrated by classes) – W. H. De Motte, LL. D. General Business. HOTEL RATES. — (By Special Arrangements with the Proprietors.) Vilas House, $1.50 per day. Park Hotel, $2.00 per day. RAILROAD RATES.-- The following railroads will sell return tickets at one-fifth fare to such as have paid full fare in coming, on presentation of certificates properly endorsed by the Secretary: Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul; Chicago & Northwestern : Chicago, St. Paul & Minneapolis; Chicago & Tomah; St. Paul, Stillwater & Taylor's Falls; Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western; Green Bay & Minnesota; Wisconsin Central; Mineral Point; Pine River Valley & Steven's Point. There will be no sessions of the General Association on Tuesday and Wednes. day afternoons, to enable members to attend the Meetings of the Superintendents, and the Principals' Association. The Executive Committee will meet on Wednesday, at 5 P. M. DECEMBER 1, 1879. W. H. BEACH, Beloit. President. W. H. CHANDLER, Sun Prairie, Chairman Ex. Com. F. W. ISHAY, Elkhorn. Secretary PRINCIPALS' ASSOCIATION. The Fourth Annual Session of the Wisconsin Principals' Association, to be held at Madison, Tuesday, 2 o'clock, P. M., December 30, 1879. PROGRAMME. 1. Paper -- Should the High Schools be Organized as Supplementary to the Common School, or as Preparatory to the University or College ? — Prof. R. W. Burton, Janesville. 2. Discussion on the Marking System --Profs. W. H. Beach, Beloit; A. Hardy, Milwaukee; S. Shaw, Madison; W. G. Clough, Portage; and others. 3. Paper -- Some Needed Reforms in Graded Schools. - Prof. E. Barton Wood, Oshkosh. 4. Report of Committee on State Certificates. Prof. T. F. Frawley, Eau Claire; Prof. A. J. Hutton, Platteville; Prof. I. N. Stewart, Berlin; Committee. 5. Miscellaneous Business, Reports of Commit!ees, Election of Officers. J. Q. EMERY, Ft. Atkinson, President. A. R. SPRAGUE, Black River Falls, Secretary. CONVENTION OF SUPERINTENDENTS, To be held at Madison, T'uesday and Wednesday Afternoons, Dec. 30 and 31, 1879. The following programme of excercises has been prepared by the Executive Committee, viz.: T'uesday, P. M., December 30, 1879. 1. Address by the State Superintendent. 2. The Use and Abuse of Webster's Diacritical Marks Supt. 0. S. Westcott. 3. Teachers' Meetings – Supts. Shaw and Grogan. 4. Ought not persons who take the office of County Superintendent, to be re quired to hold a suitable Certificate of Qualification ? – Supts. Viebahn and Harper. Wednesday, P. M., December 31, 1879. 1. How shall our Schools be Supplied with more Eficient Teachers Supts. West and Williams. 2. What Measures can be taken to Secure a better Sanitary Condition in our Schools - Supts. Bartran and Greene. 4. By what Means can the Erection of better School-Houses be Secured ? Ass’t Supt. Pradt. W. C. WHITFORD, State Superintendent. Executive Committee. OFFICE OF STATE SUPERINTENDENT. MADISON, Wis., November 13, 1879. In compliance with the petition of eleven of the applicants who were examined, in August last, in a portion of the required studies for State Teachers' certificates, I have designated Thursday and Friday, the first and second days of January, 1880, as the time, and Senate Chamber of the State Capitol, at Madison, as the place, for holding a special examination for these certificates. The pres. ent Board of State Examiners will have charge of the exercises, and will fol. low the rules in force at the annual examination in August last. Applicants who have not signed the petition above mentioned, will also be admitted to the special examination. WILLIAM C. WHITFORD, State Superintendent. THE FOUR regular conductors of the teachers' institutes, viz., Profs. Graham, Salisbury, Thayer, and Hutton, will hold a meeting at Madison January 1st, for the purpose of arranging the outline of institute work for the next three years. We understand that this outline will contain some new and interesting features. EDITORIAL. WE PUBLISH in this number of the JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, Supt. Roby's paper on “An Educational Problem,” which was read before the State Teache ers' Association last July, at La Crosse. At that time, an earnest wish was expressed by many teachers to discuss the points presented in the paper. Without doubt, the utility of classical training, and the duty of the State to furnish this training for those pupils who desire to obtain it, will be ably advocated at the holiday session of this Association. We presume that the arguments of Supt. Roby will be met in this discussion. THE CIRCULATION of the JOURNAL OF EDUCATION is now the largest it has been since it was revived nine years ago. We are under many obligations to the teachers and school officers in the State for their subscriptions, and espe. cially to the county superintendents and institute conductors for their efforts in extending the patronage of the JOURNAL. During the year, they have added at least five bundred names to our subscription list. Several of our exchanges in the State have recently mentioned the JOURNAL in terms of high commendation. Many teachers have expressed to us, the past year, their satisfaction in reading each month the articles which we publisb. We shall continue to make the JOURNAL, as far as we are able, most useful to our subscribers. It is the only periodical which furnishes the fullest state news on educational subjects. Rea'ly a large amount of time is employed in searching for the items usually given in the notes each month. Our editorials aim to present our views on all the important movements in the school system of the state. To hundreds of persons our official department, in which so many questions on points in the school laws are answered, has come to be indispensable. The selected articles, which occupy about one-fourth of our space, are designed to aid mainly the teachers in our public schools. We shall provide next year, as we have done the past year, superior original articles on subjects of present interest to all our readers. WE INTENDED to make special exertions the coming year in furnishing addi. tional articles on primary instruction in our public schools, Our plans are to procure the ablest contributions which our best teachers in this department can prepare. In some of our graded schools and in our Normal Schools are ladies wbose work in teaching the small children, is of the highest character. Their experience and their success entitle them to be regarded as authorities in this work. From some of them we already have pledges that they will furnish the needed articles. IN THE past two years, we have filled many pages of the Journal of Education with news items, editorials, and selected articles upon the State Uni. versity. Probably, no other single agency has circulated throughout the State such valuable information in regard to this institution. Most of the materials |