of wrong committed. A pupil should not be tempted to do wrong. Hence, teachers should not, but when actually necessary, leave the class rooms; and at the close of the day, not until all the pupils have been dismissed, and the rooms and furniture arranged in proper order.

23. Whether or not punishment is to be resorted to in maintaining order in a class-room, depends, in nine cases out of ten, upon the mode of discipline and interest excited by the teacher; hence the unreasonableness of punishing or censuring a pupil for that which arises from a defect in the management by the teacher.

24. Never exhibit a quick temper or a fretful disposition; and by no means give way to scolding. Let any necessary rebuke be administered with determination, coolness and becoming dignity.

25. Excessive or unreasonable corporal punishment is justly to be condemned; but abusive tongue-lashing, resorted to by some teachers, is infinitely worse. All such punishment as confinement in dark rooms, striking with the hand, or pulling hair or ears, should be entirely abolished.

26. Encourage as much, and reprove as little as possible. For the assistant to appeal unnecessarily to the principal, in maintaining order in the class, is a great mistake; for the pupil is thereby impressed with the idea that his teacher is incompetent, or he would manage without assistance. Pupils should not be sent to the principal for reproof, except for absolute disobedience. All else being settled by the teacher, unaided, increases his authority, and secures for him the respect of the pupil. The reading of newspapers, pamphlets, or such like, at any time during school hours, should be avoided. A faithful teacher finds no time for such employment.

27. Papers, nutshells, etc., should never be found in the class-room; they are indications not only of untidiness, but also of the failure to secure the attention of the scholars; for, so long as they are well employed and interested, they have neither time nor inclination for disorder in any form.

28. Teachers should not allow anything but impossibilities to prevent their attendance at school; for, when a teacher is absent, not only his class suffers, but the whole department is more or less embarrassed. Each teacher should arrive in time in the morning to receive his class before the opening of the school.

CREATE a taste in youth for good books, and the pleasures of literature will supply the place of those grosser pleasures that lead astray the unthinking. It is the will made strong by cultivation that enables a man

to resist the cravings of those appetites whose indulgence brings death. The ignorant man must of necessity be a man of narrow views and strong prejudices; and even in questions which involve great moral principles he is quite as likely to be wrong as right. The safe man in society is the man who is competent to do his own thinking.

THE STATE UNIVERSITY-A STEP FORWARD.

Hitherto the Wisconsin State University has not had a very prosperous career. As to grade and quality it has ranked with the best colleges in the West, but financially, and as to that popularity which secures a large attendance, it has fallen far short of the high mark which its friends set for it at the date of incorporation,

As it appears to us, this partial failure is due to three principal causes: 1. The absence of the best possible financial management, as evidenced in large and needless expenditures for buildings.

2. A persistent disregard, on the part of the Regents of the University, of the rights of one entire half of the youth of the State.

3. A narrow, illiberal and unjust policy on the part of the State.

The first of these evils is now beyond the power of correction; the second is in process of correction, and the third, it is believed, will not much longer remain a reproach to the State.

Section two of the act of incorporation reads as follows: "The object of the University shall be to provide the inhabitants of this State with the means of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the various branches of literature, science and the arts."

Hitherto the Regents of the University have assumed to say that inhabitants meant male inhabitants, and accordingly the doors have been closed against any and all young ladies. Recently the impolicy and injustice of this exclusion has been more fairly considered, and as the result, an ordinance has been passed for the establishment of a normal department, to which gentlemen and ladies are received on precisely equal terms. This, in effect, opens the doors of the University to all who may wish to avail themselves of its facilities without regard to sex; and we are informed that a number of young ladies are already making arrangements to take a complete University course.

The world moves! let all the people rejoice!

The normal department has already commenced its spring session, under the immediate charge of Prof. Chas. A. Allen, late agent of the normal school board, and promises finely.-Wisconsin Farmer.

HINTS TO TEACHERS.

[Continued from the April number.]

RECITATIONS.

To become able to conduct a recitation well, is a great achievement. But few teachers possess the happy faculty to arouse the most active thoughts of a class, and at the same time concentrate their minds fully upon the topic or lesson under discussion. The children must be interested in their lesson, or the recitation will not benefit them; and the more keenly active their minds are, the more lasting will be the impressions gained. Every pupil should be on the alert for every question as quick as it comes from the lips of the teacher. A stupid, listless recitation is equal to or even worse than-no recitation at all.

The question should be asked before the pupil to answer is designated, and then all prepared to answer should raise a hand. The teacher may then designate the pupil to answer, thus compelling each pupil to give attention to every question, as any one is liable to be called on to answer it. This keeps the mind active and the interest alive. It also gives the teacher an opportunity of knowing who have and who have not studied their lessons. The effect is the same as though each pupil answered every question.

During recitation the teacher should never attend to any other business. It requires the whole time and attention of any teacher to conduct a recitation well. In some schools the pupils not reciting seem to take particular pleasure in annoying the teacher with questions during a recitation. This should not be permitted.

Pupils should ordinarily stand while reciting.

DISTINCTNESS OF UTTERANCE.

It is one of the first duties of the teacher to teach his pupils how to talk, that is, how to utter words so as to be easily and distinctly understood, provided they have not learned this before they enter school; and I find that very many have not. Bashfulness causes some to speak the words with so little voice as to be understood with great difficulty. With some this weak mode of speaking is only a habit, while others again have more or less real impediment in their speech. This last it takes time and thorough drill to overcome. But whatever lies in the way of distinctness of utterance, the teacher must set himself about it with a will, and never rest satisfied until he has removed it. If it is only bashfulness or habit, a little ingenuity of the teacher will soon bring out a full clear voice. If the hindrance to perfect speech is a more serious one, he must do the best he can to improve the pupil. Almost any impediment may be nearly if not entirely overcome by persistent effort. In no

case should a teacher accept an answer from a pupil unless it is clearly and distinctly spoken, if the pupil has the power to do so.

ELEMENTARY SOUNDS.

In our language there are, according to our common standards, fortythree simple or elementary sounds. Of these elementary sounds our entire language is formed. Every word is simply a combination of these sounds. Any person, therefore, who can learn to make these soundsand almost any one can-can also learn to combine them in the utterance of words. The reason that foreigners do not speak our language well, is because they do not first learn the elements of which it is composed. There are sounds in the English language, for instance, that are not in the German; and, as a natural consequence, the Germans at first experience a difficulty in pronouncing words in which these sounds occur; but if they would first learn the sounds, separate and apart from any words, they would then soon learn to combine them in the perfect pronunciation of words. If properly taught, foreigners can ordinarily learn to speak our language as well as native-born citizens.

In view of this, and the fact that many of the children of this county are foreigners, it becomes doubly necessary that these elementary sounds should be carefully taught in our schools. As soon as the letters are learned, should their sounds also be learned. In some of our best model schools the sounds of letters are taught even before their names.

This

is the case in the model school connected with our State Normal University. I can tell, in nine cases out of ten, by hearing a teacher read, whether he has or has not studied these sounds. If he has, his pronunciation is clear and sharp cut. Every word is spoken with a full and articulate utterance. If he has not, every sound in every word is not clearly spoken, thus rendering it more or less difficult to understand him, and detracting largely from the beauty of his reading. No person should attempt to teach an English school, who is not thoroughly master of all the elementary sounds of our language, and able to analyze every word into its simplest elements of sound.

SPELLING.

Spelling, as much as any other branch of study, should be taught with care in our common schools. Nothing so much disfigures and mars the beauty of a written page, as poor orthography.

In spelling without the book, the words should be pronounced by the pupils before they are spelled; then the teacher may know whether he has been correctly understood. Pupils should be allowed but one trial in the spelling of words. When words are misspelled, it is well to have them spelled a second time by the pupils having missed them, either before the close of the recitation, or in the next following recitation.

After pupils are sufficiently advanced, their spelling lessons should be written. For this purpose I would recommend writing-spellers; if these cannot be had, the exercises may be written on a slate, or on paper. This may be done in the following manner: Let each pupil take a slate, and as the teacher pronounces the words, write them down. Then let the pupils exchange slates, and, as the teacher spells the words correctly from the book, let each pupil erase the words from the slate in his possession, if correctly spelled, leaving the misspelled ones for the writer to correct. All the spelling we do in practical life is by writing; in speaking we do not spell the words.

MENTAL ARITHMETIC.

Of all the branches taught in our common schools, there is none equal to mental arithmetic for the discipline of the mind. Every pupil in school should study it. Even though the child is so small that he does not yet know all of his letters, still he may begin to count, add, subtract and divide. This tends to strengthen his mind, teach him abstractions, and prepare him for higher studies.

In studying mental arithmetic, the pupils should be required first to enunciate the problem, as stated by the teacher. This should be done, Then the pupil should

in all simple problems at least, without the book. be required to go through with the analysis in a logical, systematic manner, giving the reasoning of every step. This will at the same time teach him system, logic and arithmetic.

MOVEMENTS THROUGH THE HOUSE SHOULD BE ORDERLY.

When pupils take their places in the class, or return to their seats, they should go singly, and with a light step, to avoid all unnecessary confusion and noise. In some schools a great uproar is occasioned when pupils take their places in the class, or return from it; as also at the dismissal of the school. All this can and should be avoided, as it is unnec essary, annoying to the rest of the school, and fosters a bad spirit in the pupils. Everything should be done with system and care, and in perfect order. All useless running about through the house should be prohibited.

In some schools, when the hour of dismission approaches, half or more of the pupils begin to gather up their hats and cloaks, so as to be ready to go with a rush when the word of dismission is spoken! All this is supremely ridiculous, and should not be tolerated. Everything should be done precisely at the proper time, and in the proper manner.

GENERAL EXERCISES.

There are a number of things, not directly connected with any of the branches taught, that it is important the entire school should know. These, as well as some things in the regular studies, may be advantageously taught by general exercises, in which the whole school should