The Schoolmasters' Club Meeting

The Schoolmasters' Club held its auI nual Thuuksgiving week meeting in this city on Friday and Saturday last. It was produotive of ruuch gnod and was largely attended. Oa Friday the moruiug sessiou was held at the School of Musio building. The most important discussion was tb at of Prof Frtnch, of Hyde Park, who discnssed the value of sight readmg in the stndy of languages. Profs. Kelsey and Pattengill di.-cussed the same topic and it seemed 1 to be a general conclusión that sight roarïing was a first class method of studying a laoguage if not oarried too Ifar. At the afteruoon Bession the Euglish section met in Tappan hall. Mits H. A. Baucroft, of Albioi, preso ted a paper opon Bnglish literature as an aid to oomposition. There were two obstacles met with in the oultivation of appreciation of good literature on the part of the pupil : the pupil was not taught how to do coinposition and he was forever fearing correction. ' Henee familiar and easy topics should be given scholars. Tbe learning to write well depended upon the nnmber of tiialsaudcorrectionsand the rnanner in which they were received. The art was coinposition was an imitative one. Miss. A. D. Clarke, of Kalamazoo, spoke udod the historv of literature. In studying masterpieces the run of study shouldbe: (1) the author's work ; (2) the age; (8) the man himself and something about Mm. The study of literature should be first historical, then appreoiative. Pre f. Demmon expressed himself very freely upon the prevalent method of teachiug litereture by pullint; the best classics apart. Too ruuch stress was laid on acenracy and not enough on general impressions. In teaching litlature the teachers' airn sbould be to incúlcate a taste for literatura in the pupil and not set pupils to correcting Milton, George Eliot and Tannyson. At Saturday morning's session A. Gaylord Slocum, pjesident of Kalamazoo- ooilege, discussod "The Preparation of Teachers for Secondary Schools" - from the view of the ooi lege. He thought religious and moral training had muoh to do with e teacher's worth. Principal R. G. Boone, of the Normal school, thought that tho lower school teachers were the hardest worked pedagogues of all. They had from five 1 1 seven classes a day, and taught from twice to three times as long as a college professor. For the first time in the high school the student becomes cosmopolitan in his views. His studies caused him to take on more of a perspective view of life. The high school looked in two directions, iu as much as it was the preparatory scho 1 for some and the finishing school for others It was the view of the speaker that every teacher should have a college education. Prof. Hinsdale in addressing the convention said that oolJege teachers as a rule were not so well adapted to their positions as were the primary teachers. If there was as much bungling shown by the latter as there was by the forrner their positions would at once becoine vaoant. Dr. Nigbtingale, assistant superintendent of the Chicago schools, said that there were too many women teachers eraployed because they were cheap. In Michigan the ratio was 78.4 women to 21.6 men, because the wages f or women were so mucli lower than tor men. Women should receive as much pay as men, The school room was no place for dudes or dyspeptios. The teacher should be sunsihuy in temperament and loving in disposition. At the afternoon session Prof. Pattengill discusstid the diploma system in a mauner not complimentary to it. In his opinión there were too many schools on the University list. President Angelí brought the session to a close by a defeuse of the diploma syste n. He thought teachers where students resided knew more abuot their abilitiea in their studies than could be ascertained by examination here. The followiug offioers wore elected for the enstring year: President, John D. Reed, Michigan University ; vice presidont , President Hurtwell, of Kalamazoo; secretary and treasnrer, E. C. Warriner, 8aginaw, E. 8