by the class, and so on until a sentence or a convenient portion of the lesson is given out and written. The teacher then reads those words which he has just given out, and afterwards calls upon the pupils to spell them from their slates, each pupil in turn spelling one word. At this time those pupils that made mistakes in writing the words may be allowed to correct them; but every such case should be noted down by the teacher. The teacher then proceeds to dictate another sentence or portion in the same manner, until the whole of the lesson is gone through. While the dictation is proceeding, the teacher takes care to explain to his pupils, where the stops are to be placed, when capital letters are required, gives them all necessary information respecting orthographical rules, anomalous sounds, silent letters, &c.; and also tells them the meanings and parts of speech of those words with which they were not previously acquainted. When the whole of the lesson has been given out and explained by the teacher, and written and spelt by the pupils, it is rehearsed from the beginning in the following manner :-Commencing with the first word of the lesson, every pupil in turn spells a word from his slate, and tells its signification and part of speech, together with such other particulars as the teacher may require, until all the words of the lesson are correctly spelt and thoroughly explained. The experience of several years has proved, that if the teacher dictates the lesson carefully and distinctly in this way, giving all the necessary explanations as he proceeds, very few mistakes will be made by the pupils. Those which do occur should be noted down as being the result of gross and inexcusable carelessness. It will be seen, that by this method the pupils have every necessary information and explanation afforded to them upon the subject of the lesson, and it, therefore, only now remains to exact from them an adequate return. In order to effect this object, the pupils are directed (immediately after the rehearsal above-mentioned) to rub out from their slates every word of the lesson. When this is thoroughly done, the teacher proceeds to dictate the whole lesson over again word by word, very deliberately and distinctly, but without spelling the words, the pupils being now required to write all the words correctly without any aid whatever. All mistakes made by the pupils during this reproduction (these are usually very few) are carefully checked and corrected as they occur, by the teacher and his assistants, who for this purpose walk behind the pupils and examine their slates, as they proceed with the lesson. These mis-spelt and corrected words are entered into a book kept for the purpose, in order to form part of a spelling lesson at some future time. the ear. By the method above detailed, every word is presented in a correct form to the mind of the pupil, through the medium of both the eye and This correct impression is rendered deep and lasting by the close attention which every pupil must of necessity give to the lesson, in order that he may be able to reproduce it correctly afterwards; and this reproduction also tends to make the impression indelible. At all events, we may hope that by thus pre-occupying the mind with truth we raise a strong, if not an insuperable, barrier to the entrance of error. I have found this method work so satisfactorily both to teacher and pupils, in schools of entirely dissimilar characters, that I venture to submit it to your notice, sincerely trusting, that should you think fit to insert it in your Journal, it may prove equally useful to others. Parkhurst, Nov. 13, 1843. Most respectfully yours, E. C. DAINTREE. ON THE VENTILATION OF SCHOOL-ROOMS. SUPPOSE a school-room to be 30 feet square and 9 feet high, it will contain 13,996,000 cubic inches of atmospheric air. According to Davy and Thompson, two accurate and scientific chemists, one individual respires and contaminates 6,500 cubic inches of air in one minute :50 scholars will respire 325,000 cubic inches in the same time. In about 40 minutes all the air of such a room will have become contaminated, if fresh supplies are not provided. The quantity of carbonic acid produced by the respiration of 50 scholars will be about 750 cubic inches in an hour. From these calculations, we must see how soon the air of a schoolroom becomes unfit to sustain the animal powers, and how unfavourable to vigorous mental efforts such a contaminated atmosphere must prove to be. To avoid this most serious evil is a desideratum, which has not yet been reached in the construction of school-houses. In my opinion, every house and room, which is closed for any considerable time upon a concourse of people, should be warmed with pure air from outof-doors, heated by furnaces placed in a cellar (and every school-house should have a cellar), or in some contiguous apartment, so that the supply of air for the fire should not be from the school-room. Furnaces for warming external air may be constructed cheaply, so as effectually to answer the purposes of warmth and ventilation. When a quantity of warm fresh air is forced into a school-room by means of a furnace, the foul air is forced out at every crevice, and at the ventilating passages; and the currents are all warm quite to these passages. But if the room is warmed by a stove or fire-place, the cold air from without rushes in at every passage and every crevice, and while the parts of the body nearest the fire are too warm, the current of cold air rushing to the fire to sustain the combustion, keeps all the other parts cold and uncomfortable. This is a most direct way to produce disease, for nothing can affect the system more unfavourably than currents of cold air coming upon us when quite warm. I have said that school-houses should have cellars under them. The floor of a building without a cellar is always cold, and often damp; this tends to keep the feet of the scholars cold, while the head, in a region of air much warmer, will be kept hot. This is both unnatural and unhealthy. The feet should always be kept warm, and the head cool. No person can enjoy good health, whose feet are habitually cold. In schoolrooms heated by stoves the feet are very liable to be cold, while the upper stratum of air, kept hot and dry by a long reach of pipe, produces a very unpleasant and unfavourable state of the head; vertigo and syncope often take place in such a room. The human body is so constituted, that it can bear almost any degree of heat or cold, if the change be not too sudden, and all parts of it to be subjected to it alike. We find no particular inconvenience from respiring air at the temperature of 90 degrees on one hand, or at zero on the other; but inequalities of temperature at the same time affect us very differently, and can never be suffered for a long time without danger. There is one consideration in the preparation of furnaces for warming rooms that should not be overlooked. The object should be to force into the room a large quantity of air heated a few degrees above the temperature required, rather than a small quantity at a much higher temperature. The air chambers should be capacious, and the passages free. The air should always be taken from out of doors, and never from a cellar. The air of a cellar is often impure itself, and, if pure, a cellar that is all tight cannot furnish an adequate supply. The whole air of a school-room should be changed at least every hour; if oftener, it would be better. If a cellar is not much larger than the room above it, this supply will soon be exhausted also. The air of the cellar may be sufficient to supply the combustion of the fuel. This is all it should do; and for this purpose it is better than air from out of doors; as the coldness of this checks the heat, and diminishes the temperature of the fire, and its power of heating the furnace. VIATOR. HOW MANY MAKE A BILLION? REV. SIR, I quite agree with your correspondent G. H. as to the importance of Numeration, which seems to be too much overlooked, not only in our national schools, but also in those of much higher pretensions: inasmuch as it is by no means uncommon to meet with boys who can work out a rule-of-three sum without an error, yet cannot read off the answer, if it extends to seven or eight places of figures, especially if it contains a few naughts. Should any one be inclined to dispute the fact, let him take any number of boys, of 14 or 15 years of age, who have received an ordinary education, and make the experiment, and I will venture to affirm, that in two cases out of three, the result will be as I have said. But my object in troubling you with this, is not to point out a more practical way of teaching numeration, but to notice what I should have thought to be a misprint, had I not met with several, in other respects, men of sound judgments, who fell into the same error. Now, as precision is of the utmost importance in all matters relating to education, it is much to be desired, that the name of every place of figures should be well defined; and that while one person is talking of billions, another should not understand him as meaning thousands of millions, which cannot fail of happening as matters stand, from the ambiguity which prevails with respect to numbers of more than nine places of figures. Your correspondent will doubtless admit, that the word billion is a contraction of bimillion, i. e., a million twice told, or a million of millions. According to G. H.'s own explanation, it is unnecessary to use a new word to express a different collection of figures, till we have exhausted every combination of the old one. Why then should we use the word billion, when thousands of millions would answer the same purpose, and express the quantity without risk of ambiguity? But I am aware that I may be met here by the question, Would you go on exhausting the old word throughout, before using a new one, i.e., would you go on to millions of billions, before using the word trillion? I say no. We have the word trillion, meaning tri-million, or millions thrice told, which sufficiently and simply expresses the quantity. The table then will stand thus : 12; 3 4 5 6 7 8; 9 0 1, 2 3 4; 5 6 7, 8 9 0, and so on to quatrillions, quintrillions, &c., allowing six places of figures to each. This seems to me rational, and according to analogy; it presents no difficulty, and is not liable to be misunderstood. If you do not think the above too trite or common-place for your columns, and can find me a corner, I shall feel obliged by its insertion, as I am convinced that there is great difference of opinion on the subject. I am, Rev. Sir, your obliged servant, A LOVER OF PRECISION. A SPECIMEN OF CATECHISING VERY YOUNG CHILDREN. THE following paper has been in type several months, the Editor having kept it back simply from the feeling, that some of his readers, for whom he has the highest respect, may regard it as childish. Any one, however, who has been practically engaged in training teachers, knows, that in a majority of cases, they find nothing more difficult than to question little children. They seem to have nothing to say but "What does that mean?" "What is so and so?" which, though of some use in examination, is of little or none in instruction. The history of the following queries is simply this :-In a large training institution, where the masters were often set to write out a list of questions upon a given passage (an imperfect exercise, of course, but not without its advantages), it was found, that whatever the passage, a great portion of the questions were, mutatis mutandis, much the same; and the longer the passage, the more likely was this to be the case. To obviate this, very short subjects were set, and a larger number of GG questions exacted, e. g., Twenty questions on the word "Amen;" Fifty on the "Grace before Meat." As an encouragement to the novices, the following was given as a specimen. A considerable number of those who are now serving with credit at the head of large schools, having thought it worth their while to copy the manuscript, the Editor is disposed, after all, to regard it as not unsuited to this Journal. Should his readers be disposed to think so too, they may have as many such as they choose. FIFTY QUESTIONS ON THE GRACE BEFORE MEAT," WITH A SHORT "Bless, O Lord, these Thy good creatures to our use, and our Lord." What is a "grace ?" [A short prayer to be said at meal-times.] How many graces, or short prayers, are to be said at meal-times? What are they called? What do you mean by "before meat?" [Before any meal-any regular meal, as dinner, &c.] When is this to be said then? Is there any other grace to be said? When? What is that called? To whom are graces (like all other prayers) to be said? Does God hear us? Does God always hear us? What! wherever we may be, or if we speak ever so low? Even very little children, when they pray to him? Is not that very good of so great a Being as the God who made heaven and earth? Then, I am sure, you ought to be very thankful? And very good? By what name do we address God in this prayer? (or) what is God called? These thy good creatures" What creatures? [What we have got to eat.] Mention some different kinds of things that you have to eat. What are all these things, and every thing else that is good to eat, called in this grace? You mentioned bread." What is bread made of? What is flour? What does flour come from? (Here the teacher may talk for a minute or two to the children about wheat and wheat-fields and grinding-mills, &c.) Where do we get wheat from? [It grows in the fields.] If God would not let the sun shine or the rain fall, would any grow then? Who makes it grow then? Should we have any bread then, if there was no wheat grown? And every thing we eat? |