man system with ours. In Germany the child is put first under the best and ablest teachers, who know how to form and mould the tender brain for future training, as the skilful sculptor prepares the clay for his model.

Here, the first instructor, in most cases serving a novitiate in teaching, puts the children under school discipline, makes them recite letters, words, and silly sentences alone or by class, like parrots, without intuitive instruction. The teacher was brought up so, has no experience, does her duty as far as she knows, and is not to blame. When children are sent to primary private schools, matters are worse, as there is very little discipline, and less learning.

As a general thing, private schools for infants (sent by their mothers to get rid of their care) are mostly kept by very young or old maids, who feel sure that they can earn a few dollars by opening a school," and feel bound to teach their pupils in the most interesting manner, in order to retain them with the favor of the parents. A little a-b-c, then a candy-stick, then a little singing, then "twice two is four," then a little spelling, then recess with another candy, then a little singing and braying,— and the school is dismissed! All the meanwhile the good schoolma'am is attending to her private matters as well as to her private school. There may be here and there an exception to these facts; but, as every intellectual observer knows, such schools are in every town and village in New England, and the consequences are sorely felt by every teacher of Grammar and High schools.

The consequence is, that children emerging from these sweet hot-beds are spoiled for regular training, and the public teacher finds it difficult to bring them up to systematic work. We strongly insist that such babies be required to enter the public Primary school just as if they were never before in any school, no matter how "old and wise" they are represented to be. It is the only way to give our Primary public schools the dignity which they must have in the estimation of the people, otherwise we may just as well dispense with them, and keep them merely as charitable institutions for paupers.

But, now, are our Primary schools supplied with the teachers ready to accept so important a trust, and able to perform the

duties? Does it not seem clear that the teachers for the Primary schools should be as expert even as the teachers of a High school? We leave this and all other suggestions in this paper to the consideration of teachers and parents. We should like to develop some plain ideas on topics pertaining to our schools, concerning the "Relation between Teacher, School Committee, and Parents,"" School-books," " Moral Education," and other equally important matters, but must defer this to another time.

In conclusion, we beg to express our conviction that the greatest necessity in our education is this, that the teachers employed should be persons of such integrity and ability as to deserve the unqualified respect and confidence of our communities, and then that the education and discipline, intellectually and morally, should be left entirely with them; since, if they are by nature and education fitted for their trusts, they must know the wants of the school better than any persons who are engaged in the cares and responsibilities of other vocations.

But we fear that nothing less than a National Ministry of Education, composed of men of the highest attainments, - not profound learning, but cosmopolitan knowledge of educational science gathered from the practical experience of advanced nations of the world, can clean out this Augean stable, and effect the much needed change in our educational system.

C. M.

AMERICAN CHILDREN.

LORD DUFFERIN, visiting the Montreal Normal School, was presented with an address by the pupils. In his reply he referred to the important task for which they were preparing themselves, and continued:

"I would venture to remind you that in your future relations with your young pupils, you will be careful to remember that your functions must not be confined merely to the development of their intelligence and the imparting of information, but there is also another duty as important as either of these, and that is, that you should endeavor to refine, discipline, and elevate their general behavior, rendering them polite, well-bred, deferential,

respectful to their parents, to their elders, and their superiors. Now, what I would venture to ask you from time to time to impress upon your pupils is this-that though upon the one hand there is no quality more creditable than self-respect, yet, on the other hand, the very idea of self-respect excludes selfassertion; and I say it the more readily because I confess if there is any criticism which I have to pass upon the youth of this new country-I do not say of Canada especially, but of the continent of America—it is that I have been struck by the absence of the deference and respect for those who are older than themselves, to which we still cling in Europe. I have observed in travelling on board the steamboats on the St. Lawrence, children running about from one end of the vessel to the other, whom, more than once, I have been tempted to take up and give, a good whipping. I have seen them thrust aside two gentlemen in conversation, trample on ladies' dresses, shoulder their way about, without a thought of the inconvenience they were occasioning, and, what was more remarkable, these little thoughtless indiscretions did not seem to attract the attention of their parents. When I ventured to make an observation on this to the people with whom I had been travelling, I was always told that these little pleasing individuals came from the other side of the line. Well, I only hope that this may be so; at all events, without inquiring too strictly how that may be, I trust that the teachers of the schools of Canada will do their very best to inculcate on their pupils the duties of politeness, of refined behavior, of respect for the old, and of reverence for their parents; that they will remember that a great deal may be done by kindly and wholesome advice in this particular, and that if they only take a little trouble they will contribute greatly to render Canada not only one of the best educated, most prosperous, most successful, and richest, but one of the most polite, one of the best bred, and well-mannered countries of the American continent."

RESIDENT EDITOR'S DEPARTMENT.

THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING.

We believe that all the principal educators of our country and of Europe now agree that every teacher should have a special preparation, before receiving an appointment in one of our schools. And, by a special preparation, we mean instruction, not only in the branches to be taught, of course this knowledge is necessary, - but instruction in methods of teaching, over and above this general knowledge of the subject.

At the time of the establishment of the first Normal school in America, by the exertions of the late Horace Mann, it seemed to be the general opinion that the teacher, like the poet, "was born, not made," and there was even a prejudice against graduates of Normal schools, who introduced new-fangled notions about teaching pupils to read words before they knew the names of the letters, and went through with a senseless and cacophonous jargon which they called the sounds or powers of the letters.

Mr. Mann used to tell of a graduate of a Normal school who lost his situation, because, for lack of an orrery, he took his largest pupil and stood him in the middle of the floor to represent the sun, a small boy for Mercury, supplying the places of the other planets by pupils of appropriate sizes, and, when all was ready, started them in their revolution about the sun.

This rather ingenious method of converting his pupils into "heavenly bodies," was looked upon by their parents somewhat as the little boy, full of frolic and fun, regarded the popular Sunday-school hymn,declaring that "he did n't want to be a angel." It was pronounced an innovation not to be submitted to, and the poor teacher-no, the good teacher lost his place. The Normal schools, however, did overcome prejudice, and it was fully established, that a trained teacher - other things being equal-could produce results not to be obtained by the untrained.

It is this, and this only, that vindicates the claim of teaching to be considered a profession. That there are empirics, pretenders,—which in the vulgar is quacks,-militates no more against the claim than that they exist in every profession, and notably in that of medicine. How many of us have so thoroughly prepared ourselves for our work, that,

tried by this test, we may claim to be regular members of the profession?

EDUCATION FOR WOMEN.

PERMIT me to speak through the "Massachusetts Teacher" on a subject which I rarely hear mentioned among teachers, and yet one which I believe should interest them; I mean the attitude of some of our NewEngland colleges and various other institutions of learning towards women. Surely the lady teachers of Massachusetts cannot but feel the injustice done their sex. It is with regret that I allude to the record of several professors in our colleges, who, while declaring their belief in a broader education for women, have from motives of expediency united with the trustees in refusing admission to women, and, while keeping fast closed with one hand the doors of their colleges, have with the other solicited and accepted contributions from mothers whose daughters they have thus wronged.

Now, directly or indirectly, this question concerns every woman in Massachusetts. The education obtained at our Normal schools is necessarily very elementary, and yet from their graduating classes the ranks of our profession are in a great measure filled ; and notwithstanding the advantages we claim for our school system, yet it is a fact that as far as our teachers are concerned, the scholarship of few would give them a position under the German government; and even in Spain, whose government and religion have never been friends to universal education, the teachers appointed by the government—and none others can obtain a license to teach- are men of advanced learning. Now do not for a moment think that I would attempt to depreciate the merits of these young lady graduates; but it seems to me that it has a direct bearing on my subject, and, if the question is ever raised in this country, we should be ready to meet it. It is true that successful teaching is not a necessary sequence of extra scholarship; but it is equally true, that, given the tact and inventive power which many of these young girls exhibit, united with the education obtained in a college or scientific school, and we should have far superior results.

It may be urged that, were these colleges open, girls would not avail themselves of their privileges; but this I deny: I know of many who have exiled themselves from home and friends to obtain that education which Massachusetts has denied them. Again, it has much to do with the unjust disparity which exists between the salaries of different teachers in the Commonwealth; it is not that we enter upon our work with the intention of leaving it at the first opportunity, as has often been stated,