ces of life, and stirs a reverence for Nature which easily ripens into reverence for God. These influences of the different branches of knowledge on the character, have been almost entirely ignored in the choice of our school studies.

Nothing here written is to be construed into a condemnation of Geometry and Arithmetic. They, too, have their uses in the manifold work of educating the mind; but their excessive study ought not to be permitted to crowd out, or keep out, other branches whose facts are equally important in business, and far more useful to the soul.

4th. Finally, as far as consistent with the due observance of the foregoing principles, those studies should be selected which will best fit the student for the station he is to occupy, and the calling he is to pursue.

First, then, to recapitulate, such studies as the pupil's facul ties can grasp and use;

Secondly, these studies in such order that the one will prepare the pupil for the next;

Thirdly, of the several studies which fulfill the foregoing conditions, choose those which will most healthfully affect the character;

And fourthly, of these studies, those which will be of most use to the pupil in his later life.

Seeking to keep these principles in view, I venture to propose in the subjoined note, a course of studies for a true graded school.

PRIMARY GRADE.

TIME, TWO YEARS.-FIRST YEAR.

STUDIES:-Morals, Object Lessons, Language, Reading, Drawing, Singing and Physiocal

Movement.

1st Term.-Morals taught by explaining and enforcing habits of neatness, order, obedience and politeness; and by short stories, daily, illustrating and inspiring the virtues of truth

The little work entitled "Moral Lessons," prepared by F. M. Cowdry, Esq., the cxcellent Superintendent of the Sandusky Public Schools. is made up of stories mlocying moral teachings with questions a apted to awaken the pupils' thoughts. Many of the School Readers iu use also abound in stories, which, if simply told, and with direct appeals made to tho Dupil's judgment, would answer the same purpose. Any series of Sunday School papers will also be found to abound in such stories. A teacher, once started on this course of moral teaching, will find abundant materials multiplying on his hands. The Fible history is full of incidents which may be so told as to excite the moral feelings of children and cultivate their moral judgment.

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This course is based upon the plan of gradation before given, allowing to each grade the time there indicated, and dividing each year into two terms of about twenty weeks each. The text books, when any are indicated, are those heretofore recommended by the Superintendent.

It will be observed that much prominence has been given, in this course, to what we termed object lessons. The character of these lessons has already been sufficiently explained. Their value and importance cannot be easily overestimated. Their fulness, kindness to playmates, animals, &c. These lessons are continued daily throughout the grade.

Object lessons on common objects or pictures of objects. These lessons are given orally in familiar conversations with the pupils, and have for their aim to lead the pupils to notice darefully and name correctly whatever presents itself to the senses in these objects. They thus serve to educate the senses, and teach language. They also strengthen the power, and establish the habits of observation, increase largely the pupil's knowledge of natural objects and furnish him with food for thought. Certainly these are important points in the education of a little child.

In conducting these lessons or talks, while the pupil's minds must be stimulated to act freely, yet in the teacher's plan there must be maintained a regular logical order. This can bo easily accomplished by a skilful choice of such a succession of objects as will present the sensible properties to be noticed, such as form, color, size, weight, &c., in their logical soquence. In this first term the following topics may find place in the object lessons.

Forms, embracing lines, straight, curved, parallel, porpendicular, vertical and horizontal; angles, right, acute and obtuse; and plain surfaces, triangles and the square. The object used may be a string, a straight stick broken, pieces of paper cut into triangles, &c., and marks on the black board, &c., &c.

Colors, the most common colors as red, yellow, blue, green, &c., taught with any colored objects.

Miscellaneous objects, as the visible parts of the human body, their parts and uses, articles of dress and furniture, their parts, forms, colors and uses may be noticed and named.

In giving these lessons, three cautions are needed: 1st, to make each lesson lively and short, not exceeding ten minutes; 21, to introduce but one or two new ideas and words in each lesson, and 31, to make each new idea and word perfectly familiar by setting the pupil to find and name the same thing, as a line or angle in other objects both in the school-room and outside.

Language will be taught by the words learned in the object lessons, and may be further taught by little verses to be recited in concert.

Reading should be taught by the word method, the reading of the term being confined to Wobb's cards and lessons printed on the black board, including the more simple words learned in the object lessons.

The Pestalozzi in mɔle of teaching, by lessons on natural objec 8, has been in popular uso for nearly fifty years in the European Schools, but has been extensively introduced into this country only within the past five years. It is now rapilly extending among our best schoo's. I am happy to by able to announce to teachers that we now have several valuablo works on tbo subject pablished in this country. Among these are "Barnard's Papers for the Teacher, 21 sorios-Object tching and primary schools in Great Britain." Price $1,50. Object Lessoas, by N. A. Calkins, N. Y." Price $1; and a new work by Prof. Welch, of the Stato Normal school, now just issuing from the press.

almost universal introduction into the best schools in the country, east and west, is a sufficient attestation of the esteem in which they are held by the most distinguished educators. The annual reports of the several State departments of public instruction betray an everywhere awakening interest in this great teaching reform, and the lapse of a few years will doubtless witness their universal use in at least all the primary and common schools of the country.

Nor is this general and spontaneous favor with which these

Number. The pupils may be taught to count to sixty or eighty, always counting objects as. the fingers, the children in the school, the glass in the windows, &c., or the kernels picked from an ear of corn.

Drawing on the blackboard or on the slate, with which each pupil should be furnished at the outset of his school life, the lines, angles and figures taught in the lessons on form, and, printing the easier words in their reading lessons.

Singing school songs, and gymnastic exercises should be interspersed frequently through the day.

2d Term.-Morals as before.

Object Lessons.-Forms, all regular four sided figures, as square, oblong, rhombus, rhomboid, &c., with the several kinds of triangles. Colors, the common colors with some of their shades. Size, length, the inch and foot taught by sticks cut of those lengths and employed in measuring books, tables, benches, &c. The pupils may also find by actual and repeated measurements that 12 inches make a foot, 3 feet or 36 inches make a yard, or 16 feet or 5 yards make a rod.

Miscellaneous lessons may embrace birds, fowls, leaves and flowers of plants and common articles of dress, &c., taking care to confine the attention mainly to the properties, part and uses that can be seen, or felt.

Number.-The exercises may embrace counting to 100 and back; counting to 60 by even numbers, and by odd numbers, forward and back. Simple mental additions and subtractions with small numbers. Composition of the numbers up to 20, as 4 composed of 4 ones, or 2 twos, or three and one.

Reading through the first part of Webb's Word Method Primmer.

Drawing of forms and printing of words continued. Singing and Physical exercises as before.

As a daily general exercise for this grade the teacher should read to the pupils from some entertaining book, taking care to gain the attention and awaken the interest of the pupils, by familiar questions and explanations. I have known little children, of only four or five years of age, to listen attentively for an hour at a time, to such reading, and with marked benefit to their intelligence.

SECOND YEAR.

STUDIES:-Morals, Object Lessons, Numbers, Language, Reading, Spelling, Drawing and Singing.

1st Term.-The Moral lessons being given to all the pupils at once, there will be no distinction between those for the first and second years. Politeness of behavior should be strictly inculcated.

Object Lessons.Forms continued, the circle and its parts will be learned, and surface

lessons have been received, unreasonable. They are but a return to simple, natural processes of education, the instinctive processes by which children, everywhere and in all times, seek knowledge. It is but allowing a child to see, and touch, and taste, and hear, before requiring him to remember and reflect It is addressing knowledge to the powers already awake and * active-the powers of sensation-rather than attempting to force it upon faculties yet slumbering in undeveloped infancy. In short, it is teaching as God teaches, who has made the facts

forms continued. The cube and pyramid may also be introduced as first lessons in solids. If blocks cannot be had for solid forms, they may be easily cut from a large potatoe or turnip.

Colors continued; the seven prismatic colors.

Size. Long measure completed, and cloth measure learned by actual measurements, made by pupils. Superficial or square measure introduced by a square inch and foot cut from stiff paper, and applied in measuring various surfaces. Miscellaneous objects. Arti cles of furniture, dress, playthings, &c., their parts, colors, uses, and sensible properties. Numbers. Counting by two's and by three's, to 100 and back, till it can be done with great rapidity and precision. The three's will embrace the several series, 3, 6, 9, 12, &c.; 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, &c.; and 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, &c. The multiplication table to 3 times 12, illustra ted at first, with objects, as wafers or beans, to be counted, and afterwards thoroughly memorized, by repetitions in concert, and singly. Mental exercises in adding and subtracting small numbers.

Reading Webb's Word Method, completed, and the punctuation marks learned.

Spelling by the sounds of the letters, and by printing from memory the words pronounced from their reading lessons. The sounds of the letters should be learned as they occur in the words, and the pupils taught by degrees, to spell out the new words by sounding the letters. Drawing of forms will be continued, and pupils encouraged to make pictures of simple objects. This will lead to a closer observation of these objects.

Singing and Physical Exercises are taught to all the pupils at once, and do not differ, therefore, in the different years.

2d Term.-Object Lessons on Form may now take in solids, the cube, the pyramid, the prism, and the sphere. Size. To long and square measures may be added circular measure, and with this, measures of time. These measures should be made familiar by daily use. This will promote the habit of accurate observation. Miscellaneous object lessons may continue the lessons on plants and animals, to make their visible parts, uses, motions, &c., familiar, and prepare the pupils to study them more systematically in the next grade.

Numbers. Counting by fours, to 100 and back, in these series: 4, 8, 12, 16; 1, 5, 9, 13, &c.; 2, 6, 10, 14, &c.; 3, 7, 11, 15, &c. The counting should at first go only to twenty; and when this is familiar, then to 30 and 40, &c., in succession, till the pupils can count rapidly and easily to 100. A second series should not be undertaken till the first be perfectly learned. The multiplication table may now be learned to 5 times 12. Mental exercises in addition, subtraction and multiplication, may be given orally, as follows: Take 4, add 4, add 3, add 5, subtract 4, subtract 6, multiply by 4, subtract 3, subtract 5, add 4, add 5, and give the result. Let each pupil that gets the result hold up his hand, and some one be called on to give it.

Reading. The reading may extend this term through sixty pages of Webb's Second Reader, with particular attention to finding out new words by the sounds.

of nature so prominent that they force themselves upon the open eye and ear of every being, while the philosophy lies so hidden that only the experience and study of years can reach it.

I have, in a previous part of this report, stated "better methods of teaching" to be one of the remedies by which the productiveness of our school system is to be made more commensurate with its cost. Among the reforms in teaching, none can be more important than this substitution of the study of

Spelling, by sounds, and by printing on the slatos the words of the reading lessons, and the new words learned in the object lessons. These now words should always be printed on the black-board, when they are first learned, and the pupil be made as familiar as possible with them.

Drawing continued daily, on slate and black-board. It should be borne steadily in mind that the object lessons are not so much designed to convey knowledge as to train the senses and mind of the pupils, and the teacher should aim, therefore, to lead the pupil to discover truth for himself, rather than to tell it to him.

The following programmɔ of daily exorcises for the primary department, will aid teachcrs to understand more fully the above course. Pupils of the 1st year are called the A class; those of the 21 year the B class.

The Drawing lessons will occupy the pupils of one class while the others are at thetr lessons.

INTERMEDIATE GRADE.

TIME, THREE YEARS.-FIRST YEAR.

STUDIES:-Morals, Object Lessons, Reading, Spelling, Numbers, Drawing, Singing, Physical

Training.

1st Term.-Moral lessons throughout this grade, to be taught in the same manner as in the previous grado.

Object Lessons for this grade should be both more system tic-boginning to prepare the pupil for coming studies; and they should also be addressed more to the reflection, loading the pupil to compare and classify, as well as observe.

Forms-After a thorough review of the ground gone over in the primary grade, the spare may be rosumɔd and its hemisphores, diameters, axis, circles, zones and revolution