THE EVILS OF ABSENCE.

1. If a boy learns to feel that he may leave his duties as a scholar for trival causes, for causes equally trivial he will leave his business when a man.

2. The time of the teacher and of the whole school is wasted while this absence is being recorded.

3. The teacher's time is being wasted in reading and recording the delinquent's excuse when he returns to the school.

4. He interrupts the exercises of the teacher, or some part of the school, in finding the places at which his various lessons commence.

5. He has lost the lesson recited yesterday, and does not understand that portion of to-day's lesson which depends upon that of yesterday; and such dependance usually exists.

6. The teacher's time and patience are taxed in repeating to him the instructions of yesterday; which, however, for want of study, he does not clearly appreciate.

7. The rest of the class are deprived of the instruction of their teacher, while he is teaching the delinquent.

8. The progress of the rest of the class is checked, and their ambition curbed, by waiting for the tardy delinquent.

9. The pride of the class is wounded, and their interest in their studies abated, by the conduct of the absentee.

10. The reputations both of teacher and school suffer, upon days of public examination, by failures which are chargeable to the absence and not to the instruction.

11. The means generally provided for the education of the delinquent are wrongfully wasted.

12. He sets a pernicious example for the rest of the school, and usually does actual mischief while absent.

RULES FOR PUPILS.

1. Have all your books and school apparatus fixed and ready at least one day before the school commences.

2. Be early in your attendance at school.

3. Be constant in your attendance at school.

4. Regard promptly and cheerfully all the regulations of school.

5. While in school improve all your time with a real carefulness.

6. Be honest in regard to your lessons; get them thoroughly and by your own diligence.

7. Speak and act the truth in all things and at all times.

8. Be pleasant and accommodating to your companions.

9. In the streets let your deportment be orderly and becoming; be gentle and civil.

10. Keep your books, maps, &c., in good order and well arranged.

11. Keep your desk and the floor about it in a neat and cleanly condition.

12. Before entering the school brush the mud from your boots and shoes, and avoid everything which can render the place you occupy unpleasant to the memIbers of the school or to visitors.

13. Cultivate, carefully and constantly, pleasant feelings. Allow yourself only in pleasant thoughts; utter only pleasant words; exhibit only pleasant actions; and in all things manifest the spirit of Christ.

14. Finally, love God and keep his commandments; for in this you will exhibit the greatest of all wisdom, and secure the most desirable of all rewards. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and a good understanding have they that keep His commandments."

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTION.

There are several general principles, founded in nature and deduced from observation, but too often overlooked, which should be our guide in teaching, and of which we should never lose sight.

1st. Whatever we are teaching, the attention should be aroused and fixed, the faculties of the mind occupied, and as many of them as possible brought into action.

2nd. Divide and subdivide a difficult process, until the steps are so short that the pupil can easily take them. This is what we call aptness to teach.

3rd. Whatever is learned, let it be made familiar by repetition, until it is deeply and permanently fixed in the mind. The faithful application of this principle makes thorough teaching the best kind of teaching, certainly.

4th. Insist upon every lesson being learned so perfectly that it shall be repeated, as everything in a large school should be done, without the least hesitation: This cannot, however, be applied in the case of very young scholars.

5th. Present the practical bearings and uses of the thing taught, so that the hope of an actual advantage and the desire of preparation for the future, be brought to act as motives. This principle is often neglected.

6th. Follow the order of Nature in teaching, whenever it can be discovered.

7th. When difficulties present themselves to the learner, diminish and shorten rather than remove them; lead him, by questions, to overcome them himself. It is not what you do for the child so much as what you lead him to do for himself, which is valuable to him.

8th. Teach the subject rather than the book. The book is but an aid in acquiring a knowledge of the subject.

9th. Teach one thing at a time. Advance step by step, making sure of the ground you stand on before a new step is taken.

VIII. THE BEST MEANS OF OBTAINING ORDER IN A SCHOOL. To obtain order and discipline in a school is of the utmost importance; there can be very little, if anything, taught in the midst of disorder. The children themselves are not happy in it, the teacher is made unhappy and fretful, and totally unfit for his work, and at the close of the day he cannot look back and feel that he has faithfully performed his duty. On the contrary, in a well-disciplined and organised school it is surprising what an amount of work may be done, because it is performed in a regular manner, and every portion has its allotted time. The children get more knowledge, and learn besides the habits of regularity and order, and the teacher is cheerful and satisfied with himself. I think perhaps the following hints may be useful to any of my fellow-labourers who find a difficulty in obtaining that which is most essential and necessary, viz., order.

In the first place give your commands in a quiet and firm tone. I have invariably found that a noisy teacher has a noisy school. Let your voice be distinctly heard throughout the room; and when once you have issued a command, see that it is strictly obeyed. It is therefore of great importance that your commands should be considered before they are spoken.

Firmness in the tone of voice is necessary, as indecision is very soon noticed by children, and will be treated accordingly. Be sure that you always perform your promises, and never let a child have reason to think his teacher has broken his word. Whether you

offer a reward to the obedient or a punishment to the disobedient, in either case keep strictly to what you have said.

Instant obedience should be required, no hesitation allowed; an occasional drilling

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THE SCHOOL ROOM: ITS DISCIPLINE AND MANAGEMENT.

exercise would greatly facilitate this. I do not think that time is wasted which is spent in training children to habits of regularity,

Be sure that one command is obeyed before another is given. A teacher must govern his own temper, as hastiness and irritability will make him fail in the very object he is trying to attain. These characteristics should always be found in a teacher, viz., patience, firmness, and gentleness.

In giving a lesson, I find that a kind and pleasing tone of voice will help to fix attention, and make a difficult subject interesting and agreeable.

Order must be preserved in little things. There are few things too trivial to be attended to. Let every child know his place and his work, and keep to it. In making children orderly, a teacher studies his own comfort as well as the good of his scholars. "Let every thing be done decently and in order."

IX. RULES FOR HOME EDUCATION.

The following rules we commend for their excellence, brevity, and practical utility. They are worthy of being printed in letters of gold, and placed in a conspicuous position in every household. It is lamentable to contemplate the mischief, misery and ruin, which are the legitmate fruit of those deficiencies which are pointed out in the rules to which we have referred. Let every parent and guardian read, ponder, and inwardly digest:

1 From your children's earliest infancy, iuculcate the necessity of instant obedience. 2 Unite firmness with gentleness.-Let your children always understand that you mean exactly what you say.

3. Never promise them anything unless you are quite sure you can give them what you promise.

4. If you tell a little child to do something, show him how to do it, and see that it is done.

5. Always punish your children for wilfully disobeying you, but never punish them in anger.

6. Never let them perceive that they can vex you, or make you lose your self-command.

7. If they give way to petulance and temper, wait till they are calm, and then gently reason with them on the impropriety of their conduct.

8. Remember that a little present punishment when occasion arises, is much more effectual than the threatening of a greater punishment should the fault be renewed. 9. Never give your children anything because they cry for it.

10. On no account allow them to do at one time what you have forbidden under the like circumstances at another.

11. Teach them that the only sure and easy way to appear goodsis to be good.

12. Accustom them to make their little recitals with perfect truth.

13. Never allow tale-bearing.

14. Teach them that self-denial, not self-indulgence, is the appointed, and the surest method of securing happiness.

15 Guard them against the indulgence of an angry and resentful spirit.

16. Above all, strenuously endeavour to give your children a knowledge of THINGS, instead of a knowledge of words.

These rules are plain and simple enough, one would think, and easy of observance by parents; but how often are they reduced to practice? Not by one in a thousand! The great majority of parents seem to rest quite satisfied that because a child attends school, and learns by rote a few elementary rules, that all's right; not to mention a great multi

plicity of words, about the meaning of which they know nothing? This is all wrong, and hence the too many dunces of twenty, and the labor of the teacher gone. It is here that the parent should assist the school teacher. It is his duty to do so. "Understandest thou what thou readest?" was a question put a long time ago, and should be kept in mind by every parent. There is much to be learned at the family hearth.

VIII. THE TEACHER AND HIS DUTIES.

I. HINTS ON SPELLING, READING AND RECITATION. Reading and spelling are, of course, among the most important things to be taught; and good reading and spelling can readily be appreciated by almost all. Hence, parents who find their children interested in these branches, and constantly improving in them, will think that they are doing well, and that their teacher is a good one. Let these important branches receive a full share of attention.

To awaken interest in a spelling class, let each scholar, commencing at the foot of the class, pronounce a word, selected from the lesson, to the one of the head; and if it is missed by any, let the one who spells it " 'go up." Do this for a few times before beginning the lesson yourself, and you will soon find that all the hard words will be pretty sure to be spelled correctly. Then you can allow them to select from a reading book, from proper names, the names of the months, or other classes of words.

To improve the voices of scholars, one of the best plans is to have them repeat in concert, after you, short, spirited passages of prose or poetry, on different pitches, rapidly or slowly, loudly or softly, as you may direct.

To prepare young scholars to declaim or rehearse without embarrassment, let them step forward, bow to the class, and count from one to twenty, or fifty-repeat a line of the multiplication table,- -one of the tables in compound number,-or even the names of the days of the week, the seasons, the months of the year, or any lessons which they have thoroughly committed. They will soon take delight in the practice.

During warm weather, the regular exercises should be somewhat frequently varied by singing or concert exercises, oral instructions, etc.

In giving oral instructions, the teacher should endeavor to come down nearly to the level of the pupils' mind, but not so near that he can understand all that is said without any effort. If some scholar does not understand, and asks for explanations, give any one who does comprehend an opportunity to explain it; never answer such question till you have given the scholars the privilege of doing so.

The teacher should endeavor to be what he would have his scholars become; and should remember that the surest way to make them what they should be, is to treat them as though they intended to be just what they should.

One of the best ways to prevent falsehood is suggested in the foregoing: a skilful teacher will easily show a boy who has lied that he is in trouble. The pupils of Dr. Arnold, the great English teacher, were very soon broken of the habit of lying. They used to say to each other, "It is mean to lie to Dr. Arnold, for he always believes a fellow."

II. PRACTICAL HINTS ON TEACHING PUPILS TO READ. It has often justly been observed, that very few persons read well. To read simply and naturally, with animation and expression, is indeed a high and rare attainment. To attain a correct pronunciation, a proper tone of voice, and the right inflections, such as will convey clearly to the minds of those who listen, the real sentiments and ideas

which the writer intended should be conveyed, is a degree of perfection in the art of reading, that few, very few, ever arrive at.

Besides, what is by many called good reading, is far from it. We mean that which calls the attention of the listener from the subject of the discourse to the supposed taste and skill in pronouncing it. As the best window is that through which the light passes most freely, and affords the most natural view of the landscape without, so is he the best reader who brings before us the mind of the author unencumbered by the tints and tracery of his own style and manner. Still, it must be remembered that with most persons reading is an art. The best readers are those who have most diligently studied their art; and yet studied it so well that you can scarcely perceive they have studied it at all. You so thoroughly understand, and so sensibly feel the force of what they read, that you never think how they are saying it.

The principal reason why there are no more good readers is owing to defects in education. The error begins with teaching the alphabet. This is often an unmeaning excercise; nay, in the great majority of schools it is a tedious affair to children, after which the pupil is set at reading "bla, ble, bli,"-those unmeaning and worse than useless monosyllables. Instead of this the child should be taught ideas, and words which convey ideas, at first. For example; at the first lesson the pupil may be taught the letter o, then the letter x, and next the word ox. At the second lesson he may be taught b, and y, which, with o, learned at the first lesson, forms the word boy. Thus he learns words that convey thoughts to his mind, and from the conversation of the teacher concerning them, and the questions asked, he finds, at the first lessons, that learning the alphabet, and learning to read, are not dull, monotonous, meaningless tasks. He becomes at once interested; hence he can not fail to improve rapidly.

It is during the early training of children that the greatest fault in teaching reading consists. Bad habits then formed are exceedingly difficult to get rid of. But as teachers will not only have scholars who have not been taught at all, but those who have been taught badly, the inquiry naturally arises, "How can we make good readers of those who now read badly, as well as those who cannot read at all?" In reply we give a few rules, which, if observed, will be of much service in suggesting modes of teaching reading successfully. [The "Spelling Book Superseded" might also be consulted with advantage.-ED.]

Be sure that the pupil thoroughly understands what he reads. Probably there can be no one direction given, which is of more importance, especially in teaching children, than this. Attention to it will sweep away those unmeaning combinations before alluded to, such as "blo, blu, dac, hec," and all the rest of this ridiculous tribe, found in nearly every spelling-book. It is in reading these that a habit is formed of separating the sight and sound of words from the sense; and this habit once formed, clings to the mind long after the years of childhood have passed away.

Here, then, while teaching the first principles of reading, is the place to commence the observance of the above rule. This is absolutely essential to success. Indeed, it is during the child's first instruction that the habit of fully comprehending in the mind that which is presented to the eye, must be formed. So with the more advanced pupils, if you would have them read well, they must understand what they read. How can a person be expected to express the language of a thought properly, if he does not comprehend the thought itself? If, therefore, you would have a sentence well read, read so as to be understood and felt by the hearer, take care that the reader himself both understands and feels it.

Remember that the tones and emphasis which we use in conversation are those which form the basis of GOOD ELOCUTION. Children should therefore be instructed to read as they talk; particularly in regard to emphasis and inflection. But there are some child