OCCASIONS AND GATHERINGS. BARNSTABLE COUNTY TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION. THIS Association held its semiannual meeting in Brewster, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 13th and 14th of May. The weather was quite favorable; and though the meeting was not large, it was interesting and profitable. Several topics were considered, and the lectures were well received and must incite those present to more zealous action. The subject of grading schools was introduced in an address by Rev. Mr. Usher, of Dennis, and was discussed by several gentlemen. It was thought desirable, by all, that schools should be graded wherever it could be well done, but much spirited opposition was expressed to that disposition so generally manifested to destroy rural districts, and take the little children over weary roads to somewhat distant villages. It was argued that, in sparsely populated regions, the District School, though ungraded, is the most profitable, and that which becomes a necessity in a village or city is a damage to the cause of education in many localities. Rev. Mr. Parsons, of Hyannis, lectured on "Some of the Obstacles in the way of our Schools becoming all that we desire them to be." The lecture was pointed and very practical. It treated the growing evils of social life which distract the mind of the scholar with little mercy. A report of the lecture would occupy too much space. "Some Rev. Mr. Howard, of South Dennis, delivered a lecture on of the Essential Qualifications of a Teacher." The lecture was received with great favor. One of its points only will be presented in this notice, viz.:- The Teacher must possess a Christian spirit, and, without being a bigot or sectarian, must carry his religion with him into the school-room. Though all agreed in this sentiment, it led to a discussion on the Limitations of Religious Instruction in Public Schools. The subject was referred to a committee of five, who will report at the annual meeting in November. The Secretary read a communication from a Female Teacher, on "The Importance of Primary Instruction," which led the way to profitable remarks on the necessity of beginning rightly and giving thorough instruction in the rudiments, in those things which belong to the Primary School. The meeting closed with a lecture by Prof. A. Crosby, on "What is implied in the term, a Good Common Education?" C. A. BRADLEY, Sec'y. REV. MR. BURTON'S LABORS. Among our most valuable educational gatherings, are those that are assembled from week to week, by the Rev. Warren Burton, or through his influence. Mr. Burton must be counted among the truest benefactors and most disinterested philanthropists of our age and country. The time for writing his biography has happily not yet come; and we hope, for the welfare our own and of coming generations, that it will be long deferred. Yet there are some things which we may be permitted to state. Mr. Burton was born in Wilton, N. H., a small town, which, with a population, even by the last census, of only 1,161, has yet sent between thirty and forty of her sons to College, and may be proud of not a few of them as men of mark. He was graduated at Cambridge, in 1821, and afterwards entered the ministry, but not without preliminary experience as a teacher. During the thirty years of his ministry, he has, with, we think, only one exception, refused to be settled, that he might be more at liberty, after the example of his Master, to "go about doing good." He labored, for some time, in the self-denying office of a city missionary, in Boston and Worcester. Six years ago, he felt that he must give up even this work for one in which he was still more needed, and where it might be necessary for him to live still more "by faith." He saw that, with all the revived educational zeal of the time, with all the improvements in schools and modes of teaching, the great subject of HOME EDUCATION was comparatively neglected, and that this neglect was threatening to thwart, in no small measure, all our other efforts for the right training of the young, and to introduce consequences most disastrous to the rising generation, and through them to our country in successive ages. He saw no laborer specially devoted to this field; and he, therefore, resolved to go forth and enter upon it, though single-handed, without property to sustain him, and with no society to uphold him. His first going forth for this great object was from Worcester in the spring of 1850, with credentials from the Mayor and City Council and from nearly all the clergymen of the city. Attestations to the need and the usefulness of his labors have since been abundant, and from men of the highest rank in State and Church. As a specimen, we copy the resolutions adopted at a meeting of members of the Convention for the revision of the State Constitution, held near the close of the session : Whereas, out of the Home issue the elements of the neighborhood, the school, the town, and the State; and whereas, the discipline and condition of the family precede and most vitally affect the order and welfare of all these other associations; and whereas, facts abundantly show that the training of children and the guidance of youth are very imperfectly understood; therefore, Resolved-That having listened to an exposition of Rev. Mr. Burton's plan of action for the promotion of a better domestic education, we do most cordially recommend him and his work to the parents and inhabitants generally of this Commonwealth. Resolved-That a Committee of seven be appointed to advise with Mr. Burton, and to lend the weight of their influence in forwarding the important work in which he is engaged. [In pursuance of the above resolutions, the distinguished gentlemen, whose names appear below, were appointed.] Having been designated for the purpose above stated, the undersigned do most heartily commend the views presented by Rev. Mr. Burton, to the serious attention of heads of families, and we earnestly hope that the measures proposed for improvement in education at home, will be very generally adopted. (Signed,) GEO. N. BRIGGS, GEO. S. BOUTWELL, HENRY W. CUSHMAN, N. P. BANKS, JR., AMASA WALKER, GEO. W. BLAGDEN, MILTON P. BRAMAN. Our next article will also present, incidentally, so ne attestation to the value of Mr. Burton's labors. The plan which Mr. B. has especially urged in his lectures and cir culars is the following :-that during the more leisure season of the year, meetings of parents, teachers, and others, should be held, from week to week, for the discussion of questions appertaining to family discipline, to the relation of the home to the school, and to education generally; that some simple organization should be adopted to secure regularity and efficiency in these meetings; that the discussion should be chiefly conversational in its character, with occasional lectures, and the reading of written communications. Mr. B. has appended to his circulars specimens of appropriate questions. In November last, he thus spoke of the results, as already ascertained: : By information received, it appears that, in places, such meetings were held with very gratifying results. Besides customary speakers, others made effective addresses who had never spoken in public before, and latent talent was unexpectedly brought out. The young manifested peculiar interest, and were stimulated to new efforts for improvement. The relation of the home to the school, and of the school to the community, was better understood, and the cause of public education was advanced. Ladies sent in communications, both instructive and entertaining, to be read on the occasions; showing that, through similar opportunity, female talent in every town might be elicited and put to noble use; and more numerously and effectually on this than on any other subject, as Education is woman's sphere.'" We bespeak a most attentive and favorable hearing, for Mr. B., in the series of lectures to which he is now going forth, sowing in summer, by a reverse of Nature's process, that he may reap in winter a goodly harvest of educational meetings. We bespeak for him, from all the true friends of education, whatever aid he may require in his earnest, disinterested, self-denying labors. We wish we were at liberty to state what sacrifices he has made and is making for the welfare of others, and the pleasure of doing good; how much like the apostles of old-(Matth. x. 9, 10)-he goes forth upon his work; and to suggest, in particular, one among the several ways in which we might secure a partnership in his noble enterprise. But we forbear. Of the writings of Mr. Burton, that which is best known, and has been most widely influential, is "The District School as it was, by One who went to it." Though first published twenty-three years ago, it has lost none of its freshness. The old school-house on the top of the hill, sweet Mary Smith, Tholomon Icherthon learning his letters, Memorus Wordwell spelling Jonas, the Snow-balling, Mr. Silverson going out of church, to mention no more persons and scenes, are depicted with such minute naturalness, such bewitching humor, and such good intent, that, though read and re-read, they cannot cease to delight. For our own part, however resolutely we may begin, we cannot get through the spelling of "A-bom-i-na-tion," as syllabified by Jonas' axe, and terminated by the flying of the chip to Memorus' nose, without having our gravity completely upset. "Scenery-Showing, in Word-Paintings" is quite different in its character, but perhaps no less admirable in its way, a charming series of landscapes in words. Whatever he delineates, Mr. B. holds a pencil of admirably graphic power; and its movements seem to be all devoted to the service of the True, the Beautiful, the Pure, and the Holy. We hope, for the sake of those who do not own it, that the volume containing these, and several of his other writings, is not yet out of print, or will soon be reprinted. It merits a place in the library of every teacher, school, and family. Will Mr. B. permit us to express, in addition, the ardent wish that his public labors, important as they are, may not so wholly engross his time as to forbid his giving it the companionship of a second volume? Let him remember that his quotation from the poet, Keats, applies to the beauties of literature, as well as to those of nature and of moral action : "A thing of beauty is a joy forever; Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness, but still will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing. A flowery band to bind us to the earth." And the band, if rightly wreathed, will bind us to Heaven no less. BREWSTER EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY. In a recent visit to Brewster, we had the privilege of looking over the records of its efficient Educational Association. These showed that it was formed on the 14th of December last, and that in fifteen weeks it held twenty meetings, either in central localities or in remoter schoolhouses, no district being unvisited. Its Constitution contains this provision: "The annual meeting of this Society shall be held on the first Tuesday in October. Central meetings shall be held every second Tuesday evening, during such portions of the year as the Executive Committee may deem expedient. Other meetings may be held in different localities, by appointment of said Committee." At the last meeting, a lecture was delivered by the Secretary of the Board of Education. The other meetings were chiefly occupied with the discussion of the following questions:-. How can parents, teachers, and pupils best coöperate for the good order, thorough instruction, and agreeableness of the school? What coöperation, if any, ought the Parent to have with the Committee and Teacher, in framing general laws and regulations for the government of the school? And how far are parents responsible for the good order and general character of the school? Would it be expedient for each District to choose a Prudential Committee of three of its best men, to coöperate with the School Committee in securing the best interest of the school? In our moral training of children, should we aim more to keep them out of the way of temptation, or to teach them to overcome it ? Where and how should the young spend their evenings? How much should parents depend upon school teachers to correct the bad dispositions and habits of their children? How far are teachers justly responsible for the conduct of their pupils out of school? What combined movement of neighborhood or town can be entered upon to effect a reform in youthful morals and manners? How far ought the public to demand and superintend the Moral, Intellectual, and Religious Education of the entire community? Can we make advantageous use of the provisions and penalties of the law requiring all parents, guardians, and other persons having children under their care, to send them to school a certain portion of the year? In a notice of these meetings communicated to the Boston Journal, we find the following: "The meetings in this town have proved most interesting and profitable. Weekly discussions of our relative duties cannot but bring new light. We meet in the different school districts to secure a general interest. Our sessions have been fully attended, even under the disadvantage of obstructed roads and inclement weather. An Educational Association has been formed, at whose meetings lectures are delivered and questions previously proposed discussed. The debate is by no means confined to a few. Many speak who never opened their lips in meeting before, and there is a very free interchange of opinion. Written communications from the ladies are read, and very creditable are the essays they have sent in. In short, the meetings are destined to produce much good. New ideas are presented, and thoughts suggested. Parents go home to digest what they have heard. They realize more fully their serious responsibilities, and, doubtless, a beneficial result will be seen in the improved home-discipline of many families. Would that every town and village in the State would organize similar associations! Their value is inestimable. "The movement here was started at the instance of the Rev. Warren Burton, and I would not close this communication without bearing testimony to the philanthropic and disinterested exertions of that gentleman in the cause of Home Education. Though personally unacquainted with him, I am cognizant of the deep convictions of duty which led to his self-sacrificing and earnest labors, and would bid him God speed' in his truly noble mission. The work to which he is devoting his time and energies should hold place among the prominent reforms of the age, and deserves the countenance and support of all who say with Terence, 'Homo sum; nihil humani a me alienum puto.' It is the duty of an enlarged and liberal humanity to sanction every good word and work, and we bespeak for Mr. Burton everywhere the sympathy of the benevolent and the material of the beneficent. He is doing a good work, for which coming generations will rise up and call him blessed.' DEDICATIONS OF SCHOOL-HOUSES. There is one class of educational gatherings, to which we regret that our limits of space, and the various pressures under which the work of the year has thus far been performed, have prevented our doing justice. We refer to those which have been assembled in so many of our towns for the dedication of new school-houses. The beauty, size, costliness, and appropriateness of many of these edifices have been such as to make them worthy of individual and extended descriptions, with illustrative engravings. And the zeal for education of which they have become permanent embodiments and representatives to the eye, and the enthusiasm, eloquence, poetry, and wit, which, often in no stinted measure, have been contributed to give interest to the occasions of their dedication, are worthy of being daguerreotyped, by such art as will reach them, and of being held up for the admiration, sympathy, and imitation of a larger community. than could be personally present. These houses have been erected, some by cities, some by smaller towns, and others yet by districts; some for high schools, others for grammar, primary, or variously graded schools, and yet others for |