has faithfully executed the law, even in the face of strong pressure to induce him to favor his own church schools. He believes in the public school system and certainly would have faithfully discharged his duty had he been elected State Superintendent, Whether right or wrong the fact remains that there is a strong feeeling against the Catholic Church because of its supposed antagonism to the publib schools, and this feeling will explain a large part of Mr. La Follette's vote above the general average.

The Journal is neither partizan nor sectarian, and so gives facts and leaves others to do the commenting. It extends its sympathy to Mr. Sweeney and wishes him the highest success in his future work. Mr. La Follette will make an efficient and worthy Superintendent, and as such will have the hearty support of the Journal.

VENTILATE, VENTILATE, VENTILATE.

READER, what pains are you taking to keep the air in your schoolroom pure? Are you giving the matter any special attention? Are you aware of the fact that the health of a child, next to its moral character, is of most importance, and that you for the time being are the guardian of its health? Are you aware that thousands of innocent children in Indiana are each winter, having their constitutions undermined by being shut up in over-crowded, over-heated, illy-ventilated schoolhouses by careless or indifferent teachers? Are you aware that the air in a well filled, unventilated room, very soon becomes absolutely poison and unfit to breathe? Are you aware of the fact that if you through your own willful ignorance or indifference subject these children to influences that undermine their health and shorten their lives you are morally guilty of "murder "?

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In the light of these fearful facts will you not see to it that your school-rooms are ventilated? Raise the windows, lower the windows, break out the glass-anything to secure plenty of God's fresh air. Always raise the windows and flush the room at recess, and if necessary between recesses. To avoid taking cold at such times have the children stand and go through some light calisthenic exercise. It will only take a minute or two, and it will be time saved. VENTILATE.

THE LECTURE COURSE AND POPULAR EDUCATION.

The Lecture Course and Lyceum has had an important place in the education of the people. Forty years ago Emerson made it his pulpit; Theodore Parker, Wendell Phillips, Henry Ward Beecher, William Lloyd Garrison made it a powerful influence. Most of the great questions which have now passed into history were mooted and discussed

here. Of late years it has fallen into disuse. Most of the great voices have gone silent. The questions are now discussed by press and pulpit. The demand has changed, too, for entertainment rather than instruction or inspiration.

And yet, is it not a pity to let fall such a mighty lever? And can it not take its old place? Can it not be rescued from the function of merely entertaining, and while not neglecting this, add to it the higher one of instruction and inspiration?

Every city, town and village has a large number who might be reached by this means. Washington Gladden claims that Christianity has a duty in the direction of popular amusements. Mr. Sleazy, the circus rider in Hard Times, says to Mr. Gradgrind, "The people mutht be amuthed; make the best of us." What shall we do for and with the large number of young men and women in our midst? In cities, life and thought are active in church philanthropy and other fields. In towns and villages life is often dormant for lack of that which quickens and calls forth thought. And yet there are many bright minds which could be interested and helped. What can be done for them? The revival of the Lecture Course, placing it abreast of modern thought, might aid in settling the question: How shall we interest our young people and keep them from the amusements that degrade and the stagnation that is death?

A few instances may help to suggest what might be done. The Cleveland Educational Bureau, for three seasons, has gathered 4,000 persons each Saturday night to listen to a three-hour entertainment. This consists of music, a half-hour prelude on scientific thought, then a lecture by some one able to present a theme properly. Ten of these entertainments are furnished for $1.25. In Richmond is a dollar lecture course. In Elkhart is a very successful lecture course at low figures. In Denver the Glen Arm Reading Club, under direction of Rev. Myron W. Reed, spends Tuesday evenings of each week in the winter in the study of some historical or literary subject. Thus: "Our Teutonic Ancestors," Age of Pericles," "France in the New World,” etc. In Indianapolis a Young People's Historical Course, organized in connection with Plymouth Institute, draws together a thousand children weekly to listen to talks on American history presented by home talent. In the same Institute a Dollar Lecture Course -six lectures for one dollar-will be presented this winter- Justin McCarthy, Kate Field, Will Carleton, and others.

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As indicating what might be done in smaller towns the following is suggested: A series of eight evenings might be offered for one dollar. This could be weekly or on alternate weeks; a regular evening like Monday or Tuesday should be chosen. Of these eight evenings at least four should be entertainments presented by home people. One of the evenings could be a concert: another an evening with Dickens,

with a paper or two, a few readings, music interspersed; a third. "Recent Discovery in Africa": a fourth, "The Crusades" or "Eminent Women"; or arrange a debate. In addition, four lecturers could be brought in at a cost of $150. At every evening music should be used, and it would add greatly to the pleasure if a sheet of old songs should be printed and distributed and all be asked to sing, under the direction of some good leader. The entire cost of this need not be over $200 to $250. A church could easily be secured at small cost. Experience will suggest changes. The peculiarities of each locality will make necessary other changes. But with patience, enthusiasm and versatility, the winter evenings can be filled at small cost with lectures and entertainments which shall redeem life from monotony and open the way for larger things.

McC.

READING CIRCLE DEPARTMEN г.

D.

OUTLINES FOR DECEMBER.

HAILMAN'S LECTURES ON EDUCATION-LECTURE III.

The three great Grecian Schoolmasters are the subject of this lecture: Socrates-Plato-Aristotle. They were no ordinary schoolmasters, but born leaders of human thought, who traced the boundaries of ideas for all time to come.

Socrates originated and employed the Socratic method of teaching. This is, properly speaking, a method of refuting error and advocating truth by developing any given idea or set of ideas. Compayre says of the Socratic irony: "He [Socrates] raised a question as one who simply desired to be instructed. If there was the statement of an error in the reply of the respondent, Socrates made no objection to it, but pretended to espouse the ideas and sentiments of his interlocutor. Then by questions which were adroit and sometimes insidious, he forced him to develop his opinions, and to display, so to speak, the whole extent of his folly, and the next instant slyly brought him face to face with the consequences which were so absurd and contradictory that he ended in losing confidence, in becoming involved in his conclusions, and finally in making confession of his errors."

But the Socratic irony is as nothing alongside another contribution made by Socrates to education and thought. He was the first to teach that the method of thinking and of teaching should be a consciously ordered procedure. This made some very important things possible, viz., philosophy, psychology, and method in education. It is only when teaching turns back on itself and asks, What? How? and Why? that method as a conscious means becomes possible. This Socrates

did. He taught the freedom of the individual, that morals could be taught, that virtue (manliness) is the highest good, etc. But these dwindle into nothingness, as forces in thought, compared with the idea of making teaching conscious of its own procedure, and thus capable of infinite systematic progress in accordance with a purpose.

Plato has a place in the history of education because he elaborated in one line the happy thought of hls great teacher, Socrates. The latter had pointed out the possibility that education could follow a conscious plan and purpose. Plato applied this idea and developed the first complete system of education in Greek thought. This system of education is part of his ideal commonwealth, portrayed in the Republic, In the Republic, statesmen, soldiers and workmen (artificers) are not to be left to chance, but to be trained for their respective callings. It is a notorious fact that every great reformer projects a system of education to carry out his reform. So Plato had, of necessity, to project a system of education to secure his ideal statesmen, soldiers mechanics. Thus his educational reforms are necessarily secondary and subordinate. But the elaboration of a more or less complete system is the central fact in the relation of Plato to education. It should be remarked in passing that Plato is the first to propose systematic state education.

Every great thinker is characterized by some all-powerful centra idea. Aristotle is perhaps the greatest philosophic genius the world has ever seen. In him the mighty central idea is that of thinking things under the form of totality, i. e., not only thinking them in their individual completeness, but also thinking them in the entire circle of their relations. Aristotle's contribution to education consists in the application of his central idea to that of education. He was first to consciously distinguish between formal education, that is, that given with the conscious purpose of education and that derived incidentally from those forms of activity not essentially educative.

Those who study Lecture III will do well to bear in mind these three central ideas. They will go far in helping to interpret the valuable facts Prof. Hailman gives. S. S. PARR.

MENTAL SCIENCE-WATTS ON THE MIND.

SUBJECT: "Of Books and Teacners." Chaps. V, VI, VII, pp. 61 79 "If we think of it, all that a University or Highest School can do for us is still-what the first school began doing--teach us to read." -Carlyle.

I. GENERAL STATEMENT.-Preparatory to this third month's work there should be a careful review of the salient points in Chapter IV of the November reading, especially the following: (1) Get, first, an idea of the book (or chapter, or section) as a whole. (2) Read without bias or prejudice,-be open to new truth. (3) Frequently consult dictionaries, word-books, cyclopedias, and other references.

And note especially (5) the The matter upon this should

(4) Study subjects rather than authors. significance and importance of an index. be re-read in connection with what the author has to suggest in the present lesson (p. 62) concerning title page, tables of contents, introduction, etc. It was a Spanish saying that "an author, himself, should make an index (or table of contents) of his book, whereas the book itself might be written by any one else." And 'tis Horace Binney who re-enforces this thought, in the words, "I have come to regard a book as curtailed of half its value, if it has not a full index (a reference analysis of its contents)."

II. POINTS TO be Studied.—1. Touching the reading of books entire, or in parts.

(a) In reading pass over (omit) such parts as are already known. ̈ -7. A. Spencer.

(b) “A book may have but one thing in it worth knowing; shall one read it all through?"-Johnson.

(c) "He who reads with discernment and choice will acquire less learning, but more knowledge.”—Bolingbroke.

(d) "Few signs are more promising than an inclination to read the same book again and again."—Spencer.

2. Touching criticism of books.

(a) "It is a much shallower and more ignoble occupation to detect faults than to discover beauties. To discover rightly whether what we call a fault, is in very deed a fault, we must previously have settled two points: (1) we must make plain what the author's aim really and truly was; (2) we must decide how far this aim accords -not with us and our individual crotchets but with human nature. and the nature of things at large."-Carlyle.

(b) “Before censuring a book for seeming what it is not, we should be sure we know what it is."-Colton.

(c) Cases may occur where a little patience and some attempt at thought (in reading) would not be altogether superfluous."-Carlyle. 3. Importance of collateral readings.

III. ITEMS OF PROFESSIONAL INTEREST.-1. Affected judgments of new books. 2. Qualifications of the Instructor. (a) Skill in the communication of knowledge. (b) Patience in the art of teaching. (c) Industry. (d) Adaptation of methods (means) to the nature (capacity) of the learner. (e) The "authority" of one's instruction. IV. GEMS WORTH REMEMBERING.-I. 66 Every poor low genius may cavil at what the richest and noblest hath performed." 2. Life is too short and time too precious, to read every new book, in order to find that it is not worth the reading."

3.

Truth is not always attended and supported by the wisest and safest method: while error may be artfully covered and defended.”