Our Alumni.

JOHN MACDONALD.

The American Teacher for December contains this deserved tribute to a man whom every Kansas teacher delights to honor: "Editor John MacDonald of Topeka is one of the best known, one of the most highly respected and beloved educational leaders of Kansas. He is well equipped both as an educator and an editor, has had the best of experience as a teacher, as a local and state superintendent, is a wise and breezy writer and an attractive speaker. Only the president of one of the great state institutions of learning could be so important a factor in the educational life of the state as is Mr. MacDonald with his paper, personal acquaintance, and positive influence."

He was

Supt. W. M. Davidson was born in Jamestown, Pennsylvania, in 1863. His parents came to Kansas in 1866, settling on a farm in eastern Kansas. He began his school career in a very primitive log school-house, and among his earliest recollections is the number of green lizards that played up and down the logs in the rear of the teacher's desk during school time. He entered the State Normal School in 1881, dropping out for a few terms to teach school, graduating with the class of 1886. He taught his first school in district 26, Lyon county. He was then elected to a position in the Admire schools. Soon after graduation he was elected to the superintendency of the Atwood, Kansas, schools, in which position he served one year, winning the highest praise from pupils and patrons. called from Atwood to the principalship of the Quincy school, Topeka. At the end of the year he was promoted to the principalship of the Lincoln school building. His work here was so efficient that he became the logical candidate for the superintendency of the city schools on the resignation of Superintendent Bloss in 1892. His present salary is $2,500 per year. Superintendent Davidson's administration of the Topeka city schools has been eminently successful from the first, and every department shows the influence of his masterly spirit. The teachers are better equipped, both educationally and professionally; the schools are better provided with apparatus of all kinds; the work has been placed upon a higher plane and a more systematic basis; and the schools as a whole have taken an enviable position, not simply in Kansas but in the schools of the entire West. Superintendent Davidson has long been a most popular instructor and conductor in teachers' institutes,

usually having more requests for institute work than it is possible for him to accept. He has long been a prominent figure in the State Teachers' association as well as in the National association, having been president of the former in 1895, and an officer in the latter at different times. He was elected a member of the National Council of Education at the Los Angeles meeting in July last, one of the highest compliments which the profession in this country pays to its members. He is a great student of literature and is the editor of a series of booklets now appearing under the title of "The Kansas Classics." published by Crane & Co., Topeka.

Dr. A. E. Winship says of him in the January number of the American Teacher:

"Topeka, though not so large by the census as Kansas City, Kansas, is, in the essentials of city lite, the most important center of influence between Kansas City and Los Angeles. Texas, even, has but one or two rivals on the extreme south, and Denver and Salt Lake City alone distance her in the central new West. Of the many social, scholarly and educational forces of the city, Supt. W. M. Davidson is one of the most important. I have never seen his private library equaled by that of any teacher or city superintendent of schools. The masterpieces in art and literature are worthy any university president. If there be anyone who still thinks Kansas a frontier state, he should spend a day in Mr. Davidson's home. His scholarship and professional equipment are all that his library foreshadows.

The editor of this paper had the privilege of lecturing before 1,200 persons, an audience that would not be improved upon in any other city East or West. No man could ask to have the teachers and community more thoroughly in hand than are those of Topeka."

The Herbartian Formal Steps as Applied in Our Practice School.

Since the introduction of "McMurry's Method of the Recitation," there has been a very general interest among our seniors in the "Formal Steps" as he interprets and discusses them. In many instances the pupil-teachers outline their subjects conforming to the general lesson plan, although it is not required that they should always do so, nor is it always feasible to make each of the five steps appear in one recitation. The following outline was prepared in accordance with Doctor Rein's statement of the "Formal Steps," and was used by Professor Wilkinson in teaching, as indicated by the introductory lines: ORAL INSTRUCTION-HALF HOUR RECITATION-7 A CLASSCONDUCTED BEFORE THE PUPIL-TEACHERS.

1.

2.

3.

4.

PREPARATION.

Aim-To learn about an old Greek who was a tramp.
Questions to prepare the apperception mass.
(a) Why is a tramp so called?

(b) What does a tramp do for shelter?
(c) How does the tramp obtain his food?

(d) What about any table or dishes for the tramp's use? (e) Is the tramp necessarily an ignorant person? PRESENTATION.

Diogenes, the Cynic, wandered around Athens and Corinth. He lived in a tub in Athens.

He carried a cup till he found a boy drinking without one. He ridiculed Plato's carpet and Plato's definition of a man. He carried a lantern in the day time saying he sought a

man.

He is reported to have been complimented by Alexander the Great and to have snubbed him in return. Diogenes is said to have been in the habit of eating raw meat and to have choked to death on a calf's foot. ASSOCIATION AND COMPARISON.

In what respects was Diogenes like the tramp of our day? GENERALIZATION.

It is better to live in such a way as to be a help to the world rather than a burden.

5. APPLICATION.

What is found in these stories to commend Diogenes?
What do the pupils dislike in him?

(The teacher will seek to close the lesson with some words of charity for the faults of Diogenes and some recognition of his virtues.)

David Madison Harris, D. D. This brilliant editor, successful teacher, and popular lecturer was suddenly stricken with appendicitis on January 18, and though attended by the best physicians in St. Louis, the end came on the afternoon of January 26. His wonderful courage through the week of intense suffering was a marvel to those who ministered at his bedside, and the greatness of the man was never more manifest than during the few conscious hours preceding the sleep from which he never woke. To him the mystery of mysteries was life, and turning to his weeping friends, he said: "I have often said I would be willing to die in order to solve the mystery of life." "To see the whole of life is to rob it of its tragedies." Literature was with him a consuming passion and he was familiar with the classics of all nations. The Holy Scriptures were a source of perpetual delight. In those same hours, he said: "The most rewarding thing I ever did was to read the book of Ephesians through seven times in one day-three times in Greek and four times in English."

DAVID MADISON HARRIS, D. D.

Doctor Harris was born in Kentucky, January 4, 1843; after graduating at the Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Illinois, and a short pastorate of less than a year at Wenona, Illinois, he accepted a chair in Lincoln University, which he filled with signal ability for fourteen years. In 1883 he became editor of the Cumberland Presbyterian at Nashville, Tennessee, and soon made it one of the great religious papers of the South. He spent two years in special linguistic and sociological studies in Europe, returning in 1893 to the editorship of The Observer, St. Louis. For some time past he has also been editorial contributor and associate editor of The American Journal of Education.

He had few equals as a writer on current public questions and his lectures on economic and international problems were thrillingly interesting and instructive to all classes of people. He was called to the State Normal School last spring for a series of lectures on the Eastern question, which proved the most popular series ever delivered here. He also gave an evening to Dante, and he and his consecrated wife spoke most help

fully and inspiringly to the young people on Sunday afternoon. He was everywhere a recognized leader in the church he loved as his life, and was the originator of the million dollar college endowment plan which now promises realization.

Doctor Harris saw farther and deeper than most men and hence was an ideal teacher in the classroom, on the platform and at the editor's desk. He seldom came in contact with one of his fellows or with a group of them without sending them away thinking, seeking for something better, something greater than they had known. The writer of this brief sketch affectionately testifies to his profound influence upon his own life and to the deep sense of gratitude to the kind Providence that brought them together as pastor and friend, as teacher and pupil, and as co-laborers for ten years in the faculty at Lincoln University. That a man so richly endowed as he, so happily fitted to serve the church and the nation, so unselfishly consecrated to the great service of humanity, should be called away just as his splendid powers were attaining their greatest efficiency, is one of the mysteries which we are not permitted to fathom. His works live after him, however, and where he once stood almost alone, pleading for higher ideals of life, now stand hundreds of those whose vision he quickened, whose courage he aroused, and whose aims in life he helped to fashion. With such men God carries on his great work of enlightening and civilizing the world; with such men he peoples the heavens beyond.

In the course of an editorial, W. B. Palmore, D. D., says in the St. Louis Advocate: "The sudden death of our stalwart, big-brained, great-hearted friend, admonishes us of the brittleness of the thread of life. A few evenings ago we heard him deliver a magnificent lecture, holding his audience spell-bound for an hour and a half, by the force of his argument and array of facts that required the careful reading of a library to have gleaned and mastered. After this lecture we were with him until nearly midnight, and we have never seen a finer promise and picture of physical, mental and moral possibility. At the very zenith or meridian of his splendid manhood, he was in a glow of enthusiasm and a halo of hope. He was one of the manliest men we ever knew, with the brains of a giant and the heart, faith and simplicity of a child. When you once gained his implicit confidence, his artless, child-like trust, united with such dignity of bearing was really remarkable."

The State Normal of Kansas.

Dr. A. E. Winship, editor of the Journal of Education, Bos ton, has this to say of the State Normal School after his recent visit here:

"All in all, there is not a more efficient normal school. In scholarship, in professional spirit, in perfection of methods, in up-to-date variety, and in wholesome moral tone I have not found its superior. It has the great advantage of being the only normal school in the state, and of having the loyalty of the teachers of every one of the one hundred and five counties and of all the cities.

I have never known a plan through which every student in a school of 1,200 is so thoroughly and wisely known and looked after as here. Every teacher has a special group of not more than fifty, of whom he is supposed to know very fully. To this special teacher they go for all consultations, before they present their case to the president. The students room in town, here, there, and everywhere. There is a professional nurse who spends the school hours in the emergency room attending to every case of accident or illness that may arise. She also visits every student's room, to satisfy herself that conditions of health are satisfactory. Light, heat, and ventilation of the rooms are carefully studied."

FEBRUARY.

Alone he stands in the storm, A castle both grim and gray;

His heart is no longer warm,

For its sunshine has fled away.

'Tis said that a maiden sweet

Stole out through the massive gates; And numb with the cold and sleet,

The return of Spring she awaits.

-E. M.

The N. E. A. Goes to Charleston.

The Executive Committee of the National Educational Asso. ciation announces the unanimous selection of Charleston, South Carolina, as the place of meeting of the National Educational Association, July 7 to 13, inclusive, 1900. A complete local organization has already been perfected.

The recently completed auditorium, with a seating capacity of eight thousand, appeared to be better adapted for the general sessions than any audience room in which the Association has ever met. Commodious halls and churches in sufficient number were found available for department meetings. The requisite amount of money for local expenses had been raised. Ample accommodations in hotels, boarding houses, and private homes had been secured by canvas for ten thousand visit ors, and an advance membership of five thousand from the South Atlantic and South Central States was assured. There is no condition which has ever been asked by the Association of the inviting city that has not been anticipated and met in the most generous manner by the city of Charleston. Generous rates, ticket conditions, diverse routes and stop over privileges are offered by the railroads, quite similar to those enjoyed in connection with the Los Angeles meeting. This will make it possible to visit en route, many battlefields of the Civil War, the various resorts of the southern Appalachian region, and of the south Atlantic coast extending from Savannah and Charleston to Norfolk, Richmond and Washington.

A careful investigation of climatic conditions shows that the temperature of Charleston in July, with its prevailing sea breezes, is essentially the same as at the north Atlantic coast cities, and much more likely to be comfortable than in the interior cities of the North Central States.

The Philomathian Society.

a

Our programs for the past month have been devoted largely to essays and orations. On the evening of January 19 essays were read by Misses Naff, Joseph, Barr, Davis, Alexander and Thestraup, and by Mr. Brooks. Misses Philips and Quinn and Messrs. Turtle and Zimmerman gave readings and Mr. Hassebroek delighted us with a mandolin solo. January 26 Miss Nina Clark and Miss Francisco sang solos and the Belles-Lettres quartet warbled song of sugar-making time and responded to a hearty encore with "Sweetly sang the donkey, etc." After recess the question for debate was discussed and the two Fishers succeeded in convincing the judges that phonetic spelling is neither desirable nor practicable. Then came readings by Misses Terhune, Moore and Eddy, and Mr. Zimmerman closed the program with a vocal solo. January 2 our hall was only partly filled. Among the good things on the program we must mention the duet by Misses Palmer and Hoffer, a reading by Mr. Lavoni, and a piano solo by Miss Donica. After recess the Senate was severely criticised for sending two men to the society to represent the Republican party and none to represent the Fusionists. The unusual eloquence displayed proves that some of our number can make impromptu speeches.

Alumni.

'94. M. Alice Spradlin, the famous Twentieth Kansas nurse, is now at home at 1221 Clay street, Topeka. She has undertaken to raise funds for the establishment of the Clara Barton Home, a Christian resort for soldiers and sailors at Manila. She has made a large number of duplicate collections of the last issue of Spanish government stamps in the Philippines. The half dozen sells for fifty cents. This will probably be the last opportunity given to the general public to purchase these interesting relics. Any of our readers desiring them may

Miss Nelle Hunter is teaching at Gardiner, New Mexico. Albert Williams is principal of the schools at Sylvia, Kansas. Judge Patterson, here in '69, was a visitor at the Normal the first of the month.

'95. Olive Collier is teaching in the city schools at Norwood, Colorado.

'83. We are much pleased to see that our old friend, Will E Bolton, editor of the Live Stock Inspector, Woodward, Okla homa, has been appointed Regent of the Oklahoma Agricultural College. He is aptly fitted, both by education and experience, for that important position.

McClure's Magazine for 1900 opens with a new illustrated history of Christ, by John Watson, D. D., (Ian Maclaren). This history has already increased the demand for the Magazine immensely and every Sunday-school worker as well as every magazine reader, will find it most interesting and instructive reading. The other articles for January and February alone are worth the subscription price for the year. The colored illustrations are marvels of typographical skill and the low price of the magazine, $1.00 per year, carries the suggestion that it ought to be in a million homes before the close of the year.

Manual Training in the Grades.

[This series of eight articles will cover the work in the manual training in the grades and is designed to accompany the state text book in drawing. It is, so far as we know, the only complete course in manual training published and our readers will undoubtedly wish to preserve the whole series. It will be published in book form later. Mr. Abbott will be pleased to correspond with teachers or others interested in the subject.]

The object of the manual training in the primary, intermediate and grammar grades is to cultivate in the pupils habits of carefulness, industry, perseverance, and observation; to create and develop a desire and love for work and for the beautiful. This course is to supplement the course in drawing now used in the Kansas schools and gives opportunity to practice measuring in inches and fractions of inches.

It is capable of various adaptations from the large classes in the city schools to the busy work of the district schools. The clay modeling instead of being carried on once a week throughout the year may be done in the fall and spring.

First Grade The course is arranged for two fifteen minute periods a week; one in clay modeling and one in stick laying or paper folding.

The materials are inexpensive, the clay costing about one and one-half cents per pound. It may be obtained from W. H. Clark & Son, Fort Scott, Kansas. A wooden box is needed in which to keep the clay. The splints cost forty-six cents per thousand. Half circles may be used instead of the splints. They cost eighty cents per set. The coated paper squares of the desired colors cost from twenty-four to fifty-four cents per hundred. The sticks, half circles and coated papers may

be obtained of a kindergarten supply house. The coated papers are ordered by names and numbers. The colors for the first grade are: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. Scissors cost fifteen cents.

The object of the stick laying is to teach spacing, design, arrangement and orderliness. The paper folding gives prac tice in the simplest hand movements and the use of the inch measurment is learned. Tracing on the back of the colored papers over the creases gives practice in precision and accuracy. Clay modeling develops the idea of form and cultivates the sense of touch. In modeling the types and objects the fingers only are used.

Who is to teach the manual training? The work is simple; the children enjoy it and it is found that the regular teacher can teach it to the classes to the best advantage.

The work is planned for twenty-three weeks; the numbers refer to the number of week, and the letter to the lesson. I. (a) After conversation on the sphere, model the sphere using fingers only.