at school he exacts, with so much reason, too, of his pupilsdocility, that, when abroad, he should allow society to exact of him. It is quite marvellous how much even a teacher may learn, when he listens with an attentive ear to the conversation of the non-pedagogical world. So listening, he very soon comes to respect, not only their statements concerning matters of information,—mercantile, professional, scientific, social, æsthetical, and so forth, but also their various opinions and sentiments; aye, even their diction and grammar. As this respect strengthens, he finds his knowledge augments, his ideas multiply, his views enlarge, and his mind is kept so thoroughly employed in appropriating the rich revenues at hand, and in marvelling what still richer ones may be in store, that he finds little time and less inclination to dogmatize; but he would fain learn, learn, and only learn. His demoniacal possession is now cured. Haughty, loud-voiced, self-assertion has been cast out, and mild-browed, sweet-tongued Modesty assumes benignant sway. Lastly, to complete our teacher, how shall we rid him of the remaining blemish,—a propensity to interest and involve the whole human race in pedagogy? Wherever he goes-and he goes everywhere-some one, if not many, is sure to fall a victim to his insatiable madness. The artist is compelled to lay aside his brush and neglect his canvas, the merchant must forego his newspaper or the exchange, the mechanic must let his iron grow cold, the novelist leave his hero and heroine standing confusedly at the altar, and the minister permit his people's souls to dangle midway between expectant angels and fiends, to listen to an endless monologue on the merits of the latest fangle of the objective method of instruction, or to a cirmstantial fulsome encomium on the extraordinary virtues of the victim's oldest son or only daughter. The cheery murmur of the parlor, the holy stillness of the sanctuary, the melodious atmosphere of the concert-room, and the dreamless repose of sylvan aisles, are, in turn, profaned by the lumpish footfalls and unsympathetic gabble of problems, abstracts, exercises, drawings, and chirographical specimens. Is the teacher sensible of the pangs he awakens in others, and the censure, tacit and expressed, he draws upon himself by this bustling, monopolizing obtrusiveness? And would he obviate both? Then let him cultivate the cosmopolitan method of treating with every man on his own ground and in his own language, and of accommoda ting himself to the peculiar intellectual and social atmosphere of his immediate surroundings. Great profundity in more than one direction cannot be expected of any one individual; but a certain alluvium, conglomerated of political, æsthetical, mercantile, social, and religious intelligence, ought to be looked for in every one capable of reading a daily newspaper and a monthly magazine. Supplied with this general information, the man is no longer possessed by the teacher, but the teacher is possessed by the man; and though the teacher may claim a place in society, and may sometimes with strictest propriety assert himself, an intelligent man is never out of his place, and may always assert himself. Finally we would remark, that all the foregoing tendencies of the teacher's occupation against which it is incumbent he should defend himself, are tendencies toward a partial and an abnormal development of the man; and that it is certainly a matter of encouragement, that he, by due attention to these inauspicious tendencies, may so far mitigate their tyranny, as to be enabled to stand unabashed in the rank of the healthy, the cultured, and the unsoured of his race. WORTH CONSIDERING. In order to fill out a half page we extract the following from the NewYork Evangelist. Teachers may draw from it a lesson which will be valuable in their dealings with children.-Ed. Do not keep the alabaster boxes of your love and tenderness sealed up until your friends are dead. Fill their lives with sweetness. Speak approving cheering words while their ears can hear them, and while their hearts can be thrilled by them. The things you mean to say when they are gone, say before they go. The flowers you mean to send for their coffins, send to brighten and sweeten their homes before they leave them. If my friends have alabaster boxes laid away, full of perfumes of sympathy and affection, which they intend to break over my dead body, I would rather they would bring them out in my weary hours, and open them, that I may be refreshed and cheered by them while I need them. I would rather have a bare coffin without a flower, and a funeral without a eulogy, than a life without the sweetness of love and sympathy. Let us learn to anoint our friends beforehand, for their burial. Post-mortem kindnesses do not cheer the burdened spirit. Flowers on the coffin cast no fragrance backward over the weary days. EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT. -ALL our subscribers, whose time of subscription expires with this month, will find a red cross on the cover of their Monthlies. They are requested to renew promptly. We hope to receive a large increase of subscriptions from the teachers in the public schools of the cities and villages of Ohio. We promise to make the Monthly worthy of their support. If the Superintendents in the different towns will take the matter in hand they can secure some additions as well as the renewals. In our next volume we expect to publish some Kindergarten articles from the highest authority in the country on the subject of Kindergartenism. -IN justice to Mr. Benson we give place to the following letter. We have not space this month to comment upon it. In the meantime let the mathematical readers of the Monthly, of whom there are several able ones, including mathematical authors, scan it and send us their impressions expressed in their clearest language. 149 GRAND STREET, NEW YORK, Nov. 6th, 1877. EDITOR OF THE OHIO EDUCATIONAL MONTHLY: I feel sure that if you apprehended my geometrical views your remarks in the November number of your Monthly would have been considerably modified. You seem to labor under the conviction that I attack the value of π as the ratio between circumference and diameter. I do not; but accept 3.1415926 for the approximate ratio, which all orthodox geometers do. I, also, agree with such geometers in distinguishing between the curve and straight lines. But with more consistence than them [sic], I do not confound the properties of these lines together, and reason as though [if] they are the same. On the contrary, I give due weight to the distinct properties, and base the whole superstructure of my reasoning upon a few self-evident propositions-namely: 1.-That a curve line is essentially and fundamentally different from a straight line. 2. That this essential and fundamental difference necessarily involves distinct properties to the curve and straight lines. 3.-That the curve and straight lines, having distinct properties, surfaces formed by them, respectively, require dissimilar processes of reasoning to determine their magnitude. 4. That dissimilar processes of reasoning will inevitably lead to results which are entirely independent of each other. 5-That results which are entirely independent of each other have no common ground where they can meet and harmonize. 6.-That when there can be no harmony between results, it is clearly illogical to apply one as the test of the other. 7. That when one result is no test for another result, it is an untenable position to repudiate one because it disagrees with the other. Hence, in virtue of these propositions, I make a distinction between the circle and a polygon in regard to the mode of procedure to determine their magnitude, respectively. And because of the essential and fundamental difference between a circle and a polygon, that though it is true that the area of a regular polygon is equal to the half product of its perimeter and apothem, it is not true that the area of a circle is equal to the half product of its circumference and diameter; nor is it true that the same ratio exists between the square of radius and area of a circle as between the diameter and circumference of a circle. These arise from different conditions; and, therefore, it is not consistent with the strictness of geometrical reasoning to argue respecting them as though [if] their conditions are the same. In this view I am borne out by certain deductive and inductive facts-namely: Archimedes by the relation between the homologous dimensions of rectilinear figures described about the Parabola, proved that the Parabola is to its circumscribing rectangle as 2 to 3; but when the same method of procedure as he instituted for the circle is applied to the Parabola it is found that the Parabola is greater than two-thirds of its circumscribing rectangle. Or if two vessels be constructed one cylindrical and the other cubical, of equal heights, making the diameter of the former 3.5 inches, the latter holding the same quantity as the other, will be found to have the perimeter of its base 12.12 inches, or 3.03+ inches on a side. This test was exhibited in the office of the Charleston Courier in 1863. And some years ago, before the Royal Society of London, a glass sphere was immersed in a vessel of water, and less water was displaced than what the formula 3.1415926× R2 required, showing that this formula gives an error in excess. The Boston Pilot-a very widely circulated paper-has had its columns open to the discussion of this subject since last July, and the discussion still engages the attention of mathematicians from all parts of the country, who enter into it with considerable zest. The New-York Tribune, New-York School Journal, and other live papers have introduced the subject to their readers, as one worthy of consideration. I am sure the position taken by me is a sound one, and the best interests of Education and Science can not fail to be subserved by its intelligent discussion. And I feel also sure that so able and excellent a paper as: The Ohio Educational Monthly, upon a right apprehension of this subject, will not hesitate to lay the matter fairly and clearly before its readers, and invite investigation for the sake of Truth and Advancement in the cause of Education, of which it is so zealous an expounder. Very respectfully, LAWRENCE SLUTER BENSON. -WE promised last month to give a full list of educational periodicals published in this country. . We fulfil that promise by giving on the next page in a tabulated form the school journals of this country and Canada so far as we know them. We have purposely ommitted from the list the numerous school and college periodicals of the country. We have also omitted Pinckney's School Gazette, the third number of which was issued in October last, as it seems to have been established for advertising purposes. We have also omitted children's papers, such as St. Nicholas, Wide Awake, Our Young Folks' Magazine, the Youth's Companion, Good Times, etc. We have doubts whether we are justifiable in admitting to our list the Scholar's Companion. We have attempted to give several facts connected with these educational periodicals as will be seen by a reference to the table. We should have been glad to have given the average numbers of m's (printer's measure) to a page, but this was not convenient. The size of a page and the number of pages give no definite clue to the amount of reading matter, for in one periodical large type may be used and in another small. The size of our page has prevented the printer from inserting the full names of the periodicals as given in our copy. We give here those that have been shortened:-The Ohio Educational Monthly and the National Teacher, New-York School Journal and Educational Directory, The School Bulletin and New York State Educational Journal, The Western, A Journal of Literature, Education, and Art, The Eclectic Teacher and Southwestern Journal of Education. The New England Journal of Education is also issued as the National Journal of |