Of the grammars used we made reference previously to that of Rudiman,[940] which was published in Philadelphia in 1776.[941] This was the first American edition. Another, Davy’s Adminiculum Puerile,[942] or a help for school boys, containing fundamental exercises for beginners, syntax, cautions for mistakes, English for Latin verses, and so forth, which was made easily available by a Philadelphia reprint in 1758, may have been in use. We might expect to find that some of the worthy masters, Pastorius, Willian, Thompson, Wilson, Proud, and others made some contribution in the way of Latin text-books; we are, in that respect, disappointed. Another grammar, but of the English tongue, was that prepared by James and John Gough, which, after being duly inspected by the Board, was adopted for use in the English School in 1761.[943] Since English grammar was also taught in the Latin School, it may have been used in that department also. Concerning the French book or grammar which Anthony Benezet may have used when he was engaged to teach that subject in 1742,[944] we cannot state definitely. However, there was a French School Book published in Philadelphia in 1730,[945] and it may safely be assumed to have been available for his use. The character of the book we do not know. Perrin’s Grammar of the French Tongue was printed in Philadelphia, 1779,[946] and was no doubt the best book available for use of the schools at and subsequent to that time. It may be well to mention here some school books which were in the possession of Daniel Pastorius; their presence may indicate that they, or a part of them, were used in the school. They were: Education, The Young Clerk’s Tutor, Elements of Geometry, A Short Introduction to Grammar, The English School Master, G. Fox’s Primmer, and Teacher’s Instruction for Children.[947]
Mathematics
Some idea of the extent to which mathematics was taught may be gained from certain old exercise books. Some of those, which doubtless belong to the lower schools, dealt with arithmetical exercises, with whole numbers, vulgar and decimal fractions, and commercial arithmetic.[948] Others, clearly more advanced, and doubtless belonging to the Latin school, though some were taught in the English, are chiefly filled with theorems and proven solutions in geometry, trigonometry, conic sections, and spherical trigonometry.[949] This compares quite favorably with the courses suggested in the newspapers, as we have already mentioned.
METHOD
Methods
Catechetical method in religion
Drill in spelling and writing
Parsing, double translation in classics
Concerning this topic little is to be added to what has already been suggested in connection with the discussion of the subject matter. Some points of method, of which we are reasonably certain, will be stated. In religious instruction, where the Bible, Penn’s, Barclay’s, Fox’s, and other works were used as the material, a catechetical method was used by parents in the home, by the masters and mistresses in the schools, and in the youths’ meetings, which were always among the first established. This method still prevails to some extent for the young children. Drill in spelling and handwriting has already been mentioned as urged by the overseers in their directions to the masters and mistresses in the Latin and English schools.[950] The chief elements of Latin and Greek instruction were: analysis, parsing, double translation, and the necessary memory drills. The pupils in Proud’s school were also required to speak Latin so far as able to do so. We have also mentioned that in teaching writing the practise was to begin with simple lines, curves, etc., and proceed to the more complex performances.[951] In the majority of subjects “copybooks” were required to be kept. All of these the writer has been privileged to observe, being kept in a very neat and regular fashion.[952]