USEFUL INFORMATION EMBRACING MORE THAN 100,000 FACTS, FIGURES AND FANCIES, DRAWN FROM COMPILED UNDER DIRECTION OF J. C. THOMAS, WITH 4 INTRODUCTION BIZ CHICAGO 030 736 PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. THE aim of this Manual is to present in accessible form facts and figures of general interest to teachers and scholars; to the man of affairs, the student and the people at large. It contains not one useless or superfluous sentence. The grain has been sifted from the chaff; the precious metal extracted from the ore. In it will be found terse answers to thousands of questions, the solution of which is a matter of daily need to busy men. The work is designed as a compendium of useful knowledge, of problems not covered by other books, or of information that, to seek out personally, would require the possession of many volumes. The ruling idea in its preparation has been to furnish in as few words as possible such data as would be of service to men of inquiring minds, to scholars and to their instructors. Matters of general interest, scattered through scores of reference books; and facts and figures from a hundred technical works are here collated and arranged in such a manner as to render the "Manual of Useful Information" a work of great intrinsic value to all classes of readers. Whether for the school,' the home or the office; for the educator, the parent or the professional man, this volume will be found alike interesting and instructive. It does not cover the entire domain of art and science, of literature and history, but the most important facts have been culled from the world's great storehouses of knowledge with much painstaking care, and these have been judiciously classified and systematically arranged so that it offers an epitome of general information at once accessible, accurate and needful-constituting an invaluable aid to the seeker of light. The work has involved the tillage of a wide field, and it is hoped that the garnered product may prove a serviceable contribution to the literature of our time. -105045 (3) SEP 15 1911 COMPRISES Five Standard, Reliable and Comparatively Inexpensive Volumes, covering in the most successful manner the whole field of the actual needs of the Public School Teacher: I.-The Complete Writings of David P. Page, edited by J. M. Greenwood, Superintendent Kansas City Schools, contains a new life with portrait of this great educator, and includes the Theory and Practice of Teaching, thoroughly revised and modernized. The Mutual Duties of Parents and Teachers and the "Schoolmaster"-a Dialogue, to which are added the Legal Status of the Teacher, also Reading Outlines-the latter for reading circles, for reviews and as an aid to individual study. II.-The Teacher in Literature is a publication of exceptional merit, containing selections from ASCHAM, Moliere, Rousseau, Shenstone, Pestalozzi, Cowper, Goethe, IRVING, Mitford, BRONTE, THACKERAY, DICKENS, and others, who have written on educational subjects, from the reign of Queen Elizabeth to the present time. It is a pleasing presentation of the "schools of literature," and illustrates in an exceedingly practical manner the gradual development of the public school system. III.-Practical Lessons in Science, by Dr. J. T. Scovell, for ten years professor of Natural Science, Indiana State Normal School, is designed to cultivate observation and perception as it deals with the common everyday facts and phenomena which are the familiar events of our lives. It crystallizes the facts and laws of the various sciences and presents an abundance of easy experiments suited to the ordinary school-room conveniences, making it a work of inestimable value to teachers of all grades. IV.-Practical Lessons in Psychology, by Prof. W. O. Krohn, of the University of Illinois is a book on tact and "common sense in teaching. One of the most important requisite of the teacher is a knowledge of at least the elementary principles of the Science of the Mind. Before he can enter intelligently upon his work, he must know something of his own mental powers and have some idea of how to measure the intellectual needs and capabilities of the children under his charges. In no other publication is this subject sa comprehensively, so interestingly and so instructively treated. V.-The Manual of. Useful Information, with an Introduction by F. A. Fitzpatrick, Superin tendent Omaha City Schools contains more than 100,000 facts, figures and fancies drawn from every land and language, and carefully classified for the ready reference of the student, the teacher and the home circle. It is a compendium of the most important facts of general interest, and so arranged as to supply the teacher with more food for reflection, more subjects for discussion, more curious and helpful suggestions, and more general exercise material than was ever before published in such convenient and practical form. These Five Volumes are handsomely printed on heavy paper and elegantly bound in uniform style. Price for the Library complete, $6.50. For further information, address the Publishers. THE WERNER COMPANY, 160-174 Adams Street, CHICAGO. INTRODUCTION. THE teacher, more than the member of any other profession, is expected to answer any question that may be propounded by the outside world. This requirement, added to the special technical knowledge needed to successfully impart instruction to the young, puts upon him a heavy burden. The "Manual of Useful Information" places in the hands of the teacher a mass of information apparently indispensable to any well-informed man, and in such a shape as to be usable. The classification is admirable and of itself possesses great value. The terse, excellent English in which the information is clothed, adds a charm to the book. In this age the attention of the best thought in education is directed to the unification of studies, relating each to the other in such a way as to unite the entire topics of school-life into a harmonious, complete whole. One of the greatest difficulties in the way of accomplishing this work of unification has been the meager educational advantages available for the majority of teachers. The necessity which impels many to plunge into the practice of a profession before they have finished their studies, prevents the acquisition of power that would readily know the way to knowledge. Teachers have not known enough of the world, of history, of language, of literature, of the things which go to constitute that acquisition which the educated world calls culture. Culture may be defined: "To know the best that has been said and done" in all time in such a way as to make the inheritance our own. To the majority of mankind information is a prerequisite of culture. (5) |