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HOW 
 
 SHALL I 
 GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 ADDRESSED TO 
 
 YOUNG TEACHERS; 
 
 AND ALSO 
 
 ADAPTED TO ASSIST PARENTS 
 
 IN 
 
 FAMILY GOVERNMENT. 
 
 BY E. C. WINES, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "TWO YEARS AND A HALF IN THE NAVY J " AND 
 41 HINTS ON A SYSTEM OF POPULAR EDUCATION." 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 PUBLISHED BY W. MARSHALL & CO. 
 
 1838. 
 

 r 
 
 Entered, according to the act of Congress, in the year 1838, by E. C. 
 Wines, in the office of the district court of the eastern district of Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 (2) 
 
 STEREOTYPED BY J. FAGAN, PHILADELPHIA. 
 PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN AND CO. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 In preparing the following work for the press, 
 the Author has studied to make it throughout prac- 
 tically useful. It has been his desire to produce a 
 work which might serve as a manual to the young 
 teacher, in that important branch of his duties, 
 comprised under the term Government. How far 
 the execution has corresponded with the design 
 must be left to the judgment of others. 
 
 Some may inquire, "Why add another to the 
 many useful works on education already extant ?" 
 The question is a fair one, and shall be candidly 
 answered. The writer admits to the full the merit 
 of the works referred to, nor does he arrogate to 
 himself greater knowledge or skill than belonged 
 to his predecessors. Nevertheless, unless he greatly 
 mistakes, such a book as it has been his aim to make 
 was still a desideratum. The subject of school- 
 government seemed to him worthv of a more ex- 
 
 (3) 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 tended developement and illustration than it has 
 hitherto received in the one or two short chapters 
 usually devoted to it, in the treatises on education 
 which have fallen under his eye. 
 
 The principles of government herein set forth 
 will, it is hoped, commend themselves to the judg- 
 ment and adoption of those in whose behalf the 
 work was undertaken. Their excellence and value, 
 when skilfully and faithfully used, have been tested 
 by many teachers. They are also, mutatis mutan- 
 dis, equally applicable to family government. 
 
 The volume is addressed to young teachers : — 
 not in a spirit of feigned modesty, but because the 
 writer felt, unfeignedly, the impropriety and arro- 
 gance there would have been in putting forth his 
 lucubrations as a guide to those who are better 
 able to instruct him, than he them. 
 
 The Author avails himself of the occasion 
 to announce to the public that he has in prepara- 
 tion a work addressed to school-children, on a 
 plan, so far as he knows, entirely new. It is de- 
 signed to give them simple and practical instructions 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 on the following topics, viz: on the nature of the 
 relation between them and their teachers ; the 
 duties growing out of this relation ; the necessity 
 of government in schools, and hence the obligation 
 on their part not only of submitting to it, but of 
 upholding it with their influence ; the peculiar 
 dangers to which school-children are exposed, and 
 the means of overcoming them ; the methods to be 
 employed by the young for self-improvement in 
 moral excellence; the nature, objects, means, and 
 advantages of education ; and the value of time. 
 
 Philadelphia, June 1st, 1838. 
 1* 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Introduction Page 13 
 
 SECTION I. 
 Count the cost of engaging in the profession of a teacher ; 
 weigh the responsibilities it involves ; consider well 
 whether you are willing to enter upon a life of toil and 
 self-denial, in which you will often be expected to achieve 
 impossibilities by transforming dulness into bright parts, 
 and obdurate depravity into virtue, and in which your best 
 services will not seldom be rewarded with want, ingrati- 
 tude, murmurs, and even positive insult 23 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Begin your school by forming a regular plan of government ; 
 settle in your own mind the principles by which you will 
 be guided in your little administration ; propose to your- 
 self certain definite results, and aim steadily at their 
 attainment 37 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 In forming your plan of government, avoid the multiplica- 
 tion of trifling rules ; seize upon principles as compre- 
 hensive as possible for your administrative laws; and be 
 careful to draw a broad line of distinction between your 
 rules and those eternal principles of morality which have 
 their foundation in the revealed will of God, and are there- 
 fore obligatory upon all rational creatures, every where, 
 and at all times 41 
 
 (7) 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Let your pupils distinctly understand, and feel, that your will 
 is the supreme law ; establish your authority upon a firm 
 basis ; and require invariable, unconditional, unhesitating 
 submission to it 46 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Seek continually, by prayer, Divine aid and guidance in the 
 performance of your duty ; cultivate in your heart, and 
 manifest in your life, a spirit of sincere, though unosten- 
 tatious, piety 54 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Make the Word of God your constant study, for the double 
 purpose of becoming familiar with its principles and 
 imbued with its spirit 59 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 Strive, by all suitable means and on all proper occasions, to 
 convince your pupils that you love them ; that you sympa- 
 thize with them ; and that you desire their improvement 
 in knowledge and virtue 71 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 Formal lectures on moral subjects, delivered with unction and 
 in a simple style, will be productive of happy effects on 
 your pupils ; attend, therefore, assiduously and affection- 
 ately to the discharge of this duty ; but do not rest there : 
 seize the occasions, as they rise in the daily occurrences 
 of the school and conduct of the scholars, to enforce more 
 pointedly the principles and dispositions of virtue ; and, 
 above all, teach by example even more than by precept ... 91 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 Do not confine your attention to your pupils to school-hours; 
 let it embrace also, as far as practicable, their seasons of 
 relaxation and amusement 130 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 SECTION X. 
 Be reasonable in your requirements ; be firm in exacting obe- 
 dience ; be uniform in your mode of governing ; be impar- 
 tial in your treatment of all under your care 144 
 
 SECTION XL 
 
 Take an early opportunity, after becoming acquainted with 
 your pupils, of conversing with each privately ; make their 
 dispositions and habits your constant study : and, as far as 
 may be, adapt your management of each to his individual 
 peculiarities '. 168 
 
 SECTION XII. 
 
 Court openness, candour, and confidence from your pupils ; 
 accustom them to regard their faults as diseases, and you 
 as their moral physician, capable of giving them whole- 
 some advice, and pointing out appropriate remedies 177 
 
 SECTION XIII. 
 
 Endeavour to excite in your pupils an interest in their own 
 improvement, moral as well as intellectual ; and point out 
 clearly the means whereby this improvement can be 
 effected 195 
 
 SECTION XIV. 
 
 In speaking to your pupils of their faults, do not overlook 
 their true source, depravity of heart; yet in animadverting 
 upon any particular offence, qualify your censure by intro- 
 ducing, when you honestly can, some commendation of 
 the culprit, and always by laying a stress on the means 
 of improvement, and the hope and expectation that these 
 means will be employed 240 
 
 SECTION XV. 
 
 Endeavour to produce in your pupils a cordial concern for 
 their faults 245 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 SECTION XVI. 
 
 In treating what we have denominated the moral diseases of 
 your pupils, look for occasional relapses ; do not expect too 
 much immediately from your best exertions ; patient con- 
 tinuance in a course of judicious management and in- 
 struction will certainly, in the end, be crowned with 
 success 250 
 
 SECTION XVII. 
 
 Maintain a sleepless vigilance over your pupils, but with as 
 little appearance of it as may be ; mark the beginnings of 
 evil, and use your utmost endeavours to counteract and 
 overcome them ; and cherish, with parental solicitude, the 
 feeblest developements of good feelings and principles . . . 255 
 
 SECTION XVIII. 
 
 Speak often and freely to your pupils of the peculiar dangers 
 and temptations to which the young are exposed, especially 
 those incident to their position as members of a school ; 
 point out and urge upon them the means of overcoming 
 these dangers, and resisting these temptations 260 
 
 SECTION XIX. 
 
 Endeavour, as far as you can without sacrificing more im- 
 portant considerations, to sweeten the necessary restraints 
 and labours of your pupils 264 
 
 SECTION XX. 
 
 Punish as sparingly as you can, and always with evident 
 grief and reluctance; never in an angry or revengeful 
 spirit, nor with reproaches on your lips ; but do not attempt 
 to dispense altogether with the use of the rod 270 
 
 SECTION XXI. 
 By simple explanations of the nature, objects, means, and 
 advantages of education, endeavour to awaken in your 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 pupils a love of learning for its own sake, and to incite 
 them to diligence in seeking it 286 
 
 SECTION XXII. 
 
 Finally : If you would govern with complete success, and 
 have the influence of your government upon the character 
 of your pupils of the most desirable kind, you must kndw 
 how to control, and you must control, the public opinion 
 of your school ; you must be able to make it tell, and you 
 must make it tell, in support of law, order, and virtue. . . . 290 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL' 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Innumerable influences enter into that complex 
 result which we denominate character, whether of indi- 
 viduals or of nations. Parental guardianship, the 
 family circle, our companions, the pulpit, the state of 
 society, the scenes of external nature, the social system 
 under which we live, the press with its diversified modes 
 of operation, and the direct instructions received in the 
 seminal institutions of learning, from the university to 
 the common school, are among these elementary prin- 
 ciples of character. Of all the classes of influence 
 included in this enumeration, not one is more controlling 
 in its action, or more lasting in its effects, and therefore 
 none is of greater importance, than the last mentioned 
 in the catalogue. 
 
 It was said by a deep master of the human heart, — 
 
 " Give me the composition of the popular songs of a 
 
 nation, and I care not who makes its laws." How 
 
 much more forcibly would the spirit of this remark ap- 
 
 2 13 
 
14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ply to a nation's Schools ! To enjoy the entire and ex- 
 clusive control of these educational establishments might 
 well satisfy the ambition of the greediest aspirant for 
 power over his fellow-men. The mysticism of Egypt, 
 the courage of Sparta, the disputatious subtlety of At- 
 tica, the high honour and commanding influence of the 
 early Persians, and the military spirit of the Romans, 
 may be traced to the schools of those several nations, 
 as of controlling influence in producing the predominant 
 traits in their respective national characters. Man, in 
 his original elements, is the same now as he was then ; 
 and what was truth in those remote ages remains so to 
 our own times. That portion of education which is 
 received from direct instructions is still of commanding 
 effect ; and the sire is not more truly parent of the boy, 
 than schools are the parent of national, and, to a great 
 extent, of individual character. 
 
 This great, elemental, and universally admitted fact, 
 stamps the schools of a country, of every name and 
 rank, with an importance that cannot be expressed. 
 For, consider the consequences immediately or remotely 
 involved. Character, in its broadest comprehension of 
 meaning, constitutes the man. It is his power of bless- 
 ing or of cursing ; it is more ; it is, in most cases, the 
 measure of the good or the evil he does to the human 
 race. The same is true as to the character of nations. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 It" a whole people be just, wise, moderate, liberal, and 
 humane, its example will be like healing to the nations ; 
 while it rebukes the statesman whose patriotism does 
 not rise above a selfish ambition, it cheers and encour- 
 ages the true friends of human liberty and upright 
 government. . But if a nation be actuated by a selfish, 
 vindictive, irritable, warlike spirit, its policy will of 
 course be dictated by that spirit, and its career, as a 
 necessary consequence, will be marked by injustice, 
 rapine, and blood. 
 
 These are first principles, about which it is not 
 apprehended that there will be any dispute. If the 
 paramount influence of schools in forming individual 
 and national character be admitted, it is equally clear 
 that this influence constitutes the exact measure of 
 importance that attaches to school-government. Go- 
 vernment is essential to order; order to study; and 
 study to progress in learning and moral excellence. It 
 may be admitted that vigorous discipline sometimes 
 exists without the results that ought to follow ; but 
 none will contend that the converse of this proposition 
 is also true. The fruits of knowledge and virtue can- 
 not be gathered, except from a soil properly broken up, 
 prepared, and regulated. To speak without a figure, 
 the solid improvement of the pupils of any school 
 depends upon the imposition and maintenance of judi- 
 
16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cious restraints, and the requisition of various duties, 
 both enforced by appropriate penalties. Wise and 
 vigorous government affords the only sure substruction 
 on which an edifice of true wisdom, goodness, and 
 happiness can be reared. 
 
 Mr. S. R. Hall, an eminent teacher, and a writer of 
 good repute, in his excellent Lectures on School-Keep- 
 ing, says : — " The direction, govern your school, is one 
 of great importance. Unless you govern those placed 
 under your care, all your other exertions will be nearly 
 or quite in vain. 
 
 * Order is Heaven's first Law.' 
 Without subordination on the part of your scholars, 
 without good government on your own, you may as 
 well expect the course of nature to change, as that 
 your school will make any considerable progress." 
 
 " That the judicious regulation and government of 
 schools," says Prof. Griscom, " is a vital part of civil 
 polity, and that it claims far more attention than it 
 receives from lawgivers and philanthropists, will be 
 admitted, I trust, by all who are acquainted with the 
 state of practical education in this and in other coun- 
 tries. If the welfare of society is really connected with 
 the diffusion of learning, if schools are absolutely ne- 
 cessary to a nation's growth and elevation in all that 
 adds dignity to national existence, if they contribute to 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 family enjoyment, to the delights of social intercourse, 
 to the preservation of morals, to the interests of reli- 
 gion, then, assuredly, ought they to be rendered not 
 only thoroughly efficient in the communication of know- 
 ledge and the right training of the juvenile mind, but 
 they should, to the utmost practicable extent, be made 
 attractive and delightful. Indeed, the latter quality is, 
 in a great measure, essential to the former, — for it is 
 evidently a law of our being, that we can, and do, from 
 infancy to old age, pursue most successfully those 
 objects which yield us pleasure in the pursuit. In the 
 early stage of pupilage it is more especially important 
 that the paths of learning be strewed with allurements, 
 that the nursery and the domestic circle may be wil- 
 lingly exchanged for the school-room and its classes, 
 and the future man be drawn cheerfully and effectually 
 into the folds of learning, and gradually inured to that 
 intellectual labour, without which neither the depths of 
 learning nor the heights of science can ever be attain- 
 ed." Nothing will contribute more effectually to this 
 end, than that teachers should know how to manage 
 their schools with discretion, and to govern by those 
 influences whose effects, both immediate and remote, 
 will be most beneficial to the pupils. 
 
 Government, as applicable to schools, is of three 
 kinds, — the government of pure force, the government 
 
18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 by moral influences exclusively, and the -government 
 in which these two elements are combined, and where 
 neither the one principle nor the other is altogether 
 relied on, nor entirely overlooked. The immediate and 
 obvious results of these different systems of discipline 
 may be very nearly the same. They may each be 
 equally successful in securing order in the school-room, 
 a general attention to school duties, and a commendable 
 progress in learning. But in this brief catalogue the 
 identity of consequences ceases. The ultimate and 
 permanent effects of the two systems, for they in fact 
 resolve themselves into two, upon the character, happi- 
 ness, and usefulness of those who are subjected to their 
 respective influences, will be as variant as the poles. 
 Both may make equally learned scholars, but they will 
 make very different men. The tendency of the one 
 system is to rear up a generation of men, selfish, deceit- 
 ful, time-serving, tricky, and virtuous only from policy ; 
 of the other, to implant in the soul lofty principles of 
 action, a love of whatever is excellent for its own sake, 
 and a habit of generous, self-denying, elevated virtue. 
 
 Of all sorts of government, that founded on brute 
 force is both the simplest and the easiest. Where a 
 sound beating is the panacea for all varieties of dispo- 
 sition and all classes of offences, nothing is wanting to 
 make an accomplished disciplinarian but strength of 
 
 
INTRODUCTION*. 19 
 
 nerve and muscle ; as, in those empyrical systems in 
 which all diseases are referred to one disturbing cause, 
 a single medicine is declared to be a sovereign remedy 
 for every malady that flesh is heir to. No previous 
 knowledge of human nature, no nice observation, no 
 discrimination, no adaptation of punishment to varying 
 circumstances and tempers, no tact or judgment, is 
 requisite. It is only for the master to call out the 
 offending pupil, in language like that used by an old 
 Scotch schoolmaster to three bad boys that often trou- 
 bled him with their roguery, " Come oot here, ye three, 
 till I wheep ye jist noo," and suit the action to the 
 word, and the whole business is done. 
 
 If boys could be effectually controlled by the prin- 
 ciples of reason alone, none can doubt that this species 
 of government would be preferable to every other. But 
 the difficulty is, that where moral influences are relied 
 on to the exclusion of all other restraints, government 
 almost necessarily becomes lax and inefficient, and is 
 apt even to degenerate into a species of coaxing, which 
 renders the teacher the slave rather than the master of 
 the scholars. When matters proceed to this length, the 
 ability of the instructor to be useful to his pupils is at 
 an end. As, therefore, there is no such thing as un- 
 mixed good below the skies, and as a faultless system 
 of government is not adapted to human nature in its 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 present state, it is the part of wisdom to select one that 
 unites in itself the greatest number of wholesome prin- 
 ciples practicable, to the exclusion of as much as pos- 
 sible of what is intrinsically evil in its tendency. On 
 these accounts it may be fairly concluded that the mixed 
 form of school government is the best, in which both 
 physical force and the force of reason are, in the exer- 
 cise of a discreet judgment, resorted to according to 
 the exigencies of the occasion. 
 
 With these general observations on the nature and 
 importance of school government, let us proceed to an 
 examination of the question which forms the title of 
 the present work. In entering on this interesting and 
 most important inquiry, I desire to make this explicit 
 declaration, — that to the experienced teacher I have no 
 discoveries to communicate, no inventions to unfold, no 
 secrets to reveal. I am no petitioner for a patent right 
 in the art of school government. I do not even lay 
 claim to any originality, other than that which consists 
 in pursuing my own investigations in my own way. I 
 am not, indeed, aware that any treatise, similar in its 
 plan to that which it is now proposed to furnish, is in 
 existence ; but the principles that I shall attempt to ex- 
 hibit, are familiar to most of those who have been, for 
 any length of time, engaged in the profession of teach- 
 ing. In reference to many of these gentlemen, the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 proper posture of the writer of this volume would be 
 that of a learner. But to those who are new in the 
 profession, he hopes that the experience and reading 
 of more than twelve years will enable him to present 
 some practical suggestions, which will aid them in that 
 important department of their labours which consists 
 in disciplining and governing the young beings whose 
 principles, habits, characters, and destiny are in a great 
 measure committed to their charge. 
 
SECTION I. 
 
 Count the cost of engaging in the profession of a 
 teacher; weigh the responsibilities it involves; con- 
 sider well whether you are willing to enter upon a life 
 of toil and self-denial, in which you will often be 
 expected to achieve impossibilities by transforming 
 dulness into bright parts, and obdurate depravity into 
 virtue, and in which your best services will not seldom 
 be rewarded with want, ingratitude, murmurs, and 
 even positive insult. 
 
 The man who should begin the rearing of a magni- 
 ficent edifice by employing an architect and giving him 
 unlimited authority to expend to any amount, would be 
 set down by the world as little better than insane. 
 This is not the way in which prudent men enter upon 
 an important undertaking of any kind. They require, 
 first of all, accurate and detailed estimates of each 
 class of expenditures involved in it ; they look nar- 
 rowly into the state of their own finances ; and from a 
 careful comparison of the results, they make up their 
 decision as to the course which prudence dictates to be 
 
 23 
 
24 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 pursued. If so much forethought and caution are 
 necessary to the comparatively narrow and temporary 
 objects here alluded to ; if they are deemed both the 
 evidence and the result of true wisdom, — of how much 
 greater importance is it that they be employed by him 
 who is engaged in weighing the considerations that are 
 to determine him in the choice of a profession or busi- 
 ness for life. This is always, whatever be the par- 
 ticular pursuit to be decided upon, an affair of serious 
 import, and worthy of deep consideration and patient 
 examination ; but there are circumstances connected 
 with the profession of teaching, of a peculiar nature, 
 and demanding more than ordinary deliberation. Every 
 profession has its trials and its drawbacks ; that of 
 teaching has an accumulation of them sufficient, if duly 
 considered, to appal any but the most resolute spirits. 
 In addressing myself to young teachers, and to those 
 who have the business of instruction in contemplation, 
 it seems proper to commence by a brief and unvar- 
 nished exposition of the peculiar labours and vexations 
 incident to the profession which you have either already 
 entered upon, or hold in near prospect. 
 
 It would seem, upon a superficial view of things, a 
 principle both natural and just that every pursuit should 
 be honoured in proportion to its utility. Such a con- 
 clusion would be neither weak nor preposterous on the 
 
HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL 1 2b 
 
 part of one unacquainted with the actual character and 
 conduct of mankind ; but a very limited experience of 
 human affairs is enough to convince any one that 
 nothing could be farther from the truth. Honour is a 
 quality which attaches rather to what is rare than to 
 what is useful ; a meed more readily accorded to ex- 
 alted talents than to eminent worth ; the reward more 
 frequently of a difficult achievement than of that silent 
 but diffusive beneficence which, like the ivy, courts the 
 shade, and, like it too, seeks to include in its compre- 
 hensive embrace every object within its reach. Thus, 
 the most worthy, industrious, and successful cultivator 
 of the earth does not receive a moiety of the applause 
 bestowed upon the victorious general, fresh from the 
 slaughter of uncounted hosts, or upon the poet of supe- 
 rior genius, even though he may have prostituted the 
 powers conferred by the Creator for nobler purposes, 
 to the insidious dissemination of pestilent errors and 
 the uprooting of all morality. 
 
 In prosecuting your labours as an instructor, nu- 
 merous objects will claim your attention, and you will 
 have to deal with a great diversity of tempers, and 
 almost every variety of intellectual endowment. You 
 will have pupils of various ages, engaged in many 
 different branches of study, each of which must re- 
 ceive its due share of attention. Your pupils will have 
 3 
 
26 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 to be ranged in classes according to their respective 
 ages, previous attainments, and actual capacities. This 
 is a work requiring judgment, patience, and much 
 reflection. The morals and manners of your scholars, 
 as well as their intellectual training, must be constantly 
 cared for and attended to. Their various talents must 
 be directed to their proper objects, and their mental and 
 moral development watched, marked, encouraged, and 
 promoted in every conceivable way, and by every suit- 
 able appliance. You will have to find means to rouse 
 the sluggishness of one and to correct the waywardness 
 of another ; to encourage the timid and restrain the 
 impetuous ; to check vicious propensities and foster 
 every opening virtue ; to force information upon the 
 dull, to incite the idle to diligence, to strengthen good 
 principles where they already exist and implant them 
 where they are deficient, and to form in all, habits of 
 order, industry, attention, patience, and obedience. It 
 cannot surely be denied that these duties, and such as 
 these, require, for their due performance, solid talents, 
 copious knowledge, correct judgment, great self-com- 
 mand, sleepless vigilance, and a deep insight into the 
 springs of human conduct. These qualities, zealously 
 and successfully employed in imparting to the young 
 the principles of conduct and the elements of science, 
 may well excite the admiration, but can scarcelv call 
 
HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL! 27 
 
 forth the envy, of the members of any other profes- 
 sion. 
 
 The obligations enumerated above, as they are pecu- 
 liar and appropriate to the profession, though they 
 mark the laborious nature of the teacher's occupation, 
 cannot be properly considered grievances, and do not 
 therefore afford any just ground of complaint. They 
 are undoubtedly the source of much perplexing anxiety, 
 exhausting labour, and vexatious embarrassment; but 
 if they were the only or the principal causes of trouble 
 to the schoolmaster, he would have great occasion for 
 rejoicing. His sorest vexations, and the greatest trials 
 of his patience, spring from a different source, — the 
 officious interference and dictation of parents and other 
 relations of the pupils. Far be it from me to blame 
 the anxiety of a parent in reference to the education 
 of his children. It is not only excusable in him, but it 
 is his duty, to look narrowly into their progress, and 
 if this is not such as to satisfy him, to examine into the 
 causes of its slowness. When this is done in a be- 
 coming spirit and manner, the teacher has no reason- 
 able ground of offence, but, on the contrary, he will 
 rejoice in the opportunity of explanations, probably 
 every way desirable for all the parties concerned. 
 
 This is not what I blame. My complaint is aimed 
 against a practice, not more humiliating to the teacher, 
 
28 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL ? 
 
 than it is prejudicial to the pupil's progress in know- 
 ledge and virtue. Parents often entertain feelings of 
 distrust and contempt towards those to whom, never- 
 theless, they are willing to commit the dearest interests 
 of their offspring. It were well if these sentiments 
 were confined to their own breasts. But this is seldom 
 the case. " They generally communicate them to their 
 children, and thus provide additional vexations for their 
 teachers. Instead of impressing on the minds of their 
 offspring that reverence for the preceptor, which should 
 give weight to his advice, and efficacy to his instruc- 
 tions, they teach them to despise his authority, by 
 allowing an appeal from it to themselves ; they encou- 
 rage the pupil to sit in judgment on his teacher, and to 
 make a report of his diligence, his temper, his talents, 
 and his whole conduct in school." This is as injurious 
 to the scholar, as it is insulting and mortifying to the 
 master. Nevertheless, there are multitudes in the con- 
 stant habit of speaking contemptuously in the presence 
 of their children, of those whom they have employed 
 to be their instructors, and of catechizing them in the 
 manner here indicated. I do not say that all parents 
 do it, or even the majority ; but it is done by numbers, 
 and that teacher may esteem himself as singularly 
 fortunate, who has been, even for the brief space of a 
 few months, engaged in the business of instruction 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL ? 29 
 
 without personal experience of the disposition upon 
 which we are animadverting. 
 
 It is surprising how often parents mistake the real 
 dispositions and talents of their children, and how fre- 
 quently they are ignorant of their true habits. Every 
 teacher, who has been for many years in the profes- 
 sion, could reveal astonishing facts in illustration of 
 this point. My own memory is burdened with them. 
 1 have had arrant and inveterate liars placed under my 
 care, with the assurance on the part of the parent, that, 
 if there was any vice from which his son was free, it 
 was that of lying — that he did not in fact believe he 
 had ever told a lie in his life ! Mistakes of this kind 
 occur still more frequently among parents with respect 
 to the intellectual powers of their offspring. These 
 errors are unfortunate in every respect, but their effects 
 fall with peculiar weight upon the poor schoolmaster. 
 They give rise to unreasonable expectations, and when 
 it is found that the improvement of the child does not 
 tally with the ill-founded opinions of the father or 
 mother, parental partiality, the source of the first error, 
 now commits the second of ascribing the defect, not to 
 any want of talents in their son or daughter, bu,t to the 
 negligence, mismanagement, or inability of the teacher. 
 " The father is too often inclined to proceed with some- 
 thing of the spirit and impetuosity of the ancient phi- 
 
30 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 
 
 losopher, who, when he found the pupil illiterate, with- 
 out further inquiry chastised the preceptor." When- 
 ever this is the case, you may expect to be over- 
 whelmed with reproaches, which it is of course im- 
 possible to prevent by removing the cause, the mental 
 imbecility of your pupil, and which you will not be 
 likely to diminish, either in number or pointedness, by 
 an unvarnished statement of the truth respecting the 
 child in question. 
 
 Another thing to which you must make up your 
 mind to submit, if you become a teacher, is an unjust 
 depreciation of your merit by the public generally, and 
 a most unreasonable degradation from your proper rank 
 in society. Most men are agreed that the office of a 
 teacher is one of great utility, and they will even allow 
 that to exercise it properly requires power and attain- 
 ments of a high order ; but it will not be asserted that 
 it is held in proportional esteem. The fact is far other- 
 wise. The title of schoolmaster, which ought to be an 
 honour to any man, and which I believe in God will 
 one day become so, now rests like an incubus on those 
 who wear it. Parents do not hesitate to entrust the 
 intellectual and moral education of their offspring to 
 men whom they will not admit into their drawing- 
 rooms, except perhaps occasionally by sufferance, and 
 as an act of special condescension. The consequence 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 31 
 
 of this general and extraordinary exclusion of teachers 
 from the best circles of society, as impolitic as it is 
 unjust, has been to inundate the profession with quacks, 
 pretenders, ignoramuses, and adventurers of every 
 grade. Whatever disadvantages or drawbacks may be 
 connected with the other professions, this one source of 
 consolation at least is common to them all, that their 
 members, if there is nothing in their characters to pre- 
 vent it, are considered as on a footing of equality with 
 the best of their fellow-citizens. But the teacher, as 
 such, is not held to be entitled to respect. On the con- 
 trary, to be a schoolmaster is to be despised, ridiculed, 
 sneered at, and either entirely shut out of respectable 
 society, or barely tolerated there, as something little 
 short of a positive nuisance. It has been said, with 
 equal truth and beauty, that the general idea of a 
 schoolmaster seems to be that of an humble drudge in 
 the garden of knowledge ; who digs the soil, and trains 
 the plants, indeed ; but who cannot taste the beauty, or 
 understand the value of the flowers and fruits. Not- 
 withstanding this low estimate in which the instructors 
 of our children, as a class, are held, they are expected 
 to possess qualities and qualifications such as rarely 
 fall to the lot of humanity. 
 
 " In enumerating what were in his judgment the 
 requisite qualifications of an instructor of youth, 
 
32 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 
 
 Quinctilian has drawn such a literary and moral cha- 
 racter, as would, indeed, do honour to any profession ; 
 but which human frailty forbids us to hope will fre- 
 quently be found : yet the idea of the ancient rhetori- 
 cian, however exalted, seems by no means equal to the 
 popular expectation of the present day. If we consult 
 the sentiments and conduct of the less intelligent and 
 less liberal part of the community, it will appear that 
 the master of a school is required to possess, like the 
 hero of a romance, not only talents and virtues above 
 the ordinary endowments of humanity, but such con- 
 trarieties of excellence as seem incompatible with each 
 other. He is required to possess spirit enough to govern 
 the most refractory of his pupils, and meanness enough 
 to submit to the perpetual interference of their friends ; 
 such delicacy of taste as may enable him to instruct 
 his scholars in the elegancies of letters, and robust 
 strength enough to bear without fatigue the most inces- 
 sant exertions ; skill adequate to the performance of 
 his task, and patience to be instructed how to perform 
 it. He is required to have judgment enough to deter- 
 mine the most proper studies for his pupils, and com- 
 plaisance at all times to submit his own opinion to the 
 opinions of those who have employed him ; moral prin- 
 ciple sufficient to ensure on all occasions the faithful 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL/ 33 
 
 discharge of his duties, and forbearance to hear those 
 principles continually suspected, and his diligence and 
 fidelity called in question. It is expected that he will 
 feel the conscious dignity which science confers upon 
 its possessor, and yet descend without reluctance to 
 teach infants their alphabet ; that he shall be daily 
 exposed to the severest trials of temper, but neither 
 require nor be allowed any indulgence for its occasional 
 excesses ; and that he be able to secure all the good 
 effects of discipline, without the use of the only means 
 that ever yet procured them."* 
 
 To these annoyances, and such as these, every teacher 
 of youth, whether in academies or common schools, is 
 constantly exposed. None may indulge the hope that 
 the trials which come to all will not fall to his lot. You 
 must expect them, and be prepared to meet them ; or 
 you had better give up at once and forever all idea of a 
 pursuit in which you will be doomed to continual disap- 
 pointment, mortification, embarrassment, and disgust. 
 
 But when you have performed all your duties with 
 conscientious zeal and unquestionable success, what 
 pecuniary recompense may you look for ? Alas ! when 
 will parents be willing to pay half as liberally for the 
 
 * Barrow. 
 
34 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 1 ? 
 
 culture of the mind and heart of their children, as they 
 are for their bodily adornments and external advan- 
 tages, for the furniture of their houses, the splendour 
 of their equipages, and those very amusements, which 
 demoralize while they gratify, and are therefore not 
 only useless but hurtful ? They dole out the miserable 
 pittance which is all they are willing to pay for the 
 education of their sons and daughters, as if it were 
 their heart's blood. I do not say that this is always 
 the case ; there are happily many honourable excep- 
 tions, and they are every year becoming more nume- 
 rous ; still with respect to the multitude I have stated 
 the simple truth, as every man of observation, and espe- 
 cially every teacher, well knows. The price paid for 
 instruction bears no proportion, I do not say to the 
 intrinsic value and certain advantages of instruction, 
 but to the ratio of prices in other things, and for other 
 and inferior kinds of labour.* Multitudes of school- 
 masters lack a decent subsistence ; few, in whatever 
 
 *"The school-returns of Massachusetts and New York, for 
 the year 1834, show the following results : in the former of those 
 States the average sum paid for instruction in each school-district 
 was a hundred and fourteen dollars ; in the latter, for the same 
 year, it amounted to only seventy-two dollars." — Hints on Popu- 
 lar Education. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL ( 35 
 
 class of institutions employed, can hope for any thing 
 beyond that ; fewer still can look forward to a remote 
 independence ; and none can flatter themselves, except 
 through the influence of the grossest delusion, with the 
 expectation of affluence. 
 
 But are there no bright points to relieve the darkness 
 •of the picture we have sketched 1 Yes, there are ; but 
 I can only direct your attention to them, and leave you 
 to dwell upon them at your leisure. In the first place, 
 teaching is a profession which opens a broad field of 
 usefulness. There is no calling in which a man, pos- 
 sessing the requisite qualifications, and actuated by the 
 right spirit, can render himself more truly a blessing 
 to his species, than in this. Again : in whatever esti- 
 mation the profession is generally held, it is really 
 honourable as well as useful. It is honourable in itself, 
 it is honourable on account of the results which it pro- 
 duces, it has been made honourable by the talents of 
 some of the ablest men and brightest geniuses the 
 world ever saw. It would be easy here to present an 
 array of great names of men, who have been, at one 
 period or another of their lives, engaged as school- 
 masters. The list would be graced by such names as 
 Isocrates and Quinctilian among the ancients, Milton, 
 Johnson, and Parr, among the moderns, and by those 
 
36 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 1 
 
 of many of the ablest statesmen, dead and living, of 
 our own country. As a third redeeming consideration, 
 it may be mentioned that the profession of teaching is 
 gradually, not to say rapidly, rising in public estima- 
 tion. The generality of men, and especially men of 
 intelligence, respect it more than formerly, and to those 
 engaged in it they yield a greater measure of confi- 
 dence and sympathy. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 37 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Begin your school by forming a regular plan of 
 government ; settle in your own mind the principles by 
 which you will be guided in your little administration ; 
 propose to yourself certain definite results, and aim 
 steadily at their attainment. 
 
 An adherence to the spirit of this principle is neces- 
 sary to success in every pursuit of life. Without it, 
 the merchant, the agriculturist, the manufacturer, the 
 statesman, the philanthropist, and the Christian, must 
 each fail of securing all those results which a regard 
 to it would at least aid him in attaining. 
 
 To the successful management of a school, this prin- 
 ciple is of indispensable necessity. A hap-hazard kind 
 of government, a government whose very principles 
 are the sport of caprice and circumstance, and whose 
 measures are dictated by momentary impulse, is in 
 fact no government at all. It is worse than none ; for 
 its inevitable failure to secure any of the ends of good 
 government, its utter inability to enforce while it claims 
 
 authority, must necessarily result in various bad effects 
 4 
 
38 HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 on the moral character of the pupils, as well as mate- 
 rially interfere with the improvement of their minds. 
 It will produce a habit of insubordination, self-will, 
 resistance to all authority, and contempt for those who 
 exercise it, the baleful consequences of which may 
 spread themselves out over the whole of existence. It 
 may issue, there is no security that it will not, in taint- 
 ing the entire character, in drying up the sources of 
 virtue, and casting a blight over all the useful powers 
 of the man. 
 
 These brief considerations will be sufficient to show 
 you the importance of this direction. You cannot 
 govern well, and therefore not usefully, except in con- 
 formity to a settled plan, in acccordance with certain 
 fixed principles. Arid this plan ought not to be the 
 hasty concoction of an hour, a day, or even a week. 
 It should be long and deeply pondered. The lights of 
 experience should be consulted, as far as they are 
 within your reach, whether in books or in the con- 
 versation of older teachers. Your own ideas upon the 
 subject should be matured, digested, and arranged. You 
 should say to yourself, — " I am about to assume a fear- 
 ful responsibility, such a responsibility as is entrusted 
 to no other men, except those engaged in the same pro- 
 fession with myself. The training of immortal beings, 
 so that thev may fulfil their high destiny aright, is 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL ? 39 
 
 committed to my hands. Under my guidance, their 
 powers are to be developed, their minds furnished with 
 knowledge, their principles matured, and their habits 
 formed. I must lay my plans both of instruction and 
 .government with reference to these great ends ; and 
 then adhere to them with undeviating firmness and 
 consistency, except so far as larger knowledge and 
 experience shall convince me that they are defective, 
 and need amendment." If you are actuated by this 
 spirit, you will meditate long and deeply ; you will form 
 your plan of government, with caution and delibera- 
 tion ; you will not change it, or even introduce impor- 
 tant modifications, lightly ; and success can hardly fail 
 to crown your labours. On the other hand, indecision, 
 inconstancy, levity, a vacillating spirit, in governing 
 your school, will inevitably destroy your pupils' respect 
 for you, and materially abridge your usefulness. 
 
 It is not of essential importance what your particular 
 system of managing is. There may be a dozen plans, 
 all of which, in the hands of skilful teachers, would be 
 equally efficient. It is only necessary that it should be 
 founded in a correct knowledge of human nature, that 
 it should be adapted to the circumstances of your 
 school, and that, it should be adhered to with constancy 
 and prosecuted with vigour. While, therefore, it is 
 true that some general plan of government is indis- 
 
40 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 pensable to the order of every school and to the im- 
 provement of the pupils of every school, it is also true 
 that different teachers will fall upon different principles 
 of organization, according as their habits of thought, 
 feeling, and action vary. It is not possible, it is not 
 even desirable, that all should adopt the same system. 
 Some are incapable of applying successfully one set 
 of principles, in whose hands a different organization 
 would be entirely successful. No system will ever be 
 efficient from the force of its inherent qualities ; the 
 best must depend for its ultimate and complete success 
 on the zeal, ability, and faithfulness of the teacher. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 41 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 In forming your plan of government, avoid the mul- 
 tiplication of trifling rules ; seize upon principles as 
 comprehensive as possible for your administrative laws; 
 and be careful to draw a broad line of distinction be- 
 tween your rules and those eternal principles of mo- 
 rality which have their foundation in the revealed will 
 of God, and are therefore obligatory upon all rational 
 creatures, every where, and at all times. 
 
 A course of procedure, opposed to the principles here 
 laid down, will subject you to manifold vexations and 
 perplexities. If you undertake to frame a code of laws, 
 wherein every particular duty shall be enjoined, and 
 each individual offence forbidden, you will swell your 
 catalogue of injunctions and prohibitions to a number 
 that no child can retain in his memory ; and unless the 
 act forbidden be one of manifest impropriety, the young 
 transgressor will be liable to be punished for an un- 
 avoidable forgetful ness, rather than for any real obli- 
 quity. In framing such a code, you will also necessa- 
 rily omit many things that would be obviously em- 
 A' 
 
42 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 
 
 braced within the comprehensive grasp of some general 
 principle, and you will consequently be obliged occa- 
 sionally to overlook offences that the delinquents knew 
 to be such, because they were not in the bond — not 
 enumerated in the list of specifications. Besides this, 
 such a detailed enumeration of obligations and trans- 
 gressions will leave you less latitude for varying your 
 treatment of particular offences, according to the vary- 
 ing dispositions of your pupils, and the different cir- 
 cumstances under which they were committed. 
 
 The influence of broad general rules will moreover 
 be good, as far as it goes, on the intellectual develop- 
 ment and character of your pupils. Its tendency will 
 be to accustom them to take wide views, to familiarize 
 them with the principle of classification, and to habituate 
 them to the process of generalization. This is an inci- 
 dental advantage worthy of consideration in estimating 
 the value of the principle now under discussion. 
 
 On the general question as to the comparative merits 
 of the two systems, I can speak with the authority of 
 experience. I have tried both plans myself, and have 
 seen them tried by others ; and the result is a firm con- 
 viction that the fewer rules a teacher can get along 
 with, so that they cover the whole ground necessary to 
 be embraced in such a code, the better it will be in 
 every respect, both for himself and his scholars. Six 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 43 
 
 rules are better than six hundred. One of the greatest 
 evils incident to civil government is the excessive mul- 
 tiplication of penal statutes. This is one prolific source 
 of litigation. It makes a resort to legal knowledge 
 often indispensable, and renders legal processes tedious 
 and expensive. The enactments of the British Parlia- 
 ment unrepealed, and therefore still in force, fill several 
 hundred quarto volumes. This is loudly complained 
 of by some British writers. 
 
 Mr. Jacob Abbott, well known by his numerous prac- 
 tical publications, who conducted for several years with 
 eminent success the Mount Vernon Female Boarding- 
 School, in Boston, says that he had but one rule in that 
 establishment. There is perhaps a little affectation in 
 this declaration, as it is evident from his account of the 
 school, that there were in effect several rules, which, 
 however, in order to have but one nominally, he calls 
 arrangements. A single rule for all the operations of 
 a school is, moreover, an excess of generalization. No 
 principle can be found broad enough to embrace legiti- 
 mately a range of particulars so multifarious and so 
 numerous. Nevertheless, the principle is a sound one, 
 and practically important, that the rules of a school 
 should be as few and as comprehensive as may be con- 
 sistent with vigorous government and true philosophy.* 
 
 * " I feel very strongly impressed with a conviction that the 
 
44 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL '. 
 
 There is no necessity for incorporating in a code of 
 school laws those general, universally recognized, eter- 
 
 evils which have resulted to community, in consequence of a 
 perversion of moral sentiment and feeling, occasioned by particu- 
 lar laws, have sometimes been greater than those which would 
 have accrued, had the crimes, which those laws were intended to 
 prevent, been suffered to pass unnoticed and unrestrained. I 
 think it might satisfactorily be shown, many laws have rather 
 increased than discountenanced crime. These observations, if 
 just, suggest a consideration of practical importance, in respect 
 to the mode of government which should be adopted in schools, 
 and indeed in families, which is, that there should be as few posi- 
 tive enactments, or rules and regulations, as may consist with the 
 regulation of the school, in outward conduct. 
 
 " When laws abound, a school may be governed, but it is next 
 to impossible that the moral sentiment should not be hurt by them. 
 For in each of these laws, a standard is set up, of different gradua- 
 tion from the law of God, which will therefore lead away the 
 mind and heart from the great and abiding principles of moral 
 truth and worthy action. Could all the erroneous opinions and 
 corrupt sentiments to which laws have given rise, with all their 
 dreadful consequences, be presented to view, so many and so great 
 would they appear, that at first thought, many would come to the 
 conclusion, which I once heard expressed, that our legislature 
 might be a good thing enough, and we could well afford to sup- 
 port it, if when together, they would enact no law, but that the 
 expense of the body and the burden of the laws together were 
 beyond our ability to bear." — Mr. Perrifs Lecture before the 
 American Institute on Primary Education. 
 
HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL ' 45 
 
 nal laws of morality, contained in the Holy Scriptures. 
 There is, on the contrary, an obvious impropriety in 
 doing so. The object of the rules of a school is to 
 make that duty which would not be so but for their 
 existence. The province of these enactments, there- 
 fore, lies wholly without those immutable principles 
 which are at the foundation of all duty. A violation 
 of any of these principles is wrong in itself; it is 
 wrong at all times ; it is wrong under all supposable 
 circumstances ; it is wrong in every accountable being. 
 The master cannot enact these laws ; he ought not to 
 pretend to do it. He may enforce them ; nay, he must 
 enforce them, or he is derelict to duty, and unfit for 
 his office. But he should be careful to distinguish 
 between his rules and the laws of God, and never to go 
 through the mockery of re-enacting the latter. It is 
 admitted that the obligation to obey wholesome rules 
 established by the master of a school is a sacred obli- 
 gation ; it is admitted further, or, if you please, con- 
 tended, that both obligations repose ultimately upon the 
 same eternal basis — the will of God — but there is, 
 nevertheless, a manifest distinction between them, which 
 ought not to be overlooked, or confounded to the pupil's 
 apprehension. 
 
46 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Let your pupils distinctly understand, and feel, that 
 your will is the supreme latv ; establish your authority 
 upon a firm basis ; and require invariable, uncondi- 
 tional, unhesitating submission to it. 
 
 This principle is fundamental. There cannot be 
 such a thing as good government either in a family or 
 a school without an adherence to it. I do not mean to 
 say that you should act without reasons, or that you 
 should not occasionally and even frequently explain to 
 your pupils the reasonableness of your requirements 
 and prohibitions. On the contrary, I think such expla- 
 nations not only proper but necessary ; but I would 
 have you carefully avoid producing the impression on 
 the minds of your pupils that they have a right to 
 demand or expect that you would always tell them the 
 wherefore of your actions. Let them know that you 
 have satisfactory reasons for all that you require and 
 forbid ; let them feel, rather as an inference from their 
 own observation, than from any express declaration of 
 yours, that you invariably act from a sense of duty ; 
 but, at the same time, let them as distinctlv understand 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 47 
 
 that it is their business to obey when you command, 
 without seeking to know, in every or in any given case, 
 why you pursue one course rather than another. 
 
 The importance of this principle is developed with 
 so much force and clearness in one of the Lectures* 
 delivered in 1831 before the American Institute of 
 Instruction, that, with this general acknowledgement, I 
 shall avail myself freely of the thoughts and in part 
 of the language of that excellent essay. The first step, 
 says the author of that paper, in substance, which a 
 teacher must take, in entering upon the care of a school, 
 is to obtain the entire, unqualified submission of his 
 pupils to his authority. We often err when designing 
 to exert a moral influence, by substituting, throughout 
 our system of government, persuasion for power ; but 
 we soon find that the gentle winning influence of moral 
 suasion, however beautiful in theory, often falls power- 
 less upon the heart, and we must then have authority 
 to fall back upon, or all is lost. There are some 
 parents whose principle it is not to require any thing 
 of their children which they cannot understand and feel 
 to be right. The mother, in such a case, forgets that 
 a heart in temptation is proof against all argument ; 
 and the simple question of going to bed, where this is 
 the system, sometimes requires a parental pleading of 
 
 * Mr. Jacob Abbott's. 
 
48 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 
 
 an hour, in which the mother's stores of rhetoric and 
 logic are not seldom exhausted in vain. 
 
 Teachers, too, sometimes resolve that they will resort 
 to no arbitrary measures. They imagine that, if they 
 clearly explain the nature of duty, and vividly set forth 
 the happiness arising from the performance of it, their 
 pupils will be led to love what is right for its own sake, 
 and that the aid of arbitrary authority may be entirely 
 dispensed with. But the plan fails. It always has 
 failed, and it always will. However much men may 
 differ in their theory of human nature, it is very gene- 
 rally agreed by those who have tried the experiment, 
 that neither families nor schools can be preserved in 
 order by eloquence and argument alone. There must 
 be authority ; — authority not, indeed, founded upon 
 caprice, nor liable to become the sport of every mo- 
 mentary impulse, but so far arbitrary that the teacher's 
 simple will must be to the pupil in the place of all other 
 argument or explanation. The pupils may not often 
 feel it ; they ought not to be made to feel it more fre- 
 quently than is absolutely necessary ; but they must 
 know that it is always at hand, and must be taught to 
 submit to it as to simple authority. The subjection of 
 the governed to the will of one man, in such a way 
 that the expression of his will must be the final decision 
 of every question, is the only government that will 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 5 49 
 
 answer in school or family ; a government not of per- 
 suasion, not of reasons assigned, not of the will of the 
 majority, but of the will of the one who presides. 
 
 The experiment has been tried of a republican form 
 of government in schools, and has been in some in- 
 stances attended with considerable success. But it is 
 the form alone that has been tried. The experiment 
 of a government, republican in reality, has never, to 
 my knowledge, been attempted in any school. I mean 
 by a really republican government, the entire relin- 
 quishment of the concerns of the school into the pupils' 
 hands, so that the master stood completely aloof, feeling 
 neither anxiety nor responsibility except in the duties 
 of instruction. A republican form may succeed, where 
 the teacher has the genius to govern himself through 
 all the machinery of the forms. In such cases the 
 forms may sometimes do much good ; but the real, 
 honest, bona fide surrender of a school into the hands 
 of its pupils, is an experiment which no projector has 
 yet, I believe, had the boldness to try. 
 
 While the master of the school must thus really have 
 full control, the tone and manner of authority need not 
 be, and ought not to be, continually employed in the 
 management of the pupils. What I contend for is that 
 the authority itself should exist, and be appealed to 
 frequently enough to show its existence and its power. 
 
50 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL { 
 
 This will be for the most part sufficient. Ail the ordi- 
 nary arrangements of a well regulated school will go 
 on without it. A request will be complied with as im- 
 plicitly as a command obeyed. But in order to feel 
 safe and strong, the teacher must possess power to 
 which he knows he can at any time appeal. And it is 
 not useless while it lies dormant. The government of 
 the United States employs its hundreds of workmen at 
 Springfield and at Harper's Ferry, in the manufacture 
 of muskets. The inspector examines every one, as it 
 is finished, with great care. He adjusts the flint ; he 
 tries it again and again, until its emitted shower of 
 sparks is of the proper brilliancy ; and when satisfied 
 that all is right, he packs it away with its thousand 
 companions, to sleep probably in their boxes in quiet 
 obscurity forever. A hundred thousand of these deadly 
 instruments form a volcano of slumbering power, which 
 has never been awakened, and which, it is to be hoped, 
 never will. The government never makes use of them. 
 One of its agents, a custom-house officer, waits upon a 
 merchant for the payment of a bond. He brings no 
 musket. He keeps no troops. He comes with the gen- 
 tleness and civility of a social visit. But the merchant 
 knows that, if compliance with the just demand of his 
 government is refused, and resistance to it is sustained, 
 force after force would be brought to bear upon him, till 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL^ 51 
 
 the whole hundred thousand muskets should speak with 
 their united and tremendous energy. The government 
 of these United States is thus a tremendous engine, 
 working with immense momentum ; but the parts which 
 bear upon the citizens conceal their power by the ele- 
 gance of the workmanship, and by the slowness and 
 apparent gentleness of their motion. If you yield to it, 
 it glides smoothly and pleasantly by ; if you resist it, 
 it crushes you to atoms. 
 
 Such, as far as possible, ought to be the character of 
 all government. The teacher of a school especially 
 must act upon these principles. He should be mild and 
 gentle in his manners ; in his intercourse with his pupils 
 he should, on all ordinary occasions, use the language 
 and assume the air, not of stern authority, but of 
 request and persuasion. But there must be authority 
 at the bottom to sustain him, or he can do nothing suc- 
 cessfully, especially in attempting to reach the hearts 
 of his pupils. 
 
 One of the first things to be done, then, by a teacher 
 in assuming the charge of a school, is to obtain com- 
 plete and unqualified command of it. This is to be done 
 with as much gentle dexterity as possible, but it must in 
 some way be done. The pupils must understand that 
 the will of the master is there the supreme law. This 
 will must, indeed, be founded on just and equitable prin- 
 
52 HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 
 
 ciples ; but the teacher is not accountable to his pupils 
 for those principles, and must not allow himself to be 
 held accountable by them. He may, when he thinks it 
 best, and doubtless he often should, explain his reasons, 
 but he ought to guard against their supposing that their 
 obedience is to be founded on their conviction of the 
 propriety of his requirements. The school must learn 
 to submit to authority as such. No community of chil- 
 dren is capable of being well governed by argument 
 and persuasion alone. These methods may generally 
 succeed, but they cannot be relied on. They will do 
 upon a smooth sea in pleasant weather, but we must 
 have very different ballast aboard in a storm. 
 
 On the means of obtaining the proper ascendency 
 over your pupils, I shall not now enlarge. I speak in 
 this connexion only of its absolute necessity in order to 
 enable you to do any thing efficiently in the way of 
 governing your scholars, and especially of governing 
 them by the force of moral suasion. Two reasons may 
 be assigned for this necessity. The man who has not 
 the full, unqualified, complete control of his pupils, 
 must spend most of his time, and wear out his spirits, 
 in preserving any tolerable order in his dominions ; and 
 secondly, he whose authority is not established, re- 
 spected, and implicitly submitted to, will be so con- 
 stantly vexed and fretted by the occurrences around 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 53 
 
 him, that all his moral power will be neutralized by the 
 withering influence of his clouded brow. To do good 
 to our pupils, our own spirits must be composed and at 
 rest : — and especially, if we wish to influence favour- 
 ably the hearts of others, our own must rise above the 
 troubled waters of irritation and anxious care. 
 
54 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 
 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Seek continually, by prayer, Divine aid and guid- 
 ance in the performance of your duty ; cultivate in 
 your heart, and manifest in your life, a spirit of sin- 
 cere, though unostentatious piety. 
 
 It is the province of the moral philosopher to ex- 
 amine into the principles on which the efficacy of prayer 
 depends. It is enough for our purpose that its efficacy 
 be admitted ; as it undoubtedly will be by every believer 
 in divine revelation. The connexion between the offer- 
 ing up of devout prayer and the reception of blessings 
 from God, is repeatedly, pointedly, and fully set forth 
 in the Sacred Volume ; and examples of this connexion 
 abound therein, in the answers vouchsafed on numerous 
 occasions to the supplications of the pious, and recorded 
 for our instruction and encouragement. Many remark- 
 able instances of answers to prayer are on record in 
 the history of the Church since the " sayings of the 
 prophecy of this book" were closed ; and many others, 
 equally striking and indubitable, exist in the conscious- 
 ness of the humble petitioner, which have never been 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN" MY SCHOOL I 55 
 
 revealed to the world, and will never be known, till the 
 disclosures of the last day proclaim them to the uni- 
 verse. 
 
 The efficacy of prayer admitted, it will scarcely be 
 asserted that there is any class of persons who stand in 
 greater need of superior aid and enlightenment in the 
 fulfilment of their duties than schoolmasters. These 
 duties arc not only extremely arduous and toilsome, but 
 they require, for their successful discharge, a quick- 
 ness and accuracy of judgment, a fertility of resource, 
 an almost intuitive perception of what is expedient on 
 sudden emergencies, demanded by few, if any, other 
 occupations. " In all things, let your requests, by 
 prayer and supplication, be made known unto God ;" 
 " if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who 
 giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not ;" "in 
 all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy 
 steps ;" are precepts and promises, whose obligation is 
 acknowledged by multitudes of instructors, and whose 
 sustaining power has been proved by them on more 
 than one occasion in the management of their schools. 
 
 .But it is not merely in the positive answers gra- 
 ciously accorded to humble, importunate, and believing 
 prayer, that the praying teacher learns the value of the 
 high and honourable privilege of drawing nigh to God, 
 and speaking freely with Him who k not only an all- 
 
56 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL J 
 
 powerful Creator and righteous Sovereign, but a merci- 
 ful and condescending Parent. The constant and con- 
 scientious discharge of this and other religious duties 
 tends to beget a temper of mind and a habit of acting, 
 and • to impart a weight and authority to his opinions 
 and conduct, highly favourable to the success of any 
 plan of government he may have adopted. The 
 ascendency of the Christian spirit in a man imparts a 
 dignity of character, a strength and integrity of prin- 
 ciple, an amiability of temper, a straightforwardness, 
 modesty, gentleness, patience, forbearance, self-control, 
 firmness, and consistency, favourable to honourable 
 success in any business or profession. But these quali- 
 ties are of especial value in him whose office it is to 
 guide, instruct, and govern the young. Where they 
 are possessed in any considerable degree, and they will 
 be possessed, other things being equal, precisely in pro- 
 portion as Christianity reigns in the heart, the task of 
 governing a school is already more than half achieved. 
 If, then, you would not only restrain the waywardness 
 of your pupils, so as to secure a good degree of order 
 in your school-room, but desire at the same time to 
 communicate a love of order, a thirst for moral excel- 
 lence, and a hatred of whatever is mean and vicious, 
 cultivate assiduously these attributes and dispositions. 
 No single means will be found so efficacious as prayer ; 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL ? 57 
 
 and without this, all other means will be either wholly 
 unavailing, or only partially successful. 
 
 The habit of praying with and for your pupils, and 
 of seeking divine guidance in your treatment of them, 
 will be attended with another advantage, which deserves 
 to be noticed. It will increase your interest in them, 
 strengthen your love for them, and make you more 
 watchful of opportunities for doing them good. Where 
 these feelings really exist, they will shine out ; and the 
 manifestation of such sentiments towards those under 
 your care cannot fail to enlarge your influence over 
 them, and thus to render the task of governing them 
 easier and more sure. 
 
 Piety, ardent but enlightened, full of sympathy 
 though free from cant and ostentation, and existing 
 rather in the conduct than on the tongue, is one of the 
 most important qualifications of an instructor of youth. 
 It may almost be said to be an indispensable qualifica- 
 tion ; certainly it is indispensable to the right discharge 
 of the highest and most important of his obligations. 
 There is no man of correct moral feelings, who would 
 not recoil at the bare idea of an irreligious minister of 
 the gospel. Personal religion is thought by all to be 
 an essential prerequisite to the proper exercise of the 
 functions of that office. Yet there are not wanting 
 strong points of analogy, and even of actual identity, 
 
58 MOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 
 
 between the duties of the minister and those of the school- 
 master. That teacher entertains but a low and narrow 
 view of the duties of his office, who thinks them limited 
 to the preservation of order in his school, and the com- 
 munication of mere secular knowledge. To educate 
 aright is to have respect in our training to the whole na- 
 ture of man. He who forgets his immortality, stops 
 short at the threshold of-education. To limit our views, 
 in educating young immortals, to the present transitory 
 scene, and to omit all reference to that interminable and 
 unchangeable state of existence which is to succeed it, 
 is rank folly ; it is absolute madness, and a heinous sin 
 in the sight of God. It would be unspeakably more 
 preposterous, as well as wicked, than to set out on a 
 voyage to China in a leaky vessel, and with but a single 
 day's provisions and water. It is true that the aid in 
 governing a school derived from the faithful and judi- 
 cious inculcation of the great truths of the Christian 
 religion, is incidental, not capital ; this is not the object 
 of it, though it is one of the effects ; it is, therefore, not 
 to be overlooked or disregarded. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 59 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Make the Word of God your constant study, for the 
 double purpose of becoming familiar ivith its princi- 
 ples and imbued with its spirit. 
 
 The knowledge derived from this wonderful volume 
 — wonderful in every aspect in which it can be consi- 
 dered — is the most valuable auxiliary in furthering 
 almost all the useful purposes of life. It is, however, 
 especially valuable to all who have any thing to do with 
 the government of others. I do not hesitate to avow 
 the opinion that a comparatively small portion of that 
 volume, the single book of Proverbs, contains maxims 
 and conveys knowledge of more substantial utility to 
 the statesman and legislator than any treatise that has 
 ever been written on Political Economy or the Princi- 
 ples of Government, however original, learned, able, or 
 comprehensive it may be. 
 
 It is not my purpose at present to enter into the gene- 
 ral question of the value of the Bible, and its beneficial 
 influence on the character and happiness of man ; but 
 simply to inquire how the study of it can be made 
 available for the particular object under consideration. 
 
60 HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL 
 
 1. In answer to this inquiry, it may be remarked, 
 first, that the general effect of this study will be to 
 improve the understanding and judgment, an improve- 
 ment the connexion of which with successful school- 
 government is perfectly obvious. The study of the 
 Holy Scriptures tends to this result in three ways ; — it 
 leads to self-examination, it familiarizes the mind with 
 exhibitions of the most exalted wisdom, and it habitu- 
 ates us to the contemplation of scenes of awful gran- 
 deur, power, and sublimity. These principles are so 
 simple, and their truth so apparent, that they hardly 
 require any proof, and an extended illustration of them 
 would occupy more space than can in this work be 
 allotted to such an object. We will, therefore, pass to 
 other considerations, having a more special bearing 
 upon our present inquiry. 
 
 2. The Bible is the grand repository of moral prin- 
 ciples, an unerring guide on all questions of duty, an 
 authoritative exposition of the Divine Will, the only 
 unquestioned and unquestionable standard of right and 
 wrong. If this be a fair account of the book, it needs 
 no reasoning to show the great value to a teacher and 
 governor of youth of familiarity with its contents. 
 The least reflection in the world, the most limited know- 
 ledge of the principles of mental philosophy, the nar- 
 rowest ranse of observation, must be sufficient for this 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL f 61 
 
 purpose. The Bible does not teach moral philosophy 
 in set rules, by chapters, sections, and paragraphs. No 
 formal attempt at systemizing is made throughout the 
 whole of it, if we except the Ten Commandments, deli- 
 vered to Moses on Mount Sinai, — that wonderful body 
 of laws which, within the compass of less than half a 
 small page, contains the elementary principles of all 
 duty. It was not designed for philosophers only, but 
 for men of all classes and conditions. Divine wisdom, 
 therefore, selected a style of composition, and a mode 
 of conveying truth, suited to engage the attention of 
 all, and adapted to the comprehension of the weak and 
 the ignorant, while, what is scarcely less than a miracle, 
 in not a single instance, is either liable to the charge 
 of a want of elevation unworthy of its Author. But 
 while it is not itself, and, for the reasons already stated, 
 could not properly have been, a system of morality, it 
 contains all the elements of a perfect system. Its pure 
 and unequalled rules of living are scattered over many 
 hundred pages, and mixed up with national and indi- 
 vidual histories, with prophecies, with sacred songs 
 composed on various occasions and for divers purposes, 
 with parables, proverbs, conversations, and letters, and 
 with that rapt and mystical vision, so full of poetry, so 
 redolent of heaven, which closes the Canon of Scrip- 
 ture. The teacher who is mister of these rules, who 
 6 
 
62 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 has them all arranged in due order, and who can bring 
 forth from this rich treasury things new and old, will 
 possess an advantage, in the government of his pupils, 
 over one who is deficient in this respect, that can 
 scarcely be appreciated ; certainly it would be hard to 
 overrate it. 
 
 3. One of the most important elements of government 
 is a supply of adequate motives to the practice of what 
 is right, and of dissuasives from the commission of 
 crime. It is the sense of this necessity in civil govern- 
 ments which has erected the gallows, reared prisons 
 and houses of refuge, forged the fetters of the convict, 
 and invented all those instruments of terror, which 
 keep the bad passions of men in check. It is a similar 
 feeling which has caused many schoolmasters to estab- 
 lish codes of laws for their little communities, not in- 
 deed as bloody as that of Draco, but originating in the 
 same mistaken views, founded on the same false prin- 
 ciples, and partaking of the same savage spirit. Now, 
 the Bible not only contains the best moral rules that 
 have been or can be framed, but it is also a magazine 
 of motives, true in themselves, wide in their range of 
 considerations, perfectly adapted to human nature in 
 all ages and situations, elevating in their effect on 
 character, and which ought to be influential with every 
 human being ; to yield to which, moreover, is our glory 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 63 
 
 and our safety, but to resist them is both our shame 
 and our ruin. Terror is the great instrument of re- 
 straint in most governments invented by men. The 
 Bible also deals out terrors to the obstinately hardened, 
 the irreclaimably wicked, which ought to make them 
 tremble with horror, and their blood freeze in their 
 veins. But God declares that judgment, or punishment, 
 is his strange work ; and threatenings, though not 
 omitted, are certainly far from being the leading topic 
 in his Holy Word. That blessed book appeals, with a 
 pathos, a force, and a beauty that would seem irre- 
 sistible, to all the best principles of our nature, to every 
 pure feeling of the heart. The love of God to our 
 race ; his complacency in those who are conformed to 
 his will ; the compassion, example, and comprehensive 
 benevolence of Jesus Christ ; the sure aid of the Holy 
 Spirit in our efforts to be virtuous ; the respect of the 
 good ; the approbation of our own conscience and of all 
 holy beings ; the pleasures arising from the exercise 
 of " filial duty and affection, of conjugal and parental 
 love, of sympathy and kindness, of strong enduring 
 friendship, of attachment to country and her insti- 
 tutions, of every emotion worthy of us as social and 
 immortal beings ;" and finally, the endless glory and 
 felicity of heavenly intercourse, and the unimpeded, 
 everlasting progress of the saved, in knowledge and 
 
64 HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL t 
 
 goodness, — these are some of the motives held out and 
 enforced in the lively oracles, to allure us from the 
 ways of sin, and to incline our feet to the paths of 
 righteousness, peace, and safety. Need I do more than 
 state this simple fact to show, beyond all contradiction, 
 the incalculable importance to a teacher, of a familiar 
 acquaintance with the whole range of scripture mo- 
 tives ? If he has not merely a catalogue of these motives 
 in his memory, and their language ready upon his lips ; 
 if his own heart has been penetrated with their force, 
 and his life is under their controlling influence, he will 
 urge them upon his pupils with an appositeness, fer- 
 vour, and practical eloquence, which cannot fail to pro- 
 duce a powerful effect, and materially to diminish the 
 labour and difficulty of actual government. 
 
 4. There is but one other consideration to which I 
 shall ask your attention, as showing the great value, to 
 an instructor, of a deep and familiar acquaintance with 
 the Scriptures. It is this : — These writings contain 
 something exactly adapted to almost every possible 
 situation and every conceivable question of moral con- 
 duct. Especially do they embody reproofs, suitable for 
 nearly every offence that can be committed, and ex- 
 pressed in language terse, dignified, and forcible. If 
 the warnings, prohibitions, and threatenings of the Bible 
 are used, if I may be pardoned a phrase less refined 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL '. 65 
 
 than expressive, as mere scarecrows ; if they are only 
 held up, as occasion requires, in terror over the pupils ; 
 if this is the sole use made of the blessed volume of 
 God's Word, then it had far better not be used at all. 
 Such an abuse of it would inevitably beget a prejudice 
 against its whole contents, which nothing but the grace 
 of God could ever remove, and which would constitute 
 a most formidable obstacle to the operation of. that 
 grace. But if the teacher's own heart is imbued with 
 the temper of the gospel, if his conduct breathes of 
 intercourse with God, if he is clothed with the graces 
 of the Spirit, — if, in short, the Bible is manifestly his 
 own rule of life, — its reproofs, solemnly and season- 
 ably administered, will be the most efficacious that he 
 can employ, and no fear need be entertained of the 
 effect indicated in the preceding sentence. Many a 
 teacher could bear testimony, from his own experience, 
 to the force and justness of these views and principles. 
 Let me entreat you, then, to make the Word of God 
 the subject of your diligent and prayerful study and 
 meditation. It is an inexhaustible mine of facts, prin- 
 ciples, and sanctions ; — facts upon which the mind can 
 repose with perfect confidence, principles stamped with 
 Heaven's own seal, and sanctions backed by almighty 
 power. It will cause light to arise in darkness, hope to 
 beam through despondency, and joy to mingle with 
 
66 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 
 
 your sorrows : it will be strength in your hour of weak- 
 ness, refreshment in the midst of weariness, and sup- 
 port under all your trials : in short, it will be your best 
 friend, guide, and counsellor, on all trying emergencies 
 and all doubtful questions. 
 
 The Rev. T. H. Gallaudet, a high authority in what- 
 ever relates to the training and discipline of the young, 
 in speaking of the Bible as an instrument of govern- 
 ment in families and schools, holds the following lan- 
 guage :— 
 
 " My son, give me thine heart. Let this be the motto, 
 adopted by every parent and teacher in the government 
 of children and youth. Point them to their Father who 
 is in heaven ; to the Saviour who died to redeem them ; 
 to the Spirit of holiness who alone can purify their 
 hearts. Bring them to the Bible as soon as they can 
 be made to comprehend at all, that it is the word of 
 God. Tell them that it is the letter of His love, sent 
 to them, to them individually, to them personally. Make 
 them feel its awful sanctions. Recite to them its won- 
 derful history. Explain to them its doctrines and pre- 
 cepts,, so far as they are capable of understanding them. 
 Let them know, that by this sacred book, they will 
 finally be judged. With tender solemnity, unfold to 
 them what it reveals of their eternal destiny, and of 
 the only way of securing the salvation of their souls. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 67 
 
 Especially, let Jesus Christ, in all his endearing traits 
 of character, and in all the fulness of his mediatorial 
 office, be presented to them, frequently, earnestly, affec- 
 tionately, as the friend of children ; as the friend of 
 sinners ; as their only Saviour ; who, if they trust in 
 Him, and obey His precepts, and are faithful in His 
 service, will assuredly guide and protect them through 
 life, sustain them in death, and receive them, at last, to 
 the mansions of eternal rest. 
 
 " When children feel, or speak, or do wrong, let the 
 parent or the teacher, with great self-possession and 
 kindness, and yet with equal firmness and authority, 
 reason with the little offender out of the word of God. 
 Bring him to the divine standard. Convince him of 
 sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, by a direct 
 appeal to the highest of all authority, to the declarations 
 of God himself Make him perceive and feel that he 
 has sinned against God, and done evil in His sight. 
 Lead him, if possible, to a genuine contrition of soul. 
 Make use of the occasion, to show him that he has not 
 only this sin, but many others, to be repented of, and 
 that he needs the forgiveness of his sins, through the 
 merits of Jesus Christ, and the sanctification of his 
 heart, through the influences of the Holy Spirit, before 
 he can hope for the blessing and favour of God in this 
 
68 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 life, and for communion with Him in that which is to 
 come. 
 
 " I would not be understood to mean, that this is to 
 be done at all times, with equal formality and solemnity, 
 or that it is to be done on every slight occasion, and for 
 every trivial offence. But the mere recital of a text 
 of Scripture, appropriate to the character and conduct 
 of the child, accompanied with a reference to the om- 
 niscient eye, and to the supreme authority, of the great 
 Lawgiver, will, in most cases, produce an effect more 
 sensible and more abiding, than any exhibition of the 
 inferior authority of the parent or the teacher. 
 
 " The truth is, — and it has been tested in some fami- 
 lies, and schools, and institutions for the instruction of 
 youth, — the more prominent the authority of God is 
 made, speaking through His written word, and the 
 authority of the parent and teacher, made subordinate 
 to it, and merely instrumental in carrying it into effect, 
 the more easily have the child and the pupil been 
 brought into a state of uniform subordination and obe- 
 dience. 
 
 " Let the experiment be fairly tried, and it will be 
 found, that in this, as in all other cases, God will honour 
 and bless his own truth, — that divine ivord, which is 
 quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, 
 piercing even to the dividing asunder of the joints and 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 69 
 
 the marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intents 
 of the heart.'''' 
 
 If the author may be excused a reference to his own 
 experience, he would add to this excellent extract his 
 personal testimony to the great practical utility of the 
 principle contained in the paragraph immediately pre- 
 ceding the last. Its truth and value have been most 
 fully tested by him both in school and family govern- 
 ment. The more prominent the authority of God is 
 made, speaking through his written word, and the 
 authority of the parent and teacher made subordinate 
 to it, and merely instrumental in carrying it into effect, 
 the more easily are the child and the pupils brought 
 into a state of uniform subordination and obedience. 
 This principle is of cardinal importance. There is 
 scarcely any more effectual check to bad conduct, or 
 any thing that tends in so great a degree to reconcile a 
 child who has committed an offence to punishment. I 
 know a little boy, not yet four years old, who has no 
 other idea than that, whenever either of his parents 
 whips him, it is done in obedience to the command of 
 God. He often says, " Pa, God tells you you must 
 whip , when he is naughty." 
 
 Some years ago, while Principal of the Edgehill 
 School, I received from one of my pupils a letter, of 
 which the following is an extract : — " You have shown 
 
70 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL ? 
 
 me plainly, and convinced me, that all disorder in school 
 is a violation of the law of God. I know that when I 
 break your rules, which I acknowledge to be good ones, 
 J sin against God ; and I will hereafter try to behave 
 better both in school and out. I have taken much of 
 the good advice you gave me in our last private conver- 
 sation, and have found it to have a good effect in keep- 
 ing me from sin. I do not teaze my school-fellows now 
 as much as formerly, but knowing it is wrong, I will 
 try to refrain from it entirely in future." 
 
 The author of this letter was one of the most vola- 
 tile, playful, thoughtless lads in the school, though pos- 
 sessed of many lofty and generous qualities. It is 
 apparent from the letter, and was more apparent in his 
 behaviour, that a thorough conviction had been wrought 
 in him that wholesome school rules had a higher sanc- 
 tion than the mere dictum of the master, — a conviction 
 that stopped not at the head, but was influential on the 
 conduct. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 71 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 Strive, by all suitable means and on all proper occa- 
 sions, to convince your pupils that you love them ; that 
 you sympathize with them ; and that you desire their 
 improvement in knowledge and virtue. 
 
 It will be utterly impossible for you to produce this 
 conviction in the minds of your pupils, unless the sen- 
 timents here enumerated really exist, and are in lively 
 exercise, in your own hearts. " Nothing can be real 
 that has not its home within us." The only sure way, 
 as well as the easiest, to appear to love your pupils, is 
 to love them in reality. The shrewdness and sagacity 
 of children in reading the true feelings and characters 
 of their teachers cannot be appreciated, and will 
 scarcely be believed, by those who have not had expe- 
 rience of them. Th'ey are often surprising to those 
 whose relations have been such as to give them ample 
 opportunities of observation. I have sometimes thought 
 their power in this respect exceeded that of the gene- 
 rality of adults. They are themselves less accustomed 
 to simulation and dissimulation than older persons, and 
 
72 HOW SHALL I GOVERxV MY SCHOOL 
 
 
 seem to judge rather by feeling, by a species of intui- 
 tion, than by observation and analysis. It will be of 
 no use, therefore, to pretend to feelings which you have 
 not ; the best disguise will infallibly be detected ; and 
 your seeming virtues, instead of enabling you to gain 
 the end at which you aim, will only expose you to 
 hatred and contempt. " Empty professions of interest 
 and attachment will not succeed ; children will not be 
 deceived by them. If you do not feel a strong sponta- 
 neous interest in the characteristics of childhood, such 
 an interest must be awakened, or all will be in vain. The 
 teacher who endeavours to mould the heart without 
 entering into its feelings, and sympathizing with its 
 joys and sorrows, will have a hopeless task ; all will 
 be cold and lifeless." 
 
 There would seem, at first thought, to be no neces- 
 sity, and in fact an almost officious impertinence, in 
 exhorting those who are charged with the education of 
 the young, to love and sympathy for their scholars, and 
 an interest in their behalf. These feelings are so ap- 
 propriate, so natural, so indispensable to the right dis- 
 charge of duty, that the question arises — What more 
 improbable than that they should not be entertained and 
 acted out by every teacher ? But alas ! for poor human 
 nature. When the Apostle Paul, honoured with a com- 
 mission direct from Heaven, and burning with zeal for 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 73 
 
 the souls of men, complains of the " war in his mem- 
 bers," and declares that " when he would do good, evil 
 was present with him," no wonder that the despised, 
 neglected, insulted, and almost outcast schoolmaster, 
 should sometimes be deficient in the principles and sen- 
 timents appropriate to his station. Nevertheless, this 
 deficiency is wrong in itself, and destructive of his 
 ability to be useful to his charge. And if he does not 
 find, in the kindness and sympathy of the parent, the 
 docility and gratitude of the child, and the honour put 
 upon his office by the whole community, a motive to 
 the cultivation of these feelings, he must seek it else- 
 where. If this motive be wanting, as is too often the 
 case, he will find others in a different quarter. Con- 
 sider the destiny of your pupils, their dependence on 
 you for mental and moral aliment, the claims of society, 
 the command of Jehovah to train up children in the 
 way they should go, and the connexion between your 
 faithfulness and their temporal and eternal welfare and 
 their ability to be useful to their fellow-men, and if you 
 do not feel a warming and a dilation of heart, if your 
 sympathies are not touched, if no kindling of love and 
 zeal is felt within your bosom, you had better abandon 
 a profession which you are sure to dishonour, and en- 
 gage in some pursuit, in which, if you are not more 
 7 
 
74 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 faithful to your trust, your influence will at least be less 
 hurtful to others. 
 
 There is perhaps no more prevalent deficiency in our 
 schoolmasters, and scarcely any that is more prejudicial 
 or deplorable, than a want of sympathy in the joys, 
 trials, and labours of their pupils. Most men, when 
 they reach maturity, forget how they felt when they 
 were young ; a forgetfulness most unfortunate and dele- 
 terious in a teacher. It prevents him from entering 
 into the feelings of childhood, and consequently renders 
 him incapable of appreciating the true position of his 
 pupils. And how can he guide those whose very cir- 
 cumstances he does not understand ? It is like the blind 
 leading the blind. He must necessarily often miss his 
 footing, stumble, and fall, and can never more than 
 partially recover himself. It is a serious business for 
 the child to undertake to dispel the native darkness, and 
 to correct the innate obliquities, of the mind. And what 
 to the ripened knowledge and experience of mature 
 years is scarcely a perceptible elevation, to those who 
 are just entering upon this formidable task, is a real 
 mountain, steep, rugged, and lofty, presenting to their 
 weak apprehension an impassable barrier, and cutting 
 off entirely their view of all that lies beyond it. He 
 who does not understand this, cannot sympathize with 
 his pupils in their difficulties, and will frequently attri- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL* 75 
 
 bute to indolence or perversenes, what is the natural 
 result of the blindness and weakness of infancy. From 
 the want of a just appreciation of this simple fact, how 
 much impatience, fretting, and vexation is often the por- 
 tion of the master, and with how many scoldings, re- 
 proaches, and actual chastisements is the poor child 
 most unjustly visited ! It is no affectation, I utter the 
 simple truth, when I declare that I have written this 
 paragraph with feelings intensely painful ; because I 
 know how often rank injustice springs from the source 
 here indicated, — injustice exercised upon beings who 
 not only have no power to resist it, but who do not even 
 know that such is the real character of the treatment 
 under which they smart. I am strongly reminded, in 
 this connexion, of a remark made to me by an intelli- 
 gent gentleman, who has himself been most successful 
 in his management of others, when I told him of my 
 intention to write a book on the subject of school 
 government. Said he, with marked emphasis of tone 
 and manner, " My dear sir, we are deluged now-a-days 
 with treatises on all sorts of rights — the rights of 
 women — the rights of authors — the rights of labourers, 
 and so on — let me entreat you to introduce in your 
 work a chapter on the rights of infancy." 
 
 This is a capital idea. Children have, indeed, many 
 and most important rights. They have a right to love, 
 
76 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 patience, watchfulness, gentleness, kindness, forbear- 
 ance, instruction, discipline, &c, from all who have any 
 guardianship over them, whether natural or delegated. 
 But of all the rights of children, none is more neces- 
 sary to their happiness and improvement than sym- 
 pathy. To the weak, the dependent, the imaginative, 
 this is like the vital element ; and just in proportion as 
 these qualities characterize any human being, will sym- 
 pathy be felt as a want. There will be an insatiable 
 craving for it, and an aching void in the heart without 
 it. The infant, after the affections have once taken 
 root and begin to grow, is not more nourished by its 
 mother's milk, than by the sympathy it meets in her 
 smiles and caresses. He breathes it, he feasts on it, he 
 revels in it, he lives by it. The affectionate wife, as, 
 with a sense of weakness and dependency, she clings 
 to the companion of her bosom, like the vine to the elm 
 which it embraces, feels that she is defrauded of more 
 than half her joy, if she meets not in the look of her 
 husband a something that tells of reciprocated love. 
 And none but those who are wholly absorbed in pure 
 abstractions, or in whom the passion of avarice or ambi- 
 tion has ended in making self not only the centre, but 
 the limit, of all their thoughts and desires, can live, and 
 enjoy life, without some portion of sympathizing affec- 
 tion from their fellow beings. How much, then, must 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 77 
 
 the poor school-boy, tender in years, dependent in cir- 
 cumstances, full of the ardent imagination of childhood, 
 and engaged in a task not indeed unpleasant, unless 
 made so by the stupidity or unfaithfulness of the master, 
 but certainly difficult and laborious, stand in need of 
 this soothing, this encouraging, this sustaining — what 
 shall I call it ? I had almost written ambrosia, for it 
 surely resembles in its effects that fabled aliment of the 
 gods. The want of sympathy in teachers is, I verily 
 believe, one great cause why children so often hate the 
 school and every thing connected with it. No wonder 
 that this feeling grows apace in their young hearts, 
 when, fresh from the bosom of domestic love, the home 
 of sympathizing hearts, cheerful looks, and pleasant 
 intercourse, they repair to the school-room, and meet 
 there nothing but the " awful pedagogue, secure in high 
 authority and dread," with his rod in hand, his dignity- 
 wrapped round him like a cloak, and repulsion — repul- 
 sion — repulsion in his* eye, his features, his tone, his 
 gestures, his words, his whole demeanour and manners. 
 Love is the master sentiment of the human heart, 
 and the primary motive of all virtue. Duty and hap- 
 piness both have their seminal principle in this senti- 
 ment. A remarkable prominence is given to it in Holy 
 Writ. It is there declared to be the " bond of perfect- 
 ness ;" to have the pre-eminence over the brightest of 
 7 # 
 
78 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 the Christian graces ; to be the " fulfilling of the 
 law." In one or another of its numerous and varied 
 forms, love is the grand motive principle of virtuous 
 souls on earth, and it is destined to constitute the lead- 
 ing disposition of pure spirits through eternity. It is, 
 then, our duty to cultivate this temper towards all men ; 
 how much more towards those who stand to us in the 
 relation of pupils ! You who sustain this relation, are, 
 for the time being, in the place of parents to those under 
 your care. This is your true position with respect to 
 them. Your duties are parental ; your authority is 
 parental ; your feelings ought to be parental ; your 
 intercourse with your pupils ought to breathe the ten- 
 derness and love of a parent, and it should be your 
 constant endeavour to impart, as far as possible, to 
 your little community the character of a family rather 
 than of a public school. 
 
 If you really love your pupils and sympathize with 
 them, there are a thousand ways in which you can and 
 will manifest these feelings to them. Your whole con- 
 duct, as far as it relates to them, will become a mirror 
 from which the3 r will be continually reflected. True 
 affection will shine forth in the patience with which you 
 repeat time and again the same instructions and expla- 
 nations ; in the lively interest you evidence in every 
 proof of their improvement ; in the gentleness with 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 79 
 
 which you treat their aberrations from propriety and 
 duty ; in the joy you feel and manifest in their sports 
 and gratifications ; in the pleasure you exhibit as arising 
 from their little offerings of friendship and their simple 
 efforts to please you; and your very severity, when 
 severity becomes necessary, will but convince your 
 scholars of your love for them, if it is administered in 
 a spirit and manner which show that it springs from a 
 sense of duty and an enlightened desire for their 
 lasting good. 
 
 There is nothing that so invariably begets its like as 
 love. If you desire your pupils to love you, it is only 
 necessary for you to love them. And every wise 
 teacher will desire it earnestly, and strive to secure it. 
 There is no passport so sure as the personal attachment 
 of the pupil to his confidence, open dealing, and obe- 
 dience. An instructor who knows how to attach those 
 under him to his person, has already made no little pro- 
 ficiency in the science of school-government. It is 
 scarcely too much to say that if love were perfect, obe- 
 dience would be so also. I do not, indeed, mean to 
 assert that the power of attaching others is the only 
 quality requisite to form an accomplished disciplinarian ; 
 but I do place it in the fore-front of those qualities 
 which are necessary to such a result. It is the most 
 important of them all, and has this peculiar recom- 
 
80 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 mendation, that it will double the power of all the 
 others. 
 
 Never was the power of mutual love and sympathy 
 between master and scholars more strikingly or beauti- 
 fully displayed than in the asylum of Pestalozzi at 
 Stantz, in the Helvetic canton of Unterwalden. His 
 school there was founded by the Helvetic government, 
 and maintained at the public expense ; but he com- 
 menced it under circumstances the most disadvan- 
 tageous and discouraging that can well be imagined. 
 Some idea may be formed of the materials on which he 
 had to operate from the statement of a few facts. Some 
 parents required to be paid for leaving their children in 
 the school, to compensate for the diminished produce 
 of their beggary. Others desired to make a regular 
 bargain for how many days in the week they should 
 have a right to take them out to beg, and on this being 
 refused, actually removed them from the institution. 
 Upon Sundays the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, 
 aunts, cousins, and other relations of various degrees, 
 made their appearance, and taking the children apart 
 in some corner of the house, or in the street, elicited 
 complaints of every kind, and then either took them 
 away, or left them discontented and peevish. The 
 parents did not even affect to support him ; but on the 
 contrary, treated him as a mean hireling, who, if he 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 81 
 
 had been able to make a living in any other way, would 
 never have undertaken the charge of their children. 
 
 In this unfavourable and disheartening position, Pes- 
 talozzi saw himself stripped of all the ordinary props 
 of authority, and in a manner compelled to rely on the 
 power of love in the child's heart, as the only, or almost 
 the only, source of obedience. The adoption of any 
 of those crafty systems of rewards and punishments, 
 by which the external subduing of every foul and un- 
 clean spirit had been elsewhere accomplished, was, 
 under the circumstances, entirely out of the question, 
 even if Pestalozzi had been capable of making himself 
 head policeman in his school. The only means, there- 
 fore, by which it was possible for him to gain any 
 ascendency over his pupils, was an all -forbearing kind- 
 ness. He felt himself unable, it is true, entirely to 
 dispense with coercive measures, or even with corporeal 
 chastisement ; but his inflictions were not those of a 
 pedantic despot, but of a loving and sympathizing 
 father, who was as much, if not more than the child 
 himself, distressed by the necessity of having recourse 
 to such measures. Accordingly, they produced not 
 upon the children that hardening effect which punish- 
 ment too frequently has ; and one fact particularly is 
 recorded of his experience at Stantz, in which the result 
 seemed to justify his proceedings. One of the children 
 
82 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 who had gained most upon his affections, ventured, in 
 the hope of indulgence, to utter threats against a school- 
 fellow, and was severely chastised. The poor boy was 
 quite disconsolate, and having continued weeping for a 
 considerable time, took the first opportunity of Pesta- 
 lozzi's leaving the room, to ask forgiveness of the child 
 whom he had offended, and to thank him for having laid 
 the complaint, of which his own punishment was the 
 immediate consequence. 
 
 The gentleness, forbearance, and unaffected kindness 
 and sympathy of Pestalozzi, soon made his school at 
 Stantz a very different thing from what it had been at 
 first. In the midst of his children, he forgot that there 
 was any world besides his asylum ; and as their circle 
 was a universe to him, so he was all in all to them. 
 From morning to night he was the centre of their exist- 
 ence. To him they owed every comfort and every en- 
 joyment ; and whatever hardships they had to endure, 
 he was their fellow-sufferer. He partook of their meals, 
 and slept among them. In the evening he prayed with 
 them before they went to bed ; and from his conversa- 
 tion they dropped into the arms of slumber. At the 
 first dawn of light, it was his voice that called them to 
 the light of the rising sun, and to the praise of their 
 Heavenly Father. All day he stood amongst them, 
 teaching the ignorant, and assisting the helpless ; en- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 83 
 
 couraging the weak, and admonishing the transgressor. 
 His hand was daily with them, joined in theirs. He 
 fulfilled the Scripture maxim of weeping when they 
 wept, and rejoicing when they rejoiced. He was to 
 them a father, and they were to him as children. 
 
 Such love could not fail to win their hearts ; the most 
 savage and the most obstinate could not resist its sooth- 
 ing influence. Discontent and peevishness ceased ; and 
 a number of between seventy and eighty children, 
 whose dispositions had been far from kind, and their 
 habits any thing but domestic, were thus converted, in 
 a short time, into a peaceable family circle, in which it 
 was delight to exist. When those who had witnessed 
 the disorder and wretchedness of the first beginning, 
 came to visit the asylum in the following spring, they 
 could scarcely identify in the cheerful countenances and 
 bright looks of its inmates, the haggard faces and va- 
 cant stares, with which their imagination was im- 
 pressed.* 
 
 It is not, indeed, often that writers on education are 
 able to cite so favourable an illustration of the power 
 of love, as that just given ; but the reason is that there 
 are so few Pestalozzis in the profession. With him, 
 the love of his pupils was little short of a passion. It 
 
 * Biber's Life of Pestalozzi. C. III. 
 
84 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL J 
 
 was a fountain, from which the streams of sympathy 
 and kindness unceasingly flowed, and went forth to 
 water the hearts of his pupils. If it produced extra- 
 ordinary effects, it was only because of the extraordi- 
 nary strength of the sentiment in his bosom. The same 
 love, existing in the heart, and acting by like discreet 
 modes, will always produce results equally positive and 
 striking. " A soft answer," says the inspired proverb, 
 " turneth away wrath." The experience of centuries 
 has confirmed the truth of this principle. So a kind 
 word or act, a gentle and loving expostulation, the 
 manifestation of real sorrow at the perverseness of your 
 scholar, and, above all, uniform affection and kindness, 
 will often subdue a spirit, that would resist all the harsh- 
 ness and violence that could be brought to bear upon it. 
 I cannot, therefore, with too much earnestness, urge 
 upon the young teacher the importance of imitating, in 
 this respect at least, the example of that remarkable 
 man, whose heart was a fountain of kindness, and to 
 whom, with all his eccentricities, the world is indebted 
 for some valuable discoveries in the science of educa- 
 tion. Cherish continually towards your pupils senti- 
 ments of affection and sympathy, treat them with uni- 
 form gentleness and forbearance, convince them that 
 you are really their friends, and they will infallibly 
 become yours. Do you ask how you can produce this 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 85 
 
 conviction in their minds, and thus make them love 
 you 1 Not by costly presents, if you were even able to 
 make them, nor yet by great sacrifices and extraordi- 
 nary favours. These may all be practised from a 
 variety of motives distinct from love ; and nothing but 
 real affection in our own hearts will beget it in others. 
 " Straws show which way the wind blows ;" so little 
 things will make your pupils love you, but the love of 
 your pupils is not a little thing. Show them that you 
 feel an interest in their little sports, and sometimes 
 unbend so far as to share in them yourself; ask occa- 
 sionally some little favour of them, for even the young 
 feel that "it is more blessed to give than to receive ;" 
 express, in suitable terms, your gratification at their 
 simple efforts to please you, such as the presentation of 
 a flower, an apple, a cake, or any other token of their 
 regard ; show yourself willing to comply with every 
 request, and to grant every indulgence, not incom- 
 patible with the claims of duty and their own good : but 
 be firm in your refusal, when you think compliance 
 would be wrong; exhibit unwearied patience in your 
 instructions, unfeigned reluctance in punishing, an 
 abiding sense of your responsibility, and conscientious 
 diligence in all your duties; and more than all and 
 above all, show yourself deeply concerned for the souls 
 
 of your pupils, — and you cannot fail to reach their 
 
 8 
 
86 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 1 ? 
 
 hearts. Such a course will do more to establish your 
 authority, to give you moral power over your school, 
 to ensure prompt and cheerful obedience, and to give 
 an elevated and healthy tone to the character of your 
 scholars, than all the frowns, reproaches, stripes, and 
 embodied severity in the world. 
 
 " The fountain of all true authority in schools," says 
 Professor Griscom, " is that unfailing benevolence, 
 which cannot be subdued or depressed by misconduct 
 or ingratitude, — that untiring solicitude for the happi- 
 ness and improvement of every scholar, which puts 
 forth its manifestations in almost every look and action ; 
 and by its almost insensible, but powerful influence, 
 works its way into every mind. There is indeed much, 
 in the employment of a teacher, to damp the ardour of 
 this benevolence. The volatility and the obduracy, the 
 dulness and the mischievousness, which are sure to be 
 found in a school of considerable numbers, make con- 
 tinued drafts upon the kindness of the master, and will 
 oft times exhaust it, if the fund be not inexhaustible. 
 But if he possess that depth of good sense and good 
 feeling, which enables him to regard all these errors of 
 childhood as diseases of the mind, as much incidental 
 to human nature, as a constitutional head-ache, or a 
 defect of vision, is to the body, and as requiring an 
 equal share of patience and skill in the removal of 
 
HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 87 
 
 them ; the evidence of this skill and judgment will, in 
 time, come to be universally acknowledged by his juve- 
 nile patients, and he will thus acquire an unbounded 
 empire over their good opinions, and secure most 
 effectually their obedience to his prescriptions. 
 
 " It needs scarcely perhaps be observed that, how 
 favourable soever may be the natural temperament of a 
 teacher for the exercise of patience, in a persevering 
 endurance of opposition to reasonable authority, there 
 is nothing that can so effectually secure him in the pos- 
 session of that powerful virtue, as a pervading sense of 
 religious obligation. What consideration or principle 
 can so thoroughly fortify the mind against the discou- 
 ragement of obstinacy and ingratitude, and all the baser 
 propensities which children bring with thern from ill- 
 governed families, as a conviction that, although we are 
 labouring upon a stubborn soil, we may, nevertheless, 
 be successful not only in eradicating plants of noxious 
 growth, but in cultivating those which are destined to 
 bloom through all eternity. Every teacher whose mind 
 is imbued with the true spirit of Christianity, is a gos- 
 pel agent, who looks to the end of his ministration only 
 through the vista of revolving years ; and whose toil 
 is cheered by the celestial illuminations which break 
 through the gloom of his darkest hours. And wherever 
 this spirit is the presiding genius of the discipline of a 
 
88 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 
 
 school, it will scarcely fail to melt down the bulwarks 
 of opposition, and subject every thing to its peaceable 
 dominion. 
 
 " Just in proportion, then, as the minds of teachers 
 can be brought into that excellent charity, which * suf- 
 fereth long and is kind, which is not easily provoked, 
 which thinketh no evil, which beareth all things, hopeth 
 all things, endureth all things,' and ' which never fail- 
 eth,' — in the same proportion will the obstacles to the 
 perfect government of schools be found to subside, and 
 a Christian influence be diffused through the land." 
 
 I cannot conclude this section without observing that, 
 whatever opinion may be entertained as to the utility 
 of Infant Schools, they have at least demonstrated how 
 much can be accomplished by love, in the government 
 of children. Many pages might be filled with anecdotes 
 illustrative of this fact. Only two or three can be 
 given. 
 
 Mr. Wright, master of the Edinburgh Infant School, 
 one day intimated that he wanted a number of articles, 
 of a kind which he stated, to illustrate the lessons. He 
 was next day inundated with all sorts of odds and ends, 
 every child bringing with him something, — leather, 
 feathers, cloths, silk, stones, wood, glass, &c. 
 
 Accidentally saying that he would come and visit his 
 pupils at their own homes, and if he did, how would 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERX MY SCHOOL ? SO 
 
 they entertain him, the question was answered by a 
 burst of hospitality, and the number and variety of the 
 articles of cheer enumerated were too much for his 
 gravity. He observed, however, that whiskey was not 
 among the temptations offered him, in the competition 
 for the preference of his company. 
 
 A parent came one day to the school, expressly to 
 be satisfied on the puzzle, as he said it was to him, how 
 a schoolmaster could render himself the object of love. 
 His own was always the object of terror ; and, instead 
 of running to him when he appeared, he and his school- 
 mates went off in the opposite direction with the greatest 
 alertness. 
 
 Mr. Wright requested the inquirer to remain, and see 
 how he treated his scholars. He did so, and witnessed 
 the kindness, the cheerfulness, and the fun which never 
 flagged, while he saw discipline and obedience at the 
 same time. The children went to the play-ground, and, 
 to the amazement of the visitor, the teacher ran out, 
 crying, " Hare and hounds ! hare and hounds !" and 
 taking the first character on himself, he was instantly 
 pursued full cry by the whole pack, round and round 
 the play-ground. At last he was taken and worried by 
 an immense act of co-operation. In his extremity he 
 rang his hand-bell for school ; instantly the hounds 
 8* 
 
90 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 quitted their prey, rushed into school, the door being 
 scarcely wide enough for them, and were, within a 
 minute, as still as a rank of soldiers, and busy with the 
 multiplication table. The visitor went away with a 
 shrug, muttering, " Na, the like o' that I ne'er saw."* 
 
 * Appendix to Simpson's Necessity of Popular Education. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 9] 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 Formal lectures on moral subjects, delivered with 
 unction and in a simple style, will be productive of 
 happy effects on your pupils ; attend, therefore, assidu- 
 ously and affectionately to the discharge of this duty ; 
 but do not rest there : seize the occasions, as they rise 
 in the daily occurrences of the school and conduct of 
 the scholars, to enforce more pointedly the principles 
 and dispositions of virtue ; and above all, teach by 
 example even more than by precept. 
 
 It is remarked by Dymond, in his Essays on the 
 Principles of Morality, that there are two principal 
 sources of wrong doing among men, viz., want of 
 knowledge and want of virtue. Of these two causes 
 of aberration from right, the last is undoubtedly the 
 most operative. Of this, the well-known sagacity of 
 the bad in detecting the occasional inconsistencies and 
 dereliction from duty, of the good, is a sufficient proof. 
 If all men were to become virtuous in proportion to 
 their acquaintance with the principles of virtue, the 
 moral aspect of society would be so completely changed, 
 
92 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 
 
 that the world would seem to have lost its identity. 
 Nevertheless, ignorance is a fruitful source of miscon- 
 duct ; nor can it be thought strange that it should be 
 so, when it is remembered how men frequently acquire 
 their notions of right and wrong. Especially is this 
 often the case with children, and still more especially 
 with those children who have lacked enlightened Chris- 
 tian instruction and example from their parents. With 
 them particularly, and more or less with all very young 
 persons, want of information is a frequent cause of 
 misdoing. 
 
 The teacher who feels that he has higher duties to 
 perform to his pupils than to instruct them in the arts 
 of reading, writing, ciphering, and parsing ; that it is 
 as much his office to train them to be good men as good 
 scholars, and to practise virtue as to love learning, will 
 regard it as among the most sacred of his obligations, 
 to use all suitable means to give them light on the prin* 
 ciples of duty. Nor will he leave the performance of 
 this duty to mere chance, to be attended to or neglected, 
 as convenience may dictate. If he is wise as well as 
 conscientious, he will adopt some regular plan of moral 
 instructions, to which he will faithfully adhere, as far 
 as circumstances permit. 
 
 I trust that I shall not only meet with indulgence, but 
 be considered as performing an acceptable service, if I 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 93 
 
 pause for a moment, and turn perhaps a little aside from 
 the appropriate scope of this work, to present a few 
 considerations on the general subject of moral training. 
 I have already intimated that it is as much the teacher's 
 duty to impart the principles of conduct as the elements 
 of knowledge, to teach virtue as to communicate sci- 
 ence. I think I am warranted in going further, and 
 saying that, of the two obligations, this is the most 
 solemn and important, and that results far more weighty 
 and permanent are connected with the manner in which 
 it is discharged. Yet it is remarkable that moral or 
 religious education, for there is properly no distinction 
 between them and none ought to be made, is not only 
 greatly neglected by instructors, but the community 
 generally manifests an unaccountable indifference to it. 
 Many even are altogether opposed to its introduction 
 into our schools ; and the spectacle has recently been 
 exhibited of a petition, numerously signed, being pre- 
 sented to the legislature of the largest State in this 
 Union, for the exclusion by law of all Christian in- 
 struction and religious exercises from the schools of 
 that commonwealth. It is true that the prayer of the 
 petitioners was not granted, and that this monstrous 
 attempt to establish irreligion, and of course immorality, 
 by law, for this is the real nature, and would be the 
 inevitable consequence, of such an enactment, was 
 
94 HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 pointedly rebuked by the report of the Committee to 
 whom it was referred ; nevertheless, it is a melancholy 
 illustration and proof of the truth of what was a little 
 above asserted. 
 
 Another illustration of the low estimate in which 
 moral culture, as compared with intellectual, is held by 
 the public generally, is found in the scale of merit 
 almost universally adopted in our seminaries of learning 
 of every grade, from the infant school to the college. 
 What qualities are those which elicit the greatest admi- 
 ration, which receive the warmest praises, and which 
 carry off the highest prizes, in those establishments ? 
 Are they the moral virtues, or intellectual pre-eminence, 
 and the brilliant achievements which it often ensures, 
 even without much labour or attention on the part of 
 those who possess it ? Look through these institutions, 
 with this question in your mind, and you will soon 
 satisfy yourself that there is truth in the remark " that 
 prizes and marks of approbation are generally awarded 
 to the best mental or mechanical performances, whether 
 resulting from industrious application, or constitutional 
 aptitude, or superior endowments ; and that rewards 
 are seldom proposed for those who make the greatest 
 advances in moral excellence ; for those, who practise 
 the most self-denial, who acquire the most perfect self- 
 control, and exhibit the greatest integrity, disinterest- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 95 
 
 edness, humility, and benevolence ; for those, in a 
 word, who manifest most of the spirit of Christianity." 
 
 That the culture of the heart is the most important 
 of an instructor's duties, is a position susceptible of 
 proof approaching as near to mathematical demonstra- 
 tion, as any other within the range of moral and meta- 
 physical inquiry. It flows directly as- an inference from 
 premises admitted by all, or nearly all, intelligent and 
 enlightened men. There are but three links in the 
 chain of reasoning, before you reach the conclusion, 
 which seems not only natural, but unavoidable. The 
 universally acknowledged end of education is the just 
 developement of human nature. The human nature to 
 be developed consists of three classes of elements or 
 powers, viz. physical, intellectual, and moral. The 
 moral powers and feelings, the conscience, the affections, 
 the sense of accountability, transcend, by common con- 
 sent and beyond all comparison, whatever else apper- 
 tains to the nature of man. The heart, therefore, 
 which is but a single term denoting all of a moral cha- 
 racter which belongs to our constitution, ought to receive 
 the greatest share of attention in the education of the 
 young. 
 
 This view of the relative importance of the different 
 classes of educational developement is confirmed not 
 only by the general scope of our Saviour's teachings, 
 
96 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 but by his explicit declarations. He affirms that " out 
 of the heart are the issues of life," — a peculiar and 
 most energetic phraseology, to denote the surpassing 
 importance that attaches to right moral training. It 
 will be in vain that you communicate knowledge, that 
 you enlarge the understanding, that you refine the taste, 
 that you multiply accomplishments, unless at the same 
 time you impart those principles and habits of conduct, 
 which will render them a certain means of usefulness, 
 and ensure their being employed in the service of 
 humanity. This is one of those moral truths which 
 the general sentiment of the Christian world has stamped 
 as an axiom, which cannot be denied, and need not be 
 proved. But it is susceptible of most forcible illustra- 
 tion from a comparison between the origin, progress, 
 and results of the two most remarkable revolutions of 
 modern times ; — I mean that by which we gained our 
 independence as a nation, and that by which the repub- 
 licans of France overthrew the monarchy. What 
 made the difference between Washington and his illus- 
 trious compatriots, and the bloody and detestable spirits 
 that " rode upon the whirlwind and directed the storm" 
 of the French revolution ; — the Robespierres, Marats, 
 Mirabeaus, Dantons, and Brissots of those days of blas- 
 phemy, butchery, and every species of abomination? 
 The distinction was that the former had been educated 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 97 
 
 in schools where the spirit of pure Christianity was 
 predominant, and of course nurtured in the principles 
 of a stern and lofty morality ; while the latter, with 
 not inferior intellectual endowments, and with even 
 superior literary advantages, lacked that virtue, which 
 is at once the strongest curb to men's passions, the 
 most copious source of sympathy and benevolence, and 
 the most powerful incentive to whatsoever things are 
 pure, lovely, honest, and of good report. Hence the 
 difference, as broad as the circuit of the globe, between 
 the events which marked the progress of these strug- 
 gles, and the more permanent consequences in which 
 they issued. 
 
 In moral education, the objects to be aimed at are to 
 impart a knowledge of right and wrong, to instil cor- 
 rect principles, to cultivate the affections, and to form 
 right habits of conduct ; in other words, to mature, con- 
 firm, and establish virtue in the heart and life. 
 
 It is a practical question of great interest and mo- 
 ment, how far the growth of virtue may be promoted 
 by human means ? It is readily conceded that it is 
 beyond the power of man to convey positive holiness 
 into the heart; — that this requires a divine agency. 
 But it is not conceded, because it is not believed, that 
 human agency can do nothing, nor that it cannot do a 
 great deal, towards the efficient inculcation of just 
 
98 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 views, correct principles, virtuous dispositions, and up- 
 right practices. In the physical and intellectual deve- 
 lopement of the young, means are assiduously employed, 
 in the full belief of their efficacy in promoting the end 
 in view. The same confidence seems not to be gene- 
 rally felt in the success of means used in moral educa- 
 tion. But is this want of confidence founded in reason, 
 authorized by analogy, sanctioned by scripture, or justi- 
 fied by experience 1 I confess it seems to me that 
 these not only give it no support, but are in direct 
 repugnance to it. Do not reason and analogy affirm 
 that one class of human powers is as susceptible of 
 being strengthened by exercise and improved by appro- 
 priate means as another? And does not experience, 
 confirmed by the voice of Heaven itself, declare, 
 " Train up a child in the way he should go ; 
 and when he is old, he will not depart from 
 it?" But, it is objected, real goodness, true moral 
 excellence, can be attained only through the interposi- 
 tion and aid of a superhuman agency. This is cheer- 
 fully granted, because it is cordially believed. I do not 
 wish to bandy points in theology, nor to split hairs with 
 the lovers of controversy ; but I must be permitted to 
 express the belief that it is common sense, and there- 
 fore scripture sense, that the impossibility of being good, 
 without the grace of the Holy Spirit, is exactly such an 
 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL ? 99 
 
 impossibility as the growth of grain without sunshine 
 and showers. It no more sets aside or lessens the obli- 
 gation to sow to the Spirit, than the other absolves the 
 farmer from the duty of ploughing and sowing his 
 fields. The influences of the Spirit in producing good- 
 ness, are like the influences of the heavens in producing 
 corn. Neither supply seed, nor supplant human labour ; 
 and both operate agreeably to the nature of the seed 
 and the soil. I conclude, then, that the moral nature 
 of man is a proper subject of attention and cultivation 
 in every school ; that instruction and discipline, suited 
 to that nature, ought to form no inconsiderable part of 
 school education ; and that the judicious and faithful 
 discharge of this duty by a teacher will be attended 
 with the happiest consequences, present and future, tem- 
 porary and permanent, on the tempers, habits, princi- 
 ples, happiness, usefulness, and whole character of his 
 pupils. That it is a most important, efficient, and health- 
 ful instrument of government, I know from long expe- 
 rience. 
 
 The first means of cultivating the moral feelings, 
 mentioned in the direction with which this section com- 
 mences, is systematic instructions on moral subjects. 
 It is a custom prevalent among medical writers, to refer 
 to cases in their own experience, and to spread out in 
 minute detail all the symptoms of any given disease, in 
 
100 HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL 
 
 
 its commencement, progress, and termination. This, 
 in the profession alluded to, is not thought to savour of 
 egotism, or to be an indication of vanity. There seems 
 to be no good reason why the same indulgence should 
 not be extended to teachers. Experience is certainly 
 the best teacher in every thing, and the lights which it 
 affords are the least likely to mislead. I will, therefore, 
 without further apology, relate what my own practice 
 in this particular was ; and that it was highly beneficial, 
 I have the best evidence that can be had of any thing 
 — viz. ocular demonstration. 
 
 I used four distinct modes of communicating moral 
 instructions systematically. The first was called Lec- 
 tures on Moral Philosophy. There was nothing for- 
 midable, even to very young persons, in these lectures 
 but the name. They were really nothing but familiar 
 talks on the various topics embraced in the course. I 
 commenced by a simple explanation of the foundation 
 of moral obligation, placing it in the will of God as 
 revealed in his Word, and insisting that, whatever rea- 
 sons God may have had for making his laws such as 
 they are, and He undoubtedly had reasons, those laws 
 were to us the only source and ground of obligation, 
 and the only infallible and adequate standard of right 
 and wrong. I then endeavoured to illustrate, in a man- 
 ner comprehensible by childhood, the true nature of 
 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 101 
 
 virtue, according to the theory of Dr. Wardlaw, which 
 seems to me as consonant to reason as it is to Scripture 
 — viz. That virtue is conformity to the revealed will of 
 God ; that this conformity must be sincere and heartfelt, 
 and not merely in the outward act ; and that, according 
 to this view, virtue, or morality, is perfectly identical 
 with religion. The prevailing divorce between morality 
 and religion, a distinction nowhere recognized or even 
 alluded to in the Bible, is an error pregnant with evil to 
 the cause of truth and the interests of religion. The 
 next step in the course was, in several lectures, to point 
 out, and earnestly enforce, various means of self-im- 
 provement in moral excellence. Then followed a lec- 
 ture on the excellence of the Divine Law as a rule of 
 conduct ; after which I proceeded to a simple explana- 
 tion and illustration of specific duties, adopting the com- 
 mon division of them into those which we owe to God, 
 to our fellow-creatures, and to ourselves. These in- 
 structions were listened to by most of the pupils with 
 lively interest, and with manifest advantage. They 
 were required to write sketches of each lecture, which 
 served to impress it more deeply on their memory. 
 
 Another course of lectures, or, more properly, fami- 
 liar instructions, which I was in the habit of giving, 
 embraced the following topics : the nature of the rela- 
 tion subsisting between teacher and pupil, the duties of 
 9* ' 
 
102 HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL! 
 
 school-boys to their instructors and to one another, the 
 necessity of government in schools, the dangers to 
 which school-boys are exposed and the means of over- 
 coming them, the nature, object, and advantages of edu- 
 cation, and the importance of a diligent improvement 
 of time. This course of instructions, I have reason to 
 know, was attended with salutary consequences with 
 respect to a large portion of the scholars. Its effect in 
 diminishing the labour and difficulty of governing was 
 very striking. 
 
 Expository lectures on the gospel history were de- 
 livered every Sabbath morning, in which controverted 
 points were carefully avoided, the practical portions 
 placed in prominent relief, and the duties of practical 
 piety urged upon the conscience. For a Sabbath even- 
 ing exercise, I adopted a plan recommended by Abbott, 
 in his Young Christian, of studying the Scriptures by 
 subjects. The following is the plan as described by 
 Mr. Abbott himself: — " Select some subject, upon which 
 a good deal of information may be found in various 
 parts of the Bible, and make it your object to bring 
 together into one view, all that the Bible says on that 
 subject. Take, for instance, the life of the Apostle 
 Peter. Suppose you make it your business on one Sab- 
 bath, with the help of a brother, or sister, or any other 
 friend who will unite with you in the work, to obtain 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 103 
 
 all the information which the Bible gives in regard to 
 him. By the help of the Concordance, you find all the 
 places in which he is mentioned ; you compare the va- 
 rious accounts in the four gospels, and see in what they 
 agree, and in what they differ. After following down 
 his history as far as the Evangelists bring it, you take 
 up the book of the Acts, and go through that for in- 
 formation in regard to this Apostle, omitting those parts 
 which relate to other subjects. In this way you become 
 fully acquainted with his character and history; you 
 understand it as a whole." 
 
 This was an exercise in which the whole school was 
 delighted ; they came to it with as much alacrity as to 
 some favourite game. I shall be excused, I trust, for 
 introducing here an extract from a note addressed to me 
 by one of my pupils, which will show the good effect 
 of the methods just described, and also the estimation 
 in which they were held by the most intelligent mem- 
 bers of the school. 
 
 " I think those methods which you told us yesterday 
 would keep us, if employed, from falling into tempta- 
 tions of all kinds, are certainly the best there are, and 
 I know by experience, the efficaciousness of some of 
 them. What my chief faults are, I cannot as easily 
 tell perhaps as others. But my greatest fault, in my 
 opinion, is that of being irritated too easily ; and it is 
 
104 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 that which I constantly now try to break myself of. I 
 have perhaps naturally a higher temper than most boys ; 
 this, I am glad and able, I think, to say, I have con- 
 quered to a pretty considerable degree : I have still to 
 labour hard, however, with what remains, and am re- 
 solved so to do. As to profane swearing, I have almost 
 entirely broken myself of it. I endeavour almost con- 
 tinually now to keep a watch over my conduct, and to 
 think move how I act than I ever almost have done 
 before. 
 
 " I am very glad that I had a short conversation with 
 you on Thursday, and I think it will benefit me some. 
 
 " I like the familiar way of looking out any impor- 
 tant subject in the Bible, that you have adopted, very 
 well ; and I think it will be as profitable, as interesting, 
 to us all." 
 
 This is a fair specimen of the results of the system 
 among the generality of the older boys of the school. 
 
 But it is not enough that the teacher give systematic 
 and formal instructions on moral subjects : he must also 
 " seize the occasions, as they rise in the daily occur- 
 rences of the school and conduct of the scholars, to 
 enforce more pointedly the principles and dispositions 
 of virtue." This is a rule of very great importance ; 
 and from want of attention to it, many an excellent 
 opportunity has been lost of administering an effectual 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 105 
 
 reproof, of nipping a vicious propensity, of fostering 
 some budding virtue. 
 
 A little boy, less than four years old, was one day 
 playing in his father's office. He took from the table a 
 piece of sealing-wax, that had been used in sealing a 
 letter, and, running to his father, said, " 'Pa, may I have 
 this ?" " What, my son ?" " This little thing in my 
 hand," holding it up and showing it. " Yes, my son, 
 you may have it," was the father's reply. After a short 
 pause, he added, " Papa's pleased with his little son 
 now. That's the way you must always do : when you 
 want any thing, come and ask 'Pa for it. If he thinks 
 it's proper for you, he'll give it to you. He knows 
 what's good for you better than you do. You must 
 never take any thing without asking permission." The 
 little boy went off, capering about the room, highly 
 pleased both with himself and his prize. More than 
 half an hour afterwards, when the father had entirely 
 forgotten the incident, the child came up to him, and 
 said, " 'Pa, I mustn't take things without asking. 'Pa 
 knows what's best for me. You love your little son, 
 don't you ?" 
 
 This is a simple story, but it may serve as an illus- 
 tration of what I mean by the teacher's availing him- 
 self of opportunities. "A word fitly spoken, how good 
 it is !" In this case there can be no doubt that it 
 
106 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 strengthened the principle of honesty and open dealing 
 in the child's mind, added to his confidence in his 
 father's judgment, and confirmed his assurance of pa- 
 rental love. When tempted to take any thing without 
 leave, he could scarcely fail to remember and be influ- 
 enced by the circumstances here narrated. 
 
 Two school-boys had one day fought desperately ; 
 and the master had in some way become acquainted 
 with their quarrel, though 4hey knew it not. At the 
 close of the day, after the scholars had put their books 
 away, he told them to tarry a few moments, for he had 
 some questions to ask them. Instantly every ear was 
 open, every eye directed towards him, every mind alert. 
 After a brief pause, which had the effect of winding 
 expectation up to the highest pitch, he said : — " Boys, 
 can you tell me what it is that makes the difference be- 
 tween men and brutes ?" Several voices replied, " Rea- 
 son." 
 
 Master. " Yes, it is reason ; but when men allow 
 their passions to master them, so that they cannot con- 
 trol themselves, is not reason then driven from her 
 throne?" 
 
 Pupils. " Yes, sir." 
 
 Master. "In such a case, what do men become?" 
 Pupils unanimously. " Brutes, brutes, brutes." 
 Master. " There are two boys now in this room, 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 107 
 
 exactly in this condition. They got angry at each 
 other to-day, and fought like two cats. I know who 
 they are, but if I did not, I should be able to pick them 
 out from among the whole school ; for they are very 
 pale and restless. Perhaps they think I am going to 
 punish them ; they know they deserve it ; they know 
 that I would do right if I were to chastise them ; but 
 they are already more severely punished by this unani- 
 mous condemnation passed upon them by their school- 
 mates, than they would be by all the stripes I could 
 inflict. They are heartily ashamed of their conduct ; 
 they feel that they have degraded themselves by indulg- 
 ing and giving way to anger ; they do not respect them- 
 selves as much as they did before ; and therefore they 
 are not so happy, for self-respect is essential to happi- 
 ness. But if I were to stop here, and say no more on 
 this subject, I should not have performed more than 
 half my duty. Anger is a sin against God, and I must 
 let you know what God thinks and says respecting it, 
 and those who indulge it. Take your Bibles and turn 
 first to Psalm 37th, v. 8th. " Cease from anger, and 
 forsake wrath." Now to Proverbs 14th, v. 17th. " He 
 that is soon angry, dealeth foolishly." Prov. 16th, v. 
 32d. " He that is slow to anger, is better than the 
 mighty ; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that 
 taketh a city." Prov. 19th, v. 11th. " The discretion 
 
108 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 of a man deferreth his anger ; and it is his glory to 
 pass over a transgression." Id. 22d, v. 24th. " Make 
 no friendship with an angry man, and with a foolish 
 man thou shalt not go." Id. 25th, v. 28th. " He that 
 hath no rule over his own spirit, is like a city that is 
 broken down, and without walls." Eccl. 7th, v. 9th. 
 " Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger rest- 
 eth in the bosom of fools." Eph. 4th, v. 31st. " Let 
 all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and 
 evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice." 
 " Such, my beloved pupils, are the sentiments with 
 which God regards anger and angry persons ; such 
 the language in which he has seen fit to forbid its indul- 
 gence. He prohibits it in express terms ; he declares 
 repeatedly that it is foolish as well as wicked ; he says 
 that the true glory of man consists in forbearance and 
 the forgiveness of injuries ; he assures us that the mas- 
 tery over our passions is a mark of strength and 
 bravery, more sure than the conquest of a city ; he for- 
 bids our forming friendships or associating with persons 
 who indulge anger habitually ; he affirms that the man 
 who cannot, or will not, rule his spirit, is no better than 
 a demolished and defenceless city ; and, finally, our 
 Saviour, in the 5th chapter of Matthew, asserts the 
 awful truth that causeless anger (and this is almost 
 always its character) is allied to the guilt of murder. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 109 
 
 Surely, my dear sons, here are motives enough to dis- 
 suade us all from giving way to this fell passion, which 
 you have yourselves just now pronounced to be pro- 
 perly the characteristic of brutes, instead of reasonable 
 beings. Will you trifle with the command of Jehovah, 
 will you brave his indignation, will you mock at his 
 authority ? It cannot, must not, will not be. I wish 
 you would all commit to memory the passages I have 
 just read ; but I must require it of the two whose 
 wicked conduct has been the occasion of these remarks. 
 I exact it of them, not as a punishment, for they have 
 already been sufficiently punished by the censure of 
 their companions and their own mortified feelings and 
 upbraiding conscience, but because I believe it will be 
 very useful to them, in restraining them from a second 
 fault like that of which they have now been guilty. I 
 shall not expose their names to the school, if they are 
 not already known, but when they have learned the 
 passages perfectly, they may come to me privately and 
 recite them, when I will give them some further advice, 
 that I hope will help them to govern themselves, and 
 avoid the dreadful sin of anger, and the shame and pun- 
 ishment to which it must lead, either in this world or 
 the next." 
 
 This is another illustration of what I mean by taking 
 advantage of occasions as they rise for inculcating and 
 10 
 
110 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 strengthening virtuous principles. The good effects of 
 such a course as that described above, are not limited 
 to the offending individuals, but extend to the whole 
 school ; neither are they confined to the present time, 
 but often reach through the whole period of man's 
 existence ; nor, finally, are they restricted to checking 
 the particular fault in question, but operate favourably 
 on the entire character. 
 
 It would be easy to multiply cases under this head, 
 but of this there would be no end. Occasions are con- 
 tinually occurring, when a word seasonably spoken 
 would have a powerful effect in strengthening some vir- 
 tuous disposition, in confirming some good habit, in 
 giving strength to resist temptation, or in checking 
 some bad propensity or baneful passion. No principles 
 can be laid down to guide the teacher in this particular, 
 except such as are so comprehensive in their character 
 that their value is almost buried up and lost in their 
 generality. It is a matter which, with a few hints, and 
 one or two examples, must be left very much to the 
 instructor's own judgment and skill. You must watch 
 for these occasions. The habit of improving them will 
 increase your ability to do so successfully. It will both 
 enable you to know with greater certainty when they 
 arise, and it will add to your skill in turning them to 
 account. It will aid you materially in the discharge of 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? Ill 
 
 this important duty to keep a daily journal in which, 
 after the manner of the most skilful physicians, you 
 carefully record all the cases which occur in the school, 
 with your method of treating them and its results. 
 This will impart to your efforts for the moral improve- 
 x ment of 3'our pupils all the interest of experiments. 
 You will watch for the results of the methods you 
 employ to modify, to form, to mature character, with 
 the same lively and anxious expectation, with which the 
 chemist or the natural philosopher looks for the results 
 of a train of original experiments in some department 
 of natural science. And this is exactly the state of 
 mind which every teacher ought to desire and cultivate. 
 This plan of journalizing, if adopted and faithfully 
 adhered to, will give you the habit of close observation 
 and accurate analysis ; it will enable you to systemize 
 your experience by classifying its facts ; and thus every 
 day will add something to your knowledge of character, 
 your mastery over mind, your skill in your profession, 
 and therefore to your usefulness in the service of man- 
 kind. 
 
 The Rev. J. S. C. Abbott, in his " Mother at Home," 
 tells of a mother, whom he knew, who kept a constant 
 journal of the progress of her child from his earliest 
 infancy. He says that she carefully noted down her 
 more important acts of discipline, and the effect which 
 
112 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 her course produced upon the character of her child. 
 With more solicitude and vigilance than the physician 
 watches the effect of his prescription, did she watch the 
 effect of her moral remedies and antidotes. His open- 
 ing faculties, the developement o-f his affections, his 
 constitutional temperament, his faults and foibles, were 
 made the subject of continual watchfulness and anxious 
 deliberation. These were regularly committed to writ- 
 ing. Thus did this mother gain useful information 
 more rapidly than she could have acquired it in any 
 other way. She was accustoming her own mind to 
 independent investigation and thought. Every day she 
 was increasing her knowledge of the operation and 
 effect of different motives on the mind ; every day her 
 influence over her child was augmented ; and the result 
 was such as might have been anticipated from the 
 course pursued. 
 
 It may perhaps be proper to add, in this connexion, 
 that the close of a day or of the week will frequently 
 be a good time for remarking on certain topics, which 
 the well-known occurrences of the day or the week 
 have rendered peculiarly appropriate, if not necessary. 
 An opportunity is thus oftentimes afforded of fastening 
 truth upon the conscience, of administering an effectual 
 reproof, of fanning the embers of goodness, which, if 
 neglected at the time, may perhaps never return, with 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 113 
 
 circumstances so favourable for making a lasting im- 
 pression. 
 
 The remark which I am about to make, does not with 
 strict propriety fall here, but I know not where it could 
 be introduced better ; and I am not willing altogether to 
 omit it. It is this : The generality of teachers do not 
 sufficiently inculcate upon their pupils the maxim that 
 the great end of education, so far as they are con- 
 cerned, is the ability and the disposition to be useful 
 to others ; or, if they do now and then advert to the 
 abstract truth of the maxim, they fail to give it an 
 intelligible and tangible application. Practical Mo- 
 rality is not enough taught. The pupils are instructed 
 in the knowledge of geography, but never a word is 
 said to them as to how they may make this knowledge 
 useful to others. And so of all the other studies of the 
 school. Now if you were to go into any school in the 
 land, and say to the children, — " Children, I have some- 
 thing to propose to you, which I hope you will be pleased 
 with. By accepting my proposal, you will be comply- 
 ing with a command of your Heavenly Father, who 
 says, * To do good and to communicate, forget not,' and 
 you will also experience the truth of those remarkable 
 words of our Saviour, ' It is more blessed to give than 
 to receive.' Would you not like to spend a little of 
 every day in collecting, preparing, and arranging a few 
 10* 
 
114 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 specimens of plants and minerals, to send to a school in 
 Pittsburgh ? I know a gentleman who is going there 
 six weeks hence, and who will be happy to take any- 
 thing of the kind you may wish to send. Those of you 
 who are willing to engage in this ' labour of love,' for it 
 is really such, may hold up your hands." What would 
 be the effect of such an appeal ? In nineteen schools 
 out of twenty, every hand would go up instantly ; espe- 
 cially if the appeal were made by a teacher whose gene- 
 ral management was in harmony with this spirit, and 
 who should at the same time promise his aid in helping 
 them to carry out the plan. This is not mere theory ; 
 it is fact. It has been tried in a thousand instances, 
 and always with a result which showed how easily chil- 
 dren may be interested in any little efforts to render 
 themselves useful. 
 
 In like manner, if you are teaching a lesson in his- 
 tory, and come to a beautiful and striking illustration 
 of some virtue, such, for example, as the story of Wash- 
 ington and his hatchet, you may say to the class, 
 "Boys, you must try and remember this story, and 
 when you go home, you can tell it to your younger 
 brothers and sisters. Perhaps it may be useful to them, 
 in keeping them from telling lies and making them love 
 the truth. I will read it over to you, and I want you 
 to pay particular attention, so that you can remember 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 115 
 
 it all." Most children would be delighted with such an 
 idea, and not only willingly, but eagerly, second your 
 wishes. So also in reference to any particularly in- 
 teresting information you may have communicated in a 
 geography recitation, respecting the customs, manners, 
 or curiosities of distant countries. You may say tc 
 your pupils, at such a time, — " Children, 1 wish you 
 would lay these facts up in your memory. You may 
 give your parents much pleasure, and greatly interest 
 your little brothers and sisters, by relating them, when 
 you are all gathered around the blazing fire in the even- 
 ing. Let me request that you will do so. You ought 
 to form the habit of trying to please your father and 
 mother in all things, and especially by your diligence, 
 good conduct, and improvement at school ; and it should 
 be your delight to impart entertaining and useful know- 
 ledge to the younger members of the family. Thus you 
 will please God, and in a faint degree resemble the 
 blessed Jesus, who ' honoured his Father,' and * went 
 about, doing good.' " When you may have excited your 
 pupils' sympathies by a picture of the ignorance and 
 miseries of heathen children, a single word will some- 
 times bring precious fruit out of this awakened sensi- 
 bility. You may say to them, " My dear pupils, I see 
 that your feelings are greatly excited by this true, but 
 most melancholy representation, and your tears flow 
 
116 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 freely. It is well that you should feel on such a sub- 
 ject ; it would be strange, indeed, if you did not. But 
 if it ends here, your tears, even though they were to 
 gush out in rivers, would be of no more avail than those 
 which you shed over some tale of fiction or dream of 
 romance. You can do something to enlighten the igno- 
 rance, to alleviate the misery, which so much affect 
 your sympathies. Pious and benevolent missionaries 
 have gone out to labour for this end. But they cannot 
 live among the heathen without money, and this the 
 heathen themselves will not give them. Christians, that 
 is, those who live in Christian lands, must do it. You 
 can give something, every one of you. Perhaps you 
 think it will be very little that you can contribute. You 
 can at least each give a penny a week. That would be 
 a half-dollar a year. Now there are three millions of 
 school children in the United States. If all were to give 
 so much, it would make a million and a half of dollars 
 every year. And this is actually more than is now 
 given for this object by all the Christians in America." 
 These are mere samples of the course I would recom- 
 mend in teaching what I have denominated practical 
 morality. It is a course which will more effectually 
 instil the principles of moral duty into the soul, culti- 
 vate the feelings of the heart, and train virtue into a 
 habit, than all the abstract and lifeless formularies that 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 117 
 
 ever distilled from the pens of ancient and modern phi- 
 losophers. 
 
 But after all, personal example will ever be found to 
 be the most effectual teacher of what is good and 
 honourable in moral conduct. We all know how pow- 
 erfully this is recommended as a source of good by our 
 holy religion. Jesus, our Saviour, was " given us as an 
 example that we should follow his steps." Unless our 
 own conduct is a living illustration of the excellence 
 of what we teach ; unless we enforce our lessons of 
 diligence, fidelity, patience, forbearance, gentleness, 
 kindness, truth, uprightness, and other moral virtues, 
 by our personal example, they will be utterly in vain. 
 They will be even worse than vain, for they will teach 
 hypocrisy, the worst and most detestable kind of deceit, 
 by system. The power of this principle has been felt 
 and acknowledged in every age and among all nations. 
 A volume might easily be filled with examples confirm- 
 ing its reality, and illustrating the all-pervading, all- 
 powerful nature of its action. Augustus was in the 
 habit, whenever any of his officers were guilty of a 
 failure in duty, of reproving them by transcribing and 
 sending to them appropriate passages from the lives of 
 eminent men. The Roman poet, Horace, gives us in 
 one of his Satires an interesting picture of the method 
 employed by his father to teach him morality, and in- 
 
118 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 spire him with the love of virtue. That truly worthy 
 and judicious man, when he wished to foster any good 
 quality or check an evil one in the bosom of his son, 
 was accustomed to point him to well-known individuals, 
 in whom the effects of those qualities were severally 
 illustrated ; and by dwelling upon the respect and hap- 
 piness consequent in the one case, and the disgrace and 
 misery resulting in the other, he promoted the end he 
 had in view, the moral improvement of his child, far 
 more effectually than by the most eloquent generalities 
 on the charms of virtue and the deformities of vice. 
 To the force of maternal example in childhood may be 
 traced much of the subsequent wickedness which de- 
 veloped itself in the character of Byron, — much of that 
 subjection to the dominion of impulse and the mastery 
 of passion, which marked his intellectually brilliant 
 but morally dark and disastrous career. 
 
 A mother was one day sitting quietly in her chamber, 
 engaged in sewing. Her little boy, who had been play- 
 ing about the room, came up to her and said, " Ma, you 
 don't tell stories, do you ?" She replied, " No, my son, 
 you know that Ma always tells the truth, and James 
 must do so too." " Yes, Ma; but" — he added after a 
 brief pause — " if Ma tells stories, then James will tell 
 stories." This is always the sentiment of children, 
 though they may not generally be so explicit in telling 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 119 
 
 what they mean to do, and will of course become more 
 guarded as they grow older. They think they may 
 imitate, and for the most part do imitate, whatever they 
 observe in the conduct of others ; especially, of parents 
 and teachers. What carefulness, what watchfulness, 
 what jealousy of the heart, what rigorous government 
 of the passions, what constant self-control in all things, 
 ought the knowledge of this fact to produce in all who 
 have any thing to do with education of the young. 
 
 Example is always the best teacher. If parents 
 desire to teach their children to be industrious, to do 
 good, to be loving, to practise good habits, they will 
 accomplish their object most effectually by labouring, 
 by doing good, by cherishing affection towards each 
 other, and by practising good habits themselves. This 
 is equally true of teachers. The life of the teacher 
 should be the model of that of the pupil. To inspire 
 good habits, it is necessary to practise them ; in the 
 same manner as to acquire strength, it is necessary to 
 take exercise. 
 
 " All endeavours," says that judicious and excellent 
 writer, Mr. Babington, " to make right impressions on 
 the mind of a child, will very generally be found inef- 
 fectual, if the character of the teacher does not corre- 
 spond with his instructions, and inspire his pupil with 
 esteem and affection. It is surprising how God honours 
 
120 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 his own image among men. Faint as it is, even in the 
 best, still its proximity gives it effect, and it exercises a 
 portion of his own sovereign power over the hearts of 
 his creatures. We every day see it exemplified in the 
 respect and affection which good men generally acquire, 
 when their light has long shone before the same neigh- 
 bourhood. If the beauties of the Christian character 
 thus recommend themselves to persons of mature age, 
 whose evil habits are often so confirmed, and whose 
 tastes are so vitiated, it will not be matter of wonder 
 that they should have peculiar charms for the minds 
 of children. Let a teacher exhibit this character with 
 consistency and prudence, and he will seldom fail to be 
 loved and revered by his pupils. And when this is the 
 case, what authority will belong to his example ! what 
 weight to all his admonitions ! what ready attention will 
 be paid to his very wishes ! The difficulties of educa- 
 tion will be wonderfully smoothed. Ill-humour, distaste 
 to particular studies, impatience under restraints, eye- 
 service and deceit, and a disposition to look on the 
 teacher as a hard master, not to mention other evils, 
 will be in a great degree avoided. If it may be allow- 
 able to use the language of the Prophet, * Crooked 
 places will be made straight, and rough places plain.' " 
 I cannot close this section better than by introducing 
 to your notice, and commending to your earnest atten- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MV SCHOOL? 121 
 
 tion, the following short extract from Mrs. Child's excel- 
 lent little work, entitled " The Mother's Book." Speak- 
 ing of the " Management of Children," she says : — 
 
 "This phrase is a very broad and comprehensive 
 one. Under it I mean to include all that relates to 
 rewards and punishments, and the adaptation of educa- 
 tion to different characters and dispositions. 
 
 " The good old-fashioned maxim that * example is 
 better than precept,' is the best thing to begin with. 
 The great difficulty in education is that we give rules 
 instead of inspiring sentiments. The simple fact that 
 your child never saw you angry, that your voice is 
 always gentle, and the expression of your face always 
 kind, is worth a thousand times more than all the rules 
 you can give him about not beating his dog, pinching 
 his brother, &c. It is in vain to load the understanding 
 with rules, if the affections are not pure. In the first 
 place, it is not possible to make rules enough to apply 
 to all manner of cases ; and if it were possible, a child 
 would soon forget them. But if you inspire him with 
 right feelings, they will govern his actions. All our 
 thoughts and actions come from our affections ; if we 
 love what is good, we shall think and do what is good. 
 Children are not so much influenced by what we say 
 and do in particular reference to them, as by the general 
 effect of our characters and conversation. They are 
 11 
 
122 HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 in a great degree creatures of imitation. If they see a 
 mother fond of finery, they become fond of finery ; if 
 they see her selfish, it makes them selfish ; if they see 
 her extremely anxious for the attention of wealthy peo- 
 ple, they learn to think wealth is the only good ;" if 
 they see in her the virtues of meekness, patience, gene- 
 rosity, humility, gentleness, and truth, the tendency will 
 be to beget and foster in them the same dispositions 
 and habits. 
 
 " Those whose early influence is what it should be, 
 will find their children easy to manage, as they grow 
 older." 
 
 These remarks are addressed to mothers, but no 
 apology is necessary for inserting them here. The 
 spirit and practice which they recommend, are as appli- 
 cable to the school-room and the intercourse of teachers 
 and pupils, as they are to the nursery and the relation 
 of parent and children. 
 
 This was the end of the section as originally written. 
 Since the work was prepared for the press, the excellent 
 and valuable Report of Professor Stowe on Prussian 
 Schools has fallen under my notice. There is a pas- 
 sage in it which illustrates in so striking a manner the 
 truth and value of the principles recommended in the 
 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 123 
 
 four preceding sections, that I cannot forbear to quote 
 it as supplementary to them. 
 
 " At Berlin," says the Professor, " I visited an estab- 
 lishment for the reformation of youthful offenders. 
 Here boys are placed, who have committed offences 
 that bring them under the supervision of the police, to 
 be instructed, and rescued from vice, instead of being 
 hardened in iniquity by living in the common prison 
 with old offenders. It is under the care of Dr. Kopf, 
 a most simple-hearted, excellent old gentleman; just 
 such an one as reminds us of the ancient Christians, 
 who lived in the times of the persecution, simplicity 
 and purity of the Christian church. He has been very 
 successful in reclaiming the young offender, and many 
 an one who would otherwise have been for ever lost, 
 has, by the influence of this institution, been saved to 
 himself — to his country — and to God. It is a manual 
 labour school ; and to a judicious intermingling of study 
 and labour, religious instruction, kind treatment and 
 necessary severity, it has owed its success. When I 
 was there, most of the boys were employed in cutting 
 screws for the rail-road which the government was then 
 constructing between Berlin and Leipsic ; and there 
 were but few who could not maintain themselves by 
 their labour. As I was passing with Dr. K. from room 
 to room, I heard some beautiful voices singing in an 
 
124 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 adjoining apartment, and on entering I found about 
 twenty of the boys, sitting at a long table, making 
 clothes for the establishment, and singing at their work. 
 The Dr. enjoyed my surprise, and on going out, re- 
 marked — " I always keep these little rogues singing at 
 their work, for while the children sing, the devil cannot 
 come among them at all ; he can only sit at our doors 
 there and growl ; but if they stop singing, in the devil 
 comes." The Bible and the singing of religious hymns, 
 are among the most efficient instruments which he 
 employs for softening the hardened heart, and bringing 
 the vicious and stubborn will to docility. 
 
 " A similar establishment in the neighbourhood of 
 Hamburg, to which I was introduced by Dr. Julius, who 
 is known to many of our citizens, afforded striking 
 examples of the happy influence of moral and religious 
 instruction, in reclaiming the vicious, and saving the 
 lost. Hamburg is the largest commercial city of Ger- 
 many, and its population is extremely crowded. Though 
 it is highly distinguished for its benevolent institutions 
 and for the hospitality and integrity of its citizens, yet 
 the very circumstances in which it is placed, produce 
 among the lowest class of its population, habits of de- 
 gradation and beastliness, of which we have but few 
 examples on this side of the Atlantic. The children, 
 therefore, received into this institution, are often of the 
 
HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL ? 125 
 
 very worst and most hopeless character. Not only are 
 their minds most thoroughly depraved, but their very 
 senses and bodily organization seem to partake in the 
 viciousness and degradation of their hearts. Their 
 appetites are so perverted, that sometimes the most 
 loathsome and disgusting substances are preferred to 
 wholesome food. The Superintendent, Mr. Wichern, 
 states, that though plentifully supplied with provisions, 
 yet when first received, some of them will steal and eat 
 soap, rancid grease that has been laid aside for the pur- 
 pose of greasing shoes, and even catch May-bugs and 
 devour them ; and it is with the utmost difficulty that 
 these disgusting habits are broken up. An ordinary 
 man might suppose that the task of restoring such poor 
 creatures to decency and good morals was entirely 
 hopeless. Not so with Mr. Wichern. He took hold 
 with the firm hope that the moral power of the word 
 of God is competent even to such a task. His means 
 are prayer, the Bible, singing, affectionate conversation, 
 severe punishment when unavoidable, and constant, 
 steady employment, in useful labour. On one occasion, 
 when every other means seemed to fail, he collected the 
 children together, and read to them in the words of the 
 New Testament, the simple narrative of the sufferings 
 and death of Christ, with some remarks on the design 
 and object of his mission to this world. The effect was 
 11 * 
 
126 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 wonderful. They burst into tears of contrition, and 
 during the whole of that term, from June till October, 
 the influence of this scene was visible in all their con- 
 duct. The idea that takes so strong a hold when the 
 character of Christ is exhibited to such poor creatures, 
 is, that they are objects of affection ; miserable, wicked, 
 despised as they are, yet Christ, the Son of God, loved 
 them, and loved them enough to suffer and to die for 
 them — and still loves them. The thought that they can 
 yet be loved, melts the heart, and gives them hope, and 
 is a strong incentive to reformation. 
 
 " On another occasion, when considerable progress 
 had been made in their moral education, the Superin- 
 tendent discovered that some of them had taken nails 
 from the premises, and applied them to their own use, 
 without permission. He called them together, expressed 
 his great disappointment and sorrow that they had pro- 
 fited so little by the instructions which he had given 
 them, and told them that till he had evidence of their 
 sincere repentance, he could not admit them to the 
 morning and evening religious exercises of his family. 
 With expressions of deep regret for their sin, and with 
 promises, entreaties and tears, they begged to have this 
 privilege restored to them ; but he was firm in his refu- 
 sal. A few evenings afterward, while walking in the 
 garden, he heard youthful voices among the shrubbery ; 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 127 
 
 and drawing near unperceived, he found that the boys 
 had formed themselves into little companies of seven or 
 eight each, and met morning and evening in different 
 retired spots in the garden, to sing, to read the Bible 
 and pray among themselves ; to ask God to forgive 
 them the sins they had committed, and to give them 
 strength to resist temptation in future. With such evi- 
 dence of repentance he soon restored to them the privi- 
 lege of attending morning and evening prayers with his 
 family. One morning soon after, on entering his study, 
 he found it all adorned with wreaths of the most beau- 
 tiful flowers, which the boys had arranged there at early 
 day-break, in testimony of their joy and gratitude for 
 his kindness. Thus rapidly had these poor creatures 
 advanced in moral feeling, religious sensibility, and 
 good taste. 
 
 " In the spring Mr. Wichern gives to each boy a 
 patch of ground in the garden, which he is to call his 
 own, and cultivate as he pleases. One of the boys 
 began to erect a little hut of sticks and earth upon his 
 plot, in which he might rest during the heat of the day, 
 and to which he might retire when he wished to be 
 alone. When it was all finished, it occurred to him to 
 dedicate it to its use by religious ceremonies. Accord- 
 ingly he collected the boys together. The hut was 
 adorned with wreaths of flowers, and a little table was 
 
128 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 
 
 placed in the centre on which lay the open Bible, orna- 
 mented in the same manner. He then read with great 
 seriousness the 14th, 15th, and 24th verses of the 98th 
 Psalm : 
 
 " The Lord is my strength and my song, and is become my 
 salvation." 
 
 " The voice of rejoicing and salvation is heard in the taberna- 
 cles of the righteous." 
 
 " This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice 
 and be glad in it. 
 
 " After this, the exercises were concluded by singing 
 and prayer. Another boy afterwards built him a hut, 
 which was to be dedicated in a similar way ; but when 
 the boys came together, they saw in it a piece of timber 
 which belonged to the establishment, and ascertaining 
 that it had been taken without permission, they at once 
 demolished the whole edifice, and restored the timber to 
 its place. At the time of harvest, when they first 
 entered the field to gather the potatoes, before com- 
 mencing the work, they formed into a circle, and much 
 to the surprise of the superintendent, broke out together 
 into the harvest hymn : 
 
 " Now let us all thank God." 
 
 After singing this, they fell to work with great cheer- 
 fulness and vigour. 
 
 " I mention these instances, from numerous others 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 129 
 
 which might be produced, to show how much may be 
 done in reclaiming the most hopeless youthful offenders, 
 by a judicious application of the right means of moral 
 influence. How short-sighted and destructive, then, is 
 the policy which would exclude such influence from our 
 public institutions ! The same effects have been pro- 
 duced by houses of reformation in our own country. I 
 would mention, as one instance, the institution of Mr. 
 Welles, in Massachusetts." 
 
130 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 Do not confine your attention to your pupils to school- 
 hours ; let it embrace also, as far as practicable, their 
 seasons of relaxation and amusement. 
 
 The principle here laid down is closely allied in its 
 nature to that which forms the subject of the preceding 
 section, and in its application sometimes runs into, and 
 becomes identical with, it. Nevertheless, it is in many- 
 respects entirely distinct from the other, and its impor- 
 tance, as well as its individuality, is such as to render it 
 well worthy of a separate illustration. It is not too 
 strong language, because it lies strictly within the limits 
 of truth, to say that children are as much educated (not 
 instructed) by one another, in their amusements, con- 
 versation, quarrels, and various intercourse, as they are 
 by their teachers in the school-room. It is sometimes 
 the case even that their characters are more affected by 
 the former than by the latter class of influences. This 
 fact, for it is incontrovertibly such, is sufficient to show 
 how unspeakably important it is that a teacher should 
 establish and maintain an influence, as powerful as pos- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 131 
 
 sible, over his pupils during the hours of intermission 
 from study, as well as while they are under his more 
 immediate inspection and care. This point may be 
 assumed as granted. It only remains, therefore, to in- 
 quire how the desired object can be effected. 
 
 1. To this end the first thing necessary is that you 
 settle it in your mind as a principle of action, by which 
 you will be uniformly governed, that your duties to your 
 scholars are by no means limited to the six hours, 
 during which they are engaged with you in study and 
 recitation. To suppose them thus limited would be to 
 entertain very low, narrow, and unworthy views of the 
 nature of your office, and would prove you to be ill- 
 qualified for the discharge of its various responsibilities. 
 There is scarcely an hour in the twenty-four, except 
 those allotted to sleep, in which a truly conscientious 
 and faithful teacher, one who is heartily interested in 
 the improvement of his pupils, is not engaged in one 
 way or another with a view to the benefit of his school. 
 When he is not employed in actual instruction, he is 
 studying, or planning, or deliberating on particular 
 cases, or busied about something, calculated to further 
 the great end he has in view. This is the true spirit of 
 the profession ; the feeling which you ought assiduously 
 to cultivate ; the habit which, above most others, will 
 win the confidence of your employers and command 
 
132 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 the respect of your pupils. Your whole time, except 
 so much as may be necessary for recruiting your ener- 
 gies, belongs of right to those who are placed under your 
 care ; and God, whose will is the source of this as of all 
 other obligations, will exact its fulfilment at your hands. 
 2. Be as much with your pupils as possible out of 
 school hours. It is an old proverb that " familiarity 
 breeds contempt ;" and for fear of this, many teachers 
 stand aloof from their scholars, and instead of courting 
 intimacy, repel it. There is no doubt that the proverb 
 sometimes finds its fulfilment ; but if so, it is because 
 those who experience it do not know how to be familiar, 
 without laying aside their dignity. My own observation 
 leads me decidedly to the conclusion that those teachers 
 who, without forgetting their relation to their pupils, en- 
 courage and practise the freest intercourse with them, 
 usually gain an ascendency over them, rarely acquired 
 by those who, from false notions of self-respect and 
 relative propriety, hold them always at arms' length. 
 Certainly this was the fact in reference to the gentlemen 
 employed in my own school at Edgehill. The best in- 
 structors and the most successful disciplinarians were 
 those who mingled most with the scholars, even to en- 
 gaging in many of their games and amusements, on the 
 play-grounds. # 
 
 * See also, in illustration of this, the last two paragraphs of 
 Section VII. of this work, p. 89. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 133 
 
 This practice is attended with many advantages. It 
 will serve to convince your pupils that you feel a real 
 interest and love for them ; a conviction which is not 
 always wrought in their minds by your best exertions 
 in the school-room, unaccompanied by other demonstra- 
 tions, because all you do there may spring from a re- 
 gard to self-interest. But when they see you habitually 
 going beyond what you were employed to do, and evi- 
 dently for the sake of promoting their pleasure and im- 
 provement, it is a devotion to their good which will tell 
 irresistibly upon their hearts. The habit of mingling 
 with your pupils in their hours of relaxation, with such 
 a union of dignity and freedom in your intercourse as 
 will repel all undue familiarity, and yet remove all feel- 
 ing of disagreeable restraint on their part, will afford 
 you opportunities of studying their characters, of getting 
 an insight into the current of their thoughts and senti- 
 ments and the deepest springs of action within them, 
 which you could enjoy in no other way. Some tender 
 and latent germ of good may thus be discovered and 
 fostered, which would otherwise have passed unob- 
 served, and withered for want of appropriate nurture ; 
 while, on the other hand, many a noxious weed of error 
 or of sin may be nipped in its first sprouting, and rooted 
 out of the soil, by means so gentle and insinuating as 
 entirely to escape the knowledge of those upon whom 
 12 
 
134 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOLS 
 
 they are employed. These are advantages of inesti- 
 mable worth, and sufficient of themselves to commend 
 this practice not only to the approbation, but to the 
 adoption, of every teacher. Every hour which a judi- 
 cious instructor spends with his pupils " has balm on its 
 wings." 
 
 3. Exercise an easy and as far as possible unper- 
 ceived supervision over the amusements of your pupils, 
 and with gentle dexterity check, guide, and regulate 
 them, as the good of the school may require. Amuse- 
 ment of some kind is an indispensable want of child- 
 hood and youth.* And the Creator, who knows what 
 is in man, as full of benevolence as he is of wisdom 
 and power, has provided for the gratification of that 
 propensity in which the want originates, with an abun- 
 dance, variety, and adaptation to our constitution and 
 circumstances, well fitted to excite both gratitude and 
 wonder. But man, who has " sought out many inven- 
 tions," not satisfied with the innocent recreations which 
 Providence has granted us, has set his ingenuity at 
 work in this matter also, and a world of evil has been 
 the result. A multitude of amusements have been in- 
 vented, destructive alike of present and future peace 
 
 * On the subject of Amusements the author freely acknow- 
 ledges his indebtedness to the admirable little work of Mr. Babing- 
 ton, entitled "A Practical View of Christian Education." 
 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL ? 135 
 
 and virtue in those who indulge in them. A selection 
 therefore is to be made, and in choosing, it should be 
 your object to encourage those which are not only 
 harmless, but as useful as possible. And very useful 
 they may be made in a variety of ways, by the exercise 
 of a sound discretion. 
 
 It has already been hinted that, by being forward to 
 promote your pupil's pleasures, you will increase his 
 affection, and gain his confidence, and sweeten the re- 
 straints and labours of the school-room ; by guiding 
 him in the selection of them, you may show him prac- 
 tically what a natural propensity children have to sinful 
 gratifications, but what a sting such gratifications leave 
 behind them ; and also what an abundance of innocent 
 pleasures an all-bountiful God has placed within our 
 reach. You may make him sensible how frequently, 
 while he is amusing himself, he may promote the hap- 
 piness of others, and cherish just principles and good 
 dispositions in his own bosom ; and that pleasures which 
 produce such fruits will generally be the sweetest in 
 immediate enjoyment, and still sweeter in retrospect. 
 The truth and power of these principles have been in 
 innumerable instances fully tested, and a devoted spirit 
 and discreet judgment may always render them a potent 
 instrument of good. 
 
 In superintending the amusements of children, it is 
 
136 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 important to give them a taste for those which are not 
 expensive, which are easily obtained, and which are 
 calculated to draw forth ingenuity, to exercise the bodily 
 and mental powers, and to strengthen virtuous senti- 
 ment. A love for such as are expensive — as are gro- 
 velling in their essence and degrading in their tendency 
 — as have any connexion with mischief or deceit, or 
 are likely to give pain to any companion, or even to 
 any of the brute creation, ought to be carefully guarded 
 against. For this reason, you should earnestly discoun- 
 tenance, as alike displeasing to God, offensive to good 
 taste, and revolting to true sensibility, the amusement 
 so common among children, of mutilating and torturing 
 flies and other insects, and of setting dogs, cats, and 
 chicken-cocks against each other. The hardening effect 
 of this kind of sports may be learned from the history 
 of the Roman Amphitheatre, and is seen in the detest- 
 able bull-fights of modern Spain. 
 
 Games of violent competition are very likely to lead 
 to evil ; and, indeed, all competition is dangerous in a 
 greater or less degree, and calls for a vigilant attention 
 on the part of a teacher, especially where the compe- 
 tition is direct and palpable, and the temper of the child 
 is sanguine and ardent. It should be a rule in a game 
 of competition, that, as soon as a child shows any 
 unfairness or wrong temper, or plays in a way likely 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL ' 137 
 
 to excite bad temper in others, he is no longer to be 
 considered fit for such a sport, and must leave it to 
 those who have more generous integrity, gentleness, and 
 self-command. If he can himself be made sensible of 
 his weakness, and brought into a disposition voluntarily 
 to relinquish an amusement which in his case involves 
 a breach of duty, this will be far better than the exer- 
 cise of positive authority. And the object can gene- 
 rally be attained by a temperate and affectionate appeal 
 to his reason and sense of duty. In my own experi- 
 ence, I have scarcely ever made the attempt, and met 
 with a failure ; and I am not so vain as to suppose 
 myself possessed of any extraordinary skill in the 
 management of such cases. But if the child's passions 
 are too far engaged to admit of this victory of principle, 
 if his obstinacy proves an over-match for his reason, it 
 is your duty to interfere with such authoritative decision 
 as to stop the progress of mischief. 
 
 Sedentary games of chance or skill, as back-gammon, 
 drafts, or even chess, are certainly dangerous when in 
 frequent use, and perhaps as a general rule they had 
 better be altogether avoided by children. Serious 
 doubts are entertained by many excellent and judicious 
 persons whether games of chance are ever right ; and 
 it is a good practical rule that questionable ground had 
 better not be occupied at all. Chess is a great trial of 
 12* 
 
138 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL J 
 
 the temper, and frequently, perhaps more frequently 
 than otherwise, leads to more or less of angry feeling 
 in one or the other of the parties. These games are 
 objectionable, partly because they are sedentary, and 
 therefore ill-suited to an age when lively exercise is so 
 natural and so conducive to health and vigour ; partly, 
 because their very essence is competition ; but chiefly, 
 because they may give a taste for cards, and perhaps 
 for gaming. Marbles, of which children generally are 
 so much enamoured, is a play which requires much 
 watching, and occasionally the interference of the mas- 
 ter to prevent mischief. It is very common among boys 
 to play for each other's marbles, and to keep as their 
 own all they win. This is real gambling, and will 
 be very likely, if not checked, to lead to the same thing 
 on a larger scale. It should therefore be peremptorily 
 forbidden, and the prohibition rigidly enforced. This 
 can most effectually be done by making a rule that 
 there shall be no individual property in marbles in the 
 school, but that all that are brought shall be deposited 
 in a bag, to be kept by you, and used by all the scholars 
 in common ; to be, however, of course, returned to their 
 individual owners, whenever these discontinue their con- 
 nexion with the school. 
 
 We have already spoken of the abundance of simple 
 and pure pleasures which a benevolent Deity has pro- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 139 
 
 vided for the young. There are amusements whose 
 tendency is to develope the muscular energies, to invigo- 
 rate the bodily frame, to impart or to cultivate a taste 
 for natural beauties, to convey useful knowledge, to 
 implant a habit of industry, to exercise the ingenuity, — 
 in one word, to educate the physical, intellectual, and 
 moral powers of man. These are the most appropriate 
 to childhood, and at the same time the most truly de- 
 lightful. The various games of ball, skating, kites, 
 balloons, riding on horseback, excursions into the fields 
 to collect plants and minerals, historical and geographi- 
 cal games, alphabetical puzzles, pointing out the planets 
 and constellations on a clear evening, the construction 
 of mimic houses, rail-roads, and canals, the revelations 
 of the microscope and telescope, the camera obscura, 
 the illustration of some of the simpler principles of 
 natural philosophy and chemistry, small gardens, and 
 the more common tools and implements of carpentry, 
 are never-failing sources of innocent and elevating 
 amusement to young minds, which have not been 
 vitiated by gratifications of an improperly exciting and 
 therefore criminal nature. A book almost mia;ht be 
 written to show how these amusements may be turned 
 to account by a skilful parent or teacher in fostering 
 good qualities and habits, and in checking and eradi- 
 cating bad ones. But T must content myself with this 
 
140 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 
 
 bare allusion to them, excepting however a single one, 
 to which I desire to call your attention more particu- 
 larly ; I mean the cultivation of small gardens. In my 
 school at Edgehill, out of an average of forty boys, 
 there were never more than a half-dozen, and generally 
 not so many, who had not, either separately or in com- 
 pany with some of their companions, a little garden 
 which they cultivated. The amount of labour which 
 some of them bestowed on their gardens was really 
 surprising, and it was delightful to behold the lively 
 interest with which they watched the growth of their 
 little crops, and the heartfelt satisfaction which the occu- 
 pation afforded them. Their gardens were the first 
 object of attention in the morning, and the last before 
 they were called in at night ; and a considerable por- 
 tion of their play-hours were devoted to digging, plant- 
 ing, weeding, and watering. I do not say that this was 
 the case with all, but it was with some ; and I am per- 
 fectly satisfied that there never was any other amuse- 
 ment so general, so unfailing as a source of pleasure, 
 so pleasant in its influence on the school, and so health- 
 ful in its effect on the character of the scholars. 
 
 But whatever are the favourite amusements, which 
 will vary with the age, sex, and natural turn of mind, 
 moderation in them is of the highest importance. Hence 
 you ought earnestly to inculcate upon them the principle 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 141 
 
 that life and all our faculties are given to us rather for 
 business than for pleasure ; that they are talents to be 
 employed in the service of God and mankind, and must 
 not be wasted in idleness or frivolous pursuits. Amuse- 
 ment must be represented as no longer innocent, when 
 encroaching on the time which ought to be employed in 
 serious occupation, to which it must always be consi- 
 dered as subordinate. It must be represented as truly 
 sweet, such is the wise and gracious connexion which 
 God has appointed between pleasure and duty, only 
 when confined within due bounds ; and as producing 
 satiety, as engrossing the mind and alienating it from 
 God, as generating bad passions, and as leading to 
 shame and remorse, and to eternal ruin, when it occu- 
 pies the chief place in the heart. This is a point 
 wherein young people are very apt to transgress, and 
 in reference to which they need " line upon line, and 
 precept upon precept." 
 
 4. Strive to excite in your pupils a taste for private 
 reading, and guide their judgment in the choice of 
 suitable books. The present age is distinguished above 
 all others for the multiplication of juvenile books. 
 Among these there is of course a vast amount of trash, 
 but there is also much that is excellent in style, just in 
 sentiment, and fitted to improve while it entertains the 
 youthful mind. But children would be as likely to take 
 
142 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 
 
 the bad as the good, if left to choose for themselves ; 
 they need the guidance of a more experienced hand, 
 and it is seldom that they will not be willing to submit 
 their own judgment to that of a respected instructor. 
 If you could induce the parents of your scholars to 
 contribute a few dollars for the formation of a juvenile 
 district library, you would perform a service which 
 would become in its results not a greater aid to your- 
 self than benefit to the members of your school. 
 Twenty-five dollars would purchase a hundred volumes 
 or upwards, enough to form a nucleus, around which 
 there would be gathering continually fresh accumula- 
 tions ; and how many hours of childhood would be 
 thereby redeemed from idleness and therefore probably 
 from something worse, and gained to knowledge, virtue, 
 and happiness ! When once a fondness for useful read- 
 ing has been imbibed, and the habit formed, a strong 
 barrier has been reared to resist the encroachments of 
 bad passions, and an invaluable security provided for 
 whatever of good there is in the disposition and conduct. 
 One word further on the subject of common school 
 libraries for the use of masters and scholars. This is 
 a feature of common schools hitherto much neglected, 
 but it is beginning to attract the public attention and 
 regard. It is a feature essential to the perfection of a 
 system of popular education. The advantages of such 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 143 
 
 libraries, judiciously selected, are very obvious ; and 
 the wonder is that they did not long ago strike the pub- 
 lic mind with a clearness and force not to be resisted. 
 The task were not a difficult one, but this is not the 
 place for a detailed statement and proof of these advan- 
 tages. A bare enumeration of them must suffice for 
 the present. The general establishment of well-selected 
 libraries in our common schools would produce, among 
 others, the following good effects : viz. 
 
 1. It would elevate the qualification of teachers, and 
 increase the respectability of the profession. 
 
 2. It would foster a taste for profitable reading in the 
 rising race. 
 
 3. It would greatly augment the aggregate amount 
 of knowledge of the next generation. 
 
 4. It would redeem many of the hours of youth from 
 idleness, frivolity, or vice, and thus tend to the increase 
 of human virtue. 
 
 5. It would essentially aid in the government of 
 schools. 
 
 6. It would be attended with many happy effects on 
 the parents of the pupils themselves. 
 
144 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 Be reasonable in your requirements ; be firm in ex- 
 acting obedience ; be uniform in your mode of govern- 
 ing ; be impartial in your treatment of all under your 
 care. 
 
 It is scarcely an exaggeration of the importance of 
 the principles which form the topics of this section, to 
 say that an enlightened and faithful application of them 
 to the management of a school, would be of itself sufficient 
 to ensure complete success. A government, whether of 
 a nation, school, or family, founded in reason, and ad- 
 ministered with firmness, consistency, and perfect im- 
 partiality, could not fail to secure the confidence, re- 
 spect, love, and obedience of those under its authority. 
 The eloquent Dr. Mason was accustomed to say, that 
 an adherence on the part of rulers to the maxim, " Be 
 reasonable, be firm, be uniform," would well and suc- 
 cessfully govern any community. 
 
 It has already been laid down as a capital principle 
 in school-government that the multiplication of trifling 
 rules should be avoided ; and it has been intimated that 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 145 
 
 it is better to inspire sentiments of goodness which will 
 affect the entire conduct, than to enact specific precepts 
 which at best will only operate as a check to particular 
 faults. It has also been insisted on as of fundamental 
 importance that pupils should be required to submit to 
 authority as such, and not be suffered to obey or dis- 
 obey, according to their ideas of the propriety or im- 
 propriety of the laws imposed upon them. But it is at 
 the same time true that every teacher must establish 
 some general rules, and although he is not accountable 
 to his scholars for these rules, he is nevertheless ac- 
 countable for them. He is accountable to his employ- 
 ers ; he is accountable to his country ; he is accountable 
 to God. On this account, as well as because it will en- 
 sure a willing submission to his authority and a cheer- 
 ful acquiescence in his decisions, he should well con- 
 sider the nature of the requirements he makes ; and see 
 to it that they be such as he can justify on the princi- 
 ples of reason, equity, and necessity. 
 
 What are some of those things which it is reasonable 
 for an instructor to require of his pupils ? It is reason- 
 able that you should exact from all implicit obedience, 
 for without this there will be an end of all government, 
 and of course of all study and improvement. It is rea- 
 sonable that you should require punctual attendance at 
 the hour of opening school ; and if you require it, you 
 13 
 
146 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 
 
 must enforce it. Several methods may be adopted for 
 this purpose, but none will be so effectual as the entire 
 exclusion, for the day, of all who come late. It is 
 reasonable that your pupils should not only obey 
 you, but that they should treat you with respect, and 
 each other with civility and kindness. It is reasonable 
 that they be required to conduct themselves with quiet- 
 ness and order in study hours, and to attend diligently 
 to the learning of the lessons assigned them. It is in- 
 dispensable also that they be required to fulfil all the 
 great obligations of morality. It is, however, impos- 
 sible to lay down a complete system of rules, which 
 will be applicable to every school. The circumstances 
 of schools vary so much that it often happens that what 
 is necessary and reasonable in one, would be unneces- 
 sary and unreasonable in another. In general terms, 
 however, it may be said that it is always not only per- 
 fectly reasonable, but indispensably requisite, that such 
 regulations should be made and enforced as will most 
 effectually promote the objects for which the school 
 exists. And it is especially consonant to reason that 
 your rules should be such as will be favourable to the 
 gradual developement, growth, and perfection of the 
 moral characters of your pupils. While they are chil- 
 dren, they may be excused for understanding as chil- 
 dren, for thinking as children, for speaking as children ; 
 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 147 
 
 but they should be so taught and disciplined in child- 
 hood, that when they become men, they will put away 
 childish things. 
 
 It has been asserted, and, I trust, proved, that the 
 teacher is not responsible to his pupils for the laws by 
 which he governs them, and cannot, without essentially 
 weakening his authority, permit himself to be called on 
 by them for explanations of the reasons of his conduct. 
 Yet this is very different from the assertion that he may 
 not frequently and fully explain to them the reasonable- 
 ness and utility of his rules. On the contrary, I am 
 perfectly convinced, both from experience and observa- 
 tion, of the propriety and great advantage of so doing. 
 A teacher whose general management is of the right 
 stamp, may sometimes even, with the happiest effect, 
 allow his scholars to sit in judgment on his principles 
 of administration, and pronounce upon their excellence, 
 or the reverse ; but he should be very cautious never to 
 resort to this mode of strengthening his authority, un- 
 less he feels perfectly sure that their decision will 
 be right. I can best explain what I mean, by an 
 example, which I hope I shall be excused for taking 
 from my own experience. 
 
 It was (and is) a rule at Edgehill, that there should 
 be no conversation or other species of communication 
 in the dormitories. I once received a petition, signed 
 
148 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 by the whole school, praying, in very respectful terms, 
 that this restriction upon them after going to bed might 
 be taken off. The petition was accompanied with a 
 pledge that the privilege asked should not be abused, and 
 that conversation at such times should be carried on by 
 whispering. As soon as it came to hand, I mentioned 
 to the school that I had received it, and promised to 
 give it a candid consideration, adding that the question 
 to be considered was an important one, and ought not 
 to be hastily decided one way or the other. Two days 
 after this, taking advantage of an evidently pleasant 
 state of feeling in the school, I addressed them to the 
 following effect, though of course much more in detail : 
 " Boys, I will thank you to lay aside your books for 
 a few minutes, and give me your attention, for I have 
 something to say to you. I am now prepared to tell 
 you the result of the consideration I have given to your 
 petition, which was left on my desk the day before yes- 
 terday. I can appeal with confidence to yourselves to 
 say whether I have not always shown myself forward 
 to grant you every proper indulgence. I have felt a 
 strong disposition to indulge you in your present re- 
 quest, but a sense of duty, and a regard to your 
 own lasting good, compel me to a decision contrary to 
 my inclination. There were many strong reasons for 
 making this rule at first, and no circumstances have 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 149 
 
 occurred to render them less weighty now than then. 
 Probably many of you have never thought of them, and 
 only need to hear them stated to convince you that the 
 regulation in question is wise, proper, useful, and neces- 
 sary. The respectful terms in which your petition is 
 presented, and the readiness you have always shown to 
 listen to reason and to acquiesce in my decisions, induce 
 me to explain to you two or three of the reasons on 
 which this rule is founded. In the first place, the con- 
 versation of a number of boys together after going to 
 bed is apt to be of a very improper and corrupting 
 character. This I know full well, for I have been con- 
 nected with a boarding-school where it was permitted. 
 In the second place, injury is often done to the property 
 of a school by the practice of pulling the bed-clothes 
 from off each other and throwing them and the pillows 
 around the room. Next, there are almost always some 
 boys in the room, who really desire to go to sleep, but who 
 are prevented by the conversation and laughter of the 
 others ; and it is unkind and selfish to keep them awake. 
 Fourthly, no more time is allotted to sleep here than is 
 absolutely necessary to recruit your physical and men- 
 tal energies, exhausted as they are by bed-time by long 
 confinement and study. Again, a large proportion of 
 your parents, I know (because they have told me so), 
 regard this as one of the most salutary of all the regu- 
 13* 
 
150 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 Iations of the school, and would be very much sur- 
 prised and offended if they were to hear it had been 
 abolished. And finally, as to your pledge about not 
 abusing the privilege requested, I believe it is perfectly 
 sincere, but I believe also that I know you much better 
 than you know yourselves. You would not redeem it ! 
 nor would any boys under the same circumstances. 
 For these reasons I have decided that I cannot grant 
 your petition without violating my duty. But, with 
 these explanations, I would not have been afraid to 
 trust the decision to yourselves ; for, I can say with 
 truth, that my observation has led me to the belief that, 
 when the right and wrong of a question are fairly set 
 before them, children more uniformly decide in favour 
 of the right than men. It would afford me satisfaction 
 even now to know what your sentiments are since the 
 exposition I have made. To this end I will propose two 
 or three questions, which I hope you will be willing to 
 answer with frankness. Those of you who think that 
 there is force in the reasons I have assigned for this 
 rule, may declare that opinion by holding up their 
 hands. [Nearly every hand in the room went up.] 
 Those who think your parents like the regulation, and 
 would be opposed to a change, may manifest it in the 
 same way. [The same result.] Those who still desire 
 the restriction to be taken off, please to declare it. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 151 
 
 [Here and there a hand was raised.] Those who wish 
 to let reason and the acknowledged will of your parents 
 govern in this matter, may manifest it. [Here another 
 forest of hands instantly rose.] It is as I thought it 
 would be. I was confident that your decision would be 
 right. It was not because I doubted it, that I did not 
 leave the whole matter to your judgment in the first 
 place. It was from principle that I acted otherwise. 
 Questions of minor importance occasionally arise which 
 I am willing that you should decide definitively; but 
 there are others, of which the present is one, so impor- 
 tant that this cannot be allowed even in form. There 
 is but one head and one lawgiver in a school ; and that 
 is the master, whose will must be supreme, whose deci- 
 sions must be final, and whose authority never can be 
 safely surrendered even to the best of children." 
 
 It was my general practice, while principal of the 
 Edgehill School, at the commencement of each session 
 to read over the rules, and then to take them up one by 
 one, and explain minutely the reasons on which they 
 were founded. I have often appealed to the school for 
 its opinion as to the propriety of certain rules ; and I 
 cannot recall a single instance in which there was not 
 a nearly unanimous vote in my favour: it was more 
 frequently the case than otherwise, that the vote was 
 unbroken. I mention this fact, not boastingly, but as 
 
152 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 an encouragement and inducement to young teachers to 
 study to make their requirements reasonable in them- 
 selves, and such as will commend themselves to the 
 better judgment of those for whose government they 
 are framed. 
 
 But no system of government will be really efficient, 
 which is not administered with firmness. The word of 
 a teacher ought to be, like the laws of the Medes and 
 Persians, unchangeable. When you promise, you must 
 fulfil ; when you threaten, you must execute ; when 
 you command, you must be obeyed. The very first 
 lesson that your pupils learn should be, that yes means 
 yes, that no means no, and that must means must. 
 What a world of trouble and pain would the practical 
 inculcation of this lesson save both to teachers and 
 taught ! When you are drawn into a contest with a 
 pupil, either you must conquer, or one of you ought 
 forthwith to leave the school. One unsubdued spirit, 
 remaining in your little community, after it is known 
 that your power has been exhausted on him in vain, 
 will do more mischief in a day, than you can repair in 
 a month. Exterminate is, in such cases, the only 
 safe maxim for the master of a school. Rebellion or 
 the rebel must go. Lay it down then in the beginning, 
 as a principle never to be departed from, that you will 
 not retain a scholar under your care a single hour after 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 153 
 
 you are satisfied that you cannot subdue him, or that 
 to subdue him would require a degree of severity which 
 you are not willing to exercise. 
 
 Many years ago I had charge of a day-school in 
 Washington. I commenced it with the determination 
 to govern, if possible, by moral influences exclusively. 
 For several weeks every thing went on well, but it 
 became apparent at last that there was at least one boy 
 who could not be effectually controlled in this way. I 
 procured a small ratan with particular reference to him, 
 and warned him that severer measures must be resorted 
 to, unless he mended his ways. One afternoon he had 
 been very idle, and when he came to recite knew abso- 
 lutely nothing of the lesson. I told him he must stay 
 after school and learn it. He looked very sulky, but 
 said nothing. After the other boys were gone, I directed 
 him to take his Csesar and study. He folded his arms 
 and remained perfectly motionless. " William," said I 
 mildly, " do you not intend to learn this lesson ?" " No, 
 sir," he replied with a look and tone of defiance. " You 
 must do it," said I, still mildly, but with more firmness 
 of manner. Still he refused to open the book. We 
 were now fairly in for a regular battle, and there was 
 but one course. " William," I said very deliberately, 
 " there is but one master in this school, and you will 
 find it so. Your conduct has for some time been very 
 
154 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL J 
 
 improper, and I have been looking forward to a defini- 
 tive settlement with you. The time has now come. 
 You must either learn this lesson in Csesar, or you must 
 be flogged. Will you learn it?"— "No, sir." — I then 
 whipped him severely, and repeated the question, but 
 with the same result. The ratan was applied a second I 
 time with greater severity than before ; but still without 
 effect. Hitherto the flogging had been received without 
 flinching. A third and yet more forcible application, . 
 after the removal of the culprit's coat, brought a copi- 
 ous gush of tears, but was otherwise equally ineffectual. . 
 His countenance was like a thundercloud, his spirit like 
 adamant. I then said to him, " William, I am afraid i 
 to whip you any more. Your person must be already 
 in many places marked by the stripes you have received. . 
 I am shocked and grieved at your obstinacy, more on i 
 your account than mine. Unless you subdue that rebel- 
 lious spirit of yours, it will be your bane through life, 
 and render you a pest in society. I shall make no fur- 
 ther attempt to conquer you, but I will have no boy in 
 the school, who refuses to obey. You may therefore 
 consider yourself as no longer a member of the school, 
 and you can never be received back again but on one 
 condition, viz. that you bring a written confession and 
 apology for your fault, with a promise that you will 
 submit to all the rules of the school, and obey implicitly 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 155 
 
 every command." I addressed a note to his father, 
 giving a detailed history of the proceeding, with the 
 terms on which alone his son could be again admitted 
 into the school. The next morning, almost immediately 
 after the opening of the school, the father and son 
 entered together. The former was much affected, and 
 could scarcely give utterance to his feelings in the fol- 
 lowing words : — " Mr. Wines, I have brought you, as I 
 hope, a penitent boy. My son delivered the note you 
 sent by him, and I was equally mortified and pained at 
 his unconquerable obstinacy. But he has reflected on 
 his conduct, and sees its impropriety. He has, un- 
 prompted by me, written the confession and promise 
 you could not do less than require. Had he not done 
 so, I should have whipped him myself more severely 
 than you did. William, read what you have written." 
 The confession was couched in the most submissive 
 terms, and read in a subdued and tremulous tone. 
 After this, the father made an impressive address to the 
 whole school, in which he commented on the conduct 
 of the teacher in terms which it would not become me 
 to repeat. That scene governed the school for weeks ; 
 and its effect was never wholly obliterated. For many 
 days after it occurred, the school-room was like a 
 church for quietness and order. 
 
 One of the oldest girls in a large common-school 
 
156 HOW SHALL I GOVERiV MY SCHOOL? 
 
 once made a rag baby in school, which was the occa- 
 sion of much laughter and disorder. The teacher dis- 
 covered the cause of the commotion, and called the 
 offender to account for it. He spoke to her affection- 
 ately concerning the impropriety of her conduct and 
 the bad example she was setting before the younger 
 scholars. He told her, however, that, in this instance, 
 he would not punish her any more than he had already 
 done by the public reproof she had received, provided ! 
 she would promise never again to repeat the offence. . 
 She behaved with great pertness, and positively refused I 
 to promise. The master, therefore, was forced to chas- • 
 tise her. He called her out and inflicted twelve blows 
 on her hand with a thick cherry rule. She persisted in j 
 her refusal. Twelve more were added, and the question 
 was repeated whether she would promise not to make 
 rag babies in school. Still her answer was in the nega- 
 tive. Thus far she had not flinched or shed a tear. 
 But before the end of the third dozen had been reached, 
 she began to cry. She was asked again whether she 
 would make any more rag babies. She replied, " No, 
 not in this school." " That is all I ask," said the 
 teacher ; " if you spend your whole time in that occu- 
 pation at home, I can have nothing to say. If you 
 were to ask my advice, indeed, I would recommend you 
 not to do it, but I should not think of laying any com- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 157 
 
 . mand upon you." The young lady kept her word to 
 ■ the letter. When school was dismissed at night, she 
 ! gathered up all her books, and never again made her 
 appearance there during the winter. But the effect of 
 i the master's decision and firmness was very salutary 
 upon the rest of the school. I cannot pass these two 
 little histories without calling attention to the remark- 
 able difference in the conduct of the parents of these 
 two children. How much more truly wise and parental 
 was that of the former ! 
 
 The following anecdote, which forcibly illustrates the 
 necessity and advantages of firmness in parents and 
 teachers, is related by Mr. Abbott, in his " Mother at 
 Home." — " A gentleman, a few years since, sitting by 
 his fireside one evening, with his family around him, 
 took the spelling-book, and called upon one of his little 
 sons to come and read. John was about four years old. 
 He knew all the letters of the alphabet perfectly, but 
 happened at that moment to be rather in a sullen hu- 
 mour, and was not at all disposed to gratify his father. 
 Very reluctantly he came as he was bid ; but when his 
 father pointed to the first letter of the alphabet, and 
 said, 'What letter is that, John?' he could get no an- 
 swer. John looked upon the book, sulky and silent. 
 * My son,' said the father pleasantly, 'you know the 
 letter A.' ' I cannot say A,' said John. ' You must,' 
 14 
 
158 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 said the father, in a serious and decided tone ; ' what 
 letter is that V John refused to answer. The contest 
 was now fairly commenced. John was wilful, and 
 determined that he would not read. The father knew 
 that it would be ruinous to his son to allow him to con- 
 quer ; he felt that he must at all hazards subdue him. 
 He took him into another room and punished him. He 
 then returned, and again showed John the letter ; but 
 John still refused to name it. The father again retired 
 with his son, and punished him more severely. But it 
 was unavailing. The stubborn child still refused to 
 name the letter ; and when told it was A, declared that 
 he could not say it. Again the father inflicted punish- 
 ment as severely as he dared to do it, and still the child, 
 with his whole frame in agitation, refused to yield. 
 The father was suffering the most intense solicitude. 
 He regretted exceedingly that he had been drawn into 
 the contest. Fie had already punished his child with a 
 severity which he feared to exceed ; and yet the wilful 
 sufferer stood before him sobbing and trembling, but 
 apparently as unyielding as a rock. I have often heard 
 that parent mention the acuteness of his feelings at that 
 moment ; his heart was bleeding at the pain he was 
 compelled to inflict upon his son. He knew that the 
 question was now to be settled, who should be master ; 
 and after his son had withstood so long and so much, 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MV SCHOOL? 159 
 
 he greatly feared the result. The mother sat by, suf- 
 fering of course most acutely, but perfectly satisfied 
 that it was their duty to subdue the child, and that, in 
 such a trying hour, a mother's feelings must not inter- 
 fere. With a heavy heart the father again took the 
 hand of his son, to lead him out of the room for further 
 punishment ; but, to his inconceivable joy, the child 
 shrunk from enduring any more smTering, and cried, 
 < Father, I'll tell the letter.' The father, with feelings 
 not easily conceived, took the book and pointed to the 
 letter. ' A,' said John, distinctly and fully. ' And 
 what is that ?' said the father, pointing to the next letter. 
 
 * B,' said John. * And what is that V ' C,' he conti- 
 nued. ' And what is that V pointing again to the first 
 letter. ' A,' said the now humbled child. ' Now carry 
 the book to your mother, and tell her what the letter is.' 
 
 * What letter is that, my son V said his mother. ' A,' 
 said John. He was evidently perfectly subdued. The 
 rest of the children were sitting by, and they saw the 
 contest, and they saw where the victory was ; and 
 John learned a lesson which he never forgot. He 
 learned never again to wage such an unequal warfare ; 
 he learned that it was the safest and happiest course for 
 him to obey." 
 
 On this passage, Mr. Dick remarks : — " The conduct 
 of the parent in this case, so far from being branded as 
 
160 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 harshness or cruelty, was the dictate of mercy and love. 
 Had the son been permitted to obtain the mastery, it 
 might not only have proved his ruin through life, but 
 have introduced a spirit of insubordination among the 
 other branches of the family. The only fault which, 
 perhaps, may be attributed to the father, in this case, 
 was his insisting on his son pointing out the letters 
 when he happened to be in a * sullen humour.' But, 
 after the contest was commenced, it was indispensable 
 to the happiness and order of the family, that victory 
 should be obtained on the part of the parent." The 
 same principle is equally true of schools and their 
 instructors. 
 
 The contest of President Wayland with his little son, 
 in which, if I remember right, he was two days in sub- 
 duing him, was much talked of at the time ; and while 
 the many, with hasty thoughtlessness, blamed his firm- 
 ness as wanton tyranny, the more sagacious few, with 
 a deeper insight into the true relations of things, ap- 
 plauded it as the dictate alike of wisdom and benevo- 
 lence. 
 
 You will be far from finding it an equally easy task 
 to make all the spirits in your school submissive and 
 obedient. Some are constitutionally gentle, pliant, and 
 tractable ; others are proud, self-willed, and obstinate. 
 " But even in the worst supposable cases, it is quite 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 161 
 
 practicable, by firmness and prudent management, to 
 bring the most stubborn under subjection ;" or, if you 
 do occasionally meet with an individual, on whom you 
 are unwilling to employ the full measure of severity 
 necessary to his complete subjugation to your authority, 
 let him be forthwith dismissed. You cannot neutralize 
 the mischievous influence of an unsubdued and indo- 
 mitable spirit. Cast him out, therefore, as you value 
 the peace of your school, as you would promote the best 
 interests of your pupils, and as you desire in your little 
 dominion to see law and order prevail over rebellion 
 and anarchy. 
 
 Uniformity is as necessary as firmness to the full 
 success of your government. By this I mean such an 
 evenness of temper and such a steadiness of principle 
 in your administration as will lead you always to do 
 the same or equivalent things under like circumstances. 
 Some teachers will punish severely to-day what but yes- 
 terday was either entirely overlooked or only faintly 
 censured. I am aware that this want of steadiness has 
 many palliatives. No other profession is subject to 
 such ebbs and flows of nervous excitability, because in 
 none other are the minds of its members in such close 
 and constant contact with other minds ; and that too in 
 the delicate relation of ruler and ruled. One day the 
 best possible spirit will prevail among your pupils, and 
 14* 
 
162 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 the school will be like the unruffled surface of a lake, 
 when not a breath of air is in motion. Another day, 
 every thing will seem to be awry ; the scholars and 
 weather out of joint, and irritability and insubordination 
 a perfect epidemic* At one time, you will have a vio- 
 lent headache or toothache, or be afflicted with a gene- 
 ral languor and prostration of both body and mind ; at 
 another, you will be in the possession and enjoyment 
 of exuberant health and vigour. It is inevitable that 
 your spirits will be affected by these changes ; and 
 what is more natural than that your conduct should be 
 so too ? Yet your pupils will not enter into the philoso- 
 phy of these things. They look only at the outward 
 manifestation ; and any deviation from a straight course, 
 the least turning aside to the right hand or to the left, 
 however natural under the circumstances, will be sure 
 to lessen their respect for you, and in the same degree 
 to weaken your authority over them. This is a hard 
 rule, I admit ; but you must strive to adhere to it and 
 practise it to the utmost possible extent. If the day 
 happens to be gloomy, and your spirits droop in conse- 
 
 * I remember, while at Edgehill, a storm in May, during which 
 the sun was not seen more than once or twice for three weeks. 
 The state of feeling in the school became really frightful. The 
 boys could scarce speak peaceably to each other. It required the 
 exercise of all our skill and forbearance to preserve any tolerable 
 order. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 163 
 
 quence ; if you have a headache, and hence lack your 
 customary patience ; if, from any cause, the temper of 
 the school is soured and irritable, and you are therefore 
 yourself more peevish than your wont, do not let your 
 own bad feelings find vent in severity, and above all in 
 injustice, to your pupils. Whatever difference there 
 may be at different times either in your own feelings or 
 those of your pupils, (and this will often be very great,) 
 the importance of maintaining uniformly the same 
 principles of government, and of making your prac- 
 tice conform to those principles with the same uni- 
 formity, is perfectly obvious. " If strict in discipline 
 to-day, and lax to-morrow ; if you punish an offence at 
 one time, which you have disregarded at another ; or 
 if you suffer an irregularity to pass unnoticed now, and 
 censure it to-morrow, how can your scholars have con- 
 fidence in your judgment? How can you convince 
 them that your motives are correct ? They are very 
 quick to observe any irregularity in your mode of 
 teaching them, or in your general system of govern- 
 ment. I hope, therefore, this direction will receive 
 careful attention from all who are entrusted with the 
 management of schools. Let no one suffer himself to 
 be deceived, by thinking that irregularity will pass 
 without exerting an unhappy influence."* 
 
 * S. R, HalL 
 
164 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 Treat your pupils impartially, is a direction of the 
 utmost importance to successful school-government. I 
 do not lay it down without being sensible of the very- 
 great difficulty of applying in practice the principle 
 which it embodies. In the first place, it is impossible 
 that you should entertain the same feelings towards all 
 your scholars. Nor are you called upon to do so. To 
 maintain such a position would be a presumptuous 
 arraignment of the Divine conduct and administration. 
 For, while God so loved a world lying in wickedness, 
 and a wicked world, that he gave his only begotten Son 
 that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but 
 have everlasting life, he honours, with his parental com- 
 placency and with peculiar tokens of his love, the poor 
 in spirit, the pure in heart, the merciful in conduct, the 
 lovers of peace, the mourners for sin, the souls that 
 hunger and thirst after righteousness. But " the proud 
 he knoweth afar off;" and the workers of iniquity, as 
 well as the works that they do, are an abomination in 
 his sight. You will probably have children of all sorts 
 in your school ; some very good, some very bad, and 
 others whose characters are severally marked by all the 
 intermediate shades of moral excellence and worthless- 
 ness. It is in the nature of things that you should love 
 them in proportion to their goodness. You are not 
 only excusable for this, but bound to do it. Yet this 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MV SCHOOL? 165 
 
 (difference, as proper as it is unavoidable, in your cus- 
 tomary sentiments towards them, will render it ex- 
 tremely difficult to treat with the same just severity the 
 occasional lapses of the good as the rooted and conti- 
 nual transgressions of the bad. Nevertheless, impar- 
 tiality requires that you should do so ; and, though the 
 lesson is hard to be learned, it can be learned, ought to 
 be learned, and must be learned, if you would convince 
 your pupils of your fidelity and regard to principle, if 
 you would stop the mouths of complainers, if, in short, 
 you would acquire and maintain a complete ascendency 
 over your school. 
 
 But the influence here pointed out is far from being 
 the only one that you are exposed to, which will be cal- 
 culated to warp your conduct in the particular under 
 consideration. Others, less worthy in themselves and 
 worse in their effects, are abundant both on the right 
 hand and on the left. At least we may conclude so, 
 if we judge from results which we see actually occur- 
 ring, and many of us perhaps if our inference is derived 
 from personal experience. You will see some teachers 
 punish severely faults when committed by the younger 
 scholars, which in the older ones are passed by without 
 punishment or censure ; you will meet with others who 
 make a like distinction in their treatment of the girls 
 
166 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 and the boys. The children of the rich and the influ- 
 ential often have their offences visited with chastise- 
 ments, differing widely, either in kind or degree, from 
 those which are inflicted on the offspring of the indigent 
 and the powerless. It requires in fact no small degree 
 of courage and self-command always to treat in the 
 same way, or at least in conformity with the same prin- 
 ciples, the faults of the young man of twenty and the 
 child of six ; of the son of the nabob and oracle of the 
 neighbourhood, and the child of poverty and obscurity ; 
 of the lovely girl, whose temper is gentleness itself, 
 and the ordinary current of whose actions is like the 
 calm unruffled sea, and the hardened boy, whose pas- 
 sions, wayward and stubborn by nature, have been fed 
 by indulgence, till they have made him their slave and 
 plaything. Still, it is your duty to be impartial, and 
 impartiality requires this at your hands. You cannot 
 make an habitual difference, without occasioning com- 
 plaints and giving just ground for them, without weak- 
 ening your influence and so far destroying your power 
 to be useful, without hardening the bad in their trans- 
 gressions, not to mention other evil effects which must 
 result from a biassed and partial administration of jus- 
 tice. You will certainly find your account in culti- 
 vating the spirit and pursuing the course here recom- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 167 
 
 mended ; and not only that, but you will, in your feeble 
 measure and degree, imitate that Divine Being, who, 
 while he " maketh his sun to shine on the evil and on 
 the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the 
 unjust," will as infallibly punish sin unrepented of in 
 the most virtuous as the most vicious of mankind. 
 
168 HOW SHALL I GOVERX MY SCHOOL 
 
 SECTION XL 
 
 Take an early opportunity, after becoming ac- 
 quainted with your pupils, of conversing with each 
 privately ; make their dispositions and habits your 
 constant study ; and, as far as may be, adapt your 
 management of each to his individual peculiarities. 
 
 The utility of the practice recommended in the first 
 part of this direction I have fully tested in my own 
 experience. It was a practice long pursued by me in 
 the management of the Edgehill school ; and I can bear 
 decided testimony to the excellent fruits which it pro- 
 duces. If you approach a child aright in one of your 
 earliest interviews, you will almost invariably be able 
 to draw forth his whole soul. By a friendly air and 
 manner, by showing yourself interested in his conversa- 
 tion, by approaching gradually and almost impercepti- 
 bly the subject of his personal habits, and by a delicate 
 and skilful course of interrogation, you will scarcely 
 ever fail to gain more knowledge of his previous moral 
 habits and character than by months of subsequent ob- 
 servation without this previous inquiry. The advantage 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 169 
 
 of this preliminary knowledge is manifest. It will en- 
 able you to lay your plans for the improvement of your 
 pupil more intelligently, because with a better under- 
 standing of his circumstances and wants. 
 
 I will illustrate my meaning by an example. The 
 following is substantially what has passed time and 
 again, in my own experience, at such interviews as 
 those to which I allude. Having finished my examina- 
 tion into the boy's previous mental habits and attain- 
 ments, I was accustomed, after some conversation of a 
 more general nature, to say to him, — " Well, my son, 
 I have now satisfied myself as to your progress in the 
 different branches of an intellectual education. I know 
 pretty well what your attainments are, and shall be 
 able, in each of your studies, to fix you in the proper 
 class. But there is one important part of my duty 
 which remains to be performed. You have a mind 
 which is to be cultivated and stored with knowledge. 
 You have a body which is to grow up, and, by active 
 exercise, by eating and drinking, and by proper care in 
 other respects, to be invigorated and kept healthy. You 
 have also a heart, which is the seat and source of all 
 that is good or bad in moral character. If you would 
 gain knowledge, you must study ; if you would become 
 strong, you must take exercise ; in like manner, if you 
 desire to have a good character, you must, as it is beau- 
 15 
 
170 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 tifully expressed in Scripture, ' keep your heart with 
 all diligence.' Now if I were to satisfy myself with 
 using means to preserve your bodily health and vigour 
 and to make you a good scholar, I should not have per- 
 formed half my duty. I am bound, as the principal of 
 this school, not only to provide for your bodily and 
 mental wants, but to watch over your morals, and to 
 use my best endeavours to root out your faults, and 
 foster your virtues. But I cannot succeed in this with- 
 out your hearty co-operation. If you ever establish a 
 good character and become eminent for moral worth, it 
 will and must be chiefly through your own exertions. 
 As a friend and counsellor, I may afford you important 
 aid in this work, but I cannot do it for you. Do you 
 desire to become a good man ? [The answer to this 
 question has always been, ' Yes.'] Would you like me 
 to help you in becoming good 1 [The same answer as 
 before.] But I cannot help you, unless you are per- 
 fectly frank and candid with me. You must look upon 
 me as your friend, for I am really such, and lay open 
 your heart to me. In order that 1 may begin aright, it 
 is important that I know something about your former 
 habits and present character. What was the last school 
 you went to 1 [Mr. A's.] How many pupils attended 
 it? [40, 50, 60, &c, as the case might be.] Among 
 so many, you must have had all sorts of boys. There 
 were probably some very bad ? [Yes, sir.]' r 
 
171 
 
 By pursuing this train of interrogatories, by mixing 
 up irrelevant questions with the others, and by occa- 
 sionally introducing those of a personal nature, I never 
 failed to draw forth all the information I desired re- 
 specting the general moral character of* the school 
 where he had been, and to gain much and most impor- 
 tant knowledge of his own habits of feeling and act- 
 ing. I must here make a single remark, to guard 
 against a misinterpretation of my motives and object in 
 instituting such inquiries. It was with no desire to pry 
 into the management of other teachers, nor did I ever 
 ask a question which could in the least degree implicate 
 them. My inquiries were confined to the pupils, and 
 to such times as they were by themselves, and such 
 actions as their instructors were not directly responsible 
 for. The course above described was taken, because it 
 was found to be the best for gaining that specific know- 
 ledge of the character of the new pupil, which was the 
 object of my desire, and which was almost always 
 found to be of the greatest advantage in my subsequent 
 intercourse with him. 
 
 From conversations of this kind in the early period 
 of your acquaintance with your scholars, you will de- 
 rive, as already intimated, much valuable knowledge 
 of their character and conduct. But you must not rest 
 satisfied here, nor fall into the error of supposing that 
 
172 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 your duty is ended with this opening effort. The dispo- 
 sition, the temper, the leading propensities, the moral 
 principles and habits, of each of your pupils ought to 
 be made by you an object of constant observation and 
 study. The knowledge thus derived is essential to your 
 being able to adapt your management of all to their 
 respective characters and wants; and without such 
 adaptation their progress in moral excellence will be 
 materially impeded, if not actually at a stand. All 
 other measures, employed independently of this, can 
 result only in partial success, because you will often 
 have to choose them comparatively in the dark. 
 
 In order to prosecute successfully the study of char- 
 acter here recommended, which will be as interesting 
 as it is useful, you must win the affections of your 
 pupils ; you must spend as much time with them as 
 possible ; you must converse frequently and familiarly 
 with them ; you must encourage them to be free before 
 you. If, on the other hand, you stand aloof from them ; 
 if your intercourse is limited to the school-room and to 
 study-hours ; if you seldom say a word to them except 
 in your official capacity, they cannot fail to have a 
 feeling of constraint and uneasiness in your presence, 
 which will be an effectual bar to your ever obtaining a 
 deep insight into their characters. Thus many evils 
 will either be entirely unnoticed by you, or you will be 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 173 
 
 liable to adopt very erroneous methods of correcting 
 them ; and many a germ of goodness will wither and 
 die, or have but a stunted growth, because, being unob- 
 served, it lacks that fostering care which is essential to 
 its healthy and vigorous developement. 
 
 Your plans of government should be formed and 
 carried forward not solely with a view to present and 
 temporary effects, but with reference to the permanent 
 benefit of your scholars. They should be adjusted and 
 administered so as to promote the great ends of educa- 
 tion. And what is education, properly considered and 
 understood, but " co-operating with the Divine Spirit in 
 forming the mind and changing the heart of an immor- 
 tal being, whose nature is extremely complex, by no 
 'means easily understood, and differing greatly in differ- 
 ent individuals ; in all, however, weak and corrupt, and 
 averse to the change to be wrought in it." Is it pos- 
 sible to doubt that what is recommended above must be 
 necessary in this work ? Can too great pains be taken 
 where so much is at stake ? Can success be rationally 
 expected, unless great pains are taken, and your labours 
 are enlightened and judicious? And can you flatter 
 yourself that you take due pains, or that your labours 
 will have a proper direction, if you give as little time 
 as possible to your arduous task, and do not employ 
 proper means for becoming acquainted with the char- 
 15* 
 
174 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 acter of your pupils ? If so, you have the first princi- 
 ples of duty in your profession yet to learn. 
 
 You will be astonished at the revelations which an 
 intelligent study of character in your school will unfold. 
 There will be almost as great a variety of tempers and 
 dispositions as there are individual scholars. And what- 
 ever substratum of truth there may be in the homely 
 old proverb, that " sauce for the goose is sauce for the 
 gander," it certainly does not hold good of the manage- 
 ment of children. A punishment that will be keenly 
 felt by James, will be a subject of merriment to 
 John ; a motive, all-powerful with Susan, will be no 
 more than a rope of sand to Mary ; an appeal that un- 
 seals the fountain of tears in one, on another will fall 
 like " moonlight cold on the cold snow." I have at this 
 moment in vivid remembrance two cases strongly illus- 
 trative of this point. One is of a boy of ardent tem- 
 perament, who often subjected himself to discipline by 
 his misconduct. He was passionate, wayward, and 
 thoughtless in the extreme ; but a mere allusion to the 
 love of his father and mother, and his duty to them, 
 would at any time cause the tear to glisten in his eye. 
 The other is of a lad much cooler in temperament, 
 generally correct in his behaviour, and amiable in dis- 
 position ; but of a metaphysical turn of mind, always 
 ready with an answer, and able to split a hair with 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 175 
 
 many persons of more than twice his years. He had 
 upon a certain occasion been guilty of some gross mis- 
 demeanour. In expostulating with him on his conduct, 
 I made as touching an appeal to his filial feelings as I 
 was capable of doing, and concluded by asking him 
 whether he did not think that, if his parents knew what 
 he had done, it would fill their hearts with sorrow? 
 " Why," he replied, with as much coolness and com- 
 posure as ever Newton or La Place sat down to a 
 mathematical demonstration, " if I should die, I don't 
 think they would care much about it." All that I had 
 said had produced no more visible effect than if I had 
 been speaking to the Rock of Gibraltar. Yet that boy 
 was not destitute of filial feelings, and he knew full 
 well that he was doing his parents injustice ; but he 
 knew also that he wanted something to ward off the 
 force of my appeal, and, like a man driven to despera- 
 tion, he seized the first weapon that lay in his path. 
 
 Now should all dispositions receive the same treat- 
 ment ? Must every modification of character undergo 
 the same penal processes as every other? Reason 
 certainly answers, No, — and yet to vary one's manage- 
 ment to any considerable extent is a work both difficult 
 and delicate. With all the caution of which you may 
 be master, with all the tact you can employ, you will 
 sometimes lay yourself open to the charge of partiality ; 
 
176 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 a charge which should, if possible, be avoided, but at 
 all hazards not deserved. Yet, without being really 
 partial in any instance, prudence will enable you to 
 employ various methods for strengthening good princi- 
 ples and eradicating bad ones, according to the variety 
 of tempers with which you have to deal. Especially 
 may you resort to this diversity of treatment in your 
 private conversations, and in all those efforts and mea- 
 sures which are concealed from the general knowledge 
 of the school. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 177 
 
 SECTION XII. 
 
 Court openness, candour, and confidence from your 
 pupils ; accustoin them to regard their faults as dis- 
 eases, and you as their moral physician, capable of 
 giving them wholesome advice, and pointing out appro- 
 priate remedies. 
 
 This direction, especially the former part of it, is 
 little more than an amplification of the preceding one. 
 A faithful and enlightened application of the principles 
 it recommends, presupposes and requires a clear insight 
 into the characters of your pupils, and a choice of 
 means for their improvement founded on this know- 
 ledge, and adapted to all the varieties of temper and 
 circumstances. 
 
 Few faults are more common among children, and 
 especially children at school, than deceit.* It is not 
 difficult to understand the cause of this. They are as 
 yet unskilled in the philosophy of remote consequences. 
 The pain of immediate punishment, consequent upon 
 
 * Perhaps the same remark would hold true of older persons- 
 
178 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 the disclosure or discovery of their faults, is what they 
 dread, and shrink from, and avoid, by every means 
 within the compass of their ingenuity ; whereas the 
 distant prospect of evil, with whatever of terror you 
 may seek to invest it, has little or no power over their 
 hearts. The operation of this principle is not confined 
 to the years of childhood. It is recognized in the Holy 
 Scriptures as of disastrous effect in its influence on men. 
 "Because judgment against an evil work is not exe- 
 cuted speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men 
 is fully set in them to do evil." 
 
 In proportion to the prevalence of deceit in a school, 
 in all its forms of lying, concealment, prevarication, 
 double-dealing, and hypocrisy, is the malign influence 
 which it exerts. It is not that this is intrinsically the 
 worst vice to which a child can be addicted. Other sins 
 are in themselves perhaps equally if not more displeas- 
 ing in the sight of God. But this taints the entire soul, 
 pervades the whole character, and sets itself in deadly 
 opposition to all the measures that may be employed 
 for correcting any and every moral defect in the juvenile 
 mind. By concealment where it is possible, by bare- 
 faced lying when it is known that there is no way of 
 finding out the truth, by prevarication when that will 
 answer the purpose, by an artfully contrived tale woven 
 out of such a mixture of truth and falsehood as effectu- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 179 
 
 ally to mislead a parent or teacher, by feigned repent- 
 ance and hollow promises" where the whole enormity of 
 the offence has been revealed, by putting on the appear- 
 ance of virtues diametrically opposite to the faults of 
 which it is conscious, by all the Protean shapes of hy- 
 pocrisy and guile which it is capable of assuming, does 
 this detestable, demoralizing, corroding vice seek to 
 blind the eyes of the guardians and educators of youth, 
 to defeat their benevolent aims, to screen the whole 
 catalogue of juvenile errors and crimes from punish- 
 ment, and thus to prevent that amendment of heart and 
 life which it is one of the great objects of education to 
 effect. " While other vices predominate in the soul, 
 there are often recurrences of deep remorse, and of very 
 considerable efforts to conquer them ; but deceit usually 
 stifles mental pangs, lulls the soul into a fatal apathy, 
 and employs all those energies in riveting its chains, 
 which ought to be exerted for its deliverance. Other 
 vices are, generally, neither present at all times, nor 
 regular in their return ; but deceit is always at work, 
 and scarcely allows of an interval, in which the soul is 
 so far relieved from its immediate influence as to be in 
 a state to recover from its thraldom. No wonder, then, 
 that this vice should possess an awful pre-eminence in 
 vitiating the character and hardening the heart." The 
 loss of an ingenuous simplicity of soul, and the conse- 
 
 
180 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 quent want of candour and plain dealing in a child, con- 
 stitute a perverseness of character, more difficult to 
 rectify than almost any other that can be named. 
 Hence the agony which parents often endure, and the 
 bitter tears they shed, when the reluctant conviction is 
 forced upon their minds that this perverseness exists in 
 their own beloved child. Hence too the bold and 
 pointed language in which the sin of deceit is con- 
 demned by our Saviour. It is placed by him in the 
 fore-front of those offences, so rank that they smelt to 
 heaven, with which he charged the religious leaders of 
 the Jews. "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, 
 hypocrites ! " is a denunciation, which, more fre- 
 quently, and with a more terrible energy, than any 
 other, he thundered into the ears of those " whited 
 sepulchres." 
 
 How important, then, is it, not only to the formation 
 of good characters in your scholars, but also to the 
 easy and successful government of your school, that 
 this mildew of the heart should be removed and de- 
 stroyed ! With what diligence, with what perseverance, 
 with what earnest seeking for divine guidance and aid, 
 ought you to strive to check every tendency to deceit- 
 fulness, to encourage truth, ingenuousness, and simpli- 
 city of character, and to render those young immortals, 
 of whose mind and heart Providence has made you the 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 181 
 
 guardians, worthy of the beautiful eulogium pronounced 
 by our Saviour on Nathaniel, — " Behold an Israelite 
 indeed, in whom is no guile !" Do you ask how this 
 result can be secured ? I know of no infallible means, 
 but such as are beyond human control; but various 
 measures may be employed, whose tendency lies 
 strongly in that direction. 
 
 Personal example, in this as in every thing that con- 
 cerns the moral education and government of the young, 
 whether in schools or families, will be of an excellent 
 influence. Study, then, to make your own conduct in 
 this respect a model for that of your scholars. Let 
 your course be always straightforward ; never attempt 
 to reach your ends through false pretences or concealed 
 sinuosities ; be careful not to affect dispositions which 
 you do not feel, and never to violate truth and sincerity 
 in your intercourse with your pupils, nor with others in 
 the presence of your pupils ; and let your whole char- 
 acter and conduct, as they appear to the school, and 
 indeed every where else, be marked by integrity of pur- 
 pose, ingenuousness of disposition, and openness of 
 demeanour. When your word is once passed, let nothing- 
 prevent you from keeping it, unless it would be morally 
 wrong to adhere to it, even though you may have been 
 hasty in your expressions, and afterwards regret what 
 you have said. But when, from ignorance of the true 
 16 
 
182 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 circumstances of a case, from an improper indulgence 
 of passion, or from any other cause, you may have 
 been betrayed into injustice or a marked error in judg- 
 ment, do not hesitate to confess and repair your wrong 
 before the whole school. Such candour in a teacher, 
 far from degrading, will raise him in the estimation of 
 his scholars. It will show them that the ingenuousness 
 which he inculcates upon them is not a mere sound 
 upon his lips, but a living and operative principle in his 
 own bosom ; and the spirit which dictates such a course, 
 pervading his whole conduct, will tend more powerfully 
 to promote the growth of this virtue in their hearts, 
 than any soundness of doctrine, any ability in teaching, 
 any earnestness of persuasion, that could be employed. 
 It is true that if such confessions are often necessary, 
 it will destroy, and ought to destroy, the confidence of 
 the school in the master's judgment or self-control ; 
 but the best are liable to occasional errors, and it is the 
 wisest course, because the most consonant to truth, to 
 set up no claim to infallibility. No teacher will in the 
 end find the respect of his scholars for him, or his 
 influence over them, increased by practically acting 
 upon the absurd and ridiculous, as well as false, maxim, 
 that " the King can do no wrong." 
 
 " Children," says an excellent writer on practical 
 education, " ought to be armed against temptations to 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 183 
 
 deceit, by being forewarned on what occasions they 
 will present themselves, and instructed by what means 
 they are to be resisted. They should also be strongly 
 reminded, when such occasions actually occur, of the 
 existing danger ; and such a course should be pursued 
 by the teacher as to facilitate their escape. Thus, when 
 a fault has been committed or a little difference with a 
 playfellow has occurred, and an explanation is required 
 by the teacher, great care should be taken to remind 
 the child of the duty of truth and ingenuousness, and 
 to check that eagerness and haste in the relation of cir- 
 cumstances, which will be likely to lead him to give a 
 false colour to them. [If the culprit is unduly excited, 
 if his feelings are evidently beyond his control, you 
 should pause in your inquiries, till his passions are a 
 little cooled, assigning as a reason that he is obviously 
 not in a condition to give you a dispassionate statement 
 of the facts of the case, and therefore, without any 
 intention of doing so, very liable to mislead you by 
 unfair representations.] The danger of his palliating 
 some things, and exaggerating others, should be pointed 
 out ; and while he is kindly warned how grievously his 
 fault (if he should have committed one) would be aggra- 
 vated by such conduct, the loveliness of truth and can- 
 dour in the eyes both of God and man, and especially 
 under trying circumstances, should be set before him, 
 
184 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 
 
 and he should receive every proper encouragement to 
 adhere to them. When he has done his duty in this 
 respect, whatever may have been amiss in his preceding 
 conduct should be noticed in as lenient a manner as is 
 compatible with a full maintenance of the distinction 
 between right and wrong, and a due sense of the im- 
 portance of the particular case. He should be made 
 to feel how tenderly he is treated on account of his 
 candour, and how very different his treatment would 
 have been, had he acted otherwise. But, above all, he 
 should be made sensible of the terrible load of Divine 
 wrath which must press upon every child who endea- 
 vours to hide or excuse a fault by lies, prevarication, or 
 concealment ; of the impossibility of pardon without 
 repentance ; and of the impossibility of cordial repent- 
 ance, when the mouth will not " make confession." 
 There should be described in mild and sober, but warm 
 colours, the infinite blessing of an approving conscience, 
 and of that sweet peace which arises from a sense of 
 sin forgiven, and of Divine favour restored, contrasted 
 with the corroding sense of unpardoned guilt, and of 
 being subject to the frown of an offended God. When 
 a lie has been detected, it should be treated as one of 
 the greatest crimes, and every endeavour should be used 
 to fix its guilt on the conscience, and lead the culprit to 
 deep and genuine repentance. The conduct which 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 185 
 
 ought to have been pursued by the child should be par- 
 ticularized, and its beauty and happy consequences 
 dwelt upon and contrasted with the deformity of the 
 fault which he has committed, and the guilt, remorse, 
 pain, and Divine displeasure which he has incurred." 
 
 The happy fruits of " patient continuance" in such a 
 course as this, have been tasted in many families and 
 schools. And most delightful they are in the present 
 peace and happiness they afford, in the sense of con- 
 scious innocence and dignity with which they fill the 
 youthful bosom, and in the anticipations of a progressive 
 growth in moral excellence for which they afford a rea- 
 sonable foundation. You cannot, then, with too much 
 assiduity cultivate this spirit, nor with too steady a per- 
 severance adhere to the course which it dictates. 
 
 It is an important rule, in cultivating the virtues we 
 are considering, that you should yourself manifest con- 
 fidence as far as you possibly can in your pupils ; some- 
 times, even beyond what you really feel. " As in water 
 face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man." 
 " Si vis me flere, dolendum est primum ipsi tibi,"* 
 
 expresses a principle which extends to all the forms of 
 sympathy, embraces all the feelings which are both 
 
 * Literally : — " If you would have me weep, you must first be 
 affected yourself." 
 16* 
 
186 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 relative and reciprocal, and does not even find its limit 
 there. If you show yourself always suspicious of your 
 pupil's integrity, if you rarely credit his word except 
 when confirmed by extraneous testimony, if doubting is 
 the rule and trusting the exception, you will be very 
 apt to make him reckless and indifferent as to whether 
 he deserve your confidence or not. I believe that many 
 children are, as it were, driven into the habit of lying 
 by the utter want of confidence manifested by those 
 who have the care of them. On the other hand, 
 *he manifestation of a generous confidence, in cases 
 even where it has not been merited, has stimulated 
 many a child to exert himself to deserve it on a future 
 occasion. And what a powerful stimulus to the inge- 
 nuous ambition and self-watchfulness of a virtuous 
 -outh are those approving and encouraging words of 
 his teacher, when really merited, " You have never 
 deceived me !" Will any child or youth, who is sensi- 
 ble that he is established in the good opinion of his 
 instructor, lightly forfeit such a possession ? None who 
 possess moral worth enough to gain a good opinion at 
 all, would throw it away for nought, or part with it 
 except under the influence of overpowering temptation. 
 That Fense of character which, in the good, has a spe- 
 cies of omnipotence in subsequent life, is often very 
 strong in youth ; and it is as capable as any other moral 
 
HOW SH LL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 187 
 
 quality of being cultivated and strengthened by appro- 
 priate discipline. If I were not restrained by motives 
 of delicacy, I might here introduce a beautiful illustra- 
 tion of the truth of this principle, by relating an anec- 
 dote which has just been told me of an occurrence that 
 took place no longer ago than yesterday in one of the 
 schools of this city.* 
 
 A simple withdrawal of confidence, where this sense 
 of character exists, is sometimes the severest punish- 
 ment that can be inflicted. A lad fifteen years old had 
 deceived a parent in a matter in which he had been 
 trusted. On being informed by the mother of the cir- 
 cumstances, the father said to the son, — " My son, I 
 have nothing to say to you, except that I trusted you, 
 and you deceived me. I withdraw my confidence from 
 you, and shall be very careful in future how I confide 
 in your integrity." This simple announcement, made 
 with perfect calmness and gentleness of manner, but 
 with such decision as convinced the boy that there was 
 no joke in the matter, was followed, on his part, by loss 
 of spirits, loss of appetite, and loss of peace ; and he 
 finally took to his bed from sheer depression of mind. 
 A few days afterwards, at the intercession of the mother, 
 he was formally restored to confidence, and, as a proof 
 
 * Philadelphia. 
 
188 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL C 
 
 of it, employed to execute some commission, where 
 faith in his honour was necessary. It is now several 
 months since the occurrence of what is here narrated, 
 and in not a single instance has there been a repetition 
 of the offence. 
 
 The true theory of all vicious habits is that they are 
 real maladies. Thus selfishness, lying, profaneness, 
 intemperance, dishonesty, habitual anger, and every 
 other vice, is as truly a disease, as scarlet fever or the 
 cholera. In most respects, the analogy is perfect and 
 entire. The only differences between them are, that 
 one is a disease of the body, the other of the spirit ; 
 the former is often the consequence of a Divine visita- 
 tion, to us inscrutable — the latter is evermore the crimi- 
 nal result of our own free choice ; the one is limited in 
 its effects, always by the duration of human life, gene- 
 rally to a much shorter period — the other reaches for- 
 ward throughout that limitless and incomprehensible 
 duration, denoted by the term eternity ; the former 
 requires chiefly physical, the latter for the most part 
 moral remedies, for its removal. There is, indeed, one 
 other difference, in some respects more interesting than 
 any of the others, and certainly of most encouraging 
 import. It is that, while there is no positive certainty 
 that medicines will or will not cure a sick body, it is as 
 sure as that there is a God in heaven who cannot lie, 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 189 
 
 that the use of proper means, perseveringly employed, 
 will receive that Divine blessing which will render them 
 efficacious in restoring health to the soul. 
 
 It is of the utmost importance, and will be found 
 of salutary effect in the government of your school, 
 that you habitually look upon the faults of your pupils 
 in this light, that you familiarize their minds to the 
 same view of them, and that, as far as practicable, you 
 accustom them not only to think but to feel that every 
 vicious propensity, every immoral habit, in them, is a 
 true disease, requiring as careful and diligent an employ- 
 ment of remedies, as any bodily malady they ever suf- 
 fered. When you have once induced this feeling in a 
 child, and made it habitual, and also convinced him 
 that you can aid him by your advice in effecting a cure, 
 an impoi'tant point has been gained. He will regard 
 you with something of the same feeling that he does his 
 physician. He will look upon you as a friend, he will 
 be open-hearted in your presence, he will cordially co- 
 operate with you in your efforts to do him good. Do 
 you doubt whether this state of mind can be induced in 
 a school-boy ? It is not only quite possible to succeed 
 in such an attempt, but, by judicious management, you 
 will succeed in a majority of cases. This is not mere 
 theory ; it is experience, as many teachers can testify. 
 Uniform kindness-, gentleness, affection, and genuine 
 
190 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 friendship, coupled with conscientious diligence, and 
 under the guidance of true wisdom, will hardly ever 
 fail. 
 
 It is possible so to speak of the faults of your pupils, 
 and to pursue such a course of treatment with regard 
 to them, as not only not to excite ill-will or any unkind 
 feeling, but exactly the reverse, — real gratitude and 
 friendship. This will be made abundantly manifest by 
 a few extracts from notes received by a teacher from 
 his pupils. One writes as follows : — 
 
 " I am much obliged to you for telling me of my 
 faults, and advising me how I may correct them. I 
 have tried to profit by your admonitions, and last month 
 I tried more than ever to behave well. I am much 
 obliged to you for the good opinion you have of me, 
 and I hope I shall do nothing which will prevent you 
 from having it." 
 
 Another says : — " I cannot be thankful enough that I 
 have some one who is kind enough to look over me and 
 point out my faults in such a manner that I can correct 
 them. I never was aware before last night, when you 
 told me, that I had been guilty of such conduct as you 
 spoke of. I now feel that I have done wrong, and feel 
 sorry for what I have done, and ask you to pardon me 
 for having offended you." 
 
 A third writes : — "As I wish to get advice concern- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 191 
 
 ing my faults, I will speak freely with you about them. 
 I will tell as many of my faults as I can think of, and 
 those which I have endeavoured to correct, which will 
 be all, for I have endeavoured to correct all." 
 
 A fourth asks advice in the following words : — "I 
 now address a few lines to you on a subject of great 
 importance, or at least I consider it as such. I find 
 very often that when I ought to have given my whole 
 attention to some thing, my thoughts have been wander- 
 ing to other subjects. I write this to request you to tell 
 me some means by which I may be able to break my- 
 self of such an unfortunate habit. And while speaking 
 on this subject I would propose another. Often, in the 
 various classes, I have no self-command, and therefore 
 am apt to laugh, and otherwise excite disturbance. By 
 advising me how I may correct these faults, you will do 
 an essential service to your affectionate pupil." 
 
 Another says : — "I must say that, since our con- 
 versation yesterday morning, I have thought a good 
 deal whether I could not improve myself, and also aid 
 in improving my schoolmates. In reference to the sub- 
 ject of prayer, I took your advice, and examined my- 
 self at night, which I found of very great use, and will 
 continue to do it. I think the conversation respecting 
 the Bible on Sunday night, is one of the most useful 
 lessons we have, as it instructs us about many events 
 
192 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 of which we know nothing, and also teaches us many 
 things concerning our duty." 
 
 " My morals," says another, " are not in as good a 
 state as I wish them to be, yet I do not think they are 
 in as low a state as they were some time ago. The 
 regulations which you made at the end of the last win- 
 ter session, had a good effect on a great many of the 
 boys, and myself among the rest, so that when I went 
 
 to in the latter part of May, I had entirely ceased 
 
 making use of any profane expressions whatever. — 
 While in in the month of October, I became ac- 
 quainted with a great many young men (gentlemen, as 
 they called themselves), who thought it the distinguish- 
 ing mark of gentlemen to be able to swear and curse. 
 They paid me a great deal of attention, but I believe 
 they secretly disliked me, because I did not swear as 
 they did. The temptation was strong, but God gave 
 me strength and grace to resist it entirely." 
 
 I shall make but one further quotation, as follows : — ■ 
 " I have, as you told me, tried to find out my principal 
 faults, but I am afraid not with a great deal of success, 
 because I cannot find out what is the real state of my 
 heart. I am conscious that I have many great faults, 
 and often do wrong, but still, though I try not, I go on 
 every day doing the same things. [After enumerating 
 a number of particulars in which he was most liable to 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 193 
 
 transgress, the writer adds :] I shall be grateful to you 
 if you will tell me any means by which I can correct 
 these faults, and cultivate the virtues which are opposed 
 to them." 
 
 The letters from which these brief extracts are made, 
 and many others of similar purport, written by the pu- 
 pils of the same school, were the result either of private 
 conversations with the individuals from whom they were 
 received, or of confidential notes addressed to them by 
 the master; most commonly the former. This fact 
 suggests two practical rules of no small importance : — 
 First, let your treatment for the cure of your pupils' 
 faults be as much as possible concealed from the gene- 
 ral knowledge of the school ; and secondly, be in the 
 habit of frequent, friendly, familiar private converse 
 with every child and youth under your care. For my- 
 self, I can say with truth that, precisely in proportion 
 to the strictness with which I have adhered to these two 
 simple rules, has the difficulty of governing my pupils 
 been diminished, and a pleasant state of feeling has 
 pervaded the school. So much benefit have I found to 
 result from this practice, that I have sometimes made it 
 a point almost of duty to converse in private with seve- 
 ral of my scholars every day. Children in this way 
 become convinced of your real friendship for them, and 
 17 
 
194 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 the deep interest you feel in their improvement ; and 
 they often repay it by laying open to your view the 
 inner secrets of their hearts with as much ingenuous 
 frankness as they would use in relating to their physi- 
 cian the symptoms of some dangerous illness. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 195 
 
 SECTION XIII. 
 
 Endeavour to excite in your pupils an interest in 
 their own improvement, moral as well as intellectual ; 
 and point out clearly the means whereby this improve- 
 ment can be effected. 
 
 To awaken and keep alive such an interest in your 
 pupils should be made an object of early attention and 
 steady pursuit. Without it, and the personal efforts to 
 which it gives rise, your best exertions can meet with 
 only partial and dubious success. On the other hand, 
 its existence and influential action in the mind of a child 
 will render doubly effective all your other measures to 
 implant, cherish, and strengthen the principles and sen- 
 timents of virtue. It is by no means impossible to 
 awaken an interest of this kind in young persons. I 
 have seen the majority of a large school thoroughly 
 roused to the importance of personal effort in order to 
 their growth in moral excellence, eagerly inquisitive as 
 to the best means for that purpose, and heartily engaged 
 in the use of them. 
 
 
196 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 It will be useful to inquire into some of those con- 
 siderations which, properly presented, will be likely to 
 have the effect of exciting in the young an interest, in 
 all respects so desirable and salutary. 
 
 1. To this end, the first direction is, — strive to con- 
 vince your pupils of the value, nay, of the indispensa- 
 ble necessity, of exertion, active and persevering exer- 
 tion, on their part, to the formation of good moral char- 
 acters, to becoming useful and respectable citizens. We 
 often hear of such and such persons being " self-made 
 men." The term, as generally used, has a restricted 
 meaning. It signifies those persons who, without the 
 advantages of collegiate education, have risen to any 
 kind of intellectual eminence and distinction. But it is 
 susceptible of a much broader application, and that 
 without any violation of the proprieties of language, 
 and with strict adherence to truth. Every man is, in 
 reality, intellectually, and much more morally, a self- 
 made man, the artificer of his own character. This is 
 sufficiently proved by the single fact that so many 
 young men, not deficient in talent, pass several years 
 under the instructions of the ablest college professors 
 without receiving any substantial benefit from it ; while 
 many others, with perhaps less natural endowments, by 
 industrious application stand well in their classes, and 
 afterwards, by the same means, advance step by step, 
 till they reach high and responsible trusts in society. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 197 
 
 But general proof is not enough for children. They 
 need special illustrations ; they are moved by particular 
 examples. Fortunately, history teems with examples 
 illustrative of the great truth we are considering. It 
 would occupy too much space, and be otherwise inap- 
 propriate in this work, to dwell at any length on these 
 examples. But you will find excellent and abundant 
 materials for your purpose in the lives of Demosthenes, 
 Cicero, Horace, the younger Pliny, Peter of Russia, 
 Gibbon, Franklin, Edwards, Payson, and indeed in the 
 lives of almost all who have ever distinguished them- 
 selves either in the world of letters or the world of 
 action. It is " the hand of the diligent that maketh 
 rich" in character and knowledge, as well as in that 
 which more commonly, though with less truth, bears 
 the name of riches. No man ever yet became eminent 
 in goodness, and diffused abroad the light and warmth 
 of a virtuous life, without self- watchfulness and self- 
 scrutiny, without waging an incessant warfare upon his 
 passions, without a diligent cultivating and cherishing 
 of pure affections and upright principles, without, in 
 one word, much and laborious personal effort to that 
 end. This is a lesson which, by simple arguments, by 
 apt examples, by earnest appeals, by showing your own 
 deep convictions of its truth, you ought to be instant in 
 season and out of season in impressing upon the tender 
 17* 
 
198 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 minds of your young charge. Be assured that it will 
 have a strong tendency to excite in them that lively 
 interest in their own improvement, which is the first 
 step towards the formation of a good character, and 
 which is equally essential to the pleasant and healthy 
 government of your school. 
 
 2. Show your pupils, and try to make them fee the 
 force of the motive, that, by diligent efforts in cultivat- 
 ing their hearts, they will please God. This is a high, 
 and holy, and, where it really exists, powerful motive 
 to virtuous conduct. It is a motive, however, which 
 fills by far too small a space in the hearts even of the 
 good, and is too little influential on the actions of us all. 
 It is seldom appealed to by the ministers of religion in 
 their public discourses, or by Christian writers in their 
 more elaborate productions. It seems in fact, almost to 
 have undergone an edict of banishment from among 
 those motives which are to mould and fashion our moral 
 feelings and principles. Yet it is distinctly recognized 
 in the Bible as a legitimate and worthy principle of 
 action ; and it is recorded to the honour of one of the 
 ancient Patriarchs, that " he had this testimony, that he 
 pleased God." How much more truly honourable is 
 such a testimony than the huzzas of millions ! how 
 beyond comparison more to be valued than the admira- 
 tion and applause of a congregated world ! 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 199 
 
 Whenever we do a thing with the express view of 
 pleasing a friend whom we love, and whose approba- 
 tion we value, it is sure to be well done. If we are 
 impelled to a given action, or course of action, simply 
 by a regard to duty or the opinions and usages of the 
 world, we may do as little as we possibly can, so that 
 we do not violate conscience or offend external decency. 
 But not so when among the motives of our conduct that 
 of giving pleasure finds a prominent place. Then 
 how careful in the minutest particulars to consult the 
 known tastes and wishes of our friend ! how watchful 
 to avoid every thing that can occasion the least unplea- 
 sant emotion ! how anxious to omit nothing that can at 
 all minister to his gratification ! The force and beauty 
 of this motive are often exemplified in domestic and 
 social intercourse. The fond wife, when she expects 
 the return of her husband after an absence from home, 
 is all anxiety to have every thing so arranged as to give 
 him not only a hearty but a cheerful and pleasant and 
 comfortable welcome ; and what inexpressible pleasure 
 does she experience from a word, or look, or smile of 
 approbation — any thing that constitutes a recognition 
 of her endeavours to please, and an assurance that 
 those endeavours are noticed and appreciated. So of 
 the husband who desires to please his wife. How care- 
 ful in choosing a present for her, to be sure that he 
 
200 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 1 ? 
 
 selects one suited to her taste ! How often also will an 
 affectionate daughter spend hours in arranging a bou- 
 quet for the purpose of giving pleasure to a mother, or 
 sister, or brother ! It would be easy to multiply illus- 
 trations of this principle, so as to fill many pages ; but 
 this is as unnecessary, as it would be tiresome and 
 inapposite. 
 
 Now let this feeling be transferred to the Creator, 
 and become a habitude of mind, and what a safe-guard* 
 does it afford against every thing dishonourable and 
 wicked ! In all the vast storehouse of motives which 
 the Scriptures contain, there is none better than this, 
 especially for the young, notwithstanding it has been so 
 much overlooked, and, as it were, almost thrust out 
 from among them. The peculiar excellence of this 
 motive consists in this, — that it is at once elevated and 
 elevating ; that it is applicable to all times, places, and 
 circumstances, and, where it really exists, actually does 
 spread itself out over the whole conduct ; that it affords 
 a standard of right and wrong easy to be understood 
 and applied, even by a child ; and that it is capable of 
 being without difficulty so impressed upon the minds 
 of children as to become a constant principle of action 
 with them. I have seen a child less than four years 
 old who was in the constant habit of referring his 
 actions to this standard. The desire of pleasing God 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 201 
 
 and the fear of displeasing him seemed to be in his case 
 an effectual safeguard against many faults, and espe- 
 cially against lying. He would sometimes ask more 
 than a dozen times in the course of a day whether God 
 would be pleased with him if he did so and so. Once 
 after he had broken something, but his mother did not 
 know certainly that it was he, she asked him about it. 
 I Must I tell you the truth, Ma ?" he inquired. " You 
 know, my son," she replied, " that God loves the truth." 
 " I did it, Ma," was his prompt reply. 
 
 Allow me to urge upon you the importance of pre- 
 senting this motive clearly to your pupil's understand- 
 ing, and of pressing it earnestly upon their conscience. 
 Strive to make the desire of pleasing God an habitual 
 sentiment with them. Accustom them, as far as you 
 possibly can, to inquire " How can I please God to-day ? 
 Shall I please God if I do so and so ? Will God be 
 pleased if I deceive my teacher? if I am idle when I 
 ought to be studying? if I get angry and strike my 
 companions ? if I take what belongs to another ? Will 
 He not be pleased if I tell the truth ? if I am kind to 
 my schoolmates, and diligent in my studies, and upright 
 in my conduct, and obedient to my teachers and pa- 
 rents ?" Hold up as in a mirror to their tender and 
 ingenuous minds the affecting and encouraging truth 
 that God, great and glorious and mighty as He is, con- 
 
202 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 descends to take pleasure in their simple, childish efforts 
 to please Him. Dwell especially, and with unusual 
 ardour of feeling and clearness and fulness of illustra- 
 tion, on the fact that God is pleased with every effort 
 they make to tell the truth, to repress anger, to culti- 
 vate peace, to be diligent and obedient, to practise gene- 
 rosity and kindness, to be watchful over themselves, to 
 cherish virtuous principles and check vicious propensi- 
 ties, — in one word, to form good characters and become 
 good men. Let no favourable opportunity slip of incul- 
 cating this motive upon your pupils. You cannot be 
 too assiduous or too zealous on this point. It is aston- 
 ishing what an effect such instructions and exhortations 
 have upon the young. It may, by judicious, well- 
 timed, and persevering exertions on the part of parents 
 and teachers, be made a habit with them to refer their 
 actions to this standard, and to inquire constantly how 
 they can please God. And it would be altogether a 
 work of supererogation to point out the benefits that 
 would result to school and family government from 
 such a motive becoming general among children. 
 These benefits lie too much upon the surface to require 
 any such exposition to make them apparent. 
 
 3. Another means of exciting in your pupils that 
 interest in their own moral improvement which is essen- 
 tial to their growth in goodness, is to impress continu- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 203 
 
 ally upon their minds the great truth that virtue leads 
 to happiness and vice to misery, even in the present 
 life, and that the character here, whether good or bad, 
 fixes irreversibly the condition beyond the grave. The 
 wisdom of God is displayed in every thing that reveals 
 to us any portion of his character or government. 
 Thus the general current, of human affairs establishes, 
 to the satisfaction of the attentive observer of passing 
 events and the discriminating student of history, the 
 encouraging truth that there is a moral Governor of the 
 world, who loves and rewards goodness, and hates and 
 punishes iniquity ; while, at the same time, the excep- 
 tions are many and striking, — so many and so striking 
 that, if there were no hereafter, our confidence in the 
 supreme and perfect goodness of the Creator would be 
 shaken, and we should at least doubt whether judgment 
 and justice were the habitation of his throne. The 
 conclusion is, therefore, forced upon our minds that 
 there must be a state of future retributions, in which 
 the enigma now sometimes beheld of prosperous wick- 
 edness and suffering virtue and all the mysteries of 
 Providence shall be cleared up, the ways of God to 
 man completely vindicated, and the wisdom, justice, 
 benevolence, and all the perfections of the Godhead 
 shine forth with a refulgence such as that with which 
 they beam on heavenly Intelligences. 
 
204 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 But while the full and final vindication of the Divine 
 administration must thus be postponed to a future judg- 
 ment, God has not left himself without a witness in the 
 present world. Many remarkable examples are on re- 
 cord both in sacred and profane history, wherein he has 
 clearly manifested his disapprobation of sin and his love 
 of goodness, by the punishment of the wicked and the 
 rescue of such as trusted in him. Was there no dis- 
 play of retributive justice in the case of that abominable 
 tyrant, Adoni-bezek, who having, according to his own 
 confession, maimed not less than seventy princes by 
 cutting off their thumbs and great toes, and reduced 
 them to the necessity of gathering up their food, like 
 dogs, from beneath his table, was at length, in the 
 righteous providence of God, punished by having pre- 
 cisely the same mutilation inflicted on himself, and by 
 perishing in captivity within the walls of Jerusalem? 
 Were not that breaking up of the fountains of the great 
 deep by which almost the entire race of men was swept 
 from the earth, the fiery deluge which consumed the 
 cities of the plain, the earthquake that swallowed up 
 the company of Dathan and Abiram, the writing on the 
 wall of Belshazzar's palace and the terrible meaning 
 concealed within its mysterious characters, the loath- 
 some and excruciating deaths of the two Herods, and 
 the horrible fate of the bloody and malignant Antiochus 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 205 
 
 Epiphanes,* — were not all these, and a hundred other 
 cases not less remarkable, so many proofs that " there 
 is a God who reigns on high, and minds the affairs of 
 men ?" 
 
 It is related of Charles the Ninth, of France, one of 
 the most detestable tyrants that ever filled a throne, the 
 author of the dreadful massacre of St. Bartholomew's 
 Day, that, after that abominable tragedy, he never knew 
 what peace of mind was ; " that he had a fierceness in 
 his looks, and colour in his cheeks, which he never had 
 before ; that he slept little, and never sound, and waked 
 frequently in great agonies, requiring soft music to com- 
 pose him to rest ; and at length died of a lingering dis- 
 order, after having undergone the most exquisite tor- 
 ments of body and mind ;" and some even assert that 
 such was the intenseness of his agony as to cause the 
 blood to start through the pores of his body. 
 
 " King Richard III., after he had murdered his inno- 
 cent royal nephews, was so tormented in conscience, as 
 Sir Thomas More reports from the gentlemen of his 
 bed-chamber, that he had no peace or quiet in himself, 
 but always carried it as if some imminent danger was 
 
 * " Worms crawled from every part of him ; his flesh fell away 
 piecemeal, and the stench was so great that it became intolerable 
 to the whole army ; and he thus finished an impious life, by a 
 miserable death." — Rollings Ancient History. 
 
 18 
 
206 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 near him. His eyes were always whirling about on 
 this side and on that side ; he wore a shirt of mail, and 
 was always laying his hand upon his dagger, looking 
 as furiously as if he were ready to strike. He had no 
 quiet in his mind by day, nor could take any rest by 
 night, but, molested with terrifying dreams, would start 
 out of his bed, and run like a distracted man about his 
 chamber." * 
 
 The great moral lesson of all history is that there is 
 a God who controls human affairs, and so controls them 
 as to draw a broad line of distinction between virtue 
 and vice, placing the seal of his complacency on the 
 former, and marking the latter with manifest tokens of 
 his displeasure. He who learns not this from the study 
 of history, loses the best and greatest advantage it is 
 fitted to afford. Especially ought every teacher of 
 youth to turn his attention to this view of the subject, 
 and gather up, as in the treasury of his memory, the 
 facts which have a bearing upon the great question as 
 to the effect of our actions on our own happiness. A 
 frequent reference to the providential administration of 
 Jehovah, as exhibiting his love of goodness and hatred 
 of wickedness in the honour he has put upon the one 
 and the brand with which he has marked the other, in 
 the happiness which the former insures, and the misery, 
 
 * Mr. Dick. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 207 
 
 in one form or another, to which the latter necessarily 
 leads, will not be without a sensible and happy effect 
 upon your pupils. 
 
 But after all, a different mode of illustration will be 
 better adapted to your purpose. All of us, and the 
 young especially, are more affected by what, in the 
 forcible language of Bacon, " comes home to our busi- 
 ness and bosoms," than by that which, however apt for 
 the purpose of illustration, has a less direct bearing on 
 our personal concerns. You can appeal, often with 
 irresistible force, not only to history, but also to the 
 observation and personal experience of your scholars, 
 for confirmation of the position that virtue promotes 
 happiness and vice leads to unhappiness. There is no 
 community, school, or family, in which this truth is not 
 exemplified in a manner more or less striking every 
 day. This is particularly the case with respect to 
 schools. The good and gentle find every thing plea- 
 sant and peaceful ; the refractory and disobedient often 
 smart under the infliction of actual chastisement, and 
 are continually tormented by the dread of punishment 
 and the upbraidings of conscience. Accustom your 
 pupils to look upon this connexion as one established 
 by God himself, and not as an arbitrary arrangement 
 of yours. Paint in mild and true, but warm and 
 lively colours, the serenity and peace which the prac- 
 
208 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 tice of goodness spreads over the soul, the respect and 
 influence which it secures in society, and the divine 
 approbation and complacency with which it is ever 
 honoured and rewarded. You need not be afraid of 
 giving undue prominence to this motive. The happi- 
 ness of heaven, painted by the pencil of inspiration 
 with a richness of colouring which throws the most 
 beautiful and vaunted of human productions far into the 
 shade, is one of the leading motives by which the Al- 
 mighty seeks to allure us to the ways of virtue here 
 and a crown of life hereafter. Labour, then, diligently 
 to make your pupils feel that " virtue's ways are ways 
 of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." This 
 great principle is so invariable in its operation, so pal- 
 pable, so truly experimental, that it is not a difficult 
 task to impress it practically upon the minds of chil- 
 dren. They may easily be taught to notice habitually 
 the effect which their actions have in promoting their 
 personal happiness or the reverse. And when once the 
 truth we have been attempting briefly to illustrate, has 
 taken a firm hold upon them, its living power will soon 
 be seen in the fair and pleasant fruits it yields. 
 
 4. A fourth direction for exciting in your pupils an 
 interest in their personal growth in moral excellence, is 
 — inculcate upon them the importance of being governed 
 by principle, show them the elevation and true dignity 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 209 
 
 this imparts to the character, and press earnestly upon 
 them the important truth that the only true indepen- 
 dence is that which arises from conscious virtue and 
 liberal knowledge. I will not here enter at all into the 
 metaphysical question whether the conscience be an 
 original faculty, or merely the judgment employed in 
 weighing our own characters and actions. Such an 
 inquiry would be foreign to my present aim ; nor would 
 it in the least alter the facts we are to consider, whether 
 the one theory or the other be correct. The moral 
 sense, the feeling of right and wrong, whatever it be 
 and in whatever mode it acts, is as capable of being 
 cultivated, enlightened, strengthened, and trained to a 
 right habit, as any mental power or moral disposition 
 whatsoever. 
 
 This is not theory ; it is fact. The truth of the po- 
 sition rests upon the broad and firm basis of experience. 
 Children, at a very early age, by a right mode of train- 
 ing them, may be accustomed to act from principle. 
 Washington was a bright example of this, as of most 
 other human excellences. The story of the pear-tree 
 and the hatchet is well remembered, as evincing his 
 regard for truth, even when the prospect of punishment 
 was directly before him as the consequence of avowing 
 his fault. An eminent teacher once declared to me that 
 such was the delicate and strong sense of personal 
 18* 
 
210 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 rights among his pupils, such and so universal their 
 horror of stealing, that he believed a piece of apple left 
 on any of the forty desks in his school-room would 
 have remained there till it rotted, before any other than 
 the owner would have touched it. I have known seve- 
 ral instructors who had their scholars so trained to the 
 habitual practice of what is right, that they could leave 
 them for a quarter, a half, or even a whole hour, with 
 the certainty that the studies of the school would be as 
 faithfully prosecuted while they were away, as if they 
 had been present.* 
 
 * The following incident, among many others of a like kind, is 
 related by Mr. Simpson, in his account of the Edinburgh Infant 
 School: — "One of the children lost a halfpenny in the play- 
 ground. The mistress was so certain that it would be found and 
 accounted for, that she lent the loser a halfpenny. Some time 
 after, when the incident was nearly forgotten, one of the boys, 
 J. F., found a halfpenny in the play-ground, and, although no 
 one saw him find it, he brought it at once to the teacher. As the 
 latter knew nothing about the loss of the halfpenny already alluded 
 to, it appeared to him a halfpenny without an owner ; but one of 
 the children suggested that it must be the lost halfpenny for 
 which the mistress had given the substitute. ' What, then, shall 
 be done to it V Many voices answered, ' The mistress should get 
 it?' The girl who had lost the halfpenny was called out, and at 
 once knew her own. It was given to her, and she immediately 
 transferred it to the mistress. The teacher then appealed to the 
 whole school, ' Is that right ?' ' Yes ! yes ! right ! right !' was 
 cried out by the whole assemblage with much applause and ani- 
 mation. This last accompaniment of their approbation is strongly 
 contrasted with the more tranquil and evidently regretting way in 
 which they condemn, when any thing is wrong." 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 211 
 
 It is principle or the want of it that makes the whole 
 difference between the upright and worthy citizen and 
 the wretch who picks your pocket, or breaks into your 
 house at dead of night for the fell purpose of robbery 
 and murder. How earnestly, then, ought the impor- 
 tance of being governed by principle to be inculcated 
 upon the young ! how diligently the habit of acting on 
 principle, cultivated ! Seize every fit occasion, avail 
 yourself of every opportune occurrence in the school, 
 take all imaginable pains, to show your pupils and 
 make them feel how immeasurably superior in all the 
 qualities that constitute true excellence and respecta- 
 bility, is the schoolboy who habitually says to himself, 
 " I must not do this, because it is wrong," to one whose 
 governing motive is expressed in the declaration, " I 
 must be careful what I do now, for the teacher is look- 
 ing." To do right because it is right, to shun wrong 
 because it is wrong, to act from a sense of character, 
 from the love of goodness, from the fear of God, — this 
 is worthy of a rational and immortal being. The child 
 who acts thus habitually will not only gain the love and 
 confidence, but command the respect, of those who are 
 ten times older than himself. On the other hand, the 
 boy or the girl who does what is right, and abstains 
 from what is wrong, merely because some one who has 
 authority over him is looking at him, and he dreads the 
 
212 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 rod of correction, but who practises wickedness with 
 greediness when he is assured of impunity, — such an 
 one sinks the dignity of human nature to a level below 
 that of many even of the brute creation, for the ox and 
 the horse, having once been broken to the yoke and the 
 harness, afterwards submit and obey from a better prin- 
 ciple than that of fear ; and many animals, and espe- 
 cially the dog, are bound by a real and strong affection 
 to the obedience and service of their masters. Hold up 
 this view of the case to your pupils frequently, and in 
 a clear and strong light. " Line upon line and precept 
 upon precept, here a little and there a little," is the true 
 motto both in the moral and intellectual education of 
 the young. Such a course in reference to this particu- 
 lar point will not and cannot fail to produce good fruit 
 in some, probably in many, perhaps in all. 
 
 The desire of respectability and influence among 
 men, not indeed as an ultimate end, not for the mere 
 gratification of personal vanity or ambition, but as a 
 means of extending more widely our usefulness, is a 
 legitimate principle of action. Press this view earnestly, 
 repeatedly, and affectionately on those young immor- 
 tals, over whom God in his providence has given you a 
 temporary guardianship, and between whom and you 
 there has been, by the same providence, established a 
 relationship, involving ties tender, and intimate, and 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MV SCHOOL 1 213 
 
 pregnant with consequences that reach forward through 
 eternity. 
 
 5. Finally, as a most important means of exciting 
 the desired interest, accustom your pupils to face their 
 future responsibilities in all the relations subsisting be- 
 tween them and their Creator on the one hand, and 
 between themselves and their fellow-creatures on the 
 other ; — their relations as subjects of the moral govern- 
 ment of God, as citizens of the American republic, as 
 members of families, neighbourhoods, and the great 
 brotherhood of man. This topic opens a field of 
 thought and investigation, affords ground of appeal and 
 entreaty, and calls up a train of associations, which are 
 broad enough almost of themselves to form a volume, 
 to which you can scarcely too often recur either in your 
 public addresses to your pupils or your private con- 
 versations with them, and which you cannot with too 
 much warmth and cogency urge upon their considerate 
 attention. " No man," saith the great Apostle to the 
 Gentiles, " liveth to himself." What a pregnant mean- 
 ing is included in those five short words ! It is a law 
 of our constitution, an ordinance of Heaven, that every 
 man is to have an influence over his fellows, some in a 
 greater, others in a less, degree. Nor are we account- 
 able merely for the actual and positive influence we 
 exert on others ; our responsibility extends to all the 
 
214 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 influence we might have, to all the good we might 
 achieve, by pursuing a different course from what we 
 do. It is therefore utterly impossible for us to escape 
 from that responsibility which belongs to us as social 
 beings. The man who, to shun this responsibility, 
 buries himself in some deep forest or remote cavern, 
 far from the haunts of men and busy hum of life, must 
 utterly fail of his object. He is still accountable for all 
 the evils he might have prevented, for all the good it 
 would have been in his power to effect, by the utmost 
 exertion of his faculties. This principle is as consonant 
 to reason as it is to Scripture. In the parable of the 
 talents, the unfaithful servant was condemned, not for 
 abusing, but for hiding his Lord's money ; and the man 
 who should refuse to save a fellow-creature from death 
 when it was in his power to do so, would be held guilty 
 of his blood, and considered as a monster unworthy of 
 human sympathies. 
 
 The world in which we live is filled with ignorance, 
 vice, and misery. A large part of it is still unreclaimed 
 from heathenism, and even where the Christian religion 
 prevails and is outwardly respected, how faint and 
 feeble is the influence it exerts on the hearts of the 
 great mass of men I But the world is to be brought 
 back to its allegiance to God. The ignorance which 
 enshrouds it is to be enlightened, the vice which despoils 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 215 
 
 it of its beauty is to be removed, the wretchedness be- 
 neath which it groans and is in bitterness is to fiee 
 away, like a dream or a shadow. And yet this mighty 
 revolution, which involves no less a change than the 
 regeneration of mankind, is to be effected, not by mira- 
 cle, but through human instrumentality. God will be 
 the Author of it, but men the agents he will employ to 
 effect his purpose. We are all of us called to be co- 
 workers with Him in the noble enterprise. To what an 
 honour, beyond all that men can bestow, are we thus 
 raised, and how fearful the responsibility that is put 
 upon us by such a privilege ! 
 
 Let us take another view of human responsibility, 
 for our duties are as various as our relations. There 
 is not a common school in the country that may not 
 have in it a future President of the United States. 
 Some undoubtedly have. At all events, these primary 
 institutions, about which we think and care and exert 
 ourselves so little, are thronged with embryo governors, 
 judges, law-makers, and magistrates of every grade, 
 — with lawyers, physicians, divines, and authors, — with 
 those, in short, who are speedily to fill all the most 
 important and responsible trusts under our social sys- 
 tem. Yes, on those who are now subjected to all the 
 restraints of the school-room, and engaged in the daily 
 round of school-duties, will soon be devolved the mighty 
 
216 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 charge of upholding our present form of government, 
 with the beneficent institutions which repose upon it ; 
 and thus of transmitting to posterity undimmed and 
 undiminished, the bright inheritance our forefathers 
 bequeathed to us. What an interest and importance 
 does this thought impart to their present position and 
 occupations as scholars ! Can an intelligent and well- 
 principled child realize this idea without being affected 
 by it? without almost feeling a sense of oppression 
 from the responsibility that even now attaches to him, 
 and that higher responsibility which is in near prospect ? 
 But not only has the world at large and our own 
 country claims upon our interest and exertions ; we 
 have many and most important duties to perform as 
 neighbours, as heads of families, as friends, as relatives, 
 and in all those minor but multiform relations which 
 exist between persons living near each other. These 
 duties, with all their weight of responsibility, will soon 
 be rolled upon our children, who, with too little thought 
 of them, now fill the places of learning, and too often, 
 it is to be feared, study more intensely how they shall 
 thwart the master and indulge an indolent disposition, 
 than how they may turn their time to the best account, 
 and become most thoroughly imbued with that know- 
 ledge and those virtues which will fit them to be useful 
 men and citizens. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 217 
 
 These are all trains of ideas which should be ren- 
 dered familiar to the thoughts of school -children, and, 
 if possible, incorporated into their intellectual and moral 
 being, so as to become a part of themselves. If you 
 can succeed in this object, if you can so impress upon 
 your pupils their high future responsibilities as to make 
 them habitually sensible and regardful of them, nothing 
 will tend more effectually to awaken their interest and 
 rouse them to exertion for their personal improvement, 
 both intellectual and moral. Say you that the task is 
 difficult ? It is not to be denied that it is encompassed 
 with more or less of difficulty ; but it is not impossible. 
 I have myself seen this result secured in many cases ; 
 and multitudes of teachers can testify to the same fact. 
 I have heard it related of the children of one of the 
 most distinguished of American clergymen, that nothing 
 is more common than to hear them talk of " living for 
 their country," of " serving their country," of " being 
 useful to their country," &c. &c. This is true not 
 only of those who have grown up to manhood, but also 
 of the younger members of the family. It is a senti- 
 ment imbibed with their mother's milk, and instilled by 
 the earliest lessons of a father. In this way they learn 
 almost from infancy to think less about themselves than 
 others ; to expel selfishness from their bosoms ; to cul- 
 tivate benevolence and generosity ; to extend the circle 
 19 
 
218 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 1 
 
 of their sympathies to the race ; and to live less for 
 themselves than for mankind. Are not these desirable 
 results 1 Are they not noble fruits 1 And what think 
 you of the government of such a family, — that it is a 
 difficult or an easy task 1 
 
 You cannot bring about this state of feeling in your 
 pupils, and make it a principle of action with them, by 
 a few set lectures and feeble efforts. It is not thus that 
 any great results are reached. No ; you must again 
 and again hold up the same views to their contempla- 
 tion ; you must over and over and over again urge 
 upon them the same considerations ; you must do this 
 in public and in private ; by formal addresses, by fami- 
 liar converse, by apt allusions and examples, by avail- 
 ing yourself of every favourable opportunity whenever 
 and wherever it occurs of bringing home to their under- 
 standing and conscience the great lesson of their future 
 responsibilities in all their binding force and ramified 
 details. 
 
 Endeavour to make your pupils feel that they do not 
 go to school, as they do to a balloon ascension, an illu- 
 mination, or a theatre, merely for their present amuse- 
 ment and gratification ; but that they are sent there for a 
 very different end, a far nobler purpose ; viz. to become 
 prepared by study and discipline, by the culture of the 
 mind and heart, to discharge, with credit to themselves 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 219 
 
 and usefulness to others, those duties which God and 
 society will claim at their hands, when they grow up 
 to be men. Show them that they are already old 
 enough to think seriously on this subject ; that they 
 ought at least to begin to look it in the face, and to 
 familiarize their minds with the thought that they, with 
 others of their own age, will soon have to fill the places 
 now occupied by their fathers, and to assume all the 
 solemn and weighty responsibilities that belong to those 
 places. Press upon them also, and clearly illustrate, 
 this other and most important consideration, that their 
 individual responsibility in this matter is in exact pro- 
 portion to the means they enjoy of preparing themselves 
 for their future duties. 
 
 Remind your pupils how high and responsible may 
 be the post which Providence has in reserve for 
 them, and thence seek to impress upon their minds the 
 great importance of preparing themselves, by diligent 
 study, meditation, watchfulness, and prayer, for what- 
 ever may be their future lot or station. Fear not, as 
 some perhaps may tell you, that such a course of 
 instruction will tend to make your pupils vain, affected, 
 and pedantic. There is a show of reason in this ob- 
 jection, but nothing more. Surely, the judicious incul- 
 cation of noble and generous sentiments upon the 
 minds of youth cannot be attended with such debasing 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 effects. This were, indeed, to interrupt the harmony 
 of nature, and, reverently be it spoken, to convict the 
 Deity himself of inconsistency and folly. No ; the 
 very reverse is the fact, as reason declares, and expe- 
 rience confirms. 
 
 The second point in the direction with which this 
 section commences, has reference to the personal means 
 whereby a growth in moral excellence can be insured. 
 It is a matter of deep moment that these be pointed out 
 and urged upon the attention of your pupils. If you 
 can but bring them to the point of feeling that they are 
 necessary, and of resolving that their efficiency shall 
 be faithfully tested, a great work will have been 
 achieved. Nothing will then be wanting on your part 
 but perseverance, to insure in your pupils a healthy and 
 rapid growth of moral character. 
 
 So much space has been already devoted to the first 
 topic in this section, that I can but briefly hint at the 
 means which, in other cases, have been found useful for 
 the end in view. 
 
 1. The first of these, to be urged upon your pupils, 
 is, that they form certain fixed principles of action, to 
 which they will adhere always and under every variety 
 of circumstances. Vice is a weed which finds a con- 
 genial element in the soil of the human heart, where it 
 grows with a rank and desolating luxuriance ; virtue, 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 221 
 
 since the fall, is an exotic, transplanted from the skies, 
 which, to attain its full and perfect growth, to bloom 
 with its native beauty, and shed forth its celestial fra- 
 grance, must be nurtured with assiduous care. A few 
 straggling efforts, an occasional fit of repentance and 
 reformation, some feeble resolves scarcely formed before 
 they are broken, will never avail to insure the conquest 
 of the passions, and the reign of goodness in the heart. 
 
 This cardinal truth is susceptible of full and very 
 forcible illustration from the history of those men who 
 have attained to extraordinary degrees of moral excel- 
 lence and worth. Look into the life of any such man, 
 and you will find that he has pondered well his princi- 
 ples of living, and reduced them to rules, which have 
 formed, as it were, the channel, in which the whole 
 current of his actions has flowed. President Edwards 
 was an illustrious example of the great results which 
 may be attained in this way. His celebrated Resolu- 
 tions, adhered to through a long course of years, tended, 
 in no small degree, to raise him to an eminence in good- 
 ness, such as few men have ever reached, but which all 
 might attain by the use of similar means. I have seen 
 many of his resolutions adopted and acted upon by 
 schoolboys, with the happiest effects on their moral 
 character and conduct. 
 
 To the vigorous growth of the moral virtues and the 
 19* 
 
222 HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 formation of good moral habits, it is indispensable that 
 we have, and act in accordance with, settled principles. 
 This is a lesson which must be again and again im- 
 pressed upon your pupils, and in the application of 
 which to themselves they will need to be guided by 
 your superior knowledge. Some of those principles of 
 conduct which every child, who is old enough to go to 
 school, ought to adopt and practise, are as follows, viz. : 
 To tell the truth : to govern the temper : to be strictly 
 honest : to be obedient to parents and teachers : to 
 speak ill of no one behind his back : to be kind to all, 
 even to animals : to avoid quarrels : to improve the time 
 allotted to labour and study : to read the Bible and pray 
 daily : to keep the Sabbath : to abstain from profaning 
 God's name : never to taste strong drink of any kind : 
 to shun lewdness : and to act habitually from the fear 
 of God and from a desire to please Him. Quite young 
 children may be brought to form such resolutions in all 
 seriousness, and to adhere to them with ever increasing 
 constancy. This has been done in various instances un- 
 der my own observation, and a habit thus formed, worth 
 more than all the most eloquent exhortations to virtuous 
 conduct in the world ; the habit, namely, of self-watch- 
 fulness, and of referring all the more important of our 
 actions to a correct standard of right and wrong. You 
 cannot, however, persuade your pupils to such a course, 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL'? 223 
 
 unless your own heart is penetrated with a sense of its 
 importance. To produce conviction in other minds, our 
 own must themselves be first convinced. How impor- 
 tant, then, that you should cherish this sentiment your- 
 self, and act it out in your practice ! Let your pupils 
 not only hear from your lips, but see in your example, 
 that, in the culture of the heart, you regard it as a 
 matter of vital concernment to act in conformity with 
 settled principles, and those derived from no meaner 
 source than the Oracles of the Living God. 
 
 2. Another means of improvement in moral charac- 
 ter which you will find it useful to explain and incul- 
 cate upon your pupils, is, that they look upon every 
 event which befalls them as coming in the providence 
 of God. In strictness of speech there is no such thing 
 as fortune, chance, accident, or casualty. " The Lord 
 reigneth," not only " in the armies of Heaven," but also 
 " among the inhabitants of earth." His providence 
 embraces not merely the revolutions of empires and 
 the order and harmony of the universe, but the fall of 
 a sparrow, the feeding of the ravens, the pencillings of 
 a lily, and even the number of the hairs that cover our 
 heads. To the Infinite Intellect there is neither great 
 nor little. It is as easy for him to create a world as an 
 insect, and to superintend the affairs of a thousand sys- 
 tems as to uphold in being the animalcules that people, 
 unseen by the naked eye, a single drop of water. 
 
224 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 The Bible theory, and therefore the true theory, of 
 the present life is, that it is a state of trial and proba- 
 tion for the next ; in which every occurrence that be- 
 falls us, being under the control of Divine wisdom and 
 power, may be made profitable as a means of strength- 
 ening our virtue and educating us for Heaven. This is 
 true not only of those more prominent events, — such as 
 the loss of friends, health, or property, — which become, 
 as it were, eras in our lives, but likewise of the more 
 trifling crosses and vexations which are of daily occur- 
 rence. A school-boy, for example, may derive, and 
 ought to derive, profitable lessons from an accidental 
 fall, a casual blow, a disappointment in some expected 
 enjoyment, and a hundred other things familiar to his 
 experience, but of little apparent importance. All see 
 and acknowledge the hand of God in the death of a 
 parent, in the pain and weakness of disease, in the loss 
 of a limb or a sense, in a sudden reduction from afflu- 
 ence to poverty ; but few of us are sufficiently in the 
 habit of referring those so called " trifles," which " make 
 up the sum of life," to His superintending control. 
 Yet this is the true view of the case ; and you will find 
 that familiarizing the minds of your pupils with it, and 
 leading them to a practical appreciation of its truth, 
 will be attended with happy effects. It will make them 
 sensible of their own weakness, blindness, and depend- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 1 225 
 
 ence, and promote the growth of patience, fortitude, 
 resignation, and contentment. 
 
 3. A third means of improving and strengthening the 
 moral character, to be unfolded to your pupils and 
 urged upon them, is, that they set resolutely about the 
 correction of their faults. To this end the first step is 
 that they find out what their faults are, and that they 
 be impressed with the idea that they must themselves 
 be the principal agents in correcting them. This latter 
 principle, to which repeated reference has been already 
 made in this work, may be regarded as the alpha and 
 omega of moral training. It is of such fundamental 
 importance that it cannot be too often recurred to 
 in your moral lessons to your pupils. Personal 
 effort, and that of a vigorous, steady, and persevering 
 kind, is absolutely necessary to progress in the work 
 of mending the character. " Make unto yourselves 
 a new heart," is the command of Jehovah. Explain 
 to your pupils that all solid improvement in their char- 
 acters must result from their own exertions, put forth 
 in dependence on superior aid ; and that all that others 
 can do in this behalf is to counsel, guide, and instruct 
 them. 
 
 You must direct your pupils in the study of their 
 own characters. Encourage them to be free before you, 
 to come to you as to a father with all their doubts and 
 
226 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL'? 
 
 perplexities, to lay open their very souls to your in- 
 spection, and even to confess their faults when they feel 
 assured that you cannot overlook them. I have known 
 some instances, and heard of others, in which children 
 have come and confessed their offences, and received 
 with thankfulness the punishment they merited. 
 
 The importance of accustoming the young to look 
 upon their faults as diseases, has been set forth in a 
 previous section. Some have more, others fewer, of 
 these moral maladies; but none are wholly exempt. 
 Perfect moral health cannot be predicated of son or 
 daughter of Adam. Some of the more common faults 
 of childhood are irritability, selfishness, pride, vanity, 
 disobedience, deceit, lying, profaneness, impertinence, 
 and indolence. There is no child or youth who is free 
 from all taint in some one or more of these particulars ; 
 and it is important not only that they ascertain where 
 the taint is, and how far it has spread, but also that 
 they make diligent use of the proper means for remov- 
 ing it. 
 
 Of these means the first is confession ; confession to 
 parents ; confession to teachers ; and, above all, con- 
 fession to God. This is attended with a two-fold ad- 
 vantage ; its tendency is to restore peace of mind to the 
 offender, and to promote reformation in the life. The 
 illustration of these principles I must leave to your own 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 227 
 
 judgment ; but I refer you to Abbott's excellent chapter 
 on Confession in the Young Christian, where you will 
 find much that will be of service to you in bringing the 
 subject down to the level of the youthful understanding, 
 and urging it successfully upon the attention of your 
 scholars. 
 
 The second means to be employed by the young in 
 the correction of their faults, is watchfulness. So 
 potent is the power of habit, that persons, long addicted 
 to any given fault, commit it, as if by instinct, and 
 without being aware of what they are doing.* They 
 lose their moral sensibility in reference to it, which 
 must be regained, before any permanent amendment 
 can be effected. This sensibility can be recovered only 
 by self-watchfulness. The value of this duty should 
 be illustrated in minute detail, and dwelt upon with all 
 the warmth and cogency of deep-wrought conviction. 
 Tell your pupils plainly that it is not a pleasant task to 
 be continually watching themselves, but at the same 
 time give them to understand, and, if possible, convince 
 them, that whatever there may be that is painful or irk- 
 some in the performance of this duty, will be more than 
 counterbalanced by the substantial advantages resulting 
 from it. They cannot be too vigilant for their own 
 
 * This is strikingly, but painfully, exemplified in the case of 
 those who have long indulged the habit of profane swearing. 
 
228 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 good. All the eyes of Argus would be well employed 
 in this work. Persuade them to try the experiment in 
 sober earnestness, and they will find that your most 
 glowing descriptions of the benefits to be derived from 
 it, scarcely equal the reality. 
 
 The third expedient has reference to exposure to 
 temptation. In regard to temptation, it is well remarked 
 by Mr. Abbott, that all, but especially the young, have 
 two duties to perform, viz. : first, to avoid those great 
 temptations which they have not power to resist ; and 
 secondly, to encounter the lighter ones, with a deter- 
 mination, by God's blessing and help, to overcome them. 
 For example, a child of irritable temperament, who 
 always gets angry when playing at marbles, has a plain 
 path before him. He must abstain wholly from that 
 play ; and many an instance have I known, in which 
 this has been cheerfully done. If, on the contrary, not- 
 withstanding his irritability, he can so far command 
 himself as to preserve an even temper amid losses or 
 unfair playing, the game may become a useful means 
 of moral discipline ; it will strengthen his power of self- 
 control, and tend to give him the mastery over his pas- 
 sions. So, if a young man cannot, in gay company, 
 resist the temptation to drink, his duty is clear as the 
 sun. " Procul, O procul ! " But if he can stem the 
 current of fashion, and is proof against solicitation, 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 229 
 
 amid such scenes, whatever other evil consequences 
 may come of his mingling in them, both the principle 
 and the habit of temperance will be thereby strength- 
 ened. If a spot could be found in some remote corner 
 of the country, where children could be educated under 
 circumstances that would remove them entirely from 
 the influence of all temptation to evil, true wisdom 
 would dictate that they should be kept away from it. Till 
 the millennial revolution shall have taken place, no 
 conjuncture of circumstances could be less fitted to pro- 
 duce an order of virtue, that would stand the rude 
 shocks and rough encounters of the world. The plant, 
 always removed from the light, and under perpetual 
 shelter, has a pale and sickly growth ; while another, 
 exposed to the fury of the tempest and the sweep of 
 angry winds, boasts the verdure and luxuriance which 
 mark at once its healthier life and more auspicious for- 
 tune. So virtue, secluded from contact with the world, 
 and nourished, if it were possible, in perfect freedom 
 from temptation, could not gather strength that would 
 enable it to meet the storms that must assail it in the 
 actual commerce of life ; but, on the other hand, moral 
 principle, though in the youthful bosom not safe amid 
 the whirl of pleasure and hurricane of vices, grows 
 and strengthens by every exposure that does not over- 
 power it. 
 20 
 
J230 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL ? 
 
 Place this principle clearly before the minds of your 
 pupils, illustrate it copiously, and endeavour to persuade 
 each of them to apply it in his own case. Forewarn 
 them on what occasions they will be most likely to be 
 assailed by temptation, and thus prepare them to meet 
 and repel it. Teach them, not indeed to seek the trial 
 of their strength by voluntary exposure, but, when trial 
 comes in the providence of God, to meet it manfully, 
 and to be content with nothing less than victory. They 
 will thus learn to " bring good out of evil," and, in their 
 humble measure, imitate Him who " makes the wrath 
 of man to praise him." 
 
 4. A fourth means of moral improvement is prayer. 
 The power of prayer, where it is sincere, earnest, regu- 
 lar, and persevering, is almost omnipotent. Independ- 
 ently of the direct benefits arising from it in the positive 
 answers vouchsafed, its indirect effect upon the temper, 
 and consequently upon the life, is benign and salutary 
 in a high degree. But there is scarcely any duty in 
 reference to which the young stand in greater need of 
 guidance from the wisdom of their elders. From listen- 
 ing to public prayers, which must necessarily be very 
 general in their terms, and to family prayers, which 
 must also be so to a considerable extent, they are apt to 
 imbibe erroneous notions as to the manner in which this 
 duty is to be performed in private. Here, in order to 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 231 
 
 be profited by the exercise, all generalities must be laid 
 aside. They encumber the spirit, and draw it away 
 from the proper objects of its attention. We must go 
 into the minutest details of our conduct, confessing not 
 only that we are sinners, but all the particulars wherein 
 we have sinned. It is impossible to be too specific. This 
 is the only way in which private prayer can be made 
 either interesting or profitable. All formal exordiums, 
 set phrases, and vague common-places, should be es- 
 chewed, and the petitioner come at once to the parti- 
 cular sins, trials, temptations, and wants of the day. 
 
 " O God, I got angry to-day with C. D., and struck 
 him and called him names ; please to forgive me this 
 sin, and help me to govern my temper better hereafter. 
 I was tempted to tell a lie to the teacher this morning 
 about what happened when we were playing ball, but I 
 thank God that He gave me strength to resist the 
 temptation, and helped me to speak the truth. May I 
 love the truth, and speak it always, and thus please my 
 kind Heavenly Father. I thank God for the pleasure I 
 had to-day in wandering with my schoolmates and 
 teacher in the woods and fields, in seeing the beautiful 
 streams and flowers, and in hearing the singing of 
 birds. Help me to remember that all my pleasures are 
 from God, and make me truly thankful for them. Keep 
 me safely to night, and let me see another day in health, 
 for Jesus' sake, Amen." 
 
232 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL^ 
 
 This is a specimen of what I mean by particularity 
 in prayer ; and it reminds me of another point in this 
 duty, too often overlooked, viz. the expression of devout 
 gratitude to God for his aid in enabling us to overcome 
 special temptations, and to hold fast to a course of good- 
 ness. To acceptable and useful private prayer, minute 
 and honest self-examination is indispensable. But of 
 this more under a different head. 
 
 In reference to the employment by your pupils of 
 this means of growing in excellence, your duty is to 
 use your best exertions to convince them of its utility, 
 to persuade them to practise it, and to guide them in 
 their endeavours to that end. Show them, from the 
 Bible, that God has expressly enjoined prayer as a duty, 
 and condescendingly promised to answer it, when 
 offered up in a right spirit and manner ; that is, with 
 sincerity, earnestness, constancy, and faith. Show 
 them also that such a performance of the duty will 
 assuredly produce in them a sense of their dependence, 
 a deep feeling of reverence towards God, gratitude for 
 his goodness, love for his character, acquiescence in his 
 government, a sense of personal guilt, humility, cha- 
 rity, beneficence, and a desire to obey and please God ; 
 — sentiments and dispositions, not merely favourable to 
 virtue, but actually constituting virtue. Appeal, for 
 testimony as to the reality of these benefits, to sacred 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 238 
 
 and ecclesiastical history, to observation, and to the 
 personal experience of those who practise prayer habi- 
 tually. If you cannot reach all your pupils in this 
 way, you certainly will some, perhaps many. But 
 your labour would be well bestowed, if successful in 
 only a single instance ; and even if you were to lose all 
 other reward, you would still have that which is in 
 itself above all price, and in comparison with others far 
 superior to them, an approving conscience, which would 
 be, in this case, also, an approving God. 
 
 5. A diligent and prayerful study of the Bible is an- 
 other and a most valuable method of strengthening and 
 confirming good principles in the heart and right habits 
 of life. I once listened to a sermon on the Means of 
 forming a Good Conscience, from which all reference 
 to the Holy Scriptures was studiously excluded; an 
 omission like that of advertising, as was once done in 
 a remote village in Virginia, " the Play of Hamlet to 
 be performed, the part of Hamlet omitted !" 
 
 You may forcibly illustrate the value of the Bible as 
 a means of improving the moral character, first, from 
 its source, the all-wise, all-knowing, all-merciful God ; 
 secondly, from its own numerous testimonies asserting 
 its unequalled excellence ; thirdly, from the nature of 
 its prominent doctrines and precepts ; fourthly from its 
 leading design, viz. the recovery of man from the 
 20* 
 
234 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 power of sin, and his restoration to moral purity and 
 perfect happiness ; and, finally, from its actual and 
 most astonishing influence in changing the dispositions 
 of the heart, in rectifying the obliquities of the life, and 
 — to express it all in one word — in regenerating 
 the man. I speak not here as a mystic. I say no- 
 thing of the nature of that change in the heart of man, 
 which the gospel undeniably produces : that belongs to 
 the theologian : I speak of its positive and visible 
 effects ; and I solemnly aver that the fruits of the gos- 
 pel, when once its restorative power enters the heart of 
 the hardened and flagitious offender, are among the 
 most extraordinary phenomena appertaining to our 
 nature. This Divine religion sheds its influence upon 
 the heart of the drunkard, and he is at once trans- 
 formed into a sober man. It visits, in its vivifying 
 power, the spirit of the faithless husband, and he no 
 longer wanders from the chosen object of his love. It 
 throws its spell upon the unnatural father, whose self- 
 ishness had invaded even the sanctuary of parental 
 affection, and cankered the holiest feelings of the heart, 
 and from that moment his children again become objects 
 of tender solicitude and anxious care. It elevates the 
 mean ; confers dignity upon the worthless ; gives cour- 
 age to the timid ; converts the thief, the robber, and the 
 deceiver into honourable, upright, and useful citizens ; 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MF SCHOOL! 235 
 
 and restores to the paternal roof, and to filial duty, the 
 prodigal, who had long heeded naught but the Siren 
 song of Pleasure, that lured him to his ruin. Surely, 
 a book emanating from such a source, written for so 
 worthy and glorious an object, breathing a spirit of 
 super-angelic purity, and producing effects such as 
 those above enumerated, cannot but be an invaluable 
 instrument in cultivating the moral feelings. No teacher 
 can give too earnest heed, or put forth undue exertions, 
 in the work of familiarizing his pupils with its doctrines 
 and spirit. 
 
 6. A proper observance of the Sabbath is an import- 
 ant means of forming a good moral character. The 
 Sabbath was not instituted merely, or mainly, as a 
 means of physical refreshment after exhausting labours. 
 This is, indeed, one of the benefits flowing from it ; but 
 it is incidental, not capital. The great end of the insti- 
 tution undoubtedly is the improvement of moral charac- 
 ter, by affording leisure for that purpose. They who 
 suppose that the Sabbath is duly " kept" by a mere 
 cessation from labour and amusement, entertain very 
 unworthy views of its nature and design. It is vio- 
 lated and perverted by all who do not so employ it as 
 to gain somewhat of strength and courage for that war- 
 fare from which Virtue is never released, till she receives 
 her final award beyond that cold flood, which separates 
 the living from the dead. 
 
236 HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL'? 
 
 7. I have reserved to the last the most important 
 means of fostering and strengthening virtuous principle, 
 viz. self-examination. I call this the most important, 
 not because I esteem it as such intrinsically, but be- 
 cause it is necessary to the full efficiency of all the 
 others. This is a duty extremely liable to be neglected, 
 not only by children, but even by those who have 
 reached mature years, and who " profess and call them- 
 selves Christians." For this neglect, two causes may 
 be assigned, which have perhaps been chiefly influential 
 in producing it. These are ignorance of the true nature 
 of the duty, and want of system in the performance of 
 it. Rightly understood, all the difficulties which, are 
 by many supposed to encompass it, vanish into air. 
 No duty is really easier, pleasanter, or more capable 
 of being reduced to a perfect system than this ; and no 
 other affords immediate results so definite and tangible. 
 
 The old maxim, " know thyself," which, the Roman 
 satirist tells us, descended from heaven, has been re- 
 produced in all ages, among all nations, and in all 
 tongues. The question is how to make the application 
 of it easy and successful. Many persons, perhaps the 
 majority, in examining themselves, instead of embrac- 
 ing in the scrutiny their actions, those true exponents 
 of the heart, look only to the ordinary state of their 
 feelings, and ask themselves some general questions 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 237 
 
 touching their habitual sentiments ; such as, " Do I 
 love God?" "Am I truly penitent for my sins?" 
 " Have I faith in Jesus Christ ?" &c. The simple fact, 
 that a mother, who should thus examine her feelings 
 with respect to her children, would sometimes be at a 
 loss to determine whether she really loved them or not, 
 is sufficient to show the almost utter uselessness of this 
 mode of questioning. The true way is to go over 
 minutely the occurrences and transactions, with all the 
 circumstances attending them, of the period to which 
 the examination extends, scrutinizing, at every step, the 
 springs of action in the motives by which we have been 
 governed. And this review, to be useful, must be per- 
 formed upon some settled plan, embracing both the 
 times and the manner of conducting it. There is an 
 excellent plan, the production of a female moralist, 
 referred to by Simpson in his Necessity of Popular 
 Education. It consists in a Daily Record of Duties, 
 entered upon a blank form, and has been used in fami- 
 lies for the last seven years both in England and Scot- 
 land. On the following page is a specimen of the Re- 
 cord for a week, not copied exactly from the original, 
 but modified to suit the writer's own views of conve- 
 nience and utility. 
 
238 
 
 HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL 
 
 
 Daily Record of Duties for one Week 
 
 
 
 
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 Truth, openness, candour, no deceit, .... 
 Obedience to Parents and Teachers, .... 
 Respectfulness, no impertinence or inso- 
 
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 Diligence, no listlessness or idleness, .... 
 Good temper, no passion or cruelty, .... 
 Gentleness, forbearance, no contention, . . 
 
 No selfishness, no jealousy, no envy, . . . 
 
 Circumspection, self-watchfulness, 
 
 Kindness, no coldheartcdncss, 
 
 Conscientious duty, seen or not seen, . . . 
 Cheerfulness, docility, no obstinacy,. . . . 
 Secret prayer, reading the Bible, 
 
 Fortitude, resistance of temptation, .... 
 
 Patience, resignation, no peevishness, . . . 
 Neatness, cleanliness, 
 
 Reverence of the Deity, no profaneness, 
 Temperance, no gluttony, no strong- 
 
 Charitable judgment, no slander, no evil- 
 
 Active beneficence, doing good to others, 
 
 Explanation. — The fulfilment or non-fulfilment of each duty 
 is marked thus : — by the letter o, if obeyed, — n, if neglected, — t, 
 if transgressed, — st, if seriously transgressed. 
 

 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 1 239 
 
 By this simple contrivance, fifteen or twenty minutes 
 daily will be sufficient to enable a man, or a child with 
 a little help at first, to go over the whole range of moral 
 duties, examining his conduct in reference to them, and 
 recording the results of his scrutiny for preservation 
 and subsequent inspection and comparison. Where this 
 plan is adopted, and adhered to with honesty and per- 
 severance, it is impossible to over-estimate the moral 
 results which may be reached through its instrumental- 
 ity. To form some idea of its beneficent power, ima- 
 gine a person commencing it at the age of eight years, 
 and practising it, in perfect good faith, every day, till 
 he reaches the full maturity of fifty. Can you conceive 
 it possible that such an one should be otherwise than 
 eminent in every moral virtue, and forward in all good 
 works ; — the delight of his friends, an ornament to 
 humanity, and a model to be studied and imitated by 
 those who are just entering upon the stage of life ? Mr. 
 Simpson well remarks that, " if nothing else were 
 effected [by this plan] than securing a diurnal perusal 
 of the names of the duties — a daily reminiscence that 
 these are human obligations — actual good could not but 
 result : but when this help to self-examination is really 
 and sincerely used as a regulator of conduct, the good 
 it is capable of doing is incalculable." 
 
240 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 
 
 SECTION XIV. 
 
 In speaking to your pupils of their faults, do not 
 overlook their true source, depravity of heart ; yet in 
 animadverting upon any particular offence, qualify 
 your censure by introducing, when you honestly can, 
 some commendation of the culprit, and always by lay- 
 ing a stress on the means of improvement, and the hope 
 and expectation that these means will be employed. 
 
 In every thing of a moral nature, the heart is to be 
 looked to rather than the outward act ; for out of it are 
 the issues of life. The heart is the fountain ; the ac- 
 tions are but streams. Do what you will with the latter, 
 as long as you forget or overlook the former, your 
 efforts will be wholly unavailing, so far as the real 
 amendment of your pupils is concerned. You may, 
 indeed, bring about some decency in externals, which 
 will blind for a time both yourself and others to the 
 truth ; but, meanwhile, the root of the evil remains, and 
 gains strength continually. The fountain retains its 
 bitterness and, sooner or later, will send it forth to the 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL '( 241 
 
 light. To that, your own attention should be mainly 
 bent, and thither, with the greatest earnestness, must 
 you direct the thoughts and efforts of your pupil. 
 
 When a fault has been committed, the conviction 
 most necessary to be fastened upon the conscience of 
 the offender, is, that he has committed a sin against 
 God ; and the sentiment which you should most assidu- 
 ously labour to beget in his mind, is an anxiety to make 
 his peace with an offended but forgiving Father. Tell 
 him plainly, but affectionately, that his wrong doing 
 does not spring from mere weakness or error, but is the 
 offspring of a heart estranged from God, and in love 
 with sin ; and that though he may for the time desist 
 from doing a bad thing, he continues to be bad, till he 
 is sincerely sorry for it, and heartily resolved to for- 
 sake it. Strive to produce in him a sense of his guilt, 
 and of his need of repentance and pardon. Paint, in 
 the strong colours of Scripture, God's hatred of sin ; 
 but at the same time take care that his kindness to peni- 
 tents, and his willingness to forgive, be as fully and 
 touchingly portrayed. Unfold, with distinctness and 
 particularity, the character and offices of Christ, as set 
 forth in the Gospel. Hold Him up to view as empha- 
 tically the Friend of mankind ; as the great Refuge of 
 all who have done wrong ; as ever willing to help them, 
 and intercede with his Father to forgive ; as the very 
 21 
 
242 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 heart of kindness and love ; as setting us an example 
 of all that is amiable and excellent ; and as now ex- 
 alted in glory, and become the Advocate of sinners 
 before the throne of God. These are lessons, not to be 
 gone over coldly, as mere matter of duty, once or twice, 
 and then to be dismissed forever from your thoughts ; 
 but they must be, again and again, pressed upon the 
 'heart and conscience of your pupils ; they must be re- 
 peated as often as fit occasions for the repetition occur ; 
 and dwelt upon with all the fervour of friendship, and 
 all the earnestness of deep- wrought conviction. 
 
 Censure, however necessary, is unpleasant both to 
 him who bestows and to him who receives it ; and it is 
 sometimes irritating to the latter, even when adminis- 
 tered in an unexceptionable manner. If a child is 
 addicted to a particular fault, and you are labouring to 
 correct it, while you are painting, in its proper colours, 
 this defect in his character, it is useful to refer with 
 commendation to some good quality, or virtue, for 
 which he is distinguished ; and to show him how much 
 more he is respected and beloved on account of it than 
 he would otherwise be, and how his character would be 
 improved, and his ability to be useful increased, by the 
 conquest of all his vices and foibles, and the possession 
 of the opposite virtues. You may thus produce a spe- 
 cies of honourable emulation and rivalry between the 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 243 
 
 various germs and principles of good which have be- 
 gun to assert their power in the heart, and stimulate 
 them, as it were, to endeavour each to outstrip the 
 others in the race of improvement. I have, in various 
 instances, seen almost magical effects result from such 
 a course. Commendation, discreetly bestowed, is one 
 of the most important instruments in the hands of a 
 teacher. A schoolmaster who does not know how to 
 praise is unfit for his office ! This is a strong expres- 
 sion, and may startle some persons ; but I trust that I 
 shall be able to make it good, when occasion arises to 
 recur to it in a subsequent section. 
 
 In reproving your pupils for their faults, and labour- 
 ing to eradicate them, give great prominence to the 
 methods to be employed by themselves in correcting 
 them ; dwell upon the certainty of success accompany- 
 ing honest endeavours to that end ; and show as much 
 confidence as you can in their disposition to give the 
 means pointed out a fair trial. This, if your general 
 management is judicious, will encourage them to under- 
 take the task, and persevere in it. To be trusted is 
 sweet to all ; it is especially so to children, in whom the 
 temptation to deceive is often so strong as to overpower 
 their best and firmest resolves. The confidence which 
 they see to be reposed in them is not unfrequently their 
 
244 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 best safeguard against the power of temptation, and the 
 most efficient aid in enabling them either to rectify what 
 is wrong in their conduct, or to hold fast to their inte- 
 grity. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 245 
 
 SECTION XV. 
 
 Endeavour to produce in your pupils a cordial con- 
 cern for their faults. 
 
 This topic was touched upon in the preceding section, 
 but it deserves a fuller illustration. I find the principle, 
 which is a very important one, so well set forth in a 
 Letter in the London Christian Observer, for January, 
 X813, that, with some omissions, additions, and modifi- 
 cations, I have determined to substitute that exposition 
 in place of my own reflections on the subject. 
 
 Without a cordial concern for a fault, no good and 
 firm foundation can be laid for its cure. Even if we 
 looked no farther than to worldly principles, to mere 
 prudence and fair character, this would be true. It is 
 eminently and obviously true, when the reference is to 
 religion, and to God who searches the heart. Without 
 this cordial concern, there can be no repentance, and 
 without repentance there can be neither forgiveness nor 
 the Divine blessing ; and therefore all must be unsound 
 at bottom, even if outward reformation be obtained. 
 We too frequently see both parents and teachers make 
 21* 
 
246 HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL 1 
 
 the reformation of the faults of children a matter in 
 which religion is scarcely, if at all, referred to ; and 
 few or no appeals are directed to the heart and con- 
 science. Thus morality comes to be considered (or 
 nearly so) as consisting in mere outward observances : 
 God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, are little brought into 
 view in the child's daily conduct ; and he gets into the 
 habit of being satisfied with himself, if he does nothing 
 contrary to rule, though his motives may not have been 
 pure, and his heart may have been in a very indifferent 
 state. 
 
 The proper system is, carefully to counteract the 
 hardness of heart, the searedness of conscience, and 
 the other evils, both present and future, of such a state, 
 by doing your best to lead your pupils to have God in 
 all their thoughts, and to habitual daily repentance and 
 tenderness of conscience before Him ; — in short, to that 
 frame of mind, making proper allowance for their age, 
 which is required in all of us by our Heavenly Father. 
 To this end, always endeavour, in correcting a fault in 
 a child, to have a right religious view of it, and to give 
 the culprit, partly by precept and illustration, and partly 
 by sympathy, a right feeling respecting it, as an offence 
 against his Maker, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. It is too 
 common to cut short the notice of a fault. It is strongly 
 blamed ; perhaps the child undergoes some punish- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 247 
 
 ment ; perhaps he is threatened with severe punishment 
 if he repeats the fault ; or perhaps he is required to say 
 that he is sorry for it, and will not repeat it. The mas- 
 ter is peremptory, the child is frightened, and all is over 
 in a very short time, without any useful impression on 
 the offender, and with scarcely any other effect than 
 that of making him more careful and adroit in avoiding 
 detection in future. 
 
 " Mrs. and I, on the contrary," says the Letter 
 
 in the Observer, " endeavour to make every fault of our 
 children to be felt by them as an offence against God, 
 and a sin to be repented of, and upon repentance to be 
 pardoned through our Saviour. We therefore carefully 
 guard against the child's thinking that his fault is re- 
 proved as a personal offence against ourselves. We 
 talk to him solemnly, but tenderly ; feeling and express- 
 ing much concern that he has offended God ; contrasting 
 his conduct with the love of God; painting the plea- 
 sure with which his holiness would be received in hea- 
 ven, particularly by Christ, and the pain which his sin 
 has occasioned. In short, we talk with him, mutatis 
 mutandis,* as with a friend with whom we tenderly 
 sympathize, while we feel that we have a right to com- 
 mand. We temper the terrors of the Lord with repre- 
 
 * Varying where variation is necessary. 
 
248 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 1 
 
 sentations of his love and mercy ; and we persevere in 
 this course, till the child's mind appears humbled and 
 softened, and brought into such a penitent frame as God 
 looks upon with favour. The whole often ends in a 
 short affectionate prayer of half a minute, or a minute, 
 for pardon and grace, dictated by ourselves, as far as 
 the child's own thoughts will not of themselves supply 
 it. This process is never hurried over, nor is it ever 
 brought to a conclusion before the end appears to be 
 attained ; as nothing can be more important, so nothing 
 is suffered to supersede or interrupt it. It is taken up 
 very early, and is always accommodated in its different 
 parts to the years and knowledge of the child. It ap- 
 pears formidable on paper; but it is surprising how 
 short, and even pleasant it is, in all common cases, 
 through its being commenced so early and habitually 
 practised. It has almost banished punishment from 
 our house, and has brought with it various other good 
 consequences. I need not say, that considerable dis- 
 crimination and discretion must be exercised by the 
 parent. Religion must be made to wear an amiable 
 and endearing, as well as an awful, countenance. The 
 bruised reed must not be broken ; the feelings must not 
 be excited beyond what nature will bear ; and if a 
 storm of feeling arises, it must be allayed without any 
 improper indulgence, destructive of tbe effect to be 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 249 
 
 produced. You will see, that sagacity and self-com- 
 mand are wanted on the part of the parent, for which 
 he cannot hope, if he do not maintain an unruffled 
 mind." 
 
 
250 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 SECTION XVI. 
 
 In treating what we have denominated the moral 
 diseases of your pupils, look for occasional relapses ; 
 do not expect too much immediately from your best 
 exertions ; patient continuance in a course of judicious 
 management and instruction will certainly, in the end, 
 be crowned with success. 
 
 It seems a constitutional tendency of the human 
 mind, and especially is it the genius of the American 
 people, to hasten to the end. We are, in every thing, 
 too apt to become impatient and disheartened, if we do 
 not compass our aims speedily. Scarcely any error, in 
 education, is of more disastrous influence than that of 
 expecting rapid results with so much confidence as to 
 have our zeal checked, and our efforts paralyzed, by 
 disappointment. On this subject, as on many others, 
 physical nature will teach us a useful lesson. Almost 
 all her beneficent operations, however great or beautiful 
 in their ultimate effects, are gentle, insinuating, and 
 often wholly imperceptible in their progress towards 
 completion. We see that a change has been, a change 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 251 
 
 perhaps of mighty import, but the process of change 
 has been ever concealed from our view in the gentle 
 slowness of its course. The volcano, with terrific sud- 
 denness, discharges its tide of burning desolation on the 
 populous city and the fruitful vale; the earthquake 
 swallows up its thousands in an instant ; the hurricane 
 prostrates men and cities, and whelms the stoutest ves- 
 sels, in its lightning career ; and the poisonous drug, 
 charged with convulsive death, sends a rapid and a 
 maddening current through the veins, in place of that 
 flow of life, which, in its genial action, is as unfelt as it 
 is unseen. But the grass spreads its velvet over the 
 earth, the wheat matures its treasures, and the flower 
 unfolds its petals, in silence ; no sense of man is pene- 
 trating enough to perceive, at any given moment, the 
 change that is going forward. 
 
 Thus it is also, in some measure and in some respects, 
 with moral changes. The analogy holds good in 
 respect to the gradual nature of the change, and the 
 time required to complete it ; and where it is interrupted, 
 the difference is altogether against the department of 
 morals. In cultivating the hearts of your pupils, and 
 giving a right tone to their moral character, adverse 
 influences, of a thousand shapes and hues, spring up on 
 the right hand and on the left, and meet you at every 
 step in your course. First there is that master impedi* 
 
252 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 ment, the innate aversion of the soul to good. Se- 
 condly, there is the weakness, ignorance, volatility, 
 thoughtlessness, and inconsistency of childhood. And, 
 thirdly, there is often, in the teacher, a want of judg- 
 ment, a want of patience, a want of faithfulness, or 
 there is some other deficiency, which weakens his influ- 
 ence over his pupils, and thereby impedes their pro- 
 gress in goodness. These influences, and such as 
 these, will often seem, for the time, to render nugatory 
 your best exertions. Even where there is an honest 
 desire and endeavour after improvement, and consider- 
 able strength of principle, lapses will sometimes, nay, 
 frequently, occur. You must not expect perfection, or 
 any thing approaching to it, in young beings, who came 
 into the world with a constitutional tendency to please 
 themselves rather than to do their duty, and in whom 
 instinct and passion are yet stronger than reason and 
 principle. When you have exerted your utmost power, 
 used unwearied diligence, and taken every imaginable 
 pains, to correct some particular fault, and when you 
 think you have made considerable progress in the work, 
 you will not seldom be distressed by a repetition of it, 
 and that too perhaps under circumstances of flagrant 
 enormity. But be not dismayed nor disheartened. 
 Suffer not yourself to be betrayed into impatience, or 
 turned aside from your course ; but rather be incited to 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 253 
 
 redoubled efforts. Deal not in invectives and reproaches. 
 This would be an evidence of your own wounded pride, 
 rather than of any purer and loftier sentiment ; and its 
 only effect would be to harden the offender, and hinder 
 the good work which, despite of present appearances, 
 has undoubtedly been commenced. Wisdom dictates a 
 conduct quite the reverse of this. If you would have 
 your pupil not only regain what he has lost, but make 
 further advances in excellence, you must strive to bring 
 him to true repentance. Administer your reproof with 
 tender faithfulness, remind him of his weakness and his 
 need of superior aid, warn him against trusting to his 
 own strength, tell him that he need not be discouraged 
 but should double his vigilance, and, with affectionate 
 earnestness, point him to that Divine Being, who is at 
 once the Refuge, the Strength, and the Advocate of sin- 
 ners. Thus will you magnify your office, and, in your 
 humble measure, imitate Him who bears long with the 
 transgressor, and who enjoins upon us that we forgive 
 not seven times only, but seventy times seven. " Train 
 up a child," says the inspired proverb, " in the way he 
 should go, and when he is old" when he has reached 
 the full maturity of his years and of his physical and 
 moral strength, " he will not depart from it." Solomon 
 was too wise to affirm that there would not be occa- 
 sional aberrations in childhood and youth. These must 
 22 
 
254 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL T 
 
 be expected, tolerated, and treated with a due inter- 
 mingling of indulgence and severity, of entreaty and 
 reproof. When the first seed that is committed to the 
 bosom of the earth, is destroyed by birds, or insects, or 
 long continued rains, the farmer does not fold his arms 
 in sullen disappointment, and declare that it is useless 
 to wage a warfare against providence and the elements. 
 He sows his fields afresh, and waits in the hope and 
 expectation of better success than he met with in his 
 first attempt. Do you copy after this pattern. Let not 
 hope deferred make your heart sick. Let not disap- 
 pointment cloud your brow. Let not partial success, or 
 even repeated failure, cause a relaxation of your efforts. 
 Bear and forbear. Persevere in the work that you 
 have chosen. Remain steadfast, immoveable, always 
 abounding therein ; and rest in the assurance that your 
 labour, though its reward be long deferred, shall not be 
 ultimately in vain. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 255 
 
 SECTION XVII. 
 
 Maintain a sleepless vigilance over your pupils, but 
 with as little appearance of it as may be ; mark the 
 beginnings of evil, and use your utmost endeavours 
 to counteract and overcome them ; and cherish, with 
 parental solicitude, the feeblest developments of good 
 feelings and principles. 
 
 The experience which I have had in teaching, has 
 fastened no one conviction more deeply on my mind 
 than this, that vigilance, eagle-eyed, all-pervading, and 
 unremitted, is the price of order and subordination in 
 a school. Yet this duty, while it is one of the most 
 important, is, at the same time, the most arduous, dis- 
 agreeable, and unpopular of all the duties you will be 
 called upon, as a schoolmaster, to perform. Almost all 
 children entertain very erroneous and unjust notions 
 respecting it. They stigmatize it as " watching ;" they 
 think meanly of their teachers, and sneer at them, for 
 their fidelity in it ; calling them " spies," and thinking 
 no harm in trying, in every possible way, to elude their 
 watchfulness- They will sometimes even engage in 
 
256 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 wrong doing for the mean and sinister purpose of seeing 
 whether they cannot perpetrate their mischief without 
 being found out in it. Watchfulness is, therefore, a 
 duty evermore shunned by unfaithful teachers. What 
 they desire and seek is to see as little as they can; 
 imitating in this, the conduct of the quack, who should 
 try to learn as few of his patient's symptoms as possi- 
 ble, lest the case should prove too deep for his know- 
 ledge, or give him too much trouble. This, however, 
 is, emphatically, to daub with untempered mortar ; it 
 is to purchase present ease at the expense of certain 
 trouble in reversion ; it is to lay the foundation, not 
 of goodness and order, but of turmoil, strife, rebel- 
 lion, and anarchy. You must be vigilant, or you must 
 give up all idea of maintaining a vigorous and whole- 
 some government over your charge. There are but two 
 horns to the dilemma ; and one or the other of them 
 you must choose. 
 
 It is wise, and will often be found very useful, to 
 labour to convince your pupils that the prevalent feel- 
 ings of children in reference to the watchfulness of 
 their instructors, are all wrong ; that they are founded 
 in injustice, nurtured by prejudice, at war with their 
 own interests, and sinful in the sight of God. Tell 
 them that you are not at liberty to act in this matter 
 according to their pleasure or even your own ; but that 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 257 
 
 a solemn obligation rests upon you to watch over them, 
 nay, to try, in all lawful ways, to search out their 
 faults, — not, indeed, to gratify an idle curiosity, and 
 still less for the sake of inflicting pain by punishment, — 
 but that you may use seasonable and suitable means to 
 correct them, — that you may rebuke, exhort, and en- 
 treat, with all long suffering and doctrine. Explain to 
 them how a just sense of the Divine omniscience, and 
 the certainty of future judgment, operate as a whole- 
 some restraint upon the bad passion and actions of men, 
 and how, in like manner, the conscious assurance that 
 their teacher has a vigilant eye, and a hand prompt to 
 punish misdeeds, will insensibly hold them back from 
 many an improper act that they would otherwise have 
 committed without hesitation. Show them, moreover, 
 that virtue is so weak in all, and especially in the 
 young, that it cannot afford to lose any of those sup- 
 ports which the word and providence of God have pro- 
 vided for it. 
 
 Such appeals as these, well and seasonably adminis- 
 tered, will be very likely to operate a change in their 
 feelings with respect to their teachers' vigilance. I 
 have myself, in many cases, seen wholesome fruits re- 
 sult from such a course of instruction. But whether 
 you can convince your pupils or not that a vigilant ob- 
 servance of their conduct is not only your duty, and 
 22* 
 
258 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 therefore perfectly honorable, but also of the greatest 
 utility to themselves, it is still your duty, and one from 
 which you may not shrink, on pain of seeing almost 
 all your other efforts for the moral improvement of 
 your pupils thwarted and rendered abortive. Yet, while 
 you thus proclaim watchfulness to be your duty, and 
 labour to reconcile the minds of your pupils to it, in 
 practice let it be gentle, silent, and as much as possible 
 concealed from the actual view of those towards whom 
 it is employed. 
 
 Without diligence in the discharge of this obligation, 
 you cannot fulfil the last part of the direction which 
 forms the heading of this section. This, however, is 
 of the utmost moment in moral education. 
 
 " 'Tis education forms the common mind, 
 Just as the twig is bent, the tree 's inclined." 
 
 The earliest developements, whether of good or evil, 
 must be observed and studied, for the purpose, in the 
 one case, of encouragement and culture, in the other, 
 of surrounding them with checks and guards and im- 
 pediments to their further progress. There is a time 
 when the strongest and most terrible animals, even the 
 lord of the forests, can be easily overcome and de- 
 stroyed by the hand of man. It is in the infancy and 
 nonage, as it were, of their being, the first budding of 
 their strength. That time past, their power becomes 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 259 
 
 appalling, and they are the terror of men, and the dread 
 of inferior brutes. Precisely thus it is with bad pas- 
 sions and habits. Taken at an early period, they can, 
 if a proper course be pursued in reliance upon Divine 
 aid, almost certainly be either expelled or rectified. 
 But if permitted to grow unchecked till they reach the 
 maturity of their strength, they become like the mad- 
 man, who scatters fire-brands, arrows, and death ; they 
 are the tyrants of those in whom they dwell, and the 
 scourges and pests of society. Let no one delude him- 
 self with the vain persuasion that wayward fits, and 
 cross humours, and other juvenile faults, must, or may, 
 be tolerated in children, but that they will give way to 
 good sense and maturer principles at a future period. 
 
 " Vain reason all, and false philosophy !" 
 
 Such a plea will not stand a moment before the maxim 
 of the wise King of Israel : " Train up a child in the- 
 way he should go." 
 
260 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 SECTION XVIII. 
 
 Speak often and freely to your pupils of the pecu- 
 liar dangers and temptations to which the young are 
 exposed, especially those incident to their position as 
 members of a school ; point out and urge upon them 
 the means of overcoming these dangers, and resisting 
 these temptations. 
 
 One of the surest means of defence and protection 
 against any danger, is to be thoroughly forewarned of 
 both its nature and extent, and to be well apprized of 
 the time and manner in which it is likely to assail us. 
 Thus, if a man be told that, notwithstanding the fair- 
 ness of appearances, he is approaching a place where 
 the earth is hollow and will give way beneath him, he 
 pauses ; and, if he be satisfied that his information is 
 well founded, he retraces his steps, or seeks his place 
 of destination by some different route. The mariner, 
 whose charts tell of deep water, where they ought to 
 apprize him of shoals, rushes headlong, in the blind- 
 ness of deceitful security, upon inevitable shipwreck 
 and ruin ; while another, pursuing the same track, but 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 2G1 
 
 guided by better lights, cautiously avoids the known, 
 though hidden, danger. But why multiply illustrations 
 of a principle, which, if not exactly self-evident, is so 
 familiar to the consciousness and observation of all 
 men, that it strikes the mind at once with all the force 
 of an intuitive truth ? Every body shuns known physi- 
 cal dangers, which duty does not require him to brave ; 
 and if we are sometimes more reckless of moral risks, 
 it is because we either do not believe the danger is real, 
 or we do not believe it is near ; and a vague impression 
 clings to us that we shall be able to escape it by future 
 repentance and reformation. 
 
 It is the principle here laid down, and thus briefly 
 illustrated, which forms the basis of this eighteenth di- 
 rection, and gives to it all its importance. If to know 
 a peril is, in most or even many cases, to shun it, how 
 unspeakably important is it that the dangers which 
 beset the young, and the temptations most likely to 
 assail them, together with the means of resistance and 
 conquest, be pointed out, and held up clearly to their 
 view ! You can scarcely, with too much particularity, 
 frequency, or zeal, dwell upon these topics, in your 
 public and private intercourse with your pupils. The 
 fruits you will gather from this field will more than 
 repay all the labour you may bestow upon it. Cultivate 
 it, then, assiduously. Show your pupils how they will 
 
262 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 be liable to be corrupted by the example and conversa- 
 tion of wicked companions ; how they will be frequently 
 assailed by direct solicitations to engage in mischief; 
 how they will be exposed to the dangers arising from 
 ill -regulated emulation, from envy, jealousy, and re- 
 venge ; while, from their number, it will be impossible 
 for them to receive individually those minute and sedu- 
 lous attentions, which can be given beneath the pater- 
 nal roof. Warn them of the temptations to deceit, con- 
 tention, profaneness, cruelty, and even theft, which will 
 rise up in their path, to turn them aside from the strict 
 rule of virtue. Explain to them how necessary it is to 
 their happiness, usefulness, and true excellence, that 
 they buckle on the armour of determined opposition to 
 these deadly enemies ; and how, by cultivating an ha- 
 bitual sense of God's presence and their accountability, 
 by a judicious choice of companions, by self-watchful- 
 ness, by an honest study of the Bible, and by prayer, 
 they can render their resistance effectual. Encourage 
 them by the assurance that every successful effort they 
 make will add strength to their principles, and dignity 
 to their character, and be pleasing not only to their 
 parents in the flesh, but to their Father who is in 
 heaven. Be assured that these exhibitions clearly set 
 forth, these admonitions affectionately administered, 
 these counsels given not in the words only but in the 
 
HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 263 
 
 spirit of friendship, these encouragements pourtrayec], in 
 the warm colours of conviction, and with the deep- 
 toned earnestness of sincere affection, must and will 
 tell upon ingenuous minds, if there be any such in your 
 school. 
 
264 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 
 
 SECTION XIX. 
 
 Endeavour, as far as you can without sacrificing 
 more important considerations, to sweeten the necessary 
 restraints and labours of your pupils. 
 
 In the zeal of innovations, which, above most other 
 things, has distinguished the present age, the numbers 
 are not few who have proclaimed, as an important dis- 
 covery, the absurd and puerile doctrine that education 
 may be made a pastime. Many books have been written 
 in accordance with this theory, in which knowledge 
 has been simplified, and simplified, and simplified, till 
 its substance is gone, and nothing is left of it but the 
 painted shadow. It is not denied that improvements 
 have been made in the science of training the youthful 
 mind (and still greater perhaps are yet behind) ; nor 
 that the pursuit of knowledge is in itself fitted to yield, 
 and, when prosecuted aright, does yield, pleasure. But, 
 notwithstanding these concessions, it remains true, and 
 ever will, that education is a discipline, and cannot 
 by any means be reduced to a sort of play. Its true 
 object is to enlighten ignorance, to develop and train to 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 2G5 
 
 their proper use and end the physical powers and the 
 faculties of the soul, and to elevate man to the real 
 dignity of his nature, " by counteracting the natural 
 bent of the mind to evil, and by instilling and fostering, 
 under the guidance and by the help of the Divine Spirit, 
 a new nature, the very reverse of that which we all 
 bring into the world." Is this a labour to be called and 
 considered as mere sport ? It is solemn trifling, and a 
 proof of egregious ignorance and vanity, or something 
 yet more reprehensible, to make the assertion ; and it 
 is worse than trifling to attempt to carry the doctrine 
 into practical effect. 
 
 But, though sound and wholesome education be, and 
 must ever remain, really and truly a discipline, it is, 
 nevertheless, a discipline which should be rendered as 
 mild and gentle in its exercise as possible ; and the 
 many restraints it necessarily imposes, and the severe 
 and long continued labour it involves, should be sweet- 
 ened by affection and sympathy, relieved by every pro- 
 per indulgence, and the latter encouraged by judicious 
 commendation and other suitable rewards. The whole 
 of life is a discipline, of which God is the Author and 
 Conductor. And what is the chosen course of the all- 
 wise and all-knowing One in carrying forward the 
 gracious and beneficent discipline of his providence \ 
 You have only to open your eyes and survey the scene 
 23 
 
266 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 which surrounds you, and you will behold it, written 
 as with sunbeams, in the beauty that glows in the ex- 
 panse of heaven ; in the lovely and varied garniture of 
 the earth ; in the melody of birds and streams and 
 whispering winds ; in the genial and pleasure-freighted 
 revolution of the seasons, — the verdure and flowers of 
 spring — the dews and sunshine and fructifying influ- 
 ences of summer — the ripened treasures and gay tints 
 of autumn — and the repose which winter affords to the 
 earth ; in the adaptation of our powers to these varied 
 charms and enjoyments ; in the flow of health which 
 we ordinarily enjoy ; in the multiplied means of im- 
 provement and sources of happiness provided for our 
 use ; and, above all, in that calm and quiet of the soul, 
 which Virtue, like a guardian angel, wafts on wings of 
 purity to the spirit that wooes her from the skies. Such, 
 in fact, is the profusion of sweets and pleasures with 
 which God, the Great Educator, has strewed the path 
 of those who are yet in their pupilage, that they are in 
 danger of becoming so in love with, the place of their 
 education, as to forget that better mansion, and the 
 bosom of the Master of the house, which, to those who 
 improve their opportunity aright, are to be the home 
 and resting-place of eternity. 
 
 In this respect, those under teachers, who are en- 
 gaged in our schools and various institutions of learn- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN" MY SCHOOL? 267 
 
 ing, would do well to imitate, as far as in them lies, the 
 Divine plan of operations. You should consider the 
 weakness, the ignorance, the dependence, the many- 
 checks and restraints imposed upon the volatile spirits, 
 and the really hard and toilsome and exhausting la- 
 bours of your pupils, and endeavour to throw around 
 them as many pleasing circumstances as the nature of 
 their employment and a wise regard to its true ends 
 will permit. Without sacrificing your firmness or deci- 
 sion, use towards them on all occasions a gentle and 
 forbearing manner. Let them see that you have not 
 forgotten that you were once yourself a child. Let 
 them learn, rather from your actions than from your 
 words, that you understand the difficulties that encom- 
 pass them, and sympathize with them in their little 
 trials ; — little, frequently, only to our maturer appre- 
 hension, but often great and sore to them, in the tender 
 years of their pupilage. Show yourself forward in 
 seeking out amusements for them, and promoting their 
 pleasures, during their hours of relaxation ; and be ever 
 willing to grant them any little extra indulgence which 
 can be permitted without a violation of the claims of 
 duty. Abstain carefully from all manifestation of im- 
 patience, and from chiding, at failures resulting from 
 defect in intellectual endowment. I can scarcely con- 
 ceive of any thing more cruel, more revolting to a gene- 
 
268 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 rous mind, or even more presumptuously wicked, than 
 loading with reproaches for his dullness a child who is 
 really deficient in intellect. It seems not only a piece 
 of cold-hearted inhumanity, but nothing less than an 
 arraignment of Providence for withholding from one 
 those gifts which He had bestowed more liberally upon 
 another. A pleasing anecdote, occupying not more than 
 one or two minutes, occasionally related to the whole 
 school in the midst of their studies, will sometimes have 
 an almost talismanic effect, spreading a pleasant state 
 of feeling through the room, and causing the scholars 
 to redouble their diligence at their lessons. 
 
 Praise, well merited and judiciously bestowed, is a 
 magic sweetener of labour, and a powerful stimulant to 
 exertion. Roger Ascham, in his " Scholemaster," speak- 
 ing on the subject of translations and retranslations, 
 says, — " When the child bringeth it [his exercise] 
 turned into Latin, the master must compare it with 
 Tully's book, and lay them both together ; and where 
 the child doth well, either in chusing or true placing 
 Tully's words, let the master praise him, and say, 
 ' Here you do well.'' For I assure you there is no such 
 whetstone to sharpen a good ivit, and encourage a will 
 to learning, as is praise." 
 
 I know a worthy and faithful domestic, possessed of 
 an ardent temperament and lively sensibilities, and 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 269 
 
 therefore keenly sensitive both to praise and blame, 
 who actually left a place where she had been at service 
 several months, not because she had any thing positive 
 to complain of in the treatment she received, nor be- 
 cause her employers were dissatisfied with her, but for 
 the sole reason that all her efforts to please never gained 
 her an approving word or look. Her mistress, she 
 said, never once, after her best exertions to give satis- 
 faction, rewarded her with as much as saying, " Eliza, 
 you have done this well :" and she declared that she 
 could not endure it. 
 
 Praise, to be useful, must be bestowed with delicacy 
 and tact, never when it is not merited, and when it is, 
 not too frequently, nor in too gross terms. " If em- 
 ployed upon every trivial occasion, it will lose its 
 influence by its familiarity; and if too lavishly bestowed, 
 even where some portion of it is justly due, no higher 
 degree will remain for extraordinary emergencies ; for 
 extraordinary exertions of genius or application." Flat- 
 tery and deceit must be carefully eschewed. Of the 
 times and manner of commending, every teacher must, 
 of necessity, be the judge for himself. No clearness 
 in laying down the principle upon which praise should 
 be bestowed, no fulness of illustration, no landmarks 
 of any description set up by another, can supply the 
 want of good sense and discretion in the master. 
 23 * 
 
270 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 
 
 SECTION XX. 
 
 Punish as sparingly as you can, and always with 
 evident grief and reluctance ; never in an angry or 
 revengeful spirit, nor with reproaches on your lips ; 
 but do not attempt to dispense altogether with the use 
 of the rod. 
 
 We approach here a very delicate, but most import- 
 ant subject. On this point, if on no other, it is neces- 
 sary that the teacher have definite views and well con- 
 sidered rules of acting. To understand the true prin- 
 ciples and modes according to which punishment should 
 be inflicted, it is necessary to consider the great end 
 which all discipline ought to aim at accomplishing ; — 
 viz. to reclaim the offender — to eradicate vices from 
 the soul, and to implant and foster the opposite virtues. 
 The best means of arriving at right conclusions on this 
 point is a diligent study of the Divine economy in refer- 
 ence to transgressors. For light on this subject you 
 must repair to the Bible, that great luminary of the 
 moral heavens, the inexhaustible fountain of sound doc- 
 trine, wise maxims, and good models. There you will 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 271 
 
 find God's compassion for the lost and wandering, his 
 long-suffering with sinners, his patience, forbearance, 
 and condescending love, his paternal sympathy and 
 grief when chastisement can be no longer delayed, and 
 his earnest desire for our amendment, pourtrayed in 
 colours mild and warm and touching, — fresh from the 
 pencil of inspiration, and fitted to allure and captivate 
 the soul. I might quote passages in confirmation, but 
 to do justice to the Word of God in respect to the pro- 
 minence it gives to representations and motives of this 
 kind, would be to transcribe no inconsiderable portion 
 of it. The Almighty declares that punishment is his 
 " strange work," his " strange act ;" but mercy is his 
 darling attribute and prerogative, the crowning efful- 
 gence to the glory of his character and government. 
 
 For the sake of greater distinctness, and to enable 
 the young teacher more readily to apply what appear 
 to be the true principles in the case, I will state them 
 in order, with brief remarks and illustrations where 
 these seem requisite. 
 
 1. Bear in mind that the children under your care 
 are not your own ; that your authority is not only dele- 
 gated, but confined within comparatively narrow limits ; 
 and that you are permitted to exert, not greater, but 
 less, severity, than the parent might reasonably employ 
 in your place. As many persons misuse hired horses, 
 
272 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 so there are not wanting schoolmasters, who, unchecked 
 in their brutal ferocity by any sentiment of affection 
 towards their pupils, deal out to them blows and stripes 
 and vulgar abuse, as if that were the sole or main ob- 
 ject for which they were employed. 
 
 2. Always have the good of your pupil in view in 
 punishing, and let this desire be manifest to him. There 
 is a passage in the Hebrews, chap. xii. v. 10., which is 
 worthy of your deep attention, as throwing light upon 
 the Divine plan and object in this particular : — " They 
 [our fathers in the flesh] verily for a few days chastened 
 us after their own pleasure ; but He [the Father of 
 spirits] for our profit, that we might be partakers 
 of his holiness." What a contrast is here between the 
 caprice and selfishness of man and the unchanging 
 goodness of God ! How ought the best of us to be 
 humbled by the comparison, and all incited to strive 
 after conformity herein to the Divine will ! In nine 
 cases out of ten, you will fail entirely of securing any 
 good effects from the infliction of punishment, if you 
 are not actuated by a sincere desire that it may be pro- 
 fitable to the offending sufferer. Yet how often does 
 this motive seem to be completely merged in more un- 
 worthy feelings, — mortified pride, vexation at being 
 troubled, an ebullition of impatience, ungovernable pas- 
 sion, and sometimes even in revenge itself! It is not 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 273 
 
 of rare occurrence lo see stripes inflicted in a manner 
 that seems to indicate a sort of savage delight in him 
 who gives ihem, at beholding the pain he occasions. 
 What is the fruit of such punishment as this ? It can 
 produce no other results than to harden the heart of the 
 offender, to make him look upon your authority as a 
 mere instrument of torment, to rouse all the resentment 
 of his nature, to set him in deadly array against you 
 and your government, to make him tenfold more the 
 child of disobedience than he was before. In opposi- 
 tion to this, let it be seen that the punishments you 
 inflict all proceed from your sense of duty, from your 
 love of order, learning, and virtue, and they will not 
 only secure in general the obedience and diligence of 
 your pupils, but, what might perhaps be less confidently 
 expected, gain for you their esteem, their gratitude, and 
 their affection. 
 
 3. Punish with evident reluctance and grief. Do not 
 put on the appearance of these sentiments, but have 
 them in reality. I am no friend to acting anywhere, 
 but I like it much better in ^the theatre, than in the 
 school-room. With what inimitable beauty and pathos 
 do the Prophets, in various places, describe the grief of 
 the Divine Mind in the punishments which he cannot, 
 in consistency with himself, refrain from inflicting ! 
 "He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children 
 
274 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL i 
 
 of men." Where this feeling really exists, and is ex- 
 hibited without ostentation, it has a melting and sub- 
 duing effect. There are few persons, probably, who 
 have not seen children that could behold the rod un- 
 moved, and look the anticipated punishment in the face 
 without flinching, but who were completely overcome 
 by the tears which the sad necessity of the infliction 
 drew from the heart of an affectionate father or mother. 
 4. Punishment should be inflicted as sparingly as 
 possible. It is in itself unquestionably an evil ; and, 
 when resorted to with unnecessary frequency, produces 
 various bad effects. It comes to be considered as a 
 matter of course ; the child thinks it impossible to avoid 
 it ; and he submits to his fate in a kind of dogged re- 
 signation. From these causes, it loses all its beneficial 
 influence upon the mind. It hardly ever fails, at the 
 time of administering it, to excite unpleasant feelings, 
 ruffling the temper, and checking the current of affec- 
 tion. If, therefore, it recurs often, this sourness of 
 temper and alienation of heart will be very apt to be- 
 come habitual. This liability exists especially in the 
 case of teachers, who have not that deep foundation of 
 love to fall back upon, which is laid in the parental and 
 filial relation. But a very frequent repetition of punish- 
 ment will produce one effect worse than any of those 
 enumerated above. It will tend to corrupt the principles 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 275 
 
 of action ; " for, in proportion as a child is influenced 
 in its daily conduct by fear of punishment, it acts from 
 the motives which govern a slave ; and these motives 
 will be followed by the dispositions and the vices of a 
 slave (except so far as they are counteracted by other 
 and better motives), which are selfishness, meanness, 
 deceit, and a propensity to tyranny and cruelty." 
 
 5. Be not in haste to punish. Punishment is a very 
 serious business, and, when it is improperly adminis- 
 tered, it is as likely to do harm as good. Where the 
 offence is one of any magnitude, and especially where 
 it is but the outbreak of a fault which is habitual, it is 
 well to deliberate before you act. You may not have 
 been made acquainted with all the circumstances at 
 first ; you cannot have weighed them with care. They 
 must be seen in their true colours, and be considered in 
 a dispassionate state of mind and with entire impar- 
 tiality, before you can be prepared to choose well your 
 modes of correction. Second thoughts are always less 
 likely to be erroneous than first ; at all events, where it 
 is a question of action involving important conse- 
 quences, first thoughts need the confirmation of second 
 ones, before they are worthy to be much relied on as 
 guides. There are perhaps few teachers, who cannot 
 recall instances in their own experience, in which, had 
 they obeyed the dictates of impulse, rather than the 
 
276 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 convictions of reason, they would have pursued a course 
 less beneficial both to the offender and to the school, 
 than they afterwards did. Every indiscretion, every 
 mistake in the circumstances, every perceptible preju- 
 dice for or against an individual, effaces from the heart 
 of the child whatever is useful in punishment ; that is, 
 the sense of its propriety and necessity. 
 
 6. Never punish in anger. This direction is but an 
 amplification of the last : or rather, obedience to this 
 would invariably result from an adherence to that. 
 What is the object of punishment ? To govern others. 
 Anger shows, even to a child, that you are incapable 
 of governing yourself. Angry punishment never does 
 any good. It hardens, while it awes ; it nourishes re- 
 bellion, while it teaches to " dissemble and cloak" it ; 
 it begets contempt and hatred and a spirit of revenge. 
 The sufferer sees that the pain you inflict on him is but 
 the conductor of that which rankles in your own 
 bosom ; that you punish, not so much to promote virtue 
 in him, as to rid yourself of an uneasy sensation. 
 Whenever, therefore, you feel — what you cannot always 
 avoid — a sudden emotion of anger at some gross mis- 
 doing, and an impulse to chastise the offender in- 
 stantly, — pause. The whirlwind will soon pass, the 
 darkened atmosphere will recover its transparency, and 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL I 277 
 
 you will return to your accustomed clearness of vision 
 and coolness of temper. 
 
 7. Beware of punishing real incapacity and innocent 
 weakness. Surely, it is enough that the child be defi- 
 cient in mental endowment, without being railed at and 
 beaten for it. Such an one is much more deserving of 
 sympathy than of reproaches, of encouragement than 
 of stripes. If punishment should never be applied in 
 anger, still less should it be inflicted with a sneer, or 
 scorn, or an air of triumph. 
 
 8. Make your punishment, as far as possible, the 
 natural effect of previous action ; let it correspond with 
 the nature of the offence. I am not insensible of the 
 difficulty of applying this principle very extensively in 
 practice ; especially in schools. It is the plan employed 
 by God in his government of the world ; but a wide ap- 
 plication of the principle presupposes and requires a 
 command over the relations of things, possessed by none 
 but the Almighty. Still it may be used to some extent ; 
 and where possible, always with advantage. Gross 
 idleness may be punished by an increased task ; selfish- 
 ness manifested by trying to abridge another's pleasure 
 for the sake of increasing our own, will meet its appro- 
 priate penalty in being deprived of all participation in 
 the gratification in question ; want of punctuality may 
 
 24 
 
278 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 forfeit to the offender some portion of his play-time ; 
 and so of many other offences. 
 
 There is a certain class of punishments, practised 
 by some masters, which ought to be banished from 
 every school. " Pinching the ear, pulling the hair, beat- 
 ing about the head with a book, a cane, or whatever 
 happens to be in the hand; these, if once indulged, 
 grow into habits of equal severity and caprice. They 
 are in their own nature vulgar and offensive, and being 
 received as indignities, never fail to excite the resent- 
 ment of the sufferers." 
 
 9. In punishing, mix no extraneous ill feelings with 
 those appropriate to the occasion. The resentment oc- 
 casioned by the ill-treatment of a parent, vexations 
 arising from the state of the master's private affairs, the 
 irritability occasioned by some unhappy dissension out 
 of school, the spleen engendered by a rainy day, an 
 aching tooth, or a pain in the head, — these are feelings 
 which sometimes find vent and relief in the chastise- 
 ment inflicted on an offending, or it may be, an unof- 
 fending, schoolboy. Such a shameless indulgence of 
 passion as this, so gross a perversion of the first prin- 
 ciples of justice, it is needless to say, cannot but impair 
 your authority, and effectually prevent any good results 
 from the employment of corrective means. 
 
 10. In punishments, where anything like a contest 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 279 
 
 occurs, the victory must be yours. This principle was 
 sufficiently illustrated when treating on firmness. I 
 will only add here an anecdote, mentioned with applause 
 by Locke in his treatise on education, of a mother, who 
 eight times repeated the chastisement of whipping be- 
 fore the stubbornness of her child was overcome. Had 
 she stopped, he says, at the seventh correction, her 
 daughter had been ruined. 
 
 11. Endeavour, if possible, to reconcile the mind of 
 your pupil to the punishment he receives. It has been 
 already stated that punishment is apt to exasperate, and 
 so far as it produces this effect, it is injurious. It is 
 obvious, then, that the sufferer should be soothed and 
 quieted, and his mind, if practicable, be brought to a 
 state of acquiescence and resignation. This is that 
 condition of heart which God requires in reference to 
 his punishments, and which the Bible represents as es- 
 sential to the reception of profit from them. This recon- 
 ciliation to punishment should be effected, not by sub- 
 sequent coaxing and flattery, but by bringing home to 
 the culprit's mind the conviction that it is not only your 
 duty to punish him, but that his own interest and the 
 good of the school require it. And this can be done, 
 and has been done, in a thousand instances. We 
 cannot afford space for more than one illustration. It 
 was a rule in a certain boarding-school that every boy 
 
280 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 who had permission to visit his friends on Saturday, 
 must return by a certain hour, on pain of being kept 
 at the school the whole of the ensuing Saturday. A 
 boy, who had overstaid his time, returned one Saturday 
 evening about 9 o'clock. He went to the principal, and 
 
 said, " Mr. , I went riding with my mother this 
 
 afternoon, and we were unexpectedly detained beyond 
 our time. Mother says, will you please to excuse me V 
 The principal replied, " William, I am well disposed to 
 your request, and on one condition will grant it. The 
 condition is, that you secure me against any unpleasant 
 consequences, so far as the rest of the school is con- 
 cerned, from this indulgence. Is the condition fair? 
 [" Yes, sir."] Let us see, then, whether you can fulfil 
 it. I have no doubt that what you say is true, and if 
 so, your excuse is valid, and, on the principles of ab- 
 stract justice, you are entitled to a release from the 
 penalty. Now for the other side. More than three- 
 fourths of the school never would understand the true 
 merits of your case. Then, there are some boys per- 
 haps less honest than you, who, if excuses were once 
 admitted, would be tempted occasionally to fabricate 
 them. And at all events, a first departure from a rule 
 always adhered to is an entering wedge for more, or 
 else it lays the foundation for dissatisfaction and mur- 
 murs. And besides all this, to grant your request, how- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 281 
 
 ever reasonable in itself, would be showing real parti- 
 ality to you, for I have before refused others equally 
 well founded. Now, do you not think it would be bet- 
 ter for you to forego the pleasure of one visit to your 
 friends, than to introduce envy, heart-burnings, discon- 
 tent, and murmuring into the school? [He admitted 
 that it would.] Are you not then willing to make a 
 small sacrifice of personal enjoyment to the general 
 good ?" He declared his willingness to do so, and went 
 off, not only acquiescing in the master's, or rather his 
 own, decision, but proud of the victory he had gained 
 over his selfishness, and actually more happy in the an- 
 ticipation of his punishment, than he would have been 
 had it been remitted. 
 
 12. It is often wise to make some difference between 
 pupils of different ages as to the time that shall be per- 
 mitted to elapse between the offence and its punishment. 
 Those who are very young, and in whom consequently 
 the power of reflection is still feeble, should be punished 
 immediately, or very soon, after the fault is committed. 
 On the contrary, it is often useful, in the case of older 
 children, to postpone the actual chastisement, in order 
 to give time for the passions to cool, for reason to reas- 
 sert her power, for calm reflection to do her work. The 
 very anticipation and dread of punishment is in itself a 
 salutary pain. But in addition to this, the mind of the 
 24* 
 
282 HOW SHALL 1 GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 culprit will be in a better state not only to receive the 
 chastisement merited, but also to weigh and be influ- 
 enced by other and higher motives. Moral arguments 
 should always be superadded to the argument of force, 
 and dwelt upon with affectionate earnestness. Thus 
 applied, your punishments will leave a permanent good 
 effect upon the minds of your pupils, and you will be 
 yourself esteemed and beloved as a father. 
 
 13. Punishments that appeal to the understanding 
 and heart, and rely for their effect upon the moral 
 power inherent in them, are, so far as they can be made 
 really efficient, to be preferred to those which are di- 
 rected exclusively to the sense of physical suffering. 
 And they are not only of better influence on the cha- 
 racter, but they are also generally more effectual than 
 the other kind. A number of boys in a school have, 
 contracted the vulgar and disagreeable habit of biting 
 their nails. The master wishes to correct it. After 
 some coarse abuse intended for reproof, he warns them 
 of the consequence of repeating the fault. A repeti- 
 tion, notwithstanding, follows, in every case. He beats 
 them. The reform aimed at is not yet. The beating 
 is repeated, and repeated, and repeated. Alas, how 
 many blows are given, how many angry feelings roused, 
 before the habit is subdued in all ! Another teacher, 
 better skilled in the knowledge of man and the true 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 283 
 
 principles of discipline, calls the persons addicted to the 
 habit together, and says : — " Boys, you have a habit 
 that annoys me a good deal. It is not positively vicious ; 
 it is only vulgar and disagreeable. Look at your finger 
 nails, and they will tell you what I mean. Now, how 
 would you like me to propose a plan for you to try as an 
 experiment to rid yourselves of this habit ? [Ingenuous 
 children, habituated to judicious management, would 
 invariably respond favourably to such an appeal.] 
 Well, my plan is this. Each of you try to let your nails 
 grow for a fortnight, and those of you who succeed in 
 your endeavour shall be rewarded with a large fine 
 orange, and those who fail shall afterwards read every 
 day, before the whole school, a composition on biting 
 nails. Do you accept the plan? Remember, if you 
 adopt it, and it prove successful, it will not be I, but 
 yourselves, that conquer the habit. I could subdue it 
 in a different way, but I prefer that you should do it 
 yourselves. It will be useful to you ; it will increase 
 your moral strength, and help you hereafter to govern 
 yourselves in other things, and on more important oc- 
 casions." 
 
 There is no fancy in this, though put in the form of a 
 supposition. It was actually done, and the trial suc- 
 ceeded in every case but one ; and the daily composi- 
 tions which followed, in that case, being a perpetual 
 
284 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL t 
 
 source of merriment to the school, but of mortification 
 to the writer, soon brought him to a stand, and induced 
 him to put forth an effort vigorous enough to give him 
 the victory. 
 
 A simple but marked withdrawal of confidence for a 
 season, a deprivation of some customary privilege or 
 expected pleasure, an affectionate reproof, an altered 
 tone and manner, a well-timed and well-worded refer- 
 ence to the Divine authority and presence, a tender ap- 
 peal to the sentiments of filial reverence and love, — 
 these, and various other moral means, will often be 
 more effectual in correcting faults and fostering virtues, 
 than all the stripes that can be inflicted. 
 
 14. Do not attempt to dispense altogether with the 
 use of the rod. The tendency of the age is to ultra- 
 ism ; and there are not wanting empirics in education, 
 mad with the love of reform, who will tell you that cor- 
 poreal punishment is never necessary. They forget that 
 there is such a book as " Proverbs" in the Bible ; or 
 else, they presumptuously elevate their own wisdom 
 above the counsels of the Most High. 
 
 Denzel, a German writer, well remarks that corpo- 
 real punishments are the first and the last, to which we 
 should have recourse in education. They are the first, 
 because little children, being almost entirely creatures 
 of sense, and feeling hardly any thing but bodily plea- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 285 
 
 sure or pain, are scarcely susceptible, to any consider- 
 able extent, of that moral treatment which may after- 
 wards be made so efficacious as a means of discipline. 
 They are the last, because in the more advanced age 
 of children, when they are capable of reasoning, and 
 have had proper advantages, if they continue flagrantly 
 to transgress, it denotes either an unpardonable heed- 
 lessness, or a positive obstinacy, and a stubborn will, 
 that can be conquered by no other means. He is of 
 the opinion, in which I certainly agree with him, that 
 moderate corporeal chastisement cannot well be dis- 
 pensed with, in the government of children who are 
 under five years of age. After this age, unless children 
 are peculiarly irritable and refractory, corporeal chas- 
 tisement is seldom, though sometimes, necessary. It is 
 then to be employed only in cases of absolute necessity, 
 when all other means fail ; at farthest, sparingly, ac- 
 cording to the preceding principles, never with harsh- 
 ness, and always without offence to decency. 
 
286 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 SECTION XXI. 
 
 By simple explanations of the nature, objects, means, 
 and advantages of education, endeavour to awaken in 
 your pupils a love of learning for its own sake, and 
 to incite them to diligence in seeking it. 
 
 The connexion between a real and general interest in 
 study on the part of your pupils, and the easy govern- 
 ment of your school, is obvious at first thought. 
 
 " The devil finds some mischief still 
 For idle hands to do," 
 
 has long since grown into a proverb, and, like most 
 other proverbs, has become so, because of its admitted 
 and indisputable truth. Let children be provided with 
 sufficient employment, and sufficiently interested in that 
 employment, and almost all the temptations to, and oc- 
 casions of, vice will be removed. A gentleman, expe- 
 rienced in the management of children, said to me not 
 many days since, " I feel self-condemned for what I said 
 to my son this morning. I reproved him sharply for 
 idleness, when I have given him nothing to do. The 
 fault is mine, not his." 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 287 
 
 Children at school have enough to do ; the great 
 thing is to awaken and keep alive an interest in their 
 occupations, — a relish and fondness for the pursuits of 
 learning. " If you love learning, you will be learned," 
 is a maxim which Isocrates caused to be put up in let- 
 ters of gold over the door of his school-room. For the 
 end here proposed, I have, in my own experience, found 
 a practical adherence to the direction at the beginning 
 of this section highly advantageous. I annex a brief 
 outline of topics, suitable for illustration and enforce- 
 ment, in furtherance of the object in view. 
 
 What is education in its nature ? — Education is a 
 term of comprehensive import. It includes, in its full 
 meaning, all those influences, of whatever sort, which 
 go to form the character. In this sense, all are edu- 
 cated, even though they may have never entered a 
 school, or mastered the first elements of reading. We 
 cannot, indeed, avoid being educated, if we would. More 
 particularly, however : 
 
 1. Education developes the physical, mental, and 
 moral powers. 
 
 2. It forms and matures habits. 
 
 What are the objects to be accomplished by educa- 
 tion 1 — The great object of education, expressed in the 
 most general terms, is to place the subject of it in a 
 condition to fulfil, in the best manner possible, the des- 
 
288 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 tination of human life. What, then, is the destined end 
 of human life 1 To glorify God, to do good to our fel- 
 low-men, and to provide for our own eternal happiness. 
 These ultimate ends, however, are to be reached through 
 other and subordinate ones. More specifically, then, 
 the objects to be aimed at in education are : 1 . A sound 
 and healthy body. 2. A well cultivated mind, including 
 a retentive memory, a vigorous but chastened imagina- 
 tion, a disciplined attention, and a sound judgment. 3. 
 Pure moral principles and corresponding moral habits, 
 including, of course, a reverence and love of the Deity, 
 truth, justice, benevolence, self-government, decision 
 and firmness of character, and the desire and purpose 
 to be useful. 4. Knowledge — knowledge of God, know- 
 ledge of ourselves, knowledge of intellectual and moral 
 truth, and knowledge of the external world. 
 
 What are the means of education? — 1. Diligent 
 study. 2. A strict conformity to school regulations. 3. 
 a conscientious discharge of all known duty. 4. Self- 
 watchfulness and self-examination. 5. Self-denial. 6. 
 An attentive observation of objects and events. 7. Jour- 
 nalizing. 8. The use of a good common-place book.* 
 9. General reading. 10. Amusements. 11. Study of 
 the Scriptures. 12. Prayer. 
 
 * Rev. J. Todd's Index Rerum. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 289 
 
 What are the advantages of education? — 1. Educa- 
 tion gives dignity and elevation to the character. 2. It 
 confers the only true independence. 3. It opens new 
 and pure and exalted sources of happiness. 4. It deli- 
 vers from a thousand groundless and superstitious fears. 
 5. It increases the ability to be useful. 6. It is a safe- 
 guard against ruinous vices. 7. It softens and refines 
 the manners. 8. It beckons us to heaven, and points 
 out the way whereby that glorious abode can be secured 
 as our home. 
 
 These are trains of thought which should be fami- 
 liarized to the minds of your pupils, and from which, 
 if properly presented, illustrated, and enforced, I may 
 venture, if there is any truth in experience, to promise 
 you excellent and delightful fruits. 
 25 
 
290 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 
 
 SECTION XXII. 
 
 Finally : If you would govern with complete 
 success, and have the influence of your govern- 
 ment upon the character of your pupils of the 
 most desirable kind, you must know how to con- 
 trol, and you must control, the public opinion of 
 your school ; you must be able to make it tell, 
 and you must make it tell, in support of law, 
 order, and virtue. 
 
 I have indicated my sense of the importance of the 
 principle to be considered and briefly illustrated in this 
 concluding section, by causing it to be printed in capi- 
 tal letters. If a teacher can but succeed in establishing 
 and maintaining among his pupils a correct and vigor- 
 ous public sentiment in reference to moral conduct, the 
 labour and difficulty of governing them are already at 
 an end. A faithful application of the preceding prin- 
 ciples to the government of a school, will generally, 
 perhaps always, secure a sound state of public opinion ; 
 but it is well for the teacher to keep this object distinctly 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 291 
 
 in view, and to institute measures with special reference 
 to it. 
 
 Public opinion governs the world. It is an instru- 
 ment of tremendous power (and not the less controlling 
 because its action is silent and unperceived), in every 
 community; — in families and schools, as well as in 
 civil society, and other large associations. It is a great, 
 paramount, all-pervading principle of action among 
 men. No human being is ignorant of its power, or be- 
 yond its influence. The despot knows it, and moderates 
 his tyranny in obedience to its mandates ; the legislator 
 knows it, and respects its authority in making laws ; the 
 wily politician knows it, and seeks to turn it to his ac- 
 count, partly by following and partly by leading it ; 
 Romulus knew it, when he artfully allowed the people 
 of his new state to choose their own king ; Ceesar knew 
 it, when he resigned his usurped power that it might be 
 re-conferred upon him by the popular voice ; the Jesuits 
 showed that they knew it, when they almost monopo- 
 lized the schools of Christendom ; a disregard of it cost 
 Charles I, of England, his head, and drove Charles X, 
 of France, from his throne ; ignorance or contempt of 
 it has prostrated monarchs, overthrown governments, 
 and drenched the plains of Europe and America in fra- 
 ternal blood ; and, finally, it is the cause of more than 
 half the apparent virtue, and many of the real vices, 
 
292 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 that now exist among mankind. How powerful public 
 opinion is in a school, it is needless to say ; every ex- 
 perienced teacher knows it well. Let but a thing be 
 unpopular there, and not a boy nor a girl will have the 
 courage to attempt it. I have known children to allow 
 themselves to be beaten, scratched, kicked, bruised, and 
 maltreated in various ways, and yet not dare to inform 
 against their persecutor, because public opinion was 
 against "telling tales." They will often suffer their 
 very life to be teazed out of them, and remain dumb as 
 a lamb, lest " baby," or " tell-tale," or some other op- 
 probrious epithet, should be fastened upon them. Let 
 but the conviction come home to a schoolboy's mind in 
 respect to any given act, " If I do this, the boys will 
 laugh at me," or, " they will not admit me to their 
 plays," and will he do it ? No, indeed ; he will shrink 
 from it, as from an adder athwart his path, or arsenic 
 held to his lips. The public opinion of a school is a 
 mighty engine, either of good or of evil. How benign, 
 how beneficial, it may be made, in its operations and 
 effects! — not like those destructive battering-rams, 
 with which the Romans demolished the walls of hostile 
 cities, but like those happier contrivances, whereby the 
 waters of a river, that had else been comparatively use- 
 less, were for a season diverted from their channel, and 
 conveyed to the orchards and gardens and wheat-fields 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 293 
 
 of the neighbouring valley, which thus became indebted 
 to them for its fertility and its beauty, — for the riches 
 that rewarded the husbandman's toil, and the bloom 
 and fragrance that regaled his senses. 
 
 1 . The first means that I shall mention as suitable to 
 be employed for securing to your side, in all important 
 cases of discipline and questions of conduct, a majority 
 in numbers, and a great preponderance in true worth 
 and weight of character, is, to be always reasonable. 
 The importance of having a palpable basis of reason 
 for all that you require, for all that you prohibit, and 
 for all that you do, has been sufficiently set forth in the 
 tenth section of this work ; and it is unnecessary to re- 
 peat thoughts and arguments which have been already 
 dwelt upon at sufficient length. 
 
 2. Another means of securing an ascendency over 
 the opinions of your pupils, is, to be their real friend, 
 and to prove your friendship by your sympathy, conde- 
 scension, and patience, and by your enduring perseve- 
 rance and diligence in seeking their solid improvement 
 and lasting good. The value of a deep principle of love 
 for your scholars has also been amply developed in the 
 seventh section, and repetition here would, therefore, 
 be ill-timed, tiresome, and without utility. 
 
 3. A third means adapted to beget and foster in your 
 school a sound public opinion, is to show your pupils 
 
 25* 
 
294 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 the full extent of their moral power over each other, and 
 to labour to produce in their minds a deep conviction 
 of the high personal responsibility, which, in respect to 
 each of them, results as a necessary consequence. 
 Here we enter again upon untrodden ground. Let us 
 pause for a little, to survey the prospect, to look into 
 the nature of the soil, and to consider the fruits it is 
 likely to yield. 
 
 The pupils of a school have more direct moral power 
 over each other, than any teacher does or can possess 
 over them. This position may startle those who have 
 not reflected much upon the subject ; but if it sound 
 strangely in the ears of any, it can only be from want 
 of due consideration. Mark ! I do not say that pupils 
 possess more power of every kind, nor even more moral 
 power, than their teachers. No ! my words were well 
 weighed, and carefully chosen. I said, and repeat, they 
 have more direct moral power. The teacher has moral 
 power, nay, every skilful teacher will have great moral 
 power, over his scholars ; but the most useful part of it 
 is exerted indirectly, in enlightening, guiding, and con- 
 trolling the public sentiment of his school ; and in this 
 way leading his pupils to use their power wisely and 
 well. 
 
 Many anecdotes might be here detailed, illustrating 
 the power of the members of a school over each other. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 295 
 
 The boys of a certain school had been guilty of robbing 
 a peach tree of a part of its fruit. The teacher 
 knew some of those who had been concerned in the 
 robbery, but not all. He desired to find them out, that 
 he might mete out even-handed justice to all that were 
 guilty. During one of the forenoon recesses, he distri- 
 buted small pieces of paper, placing one on each of the 
 desks in the school-room. When the scholars came in, 
 he addressed them as follows : — " Boys, before com- 
 mencing your studies again, I desire each of you to 
 write me a short letter. I want you to state to me 
 frankly the whole truth concerning what you individu- 
 ally had to do with taking the peaches from the corner 
 tree in the adjoining garden. I know a good many who 
 had a hand in it, but it will be better for us all, for you 
 as well as for me, that I should be made acquainted 
 with all the circumstances." The notes were written. 
 As soon as the school was dismissed at noon, the boys 
 began to inquire of each other, and to compare notes as 
 to what they had respectively told of themselves. Not 
 five minutes had elapsed, before several lads went to the 
 teacher, begging the privilege of withdrawing their 
 notes, and writing others in their stead ; compelled 
 thereto by the strong current of popular feeling and 
 opinion. 
 
 There had been gross misconduct in one of the dor- 
 
29G HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 mitories of a boarding-school ; but the offending indi- 
 viduals were not known. On the following morning, 
 the principal called together the boys who slept in that 
 dormitory, fourteen in number. He told them that he 
 knew not who the guilty ones were, but that such dis- 
 order could not go unpunished. " Any of you," he said 
 to them, " who will come to me in the course of the 
 day, and say, upon your honour, that you had nothing 
 to do with it, shall be reprieved ; all the rest must re- 
 ceive the punishment due to so flagrant an infringement 
 of decency and established rule." No complaint was 
 made against this proceeding on the score of its injus- 
 tice, but only two persons had the courage to come for- 
 ward and clear themselves. And though, as was after- 
 wards ascertained, the disturbance was limited to two 
 persons, all the others submitted to the punishment, 
 rather than incur the odium, which, it was apprehended, 
 would attach to them for even so indirect a testimony 
 against their fellows. 
 
 I have seen open quarrelling completely stopped in a 
 school, by permission from the master to any of the 
 scholars who might see two boys at variance, to throw 
 cold water on them, ad libitum. 
 
 The boys at Edgehill formed themselves into a mili- 
 tary company, under the name of the " Edgehill Volun- 
 teers." Sometimes courts martial were held, at which 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN* MY SCHOOL? 297 
 
 the accused, being found guilty of the charges preferred 
 against him, was condemned to be confined to a certain 
 part of the premises during the play hours of a whole 
 day. No attempt, so far as I know, was ever made to 
 resist these decisions, though no force was employed to 
 insure submission, other than that silent but irresistible 
 influence which dwells in public sentiment, and gives to 
 it all its vitality. 
 
 But to what purpose multiply examples illustrative of 
 the moral power of school-boys over each other ? This 
 is not one of those hidden truths, which, like Italy from 
 ./Eneas, is ever fleeing from the grasp of the philosophic 
 discoverer, and which requires years of deep research 
 and learned toil to bring it forth from its secret taber- 
 nacle amid the concealed relations and mysteries of 
 nature. No ! It lies altogether upon the surface, and 
 may be known and read of all men. Whatever moral 
 results, short of imparting actual holiness to the heart , 
 the children of a school aim unitedly and steadily at 
 accomplishing, they can effect. If they were to refuse 
 to speak, or play, or hold intercourse of any kind 
 with one who had been guilty of lying, profaneness, 
 obscene conversation, fighting, stealing, or sabbath- 
 breaking, could these vices stand for an hour before the 
 action of such an engine as public opinion would in 
 that case become 1 No, verily ; they would be like the 
 
298 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL '( 
 
 mists gathered by the shades of night at the approach 
 of the morning sun ; they would melt away and disap- 
 pear, leaving a pure and bracing moral atmosphere, 
 favourable to the rapid and healthy developement of all 
 the moral powers and susceptibilities of the soul. 
 
 Now the possession of such power as this necessarily 
 involves a high and weighty responsibility ; as it is a 
 cardinal maxim in morals that the extent of our respon- 
 sibility is exactly equal to the extent of our power of 
 doing good or evil. This principle is plainly taught in 
 the parable of the talents and in other parts of the 
 Bible ; and it is also, like all the other principles of 
 God's Word, manifestly in accordance with human rea- 
 son ; for, what could be more unreasonable than to 
 require that a man, with small talents, little educa- 
 tion, and limited means, should do as much for the good 
 of his fellow-men, as another, with the genius of New- 
 ton, the learning of Bacon, and the wealth of Pizarro 1 
 
 This now brings us to the point. What is the exact 
 nature of that responsibility, predicable of school- 
 children, which we are considering? It is this — that 
 they are under a solemn obligation to do all that in 
 them lies to promote each others' improvement, espe- 
 cially in moral character and conduct, and thus to har- 
 monize with the master, and aid him in his labours in 
 their behalf. It is, then, in brief, the duty of co-opera- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 299 
 
 tion with teachers. To co-operate means to act to- 
 gether ; to work jointly with others, to the same end ; 
 to labour with mutual efforts to promote the same object. 
 The great end that God has in view with respect to men, 
 is, to make them perfectly good and perfectly happy ; 
 and those who strive to promote the same end, are de- 
 clared, in the Bible, to be " co-workers" with him. Thus 
 also those school-boys who think that the great object 
 of their teachers is the improvement of their pupils, and 
 who strive together with them for the same object, are 
 co-workers with them. They act, work, labour jointly 
 with them, to the same end. This is co-operation with 
 teachers ; and it is unquestionably the bounden duty of 
 every member of a school. 
 
 The views here presented in reference to the moral 
 power and consequent responsibility of school-boys, 
 should be by every teacher urged repeatedly upon his 
 pupils' attention, illustrated clearly to their comprehen- 
 sion, and if possible, incorporated into their own modes 
 of thought and principles of action. You need not be 
 afraid to tell your scholars how much power they pos- 
 sess. They ought to know it, in all its length and 
 breadth, and be made to feel the tremendous conse- 
 quences, for good or for evil, that depend upon the 
 manner in which it is used. Tell them, then, plainly, 
 without fear of losing a tittle of your own authority 
 
300 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 over them, that they possess much more direct power 
 over each other than you do over them, and that they 
 are actually more beholden to one another than to you 
 for their education, properly so called. Show them 
 how it is perfectly within their power, to render all the 
 moral influences of the school pure and good, or impure 
 and bad ; and how, consequently, they will be, in some 
 sense, chargeable with the contamination and debase- 
 ment of heart, and immoralities of life, which may, in 
 any given case, be the ultimate result of a diseased and 
 vicious public sentiment in their little community. En- 
 deavour to press upon your pupils, with the force of 
 conviction, the important truth that it is their solemn 
 duty not only to submit to your authority and acqui- 
 esce in your decisions, but also to yield you a hearty 
 and active co-operation in all your plans for the main- 
 tenance of sound discipline and good order in the 
 school. Bring them, if possible, to regard you as their 
 friend, and to expel from their bosoms that feeling, so 
 false in fact, so ungenerous in character, but unhappily 
 too prevalent in schools, that the master and the pupils 
 form two parties, in direct hostility to each other ; — it 
 being the master's object to lay on restrictions and 
 abridge their liberty, while it is their business, by all 
 sorts of means, combination amongst themselves, con- 
 cealment, trick, open falsehood, or open disobedience, 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 301 
 
 to baffle his watchfulness, and escape his severity. The 
 proper sentiment on this point is — and you should 
 labour assiduously to give it a breathing and a vital 
 power in the heart of your pupils — that both you and 
 they are striving together for the same beneficial end, 
 viz : their advancement in knowledge, virtue, and hap- 
 piness. Endeavour to make them feel a pride in the 
 reputation of the school to which they belong, guarding 
 its honour with jealous care, and doing all in their 
 power to give it a high standing in point of order, dis- 
 cipline, and the rapid improvement of its members. If 
 they ask you how they can render the assistance you 
 demand, tell them, first of all, by being individually in 
 every respect, — in manners, conduct, and conversa- 
 tion, — such as they ought to be ; by coming cordially 
 into any plans and measures you may propose for the 
 maintenance of good government ; by frowning upon 
 every thing like improper behaviour in others ; by cher- 
 ishing in themselves and encouraging in their com- 
 panions the high principles of honour and duty ; by 
 annulling that iniquitous law that, whatever indignities, 
 outrages, or heinous crimes may have been committed, 
 there must be no " telling ;" in short, by enlisting a 
 vigorous public opinion in their little society on the side 
 of correct conduct, good order, diligence in study, and 
 sound discipline. Show them that by such a course 
 26 
 
302 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 they would entirely, or, if not entirely, to a great 
 extent, relieve you from the disagreeable task of pun- 
 ishing; that they would contribute not a little to the 
 success of the school ; and that to them would belong, 
 legitimately and essentially, a great part of the honour 
 of its success. 
 
 4. Well-timed and well-worded appeals to the judg- 
 ment of your pupils on questions of moral conduct, 
 order, and discipline, will have a tendency to give 
 authority to what you both think and do, and of course 
 to establish in your school a public opinion favourable 
 to its easy and successful government. When the 
 question of the utility of a certain rule, or of the pro- 
 priety of a given action, is fairly placed before the 
 minds of children and youth, they almost invariably 
 decide right. This has been abundantly manifested in 
 infant schools, and is conformable to the experience of 
 multitudes of parents and teachers of other seminaries. 
 An occasional confirmation of the wisdom of your 
 opinions and of your proceedings from the general 
 voice, will be attended with very happy effects. You 
 must, however, be very cautious how you appeal to the 
 judgment of the school, where there is the least doubt 
 as to what its decision will be. To be voted down in 
 your own dominions, to meet condemnation where you 
 expected approval, and that too from a jury constituted 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 303 
 
 for the express purpose of obtaining a favourable ver- 
 dict, is not only an awkward predicament, but it is one 
 fraught with evil consequences. You should, therefore, 
 be quite sure of carrying the suffrages of your pupils, 
 before you invoke them. You had better lack the 
 authority thence to be derived, than fail in your attempt 
 at securing it. 
 
 These appeals need to be managed with judgment 
 and skill. Some experience also in the philosophy of 
 childhood is essential to employing them successfully. 
 To the examples given in previous portions of this 
 work, but one or two others will here be added. 
 
 It had been customary in a certain boarding-school 
 to allow the pupils to converse as they were going down 
 to meals. One morning, after the bell had rung for 
 breakfast, and the books had been put away, the prin- 
 cipal addressed the school thus: — "Boys, I have a 
 proposition to make to you, which I think you will like. 
 I am not about to surrender the government of the 
 school into your hands, because I do not think you are 
 altogether fit for such a labour. But there are some 
 things, of minor importance, in which I am willing to 
 let you have your own way. I have myself for some 
 time desired to have less noise and disorder in going 
 down to meals. It is very little pleasure that you can 
 have in conversing during that short time, and it would 
 
304 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 promote the order of the school, and be a great personal 
 gratification to me, to have all conversation cease, 
 while on your way from the school-room to the dining- 
 room. As to your own pleasure, I think it would be 
 increased in beholding the increased order of the school, 
 and in reflecting that it has been brought about by your 
 own voluntary act. Those of you who agree with me 
 in these views, and wish to adopt my suggestion as 
 your rule of action, may signify it by holding up the 
 hand." The vote was almost unanimous in favour of 
 the arrangement, and it was accordingly adopted, and 
 has been continued from that time to the present. Had 
 the master taken a different course, and abruptly tola 1 
 his scholars that they were very noisy and disorderly 
 going down to meals, and he must for the future forbid 
 all conversation at such times, the proceeding would 
 have excited general discontent, and been the occasion 
 of a great deal of irritated feeling and angry complaint. 
 In the case related, if there were a few discontented 
 spirits, who occasionally vented their dissatisfaction in 
 murmurs, the teacher needed not to give himself any 
 concern about it, as he had secured a defender in every 
 one who voted for the adoption of the regulation. 
 
 A roguish college student attempted to take a pup 
 into the recitation-room under the folds of his cloak. 
 The professor saw the dog as the young man was enter- 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 305 
 
 ing the door, and said, — " Mr. , you may leave 
 
 that animal outside ; we have puppies enough in here 
 already." This speech might mean any, or all, of the 
 members of the class. As none knew at whom the 
 sneer was levelled, each one took it as a personal insult; 
 and a general burst of indignation was the consequence. 
 
 A similar attempt was made by the same student in 
 reference to another of the professors. He perceived 
 it also, but, though watchful of every movement, care- 
 fully concealed his vigilance. It was a recitation in 
 geometry. The young gentleman with the pup was 
 called upon first. He was taken completely by sur- 
 prise, as he had supposed himself secure in his hiding- 
 place behind a column. He attempted to transfer his 
 charge to a neighbour. The professor coolly said, 
 " Never mind about the dog, sir, you may as well bring 
 him to the black-board too; it is probable he knows 
 quite as much of the lesson as you do." This turned 
 the whole force of the joke against the offender, who 
 was not only stung by the sharpness of the rebuke, but 
 overwhelmed with a torrent of laughter. 
 
 5. Something may be effected towards establishing a 
 sound and healthy public opinion, by the occasional 
 appointment, by the pupils themselves, of commit- 
 tees of vigilance. This remark, I am sensible, has 
 an air of empiricism about it ; and such is my aversion 
 26* 
 
306 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 and contempt for any thing like real democracy in the 
 government of a school, that I would not have made it, 
 had I not regarded silence on this point as a species of 
 treason to my ow/i experience. For it is certain that 
 the most general and the most striking moral result 
 ever achieved in my school at Edgehill, was obtained in 
 this way. Through the instrumentality of such com- 
 mittees, almost an entire stop was put to profaneness, 
 the vice which, next to deceit, I believe to be most 
 prevalent among boys. Of this I am persuaded 
 from competent testimony, given after every possi- 
 ble inducement to misrepresentation must have ceased 
 to operate. After spending many days in probing the 
 disease to the core, and after every boy in the school 
 had laid open his heart to rile, I was enabled to bring 
 all addicted to this habit, with perhaps here and there 
 an exception, to the point of desiring a reformation. I 
 then proposed to effect it by the appointment of weekly 
 committees, made by the boys themselves, whose duty 
 it should be to report every Saturday night all the pro- 
 fane expressions they had heard through the week. 
 This plan was heartily adopted, and honestly executed ; 
 and the result was such as has been already stated. It 
 was the only instance in which I ever ventured to 
 employ committees, and, owing to an extreme liability 
 to abuse, I cannot recommend them as an ordinary 
 means of government. 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 307 
 
 6. Finally : A mingled dignity and suavity of de- 
 meanour constantly maintained, a uniform pureness and 
 integrity of purpose, and a general consistency of cha- 
 racter and conduct, are among the most important 
 means of securing the respect and esteem of your 
 pupils, and of gaining a complete ascendency over their 
 opinions and feelings. There is nothing that gives such 
 weight to opinion, that imparts such authority to rebuke, 
 and that excites so deep a reverence and regard, as a 
 life without a stain, a character above reproach, a name 
 undimmed by aught that is dishonourable. Genius may 
 wake our admiration, wit draw forth our plaudits, and 
 learning excite our wonder; but eminent worth and 
 unsullied purity command our veneration, and lay their 
 spell both upon our opinions and our affections. 
 
 " When in wild tumults rise the ignoble crowd, 
 Mad are their motions, and their tongues are loud ; 
 And stones and brands in rattling volleys fly, 
 And all the rustic arms that fury can supply : 
 If then some grave and pious man appear, 
 They hush their noise, and lend a listening ear ; 
 He soothes with sober words their angry mood, 
 And quenches their innate desire of blood." 
 
 The power of goodness is pourtrayed without exag- 
 geration in these beautiful lines of Dryden, translated 
 from that glory of the Latin lyre, the sweet Poet of 
 Mantua. A pure example, a life breathing the fragrance 
 
308 HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL? 
 
 and clad in the beauty of virtue, is a more powerful 
 logic than any taught by the philosophy of the schools, 
 a more persuasive eloquence than disciplined art can 
 supply, a more commanding quality than intellectual 
 greatness and all the power of learning. Those two 
 great luminaries of the age, that have recently set amid 
 the brightest splendours that can gather around the 
 departing spirit, the illustrious Marshall and the late 
 Bishop of Pennsylvania, — to what were they indebted 
 for their almost superhuman sway over the minds and 
 hearts of their fellow-men? They were, indeed, men 
 of gigantic intellects, and of profound and varied learn- 
 ing ; still the secret of their overshadowing power was 
 in the possession by them of a loftier, a brighter, a 
 more godlike quality, — that exalted moral goodness, 
 which impressed its sanction upon their opinions, and 
 clothed whatever they said or did with a portion of its 
 own celestial influence. It was to the moral power of 
 this country, under the Divine guidance and blessing, 
 rather than to her armies and her battles, that we were 
 ultimately indebted for the success that crowned our 
 revolutionary struggle, and made us, what we claimed 
 to be, " free, sovereign, and independent." 
 
 Let me, then, in conclusion, exhort and entreat all 
 who are engaged in the honourable and useful occupa- 
 tion of training fhp youthful mind and heart, to seek to 
 
HOW SHALL I GOVERN MY SCHOOL 1 309 
 
 acquire and maintain an ascendency over their pupils 
 by dignified but condescending manners ; by gentleness, 
 forbearance, and love ; by a vestal purity of life ; by a 
 uniform consistency of character ; by the practice, in 
 short, of all that noble array of Christian virtues, set 
 forth by Paul in his various Epistles. If your inter- 
 course with them is marked by these traits, and your 
 example shines with this heavenly lustre, be assured 
 that they will revere your authority, love your person, 
 submit their judgment to yours, and yield to your com- 
 mands a ready and a heartfelt obedience. 
 
 THE END. 
 
351 92 
 

 
 
 
 
 HECKMAN l|ll 
 BINDERY INC. W\\ 
 
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