LI B R.A R.Y OF THE U N IVER.S ITY Of ILLINOIS 371 P I4t 1651 Snt/ &&L ■.-■ft W' “'.of j*! SsJ£3 THEORY AND PRACTICE TEACHING: OR, THE MOTIVES AND METHODS GOOD SCHOOL-KEEPING. BY DAVID P. PAGE, A. M. LATE PRINCIPAL OF THE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, ALBANY, NEW YORK THIRTEENTH EDITION. NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY A. S. BARNES & CO. CINCINNATI :-H. W. DERBY & CO. 185 1 . Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847, By DAVID P. PAGE, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of New York. Stereotyped by RICHARD C. VALENTINE, New York. Printer, Corner of John and Dutqh street*. bV (Piii it PREFACE. Many a meritorious book has failed to find readers by reason of a toilsome preface. If the following volume meets a similar fate, what¬ ever its merits, it shall lack a like excuse. This work has had its origin in a desire to contribute something toward elevating an important and rising profession. Its matter comprises the substance of a part of the course of lectures addressed to the classes of the In¬ stitution under my charge, during the past two years. Those lectures, unwritten at first, were delivered in a familiar, colloquial style,—their main object being the inculcation of such practical views as would best promote the improvement of the teacher. In writing the matter out for the press, the same style, to con¬ siderable extent, has been retained,—as I have written with an aim at usefulness rather than rhetorical effect. If the term theory in the title suggests to any mind the bad sense sometimes conveyed PREFACE. 4 by that word, I would simply say, that I have not been dealing in the speculative dreams of the closet, but in convictions derived from the realities of the schoolroom during some twenty years of actual service as a teacher. Theory may justly mean the science distinguished from the art of Teaching,—but as in practice these should never be divorced, so in the following chapters I have endeavored constantly to illus¬ trate the one by the other. If life should be spared and other circum¬ stances should warrant the undertaking, per¬ haps a further course comprising the Details of Teaching may, at some future time, assume a similar form to complete my original design. David P. Page. State Normal School, > Albany , N. Y., Jan. 1, 1847. > v CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE The Spirit of the Teacher. 9 CHAPTER II. Responsibility of the Teacher . 14 Section I.—The Neglected Tree. 14 l Section II.—Extent of Responsibility. 18 Section III.—The Auburn Prison. 34 CHAPTER III. Habits of the Teacher. 39 CHAPTER IY. Literary Qualifications of the Teacher . 48 CHAPTER Y. Right Yiews of Education. 65 CHAPTER VI. Right Modes of Teaching. 75 Section I.—Pouring-in Process. 77 Section II.—Drawing-out Process. 79 Section III.—The more excellent Way. 84 Section IY. — Waking up Mind . 86 Section Y.—Remarks. 98 G CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. PAGE Conducting Recitations . 103 CHAPTER VIII. Exciting an Interest in Study . 119 Section I. —Incentives . .. Emulation. 120 Section II.—Prizes and Rewards. 127 Section III.—Proper Incentives. 139 CHAPTER IX. i School Government . 148 Section I.—Requisites in the Teacher for Government 148 Section II.—Means of securing Good Order. 159 Section III.—Punishments ... Improper ... Proper... 176 Section IV.—Corporal Punishment. 194 Section V.—Limitations and Suggestions. 207 CHAPTER X. School Arrangements . 216 Section I. —Plan of Day’s Work. 222 Section II.—Interruptions. 232 Section III.—Recesses. 236 Section IV.—Assignment of Lessons. 239 Section V.—Reviews. 241 Section VI.—Examinations... Exhibitions... Celebra¬ tions. 243 CHAPTER XI. Tiie Teacher’s Relation to the Parents of his Putils. 218 . • yy, r' . THEORY AND PRACTICE OF TEACHING. CHAPTER I. SPIRIT OF THE TEACHER. Perhaps the very first question that the honest indi¬ vidual will ask himself, as he proposes to assume the teacher’s office, or to enter upon a preparation for it, will be—“ What manner of spirit am I of?” No question can be more important. I would by no means under value that degree of natural talent—of mental power, which all justly consider so desirable in the candidate for the teacher’s office. But the true spirit of the teacher ,—a spirit that seeks not alone pecuniary emol¬ ument, but desires to be in the highest degree useful to those who are to be taught; a spirit that elevates above every thing else the nature and capabilities of the human soul, and that trembles under the responsi¬ bility of attempting to be its educator; a spirit that looks upon gold as the contemptible dross of earth, when compared with that imperishable gem which is to be polished and brought out into heaven’s light to shine forever; a spirit, that scorns all the rewards of 10 SPIRIT OF THE TEACHER. True spirit.—Motives often wrong. earth, and seeks that highest of all rewards, an ap¬ proving conscience and an approving God; a spirit that earnestly inquires what is right, and that dreads to do what is wrong; a spirit that can recognise and reverence the handiwork of God in every child, and that burns with the desire to be instrumental in train ing it to the highest attainment of which it is capable, —such a spirit is the first thing to be sought by the teacher, and without it the highest talent cannot make him truly excellent in his profession. The candidate for the office of the teacher should look well to his motives. It is easy to enter upon the duties of the teacher without preparation ; it is easy to do it without that lofty purpose which an enlightened conscience would ever demand; but it is not so easy to undo the mischief which a single mistake may pro¬ duce in the mind of the child, at that tender period when mistakes are most likely to be made. Too many teachers are found in our schools without the spirit for their work which is here insisted on. They not only have not given attention to any preparation for their work, but resort to it from motives of personal convenience, and in many instances from a conscious¬ ness of being unfit for every thing else ! In other professions this is not so. The lawyer is not admitted to the bar till he has pursued a course of thorough preparation, and even then but warily employed. The physician goes through his course of reading and his course of lecture*, and often almost through a course of starvation in the country village where lie first puts SPIRIT OF THE TEACHER. H ___Preparation neglected. up his sign, before he is called in to heal the maladies of the body. It is long before he can inspire confi¬ dence enough in the people to be intrusted with their most difficult cases of ailing, and very likely the noon of life is passed before he can consider himself estab lished. But it is not so with the teacher. He gains access to the sanctuary of mind without any difficulty, and the most tender interests for both worlds are in¬ trusted to his guidance, even when he makes preten¬ sion to no higher motive than that of filling up a few months of time not otherwise appropriated, and to no qualifications but those attained by accident. A late writer in the Journal of Education hardly overstates this matter:—“ Every stripling who has passed four years within the walls of a college ; every dissatisfied clerk, who has not ability enough to manage the tri¬ fling concerns of a common retail shop ; every young farmer who obtains in the winter a short vacation from the toils of summer,—in short, every young person who is conscious of his imbecility in other business, esteems himself fully competent to train the ignorance and weakness of infancy into all the virtue and power and wisdom of maturer years,—to form a creature, the frailest and feeblest that heaven has made, into the intelligent and fearless sovereign of the whole animated creation, the interpreter and adorer and al¬ most the representative of Divinity !” Many there are who enter upon the high employ¬ ment of teaching a common school as a secondary object. Perhaps they are students themselves in some 12 SPIRIT OF THE TEACHER. Teaching a secondary object.—Ignorance does not excuse. higher institution, and resort to this as a temporary expedient for paying their board, while their chief object is, to pursue their own studies and thus keep pace with their classes. Some make it a stepping- stone to something beyond, and, in their estimation, higher in the scale of respectability,—treating the employment, while in it, as irksome in the extreme, and never manifesting so much delight as when the hour arrives for the dismissal of their schools. Such have not the true spirit of the teacher; and if their labors are not entirely unprofitable, it only proves that children are sometimes submitted to imminent danger, but are still unaccountably preserved by the hand of Providence. The teacher should go to his duty full of his work. He should be impressed with its overwhelming im¬ portance. He should feel that his mistakes, though they may not speedily ruin him, may permanently injure his pupils. Nor is it enough that he shall say, “ I did it ignorantly.” He has assumed to fill a place where ignorance itself is sin ; and where indifference to the well-being of others is equivalent to willful homicide. He might as innocently assume to be the physician, and, without knowing its effects, prescribe arsenic for the colic. Ignorance is not in such cases a valid excuse, because the assumption of the place implies a pretension to the requisite skill. Let the teacher, then, w r ell consider what manner of spirit he is of. Let him come to this work only when he has carefully pondered its nature and its responsibilities, SPIRIT OF THE TEACHER. 13 Dangerous to mislead mind. and after he has devoted his best powers to a thorough preparation of himself for its high duties. Above all, let him be sure that his motives on entering the school¬ room are such as will be acceptable in the sight of God, when viewed by the light beaming out from his throne. '* Oh! let not then unskillful hands attempt To play the harp whose tones, whose living tones Are left forever in the strings. Better far That heaven’s lightnings blast his very soul, And sink it back to Chaos’ lowest depths, Than knowingly, by word or deed, he send A blight upon the trusting mind of youth.” 14 RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. A garden.—Flowers.—Fruit trees. CHAPTER II. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. SECTION I. —A NEGLECTED PEAR-TREE Some years ago, while residing in the northeastern part of Massachusetts, I was the owner of a small garden. I had taken much pains to improve the con¬ dition and appearance of the place. A woodbine had been carefully trained upon the front of the little homestead ; a fragrant honeysuckle, supported by a trellis, adorned the doorway; a moss-rose, a flowering almond, and the lily of the valley, mingled their fra¬ grance in the breath of morn,—and never, in my esti¬ mation at least, did the sun shine upon a lovelier, happier spot. The morning hour was spent in “dress¬ ing and keeping” the garden. Its vines were daily watched and carefully trained; its borders were free from weeds, and the plants expanded their leaves and opened their buds as if smiling at the approach of the morning sun. There were fruit trees, too, which had been brought from far, and so carefully nurtured, that they were covered with blossoms, filling the air with their fragrance and awakening the fondest hopes of an abundant harvest. In one corner of this miniature paradise, there was RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. 15 _ Neglected pear-t ree —Pruning commenced. a hop-trellis ; and, in the midst of a bed of tansy hard by, stood a small, knotty, crooked pear-tree. It had stood there I know not how long. It was very dimin¬ utive in size ; but, like those cedars which one notices high up the mountain, just on the boundary between vegetation and eternal frost, it had every mark of the decrepitude of age. Why should this tree stand here so unsightly and unfruitful ? Why had it escaped notice so long ? Its bark had become bound and cracked ; its leaves were small and curled ; and those, small as they were, were ready to be devoured by a host of caterpillars, whose pampered bodies were already grown to the length of an inch. The tendrils of the hop-vine had crept about its thorny limbs and were weighing down its growth, while the tansy at its roots drank up the refreshing dew and shut out the genial ray. It was a neglected tree ! “ Why may not this tree be pruned ?” No sooner said, than the small saw was taken from its place and the work was commenced. Commenced ? It was hard to determine where to commence. Its knotty branches had grown thick and crooked, and there was scarcely space to get the saw between them. They all seemed to deserve amputation, but then the tree would have no top. This and that limb were lopped off as the case seemed to demand. The task was neither easy nor pleasant. Sometimes a violent stroke would bring down upon my own head a shower of the filthy caterpillars; again, the long-cherished garden- 16 RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. Disagreeable toil.—Grafting of a Bartlet Pear.—Anxiety. coat—threadbare and faded as it was—got caught, and before it could be disengaged, what an unsightly rent bad been made ! With 'pain I toiled on, for one of the unlucky thorns had pierced my thumb; and I might have been said to be working on the spur of the occasion ! The hop-vine, however, was removed from its boughs, the tansy and weeds from its roots, the scales and moss from its bark. The thorns were carefully pared from its limbs, and the caterpillars were all shaken from its leaves. The mould was loosened and enriched,—and the sun shined that day upon a long neglected , but now a promising tree. The time for grafting was not yet passed. One re¬ putedly skilled in that art was called to put the new scion upon the old stock. The work was readily un¬ dertaken and speedily accomplished, and the assurance was given that the Bartlet Pear —that prince among the fruits of New England—would one day be gath¬ ered from my neglected tree. With what interest I watched the buds of the scion, morning after morning, as the month grew warmer, and vegetation all around was “ bursting into birth !” With what delight did I greet the first opening of those buds, and how did I rejoice as the young shoots put forth and grew into a fresh green top ! With ten¬ der solicitude I cherished this tree for two long sum¬ mers ; and on the opening of the third, my heart was gladdened with the sight of its first fruit blossoms. With care were the weeds excluded, the caterpillars RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. 17 The pears ripen,—Chagrin and mortification.—A m oral garden. exterminated, the hop-vine clipped, the bark rubbed and washed, the earth manured and watered. The time of fruit arrived. The Bartlet pear was offered in our market,—but my pears were not yet ripe ! With anxious care they were watched till the frost bade the green leaves wither, and then they were carefully gath¬ ered and placed in the sunbeams within doors. They at length turned yellow, and looked fair to the sight and tempting to the taste ; and a few friends, who had known their history, were invited to partake of them. They were brought forward, carefully arranged in the best dish the humble domicil afforded, and formally introduced as the first fruits of the “ neglected tree.” What was my chagrin and mortification, after all my pains and solicitude, after all my hopes and fond an¬ ticipations, to find they were miserable, tasteless— choke pears ! This pear-tree has put me upon thinking. It has suggested that there is such a thing as a moral gar¬ den , in which there may be fair flowers indeed, but also some neglected trees. The plants in this gar¬ den may suffer very much from neglect,—from neg¬ lect of the gardener. It is deplorable to see how many crooked, unseemly branches shoot forth from some of these young trees, which early might have been trained to grow straight and smooth by the hand of cultivation. Many a youth, running on in his own way, indulging in deception and profanity, yielding to temptation and overborne by evil influences, polluting by his example and wounding the hearts of his best 2 18 RESPONSIBILITY OF TIIE TEACHER. Many neglected trees.—Infancy. friends as they yearn over him for good, has reminded me of my neglected tree , its caterpillars, its roughened bark, its hop-vine, its tansy bed, its cruel piercing thorns. And when I have seen such a youth brought under the influence of the educator, and have wit¬ nessed the progress he has made and the intellectual promise he has given, I have also thought of my neg¬ lected tree. When, too, I have followed him to the years of maturity, and have found, as I have too often found, that he brings not forth “the peaceable fruits of righteousness,” but that he disappoints all the fondly-cherished hopes of his friends—perhaps of his own teachers, because the best principles were not en¬ grafted upon him, I again think of my neglected tree , and of the unskillful, perhaps dishonest gardener, who acted as its responsible educator. From the above as a text, several inferences might be drawn. 1. Education is necessary to develop the human soul. 2. Education should begin early. We have too many neglected trees. 3. It should be right education. And 4. The educator should be a safe and an honest man ; else the education may be all wrong, —may be worse even than the neglect. But especially we may infer that SECTION II.—THE TEACHER IS RESPONSIBLE. It is the object of the following remarks feebly to il¬ lustrate the extent of the teacher’s responsibility. It must all along be borne in mind that he is not alone responsible for the results of education. The parent RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. 19 Extent of teacher’s responsibility.—Bodily health. has an overwhelming responsibility, which he can never part with or transfer to another while he holds the re¬ lation of parent. But the teacher is responsible in a very high de gree. An important interest is committed to his charge whenever a human being is placed under his guidance. By taking the position of the teacher, all the responsi¬ bility of the relation is voluntarily assumed; and he is fearfully responsible not only for what he does , but also for what he neglects to do. And it is a responsi¬ bility from which he cannot escape. Even though he may have thoughtlessly entered upon the relation of teacher, without a single glance at its obligations; or though, when reminded of them, he may laugh at the thought, and disclaim all idea of being thus seriously held to a fearful account,—yet still the responsibility is on him. Just as true as it is a great thing to guide the mind aright,—just as true as it is a deplorable, nay, fatal thing to lead it astray, so true is it that he who attempts the work, whether ignorant or skillful, whether thoughtless or serious, incurs all the responsi¬ bility of success or failure,—a responsibility he can never shake off as long as the human soul is immortal, and men are accountable for such consequences of their acts as are capable of being foreseen. I. The teacher is in a degree responsible for the bodily health of the child. It is well established that the foundation of many serious diseases is laid in the school-room. These diseases come sometimes from a neglect of exercise ; sometimes from too long confine 20 RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. Laws of physical health.—Nervous excitement. ment in one position, or upon one study; sometimes from over-excitement and over-study ; sometimes from breathing bad air; sometimes from being kept too warm or too cold. Now the teacher should be an in¬ telligent physiologist; and from a knowledge of what the human system can bear and what it cannot, he is bound to be ever watchful to guard against all those abuses from which our children so often suffer. Es¬ pecially should he be tremblingly alive to avert that excitability of the nervous system, the over-action of which is so fatal to the future happiness of the indi¬ vidual. And should he, by appealing to the most ex¬ citing motives, encourage the delicate child to press on to grasp those subjects which are too great for its com¬ prehension, and allow it to neglect exercise in the open air in order to task its feverish brain in the crowded and badly ventilated school-room ; and then, in a few days, be called to look upon the languishing sufferer upon a bed of exhaustion and pain—perhaps a bed of premature death, could he say, “ I am not responsi¬ ble ?” Parents and teachers often err in this. They are so eager to develop a precocious intellect, that they crush the casket in order to gratify a prurient desire to astonish the world with the brilliancy of the gem. Each is responsible for his share of this sin; and the teacher especially, because by his education he should know better. II. The teacher is mainly responsible for the intel¬ lectual growth of the child. This may be referred chiefly to the following heads :— RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. 21 Natural order.—Reading, &c.—Mental Arithmetic. 1. The order of study. There is a natural order in the education of the child. The teacher should know this. If he presents the subjects out of this order, he is responsible for the injury. In general, the elements should be taught first. Those simple branches which the child first comprehends, should first be presented. Reading , of course, must be one of the first; though I think the day is not distant when an enlightened community will not condemn the teacher, if, while teaching reading, he should call the child’s attention by oral instructions to such objects about him as he can comprehend, even though in doing this he should somewhat prolong the time of learning to read. It is indeed of little consequence that the child should read words simply ; and that teacher may be viewed as pursuing the order of nature, who so endeavors to de¬ velop the powers of observation and comparison, that words when learned shall be the vehicles of ideas. Some further suggestions on this point will be made in the chapter entitled “ Waking up Mind” Next to Reading and its inseparable companions— Spelling and Defining , I am inclined to recommend • the study of Mental Arithmetic. The idea of Number is one of the earliest in the mind of the child. He can be early taught to count, and quite early to per¬ form those operations which we call adding, subtract¬ ing, multiplying, and dividing. This study at first needs no hook. The teacher should be thoroughly versed in “ Colburn’s Intellectual Arithmetic,” or its equivalent, and he can find enough to interest the 22 RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. Recite without book.—Geography and History. child. When the scholar has learned to read, and has attained the age of six or seven, he may be allowed a book in preparing his lesson , but never during the recitation. Those who have not tried this kind of mental discipline, will be astonished at the facility which the child acquires, for performing operations that often puzzle the adult. Nor is it an unimportant ac¬ quisition. None can tell its value but those who have experienced the advantage it gives them in future school exercises and in business, over those who have never had such training. Geography may come next to Mental Arithmetic. The child should have an idea of the relations of size, form, and space, as well as number, before commen¬ cing Geography. These, however, he acquires natu¬ rally at an early age ; and very thoroughly, if the teacher has taken a little pains to aid him on these points in the earliest stages of his progress. A map is a picture, and hence a child welcomes it. If it can be a map of some familiar object, as of his school¬ room, of the school district, of his father’s orchard or farm, it becomes an object of great interest. A map of his town is very desirable, also of his county and his own state. Further detail will be deferred here, as it is only intended in this place to hint at the order of taking up the subjects. History should go hand in hand with Geography. Perhaps no greater mistake is made than that of de¬ ferring History till one of the last things in the child’s course. I RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. 23 W riting.—W ritten Arithmetic.—Composition.—Grammar. Writing may be early commenced with the pencil upon the slate, because it is a very useful exercise to the child in prosecuting many of his other studies. But writing with a pen may well be deferred till the child is ten years of age , when the muscles shall have acquired sufficient strength to grasp and guide it. Written Arithmetic may succeed the mental; in deed, it may be practised along with it. Composition —perhaps by another name, as Descrip tion —should be early commenced and very frequently practised. The child can be early interested in this, and he probably in this way acquires a better know¬ ledge of practical grammar than in any other. Grammar , in my opinion, as a study, should be one of the last of the common school branches to be taken up. It requires more maturity of mind to understand its relations and dependencies than any other; and that which is taught of grammar without such an un¬ derstanding, is a mere smattering of technical tc?~7ns, by which the pupil is injured rather than improved. It may be said, that unless scholars commence this branch early, they never will have the opportunity to learn it. Then let it go unlearned ; for as far as I have seen the world, I am satisfied that this early and superficial teaching of a difficult subject is not only useless but positively injurious. How many there are who study grammar for years, and then are obliged to confess in after life, because “ their speech bewrayeth” them, that they never understood it ! How many, by the too early study of an intricate branch, make 24 RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. How to study.—Not words, but thoughts. themselves think they understand it, and thus prevent the hope of any further advancement at the proper age ! Grammar,then, should not he studied too early. Of the manner of teaching all these branches, I shall have more to say in due time. At present I have only noticed the order in which they should be taken up. This is a question of much consequence to the child, and the teacher is generally responsible for it. He should therefore carefully consider this matter, that he may be able to decide aright. 2. The manner of study. It is of quite as much importance how we study, as what we study. Indeed I have thought that much of the difference among men could be traced to their different habits of study, formed in youth. A large portion of our scholars study for the sake of preparing to recite the lesson. They seem to have no idea of any object beyond recitation. The consequence is, they study mechan¬ ically. They endeavor to remember phraseology, rather than principles ; they study the hook , not the subject. Let any one enter our schools and see the scholars engaged in preparing their lessons. Scarcely one will be seen, who is not repeating over and over again the words of the text, as if there was a saving charm in repetition. Observe the same scholars at recitation, and it is a struggle of the memory to recall the forms of words. The vacant countenance too often indicates that they are words without meaning. This difficulty is very much increased, if the teacher is confined to the text-book during recitation ; and par- RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. 25 Teacher’s duty.—Books but helps.—Study objects. ticularly, if he relies mainly upon the printed questions so often found at the bottom of the page. The scholar should be encouraged to study the sub¬ ject ; and his book should be held merely as the in¬ strument. “ Books are but helps,” is a good motto for every student. The teacher should often tell how the lesson should be learned. His precept in this matter will often be of use. Some scholars will learn a lesson in one tenth of the time required by others. Human life is too short to have any of it employed to disadvantage. The teacher, then, should inculcate such habits of study as are valuable ; and he should be particularly careful to break up, in the recitations, those habits which are so grossly mechanical. A child may almost be said to be educated, who has learned to study aright; while one may have acquired in the me¬ chanical way a great amount of knowledge, and yet have no profitable mental discipline. For this difference in children, as well as in men, the teacher is more responsible than any other person. Let him carefully consider this matter. 3. Collateral study. Books to be sure are to be studied, and studied chiefly , in most of our schools. But there is much for the teacher to do toward the growth of the mind, which is not to be found in the school-books ; and it is the practical recognition of this fact which constitutes the great difference in teachers. Truth , in whatever department, is open to the faithful teacher. And there is such a thing, even in the pres¬ ent generation, as “ opening the eyes of the blind,” to 3 26 RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. Teaching to observe.—Mind not to be crammed. discover things new and old, in nature, in the arts, in history, in the relation of things. Without diminishing, in the least, the progress of the young in study, their powers of observation may be cultivated, their percep¬ tion quickened, their relish for the acquisition of know¬ ledge indefinitely increased, by the instrumentality of the teacher. This must of course be done adroitly. There is such a thing as excessively cramming the mind of a child, till he loathes every thing in the way of acquisition. There is such a thing, too, as exciting an all-pervading interest in a group of children, so that the scholar shall welcome the return of school hours, and, by his cheerful step and animated eye, as he seeks the school-house, disclaim, as false when applied to him, the language of the poet, who described the school-boy of his darker day,— “ with his satchel, And shining morning face, creeping, like snail , Unwillingly to school.” The teacher, who is responsible for such a result, should take care to store his own mind with the mate¬ rial, and exercise the ingenuity, to do that which is of so much consequence to the scholar. The chapter on “Waking up Mind” will give some further hints to the young teacher. III. The teacher is in a degree responsible for the MORAL TRAINING of the child. I say in a degree , because it is confessed that in this matter very much likewise depends upon parental influence. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. 27 Moral training neglected.—Precept.—Example. This education of the heart is confessedly too^much ' neglected in all our schools. It has often been re¬ marked that “ knowledge is power,” and as truly that “ knowledge without principle to regulate it may make a man a powerful villain !” It is all-important that our youth should early receive such moral training, as shall make it safe to give them knowledge. Very much of this work must devolve upon the teacher; or rather, when he undertakes to teach, he assumes the responsibility of doing or of neglecting this work. The precept of the teacher may do much toward teaching the child his duty to God, to himself, and to his fellow-beings. But it is not mainly by precept that this is to be done. Sermons and homiiies are but little heeded in the school-room; and unless the teacher has some other mode of reaching the feelings and the conscience, he may despair of being success¬ ful in moral training. The teacher should be well versed in human nature. He should know the power of conscience and the means of reaching it. He should himself have deep principle. His example in every thing before his school, should be pure, flowing out from the purity of his soul. He should ever manifest the tenderest re¬ gard to the law of right and of love. He should never violate his*own sense of justice, nor outrage that of his pupils. Such a man teaches by his example. He is a “ living epistle, known and read of all.” He teaches, as he goes in and out before the school, as words can never teach. 28 RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. Conscience can be cultivated.—How ? The moral feelings of children are capable of sys¬ tematic and successful cultivation. Our muscles ac¬ quire strength by use ; it is so with our intellectual and moral faculties. We educate the power of calcu¬ lation by continued practice, so that the proficient adds the long column of figures almost with the rapidity of sight, and with infallible accuracy. So with the moral feelings. “ The more frequently we use our con¬ science,” says Dr. Wayland, “ in judging between ac¬ tions, as right and wrong, the more easily shall we learn to judge correctly concerning them. He who, before every action, will deliberately ask himself, ‘ Is this right or wrong?’ will seldom mistake what is his duty. And children may do this as well as grown persons.” Let the teacher appeal as often as may be to the pupil’s conscience. In a thousand ways can this be done, and it is a duty the faithful teacher owes to his scholars. By such methods of cultivating the conscience as the judicious teacher may devise, and by his own pure example, what may he not accomplish ? If he loves the truth, and ever speaks the truth; if he is ever frank and sincere ; if, in a word, he shows that he has a tender conscience in all things, and that he always refers to it for its approval in all his acts,— what an influence does he exert upon the«impressible minds under his guidance ! How those children will observe his consistent course ; and, though they may not speak of it, how great will be its silent powei upon the formation of their characters ! And in future RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. 29 Evil example to be dreaded.—Consequences. years, when they ripen into maturity, how will they remember and bless the example they shall have found so safe and salutary. Responsibility in this matter cannot be avoided. The teacher by his example does teach , for good or for evil, whether he will or not. Indifference will not excuse him ; for when most indifferent he is not less accountable. And if his example be pernicious, as too often even yet the example of the teacher is ; if he indulges in outbreaks of passion, or wanders in the mazes of deceitfulness ; if the blasphemous oath pol¬ lutes his tongue, or the obscene jest poisons his breath ; if he trifles with the feelings or the rights of others, and habitually violates his own conscience, —what a blighting influence is his for all coming time ! With all the attachment which young pupils will cherish even toward a bad teacher, and with all the confidence they will repose in him, who can describe the mischief which he can accomplish in one short term ? The school is no place for a man without principle; I repeat, the school is no place for a man without PRINCIPLE. Let such a man seek a livelihood anywhere else ; or, failing to gain it by other means, let starvation seize the body, and send the soul back to its Maker as it is, rather than he should incur the fearful guilt of poisoning youthful minds and dragging them down to his own pitiable level. If there can be one sin greater than another, on which heaven frowns with more awful displeasure, 3 * 30 RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. Trample not on the mind.—Religion our glory—our hope. it is that of leading the young into principles of erroi and the debasing practices of vice. “ Oh, wo to those who trample on the mind, That deathless thing ! They know not what they do, Nor what they deal with. Man, perchance, may bind The flower his step hath bruised; or light anew The torch he quenches; or to music wind Again the lyre-string from his touch that flew;— But for the soul, oh, tremble and beware To lay rude hands upon God’s mysteries there!” Let then the teacher study well his motives when he enters this profession, and so let him meet his re¬ sponsibility in this matter as to secure the approval of his own conscience and his God. IV. The teacher is to some extent responsible for the religious training of the young. We live in a Christian land. It is our glory, if not our boast, that we have descended from an ancestry that feared God and reverenced his word. Very justly we attribute our superiority as a people over those who dwell in the darker portions of the world, to our purer faith derived from that precious fountain of truth—the Bible. Very justly, too, does the true patriot and phi¬ lanthropist rely upon our faith and practice as a Chris¬ tian people for the permanence of our free institutions and our unequaled social privileges. If we are so much indebted, then, to the Christian religion for what we are, and so much dependent upon its life-giving truths for what we may hope to be,—how important is it that all our youth should be nurtured under its influences ! RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. 31 Avoid sectarianism.—Common ground.—Exemplified. When I say religious training, I do not mean sec¬ tarianism. In our public schools, supported at the public expense, and in which the children of all de nominations meet for instruction, I do not think that any man has a right to crowd his own peculiar notions of theology upon all, whether they are acceptable or not. Yet there is common ground which he can oc¬ cupy, and to which no reasonable man can object. He can teach a reverence for the Supreme Being, a reverence for his Holy Word, for the influences of his Spirit, for the character and teachings of the Savior, and for the momentous concerns of eter¬ nity. He can teach the evil of sin in the sight of God, and the awful consequences of it upon the indi vidual. He can teach the duty of repentance, and the privilege of forgiveness. He can teach our duty to worship God, to obey his laws, to seek the guidance of his Spirit, and the salvation by his Son. He can illustrate the blessedness of the divine life, the beauty of holiness, and the joyful hope of heaven ;—and to all this no reasonable man will be found to object, sc long as it is done in a truly Christian spirit. If not in express words, most certainly his life and example should teach this. Man is a religious being. The religious principle should be early cultivated. It should be safely and carefully cultivated ; and, as this cultivation is too often entirely neglected by parents, unless it is attempted by the teacher, in many cases it will never be effected at all. Of course all those points which separate the com 32 RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. Danger of skepticism.—Who is sufficient ? munity into sects, must be left to the family, the sab¬ bath-school, and the pulpit. The teacher is responsi¬ ble for his honesty in this matter. While he has no right to lord it over the private conscience of any one, he is inexcusable, if, believing the great truths of the Bible, he puts them away as if they concerned him not. They should command his faith, and govern his conduct; and their claims upon the young should not be disowned. At any rate, the teacher should be careful that his teaching and his example do not prejudice the youthful mind against these truths. It is a hazardous thing for a man to be skeptical by himself, even when he locks his opinions up in the secrecy of his own bosom ; how great then is the responsibility of teaching the young to look lightly upon the only book that holds out to us the faith of immortality, and opens to us the hope of heaven ! Let the teacher well consider this matter, and take heed that his teaching shall never lead one child of earth away from his heavenly Father, or from the rest of the righteous in the home of the blest. In view of what has been said, the young candidate for the teacher’s office, almost in despair of success, may exclaim, “ Who is sufficient for these things ?” “ Who can meet and sustain such responsibility ?” My answer is, the true inquirer after duty will not go astray, tie is insufficient for these things, who is self-confident, who has not yet learned his own weak¬ ness, who has never found out his own faults, and wh RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. 33 Inexcusable indifference.—The honest inquirer may hope. rushes to this great work, as the unheeding “ horse rusheth into the battle,” not knowing whither he goeth. Alas, how many there are who enter this profession without the exercise of a single thought of the respon¬ sibleness of the position, or of any of the great ques¬ tions which must in their schools for the first time be presented for their decision ! How many there are who never reflect upon the influence of their example before the young, and are scarcely conscious that their example is of any consequence ! Such, in the highest sense, will fail of success. How can they be expect¬ ed to go right, where there is only one right way, but a thousand wrong ? Let such persons pause and con¬ sider, before they assume responsibilities which they can neither discharge nor evade. Let such ask with deep solicitude, “ Who is sufficient for these things ?” But to the young person really desirous of improve¬ ment ; to him who has taken the first and important step toward knowledge, by making the discovery that every thing is not already known ; to him who sees beforehand that there are real difficulties in this pro¬ fession, and who is not too proud or self-conceited to feel the need of special preparation to meet them ; to him who has some idea of the power of example in the educator, and who desires most of all things that his character shall be so pure as to render his ex¬ ample safe; to him who has discovered that there are some deep mysteries in human nature, and that they are only to be fathomed by careful study ; to him who really feels that a great thing is to be done, and who 3 34 RESPONSIBILITY OF TIIE TEACHER. Visit to the prison.—Neatness and order.—An inquiry.—Library. has the sincere desire to prepare himself to do it aright; to him, in short, who has the true spirit of the teacher ,—I may say, there is nothing to fear. An honest mind, with the requisite industry, is sufficient for these things. SECTION III. —THE AUBURN STATE PRISON. During my visit at Auburn in the autumn of 1845, I was invited by a friend to visit the prison, in which at that time were confined between six and seven hun¬ dred convicts. I was first taken through the various workshops, where the utmost neatness and order pre vailed. As I passed along, my eye rested upon one after another of the convicts, I confess, with a feeling of surprise. There were many good-looking men. If, instead of their parti-colored dress, they could have been clothed in the citizen’s garb, I should have thought them as good in appearance as laboring men in general. And when, to their good appearance, was added their attention to their work, their ingenuity, and the neatness of their work-rooms, my own mind began to press the inquiry, Why are these men here ? It was the afternoon of Saturday. Many of them had completed their allotted work for the week, and with happy faces were performing the customary ablutions preparatory to the sabbath. Passing on, we came to the library, a collection of suitable books for the con¬ victs, which are given out as a reward for diligence to those who have seasonably and faithfully performed RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. 35 Wyatt the murderer.—Sabbath morn.—General view. their labor. Here were many who had come to take their books. Their faces beamed with delight as they each bore away the desired volume, just as I had seen the faces of the happy and the free do before. Why are these men here ? was again pressed upon me ;— why are these men here ? At this time the famous Wyatt, since executed upon the gallows for his crime, was in solitary confine¬ ment, awaiting his trial for the murder of Gordon, a fellow-prisoner. I was permitted to enter his room. Chained to the floor, he was reclining upon his mat¬ tress in the middle of his apartment. As I approached him, his large black eye met mine. He was a hand¬ some man. His head was well developed, his long black hair hung upon his neck, and his eye was one of the most intelligent I ever beheld. Had I seen him in the senate among great men,—had T seen him in a school of philosophers, or a brotherhood of poets, I should probably have selected him as the most remark¬ able man among them all, without suspecting his dis¬ tinction to be a distinction of villany. Why is that man here ? thought I, as I turned away to leave him to his dreadful solitude. The morrow was the Sabbath. I could not repress my desire to see the convicts brought together for worship. At the hour of nine I entered their chapel, and found them all seated in silence. I was able to see most of the faces of this interesting congregation. It was by no means the worst looking congregation I had ever seen. There were evidently bad men there ; 36 RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. Worship.—Singing.—Prayer.—Deep feeling. but what congregation of free men does not present some such ? They awaited in silence the commencement of the service. When the morning hymn was read, they joined in the song, the chorister being a colored man of their own number. They sung as other congre¬ gations sing, and my voice joined with theirs. The Scripture was read. They gave a respectful atten¬ tion. The prayer was begun. Some bowed in ap¬ parent reverence at the commencement. Others sat erect, and two or three of these appeared to be the hardened sons of crime. The chaplain’s voice was of a deep, perhaps I should say, a fatherly tone, and he seemed to have the father’s spirit. He prayed for these “ wayward ones,” who were deprived of their liberty for their offenses, but whom God would welcome to his throne of mercy. He prayed for their homes, and for their friends who this day would send their * thoughts hither in remembrance of those in bonds. He alluded to the scenes of their childhood, the solici¬ tude of their early friends, and the affection of their parents. When the wmrds home , friend , childhood y were heard, several of those sturdy sons of crime and wnetchedness instinctively bowed their heads and con¬ cealed their faces in their hands; and as a father's blessing and a mother’s love were alluded to, more than one of these outcasts from society, were observed to dash the scalding tear from the eye. These men feel like other men,— why are they here ? was again the thought which forced itself upon my mind; and RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. 37 The question again.—Speculation.—Their teachers. while the chaplain proceeded to his sermon, in the midst of the silence that pervaded the room, my mind ran back to their educators. Once these men were children like others. They had feelings like other chil¬ dren, affection, reverence, teachableness, conscience,— why are they here ? Some, very likely, on account of their extraordinary perversity; but most because they had a wrong education. More than half, undoubtedly, have violated the laws of their country not from extra- \ ordinary viciousness, but from the weakness of their moral principle. Tempted just like other and better men, they fell , because in early childhood no one had cultivated and strengthened the conscience God had given them. I am not disposed to excuse the vices of men, nor to screen them from merited punishment; neither do I worship a “painted morality,” based solely upon education, thus leaving nothing for the religion of the Bible to accomplish by purifying the heart, that fountain of wickedness : yet how many of these men might have been saved to society; how many of them have powers which under different training might have adorned and blessed their race ; how many of them may date their fall to the evil influence and poisonous ex¬ ample of some guide of their childhood, some recreant teacher of their early days,—God only knows ! But what a responsibility still rests upon the head of any such teacher, if he did not know, or did not try to know, the avenue to their hearts ; if he did not feel or try to feel the worth of moral principle to these very fallen ones ! And what would be his feelings if he could look back 38 RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TELPHER. View to the final Judgment.—Study to know, and to do. through the distant days of the past, and count up exactly the measure of his own faithfulness and of his own neglect ? This the all-seeing eye alone can do,— this He who looketh upon the heart ever does ! Teachers, go forth, then, conscious of your responsi¬ bility to your pupils, conscious of your accountability to God, go forth and teach this people ; and endeavor so to teach, that when you meet your pupils, not in the walks of life merely, not perhaps in the Auburn Prison, not indeed upon the shores of time, but at the # final Judgment, where you must meet them all, you may be able to give a good account of the influence which you have exerted over mind. As it may then be forever too late to correct your errors and efface any injury done, study now to act the part of wisdom and the part of love. Study the human heart by studying the workings of your own; seek carefully tlie avenues to the affec¬ tions ; study those higher motives which elevate and ennoble the soul; cultivate that purity which shall al¬ lure the wayward, by bright example, from the paths of error; imbue your own souls with the love of teach¬ ing and the greatness of your work ; rely not alone upon yourselves, as if by your own wisdom and might you could do this great thing; but seek that direction which our heavenly Father never withholds from the honest inquirer after his guidance,—and though the teacher’s work is, and ever must be, attended with overwhelming responsibility, you will be sufficient FOR THESE THINGS. PERSONAL HABITS, ETC. 39 The teacher a model.—Importance of good habits. CHAPTER III. PERSONAL HABITS OF THE TEACHER. The importance of correct habits to any individual cannot be overrated. The influence of the teacher is so great upon the children under his care, either for good or evil, that it is of the utmost importance to them as well as to himself that his habits should be unexceptionable. It is the teacher’s sphere to improve the community in which he moves, not only in learn¬ ing, but in morals and manners ; in every thing that is “ lovely and of good report.” This he may do partly by precept,—but very much by example. He teaches , wherever he is. His manners, his appearance, his character, are all the subject of observation, and to a great extent of imitation, by the young in his district. He is observed not only in the school, but in the fam¬ ily, in the social gathering, and in the religious meet- ins;. How desirable then that he should be a ?nodel in all things ! Man has been said to be a “bundle of habits and it has been as pithily remarked—“ Happy is the man whose habits are his friends.” It were well if all per¬ sons, before they become teachers, would attend care¬ fully to the formation of their personal habits. This, 40 PERSONAL HABITS Cleanliness.—Ablution.—The teeth.—The nails. unhappily, is not always done,—and therefore I shall make no apology for introducing in this place some very plain remarks on what I deem the essentials among the habits of the teacher. 1. Neatness. This implies cleanliness of the per¬ son. If some who assume to teach were not proverbial for their slovenliness, I would not dwell on this point. On this point, however, I must be allowed great plain¬ ness of speech, even at the expense of incurring the charge of excessive nicety; for it is by attending to a few little things that one becomes a strictly neat per¬ son. The morning ablution, then, should never be omitted, and the comb for the hair and brush for the clothes should always be called into requisition before the teacher presents himself to the family, or to his school. Every teacher would very much promote his own health by washing the whole surface of the body every morning in cold water. This is now done by very many of the most enlightened teachers, as well as others. When physiology is better understood, this practice will be far more general. To no class of persons is it more essential than to the teacher; for on account of his confinement, often in an unventilated room, with half a hundred children during the day, very much more is demanded of the exhalents in him than in others. His only safety is in a healthy action of the skin. The teeth should be attended to. A brush and clean water have saved many a set of teeth. It is bad enough to witness the deplorable neglect of these iin- OF THE TEACHER. 41 A vulgar habit.—Neat dress.—Tobacco.—A puzzle. portant organs so prevalent in the community; but it is extremely mortifying to see a filthy set of teeth in the mouth of the teacher of our youth. The nails, too, I am sorry to say, are often neglected by some of our teachers, till their ebony tips are any thing but ornamental. This matter is made worse, when, in the presence of the family or of the school, the penknife is brought into requisition to remove that which should have received attention at the time of washing in the morning. The teacher should remember that it is a vulgar habit to pare or clean the nails while in the presence of others, and especially during conversation with them. The teacher should be neat in his dress. I do not urge that his dress should be expensive. His income ordinarily will not admit of this. He may wear a very plain dress ; nor should it be any way singular in its fashion. All I ask is, that his clothing should be in good taste, and always clean. A slovenly dress, covered with dust, or spotted with grease, is never so much out of its proper place, as when it clothes the teacher. While upon this subject I may be indulged in a word or two upon the use of tobacco by the teacher. It is quite a puzzle to me to tell why any man but a Turk, who may lawfully dream away half his ex¬ istence over the fumes of this filthy narcotic, should ever use it. Even if there were nothing wrong in the use of unnatural stimulants themselves, the fil¬ thiness of tobacco is enough to condemn it among teachers, especially in the form of chewing. It is cer- 42 PERSONAL HABITS Improved taste.—Order, system.—Courtesy of language. tainly worth while to ask whether there is not some moral delinquency in teaching this practice to the young, while it is admitted, by nearly all who have fallen into the habit, to be an evil, and one from which they would desire to be delivered. At any rate, I hope the time is coming, when the good taste of teachers, and a regard for personal neatness and the comfort of others, shall present motives sufficiently strong to in¬ duce them to break away from a practice at once so unreasonable and so disgusting. 2. Order. In this place I refer to that system and regularity so desirable in every teacher. He should practise it in his room at his boarding-house. Every thing should have its place. His books, his clothing, should all be arranged with regard to this principle. The same habit should go with him to the school¬ room. His desk there should be a pattern of orderly arrangement. Practising this himself, he may with propriety insist upon it in his pupils. It is of great moment to the teacher, that, when he demands order and arrangement among his pupils, they cannot appeal to any breach of it in his own practice. 3. Courtesy. The teacher should ever be cour¬ teous, both in his language and in his manners. Cour¬ tesy of language may imply a freedom from all coaise- ness. There is a kind of communication, used among boatmen and hangers-on at bar-rooms, which should find no place in the teacher’s vocabulary. All vulgar jesting, all double-entendres, all low allusions, should be forever excluded from his mouth. And profanity ! OF THE TEACHER. 43 Profanity.—Purity.—Accuracy.—Courtesy of manner. —can it be necessary that I should speak of this as among the habits of the teacher? Yes, it is even so. Such is the want of moral sense in the community, that men are still employed in some districts, whose ordinary conversation is poisoned with the breath of blasphemy; ay, and even the walls of the school¬ room resound to undisguised oaths ! I cannot find words to express my astonishment at the indifference of parents, or at the recklessness of teachers, wherever I know such cases to exist. Speaking of the language of the teacher, I might urge also that it should be both pure and accurate. Pure as distinguished from all those cant phrases and provincialisms which amuse the vulgar in certain lo¬ calities ; and accurate as to the terms used to express his meaning. As the teacher teaches in this, as in every thing, by example as well as by precept, he should be very careful to acquire an unexceptionable use of our language, and never deviate from it in the hearing of his pupils or elsewhere. There is a courtesy of manner also, which should characterize the teacher. This is not that ridiculous obsequiousness which some persons assume, when they would gain the good opinion of others. It is true politeness. By politeness I do not mean any particular form of words, nor any prescribed or prescribable mode of action. It does not consist in bowing ac¬ cording to any approved plan, nor in a compliance simply with the formulas of etiquette in the fashion¬ able world. True politeness is founded in benevo- 44 PERSONAL HABITS Politeness, in the teacher.—Anecdote.—The secret. lence. Its law is embodied in the golden rule of the Savior :—“ Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so unto them.” It is the exercise of real kindness. It entertains a just regard for the feelings of others, and seeks to do for them what would make them really happy. The teacher should possess this quality. When¬ ever he meets a child, it should be with the looks and words of kindness. Whenever he receives any token of regard from a pupil, he should acknowledge it in the true spirit of politeness. Whenever he meets a pupil in the street, or in a public place, he should cor¬ dially recognise him. In this way and a thousand others, which, if he have the right spirit, will cost him nothing, he will cultivate true courtesy in his pupils. He can do it in this way more effectually than he can by formally lecturing upon the subject. True politeness will always win its true reciprocation. Two teachers were once walking together in the streets of a large town in New-England. Several lads whom they met on the side-walk, raised their caps as they exchanged the common salutations with one of the teachers. “ What boys are these that pay you such attention as they pass ?” inquired the other. “ They are my scholars,” answered his friend. “ Your scholars ! Why how do you teach them to be so very polite ? Mine are pretty sure never to look at me ; and generally they take care to be on the other side of the street.” “ I am unable to tell,” said his friend ; “ I never say any thing about it. I usually bow to them, and they are as OF THE TEACHER. 45 Manners neglected.—Punctuality a cardinal virtue. ready to bow to me.” The whole secret consisted in this teacher’s meeting his pupils in the spirit of kindness. I would not, however, discourage a teacher from ac¬ tually inculcating good manners by precept. It should indeed be done. The manners of pupils are too much neglected in most of our schools, and, I am sorry to say, in most of our families. Our youth are growing up with all the independence of sturdy young republicans, —and, in their pride of freedom from governmental restraint, they sometimes show a want of respect for their seniors and superiors, which is quite mortifying to all lovers of propriety. It is the teacher’s province to counteract this ; and in order to do it well, he should possess the virtue of true courtesy, both in theory and practice. 4. Punctuality. This, as a habit , is essential to the teacher. He should be punctual in every thing. He should always be present at or before the time for opening the school. A teacher who goes late to school once a week, or even once a month, cannot very well enforce the punctual attendance of his pupils. I once knew a man who for seven long years was never late at school a single minute, and seldom did he fail to reach his place more than five minutes before the tiihe. I never knew but one such. I have known scores who were frequently tardy, and sometimes by the space of a whole hour! A teacher should be as punctual in dismissing as in opening his school. I know that some make a virtue of keeping their schools beyond the regular hours 46 PERSONAL HABITS Dismiss punctually.—Regular study.—Time for it. 1 have always considered this a very questionable virtue. If a teacher wishes to stay beyond his time, it should be either with delinquents, who have some les¬ sons to make up, or with those who voluntarily remain. But, after all, if he has been strictly punctual to the hours assigned for his various duties in school, there will scarcely be the necessity for him, or any of his pupils to remain beyond the time for dismission ; and, as a general rule, a regard both for his own health and theirs should forbid this. It is better to work diligently while one does work, and not to protract the time of labor, so as to destroy one’s energy for to-morrow. This habit of punctuality should run through every thing. He should be punctual at all engagements ; he should be studiously so in all the detail of school exer¬ cises ; he should be so at his meals, at his private studies, at his hour of retiring at night and of rising in the morning, and also at his exercise and recreation. This is necessary to a truly exemplary character, and it is equally as necessary to good health. 5. Habits of Study. Unless the teacher takes care to furnish his own mind, he will soon find his present stock of knowledge, however liberal that may be,*fading from his memory and becoming unavailable. To prevent this, and to keep along with every improve¬ ment, he should regularly pursue a course of study. I say regularly; for in order to accomplish any thing really desirable, he must do something every day. By strict system in all his arrangements, he may find time to do it; and whenever I am told by a teacher that he OF THE TEACHER. 47 A high standard.—Excelsior ! cannot, find time to study, I always infer that there is a want of order in his arrangements, or a want of punctuality in the observance of that order. Human life indeed is short; but most men still further abridge the period allotted to them, by a disregard of system. What has now been said, upon the teacher's spirit , the teacher's responsibility , and the teacher's personal habits , will embody perhaps my views upon the cha¬ racter of the individual , who may be encouraged to engage in the work of teaching. Nor do I think the requirements in this department have been overstated. I know, indeed, that too many exercise the teacher’s functions without the teacher’s spirit as here described, and without the sense of responsibility here insisted on, and with habits entirely inconsistent with those here required. But this does not prove that sucli teachers have chosen the right calling, or that the children under their care are under safe and proper guidance. It proves rather that parents and school officers have too often neglected to be vigilant, or that suitable teachers could not be had. Let none think of lowering the standard to what has been, or what may even now be that of a majority of those who are engaged in this profession. Every young teacher’s eye should be directed to the very best model in this work; and he should never be satisfied with bare mediocrity. Excelsior, the motto of the Empire State, may well be the motto of the young teacher. 48 LITERARY QUALIFICATIONS Profession advancing, so is the pay. CHAPTER IV. . LITERARY QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. I am now about to enter an extensive field. Since the teacher is to be the life of the school, it is of great consequence that he have within him the means of sustaining life. As the statutes in many of the states prescribe the minimum of attainment for the teacher, I might per haps spare myself the labor of writing on this point. Yet in a thorough work on the Theory and Practice of Teaching, this very properly comes under consider¬ ation. The profession of teaching is advancing. The present standard of acquirement demanded of the teacher, excludes many who were considered quite respectable in their vocation, ten years ago. This may well be so; for within that time, quite an advance has been made in the compensation offered to teachers. It is but reasonable that acquirement should keep pace with the reward of it. Indeed, the talent and attain¬ ment brought into the field, must always be in advance of the rate of compensation. The people must be first convinced that teachers are better than they were years ago, and then they will be ready to reward them. In Massachusetts, according to statistics in the possession OF THE TEACHER. 49 What a teacher ought to know.—Orthography. of the Hon. Horace Mann, Secretary of the Board of Education, the compensation of teachers within ten years has advanced thirty-three per cent.; nor is it reasonable to suppose that this advance has been made, independent of any improvement among the teachers. Their system of supervision has increased in strictness, during this time, in an equal ratio ; and many teachers, who were entirely incompetent for their places, have thus been driven to other employments. The cause is still onward; and the time is not far distant when the people will demand still more thorough teachers for the common schools, and they will find it for their interest to pay for them. Under these circumstances, it will not be my design to give the very lowest qualifications for a teacher at present. I shall aim to describe those which a teacher ought to possess, in order to command, for some time to come, the respect of the enlightened part of the com¬ munity. I will not say that a man, with less attainment than I shall describe, may not keep a good school; I have no doubt that many do. Yet if our profession is to be really respectable, and truly deserving of the regard of an enlightened people, we must have a still higher standard of qualification than I shall now insist on. The following is a list of the studies of which every teacher should have a competent knowledge. I add also to each, such word of comment as appears to be necessary. 1. Orthography. This implies something more than mere spelling. Spelling is certainly indispen- 4 50 LITERARY QUALIFICATIONS Our alphabet.—Elementary sounds.—Normal chart. sable. No person should ever think of teaching, who is not an accurate speller. But the nature and powers of letters should also be mastered. We have in our language about forty elementary sounds ; yet we have but twenty-six characters to represent them. Our alphabet is therefore imperfect. This imperfection is augmented by the fact that several of the letters are employed each to represent several different sounds. In other cases, two letters combined represent the element. There are also letters, as c, q, and x , which have no sound that is not fully represented by other letters. Then a very large number of our letters are silent in certain positions, while they are fully sounded in others. It were much to be desired that we might have a perfect alphabet, that is, as many characters as we have elementary sounds, and that each letter should have but one sound. For the present this can not be ; and the present generation of teachers, at least, will have to teach our present orthography. Those systems of orthography are much to be preferred which begin with the elementary sounds , and then present the letters as their representatives, together with the practice of analyzing words into their elements, thus showing at once the silent letters and the equivalents . These systems may be taught in half the time that the old systems can be ; and when acquired, they are of much greater practical utility to the learner. As my views have been more fully presented in the “ Normal Chart of Elementary Sounds,” prepared for the use of schools, I will only refer the reader to that work. OF THE TEACHER. 51 Few good readers.—Mr. Mann’s statement. 2. Reading. Every teacher should be a good reader. Not more than one in every hundred among teachers can now be called a good reader. To be able to read well, implies a quick perception of the meaning as well as a proper enunciation of the words. It is a branch but poorly taught in most of our schools. Many of the older pupils get above reading before they have learned to read well; and, unfortunately, man} r of our teachers cannot awaken an interest in the subject, because very likely they cannot read any better than their scholars. It would be interesting to ascertain how large a proportion of our youth leave the schools without acquiring the power readily to take the sense of any common paragraph which they may attempt to read, I am inclined to think the number is not small.* In * Since writing the above, my eye has fallen upon the following, from the second Annual Report of the Secretary of the Mass. Board of Educa¬ tion, “ I have devoted,” says Mr. Mann, “ especial pains to learn, with some degree of numerical accuracy, how far the reading in our schools is an exercise of the mind in thinking and feeling, and how far it is a barren action of the organs of speech upon the atmosphere. My information is derived principally from the written statements of the school committees of the different towns,—gentlemen, who are certainly exempt from all temptation to disparage the schools they superintend. The result is that more than eleven twelfths of all the children in the reading classes in our schools, do not understand the meaning of the words they read; that they do not master the sense of their reading lessons; and that the ideas and feelings intended by the author to be conveyed to and excited in the reader’s mind, still rest in the author’s intention, never having yet reached the place of their destination. It would hardly seem that the combined efforts of all persons engaged, could have accomplished more, in defeating the true objects of reading. How the cause of this deficiency is to be apportioned among the .egal supervisors of the schools, parents, teachers 52 LITERARY QUALIFICATIONS Hard labor.—Analysis of words.—Writing. this way I account for the fact that so many cease to read as soon as they leave school. It costs them so much effort to decipher the meaning of a book, that it counteracts the desire for the gratification and improve¬ ment it might otherwise afford. It should not be so The teacher should be a model of good reading; he should be enthusiastic in this branch, and never rest till he has excited the proper interest in it among the pupils, from the oldest to the youngest, in the school. It would be well if our teachers could be somewhat acquainted with the Latin and Greek languages, as this would afford them great facilities in comprehending and defining many of our own words. As this cannot be expected for the present, a substitute may be sought in some analysis of our derivative words. Several works have somewhat recently been prepared, to sup¬ ply, as far as may be, the wants of those who have not studied the classics. I should advise every teacher, for his own benefit, to master some one of these. 3. Writing. It is not respectable for the teacher of the young to be a bad writer; nor can it ever become so, even should the majority of bad writers continue to increase. The teacher should take great pains to write a plain, legible hand. This is an essential qualification. 4, Geography. A knowledge of the principles of Geography is essential. This implies an acquaintance and authors of text-books, it is impossible to say; but surely it is an evil gratuitous, widely-prevalent, and threatening the most alarming conse¬ quences,” OF THE TEACHER. 53 Geography.—History.—M ental Arithmetic.—Anecdotes. with the use of globes, and the art of map-drawing. The teacher should be so well versed in geography, that, with an outline map of any country before him, he could give an intelligent account of its surface, people, resources, history, &c.; and if the outline map were not at hand, he ought to be able to draw one from memory,—at least, of each of the grand divisions of the earth, and of the United States. 5. History. The teacher should be acquainted with history,—at least, the history of the United States. He can hardly teach geography successfully without a competent knowledge of both ancient and modern history. It should, in the main, be taught in our common schools in connection with geography. 6. Mental Arithmetic. Let every teacher be thoroughly versed in some good work on this subject. Colburn’s was the first, and it is probably the best that has been prepared. That little book has done more than any other for the improvement of teaching in this country. It is not enough that the teacher is able in some way to obtain the answers to the questions proposed. He should be able to give the reason for every step in the process he takes to obtain them, and to do it in a clear and concise manner. It is this which constitutes the value of this branch as a disci¬ pline for the mind. I may never forget my first introduction to this work. On entering an academy as a student, in 1827, after I had “ ciphered through” some four or five arithmetics on the old plan, my teacher asked me if I had ever t 54 LITERARY QUALIFICATIONS Desirable result.—Principles above rules. studied Mental Arithmetic, extending to me the little book above named. “ No, sir.” “ Perhaps you would like to do so.” I opened to the first page, and saw this question : “ How many thumbs have you on your right hand ?” This was enough ; the color came into my face and I pettishly replied, “ I think I can find out the number of my thumbs without studying a book for it.” “ But,” said the teacher, “ many of our young men have studied it and they think they have been profited. If you will take it, and turn over till you find a little exercise for your mind, I think you will like it.” His manner was open and sincere, and I took the little book. In three weeks I had mastered it; and I had gained, in that time, more knowledge of the principles of arithmetic than I had ever acquired in all my life before. I no longer “ saw through a glass darkly.” 7. Written Arithmetic. This everybody de¬ mands of the teacher; and he is scarcely in danger of being without fair pretensions in this branch. He should, however, know it by its principles , rather than by its rules and facts. He should so understand it, that if every arithmetic in the world should be burned, he could still make another, constructing its rules and explaining their principles. He should understand arithmetic so well, that he could teach it thoroughly though all text-books should be excluded from his school-room. This is not demanding too much. Arith¬ metic is a certain science, and used every day of one’s life,—the teacher should be an entire master of it. OF THE TEACHER. 55 Bigotry in grammar.—Cause of it.—One book. 8. English Grammar. It is rare that a teacher is found without some pretensions to English Grammar; yet it is deplorable to observe how very few have any liberal or philosophical acquaintance with it. In many cases it is little else than a system of barren technical¬ ities. The teacher studies one book, and too often takes that as his creed. In no science is it more necessary to be acquainted with several authors. The person who has studied but one text-book on grammar, even if that be the best one extant, is but poorly qualified to teach this branch. There is a philosophy of language which the teacher should carefully study; and if within his power, he should have some ac¬ quaintance with the peculiar structure of other lan¬ guages besides his own. It can hardly be expected that the common teacher should acquire an accurate knowledge of other languages by actually studying them. As a substitute for this, I would recommend that the teacher should very carefully read the little work of De Sacy on General Grammar, also the article “ Grammar” in the Edinburgh and other ency¬ clopaedias. In this science the mind naturally runs to bigotry; and there is no science where the learner is apt to be so conceited upon small acquirements as in grammar. Let the teacher spare no pains to master this subject. 9. Algebra. This branch is not yet required to be taught in all our schools ; yet the teacher should have a thorough acquaintance with it. Even if he is never called upon to teach it, (and it never should be intro- 56 LITERARY QUALIFICATIONS Algebra.—Geometry.—Surveying.—Natural Philosophy. duced into our common schools till very thorough attainments are more common in the other branches,) still it so much improves the mind of the teacher, that he should not be without a knowledge of it. He will teach simple‘arithmetic much better for knowing algebra. I consider an acquaintance with it indispen¬ sable to the thorough teacher, even of the common school. 10. Geometry. The same may be said of this branch that has been said of algebra. Probably nothing disciplines the mind more effectually than the study of geometry. The teacher should pursue it for this reason. He will teach other things the better for having had this discipline, to say nothing of the ad¬ vantage which a knowledge of the principles of geom¬ etry will give him, in understanding and explaining the branches of mathematics. 11. Plane Trigonometry and Surveying. In many of our schools these branches are required to be taught. They are important branches in themselves, and they also afford good exercise for the mind in their acquisition. The young teacher, especially the male teacher, should make the acquirement. 12. Natural Philosophy. This branch is not taught in most of our district schools. The teacher, however, should understand it better than it is presented in many of the simple text-books on this subject. He should have studied the philosophy of its principles, and be fully acquainted with their demonstration. If possible, he should have had an opportunity also of OF THE TEACHER. 57 Chemistry.—Physiology.—Its importance. seeing the principles illustrated by experiment This is a great field ; let not the teacher be satisfied with cropping a little of the herbage about its borders. 13. Chemistry. As a matter of intelligence, the teacher should have acquaintance with this branch. It is comparatively a new science, but it is almost a science of miracles. It is beginning to be taught in our common schools ; and that department of it which relates to agriculture, is destined to be of vast importance to the agricultural interests of our country. “ Instead of conjecture, and hazard, and doubt, and experiment, as heretofore, a knowledge of the com¬ position of soils, the food of plants, and the processes of nature in the culture and growth of crops, would elevate agriculture to a conspicuous rank among the exact sciences.”* The teacher should not be behind the age in this department. 14. Human Physiology. The teacher should well understand this subject. There is an unpardonable ignorance in the community as to the structure of the human body, and the laws of health, the observance of which is, in general, a condition of longevity, not to say of exemption from disease. By reference to sta¬ tistics, it has been ascertained that almost a fourth part of all the children that are born, die before they are one year old. More than one third die before they are five years of age ; and before the age of eight, more than one half of all that are born return again to the * Col. Young. 58 LITERARY QUALIFICATIONS Dr. Woodward’s opinion.—Quackery. earth ! Of those who survive, how many suffer the miseries of lingering disease, almost sighing for death to deliver them from the pangs of life ! There is something deplorably wrong in our philosophy of living, else the condition of man would not so commonly ap¬ pear an exception to the truth that God does all things well.* Dr. Woodward, late of the Massachusetts State Lunatic Hospital, says : “ From the cradle to the grave, we suffer punishment for the violation of the laws of health and life. I hate no doubt that half the evils of life, and half the deaths that occur among mankind, arise from ignorance of these natural laws ; and that a thorough knowledge of them would diminish the sufferings incident to our present state of being in very nearly the same proportion.” I know not how an acquaintance with these laws can be in any way so readily extended as through the agency of our teachers of the young. At any rate, the teacher himself should understand them, both for his own profit and the means thus afforded him of being directly useful in the discharge of his duties to others. I have already * “ It is the vast field of ignorance pertaining to these subjects, in which quackery thrives and fattens. No one who knows any thing of the organs and functions of the human system, and of the properties of those objects in nature to which that system is related, can hear a quack descant upon the miraculous virtues of his nostrums, or can read his advertisements in the newspapers,—wherein, fraudulently towards man and impiously towards God, he promises to sell an ‘ Elixir of Life,’ or * The Balm of Immortality,’ or ‘ Resurrection Pills,’—without contempt for his ignorance or detestation of his guilt. Could the quack administer his nostrums to tho great enemy, Death, then indeed we might expect to live forever!”— Horace Mann. OF THE TEACHER. 59 Intellectual and Moral Philosophy.—Rhetoric and Logic. shown that he is responsible to a great extent for the bodily health of his pupils. A thorough knowledge of physiology will enable him to meet this responsibility 15. Intellectual Philosophy. This is necessary for the teacher. His business is with the mind. He, of all men, should know something of its laws and its nature. He can know something, indeed, by obser¬ vation and introspection; but he should also learn by careful study. His own improvement demands it, and his usefulness depends upon it. 16. Moral Philosophy. A knowledge of this may be insisted on for the same reasons which apply to intellectual philosophy. It is so important that the moral nature of the child be rightly dealt with, that he is a presumptuous man who attempts the work without the most careful attention to this subject. 17. Rhetoric and Logic. These are of great service to the teacher personally, as means of mental discipline and the cultivation of his own taste. Even if he is never to teach them, they will afford him much assistance in other departments of instruction. He certainly should have the advantage of them. 18. Book-keeping. Every teacher should know ■ a . V something of book-keeping, at least by single entry; and also be conversant with the ordinary forms of business. The profound ignorance on this subject among teachers is truly astonishing.* Book-keeping * A teacher, who had kept a private school, was met in a country store one day by one of his patrons, who paid him for the tuition of his child, asking at the same time for a receipt. The teacher stared vacantly at his 60 LITERARY QUALIFICATIONS Book-keeping.—Anecdote.—Science of Government. should be a common-school study. In looking over the able Report of the Superintendent of Common Schools in New-York, I notice in fifty-three counties, during the winter of 1845-6, that among 225,540 pupils in the common schools only 922 studied book¬ keeping ! That is, a study, which in practical life comes home to the interest not only of every mer¬ chant, but of every farmer, every mechanic, in short, every business man, is almost entirely neglected in the schools,—while it is yet true that our courts of justice display evidences of the most deplorable igno¬ rance in this important art. Some still keep their accounts on bits of paper; others use books, but without any system, order, or intelligibility; and others still mark their scores in chalk, or charcoal, upon the panel of the cellar-door! The teacher should qualify himself not only to understand this subject, but to teach it in such a way that it can be easily comprehended by the classes in our common schools. 19. Science of Government. The teacher should, at least, be well acquainted with the history and genius of our own government, the constitution of the United States, and of his own state. In a republican govern¬ ment, it is of great importance that the young, who are patron. “ Just give me a bit of paper,” said the patron, “ to show you’ve got the money.” “ Oh, yes, sir,” said tire teacher; and taking a pen and paper, wrote the following: “ I have got the money. J-D-.” OF THE TEACHER. G1 Anecdote.—Drawing.—Vocal Music. to take an active part in public measures as soon as they arrive at the age of twenty-one, should before that time be made acquainted with some of their duties and relations as citizens. This subject has been introduced successfully into many of our common schools; but whether it is to be matter of formal teaching or not, it is a disgrace* to a teacher and to his profession, to be ignorant of the provisions of the constitution for the mode of choosing our rulers. 20. Drawing. The good teacher should understand the principles of drawing. He should also be able to practise this art. It is of great consequence to him. Without neglect of other things, children can be very profitably taught this art in the common schools. In the absence of apparatus, it is the teacher’s only way of addressing the eye of his pupils, in illustrating his teaching. Every teacher should take pains, not only to draw, but to draw well. 21. Vocal Music. It is not absolutely essential, though very desirable, to the good teacher, that he should understand music, theoretically and practically. Music is becoming an exercise in our best schools; and wherever introduced and judiciously conducted, it has been attended with pleasing results. It promotes * Not long since a teacher of a public school afforded lasting amusement for the hangers-on at a country grocery. He was jeered for belonging to the whig party by which Mr. Tyler was brought into power. “ No, no,” said he, “ I voted for Gen. Harrison, but I never voted for John Tyler f “How did you do that?” inquired a by-stander. “ Why I cut Tyler's name off of the ticket , to be sure!” 62 LITERARY QUALIFICATIONS Safety valve.—Martin Luther.—Remarks. good reading and speaking, by disciplining the ear to distinguish sounds ; and it also facilitates the cultiva¬ tion of the finer feelings of our nature. It aids very much in the government of the school, as its exercise gives vent to that restlessness which otherwise would find an escapement in boisterous noise and whispering, —and thus it often proves a safety valve , through which a love of vociferation and activity may pass off in a more harmless and a more pleasing way. “ The schoolmaster that cannot sing,” says Martin Luther, “ I would not look upon.” Perhaps this language is too strong; but it is usually more pleasant to look upon a school where the schoolmaster can sing. I have thus gone through with a list of studies which, it seems to me, every one who means to be a good teacher, even of a common school, should make himself acquainted with. I would not condemn a teacher who, having other good qualities, and a thorough scholarship as far as he has gone, might lack several of the branches above named. There have been many good teachers without all this attainment; but how much better they might have been with it! I have made this course of study as limited as I possibly could, taking into view the present condition and wants of our schools. No doubt even more will be demanded in a few years. I would have the present race of teachers so good, that they shall be looked OF THE TEACHER. 63 General knowledge desirable.—A suggestion. upon by those who succeed them as their “ worthy and efficient predecessors .” I ought in this place to add that the teacher increases his influence, and consequently his usefulness, in pro portion as he makes himself conversant with general knowledge. This is too much neglected. The teacher, by the fatigue of his employment and the circumstances of his life, is strongly tempted to content himself with what he already knows, or at best to confine himself to the study of those branches which he is called upon to teach. He should stoutly resist this temptation. He should always have some course of study marked out, which he will systematically pursue. He should, as soon as possible, make himself acquainted generally with the subject of astronomy, the principles of geology, in short, the various branches of natural history. He will find one field after another open before him, and if he will but have the perseverance to press forward, even in the laborious occupation of teaching, he may make himself a well-informed man. I will venture one other suggestion. I have found it a most profitable thing in the promotion of my own improvement, to take up annually, or oftener, some particular subject to be pursued with reference to writing an extended lecture upon it. This gives point to the course of reading, and keeps the interest fixed. When the thorough investigation has been made, let the lecture be written from memory, embodying all the prominent points, and presenting them in the most striking and systematic manner. It should be done, 64 LITERARY QUALIFICATIONS, ETC. A point gained. too, with reference to accuracy and even elegance of style, so that the composition may be yearly improved. In this way certain subjects are forever fixed in the mind. One who carefully reads for a definite object, and afterwards writes the results from memory, never loses his hold upon the facts thus appropriated . RIGHT VIEWS OF EDUCATION. 65 The true ideal.—Illustration. CHAPTER Y. RIGHT VIEWS OF EDUCATION. Every teacher, before he begins the work of in¬ struction, should have some definite idea of what constitutes an education ; otherwise he may work to very little purpose. The painter, who would execute a beautiful picture, must have beforehand a true and clear conception of beauty in his own mind. The same may be said of the sculptor. That rude block of marble, unsightly to the eyes of other men, contains the godlike form, the symmetrical proportion, the life-like attitude of the finished and polished statue; and the whole is as clear to his mental eye before the chisel is .applied as it is to his bodily vision when the work is completed. With this perfect ideal in the mind at the outset, every stroke of the chisel has its object. Not a blow is struck, but it is guided by consummate skill; not a chip is removed, but to develop the ideal of the artist. And when the late unsightly marble, as if by miraculous power, stands out before the astonished spectator in all the perfection of beauty,—when it almost breathes and speaks,—it is to the artist but the realization of his own conception. Now let the same astonished and delighted spectator, 5 66 RIGHT VIEWS OF EDUCATION. A spectator’s efforts.—The difference. I with the same instruments, attempt to produce another statue from a similar block. On this side he scores too deep; on the other he leaves a protuberance; here by carelessness he encroaches upon the rounded limb; there by accident he hews a chip from off the nose ; by want of skill one eye ill-mates the other; one hand is distorted as if racked by pangs of the gout; the other is paralyzed and deathlike. Such would be his signal failure. Thus he might fail a thousand times. Indeed it would be matter of strange surprise if in a thousand efforts he should once succeed. Now the difference between the artist and the spec¬ tator lies chiefly in this,—the one knows beforehand what he means to do; the other works without any plan. The one has studied beauty till he can see it in the rugged block; the other only knows it when it is presented to him. The former, having an ideal, produces it with unerring skill; the latter, having no conception to guide him, brings out deformity. “ What sculpture is to the block of marble,” says Addison, “ education is to the human soul;” and may I not add, that the sculptor is a type of the true educa¬ tor,—while the spectator, of whom I have been speak¬ ing, may aptly represent too many false teachers who without study or forethought enter upon the delicate business of fashioning the human soul, blindly experi¬ menting amidst the wreck of their heaven-descended material, maiming and marring, with scarcely the pos¬ sibility of final success,—almost with the certainty of a melancholy failure ! RIGHT VIEWS OF EDUCATION. 67 _ Blindness of e mployers.—Illustrated. In other things besides education men are wiser. They follow more the teachings of nature and of com¬ mon sense. But in education, where a child has but one opportunity for mental training, as he can be a child but once,—where success, unerring success, is every thing to him for time and eternity, and where a mistake may be most ruinous to him,—in education, men often forget their ordinary wisdom and providence, and commit the most important concerns to the most incompetent hands. “ The prevailing opinions,” says Geo. B. Emerson, “ in regard to this art are such as the common sense of mankind and the experience of centuries have shown to be absurd as to every other art and pursuit of civilized life. To be qualified to discourse upon our moral and religious duties, a man must be educated by years of study; to be able to administer to the body in disease, he must be educated by a careful examination of the body in health and in disease, and of the effects produced on it by external agents ; to be able to make out a conveyance of prop¬ erty, or to draw a writ, he must be educated ; to navigate a ship, he must be educated by years of service before the mast or on the quarter-deck ; to transfer the products of the earth or of art from the producer to the consumer, he must be educated ; to make a hat or a coat, he must be educated by years of apprenticeship ; to make a plow, he must be edu¬ cated ; to make a nail, or a shoe for a horse or an ox, he must be educated;—but to prepare a man to do all these things;—to train the body in its most tender 68 RIGHT VIEWS OF EDUCATION. Many poor teachers.—Defects in teaching. years, according to the laws of health, so that it should be strong to resist disease ; to fill the mind with useful knowledge, to educate it to comprehend all the relations of society, to bring out all its powers into full and harmonious action ; to educate the moral nature, in which the very sentiment of duty resides, that it may be fitted for an honorable and worthy fulfilment of the public and private offices of life; to do all this is supposed to require no study, no apprenticeship, no preparation !” Many teachers, therefore, encouraged by this unac¬ countable indifference in the community, have entered the teachers’ profession without any idea of the respon¬ sibilities assumed or of the end to be secured by their labors, aside from receiving, at the close of their term, the compensation for their service in dollars and cents. And even many who have entered this profession with good intentions, have made the most deplorable mistakes from a want of an adequate idea of what constitutes an education. Too often has educating a child been con¬ sidered simply the act of imparting to it a certain amount of knowledge, or of “ carrying it through ” a certain number of studies, more or less. Education has too frequently been held to be a cultivation of the intellectual to the neglect of the moral powers ; and the poor body, too, except among savages, has had but little share in its privileges or benefits. In a very large number of our schools, the physical and the moral have both been sacrificed to the intellectual. Even some of our public speakers have dwelt upon the necessity of RIGHT VIEWS OF EDUCATION. 69 Knowledge may be unsafe.—A great question. intelligence to the perpetuity of our free institutions, scarcely seeming to be aware that intelligence, without moral principle to direct and regulate it, might become the very engine through which evil men might effect our overthrow. Who has not seen that an educated man without virtue is but the more capable of doing evil ? Who does not know that knowledge misdirected, becomes, instead of a boon to be desired, a bane to be deprecated ? From what has been said, I place it among the highest qualifications of the teacher that he should have just views of education . I consider it all-important that he should have a well-defined object at which to aim, whenever he meets a young mind in the transition state. He should have an ideal of a well-educated human soul, tenanting a healthy, well-developed human body; an ideal which he at once and systematically labors to reach, as does the sculptor when he commences his work upon the quarried marble. “ What is it to educate a human being aright ?” should be one of the first questions the candidate for the teacher’s office should ask himself with the deepest seriousness. I say the candidate: for this question should be settled if possible before he begins his work. It is a great question, and he may not be able to answer it in. a day. Let him consult the dictates of his own mind,—let him consult the teachings of experience and of wisdom, as they are to be found in the writings of Milton, Locke, Wyse, Cousin, Brougham, and others of the eastern continent, and of Wavland. Potter, Mann, G. B. Emer- 70 RIGHT VIEWS OF EDI’CAIION. Results of inquiry.—Knowledge not undervalued. son, Dwight, and many others of our own countrymen. Let him, enlightened by all this, carefully observe human nature around him ; consider its tendencies, its wants, and its capabilities ; and after a patient survey of all the truth he can discover upon the subject, let him come to an honest conclusion as to what is a correct answer to the query with which he started—“ What is it to educate a human being aright ?” The conclusions of the honest and intelligent inquirer after the truth in this matter, will be something like the following:—That education (from e and duco, to lead forth) is development; that it is not instruction merely— knowledge, facts, rules—communicated by the, teacher , but it is discipline, it is a waking up of the mind, a growth of the mind,—growth by a healthy assimilation of wholesome aliment. It is an inspiring of the mind with a thirst for knowledge, growth, enlargement,—and then a disciplining of its powers so far that it can go on to educate itself. It is the arousing of the child’s mind * to think, without thinking for it; it is the awakening of its powers to observe, to remember, to reflect, to com¬ bine. It is not a cultivation of the memory to the neg¬ lect of every thing else ; but it is a calling forth of all the faculties into harmonious action. If to possess facts simply is education, then an encyclopaedia is better educated than a man. It should be remarked that though knowledge is not education, yet there will be no education without know¬ ledge. Knowledge is ever an incident of true education. No man can be properly educated without the ac- RIGHT VIEWS OF EDUCATION. 71 The body—the intellect—the heart.—Mr. Fox. quisition of knowledge ; the mistake is in considering knowledge the end when it is either the incident or the means of education. The discipline of the mind, then, is the great thing in intellectual training; and the question is not, how much have I acquired ?—but, how have my powers been strengthened in the act of acquisition ? Nor should the intellectual be earlier cultivated than the moral powers of the mind. The love of moral truth should be as early addressed as the love of knowledge. The conscience should be early exer¬ cised in judging of the character of the pupil’s own acts, and every opportunity afforded to strengthen it by legitimate use. Nor should the powers of the mind be earlier cultivated than those of the body. It is the theory of some, indeed, that the body should engross most of the attention for several of the first years of childhood. This I think is not nature’s plan. She cultivates all the powers at once,—the body, mind, and heart. So should the teacher do. “ Education,” in the pertinent language of Mr. Fox,* “ has reference to the whole man , the body, the mind, and the heart; its object, and, when rightly conducted, its effect is, to make him a complete creature after his kind. To his frame it would give vigor, activity, and beauty; to his senses, correctness and acuteness ; to his intellect, power and truthfulness; to his heart, virtue. The educated man is not the gladiator, nor the scholar, nor * Lecture before the Am. Institute, 1835. 72 RIGHT VIEWS OF EDUCATION. Egregious mistakes.—“ Good scholars.”—“ Poor scholars.” the upright man, alone ; but a just and well-balanced combination of all three. Just as the educated tree is neither the large root, nor the giant branches, nor the rich foliage, but all of them together. If you would mark the perfect man, you must not look for him in the circus, the university, or the church, exclusively ; but you must look for one who has ‘ mens sana in corpore sano '—a healthful mind in a healthful body. The being in whom you find this union, is the only" one worthy to be called educated. To make all men such, is the object of education.” I have dwelt thus fully on this subject, because it is so obvious that egregious mistakes are made in edu¬ cation. How many there are who are called “ good scholars” in our schools, of whom we hear nothing after they go forth into the world. Their good scholarship consists in that which gives them no impulse to go on to greater attainments by themselves. Their learning is either that of reception —as the sponge takes in watei —or that of mere memory. Their education is not discipline ; it kindles none of those desires which nothing but further progress can satisfy ; it imparts none of that self-reliance which nothing but impossibil¬ ities can ever subdue. While these are pointed out. by their teachers as the ornaments of their schools, there are others, known as the heavy, dull, “ poor scholars,” in no way distinguished but by their stupidity,—of whom no hopes are entertained because of them nothing is expected,—who in after-life fairly outstrip their fel¬ lows and strangely astonish their teachers. Almost RIGHT VIEWS OF EDUCATION. 73 Misjudgment of character.—Nature at fault! every teacher of fifteen years’ experience has noticed this. Now why is it so ? There must have been some¬ how in such cases a gross misjudgment of character. Either those pupils who promised so much by their quickness, were educated wrong, and perhaps educated too much, while their teachers unwittingly and unin¬ tentionally educated their less distinguished companions far more judiciously ; or else nature in such cases must be said to have been playing such odd pranks that legitimate causes could not produce their legitimate effects. We must charge nature as being extremely capricious, or we must allege that the teachers entirely misunderstood their work, failing where they expected most, and succeeding, as if by chance—almost against their will, where they expected least. I incline to the latter alternative ; and hence I infer that there is such a thing as teaching a mind naturally active too much —exciting it too much,—so that it will prematurely exhaust its energies and gladly settle back into almost imbecility ; and that there is such a thing as leaving the mind so much to its own resources, that without dazzling the beholder like the flash of the meteor when it glares upon the startled vision, it may be silently gathering materials to support the more enduring light of the morning-star which anon will arise in majesty and glory. It will be well for our youth when our teachers shall so understand human nature, and so comprehend the science and the art of education, that these mistakes shall seldom occur; and when he who tills the nobler 74 RIGHT VIEWS OF EDUCATION. Certain results. soil of the mind, shall, with as much faith and as much certainty as he who tills the literal field, rely upon the fulfilment of heaven’s unchangeable law : “ Whatso¬ ever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. 75 Aptness to teach.—Not an instinct.—It can be acquired. CHAPTER VI. RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. From what has been said of Education, it is very obvious that it is no small thing to be a successful teacher. It is admitted by all that the teacher should be apt to teach. He cannot be useful without this. He may have an unimpeachable character ; he may have the most liberal and thorough literary acquire¬ ments ; he may deeply feel his responsibility, and yet after all he may fail to teach successfully. Aptness to teach has been said to be a native endow¬ ment, a sort of instinct, and therefore incapable of be¬ ing improved by experience or instruction,—an instinct such as that which guides the robin, though hatched in an oven, to build a perfect nest like that of its parent, without ever having seen one. I am of opinion that such instincts in men are rare ; but that aptness to teach, like aptness to do any thing else, is usually an acquired power, based upon a correct knowledge of what is to be done, and some accurate estimate of the fitness , of the means used for the end. If there are exceptions to this, they are very uncommon ; and the safer way, therefore, for the majority of teachers, is, to study carefully the rationale of their processes, and to 76 RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. A mistake.—The way literary nurselings are made. rely rather upon sound and philosophical principles in their teaching, than upon a very doubtful intuition. One of the most common errors into which young teachers fall, (and some old ones too,) is that of mis- iudging of the degree of assistance which the young scholar needs in the pursuit of learning. There are a few who forget the difficulties which impeded their own perception of new truths when learners, and therefore have no sympathy with the perplexities which surround the children under their charge when they encounter like difficulties. They refuse to lend a helping hand, even where it i§ needed, and by making light of the child’s doubts, perhaps sneering at his unsuccessful struggles, they dishearten him so far that imaginary obstacles become insurmountable, and he gives up in despair. But a far more numerous class tend toward the other extreme. From a mistaken kindness, or a mistaken estimate of the child’s ability, or both, they are disposed to do quite too much for him, and thus they diminish his power to help himself. The child that is constantly dandled upon the lap of its nurse, and borne in her arms to whatever point it may desire to go, does not soon learn to walk ; and when it at length makes the attempt, it moves not with the firm tread of him who was early taught to use his own limbs. There is a great deal of literary dandling practised in our schools; and as a consequence, a great many of our children are mere sickly nurselings, relying upon leading-strings while in the school, and falling, for very weakness, just as soon as the supporting hand is withdrawn. This RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. 77 _ Anecdote of folly.— Pouring-in.—'The “ oral hobby.” evil is so common, and in some instances so mon¬ strous,* that I shall be pardoned if I dwell upon it a little more fully. In illustrating this subject, I must mention two processes of teaching, not indeed exactly opposite to each other, though widely different,—into one or both of which many of our teachers are very liable to fall. I shall, for the sake of a name, designate the former as the SECTION I. —POURING-IN PROCESS. This consists in lecturing to a class of children upon every subject which occurs to the teacher, it being his chief aim to bring before them as many facts in a limited time as possible. It is as if he should provide himself with a basket of sweetmeats, and every time he should come within reach of a child, should seize him, and compel him to swallow—regard¬ less of the condition of his stomach—whatever trash he should happen first to force into his mouth. Chil¬ dren are indeed fond of sweetmeats, but they do not like to have them administered ,—and every physiol¬ ogist knows there is such a thing as eating enough * Not long since I visited a school, where the teacher with much self- complacency requested me to examine the writing of the children. It was indeed very fair. But when I drew from him the fact that he first wrote each page himself with a lead pencil, and only required his scholars to black his marks over with ink; and that with unremitting labor he did this week after week for all the writers in his school, I knew not which most to wonder at, the docility of the children or the weakness of the teacher. The writing ceased to be wonderful. 7S RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. Victims of kindness.—Passive recipient.—A jug. even of an agreeable thing to make one sick, and thus produce loathing forever after. Now many teachers are just such misguided caterers for the mind. They are ready to seize upon the victims of their kindness, force open their mental gullets, and pour in, without mercy and without discretion, whatever sweet thing they may have at hand, even though they surfeit and nauseate the poor sufferer. The mind, by this process, becomes a mere jiassive recipient , taking in without much resistance whatever is presented till it is full. “ A passive recipient!” said one to his friend, “ what is a passive recipient . ? ” “ A passive recipient,” re¬ plied his friend, “ is a two-gallon jug. It holds just two gallons, and as it is made of potters’ ware, it can never hold but just two gallons.” This is not an unfit illustration of what I mean by making the mind a passive recipient. Whenever the teacher does not first excite inquiry, first prepare the mind by waking it up to a desire to know, and if possible to find out by itself, but proceeds to think for the child, and to give him the results, before they are desired, or before they have been sought for,—he makes the mind of the child a two-gallon jug , into which he may pour just two gallons, but no more. And if day after day he should continue to pour in, day after day he may expect that what he pours in will all run over. The mind, so far as retention is concerned, will act like the jug; that is, a part of what is poured in to-day, will be diluted by a part of that which is forced in to¬ morrow, and that again will be parliaily displaced and RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. 79 Mind weakened—Drawing-out.—Leading questions. partially mingled with the next day’s pouring, till at length there will be nothing characteristic left. But aside from retention, there is a great difference be¬ tween the jug and the mind. The former is inert material, and may be as good a jug after such use as before. But the mind suffers by every unsuccessfu’ effort to retain. This process of lecturing children into imbecility is altogether too frequently practised ; and it is to be hoped, that intelligent teachers will pause and inquire before they pursue it further. The other process to which I wish to call attention, is that which, for the sake of distinguishing it from the first, I shall denominate the SECTION II.-DRAWING-OUT PROCESS. This consists in asking what the lawyers call lead¬ ing questions. It is practised, usually, whenever the teacher desires to help along the pupil. “ John,” says the teacher when conducting a recitation in Long Division, “ John, what is the number to be divided called ?” John hesitates. “ Is it the dividend ?” says the teacher. “Yes, sir—the dividend.” “Well, John, what is that which is left after dividing called ?—the remainder—is it ?” “ Yes, sir.” A visitor now enters the room, and the teacher desires to show off John’s talents. “ Well, John, of what denomination is the remainder ?” 80 RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. An example.—A spectator astonished.—Teaching History! John looks upon the floor. “ Is n’t it always the same as the dividend, John ?” “ Yes, sir.” “ Very well, John,” says the teacher, soothingly, “ what denomination is this dividend ?” pointing to the work upon the board. “ Dollars, is it not ?” “ Yes, sir ; dollars.” “ Very well; now what is this remainder ?” John hesitates. “ Why dollars too, isn’t it ?” says the teacher. “ Oh yes, sir, dollars /” says John, energetically, while the teacher complacently looks at the visitor to see if he has noticed how correctly John has am swered ! A class is called to be examined in History. They have committed the text-book to memory, that is, they have learned the words. They go on finely for a time. At length one hesitates. The teacher adroitly asks a question in the language of the text. Thus : “ Early in the morning , on the 1 Ith of September , what did the whole British army do ?” The pupil, thus timely reassured, proceeds : “ Early in the morning , on the 1 Ith of September , the whole British army , drawn up in two divisions, commenced the expected assault.” Here again she pauses. The teacher proceeds to inquire : “ Well,—‘ Agreeably to the plan of Howe, the right wing’ did what ?” Pupil. “ Agreeably to the plan of Howe , the right wing ”— Teacher. “ The right wing , commanded by whom?” RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. 81 A further example.—Yes, sir. Pupil. “Oh ! ‘ Agreeably to the plan of Howe , the right wing , commanded by Knyphausen, made a feint of crossing the Brandywine at Chad’s Ford,’ ” &c. This is a very common way of helping a dull pupil out of a difficulty ; and I have seen it done so adroitly, that a company of visitors would agree that it was wonderful to see how thoroughly the children had been instructed ! I may further illustrate this drawing-out process, by describing an occurrence, which, in company with a friend and fellow-laborer, I once witnessed. A teach¬ er, whose school we visited, called upon the class in Colburn’s First Lessons. They rose, and in single file marched to the usual place, with their books in hand, and stood erect. It was a very good-looking class. “ Where do you begin ?” said the teacher, taking the book. Pupils. On the 80th page, 3rd question. Teacher. Read it, Charles. Charles. (Reads.) “ A man being asked how many sheep he had, said that he had them in two pastures ; in one pasture he had eight; that three- fourths of these were just one-third of what he had in the other. How many were there in the other Teacher. Well, Charles, you must first get one- fourth of eight, must you not ? Charles . Yes, sir. Teacher. Well, one-fourth of eight is two, isn’t it? Charles. Yes, sir ; one-fourth of eight is two. 6 82 RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. Hard mental labor.—An interposition. Teacher. Well, then, three-fourths will be three times two, won’t it ? Charles. Yes, sir. Teacher. Well, three times two are six, eh ? Charles. Yes, sir. Teacher. Very well. (A pause.) Now the book says that this six is just one-third of what he had in the other pasture, don’t it ? Charles. Yes, sir. Teacher. Then if six is one-third, three-thirds will be—three times six, won’t it ? Charles. Yes, sir. Teacher. And three times six are—eighteen, ain’t it? Charles. Yes, sir ! Teacher. Then he had eighteen sheep in the other pasture, had he ? Charles. Yes, sir ! Teacher. Next, take the next one. At this point I interposed, and asked the teacher if he would request Charles to go through it alone. “ Oh, yes,” said the teacher, “ Charles, you may do it again.” Charles again read the question, and—looked up. “ Well,” said the teacher, “ You must first get t one-fourth of eight, mustn’t you?” “Yes, sir.” “And one-fourth of eight is two, isn’t it?” “Yes, sir.” And so the process went on as before till the final eighteen sheep were drawn out as before. The teacher now looked round, with an air which seemed to say, “ Now I suppose you are satisfied.” “ Shall 1 ask Charles to do it again ?” said I. The RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. 83 Process of extraction.—Study discouraged. teacher assented. Charles again read the question, and again—looked up. I waited, and he waited ;— but the teacher could not wait. “ Why, Charles,’’ said he, impatiently ; “ you want one-fourth of eight, don’t you ?” “ Yes, sir,” said Charles, promptly ; and I thought best not to insist further at this time upon a repetition of “ yes , sir” and the class were allowed to proceed in their own way. This is, indeed, an extreme case, and yet it is but a fair sample of that teacher’s method of stupefying mind. This habit of assisting the pupil to some extent, is, however, a very common one, and as deleterious to mind as it is common. The teacher should at once abandon this practice, and require the scholar to do the talking at recitation. I need hardly suggest that such a course of extraction at recitation, aside from the waste of time by both parties, and the waste of strength by the teacher, has a direct tendency to make the scholar miserably superficial. For why should he study, if he knows from constant experience that the teacher, by a leading question, will relieve him from all embarrassment ? It has often been remarked, that “ the teacher makes the school.” Perhaps in no way can he more effectually make an inefficient school, than by this drawing-out process. I look upon the two processes just described, as very prominent and prevalent faults in our modern teaching ; and if by describing them thus fully, I shall induce any to set a guard upon their practice in this particular, I shall feel amply rewarded. S4 RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. Helping the pupil.—Dangerous when excessive. SECTION III. —THE MORE EXCELLENT WAY. It is always a very difficult question for the teacher to settle, “ How far shall I help the pupil, and how far shall the pupil be required to help himself?” The teaching of nature would seem to indicate that the pupil should be taught mainly to depend on his own resources. This, too, I think is the teaching of common sense. Whatever is learned should be so thoroughly learned, that the next and higher step may be comparatively easy. And the teacher should always inquire, when he is about to dismiss one sub¬ ject, whether the class understand it so well that they can go on to the next. He may, indeed, sometimes give a word of suggestion during the preparation of a lesson, and, by a seasonable hint, save the scholar the needless loss of much time. But it is a very great evil if the pupils acquire the habit of running to the teacher as soon as a slight difficulty presents itself, to request him to remove it. Some teachers, when this happens, will send the scholar to his seat with a reproof perhaps, while others, with a mistaken kindness, will answer the question or solve the problem themselves, as the short est way to get rid of it. Both these courses are, in general, wrong. The inquirer should never be frowned upon ; this may discourage him. He should not be relieved from labor, as this will diminish his self reliance without enlightening him ; for whatever is done for a scholar without his having studied closely RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. 85 The true medium.—“ Not to-day, sir.” upon it himself, makes but a feeble impression upon him, and is soon forgotten. The true way is, neither to discourage inquiry nor answer the question. Con¬ verse with the scholar a little as to the principles involved in the question; refer him to principles which he has before learned, or has now lost sight of; perhaps call his attention to some rule or expla¬ nation before given to the class ; go just so far as to enlighten him a little, and put him on the scent , then leave him to achieve the victory himself. There is a great satisfaction in discovering a difficult thing for one’s self,—and the teacher does the scholar a lasting injury who takes this pleasure from him. The teacher should be simply suggestive, but should never take the glory of a victory from the scholar by doing his work for him, at least, not until he has given it a thorough trial himself. The skill of the teacher, then, will be best manifested, if he can contrive to aw 7 aken such a spirit in the pupil, that he shall be very unwilling to be assisted ; if he can kindle up such a zeal, that the pupil will prefer to try again and again before he will consent that the teacher shall interpose. I shall never forget a class of boys, some fourteen or fifteen years of age, who in the study of algebra had imbibed this spirit. A difficult question had been before the class a day or two, when I sug¬ gested giving them some assistance. “ Not to-day , sir” was the spontaneous exclamation of nearly every one. Nor shall I forget the expression that beamed from the countenance of one of them, when, elated with his 86 RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. “ I’ve got it!”—Other than book-studies. success, he forgot the proprieties of the school and audibly exclaimed, “ Fve got it ! I've got it /” It was a great day for him; he felt, as he never before had felt, his own might. Nor was it less gratifying to me to find that his fellows were still unwilling to know his method of solution. The next day a large number brought a solution of their own, each showing evidence of originality. A class that has once attained to a feeling like this, will go on to educate themselves, when they shall have left the school and the living teacher. As to the communication of knowledge, aside from that immediately connected with school-studies, there is a more excellent way than that of pouring it in by the process already described. It is but just that 1 should give a specimen of the method of doing this. I shall now proceed to do so, under the head of SECTION IV.-WAKING UP MIND. The teacher of any experience knows, that if he will excite a deep and profitable interest in his school, he must teach many things besides hook-studies. In our common schools, there will always be a company of small children, who, not yet having learned to read understandingly, will have no means of interesting themselves, and must depend mainly upon the teacher for the interest they take in the school. This to them is perhaps the most critical period of their lives. What ever impression is now made upon them will be endu¬ ring. If there they become disgusted with the dullness RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. 87 Repulsiveness.—General exercise.—A specimen. and confinement of school, and associate the idea of pain and repulsiveness with that of learning, who can describe the injury done to their minds ? If, on the other hand, the teacher is really skillful, and excites in them a spirit of inquiry, and leads them in suitable ways to observe, to think, and to feel that the school is a happy place even for children, it is one great point gained. I may suggest here, then, that it would be well to set apart a few minutes once a day for a general exer¬ cise in the school, when it should be required of all to lay by their studies, assume an erect attitude, and give their undivided attention to whatever the teacher may bring before them. Such a course would have its physiological advantages. It would relieve the minds of all for a few r minutes. The erect attitude is a health¬ ful one. It would also serve as a short respite from duty, and thus refresh the older scholars for study. I may further add, that, for the benefit of these small children, every general exercise should be conducted with reference to them , and such topics should be introduced as they can understand. It is the purpose of the following remarks to give a specimen of the manner of conducting such exercises, for a few days, with reference to waking up mind in the school and also in the district. Let us suppose that the teacher has promised that on the next day, at ten minutes past ten o’clock, he shall request the whole school to give their attention five minutes, while he shall bring something there to which he shall call the attention, especially of the little boys 88 RIGHT MODES Oi? TEACHIING. A fixed time.—Preparation.—Ear of corn. and girls under seven years of age. This very an¬ nouncement will excite an interest both in school and at home ; and when the children come in the morning, they will be more wakeful than usual till the fixed time arrives. It is very important that this time should be fixed, and that the utmost punctuality should be ob¬ served, both as to the beginning and ending of the exercise at the precise time. The teacher, it should be supposed, has not made such an announcement without considering what he can do when the time arrives. He should have a well- digested plan of operation, and one which he knows beforehand that he can successfully execute.' Let us suppose that in preparing for this exercise he looks about him to find some object which he can make his text; and that he finds upon his study-table an ear of corn. He thinks carefully what he can do with it, and then with a smile of satisfaction he puts it in his pocket for the 1 general exercise.’ In the morning he goes through the accustomed duties of the first hour, perhaps more cheerfully than usual, because he finds there is more of animation and wakefulness in the school. At the precise time, he gives the signal agreed upon, and all the pupils drop their studies and sit erect. When there is perfect silence and strict attention by all, he takes from his pocket the ear of corn, and in silence holds it up before the school. The children smile, for it is a familiar object; and they probably did not suspect they were to he fed with corn. RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. 89- Teacher’s address to the children.—Their answers. Teacher. “ Now, children,” addressing himself to the youngest, “ I am going to ask you only one question to-day about this ear of corn. If you can answer it I shall be very glad ; if the little boys and girls upon the front seat cannot give the answer, I will let those in the next seat try ; and so on till all have tried, unless our time should expire before the right answer is given. I shall not be surprised if none of you give the answer I am thinking of. As soon as I ask the question, those who are under seven years old, that think they can give an answer, may raise their hand. Wiiat is this ear OF CORN FOR ?” Several of the children raise their hands, and the teacher points to one after another in order, and they rise and give their answers. Mary. It is to feed the geese with. John. Yes, and the hens too, and the pigs. Sarah. My father gives corn to the cows. By this time the hands of the youngest scholars are all down, for having been taken a little by surprise, their knowledge is exhausted. So the teacher says that those between seven and ten years of age may raise their hands. Several instantly appear. The teacher again indicates, by pointing, those who may give the answer. Charles. My father gives com to the horses when the oats are all gone. Daniel. We give it to the oxen and cows, and we fat the hogs upon corn. Laura. It is good to eat. They shell it from the 90 RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. Closing at the time.—Hear no more till to-morrow. cobs and send it to mill, and it is ground into meal. They make bread of the meal, and we eat it. This last pupil has looked a little further into domes- tic economy than those who answered before her. But by this time, perhaps before, the five minutes have been nearly expended, and yet several hands are up, and the faces of several are beaming with eagerness to tell their thoughts. Let the teacher then say, “We will have no more answers to-day. You may think of this matter till to-morrow, and then I will let you try again. I am sorry to tell you that none of you have mentioned the use I was thinking of, though I confess I expected it every minute. I shall not be surprised if no one of you give this answer to-morrow. I shall now put the ear of corn in my desk, and no one of you must speak to me about it till to-morrow. You may now take your studies ” The children now breathe more freely, while the older ones take their studies, and the next class is called. In order to success, it is absolutely necessary that the teacher should positively refuse to hold any , conversation with the children on the subject till the next time for ‘ general exercise.’ During the remainder of the forenoon the teacher will very likely observe some signs of thoughtfulness on the part of those little children who have been habitually dull before. And perhaps some child, eager to impart a new discovery, will seek an opportunity to make it known during the forenoon. “Wait till to¬ morrow,” should be the teacher’s only reply. RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. 91 The children go home.—They observe.—They inquire. Now let us follow these children as they are dis¬ missed while they bend their steps toward home. They cluster together in groups as they go down the hill, and they seem to be earnestly engaged in conversation. “ I don’t believe it has any other use,” says John. “ Oh, yes, it has,” says Susan ; “ our teacher would not say so if it had not. Besides, did you not see what a knowing look he had, when he drew up his brow and said he guessed we couldn’t find it out?”, “ Well, I mean to ask my mother,” says little Mary; f< I guess she can tell.” By-and-by as they pass a field of corn, Samuel sees a squirrel running across the street, with both his cheeks distended with ‘ plunder .’ At home* too, the ear of corn is made the subject of conversation. “ What is an ear of corn for, mother ?” says little Mary, as soon as they have taken a seat at the dinner-table. Mother. An ear of corn, child ? why, don’t you know ? It is to feed the fowls, and the pigs, and the cattle ; and we make bread of it too- Mary. Yes, we told all that, but the teacher says that is not all. Mother. The teacher ? Mary. Yes, ma’am, the teacher had an ear of corn at school, and he asked us what it was for; and after we had told him every thing we could think of, he said there was another thing still. Now I want to find out, so that I can tell him. The consequence of this would be that the family, 92 RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. Their family become interested.—Second day.—Anecdote. father, mother, and older brothers and sisters, would resolve themselves into a committee of the whole on » the ear of corn. Tiie same, or something like this, would be true in other families in the district; and by the next morning, several children would have some thing further to communicate on the subject. The hour would this day be awaited with great interest, and the first signal would produce perfect silence. The teacher now takes the ear of co n from the desk, and displays it before the school; and quite a number of hands are instantly raised as if eager to be the first to tell what other use they have discovered for it. The teacher now says pleasantly, “ The use I am thinking of, you have all observed I have no doubt; it is a very important use indeed ; but as it i§ a little out of the common course, I shall not be surprised if you cannot give it. However you may try.” ‘ It is good to boil !”* says little Susan, almost spring¬ ing from the floor as she speaks. * The children themselves will be sure to find some new answers to such questions as the above. In giving in substance this lecture to a gathering of teachers in the Autumn of 1845, in one of the busy villages of New York, where also the pupils of one of the district schools were present by invita¬ tion, 1 had described a process similar to that which has been dwelt upon above. I had given the supposed answers for the first day, and had described the children as pressing the question at home. When I had proceeded as far as to take up the ear of corn the second day, and had spoken of the possibility that the true answer to the question might not be given, I turned almost instinctively to the class of children at my right, saying, “ Now what is the ear of corn for?" A little boy some six years of age, who had swallowed every word, and whose face glowed as if there was not room enough for his soul within him. bounded upon his feet, and forgetting the publicity of the place, and the gravity of the chairman of the meeting, RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING 93 Older pupils interested.—The secret revealed. “ And it is for squirrels to eat,” says little Samuel. “ I saw one carry away a whole mouthful yesterday from the cornfield.” Others still mention other uses, which they have observed. They mention other animals which feed upon it, or other modes of cooking it. The older pupils begin to be interested, and they add to the list of uses named. Perhaps, however, none will name the one the teacher has in his own mind ; he should cordially welcome the answer if perchance it is given; if none should give it, he may do as he thinks best about giving it himself on this occasion. Perhaps if there is time he may do so,—after the following manner. “ I have told you that the answer I was seeking was a very simple one ; it is something you have all observed, and you may be a little disappointed when I tell you. The use I have been thinking of for the ear of corn is this ;—It is to plant. It is for seed , to propagate that species of plant called corn.” Here the children may look disappointed, as much as to say, ‘ we knew that before.’ The teacher continues : “ And this is a very import¬ ant use for the corn ; for if for one year none should be planted, and all the ears that grew the year before should be consumed, we should have no more corn. This, then, was the great primary design of the corn; the other uses you have named were merely secondary. clapping his hands forcibly together, “ It’s to pop!” he exclaimed em¬ phatically, very much to the amusement of the audience. His mind had been waked up. 94 RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. A new question.—Another.—Impart instruction. But I mean to make something more of my ear of corn. My next question is :—Do other plants have S2EDS V ’* Here is a new field of inquiry. Many hands are instantly raised ; but as the five minutes by this time have passed, leave them to answer at the next time. “Have other plants seeds?” the children begin to inquire in their own minds, and each begins to think over a list of such plants as he is familiar with. When they are dismissed, they look on the way home at the plants by the roadside, and when they reach home, they run to the garden. At the table they inquire of their parents, or their brothers and sisters. At the next exercise, they will have more than they can tell in five minutes as the results of their own observation and research. When enough has been said by the children as to the plants which have seeds, the next question may be : Do all plants have seeds ? This question will lead to much inquiry at home wherever botany is not well understood. There are many who are not aware that all plants have seeds. Very likely the ferns (common brakes) will be noticed by the children themselves. They may also name several other plants which do not exhibit their apparatus for seed-bearing very conspicuously. This will prepare the way for the teacher to impart a little information. Nor is there any harm in his doing so, whenever he is satisfied that the mind has been suitably exercised. * Plant is here used in the popular sense RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. 95 The recipient has gained capacity.—The elm.—A promise. The mind is no longer a “ passive recipientand he may be sure that by inquiry it has increased its capacity to contain , and any fact which now answers inquiry, will be most carefully stored up. The next question may be :—Do trees have seeds? As the children next go out, their eyes are directed to the trees above them. The fruit-trees, the walnut, the oak, and perhaps the pine will be selected as those which have seeds. They will, however, mention quite a number which do not, or which, they think, do not have seeds. Among these may be the elm, the birch, and the Lombardy poplar. After hearing their opin¬ ions, and the results of their observations, take one of their exceptions, as the subject of the next question ; Does the Elm have seeds ?* This will narrow their inquiries down to a specific case, and every elm in the district will be inquired of as to its testimony on this point. If the children can any of them collect and give the truth in the matter, so much the better; but f they, after inquiring of their parents and their grandparents, as I have known a whole school to do, come back insisting that the elm has no seeds ; after hearing thfeir reasons for their belief, and perhaps the opinions of their parents, you may promise to tell them something about it at the next exercise. This will again awaken expectation, not only among the children but among the * It is a very common opinion in the country that the elm has no seeds. I once knew a man who grew gray under the shade of a large elm, and who insisted that it never bore any seeds. 96 RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. A caution.—Example of teaching. parents. All will wish to know what you have to bring out. Great care should be taken not to throw any dispar¬ agement upon the opinions of parents. Perhaps after giving the signal for attention, you may proceed as follows :— “ Has the elm-tree any seeds ? Perhaps, children, you may recollect after the cold winter has passed away, that, along in the latter part of March or the first of April, we sometimes have a warm, sunny day. The birds perhaps appear and begin to sing a little, and as you look up to the elm, you notice that its buds seem to swell, and you think it is going to put out its leaves. Everybody says we are going to have an early spring. But after this the cold frosty nights and windy days come on again, and then you think the leaves cannot come out so early. Now, if you observe carefully, the leaves do not come out till about the 20th of May or perhaps the first of June. Did you ever see any thing like what I have described ?” “ Yes, sir, we remember that.” “ Well, the next time you see the buds begin to open, just break off a twig of a good large tree, and you will find they are not the leaf-buds . But if you will watch them carefully for two or three weeks, you will find that each bud will put out some beautiful little flowers, brightly colored, and slightly fragrant. If you will still continue to watch them, you will find as the flowers fall off, that seed-vessels are formed, shaped very much like the parsnip seed. These will grow larger and 98 RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. Another.—Results.—Still another.—Remarks. Next question,— Are plants propagated in any other way than by seeds ? This question would call their attention to the various means of natural and artificial propagation, by layers, by offsets, by suckers, by grafting, by inoculation or budding, &c. &c. Again,— Have any plants more ways than one of natu¬ ral propagation ? Some have one way only, by seeds, as the annual plants ; some have two,—by seeds, and by roots, as the potato ; some have three,—-as the tigeir lily, by side-bulbs from the roots, by stalk-bulbs , and by the seeds. This can be extended indefinitely. SECTION V. —REMARKS. Let it be remembered that the above has been given simply as a specimen of what could easily be done by an ingenious teacher, with as common a thing as an ear of corn for the text. Any other thing would answer as well. A chip, a tooth or a bone of an animal, a piece of iron, a feather, or any other object, could be made the text for adroitly bringing in the uses of wood, the food and habits of animals , the use and comparative value of metals, the covering of birds, their migration, the covering of animals, &c. &c. Let. the teacher but think what department he will dwell upon, and then he can easily select his text; and if he has any tact, he can keep the children constantly upon inquiry and observation. The advantages of the above course over simpl} RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. 99 Effects upon the children.—Advantages of observation. lecturing to them on certain subjects, that is, over the pouring-in process, are many and great. Some of the most obvious I will briefly state. 1. It immediately puts the minds of the children into a state of vigorous activity. They feel that they are no longer passive recipients. They are incited to discover and ascertain for themselves. They are, therefore, profitably employed both in and out of school, and as a consequence are more easily governed. A habit of observation is cultivated in them ; and what an advan¬ tage is this for a child ! It is almost unnecessary to remark that many people go through the world with¬ out seeing half the objects which are brought within their reach. It would be the same to them if their eyes were half the time closed. If they travel through a country presenting the most beautiful scenery, or the most interesting geological features, they see nothing. They grow up among all the wonders of God’s works, amid all the displays of his wisdom, of his design, to no purpose. They study none of the plans of nature ; and by all the millions of arrangements which God has made, to delight the eye, to gratify the taste, to excite the emotions of pleasure instead of pain, they are neither the happier nor the wiser. What a blessing, then, it is to a child, to put his mind upon inquiry; to open his eyes to observe what his Creator intended his intelligent creatures should behold, of his goodness, his wisdom, his power. And how far superior is he who teaches a child to see for himself, and to think for him¬ self, to him who sees and thinks for the child, and thus 100 RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. Parents benefited.—Take an interest in the school. practically invites the pupil to close his own eyes and grope in darkness through the instructive journey of life. 2. It is of great service to the parents in the district to have this waking-up process in operation. Our chil¬ dren are sometimes our best teachers. Parents are apt to grow rusty in their acquirements, and it is no doubt one of the designs of providence that the inquisitiveness of childhood should preserve them from sinking into mental inactivity. Who can hear the inquiries of his own child after knowledge, without a desire to supply his wants ? Now it is right for the teacher to use this instrumentality to wake up mind in his district'. Parents, by the course I have recommended, very soon become interested in these daily questions of the teacher; and they are often as eager to know what is the next ques¬ tion as the children are to report it. This course, then, will supply profitable topics of conversation at the fire¬ side, and very likely will encourage also the pursuit of useful reading. It will moreover soon awaken a deeper interest in the school on the part of the parents. They will begin to inquire of one another as to this new measure ; and when they find by conference that the feeling in this matter is becoming general, they will desire to visit the school to witness this as well as the other operations of the teacher. This will secure parental cooperation, and thus in every way the in¬ fluence of the school will be heightened. It is no small thing for a teacher to enlist the interest of his patrons in the success of his school ; and this is the most RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. 101 Teacher is improved.—His temptations. happily done, when it is achieved through the medium of the pupils themselves. 3. It wakes up the teacher's own mind. This is by no means the least important point to be gained. The teacher, by the very nature of his employment, by daily confinement in an unhealthy atmosphere, by teaching over and over again that with which he is quite familiar, by boarding with people who are inclined to be social, and by the fatigue and languor with which he finds himself oppressed every night, is strongly tempted to neglect his own improvement. There are but few who rise above this accumulation of impediments, and go on in spite of them to eminence in the profession. A large proportion of all who teach, rely upon the attainments with which they commence; and in the course of two or three years, finding them¬ selves behind the age, they abandon the employment. This is very natural. Any man who treads in a beaten track, like a horse in a mill, must become weary, how¬ ever valuable the product may be which he grinds out. It is essential that he should keep his own interest awake by some exercise of his ingenuity, and that he should compel himself to be industrious by undertaking that which will absolutely demand study. The above process will do this; and while he may have the exquisite pleasure of seeing the growth of his pupils’ minds, he may also have the higher satisfaction of feeling the growth of his own. I must here add, that it has not been my intention 102 RIGHT MODES OF TEACHING. Books not to be neglected.—Given only as a specimen. in what I have said, to inculcate the idea that the study of books should in the least degree be abated to make room for this process of waking up mind. The various branches are to be pursued and as diligently pursued as ever before. The time to be set apart for this exercise should be short,—never probably to exceed five min¬ utes. It is to come in when the scholars need rest for a moment, and when, if not employed about this, they would probably be doing nothing, or perhaps worse than nothing. It should be managed with care, and should never be made a hobby by teachers, as if it were of more importance than any thing else. One secret of success in this—as indeed in every thing—is, that it should not be continued too long at once. The pupils should be left “ longing—not loathing.” Let me again remind the reader that I have given the above as a specimen. The choice of the ear of corn was merely accidental ; it happened to lie on my table when I wanted a text. The teacher should look upon this simply as a specimen, and then choose his own subjects. The main point aimed at is this:—Never ask leading questions which your scholars can hardly fail to answer; and never lecture to your pupils till you have somehow first kindled in them a living desire to know ; that is, avoid alike the “ drawing-out” and the “ pour¬ ing-in” process. Rather let it be your object to excite inquiry by a question they cannot answer without thought and observation,—and such a question as they would deem it disgraceful not to be able to answer. This adroitly done is “ waking up mind” CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. 103 Aptness to teach.—Difference in men; in teachers. CHAPTER VII. CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. In considering a teacher’s qualifications, the power of exciting an interest in the recitations of his school may not be overlooked. No man can be successful for any length of time without this. This comprises what is usually implied by aptness to teach. All men have not this faculty by nature in an equal degree. Some may talk for an hour upon an interesting topic in the presence of children without commanding their attention ; while there are others who can take even a common-place subject and secure for any length of time an all-absorbing interest in every word. This difference is seen in every grade of public speakers, and in all descriptions of writers ; but perhaps more strikingly than anywhere else it is observable among teachers. Enter one school, and you may notice that the scholars are dull and listless ; indifference sits un¬ disturbed upon their brows ; or perhaps they are driven by the activity of their own natures to some expedient to interest themselves, while the teacher is with very commendable spirit, laboriously—perhaps learnedly— explaining some principle or fact designed for their edification. The secret is, he has not yet learned to 104 CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. A contrast.—Not always a natural gift. awaken their attention; he fails to excite their inter¬ est. Pass to another school. A breathless silence per¬ vades the room ; the countenances of the children, upturned towards the teacher, beam with delight. As he kindles into earnestness and eloquence, they kindle into responsive enthusiasm. Whenever his eye meets theirs, he sees—he feels the glow radiated by the fire he is lighting in their souls, and his own gathers new warmth and enthusiasm in return. Such a man is aj>t to teach; and you could scarcely break the spell by which he holds his class, “ though you should give them for playthings, shining fragments broken from off the sun.” He who possesses this gift naturally, has very great advantage as a teacher to begin with. The ability to tell well what he knows, is of more consequence to the teacher, than the greatest attainments without the power to communicate them. Combine high attainments with the ability to tell, and you have the accomplished teacher. But this power to communicate is not necessarily a natural gift; it comes not always by intuition. It can be acquired. It is founded in philosophy ; and he who can understand any thing of the workings of his own mind, who can revert to the mental processes he went through in order to comprehend a principle, who can go back to that state of mind he was in before he com¬ prehended it, and then by one step more can put him¬ self in the place of the child lie is teaching, realizing CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. 105 Plow acquired.—Natural order.—Science of teaching. exactly his perplexities and feeling his precise wants, can become the apt teacher. Those who fail in this are usually those who have forgotten the steps they took to acquire their own knowledge, or perhaps who never noticed what steps they did take. To acquire this rare qualification should be the con¬ stant study of the teacher. To this end he should recall, as far as possible, the operations of his own mind in childhood. By studying his own mind, he learns, often most effectually, what he needs to know of others. Whenever he is preparing to teach any principle or fact to others, let him ask himself ques¬ tions like the following:—What was the dark point in this, when I studied it ? Where did my mind labor most ? What point did my teacher fail to explain ? Such questions will frequently suggest the very diffi¬ culty which perplexes every mind in the same process. Again, the following inquiries may be very useful :— In studying this, what was the first point which appeared clear to me ? After this, what was the second step, and how did that follow the first ? The next in order? And the next? Was this the natural order ? If not, what is the natural order ? The right answers to these questions will suggest the course to be pursued in the instruction of a class. The teacher can scarcely ask a more important question than this : —What is the natural order of presenting a given subject ? The ability to determine this, is what constitutes in a great degree the science of teaching. This inquiry should occupy much thought 10G CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. Thorough knowledge.—Its advantages to the teacher. because a mistake here is disastrous, and ever will be, as long as divine wisdom is superior to human. He who can ascertain the order of nature, will be most sure of exciting an interest in the subject he is endeav oring to teach. Some further suggestions as to conducting school recitations are contained in the following paragraphs. 1. The teacher should thoroughly understand what he attempts to teach. It is destructive of all life in the exercise, if the teacher is constantly chained down to the text-book. 1 have no objection, indeed, that he should take his text-book with him to the class, and that he should occasionally refer to it to refresh his own memory, or to settle a doubt. But who does not know that a teacher who is perfectly familiar with what is to be taught, has ten times the vivacity of one who is obliged to follow the very letter of the book ? His own enthusiasm glows in his countenance, sparkles in his eye, and leaps from his tongue. He watches the halting of the pupil, perceives his difficulty, devises his expedient for illustrating the dark point in some new way, and, at the proper moment, renders just the amount of assistance which the pupil needs. Not confined to the text, he has the use of his eyes; and when he speaks or explains, he can accompany his remark with a quickening look of intelligence. In this way his class is enlivened. They respect him for his ready attainment, and they are fired with a desire to be his equal. How different is it with a teacher who knows nothing CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. 107 Printed questions.—Special preparation. of the subject but what is contained in the text before him, and who knows that only as he reads it during the intervals occasioned by the hesitations of the class. Every question he proposes is printed at the bottom of the page ; and as soon as he reads the question, without a glance at the pupil, his eye sets out on a chase after the answer in the text. If the scholar lias not already been stupified by such teaching, and happens to give an intelligent answer, yet not in the precise language of the book, he is set right by the teacher’s reading the very words,—just so much de¬ tached from the sentence, as he fancies was intended to answer that one question ! In this way he dis¬ courages thought in his pupils, and sets a bounty on mechanical study. In this way, too, he congeals whatever of interest they bring with them to the reci¬ tation, and they sink into indifference,—or, following the instincts of their nature, they seek occupation in play or mischief, even under the sound of his voice ! 2. The teacher should specially prepare himself for each lesson he assigns. This is naturally suggested by what has just been said. The teacher’s memory needs to be refreshed. We all know how difficult it would be to recite a lesson, in geometry for instance, weeks after studying it. It is so in other things. Now the teacher should be so familiar with the lesson which he proposes to hear recited, that he could recite it himself as perfectly as he would desire his scholars to do it. This is seldom the case. I have heard a teacher, with 108 CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. The tables titrued.—Common-place book.—Its use. the text-book in his hands, complain of the dullness or inaccuracy of his classes, when, if the tables had been turned, and the pupils allowed to ask the questions, the teacher would scarcely have recited as well. And I may add, this is no very uncommon thing! If any one is startled at this assertion, let him request a friend, in whom he can confide, to ask him the ques¬ tions of a particular lesson in geography, or history, or grammar. The teacher should daily study his class lessons. This will enable him the better to assign his lessons judiciously. In this daily study, he should master the text-hook upon the subject; and more than this, he should consider what collateral matter he can bring in to illustrate the lesson. He should draw upon the resources of his own mind,—upon the treasures of his common-place hook *—upon the contents of some * It is an excellent plan for every teacher to keep a common-place book of considerable size, different portions of it being set apart for the differ¬ ent subjects upon which he is to give instruction. On the first twenty pages, “ Geography” may be the head ,—the next twenty pages may be set apart for “ History,”—twenty more may be assigned to “ Reading,”— and a like number to “Arithmetic,” “Grammar,” “Spelling,” “Wri¬ ting,” &c., reserving quite a space for “ Miscellaneous Matter.” This would make a large book, but when it is remembered that it is to be used for several years, it is well to have it large enough to contain a large amount of matter. Now, whenever the teacher hears a lecture on a pecu¬ liar method of teaching either of these branches, let him note the promi¬ nent parts of it under the proper head, and especially the illustrations. When he reads or hears an anecdote illustrating Geography, History, or Grammar, let it be copied under the proper head. If it illustrates Geogra¬ phy, let the name of the place stand at its head. When he visits a school, and listens to a new explanation or a new process, let him note it under its head. In this way he may collect a thousand valuable things to be used with judgment in his school. CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. 109 Use of the eye.—Correct language. encyclopaedia,—upon any source, from whence he can obtain a supply of knowledge for his purpose. This will improve his own mind, and he will be encouraged, as from time to time he teaches the same branch, to find that he is able to do better than ever before, and that, instead of becoming weary with repetition, he is more and more enthusiastic in the subject. Going thus to his class—so full of the subject, that were the text-book annihilated, he could make another and better one—he will have no difficulty to secure attention. As he speaks, his eye accompanies his word, and as his pupils answer, he sees the expression of their countenances ; and what a world of meaning there is in this expression ! It betrays, better than words can do, the clearness or obscurity of the mind’s perception, when a truth is presented. How different the beaming of the eye when the soul apprehends , from that almost idiotic stare at vacuity when words are used without import. And how necessary it is that the teacher should be free to observe the inward workings of the soul as indicated upon the counte¬ nance. 3. The teacher should he able to use our language fluently and correctly. In this many are deficient. They hesitate and stammer, and after all, express their ideas in vague terms, and perhaps by the use of in¬ accurate or inelegant language. A teacher in no way gives so effectual instruction in grammar as by his own use of our language ; and there can be no sight more mortifying than that of a teacher laboring to fix in the 110 CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. “ Sums.”—“ Question.”—Anecdote.—Animation. minds of his class some rule of syntax, when his own language at the very moment shows an entire disregard of the rule. It is very common to hear teachers talk of “ sums' ’ to their classes in arithmetic, and even to ask them to do “ sums” in subtraction or division ! The term “ question ” is often as improperly applied, when no question is asked. The teacher should be accurate in the use of terms. “ Question” is some¬ times the proper word ; sometimes “ problem,” and sometimes “ exercise,” or “ example,” may with more propriety be used ; but “ sum ” means the amount of several numbers when added, and it should not be applied as the name of an exercise. Some teachers use the terms ratio and proportion* interchangeably, as if they were synonyms. Such inaccuracies in the teacher will be sure to be reproduced in the school, and it is a great evil for the scholar to acquire a careless habit in the use of terms. 4. He should have proper animation himself . Hor¬ ace Mann describes some of the Scotch teachers as working themselves up into a feverish excitement in the presence of their classes, and the classes in turn as literally bounding from the floor when they answer their hasty questions. Now, while I think these Scotch * We are reminded by this of the college student who was examined rather closely by his tutor. “ What is ratio ?” inquired the tutor. “ Ratio V* said the young man, “ ratio is proportion.” “ Well, what is proportion?” “Proportion? proportion is ratio.” “Well, then,” said the tutor, looking perplexed, “ what are both together?” “ Excuse me,” said the pupil, “ I can define but one at a time /” CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. 1 1 1 Children imitative.—Attitude.—The attention of the class. teachers go quite too far, I do think that many of our own teachers come short of a proper standard of ani¬ mation. A teacher should be ready, without being rapid ; animated, without being boisterous. Children are imitative beings ; and it is astonishing to observe how very soon they catch the manners of the teacher. If he is heavy and plodding in his movements, they will very soon be dull and drowsy in theirs ; then, if he speaks in a sprightly tone, and moves about with an elastic step, they almost realize a resurrection from the dead. If he appears absent-minded, taking but little interest in the lesson which is recited, they will be as inattentive, at least, as he; while, if all his looks and actions indicate that the subject is of some importance, he will gain their attention. Nor can I refrain in this place from suggesting to the teacher the importance of regarding his manners, while en¬ gaged in conducting a recitation. His attitude should not be one of indolence or coarseness,—and when he moves from his seat, and appears at the blackboard to illustrate any point, it should be done gracefully, and with a constant regard to the fact, that every look and every motion teaches. 5. He should never 'proceed without the attention of the class. A loss of interest is sure to follow a want of attention. Besides, a habit of inattention, while it is very common, is also a great calamity to the person who falls into it during life. Many a sermon is lost upon a portion of the audience in our churches every Sabbath from this cause. When the attention is 112 CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. A routine.—“ Books but helps.”—Utility. aroused, the impression made is enduring; and one idea then communicated is worth a hundred at any other time. 6. Avoid a formal routine in teaching. Children are very apt to imbibe the notion that they study in order to recite. They have but little idea of any pur¬ pose of acquirement beyond recitation; hence they study their text book as mere words. The teacher should, as soon as possible, lead them to study the sub¬ ject, using the book simply as an instrument. “ Books are but helps”—should become their motto. In order to bring this about, the instructor would do well occa sionally to leave entirely the order of the book, and question them on the topic they have studied. If they are pursuing arithmetic, for instance, and they have carefully prepared a definite number of problems, it might be well to test their ability by giving them at the recitation others of the teachers’ own preparing, in¬ volving an application of what they have learned to the business of life. This will lead them to study intelli¬ gently. Besides, as soon as they begin to see how their knowledge is to be useful to them, they have a new motive to exertion. They should be so taught as to discover that grammar will improve their understanding and use of language ; that writing will prepare them for business, and by enabling them to communicate with their friends, will add to their enjoyment; and so of reading and the other branches. 7. Be careful to use language ivliich is intelligible to children, whenever an explanation is given. The CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. 113 _Intelligible language.—An example quoted. object of an explanation is to elucidate, to make clearer. How is this object accomplished when the explanation is less intelligible than the thing explained ? Suppose a child should ask her teacher to explain the cause of cold in winter and heat in summer ; in other words, the cause of the change of seasons. “ Oh, yes,” says he, pleasantly. The annual revolution of the earth round the sun in connection with the obliquity of the ecliptic, occasions the succession of the four seasons.”* The child listens to these “ words of learned length,” and is astonished at the learning of her teacher, but she has no clearer idea than before of the point she inquired about. Mr. S. R. Hall in his lectures gives the following forcible illustration of the same point. “ Will you please to tell me why I carry one for every ten ?” said little Laura to her instructor. “Yes, my dear,” said he, kindly. “ It is because numbers increase from right to left in a decimal ratio.” Laura sat and repeated it to herself two or three times, and then looked very sad. The master, as soon as he had answered, pursued his other business and did not notice her. But she was disappointed. She understood him no better than if he had used words of another language. “ Decimal” and “ ratio” were words that might have fallen on her ear before, but if so, she understood them none the better for it. She looked in the dictionary and was disap¬ pointed again, and after some time, put away her * Worcester’s Geography. 8 CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. 114 Honest confession,—not mystification.—Example. arithmetic. When asked by her teacher why she did so, she replied, ‘ I don’t like to study it; I can’t understand it ’ ” “ Now the injury to little Laura was very great. She had commenced the study with interest; she had learned to answer a great many questions in arithmetic and had been pleased. She was now using a slate and writing her figures on it, and had found the direction to carry one for every ten. This she might have been made to understand. The master loved his scholars and wished to benefit them, but forgot that terms p erfectly plain to him would he unintelligible to the child. From that moment Laura disliked arithmetic, and every effort that could be used with her could not efface the im pression that it was a hard study, and she could not understand it.” While upon this subject, I might urge that teachers should not resort to evasion when they are not able to explain. It is a much more honorable, and far more satisfactory course, for the teacher frankly to confess his inability to explain, than to indulge in some ridiculous mysticism to keep up the show of knowledge. I may never forget the passage I first made through the Rule of Three, and the manner in which my manifold per¬ plexities respecting “direct and inverse” proportion were solved. “ Sir,” said I, after puzzling a long time over ‘ more requiring more and less requiring less’— “ will you tell me why I sometimes multiply the second and third terms together and divide by the first—and at other times multiply the first and second and divide by i CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. 115 More requires more !—Accurate and prompt recitation. the third ?” “ Why, because more requires more some¬ times, and sometimes it requires less—to be sure. Haven’t you read the rule, my boy ?” “ Yes, sir, I can repeat the rule, but I don’t understand it.” “ Why it is because ‘ more requires more and less requires less!’ ” “But why, sir, do I multiply as the rule says ?” “Why, because ‘ more requires more and less requires less’— see, the rule says so” “ I know the rule says so, but I wished to understand why” —“ Why ? why ?” look¬ ing at me as if idiocy itself trembled before him— “ why ?—why because the rule says so ; don't you see it? —DO ^More requires more and, less requires less!" —and in the midst of this inexplicable combination of more and less, I shrunk away to my seat blindly to follow the rule because it said so. Such teaching as this is enough to stultify the most inquiring mind ; and it is to secure the blessing of relief from such influence to the children of any particular district, that we come to consider an occasional change of teachers a mitigated evil. 8. Require prompt and accurate recitation. I know of nothing that will abate the interest of a class sooner than dull and dragging recitations. The temptation in such cases is very strong for the teacher to help the class by the “ drawing-out process” before described. This, however, only makes the matter worse. The dull recitation calls for the teacher’s aid ; and his aid reproduces the dull recitation. The only way is to stop at once, and refuse to proceed till the recitation can go alone. It is just as easy to have good lessons as poor; 116 CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. It saves time.—Simultaneous recitation.—Its evils. and the teacher should have the energy to insist upon them. Mark the countenances of a class as they go to their seats after a good recitation. They feel that they have done something, and they look as if they valued the teacher’s approbation and their own so highly, that they will learn the next lesson still better. It is moreover a great saving of time, to have the lessons promptly recited. This saving will afford the opportunity to introduce those additional illustrations I have before suggested, in order to excite a still deeper interest. It may sometimes, though not always, be well to make a prompt and perfect recitation the condition of introducing the additional matter. 9. Rely not too much upon simultaneous recitation. This has become quite too fashionable of late. It had its origin in the large schools established some years since, known as Lancasterian schools, and perhaps was well enough adapted to schools kept upon that plan in large cities. But when this mode of reciting is adopted in our district and country schools, where the circum¬ stances of large numbers and extreme backwardness are wanting, it is entirely uncalled for, and like other city fashions transferred to the country, is really out of place. Seriously, I look upon this as one of the prominent faults in many of our schools. It destroys all indepen¬ dence in the pupil by taking aw T ay his individuality. He moves with the phalanx. Learning to rely on others, he becomes superficial in his lessons. He is tempted to indolence by a knowledge that his deficiencies will CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. 117 Sometimes allowable.—When? not stand out by themselves ; and he comforts himself after a miserable recitation with the consoling reflection that he has been able to conceal his want of thorough¬ ness from his teacher. It may sometimes be useful. A few questions thus answered may serve to give animation to a class when their interest begins to flag; but that which may serve as a stimulant must not be relied on for nutrition. As an example of its usefulness, I have known a rapid reader tamed into due moderation by being put in companionship with others of slower speech, just as we tame a friskful colt by harnessing him into a team of grave old horses. But aside from some such definite purpose, I have seen no good come of this innovation. I am satisfied its prevalence is an evil, and worthy of the careful consideration of teachers. By the foregoing means and others which will sug¬ gest themselves to the thoughtful teacher’s mind, he can arouse the interest of his classes so that study will be more attractive than play. For this object every teacher should labor. It is of course impossible to give specific rules to meet every case ; it is not desirable to do it. The teacher, put upon the track, will easily devise his own expedients ; and his own, be it remem¬ bered, will usually he found the best for him. As a motive for every teacher to study carefully the art of teaching well at the recitation, it should be borne in mind that then and there he comes before his pupils in a peculiar and prominent manner ; it is there his mind CONDUCTING RECITATIONS. 118 The teacher makes his mark at recitation. comes specially in contact with theirs, and there that he lays in them, for good or for evil, the foundations of their mental habits. It is at the recitation in a peculiar manner, that he makes his mark upon their minds ; and as the seal upon the wax, so his mental character uduu theirs leaves its impress behind 1 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 119 A great question.—The interest in study an abiding one. CHAPTER VIII. EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. It is ever an interesting question to the teacher, and one which he should consider with great care—“ How can I excite an interest among my pupils in their studies ?” The intelligent teacher feels that this is the great question ; for he foresees that, if he fails here, his difficulty in governing his school will be very much increased. He therefore turns his attention with deep solicitude to the motives he may present, and the methods he may employ to awaken and keep alive the interest of the school. If he has reflected at all upon the subject, he has already arrived at the conviction, that it is necessary for the good of all concerned that the interest awakened should be an abiding one ; that it should not only not abate during the term of school, but continue —nay, grow stronger and stronger—even after school¬ days have passed away. There is probably no greater mistake in education, than that of raising in school an artificial excitement, which may aid perhaps in securing better recitations, but which will do nothing toward putting the mind into such a state, that it will press on 120 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY A common mistake.—Emulation.—Perplexity. in the pursuit of knowledge ever after the living teacher has closed his labors. The higher principles of our nature being aroused with difficulty, are too apt to be neglected by the teacher, and thus they remain in their original feeble¬ ness ; while he contents himself with appealing to our lower characteristics,—thus doing a lasting injury by unduly cultivating and strengthening them, at the same time that he awakens after all but a temporary interest. In view of the importance of the subject, and the difficulty of judging aright upon it, I shall make no apology for devoting a few pages to the consideration of SECTION I. —INCENTIVES TO STUDY—EMULATION. The teacher will find in a greater or less degree, in the mind of every child, the principle of Emulation. It is a question very much debated of late, What shall he do with it? Much has been said and written on this question, and the ablest minds, both of past ages and the present, have given us their conclusions respecting it; and it often increases the perplexity of the young teacher to find the widest difference of opinion on this subject among men upon whom in other things he would confidingly rely for guidance. Why, asks he, why is this? Is there no such thing as truth in this matter ? or have these men misunderstood each other ? When they have written with so much ability and so much earnestness,—some zealously recommending EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 121 Experimenting.—Its evil consequences. emulation as a safe and desirable principle to be encouraged in the young, and others as warmly de¬ nouncing it as altogether unworthy and improper,— have they been thinking of the same thing ? Thus perplexed with conflicting opinions, he is thrown back upon his own reflection for a decision ; or what is more common, he endeavors to find the truth by experimenting upon his pupils. He tries one course for one term, and a different one the next; repeats both during the third, and still finds himself unsettled as he commences the fourth. Meantime some of his experiments have wrought out a lasting injury upon the minds of his pupils ; for, if every teacher must settle every doubt by new experi¬ ments upon his classes, the progress that is made in the science and art of teaching must be at the untold expense of each new set of children ;—just as if the young doctor could take nothing as settled by the ex¬ perience of his predecessors, but must try over again for himself the effect of all the various medical agents, in order to decide whether arsenic does corrode the stomach and produce death,—whether cantharides can be best applied inwardly or outwardly,—whether mer¬ cury is most salutary when administered in ounces or grains, or whether repletion or abstinence is preferable in a fever ! When such is the course of a young prac¬ titioner in a community, who does not confidently ex¬ pect the churchyard soon to become the most populous district, and the sexton to be the most thrifty personage in the village, unless indeed he too should become the subject of experiment ? 122 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. Two senses.—Define the terms.—The good sense. But is there not a good sense and a bad sense, associated with the term Emulation ; —and have not these eager disputants fallen into the same error, in this matter, that the two knights committed, when they immolated each other in a contest about the question whether a shield was gold or silver, when each had seen but one side of it ? I incline to the opinion that this is the case,—and that those who wax so warm in this contest, would do well to give us at the outset a careful definition of the term Emulation, as they intend to use it. This would perhaps save themselves a great deal of toil, and their readers a great deal of perplexity. Now it seems to me the truth on this question-lies within a nutshell. 1. If emulation means a desire for improvement , progress , growth ,—an ardent wish to rise above one’s present condition or attainments,— or even an aspiration to attain, to eminence in the school or in the world, it is a laudable motive. This is self-emulation. It presses the individual on to surpass himself. It compares his present condition with what he would be—with what he ought to be ; and “ forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those which are before, he presses towards the mark for the prize.” “ An ardor kindled by the praiseworthy examples of others, inciting to imitate them, or to equal, or even excel them, without the desire of depressing them,”* is the sense in which * Dr. Webster. EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 123 The bad sense.—Characteristics.—Ambition. the apostle uses the term [Romans xi. 14] when he says : “ If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.” If this be the meaning of emulation, it is every¬ way a worthy principle to be appealed to in school. This principle exists to a greater or less extent in the mind of every child, and may very safely be strength¬ ened by being called by the teacher into lively exercise; provided always, that the eminence is sought from a desire to be useful, and not from a desire of self- glorification. 2. But if emulation, on the other hand, means a desire of surpassing others , for the sake of surpassing them; if it be a disposition that will cause an individual to be as well satisfied with the highest place, whether he has risen above his fellows by his intrinsic well-doing, or they have fallen below him by their neglect ; if it puts him in such a relation to others that their failures will be as gratifying to him as his own success; if it be a principle that prompts the secret wish in the child that others may miss their lessons, in order to give him an opportunity to gain applause by a contrast with their abasement,—then, without doubt it is an unworthy and unholy principle, and should never be encouraged or appealed to by the teacher. It has no similitude to that spirit which prompts a man to “ love his neighbor as himself.” It has none of that generosity which rejoices in the success of others. Carried out in after-life, it becomes ambition , such as fired the breast of a Napoleon, who sought a throne for him- 124 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. The two views of emulation compared. self, though he waded through the blood of millions to obtain it. It is to this principle that the apostle, before quoted, alludes, when he classes emulation with the “ works of the flesh,” which are these : “ adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, Emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, &c.,—of the which things, I tell you before, as I have told you in times past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” It is of this principle that the commentator, Scott, remarks :—“ This thirst for human applause has caused more horrible violations of the law of love, and done more to desolate the earth, than even the grossest sensuality ever did.” Thus Emulation is a term which indicates a very good or a very bad thing, according to the definition we give it. In one view of it, the warmest aspirings to rise are consistent with a generous wish that others may rise also. It is even compatible with a heartfelt satisfaction in its possessor, at the progress of others, though they should outstrip him in his upward course. It is the spirit which actuates all true Christians, as they wend their way heavenward, rejoicing the more as they find the way is thronged with those who hope to gain an immortal crown. In the other view of it, we see men actuated by selfishness mingled with pride, inquiring, in the spirit of those mentioned in scripture, “Who among us shall be the greatest ?” We everywhere see men violating these sacred injunctions of divine wisdom : “ Let no man EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 125 The teacher’s duty.—Objections.—Answers. seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.” “ Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory ; but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves.”—“ In honor preferring one another.” If such be the true pictures of emulation, in both the good and the bad sense, certainly teachers can¬ not hesitate a moment as to their duty. They may appeal to the principle first described,—cultivate and strengthen it; and in so doing, they may be sure they are doing a good work. But unless they intend to violate the teachings of common sense, and the higher teachings of Christianity, I know not how they can appeal to the principle of emulation as defined in the second case. But it may be urged that the teacher will find emulation, even in this latter sense, existing in human nature ; that he cannot get rid of it if he will ; that it will be one of the most active principles to which he can resort in arousing the mind to exertion ; and, furthermore, that it has been appealed to by many of the most eminent teachers time out of mind. To this it is replied, that it is not disputed that chil¬ dren are selfish; and that this selfishness may indeed be made a powerful instrumentality in urging them forward to the attainment of a temporary end. But does the existence of selfishness prove that it needs cultivation in the human character? And will the end, when attained, justify the means ? Is the end, whatever it may be, if attained at such a cost, a blessing to be 126 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. Further objections.—Emulation not essential to success. desired ? Will not the heart suffer more than the head will gain ? It may be further urged, that the child will find the world full of this principle when he leaves the school; and why, it is asked, should he at school be thrown into an unnatural position ? I answer that evil is not to be overcome by making evil more prevalent,—and though there may be too much of self-seeking in the world, that is the very reason why the teacher should not encourage its growth'. The more true Christianity prevails in the world, the less there will be of that spirit which rejoices at another’s halting; hence I am convinced the teacher should do nothing to make that spirit more prevalent. Nor is it essential to the progress of the pupil even temporarily, since there are other and worthier princi¬ ples which can be as successfully called into action. If we look carefully at the expediency of thus stimu¬ lating the mind, we find that after the first trial of strength, many become disheartened and fall behind in despair. It will soon be obvious, in a class of twenty, who are the few that will be likely to surpass all others; and therefore all the others, as a matter of course, fall back into envy, perhaps into hopeless indifference. Who has not seen this in a class in spelling, for instance, where the strife w T as for the “head'” of the class, but where all but two or three were quite as well satisfied with being at the “foot ?” It does not then accomplish the purpose for which it is employed; and since those who are aroused by it, are even more injured than EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 127 The conclusion.—Prizes.—Honest investigation. those who are indifferent, their undesirable qualities being thus strengthened, the opinion is entertained that those teachers are the most wise, who bend their ingenuity to find some other means to awaken the minds of the children under their charge. From what has been said, then, Emulation is to be recognised or repudiated among the incentives of the schoolroom, according to the signification we assign to the term. SECTION II.—PRIZES. It has for a long time been the custom of teachers to offer some prize as an incentive to exertion in school; a prize of some pecuniary value, a book, or a medal. In some places beneficent individuals have bestowed by legacy the means to purchase annually the prizes thus to be used. Every young teacher is called upon, therefore, to inquire whether such an incentive is a proper one to be employed in the schoolroom. If there is any good to be expected from such an incen¬ tive, will it counterbalance the evils that spring from the practice ? Will the good of the whole school be promoted by such a measure,—and will this be a per¬ manent or a temporary good ? These are questions which press for an honest answer; and the faithful teacher should not shrink from a careful investigation of the whole matter; and if he finds good reason to differ from time-honored authority, he should abide by the truth rather than by prescriptive usage. In my own case, I may be allowed to say, my mind 128 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. Experience.—Its result.—Reasons assigned. was early turned to this point; though, I confess, with a strong bias in favor of the use of prizes. Pretty thoroughly for a series of years did I test their efficacy, but with a growing conviction, that the prize was not the proper instrumentality to create a healthy interest in the school. This conviction acquired additional strength by three or four years’ trial of other incentives ; and it was fully confirmed afterwards by a trial made for the purpose of testing again the efficacy of a prize, at an age when I. could more carefully watch the workings of the human mind, and better appreciate the benefits or evils resulting from such a measure. I am now free to say that I am satisfied that 'prizes offered to a school in such a way that all may compete for-them, and only two or three obtain them , will always be pro¬ ductive of evil consequences , far overbalancing any temporary or partial good that may arise from them y and therefore they ought not to be used as incitements in our schools* Having expressed an opinion so decidedly upon a measure which claims among its friends and advocates some of the best minds in the country, I shall be expected to assign some reasons for the faith I enter¬ tain. From this I shall not shrink. I proceed there¬ fore to express such objections to the use of prizes, as * It may be well to remind the reader that I have used the term Prizes here in contradistinction from a system of Rewards, by which the teacher proposes to give some token of his regard to every one who does well,—and the more brilliant success of a few does not necessarily preclude others from participating in the favor according to their merit. Of such a system of Rewards I shall have something to say presently. EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 129 Prize becomes the leading motive.—Engenders rivalry. have been suggested to my mind by my own experi¬ ence, and confirmed by the experience and observation of others in whom I have great confidence. I. The offer of a prize gives undue prominence to a comparatively unworthy object. It practically teaches the child to undervalue the higher reward of a good conscience, and a love of learning for its own sake. The dazzling medal is placed in the foreground of his field of vision ; and it is very likely to eclipse those less showy but more abiding rewards found in a sense of duty and a desire to be qualified for usefulness. In studying his lesson he thinks of the prize. He studies that he may merely recite well ; for it is a good recitation that wins the prize. He thinks not of duty, or of future usefulness; the prize outshines all other objects. II. The pursuit of a prize engenders a spirit of rivalry among the pupils. Rivalry in pursuit of an object which only one can attain, and which all others must lose, must end in exultation on the part of the winner, and disappointment and envy on the part of the losers. It may be said, this ought not to be so; but seldom can it be said, that it is not so. Such is human nature, and such it ever will be. Unpleasant feelings— sometimes concealed, to be sure—but generally ex¬ pressed in unequivocal terms—grow out of the award of almost every school prize, and sometimes continue to exert their baleful influence through life. Now as long as human nature brings forth unlovely traits almost spontaneously, such direct efforts to cultivate them 9 130 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. The few only are stimulated.—Exceptions.—In spite of the system. surely are not called for. It is the part of wisdom, then, to omit such culture and avoid such results, espe¬ cially when safer means are so accessible. III. The hope of gaining the prize stimulates only the few, while the many become indifferent. This is admitted to be true even by the advocates of the prize system. Let a prize be offered in any class as a reward for the best scholarship, and in a very few days it be¬ comes perfectly obvious to all who the two or three are that will be likely to outstrip all the others. These two or three will be stimulated to exertion ; but the strife is left entirely to them. All others, despairing of success, resolve at once to “ let their moderation be known to all men and since the prize has been made so prominent an object, they cannot be expected now to look at any thing above and beyond it. Feeling that they are not likely to participate in the honors of the class, they have but little disposition to share in its toils. This to be sure is not always so. There are some, who, ceasing to strive for the prize, toil for the more substantial blessing—a good education,—and in the end come out the best scholars. This is the way indeed most of our strong men are made ; for it has long been remarked that the prize scholars in our schools, and even in our colleges, do not usually be¬ come the most distinguished men. On the other hand, many of them are never heard of after receiving their honors. But, though some of the slower scholars do thus hit upon the true path to eminence, it is not to be EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 131 Why prize scholars finally fail.—The teacher should reach all. set to the credit of the system ; they rise in spite of the system rather than by virtue of it; while the ulti¬ mate failure of the prize scholars is usually directly attributable to the defect of the system ; for having been unduly stimulated to study solely with reference to recitation , and not with regard to future usefulness, their memories have been developed out of all propor¬ tion to the other faculties of their minds ; and, though they may have been very good reciters, they have no power to become independent thinkers. Under differ¬ ent training they might have become strong men. But to look no further than the school, the remark holds true in general, that prizes stimulate the few, and the many become indifferent not only to prizes, but to other and better motives. That system of incentives only can be approved, which reaches and influences successfully all the mind subjected to its operation. Nor is this an unimportant consideration. It is not sufficient praise for a teacher that he has a few good scholars in his school. Almost any teacher can call out the talent of the active scholars and make them brilliant reciters. The highest merit, however, lies in reaching all the pupils, the dull as well as the active, and in making the most of them, or rather in leading them to make the most of themselves. It should be remembered of every child, that the present is his only opportunity of being a child, and of receiv¬ ing the training appropriate to childhood ; and that teacher who rests satisfied with a system that does not reach the many, while he amuses himself and his visit- 132 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. Difficulty in awarding the prize.—Judges disagree.—A fact. ors with the precocity of a few of his most active scholars, is recreant to his responsible trust. IV. There is much difficulty in awarding the prize so as to do strict justice to all. So many things are to be taken into the account in order to determine the excellence of a performance compared with others, that some particulars are very likely to be overlooked. Those who are called to judge of the results often dis¬ agree among themselves. The following anecdote will illustrate this. Three literary gentlemen were appoint¬ ed to select the best from several compositions, pre¬ sented by a class, who had written them in competition for a gold medal. Each of the gentlemen carefully read the whole number in private, and conscientiously selected the best according to his judgment. When they came together to compare results, it was found that each man had selected the best , but that no two had selected the same ! They carefully read and com¬ pared the three, and still each insisted that his original choice was the best. After much debate and consid¬ erable delay, one of the parties being obliged to go to his business, relieved himself from a painful detention, and his friends from a perplexing doubt, by saying he believed the composition he had selected was the best t but, as he could not stop to claim its rights, he would yield them in favor of the second best in the hands of one of his associates. This ended the dispute, and the action in favor of the successful one, was declared to be unanimous ! This only proves how difficult it is to decide ; and v EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 133 The parties dissatisfied.—Various external aids: exemplified. in the case just cited, it might well be asked, why should one of these competitors be held up to the mul¬ titude to be applauded and admired, and the others sent back to their classes covered with the shame of a failure ? What principle of justice sanctioned this decision ? Nor is this a solitary instance. It rarely happens that the case is perfectly clear. There is usually much perplexity about it; and hence one reason why the decision seldom satisfies the friends of the parties either in the school or at home. But other considerations besides the intrinsic merits of the per formance are to be taken into account in awarding a prize ; as, 1. A difference in the external facilities which the competitors enjoy for getting the lessons. One pupil may be the son of poverty, and be compelled to labor during all the hours out of school; another may be in easy circumstances, and have nothing to prevent giving undivided attention to study during the whole day. One may be the child of parents who have no power to render assistance by way of explaining a difficult point; while the other may have all his doubts removed at once by parental aid. One may never even be encour¬ aged by a kind word at home; another is constantly urged to effort, and perhaps not allowed to be idle. One may have access to no books but his school- manuals ; the other may have at his command a large library. This difference in circumstances should be taken into the account; but it never can be fully un¬ derstood by those who are called to decide. 134 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. Improper means used.—An “ authoress !” 2. The improper means which may have been em ployed to secure the prize. Ambition when aroused is not always scrupulous of its means. One competitor may be highminded; may enter the arena determined to succeed by an honorable strife; may resolve 1° succeed by his own exertions, or to fail rather than bring in any thing which is not the fruit of his own study. Another, regardless of honor or principle, re¬ solves only to succeed , whatever it may cost; hesitates not to copy from others if possible, or to apply to a brother in college or some friend in the High School to furnish the difficult solution, prepared to order. One young lady spends days and nights in arranging the glowing thoughts for her composition, determined if industry, study, good taste, and a careful application of the rules of rhetoric can effect any thing, that her production shall be worthy of a prize. Another, in no way distinguished for scholarship, industry, or honor, writes a careless letter to a married sister in a distant city, invoking her aid. In due time the mail brings an elegant essay. It is copied with sufficient accuracy to be read, and at the examination takes the prize ! The fair ‘ authoress' stands forth and is flattered before the multitude,—is perhaps made to believe that she is worthy of praise ; she grasps the golden bauble, and, covered with the blushes of modesty, receives the con¬ gratulations and caresses of friends, and is afterwards reputed a good scholar. Her competitors meantime become convinced that effort cannot rival genius; they are mortified to think they have presumed to enter the EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 135 Abuses.—System unsafe.—Success overrated. arena with native talent, and become disheartened as to any future attempt. Now where is the justice in all this proceeding? Yet this is not fiction ; it is history ! If such abuses— abuses that might well make an angel weep, revealing, as they do, that woman’s heart can be thus sold to deception—are the accompaniments of a prize system, may we not well doubt the utility of that system ? Yet who can know either the different facilities enjoyed by the competitors, or the want of principle in some of them ? Who can enter the secret chambers of the mind or the heart, and estimate with any accu¬ racy the just amount of merit in any action ? This is God’s prerogative ; while “ man looketh only on the outward appearance.” My inference then is: A sys¬ tem can hardly he safe which is so uncertain. V. The prize rewards success, not effort ; tal¬ ent, not worth. Every one knows that in estimating the value and virtue of an action, the motive which prompted it, and the effort it necessarily cost, should be taken into the account. Every one knows, too, that success in study is by no means a criterion by which to judge of the merits of the scholar. Some learn their lessons with great facility and with but little effort; others study long and patiently without any brilliant results. One competitor for a prize may bring results which have cost him midnight toil and the most unre- miuing perseverance ; another with brighter parts, and with but little labor, is able to surpass him, and takes the medal. Now the former deserves in a far higher 136 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. But God rewards.—How ?—Studying for a prize only. degree the encouragement of the reward ; yet it is given to him who has the talent but who lacks the industry. The rule of Scripture which announces that “ to whom much is given, of him shall much be required ,” is violated, and he is rewarded for producing but little more than the one to whom little is given. It is often urged by those who advocate a system of prizes and rewards, that God rewards ; and therefore ft is at least justifiable that we should imitate his ex¬ ample. I admit that God, in his government, does reward ; but he rewards effort rather than success ; he “ looketh upon the heart” as man cannot do, and re¬ wards worth, not talent. We might, indeed, imitate his example, if we had less frailty, and were not so liable to be imposed upon by the outward appearance. God indeed rewards men ; but he estimates the secret intention, seeing the inward springs of thought before they find expression in words or actions. He regards the motive, and holds out for the encouragement of the humblest child of earth, who does the best he can, as rich a crown of glory, as he does for those whose out¬ ward circumstances, in the eyes of mortals, are more auspicious. When man can as wisely and as righte¬ ously bestow his prizes and rewards, there will be far less objection to their use. VI. The pupil who studies for a prize as his chief motive, will seldom continue to study when the prize is withdrawn. This is so obvious as scarcely to need illustration. If it be necessary to add any thing to the mere statement of the fact, an appeal to almost univer- EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 137 Argument perverted.—“ He is studying for the prize.” sal experience would confirm it. A teacher who has depended upon prizes in a school, finds it very difficult to awaken an interest there when he withdraws the prize. Hence many have, on trying the experiment of abandoning the prize system, become discouraged, and have returned again to the use of prizes, believing them essential to their success. Thus the very argument which shows most clearly their pernicious tendency, is made a reason for continuing them. As before hinted, the prize scholars in our academies, and even our col¬ leges, are seldom distinguished men in after-life,—a fact that speaks conclusively on this point. But it can scarcely be necessary to spend words to prove a truth almost self-evident. VII. By the prize system , the influence of the good example of some of the best pupils , is lost upon the school. All who have taught, know how important this influence is to the success of the school. It tells with resistless power upon the other scholars, wherever it exists, unless some unworthy motive can be assigned for it. But under the prize system, let a teacher appeal to the example of his best scholars, and the reply is, “ Oh, yes, he behaves well, or he studies diligentjy, but he is trying to get the prize.” With this understanding, his example becomes pow¬ erless, unless, indeed, there may be a disposition to be unlike him in every thing. It is believed this is a consideration of considerable importance. I have thus assigned, at some length, the reasons jvhy I should discountenance, among the incentives I 138 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. System of rewards.—Not necessary.—Why not ? of the school, the use of Prizes. As to the use of “ Rewards ,” when they are made so numerous that every one who is really deserving may receive one,— and when the basis of their distribution is not talent, not success merely, but good intention and praise¬ worthy effort,—I have much less to say. As expres¬ sions of the teacher’s interest in the children, and of his approval of their well-doing, they may serve a good end. Perhaps there is no very strong objection to them in principle ; though if the teacher subjects himself to the necessary outlay in the purchase of them, it may become burdensome to him. I may add, however, that I do not think rewards are ne cessary to the teacher’s success. I should prefer to do without them. It is possible to produce such a feeling in the schoolroom, that the approving con¬ science of the child, and the commendatory smile of the teacher, shall be the richest of all rewards. These come without money and without price, and may always be freely and safely bestowed, wherever there is a good intention exhibited by the child. That is the most healthy state of things where these are most prized. As children whose parents begin early to hire them to do their duty, are seldom ready after¬ wards to render their cheerful service as an act of filial obligation, whenever the pay is withheld,—sc children at school, who have been accustomed to expect a reward, seldom pursue their studies as cheerfully when that expectation is cut off. EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 139 Safe incentives.—Approbation of friends. SECTION III.-PROPER INCENTIVES. In what has already been said, it has been more than hinted that there are higher attributes than emu¬ lation, which the teacher should address, and which, if he is successful in calling them into exercise, will be quite sufficient to ensure the proper application of his pupils to their studies. They have the merit, moreover, of being safe. They do not unduly stim¬ ulate the intellectual, at the expense of the moral faculties. Their very exercise constitutes a healthy growth of the moral nature. Some of these I may briefly allude to. I. A DESIRE TO GAIN THE APPROBATION OF THEIR parents and teacher. The love of approbation is as universal in the human mind as emulation. Not one in a thousand can be found who does not possess it. Within proper limits, it is a desirable trait in human character. It is, to be sure, one of the selfish propen¬ sities ; but among them all, it is the most innocent. Carried to an extreme, it would lead its possessor to crave the good opinion of the bad as well as of the good, and to become an obsequious seeker after popularity. This, of course, is to be deprecated. But there can be no danger of this extreme, as long as the approbation of parens and teachers is the object aimed at. It implies in the child a respect for the opinions, and a confidence in the justice of his parents and teachers ; and hence it implies in him a 140 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. “ Twice blest.”—Desire to advance,—to be useful. generous desire to please, as a condition of being commended by them. In this sense, the love of approbation may be appealed to by the teacher. He perhaps need not frequently use the language of praise. It will gen¬ erally be sufficient, if the smile of approval beams forth in his countenance. If he is judicious as well as just, this boon soon becomes a precious one to the child. It is a reward, moreover, which “ is twice blest; It blesseth him who gives and him who takes.” II. A desire of advancement. This is emula¬ tion in its good sense. It leads the child, as befote remarked, to compare his present standing and attain¬ ments with what they should be, and to desire to surpass himself. This is ever commendable. Man was made for progress ; and it is no unworthy aspi¬ ration, when this desire fires the youthful breast. The teacher, then, may appeal to this desire, may kindle it into a. flame even, with safety,—because it is a flame that warms without consuming that on which it feeds. III. A desire to be useful. The good teacher should never fail to impress upon the child that the object of his being placed on earth, was that he might be of some use to the world by which he is surrounded. “ No man liveth to himself, and no man dieth to him¬ self.” He can be thus useful by storing the mind with knowledge and the heart with right affections. He EXCITING INTERES IN STUDY. 141 Future application of knowledge.—Desire to do right. may be reminded of the connection between his present studies, and the pursuits of life to which they may be applied. Some judicious hint at the future application of any branch is always a good preparation of the mind to pursue it. If there is a definite object in view, there will always be more alacrity in the labor of study ; and this may be made to influence the young pupil as well as the more advanced. It is no small thing for the child if he can be early made to feel that he is living to some purpose. IV. A desire to do right. This, in other words, is a disposition to obey conscience by conforming to the will of God. This indeed is the highest and holi¬ est of all the motives to human action. In its fullest sense it constitutes the fundamental principle of a reli¬ gious character. The teacher should most assiduously cultivate in the child a regard for this principle. God has implanted the conscience in every child of earth, that it should early be made use of to regulate the con¬ duct. That teacher is either grossly ignorant or madly perverse, who disregards the conscience, while he ap¬ peals alone to the selfishness of the young, and thus practically teaches that moral obligation is a nullity ; that the law of God—so beautifully expounded by the Saviour—“ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,” and “ Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”—is of little consequence ; and that the injunction of the apostle—“ Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God,” is as good as obsolete. 142 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. Conscience active in childhood.—Sense of obligation. In early childhood the conscience is most active. It needs, to be sure, at that period to be enlightened ; but if the teachings of Revelation are made plain to the child, he seldom disregards them. The teacher has at this period very much to do, as I have before said in the chapter on Responsibility of Teachers; and he cannot neglect his duty without the most aggravated culpability. The point I urge here, is, that he should use these motives as incentives to study. The child can be made to feel that he owes the most diligent efforts for improvement to his teacher, who daily labors for his improvement; to his parents, who have kindly supplied his wants, and have provided the means for his cultivation ; to society, whose privileges he may enjoy, and to which he is bound to make a return by becom¬ ing an intelligent and useful member of it; to himself, as a rational and immortal being, capable of unbounded enjoyment or untold misery, just in proportion as he pre¬ pares himself for either ; and above all to his Creator, by whose bounty he lives, surrounded with friends and blessed with opportunities, which are denied to millions of his fellow-beings,—by whose gracious providence he has been endowed with faculties and capabilities making him but little lower than the angels, and which he is bound to cultivate for usefulness and for heaven,—by whose mercy he has been supplied, as millions have not, with the word of God, to guide his mind to things above, and with the influences of Christian society, to cheer him in his path to heaven ;—above all, I repeat, should the child be taught to feel that he owes to God his best EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 143 The pleasure of acquisition.—Acquirements of three years. efforts to make the most of all his powers for time and eternity. If this can be done, (and I believe to a great extent it can be done,) there will be no need of a resort to those questionable incentives found in exciting chil¬ dren to outstrip their fellows by prizes and rewards ; while in this very process the foundation of a good moral training will be laid, without which the perfect structure of a noble character can never be reared in later life. To the motives already alluded to, if it be necessary to add another, I would urge, V. The pleasure of acquisition. This is often underrated by teachers. Our Creator has not more universally bestowed a natural appetite for the food which is necessary for the growth of the body, than he has a mental longing for the food of the mind ; and as he has superadded a sensation of pleasure to the neces¬ sary act of eating, so he has made it a law of the mind to experience its highest delight while in the act of re¬ ceiving the mental aliment. Whoever has observed childhood with an attentive eye, must have been im¬ pressed with the wisdom of God in this arrangement. Iiow much tbe child acquires within the first three years after its birth ! He learns a difficult language with more precision than a well-educated adult for¬ eigner could learn it in the same time ; yet language is not his only or his chief study. During these same three years, he makes surprising advances in general knowledge. He seeks an intimate acquaintance with all the physical objects by which he is surrounded. 144 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. Mr. Mann quoted.—The blind and the dumb. The size, form, color, weight, temperature, and use of each are investigated by the test of his own senses, or ascertained by innumerable inquiries. His ideas of height and distance, of light and heat, of motion and velocity, of cause and effect, are all well defined. He has made no mean attainments in morals. He com prehends the law of right and wrong so that his deci sions may well put to the blush his superiors in age ; and unless grossly neglected, he has learned the duty of obedience to parents and reverence towards God. Now all this amazing progress has been made, because of the irrepressible curiosity with which God has en¬ dowed him, and the unspeakable delight he experiences in acquiring the knowledge which gratifies it. All must have noticed the delight with which the child grasps a new idea ; but few have been able so eloquently to describe it, as it is done by Mr. Mann. “ Mark a child,” says he, “ when a clear, well-defined, vivid conception seizes it. The whole nervous tissue vibrates. Every muscle leaps. Every joint plays. The face becomes auroral. The spirit flashes through the body like lightning through a cloud.” “ Observe, too, the blind, the deaf, and the dumb. So strong is their inborn desire for knowledge,—such are the amazing attractive forces of their minds for it, that although the natural inlets, the eye. and the ear, are closed, yet they will draw it inward, through the solid walls and encasements of the body. If the eye be cur¬ tained with darkness, it will enter through the ear. If the ear be closed in silence, it will ascend along the EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 145 This pleasure abates in after life.—Mind may be surfeited. nerves of touch. Every new idea that enters into the presence of the sovereign mind, carries offerings of delight with it, to make its coming welcome. Indeed, our Maker created us in blank ignorance, for the very purpose of giving us the boundless, endless pleasure of learning new things.” It is, of course, not to be expected that the same degree of pleasure will attend the learner in every acquisition as the novelty diminishes, and as he ad¬ vances in age. The bodily appetite is less keen in after life than in childhood, so that the adult may never realize again to the full extent the delicious flavors which regaled him in his earliest years. Still there will ever be a delight in acquisition; and to carry our illustration a little further,—as the child is soonest cloyed whose stomach is surfeited with dainties, and stimulated with condiments, and pampered with sweet¬ meats, till his taste has lost its acumen and digestion becomes a burden ; so the mental appetite is soonest destroyed, when, under the unskillful teacher, it is overloaded with what it can neither digest nor dis¬ gorge. The mind may be surfeited; and then no wonder if it loaths even the wholesome aliment. Arti¬ ficial stimulants, in the shape of prizes, and honors, and flattery, and fear, and shame, may have impaired its functions, so that it ceases to act except under their excitement. But all must see that these are unnatural conditions, superinduced by erroneous treatment. There is still a delight in acquisition , just as soon as the faculties are aroused to the effort; and the skillful 10 146 EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. A desire to know.—Instance of God’s wisdom and goodness. teacher will strive to wake up the mind to find this delight,—and if he understands his work, he will scarcely need a stronger incentive. If he understands the secret of giving just so much instruction as to excite the learner’s curiosity, and then to leave him to discover and acquire for himself, he will have no necessity to use any other means as stimulants to exertion. To this might be added that irrepressible curiosity , that all-pervading desire to know , which is found in the mind of every child. The mind, as if conscious of its high destiny, instinctively spreads its unfledged wings in pursuit of knowledge. This, with some chil- * dren, is an all-sufficient stimulant to the most vigorous exertion. To this the teacher may safely appeal. In¬ deed, it is a convincing proof of the wisdom as well as the goodness of God, that this desire to know, as well as the delight of acquisition , are the most active at that early period of childhood, when a just apprecia¬ tion of the utility of knowledge, and the higher motives already detailed, could scarcely find a lodgement in the tender mind. It seems to be, therefore, an indisputable dictate of our very nature, that both these principles should be early employed as incentives. If, then, the desire of the approval of parents and teachers,—the desire of advancement,—the desire to be useful,—and the desire to do right, can be superadded to the natural love in the child for acquisition, and a natural desire to know , there will, as I believe, be but little occasion to look further for incentives to exertion EXCITING INTEREST IN STUDY. 147 A scholium. in the pupil; and I may venture to add, as a scholium to what has already been said, that the teacher who has not yet learned to call into exercise these higher motives, and to rely for success mainly upon them, and who dares not abandon the system of exciting stimulants for fear of a failure, has yet much to learn as a true educator of the young. 148 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Order necessary in school.— Self-government in the teacher. CHAPTER IX. SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. It is not necessary that any space in this work should be occupied in speaking of the importance of order in our schools. Everybody who has written or spoken on this subject, has conceded the necessity of obedience on the part of the pupil. “ Order is heaven’s first law and it is scarcely more Essen¬ tial to the harmony of heaven, than it is to the happi¬ ness and success of the school. If such be the necessity of order in the school, then the ability to secure and maintain it is no mean part of the qualification of the good teacher. It is lament¬ able that so many fail in this particular; and yet this frequent failure can in most cases be traced to some defect in the constitutional temperament, or some de¬ ficiency in the mental or moral culture of the teacher himself. It shall be my first object, then, to point out some of the SECTION I.-REQUISITES IN THE TEACHER FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT. I. Self-government. It has frequently been said that no man can govern others till he has learned to SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 149 Angry passions.—Manner.—Levity and moroseness. govern himself. I have no doubt of the truth of this, [f an individual is not perfectly self-possessed, his decisions must fail to command respect. The self- government of the teacher should be complete, in the following particulars: 1. .4$ to the passion of anger. The exhibition of mger always detracts from the weight of authority. A man under its influence is not capable of doing strict justice to his pupils. Before entering upon teaching, therefore, a man should somehow obtain the mastery over his temper, so that under any provocation he car control it. He should consider that in school his pa tience will often be severely tried. He should not expect, indeed, that the current of affairs in school will for a single day run perfectly smooth. He should, therefore, prepare for the worst, and firmly resolve that, whatever unpleasant thing shall occur, it shall not take him entirely by surprise. Such forethought will give him self-command. If, however, from his past experience, and from the nature of his tempera¬ ment, he is satisfied he cannot exercise this self-control, he may be assured he is the wrong man to engage in teaching. A man who has not acquired thorough ascendancy over his own passions, is an unsafe man to be intrusted with the government of children. 2. As to levity and moroseness of manner. Either extreme is to be avoided. There are some teachers who exhibit such a frivolity in all their intercourse with their pupils, that they can never command them with authority, or gain their cordial respect. This is a 150 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Ridiculous assumption of smartness.—Mr. Abbot’s case. grievous fault; and the teacher should at once find an antidote for it, by serious reflection upon the responsi¬ bility of his position. If this will not cure it, nothing else can. There are others who are characterized by a per¬ petual peevishness , so that a pleasant word from them is indeed a strange thing. They can never expect to gain the affections of their pupils ; and without secu¬ ring the love of children, the government of them will never be of the right kind. This habit of snappishness should be broken up at once. There are some very young teachers, who some¬ times assume one or the other of these peculiar modes of address, or perhaps both, to be used alternately,— fancying that they will gain popularity by the one, or give themselves greater authority by the other. This is a very mistaken notion; for children have more discernment than most men give them credit for, and they usually see directly through such a flimsy dis¬ guise,—and the teacher becomes ridiculous rather than great in their estimation, whenever he takes any such false position. Mr. Abbot, in his “Teacher,” states a fact which well illustrates this point. “ Many years ago,” says he, “ when I was a child, the teacher of the school where my early studies were performed, closed his connection with the establishment, and, after a short vacation, another was expected. On the appointed day the boys began to collect, some from curiosity, at an early hour, and many speculations were started as SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 151 “ Take off your hats.”—Treatment of peculiar pupils. to the character of the new instructor. We were standing near a table with our hats on,—and our posi¬ tion, and the exact appearance of the group is indelibly fixed on my memory,—when a small and youthful- looking man entered the room and walked up towards us. Supposing him to be some stranger, or rather, not making any supposition at all, we stood looking at him as he approached, and were thunder-struck at hearing him accost us with a stern voice, and sterner brow :— ‘Take off your hats! Take off your hats, and go to your seats.’ The conviction immediately rushed upon our minds that this must be the new teacher. The first emotion was that of surprise, and the second was that of the ludicrous; though I believe we contrived to smother the laugh until we got out into the open air.” The t^ue rule is to act the part which is agreeable to nature. The teacher having gained the self-command just insisted upon, and having in him the spirit of kindness and a desire to be useful, should assume nothing unnatural for effect. His manner should be truly dignified, but courteous. 3. As to his treatment of those pupils that are may-ked hy some peculiarity . There will usually be some pu¬ pils who are very backward, and perhaps very dull,— or who may have some physical defect, or some mental eccentricity. The teacher should be able to govern himself in all his remarks concerning such pupils. lie should avoid all allusion to such singularities before the school ; and it is the height of injustice—I was 152 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Injustice.—Self-reliance,—not blind presumption. about to say, of malevolence—for him ever to use those low and degrading epithets so often found upon the teacher’s tongue,—such as dunce, thickskull, and the like. Is it not misfortune enough for a child to be backward or dull, without having the pain and mortification increased by the cruelty of an unfeeling teacher ? The teacher should take a special interest in such children ; he should endeavor to enter into the feelings of their parents, and to treat them in such a way as to encourage rather than crush them. II. A CONFIDENCE IN HIS ABILITY TO GOVERN. We can generally do what we firmly believe we can do. At any rate, a man is more likely to succeed in any enterprise, when he has the feeling of self-reliance. The teacher, by reflection upon the importance of good government to his success, and by a careful study of the means to be employed and the motives to be pre¬ sented, should be able to bring himself to the determi¬ nation to have good order in his school, and so fully to believe he can have it, that his pupils shall detect no misgivings in him on this point. Whenever they dis¬ cover that he has doubts of his success in governing, they will be. far more ready to put his skill to the test. It would be better that a young teacher should decline to take a difficult school, rather than enter it without the full belief of his ability to succeed. I would not wish to be understood by these remarks to be encour¬ aging an unreasonable and blind presumption. A con¬ fidence in one’s ability should be founded upon a reasonable estimate of his powers, compared with the SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 153 Views of government.—Not tyranny.—Uniform. difficulties to be overcome. What I recommend is, that the teacher should carefully weigh the difficulties, and candidly judge of his own resources, and then undertake nothing which he thinks is beyond his ability. If, after this, he believes he can succeed, other things being equal, success is almost certain. III. Just views of Government. 1 . It is not tyranny , exercised to please the one who governs, or to promote his own convenience. The despot com¬ mands for the sake of being obeyed. But government in its proper sense, is an arrangement for the general good ,—for the benefit of the governed as well as of the ruler. That is not good government which seeks any other object. The teacher should so view the matter ; and in establishing any regulations in school, he should always inquire whether they are suggested by a selfish regard to his own ease, or whether they spring from a sincere and disinterested wish to promote the improvement of the school. 2. He should see the necessity of making the government uniform ; that is, the same from day to day. If he punishes to-day what he tolerates to¬ morrow, he cannot expect the cordial respect of his pupils. Some teachers, not having learned the art of self-government, take counsel too much of their own feelings. To-day they are in good health and spirits, and their faces are clothed in sunshine ; the}r can smile at any thing. To-morrow, suffering under bad digestion, or the want of exercise, or the want of sleep, the thunder-storm hovers about their brow, 154 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Equality.—No aristocracy in school.—No partiality. ready to burst upon the first offender. Wo to the luckless wight who does not seasonably discover this change in the condition of the weather. A teacher cannot long respect himself who is thus capricious ; he may be sure his school will not long respect him. 3. He should so view government as to make it equal; that is, equal in its application to the whole school,—the large as well as small scholars, the males as well as females. This is often a great fault with teachers. They raise up a sort of aristo¬ cracy in their schools, a privileged class, a miniature nobility. They will insist that the little boys and^ girls shall abstain from certain practices,—whispering, for instance,—and most promptly punish the offenders, while they tolerate the same thing among the larger pupils. This is cowardly in itself, and as impolitic as it is cowardly. The teacher makes a great mistake who begins his government with the small children, in the hope of frightening the larger ones into obe¬ dience. He should have the manliness and the justice to begin with the larger pupils ; the smaller ones never resist, when authority is established with those above them. Besides this, the very class who are thus indulged, are the very ones who soonest despise, and justly too, the authority of the teacher. He should make his government impartial in every respect. He should have no favorites—no preferences, based upon the outward circumstances of the child, his family, or his personal altractions 5 and the like. The SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 55 Views of the governed.—Reason.—Affection.—Conscience. rich and the poor should be alike to the teacher. He should remember that each child has a soul; and it is with the soul, and not with the wealth of this world, that he has to do. He should remember that a gem, as bright as a sunbeam, is often concealed under a rough exterior. It should be his work, nay his delight —to bring out this gem from its hiding-place, and apply to it the polish of a “ workman that needeth not to be ashamed.” IV. Just views of the Governed. Notwith¬ standing the imperfection of human nature, as devel¬ oped in the young, they have some redeeming qualities. They are intelligent and reasonable beings. They have more or less love of approbation ; they have affection, and, above all, they have a moral sense. All these qualities are considerably developed before they enter the school. The teacher should remember this, and prepare himself to address, as far as may be, all these. Love of approbation , as we have before seen, is not an unworthy motive to be addressed, and it is well known that many children are very easily controlled by it. It is not the highest motive, to be sure, nor is it the lowest. The affection for a teacher, which many children will exercise, is one of the most powerful instrumentalities in governing them with ease. The conscience , early trained, is all-powerful. I allude to these principles of action once more, in order to say that the peculiar character of each should be well studied by the teacher. He should under¬ stand the human mind so well as to be able to find 156 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Decision.—Firmness. —The unjust judge. ihe avenues to these better parts of the child’s nature, remembering that whenever several ways are presented of doing the same thing, it is always wise to choose the best. V. Decision and Firmness. By decision , I mean a readiness to determine and to act in any event just as duty seems to dictate ; a willingness to take the responsibility just as soon as the way is plain. By firmness , is meant that fixedness of 'purpose which resolutely carries out a righteous decision. Both of these qualities are essential to good government in the teacher. Much time is often lost by a teacher’s vacillating when action is more important. Besides, if the pupils discover that the teacher hesitates, and dreads to take any responsibility, they very soon lose their respect for him. I would not urge that a teacher should act hastily. He never should decide till he is confident he decides right; any delay is better than hasty error. But his delay, in all matters of govern¬ ment, should have reference to a true knowledge of his duty ; when that is clearly known, he should be decided. Many teachers suffer in their government, for want of firmness. They act upon the principle of personal convenience, as did the unjust judge mentioned in the parable. “ And he would not for a while ; but after¬ wards he said within himself, Though I fear not God nor regard man ; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will arise and avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.” How often we hear some- SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 157 A practical example.—Philosophizing.—Conclusion. thing like this in the schoolroom. “ May I go and drink ?”■—-says James, in a peculiarly imploring tone. “ No,” says the teacher, promptly, and evidently with¬ out any reflection as to the decision he has made. James very composedly sits down, eyeing the counte¬ nance of the teacher expressively, as much as to say, “ I’ll try you again soon.” Before long he observes the teacher quite busy with a class, and he again pops the question : “ May I go and drink ?” Stung at the moment with impatience at the interruption, the teacher answers instantly and emphatically, “ No, no, James, sit down.” James still watches his teacher’s expres¬ sion, and cannot discover there any signs of a mind seeking the path of duty, and he silently thinks to himself, “ the third time never fails.” So, after a minute or two, when the teacher is somewhat puzzled with a knotty question, and is on the point of nibbing a pen besides,—“ May I go and drink, sir V' again rings upon the teacher’s ear. “ Yes, yes, yes ! do go along; I suppose you'll keep asking till you get it .” Now James goes to drink, and then returns to philosophize upon this matter, perhaps as follows : —“ I don’t believe he stopped to think whether I needed drink or not; therefore hereafter I shall never believe he really means no, when he says it. He acts without thought. I have also found that if I will but ask several times, I shall get it. So I shall know how to proceed next time.”—I do not know that any child would express this thought in so many 158 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. A better way.—Moral and religious principle. words; but the impression upon his mind is none the less distinct. Now the teacher should carefully consider the ques tion addressed to him. How long since this child had water ? Can it be necessary for him to drink so often ? Then let the answer be given mildly, but decidedly— “ No, James.” The very manner, quite likely, will settle the question, so that James will not ask again. The answer once given should be firmly adhered to. Tt would even be better that James should suffer for the want of water than for the want of confidence in his teacher’s firmness. In this way the teacher would establish his word with the school in a very few days ; and his pupils would soon learn that with him “ no means no,” and “ yes means yes”—a matter of no small importance to the teacher of a school. VI. Deep Moral Principle. The teacher should ever be a conscientious man; and in nothing is this more necessary than in the exercise of good government In this matter the teacher can never respect himself when he acts from caprice or selfishness. His inquiry should be, What is right? What is justice—justice to my pupils—to myself? And if he could add to moral obligation the high sanctions of religious principle, and could habitually and sincerely turn his thoughts to his Maker, with the heartfelt inquiry—What wilt tiiou have me to do ?—then he would seldom err in the dis¬ charge of this trust. His pupils, seeing that he acted from fixed and deep principle, would respect his hon¬ esty, even if he should cross their desires. SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 159 First impressions.—Respect precedes attachment. Having now dwelt at some length upon the requisites in the teacher for good government , I shall next pro¬ ceed to present some of the SECTION II-MEANS OF SECURING GOOD ORDER. 1. Be careful as to the first impression you make. It is an old proverb, that “ what is well be¬ gun is half done.” This holds true in school-keeping, and particularly in school-government. The young study character very speedily and very accurately. Per¬ haps no one pupil could express in words an exact estimate of a teacher’s character after a week’s ac¬ quaintance ; but yet the whole school has received an impression which is not far from the truth. A teacher, then, is very unwise who attempts to assume to be any thing which he is not. He should ever be frank; and in commencing a school he should begin as he can hold out. Any assumption of an authoritative tone is especially ill-judged. The pupils at once put themselves in an attitude of resistance, when this is perceived by them. A teacher should ever remember that among children —however it may be among adults —respect always precedes attachment. If he would gain the love of the children, he must first be worthy of their respect. He should therefore act deliberately, and always conscien¬ tiously. He should be firm but never petulant. It is very important at the outset that he should be truly cour¬ teous and affable. It is much wiser to request than to command, at least until the request has been disregarded. 160 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. The rough and the gentle way.—Avoid the suspicious spirit. There are usually two ways of doing a thing,—a gentle and a rough way. “John, go and shut that door,” in a gruff tone, is one way to have a door closed. John will undoubtedly go and shut the door—perhaps with a slam ,—but he will not thank the teacher for the rough tones used in commanding it. Now it costs no more time or breath to say, “ John, I’ll thank you if you will shut that door.” Most cheerfully will John comply with the request, and he is grateful that he has heard these tones of kindness. If he could but know the teacher’s wishes afterward, he would gladly perform them unasked. I would by no means recommend the adoption of the fawning tone of the sycophant, Jdy the teacher. He should be manly and dignified ; but the language of that courtesy which springs from real kind¬ ness, and which ever becomes the gentleman, is always the most suitable as well as most expedient for him. II. Avoid exhibiting or entertaining a suspi¬ cious spirit. It is a maxim of law, that one charged with crime is always to be presumed innocent until proved guilty. This should be a maxim with the teacher who would govern well. There is no more direct way of making a school vicious, than by showing them that you suspect they are so. A good reputation is dear to all; and even a bad boy will be restrained from wicked acts as long as he thinks you give him credit for good intentions. But if he finds that he has lost your good opinion, he feels that he has nothing further to lose by being as bad as you suspect him to be. A teacher ia wise, therefore, if he tries to see something good even in SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 161 A bad boy saved.—Token of confidence.—Employment. a vicious pupil. It may be, as it often has been, the means of saving such a pupil. I have known a very depraved boy entirely reformed in school, by his teach¬ er’s letting him know that he had noticed some good traits in his character. He afterwards told his teacher that “ he had been so often suspected to be a villain, that he had almost come to the conclusion that he would be one; but that, when he found one man who could do him the justice to give him credit for a few good - feelings—(for he knew he had them)—he at once de¬ termined to show that man that his confidence had not been misplaced; and that he would sooner die than knowingly offend the only person who ever had under¬ stood him.” It is wise sometimes, not only to withhold the ex¬ pression of suspicion, but to give some token of your confidence to the pupil who is troublesome. Intrust him with some errand involving reponsibility, or assign to him some duty by way of assistance to yourself, and very likely you will gain his good-will ever after. This is founded upon the well-known principle in human nature acted upon by Dr. Franklin, who, when he would gain his enemy, asked him to do him a favor. III. As SOON AS POSSIBLE GIVE REGULAR AND FULL employment. It is an old proverb that “ idleness is the mother of mischief.” The nursery hymn also con¬ tains a living truth— “ And Satan finds some mischief still For idle hands to do.” It is the law of a child’s nature to be active ; and as 11 1(52 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT The teacher may enforce employm ent.—Few rules. _ the teacher is placed in the school to give direction to such minds, he can hardly complain of their going upon forbidden objects unless he seasonably provides something better for them to do. Very early, then, the teacher should endeavor to classify his school and furnish constant and full em¬ ployment—either of study, recitation, or relaxation— for every hour in the day. The teacher should have a plan when he opens the school, and the sooner it is carried into full operation the better.* Besides, when a teacher has given employment, he has a right to insist upon the pupil’s being engaged in study. Nobody will question this right; and it is far more profitable to require a positive duty than to enjoin a negative,— such as abstinence from whispering or from mischief in general. IV. Make but few rules. It is a very common thing for teachers to embarrass themselves by a long code of requirements and prohibitions. Some go so far as to write out a system of laws, and, annexing to each the penalty for its infringement, post them up in a conspicuous place in the schoolroom. Others content themselves with a verbal announcement of them, and rely upon the memories of the pupils to retain the de¬ tails of them and to govern themselves accordingly. This, it seems to me, is a great mistake. The multi¬ plicity of specific rules for the government of a school, will naturally lead to a multiplicity of offenses. Chil- * See Chap. x. of this work. SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 163 The world has been governed too much.—Do right. dren will be confused by the varying and sometimes conflicting demands of a formidable code of regulations, and in endeavoring to avoid Scylla will be likely to fall into Charybdis. It is believed by some honest states¬ men that “ the world has been governed too much and it is often alleged in support of this belief that successful compliance with the laws requires far more wisdom than was displayed in making them ; that is, the science of obedience is far more abstruse than the science of legislation ! Whether this be true in the civil world or not, I shall not attempt to decide ; I will only say that such has too often been the fact in the schoolroom. It is in my opinion the part of wisdom, and I think also the teaching of experience, that it is best to make but few rules. The great rule of duty, quoted once before, “ Do unto others as you would that they should do to you,” comprises quite enough to begin with. The direction—Do right, is a very comprehensive one. There is in children an ability to distinguish between right and wrong, upon which the teacher may ever rely ; and by insisting upon this as the standard, he daily brings into exercise the conscience of the child, who is called upon to decide, is this right ? Besides, if a school is to be governed by a code of laws, the pupils will act upon the principle that whatever is not proscribed is admissible. Consequently without in¬ quiring whether an act is right, their only inquiry will be, is it forbidden ? Now no teacher was ever yet so wise as to make laws for every case; the consequence 164 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Embarrassment in executing laws.—No discretion. is, he is daily perplexed with unforeseen troubles, or with some ingenious evasions of his inflexible code. In all this matter the worst feature is the fact, that the child judges of his acts by the law of the teacher rather than by the law of his conscience , and is thus in danger of perverting and blunting the moral sense. To this it may be added that the teacher will often find himself very much perplexed in attempting to judge the acts of his pupils by fixed laws, and in awarding to all violations of them a prescribed penalty. Cases will frequently occur in which two scholars will offend against a given prohibition, with altogether dif¬ ferent intentions,—the one having a good motive and forgetting the law ; the other with the law in his mind and having a wicked design to violate it. Now the written code with its prescribed penalty allows the teacher no discretion. He must maintain his law and punish both offenders, and thus violate his own sense of justice; or he must pass both by, and thus violate his word. He cannot excuse the one and punish the other, as justice would evidently demand, without set¬ ting at naught his own laws. An example will illustrate this point. A teacher has made a rule that “ any child who whispers without leave shall be feruled .” Now two little boys sit side by side. William is an amiable, obedient, and diligent little boy, who has never violated intentionally any wish of his teacher; while Charles is a sour-tempered, vicious, unprincipled fellow, who a dozen times within a week has sought to make his teacher trouble. Little SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 1G5 Illustration.—A dilemma. John, who sits near to William, drops his pencil, and it falls und«r William’s desk. John looks for his pencil on the right and left of his seat, grows anxious and perplexed. William has noticed him, and he carefully picks up the pencil, while he perhaps is looking for it in another direction,—and with the kind intention of relieving his neighbor’s anxiety and restoring his property, he touches his elbow, and softly whispers, “ Here is your pencil, John,”—then immediately re¬ sumes his own studies, and is probably entirely uncon¬ scious that he has violated any law. At the same instant the artful Charles, half concealing his face with his hand, with his wary eye turned to the teacher, wil¬ fully addresses another pupil on some point in no way connected with study or duty. The teacher sees both these cases, and calls the offenders to his desk. The one trembles, and wonders what he has done amiss, while the other perhaps prepares himself to deny his offense, and thus to add falsehood to his other sins. The rule awards to both the ferule. It is applied to Charles with energy, and with the conviction that he deserves it; but I ask, can a man with any sense of justice raise his hand to punish William ? If so, I see not how he can ever again hold converse with his own conscience. Yet the rule allows him no discretion. He must violate either the rule or his conscience ; and too often in such cases he chooses the latter alternative. Now my advice is, make but few rules , and never multiply them till circumstances demand it. The rule of right will usually be sufficient without any special 166 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Hint for young teachers.—Threatening.—Wake up mind. legislation ; and it has this advantage, that it leaves the teacher the largest discretion. • I have been thus full on this point, because so many fail here, and especially young teachers. It has cost many a young teacher much bitter experience to make this discovery for himself, and I have desired to save others who may hereafter engage in teaching, the pain and perplexity which they may so easily and so safely avoid. For similar reasons, I should also urge that the teacher should avoid the too common practice of threat¬ ening in his school. Threatening is usually resorted to as a means of frightening children into their duty,— and, too often, threats are made without any expectation of a speedy necessity either to execute or disregard them. The consequence is, they are usually more ex¬ travagant than the reality, and the teacher’s word soon passes at a discount; his threats are viewed as very much like the barking of a dog who has no intention to bite. As threatening is moreover the language of im¬ patience, it almost always leads to a loss of respect. V. Wake up mind in the school, and in the dis¬ trict. There is usually but very little trouble in government where the scholars are deeply engaged in their studies or school exercises, and especially if at the same time the feelings of the parents are enlisted. To this end I would recommend that early attention should be given to some efforts to wake up mind, such as have been described in a former section of this work. It will be found, when skilfully conducted, one of the SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 167 Varieties in school.—Vocal music.—German proverb. most successful instrumentalities in aid of good order and good, feeling in the school. An ingenious teacher, too, may introduce other varie¬ ties into the school exercises, and thus sometimes turn the attention of discontented pupils from some evil design to give him trouble. So long as the teacher keeps steadily the main object of his school in view, namely, progress in the studies, he is excusable if occa¬ sionally, to break up monotony and excite a deeper interest, he introduces a well-considered new plan of study or of recitation. Indeed, much of his success will depend upon his power to do this, and in nothing will its advantages appear more obviously than in the government of the school. A great portion of the dis¬ order and insubordination in our schools, has its origin in a want of interest in the school exercises. He is the successful teacher, and the successful disciplina¬ rian who can excite and maintain the necessary interest. As one of these varieties, I may mention the exercise of vocal music in school. I have already alluded to it As a means of keeping alive the interest in a school, it is very important. Music is the language of the heart, and though capable of being grossly perverted, (and what gift of God is not ?)—its natural tendency is to elevate the affections, to sooth the passions, and to refine the taste. “ The Germans have a proverb,” says Bishop Potter, “ which has come down from the days of Luther, that where music is not, the devil enters. As David took his harp, when he would cause the evil spirit to depart ](38 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Music in heaven.—Easily introduced in schools.—Visit parents. from Saul, so the Germans employ it to expel the obduracy from the hearts of the depraved. In their schools for the reformation of juvenile offenders, (and the same remark might be applied to those of our own country,) music has been found one of the most effect¬ ual means of inducing docility among the stubborn and vicious. It would seem that so long as any remains of humanity linger in the heart, it retains its susceptibility to music. And as proof that music is more powerful for good than for evil, is it not worthy of profound con¬ sideration that, in all the intimations which the Bible gives us of a future world, music is associated only with the employments and happiness of Heaven ?” Almost any teacher can introduce music into his school; because if he cannot sing, he will always find that it will only require a little encouragement to induce the scholars to undertake to conduct it themselves. It will consume but very little time, and it is always that time which, if not employed in singing, would otherwise be unemployed or misemployed. It is the united testi¬ mony of all who have judiciously introduced singing into their schools, that it is among the best instrumen¬ talities for the promotion of good feeling and good order. VI. Visit the parents of your scholars. I shall more particularly enjoin this, when I speak of the teacher's relation to his patrons , [chap. xi.:] but I cannot forbear in this place to urge it upon the teachei as one of the means of securing good order in school. A great deal of the insubordination in our schools, arises from some misunderstanding, or some dislike SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 1 G9 Reasons why.—Registers of credits.—Why credits. entertained by the parent towards the teacher, and spoken of in presence of the children. Whatever the pupils hear at home, they will be likely to exemplify in school. It should be the teacher’s first object to become acquainted with the parent, and to let him un¬ derstand, by a personal interview, all his plans and aims for the improvement of the school. This can be done best at the parent’s own fireside. It has often happened, that by a friendly visit of an hour by the teacher, the parent’s heart has been softened, his prejudices removed, his co-operation gained, and the cheerful and cordial obedience of his children in school secured. These visits should of course be made in the true spirit of the teacher. They should be made in the honest desire of his heart to render his labors more successful. A visit made in such a spirit seldom fails to make the parents personal friends ever after; and of course, in case of a collision afterwards between him and their children, this is a very important point. VII. Registers of Credits. Registers of the standing of pupils in their schools and their classes, are very highly recommended by some, whose experience is entitled to confidence. 1 am inclined to place this among the means of securing good order. I would recommend, however, that they should be registers of credits only. Some recommend the use of “ black marks” that is, the record of prominent faults and per¬ haps of punishments. My own experience teaches me that this is unwise. The teacher should not show a 170 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Government not the business of the teacher.—Mr. Howard’s remark. willingness to record and publish the faults of a pupil. He should, on the contrary, show a tender regard for his reputation. Besides, the child is less likely to be mindful of his duty, when his reputation is already blackened by his teacher. If Registers are to be kept at all, they should record the successes and virtues of the child rather than his failures and faults. And if, at the end of a week or a month, he is furnished with an abstract for the inspection of his parents, let it be so much of good character as he has earned for himself during the specified time. I confess I am less sanguine than many others as to the utility of the register, either as an incentive to obe- dience or diligence ; but if used at all, I think the above restriction is highly important. VIII. Avoid governing too much. By this I would be understood to urge upon the teacher the fact that his main business in school is instruction and noi gov¬ ernment. Government is a means and not the end of school-keeping. A very judicious and practical teacher —Mr. R. S. Howard—has well remarked : “ The real object to be accomplished, the real end to be obtained in school, is to assist the pupil in acquiring knowledge, —to educate the mind and heart. To effect this, good order is very necessary. But when order is made to take the place of industry, and discipline the place of instruction, where the time of both teacher and pupils is mostly spent in watching each other, very little good will be accomplished.” It is a mistake that many teachers fall into, that they SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 17'i An official visit.—“ Order, there!”—A scene. seem to regard government as their chief occupation ; and, as we should naturally expect in such cases, it is often very poorly exercised. That is not the best gov¬ ernment which is maintained as a matter of formal business. The noiseless under-current is far more efficient. I have always noticed that men govern best when they do not seem to govern; and those who make most effort and bustle about it themselves, are pretty sure to have the most boisterous schools. I once in company with a friend officially visited a school where the teacher, a man of strong frame—six feet high, and with lungs in proportion , was laboring to keep order. Every word he uttered was in a stento¬ rian voice which would have been painful to the pupils in a quiet room ; hence, they took care to keep up a constant clattering of books, slates, and rulers, mingled with the constant hum of their own voices, as if for self-defense. It seemed to be a mighty effort of each party to rise if possible above the noise of the other. “ Silence ! Order ! I say,” was constantly ejaculated in a voice that was almost sufficient, as Shakspeare’s Hamlet would say, to “ split the ears of the ground¬ lings.” One of the most ludicrous scenes I ever witnessed, occurred in this school during an exercise in English grammar. The class occupied the back seats, while the teacher stood by the desk in front of the school. The children between the teacher and his class were variously employed,—some manufacturing paper fly- boxes, some whittling the benches—(it was in New 172 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT Parsing!—A dialogue.—“ The Rule, sir.” England); some were trying their skill at a spit-ball warfare ; others were making voyages of exploration beneath the seats. The school, consisting of some seventy pupils, were as busy as the occupants of an ant-hill. The sentence to be parsed was, “ A good boy loves study.” No written description can present the scene as it was acted in real life. It should be borne in mind that every word spoken by the teacher, whether to the class or to the school, was in a tone of voice which might have been heard at least an eighth of a mile, and that every exclamation was accompanied by several energetic thumps of a large oaken * rule ’ upon the lid of his desk. The lan guage of the teacher is in italics. “ Mary, parse A.” “ A is an indefinite”—“ Silence ! Order there /”—“ ar¬ ticle. and is prefixed to”— “John !”—“No sir, it is prefixed to”—“ Martha , Martha! sit up ”—“it is pre¬ fixed to—boy.”—“ Right .”—“ Goody next ”—“ Good is an adjective,”—“ Order , Order, Order !”—thump, thump, thump !—“ Go on, go on, I hear you /”— thump, thump !—“ and belongs to”—“ Speak louder ! Sit up there ! What are *you doing ? And belongs to?”—“ boy.”—“ The Rule. The Rule ! I say.”— Here several children looked earnestly at the piece of timber he held in his hand.—“ The Rule, sir, the RuU ” —thump, thump !—“ You’ve got it in your hand,” vociferated a little harmless-looking fellow on thi? front seat, while the scholar proceeded to recite the rule.—“ Adjectives belong to”—“ Lazy, lazy fellow ! sit up there.” —Here the class smiled, and the scholar ‘ SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 173 A Babel.—Who made it?—Another visit. completed his rule, asserting however that “ adjectives belong to nouns,” and not to “ lazy fellows” as the class seemed to understand the master to teach. Word after word was parsed in this way, (a way of teaching our language, which, if we could know it had been prac¬ tised at the erection of Babel, would sufficiently account for that memorable confusion of tongues without the intervention of a miracle,) till the teacher, nearly ex¬ hausted by this strange combination of mental, oral, and manual labor , very much to. the relief of all, vocif¬ erated “ That'll do !” and the scene was changed. At the close of the afternoon, we were told that “ it was a very hard school, that it was almost impossible to keep order, and that he should be discouraged were it not that he saw a manifest improvement within a few days past!” Now this teacher made the school what it was, by his own manner. He would have done the same in any school. He taught in the most effectual way the science and art of confusion ; and notwithstanding the hard name he gave his school, he was emphatically the most disorderly and noisy member of it. There was a change. On another day, accompanied by the same friend, we presented ourselves at the door of this same room for admittance. We heard no sound as we approached the entrance, and almost began to suspect we should find there was no school within. We knocked ; and presently, without our hearing the footstep of the person who approached, the door opened, and we passed in. The children, looked up a moment 174 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. A new teacher.—Good order.—The secret. as we entered, and then bent their eyes upon their lessons. The teacher softly handed us seals, and then proceeded with the recitation. His manner was quiet and deliberate, and the school was orderly and busy. He had no rule in his hand, no heavy boots on his feet, (he had exchanged them for slippers on entering the school,) and no other means of giving emphasis to his words. He kindly requested,—never commanded,— and every thing seemed to present the strongest con¬ trast with the former scene. The hour of dismission arrived, and the scholars quietly laid by their books, and as quietly walked out of the house, and all was still. “ How have you secured this good order ?” said we to the teacher. “ I really do not know,” said he with a smile, “ I have said nothing about order.” “ But have you had no difficulty from noisy scholars ?” “ A little at first; but in a day or two they seemed to be¬ come quiet, and we have not been troubled since.” Now the secret was, that this latter teacher had learned to govern himself. His own manner gave character to the school. So it will ever be. A man will govern more by his manner than in any other way. There is, too, such a thing as keeping a school too still by over-government.. A man of firm nerve can, by keeping up a constant constraint both in himself and pupils, force a deathlike silence upon his school. You may hear a pin drop at any time, and the figure of every child is as if moulded in cast iron. But, be it SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 175 Excessive silence.—Recapitulation.—Force sometimes needful. remembered, this is the stillness of constraint, not the stillness of activity. It is an unhealthy state both of body and mind, and when attained by the most vigilant care of the teacher, is a condition scarcely to be desired. There should be silence in school, a serene and sooth¬ ing quiet; but it should if possible be the quiet of cheerfulness and agreeable devotion to study, rather than the “ palsy of fear.” Thus far I have confined myself to those qualifica tions in the teacher, and to those means which, under ordinary circumstances and in most districts, would in my opinion secure good order in our schools. With the qualifications I have described in the mental and moral condition of the teacher, and the means and sug¬ gestions above detailed —combined, I believe a very large majority of our schools could be most success¬ fully governed without any appeal to fear or force. But as some schools are yet in a very bad state, requiring more than ordinary talents and skill to control them ; and as very many of those who must teach for a long time to come have not, and cannot be expected to have all the qualifications described, and much less the moral power insisted on, it is unreasonable to expect, taking human nature as it is, and our teachers as they are, that all can govern their schools without some appeals to the lower motives of children, and some resort to coercion as an instrumentality. I should 176 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Punishment defined.—Comments on definition. leave this discussion very incomplete, therefore, were T not to present my views upon the subject of SECTION III. - PUNISHMENTS. As a great deal has been written and spoken upon the subject of school punishments, I deem it important that the term, as I intend to use it, should be defined at the outset. I submit the following definition : Punishment is pain inflicted upon the mind or BODY OF AN INDIVIDUAL BY THE AUTHORITY TO WHICH HE IS SUBJECT ; WITH A VIEW EITHER TO REFORM HIM, OR TO DETER OTHERS FROM THE COMMISSION OF OF¬ FENSES, OR BOTH. It is deemed essential to the idea of punishment that the inflictor have legitimate authority over the subject of it,—otherwise the act is an act of usurpation. It is also essential that the inflictor should have a legitimate object in view, such as the reformation of the individ¬ ual or of the community in which his example has exerted an influence,—otherwise the act becomes an abuse of power. Infliction for the purpose of retalia¬ tion for an insult or injury, is not punishment; it is ♦ revenge. Whenever, therefore, a teacher resorts to such infliction to gratify his temper, or to pay off, as it is expressed in common language, the bad conduct of a pupil, without any regard to his reformation or the pre¬ vention of similar offenses in the school, the pain he inflicts is not punishment; it is cruelty. Very great importance is to be attached to the motive in this ma- SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 177 Whence authority is derived.—Dr. Webster.—A common error. ter ; because the same infliction upon the same indi¬ vidual and for the same offense, may either be just and proper punishment, or it may be the most unjustifiable and revengeful abuse, according to the motive of the inflictor. The authority to inflict punishment in general, is either by the constitution of God or of civil society. “ The punishment of the faults and offenses of children by the parent,” says Dr. Webster, “ is by virtue of the right of government with which the parent is invested by God himself.” The right to punish the offenses of children while at school, is by the common law vested in the teacher, as the representative of the parent for the time being. It is the declaration of this law as in¬ terpreted from time immemorial, that the teacher is in loco parentis —in place of the parent. Some have alleged that fear and shame , the two principles addressed by punishment, are among the lowest in our nature ; and have hence endeavored to show that punishment is always inexpedient, if not in¬ deed always wrong. To this 1 answer, that both fear and shame are incorporated in our nature by God him¬ self ; and hence I infer they are there for a wise pur¬ pose. I find, moreover, that God himself, in his word and in his providence, does appeal to both of these principles ; and hence I infer that punishment in the abstract is not wrong, and after the higher motives have been addressed, not altogether inexpedient. Living in a community as we do, where the right of punishment in general, is assumed by our government, 12 178 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. The right assumed.—Plan of discussion.—Two classes. and the right of teachers to punish is conceded by our laws, I do not feel called upon to establish the right by argument; I shall assume that the teacher has the right to punish in the sense in which I have defined punishment,—and shall therefore proceed to consider the various kinds of punishments used in our schools, and to distinguish those which are justifiable from those which are not; and also to consider some of the con¬ ditions and limitations of their use. In preparing the way to do this, I may remark that punishments consist of two classes. 1. Those which address themselves directly to the mind ; as privation from privileges, loss of liberty, degradation, sofne act of humiliation, reproof, and the like. 2. Those which address the mind through the body; as the imposition of a task—labor, for instance,—requiring the pupil to take some painful attitude, inflicting bodily chastise¬ ment, &c. I have mentioned the^a two classes for the purpose of calling attention to the fact, that there are those who approve of the first class, and at the same time denounce the second, scouting the idea of reaching the mind through the senses of the body. This seems to me, however, to indicate a want of attention to the laws of our being; for in the economy of nature we are made at every point sensitive to pain as a means of guarding against injury. Why has the Creator studded the en¬ tire surface of our bodies with the extremities of nerves, whose function is to carry to the brain with lightning speed the intelligence of the approach of danger ? And SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 179 Mind may be reached through the body.—Improper punishments. why should this intelligence be transmitted, if its object is not to influence the will, either to withdraw the suf¬ fering part from immediate danger, or to avoid those objects which cause the pain ? The mind, then, by the economy of nature, or rather by the arrangement of God, is capable of being influenced through the bodily sensations; and those who deny this, either do not ob¬ serve attentively, or, observing, do not reason fairly as to the laws of our being. With these preliminary observations, I now proceed to consider, I. Improper Punishments. Some punishments are always wrong, or at least always inexpedient. The infliction of them either implies a wrong feeling on the part of the teacher, or it promises no wholesome result on the part of the pupil. I shall mention in detail, 1. Those that from their nature excite the feeling in the pupil , that an indignity has been committed against his person. No mail is ready to forgive another for wringing his nose. There is almost a universal senti¬ ment that this organ is specially exempted from such insult. Nearly the same feeling exists as to pinching or pulling the ear , or twisting the hair , or snapping the forehead. Each child feels that these parts of his person are not to be trifled with, and the feeling is natural and proper. Now, though it is not common for teachers to wring the noses of their pupils, it is very common for them to do each of the other things enu¬ merated. I have often seen such punishments, but I think I never saw any good come of them. The pupil always looked as if the teacher had done despite toward 180 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Head to be exempted from infliction.—Scolding. his person. Whenever I have seen the teacher twist the locks of a child’s hair about his finger till the tears would start in the eye, I have supposed the feelings called forth were any thing but desirable,—any thing but favorable to reformation. A pupil must love his teacher very strongly, to be able to keep his temper from rising under such circumstances ; and there is great doubt whether either of these punishments does any thing to secure cheerful obedience in the child one time in a hundred ; probably in ninety-nine cases in the hundred the evil passions are very much strengthened by them. Besides, these are undignified modes of punishment. They savor so much of a weak and childish impatience, that the pupils find it hard to respect a man, much more to love him, who will stoop to so small a way of giving vent to his angry feelings. Snapping the forehead is subject to strong physiological objections ; and, as a general rule, the head and its ap purtenances should be exempted from penal violence. In this place I may very properly allude to another mode of assailing the ears of children, quite as undig¬ nified in itself and quite as unprofitable in its results as pulling them,—and until they are hardened to it by familiarity, probably more painful. I refer, I need not say, to scolding. This is a punishment altogether too common. There is a physiological law, that the • exercise of any organ will give it greater strength and generally greater celerity. From this fact, and the ad¬ ditional one, that the more a child is scolded the harder his heart becomes, so that here, as in the Rule of Three, SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 181 Poor investment.—Cockney blackguardism.—Examples. “ more requires more,”—it follows that those who once begin to scold, are fortunate if they stop short of high attainments in the art. There is no enterprise in which the investment yields so small a profit as in the business of scolding. It is really pitiable to witness the teacher given to this prac¬ tice, making himself and all around him unhappy, without the hope of alleviation. The command of the tongue is a great virtue in a teacher; and it is to be feared that very many children still suffer in their moral feelings* as well as their ears, because so many teachers do not seasonably learn the right control of the “ unruly member.” While upon this subject, I may allude to another very objectionable mode of address practised by some teachers toward their schools. I refer to a mixture of scolding with a species of low wit or cockney black¬ guardism, that should ever be banished from the school¬ room. Such expressions as, “ Sit down, John, or I’ll shiver your top-timbers ,”—“ Attend to your studies, or some of you will be a head shorter ,”—“ Keep quiet, or you’ll hear thunder,”—and the like. To these I might add those empty and debasing threats which are too often and too thoughtlessly uttered ; as, “ I’ll skin you alive,” or “ I’ll shake you to pieces,” or “ I’ll use you * A blacksmith, it is said, who had been accustomed to scold his family, quite too freely, was one day attempting to harden a piece of steel; but failing after two or three attempts, his little son, who had been an observer of this as well as other operations of his father, is said to have exclaimed, “ Scold it, father , scold it if that won't harden it, nothing else will.” 182 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Beg pardon.—Mistake about it.—Goldsmith up,”—with others of the same character. I perhaps ought to beg pardon for placing these vulgarisms before the general reader ; but they are so frequently employed in our schools, in some of our schools of good repute too, that I thought it to be my duty to quote them, (for they are all literal quotations,) in order if possible to aid those who have fallen into such a low habit to see themselves as others see them. It is so very easy for a teacher to raise a laugh among his pupils, that he is in danger of being seduced into the use of coarse and quaint expressions by the suppo¬ sition that they are witty. But the mirth of schoolboys is not a more reliable criterion of wit in the modern teacher than it was in the case of the schoolmaster de¬ scribed by Goldsmith; and possibly the exercise of a little discernment on his part would convince him that children sometimes laugh, as they did of old, because they think it prudent to do so. “ A man severe lie was and stern to view, I knew him well, and every truant knew; Well had the boding tremblers learned to trace The day’s disasters in his morning face; Full well they laughed, with counterfeited glee. At all his jokes, for many a joke had he P* It is unquestionably true that there are schools and many such, now of high standing, the language of whose teachers, could it be noted dowm and printed for the parents, would perfectly astonish them ; and such is the force of habit, it would very likely astonish the teachers themselves. Let all who mean to respect themselves, or who desire to be long respected by SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 183 Prolonged tortures.—The Bible at arm’s length. others, most carefully avoid the first approach to the use of such kind of language. Its influence in school is “ only evil, and that continually.” 2. Those punishments that from their nature imply in the inflictor a love of prolonged torture. These are quite numerous, and are resorted to often for the purpose of avoiding what is usually deemed severer punishment. Some of them also have very serious physiological ob¬ jections. As an instance, I may mention the holding of a weight at arm’s length until the muscles of the arm become painful from over-exertion and fatigue. Some¬ times the Bible, being the largest book at hand, is chosen as the weight; and thus that book, which should have no associations connected with it in the minds of the young but those of reverence and love, is made the instrument of torture—the minister of cruelty ! Imagine that you see—what I have seen—an offend¬ ing boy called to the teacher’s desk, and, after words of reproach, sentenced to hold the large Bible at arm’s length for a specified time, or until the teacher is will¬ ing to release him. At first it is raised with a smile of triumph, almost a smile of contempt. Soon the muscles thus exerted at disadvantage begin to be weary and to relax “ Hold it up !” exclaims the vigilant teacher; and it is again brought to its position. Sooner than before the muscles are fatigued, and they almost refuse to obey the mandate of the will , which itself is half willing to rebel against authority so unreasonable. „ “ Up with it!”—again brings it to its place, or perhaps a stroke of the ratan repeats the command with more 184 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Physiological effects.—Moral effects.—Hold a nail! urgency. At this moment every nerve sympathizes, and the muscles are urged on to their greatest effort. The limb is in agony,—and what agony can surpass that of an overstrained muscle ?—and the whole system reels and writhes with suffering. Now look into that child’s face, and tell me, what is the moral effect of this sort of punishment ? Unless he is one of the most amiable of the sons of Adam, he inwardly curses the cruelty that he thinks is delighted with pangs like these, protracted yet intolerable. He almost curses the blessed book which was given to warm his soul into life and immortality. He cries with pain, but not with penitence. He may submit, indeed, and he may abstain front}, sim¬ ilar offenses in time to come ; but it is the submission of self-preservation, and the abstinence of an eye-ser¬ vant,—while the stain that has thus been inwrought in his moral sensibilities, may long remain unexpunged. Such a punishment I unhesitatingly pronounce to be improper , whatever may be the circumstances. Akin to this are those other contrivances to give prolonged pain, which in different parts of the country have taken a variety of forms, and as great a variety of names. One of these has been termed “ holding a nail into the floor” It consists in requiring the pupil to bend forward,—and, placing the end of a single finger upon the head of a nail, to remain in that posi¬ tion till the whole system is agonized. Another has by some of its inflictors been termed “ sitting on nothing.” The pupil is required to place his back against a wall of the room, and his feet perhaps a foot SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 185 Sitting on nothing.—On worse than nothing.—Ridicule. from its base, and then to slide his body down till the knees are bent at right angles, and his person is in a sitting posture without a seat ! The muscles, acting over the knee at the greatest disadvantage, are now made to support the body in that position during the pleasure of the teacher. I have seen another mode of punishment practised, and as I have heard no name for it, I shall give it the cognomen of “sitting on worse than nothing.” The boy in this case was required to sit upon the floor, and then, placing the feet upon a bench or chair, to support the body in an erect position by reversed action of the muscles ! But I gladly turn away from a description of the punishments I have witnessed in the common schools of New England within a quarter of a century, ex¬ hibiting as they do so many characteristics of the dark ages. Some of these I have witnessed quite recently ; and to what extent any or all of them are now in use, I am unable to say. I only desire to say, that they are all improper,—debasing to the morals of the pupils, and degrading to the profession of the teacher ; and the sooner such punishments are entirely banished from our school-rooms, the sooner will the profession of the teacher rise to its proper level. 3. Ridicule. This is a weapon that should not be wielded as a school-punishment. It often cuts deeper than he who uses it imagines ; and it usually gives most pain where it is least merited. Some physical defect, or some mental incapacity, or eccen- J86 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Why objectionable.—Loss of love—of confidence. tricity, is most frequently made the subject of it; and yet nothing can be more unfeeling or more unjust than its use in such cases. If the designed failings of the indolent, or the premeditated mischief of the vicious, could be subjected to its influence, its use would be more allowable,—but even then it would be question¬ able. But the indolent and the vicious are usually unaffected by ridicule. They sin upon calculation, and not without counting the cost; and they are therefore very willing to risk their reputation, where they have so little to lose. It is the modest, the conscientious, the well-meaning child, that is most affected by ridicule ; yet it is such a one that, for various reasons, is oftenest made the subject of it, though of all others, his feelings should be most tenderly spared. A strong objection to the use of ridicule, is the feeling which it induces between the teacher and pupil. The teacher, conscious that he has injured the feelings of the child, will find it hard to love him afterwards ; for we seldom love those whom we have injured. The child, on the other hand, loses confidence in his teacher; he feels that his sensibilities have been outraged before his companions, and that the teacher, who should be his best friend in the school, has invited the heartless laugh of his fellow- pupils against him. With a want of love on the one hand, and of confidence on the other, what further usefulness can reasonably be expected ? But the strongest objection of all to the use of SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 187 School-mates injured.—Hiss.—Little Mary.—A scene. ridicule, is the fact that it calls forth the worst of feelings in the school. Those who participate in the laugh thus excited, are under the influence of no very amiable motives. And when this is carried so far as to invite, by direct words, some expression from the schoolmates, by pointing the finger of shame, and perhaps accompanying the act by a hiss of scorn, the most deplorable spirit of self-righteousness is cultivated. Little Mary one day was detected in a wrong act by her teacher. “ Mary, come here,” said the teacher, sternly. Little thinking she had been seen, she obeyed promptly, and stood by the chair of her teacher, who, without giving Mary time to reflect, and thus allow the conscience opportunity to gain the mastery, immediately asked, “ What naughty thing did I see you do just now ?” “ Nothing,” said Mary, partly disposed to justify herself, and partly doubting whether indeed the teacher had seen her du any thing wrong. “ Oh, Mary, Mary, who would think you would tell me a lie ! Did you ever hear of Ananias and Sapphira ?” Here a lecture followed on the sin and danger of lying, and particu¬ larly the danger of sudden death by the vengeance of God. Mary began to tremble, and then to weep, probably from terror. Now came the second part. “ I should think you would be ashamed to be known to lie. All the children now know that you have lied. I should think they would feel ashamed of such a naughty little girl in the school. I should not wonder,” 188 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Self-righteousness.—Defiance.—Freezing the affections. she continued, “ if all the little girls and boys should j)oint their fingers at you and hiss” In an instant, all the children who were not too old to be disgusted with the management and tone of the teacher, pointed their fingers, and uttered a long succession of hisses, while their faces beamed with all the complacency of self-righteousness, triumphing over the fall of a companion, who perhaps was after all as good, and as truthful a child as any of them. The poor child at first turned her back upon them ; but soon, feeling that her reputation was gone, she turned, as woman ever will when her self-respect is blighted, with a look of indifference, almost a look of defiance. Fear was first swallowed up in shame, and shame gave place to reckless audacity. The whole scene was rendered still more ruinous to the child, from the fact that it took place in the presence of visitors ! When will our teachers learn the human heart well enough to be able to distinguish between a work of devastation and of true culture ; between a process of blighting the sensibilities, searing the conscience, freezing up the fountains of sympathy, and of mutual love and confidence,—and a course of training which warms the conscience into activity, inculcates the reverence and love of God, instead of a slavish fear of his power, and instils into the soul a desire to do right , rather than to do that which will avoid the reproach of an unfeeling multitude, more wicked than those they censure ? Goldsmith has shown that wo¬ man may “ stoop to conquer but the above narrative SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 189 Let teachers think.—Proper punishments.—Reproof in private. shows how she may stoop, not to conquer, but to lay waste the youthful heart. These punishments, and such as these, which I have classed under the list of improper punishments, should all be carefully considered by the teacher. They should be considered before he enters his school. It would be well always for him to determine before¬ hand what punishments he will not use. It may save him many a serious mistake. I have written what I have under this head, in order to put teachers upon thought; believing that men seldom earnestly and honestly inquire , without arriving at the truth in the end. II. Proper punishments. Every teacher’s mind should, if possible, be settled, as to what punishments are proper, so that when they are inflicted, it can be done in good faith, and with an honest conviction of the performance of duty. Among the proper punishments, I may mention, 1. Kind Reproof. This will probably be conceded by all. I say kind reproof, because no other reproof can be useful. I would distinguish it from reproach. Reproof, judiciously administered, is one of the most effectual punishments that can be used. As a general rule, this is best administered privately. The child’s spirit of obstinacy is very likely to exhibit itself in the presence of his fellows ; but in private, the conscience is free to act, and the child very readily submits. It is always perfectly safe to reprove privately ; that is, not in the presence of the school. The child has no 190 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Loss of privileges, consequent upon abuse.—Confinement. motive to misrepresent the teacher ; and if the teacher so far spares the reputation of the pupil, as to take him by himself, this very circumstance will often give the teacher access to his better feelings. 2. Loss of Privileges. By abuse of privileges we forfeit them. This is a law of Providence. It is un¬ questionably proper that this should be a law of our schools. All those offenses, therefore, against propriety in the exercise of any privilege, may be attended with a temporary or permanent deprivation of such privilege. A pupil who is boisterous at the recess, disturbing the quiet of the school or impeding the enjoyment of his playfellows, may be deprived of the recess. A child, who disfigures his seat with his knife, may be deprived of his knife ; and so for any other similar offense. Some consider it proper to extend this punishment to other classes of offenses, as, for example, whispering or idleness. While I would not deny the right or the propriety of doing so, I should think it more expedient not thus to extend it. It is well, as far as it can be done, so to punish the child, that he shall see that his conduct naturally leads to its punishment as a conse¬ quence. And it is moreover very probable that in most schools there will be demand enough for this punish¬ ment, in its natural application, without extending it to other cases. 3. Restraint , or confinement. When liberty is abused, a scholar may be put under restraint. When duty is violated, and the rights of others are wantonly disregarded, confinement will afford time for reflection, SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 191 Not in a dark room.—Why not ?—Humiliation.—Seldom. and at the same time relieve others from the annoyance and detriment of evil example. Such restraint is often a wholesome discipline; and confinement, if it be not too far protracted, is always safe. It should be remarked, however, that confinement in a dark apartment should never be resorted to by any teacher. There are insu¬ perable objections to it, growing out of the fears which many children early entertain of being alone in the dark, as also the fact that light as well as air is necessary to the vigorous action of the nervous system during the waking hours, especially in the daytime. It is well known that a child shut up in a dark room even in the warmth of summer, speedily undergoes a depression of temperature ; and if the confinement is unduly pro¬ tracted, cold chills come over the system. For these reasons, and others, if confinement is ever used as a punishment, it should be in a room properly lighted and heated. Our prisoners enjoy, as far as may be, both of these favors. 4. Humiliation. This should be resorted to with great caution. When a fault has been openly commit¬ ted, and attended with circumstances of peculiar obsti¬ nacy, it may sometimes very properly be required of the offender that he should confess the fault in a man¬ ner as public as its commission. This may be due to the school. Sometimes when an offensive act is very strongly marked, a confession and a request for the for¬ giveness of the teacher or the individual injured may be made a condition of restoration to favor. This is usually considered a very proper punishment. I would 192 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. A task.—When and how. however suggest, that it be used with great care, and never unless the circumstances imperatively demand it. It may be the means of cultivating the grossest hypocrisy, or of inducing open rebellion; and it some¬ times gives the other pupils an advantage over the culprit, which may do him personally much harm. The teacher should be convinced that this is the best thing he can do, before he resorts to it. 5. The imposition of a task. In every school there is more or less work to be done ; such as sweeping the floors, washing the benches, preparing the fuel, and making the fires. Unless objection should be made by parents, this is one of the most effectual punish¬ ments, especially in cities and large villages, where work is a burden, and the attractions of play are most powerful. Some difficult schools have been governed for months with no other punishment than labor thus imposed. The plan is, that if two boys neglect their studies so as to attract the attention of the teacher, they shall be nominated as members of the committee on sweeping,—a duty to be performed after school hours. If one or two more are decidedly disorderly, they shall be required to make fires, bring up wood, or perhaps wash a certain portion of the room. This is always assigned pleasantly by the teacher, with the under¬ standing, fiowever, that any failure to do the allotted work thoroughly and faithfully, will be attended with a reappointment till the object is secured. If parents should object to this, it is not absolutely essential to the teacher’s success ; but where no objec- SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 193 An objection.—Answer.—Not strongly urged.—The rod. tion is made, if judiciously managed, it may do very much in many of our schools towards producing that quiet order, which otherwise it might require more cogent and less agreeable means to secure. It has sometimes been urged as an objection to this mode of punishment, that it would tend to attach the idea of disgrace to useful labor. It is conceived that this is by no means the necessary consequence. On the other hand, it would serve to teach the difference there always is between a duty imposed and one vol¬ untarily undertaken. The same objection would apply to our prison discipline, where a man by a wilful dis¬ regard of law and the rights of others, very justly for¬ feits his services for a time to the state. I would not lay very much stress upon this mode of punishment, though I have known it resorted to under favorable circumstances with very good effect. It would of course be more effectual in a large town or city than in the country, where boys are in the habit of laboring at home, and would be quite as- whiling to labor after regular hours at school. 6. Actual chastisement with the rod of correction. I have no hesitation (though others have) in placing this among the class of proper punishments. As this in¬ volves a great question on the subject of school govern¬ ment, and one that is debated with great zeal and warmth in almost every educational meeting that is held, I shall feel justified in giving a little more space to the consideration of it. 13 191 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Corporal punishment.—Views of others.—Nothing to con* eal. SECTION IV.—CORPORAL PUNISHMENT. I am aware that when I enter this field I am tread¬ ing on ground every inch of which has been disputed. I come to the task of writing on this subject, however, 1 think, without prejudice or asperity. Having noth¬ ing to conceal, I shall express my own views honestly and frankly,—views which I entertain after diligently seeking the truth for some twenty years, during which time I have listened to a great deal of discussion, and have read carefully and candidly whatever has been written by others. Nor do I expect to give universal satisfac¬ tion. There are strongmen, and I believe honest men, who run to the opposite extremes in their doctrine and practice, and who defend the one course or the other as if the existence of the world depended upon the issue. There are those, who not only claim the right to chastise, but who insist that whipping should be the first resort of the teacher in establishing his authority ; and to show that this is not a dormant article of their faith, they daily and almost hourly demonstrate their efficiency in the use of the rod, so that their pupils may be living witnesses that they act in accordance with their creed. Again, there are others who as ear¬ nestly deny the right of the teacher to resort to the rod at all, and who urge with all their power the efficacy of moral suasion to subdue and control the vicious and the stubborn in our schools ; and who are ready to assert unequivocally that no man is fit to be employed SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 195 Men see differently.—A privilege claimed.—Authority at any rate. to teach the young, who has not the ability to govern all the various dispositions he may meet in any school, without the use of corporal punishment. I have no disposition to question the sincerity and honesty of each of these classes, knowing as I do, that different men see with different eyes, even when the circumstances are the same ; much more when their circumstances are widely diverse. I have no bitterness of language to apply to those who go to the extreme of severity ; nor any sneer to bestow upon the name of “ moral-suasionist.” But while I accord to other men the right of expressing their own opinions, I claim the same privilege for myself,—yet without wishing to obtrude my opinions upon other men any further than they will bear the test of reason and experience. It is agreed on all hands that the teacher must estab¬ lish authority in some way , before he can pursue suc¬ cessfully the objects of his school. I have described the qualifications which the teacher should possess in order to govern well, and I have also given some of the means of securing good order without a resort to severity. Probably in a large majority of our schools, the teacher with these qualifications and the employ¬ ment of these means, could succeed in establishing and maintaining good order without any such resort. This should in my opinion always be done, if possible, —and no one will rejoice more than myself to see the day, should that day ever come, when teachers shall be so much improved as to be able to do this univer¬ sally. But in writing on this subject, it is the dictate 196 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. We must take the world as it is.—Mr. Mann quoted. of common sense to take human nature as it is, and human teachers as they are, and as many of them must be, for some time to come,—and adapt our directions to the circumstances. Human nature, as it is exhibited in our children, is far from being perfect; and I am sorry to say that the parents of our children often ex¬ hibit it in a still less flattering light. Perhaps no lan¬ guage of mine can so well represent the concurrence of circumstances making corporal punishment neces¬ sary in our schools as it has been done by the Hon. Horace Mann in his lecture on “ School Punishments.” “ The first point,” says he, “ which I shall consider, is, whether corporal punishment is ever necessary, in oui schools. As preliminary to a decision of this question, let us take a brief survey of facts. We have in this Commonwealth, [Massachusetts,] above one hundred and ninety-two thousand children between the ages of four and sixteen years. All these children are not only legally entitled to attend our public schools, but it is our great desire to increase that attendance, and he who increases it is regarded a reformer. All that portion of these children who attend school, enter it from that vast variety of homes which exist in the state. From different households, where the widest diversity of parental and domestic influences prevails, the chil¬ dren enter the schoolroom, where there must be com¬ parative uniformity. At home some of these children have been indulged in every wish, flattered and smiled upon for the energies of their low propensities, and even their freaks and whims enacted into household SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 197 Difficulties to be met,—in children,—in parents. laws. Some have been so rigorously debarred from every innocent amusement and indulgence, that they have opened for themselves a way to gratification, through artifice and treachery and falsehood. Others, from vicious parental example, and the corrupting in¬ fluences of vile associates, have been trained to bad habits and contaminated with vicious principles, ever since they were born ;—some being taught that honor consists in whipping a boy larger than themselves ; others that the chief end of man is to own a box that cannot be opened, and to get money enough to fill it; and others again have been taught, upon their father’s knees, to shape their young lips to the utterance of oaths and blasphemy. Now all these dispositions, which do not conflict with right more than they do with each other, as soon as they cross the threshold of the schoolroom, from the different worlds, as it were, of homes, must be made to obey the same general regula¬ tions, to pursue the same studies, and to aim at the same results. In addition to these artificial varieties, there are natural differences of temperament and dispo¬ sition. “Again; there are about three thousand public schools in the state, in which are employed, in the course of the year, about five thousand different persons, as teachers, including both males and females. Except¬ ing a very few cases, these five thousand persons have had no special preparation or training for their employ¬ ment, and many of them are young and without expe¬ rience. These five thousand teachers, then, so many ] 98 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. A dilemma.—Neither horn to be chosen. of whom are unprepared, are to be placed in authority over the one hundred and ninety-two thousand children, so many of whom have been perverted. Without passing through any transition state for improvement, these parties meet each other in the schoolroom, where mutiny and insubordination and disobedience are to be repressed, order maintained, knowledge ac¬ quired. He, therefore, who denies the necessity of resorting to punishment, in our schools,—and to cor¬ poral punishment, too,—virtually affirms two things :— first, that this great number of children, scooped up from all places, taken at all ages and in all conditions, can be deterred from the wrong and attracted,to the right without punishment; and secondly, he asserts that the five thousand persons whom the towns and districts employ to keep their respective schools, are now, and in the present condition of things, able to accomplish so glorious a work. Neither of these prop¬ ositions am I at present prepared to admit. If there are extraordinary individuals—and we know there are such—so singularly gifted with talent and resources, and with the divine quality of love, that they can win the affection, and, by controlling the heart, can control the conduct of children, who, for years, have been addicted to lie, to cheat, to swear, to steal, to fight, still I do not believe there are now five thousand such indi¬ viduals in the state, whose heavenly services can be obtained for this transforming work. And it is useless, or worse than useless to say, that .such or such a thing can be done, and done immediately, without pointing SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 199 A miracle.—Divisions in district.—East end.—West end. out the agents by whom it can be done. One who affirms that a thing can be done, without any reference to the persons who can do it, must be thinking of miracles. If the position were, that children may be so educated from their birth, and teachers may be so trained for their calling, as to supersede the necessity of corporal punishment, except in cases decidedly monstrous, then I should have no doubt of its truth; but such a position must have reference to some future period, which we should strive to hasten, but ought not to anticipate.” Aside from the causes demanding punishment, so ably portrayed in the passage just quoted, there is still another, growing out of divisions and quarrels in the district. It is by no means uncommon, in our districts, owing to some local matter, or to some disunion in politics or religion, for the people to be arrayed, the one part against the other. The inhabitants of the upper road are jealous of the dwellers on the lower road ; the lull portion of the district is aggrieved by the influence of the valley portion ; the “ east end” com¬ plains of the selfishness of the “ west end,” and so of the north and south. Whenever a school-house is to be built, these different interests are aroused, and a protracted and baleful quarrel is the result. One party “ carries the day” by the force of numbers, but the prosperity of the school is impaired for years. At every district meeting there will be the Same strife ffir the mastery. If one division gains the power, the other bends its energies to cripple the school, and to annoy 200 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. “ We will see.”— Disobedience encouraged.—The teacher’s course. the teacher who may be employed by the dominant party, however excellent or deserving he may be. “ We will see,” say those who find themselves in the minority, “ we will see whether this man can keep our school as well as it was done last year by our master.” This is uttered in presence of their children—perhaps their half-grown sons, who will be very ready to meet theii new teacher with prejudice and to act out the mis givings of their parents as to his success. When the teacher first enters the school, he is met by oppo sition, even before he has time to make an impression for good ; opposition, which he can scarcely hope to surmount as long as it is thus encouraged at iiome. Now what shall he do? Shall he yield the point, abandon the idea of authority, and endeavor to live along from day to day, in the hope of a more comforta ble state of things by-and-by ? He may be sure that matters will daily grow worse. Shall he give up in despair, and leave the school to some successor ? This will only strengthen the opposition and make it more violent when the successor shall be appointed. It is but putting the difficulty one step farther off. Besides, if the teacher does thus give up, and leave the school, he loses his own reputation as a man of energy, and, in the eyes of the world, who perhaps may not know—or care to know—all the circumstances, he is held ever after as incompetent for the office. Now it would be very gratifying if the teacher un¬ der any or all of these difficulties, could possess the moral power to quell them all by a look or by the exer- SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 201 Shall he yield? No, no.—Establish authority. cise of his ingenuity in interesting his pupils in their studies. Undoubtedly there are some men who could do it, and do it most triumphantly, so as to make their most zealous enemies in a few days their warmest friends. But there are not many who can work thus at disadvantage. What then shall be done ? Shall the school be injured by being disbanded, and the teacher be stigmatized for a failure, when he has been employed in good faith ? I say no. He has the right to establish authority by corporal infliction; and thus to save the school and also save himself. And more than this ;—if there is reasonable ground to believe that by such infliction he can establish order, and thus make nimself useful, and save the time and the character of the school, he not only has the right, but he is bound by duty to use it. The lovers of order in the district have a right to expect him to use it, unless by express stipulation beforehand, they have exempted him from it. I repeat, then, that it is the teacher’s duty to establish authority ; “ peaceably, indeed, if he may,—forcibly if he must.” I ought in fairness here to add, as I have before hinted, that not unfrequently the necessity for corporal infliction exists in the teacher himself. This is often proved by a transfer of teachers. One man takes a school, and can only survive his term by the exercise of whipping. He is followed by another who secures good order and the love of the school without any resort to the rod. The first declared that whipping was ne¬ cessary in his case to secure good order, and truly ; but 202 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Daily flogging condemned.—Say nothing about it. the necessity resided in him and not in the school. So it often does,—and while teachers are zealously defend¬ ing the rod, they should also feel the necessity of im¬ proving themselves as the most effectual way to obviate its frequent use. When authority is once established in a school, it is comparatively easy to maintain it. There will of course be less necessity for resorting to the rod after the teacher has obtained the ascendency, unless it be in the event of taking some new pupil into the school who is dis¬ posed to be refractory. I have but little respect for the teacher who is daily obliged to fortify his authority by corporal infliction. Something must be fundamentally wrong in the teacher whose machinery of government, when once well in motion, needs to be so often forcibly wound up. From what has already been said, it will be seen that I do not belong to tlie number who affirm that the rod of correction should never he used in schools. Nor am I prepared to advise any teacher to publish beforehand that he will not punish with the rod. It would always be wiser for the teacher to say nothing about it. Very little good ever comes of threatening the use of it. Threatening of any sort avails but little. A teacher may enter a school with the determination to govern it if possible without force. Indeed I should advise one always to make this determination in his own mind. But whenever such a determination is nublished, the probability of success is very much diminished. SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 203 There is an arm of power.—Proposed substitutes.—Solitary confinement. The true way and the safe way, in my opinion, is to rely mainly on moral means for the government of the school,—to use the rod without much threatening, if driven to it by the force of circumstances, and as soon as authority is established, to allow it again to slumber with the tacit understanding that it can be again awa¬ kened from its repose if found necessary. The knowl¬ edge in the school that there is an arm of power, may prevent any necessity of an appeal to it; and such a knowledge can do no possible harm in itself. But if the teacher has once pledged himself to the school that he will never use the rod, the necessity may soon come for him to abandon his position or lose his influence over the pupils. As much has been said against the use of the rod in any case in school government, it may be proper to consider briefly some of the substitutes for it, which have been suggested by its opposers. Some have urged solitary confinement. This might do in some cases. Undoubtedly an opportunity for reflection is of great use to a vicious boy. But then how inadequate are the means for this kind of discipline in our schools. Most of our school-houses have but one room. In such cases solitary confinement is out of the question. In other instances there may be (as there always should be) a room, not constantly devoted to the purposes of the school. Here a pupil could be confined; and I have no objection whatever to this course, provided the room is not a dark one, and its temperature can be comfortable. But even with this - - - » 204 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Its futility.—Parental folly.—Expulsion. facility, confinement cannot be relied on as the only punishment, because if offenses should multiply, and the offenders should all be sent to the same place, then confinement would soon cease to be solitary ! And suppose some philanthropist should devise a plan of a school-house with several cells for the accommodation of offenders ; still this punishment would fail of its purpose. The teacher has no power to confine a pupil much beyond the limit of school hours. This the obstinate child would understand, and he would there¬ fore resolve to hold out till he must be dismissed, and then he would be the triumphant party. He could boast to his fellows that he had borne the punishment, and that without submission or promise for the future he had been excused because his time had expired. This substitute is often urged by parents , who have tried it successfully in case of their own children in their own houses, where it was known that it could of course be protracted to any necessary length. Be¬ sides, if the confinement alone was not sufficient, the daily allowance of food could be withheld. Under such circumstances it may be very effectual, as un¬ doubtedly it often has been ; but he is a very shallow parent who, having tried this experiment upon a single child, with all the facilities of a parent, prescribes it with the expectation of equal success in the govern¬ ment of a large school. Others have urged the expulsion of such scholars as are disobedient. To this it may be replied that it is not quite certain, under existing laws, whether the SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 205 Not expedient.—Why?—Mr. Mann quoted. teacher has the right to expel a scholar from the common schools ; and some deny even the right of the school officers to do it. Whether the right exists or not, it is very questionable whether it is ever expedient to expel a scholar for vicious conduct; and especially in cases where there is physical power to control him. The vicious and ignorant scholar is the very one who most needs the reforming influence of a good educa¬ tion. Sent away from the fountain of knowledge and virtue at this—the very time of need—and what may we expect for him but utter ruin ? Such a pupil most of all needs the restraint and the instruction of a teacher who is capable of exercising the one and affording the other. But suppose he is dismissed, is there any reason to hope that this step will improve the culprit himself, or better the condition of the school ? Will he not go on to establish himself in vice, unrestrained by any good influence, and at last become a suitable subject for the severity of the laws, an inmate of our prisons, and perhaps a miserable expiator of his own crimes upon the gallows ? How many youth—and youth worth saving, too—have been thus cast out perversely to procure their own ruin, at the very time when they might have been saved by sufficient energy and benev¬ olence, no mortal tongue can tell ! Nor is the school itself usually benefited by this measure. “ For all purposes of evil,” Mr. Mann justly remarks, “ he con¬ tinues in the midst of the very children from among whom he was cast out; and when he associates with 206 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. “ Free trade.”—A creed, and its basis.—The Scriptures. them out of school, there is no one present to abate or neutralize his vicious influences. If the expelled pupil be driven from the district where he belongs into another, in order to prevent his contamination at home, what better can be expected of the place to which he is sent, than a reciprocation of the deed, by their sending one of their outcasts to supply his place ; and thus opening a commerce of evil upon free-trade prin¬ ciples. Nothing is gained while the evil purpose re¬ mains in the heart. Reformation is the great desi¬ deratum ; and can any lover of his country hesitate between the alternative of forcible subjugation and victorious contumacy?” / From all that has been said, it will be seen that I do not hesitate to teach that corporal infliction is one of the justifiable means of establishing authority in the schoolroom. To this conclusion I have come, after a careful consideration of the subject, modified by the varied experience of nearly twenty years, and by a somewhat attentive observation of the workings of all the plans which have been devised to avoid its use or to supply its place. And although I do not understand the Scriptures, and particularly the writings of Solo¬ mon, to recommend a too frequent and ill-considered use of it, I do not find any thing in the letter or spirit of Christianity inconsistent with its proper application. It is the abuse , and not the use of the rod, against which our better feeling, as well as the spirit of Christianity, revolts. It is the abuse of the rod, or rather the abuse of children under the infliction of the rod, that first SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 207 Limitations.—The best thing.—Never in anger. called forth the discussion referred to, and awakened the general opposition to its use. I am free to admit there has been an egregious abuse in this matter, and that to this day it is unabated in many of our schools. I admit, too, that abuse very naturally accompanies the use of the rod, and that very great caution is necessary in those who resort to it, lest they pervert it. I feel called upon therefore before leaving this subject to throw out for the consideration of the young Teacher particularly, a few hints to regulate the infliction of chastisement, under the head of SECTION V.-LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 1. The teacher should be thoroughly convinced that the rod is the best thing for the specific case , be fore he determines to use it. Nor should he hastily or capriciously come to this conviction. He should care¬ fully and patiently try other means first. He should study the disposition of the offender and learn the ten¬ dencies of his mind ; and only after careful delibera¬ tion, should he suffer himself to decide to use this mode of punishment. In order that the punishment should be salutary, the scholar should plainly see that the teacher resorts to it from deep principle , from the full belief that under all the circumstances it is the best thing that can be done. 2. The teacher should never be under the excitement of angry passion when inflicting the punishment. This is of the utmost importance. Most of the abuses 208 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. The young Shaker.—Public opinion.—In presence of the school. before spoken of, grow out of a violation of this fun¬ damental rule. A teacher should never strike for punishment till he is perfectly self-possessed, and en¬ tirely free from the bitterness which perhaps tinctured his mind when he discovered the offense. It was a wise remark of a young Shaker teacher, that “ no teacher should strike a child till he could hold his army So long as the child discovers that the teacher is under the influence of passion, and that his lip trembles with pent-up rage, and his blood flows into his face as if driven by inward fires of wrath, he looks upon him, not as his friend seeking his welfare, but as his enemy indulging in persecution. This will call forth the evil passions of the child, and while he bears the pain, he feels no real penitence ; and very likely in the midst of his suffering he resolves to go and do the same again, out of mere spite. It is moreover of great consequence in the infliction of a punishment, that the teacher should be fully sus¬ tained by the public opinion of the school. He can never expect this when he loses his self-control. If the pupils see that he is angry, they almost instinctively sympathize with the weaker party, and they associate the idea of injustice with the action of the stronger. A punishment can scarcely be of any good tendency, inflicted under such circumstances. 3. Corporal punishment, as a general rule, should he inflicted in presence of the school. I have be¬ fore advised that reproof should be given in private, and assigned reasons for it, which were perhaps SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 209 Reasons for it.—Punishment delayed. satisfactory to the reader. But in case of corporal pun ishment, the offense is of a more public and probably of a more serious nature. If inflicted in private, it will still be known to the school, and therefore the reputation of the scholar is not saved. If inflicted in the proper spirit by the teacher and for proper cause, it always produces a salutary effect upon the school. But a still stronger reason for making the infliction public is, that it puts it beyond the power of the pupil to misrepresent the teacher , as he is strongly tempted to do. if he is alone. He may misstate the degree of severity, and misrepresent the manner of the teacher; and, without witnesses, the teacher is at the mercy of his reports. Sometimes he may ridicule the punishment to his comrades, and lead them to believe that a private in¬ fliction is but a small matter; again, he may exag¬ gerate it to his parents, and charge the teacher most unjustly with unprincipled cruelty. Under these cir¬ cumstances, I am of the opinion that the safest and most effectual way, is to do this work in presence of the school. An honest teacher needs not fear the light of day ; and if he has the right spirit, he needs not fear the effect upon his other pupils. It is only the violent, angry punishment that needs to be concealed from the general eye, and that we have condemned as improper at any rate. 4. Punishment may sometimes he delayed; and al¬ ways delayed till all anger has subsided in the teacher. It is often best for all concerned to defer an infliction for a day or more. This gives the teacher an opportu- 14 i 210 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. Reason for delay.—The instrument.—Punishment effectual. mty in his cooler moments to determine more justly the degree of severity to be used. It will also give the culprit time to reflect upon the nature of his offense and the degree of punishment he deserves. I may say that it is generally wise for the teacher after promising a punishment to take some time to consider what it shall be, whether a corporal infliction or some milder treatment. If after due and careful reflection he comes conscientiously to the conclusion, that bodily pain is the best thing ,—while he will be better prepared to inflict, the pupil by similar reflection will be better prepared to receive it and profit by it. 5. A proper instrument should be used and a proper mode of infliction adopted. No heavy and hurtful weapon should be employed. A light rule for the hand, or a rod for the back or lower extremities, may be preferred. Great care should be exercised to avoid injuring any of the joints in the infliction ; and on no account should a blow be given upon the head. 6. If possible, the punishment should be made effec tual. A punishment that does not produce thorough submission and penitence in the subject of it, can hardly be said to answer its main design. To be sure, in cases of general insubordination in the school, I have said that punishment may be applied to one, having in view the deterring of others from similar offenses. But such exemplary punishment belongs to extreme cases, while disciplinary punishment, which has mainly for its object the reformation of the individual upon whom it is inflicted, should be most relied on. Taking either SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 211 Deliberation, and thorough work.—“ Little whippings.” view of the case, it should if possible answer its design, or it would be better not to attempt it. The teacher’s judgment, therefore, should be very carefully exercised in the matter, and all his knowledge of human nature should be called into requisition. If after careful and conscientious deliberation he comes to the conclusion that the infliction of pain is the best thing, and to the belief that he can so inflict it as to show himself to the school and to the child, in this act as in all others, a true and kind friend to the child,—then he is Justified in making the attempt; and having considerately un¬ dertaken the case, it should be so thorough as not soon to need repetition. I would here take the opportunity to censure the practice of those teachers who punish every little de¬ parture from duty with some trifling appliance of the rod, which the scholar forgets almost as soon as the smarting ceases. Some instructors carry about with them, a ratan or stick, in order to have it ready for appliance as soon as they see any departure from their commands. The consequence is, they soon come to a frequent and inconsiderate use of it, and the pupils by habit become familiar with it, and of course cease to respect their teacher or to dread his punishments. I have seen so much of this, that whenever I see a teacher thus “ armed and equipped ,” I infer at once that his school is a disorderly one, an inference almost invariably confirmed by a few minutes’ observation. My earnest advice to all young teachers would be, 212 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. How to discuss this subject.—Experience of very young men. next to the habit of scolding incessantly, avoid the habit of resorting to the rod on every slight occasion. When that instrument is not demanded for some special exigency, some great occasion and some high purpose, allow it to slumber in a private corner of your desk not again to be called into activity till some moral con vulsion shall disturb its quiet repose. I have a single caution to give in regard to the dis cussion of this subject, which in all our educational gatherings occupies so much time and talent. It is this :— Do not adopt a general principle from too few inductions. There is an old proverb that declares, “one swallow does not make a summer.” , Young teachers are very prone to rely on the experience of a single term. If they have kept one term without cor¬ poral punishment, they are very likely to instruct their seniors with their experience; and if they have happened to be so situated as to be compelled to save themselves bv the rod, why then too their experience forever settles the question. It requires the experience of more than one , or two , or three schools , to enable a man to speak dogmatically on this subject; and I always smile when I hear men, and sometimes very young men, who have never kept school in their lives, perhaps, or at most but a single term, speaking as with the voice of authority Experience is indeed one of our safest guides in this as in every other matter; but they who tell their expe rience should at least wait till they have that which is worthy to be told. There is another point. It is quite fashionable at the SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. 213 Resolutions -A false position.—French resolution. present day, whenever this subject is to be discussed, to propose the matter in the form of a resolution ; as, “ Resolved, that no person is fit to be employed as a teacher, who cannot govern his scholars by holier means than bodily chastisementor, “ Resolved, that no limit should be set to the teacher’s right to use the ‘ rod of correction,’ and that they who denounce the teachers for resorting to it are unworthy of our confidence in matters of education.” Now whoever presents the question in this form, assumes that he has drawn a line through the very core of the truth ; and he undertakes to censure all those who are unwilling to square their opinions by the line thus drawn. In the discussion a man must take one side or the other of the question as it is proposed, and consequently he may take a false position. The better way would be to present the whole subject as matter of free remark, and thus leave every one to present his own views honestly as they lie in his own mind. In this way no one is pledged to this or that party, but is left unprejudiced to discover and embrace the truth wherever it is found. It should moreover be remembered, that resolving by the vote of a meeting in order to force public opinion , can never affect the truth. A few impious, heaven¬ daring men in France, at one of their revels, once resolved , “ there is no God !”—but did this blasphe¬ mous breath efface the impress of Deity on all this fair creation of his power ? And when they rose from their vile debauch and sought with tottering step to leave the scene of madness and to court the dim forgetfulness of 214 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT. A more excellent way.—Higher motives first. sleep,—rolled not the shining orbs in heaven’s high arch above them as much in duty to His will, as when they sang together to usher in creation’s morning ? So it will ever be. Men may declare, and resolve as they please ; but truth is eternal and unchangeable : and they are the wisest men who modestly seek to find her as she is, and not as their perverted imaginations would presume to paint her. Yet after all, in the government of schools, there is a more excellent way. There are usually easier avenues to the heart, than that which is found through the in¬ teguments of the body. Happy is that teacher who is so skillful as to find them ; and gladly would I welcome the day when the number of such skillful and devoted teachers should render any further defence of the rod superfluous. Although I believe that day has not yet arrived, still, in the mean time, I most earnestly urge all teachers to strive to reach the higher motives and the finer feelings of the young, and to rely mainly for success, not upon appeals to fear and force, but upon the power of conscience and the law of reciprocal affection. As I have placed the higher motives and the more desirable means first in order in these remarks on government, so I would always have them first, and perseveringly employed by the teacher; and if by ear¬ nestness in his work, by unfeigned love for the young, by diligence in the study of their natures, and the adapt¬ ation of means to ends which true benevolence is sure SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 215 Minimum the maximum! to suggest, he can govern successfully without corporal punishment—as in a large proportion of cases I believe it can be done—none will rejoice more than I at such a desirable result;—and I most cordially subscribe to the principle so happily stated by another, that in the government of schools, if thorough obedience be but secured and order maintained, other things being equal, “ THE MINIMUM OF PUNISHMENT TS THE MAXIMUM OF EXCELLENCE ” 216 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. A plan.—Forethought.—An eventful moment. CHAPTER X. SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. Every teacher before opening a school should have some general plan in his mind, of what he intends to accomplish. In every enterprise there is great advan¬ tage to be derived from forethought,—and perhaps no¬ where is the advantage greater than in the business of teaching. The day of opening a school is an eventful day to the young teacher. A thousand things crowd upon him at the same time, and each demands a prompt and judicious action on his part. The children to the number of half a hundred all turn their inquiring eyes to him for occupation and direction. They have come full of interest in the prospects of the new school, ready to engage cheerfully in whatever plans the teacher may have to propose ; and, I was about to say, just as ready to arrange and carry into effect their own plans of dis¬ order and misrule, if they, unhappily for him and for themselves, find he has no system to introduce. What a critical—what an eventful moment is this first day of the term to all concerned ! The teacher’s success and usefulness,—nay, his reputation as an efficient instructor,—now “ hang upon the decision of an hour.” An hour, too, may almost foretell whether SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. 217 _ Angelic solicitude.—Low qualifications. lie precious season of childhood and youth now before these immortals, is to be a season of profit and health¬ ful culture under a judicious hand, or a season of wasted—perhaps worse than wasted—existence, under the imbecility or misguidance of one who “ knows not what he does or what he deals with.” If angels ever visit our earth and hover unseen around the gatherings of mortals to survey their ac¬ tions and contemplate their destiny as affected by human instrumentality, it seems to me there can be no spectacle so calculated to awaken their interest and enkindle their sympathy as when they see the young gathering together from their scattered homes in some rural district, to receive an impress, for weal or wo, from the hand of him who has undertaken to guide them. And, supposing them to have the power to ap¬ preciate to the full extent the consequences of human agency, how must they be touched with emotions of joy and gratitude, or shudder with those of horror and dread, as they witness the alternations of wisdom and folly, seriousness and indifference, sincerity and dupli¬ city, purity and defilement, exhibited by him who has assumed to be at once the director and exemplar in the formation of human character, at such an important period. How deplorable is the thought that all the fond hopes of the parents, all the worthy aspirings of the children, and all the thrilling interests of higher beings, are so often to be answered by qualifications so scanty, and by a spirit so indifferent in the teacher of the young. How sad the thought that up to this very moment so ♦ 218 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. The first day.—A suggestion.—Its advantages. pregnant with consequences to all concerned, there has been too often so little of preparation for the responsi¬ bility. I fain would impress the young teacher with the importance of having a plan for even the first day of the school. It will raise him surprisingly in the estimation of the pupils and also of the parents, if he can make an expeditious and efficient beginning of the school. While the dull teacher is slowly devising the plans he will be and by present for the employment and improvement of his school, the children taking advantage of their own exemption from labor, very promptly introduce their own plans for amusing themselves or for annoying him ;—whereas if he could but have his own plans al¬ ready made, and could promptly and efficiently carry them into execution, he - would forestall their mis¬ chievous designs, and make co-operators out of his opposers. In order to be sure of a successful commencement, I would recommend that the teacher should go into the district a few days before the school is to begin. By careful inquiry of the trustees or the school committee, he can ascertain what is the character of the district and the wants of the school. This will afford him con¬ siderable aid. But he should do more than this. He would do well to call on several of the families of the district whose children are to become members of his school. This he can do without any ceremony, simply saying to them that, as he has been appointed their teacher, he is desirous as far as he may, to ascertain SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. 219 Important inquiries.—Caution against meanness. their wants, in order to be as prompt as possible in the organization of his school. He will of course see the children themselves. From them he can learn what was the organization of the school under his prede¬ cessor ; how many studied geography, how many arith¬ metic, grammar, &c.; and he can also learn whether the former organization was satisfactory to the district or not. The modes of government, and the methods of interesting the pupils practised by the former teacher, would be likely to be detailed to him ; and from the manner of both parents and children, he could judge whether similar methods would still be desirable in the district. By calling on several of the largest families in this way, he would learn beforehand very accurately the state of the school and the state of the district. I will take this occasion to insist that the teacher, in these visits, should heartily discourage any for¬ wardness, so common among children, to disparage a former teacher. It should be his sole object to gain useful information. He should give no signs of pleas¬ ure in listening to any unfavorable statements as to his predecessor; and I may add that during the progress of the school, he should ever frown upon any attempt on the part of the pupils to make comparisons deroga¬ tory to a former teacher. This is a practice altogether too prevalent in our schools ; and I am sorry to say there are still too many teachers who are mean enough to countenance it. Such a course is unfair, because the absent party may be grossly misrepresented; it is 220 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. Making personal friends.—A common error.—Mr. Abbot. dangerous, because it tends to cultivate a spirit of detraction in the young; and it is mean , because the party is absent and has no opportunity of defending himself. Another important advantage of the visits proposed would be, that he would make the acquaintance of many of the children beforehand, and very likely, too, if he should go in the right spirit and with agreeable manners, he would make a favorable impression upon them, and thus he would have personal friends on his side to begin with. The parents too would see that he took an interest in his employment; that he had come among them in the spirit of his vocation—in the'spirit of earnestness, and they would become interested in his success,—a point of no small importance. I might here caution the teacher against a very com¬ mon error. He should not confine his visits to the more wealthy and influential families. The poor and the humble should receive his attentions as soon as the rich. From the latter class very likely a large portion of his school will come ; and it is wrong in principle as well as policy to neglect those who have not been as successful as others in the one item of accumulating property. On the day of opening the school he should be early at the school-house. Mr. Abbot, in his Teacher, has some valuable suggestions on this point. “ It is desi¬ rable,” he says, “ that the young teacher should meet his scholars at first in an unofficial capacity. For this purpose, he should repair to the schoolroom, on the first SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. 221 Early at the school.—Why 1 —It should be habitual. day, at an early hour, so as to see and become ac¬ quainted with the scholars as they come in, one by one. He may take an interest with them in all the little ar¬ rangements connected with the opening of the school. The building of the fire, the paths through the snow, the arrangement of seats, calling upon them for information or aid, asking their names, and, in a word, entering fully and freely into conversation with them, just as a parent, under similar circumstances, would do with his children. All the children thus addressed will be pleased with the gentleness and affability of the teacher. Even a rough and ill-natured boy, who has perhaps come to the school with the express determination of attempting to make mischief, will be completely disarmed by being asked pleasantly to help the teacher fix the fire, or alter the position of a desk. Thus by means of the half hour during which the scholars are coming together, the teacher will find, when he calls upon the children to take their seats, that he has made a large number of them his personal friends. Many of these will have communicated their first impressions to others, so that he will find himself possessed, at the outset, of that which is of vital consequence in opening any adminis¬ tration—a strong party in his favor.” It will be well for the teacher, for several days, both in the morning and afternoon, to be early at the school¬ room. He can thus continue his friendly intercourse with the pupils, and effectually prevent any concerted action among them at that hour to embarrass his gov¬ ernment. Many a school has been seriously injured, if 222 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. Roguery promoted.—A day’s work.—“ What shall I do?” not broken up, by the scholars’ being allowed to assemble early at the school with nothing to occupy them and no one to restrain them. Having so con¬ venient an opportunity for mischief, their youthful activity will be very likely to find egress in an evil direction. Many a tale of roguery could be told founded upon the incidents of the schoolroom before school hours, if those who have good memories would but reveal their own experience ;—roguery that never would have occurred, had the teacher adopted the course here suggested. SECTION I.—PLAN OF THE DAY’S WORK. ' It will be remembered by many of the readers of this volume, that in former times numerous teachers were accustomed'to work without a plan, attempting to do their work just as it happened to demand attention, but never taking the precaution to have this demand under their own control. If one scholar or class was not ready to recite, another would be called ; and there being no particular time for the various exercises, the school would become a scene of mere listlessness ; and the teacher would hardly know how to find employment for himself in the school. I shall make this point clearer by an example. Having occasion, in an official capacity, to visit a school which had been kept by a young teacher some two weeks, she very naturally asked—“ What shall I do first, this afternoon SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. 223 “Yes, m’m.”—Veto.—A hard time.—A hint given. “ Do precisely as you would if I had not come in,” was the reply. She looked a little perplexed. At length she doubtingly asked,—“ Is the geography lesson ready “ Yes, m’m”—“ No, m’m”—“Yes, m’m,”—was the ambiguous reply from the class. There was so much of veto in the looks of the young geographers, that it amounted to prohibition. “ Well, are the scholars in Colburn’s arithmetic ready ?” This was said with more of hope ; but the same equivocal answer was vociferated from all parts of the room. The teacher, placing her finger upon her lip, looked despairingly ; but recollecting one more resort, she said,—“ Is the grammar class ready ?” Again came the changes on “ Yes, m’m,” and “ No, m’m.” The teacher gave up, and asked what she should do. She was again told to go on as usual for that afternoon. It was a tedious afternoon to her as it was to her visitor. She at length called one of the classes, unpre¬ pared as many of them said they were, and the exercise showed that none but thc^e who said “ Yes, m’m”,were mistaken. The whole afternoon seemed to be one of pain and mortification to all concerned ; and I fancied I could almost read in the knitted brow of the teacher a declaration that that should be her last school. At the close of the afternoon, a single hint was sug¬ gested to her,—viz., that she should make out a list of her scholars’ duties, and the times when they should be SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. 224 Improvement.—A case supposed.—Classification. expected to recite their several lessons. She was told that it would be well to explain this plan of her day’s work to her school in the morning, and then never again ask whether a class was ready. The hint was taken; and on subsequent visitations the several classes were ever ready to respond to the call of their instructor. Now this matter is no unimportant one to the teacher. Indeed I judge of a teacher’s ability very much by the wisdom and tact with which he apportions his time for his own duties, and divides the time of his scholars between their studies and recitations. In order to aid the young teacher in forming a plan for himself, I subjoin a scheme of a dray’s duties, adapted to a school of the simplest grade. Suppose a school to consist of thirty scholars, and that the teacher finds by inquiry and by examination that there may be four grand divisions ; the first, which he designates [A,] may unite in pursuing Reading, Grammar, Mental Arithmetic, Written Arithmetic, and Writing. The second, [B,] can pursue Reading, Spelling, Writing, Geography, Mental and Written Arithmetic. The third, [C,] attend to Reading, Spelling, Mental Arith¬ metic, Writing, and Geography. The fourth, [D,] consisting of the small pupils, attend to Reading, Spell¬ ing, Tables, and sundry slate exercises. Now it is very desirable that as much time should be devoted to recitation as can be afforded to each class. It may be seen at onc^, that in certain studies, as geography, mental arithmetic, and spelling—the teacher SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. oqc; Preliminary considerations.—A scheme. can as well attend to fifteen at once as to seven. In these studies, unless the disparity in age and attain¬ ment is very great, two divisions can very properly be united. All can be taught writing at once, thus receiving the teacher’s undivided attention for the time. Besides, it is necessary to reserve some little time for change of exercises, and also for the interruptions which must necessarily occur. The recesses are to be provided for, and some time may be needed for investigation of violations of duty, and for the punish¬ ment of offenders. All this variety of work will occur in every school, even the smallest. Now, if the teacher does not arrange this in accordance with some plan, he will be very much perplexed, even in a small school; and how much more in a large one ! He will do well very carefully to consider the relative importance of each exercise to be attended to, and then to write out his scheme somewhat after the following model. It must not be forgotten that studying is also to be provided for, and that it is just as important that the pupils should be regular in this as in recitation. Indeed, without such regularity he cannot expect ao ceptable recitations. 15 22 6 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. Program. For the above supposed circumstances. Time. M. Recitations , Mr. Ilsley. C. Class. Friday. ) A. B. C. Class. Tuesd. ) Class. Thurs. J H * ] Class. Satur. $ Howart1 ' \ 232 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. Models not to be copied.—Teacher must think.—Interruptions. ' ’ / If I have devoted considerable space to this subject, it is because I deem it of very great importance to the teacher’s success. With one other remark I dismiss it. These models are not given to be servilely copied. They are given to illustrate the great principle. The circumstances of schools will be found to vary so widely, that no model, however perfect in itself, would answer for all. The teacher must exercise his own ingenuity and judgment to meet his own wants ; and in general it may be remarked that where a teacher has not the skill to adapt his own plans to his own circum stances, he can hardly be expected to succeed in carry ing out thg plans of another. SECTION II.—INTERRUPTIONS. In every school consisting of pupils of different ages and circumstances, there will be more or less of inter¬ ruption to the general order and employment of the school. Some of the pupils have never been trained to system at home ; perhaps most of them may have been positively taught to disregard it at school. At any rate, “ it must needs be,” in this particular, “ that offenses come.” Nor should the teacher lose his pa¬ tience though he should be often disturbed by the thoughtlessness of his pupils. He should expect it as a matter of course, and exercise his ingenuity as far as possible to prevent it. It may well be one of his sources of enjoyment to witness an improvement in the habits of his pupils in regard to system. SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. 233 A scene from nature.—Business accumulates.—A crisis. These interruptions proceed from various causes,— such as soliciting leave to speak, or to go out; asking for some assistance in learning lessons, or for leave to drink, or to stand by the fire ; requesting the teacher to mend pens, or to set copies ; disorderly conduct in pupils, making it necessary, in his judgment, to admin¬ ister reproof or punishment in the midst of other duties, —and sometimes the vociferous and impatient making of complaints by one scholar against another. How many times I have seen a teacher involved in indescribable perplexity, while trying to perform the duty of instruction, and to “ get through” in time While hearing a grammar lesson, a scholar brings up his atlas to have some place pointed out which he had upon one trial failed to find. The teacher turning to look for the place, is addressed with “Please mend my pen,” from another quarter. Having the knife in hand, as if such things were to be expected, the obliging teacher takes the pen, and holding it be¬ tween his eyes and the atlas, endeavors to shape its nib and to discover the city at the same glance. “ Jane keeps a pinching me,”—vociferates a little girl who is seated behind the class. “ Jane, Jane,” says the teacher, turning away from both the nib and the city, “ Jane, come to me instantly.” Jane with the guilty fingers thrust far into her mouth makes her way side¬ ling towards the teacher. “ May I go out ?”—says John, who is thinking only of his own convenience. “ No, no”—answers the teacher, a little pettishly, as if conscious that in a crisis like this, a request simply to 234 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. A pail of water.—A juncture and a conjunction !—A truce. breathe more freely is scarcely justifiable. “ Please, sir, let me and Charles go out and get a pail of water.” This is said by a little shrewd-looking, round-faced, light-haired boy, who has learned how to select his time, and to place the emphasis upon the 11 please, sir'’ The teacher by this time being considerably fretted by such an accumulation of business on his hands, very naturally thinks of the refreshment contained in a pail of cool water, and very good-naturedly answers the little urchin in the affirmative, who most likely is by this time more than half way out of the door, so confi¬ dent is he of success. Just at this juncture a consid- . erate-looking miss in the class earnestly appeals to the teacher, to know if the word next but three to the last, was not a common noun, though called a conjunction ! This reminds the teacher that several words have been parsed without his notice, and he asks the class to “ stop there.” Glancing at his watch, he discovers that he has gone three minutes beyond the time for recess, and he relieves himself by saying, “ boys may go out.” This grants a truce to all parties. The pen goes back unmended ; the atlas with its sought city undiscovered ; John “goes out” now by common law, taking to himself the credit of this happy release, as he asked only to remind the master that it was time for recess; Jane takes both thumb and finger from her precious little mouth, and smiling seats herself by the side of her late challenger, who is by this time more than half repentant of her own impatience ; the shrewd-looking urchin and his companion return with the refreshing pail of water, SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. 235 Sunshine again.—Lancaster’s motto.—System. —the boys and girls gather round to obtain the first draught, while the little chubby-faced lad comes for ward, clothed in smiles, with a cup filled with the cooling liquid on purpose for the master; the boon is accepted, the perplexed brow becomes placid, and all is sunshine again.—This is not a very extravagant picture of the interruptions in a district school. Those who have been brought up in such a school, will recognise the fidelity of the likeness , as it has been drawn from nature. Now whoever has any knowledge of human nature, and of school teaching, will at once see that this is all wrong. It is a law of our being, that we can do well but one thing at a time. He who attempts more, must do what he attempts but very imperfectly. There was a great deal of wisdom embodied in that motto which used to be placed in the old Lancasterian schools ; “ A TIME FOR EVERY THING, AND EVERY THING IN ITS time.” It should be one of the mottoes of every teacher. In the construction of the plan or program for the day’s duties, great care should be taken to provide for all these little things. If whispering is to be allowed at all in school, let it come into one of the intervals between recitations. If assistance in getting lessons is to be asked and rendered, let it be done at a time assigned for the special purpose. As far as possible, except in extreme cases, let the discipline be attended to at the time of general ex¬ ercise, or some other period assigned to it, so that there shall not be a ludicrous mixture of punish- 236 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. Teaching delightful.—When?—Reverse.—Recesses.—How often? ments and instruction during the progress of a class exercise. It is pleasant to visit a school, where every thing is done and well done at its proper time. Teaching, under such circumstances, becomes a delightful em¬ ployment. But where all is confusion, and the teacher allows himself by the accumulation of irregularities to be oppressed and perplexed, it is one of the most wearing and undesirable vocations on earth. The teacher goes to his lodgings harassed with care, op¬ pressed with a consciousness of the imperfection of his labors, and exhausted by the unnatural and unwar¬ rantable tax imposed upon his mental faculties. He groans under the burden incident to his calling, and longs to escape from it, never once dreaming, perhaps, that he has the power of relieving himself by the intro¬ duction of system, and thus changing his former babel into a scene of quietness and order. SECTION III.—RECESSES. In speaking of the arrangements of a school, the sub¬ ject of recesses demands attention. It is the belief of many enlightened instructors, that the confinement in most of our schools is still too protracted, and that more time devoted to relaxation would be profitable both to the physical and the mental constitution of our youth. Some have urged a recess of a few minutes every hour, in order to afford opportunity for a change of position and a change of air. This could better be SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. 237 One each session.—Ten minutes to each sex.—Separate playground. done in schools composed only of one sex, or where the accommodation of separate yards and play-grounds permits both sexes to take a recess at the same time. Where these accommodations are wanting, and one sex must wait while the other is out, the time re quired for two recesses, in half a day, for the whole school, could scarcely be afforded. I am of the opinion, as our schools are at present composed, that one recess in the half day for each sex is all that can be allowed. The question then is, how can that one recess be made most conducive to the purposes for which it is designed ? 1. As to its duration. Ten minutes is the least time that should be thought of, if the children are to be kept closely confined to study during the remainder of the three hours’ session ; that is, ten minutes for each sex. It would be a very desirable thing if our school-houses could be so furnished with separate play-grounds and separate out-door accommodations, that both sexes could take recess at the same time. This would save much time to the district in the course of a term, and it would also give opportunity for thoroughly ventilating the room during recess, while it would afford the teacher opportunity to take the air, and overlook the sports of the children to some extent,—a matter of no small importance. Where these facilities are wanting, and the teacher must remain within to preside over the one half of the school while the others are out, he may still give ten minutes at least to each sex, contriving to employ 233 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. Teacher’s work at recess.—Proper hour. profitably the time within doors. He may reserve this time for settling such difficulties as may have arisen in the school ; he may administer reproofs, inflict his pun¬ ishments if any are necessary, or he may spend the time in giving assistance to the pupils, or in drawing upon the blackboard for the advantage of the younger pupils as they come in. In a large school, where a longer recess is the more necessary on account of the bad air of the schoolroom, he will find the more duty to be done at this time ; so that in any event the time need not be lost, even if fifteen minutes be allowed to each sex. 2. As to the proper hour for recess. It was an old rule to have recess when “ school was half done.” In¬ deed, this expression was often used as synonymous with recess in many districts twenty-five years ago. It is now generally thought better to have the recess occur later, perhaps when the school session is two thirds past. It is found that children, accustomed to exercise all the morning, can better bear the confinement of the first two hours than they can that of the third, even though the recess immediately precedes the third. In a school the half-daily sessions of which are three hours, I should recommend that the recess be introduced so as to terminate at the close of the second hour. As far as possible, it would be well to have all the pupils leave the room at the time recess is given them; and as a general thing they should not ask leave to go out at any other time. A little system in this matter is as desirable as in any other, and it is quite as feasible. SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. 239 Young children.—Teachers fail in assigning lessons.—Not too long.—Why l In a school composed partly of very young children, there is no difficulty in giving such children two re¬ cesses each half day. Nor is there any objection to such a course. It is more irksome to young children to bear confinement, than to the adult; especially as they cannot be expected to be constantly occupied. It will relieve the teacher very much to have the children go out of the room as soon as they become fatigued , and, as it will promote their own health and happiness to go, it is very justifiable to grant them the privilege This may properly and easily be provided for upon the Program. SECTION IV.—ASSIGNING LESSONS. Many teachers fail in this department. Judging of the difficulty of the lesson by the ease with which they can acquire it, even in a text-book new to themselves, they not infrequently assign more than can possibly be learned by the children. They forget that by long dis¬ cipline of mind, and by the aid of much previously ac¬ quired knowledge, the lesson becomes comparatively easy to them ; they forget, too, the toil a similar lesson cost them when they were children. Now the effect of poorly learning a lesson is most ruinous to the mind of a child. He, by the habit of missing, comes to think it a small thing to fail at recitation. He loses his self-respect. He loses all regard for his reputation as a scholar. It is truly deplorable to see a child fail in a lesson with indifference. Besides, the attempt to ac- 240 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. Not how much, but how well.—Good habits of study. quire an unreasonable lesson, induces a superficial habit of study,—a skimming over the surface of things. The child studies, that he may live through the recita¬ tion ; not that he may learn and remember. He passes thus through a book, and thinks himself wise while he is yet a fool,—a mistake that is no less common than fatal. The motto of the wise teacher should be, “ Not how much, but how well.” He should always ask, is it possible that the child can master this lesson, and probable that he will ? It is better that a class should make but very slow progress for several weeks, if they but acquire the habit of careful study and a pride of good scholarship—a dread of failure,—than that they should ramble over a whole field, firing at random, missing oftener than they hit the mark, and acquiring a stupid indifference to their reputation as marksmen, and a prodigal disregard to their waste of ammunition, and their loss of the game. In assigning lessons, the importance of good habits of study should be considered, and the lessons given accordingly. At the commencement of a term, the les¬ sons should always be short, till the ability of the pupils is well understood, and their habits as good students established. As the term progresses, they can be gradually lengthened as the capacity of the class will warrant, or their own desire will demand. It is fre¬ quently judicious to consult the class about the length of the lessons, though to be sure their judgment can not always be relied on, for they are almost always SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. 241 A failure is a fault.—Reviews.—Frequent.—Why ? ready to undertake more than they can well perform. Assigning, however, somewhat less than they propose, will take from them all excuse for failure. When the * lesson is given, a failure should be looked upon as a culpable dereliction of duty, as incompatible with a good conscience as it is with good scholarship. This high ground cannot be taken, however, unless the teacher has been very judicious in the assignment of the lesson. SECTION V—REVIEWS. In the prosecution of study by any class of students, frequent reviews are necessary. This is so, because the memory is very much aided by repetition and by association. But further, the understanding is often very much improved by a review. Many of the sci¬ ences cannot be presented in independent parts, nor can all the terms employed be fully appreciated till these parts are again viewed as a whole. Many things which were but dimly seen the first time they were passed over, become perfectly clear to the mind when viewed afterwards in connection with what follows them. In conducting reviews, regard must be had to the age and character of the pupils, and to the branch pur¬ sued. In arithmetic, and indeed in mathematics gen¬ erally, where so much depends upon every link in the great chain, very frequent reviews are necessary. In¬ deed, almost daily it is profitable to call up some prin¬ ciple before gone over. In several branches, where the 16 212 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. Application of principles to practical life.—A general review. parts have a less intimate connection, as in geography, natural philosophy, and some others, the reviews may be at greater intervals. It would be well, I think, in every common school, to have a review-day once a week. This, besides the advantages already indicated, will lead the children to study for something beyond recitation. Nor is it enough, at the review, that the questions of the text-book be again proposed to the children. If this be all, they will only exercise their memories. As far as possible the subject should be called up, and the application of principles to practical life should be dwelt upon. If this course is expected by the learners, they will think during tire week, in order to anticipate the examination of the teacher ; and this thinking is more profitable to them than the know¬ ledge itself. It is always well, besides the periodical reviews, to have a general review at the close of any particular study. This enables the teacher to detect any false conceptions which the pupil has entertained during the first course. He can now present the subject as a whole, and view one part by the light of another. In natural philosophy, how much better the law of reflected motion can be appreciated after the subject of optics has been studied, in which the doctrine of reflection in general has been fully discussed and illustrated. In physiology, what light is thrown upon the process of growth in the system, by the subse¬ quent chapters on absorption and secretion. How . much clearer is the economy of respiration understood SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. 243 An exception.—Examinations not without objections. when viewed in connection with the circulation of the blood. A general review then is an enlightening process, and it is always profitable, with, perhaps, one exception. When it is instituted with reference to a public examination, it is very doubtful whether the evil is not greater than the good. It then degenerates into an effort to appear well at a particular time ; it is again studying in order to recite ; and I look upon it as no small evil, that the mind should have any object in view which comes in between it and the grand desire to know ,—to master the subject for its own sake, and not simply for the purpose of being able to talk about it on one great occasion. SECTION VI.-PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS. It is now the usage in all our schools to have public examinations,—generally at the close of a term, or a portion of a term,—in order to test, in some measure, the industry and skill of the teacher, and the proficiency of the pupils. I am hardly prepared to oppose this usage, because I am inclined to be¬ lieve examinations are of some utility as a means of awakening an interest in the parents of the children : perhaps they do something to stimulate school-officers, and also to excite to greater effort during the term both the teacher and the pupils. Still, public exam¬ inations, as frequently conducted, are not without serious objections. 1. They certainly cannot be looked upon as criterions of the faithfulness or success 244 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. Not to be taken as indices of proficiency.—Encourage deception. of teachers. A man with tact, and without honesty, may make his school appear to far greater advantage than a better man can make a better school appear. This has often happened. It is not the most faithful and thorough teaching that makes the show and attracts the applause at a public exhibition. It is the superficial, mechanical, memoriter exercise that is most imposing. Who has not seen a class, that recited by rote and in concert at a celebration, win the largest approbation, when many of the individuals knew not the import of the words they uttered. Names in geography have been thus “ said or sung,” when the things signified were to the children as really terrce incognitce as the fairy lands of Sinbad the Sailor. 2. Nor can such exhibitions be claimed justly to indicate the proficiency of the pupils. Every expe¬ rienced teacher knows that the best scholars often fail at a public examination, and the most indolent and superficial often distinguish themselves. The spec tators, not unfrequenlly, in pointing out the talent of the school, make the teacher smile at their blunders. 3. They present a strong temptation to dishonesty on the part of the teacher. Since so much stress is laid upon the examination, and particularly, in some regions, upon the Celebration , where several schools are brought together to make a show for a few hours, it must be rather an uncommon man who will have sufficient principle to exhibit his school as it is, and refuse to make those efforts so very common to have SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. 245 Preparation to make a show.—Sometimes useful.—When? it appear ivhat it is not. The wish, expressed or implied, of the parents, and the ambition of the children, all conspire to make the teacher yield to a usage so common. Consequently, several weeks will be spent to prepare the children to appear in public. During this time, they study not for improve ment, not for future usefulness, but simply to make a show at the public celebration. An unworthy and unwarrantable motive actuates them during all this process ; and, at last, unless strangely benighted, they are conscious of holding up a false appearance to the w r orld. Now, under such circumstances, what- ever of good is effected, by way of enkindling a zeal in the parents, is dearly purchased. The sacrifice of principle in a teacher—much more in the children —is a large price to pay for the applause of a few visitors, or even for an increase of interest among them in the cause of popular education. Examinations, however, which are less showy, and which are of such a character as thoroughly to sift the teachings that have been given, and to thwart any ingenious efforts specially to prepare for them—- examinations that look back to the general teaching of the term, or the year, and test the accuracy and thoroughness of the instructions—are unquestionably very desirable and useful. To make them so in the highest sense, and to exempt them from an evil tendency upon the minds of the young themselves, the teacher should he strictly honest. Not a lesson should be (riven with sole reference to the exhibition 246 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. Great motives.—Further caution.—Teacher should be honest. at the close ; not an exercise should be omitted because the examination approaches. The good teacher should keep those great motives before the mind, which look to future usefulness, and to the discharge of duty. The child should be taught that he is accountable for what he acquires, and what he may acquire, and not for what he may appear to have acquired ; and that this accountability is not confined to a single day, soon to pass and be forgotten; but it runs through all time and all eternity. I know not but the expectation of an examination may stimulate some to greater exertion, and make them better scholars. If this be so, it may be well enough ; and yet I should be slow to present such a motive to the mind of a child, because a special or secondary accountability always detracts from the general and chief. A strong reason, in addition to those already assigned, why special preparation should not be made for the examination, is, that where such preparation is ex¬ pected, the pupils become careless in their ordinary exercises. While, then, I think too much stress is at present placed upon showy exhibitions and celebrations, and that objections and dangers attend examinations , as frequently conducted, I would not recommend alto¬ gether their discontinuance. I would rather urge that the teacher, by his inflexible honesty, should make them fair representations of the actual condition of his school, without relying very much upon them SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS. 247 Restrictions and limitations.—Profitable examinations. as a means of stimulating the pupils to exertion ; that the pupils should be made to feel that the results of their exertion through the term, rather than a few special efforts near its close, would be brought into review ; that no hypocrisy or management should ever be tolerated, in order to win the applause of the multi¬ tude; that no particular lessons should ever be assigned for the occasion; that it should be remembered, that the moral effect of an occasional failure at examination, will be more salutary upon the school than unbroken success ; and that the children are irreparably injured, when they are made in any way the willing instruments of false pretension. Under such circumstances, examinations may be profitable to all concerned. If teacher and pupils have done well, they have the opportunity of showing it without violence to their own consciences. The em¬ ployers, and patrons too, have some means of forming a correct estimate of the value of their school ; and all parties may be encouraged and stimulated. But above all things, let the teacher be honest. 248 the teacher’s relation Talents in a clergyman.—Private character. CHAPTER XI. the teacher’s relation to the parents of his PUPILS. In the choice of a clergyman, after estimating his moral and religious character, and ascertaining the order of his pulpit talents, a third question remains to be an¬ swered, viz :—What are his qualifications as.a pastor? How is he adapted to fulfil the various relations of pri¬ vate friend and counsellor ; and in the family circle, in his intercourse with the aged and the young, how is he fitted to , “ Allure to brighter worlds and lead the way” ? In that sacred profession every one knows that nearly as much good is to be done by private intercourse as in the public ministration. Many a heart can be reached by a friendly and informal conversation, that would re¬ main unmoved by the most powerful eloquence from the pulpit. Besides, many we prepared to be profited in the public exercises by that intercourse in private which has opened their hearts, removed prejudice, and engen¬ dered a feeling of friendly interest in the preacher. The admonitions of the gospel thus have the double power of being truth, and truth uttered by the lips of a valued friend TO TIIE PARENTS OF HIS PUPILS. 219 Social qualities in a teacher.—He should call on the parents. It is, to some extent, thus with the school teacher. He may be very learned and very apt to teach, and yet fail of success in his district. Hence it is highly im¬ portant that he should possess and carefully cultivate those social qualities, which will greatly increase his usefulness. The teacher should consider it a part of his duty, whenever he enters a district, to excite a deeper interest there among the patrons of the school than they have ever before felt. He should not be satisfied till he has reached every mind connected with his charge in such a way, that they will cheerfully co-operate with him and sustain his judicious efforts for good. Being imbued with a deep feeling of the importance of his work, he should let them see that he is alive to the in¬ terests of their children. To this end,— 1. He should seek frequent opportunities of inter¬ course with the parents. Though the advances toward this point, by the strict rules of etiquette, should be made by the parents themselves—(as by some it is ac¬ tually and seasonably done)—yet, as a general thing, taking the world as we find it, the teacher must lead the way. He must often introduce himself uninvited to the people among whom he dwells, calling at their homes in the spirit of his vocation, and conversing with them freely about his duty to their children and to themselves. Every parent of course will feel bound to be courteous and civil in his own house ; and, by such an interview, perhaps a difference of opinion, a prejudice, or a sus¬ picion may be removed, and the foundation of a mutual good understanding be laid, which many little troubles 250 the teacher’s relation _*k_-— -- - ■ ■ - ' ■ - ■ Object of his calls.—He should explain his plans. can never shake. It may be very useful to have an in- ♦ terview with such parents as have been disturbed by some administration of- discipline upon members of their families. Let me not be understood, however, to recom¬ mend that the teacher should ever go to the parent in a cringing, unmanly spirit. It would probably be far better that the parties should ever remain entire stran¬ gers, than that their meeting should necessarily be an occasion of humiliating retraction on the part of the teacher. Neither should the parents ever be allowed to expect that the teacher always will as a matter of duty come to their confessional. But it is believed, if there could be a meeting of the parties a*s men, as gentlemen, as Christians, as coadjutors for the child’s welfare, it would always be attended with good results. 2. He should he willing to explain all his plans to the parents of his pupils. If they had implicit confi¬ dence in him, and would readily and fully give him every facility for carrying forward all his designs with¬ out explanation, then, perhaps, this direction might not be necessary. But as the world is, he cannot expect spontaneous confidence. They wish to know his de¬ signs, and it is best they should be informed of them by himself. The best way for the teacher to interest them in the business of education, will be freely to converse with them concerning the measures he intends to adopt. If his plans are judicious, he of course can show good reasons why they should be carried into effect; and parents are generally willing to listen to reason, espe¬ cially when it .is directed to the benefit of their own TO THE PARENTS OF HIS PUPILS. 251 Encourage inquiry.—No mystery.—Encourage parental visitation. children. Many a parent, upon the first announcement of a measure in school, has stoutly opposed it, who upon a little explanatory conversation with the teacher, would entertain a very different opinion, and ever after would be most ready to countenance and support it. It seems to me a teacher may safely encourage in¬ quiry into all his movements in school. There is an old saying—in my opinion a mischievous one,—which enjoins it as a duty upon all, to “ tell no tales out of school.” I see no objection to the largest liberty in this matter. Why may not every thing be told, if told cor¬ rectly ? Parents frequently entertain a suspicious spirit as to the movements of the teacher. Would not very much of this be done away, if it was understood there was no mystery about the school ? The teacher who would thus invite inquiry, would be very careful never to do any thing which he would not be willing to have related to the parents, or even to be witnessed by them. I would have no objection, if it were possible, that the walls of our schoolrooms, as you look inward, should be transparent, so that any individual unperceived might view with his own eyes the movements within. The consciousness of such an oversight would work a healthy influence upon those who have too long de¬ lighted in mystery. 3. The teacher should encourage parents frequently to visit his school. There is almost everywhere too great backwardness on the part of parents to do this duty. The teacher should early invite them to come in. It is not enough that he do this in .general terms. 252 the teacher’s relation Begin with mothers.—Be honest.—No false pretences. Me may fix the time, and arrange the party, so that those who would assimilate, should be brought together. It will frequently be wise to begin with the mothers, where visitation has been unusual. They will soon bring in the fathers. As often as they come they will be bene¬ fited. When such visits are made, the teacher should not depart from his usual course of instruction on their account. Let all the recitations and explanations be attended to, all praises and reproofs, all rewards and pun¬ ishments be as faithfully and punctually dispensed as if no person were present. In other words, let the teacher faithfully exhibit the school just as it is, its lights and its shadows, so that they may see all its wordings, and understand all its trials as well as its encouragements. Such visitations under such circumstances, it is be¬ lieved, would ever be highly beneficial. The teacher’s difficulties and cares would be better understood, and his efforts to be useful appreciated. The hindrances, thus seen to impede his progress, would be promptly removed, and the teacher would receive more cordial sympathy and support. But if the teacher makes such visits the occasion for putting a false appearance upon the school; if he takes to himself unusual airs, such as make him ridiculous in the eyes of his pupils, and even in his own estimation ; if he attempts to bring before the visitors his best classes, and to impress them with his own skill by showing off his best scholars, they will, sooner or later, discover his hypocrisy, and very likely despise him for an attempt to deceive them. TO THE PARENTS OF HIS PUPILS. 2'3 Be frank and true with parents.—No evasion. 4. The teacher should he frank in all his represen¬ tations to parents concerning their children. This is a point upon which many teachers most lamentably err. In this, as in every other case, “ honesty is the best policy.” If an instructor informs a parent during the term that his son is making rapid progress, or as the phrase is—“ doing very well,” he excites in him high expectations; and if at the end of the term it turns out otherwise, the parent with much justice may feel that he has been injured, and may be expected to load him with censure instead of praise. Let a particular an¬ swer, and a true one , always be given to the inquiry— “ How does my child get along?” The parent has a right to know, and the teacher has no right to conceal the truth. Sometimes teachers, fearing the loss of a pupil, have used some indefinite expression , which, how¬ ever, the doating parent is usually ready to interpret to his child’s advantage. But sooner or later the truth will appear ; and when the teacher is once convicted of any misrepresentation in this particular, there is rarely any forgiveness for him. For this reason and for his own love of truth, for his own reputation and for the child’s welfare, he should keep nothing back. He should tell the whole story plainly and frankly,—and the parent, if he is a gentleman, will thank him for his faithfulness to him ; and if he has any sense of justice, he will be ready to cooperate with him for his child’s improvement. At any rate such a course will ensure the reward of a good conscience. The teacher, as I have before urged, should have 254 the teacher’s relation. Study the art of conversation.—Be modest.—“ Out-door work.” the habits and manners of a gentleman. He should strive also to acquire the ability to converse in an easy and agreeable way, so that his society shall never be irksome. He, in other words, should be a man who does not require much entertaining Modesty, withal, is a great virtue in the teacher; especially in his intercourse with the people of his district. Teachers, from their almost constant inter¬ course with their pupils, are apt to think their own opinions infallible ; and they sometimes commit the ridiculous error, of treating others wiser than them¬ selves as children in knowledge. This infirmity, incident to the profession, should be carefully~avoided ; and while the teacher should ever endeavor to make his conversation instructive, he should assume no airs of superior learning or infallible authority. He should remember the truth in human nature, that men are best pleased to learn without being reminded that they are learners. I have known some teachers, who have sneered at what they have termed, the “ out-door work” here recommended. They have thrown themselves upon their dignity, and have declared that when they had done their duty within the schoolroom, they had done all that could be expected, and that parents were hound to co-operate with them, and sustain them. But, after all, we must take the world as we find it; and since parents do not always feel interested as they should, I hold it to be a part of the teacher’s duty to excite their interest, and to win TO THE PARENTS OF HIS PUPILS. 255 Its result. them to his aid by all the proper means in his power. In doing this, he will, in the most effectual way, secure the progress of his school, and at the same time advance his own personal improvement. 256 TEACHER S CARE OF HIS HEALTH. Many invalid teachers.—Reasons. CHAPTER XII. teacher’s CARE OF HIS HEALTH. No employment is more wearing to the constitution than the business of teaching. So many men falter in this employment from ill health, and so many are deterred from entering it, because they have witnessed the early decay and premature old age of those who have before pursued it ; so many are still engaged in it who almost literally “drag their slow length along, ’ groaning under complicated forms of disease and loss of spirits, which they know not how to tolerate or cure,—that it has become a serious inquiry among the more intelligent of the profession, “ Cannot something be known and practised on this subject, which shall remove the evils complained of?” Is it absolutely necessary that teachers shall be dyspeptics and inva¬ lids ? Must devotion to a calling so useful, be attended with a penalty so dreadful ? A careful survey of the facts, by more than one philanthropist, has led to the conclusion, that the loss of health is not a necessary attendant upon the teacher of the young. It is believed, indeed, that the confine ment from the air and sunlight, and the engrossing teacher’s care of his health. 257 Laws of health should be studied.—Effect of a change of employment. nature of bis pursuits, have a strong tendency to bring on an irritability of the nervous system, a depression of spirits, and a prostration of the digestive functions ; but it is also believed, that, by following strictly and systematically the known laws of health, this tendency may be successfully resisted, and the teacher’s life and usefulness very much prolonged. The importance of the subject, and a desire to render this volume as useful as possible, has induced me to ask leave to transfer to its pages, with slight abbreviation, the very judicious and carefully written chapter on “ Health— Exercise—Diet,” contained in the “ School and the Schoolmaster,” from the gifted pen of George B. Emerson, Esq., of Boston,—one of the most enlight¬ ened educators of the present age. HEALTH - EXERCISE - DIET. “ The teacher should have perfect health. It may seem almost superfluous to dwell here upon what is admitted to be so essential to all persons ; but it becomes necessary, from the fact that nearly all those who engage in teaching, leave other and more active employments to enter upon their new calling. By this change, and by the substitution of a more sedentary life within-doors, for a life of activity abroad, the whole habit of the body is changed, and the health will inevitably suffer, unless precautions be taken which have never before been necessary. To all 17 253 TEACHERS CARE OF IIIS HEALTH. Exercise.—Teacher specially needs it.—Walking.—How? such persons—to all, especially, who are entering upon the work of teaching with a view of making it their occupation through life, a knowledge of the laws of health is of the utmost importance, and to such this chapter is addressed. I shall speak of these laws briefly, under the heads of Exercise, Air, Sleep, Food, and Dress. “ Exercise. So intimate is the connection between the various parts of our compound nature, that the faculties of the mind cannot be naturally, fully, and effectually exercised, without the lyealth of the body. And the first law of health is, that which imposes the necessity of exercise. “ The teacher cannot be well without exercise, and usually a great deal of it. No other pursuit requires so much,—no other is so exhausting to the nerves ; and exercise, air, cheerfulness, and sunshine, are necessary to keep them in health. Most other pursuits give exercise of body, sunshine, and air, in the very performance of the duties that belong to them. This shuts us up from all. “ One of the best, as one of the most natural modes of exercise, is walking. To give all the good effects of which it is susceptible, a walk must be taken either in pleasant company, or, if alone, with pleasant thoughts ; or, still better, with some agreeable end in view, such as gathering plants, or minerals, or observing other natural objects. Many a broken constitution has been built up, and many a valuable life saved and prolonged, by such a love teacher’s care of his health. 259 President Hitchcock.—Riding on horseback.—Garden. of some branch of natural history as has led to snatch every opportunity for a walk, with the interest of a delightful study, ‘ Where living things, and things inanimato Do speak, at Heaven’s command, to eye and ear.’ The distinguished geologist of Massachusetts, Presi dent Hitchcock, was once, when teacher of a school, reduced to so low a state by disease of the nerves, which took the ugly shape of dyspepsy, that he seemed to be hurrying rapidly towards the grave. Fortunately, he became interested in mineralogy, and this gave him a strong motive to spend all his leisure time in the open air, and to take long circuits in every direction. He forgot that he was pursuing health, in the deeper interest of science ; and thus, aided by some other changes in his habits, but not in his pursuits, he gradually recov¬ ered the perfect health which has enabled him to do so much for science, and for the honor of his native State. “ Riding on horseback, is one of the best modes of exercise possible for a sedentary person. It leads to an erect posture, throws open the chest, gives a fuller breathing, and exercises the muscles of the arms and upper part of the frame. * * * In weakness of the digestive organs its efficacy is remarkable. * * * “ A garden furnishes many excellent forms of exercise, and the numerous labors of a farm would 260 • TEACHER S CARE OF HIS HEALTH. Farm labor.—Rowing.—Sawing and splitting wood.—Warren Colburn. give every variety, if the teacher could be in a situ ation to avail himself of them. This is not often the case. When accessible, the rake, the pitchfork, moderately used, cannot be too highly recommended. A garden is within the reach of most teachers in the country. It has the advantage of supplying exercise suited to every degree of strength, and of being filled with objects gratifying to the eye and the taste. * * * The flower-garden and shrubbery commend themselves to the female teacher. To derive every advantage from them, she must be willing to follow the example often set by the ladies of England, and use the hoe, the_ rake, the pruning-hook, and the grafting knife, with her own hands. “ Rowing , when practicable, is a most healthful exercise. It gives play to every muscle and bone in the frame. * * * When the river is frozen, skating may take the place of rowing; and it is an excellent substitute. * * * Driving a chaise or a sleigh, is a healthful exercise, if sufficient precaution be used to guard against the current which is always felt, as it is produced by the motion of the vehicle, even in still air. “ Saiving and splitting wood form a valuable exercise, particularly important for those who have left an active life for the occupation of teaching. “ Exercise should be taken in the early part of the day. Warren Colburn, the author of the Arithmetic, whose sagacity in common things was as remarkable teacher’s care of his health. 261 In the morning.—In open air.—In the light. as his genius for numbers, used to say, that half an hour’s walk before breakfast did him as much good as an hour’s after. Be an early riser. The air of morn¬ ing is more bracing and invigorating ; the sights, and sounds, and odors of morning are more refreshing. A life’s experience in teaching declares the morning best. * * “ Exercise must always be taken, if possible, in the open air. Air is as essential as exercise, and often, in warm weather particularly, more so. They belong to¬ gether. The blood flows not as it should, it fails to give fresh life to the brain, if we breathe not fresh air enough. The spirits cannot enjoy the serene cheer¬ fulness which the teacher needs, if he breathe not fresh air enough. The brain cannot perform its functions ; thought cannot be quick, vigorous, and healthy, with¬ out ample supplies of air. Much of the right moral tone, of habitual kindliness and thankful reverence, de¬ pends on the air of heaven. “ Exercise must be taken in the light; and if it may be, in the sunshine. Who has not felt the benignant influence of sunshine ? The sun’s light seems almost as essential to our well-being as his heat, or the air we breathe. It has a great effect on the nerves. A dis¬ tinguished physician of great experience, Dr. J. C. Warren of Boston, tells me that he almost uniformly finds diseases that affect the nerves exasperated by the darkness of night, and mitigated by the coming on of day. All plants growing in the air lose their strength and color when excluded from light. So in a great 2G2 teacher’s care of his health. Cleanliness.—Water.—Sleep.—Six or eight hours.—Diet. degree does man. They lose their fine and delicate qualities, and the preciousness of their juices. Man loses the glow of his spirits, and the warmth and natu¬ ral play of his finer feelings. “ Next to air and light, water is the most abundant element in nature. It can hardly be requisite to enjoin upon the teacher the freest use of it. The most scru¬ pulous cleanliness is necessary, not only on his own account, but that he may be able always to insist upon it, with authority, in his pupils. The healthy state of the nerves, and of the functions of digestion, depends in so great a degree on the cleanliness of the skin, that its importance can hardly be overstated. * _ * * “ Sleep. No more fatal mistake in regard to his constitution can be made by a young person given to study than that of supposing that Nature can be cheat ed of the sleep necessary to restore its exhausted, or strengthen its weakened powers. From six to eight hours of sleep are indispensable ; and with young per¬ sons, oft.ener eight or more, than six. It is essential to the health of the body, and still more to that of the mind. It acts directly on the nervous system ; and irritability, or what is called nervousness, is the conse¬ quence of its loss. This, bad in any person, is worse in the teacher than in any one else. It is an unfailing source of unhappiness to himself and to all his school. He would be unwise to subject himself to the conse¬ quences of the loss of sleep ; he has no right to sub¬ ject others. * * * “ Diet. To no person is an attention to diet more teacher’s CARE 0.F HIS HEALTH. 2(33 Simple food.—Extremes in kind and quantity.—True medium. important than to the teacher. For his own guidance, and that he may be able to give proper instructions in regard to this subject to his pupils, the conclusions of experience, or what we may consider the laws of diet, should be familiar to him. Some of these are the fol lowing : “ 1. Food should be simple ; not of too little nor too great variety. The structure of the teeth, resembling at once those of animals that naturally subsist on flesh, and of animals that take only vegetable food, and the character and length of the digestive organs, holding a medium between the average of these two classes, indicate that a variety of food, animal and vegetable, is natural to man, and in most cases probably necessary. The tendency in most parts of this country, from the great abundance of the necessaries of life, is to go to excess in the consumption of food, particularly of ani¬ mal food. The striking evils of this course have led many to the opposite extreme—to renounce meats en¬ tirely. Experience of the evils of this course also has in most places brought men back to the safe medium. No person needs to be more careful in regard to the quality and nature of his food than the teacher, as his exclusion from air for a great part of the day leaves him in an unlit condition to digest unwholesome food, while the constant use of his lungs renders his appetite unnaturally great, or destroys it altogether. Animal food seems to be necessary, but not in great quantities, nor oftener, usually, than once a day. * * * In winter, the food should be nourishing, and may be more 264 TEACHERS CARE OF HIS HEALTH. Taken at intervals.—Moderate quantity.—Avoid fat. abundant; in summer, less nutritious, less of animal origin, and in more moderate quantity. “ 2. Food should be taken at sufficiently distant intervals. * * * The operation of digestion is not completed, ordinarily, in less than four hours. Food should not be taken at shorter intervals than this, and intervals of five or six hours are better, as they leave the stomach some time to rest. “ 3. It should be taken in moderate quantity. In the activity of common life, excess is less to be dreaded than with the sedentary habits and wearying pursuits of the teacher. * * * The exhaustion of teaching is that of the nervous power, and wuuld seem to call for hours of quiet, and freedom from care, with cheerful conversation and the refreshment of air and gentle exercise. Probably all the kinds of food in general use are wholesome when partaken of moder¬ ately. Those who, from choice or compulsion, pass from an active to a sedentary life, should at the same time restrict themselves to one half their accustomed quantity of food. “4. As a general rule fat should be avoided. * * None but a person who uses a great deal of most active' exercise, or is much exposed to cold, can long bear ils use with impunity. If taken, fat in a solid form is less injurious than liquid fat. “ 5. Fruit may be eaten with the recollection of the proverb of fruit-producing countries : ‘ It is gold in the morning, silver at noon, and lead at night.’ Ripe fruit in its season is wholesome, and preferable, for a persor teacher’s care of his health. 265 Fruit.—Drink water.—At meals.—Dress. of sedentary habits, to more nourishing and exciting food. But it should be a substitute for other food, not an addition. A bad practice, common in some places, of eating fruit, especially the indigestible dried fruits, raisins, and nuts, in the evening, should be avoided by the teacher. He must have quiet and uninterrupted sleep, and early hours, to be patient, gentle, and cheer¬ ful in school. “ 6. The drink of a sedentary person should be chiefly water, and that in small quantities, and only at meals. The intelligent Arab of the desert drinks not during the heat of the day. He sees that watering a plant in the sunshine makes it wither ; and he feels in himself an analogous effect from the use of water. There are few lessons in regard to diet so important to be inculcated as this : ‘ Drink not between meals.’ “ 7. The last rule to be observed is, that no unne¬ cessary exertion of mind or body should be used imme¬ diately after a meal. If a walk must be taken it should rather be a leisurely stroll than a hurried walk. “ Dress. The teacher should be no sloven. He should dress well, not over nicely, not extravagantly ; neatly, for neatness he must teach by example as well as by precept; and warmly, for so many hours of the day shut in a warm room will make him unusually sensitive to cold. The golden rule of health should never be forgotten: ‘ Keep the head cool, the feet warm, and the body free.’ The dress of the feet is particularly important. Coldness or dampness of the feet causes headache, weakness and inflammation of 266 teacher’s care of iiis health. Cheerfulness.—Cause of low spirits.—A home. the eyes, coughs, consumptions, and sometimes fevers A headache is often cured by sitting with the feet long near a fire. Keeping the feet warm and dry alleviates the common affections of the eyes, repels a coming fever, prevents or quiets coughs, and serves as one of the surest safeguards against consumption. Many of our most sensible physicians trace the prevalence of consumption in northern states, not to our climate, but to the almost universal custom of wearing insufficient clothing, especially on the feet. “ There is another subject intimately connected with health, which has been alluded to, but which ought, from its importance, to receive more than- a passing remark. It is cheerfulness. This should be one of the ends and measures of health. It ought to be consid¬ ered the natural condition of a healthy mind ; he who is not cheerful is not in health. If he has not some manifest moral cause of melancholy, there must be something wrong in the body, or in the action of the powers of the mind. “ A common cause of low spirits in a teacher, is anxiety in regard to the well-doing of his pupils. This he must feel ; but he must endeavor, as far as possible, to banish it from his hours of relaxation. He must leave it behind him when he turns from the school- house door. To prevent its haunting him, he must seek pleasant society. He must forget it among the endear¬ ments of home, the cheerful faces and kind voices of friends. This is the best of all resources, and happy is the man who has a pleasant home, in the bosom of teacher’s care of his health. 207 Sociality.—Music.—A pernicious habit. which he may rest from labor and from care. If he be among strangers, he must endeavor to find or make friends to supply the place of home. He must seek the company of the parents and friends of his pupils, not only that he may not be oppressed by the loneliness of his situation, but that he may better understand the character of his pupils, and the influences to which they are subjected. The exercise of the social affec¬ tions is essential to the healthy condition of a well-con¬ stituted mind. Often he will find good friends and pleasant companions among his pupils. Difference of years disappears before kindliness of feeling, and sym¬ pathy may exist between those most remote in age, and pursuit, and cultivation. ******** “ A delightful, but somewhat dangerous recreation is offered by music ; delightful, as always soothing to the wearied mind ; but dangerous, because liable to take to itself too much time. It would be desirable if every instructor could himself sing or play. If he cannot, let him listen to songs or cheerful music from voice or instrument, or to the notes of birds. “ ‘ I’m sick of noise and care, and now mine ear Longs for some air of peace.’ ” To the foregoing excellent remarks, I could scarcely wish to add any thing, save to call attention to that pernicious habit among both clergymen and teachers, of dressing the neck too warmly whenever they go into the 2GS teacher’s care of his health. “ Comforter.”—Bronchitis. open air. There seems to have obtained an impression that those who have occasion to speak often, should be peculiarly careful to guard their throats from the cold. Hence many are seen in a winter’s day with a collar of fur, or a woollen “comforter,” or at least a silk handkerchief of extraordinary dimensions, around their necks, and often extending above their mouths and nostrils. If they have occasion to step out but for a moment, they are still subject to the slavery of put¬ ting on this unnatural encumbrance. Now I believe that this extra covering for the neck, instead of preventing disease of the throat and lungs, is one of the most fruitful sources of such disease. These parts being thus thickly covered during exercise, become very warm, and an excessive local perspiration is excited ; and the dampness of the throat is much increased if the covering extends above the mouth and nose, thus precluding the escape of the exhalations from the lungs. When, therefore, this covering is removed, even within-doors, a very rapid evaporation takes place, and a severe cold is the consequence. In this way a cold is renewed every day, and hoarseness of the throat and irritation of the lungs is the necessary result. Very soon the clergyman or teacher breaks down with the bronchitis , or the “ lung complaint,” and is obliged for a season at least to suspend his labors. This difficulty is very much enhanced, if the ordinary neck-dress is a stiff stock, which, standing oft from the neck, allows the ingress of the cold air a? soon as the outer covering is removed. teacher’s care of his health. 2G9 Experience .—Swaddling the neck. Having suffered myself very severely from this cause, and having seen hundreds of cases in others, I was de¬ sirous to bear the testimony of my experience against the practice,—and to suggest to all who have occasion to speak long and often that the simplest covering for the neck is the best. A very light cravat is all that is necessary. If the ordinary cravat be too thick and too warm, as the large-sized white cravats, so fashionable with the clergy, usually are, during the exercise of speaking, an unnatural flow of blood to the parts will be induced, which, after the exercise ceases, will be fol¬ lowed by debility and prostration. A cold is then very readily taken and disease follows. I am confident, from my own experience and immediate observation, that this unnatural swaddling of the neck is one of the most fruitful causes of disease of the lungs and throat that can be mentioned 270 teacher’s relation Teaching a profession.—Low pay.—Its consequences. CHAPTER XIII. teacher’s relation to his profession. It has long been the opinion of the best minds in our country as well as in the most enlightened countries of Europe, that teaching should be a profession. It has been alleged, and with much justice, that this calling, which demands for its successful exercise the best of talents, the most persevering energy, and the largest share of self-denial, has never attained an appreciation in the public mind at all commensurate with its impor¬ tance. It has by no means received the emolument, either of money or honor, which strict justice would award in any other department to the talents and exer¬ tions required for this. This having been so long the condition of things, much of the best talent has been attracted at once to the other professions ; or if exer¬ cised awhile in this, the temptation of more lucrative, reward, or of more speedy, if not more lasting honor, has soon diverted it from teaching, where so little of either can be realized, to engage in some other depart¬ ment of higher promise. So true is this, that scarcely a man can be found, having attained to any considerable eminence as a teacher, who has not been several times solicited—and perhaps strongly tempted —to engage ir TO HIS PROFESSION. 27 1 Some noble souls.—Some small men.—Two evils. some more lucrative employment; and while there have always been some strong men, who have preferred teaching to any other calling,—men who would do honor to any profession, and who, while exercising this, have % found that highest of all rewards, the consciousness of being useful to others,—still it must be confessed that teachers have too often been of just that class which a knowledge of the circumstances might lead us to pre¬ dict would engage in teaching ; men of capacity too limited for the other professions, of a temperament too sluggish to engage in the labors of active employment, of manners too rude to be tolerated except in the society of children (!), and sometimes of a morality so perni¬ cious as to make them the unfailing contaminators of the young whenever permitted—not to teach—but to “ keep school.” Thus two great evils have been mu¬ tually strengthening each other. The indifference of the employers to the importance of good teachers, and their parsimony in meting out the rewards of teaching, have called into the field large numbers, in the strictest sense, unworthy of all reward ; while this very unwor¬ thiness of the teachers has been made the excuse for further indifference, and if possible for greater meanness on the part of employers. Such has been the state of the case for many years past, and such is, to a great extent, the fact at present. It has been the ardent wish of many philanthropists that this deplorable state of affairs should be exchanged * for a better. Hence they have urged that teaching should be constituted a profession ; that none should 272 TEACHER S RELATION Educational millennium.—How ushered in?—Different views. enter this profession but those who are thoroughly quali¬ fied to discharge the high trust; and, as a consequence, that the people should more liberally reward and honor those who are thus qualified and employed. This would indeed be a very desirable change ; it would be the educational millennium of the world. For such a period we all may well devoutly pray. But how shall this glorious age—not yet arrived—be ushered in ? By whose agency, and by what happy instrumentality must its approach be hastened ? Here, as in all great enterprises, there is some difference of opinion. Some have urged that the establishment of normal schools and other seminaries for the bettei education of teachers, and the institution of a more vigi lant system of supervision, by which our schools should be effectually guarded against the intrusion of the igno¬ rant and inefficient teacher, is all that is necessary to bring in this brighter day. Others have zealously urged that such preparation and such supervision are entirely superfluous and premature in the present state of the public mind. They say that the public must first be¬ come more liberal in its appropriations for schools ; it must at once double the amount it has been accustomed to pay to teachers, and thus secure, without further trouble, the best talent to this vocation. To this the former class reply, that the public has seldom been known to raise its price, so long as its wants could be supplied at the present rates. They say that the last century has afforded ample opportunity for the exhibi¬ tion of this voluntary generosity of the public, and yet TO HIS PROFESSION. 273 Truth between the extremes.—A mutual evil, and a mutual remedy. vve still wait to see this anomaly in human prudence, of offering in advance to pay double the price for the same thing; for until better teachers are raised up, it must be an advance upon the present stock. So there is a division among them, “ for some cry one thing and some another.” Now, I believe, in this case as in most others, the truth lies between the extremes. As the evil com¬ plained of is a mutual one, as has already been shown, —that is, an illiberal public has tolerated incompetent teachers, and the incompetence of teachers has enhanced in turn the parsimony of the public,—so the remedy must be a mutual one ; the public must be enlightened and teachers must be improved ; the pay of teachers must be raised, but there must be also something to warrant the higher rate. Nor is it easy to determine which shall begin first. We can hardly expect the people to pay more till they find an article worth more; nor, on the other hand, can we expect the teachers to incur any considerable outlay to improve themselves, until better encouragement shall be held out to them by their employers. The two must gen¬ erally proceed together. Just as in the descending scale, there was a mutual downward tendency, so here, better service will command better pay, and in turn, the liberality of employers will stimulate the employed to still higher attainments in knowledge and Greater exertions in their labors. In this condition of things, the question recurs, What is the duty of teachers in relation to their calling? I 13 274 TEACHER S RELATION Teacher’s duty.—The encouragements.—Self-improvement. answer, they are bound to do what they can to elevate it. Lord Bacon said, “ Every man owes a debt to his profession.” Teachers being supposed to be more intel¬ ligent than the mass of the community, may justly take the lead in the work of progress. They should, as a matter of duty , take hold of this work,—a work of sac¬ rifice and self-denial as it will be, at least for some time, —and heartily do what they can to magnify their office and make it honorable. In the mean time they may do what they can to arouse the people to a sense of their duty. The more enlightened are to some extent with them already. The press, the pulpit, the legislative assemblies, all proclaim that something must be done. All admit the faithful teacher has not been duly re¬ warded, and some are found who are willing to do some¬ thing for the improvement both of the mind and condi¬ tion of the teacher. This is encouraging ; and while we rejoice at the few gleams of light that betoken our dawning, let us inquire, for a little space, how we can hasten the “ coming in of the perfect day.” SECTION I.—SELF-CULTURE. The teacher should labor diligently to improve him¬ self. This is a duty incumbent on all persons, but particularly upon the teacher. The very nature of his employment demands that his mind should be frequently replenished from the storehouses of knowledge. To interest children in their studies, how necessary is it that the teacher’s mind should be thoroughly furnished TO HIS PROFESSION. 275 Why important.—Example.—Temptations to self-neglect. with the richest thoughts of the wise ; to inspire them with a desire to learn, how important that he should be a living example of the advantage and enjoyment which learning alone can bestow ; to strew the path of know¬ ledge with flowers, and thus make it the path of pleas¬ antness, how desirable that he should abound with the aptest illustrations drawn from all that is wonderful and carious in nature and art; to awaken the young mind to a consciousness of its capacities, its wants, its respon sibilities, how thoroughly should he know all the work ings of the human soul,—how wisely and carefully should he touch the springs of action,—how judiciously should he call to his aid the conscience and the religious feelings ! Besides, let it be remembered that in this as in other things, the teacher’s example is of great importance. The young will be very likely to judge of the impor¬ tance of their own improvement by the estimate the teacher practically places upon his ; nor can he with any good grace press his pupils to exertion, while they see that he makes none whatever himself. There is great danger, in the midst of the confine¬ ment and fatigue of the schoolroom, and the pressure of anxiety and care out of school, that the teacher will yield to the temptations of his position, and fall into habits of indolence as to his own improvement. Com¬ pelled, as he often is, to labor at great disadvantage, by reason of a small and poorly furnished schoolroom; confined through the day from the sunshine and the fresh breeze ; subjected to a constant pressure of duty 27 6 teacher’s relation Stagnation accounted for.—The teacher has time.—Illustrated. amid untold trials of his patience, arising from the law that impels children to be active as well as inconsider ate ; required to concentrate his powers upon the double duty of governing and teaching at the same instant, and all through the session,—it is not strange, when the hour of release comes, that he should seek rest or recreation at the nearest point, even to the neglect of his own mental or moral culture. I am of the opinion that this accounts for the fact that so many persons enter the work of instruction, and continue in it for a longer or shorter period, without making the slightest progress either in the art of teaching or in their own intellectual growth. Their first school indeed is often their best. This tendency or temptation, incident to the calling, it is the teacher’s duty constantly and man fully to resist. He can do it. 1. He has the time to do it. He is usually required to spend but six hours in the day in the schoolroom. Suppose he add two hours more for the purpose of looking over his lessons and devising plans for improv¬ ing his school,—he will still have sixteen hours for sleep, exercise, recreation, and improvement. Eight hours are sufficient for sleep, especially for a seden¬ tary man, (some say less,) and four will provide for meals, exercise, and recreation. Four still remain for improvement. Any teacher who is systematic and economical in the use of his time, can reserve for the purpose of his own improvement four hours in every twenty-four, and this without the slightest TO HIS PROFESSION. 277 Punctuality in all things.—Immediate reward.—Proof. detriment to his school duties, or to his health. To be sure he must lead a regular life. He must have a plan, and systematically follow it. He must be punc¬ tual, at his school, at his meals, at his exercise or recreation, at his hour of retiring and rising, and at his studies. Nor should he ordinarily devote more time than I have mentioned directly to his school. He should labor with his whole soul while he does work, and he will the more heartily do this, if he has had time to think of something else during the season of respite from labor. It is a great mistake that teachers make when they think they shall be more successful by devoting all their thoughts to their schools. Very soon the school comes to occupy their sleeping as well as waking hours, and troublesome dreams disturb the repose of night. Such men must soon wear out. But according to the laws of our nature, by a change of occupation, the jaded faculties find rest. By taking up some new subject of inquiry, the intellect is relieved from the sense of fatigue which before oppressed it, the thoughts play freely again, the animation returns, the eye kindles, and the mind expands. 2. Such labor finds immediate reward. The con¬ sciousness of growth is no small thing towards encour¬ aging the teacher. He feels that he is no longer violating his nature by allowing himself to stagnate. Then he will find every day that he can apply the newly-acquired truth to the illustration of some princi¬ ple he is attempting to teach. He has encouraging and immediate proof that he is a better teacher, and that he 278 teacher’s relation How to improve.—A course of professional reading.—The books. lias made himself so by timely exertion. He is thus again stimulated to rise above those temptations before described,—this immediate availability of his acquire¬ ments being vouchsafed to the teacher, as it is not to most men, in order to prompt him to stem the current which resists his progress. And now, if I have shown that a teacher is bound to improve himself, both from a regard to his own well¬ being and the influence of his example upon others,— and if I have also shown that he can improve himself, I may be indulged in making a few suggestions as to the manner of his doing it. 1. He should have a course of professional reading . It will do much for his improvement to read the works of those who have written on the subject of education and the art of teaching. If possible he should collect and possess a small educational library. It will be of great service to him to be able to read more than once such suggestions as are abundantly contained in the “ Teacher’s Manual,” by Palmer; the “ School and Schoolmaster,” by Potter and Emerson ; the “ Teach¬ er,” by Abbott; the “ Teacher Taught,” by Davis ; “ Lectures on Schoolkeeping,” by Hall; “ The Com¬ mon School Journal,” “ Secretary’s Reports,” and “ Lectures,” by Horace Mann; the “ Connecticut Common School Journal,” and “ Journal of the Rhode Island Institute,” by H. Barnard ; the “ District School Journal” of New York, by Francis Dwight and others ; the “ Lectures of the American Institute of Instruc¬ tion the “ Schoolmaster’s Friend,” by T. Dwight; TO HIS PROFESSION. 279 A course of general study.—One thing at a time. the “ District School,” by J. Orville Taylor; the “ Teacher’s Advocate,” by Cooper; the writings, if they can be obtained, of Wyse, of Cousin, of Lalor, of Lord Brougham on Education, together with such other works as are known to contain sound and practi¬ cal views. It is not to be expected that every teacher will possess all these, or that he will read them all in a single term. But it is well to hold converse with other minds, and to have it in our power to review their best thoughts whenever our own need refreshing. I have given a somewhat extended list of books be¬ cause the inquiry is now so often made by teachers what they shall read. 2. By pursuing systematically a course of general study. Many teachers who have a desire to improve themselves, still fritter away their time upon little mis¬ cellaneous matters, without making real progress. It is well in this to have a plan. Let some one study,— it may be geology, or astronomy, or chemistry, or botany, or the pure mathematics,—let some one study receive constant attention till no mean attainments have been made in it. By taking one thing at a time and diligently pursuing it, at the end . of a term the teacher feels that he has something to show for his labor,—and he is, by the advance already made, prepared to take the next and more difficult step. In a course of years, while a neighbor who began teaching at the same time, has been stagnating or even retrograding for the want of a plan and a purpose, a diligent man, by system and perseverance, may make himself at least equal to many 280 teacher’s relation A journal or common-place book.—Why ?—A demonstration. who have enjoyed better advantages in early life, and at the same time have the superadded enjoyment of feeling that he has been his own teacher. 3. Keep a journal or common-place book. The habit of composing daily is very valuable to the teacher. In this book he may record whatever plans he has devised with their results in practice. He may enter remarka¬ ble cases of discipline,—in short, any thing which in the course of his practice he finds interesting. Those valuable suggestions which he receives from others, or hints that he may derive from books, may be epito¬ mized here, and thus be treasured up for future refer¬ ence. Sometimes one’s best thoughts fade from his own mind, and he has no power to recall them. Such a book would preserve them, and would moreover show the character of one’s thoughts at any particular period, and the progress of thought, from one period to another, better than any other means.* To these means of self-culture I would add the prac¬ tice of carefully reading and writing on chosen subjects, more fully described in the chapter on Habits of the Teacher. By all these means and such others as may come within his reach, if a teacher succeeds in his attempts at progress, he does much for his profession. The very fact that he has given practical demonstration that a man may teach and still improve ; that the temptations * For further remarks on the Common-place Book, see chap. vii. p. 108, Note. TO HIS PROFESSION. 281 Encouragement to others.—Mutual aid.—Selfishness. of bis profession may be resisted and overcome ; that the life of the pedagogue which has required him to keep the company of small minds, and to be occupied with minute objects, has never prevented his holding communion with the greatest men our earth has known, nor circumscribed in the least the sphere of his grasp¬ ing research,—I say the very fact that he has thus shown what a man may do under such circum stances, may do much to encourage others to like effort. But there are other and direct duties which he owes to his profession, which I proceed to consider under the head of SECTION II.—MUTUAL AID. Every teacher should be willing to impart as well as to receive good. No one, whatever may be his per¬ sonal exertions, can monopolize all the wisdom of the world. The French have a proverb that “ Everybody is wiser than anybody.” Acting on this principle, the teacher should be willing to bring his attainments into the common stock, and to diffuse around him as far as he is able the light he possesses. I have no language with which to express my abhorrence of that selfish¬ ness, which prompts a man, after attaining to some eminence as a teacher by the free use of all the means within his reach, self-complacently to stand aloof from nis fellow teachers, as if he would say, “ Brethren, help yourselves—I have no need of you, and you have no claim upon me. I have toiled hard for my erni- 252 teacher’s relation An exclusive spirit—without excuse.—Mutual visitation. nence, and the secret is with me. I will enjoy it alone. When you have toiled as long, you may be as wise. Brethren, help yourselves.” Such a spirit would per¬ haps be tolerated by the world in an avaricious man, who had labored to treasure up the shining dust of earth. But no man may innocently monopolize knowledge. The light of the sun is shed in golden refulgence upon every man, and no one if he would, may separate a portion for his own exclusive use, by closing his shut¬ ters about him,—for that moment his light becomes darkness. It is thus with the light of knowledge. Like the air we breathe, or like the rain from heaven, it should be free to all. The man who wotlld lock up the treasures of learning from the gaze of the whole world, whether in the tomes of some dusty library, as of old it was done, or in the recesses of his narrower soul, is unworthy of the name of man ; he certainly has not the spirit of the teacher. An exclusive spirit may be borne where meaner things, as houses, and lands, and gold, are at stake ; but in education and religion—light and love,—where giving doth not impoverish nor withholding make rich, there is not even the shadow of an excuse for it. The man who is exclusive in these things, would be so, I fear, in heaven. How can teachers encourage each other ? 1. By mutual visitation. Very much may be done by social intercourse. Two teachers can scarcely converse together an hour withouj; benefiting each other. The advantages of intercourse with friends, TO HIS PROFESSION. 283 Dr. Young.—Even one’s faults may instruct us. as delineated by Dr. Young, may not be denied to teachers. “ Hast thou no friend to set thy mind abroach ? Good sense will stagnate. Thoughts shut up want air, And spoil like bales unopened to the sun. Had thought been all, sweet speech had been denied. JA *1/. 4/,