Εικόνες σελίδας
PDF
Ηλεκτρ. έκδοση

ing occasion to visit, in an official capacity, a school which had been kept by a young teacher some two weeks, she very naturally asked-" what shall I do first?" "Do precisely as you would if I had not come in this afternoon." She looked a little perplexed. At length she inquiringly 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 ambiguous answer was vociferated from all parts of the room. The teacher 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 She was again told to go on At the close of the school a

asked what she should do. as usual for that afternoon.

sons.

single hint was suggested to her,-viz., that she should make out a list of her scholars' duties, and the times when they should be expected to recite their respective lesShe 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 if a class was ready. The hint was taken; and on subsequent visitations, the several classes were ever ready to respond to the call of the teacher.

The government of schools has changed within fifty years, and it is believed the change is for the better. In olden times the rod was the principal engine in securing good order. A teacher who could whip "right smart” was considered well qualified to govern. A word and a blow was the motto, and we are told on good

authority the blow frequently went before the word. The sensibilities of parents were formerly less thought of than at present, and few teachers had learned the art of appealing to the better feelings of pupils and of controling youthful buoyancy and glee, and turning it even to some good purpose. Something on this point has been gained. Though there are some who are yet too old-fashioned to abandon the rod altogether; who know, or think they know, enough of human nature to convince them that power must exist, to be applied in some extreme cases; who, while they rely mainly for success upon those higher and better motives which may be so addressed as to control forty-nine out of fifty, yet would not suffer even the fiftieth to go on to his own ruin and to the injury of the whole school, for the want of a whipping; yet there are but very few teachers now, who claim respectability in their profession, who make whipping the "daily food" of their pupils. Children are not yet quite so perfectly governed at home as to render in all cases such aliment entirely unnecessary; and until parents do attain to something like good discipline at the fireside, they certainly should not too loudly complain of the teacher whose trials are far greater than their own, and whose advantages for gaining a knowledge of the temper and disposition of those to be governed are far more limited. Whipping is now getting to be the good teacher's strange work; it is seldom resorted to by the good teacher, and then only after other methods have been patiently tried without success. It is given as calomel should be given, only in cases where the disease cannot be cured by milder and safer medicines, and, where uncured, it would prove

fatal.

Calomel is better than death; and whipping, bad

as it is, is better than uncontroled self-will and self-destruction. But for ordinary purposes the good teacher can find easier avenues to the mind and heart of ordinary pupils, than breaking their heads or scoring their bodies, and it is claimed for the existing generation of teachers that these avenues are oftener chosen than formerly.

In making the foregoing comparisons between the present class of teachers and their predecessors, I have spoken in general terms-of whole classes. There were undoubtedly very many in by-gone years who taught successfully and understandingly; who knew well the means of access to the human mind, and the kinds of diet upon which it should be nurtured. So now, it is frankly confessed there are some who assume to teach who are destitute-totally destitute of the essential qualifications, not only in a literary point of view, but in regard to the intellectual abilities, judgment—tact—energy-perseverance. There are those, who, lacking the proper motives, seek this employment, and having gained admittance to the sanctuary of mind in a district for a single term, do more to mar and deform the delicate yet susceptible material they attempt so rudely to shape, than the judicious labor of a skilful hand can restore in a course of years. Yet it is believed the number of such crude operatives is diminishing, and giving place to more solid wisdom and worth;-and if this be true, if teachers. are to be found, who answer the demands of a more enlightened and scrutinizing age, and the number of such is gradually increasing, then in this department we have made some advancement.

I have wished somewhere in this lecture, to bear my testimony in favor of what I consider another improve-

[ocr errors]

ment in our schools, but have been at a loss whether to place it under the head of school discipline or some other. I refer to the introduction of Music into some of our schools as a distinct branch of instruction. To say nothing of the facility with which it may be taught to pupils of tender age, or the advantages which would follow from an increased taste for this acquirement in a community, it is not to be despised as a means of discipline. Music of itself is not destitute of power over the moral feelings, and when associated with suitable sentiments, and sung by the "many voiced throng of a busy school," I have never known it fail of producing good results. It may be pursued without detriment to progress in other branches, as, when judiciously managed, it fills up those portions of time which would be otherwise lost in idleness. It serves as a pleasant recreation, after the closer duties of the school, and seasonably introduced, often proves a safety valve, through which a love of vociferation and activity, that would otherwise find an escapement in whispering and bustling, is allowed to pass off in a more harmless and more pleasing way. For these and many other reasons, I consider the introduction of music into our public schools a decided improvement.

V. PUBLIC SENTIMENT HAS IMPROVED IN REGARD TO PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.

I have already shown that this sentiment has done much directly to improve teachers. Yet I have not covered the whole ground. For more than one hundred and fifty years from the settlement of the country, the public schools did not enjoy the highest place in the af

fections even of those who established and supported them. And even down to a very recent date, they were regarded as the fit place for the education of the common people, while most of those whose means would afford the expense, sought better advantages for their children at the academy or favorite private school. In this way, some of the best influence has been withdrawn from the public schools. As many of the best scholars were sent away, the very scholars whose parents could afford to secure for them a constant and a somewhat permanent attendance, these schools became less interesting to the teachers, who were obliged to labor with pupils whose attendance was necessarily subject to much irregularity and interruption. Besides, a notion seemed to be entertained, that at the public school, there were remarkable facilities for acquiring vicious habits; in other words, an impression seemed to prevail among those who could afford to pay for private tuition, that their sons must of necessity be contaminated by mixing with the ruder lads of the town school." Beyond this, moreover, the scholars of the wealthy being provided for at the academy, the parents took no interest in the success of the public school, or the character of its teacher. No matter who he was, or how little he might know, if he were but hired at a low rate, so as to keep the taxes down, it was the same to them. The affections of such parents being given to those favorite private teachers to whom they had entrusted their children, the public servant was seldom noticed as a man, or cherished by their society as an acquaintance. Hence a good instructor could scarcely be found, who would be willing to teach a public school longer than his own necessities required. He would either desire the better pay, or the more flattering caresses

« ΠροηγούμενηΣυνέχεια »