The Express.
London, England, 1853-12-30 00:00:00

ASSOCIATED CDURCII SCHOOLMASTE,BS.

Yesterday the first annual meeting of the General
Associated Duly of Church Sehoolmasten in England mid
Wales, commenced at Sheftesbury Hail, Aldersgate street.
In the morning the members attended disine service at
St. Paul's Cathedral. At half-east 2in the afternoon, they
restembled at Shaftesbury 11411. Of tool local associatiohs
which have joined the institution, there were present de-
putations from 17 ; in ail there were nearly one hundred
persons present. The rules agreed to at the meeting held
at Rugby in October, were considered and confirmed ; and
Mr. B hadinaii of Liverpool was elected presalent ; Mr.
Simpson, treasurer, and Mr. }'arohaue, secretary ; after
whims the meetiog adjourned.
In the evecing the members reaseemblea at the same
place to hear and discuss papers involving the interests and
bearing ou the work of teachers.
Mr. BOARDMAN, of Liverpool, read a paper, the subject
of which was " The Teacher." lle commenced with some
remarks on the responsibilities of teachers and the powerful
influence of their instruction and example me the future cha-
rac:er of their pupils. Teachers were ton apt to claim fur
themselves a respect which was due only to their office; and
hence it was especially desirable that they should cultivate
self-knowledge. 11:e:elation of the teacher to
the apprent ce or pupil teacher wee of the highest im-
portance. Adserting to secular education, he •bserved
that a general system of education might, in his opinion,
be deveeu, which, if it would not please till, would at all
events satisfy the majority of those who were possessed of
moderation wad commove sense. Purely secular education
he cons tiered to be fraught with many evils. Scriptural
education was by many erroneously supposed to ne purely
dogmatic ; whereas in fact many parts of the Bible were
presented in it which while they effierded a sufficient ear ta
Mee for the mind, embodied truths of universal appiication,
distinct Iron dogmatic teaching. He then made au ac-
knowledgment of the liberality disalayed by the committee
of the Privy Council, which elicited a loud cheer of re-
sponse from the meeting. Any sympathy shewu by the
committee for the teacher SV3s, he remarked, capital put out
at usurious interest. With regard to the examius-
tions, he thought it was desirable that they
should be limited to as few subjects as possible,
instead of being extended as they were at present,
to an immense variety. In connexion with this point he ad-
vocated the establishme sit of lectureships at the different
training cultist s. The only question was, who eliuuhl bold
such appuberhents. Some 'bought they should be confined to
the clergy; but he was of opinian that the elementary
teacher, tike members of the I, gal profession, should gra-
duate from the lowest to the highest offic,s in tie prosell-
sion. A thorough revision of the system pursued in training
colleges would be most useful to the cause of educatien.,
especially us regarded the middle classes. tinder the pie •
sent system the teacher could mat expect to naive front the
position in which be was ph cad under twenty seers, and he
then moved in the downward ihreetien. (Laughter.) On
the question of salaries he observed that it was vain to ex-
pect that educated and intelligent persons weals" remain
schoolmasters on GO?. a year when the artisans
whose children they instructed were receiving ha
or WI. (Mar, hear.) Se long as money woe
considered a criterion of respectability, it was useless to
urge that teachers should he actuated by higher motives.
If the money lost through the neglect of education were ap.
plied to good teaching, then• would be no lark of asthma,
education. A ceps:misfit) rate wits inilispeusablo to an
efficient system of general education. Nor was that enough ;
there must be compulsory attendance. (Cheers.) In con-
clusion, he remarked that mere repining at their position
as teachers would never help them; they must study it,
place the necessities of the case plainly before the public,
and endeavour to raise themselves intellectually to a level
with the members of other professions. (Cheers.)
Mr. 11. Hype complained II) it at present a schoolmeetet
could not compete for a higher certificate without running
the risk of losing that which he had obtained. (Rear,
hear.) The power which the Committee of Cauncil poe.
se.sed in that respect was extremely arbitrary, and partook
e f the nature of cruelty and oppresaon.
Mr. Faiteneat, the secretary, said they all agreed that
education should b., religious, and he believed that no
obstruction to the imparting of such education would be
offered by the generality of parent.. As regard d the posi
tics of schoolmasters, he observed that at present it was
altogether anomalous, and it must remain so until they
were more adequately paid. 1 0/. a year was the maximum
et a schoolmaster's expect: Lions. The humblest boy in an
attorney's effiee might rise to the woolsack ; a curate,
"passing rich with 40/. a year," might become Arclibiehep
of Canterbury ; and they should newer rest satisfied until
all the offices connected with the department of education
were accessible to the schoolmaster. (Hear, hear.) The
men wino were meet valuable as teachers were lust because
there were no opportunities of promotion. Education in
this country would never be what it ought to be until
parents were compelled to send their children to school.
(Cheets ) Even of the children who attended ache )1, the
bulk left before they were 12 yearn of age ; and both at-
tendance and the period of attendance must be enforced by
law. If a parent starved his child, he was punished by
law ; and why should he be allowed to deprive his offspring
of the blessing of education ?
Mr. MASON paid a tribute to the parochial clergy fur the
zeal which they had lorg displayed in the cause of edu-
cation.
The CHAIRMAN joined in this ceknowledgment ; and in
alluding to the remarks mace on compulsory education,
said he consider, d the idea ra:her suited to despotic coun-
tries than to a free one lake our own. (" Hear, hear," and
" No, Co.")
Mr. SUTCLIFFE, of the Training College, Cheltenham.
then read a paper on moral education. This was, he said,
the moat dal, ult and important part of the teacher's charge,
and it was also the most neglect, el. If education was to be
a blessing to the country, teachers must labour in this de-
partment with all their energies. The object of moral
training was to fit a child for all the duties which
lay before him in life ; first, the duties which re-
lated to the child himself; secondly, domestic and
relative duties; thirdly, social duties • fourthly, political
and civil duties; fifthly, his duties to ad. The trainer of
a child should make his moral nature a peculiar study, in
order that he might be enabled to cultivate what was
good, and to control what was bad. If the study were new
to him, he must resort to works on the subject for assist-
ance. He need not trouble himself with the different
systems of morals which philosophers had propounded; but
he must acquire skill in discerning character, and this
he could only do by practice, sell-examination being the
great medium of improvement. Ile must also obtain a
knowledge of the circumstances of the child without which
his lessons could not be adapted to the varyirg positions of
the pupils. The moral trainer must love children himself, and
must, moreover, seek to make them love him. lie
belie:eel that man to be a 'Minn who hotel to
see children play. (Cheers.) He liked to ace the
teacher join in the children's play, and if with vinegar
aspect he stood aloof, he, as a father, would send his child
elsewhere. He then gave an outline of the principal poirta
of moral training, giving prominence in it to scripture
lessons and special lessons en fables, proverbs, and narra-
tives. The inculcation of moral truths, if not accompanied
by practice, actually did mischief, as was proved by Butler
in his " Analogy.' The reader of sentimental novels found
little time to help his sick neighbours. As a teacher, he
had generally found that the worst buys were those who
could talk the best ; the host those who said the least.
Truthfulness lay at the foundation of all moral training.
The teacher should be a model of impartial justice. His
example as respected dress, deportment, benevolence in all
the affairs of life, exercised a most important influence over
his pupils. No one was so elite to inconsistency as a child.
Among the elements of moral training might be reckoned
systematic visits to the children's homes, where the teacher
would learn much that would be useful in the performance
of his duties. The schoolmaster must, too, remember the
difference between teaching and training, and study what
might be termed the philosophy of habits. (Cheers.)
After a short discussion on some of the points introduced
in this paper, the meet.ag adjourned till this morning.