Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1843-02-02

State has Offices 10 beslow, Are not courtyard
lilied with politicians; Has The first example beer
found OF q county begging for delegate We nre
nation OF politicians and those who succeed neither i,
law, medc'nr nor theology, whose practice is prudcnt
IelInqnlshad, lest It should renqnlsh tlism-whos
Iarms yield no support, and whose ,ne5chand'se BIZ
ensaYes 10 saves or To banks-;hese are the men wht
propose 10 mend their own, and their neghhors' for
tunes, by tampcfing With the currency, lnsiruc.inl
Senators, trucking TO party or purchasing poltica
lame by The loss ofevery other. This is said picture
Sit but, alas the more sad, because true Couls
We expect 10 find men-wh all these avenues 10 fame
wealth, and happiness open-to turn aside and ,eacf
schools at $500 per year and board-to be known II
labor Tor their lring-for tell you, from expe
renee, that man LAnoKs who teaches Asnve all
could we expect this when the brehess LAWYER, ths
cashie!ed engineer, the discarded clerk the broker
merchant, the hacked politician, the wafsd ply
s'cian, The iorshken clergyman, have oil yss
source, common 10 them, and common 10 o.Asrs les:
wor'hy-,he ever growing West or Texas,
And yet it i, true, that from such as these, whom
ether employment. .a 20 support, and whose rnerae.
have never been stimulated 10 The desperate purpose
emigration, OR scheohouses not nnircqurniy sup
peh-yea, II is not peculiar TO New England, some
have ntmaed, to furnish schoolasers 50 gifted that
they can perform Tor their pupils the double 81
filing their heads md covering their backs-of admins
erng at tnisuais and soes-nor i, peculiar 10
Prussian history in the days oil Frederick the Great
TO hear Of men transferred from keeping sheep in the
sumner TO the keeping of school in the winter Per
hups census of our schoomaslers taken with refer.
ence to former employment, might reveal 10 barely
one in one hundred who has undertaken the business
with any vie TO permanency.
Such causes in operation, and aided by tina, feens
of contempt for line business Of teaching pre- vaen,
yet, though perhaps less ndscrmnate formerly
such causes have coDspired to leave US almost destitute
OF class of men, 10 whom point and Say
"Ihese are the teachers Of our primary schools The
employment is relnqa,shed 10y some, because they
deem It dlsrepn,abic by Others because laho
rious; by oihers. because il yields little and by
others, because they have fallen low, that they
not teach. 1t is surrendered to some, because
they can do nothing else; 10 Others because they teach
at lower wages than any one else; 10 Others nasinuch
bodily misfortune has marked them only fit for men
tai pursuits; and again to others, because parents
do better than establish school, relic We them for
few hours Of the day from noisy and insuhordinate
children Sometimes gentleman Of leisure and
weaita employs teacher, that he may nave ready
listener to hls conversation, ::i the ncghbars
courage the pTotege because he las school! In other
cases, some gentleman Of wealth brldsa scho9aousr,
and be- selects the teacher according s mind eru.
lated by religious political or family par:a!i,ies -
With all our boosted Repabcansm, We are, in this
matter, more clearly ruled by arsocracy than any
people on enrihe nation from which we politically
sprnng, perhaps, excepted.
With these thne5 before the mind, no one unac
quain;ed with our actual condition need be surprised
description Of too many teachers. Some can read
and write, nnd, perhfps, with gnoramus, have seen
through the arithmetic. or their reading, and that
~hc! they teach, you, sir, need m better description,
than Is supplied by your recollection Of whct You,
doubtless often heard from the CLERKS desk in churches
IN .our county, when boy. Indeed we're the
nGsat attended by the uency of Of these worthy
men, whose characters are by no means identii'd with
their eocnton, it might be such great m;sfarlnna
Like brges Ike, and you have only to hear The
reading OF the pupil TO judge Of the teacher. WIKI
such impart none to their pupils They hear les
sons, correct mistakes, punish the idle und reffac
,"ryand q, day tns,r aer day perform The rnya7lc
Interores" and only then with effort to add in.e
rest TO the impart zeal 10 the employ Of
their pupils Scholars and teacher alike grow nechan
CAL indifferent to improvement ANXIOUS Tor release, and
If The former, together with The acquisition OF the aria
Of reaj;ng writing and spelling, learn 10 forget II all,
i, nigh, remain question, whether, time and nancy
nsidr, the last acquisition were rot the best Of all
Teachers, such too often find, mental mocha
They have learned in certain books, IN cprta,E
say 10 Certain extent, and ,hus TAR and IN this way
and by these books .lr p1ps taught. Differences
nf disposition, varieties =" domestic training and fsan
.arlles of talent they either too dull 10 perceive,
careless recognize, too Incompetent IL improve.
Said the stupid Italian, when advised 20 balance the
melons in his pannier, by dividing them, E;:end OF
using s.ones-"my ather did so before me-" among
all the innovations changes Of ProieaE land such
men remain iniaxibe; ana whe anna tns great accu
mutations Of nonsense With which the world IS flooded
in the matter of school baoks Improvements,
these teachers know nothing better than Webster, with
ages of sold columns Of dry spelling all 10 be spelled
through before the child pm, Two words together
in reading and moth; ug itrabe to Pike, with ab:rac.
principles and planned processes instead of niel'
gbr rules. But sir, this par, of my topic nscnsibly
mngies with others whose separate consideration
must invite your attention in my next.
With gTea; respect
rm, yours truly,