The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1850-11-06
Country Characters.--The School Teacher.

Poor fellow his is hard lot in life. He is
now only about thirty years old, although he
looks to be nearer forty. settled aspect OF de-
Jecuon meets your view as you see him YEARLY
vending his way against bitter cold wind to his
boarding house, (for he has no honey after the
tolls of the day. This is the tenth season that
he has except school" He began when young
too young he soon painfully discovered. He
felt harrasscd and disheartened the first term.-
He was hopeful and tried, and tried again as each
succeeding year came round, hoping at length
to win the appreciation of his own judgment at
least, for he did think for some length Of time
that the fault lay wholly in himself, as people
told him. But alas he has lived to learn the sad
truth, that his want of success was more his mis-,
fortune than his fault. He changed neighbour
hoods every year, but he found human nature
| every where alike: he met with unruly young
ruffians, parents that could not be pleased school
committees that were always dissatisfied wher-
ever he went He found it was expected ofhim
to please the whole of them in order to keep his
reputation. Children, from fifty to one hundred
in number came to him to be governed in the
first place, and then to be taught what their pa
rents sad they must learn but they had been
subjected to every kind of management, or no
management at home-some had always had
their own minds in every thing,-others had all
their Infringing up" with the use of the rod
little after the manner of jackasscs, till they had
become little like them III habits, one scholar
must have his little within gratifcd and another
his-one would learn little when he took a
notion and what he took notion to, and nothing
rlsc-another cared about learning nothing at all
but mischief What could the teacher do in such
cases: he could not compel them to learn; talking
availed nothing, and he would be threatened with
expulsion from the district fhc dared to use the
rod No, he must study human nature he was
told, so as to accommodate himselito every little
foible of every little urchn that was under his
carc-the more he tried to do this the more he
found it was impossible. He must be as gentle
as lamb, and firm as q martyr-wlse as a phi
losophcr and teach dull stupidlty-he must have
every thing set to an hairsbrcadth what to teach,
independent OF his own taste or will, and if he
fails to do precisely this and this alone his name
is gone, and he soon finds that it would be bet
ter ifhe himself were gone. 1t is a matter Of
usage to condemn the teacher after he has be-
come disliked by all the hogs and been turned
out of the school once by them-parents think
what all the scholars say must be true, not ia
ing time to consider that one or two young reb
els will poison all the rest; no, parents forget
that children are apt to learn more evil that
good in school, because in learning the former
they follow their own tastes, whereas in being
taught they always feel more or less reluctance
Parents will yet learn, that they are the proper
natural, ana most eihclent teachers OF yOung
children, at least. The school teacher tries to
please. everybody Except himselD and pleascs
nobody, and loses his character into the bargain
or his children's children will be hated to the
last generation. When he is prepared, and
can take charge of youth without interference or
dictation from any source save his own emil ght-
ened judgment, then will he so far be placed in
his proper position, and not till then.
He has however spent few pleasant days
during his life, but they were always during va
cation, (but for these the countless days ofvex-
alton will not mention) and when in the COM
Pany othis sister laborer, the school ma m, whom
he hopes yeti call wife, he would love her were
it not that he has not much love for anything,
he has the strongest sympathy for her, and we
hope the union will give consolation to both.
Lawrence Sentinel.