Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1850-12-13
From the chronological Journal.
Phrenology applied to Teaching.
nY IoIlN D. NEwMAN, N. d.

admlring a locomotive, waiting at a depot to
draw train. Entirely unacquainied with its
construction or management, he asoended IL.
and began inspecting and lingering the ma.
ehihery, 10 the great admiration Of the by.
ISLANDERS, who were wondering at his boldness.
lie at last lifted up a li,tle bar, when to his
extreme grief and horror, the machine COM
mcnccd snorting aud puiIing, its wheels TO
'olycd, and OF II started with exceeding speed.
It's luckless manager loudly bawlng, Il" Stop
i, stop ~"
A teacher, who had heard the saeedots
read, remarked that there was a great simi-
lariiy between iho~o would-Lo-enginsOr sod
most of out csRmun school.masiers. Thsy
both rnonnilI tamper with thai u Which
they know nothing and bad as things are,
the great wonder is that they arc no, worse.
IIe observed, besides, tina, he was tic more
able 10 appreciate the matter from having been
once " the same posiroO, ard 10 illustrate II,
gave an account OF hls experience.
lnqui,e early life he had taught school, and
although hIs success was even better than the
average, and he loved TO mpar knowledge,
yet be- had found the employment, excessively
tlrcsomc and annoying Trying to bs faith.
ful, he had used the rod freely to enforce or.
der and attention 10 study, which conduct hs
found no, only allcnaied the affections of tho
pupils from himself and from their books, bu,
besides all, accomplished very liltle.' Still,
neither his own experience nor that of others,
pointed ont a better way, AND when eircum.
stances called han to another occupation, bs
ceased teaching with JOY. Icars passed on;
hc had become we'll acquainted with the phys
,ology of both mind and body and was again
a teacher. lie iook charge Of public school
"a q manufacturing city in a neiehboring
state.
His school numbered between three and
iour hundred, with an average attendance Of
two third, al were boys. Having no assis.
lance, be- was forced TO resort To the noni,o.
rial system. At first be pursued the old plan,
and under ,hs, the consequence wss,
rhli every morning abou, the hour u ninO,
there poured into the school.room multitude
II glcomy, constrained faces, resembling crim.
lnll' passlng,lhc dungeon gates. And no ~vu'
Itr lha, such va, the expression, for they
were well awar, that for talking, for restless.
ness tor delau, In lessons, and crimes Of sim.
liar magnitude, the rod was upsparagly APP
piled The scholars, careless and hardened
before, bcclmc still worse and worse,
aud were only too glad when three O'Clock
came. Matters went on IN this way for tao
~ three weeks, vixen at length an incident
occupd that produced a total reformation.
Ii !, a commoa remark with masters, that
when company visit them their children are
much worse than usual w friend had
sound ihi, ~ true m his school experiences
that visitor Vas viewed with dread To
his grca, ismay, one afternoon some ladies'
catered the room. DESTROYS that every thing
should appear we'll and GO on like clockwotk,
he cyercd himself more than usual, and even
the ordinary noise made him doubly irritable
and lrciful. Just IN proportion a. be becams
excited did his scholar, become more uneasy
and unwly. In vain did he sculd aud whip.
Things went on worse and worse.
Suddenly the thought s,ruct him ths, ths
children could not help their conduct, and
that ihcy were merely exercising their organs
Of imitation IN copying his own restless, hur-
rcd manner. Tho mode of obtaining order
was now plain enough. With a powerful
c.lort, Hladdencd IS he vas, he controlled the
outward expression Of his feelings, assumed
4 calm and pleasant address, walked around
the room .withou, his rattan. nodded to ons
boy, paiied another on the head, aud spoke IN
a mild, reproying manner 10 a third. The
effect was clccucal in few minutes thu
lumul, aba'ed. A more plea.an, expression
Than had "a, for many day on the hces OF
the children wa. now seen, a, the classe,
came up to recite they read waih alacrity,
and in fine, the whole went of admirably
When the school closed he returned home
wise man.
Ths next morning an entire class missed
their lessons. His fest impulse was 10 apply
the whip, but he soon suppressed it, a, he had
failed too often with ,ha, remedy before, and
WAS forced to acknowledge that the use Of the
rod va, to teachers wha, the knife, DR.. Mott
slys. is to surgeons, signal Of defeai-fail.
ING 20 remove the disease they sacrifice the
member. He therefore tried TO interest the
class, which had come up tn recIte geography,
by a narrative Of adventure and discovery in
connection with the lesson, and soon found
tina, he had succeeded, Tor all understood il.
The next DAY he had no trouble. and by com.
bining geology and anecdo,e with that study.
his pupils learned to master the subject, and
look upon It with pleasure.
Observing that the Perceptive faculties of
children were the mos, developed and active.
he tried to make wha, he said bear mostly on
them. 1t is we'll known that the young will
remember much longer, and understand much
better, what is told them, than when they
merely read it. Ny friend soon found that
such course made grea, drafts on his own
mental powers and requirement; iha, the tex,
hooks. a, the bcs,, could only be used as aul.
liaric., and that the principal reliance mus,
be on himself All that he had ever heard or
read came into eons,an, requisi,ion, and gave
necessity for new reading and study. Upon
giving ou, the next lesson he would explain
Ill, a.. I,T.,I,;.. ,rJ ell .or.,h,n, of 10.