Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1856-01-03
Laws and Rules.

The following remarks, from GA Public
School Teachers Letter to Pupil" on the
subject Of rules and laws, we commend to
the attention OF our young readers -
Now, young FRIEND in order that the school
may be thus pleased and useful, there are va
rious duties for you to perform. will men,
ton two or three of the more important
ones. And
l. You must carefully regard and cheer
fully obey all the rulcs Of the school.
You know there are, in every family, school
society, town, State and nation, certain rules
and laws to regulate the conduct of the men,
bers. There can be no happy family, school
or community, without such rules and regula-
tions. And these rules must be strictly obey
ed to be of any service. To secure this ODE
dience, there arc always certain penalties or
punshments connected with disobedience.
We have certain regulations and rules in
our school, which must be checrfully complied
with, or the school can be neither pleasant
nor useful. They are regarded as essential
to the prosperity Of the school. They are all
designed for the good of each scholar and the
whole school. They were adopted for yonr
good as much as the good of any scholar
They leave such one to enjoy just as much
liberty and freedom as will not interfere with
the interests Of the whole. Good laws were
never designed to interfere with the rights or
happiness Of any one, only SO far as the high
est good of the whole required. They are
intended to protect the rights and happiness
of all. These laws and penalties are always
friends to the good and obedient, but ter
ror to the lawless and wicked
Punishment is no part of keeping school,
only so far as it is necessary to maintain the
rules of the school. IF these rules-which,
we have seen, are essential to the peace and
prosperity Of a school-are all complied with,
these will never be any such thing among us
as punishment.
"Well, my son." said gentleman to a
boy six or seven years old, "do you go to
school?"
ayes, sir, have been three days, and !
haven't been punished once"
And he looked as though he had accom-
plished feat that was worthy of his boasting
And why should he be punisheds That is nc
object Of goint to school, any more than being
fined or sent to prison is an object OF being a
farmer or storekeeper. What would you
think to hear boy say, he had been on q farm
or in store three days and had not been ar
rested by an officer once? If he has not been
breaking any Of the laws of the community
why should he be arrested! And if he
should break any Of those laws and be pun
ished, the punishment would not be for work.
ing on the farm OR in the store, but for crime
And so punishment in school is for crime
for the violence of rules-not for going tt
school.
You should remember, young friend, tina
we must al,0ays be under laws--laws thai
will protect us from injury and injustice, anc
that will also prevent us from doing injury O.
any injustice to others. IF you learn to com
ply cheerfuly with the rules Of school, you
will find it easy hereafter to employ with tn
laws OF the society, which you must ever live
The laws Of the land and the rules o
school are much like the fences that enclose
the public ways. If there is a good road
you never find any inconvenience from tn
fences that enclose it. You never complain
of them as abridging your liberty, and inter
fering with your rights, and wish them out o
the way. When you drive the cove to pas
ture, you find these same fences Of great ser
vice, saving you many run after your stray
ing Drove and also preventing other creature
from coming in from the fields to ammo,
you.