Thibodaux minerva. [volume] (Thibodaux, La.) 18??-1858, 1856-01-12
TIE STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION.

The following is an abstract of the speech of DR.
Samuel Bard, State Superintendent of Public Edu
cation elect, delivered before the Convention OF
Saturday morning, 29th ultimo:
Having been elected by the people of grea
State, to the Office of Superintendent of Public
Education, it shall be my constant aim to advance
the cause of universal Education, irrespective o
party and religious or sectional prejudices. HI
held education to be the great safeguard Of free
institutions; the moral lever of the world; the al
chemist which changes the marble into the dia
mond. He spoke of our friends of the North al
having recognized this great principle, and thei
having acted upon it with an energy of purpose
which commands the admiration of the world
that they did not stand at distance and view th;
great subject in the abstract, but that they crap
pied with it as being the great philosophical meas.
ure by which to analyse mans nature; to build
upward, and make glorious our great common
country; that they did not bubble about the theo
ries of ancient philosophers-and doubling every
thing, do nothing-but that they seized upon sys
TENS individual, moral, and physical which by theil
systematic arrangements and permanent organiza.
ton, presented themselves to the world as simple
! ineligible, grand, and beautiful. Here the Hon.
Superintendent charged upon the good results
arising from these subjects and pointed out the
woful deficiency of the South in her arrangements
and classfcations of Schools and of the deficiency
Of the teacher in imparting knowledge under the
present system of education. He alluded to the
profession of teaching as being second to none to
its responsibilities and onerous labors, to the neces-
sity Of self culture the part of the teacher-that
he must not be satisfied with superficial attain
ments, that to teach nell he must thoroughly I'M
derstand what he processes to teach and the best
ray of doing t;-also Of the perncious system of
employing persons as teachers incompetent to the
task, those who merely consider it their business
to keep children as they would criminals for so
many hours in the school room. at monthly sti-
pend by which to step into more profitable and
lucrative business.
He then remarked upon the discipline of schools,
and very ably discussed the principle, that all
mankind must first learn to be governed before
they can govern. He said he could not endorse
the antiquated and cruel rule of the rod which
maintained order and quiet through the fear of
corporeal punishment, but would rather recon-
mend ruling by love than fear, rather given by the
true magnetic power of sympathy which was the
sine qua non of government. He said that in the
South there were certain class of Young men
pulled out with false and empty chivalry, sntting
at defiance the authority to be governed, which
was pernicious and demoralizing in the extreme,
but determined manner, that they should be COM
PEELED to submit to the rules laid for the observance
of order or be peremptorily dismissed. He re-
ferred to the military schools of land, and rec
commended the Introduction Of these graceful and
heathful exercises to a certain extent into our
Primary and Public Schools, he thought that the
maxim Of the ancents, a sound mind in sound
body was good one, and that nothing had done
much to preserve the physical exceIlences of the
of England manly exercises at their
schools and Universities, and referred the Associa-
ton to the beautiful picture of Alton Loche, on
the inrigoratng sports of the students Of Cam
bridge. He deprecated the too common practice
of sending Southern children to the North to be
educated, and spoke of the disadvantages of such
a system to the South at large, substantiatng the
point by reference to Nj. Calhoun and other en-
her many great and good men for. her puring
streams, her hills and mountains baptized in beauty,
he accredited all homer to her energy, her noble
Institutions but declared that our first duty COM
meneed at home, was home interests, home de-
velopement of mind and matter.
He spoke of the great necessity Of making school
books at home, and condemned many Northern
books as being objectonal in the extreme. He
but to be seen, and read from several works the
pernicious teaching of Northern fanatics, alluded
to the enormous amount fmoney annually finding
its way to the North, in this particular trade, and
urged the necessity of offering prizes, to induce
gentlemen Of ability to engage in this laudable
work of compilation.
The Normal schools system received consid-
cradle attention. He regarded it favorably spoke
1t some length upon its great degree of excellence
md thought it to be an imperative duty resting
upon parents, directors and teachers to use their
Utmost efforts for its success, and urged the ne
,essity upon the convention Of presenting the SUBJ
ect to our Legislature at the earliest possible |
In conclusion he eloquenty urged upon
he Teachers and friends of education to present |
lnion of effort, judicious and united action in
behalf Of cause so worthy Of their consideration.
-
AFTERNOON SESSION.
President in the chair, On motion it was resolved
hat when this Convention adjourn, it adjourned to
meet in Lyceum Hall, New Orleans, on Thursday
darch It'll A. D. 1856. According to previous
esolution, the Hon. j. L. Cole was introduced to
he Convention by the President, and delivered an
bile address on Education as connected with
utilization. Mr.. Cole treated his subject under the
GLOWING heads: First, Education the chief dis
motion between civilized and unciviized nations;
we should have Christian education;
hirdly. that both sexes should be educated with
quail generosity. The Neutrality-suspicious. was
hen proposed.