Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1858-02-13
VERMONT EDUCATION.
Published under the sanction Of the State Teachers Coz

Some one has said. "IIonor those who labor
in school rooms, for though they may fall from
notice like the Spring blossoms, they fall that
the fruit may be born" Yes, honor those who
labor in school rooms If there be a class of
mortals who need ard merit the support and
sympathy Of its patrons, of that class is the in
dustrous, faithful, earnest teacher. Yet in few
isolated instances does the teacher receive that
support and sympathy. And why? Is 1t be-
cause he does not deserve it ? Are we not quite
too apt to attribute to 9th rs the faults which lie
in oltselvcs? We may not thus easily shuttle
Oft our responsibilities. The world, cold and
hcartless though it be, is not slow to detect ap-
precate and reward merit. 1t wins its way like
u smiling face.
Herein exists an error whose remedy lies in
ourselves. In common with thousands, no doubt,
have felt the want Of position IN our calling.
! do not mean relatively with co-laborers in the
same vineyard-that of coursa-but relatively
with members Of the other learned professions.
Does some captious, word dissectng quibbler,
modcstly suggest that teaching has not yet been
elevated 10 the dignity Of Profession, dare
not galnsay H. As an embroy thought it has
struggled for delivery oft repeated times. and
as often been ruthlessy beaten back hv Pride
But it will not down" If teaching be a pro-
fession, it has not that mate influence and dig
nifty which is nciden, to the other learned pro-
iesslons. The Clergyman, the Lawyer and the
Physician, as they pass the threshold Of their
respective professions, stand upon n firm, pre-
Bdrcd basis, and receive the impetus of an un-
seen power, to brace them like a strong arm, as
they weather the rough storms which assail all
at their outset, in whatever department OF the
worlds life. Their very profession gives them
support. Each is deemed worthy Of confidence
till he has proved himself unworthy.
Is there no plausible reason why the vocation
Of the teacher is not ranked equal in dignity,
with other intellectual callngsl We need not
search for the cause. Men do not fit themselves
for it. There have been no toisome years of
hard study, close application and rigid discipline
in preparation. The result is. we have no heart
for the work, no love for the calling. 1t is law
Of our being that we find enjoyment in doing
that work which we can do well. The exper-
ience of thousands will show, that the longer we
remain teachers the less irksome do our duties
become. We almost come TO enjoy them
Sometimes ! believe it comes to be veritable
pleasure. And this result is but the natural Sc
quence OF effect to cause, and may be attributed
TO other sources than merely to the force of hab-
it--second nature One of its legitimate and
happy fruits is, that it is only our best teachers
who are sufficiently cnamorcd to make it call.
ing for life. lis to those, that the vocation owes
what Of dignity it may possess.
In the ordinary routine Of life, no man can
leap into a successful practice In anv calling,
least OF all IN profession. Ard there Is scarcely
another vocation where men strive to act without
rehearsal or find demand for their inexperence.
We seize it only as a means to an end. 1t was
a remark of Daniel Webster that every man
owes something to his profession. Shall we claim
that since ours does little for us, We it little?
Paradoxical though it seem, the less it aids US.
the more is due it from US. 1t aids us what it
can. 1t pays legal per centage on all we in
vest Would we receive more, we must invest
more.
Does there exist in the duties of our calling.
any inherent characteristic, which disqualifies it
from ranking among the noblest OF works 10 which
the active and intelligent mind of the nineteenth
century is devoted We value results by the
toll they have cost. Does the profession lack
dignity because its responsibilities are slight p
Whoever acts well his part in life deserves COM
mendaton. The miner, who with callous and
incrusted palm, tolls faithfully, as well as the
artisan who hammers and mOulds the glowing
metal into the most delicate and useful shape of
which i, is susceptible He who swings his az
effectively in the forest, well as he who fash
ions the material thus ruthlessly toppled in its
pride to the ground, into the most magnificent
and palatial edice within the capacity ofanciert
and modern architecture. lie who wrests from
less than he for whom it is prepared with weari-
some blows, ard whose skilltul hand imparts
life pulse to the throbbing statue. Each but
does his work well. Yet who shall say that the
one is not more dignifcd calling than the 9TH
er? The dignity Of profession depends upon
the value of the material worked upon aDd the
value OF the material and labor combined- upon
the result Of the labor. If we apply this illus
tration to our calling, how forcibly does it illus
,rate the dignity and responsibility OF the teach
er's duties. The material we work upon is not
transient or perishabe. How infinitely super
ior to inanimate matter Matter in whatever
form is subject to decay. The human tlnind is
superior 10 decay-it is immortal What result
OF physical labor upon physical object, will com
pare with the cultivated, expanded intellect
infinite in power! a profession which has num-
bered among its iustrious volaries, an Aristotle,
a Plato, Socrates, an Abelard, a Milton, a
johnson, Webster, need not lack dignity. And
it requires no such patent of nobility from hu-
man source. 1t comes direct from Almighty
God The principle is innate, we must work it
out. Patient, energetic toll, self-denying devo-
ton, will place lis duties where every true lover
ofhuman advancement wodd rejoice to see them
placed. Our Normal Schools, private though
they be, and yet in their infancy, are the har-
bngers of that good time coming And while
we would not discharge community at large from
their responsibilities in so desirable transition,
teachers should remember that no profession
heaps honors on the undeserving.
81. Johnsbury, Dec. %, 1857.