Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1860-05-19
correspondence of the Hsrs!t.1
yOtes-StafeTeache y Association

Ier's Association held at PlatteyilIe, com
mencing Monday, April goth, and ending
on Friday of the same week; and perhaps
lit would not lie unintefesting if ! SHOULD
tell you some Of the impressions there re
Icsived. being lady, and nota member
Of the .Woman's Rights Convention" Of
course was as silent as possible, and tried
to learn all | could Accordingly, on Mon
day afternoon, at four o'clock, and -four
other ladies', bashfui Ike myself quietly
slipped into the Academy and took seal
in back corner, intending to act pussy
in the corner" as riearly as possible. We
said nothing but listened to the lords Of ire
alton, as they went through the business Of
electing officers, in a way which think wo'd
save great deal Of useless talking at the
polls. In the first place some one propos-
cd candidates another seconded the mo-
ton; then all present were requested to
vote one way or the other They all seem
ed to be of one mind, and voted the same
way. noticed in particular that no can
didate was defeated All were the right
ones. Of course these five Say Nothings
did not interrupt the proceedings by max
inc a loud noise. Others of our acquain-
tance can conceive our dismay, when the
Hon. State Superintendent called the atten-
ton Of the house to our corner, and said,
aThose young ladies over there in the cor
ner seem to be afraid Of the gentlemen"
We were only acting on the principle that,
alt is best to be seen not heard" Howey-
er, the evening session was very essential if
not interesting to all.
The exercises on Tuesday forenoon were
Of general interest to every teacher, who is
tlae scholar and inquirer after truth.
Jn the afternoon the 'schoolmaster's"
farce was laid aside, and all were invited
to join in what is usually termed a May par
ty; but which | should call grand, funny,
frolicking time in general. The order in
tended to have been observed, was, for the
gentlemen to proceed to the ground ten
minutes in advance of the ladies, but for
some reason which cannot explain they
all went together.
After Mr. Pickard's giving the little boys
and girls some advice, and warning them
not to 90 near the powder mill without per-
mission, land even then they were to re-
move all the nails, if any, from their boots
the juvenile party started out BY the way,
he did not explain what kind Of nails he
meant; Of course though all knew. They
arrived at the bluffs about one mile and a
half southwest Of town, at half past two
o'clock, p NJ. There, all joined in shaking
hands with Mother Nature; playing, and
trying to appear happy whether they were
or not. While there | visited the Powder
Mill, and return many thanks to Mir. Turck,
for showing the party the curiosity-stop.--
The indefatigable Palmer, was there win
his pencil and note book, critictstng the
sayings and doings Of othcs. If / cid say
aga'al he need not nave spoken out in
meeting" abcat it. After partaking OF
some rcfreshment, the party returned to
Piatteytlle, tired, and weary to be walked
up in the evening by MIR. Crosby Of la
eel Green.
The daily exercises for the remainder Of
the week, were conducted bg Prof Ogden,
and think all present were imbucd with
a little more Of his spirit, his good .precepts
would soon be pracdeed in more of our
schools with mutual benefit. Once during
the week we were favored with lecture
BY Prof Page Of Lancaster, which was lis
tened to with interest by ALL lie present
ed the dark size Of the teachers life; which
at first thought would seem discouIaging !;
but was calculated to make them better
Chancellor Barnard paid flying visit and
lectured once. Finally the exercises were
closed BY Prof Butler, who is certainly the
funniest genius ever saw. | think he
looks through those spectacles Of bis, to
better advantage, than great many who
pretend they can see better without them.
One learned gentleman recommended
that teachers should play with their pupils
more than they do; should 60 to the branch
and learn them how to build dams, and
miniature saw-mills. | think if
that was practiced we would soon have a.
population of careful mama's, to tell the
teacher that "Hary had got his clothes
muddy and hereafter he must be kept out
of The branch" | do not condemn the
practice; let others act as they think pro-
per.
On the whole every hing passed off pleas
antly, and | shah always look back to the
week spent in Plattevile, as a green spot
in the memory of the past. If teachers
would only realize the Importance of these
associations, they would be better attended
than they are usually. There, all eau be on
an equality. Enlisted in common cause,
there they should be glad to meet and take
counsel, one of another. When viii teach
els wake up to their responsibilities, and
try to qualify themselves better for their vo-
cation? When that is the case, we will see1
more school teachers instead of school keep
.rs. Parents need not fear their influence;
their object is improvement, not higher wa
ges as many fear. But if \ continue i shall
be accused of talking too much, and SO /
viii quit. RoxIE.
HoRRIcAsE, May 9th, 1850.
Correspondence Of the Herald.l
MR. CovER - have just returned from
Dubuque. found times quite lively there /;
more so than | expected Trade is brisk
I.