The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1863-01-02
From tie Leuistoacn Gazette
THE TEST OF A GOOD TEACHER.

tllC pIoS5iCS VI tllSH pl.pho III 'o,uiA iNeih
ing, through discipline, or good morals !;
they attend Institutes only by compulsion,
Or fear Of loosing dollar by staying away
the idea of making themselves more
competent to teach and guide their pupils
is utterly foreign if not distasteful to them.
They read no Educational Journal OF Books;
they teach in the most lislless, killing man
ner; in short, they are Il nuisance to com
munity and ought to be abatcd forthwith.
The second class includes those who
profess to be great admirers of Education,
count themselves model teachers, and are
ready to talk you out of your senses if
you disagree with them in anything. They
are generally 'Fogies' in some respect; do
not think much of new-fangled notions,
such as Mental Arithmetic, Outline Maps,
Grammatical Analysis, Teachers Institutes,
and the revolution of the Earth on its axis,
but place q high estimate on the good old
paths, 'Parsing, working out Sums taking
scholars through books, and similar an
cient practices. They may be good schol-
ars, possibly good teachers but they scout
the idea Of trying to improve, as if New
castle had coal enough already.
The third class consists Of those who,
being good scholars and teachers now, con-
stantly seek to become better, to gain full
Ter knowledge and facility in teaching, to
acquire greater familiarity with human ma
ture that they may teach and govern their
pupils wisely. They are eager to attend
Institutes and to gain the greatest possible
benefit from them; they believe that the
most slillful may acquire yet greater skill,
in short, they realize the duties, respon-
sibilities. and delightful rewards of true
teachers.
Teachers, you who read this, to which
class do you belong? GUS.
Decisions Of the State Superintendent.
So. QUESTION: Has teacher the right
to ''keep in scholars the whole recess at
dinner time, for not getting their lessons; ;
and also in the evening, for the same fail
ure; and how long after dismssing school :?
Director IN TFlcOnisco District, Daw-
ph5n co.
ANSWER: The right to keep in for les
Sons omitted, till the omitted lessons have
been studied and recited has never been
successfully disputed, though few teach
ers desirons Of leaving the school room as
soon as possible and many unthinking pa
rents, have raised objection to its exercise.
If appropriateness Of punishments to Of
fences is the proper guide in their selection,
nothing can be more appropriate than this;
for it is not on y causing the omitted act Of
duty to be done, with as little suffering to
the offender as possible, but it is also eau
sing him, in school and after school hours,
10 give the same portion of his time to the
lesson, which should have been given ut
home and out Of school hours. This is a
kind of punishment, also, in the use of
which the teacher should be sustained and
not opposed by the parent ;-boing not on
ly inflicted to his own inconvenience but
tor the good of the scholar, inasmuch as it
causes him to kcepup the connection Of his
studies.
In regard to the length of time during
which pupil may be keptin in,-the circum-
stances Of the case must determine. AS a
general rule, the keeping in after dinner,
should not be so long as to deprive the tea
cher and pupil of their meal: and in the
evening, it should cease soon enough to per-
nit the scholar to reach home, in time to
prevent alarm for his safety by the parent.
There may be cases, however, in which to
avoid resort to OTHER severer punishments
and to convince the scholar that the teach
er is in earnest, the keeping in during the
whole dinner recess may be necessary and
proper. In such cases, the obection-that
the pupil may be injured by going without
his dinncr-has little force. c.--EXclusion from
the table is something resorted to even IN
parental government; and there is little
danger of this deprivation being so often IN
hcted by the teacher, as to become nJurl-
ous to the health of the pupil.
90. QUESTION: Have County Superln-
tendcnts the right to annul a teachers
certificate for refusing to attend the lnsti-
tutes ?-DirectOr Of Bristol tacp. District,
Bucks co.
ANSWER: They have. Such refusal is
a breach of the law and of professional du-
ty, and the officer who grants the certiti-
cate may withdraw it from all who neglect
a duty plain, and refuse to attend tc
! means so necessary and promotive OF the