Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-10-29
EDE CATIONAL.


I may Illustrate the appreciation which IS pre-
vallus among htter-tsy teacher-, Of the idea
contained in the words '' school uauc4rura!.' 80
by telling story.
farmers boy was required, one pleasant
spring day, to gather the stones which iav in 3
meadow ami heap them together ia tbe corner If
lot The stones were quite numerous. and the
task was uo small Que, but the boy 1ez4u his Ia
bor cheeriuiiy, be knew there was reason. f.r the
clearing and iorawhi.e he worked ,i-orousiv Bsr
his baca began To ache before long. and the
merry shouts Of some mates Of his, who were
playing not far oil, began to annoy him. lie
was Yankee boy We may be sure, for mi, it,
yentlve brain soon devised plan for saving Ia
Dor and gaining time He raised an Old post in
the corner IN which bis stone-heap vas 60 BE-. and
then eft work and joined his friends Atacap-
Fenicnt moment,h threw a stone at q ueighborinr
tree Nv no can beat that?'' said be, as fortune
favored him, and his stone struck the mark. In
me'iIatcly the others were aiming and hurting
ST nes er tho tree But stones we're not pleuti-
fu.. Come" said the young Yankee. ..fbers
are lots Of stones over in oar meadow let's 20
over there and FIRE al mark They we're
soon there ammunition was abunIaHt the
post in the corner was an inviting "mark - and
by the time the boys had become weariel Of this
hlld OF sport, the work was done The inventor
then confessed his trick, aul there needed but
little urging 70 induce his friends TO finish the
' stent, and then ali went OF together to play
at something else
There are many points in this illustration
which are worthy Of study, and. making il a
KIND Of text, We may notice that There IS ,rork
to be done in school-room. Now. shall the
teacher require Of his scholars thar they labor
At the duh task Of removing the stones to the
pie, or shall he contriye some way whereby the
labor shall be performed. yet be disguised as
play While the boy toiled slowly at his tas.
alone, eich stone grew heavier than the last. his
oack ached, and he thought more of that and of
the distant shouts Of bis playmates. and Of
how to 'shirk - the work, than Of the improye-
ment which he knew he was making and the
pleasure he was giving to his father. But when
his comrades we're around him, and the stones
were flying, he forgot the task in the sport; he
worked harder than be would have done and ac-
comqh-hed more IN given time tran he would
nave done alone, and there vas pleasure in the
business.
ID. The boys who came to fire at mark -
could not have been persuaded. probably, 20
come 10 help their friend gather stones INTO a
heap They were dscsirei; they went cheerful
iy to work without suspecting it to be work, snd
all worked harder than they would have been il
duced 10 work if they had entered on it as a task
Sd. Similar deception is not only justi6able
but expedient on the part of a teacher in his
school He can and he ought to remove from
schOol-duties their character of dreary drudgery,
to make study pleasant and attractive He need
not make the labor less; in fact he will find,
most surely, that his scholars will do more and
work longer when work is made play, than when
work is left mere work; and he may so tighten
the hour. that they shall iy by pleasantly and
proftably. both to himself and to them
4th. When the farmers boy hre,r stones at a
mark, g for fun he worked harder than he
did before. Boys always run farther and faster
when playing than they can be easily induced 70
run on an errand. The moiire makes the differ
ence And. in another view, labor is lightened
when amusement takes of the attention from the
task, AZ such. Sailors work better at the eapstan
with " Cheerily o THE heavy anchor comes
up more easily and sooner. and the men tine
sooner get at some other duties. Soldiers march
better, when they hear the music of their band
And it is SO with the boys in school.-Root on
" School .imgssmsnts'