The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1869-11-05
ADDRESS
Of the Teachers Union to the
School Patrons Of Seneca County.

Of the Teachers Union to the
School Patrons OF Seneca County
FELLOW CITIZENS Believing, as
We do, that the time has come when
the spirit Of the age demands a more
thorough system of Common School
instruction that the appeals Of the
| youth Of our commonwealth call up
on the parents and teachers, In terms
not to be misunderstood, for radical
reform in the elementary sphere of the
literary world and invoke a far
greater zeal than has hitherto been
manifested in the cause OF popular ed
ucation; we, the teachers Of your
county, and mem bers Of the Teachers
Union, with q solemn conviction Of
the responsibility We are about to
assume in endeayoring 10 educate the
tender minds Of the youth during the
coming winter term Of school and with
honor and zeal pertinent to our high
calling, deliver to the people and
school-patrons of the county the fol-
lowing address
Progress and improvement are the
wateh-woTds of the age. The won
derful advancement made within the
past twenty years in the agricultural,
mechanical, scientific and literary de-
partnents, need only TO be mentioned
in order to prove the truthfulness of
this declaration but we cannot speak
SO favorably Of our progress in the
department of cur Common Schools,
and why? There is no want of f.
naneial means, We have ample legisla-
tive provisions for any embarrassment
of that nature. The law making pow
er Of the State has given due atten-
ton 70 the subject ofCommou Schools,
and the result Is system of which
every citizen of our commonwealth
may boast with pride. namely: one
of the best Common School regula-
tions and provisions Of tie States in
the Union. Yet. with blushing
counterance, We are compelled 20 con-
fess that our schools are far short of
being what the cnactments Of cur leg
I islators presume them to be. It is a
lamcntable fact that, in the past ten
years, many of the sub district schools
in the county have made no visible
improvement IS, but on the contrary,
have been on gradual decline. Some
Of them have already the reputation
of being unmanageable, and "discord-
ant belligerents" seems the more ap-
propriate name of the school-patrons
when spoken Of collectively.
1t is not our purpose to discuss the
oft req eated theme of education :;
what it is, the benefits derived from
its possession, its powerful agency in
the effcrt of universal evangelization !;
for it is necessary that whoever exer-
cises the sacred right of citizenship
should understand the great principle
upon which is based our national, So
ciai and personal liberty and harpi-
ness. 1t is no longer a subject of
dispute. but a generally accepted
truth, that free government can on
ly be maintained, aud take an emil
neDt position in the affairs of nations
through the education and cnlighten-
ment of Its people. Ours is a coun~
try for which we claim all the proper
ties of civil liberty. This can only
be kept pure and unbiased by the in
telligent determination and decisions
of the masses. The majority of the
citizens finish their course Of instruc-
ton in the Common sub district
schools of the country, and hence it
is that they so imperatively demand
our most earnest zeal, attention and
patronage
As previously remarked, the repre-
sentative power has done nearly every
thing for the promotion and amelio-
ration Of the means to educate the
youth, and prepare them for the stern
realities of active life. For this pur-
pose thousands of dollars are yearly
paid in the way of taxes, in which
both rich and poor may share equally
in It's application. But is it realized
to the extent designed The provis-
ions and means may be abundant for
the success Of an enterprise, and may
also be rightly applied, but unless the
recipients of the benefits appreciate
and put to good account such favors,
it will be of little avail. There NAV
be acts passed providing homes Cor
the poor; but unless the poor then
endeavor to improve those homes,
they will realize little or no benefit.
The comparison holds good in the
case of free schools. Unless we re-
aiize their great importance, and labor
to advance the cause, and appreciate
the balmy influence which they exer-
else on community, the free school
system is a failure.
That the Common Schools gener-
ally are neglected to an alarming ex-
tent must be conceded The teacher
is often employed and permitted to
teach an entire quarter, without even /
a call from the school officers and |
patrons Of the school district. From
this cause the teacher is frequently
placed in a critical position. lie or |
she, as the case may be, has "ten-
der twig to pruue'' in the character
of the pupil, and whichever way it
may be inclined by the influence of
the teacher, it will grow. The mind |
of child is as immortal as that of an
adult and in the school room they
will acquire habits and customs, |
principles and doctrines, that follow
them even to eternity. And yet it is
all left to the individual counsel of the
teacher, which. perehance, differs |
widely from that of the parents.
Teachers are not infallible. They |
are human, and are as subject to error |
as any other person. There is not, we
venture to say, one sohool-patron
within the county who would allow
an employee to manage his personal
affairs for him as the employee may
see fit. Why then should the teach
ers be left to their own resources in
a position where there is not only one
to satisfy, but number, and as many
different opinions as to the manner in
which the school should be conduct
ed, as there are householders. Sue
cess on the part of the teacher in
such predicament is an impossibili-
ty, without the cooperation of his
patrons.
From the inattention heretofore
given to the Common Schools, incom-
petent teachers have been allowed to
palm themselves off on the public,
and the innocent pupils are the vic