The Ebensburg Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1865-1871, 1869-03-25
About School Teachers.
WILMoRE, March 20, 1869.


With reluctance [ take up subject
which is fraught with interest to the peo-
pie of this county, and more especially to
those residing in the rural districts. The
subject is that of Public Education. NV
reluctance arises from belief in my disa-
bility to do the subject the justice it de-
mands, while at the same time I feel
conscious that four-ffths of the inhabitants
of the county win agree with me and en-
dorse what shall say.
In glancing over the reports of the Su-
perintendents of Common Schools for the
past few years, many are led to believe
that our schools are in fourishing con-
dition-that the esprit cf the law" is
carried out to the fullest extent-that
public education is looking upward You,
with durable and commodious school
houses, and we'll paid and experienced
teachers, can fully realize the blessings and
advantages of our common school system
But alas for the children in the rural dis
tricts-the children Of the honest and in
dustrious farmers Must they be left to
grovel in ignorance, for the only reason
that they live in the country and wear
homespun Must there be disparity
between town and country 1t would
seem So Many of the teachers, both male
and female, in the rural districts are bet
ter qualified for picking wool in the Johns
town factory, or gathering blackberries in
the neighborhood of Portage station, than
for teaching the young idea how to shoot.
The young miss who has arrived at the
advanced age of fourteen comes to the
conclusion that she is qualified to take
charge of Country school" She pro-
cures a long dress, arranges her hair into
an enormous waterfall, rubs little of the
''bloom of youth" on her baby-face, and,
with the additional aid of few pounds of
cotton, suddenly transmogriies herself
into young woman. She attends one or
two examinations, becomes familiar with
the lingo, and finally presents herself as
candidate. Hip hurrah The trying
ordeal is over, and success has crowned
her efforts One week before, her tiny
hands clasped doll-baby I; now, q certif-
cate to teach school fills its place. She
exhibits the certificate to anxious friends
unfamiliar with the two rows of figures on
its face, and informs them, in highfalu-
tin manner, that the figures and mean
four. fifths, and that one-ffth more would
make fve-ffths, or frst-class certificate
Foolish child Foolish parents, to sanc-
tion such deception
The young boy throws his top and ball
aside, procures watch-chain from play
mate, fancies he can detect a few strag-
Cling hairs protruding from his upper lip,
places a penny cigar in his mouth, and
pompously announces himself candidate
for country school. Like the young
miss, he too is successful, certificate is
forthcoming, and he is learned and in
tellgent pedagogue. From such material
are the majority of our county teachers
formed Youth, ignorance and inexperi-
ence are the main requisites, and we won
der much that the demand exceeds the
supply.
BY some strange coincidence, tho De-
cember number of the Teachers Advocate
is before me- In it l find much to assist
and instruct the practical teacher. The
editor is an accomplished writer, and, l
successful teacher. Yet l
find that, like myself, he has very poor
opinion of his copartners in general. In
a leading editorial, after dilating on the
success of the Ad0ocdte, appears a para
graph which should bring the blush of
shame to the face of every one-horsc
teacher. He informs his patrons that
one column will in the future be devoted
to teachers, their marriages, deaths, reno
walls, &C. He wants the teachers to send
him the items, and informs them that
mistakes in photography, or grammatical
will be corrected. What an
avowaI Those we hire and pay to in
L Il i al, Il .afi
cannot spell the simple words
necessary to convey to the editor mar
riage or obituary notice We imagine
ourselves in the Office of the editor of the
AdUocdte The devil (not old Nick) ad-
vances and hands him letter enclosed In
a small, neat, and wen-scsnted letter, look