Ellsworth American., 1872-01-11
Schools VS.. School Committees.

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MI. EptrUE: Our attention h4viu.
been called u late u the working Of
rap"l-cummiltccs in case Of disturbance
I'll THE order III 4 school and feeling much
imprr--cdby the frequent failure of school,
committees ID render the teacher the need
r.l assistance ~ 10 remove the difficulty ia
the ease Of persistent yio alton Of the rule,
u school, We ofcr the few following
thoughts for the consideration Of all in
tcrc.tcd.
Trouble is continually arising in our
common and higher school. ocea-ioncd ~
the viciou, conduct OF some scholar or
scholars.
Il ottcn happens that there are several
grow n-up persons in a school who take
every opportunity 10 create disturbance
They 20 Just as far As they think 1t safe
and by their pcrnicious example corrupt
the manner, aud habit, of the Younger
ones. The teacher reasons. expostulates,
threatens Ind punishcs to the best of Iii,
ability but he Is only human and, perhaps.
IL neither giant IN strength nor naturally
ugly enough % give such character. the
unnerciful thrashiug which l. the only
thing that will win obedience from them
Mean" lille the discipline OF the whole
school suffers from the Intentional ,!i--
obedience OF few oil the older scholars;
the majority Of the school, being acll-dis-
posed aro panied at the state OF things
anu, though the teacher be perfectly able
and truly anxious To advance them a. rap
idly as possible In their studies, the school
soon becomes Improbable and the COM
mittee are called upon 10 deal with the few
bad ones who are the cause of the unhap-
py condition OF thinss. Now the point
upon which We wish 10 be heard j. this:
i 4 not the manifest duty OF committee
acting for the greatest good Of district
school than % say to the teacher You
are put over TIL, schpol TO govern and to
instruct il. You have the right 70 punish
a. severely a, Is necessary 10 Keep order
and We depend upon you 10 keep order in
the school else the school must be closed =
The teacher is compelled to Acknowledge
that he cannot make the school profitable
while certain ones are kcpt in Il and
though he has, perhaps, worked nightly
for years when others were asleep 10 lit
himself for teaching, he loses hi school
because an old-togy committee refused TO
DO their manifest duty BY taking certain
rude, conscicncelcss rowdie, out Of the
school. Now we do say, and we are pre-
pared to substantiate it BY Jucts that the
most potent reason existing why so many
thoroughly educated and ambitious Young
men and women abjure wholly the very
honorable and never over-crowded occupa-
ton of teaching, is because they find them
selves unwilling to be forever thra>hing
somebody's good-for-nothing incorrigibles
and so leave the most OF our larger schools
70 the handling of those in whom the ant
mai more largely predominates
In our own experiences we have seldom
seen committee who would assert them
seive. enough as a committee to remove
one of the above mentioned genus.
even though the alternative were the dis
mis- sal OF ateacher we'll qualified a. an in
structor We have in mind one of the
most successful and most beloved teachers
in the state who, in his youth, was unable
TO proceed with small country school on
account OF few evil-disposed persons in
the school. The committee after gathering
at the house of the solemn chairman =
seat themselves in triangle in the prim
parlor, and wait in awful silence for the
boldest and most selfish to suggest an idea
If the ponderous weight of their respon-
sibility as school-inquistors have not con-
densed their possible stock of the article
TO a jelly-"Well. gentlemen" saws the
worthy head OF the triangle, II suppose
you are all agreed that it is the business OF
a teacher to maintain order in school and
to impart instruction in the branches there
Taught. In slow decorum the two re
naming angles re-echo the oracular senti-
ment and the tacit understanding is COM
plete, that they will slide along in the old
down-hill groove, impelled wholly by the
INERTIA OF OLD-FoGYIsM
The next day the teacher receives the
hackneyed apprisal that ''The committee,
after due investigation, are Of unan imous
opiniontha the school had better be closed
as they fear that the behaviour of certain
bad boys will spoil the usefulness Of the
school"