Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-08-21
Written fort Herald
Parents and Their Schools.
No. XVI.


Peculiar skill is necessary for the sue
cessful management and instruction of
children. This fact suggests still anoth
er natural gift to be sought in the candi-
date for the teachers office, viz: aptness
to govern and to teach,
Aptness to govern is expressed in the
word a1lthoritH and implies the ability
to direct and control others 1t is in
born, and manifests itself as kind of
instinct. 1t is seen among children when
assembled to engage in their sports.
Perhaps in .......... ..-......
.'some village Hampden that with daunt-
less breast .-.. .. III.
This little tyrant ofhis fields withstood.' -
Some one assumes command and exer-
cises his gift to rule. 1t is seen among
men, wherever they organize for any
purpose ......... ....... .......
''some Crolnwall, gutltiess of his country's
bIood,''
becomes the leader, and exercises author
ity and control. In some families the
children are in complete subsection to
their parents, and yet, no special effort
has ever been made to govern them.
The mother has authority which is
early discovered in her eye. in the tones
Of her voice, in her truthful words and
Interchangeable purposes. Under her man
asement the habit of obedience is soon
formed, and cheerful Submission rem
dered.
In some schools (though these are the
exceptions and not the rule1, the master
has only to wave his hand, or tap with
his pencil upon the desk, to restore per-
feet order His very presence is Il ruling
power which his pupils are inclined to
recognize and obey. He has authority,
natural aptness to govern. Lack of
discipline in the family and school, which
has become so fearful an evil in our land,
more often results from want Of
this motive power than from any other
cause. ....
Aptness to teach is not always con-
nected with aptness TO govern, kut is
equally desirable as a qualification for
the important duties our teachers have
TO perform, ......
Ability to teach well, implies the
power to interest and fix the at
tention of the pupil or class; the
power to illustrate and apply prin-
ciples; the power to read character,
so as to be able to adapt instruction to
the varying capacities and dispositions of
different pupils, and the discretion to
know what to teach, when to teach and
how much to teach. |.s.-...-
Aptness to teach docs not necessarily
imply the highest order of scholarship,
nor the largest ability to understand and
explain a given lesson, but the power to
inspire, guide and control pupils in self
culture and in the attainment of. know
ledge by their own earnest application.
School trustees should spare no pains in
the selection of teachers for their
schools, to find those who possess these
peculiar gifts. ....s...s..
And they should examine the candi-
date also, in reference to another quail
fication, viz: en6rgy Of character, or
what is appropriately called ''snap. "
One ice teacher is worth a score of
dead ones. He will accomplish much
more work, and his presence and in-
fiuence are inspiring, not only in the
school room, but in homes of the children
and by the way A live teacher makes
a live school and awakens a new interest
in the cause of popular education in the
community where he resides. That vi
tai energy of which | speak, enlivens
his whole being. 1t is seen in the elias
ticitY Of his steps and in his animated
conversation 1t flashes from his eyes,
and streams from his fingers, as the red
current of life rapidly courses through
his arteries and veins, propelled by a
heart, every fiber of which throbs with
sympathetic emotions and a lively inter
est in the work in which he is engaged.
Energy is essential to success in any en-
terprise, and especially in the difficult
and important work of managing and
teaching school. ..t.a...s = ss5..
And the teacher of our children should
have well balanced and highly cultivat-
ed mind. The man or woman of zone
idea, +" the mere visionary of eccentric
habits, should never be tolerated in the
school,room, Such a person has distort-
ed views Of life and false prinei-
piles Of action, and is an unsafe
examplar and guide of youth.
The educator, above all men, should
have sound mind, a clear judgment,
and a. comprehensive knowledge of men
and things All his mental faculties
should be fully developed, and in harmo=
nious actions; and this implies not only
soundness, but culture. And that cHl-
ture should be liberal by which | mean,
the mind should be disciplined by hard
study, and stored with extensive in
formation gathered from the broad field
of science, history and literature: 1t is
not enough that our teachers understand
merely the branches to be taught. in our
schools. They should be mentally men
and aeo,jaea, who have the power OF sys-
tematic thought the power to.anaiyze,
classify and reason, and the power to
employ this varied culture and attain
ments to the business and duties of pracc-
tical life. Such teachers only are we'll
furnished for this work, and such only
should be regarded as suitable candidates
for the high Office which they are called
| to fill. ......s -... PARENs: ::