The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-10-15
The Public School.

The duty of the parent to visit the school
where his children spend five or six hours
every day has often been urged in this col
umn. The responsibility which rests upon
the parent with respect to the education OF
his child cannot be wholly delegated to
another. Tie teacher is but the parents
assistant in the great work of educating-
calling forth the powers of the child-and
TO insure the highest results. cooperation
between the two agents concerned Is abso-
lutely indispensable. If the father cannot
spare time from his business, the mother
should see to it that she knows from her
own observation what air her children
breathe in school, what companions sur
round them, what influences, secret and
open, are acting upon them. Any woman
who can organize and carry on her house
hold industries in normal and systematic
manner can form very good idea as to the
abilities and power of the teacher under
whose tuition her child is placed. She can
tell whether order, cleanliness, quiet, and
SYSTEM pervade the schoOl-roOm, though
she may have forgotten every rule of
grammar, all the complexities of fractions,
and be unable to bound correctly any State
in the Union. The mere knowing enough
to take scholars through the ordinary
English branches is a very small part of
the qualifications of any teacher. As to
his power TO organize, to marshal and to
exercise leadership over his pupils, any
woman who is mistress of her household
in reality as well as in name is pretty
good judge. So long as the schools in our
rural districts are given over to trustees,
school committees and teachers, they will
fail of large part of the good they might
gao Mich, 10 xt-anllH I,uf taI- :.
constant and active interest in promoting
their usefulness. When a teacher feels
that he has the hearty cooperation of in
telligent parents, he enjoys at the same time
both stimulus and reward. The scholars,
too, take pride in showing to visitors the
pro- 2ress they are making and the excellence
with which they can deport themselves
and recite their lessons. This showing is
best when made two or three times every
week instead of in one grand exhibition ut
the close of the term.
Cheap school teachers, like cheap
clothes, cheap flour, cheap medicine, are
very expensive. Better far employ good
teacher for three months at $50 a month
than a poor one for six months at SD a
month. You may put the most eXpen-
sive brOadclOths into the hands of an in
experienced tailor, and he will make far
less attractive garment of it than cloth of
half the price made up with the art of
master tailor. We want no bunglers to
work at the minds of our children. The
country is full of normal schools. and he
or she who aSpires to the high Office of
teacher should first learn how to teach.
Not long ago, passing day in quiet
rural neighbOrhOOd, we visited for an hour
or two the public school. There were
about 80 scholars in the room, % of whom
could read only in words of from two to
five letters. The grammar class was
called up, and the questions We're asked
and answered in the most uninteresting
and mechanical way. Meantime the rest
of the pupils were studying out loud or
gazing round listlessly. whispering, NOV
ing about, and tossing up their books.
When that class was through, the teacher
called up, one at 4 time, the little ''prima-
ries," aud heard each read and spell sepa-
rately in a tone we could not catch, the
hubbub of the children continuing unaba-
ted. About every three minutes some one
pupil asked permission to leave the room.
and it was granted. Thus passed an hour
and a hall, when school was dismissed
and we had little talk with the teacher
OF the three trustees, he told us only one
ever visits the school; no parent deignS to
come in; all the scholars hadn't come in,
so he had not been able to organize it.
When cold weather comes there will be
about 80 more, and an assistant. Mean
time the school routine will move on as it
did while we were there. No comments
are necessary. We commend to every
parent the picture we have drawn, and
suggest that he or she ought to know by
personal inspection that it does not pOr-
tray the school in his neighbOrhOoi.-Ne,0
York Tribune