The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1874-09-17

the assurance of continuous employment at
fair salaries, live teachers would be found to
teach school and Qeacks would be compelled
to seek q more congenial field OF labor.
Little attention has been paio to the proper
selection of school sites. Many OF the school
houses in my district are located
On lone snd barren spot,
In an angle of the road,
Every pleasant view shut out,
There, of course, the school house stood.
MOI a. single tree or shrub
Spread its friendly branches oyer
And your search would be in vain
For q healthy Leaf of clover.
The out bulldogs are much neglected.
and badly out of repair, while some school
premises are entirely destitute OF any out
buildings whatever. But if the outside
look is unattractive the interior view is
equally so, A large stove occupies the GEN.
ter of the room, very often with broken door
and minus leg. VITA pipe beautifully plas-
tered up with blue clay in order to make
five and six inch pipe match--a rickety
chair and table and poor blackboard con.
stitute the entire furniture of at least one
halt of the school roems of the country.
The mechanic to Go good job of work must
have tools. the farmer, to properly till the
soil, must have implements OF agriculture.
but teachers must enter these old school
structures, and without globe map or chart
or any school apparatus whatever, be ex-
pected to do good job Of teaching, or be
pronounced failures. One OF the most
embarrassing things with which Commits.
toner's have to contend, is the great desire
on the part OF too yooSng lades and gentlemen
to teach school. Their highest ambition
seems to be to attain sufficient age, and
education enough to pass a Commissioners
examination and when this object is attain
ed they think their trials are ali over, when
in fact they have just commenced, and after
failures, and repeated failures, they still
persist in trying to pass themselves off for
teachers when they are nothing but quacks.
They are willing to teach cheap, and the
only consolation they derive from this fact i,
is, that in many cases, they get even more
than they earn. If they obtain a certificate
once, they seem to take 1t for granted that
they are entitled to another. Notwithstanding
they have made most miserable failure.
One fault find with teachers Is this, they
do not give enough Oral instruction. Glasses
are called out, the questions asked as they
occur lis the book, without note or comment.
When the list is exhausted the class is excus-
ed, frequently as wise as when they came
1t is TO be regretted that SO many present
themselves for examination SO poorly quail.
fed to be companions and instructors Of
our youth. But few in the rural districts
make any special preparation foi their
business. Having acquired so ne knowledge
of the three Rs, they think mistaken souls)
that they have capital enough to set up in
school teaching, provided they can get
certificate. A few read some work on teach-
ing or take some Educational Journal, but
most of them hasten In the fall Of the year
from their various empioyments to the
school room with scarcely any preparation
for their responsible dntes Mistakes in dairy
ing or farming can sometimes be rectifed
or if not rectlfied are simply mistakes of
dollars and cents but mistakes in teaching
cannot be estimated in any such way.
Reading i'd q branch not taught as it should
be. / find pupils in the fifth reader who
should be in the second or third. They are
hurried on from grade to grade. and many
an admirIng parent thinks the teacher a
good one simply because he has advanced
Johnny 10 the sixth reader. Criticisms are
confined to the wrong pronunciation of
words. If they do not make glaring mistakes
In pronunciation they are called good read
ers, although the mistakes in infection,
personation, meditation etc. are legion.
Spelling is too much neglected except IN a
few schools. Different methods of spelling
are adopted. Most OF them, however, spell
by writing words at least once day. but in
many ofthem spelling Is lost art. Offour
hundred teachers | examined, five per cent.
nave spelled every word correctly, the words
being common ones and from 20 to 30 given.
Can 1t beexpected that scholars wilt be
taught 10 spell when their teachers are fail
ures in that respect?
Commissioners have onerous and delicate
duties to perform. One class in community
would have every applicant for a certificate
licensed, that competition might secure
cheap teachers. Another would have only
those licensed who are fit, which, in my
opinion would make scarcity OF teachers
To decide just how much knowledge one
mnst have in order to entitle him to certif-
cate is sometimes very fine point to deter-
mine. Ihave one hundred questions to be
answered. tell my class they must answer