Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-09-14
MISS BROWN, UPON SCHOOL
TEACHING


politics, Queen Elizabeth, and-school-teach-
ing. You see, i had the sort of feeling common
TO very young teachers, that the special reason
for my being born at all was that I shoald dis
tinguish myself By drilling knowledge into
specimens of humanity, who were more or less
perfect in the art of manufacturing choice spit
balls. horribly spelled Iovs-letters and pictures
of people with impossible faces, potato bodies,
ano legs like crooked hairpin with q pot-hook
at the end.
Strange TO saw, that feeling isn't so strong
with me now, aDd 1 manage to get through the
nights without lying awake and thinking how !
could possibly join the ranks again; but the
feeling of meek resignation grows especially
strong when read the gushing epistses in which
fond mothers protest against the habit OF max
ing their darlings stuIy their lessons at home
At such times ! feel like becoming a Sevout
Catholic at once, just for the sstisfs tion OF
crossing myself a dozen times or 50 to keep me
away from the evil.
TIE TRIBULATIoNs OF THg TEACHERS.
Do these tender parents ever consider, my
dear STAR, that the teachers of our public
schools have no voice whatever in the regula
tion of studies. books, &c; but are mere ma
chimes in the hands OF the trustees Let any
one take a school report, and he or she will there
hnd that the branches 70 be studied, the ground
TO he gone over in each, and the requirements
generally for each year are mapped out for
each grade with minute precision. If the school
comes up to the mark well and good; II not,
then woe to the teacher Instead OF praise,
she'll receive snubs of the most pronounced
type, and will, besides, find herself minus en-
plOyment; 4. G., il she escapes being burnt in
et1gy at once, for a rebeilious subject.
There is muddle of that kind now Ia the
WalIach school. One OF the teachers, who, for
sixteen years, has faithfully filed her post, ad
during the past year, an unusually difficult set
of boys to deal with. Punishments were not
permitted, except detention for half an hour
after school hours, and circumstances were
therefore decidedly in favor of poor show at
examination; result not dreaded without res-
son by the teacher. Well, her fears were veri-
fed; the scholars did not, as heretofore, fully
reach the required standard, and the COnSe-
quence was that her loving friends on the board
had beautiful opportunity to humIIiate her by
reducing her rank, besides holding out the
prospect OF entire dismissal, for further ep-
cOuragement.
Yes, If twenty pupils were the number allotted
TO each teacher, then one mi isht reasonably ex-
pect that she could explain every mOoted pom!
to the satisfaction OF each individual piece of
animated inquiry; but with sixty or seventy OF
the species on her hands, how in reason can
such a course be possible? The truth ia that
many parents are perfectly resigned to delegate
all the care and trouble to a teacher, while at
the same time they jealousy refrain from add
ing the spice of authority to the burden which
might make the transfer a success
And TO give the uninitiated a faint glimpse of
the sort of material our teachers have to work
upon, and show what lovely specimens of fine
FEELING and loving kindness some of these 'mO-
theirs" turn loose upon the community, will
iust relate little incident which occurred a
few days ago: While engaged in a little private
teeaehing OF my own, the pitfal yelping of
dog right in front OF my house attracted my at
tention. / investigated the matter and found
that crowd of boys had played "dog catcher"
with little dog. They had chased, beaten,
and stoned him, had thrown him into the water
and then repeated their innocent amusements
until the foolish animal fell over and thus ended
their sport.
Well, all signs indicated that he "even
wished that be we're dead, - if dogs ever 40 wish
that; and coming to the conclusion that the
only mercy which could be shown him was to
have him shOt, gently encouraged a couple OF
boys TO have lt done at once.
Then, il any one will take the trouble of
Keeping eyes and ears open near our school, he
can find hundreds of these culture rulers en-
gagged in drawn battles, In which stones AID
curses of the hardest kinds are exchanged with
great spirit and uDbounded liberality; and one
afternoon | saw a bali brick, sent by one OF
these I. 7. 8 as striking argument, scrape ac-
quaintance with a cOloTed woman who turned
the corner, in such a touching manner that she
grew ash grey in the face, and turned TO m
with: "Fo de Lawd. Miss, desc boys is de deb
bills own. Where Civil Rights now, 1 wondah!"
OF course these uusophisticated OmplSiners
devontly believe that teacher can convert a
room full OF these playful cheFubs into studious.
obedient children by mere force of will, even If
these same parents find themselves unequal t0
the task of effecting that desirable result with
the few they call their own, even when SUD
ported by full and unlimited authority; bur
some of us do know that the mere atmosphere
OF schoolrooTn is not particularly noted for its
DcHeuClhl eHeClS upon Lno pump governing
the study department; and as the pump, by
means of which knowledge is to be forced into
the brains of children has not vet been patented
they must study, and study hard, in order to
learn; and If they do not make use OF their tim
during the day To do so, then they must make
UP for the loss in the evening, or-the trustees
must reduce the number of branches to be
studied.
Moreover, one may safely assert that a huu-
dred Children will die OF eating green appls.
before one will be made an angel through over
in fhn afr
parents of children, in the formation of whose
heads the front consists of basement only
while the back sports three stories aud a French
roof, who have the greatest fear of the effect of
mental exercise upon their dsrlings.
But there, I'm afraid this is not "s,csstsess
long drawn OUT" aud really beg pardon for
saying go much; yet, when people do their best
t. make children believe that their teachers
ought TO do all the work, and that consequently
the little people have nothing to DO but amuse
themselves III order TO become fine scholars
then | think that sOAe one ought TO paint the
other side OF the picture, even ii it is only
MISS BRowS.