The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1875-09-01
Selected for THE RfcoRD
EDUcATIoSAL-No. y.
VINO ARE OUR TEACHERS. Z

And, then, the Editor of even our good daily
papers--wliy, they have more scholars and
give more lessons, too than we teachers do |
TEAcHERs Are they not teachers more
than wee Aud they are more popular, too,
than we, notwithstanding they whip oftener
and harder We, perhaps, make the hand Or
legs tingle bit for few moments but
these editor teachers--why --they not only
make ears tingle but sometimes hearts ache
as well Editors--not teachers--indeedl II 4
is to be feared their lessons are moro studied. |
better learned, and longer remembered, than
those of any other class, especially during the
"trial" seasons. One of the most widely
circulated of our metropolitan daily papers
recently asserted, that one Of the curses of
our period is loose reasoning, derived from
too general, smattering, acknowledgement acct
dent Of newspaper reading
But whether an accident or a natural re-
suit, the consequences remain tho same. In
this country, at least, newspapers not only
help largely to form, but to direct and control
public opinion and our children and youth,
hearing the topics of the papers daily dis
cussed by their elders, take the cue from
them, and thus the opinions of those who
must soon control public affairs, are daily and
hourly being formed. Are not editors teach
ers, then, in the largest and fullest sense of
the sense {?
A. GAMrNs.-This term is used because no
one English word so well expresses the idea.
But are these teachers ? Let Us see.
In New York, Philadelphia, Brooklyn and
probably in all large cities as WE'LL are to be
found hundreds and thousands of poor waits,
who seem to be Only poor paupers.w whom no.
body owns y and nobody seems to care for
How they live Is conundrum that few can
answer Pseudo homes a few of them nomi-
nally have but many of them seem to lodge
just wherever night overtakes housekeeping
in casks, boxes, stables, under stoops, bridges
i'll carts and wagons ragged, dirty, unkempt
and all together repulsive in appearance.
Some of these gain precarious living by
working few hours each day in selling pa
pers backing boots, ETC., while others beg,
steal and maraud generally.
The humber of these may seem small, but
mighty work they accomplish! These
certainly obey one Scriptural injunction they
"inerease and multiply . exceedingly, for no
rolling ball of snow ever accumulated more
rapidly.
I" But are these teachers - asks some in
establishment. They are first, as the foun-
ers, and then as the teachers and propagan-
4 iists ofapnnnH seHeo1.s epparenkly tho meet
fiourishing and rapidly increasing Of all our
educational institutions. And, then, observe
the zeal, the devotedness, the esprit de-corps,
the untiring watchfulness, the terrible earn
estness with which they entice pttpils to join
their school, throwing all other teachers into
the shade in these respects. The street
corner is their chief place of rendezvous,
where they be in wait +" as those that watch
the public and private schools ; and, when
they succeed in coaxing cajoling or driving
some of these to "play hockey" with What
delight they take these off on their maraud-
ing excursions--or If the truants are too
young for that, take them to some sly-hiding
place to tell them stories, and thus initiate
them in the language of profanity and obs
Gently, and in practices too indecent to be
named.
Is the danger from this quarter overstated
ask the principal Of any public school in any
of our large cities If he be not constantly
pesterod or annoyed by this class for these
offenders consider all public teachers like the
police their natural enemies, and delight in
annoying them. The most dangerous recruits
and the most numerous, too, by which the
ranks of this class are filed, are the incorrigi-
BILE truants from the public schools, or those
who have been expelled from them. In our
Judgment, it was sad day for New York
when expulsion was substituted for force, in
the discipline Of her public schools for not
only are these expelled pupils the very ones
of all that ought to be kept in them and
properly disciplined, but their expulsion has
greatly augmented the ranks of the street
class already too numerous and dangerous.
And, then, consider the remarkable success
of the gamns as shown by their graduating
class. These are the feeders to our jails,
penitentiaries, and state prisons. The gamins
are in dead earnest, and they polish off their
graduates as no other class of teachers can.
AS with the old Laucasterian system, the
smart ones become the leaders and monitors
10 tedCH Otutfst WHiio tncJ tucihociNS5 dlo
being taught. Thus zone sinner destroycth
much good" literally, and the whole system
is one of constant reciprocity and self pro-
pagandism.
No certificate or diploma ever made a real
teacher, nor can the Withholding of such I'M
make one. We teachers Of the other classes,
may refuse to recognize the gamins as pro-
fessional brethren but what of that? They
teach on, pay or no pay. and, shut our eyes
as we may to their existence and influence,
these they are. Pay or no pay, did / say !?
These cost the taxpayers more than all our
public schools by far. Why are we SO slow
to learn that in this matter prevention is
cheaper, as well as better, than curep Of more
truant schools and truant officers are needed
to prevent the labors Of one class of teachers
from being rendered nugatory by another, let
us have them, by all means, for they will be
cheap at any price.
Finally, If as has been shown, those tech
nically known as teachers do only part Of
| the work of teaching--if mothers, preachers,