The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-06-26

Mr.. EDITOR With your permits
sion, wish to insert few word.
in your paper c nccrning school
teachers and ! shall not attempt a
lengthy argument touching their
qualifications as such. but propose
to draw the rarely observed and
long lost distinction between
what / shall term nominal and a
rea teacher. This distinction is
easily perceptible, inasmuch as their
names are suggestive of their mean
ing. The appellation of teacher is
given TO all who have charge of a
school. The public regard such as
teachers. They style them selves
teachers. They arc palronized as
teachers, and why are they rot
teachers Let the distinction to be
drawn answer. A nominal teacher
is one who hears his pupils rccitc
that which they already know. 1t
is very different to say a thing, and
to understand il; to recite well
memorized rules according to
phraseology, and to understand the
principles involved. The nominal
teacher hears, the real teacher in
structs- The nominal hears you re-
cite rules, tho real explains the
principles from which rules are de-
duced. The nominal points to his
pupils the already observed super
structure, the real leads them 10 ex-
plore the foundation. The nominal
hangs his instruction on the walls
of his pupils momory, which the
blasts of vacation will soon rupture,
and which like baseless fabric of Il
vision, will soon fade away; the
real implants It in the rich soil OF
his pupils judgment, where it will
spring up, grow and increase and
produce an hundred fold. The
nominal dwarfs the memory, the
real expands the mind. Of the lat
ter class is Prof Walker. Truly he
deserves the epilhet of teacher. He
teaches by practical demonstration
the philosophy of things. He elu-
cidates every intricate subject. lie
maps out to his pupils view, every
thing yelled in mystery. He de-
composes obstruse subjects and sim
pIifies them. He rolls away every
obstruction, and opens an avenue
through which the young minds of
his pupils can easily penetrate. And
while he does this, he never over
looks the important obligation
binding on each pupil to think
and study for himself. He tries to
instill into their minds tho imror-
lance of constant reflection and the
utility of bard study but when he
finds that his pupil has expended a
vast amount OF diligent research,
and is still unable to obtain the de-
sired obje ct, he feels it incumbent
on him; as teacher, to re-
move the cloud that obstructs a
clear view of the thing sought
When his pupils are involved in
labyrinth, he gives to them a clue
to their way out. He teaches what
he SO appropriately styles Railroad
calculation with wonderful effect.
a different thing from mental arith-
metic, especially in the manner in
which it is taught. This surely is
an exercise which results very fa-
vorabIy. 1t commands the closest
attention from all, as the numbers
for calculation are propounded to
the school in body. II causes the
pupils to concentrate their thoughts
and habituatcs them to think rapid
~ and correctly. 1t also carries
with it its due portion of interest.
1t seems rather an object to arouse
the sensibilitics and please the mind
than 10 engendcr laziness. 1t
therefore must necessarily work
like Il charm, and rebound to the
good of all. | referred to this in
particular, as it is claimed by him
to be original with him. | can say
it Is new thing to me, and | have
been to many schools. | never Wis
tied his school but once, and that