The Russellville Democrat., 1877-05-24
An Essay read before the Teach- Institute, at Kusse1lvIIle, Ark, Friday, May 11th, 1877.
COMMON OR FREE ScHooLs.

COMMON OR FREE SCHooLs.
 Although so much has already been said about Free Schools, yet hardly think myself competent to exhaust the remainder of the subject. 1 do not know what can say that will give any enlightenment upon this all-important theme, but in following out my own thoughts this much 1 can and will say, that ssthough this is the way in which the mass of the people obtain their edu- cation' many of our schools are not properly conducted. It is too often the case that careless, incompetent teach CTS "who think more of the money than the peoples geod'' are employed to fill important places which should be occu- pied by we'll educated energetic men and women, who have the best interest of their country at heart and who bear in mind that a teachers posi- tion is next or equal to that of Gods Ministers; we should have teachers who strive to impress on the mind of their pupils the difference between right and wrong, and who have the faculty of teaching them how to distin- gnish where the Boundary line of their actions should lie. Teachers who have power to con1rol their own tempers, and with this power can govern in q judicous manner the tempers of the children in their charge; to the teacher is given the task, ssand no small one, !" of enlightening, expanding and eleyat- ing the scholars mind, and is not the mind the soul? then how careful we should be to direct it in the right paths, to teach it to seek after all that is true end good, pure and beautiful, and to shun all that tends to lower and bebase the mind which has been given them for higher and nobler purpose, It is the Directors duty to see that every thing is provided, sssuch as water, brooms, wash-dish, towels, soap, etc., ; which will teach the children to love order and cleanliness. and the teachers duty to see that they are used. To ac- complish this will take much patient perseverance. Light, airy rooms which can be kept warm in winter and cool in summer, should be the first requisite nothing is more easy to obtain than | pure air, and nothing is more benefi- cial to the health: there is much blame to be attached to school Trustees or Directors for neglecting to provide proper ventilation when school houses are built. This however does not re- lieve teachers from responsibility in the matter, if children breathe impure air and are made sick by it it is the teachers fault: In the next place com fortable seats and desks should be pro- vided for the ease of the student, .'per- haps you think it nonsense to have any thing easy in the school-room ?" the laws of health require that children shonlu be comfortably seated, also that they should have plenty of air and ex- ercise. I will give you a sketch of the l place in which 1 obtained my first school education: the. house was q small frame building three windows on each side two at one end and the door at the other; plenty of light you sayf yes, and air too, for as the house was only sided outside and not finished on the inside, there was many a crack through which the wind would find its way on cold wintry day. Besides this ventilation each window bore the marks of some careless school-boy' sport, and so of course did not have to bear as many pains as the cold children who were crowding round the little broken stove that stood in the center oi the room, creating some confusion. As | for our comfortable seats, they were logs split in halves and set on sticks placed crosswise, no backs, and so high that the small scholars dangled their feet in the air; our desks were rough boards nailed to the sides of the house and placed on level with our ehins and this I must say is good sketch of many of the school-houses in this country. The next and in fact all the schools which have attended since have been furnished with modern im- provements; in the former it was al- most impossible to command order and attention; in the latter both seemed to be be a natural gift rather than an ae- | quiIed habit. Teachers should see that the right books are provided; to do good work the mechanic must have the | proper tools f r the task he Is to per- form so should the scholar have such books as will help him to obtain the most profitable education and fit him for whatever position he must fill in | life. As to what these books should be l will leave to older and wiser heads than mine to decide and will pay good attention to what is said.
 l And now that l have said so much about the duty of teachers l suppose it | Wlll Dt SuIu lflat lI Is tsS1 lp dtflNt what should be said and done, but the next thing is to follow the advice; am we'll aware of this fact and also of the | fact that we are each and all placed here for some purpose and though we all have our peculiar failings, still we should use abilities, however small they may be, in the best way we kDow how. We all have our faults and the spirit of mutual Improvement should be so strong that when corrected for these faults we should take it in all kindness, no matter how harsh the criticism, as it was meant for our good and advancement, that we may have a | higher influence with the society in which we move. My thoughts go fast CT than my pen; and knowing what ideas have advanced have been ex- l pressed in such an awkward way that l may DC subjected to many criticisms, and also knowing that there are others here who aIe older and who can fill the time with more profit than myself l will close by saying, Fcllow-teachers let us do what we can, be 1t ever SC 1 little, in the best way we know how trusting God for the results of oui labor. Respectfully,
 I ALICE RoYs.
 RussEIIvILLE, Ark