The Van Buren press., 1878-07-23
The Basket of Chip Dirt.


meaning OF such report as this ~
Report of Charles +. Stevens FOR tern
ending March 8, 1878: Arithmetic 66
Geography, II; Grammar, At +; reading
s5; Spelling, 60; Writing. 70. Aver.
age, 6S; Department, IA General, II
Whole number in class, l6. Rank in
class, l6
.Foot of the class, No. l6. in class OF
1o. Well, well That is my boy Charlie,
is it? How did this happen Z"
II don't know, SIR
"Don't know, sr2 Who does know
When you FIRST went into the Wentworth
school YOU ranked number in a class OF
33. The next term You were number g,
In the spring number 8, and at the close
Of the year you got down to number IL.
Then in the fall term let me see, where
is that report2 Here it is, number--l
have it. No. l3 in class of 10. Now
YOU are l6 in class of l6. Well, whore
will you be at that rate next term.
81 think | shall do bet or next term,
sir"
"Well, but just explain how this came
about"
al can't SIR
"You can't? Has the teacher marked
you unfairly p
81 think not, sir
"Does he show any partiality y
81 don't think SO, sir.
Cant tell can tell you, Charles,
Do you see that basket filed with ap
ples?' p
81 do, SIR
empty out the apples upon the floor,
in the corner of the ROOM
"Ive done it, sir"
"Now take the basket out to the wood
pile and fill it half full. with pine chip
dirt
"What shall do with it then p
Bring it to me"
Charles was in the habit of the most
implicit obedience to his fathers com.
mands. He therefore haf-tiled the bas
ket with dirt at the wood pile, and
brought it to his father, without any de-
lay.
Here is the basket, father
swell now put in the apples"
Charles piled on the apples till the bas-
ket would hold no more,
cit will not hold them, sir
"Will not hold them? But it did be-
fore. Pile them on"
Charles piled on the apples as long as
they would stay on, then said
!" 1t will not hold them all, sir"
'sPle them on. Pile them on. 1t held
them all before"
'Yes, father, but now the basket is
half full Of chip dirt.
"Ah, my son, there's the mischief.
When basket is half full of chip dirt,
1t will not hold basket full of apples.
lou have been filling your head with
those chip dirt stories, and how do you
think you can fill it with arithmetic and
spelling. How many volumes of Oliver
Optics books have you read 7"
Il have read them all, sir"
Sand how many dime novels have you
read this winter p
~ don't know, sir, l think about a
,n' % .sWYss,es sWs .fy .nan cam : ,1o " read :"
he buggy was driven back to the capt =
i just il time to meet another buggy, y
e spant of which ha,f o'-:.-'i- -n1st pe
pretty ne. AIio chip dirt, and how
do you SUI r,se You can now pile on the
arithmeticf"
q never looked upon it in that light
before"
"Well, my boy, take the chip dirt back
to the wood house and see if the basket
will hold the apples then"
Charles quickly left the chip dirt out
side and filled the basket with the APP
Piles.
"Does It hold them uowi"
"Oh, yes sir. 1t holds them all now y
."Well, my son, it will not be so easy
to empty the chip dirt from your mind,
but caution you not to put any more
in"
Charles understood the meaning OF
this. 1t was a good example of "objeci
teaching and the hext term, although
1t cost him many severe effort to keep
away from the chip dirt, his record was
far less unsatisfactory, 1t is to be hoped
that Chfrlie will yet crowd out the chip
dirt from his mind by filling it Will
the good and true.-Congregational
ist.