Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-02-02
THE NECESSITY OF SCHOOL IM-
ELEMENTS.
Read by the Rev. J. HI. Gold Before
The ClarksVilIe Teachers
Meeting GA Monday
James.


is true in every department of life.
Indeed, ii is the will of Him who
created, the fiat of Him who gov
erns all things, that this should be
50. There is no stand-still in those
things which are dependent upon,
or which grow out of the volition
of man. As an example, virtue, if
not so cultivated, as 10 promote its
growth, will unavoidably perish.
The human frame must grow it
must increase in vigOr and strength !;
and just as soon as it ceases to do
this it begins to die. So with the
mind, so with everything depend
ent on human volition for its Gull
ture or production. The Giver of
all good bestoWs the talents, but the
recipient must cultivate, and must
improve or be accounted an I'M
profitable servant.
Every trade and profession, that
has ever benefited the world, is
stamped with improvement, and in
no respect is this more patent than
in the implements which they use.
What surgeon would undertake a
difficult case in his profession with
the clumsy and awkward imple-
ments of century ago? Almost
as soon would he go to the carpen-
ter's chest. What dentist would
attempt to perform his work with
like Anticipated instruments ? As
we'll might he adopt the tools of the
blacksmith. What is true in other
professions is eminently SO in that
of the teacher. AS his profession
lies at the foundation of every other,
how supremacy important it is, that
it should not only keep pace with
them, but should, if possible, be in
advance of them. Can the teacher,
accustomed to Il fine edifice, with
spacious rooms and beautiful
walls, with elegant, neat, and COM
Portable furniture, together with all
the implements necessary to illus
tration and demonstration, be in
duced TO return 10 the stick and
dirt cabin, with pUncheon floor, and
clumsy and exceedingly uncomfor-
table seats, where many of the sur
rOundings were repulsiVe in high
degree? Ills true many of us may
have pleasant "reminiscences of our
school boy days, but these come
from associations entirely extrane-
Gus to the building, its furniture, or
any school apparatus then at our
command. The poet may sing,
ever so sweetly, of " the old school
house at the foot Of the HILL" but
the force of his song will consist,
rather of sentiment, than any re-
atty connected Herewith.
It must not be supposed that we
shall attempt to show that the
teacher must have implements,
whether of the crudest and most
Anticipated sort, or of the latest and
most improved. 1t must be admit
ted by all that something of the
kind is necessary. The question,
proper for our consideration, is,
shall the teacher be content to stand
still, and to use only those incOnVe-
nient helps, which, by a luckless
chance, may have fallen in his path
way; or shall he not rather, by
dint Of tact, skill and energy, strive
to procure all such things, in his
line, as may be Of the highest
order, and consequently the most
convenient and useful?
To enumerate, in detail, all the
helps and conveniences herein re-
ferred to, would render this paper
of more than desirable length yet,
we may, with profit, mention few.
In the primary department, the
blackboard and charts are indispen-
sable. BY means of these, one
teacher can instruct fifty pupils
with more ease and better success
than he can one dozen without
them. Instead of having the bur-
den of teaching each individual
pupil to rest solely on himself, each
member of his class becomes a
teacher, and often does the work
more successfully than the teacher
himself could possibly do it. The
light thus impaired in a class, sup
piled with these facilities, may be
compared to flame in large heap
of fuel; the more fuel thrown to-
gether the brighter the light, and
the more intense the heat. This is
especially so In the graded school,
where children of the same grade