St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-09-20

VERMONT STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIA-
TION, HELD IN BARRE, AUG. Is, 1873,
BY NJ. H. BUCKHAM, D. D., PRESIDENT
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT.
1t is a significant fact that the highest
degree conferred by the universities of
all ChristendOm is that of "DOctor," !"
teacher. To be qualified to teach in
any art or mystery-in law, medicine,
theology, music-is supposed to imply
the highest degree of attainment in that
art. One may become bachelor, bac
calaureate, ivy-erowned, as reward of
study a master, even, who may lecture
and have pupils; but the full dignity
of recognized public "teacher" is re-
served as the highest university honor.
The theory of academic degrees culmi-
mating in the dOctorate is profoundly
true. The satire comes in with the ap
plicatiOn of it. When Mr.. Agassiz
signed his last will and testament,
"Louis Agassiz, teacher" with uncon-
scious iIony he suggested what ''doctoI"
ought to mean, and how much more
plain s'teachero does mean. But the
original truth of the title stands. The
teacher who deserves the name belongs
at the head of his brethren in any pro-
fessiOn. He is the rare man sifted out
of the thousands of ordinary men, the
hundreds of able men, the score of su-
perior men. The great teacher ranks
with the two or three leading men of
his state or nation. Greece produced a
whole galaxy of great poets, orators,
statesmen, generals, but only one great
teacher. England could bazon the
walls of half dozen Westminster Alb
| hnuS xx-ifh tha of har lo w
yers, physicians, divines, artists, philan
thropists, but she has had only one
Doctor Arnold. How many great
ing nothing of the living. and disparag-
ing none of the excellent teachers Of
either sex, to whose influence over us
we do glad homage in our hearts, but
speaking only of those who have left
an enduring memorial of themselves in
the work they wrought, we can hardly
claim more than two-James Marsh and
James X. Colby-two men very much
alike in the simplicity of their character
and their extreme diffidence in speech
and manner, alike also in possessing
that wonderful power of attaching to
themselves other minds and of quicken
ing and inspiring them with their own
enthusiasm. But to speak of our own
times and the schools and teachers of
our own localities, how rare is a thor
oughly good teacher! Ask the presi-
dents of colleges, the chairmen of
school boards, the superintendents of
city schools, what they find to be the
most trying part of their work, and they
will tell you it is to discover the two or
three or half dozen teachers among the
scores and hundreds of those who think
themselves qualified to teach. | verify
believe that it is easier to find five first
class preachers, or physicians, or law
years than one fISt-class teacher. And
yet the one thing which the largest
number of those who have little edu-
cation think they can do is to teach.
Let business get little dull, and i'm
mediately there is large accession of
applicants for opportunities to teach
from almost all the other emplOyments.
Clerks, book agents, patent medicine
venders, lightning-rod peddlers, insur-
ance agents, all appear to think that
when all other emplOyments fail. there
are always two things that remain-one
is to teach, the other, to turn tramp.
Not the least evil of the present de-
preston of business is the throwing into
the ranks of competitors for positions
as teachers, thousands who have no
qualifications and no love for the work
who steal the bread from the mouths of
competent teachers, and cheaper and
degrade the whole process of education.
One thing which such gatherings as this
ought to do is to impress ourselves and
the public with the idea that teaching
is not only profession, but high and
difficult profession, requiring peculiar
and indispensable qualifications, to be
entered only by assiduOus preparation,
rewarding with success only those who
give to it enthusiasm, energy and pa
tient labor. To this impression l shall
endeavor to contribute what i can in
the time during which l may hope to
have your attention.
Is the art of teaching something that
that can be learned, or is it the gift OF
nature whose lack no art can supply
Here, as in other departments, the an
swer is, that while conspicuous and
brilliant achievements are possible to
genius alone, that moderate and aver
age merit whose aggregate is the worlds
hope, is within the reach of the average
endowment raised to its best by appli-
that any one of fair ability can make
even fair teacher. There is a certain
something besides good sense and ordi-
narily good capacity, whose presence
or absence determines success or failure
What that is do not know. 1t seems
to be one of the indefinable things in
character, like what we call tact in q
clever woman of society, or magnetism
in an orator, or insight in physician
1t is probably not single trait or char
acteristic, but resultant of several moi
necessarily the same in different in.
dividuals. 1t is not easy to say whai
5 particular traits one must have in ordel
r to be good teacher, or how many goot
j traits one may have and yet for lack O
some one or some happy combination
5 of those one has, prove total failure
a 1t would seem almost absurd to say
that one may lack thorough knowledge
: and be good, at least il successful
!, teacher, or be lacking in good sense
and balance of character, or even have
. some conspicuous and glaring faults
But such cases are not unknown.
they are not sufficiently common to es
4 tablish any general truth, they are a
least noticeable enough to make III
q cautious in our generalizatiOns. Ther'
are, however, two or three infallibl,
marks of teaching power which are con
stant amid all the variable traits ant
. peculiarities. The first and chief o
: these is the power to awaken admira
ton. venture the assertion that n,
e teacher can exert strong infiuenc'
d over his pupils minds who fails to Sc
!, cure their admiration. This is yer,
different thing from saying that goot
teacher is popular teacher. A teache