River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-01-29
ON TEACHING.

blOll budb IHtJ VIII All Dt ItllCultu Il
once, but with the hope that fresl
reminder of them will tend toward.
their removal. One of these defects
is in the number of unqualified teach
ers that find occupation in teaching
A large proportion of them should BIZ
seeking instruction rather than vainly
endeavoring to impart it to others
Many of them are young; they have
taken up the work as a temporary ex
pedient with no special love for, and
no more than a transient interest il
it. Some are young and have no gov
erning faculty, and but faint ideas OF
system, and the little good they might
accomplish is defeated by the use OF
bad methods, or by the absence OF
method. 1t may be said that school
boards and superintendent being the
proper officers to regulate this matter
are responsible fol- this defect. They
are in part, but not wholly. The pre-,
vailing sentiment in the various com.
munities on the subject of common
school education is in part responsible
School boards are often chosen by men
who have axes to grind, or they ill.,
trigue themselves into the place be.
cause they have axes of their own to
grind, or they have no special interest
in the matter and accept the position
and hire the teachers because the dis
trict must, somehow, be kept running
superintendent cannot always tell
how we'll teacher will succeed by
his or her ability to answer prescrib-
ed set of questions. A superintendent
will almost always find it difficult to
stand firmly by his own standard of
qualifications where districts ar e
small and poor and the children def
Gent in education. The plea too of
ten is, that they must have cheap
teacher or none at all. If school is
succeeding passably well. that is, if
its defects are not glaring and its man.
agement intolerable, it is generally
thought better to let it continue than
to make change, which in the major
ity of cases cannot be done without
creating disaffection in district
which materially Injuries the school
for the remainder of the term. Such
changes are often from bad to worse
and the money of the district IS vast.
ed in any case. We do not know how
these things can be escaped until
school officers are actually, as in theo-
nv. raised above the fear or favor of
their fellows, and until all personal
considerations ON the part of men and
women are sunk out of sight in the
desire to secure a public good. 1t is
not always these who know the most
that can teach the best, and were the
strictest methods followed in examin-
ations it must sometimes happen that
good teachers will be excluded and
poor ones licensed. AS between SUI
perintendents and school boards it
would seem to be good rule for the
latter to employ no teachers and to
have no conditional arrangements
with any, until license is brought to
them from the former. When teach
ers apply for license to teach it
should be without reference TO any eX-
listing engagement, in order that II
thew fail to secure one there may be
no disarrangement of existing plans
on the part of any one. Where super
intendents know something of the
work of teachers as in many cases
they do, we believe that this knowl
edge should have something to do in
determining their action in granting
or refusing licenses. Dependence
should not in any case be placed Who'll
ly upon textbook qualifications. The
truth is, many of our teachers have
only smattering knowledge of what
the textbooks they use contain
They should have such knowledge OF
the primary books, at least, as to bt
able to discard their use in the class
In the younger classes neither class OF
teacher should appear at recitation
with a book in the hand. The pupils
should "saturate" themselves with
the lesson during the hour of study
and upon coming into the class room
they should find teacher who can as
certain to the last drop how much
they contain. Too many teachers are
deficient in general information. They
should know something outside OF
text-books-have general culture
such as can be obtained from reading
and from studies of a higher order
than those they are requested to teach,
all of which will aid them in the
right use of textbooks. 1t is good
thing for a pupil to know that his
teacher has reserved fund of knowl
edge, that he does not tell all that he
knows on every occasion. Another
defect in our common school methods
of teaching is the failure to secure
from the pupils perfect lessons, anC
close application to study. Pupils at
tend school term after term and make
but little progress. The reason is they
do not study. Study is distasteful t
them when set over against play which
fills the foreground in their minds eye
when they look forward to school days
Time is wasted oyer books. Children
sit and sdawdle' away the hours and
come to their classes with no knowl
edge of their lessons and with but q
faint idea of the purpose of books
The end of a term finds them but
little farther along than the beginning
and they begin the next term where
they began the proceeding one. Thi;
course followed for term of years
leaves them when their school days
end where they should have been al
ten years of age. Teachers have fail
ed to inspire them with love fol
study. Parents have not interested
themselves II the education Of then
children and the great object of a sys'