St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-10-22
My Experience as a Pedagogue.
BY PETER PLUNKETT.
Written for the Caledonian.l

Written for the Caledonian.J
The undersigned has recently found
amusement in perusing little old Ger
man book, being compilation of hu-
morous anecdotes from the life expert
ence of an aged German-"Volks Leh-
men," peoples or public school teacher.
From a ludicrous standpoint this
particular experience" had been rich
and varied, and yet in relating the dark
and bright sides of his "treadmilln life,
one cannot fail to notice very much that
the average Yankee school master has
experienced, and would recognize as
applicable to his own pedagogue life.
am quite certain our young gentlemen
school masters who may be obliged to
teach school for few winters, in order
to raise the wherewith to enable them
to secure a collegiate education, will
give a sympathetic sigh when 1 tell
them that the VOlks Lehnen of Ger
many is generally obliged to follow his
calling from year to year so long as he
is fitted for work, and to be content
with the smallest living salary and too
without the hope of advancement or of
bettering his condition in any way. In
that country the system of education is
compulsory, and all children between
the ages of and 13 years are obliged
to attend school. And while our teach
ers, as a rule, are treated with affec-
tionate consideration, most of the Ger
man teachers of similar grade are sim
ply tolerated by an Indifferent peasant
ry.
Our school masters from early times
in our young country have taken rank
only little below that of the spiritual
advisers. And when they come to
"board around" among the families of
the district, no pains are spared to make
their stay both comfortable and pleas
ant. On the other hand, the German
teachers are often treated as most un-
welcome guests. In the first place, as
before intimated, the latter have to put
up with very low compensation, which
is paid by the Government, and comes
from the school tax. AS for "boarding
round," one can imagine what that
must mean from an epicurian stand
point, when told that the school master
is a public servant whom the laws
quarter upon a very poor and unwilling
peasantry, just as the Government does
its soldiery when it is a war necessity,
or suits its convenience.
The peasants know nothing of the
luxuries, and precious little of the COM
forts of life, and apparently care less.
The laws wisely compel them to send
their children between the above men,
toned ages, to school, and each family
to pay not only its quota of school
taxes, but a proportion of the "enter-
taining"-nolens Uolens. But should the
unwelcome guest not be treated at least
decentIy we'll, he can complain to the
authorities and have his grievance re-
dressed.
Strange as it may seem, from the
foregoing, the laws and customs OF
many of the old countries are such as
to make the professional school teachers
give themselves autocratic airs. They
are envied by those of their own lowly
origin, because they are exempted from
military duties, and get their living
without performing manual labor. They
feel themselves to be gentlemen of the
CLOTH" and their education makes them
command a certain amount and kind Of
men cannot have. But in the course o
time and events they become mere ma
chimes, with dogmatical manners and
dwarfed intellects. Their routine anC
consequential life tends to make then
narrow and cramped. They live, move
and have their being in the smalles
kind of a groove. In fact they are chill
dren and must continue to be such tt
the end of their days. And yet there ii
no such thing as measuring the height
depth and breadth of their conceit.
Of course such men as the professor
of the Universities and other learned
men look down upon public schoo
teachers with contempt. And thes,
machine "Volks Lehnen" have no othe
ambition. In fact, they think the.
have already reached the very pinnacle
of fame and that they are envied by tn
! entire outside world. When in Europ
j some years ago, remember once ask
: ed German professor if these conse
I quential Yolks Lehnens lived to becom
: aged in their calling. His looks e1
pressed more than his words, when h
said, "Why, bless your soul, no! Thes
machine teachers of little children, as
class, die young, for they go into thei
dotage before middle age, and they di
from the head downwards of the DIR
rot of their own stupidity"
The reading of this German book ha
suggested to me that possibly my frs
and last experience as a pedagOgu
a a might be of interest to the genera
reader--at least in the neighborhoo
where the CaledOnian most doth circu
late. To be as brief as possible In tn
autumn of 1846, left my native tow
of Derry, N. H., for st. JohDsbury, Vt
n where 1 had kinfolks residing, an
> ;. where proposed to finish my acadenli
t studies. was then 18 years of age