The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1880-03-23

by eQueS OF a good many VINO heard Tile
f~oliowinng paper read by Miss May B. Searles
at the first session Of the Teachers Institute,
on last Monday, we favor our readers with its
publication: ''" .''. '.. "'s.
Mr.. President, Ladies and Gentlemen jaAN'
The subject which / propose TO present fol
your consideration at the present time is enti,
tied, '.Shall emulation among the pupils of oul
prizes" With due reference to the opinions OF
others. l shall in this brief article advocate the
a ad1iins 10 W 81 she pr p tbe ae; Of E nttempPins a to
excel y or it may be defined as an ardent desire
for superiority but not of necessity implying any
founded with rivalry, which is q personal con-
test that generally gives rise to envy OF resent
ly stimulated and directed, cannot degenerate
into rivalry, neither will 1t carry with 1t a feel
ing of antagonism, nor breed envy nor hatred.
In proof of these assertions, l can adduce my
own experience. For eight years of school
which l attended in the aggregate, over four
years twas under the tutorage of one person.
He Invariably awarded prizes to those who
made the most advancement in their respective
classes, or had distinguished themselves by pro
single instance where any bitterness of feeling
was engendered among those who failed to gain
the coveted prize. Neither did l witness any
pupils, but, on the contrary, many who were
losers at one term We're, by a greater effort on
their part, winners at the succeeding one. l
have cited this instance only to show that priz-
es may be awarded to pupils without a NANTES
tation of displeasure from unsuccessful ones.
But l need not mention individual experiences
to prove the affirmation of the proposition I'M
der discussion. Let us Tor a moment turn from
the school room to the great world outside, and
examine the motives which prompt men to act
ion, and we will find that the cases are extreme
ly rare in which they are working for their
health. On the contrary, we see men on every
hand toiling early and late, sacrificing pleasure
and too often health, and for what? A prize
1t may be Wealth-it may be fame-it may be
glory Vet in th jS men pbhV On1y fhp imnu1SnS
of their nature. The first school of which. we
have an account in whicha prize was Offered for
in the Garden of Eden over 5000
years ago. Adam and Eve were the pupils, and
God the Master. Though the pupils in this case
failed to receive their promised reward, through
their disobedience, yet the Great Master still
holds out to the children of men the promise of
more the Holy Book tells us that the many
great and good men whom it mentions were
to perform heroic, deeds and suffer
great sacrifices, by the hope OF a reward hereaf-
st. Paul advised us Ito press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling OF God in
man is a reward for faithfulness in well-doing,
but punishment for the commission of sin.
Mans laws to man incorporate the same princi-
Pile. We are promised protection in the enjoy
nent of our property, and aid to recover 1t
when it is wrongfully taken from us, but pun
Ishment is melted out to the transgressor OF the
aw. In this we see our reward If we be law
The honor which society confers upon
who has gained distinction in al. honorable
is d TeWttTu lOF IlleTlb. III ldCJs lNc IOpe
If reward, which is but another name for prize,
nsthe sense in which l am using 1t, stimulates
Is all to greater efforts in our respective cal
irgs. We are all striving for 4 priZe-some for
4 grand one, others for a more modest one. 1t
in a measure in which class we study,
or, in other words, upon the sphere in which our
or physical qualifications tit us to occu-
oy. Nevertheless, wherever fortune has cast
our lot, we are working for our ~reward-seeking
laily wages; the miner, in his bonanza; the
in glory; the politician, in fame and
niseri in tns t taim apamP; t do + ,s .! the m inyal ID 'f ie
aealth the Christian, in heaven the drunkard,
n The Wine,cup; the spendthrift, IN pleasure;
and last, though not least, the teacher, in the
consciousness Of performing a noble duty and
lis salary.
We thus see hat man does not work for the
mere love of work, but labors in view of the
,onsideration-fOr the sake Of his reward. The
'eward for one may be his daily bread, gained
y DESTROYS to excel do not stop at that, but as a
popular humOrist expresses it, ''They first work
or their bread, then Tor the butter on the bread,
md then for sugar on the butter.' How many
If us are toiling for sugar on our butter,"-the
highest prize in LIES lottery? Let me answer,
my answer may not be yours. ali those
who are truly DESTROYS of dong good unto their
men. In this field there is wide room for
hat the nainspring of mans action-the prime
motive that prompts him TO grapple with seem
ng Representatives,, and sustains him in his
is true-if there is reason in tiff it is the
aw of our being, let us bring it right into the
room and practice it there. The school
S a little world-the pupils its inhabitants-the
eacher an autocrat-his government an abso-
ute monarchy-his word is law. Under our
present system of conducting our public schools
and enforcing discipline, the order of things as
by the laws of God and man, is re-
versed. We have punishment for offences. but
10 rewards for meritorious conduct. Plenty of
birch but no sugar. Ferules for the little hands
which find their way into mischief, but no hold
up of rewards to encourage the owners of
those same little hands in their endeavors to
their lessons. l submit the matter to
y9H i 1a ta's sS ao sye nst ap p!Youn to s a9 gfeag' wh Ms
he enters a school. He knows nothing about
he value of knowledge in the abstract; he takes
his book as an OK takes the yoke-because he Is
compelled TO. You assign to him his lesson;
his eyes when not watching you are wandering
oyer ;, Il, the h. ro CON He; HE cant , see t,,t Why sy ca he Should 1ndas
stand why he should win Johnny Smiths large,
white alley at the next, game of marbles he
plays with him, or why he should trade an old
broken rat trap which he owns, for Tommy
Browns jewsharp; or why he should give his
old knife, worn out in playing mumble-peg'
for Billy Roberts new ball. These are real, tan
sible things. He can see the Importance which
ball would give him among his classmates.
though he cannot realize the advantage which
a thorough knowledge of his lesson might give
change his place at the foot of the class with
with The boy who stands at the head of it. But
reason that the OK goes through the mud
hOle-for fear of punishment.
Now let US offer a prize to this class-a nice
book, full of interesting stories, or a pocket
knife, or some other equally tempting article
to be awarded to the one who obtains the great
est number of credits for perfect recitations and
department during the term, with the under
standing that for every case of imperfect de-
pertinent the offender should lose, say three
credits. You who have not tried this would be
at the result. Half the teachers bur-
den is taken from his shoulders. Listlessness
and dullness disappears from the class as If by
magic. A great interest in their studies is soon
developed. Books are taken homet to study in
the evening. There is something real seen in
the ~distance-a prize is to be gained emulation
is the order of the dav. All the ambition and
energy of the pupil are aroused. The white
ten the birch has dried to brittleness and is fed
to the flames, and the ferule finds its legitimate
resting place on the teachers table. The auto