Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1881-09-03
THE TRLiLs az PUBLIC sCH00L
TEACHERS.
READ BY Mr.. T.. W. MORROW BEFORE THE
TEACHERS INSTITUTE, AND PUBLISHED
PY REQUEST o. TIE PRESIDENT
AND TEACHERS.

., In historical and sentimental narratives
We are told that one of the species of punish
ments INDUCED in by the aborigines of this
country was running the gauntlet The
prisoner was placed at the head of 4 lane
fenced on both sides with savages armed
with clubs and various pain-iniiicting wea-
pens, and at given signal was required to
make little excursion down this lane, with
the strongest inducements offered him, from
the very iiFst 10 accelerate his speed 10 the
utmost iis;i. of possibility And very swift
running and dexterous dodging was ncces-
sarv tSaescapc with few bruises. To me
there he's ever been Stalking analogy b.
tween the experience of the Average Public
school Teacher and the captive gauntlet
runner-:he hru'scs of lhs.taTmer are, pos
sihly, less literal! r. the Il 10 fault ot the
inhictQrs. To9auy out the analogy: The
legislature representing the chief muck-a-
ntc'- of the forcSaid abOrigines, takes up
the cudgel and bclabors the unfortunate sub
iccts till they are Immediately OFT of reach,
and in full run. and then passes the goad o.
yer to the State Superintendent, whQ makes
such efficient use of his availabt"'sha.ii,..:'s
% 50 increase their rapidi.yo Of motion y. {,
by the tiDe they reach tllr oun;y supp in
tcnd@Nt tho,r ~ "ctus iisr goat hat, be-
fore this Individual can ure them that his
feelings towards them are only those OF SYM
pathv and commiseration, they are entirely
out of hearing and in an ambuscadc OF the
Board of Education pleTc they a.c immo-
datcly surrauhdcd ard tle prescriptions OF
the great medjcinc-ma -.thc Legislature
are compoendaarthe noses Cf the patients
held esd IT, i. administered. They are
then considered harmless and pa sscd over t.
the Trustees, who are 50 assuring ~ their
address. a. they turn them over 10 tEair res-
pectivc sub-districti, that the FOyice egins
To congratulate himself th:, ihe worst Is
past. but the more experienced snlil the ap-
preaching cQntcst from afar and hegiBs 10
sut-es,ch him elf As far Is the majority Of
lis most scrsible patrops land they gre usu-
ally in thC majority arc concerned. he reed
fear nothing unreasonable but there Is al
WAYS an ANNOYING minority, however small,
whose minds are rs "EaTow aS the r'ay 90
glory" and who argrc nth about rs much
logic rs the man who stabbed his cow in the
icc-house with the hope that she would give
icc-crcam-who insist upon continually ma
king thciE report, which, gen.relly contains
as complete IN anal, Is Cf yourself * usual
~ accompanies every sack of the modern
commercial fertilizer. As each individual
pedagogue undcrgOes q separate analysis, by
separate committees, | will attempt to out
line only such elements as are ascribcd To
the whole class:
lst--A strong desire todq pQthipgand get.
Eiq pay, so a month, class a erarc % per G,
Ind Great selfishness, incidence sclt-im-
portance, impcrGnerce and acerbity-mas-
culine sttsibrtce
Sri. Vanity, afcctation doubtfnlncss Of
age and acrimony of temper-!emlninc at
tributes To which, according to the intel
ligence ofthc committee, are made additions,
in number as confusing as q modern wealth
or Report, and in variety as rcmarkahlc o.
the contents Of the orthodcv 1eall boys
pock Y. 49,.
This same minority erect 9. stanc&fc for
Won to reach You ore re;uired b. be crcy-
clopcdian in yonr ku0v ledge, and prodigal
in The disposition ofyour timo-of which ar
ticle You are supposed TO have larger stock
on hand thaR.of anything else except meek
ness, for it Is popular belief that school
teachers have nothing tu do and al elsy time
gcacrllv, though the people who think this
way put me in mind of the man who i al
wavs brstling up and b0asting what he Wild
have done if he had been there but who, by
some particular dispcnsa.i9l Of Providence
never arrives in time. As an cmplOyc Of
the public it is perfectly legitimate for eve
~ one 70 annoy, advise and criticisc you.-
You are the l&Y fEl .IF ell - the catc' dues
ton and absarC. problem. manufactures, and
the grand delight of the enigma and rcbus
makers, TO say nothing OF that unmitigatcd
nuisance. the punster. Your head will be
considered as empty rs that of the modern
coxcomb and your views a. contracted a
the currency before specie resumption, If YOU
do not endorse the views, receive kindly the
criticism and adopt the advice of c9cl of
Your monitors ! school anG 4 newspaper,
vCu kfop, gre twotbirr. that can BE- bet
ter run by ang-OnCt'ar the one in charge.
So by the tine YOU a-c through With the
sub-diSirict and haze ygiuly cQdcayeEed 10
determine where duty bcrip- ald rC.TQusi-
kitty ends. Your whole mental orglnza-
tior * So sFstcg 81 yolcapir III iurbau'c sim
liar 20 the Cu ba,ra. mc' that gould hc oc-
casioned to the physical n.an bys aligw,ng
separately 1hc cempOucn, parts OF Z. scl..iiil
powder. rrd yoeitol lise -cycr'ing thc phFa-
seolegy Of the modern sale bill to read -
Thee 4 nothing worth mentioning lclt Of
yoy pas.
5or fayc Row tra.elscd the wholecour'
and the legislature has been impaiienty bi
ding its time to further repeal, amend and
conglomcratc You. There appears to bc q
peculiar fascination about the school law
and the dog law to the average legislator.
lie can't let either of them alone and the
more he tries to remedy tbc v0r,e bee maize
them. There Is a remarkable rivalry le-
tween the tSoas Ia iiCh shall shadow the
most Of h's statcsr anslikc wisdom, 20 deter
nine which would stHmpa philosopher, vet
in receiving favorable Legislation the dog
alwavs comes out ahcGd IlE4 ivileges are
enlarged while ours arecurtan d. mshort,
teachers geelr y be regarded with susPi-
cion and ricil.rcc that is Usually accorded
to-a spCcils of criminals and specific and re-
strictivc legislation ever seems necessary 10
restrain and keep them r-ithin proper hounds.
in addition to all this the law Of conycnial-
ity of companiQashiPi cpt'sely ignored and
insult is addGs u injury In iJeg4ga CLIMAX
which deca es idiots, scbool caChers and
paupers are exempt fom jury duty. We
could ~ ID tie d6pgi ,aiion, but 10 bc forced
into pauionship with %. fc--ocs;ers is
more than human nature ill quietly bear.
Ever+ rational creature indulges IN varied
speculation as to the final future Of himself
and the particular class % which Sc is fac
ter. There are certein rules to which these
cagi "a ,oI,s. must be maAc subordinate. J.
woull OF be eypedjent b give wild -licengc
to ogr imaginst{ions To an anylitical mind
every fact must have for its existence logi,