The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1883-02-04
BREAKING UP A SCHOOL.
Some of the Difficulties OF Country
Teachers.

We see hv the dispatches that two boys at
Cumberland ohio, attempted TO whipa school teacher
and the teacher stabbed both the boys, killing one
Instantly aud fatally wounding the other. There is
probably position that has more annoynnces than
teaching country school, where there Is lot OF big
boys who seem bent on mischief, and whose highest
abolition is to whip the teacher and turn him out
doors. Occasionally there Is school that becomes
hard that no will attempt TO teach 1t, unless lie
Is Prize fighter andthen he does not know anything
but to fight Some times the appointment of beaut-
full and accomplished young lady as teacher of "A hard
school Will have good effect, rs she may he able to
win the big boys by kindness. We were won that
way once and would have been all right only another
big boy, who wanted to lie also. got Jealous and
hit MS In the ear with pairo skates. Weremember
of attending school that was rs hard as could he
There five six boys that made point To
that teacher remained In the school a full term
They would do something mean and get him to whip
them, and then they would all Jump on him, and
throw him out doors, and he would leave. Most
people look such boys as pre.ty hard characters,
but the rest of us who wanted school to be closed
when skating good looked upon Them as
heroes and we all wanted to join The gang.
One winter the teacher was locked out OF
doors and hit with frozen sn0w-ball, aud
stood on his head and had water poured down his
trousers, and he resigned and went 10 driving team
at q saw-m lie said he had got all the teaching
school he wanted, any way. II was early In the
winter term, and the trustees flew around for two
weeks before they found n man to take tho job, IL
was SPLENDID skating and all the scholars had n
good time and there was great regret expressed as
we remember IT, when II was given ont In church
Sunday that school would open on Monday morning.
After evening service the boys got together and
talked It over, AMI decided 10 give the new teacher a
week. 1t had been thawing for a day OF two, and
the boys were tired of skating, so they thought they
could afford TO spend week educating themselves,
and 80 they gave him week. ON that evening We
duly elected member OF the class OF hard cit
zens, and we were To open the ball aud do something
bad, get him to HEX us, aud then the boys were to
jump In and help. Monday morning the school COM
menced and the teacher proved to be a sckly-lOOk-
Ing slim sort Of n fellow timed, nervous man.
with hand and face like girl Every time he
looked at one of the boys there seemed he am eN-
m fura
hope you VIII he good When he had anything to
say 10 the scholars he said ''pleasen and gave
That morning the weather changed and 1t fro2e hard
and at recess the boys got together and said we
would wind up the school before noon, and get out
on tho lee. II was our turn TO be had and It
commenced right on. The big boys had TO
carry In the wood and lay II down quietly by
the stove. We took In an armful and dropped
II on the floor that 1t shook the building and
loOsened the stOyeplpe The pipe came out OF tho
chimney and hlled the room with smoke, but II was
put back, and the slim, sicky teacher only repri-
manded MS, and said that II must not occur again.
We Just ached to go after some moro wood but there
opportunity. Pretty soon the teacher said we
might go aud geta pail Of water, aud while az tho
well We decided to stumble ON entering the school
room and spin the water all over the ooi and thus
give the siCkly- looking teacher chance TO show
what he was made OF. The teacher was near the
stove, aud stumbled, and the water went all
everything wetting his boots and making him
pretty mad. In sizing him up We had not noticed
before that his eyes were as black as Goals and that
he seemed TO be about eight feet high, but as he
our thoughts aud knew II was done ON purpose and
have always thought he heard tho boys talking ~
over at recess Any way, lie Jumped clear across the
room, grabbed us by the neck and sat us down In the
water, then he lifted us up and shook as so the teeth
ratified then he seemed 10 grab us all over and maui
us. We got chance once or twice to look around IA
the back seats he was revolving MS around ON our
| own axis. 10 see n the other boys were coming 10
help MS put him out OF doors, but they were the nos
stndiOus lot uf big boys we ever saw.
| They had their heads down IN their books and
their llps were moving IN silent prayer; Aisel i,,e
teacher had mopped the hoor with us he took MS 10y
| the slack Of the pants lust rs "A dog would carry
duck, and went 10 his desk and got hickory ruler,
aud proceeded 20 dry our pants. Nell II was th'
meanest way 10 dry pants that ever was, and while 4
dried them well enough It left great ridges Inside
them that made corrugated chair almost necessity
The boys did not iulhll their part Of the programme
and when the teacher got through drying our pants
and said, Please return 10 your seats ~ We telt
| though his pnitenes3 was perfect sham. Nelookei
| at tho boys went 10 our seat, but they peye
| looked up. we have witnessed contested seats In IN
| Legislature since hut never saw ono That was n
exciting That one In the old white school house
the foot Of the h. The teacher mover spoke durln
the proceedings, and when II was over lao locke
hand Ia the hair that once grew where We are nov
bald while the other WAS At Work In lh0 vineyard
But Of the boys cared 10 pitch ON 10 sick man
aud ho taught that school two terms aud mover ha
| TO Win another boy There was somelnhg
| Impressive about every movement OF IN
delicate looking teacher that the boys &c
| TO feeling sorry for him, aud they treated hi
real Well. II they didn't he would have eyerlahl
| ingly paralyzed the whOogang all at once Ate
that one day tho big blacksmith of the town was on
drunk aud everybody was afraid Of him, bat when I'll
blacksmith nSuted the teacher, la front OF store
and tho teacher reached out one OF those small hanu
and knocked tho blacksmith down, and then held hll
up aud knocked him down agaln' and lola the Dack