Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1883-10-31
CIRCUMSTANCIAL EVIDENCE.
BY MRS. EVA D. KELLOGG.

"William. wait few days before you get
your reader this year, till l decide whether
you stay in this class or go to II higher one.'
William looks quiescent; In moment he
ate Reader if go to the higher class?"
Yves, certainly
"A few minutes go by. will that roader cost
40 cents? My sisters did,
yes, think so; newer mind now"
\ half hour is allowed to pass. 'Do you
thing you will find out this wcek?' he asks.
II cannot tell; l shall let you know as soon
Cant l bring the money tomorrow so
as to have it ready as soon as you do find out. :"
lit , win not be at all necessary; will give
An hour OF blessed quiet. ''Is that Interme-
date Reader next to the Advanced Third?" he
nr %Yes; yes; please don't say anything more
Presently an appraised hand, and a face full
of bright thought. "Can borrow an Inter-
mediate Reader now and be looking at it be-
fore get minc?'
Mot now; your work is not dope."
''But can when it is done?'
Here the door opens, and two visitors
teachers-cOme toward the platform. They
are just seated. The occasion must not pass
unmprovcd. A head appears at the desk,
on IL level with the inkstand. and voice,
of innocent childhood, IF my sister has an
intermediate Reader that she used last year,
will it do just as we'll as for me to get new
one?'
A silent. expressive wave of the hand from
the hopeless teacher sends this inquiring
youth back into his seat, while the visitors
wonder why such u simple question as that
could not have received pleasant and definite
answer.
IF you need Il pencil during this exercise,
you can go quietly to the desk and get one
without special permission" was the general
rule Il teacher gave to her class in drawing
One day while a capital little fellow was Sc
Letting one. his fingers slipped, and two or
three dozen pencils rolled under the toes of
boys and girls. who would have been made Of
marble it they had not jumped to pick them
up, with the tremendous appreciation which
children always exhibit for the laws OF gravi-
tation. The trivial occurrence which might
have happened just as naturally if the boy
had been SOlemnly commanded to bring the
Bible from the desk and which proved moth
ing either against the rule or the room, was at
present as illustrative of the undue free and
easy atmosphere of the school. The accident
was seen by them only in its relation to the
desk which had nothing whatever to do with it.
One morning, just as u class was beginning
to read, q teacher from neighbOring school
probation OF every difficulty in the way OF
teacher or scholar. The children felt it and
showed it in spontaneity of effort that gave
the best results. They were fresh for work,
the story was delightful, and they responded
to the new devices for their help which came
to the teacher with every paragraph in way
to make most successful lesson. They out
did themselves in impromptu definitions and
synonyms and the teacher was as proud as
the visitor was pleased when she declared she
should use at once in her own room the many
points she had observed in the lesson. The
day happened to be Friday, aud the last hour
OF the closing session belonged by custom to
the children. Books were just laid aside, and
the coming good time was foreshadowed in
there entered Il visitor, bringing in that indie
scribable air OF positive austerity which
would have established her identity as
teacher among the natives Of Patagonia. In
her handSpShe carried a notebook and pencil,
and III her eye never give up expression.
She took possession with the slight Formally,
"What is your name?" and 1t was instantly a
part of that mysterious book. The teacher
was overpowered, but the children were made
of sterner stuff, and one look at their faces.
when she was asked to illustrate her methods
of reading, gave her the courage to explain
that the lessons of the day were over, and the
children were to have little entertainment.
The response was the reserve Information that
she was from distant section OF the country,
and was comparing methods, Here another
registered item seemed to threaten the repu
tation Of the Commonwealth for courtesy, and
the teacher undertook reading-lesson. re-
was old enough to have known better, and de-
served her defeat. Those children were not
to be worked to order. but harps
Of delicate strings, to be played on by skilled
fingers. They Obeyed every request to the
letter, but with the same alacrity that water
runs up hill. They were compliant. but frigid
the submission of death. Could they be the
children who we're bubbling over with anima-
ton in the morning? No; only their ghOstly
shadows. Scratch went the book-entries be-
hind the teacher, recording her failure and
sealing her fate. The visitors non-cOmmittal
''Thank yOu,' as she went forth to pastures
new, found the teacher silently register
ing q vow never to attempt to work against
the current again like that if requested by the
Emperor of all the Russias. In that:great day
when all books are opened, that little one will
not be left out; till that time of revelation its
decision will be haunting mystery. If those
two visitors of a day had compared notes,
would not their different verdicts have been q
good illustration of the danger of trusting
for opinions to clrcumstantial evidence.
Visiting schools is much like looking in q
mirror; one sees the reflection of the face
that is carried oft. If one enters a school
room prejudiced and hypercritical, there is
opportunity for illnatured dissection. Per-
haps it is not too much to say that through
the subtle action of mind on mind, the spirit
of the visitor is thoroughly felt by the teacher
before five minutes have passed, and the ex-
erciseS of the next hour will be more or less
influenced by it. School visiting can be made
one of the most efficient auxiliaries for slim
ulation and encouragement, and the time
given to it may be worse than thrown away.
But above all, let US be cautious Of censure Of
passing events that necessarily have their
causes beneath the surface, and which no Wis
itOr of an hour could be expected to under
stand. If any class of workers ought to meet
always and everywhere upon the broad plat
form of fraternal sympathy and good fellow
ship, that class are the teachers of the free
schools of Republic.-JOurnUl of Education,