The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1884-02-07


the mind, and then you have low-spir-
tied, stupid creature, who, however with
his unnatural sobriety he may please
| silly people, who commend tame, inact-
i've children because they make no noise,
nor give them any trouble, yet, at last,
viii probably prove as uncon Portable a
thing to his friends, as he will be all his
life usueless thing to himself and 9th
ers. =" The words that follow shortly
after, may be aided as a complete state
ment of what wise management really is ::
ITO avoid the danger that IS on either
hand, is the great art; and be that has
found way how TO keep child's spirit
essy, active, and free, and yet at the
same time to restrain him from many
things he has a mind to, and to draw him
to things that are uneasy to him; he, j
say, that knows how to reconcile these
seeming contradictions, has, in my opin-
ion. got the true secret of education.
The work of the teacher in the moral
education of his pupils, may be properly
considered under three heads: q. } Crea
ting right conditions for healtbful moral
development; ca forming right habits;
and g. implanting right ideals or fixed
principles.
CREATING RIGHT CONDITIONS.
4 child responds much more complete
ly than a grown person TO the influences
about thin. He takes on unconsciously
the tone of feeling and the opinion in
the midst of which he lives, and himself
grows to them. It is, therefore, neces-
sary TO create, so far as possible, a
healthful moral atmosphere about him.
Some of the chief elements of this are
the following:
l. FRANK RELATIoNS.-lt is desirable
above all that the relations of the teacher
and the pupil should be such that the
latter will not be driven to hide his life.
Unwise treatment is almost certain to
bring about attempts at concealment
which lead to deception and falsehood.
The weakness of the child makes this his
natural method of defense, and he ought
not, therefore, to be put on the defensive
when that can be avoided. Unnecessary
and habitual severity, suspicion, contin
ued fault finding, a cold and repellant
manner-all these tend to put him in
such an attitude. Under their influence
he becomes watchful and cunning, learns
to take pride in keeping his thoughts
and actions from the teacher, and at
length is prompted to do that which he
knows will be disapproved under the i'm
preston that it is ''smart. Thus pun
ishment for faults often leads not to their
avoidance but to the secret cultivation of
them. It is the teachers duty to pre-
vent such a state of things from arising.
He can do so if he is careful to maintain
at all times a spirit and attitude of help
fitness toward the child, instead of one
of repression and severity. Discipline,
when inevitable, should be but an Incl
dent to this helpfulness. Sympathy
with child-nature, and appreciation OF
its weaknesses and its better impulses, is
indispensable to this end. Helpfulness
gains the confidence and co operation of
the child; and confidence and co-opera-
ton should be rewarded with increased
sympathy and confidence in return
z ORDER AND REGULARITY. = These
should prevail in all the arrangements
and management of the school, and in
all the child's belongings. He will be-
come more self controlling, thoughtful
and conscientious by being required al
ways to put his wrappiugs in their prop
er place, to keep his books and material
in order, and to pay a reasonable regard
to propriety in his manner of entering
the school room, taking his place in his
class, addressing his superiors, and so on.
g. CHEERFULNEss.- Children are nat
urally joyous. They are repealed by
gloom, austerity, and fretfulness. The
atmosphere in which their natures unfold
BEAUTIFULLY and properly is, cheerful and
inspiring. This keeps their powers
pleasantly active, and links the life and
| e Il q
enjoyment.
4. A RIGHT PUBLIC OPINIoN.-Public
opinion should not be Ieft to grow as it
will in school, for it profoundly infiu-
ences every member of the little COM
munity. Very rarely will child be found
who would not rather defy the teacher
than the public opinion of the school,
1t is inevitable that this should be SO, for
his happiness depends much more upon
his relations to his fellows than upon the
teacher. From this it follows that the
teacher should earnestly strive to shape
the public opinion of the school, and,
secondly, that he should avoid putting
the child in such circumstances that he
will have to choose between obeying the
teacher and obeying the public opinion
of the community to which he belongs.
The teacher shapes the public opinion
(a) by securing the regard and esteem OF
his school; CD by talking Familiarity with
the pupils and publicly to the school OF
matters which interest the community
in such way as to enlist their sympathies
and opinions on the right side; Co 10y
enlisting the more decided characters in
support of right through appeals to their
sense of honor and by giving them conf
dence and such responsibilities as they
are capable of undertaking; and (d) by
avoiding scrupulously all actions which
will tend to concentrate public opinion
in favor of wrong doers and against him
self. If he is wise and kind, he will be
able to keep public opinion on his side,
and so to lift it to higher plane. If he
cannot do this, it becomes a serious
question for him whether his usefulness
in that field has not departed. Second,
punishment or severe reproof in the pres
ence Of the school is matter of great
delicacy, and should be avoided, if pos
sible, unless the teacher is sure that he
can keep the sympathies of the school
with him. It is especially likely to beget
defiance on the part of the cuiprit, and
this, from its apparent bravery, will often
gain him the sympathy of his compan-
ions, and thus become the means of fos-
tering wrong views in the minds of the
pupils as well as wrong relations to the
teacher. Good management will avoid,
so far as possible, all occasion for such
results.
HABITS.
l. A haoit is a second nature, and it is
formed by doing Actions which are
performed (aD regularly, (b) uniformly,
(c) and without opposition from within,
become seated in the organism of the
person doing them, so that, when no spec
ial effort is made to resist them, they are
performed without thought. These are
habits. One who would form a habit in
another, therefore, tries to see to it that
be performs the act regularly, that is,
| always when the occasion offers, uniform
| ly, that is in the same way each time, and