Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1885-06-04
DUTIES OF COUNTY SUPER
INTENDENTS IN TENNESSEE.
NO 9.

OuIllncu Wudb l. CUuSluoiCu W oO
the duties of our County Superin-
tendents in exercising the function
of licensing individuals for the
grave and responsible work of in>
structing the youths of our State
and nation. Those who read that
article doubtless noticed the alb
sence of any remarks concerning
the moral traits desired in appli-
cants for certificates, and it is my
purpose in this paper to discuss
this phase of the matter.
CAREFUL STUDY OF APPLICANTS MORALS
DUTY.
Obviously it is the humane duty
of County Superintendent to in.
ycstigate the moral character of
every individual who applies for
license to teach. 1t is a duty they
owe alike to God and man, and it
Is a crying shame that ~carelessness
and rigid, cowardly indifference
so often gain the ascendency in its
discharge. An instructor is a
Trainer. Then let us grasp a saws
ing view of that oft quoted Bibli-
cal passage which says: sTrain up
a child in the way he should go:
and when he is old he will not de,
part from it," In a measure, the
eternal welfare of living and un>
born generations Involves wisdom
on the part of our County Super
iDtendents in deciding as to the
moral status of those intrusted
with the generaIship Of the educa>
tional army. Perhaps the most
urgent cause for being careful in
the selection of instructors is the
PLIABILITY OF THE YOUTHFUL
MIND.
lin the sunny hours of Infancy,
the variable experiences Of child
hood, and the dawning of manhood
and wOmanh0od, the human mind
is constantly ascending the physis
illogical scale ofdevelopmentmark-
ed out for it by an allswise Crea-
tor. 1t is now in Its formative
period, and keenly alive to extern~
al influences. There is nothing
fanciful in comparing it to a musi>
cal instrument upon which all
manner of tunes can be played,
and when once the performer
touches its invisible chord to a tune
the impressions generated by that
act may never be effaced. For a
time, parental authority rents
these precious and priceless instru-
ments to a class of individuals
whom we are pleased to call
teachers. Can the teachers play
on their rented instruments with
out leaving upon them the impress
of their own individual characters.
We can as well impeach the cor-
rectness of the law of gravitation,
or any other accepted truth in sci~
ence, as to answer this question
negatively.
The biographical student and
writer we'll knows the tenaclty of
the fruits OF early training. A
mothers savage energy, fierce SUI
perstition, a fathers daring cOur-
age and consuming thirst for glory
implanted in the heart of Alexan,
der the Great an inordinate ambl,
ton to subdue the world even at
the fearful cost of numbering his
own soul and protecting the most
hideons types Of infamy. 1t was
perverse training in youth that
furnished the nervous venom
which induced this fiery conqueror
to regard himself a god and end
the life Of his dearest friend by
thruSting a pike through his body.
Thus a mother and father taught
and thus a son learned; and where
can you find a more potent illus.
tration of the intimacy between
Cause and Effects And who Can
say that murderous wars, unsur>
passed for atrocious cruelty, IN
either ancient or modern times.
were not in a degree sequences of
that teaching and that learning,
1t Is manifestly at variance with
the nObler instincts of human frees
dom and the genius of republican
institutions to require our educa1
tors to fashion their ideas of relig-
ious matters after those promul-
gated by any of the various
sEcTARIAN cREEDs.
County superintendent overleap
the bounds of their province when
they meddle with the theology of
those who apply for license to
teach. Every rational man, when
not welded to the worst types of
Gin. has a keen perception of right
and wrong. The discernment of
the moral quality of actions is ac-
complished by a faculty which we
name conscience. AS a striking
illustration of the potent operas
tions of conscience in the human
breast, read the words of wicked
Clarence: "Pll not NEEDLE with it
tconsciencel; 1t is a dangerous
thing; it makes "a man a coward;
q man cannot steal, but it accuseth
him; q man cannot swear, but il
checks him, Ills a blushing,
shamefaced spirit, that mutinies
in q mans bosom: it fills one full
of obstacles. 1t made me once re.
store a purse Of gold, that, by
chance, l found. 1t beggars any
man that keeps it" Richard III
Act l., Sc. A. Knowing the powe,
of conscienoe, we join with Roger