The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-07-29
A PLEA FOR MEDIoCEITY.
of what Err. <;ricr said In
HIS Opening Address.

he ,Cac:iCTS IHSI..l't 'HSl "tch WHY II sue
ccs" il every respect. i was Euih i'caEar'
and profitable 10 teachers and people. Rev,
ltr. Gricr, o. Duo West. was csiairI,iaii a;it
opened the meeting w;.h an c;nincniiy i'r'ic'
tical and able 'P!ea for Mcdiocr!t%," II mere
synopsis of which VIC rcproducc. and which
will give the rcnder only I'm idea Of lis beauty
and force as delivered. III. Grier Is one OF the
most successful educators In this country, and
no 10 IS held I'm higher esteem than lie Is. nnd
anything which he may say will always COM
manG tho highest respect md the greatest at
%tcntiOn.
Ir. Gricr said:
We are met In the interest Of education in general
ard nf the "calnInun school, In p ,rlicular.
| There are n number OF POSSIBLE meanings which
may attach to the word common when applied &C
schools. 1t may mean ordinary. The word Is IRE
| quently used IN this sense. We speak Of n common
! preacher, q common doctor or q common man. III
all sncl connections tho meaning evidently Is com
monpl,ce, ordinary. 1t is possible that there ait
schools In this Country, perhaps there are s"lne III
Albevilc county to which the term, may be applied
In this SENSE. They are commonplace schools. The
teacher Is arerse TO anything unusual. He makes no
special clfur. to instruct the pupils, and they have
enough OF our common humanit! in them u be salts
fed with this arrangement. Both parties act upon
the principle OF mutual and equal rights, asking only
to be let alonc--thc teacher IN his Incidence aid In
difference and the pupil In his steady devotion l." play
Let us f'rvcntly hope that such "coniraon' SCH Jolt
are not COMMON.
Another sense in wliih the term may he used is
that which belongs to many, and to which all have
cunal rights and privileges.
Now the thought whIrh we wish to present Is that
the common school, the school that belongs to the
public and to whose privileges and opportunities cv-
cry cit zen has an equal right tli:s common school is
Tor common children. 1t Is not for the specially
bri hit and gifted 1t is not for apt scholars who s."
interest Us by their rapid progress, but rather for those
who have no unusual application anu whose home
surroundings are hot favorable to study. Our plea Is
In behalf OF mcdiucrity. The mcdiuc' cs constitute
the largo majority in every school. They are to be
the principal element in or ~snciety. a few noun
tain peaks, like Mt. Blanc, OF the Alps, and Nj. Gaur.
asunker, Of the llimnlayas, attract the attention Of all
travellers. They are among tho wonders Of nature
But they must have q hase to rest upon. Underneath
their lofty and snowy attitudes there Is q strong, com.
pact stratum Of solid :!anIte. In It's i1Wly bed 1t
nurses these G0liatEs Of rock and ice, and, concealed
from obset walton, 1t has its just praise from some pr
tirIt miner or curious g%enlogis.. The iIublcst inslitl.
tons of cur society find their base In those Pudding
boys and girls who must needs wrcstle for weeks with
the Multiplication Table and who, only after much
rainsakiny master tho rudiments Of Grammar.
These dull scholars build slowly, but they build well
]. They justly calm extra tcXtual help. No text
book furnishes 4 complete statement even Of the ee'
mcnts Of II particular subject. Their authors assume
that there Is 4 teacher back OF them who Will supple
mont what is stated In mere outline: All tho essen
tial principles may BE- ther.-there in their logical or.
der and set forth with technical accuracy. But this
will leave much for the tvacher TO explain and Illus
trAto. If you have ever tried to learn n language. IN
Glen. or modern. dead or living, simply from Gram
ma stIlt 4 tlIG W Nho" "bhsh - NiAhSt's ''f 49,
satisfactory method 1t is. After You have done You,
hest and when you congratulate yourself upon yUnI
attGinmcnts. then Introduce q thoroughly capable
teacher, and It will be like letting In n beam OF light
into q room full Of dust. The deficiencies will appear
in every quarter, pronunciation, Translation and con
s%truction.
The teacher cannot safely dispense with q good text
book ; but it will Lc his guido and not his master
Mtdircri,y will cal FOR help additional to Its necessa'
rily brief summaries.
There Is n language Of signs and s~ynbols-there arc
methods Of illustration which present truth much
more intclli.ibiy, especially TO yunng persons, thar
any abstract statement however full and accurate.
II. Mediocrity has q claim to 0 consideration Of 1t:
individual. needs. Mental philosophers tell us thai
some knowledge Of mind, Of its faculties, lis mode o
operation is necessary to tile work Of the TEACHER. II
IL . great mistake to suppose that q scholar Is q schol
~ and that is all there is Of it. All the subtle and in
, runerable influences which affect individuals, which
separate men from each other in temperament, men
| tai habit and professional bias, Gil these begin to Gpr,
rate at a very early agc and they must he recos"iz:t
in all the work Of the tc"cher. PHYSICIANS hav,
found tha; remedies which are admiralty suited t.
certain persons nre entirely unsatisfactory, II not dan
garOu. IN tho same disease with other persons. Re
| suits Which were confidently anticipated from thei'
experience with others nc not rrn!izcd. DR.. Trnm'
bull tells of u distinguished physician who was q wit
ness in q case where poison had been given. One %
| the law ycrs by way Of r'dlcIlr, asked the physician
if he cor,i tell how much Of the poison in question
would be require! to XIII a fly. Il Think conlh'
| thing about the particular fly under treatment
should want to know his size, his ngc, his habits Of
life, whether &c WAS married or single" The teacher
Of the primary school rs we'll us the College professor
must learn the lesson OF the wise physician.
General rules are u necessity, but they ought TO III
few and simple. In their application there ought tt
je q u,crciful f"xihi!i,y. That d~i 'cipline which is 'h'
needed Spnr III Vbu i~lrticN!Fl { s., W.n!u c 'nIirt' !!
, uunrryc ano;Lcr. Tkc ili-ht and arprcl,nsi"i! w"ulr
render y satisfactory recitation lrnIussi"ie. Those WHO
| make hus:Erss %; tanIin. wild a:imais md that they
. have 10 II tarn their lesson an:w with almost every tn
final.
slant rcyicw and repetition. Tie advantage OF Re-
views frequent and Thorough, even To the brightest pm
, pills Is apparent and decided. To those who do not up
Trrclend readily taey are essential to oil! real progress
The desire of The teacher to advance his pupils rapid
| Is, to push them through their Textbooks may temp
him 10 for, 60 this important exercise. The parents
too, oftcntimes unwiscly complain If their children arc
not constantly tIrnin. leaves, forgetting that the mos
substantial acquisiti ms may result from M almost I'm
percc,,tihlr advance. The injunction "llas;cn SLOW )
has its unqualified application 10 learning.
Earnest and intelligent teachers who have for year:
| been goin. over the SANG ground find tlat they learn
! something with every review. .
Tie process Of complete mental appropriation !:
slow. All public Speakers recognize this in the am
pihicatiOn and illustration Of NJ iirn.
In the chOruses Of our Eatiunal ais lie their power
to fire the heart and awaken enthusiastic. Who Is 81
dead to Intliutism Us not to feel n thrill Of loyalty IN
every fibre Of bis being rs he hears, well rendered
"Culumbia. the gem Of the Sea- with Its constantly
recurring. "rlrcc cheers for the Red, White and Blue.
No wonder that Mr.. Webster, rs he 81; upon tile plat
form on one occasion when Jenny Lind was singing
| Ibis song, with perfect abandon and with iIrrprcs:ihle
enthusiasm joined his voice with hers III deep bass
Us slr came to The CLOWN: chorus.
One of the most successful teachers OF this county
| told us not long since that II he We're asked for the Sc
crct Of any SUCCESS he might have achieved, his answer
would be "Ding, cong"
Making then q practical application Of this last
thought VIC say, Repeat, repeat, repeat.