Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-07-09

science. In the struggle for existence
men were in danger of becoming thor
oughly selfish. When they went to
church, their higher nature was disin-
TERED, as it were. The teacher had a
yet more august privilege. The child
comes to him unmunimented, with
free heart, unbiased mind. He could
mould him almost without effort.
Herein lay the great Importance of
selecting the very best material out of
which to make our teachers. The lee
turer gave some amusing instances OF
incautious or reckless selections. The
time had passed when an old "bum''
who had demonstrated his utter unfit
ness for everything else, "would do
for teacher" He gave numerous
examples, notably Garfield, VIM. l..
Marcy, and Alex H. Stephens,to show
that upon the teachers moral and in
teUectudl efficiency depended largely
the veal or woe of our children.
Thence the DIR. entered into minute
analysis of the "Ideal Teacher" He
needed, 1st, capacity or liability to ac-
quire rapidly; and, IDLY, ability, OF
the faculty of imparting lucidly. In
the Sd place, accuracy, within the
scope of his curriculiem, was essential
The labor and difficulty of Orthoepical
experiences was dwelt upon. In sue
cession, the duty and necessity of pa
thence, intellectual honesty, pride in
his calling, care for bodily health, cul.
tivation of sympathy, of courage, OF
good habits, of industry, and, lastly,
of enthusiasm, were most forcibly
urged by the speaker. In enlarging
upon the last point, DIR. Foy drew at
tention to Locke's Warburton's and
Bancroft's mistakes in defining the
word as the exact synonym of "fa-
naticism." 1t could more happily be
defined as "a sacred Inflammation OF
the SOUL"
Our higher states were full OF
strength. Stimulation applied to the
baser propensities wrought evil, and
that continually. But a man was a
cumberer of the ground-fit for moth
ing in the world-until he became fir
ed and enthused in thetop story of his
being. The very etymOlogy of the
word was significant. 1t meant full
of God. Enthusiasm did not mean
restleSsness or business. 1t meant
still, earnest, white-hot work; it meant
the sovereignty of some idea that car.
ried a man out of himself, and caused
him to deliver his whole force might.
ly. David and his sling, backed by
enthusiasm, were match for a slug.
giSh giant. He entered his protest
against enthusiasm as a synonym OF
crankiness-the predominance of the
emotional over the intellectual powers
intense and unregulated excitement
of feeling. The physician, the lawyer
the editor, artist, artisan, merchant
who were seized and controlled by a
noble enthusiasm, began at once te
make sensible and lasting impressions
upon the communities blessed by theil
labors: The teachers were urged te
think for themselves, to experiment in
methods of teaching and school gov.
eminent. Are you afraid of making
mistakes? he asked. Be more afraid
of becoming fossils. You can leave
off mistakes. 1t is not so easy to de.
fossilize. If you can carry a full buck.
ct, some water may spill as you hasten
The full man may run over occasion
ally in mistakenly man, never
The world is full of safe men, safe
horses, safe teachers, safe preachers
The graveyard is the safest place in
the world. A safe horse may be blind
spawned, wind-broken; safe preach.
er never attacks paying sinner; a
safe teacher has no use for Normal
Institute takes no educational pa
pers-is only using the vocation OF
teacher as temporary makeshift,
and until he can get into something
more honorable C?).
Have holy ambition to excel. Be
dissatisfied with your present attain
ments, and eagerly seek by your own
efforts to reach the topmost round OF
your noble calling.
We have given a bare and wholly
inadequate outline OF the lecture. We
are really glad we heard it, and we
must congratulate the Institute on
having added to it's course a lecture so
replete with intuition. 1t is to be
hoped that DIR. Foy, who adds to his
wide reputation as a minister the fame
of a most successful professor, will de-
liver this lecture at various points in
the State. Our teachers need to be
vitalized and vertebrated, so to speak
and this excellent lecture is admirably
fitted to accomplish this end.
J. B. S.