Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1885-05-02
SCHOOL GOVERNMENT.

Fellow Teachers In selecting the
subject Of ttSchoOl Government for my
paper / do not presume to be able to IN
struct many members Of this body, but
I may be able TO s'stir up your pure
minds by way of remembrance - TO the
end that we may be enabled TO s'rule
with diligence in our sphere of action,
That we live in an age of progression
is as true of the art of government
in the schOOl-roOm as of anything else.
Nor is it strange that this should be the
case, The world is moving forward,
the ar and sciences are being improved
upon, mankind in general is looking
higher intellectually, than formerly,
and it would be strange indeed if the
profession of training the minds of those
on whom the cares and duties Of the fam
lily, school, church and state are to de-
VOlVe, should plOd on in the same old
ruts Of even twenty years ago. And as
methods OF instruction are being i'm
proved upon, and all other things per-
tanning to the school room show ad-
Vancement, it follows as a natural con
sequence that our methods of govern
ment are changed think we may say
for the better.
The time was (and most of us remem-
Der it well, some of us very we'll, } when
the rattan, the ferule and the birch rod
were the emblems of terror to the poor
urchin who dared to be mischievOus, or
who was so unfortunate as to be a ''bOck
head How many of us there are in
this room who can look back to our
schOOlbOy days and, in our memory, see
that white haired boy, or. perhaps, girl,
standing shivering before the lawful
presence the MASTER listening in
mortal terror to the threats of punish
ment to be visited upon him, or perhaps
lodging from the blows that fell thick
and fast on his devoted frame.
Those were among the ''gOOd old
days. which our grandlathers tell US of,
when the ''NC Iickin', no larnin' - the
DRY was in full favor; when Mr.. Jones
said to you, - If Bill don't larn, / want
yer to to trOunce him and make sump-
thin outen him Aud they sometimes
made something out of them. Some
times, through severity, they succeeded
IN making a Ounce out of a naturally
smart child, and sometimes they made
a gOOdnatured boy into an enemy to the
master who had trounced him according
TO orders, and also an enemy to schools
in general.
But we may congratulate ourselves
that we have In our methods of govern
ment kept pace with the general ad-
vancement of the world.
Now, when we 60 to our school room
on the opening morning, instead of car
rying a severe look and a good tough
rod, we 60 with a pleasant face and
kind word for each, and, as far as instru-
ments of punishment are concerned, en-.
tiroly empty handed, Instead of back
ing orr authority with the old time cor
pOral punishment, we teach oar pupils
to recognize the fact that aOc are the
head OF the school, both Us teacher and
lulUgiUer We impress upon their minds
the disgracefulness Of ungentlemanly
or unlady-like conduct, and the disgrace
that is attached to public punishment.
In a word, we put them In the position
which citizen OF a republic occupies
in relation TO the laws of the land-we
make them, to a certain degree, self
governing.
And now. speaking of laws brings me
to the subject Of rules for the school
room. That teacher who formulates a
code of rules that shall cover every mis-
demeanOr has q hard task to perform,
as each transgresSiOn must have its own
legitimate punishment, So we readily
observe that general rules must, of ne
cessity, be very few in number. They
must not only be few, but they must be
simple, so that there can be no miscOn-
strUctiOu. A few simple rules, requir-
ing courtesy and prohibiting any com
municatiOn in school hours, any chang
ing seats or otherwise moving about
without PERMISSION, any prOfane or OBJ
scene language or unbecOming conduct,
will be found sufficient for standing
rules, and I think I may say that they
need not number to exceed half a dozen
at most.
In a word fellow teachers, when you
begin school, do so with the determina-
ton to be master of. the situation. Let
the pupils see that you feel that you are
master, but at the same time show them
that your desire is for their welfare, and
be always ready to commend them for
good work.
Make few rules and if it should become
necessary to punish a pupil, act wisely
in the matter but act at once, The
wrong done viii suggest its own punish
ment, which the experienced teacher
will not be slow to administer,
And, in conclusion, L viii say this
much: If, when your school Closes
you know that your pupils are farther
advanced than they were at the opening
of the term, and each one Of them is 8
friend to you, you may rest assured that
yOn possess some of the elements Of the
True Teacher.
f. G. JOHNSON.