The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1885-09-02

welcomed by celestial company
are to constitute the jewels in your
crown Of rejoicing. The teacher who
does not feel that richer benediction
than human applause waits upon the
scene of his secluded labors, is not
worthy to bear the credentials of a
teacher and to stand before the quick,
eager, young eyes that wait and watch
upon him for inspiration to achieve
ment
Your great aim, ladies and gentle
men, should be to awaken a 'oye for
the truth and so purify the atmosphere
about your pupils minds that no mist
of doubt should ever intervene to OBJ
struct the vision OF the intellect you
attempt to teach. Your ambition
should be to- make many sided men
and women, whose grateful memory
shall outshine your image and who
shall, i'm society, multiply and magnify
yourselves a. potential factors for good.
Ii is your business to make worthy citi-
Gems for the State-men who shall stand
like marble columns to support its lib
erty. canopying dOme-patriot men who
shall not shift as vanes with popular
breezes, but who sit like finger, boards
at the crossings of the political high
ways, shall be an unerring index ever
pointing to the goal every pilgrim Of
good intent is seeking progressive
men. who Will not exhaust their pa
triotism by praising the past, and who
will prepare a. a heritage for future
generations what the dead and dutiful
past has done for us. Yes, principIed
men who do not despise the pert pro
verb, Honesty is the best policy, and
who will recognize and do right without
a thought of expediency-men who will
build all their structures upon the prin-
ciple Of universal good, and who will
at all times, and under all Circum-
stances respect the n-nerved arm of
the law. / tell you, ladies and gentle
men, yours is IA noble profession, and If
your work is nobly done you will
receive the highest pleasure known to
the human family-the assurance of a
good conscience.
Again, | hope the subject Of. very
early training will not appear to anyone
here to he Insignificant or beneath your
notice. We should be very careful in
the instruction of the youthful mind.
Ii has been very wisely said, "As the
twig is bent so the tree will be inclined. +"
Then how careful the trustees and pa
irons should be in selecting teacher,
as so much depends upon this in mold.
ing the tender ideas for their future
destiny. And in our higher departs
ments of instruction We want to have
at our disposal faculties which have
been disciplined and brought into active
and systematic exercise, which i am
pleased to say We have in its fullest
sense. Ii would be well if we could
presuppose that all this discipline had
been placed in our public schools.
There are two good reasons why
teachers of our public schools should
try TO form clear notions about ele-
mentary and even infant training.
First-Because that training is often
incomplete and Incompetent, and needs
to be prolonged into AN advanced course
(if it were possible). Ii Is not a credita-
ble thing that the simple arts Of good
spelling, reading and legible writing
should be so despised and disregarded
that youths who have been at public
schools are often inferior in these re-
spects to children of higher schools.
True, the facilities are better i'm high
schools than in the public schools, yet
L am constrained so say these funda-
mental branches are too greatly neg
lected.
Year after year young men who
came up to be examined for COM
missions in the civil service, and many
other positions Of which / might speak,
and young men who are supposed to
have had liberal education, are re-
jected on the ace, unit of bad spelling,
reading, etc. And another reason why
/ hope you will not think these simple
matters beneath your notice, is that
these branches are the foundation of
a mighty structure and if the founda-
ton is weak so will he the structure.
The teachers should therefore make up
their minds AS to what is the Inference
between good and bad early training,
and, what is most important. how to
discern this difference. The teachers
of the high schools are imposed upon
if this is not closely cared for; also
the thoughtful teacher of the pub
lie school. Hence each teacher
should watch his work closely il he is
DESTROYS OF success. Now | would be
beyond my proper province to attempt
an analysis ofthe points respectively to
be played by the senses and intellect in
the development of child. That the
way to the understanding is through
the senses; that in early childhood
the senses are more active than the in
telligence, and that the first teaching
should be directed to the eye and ear
rather than the reflective powers are
truisms on which we need not dwell.
The process by which sensation leads
the way to knowledge, and knowledge
to influence and reasoning, are some of
the most fertile subjects of inquiry, and
can be readily seen by consulting men-
tai philosophy i'm its bearing on teach>
ing. Here it may suffice to say that
one of the first things needed in early
training is to teach a child how to use
his fingers, his ears, and his eyes, and
whether he does this well or i'll makes a
great diff'aranaa IN him oil fhrou.,h liz,