The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-07-02
A COUNTRY SCHOOL.

In prominent but quiet village some
two miles from the center stands an old
schOol-house, whose weather-stained
boards show the marks of at least CEN
tury.
Alone, upon the summit of n high
hill, this unpretending temple of learn
ing had been the structure used for gen.
erations in climbing the hills of science.
The march of improvement has been
carefully kept back from its surround
ings, the only adornments being beds
of rock and piles of stone, which are
| only changed us the careful farmer or
labor-saving roadmaster find it con-
venient place to add to its already over
burdcned stock.
The same old plank on which our
grandfathers so industriously used their
| jackknives is to-day the writing desk
around the wall, save where place has
| been whitfield too much to be of further
service new piece has been inserted,
| giving the youth of the present day en-
| iargcd facilities for decoration. In front
are the same old wooden benches over
and out in the fashion of their grand
mothers in the days of long ago. The
presiding genius of the place is even in
keeping with the surroundings; mas
ter in winter TO manage turbulent boys,
| and while his farm demands his atten-
ton during the summer months, some
| school-marm fills up the interval and
aids overburdened parents in the care
| of children who are in the way ut home.
As an old master is obliged to lay
aside the duties of his Office on account
of the inirmities of age or to 60 to his
last resting place, new one is found so
nearly like the old that the change is
hardly perceptiblc Even the very ferule
t! ana hickory club are carried and used
AS eiiectually, us by the masters of q
/ century ago.
| The children of to-day spell out the
words in the Testament mt the opening
| of school with the same moderation us
| did their ancestors i'm &c, and the same
old blue covered spelling-book is yet in
the hands of the pupils, keeping alive
| the mOmcntous question whether the
man who made Spelling-books and the
one who talked politics were one and
| the same. and If 30, why should he live
much longer than other folks, and qucs-
tioning the propricty of changing the
| old catcchism so as To read Noah Web
ster and not Mathrsclah was the oldest
man. Eul at length the march OF i'm
provcmcnt reaches our rugged hills and
ingadas or TERRITORY A young lady
iroia the city. Il graduate from promi-
| ncnt high school appears ut the door OF
| our district committee rs Il candidate
for the school. lie stares-a departure
from custom, but will consult the people
of The district and let her know. I'm
animousIy they say, ''We'll try the city
lady," She enters upon the duties of
| her Office. Leaves all the attractions of
one OF our prominent Connecticut cities
| TO enter upon herlifc work rs teacher.
| A young lady full of life, energy and
determination to make her first effort n
| success.
The old school-house is made to look
more cheerful by the addition of few
yards of white cotton cloth at the win
I dows, and the blackboard, instead of
being kept for drawing caricatures of
the teacher is kept filled with we'll exec
uted school work.
The very school-rOom seems to be
| filled with different air. No instrument
| of torture is in view. and the two dozen
| pair of prying eyes have tried in vain to
discover its hiding place. What! a
school with no whip! The city is filled
| with horrible means of torture and some
| dreadful thing must be here invisible.
One sharp pair of eyes discover near
the blackboard two oblong articles. 81
have found out" is the first confidential
talk with Il companion. ''She'll box us
side the head with those things by the
| blackboard" and ut the close of the ses-
sion pupils scatter homeward 10 make
known to parents the wonderful dis
covcry. Catch her uslug them things
on my children" says one parent, and
his children return to school to tell what
pa says.
Another session and the queer look
ing things are taken in hand. Breath
less silence reigns in the school-room.
Who is the victim? The teacher quietly
uses them for the cleaning the black
board, and great mystery is still I'M
solved. Still wonders do not cease. A
spelling class is called and pupil spells
COW, ke-ow. Teacher says pronounce
the word COW, not ke-ow.
Glass dismissed and at the close of
school the teacher says. Children,
when you meet person on the street
say, How do you dop' not .Hellor"
Children look amazed and report to
parents. 1.-THE teacher is overstepping
| her duties, meddling with outside mat
tiers, and besides, is casting reflection
on the manners of the people" Men,
bers of the board of education are con-
suited rs TO the limits of a teachers
power. The six members of the board
have all presided rs teachers in the
town, and il is against the rules to crit
icisc anything out of school hours, and
surely il shows Il great lack of familiar
| ity between teacher and pupil not to
say "IIello!' Now, here is our chance.
We have always succeeded in keeping
city teachers out of the place. We have
teachers enough of our own and need
the money ourselves, and we have
quietly revoked city teachers certificates
on two occasions, and they have been
Obliged TO leave; so if we can only man.
age this one successfully, probably there
will be no attempt ut city teaching for
some time TO come. We will not have
any new methods introduced here.
The committee of the district is con-
suited, but says, mot Il complaint has
reached his ears, from person whom
he considers competent to judge OF the
merits of school, considers the teach
ing superior, discipline excellent, and
everything satisfactory"
A meeting of the board is called in n
retired place and the certificate is re-
voked, because 'new methods" are i'm
troduced.
Is il TO be wondered ut that in such q
district. with thirty families, four of the
heads of families can neither read nor
write, and the generation now coming
on promises TO even Guido the former in
Ignorance? -HdJtjord Couraat.
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