Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-06-30
A COUNTRY SCHOOL.
Correct Pen-and-Ink Sketch Of Small
Connecticut Village.

In q 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 century.
Alone, upon the summit of high
hill, this unpretending temple of learn
ing has been the structure used for gen.
erations in climbing the hill of science.
The march of improvement has been
carefully kept back from it's surround
ings, the only adornment being beds
of rock and piles of stone. which are
only changed as the careful farmer or
labor-saving road-master finds it con-
venient place to add to its already
overburdened stock.
The same old plank on which our
grandfathcrs SO industriously used
their jack-knives is to-day the writing
desk around the wall, save where .
place has been whitfield too much to
be of further service a new piece has
been inserted, giving the youth of the
present day enlarged facilities for dec
Grafton. In front are the same old
wooden benches over which the chill
dren of to-day swing in and out after
the fashion Of their grandmothers in
/ days of long ago. The presiding
genius of the place is even in keeping
with the surroundings; master in win
ter to manage turbulent boys, and
! while his farm demands his attention
during the summer months, some
schoolmarm fills up the interval and
aids overburdened parents in the care
of children who are in the way at home
| AS one old master is obliged to lay
aside the duties of his office on account
of the infirmities of age or to 60 to his
last resting place, new one is found
SO nearly like the old that the change
is hardly perceptible. Even the very
ferule and hickory club are carried and
used as effectually as by the masters of
a century ago.
The children of to-day spell out the
words in the Testament at the opening
of school with the same moderation as
did their ancestors in '76, and the same
old blue-covered spelling book is yet in
the hands of the pupils, keeping alive
/ the momentous questions whether the
man who made spelling books and the
] one who talked politics were one and
the some, and if so why should he live
! SO much longer than other folks, and
/ questioning the propriety of changing
/ the old catechism SO as to read Noah
| Webster, and not Methuselab, was the
oldest man. But at length the march
of improvement reaches our rugged
| hills and invades our territory. A
young lady from the city, a graduate
! from prominent high school, appears
at the door of our district committee as
a candidate for the school. He stares-
a departure from our custom, but
will consult the people of the district
and let her know. Unanimously they
say: We'll try the city lady" She
t enters upon the duties of her Office
! Leaves all the attractions of one of oul
prominent Connecticut cities to enter
upon her life work as teacher. Ayoung
lady full of life, energy and deter
mination to make her first effort sue
| cess.
The old school-house is made to look
/ more cheerful by the addition of few
| yards of white cotton cloth at the win
| dows, and the blackboard instead OF
| being used for drawing cagicatures OF
the teacher, is kept filled with well-ex-
| ecuted school-work.
/ The very school-room seems to Et
filled with different air. No instru
ment of torment is in view, and twc
dozen pairs of prying eyes have tried in
vain to discover its hiding place. What!
aschool with no whip! The city is filled
with horrible means of torture and
some dreadful thing must be here in
visible. One sharp pair of eyes dis
covers near the blackboard two oblong
articles. 81 have found out, is the
| first confidential talk with compan-
ion. ''She'll box us side the head
with those things by the blackboard, :"
and at the close of the session pupils
scatter homeward to make known
to parents the wonderful discovery.
"Catch her using 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 cleaning the blackboard,
and the great mystery is still unsolved.
/! 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 close of school
teacher says: Children, when you
meet person on the street say, How
do you do?' not 'Hellop
Children look amazed and report to
parents. 'The teacher is overstepping
her duties, meddling with outside mat
tiers, and besides, is casting reflection
on the manners of the people" Mem
bers of the board of education are con-
suited as to the limits of teachers
power. The six members of the board
have all presided as teachers in the
town, and it is against the rules to crit
icise any thing out of school-hours,
and surely it shows a great lack of IA
miliarity between teacher and pupils
not to say ''Hellon' 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 teach
ers certificates ON two occasions and
they have been obliged to leave; so if