The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-01-02
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.


Teacher and How 90 Teach.
Re the Editor of tho indianapolis Journals
have no desire to antagonize my brethren
and array myself against those whose experience
intsaching is greater than my own, and whose
success is better. but there is q reason some
where for the fact that people are not satisfied
with the public schools. Complaints are heard
on every hand, and these, in my opinion,
have evidence of being we'll founded Teachers
themselves cannot have failed to see that the
lavish expenditure of public money for thessup-
port Of schools does not yield an adequate re-
turn, and the teacher, think, is responsible for
this waste of the peoples money and Of the
pupils time. Too often he feels no deep, I'M
selfish interest in the welfare of his scholars. and
sometimes the strenuous efforts he makes to
impress on his charges minds his own
superior wealth of knowledge and moral worth
are not justified by his well-known character
ard attainments. He attends the sessions of
the county institute and the four or five weeks
of the normal prefix, Islands in" with the county
superintendent, and succeeds in having his moral
character and scholastic requirements certified
70 in the form of license to teach. Men re-
markable for nothing but their irmoraiities and
their general uniitness as teachers, "bull" their
way through, term after term, butchering and
OF their boys and girls than the farmer feels for
his calves and pigs.
Yet notwithstanding the great number of
such instructors, and the probable harm that re-
suits from their unwoTthiness, indifference and
ignorance, I believe the foundation for most of
the criticisms we hear may be looked sor in the
improved methods" The modern teacher is
loaded down with new methods, and the teacher
with anew method is anuisance Sometimes he is
burdaned with the idea that his chief business
is to teach his pupils how teaching should be
done. He takes the board" and recites well,
and convinces the class that if there is anything
he doesn't know and cannot explain, that particu-
lar thing was sent to. oblivion ages ago on &C
count of its slight Importance He remarks,
incidentally to his admiring listeners, that they
must not expect to do these things as well as he,
not yet, but, that in the dim and distant future,
when the dizzy height of knowledge has been
climbed, after years and years of patient, faith
full labor, the light will begin to peep through.
and they can then behold, lar above them, the
sunlit summit upon which he stands and looks
down. He uses Harvey's Grammar as text
book, and assumes to disagree with the author.
Harvey is ridlculed until the pupil loses
valuable time in wondering whether the
the teacher will attack Rays Arithmetic next
and prove that three times two is not six.
or assert, on the authority of some celebrated
professor in history at the University Of Dan
vile or Valparaiso, that the story of the discov
cry of America by Columbus is fable, or para
Iyz0 tue geography CLASS by demonstrating the
time-honored theory of the revolution Of the
earth on its axis to be delusiou and snare.
Ho initiates his pupils in the mysteries of the
objective subject and subjective object of the In
fnitive verb and the quasi-retroaetive partlci-
ole, or whatever he calls it. and finds himself
each evening good deal nearer the grave on ae-
count of the severe mental strain he undergoes
fer the sake of unadulterated truth. He parades
up and down, back and forth, industriousy to
keen order and let the children admire his
graceful carriage Now let me say, just here,
that the teacher who can not keep his seat and
control hisschoolhas not the genius of command
and he who can and does not lacks the good
manners to avoid making a spectacle
of himself. In either case he ought to sign a
petition to the county Superintendent to revoke
his license. The teacher should keep quiet, and
the scholars should do the same. When he
moves around all eyes are conferred upon him,
consequently he shouldn't move around He
should remain at his desk, with his face toward
his pupils, and require them to keep their faces
toward him. 1t is his business to hear his
classes recte and to see that lessons are well
prepared-not to do the reciting or the studying
T0f fhs school If he would manage this sue
cessfuIly he must not advertise himself, a la
street parade, as the most attractive menagerie
on the road. Ten or fifteen minutes each week
devoted to the travelling circus part of the pro-
gramme will fulfill the requirements OF the
law, and satisfy everybod concerned. If he
can be made to believe it. Look back and
J
were the most successful and the best liked.
A teacher should prohibit whispering, borrow
ing and lending, and the assisting of another.
Children should be required to study. or at least
to put on the appearance of it. A lazy boy con-
demned to look at his book will finally read it to
vary the monotony.
Let foreign objects alone, and embrace new
methods as you would rattlesnake Don't con-
denim the textb ook for the probability is that it
will be exchanged soon for one not half so good.
A free circulation of the peoples money requires
that school books should be changed frequently.
But keep to the text book as long as you use it.
If Harvey is wrong, write to him and have him
correct the error, lat don't expose his ignorance
TO your boys and girls The boys might throw
stones at him if they should meet him, and the
girls would litter in his face Keep to the text
book, and let your pupils learn the side issues
after their leisure Of finished education has
come to them. b. VIC.
RIDGEwAY, Ind, Dec. 80
Brazil and the Coal Regions Again.
40 the Editor of the indianapolis Journal.
Please allow me, through your columns, to
notice a letter from Brazil. Ind, in Wednesdays
issue of your paper in order to correct anv mis-