The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-03-11

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"ahems! an uneasiness in his chair,
an anxiety about getting his trousers
properly adjusted over his shoe tops,
all of which the children would call
getting good ready His friends
understand these signs, and usually
some one considerably says:
''Mr. Smith, the high school exercises
were very fine, now, weren't they? The
essays were creditable and the declama-
tions just grand. Well, well, children
nowadays are greatly blest. We didn't
have such schools in our day, ehp''
This is enough. William Smith gives
his person a final adjustment "Well,
if you call it school where one-half of
the time is spent in getting the chill
dren's toes on crack, and the other
half in keeping them there, all I've got
to say is we didn't have any such
schools in our day. Why, happened
to go in the public schools the other
day, and the teacher, a young thing in
frills and buckles, was trying to get the
school in order. She was all red and
hot with trying. Then she said .one,'
and the children took up their pens.
Two and they struck position with
their arms. Then some of the boys
weren't up to time, and it all had to
be done over. Three. then they began
to write in copy books that had all to
lie at certain angle. 1t took nearly
ten minutes to get them started. You
may see the value of all this fuss and
feathers. don't. never had any
such red tape in my SCHOOL,
Your school. Why, really, Mr..
Smith?''
"Why, yes" says Mr.. Smith, smiling,
and taking an easy position. II wish
you could have seen my school. That
| was school, and none of your still-as-
death schools, can tell you. Jeems
Rivers! You don't want still schools.
You want noisy schools. There is an
| educational value in noise that none of
the folks down there (snapping his
fingers in the direction of the high
schooD ''know anything about.
..Now, look here. What is school
but preparation for life. After you
have been trained in one of those deaf
and dumb asylums they call schools,
do you suppose the world is going to
hold its breath while you do your workp
| No, stree. never demanded but one
thing of my boys-learn, learn. Every
man-jack studied in whatever key his
voice went the easiest on. I'd like to
have heard boy come to me and say
he couldn't study for the noise. I'd
have put him between two of the great
est roarers in the school. Then when
he was man I'd have expected him to
come and thank me.
! ''The aim in my school was to get
knowledge, and each boy got it in the
way best adapted to his case, and as
fast OF slow as his mind was capable
of receiving it. Some boys shot ahead
like arrows, other boys crept like
snails. But they all learned, SIR
"But how did you manage about
their school books, Mr.. Smithp"
''Now, school books. There's an
other delusion. I didn't break parents
up buying school books as they do now.
a-days. !"
William Smith flung himself again
around the inner circumference of his
rocking chair.
"Every boy brought whatever school
books they happened to have in the
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| arithmetics, algebras and geometries
in that school. Ididn't care what book
boy studied in. When he went to
the blackboard pretty soon found out
how much he knew"
| "Well, you must have needed as
many hands as Briareus to have heard
a recitation"
.Do you suppose, sir, I asked any
boy those cut-and-dried things out Of
the booksp They never saw any prob.
lem ever gave them. I made them up.
If boy was in fractions he got frac.
tions, or interest and proportion, he
got interest or proportion. I had
equations all along the line, and sur
veyed fields of every conceivable shape
That is the way to find out how much
boys know. Why, in mathematics, ID
match my boys against any set of boys
your graded schools ever have. or evel
will produce.
! There was my brother-in-law, DAME
Parker. He was a banker. One day
he came up to my school and said
Smith, I've brought you a problem
that will try your metal. We've beer
WORKING on III aG the Dduk uiibu we II
worn out. See what you can do
turned around and handed it to his son
lad of sixteen. There, John, said /
solve that for your father John tool
it and went smilingly to work. In fiv,
minutes he gave it to his father, done
sir. You never saw a man as pleased
and at the same time as crestfallen a
Daniel.
| 20, what beautiful studies are Latil
| and Greek! / just wish you could hav'
heard Horace Morton conjugating tn,
Greek verbs. That was what I cal
music, sir. And as for Homer, r,
rather hear one of my boys rolling on
those great, large, sonorous Greel
syllables than any of the prirna donnal
you think so much of. There's NOR,
music in it, SIR
| ..Mr. Smith, didn't you have any girl
in your schoolp''
| s.Girlsp No, sir. except Kitty.
could do what pleased with my own
when her mother would let me. Sb,
used to toddle around and stand VI
between the tallest boys in the spellin.
class and spell .ba' and 'bo.' But girls
no. You can't whip girls. They't