The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1888-03-29
DISTRICT SCHOOLS.
THE PeRlLS AND DIFFICULTIES OF
TEACHING FORTY YEARS AGO.


School House.
Not one of the teachers of the district
schools ever fancied that discipline could
be enforced without corporal punishment;
In fact, the people esteemed him in proper
ton to his severity. Generally the instru-
ment of torture was a fiat "ruler" OF
hardwood, and was applied to the open
palm Of the hand. Some Of the brutes
who handled this weapon seemed to de-
light in its use and employed it on the
slightest excuse, and not infrequently
without any cause. have been fer1uled
scores of times without the consciousness
of having committed any offense what
ever.
The women who taught in the summer
did not use the ferrule, but generally
switch, the offender often being sent out
to cut the instrument with which he was
to be punished. One feminine teacher was
an ingenious torturer, who constantly in
vented novel methods Of punishment One
was to put closed penknife between the
fingers of the victim, press the fingers tight
to the handle, and then twist the latter
till the pupil howled over the intolerable
pain.
While fitting for college taught district
rent were the various punishments which
Ihad suffered when a boy that I deter
mined never to strike pupil unless in alb
solute self defense. And l never did.
taught in some pretty tough localities,
where punishments had been the rule from
time inlmemOrial.
THE CROSS ROADS SCHOOL.
There is, or was, cross road settle
ment on the SacondagH river in which was
a district school that was famous all
through the region for the barbar-
ism ard intractab,e character of its
scholars applied for it one winter, and
was laughed at by the trustee to whom I
made the application.
"Why, they taroTcd out the teacher
last winter; and that amt all either; they
Inutilated him SO that he'll be cripple
for life'
After much par!2ying l succeeded in
getting the engagement, it being under
stood on the pcrt Of the trustees that if I
lasted week it would be q miracle.
The pupils who presented themselves on
the opening CGy were rot q choice lot. Most
of thcIn were from the hills, and were but
little more advanced! than savages in book
learning There we're some half dozen
boys IS Old cs. or older than, myself, and
two Or three LuikinS chaps who were con-
siGcrably larger than myself in physical
dimensions. They locked me over with
about the same glance that a bull dog
might q slender terrier, but for several
days were on their good behavior, being
of the opinion that when the time came
they would thrown ME out without
trouble. Il was the case of u half dozen
cats playing with feeble mouse.
SIZING UP TIE CROWD.
I Soon sized Up tho crowd, and found
that tic leader was {. Sullcn brute of some
% years Of age, who could just barely
spell words CT t'7o CT three letters, and
cCuld not even write Lis name. N1e good
naturcdly allowed me to order him up to
rercat his letters with an air as if saying:
'All right for week or so, but We'll show
you by and by" A fortnight after the
school opened lie was more sullen than
usual one day, and when requested him
to come out and rccite his letters "guessed
he didn't want to say no lesson"
Every well. When recess comes you'll
keep your seat and not go out with the
boys
His ugly face took on a deeper scowl
than usual, and he glanced around at the
other big EOys, with glance which said,
''Now's the time! Well tackle himr' 1t
YVES half hour before recess. Meanwhile
he pulled out an immense pocket knife,
opened it, and then, when he saw me look
ing toward him, he jabbed the blade os-
tentatiously iuto the desk. The smaller
scholars saw that a storm was brewing
and were uneasy; the larger ones moved
about, and evidently thought the crisis
was Mt hand.
When the hour for the recess came I
picked up the heavy iron poker and carry
hight as if it were a cane, opened the
door and said: 1.-THE boys may have a re-
cess AS did so fixed my eyes on the
rufian with the jackknife, with genial
smile on my lips. The other large boys
hesitated for an instant, as if expecting
him to make start. He quailed as he
saw my attitude and the poker, and kept
lis scat. The other boys saw the game
was up, and went out; they had no leader,
and the combination was broken. never
lad the slightest further trouble. Even
the brute with the jackknife became, after
his fashion, my friend, and actually gave
some attention to his books, and by spring
could both read and write to fair extent.
The people of the district patiently
waited to see me come through the WIN
dows in sections; but the event never hap
pcacd. 1 tanned the menagerie and never
struck one of the beasts blow.-"Poi-
uto' in Chicago Times.