The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-06-27
is FAULT-F INDING A FAULT OF
TEACHERS?

One of the profession, not long since,
had the courage to remark that teachers
as class were much given to complain
ing-leaving wide margin of implica-
tiOn that these murmur at their lot more
than other mortals, If so, it is griev-
iOus fault and is it not so ?
You that have paused where two or
three were gathered together, have pos
sibly already received convincing evil
denCe of the truth of the proposition.
For have you not heard that johnny
Develle can ourlie Ananias and Sap
phira,n not to say the Father Of Lies
himself P-that it is "a perfect outrage
to have him in school, and that halfthe
rest don't begin to be uU to grade, and
can't possibly be promoted at the end OF
the year ?"-or that, MY scholars don
know anything at all, and cam be taught
anything ?n-or that, "School is just
hOrrid, and | wish l was out of it al
together"
1t might be remarked, in parenthesis,
to those who ould fain abandon this
for some other walk in life-say the long
walk with an agreeable efellow-traveler
that, generally speaking, what you dis
like is the very thing for you to do until
JOu llhC IL. II ID Ntll bbllltlllllCS W DC
generous, if only from selfish motives.
Let us grant the question, then, and
inquire, Why should not teachers find
fault ? For what else are we here !? II
children were perfect, OthellO's occupa-
tion would indeed be gone. Luckily for
us children are not faultless, and, we
will venture a prophecy, are not likely
to become so before our 'calling and
election" may be sure for another school
year.
Let us do our duty, then. while it is
to-day. Let us make minute inspec-
tiOn of the aforementioned Johnny
Develle there are possibly such in
most schools. Assuredly, if he could be
reduced to his moral atoms, he would
be found scarcely more than an aggre-
CATION of faults. Dirty hands, un-
combed hair, ragged clothes, shattered
books, smoking Of cigarettes behind the
barn, laziness, lying, and general un-
Likeness to the Father of his Country, &c
TO constitute the actual Johnny and
while these errors of being are on his
doorstep is il not our duty to point
them out to him, and, if possible, to
pluck them from him
Freed from his faults. where were
Johnny Well, original Johnny or not
the tue teacher aims at nothing short
of moral perfection for all. If Johnny,
or any number of Johnnys, becomes sc
far idealz d as to be lost in this moral
evolution, all the better for him, and the
more honor for the process. Yes, it il
our business to find fault and herein
| lies our danger, that we do not acquire
what may perhaps be best designated as
The critical habit of mind, so that ouI
daily duty of finding Ihe faults of our
pupils in order to replace them with vir.
tues shall not degenerate into chronic
malady else our faults may be more
faulty, vaster, and more inexcusable
than theirs.
In finding the faults of others one is
liable to become obliviOus to his own.
To begin by correcting ones own faults
is more likely to end in correcting those
of others. The critical faculty was con.
sidered by Wordsworth as infinitely in
ferior TO the creative, and outside of lit
erature is not this equally true? The
worlds grandest architecture may be de-
stroyed by unskiled hands, but only the
art of the master can restore to original
perfection. The immortal bard may
write metaphors that defy grammar and
rhetoric, but who prefers to read the
rhetoric man
IL do not like that magazine" " said one,
Then why not improve it with one OF
your own contributions p 20, simply
couldn't" was the candid reply. This
seems to strike the keynote of the whole
subject. II it be not in your power to
improve existing evils, what right have
you to complain Of them Things with
out remedy should be without regard.
If you fail to find a remedy for that
which should be remedIed, then silence
is more than golden.-BurrW WnslOiC
in ~ T.. Journal of Education.