The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-04-10
THE NUMBER ONE SCHOLAR.
Written for THE MORNING CALL

1t is not always the brightest of all the
! contestants who comes out ahead in COM
| petitive school examination. Neither is it
| the child who bears the proud distinction
! of being the number one" pupil of his
| class that is the brightest of his day and
generation.
1t Is quite safe to say that no child in a
| public school was ever number one" for
| more than month at time, who did not
| gain the honor by patience, plodding indus
| try, and-withOut which factor the others
are almost nothng-perpetual good be-
hayior. For the children must be ranked
more or less, and their reports made out on
their answers, written or oral, to the cues
tions given on past lessons. Now, a mo-
ments iDattenton, or the mind preoccupied
with another subject. Itself suggested by
the topic under discussion. may cause a
bright pupil to lose some important bit of
information for which he will be called
upon later. His failure to remember what
he never knew will cost him the credits
without which he cannot be number one"
In some classes the competition is very
close. In the end it does not always pay
to be number one"
As look back through my school life
can we'll remember the girls who were at
the head of cur different classes. They
were all good girls against whom in my
childish breast there ragged wild tempest
OF disgust and rage; not because they were
number one, but because their goodness
made our badness seem all the greater by
contrast.
They were such nice children. They were
always in their seats on time. They stood
no danger of being late because they had
stopped to look at a procession or to read
the papers displayed in a shop window.
They were never reported for running in the
yard. They were never taken out of line.
They were regular-going little machines.
mental hoppers that received all the grst
brought to their Intellectual mills and
ground it out in fine shape, They worked
hard in school. They sat up late 10 do their
examples. They stayed home on Saturdays
TO study their lessons. They could not come
out TO play in the afternoon because they
had to practice or to write composition.
When 1t was necessary to learn lesson by
heart they were in their element; they were
letter perfect as to the text. As to the
meaning? All, well, we will not dwell upon
that.
No surprise need be created by the state
ment that 10 teacher such pupils are per-
feet treasures. When young woman has
in charge forty or more children which
must be carried bodily over certain amount
OF the course In given space of time, she
has no time to exploit geniuses or to admire
any straying from the beaten track. She
must keep her flock together and have them
browse on the close-eut grass in the straight
and narrow way until she can drive them
through the gate which is called promo
tiOn." But she knows that the number
one" while being satisfactory scholar, is
not always the brightest pupil in the class.
/. does not always follow that the same
children will hold the fest rank all through
the school course. But when they do they
are in the higher grades what they were in
| the lower ones. They do just what is re-
CURED of them and no more. They never
| look up more references than those assigned
| for the morrow'S lessons They make no
| excursions among the tangled willis of the
dictionary. As for ever reading a line
| ahead, of becoming so interested in a sub
| lect as to feel impeled to turn over the
page and see who won the battle, of gaining
| any side lights on the issue at stake-why
that is not to be thought of. They dare not
| waste the time.
| As for their views, they are always in
accord with the textbooks. They would
| never think OF calling the author in ques-
ton. once In class in the Girls High
| School "Thanat0psis'' was being discussed
After the textbook criticisms Of the poem
had been accurately rendered by two or
three human Photographs one of the girls
had the temerity to say that she thought
IhanatopSls was pagan poem, that
Bryant might have been simply high
| minded heather for any evidences that the
l poem contained to the contrary" The girls
| were paralyzed and the teacher was shock ed.
| nevertheless the idea was not so outland sh,
Tor when Bryant died Henry Ward Beeeher
| made exactly the same criticism.
| The number one" scholar always Grams
| Tor examination, so does the poor pupil Of
| the class. In that they are alike. Each
marcheS about at recass with a hook hAfo.A