St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-03-08
Teachers Of st. Paul Stirred
Up Over the New Order
Of Things.
The Examination on Psyehol-
ogy Driving Most Of Them
to Despair.
Pedagogy, Mind Discourse
and School Management
the Triad Terror.
Teachers Trembling Lest the
Examination Be Sprung
UnaWareS.

For the past couple OF months the morse
editor of the GLOBE has been the daily
recipient of communications from the
principals and teachers of the public
schools of st. Paul. the following will
serve sample:
To the Horse Editor
Dear Sir: What do you think Of psychol-
ogy? And what text book would you COM
mend to one who wishes to grasp the subject
ALPHABETICALLY? G. SMITH. Princlp 8l.0
1t is a mystery to the horse editor why
the dear teachers should prod him on
such profound topic. Presumably the
reason why he was selected as target
for their missiles was because of his
great horse sense. be that as it may,
the horse editor, while confessing mod
estly to being fellow of infinite and
question of psychology acknowledges
himself flunked. Had you touched him
on the "Dynamics of Point" or the
Grammar of Assent" he would have
been with you to finish; but when you
trench on psychology, why, he simply
falls back on the rules of the Fifty-frst
congress and declares no quorum. No.
the horse editor has mo Information
sufficient to form belief" as Rufus
ChOate would say, concerning this sub
tie subject, and begs to be excused.
Bent on ascertaining why all this stir
among his old friends on this strange
and aerial topic, his Equestrianship
started out on tour of Investigation.
At a. m. one day of last week, he
found himself at Wabasha and Sew enth
streets. Two ladies', evidently school
ma'amS from their general intellectual
makeup, were cOnverSing IN loud pedal
tones, while awaiting car, in front OF
Michaud's. Here was an opportunity
to get the information l desired. and
as | drew nigh the larger of the two
said to her companion:
do you know, sis, my nerves are all
unstrung about this psychology exam
ination. Just to think, have been up
four nights of this week burning mid
night oil, and l don't know any more
about the subject thon jack rabbit
"That's my fix" said No. 2, land if
my permanent appointment is to de-
pend ON my knowledge of psychology,
well. the sooner ! get good, comfort
able job as second cook in a small fam
lily the better.n
The First Inklfng.
The editor had heard enough to give
him an inkling of what was behind the
communications he had received, and,
his car approaching, he mounted it and,
securing firm grasp on strap, awaited
further developments. There was a
metaphysical atmosphere within that
vehicle which the rumDling OF the
wheels or the harsh voice of the con-
ductor could not quell. Six ladies, two
gentlemen and one OF Tom LoWry'S
spoilers occupied one side of the car.
while three Alliance men, stove and a
negro held down the visa Wis end. The
six ladies and the two gentlemen were
wrestling with eight books Zone apiece,
and my elevated position uave me an
opportunity to size up the nature of the
mental pabulum. AS | suspected, they
were all deep in the mysteries of
psychology. There were Fitch's lect-
ures, Quick's ''History of Pedagogy"
Whites elements of Psychology"
mental Studies" by Jerome Allen.
Paine, Spencer, Steele and Maher. So
wrapt were they all in the deep myster-
les of these authors that the conductor
had to shake them up as from sound
slumber in order to get their fares. the
horse editor was beginning to think that
the school teachers had all gone
Daft on Psychology
when the car stopped and the teachers
alighted. Here was a clue that 1t would
he we'll to follow up, for the upshot
would be pregnant with substantial
facts. The educators rambled on to the
school, distant few blocks, and after
divesting themselves of their wraps lit
on to their books again. "Say, what's
all this truck about psychology, any,
how?" inquired the h. e. in sweeping,
def sort of voice of one of the gen.
tlemen, as he was about entering the
school room. "WelI, it's like this"
said he frankly, The last legislature
passed bill to the effect that teachers
of good standing who had served the
city for certain length of time as
titled to permanent appointments upon
the recommendation of the superin-
tendent." This was right and proper,
and had the matter rested there all
would have been we'll. The superin-
tendent was about to recommend some
4O0-odd teachers to the board when the
tempter interviewed, and said that here
was presented the opportunity of life
time. The tempter's idea was to with
hold this list and make the matter of
permanent appointment conditional
on all teachers and principals
passing an examination on the
subjects of pedagogy, psychology
and school management. Gilbert ate
of the apple. Gilbert fell, land the noble
400 were doomed with the original sin
of mental science, which they must
purge themselves Of if they would be
suggested to the board, and that august
body thought we'll of it. Since then
there has been weeping and wailing
and crashing of teeth among the school
fraternity, for psychology is such vast
domain that one can take the wings of
morn and pierce the Barcan desert and
return via Valparaiso. stopping off at
all the way stations, and then you
haven't got fairly started. The princi-
pals, with the exceptions of three who
drank psychology with their mothers
milk and have been bathing in it ever
since, with one accord pronounce the
whole business as a humbug and
farce. Many of these men and women
have been in the schools for twenty
years, and to say that their tenure of
office at this late day is to be made to
depend on the contingency of their pass
ing psychological or pedagogical hip
podrome is nothing
Short of an Outrage.
For the past six months the teachers
have been compelled once week to
undergo two hours of torture on the
psychological gridiron, and the prin-
cipals biweekly roast at the hands of
the superintendent. The idea of the
principals is that the superintendent
should be qualified now to pass on the
qualifications of the principals, and in
like manner the principals on the mer-
its and dement's of the teachers under