The Port Gibson reveille. [volume] (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1890-current, 1893-09-01
EDUCATIONAL COLUMN.
CONDUCTED BY PROF. REoAN.

i all the county schools on Saturday,
September End. Let school patrons
make judicious selections, and then
lei the trustees discharge their du-
lies fully, faithfully and fearIessIy.
Above all things, they should
pledge themselves TO visit these
schools and remain one whole day
each mouth during it's session.
The superintendent has sent a
circular letter to the trustees Of each
school, which is quite important.
Patrons should require it to be read
at their meeting on Saturday. 1t
concerns them deeply. 1t viii pre-
vent complications in elecling new
trustees and selecting a teacher.
| Before another week passes, the
school children of nearly all the
schools will have learned who are
TO be their teachers for the new
term. We earnestly hope that no
incompetent, unworthy material
will be selected.
Think of it, patrons you are
iplacing your children in the hands
of man or a woman who is TO take
your place entirely in their mental
and MORAL training for eight
months. Eight months under an
incompetent teacher means eight
months Of energy paralyzed, of am
bition blunted, OF mental chaos, of
precious time absolutely wasted for
these children, the woeful results Of
which will possibly follow them for
years. Eight months under an in
competent, unworthy teacher means
eight months Of attack on those
walls of rectitHde, morality and pie
~ with which you had environed
your child; and it further means
the tearing down of those walls and
robbing that child of those precious
jewels, leaving in their place a bar
rem waste covered with stones OF
partial il not absolute depravity.
A teacher that looks not after the
moral welfare Of his pupil is dan
gerous ally, and you are as criini-
nally responsible in placing such
over your children, as you would |
be in spreading the seeds OF diph-
liberia among those same children.
Think OF it, patrons, and make you.
choice wiselYl
The new code prohibits trustees
from electing relations, by blood or
marriage, TO teach their schools.
Any such election is absolutely null
and void, and the superintendent
will be compelled to fill the vacan-
cy by appointment.
A steady stream OF applications
has been coming into the superin-
tendent's office for positions in the
public schools, for sixty days. In
every case he has referred each ap-
plicant TO the trustees of not less
than FIVE different schools. With
the extension of our term TO eight
months, comes a speedy demand
for Claiborne's schools ; and also
comes the opportunity for trustees
to fill the vacancies with excellent
teachers, diaSn hither by promise
of continuous employment. good
salaries, aud graded schools. No
necessity and no excuse exists, then,
for making poor selections.
SOME PERTINENT QUESTIONS,
that teachers should PROFOUND to
applicants
/. Is teaching your business 2
2. How long have you been in
this business
3. Where arc your endorsements7
A. Are you a God.fearing, God
serving teacher
5. Do you teach morals as we'll
as books ?
6. Do you attend all the Insti-
tutes and Teachers Meetings, in
order to improve yourself2 2
z. Do you subscribe for, and read
Educational Journals to keep a
breast of the profession?
6. Do you keep your educational
garments free OF thread bare places
The applicant who can nearest
answer all OF these eight questions,
except the second and third, affirm
aiively is the one whom the trus.
tees should elect unanimously.
They should further require all fu-
ture applicants to come up TO this
standard, or ignore their applica-
lions. Trustees have it in their
power to raise this standard to the
required pitch.
We have directed our "talks" this
week mainly to trustees-Gd naHse-
am, perhaps; but we are far from
exhausting our theme. Friends,
charge il all up TO our zeal in the
work.
Our sister county, Jefferson, with
our esteemed co-laborer, ]. r.
Wade, at the helm. held her Teach
ers' Institute last week. We regret
exceedingly that we were forced 10
decline his warm invitation 10 at
tend.
The enrolment of pupils in our
public schools for the last term was
947 whites and 1915 black total,
1852 children.
For the term preceding this. II |
was 842 whites and 1898 blacks
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