The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-12-29
NOT ALL PLEASURE.
THE LOT OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL
TEACHER NOT A HAPPY ONE.
- II Not So Much tho Pervsrsity Of the
Children as the Interference OF Parents
That Hampers the Teachers wsrk.
Some Sample Annoyances.

Ihnt hampers the Teacher's .W~rks
Some Sample Annoyances.
"The life of a schoolteacher, said one
Vt them the other day. sis not all roses
For long, sharp, omniprcsent thorn let
me commend you to the average parent,
particularly the average mother One
another can make more trouble in school
khan 90 children.
"If have entertained one complaining
parent at this desk, have cntertainede .
hundred, and without exception they havS
all made the same identical remark: Mary
or johnnie, or whatever the name may be-
lis very nervous childp
If any one should ask me what con-
Eider the greatest menace to the country,
should unhesitatingly answer, nerves.
That Is, IL am to believe what / am told
by the parents OF the coming generation.
Sometimes l think must have school Of
freaks, because am conldentially inform
ed by two-thirds of the parents, who of
course ought TO know, that their individ-
ual progeny is OF a very peculiar tempera-
ment.
"Once in awhile we have a visit from a
complaining parent OF the masculine gem
der. We had one the other day. He was
stern and pompous.
My daughter tells me'-that's always
the opening-'that one OF the teachers
made some very cutting remarks to her
Yesterday. She was very much distressed
and was unable to sleep last night. Now,
there Is just one thing about my daugh-
ter. She has a very peculiar tennperament,
and sho cannot stand sarcasm. She is very
sensitive, and IL she cannot be treated with
kindness ! shall remove her from the
school
''If he only wouldl But he won't. AZ
for notes, we have them of all kinds. Tho
mothers send advice, complaints, threats
and excuses until the capacity Of our waste
baskets ia taxed TO the utmost.
"But that is just the way with parents.
They interfere when tiey should not, and
when you ask them to interfere they have
'nothln at all to say I've had mothers
come here and roll their eyes to heaven rs
they declared that they must believe the
scholars story rather than the teachers.
because they had never known their child
TO tell q lie
IA few years ago ! had n hoy who would
simply dance up and down and howl il
anything cid not suit him. And had an
other who would lie down and pound his
head on the i.oor IL his will was crossed.
.lnagine such n pair In n schoolroom They
would demoralize any SO of the best be-
haved children you could get together.
The first week that had these twin stars
i celebrated the discovery Of my first gray
hair. The wonder is that didn't turn
white in a single day. When Frank was
quiet. John WAS dancing and bowling like
a wild Indian, and when John settled
down from sheer weariness, Frank was
humping his hend on the desk or the floor.
iOccasionally they both broke loose at the
same time. Then cat still and wondered
if there was shotgun in the building.
Tho second day sent notes to the two
women who had the awful responsibility
lof being tho mothers of those two wild an
finals. Wednesday morning came. So did
Frank and John. Brt tho mothers did
mot put ir an appearance. really didn't
Iblame them. I'm sure should have
drowned mycclf rather than appear and
answer TO the charge of having su.h chill
dren. But smothered my feelings of
!pity-that Is. Frank and George did it for
me with repeated howls and thumps.
sent two more notes. but Thursday and.
the wild animals came and still no moth
ers. The notes that night were commands,
and Friday morning two complacent, COM
Portable danes appeared in such close CON-
pany with Frank and George that could |
not mistake the fact that they were the |
unhappy mothers.
lad expected TO see women worn and |
haggard, as was fast getting TO be. But |
these two careless creatures took my
breath away. / stated the case to them,
however. They laughed rich, unctuous
laughter, which madc me want TO dance
up and down and howl as Frank had SO
well taught me it could be done. II seems
that Franks father had a cheerful little
habit OF stamping around aud swearing
In thunder tones whenever anything dis
pleased him. Consequently Frank s. moth
Pr had always said that he was inst like
his father and had let him rage like the
most abandoned beGtben. And as for
George. he, too, was just liko his father.
who. when he recovered from spree which
had absorbed all his wages, would pound
1is head against the wall to get oven with
limself
II went TO see those two women the |
,ext day, and labored with them till the
,oing down Of the sun before could con-
'ince them that they ought TO check the
iowling and humping resemblance OF
hose boys totheir respective fathers.
AZ Tor children themselves they al
Says select time when their parents are
'resent 60 show Off their teaching in the
most uniavorable light. remember that
ne time spent all of one afternoon in
EXPLAINING the punctuation marks to my
'upils. The last thing put on the board
vas quotation marks, and wrote out the
elnition and had the school say it over
nd over. The next day there was to be
n examination, so | was particularly care.
nj. In the morning the quotation marks
'erc still on the black board, so Irevicwed
he pupils little. They said the dSfni-
ion word for word: 'Quotntion marks
how that the words they incoSe are TAX
n from some other author or speaker |
hought they would remember il till they
'ere 100, II they lived that long. The
rustees came, and the parents came, and
he examination was begun. Finally
sked the class 10 explain the meaning
nd use of quotation marks They looked
blank---all hut one boy
'ho hoped up and down. he was so arx- ,
,us 20 tell.
"'Weil, ,Tohnniep' said.
Quotation marks show that the words
n IN 4 4