New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1893-07-12

He can't get :, child to love him unless
he loves them, and God have pity on
teacher and pupils unless they feel that
he likes them and they like him. think
we have that feeling in the schools OF
New Ulm. If YOU should ask our pupils
to-day wherller they wanted Prof. Nix to
remain as principal III our school or not,
the verdict would be. not Of course uuan-
imous - for many i boy has had the
strap applied, eventually for his good -
but think the verdict would be almost
unanimous for his retention. [ don't
think there is any question about that.
Now, think of the work that he has to
do. Isn't it wise to have good teach
eT! Now, to fill the office of principal
is even more than merely to teach. 1t
has a great deal of outside work. Is it
wise to change? How often do you
change your family doctor? Unless he
happens to die or go away, you stick to
him. You don't feel that you would
take chances on your family orbody and
make change. Experience has taught
you that when you are sick, when you
are in need of physician, you know it
is better and safer to keep him with whom
you have placed your trust and conf
dence. How much more important it is
to keep him who has the care and nur-
ture of the young minds and hearts of
our children, who has been with them
for many years. who has loved his work
and loved his pupils, advised, guided and
corrected them in their work. 1 don't
think it would be difficult for him to
come up here and call off the five or six
hundred children who are in his care call
OFT the names of your little totts, tell you
in what class they are, why they should
be promoted and why this or that one
should not he promoted, why they do
we'll in one study and why they do not
in another. How can he do this. Be-
cause he grew up here among them? he
loves them and they love him. 1t has
been his work year in and year out; he
has acquired and stored up knowledge
for the guidance of a school that no new
man, no matter how good, how apt and
able and Industrious he may be, can ac-
quire in many and many year. There
is great deal in knowing the body ir
order to care for it. There is a great
deal more in knowing the inclinations
and idiosyncracies of the children put ii
your charge. [ say for these reasons, il
for no other, we ought to &C very slow
before we make change.
There is another thing I want to cal
your attention to and that is the peculi
: arity of our schools in New Ulm. Yo,
must bear in mind that of the people il
in New Ulm. 9S or 80 per cent. are mo-
English perhaps 80 pei cent. of the pop
ulation of New Ulm was either born ir
the German country or is Of German
descent. Certainly 8? out of every hun.
dred of the people III New Ulm to-day
|speak German. It has been the language
OF the hearth, the mother tongue. Now
what has the child got to do, that comes
to our schools: Ninety nine out of every
hundred know no word of the English
tongue. They have first got to learn the
English language and then acquire thei1
education in the language they have got
to learn. They have about twice tht
| task that those children have who are O.
English descent. Now, do you thinl
that you can apply the same iron-clae
} rule of instruction in this communit,
, that you can in another community wher,
the population, or large proportion O
it, is native born? That is why ou
schools have been peculiar and will l.,
for many years. Mr. Nix has made it
study and has accomplished by his pre-
5 scribed method of instruction all that ca1
be done for the placing of our schools OF
the standard of excellence they command
to-day.
Why, gentlemen, have been away fo1
a number Of years and have noticed 8
most remarkable change. When first
went away you hardly ever heard chill.
dren speak English on the streets; they
would speak German. You boys who
sit before me, you know you never spoke
English on the Fairgrounds; you spoke
German. To-day have the opportuni-
ty to meet the children as come from
my Office and they come from the school;
I see all of them twice a day, and want
to say to you that two thirds of them
.,,oal Enr1ich II 10 {. ore,.l ,:-.,, NJ