Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-12-29
------ ~--~~-s-, e.. -.>
NOT ALL PLEASURE.
THE LOT OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL
TEACHER NOT A HAPPY ONE.

'The life of a schoolteacher," said one
Of them the other day, ais not all roses
b'or long, sharp, omnipresent thorn let
me commend you to the average parent
particularly the average mother One
mother can make more trouble in school
than 20 children.
"lf have entertained one complaining
parent at this desk, | have entertained Il
hundred, and without exception they have
all made the same identical remark: Mary
br Johnnie, or whatever the name may be-
is a very nervous childP
"If any one should ask me what CON
slider the greatest menace to the country, ]
should unhesitatingly answer, nerves.
That is, if ! am to believe what | am told
by the parents of the coming generation
liumetimes think | must have school of
freaks, because | am confidentially inform
led by two-thirds of the parents, who of
eourse ought to know, that their individ-
ual progeny is of very peculiar tempera
ment.
''Once in awhile we have visit from a
complaining parent of the masculine gen
tier. We had one the other day. He was
ktern and pompOus
My daughter tells me'-that's always
the opening-'that one of the teachers
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 temperament,
and she cannot stand sarcasm. She isvery
sensitive, and if she cannot be treated with
Kindness ! shall remove her from the
school.
"If he only would But he won't As
Tor notes, wo have them of all kinds. The
mothers send advice, complaints, threats
and excuses until the capacity of our waste
baskets is taxed to the utmost.
"But that is just the way with parents.
They interfere when IL ey should not, and
when you ask them to interfere they have
'nothin 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 lie.
"a few years ago had a 10y who would
simply dance up and down and howl If
anything did not suit him. And had an
other who would lie down and pound his
head on the floor if his will was crossed.
Imagine such pair in schoolroom They
kvould demoralize any 80 of the best be
baved children you could get together.
b
/ celebrated the discovery of my first gray
hair The wonder is that ] didn't turn
white in II single day. When Frank was
huiet, John was dancing and bowling like
b wild Indian, and when John settled
down from sheer weariness Frank was
humping his head on the desk or the floor.
occasionally they both broke loose at the
same time. Then | sat still and wondered
If there was n shotgun in the building.
1.-THE second day sent notes to the two
women who had the awful responsibility
IOf being the mothers of those two wild an
finals. Wednesday morning came. So did
Frank and John. But tho mothers did
not put in an appearance. | really didn't
blame them. I'm sure | should have
drowned myself rather than appear and
answer 10 the charge of having such chill
dren. But ! smothered feelings of
pity-that j., Frank and c, rye did it for
me with repeated bowls ;.-.l thumps. |
sent two more notes, but Thursday and
the wild animals came and still no moth
ers. The notes that night We're commands
and Friday morning two complacent, com
Portable danes appeared in such clo sc com
Iany with Frank and George that could
not mistake the fact that they were the
presumably unhappy mothers.
y
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 made me want to dance
up and down and howl as Frank had so
well taught me it could he done. 1t seems
that Frank s father had a cheerful little
habit of stamping around and swearing
in thunder tones whenever anything dis
pleased him. Consequently Frank Is moth
er had always said that he was just like
his father and had let him rage like the
most abandoned heather. And as for
George, he, too, was just like his father,
who, when he recovered from "A spree which
had absorbed all his wages, would pound
his head against the wall to get even with
himself
IL went to see those two women the
next day, and ! labored with them till the
going down of the sun before | could con
vince them that they ought to check the
bowling and humping resemblance OF
those boys to their respective fathers.
AS for children themselves, they al
ways select time when their parents are
present to show off their teaching in the
most unfavorabe light. remember that
hne time spent all of one afternoon IN
pupils The last thing put on the hoard
was quotation marks, and | wrote out the
definition and had the school say it ovel
, and over. The next day there was to be
: an examination, so was particularly care
{ full In the morning the quotation mark:
Z. were still on the blackboard, so reviewed
the pupils n little, They said the defni
: tion word for word: Quotation mark,
: show that the words they inclOse are tax
: en- from some other author or speaker
. thought they would remember it till they
4 were 100, if they lived that long. Tn,
trustees came, and the parents came, anC
the examination was begun. Finally
asked the class to explain the meaning
and use of quotation marks. They looked
blank-perfectly blank-all but one DO.
who hoped up and down, he was so anX
ious to tell.
"Well, Johnniei' said.
% fOuOtntiOn tnarl-g show TINT the word