The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1894-08-25
FIFTY YEARS AGO.
No. % continued.
BY UNCLE SILAS.

tBelng continuation Of an address deliv
cred at session of the Peabody Teachers
Institute in the Thibodaux Opera House on
the evening of July 3ru, 1s94.)
l introduced black board into one
| of my schOols-an innovation at that
date in primary schools, and some OF
the parents came to look at it.
To this day it is uncertain whether
they came to see whether it was a
useful article, or whether it was not
some scheme to put mischief in the
scholars heads, or relieve them from
some of their studies.
Speaking of mischief reminds me
that we often hear teachers and par
ents, now days. complaining that
the children are chad" Now I see
the boys and girls going tn and re.
turning from school every day, and
they conduct themselves property
some of them are full of life and fun,
as they should be, bu: they are not
bad.
] taught school in three different
neighborhoods but l never was wor.
ried with bad children.
Some were a great deal better than
the others, but they were all good
children.
/ suppose that teachers now have
their bright and their dark days, their
amusing and perplexing experiences
as we did in days passed away.
L will relate a couple of instances
illustrating my own experience.
l had little cousin named Dave
Dave had heard of the letter A and
he'd formed some idea of what it was.
but whether that idea took the form
Of horse roaming in the pasture, or
bird flying through the air, or fish
swimming in the creek, cannot sly.
Dave came to my school with his
speller ana its columns Of letters. I
call him to me and pointing to the
letter A, said "Dave what is that"
Il do not know" "Well, that's A."
Dave looked up III my face with all
the innocenceo of a superannuated Sun
day school teacher, and said "L-o-r d
) e-s-u-s Christ, is that A.; looked
on my left and saw some little girls
hiding their faces behind their books,
and on my tight the boys were crawl
ing under their benches, and then I
put on Il good smile, when the whole
school broke out into loud laugh.
Had they committed such an impair.
donable sin in the time Of my Drede-
cessor, he would have whaled everv
boy and gIrl in the house-if his
strength and his switches had not CIV
ell out.
l saw no reason why a child should
not laugh when something occurs that
Jusiifies 1t,
A good hearty laugh in child is
Ike bit of gossip in an elderly fe-
male-it must come out and the soon
er it gets free, the better.
LiItlo Dave, however. survived
learned his letters, grew to be man
and was killed in the battle at Perry
vile, in 1862.
Su much for the amusing; now for
the perpleyins. A little boy came to
me To get some information about
sum he was working.
! began by saying "two and two
makes four,"; "why does two and two
makes four" lie inquired.
looked up and looked around, and
linally saw a little tow headed urchin
W hose pockets were always full of
marbles, called him to me, aud bor-
'owed four marbles. Placing two IN
one hand and two in the other. |
then put them together and said now
sou see two and two makes four. The
little fellow accepted the situation,
bnt to this day do not know whether
he accepted my elucidation. The fact
that two and two made four was evil
dent. but why it did it, was the coEun-
drum you can each work out for your
elf