Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-02-21
Cape Glrardeau.

Ed. Register-Let us deviate little
from the usual form of correspondence,
and devote our ''corner," this time. to
a short discussion of "Discipline VS..
Education"
Well, "Old Fogy," am glad to meet
YOU. You are just the man l am look
ing for. think l have met a few of
your younger brothers heretofore; and
judging from what you say. l will have
ample opportunity to become we'll ac-
quainted with you before l have
| taught many years.
Like Pitt in his reply to Walpole, l
| will not attempt to deny the charge OF
| being a young man, (and might, with
| propriety. carry the sentiment of Pitt
much father); but do wish to inform
you that am not a mere abstract the
orizer as you intimate. but that speak
from experience. have had quite a
varied experience both as pupil and as
teacher in some of the back-woodsiest
back-woods districts of Sotheast Mis-
souri,; and during my four years ex-
perience as teacher had 10 deal with
some pretty fogy old fogies. At any
rate, have found out by experience
that philosophy and logic count for
naught in arguing with a fogy, ..for,
cen tho vanquished, he can argue
STILL" His psychical capacity extends
but little beyond simple conscious pre-
ception, SO of course, we cannot blame
him for confining his argument to
such simple facts as he is able to per-
ceive through his special senses with
the aid of consciousness and limited
amount of conception.
So now, Mr.. Editor, if you will per-
nit me to go on, l will enumerate
few facts in my personal experience
and some CLEANED from observation
which l deem sufficient argument to
convince "Old Fogy" that education is
more important than discipline. In
order to make this question at all de-
batable, we must give to our two terms
the ordinary backwoods definition; i.
g.. education means the amount of
knowledge a person carries in his head,
and discipline is his ability to govern.
We must picture good disciplinarian
without an education and set him up
beside an educated man who cannot
control a school-an educated man
who cannot control school! An alb
surd paradox! But l must stick to
our definition and come back to the
surface aud proceed with our FACTS.
DisciplIne-too much discipline is
one of the most ..besetting sins" that
beset our country schools and one that
must be .'purged away" before fogies
will cease to write "rools" and praise
the virtue of '.hazel juice" and chick
ory oil,' to judge a teacher by his suc-
cess in keeping the children out OF the
..branch," and to cry down the intro
duction of ..new-fangled ideae."
/ will uever forget my first expe
rience with Compound Proportion.
understood Simple Proportion pretty
we'll; but l couldn't understand what
the author meant by saying to ''ar-
range the couplets as in Simple Pro-
portion, Neither did the teacher.
He could solve all the examples, and
but when asked him why he arranged
the numbers as he did he said, ..Be-
cause that is the right way-the only
right way.-there is no other way to
arrange it so as to get the answer!
And this man bore the name of being
one of the best teachers in the country.
He seldom ever had to resort to corpor-
al punishment, he kept good order in
his school, and everybody LIKED him.
Liked him! Yes, that is the chief
qualification requisite to good recon-
mendation where fogies transact the
business for the population. But IL
s.Where was at?" Two years passed. !
twice more / worked through" Pro-
portion. and still fished till got the
answer and remembered how / did It'll
till after the recitation. At the close
of the third year went to high-school
and recited to a professor" who
called me Mr." Once more | studied