The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-03-17
THE OLD-FASHIONED SCHOOL.

1t is a genuine delight to one whose alma
mater is a little white country schoolhouse
to see in these days the youngsters trudg-
ing homeward with hooks under their arms
belonging to the Young Peoples Reading
Circle Series. What a joy to know that in
every schoolhouse there are shelves con-
tanning books by Donald G. Mitchell, Louisa
Alcott and a host of others of equal fame.
In other days the blackboard was the bare,
SCARED, yet loving breast, which the "fos-
tering mother could only offer. and our
chances for deriving sufficient nourishment
for inquiring minds from so meager a
source must have made Minerva weep.
But there are teachers and teachers, and
whether or not the old Roman goddess was
patroness to our school did not matter so
much if the teacher won our hearts. I won
der if the textbooks will lose any of their
interest, and the pictures-dear old school
book pictures-will seem rude and faded in
the comparisons they are now able to make.
Old-fashioned people read about school
book trusts and wonder in a vague way
if it is a reflection on their own trust in
the merits of Wilson or McGuffey, and
linger on the RETROSPECTIVE train thus for
INFLATED with a sort of sad satisfaction.
l wonder II the reading circle books will
place the children beyond the need of ''gir
tin their definitions" Being entirely UNI
Sciltsu, anu AdVliS d great 1--WE lOI CHlA-
dren, the writer hopes this is true, remem-
bering those half dozen Third Reader
girls who neglected to attach themselves to
the definitions by the uncertain hook of
their memory, and were allowed by their
teacher to choose Of three punishments,
VIZ; a whipping, standing on the Moor half
The latter punishment @ was selected by
them without an exception. 1 wonder what
plays, not hooky, but truant; the former
they play in town or city,, the latter in
rural haunts exclusively; and will their ac-
make them more lenient toward the little
girl, who, like the one I knew, when asked
"What is Rome? replied in the language
of the poet, Rome was an ocean of fiame::''
or will they also see the teachers amused
smile and laugh uproariously while the little
There used to be such great possibilities
in the small, square, and too often bare,
Fairgrounds; that is, after the first day or
two. They never reveal themselves in all
their exuberant richness as mirth producers
until every inch of ground has been pressed
by the adventurous foot of inquisitive pu-
pill: then it is teeming with interest. What
will be the ultimate destiny of the venerable
but valiant .sblack man. and staid, prosy
honest little sunburned hands were raised
TO the sky to let King George and his wife
slouched through the opening with bare feet
and trousers made from. a discarded pair or
some ancestor.
terested in the last day." Surely no new
tangled notions will be able to crowd out
the customary Rotations and dialogues,
with their salutary accompaniment of Sun
day dresses and suits, so new the descrip-
tive tag is still attached. Between the exc
element produced by the Sunday clothes,
the big dinner and the presence of their par
ents, the homely old fostering mother
seems more like an irascible stepmother I'M
der whose surveillance there is a nervous
dread of something. boldly apparent to the
visitor. The little girl who recites stop.
stop, pretty brook, you are running away"
does so with a force that plainly shows she
Is conscious of the gravity of the situation,
and fain would overtake 1T with her tongue.
But little Johnny, with masculine GOODNESS,
shows no undue concern, except for the
contents of his trousers pockets, as he
looks out of the window and delivers his
Grafton on s"The Seasons" Yet more than
one manly fellow who was preparing for
the pulpit or bar, and was using his expert
ence as country school teacher as a step
ping stone that would help lift him to the
position to which he aspired, has turned
away from the old building and It's bright,
honest pupils, with eyes misty as an old
mans, who realizes that the grandchildren
are living in reality the experiences he has
been living in retrospect. Inc reading circle
books are a good thing; but are lndiana's
country school children receiving all the
good things they are entitled tor?
OLD MONTGOMERY.
Shannondale, Ind, March rs.