Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1900-03-22
Talks on SChOO! HffdirS.
MISPLACED CRIrICIsNI

A school is like quadruped 1t
needs four legs to support it and en-
able it to move along naturally and
satisfactorily. These legs are the
children, the parents, the board, and
the teacher. If anyone of these sup
ports be weak or sore there will be
iimping and hating and possibly COM
plete collapse. AS it is burdensome
for an animal to try to move upon
three legs so it is unsatisfactory for a
school to get along with two or three
legs; it needs the support Of all ana
the harmony of their united action:-
parents, board, children and teacher
must work together for a common
end.
When a school ''limps" or '.halts, :"
and fails to move along satisfactorily,
perhaps the first and the usual explain
alton is to charge the teacher with
the lameness-he is the weak leg or
the "sore" member and in individual
cases this may be only too true.
However, there are other possibilities
and conditions in the home or the
community at large are frequently
the fundamental cause Of school trou-
bles; SO that il may be said with
truth the success or failure Of the
teacher who is blamed, depends in its
cause upon the dinner table or the
store box. In this case the weak lee
and the sore member is the parent
who drops some thoughtless or inten-
tional remark before the children or
friends thus sowing the seeds Of dis
cord.
1t is critical time in the history
of every school when a new teacher is
hired and begins his work This is
true whether the teacher be product
Of the community or a stranger. In
the former instance he is likely to be
too 'well known" to be properly re-
spected, and in the latter, too little
known to be fully appreciated. In
either case the time is one of anxiety
and uncertainty, and the teacher and
the school is the 'tak" at the dinner
table and on the store b0X-partcu-
larly 80 if he may be 50 unfortunate
as TO make some mistakes. Should
there be any unusual method or ideas
that the teacher brings with him,
should he be Il little more strict with
some OF the children than they or
their parents like, or should he have
some peculiar characteristic. the
children tell it to their parents, who
thoughtlessly, or it may be, purpose
ly-speak hastily and sparingly
4ejore The children, who may then be-
GENE so far estranged from their
teacher as to lose interest in their
school work, and spread a contagion
Of dissatisfaction through the school
and in the community.
As a word Of caution to the parents
therefore let them be particularly
careful in what they say before the
childrcn that is depreciatiye of the
teacher or his work, for this will tend
to throw the home influence into a di-
rect antagunism with the efforts Of
the teacher, and three "legs''-
children, parents and teacher being
or becoming ''sore," viii take away
the possibility Of harmonious action
and satisfactory results.
To judge the teacher by his faults
is unfair; and to expect too much of
him is, also. The teacher is not usu-
ally numskull or an ignoramus; nor
is he cyclopedia or an cgotist; nor a
saint or sinner; but only human
being with the shortcomings and i'm
PROJECTIONS Of the world Be a real
help to him then; and if the teacher
should place tight lines on your boy
or girl, do not add to the frctfulness
by harsh criticism and thoughtless
imprecat'ons. At least not until YOU
have reflected upon the words OF Eng
lands great Prime Minister, Disraei,
that 1T is much easier to be critical
than to be correct.