The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-12-28
THE TEACHERS, CONVENTION.

THE TEACHERS CONVENTION.
The proceedings of the thirty-eighth
annual convention of the Minnesota
State Educational society will be read
with much interest by parents and edu-
Gators alike. In no direction of public ac-
tivity is the official allowed to exercise
the same measure of control or direction
on the currents of popular thought and
action. The American public school still
abides in the minds of this people as
the strongest influence operating on the
future of American citizenship. Upon the
faithful discharge of their duty By the
teachers of the American public schools
depends in great measure the character
of succeeding generations of Americans.
The public is an interested spectator
It expects to derive much of interest and
instruction from what these learned Ia
dies and gentlemen have to say. 1t does
not take them as being engaged wholly
in delivering addresses for their own
special benefit. It readily pardons a good
infusion of the purely technical element
in the proceedings; but it also expects to
see some features of the proceedings
which may be said to possess human in
terest to those outside Of the ranks Of
the profession of pedagogy.
While the American people have the
most unbounded confidence in the pubic
school and it's administration, there is
a sense in which the public school is
none the less on trial before the bar of
public and private intelligence There is
a more marked proneness than ever be-
fore on the part of parents to examine
and criticise. They take much less for
granted than they used to take; and the
cant about the little red school house
and that sort Of thing cuts considera-
bly, less figure today than it used to do
A glance over the list of subjects Of
proposed addresses and over the pro-
gramme generally does not seem to re-
veal much which the general public
might be expected to care about. There
is altogether too much concerning peda-
Gogy in its relation to the pedagogue
and too little on it in its relation to the
pupil There is no disposition shown in
the arrangement of the various exercises
TO consider the parent as possible
factor in shaping the character of the
child, and too much disposition to regard
the child as having no other formative
influence whatever operating on him and
her outside of the school room
III this may be right enough, looked at
from the standpoint of the teacher. Yet.
from the standpoint of the public, il looks
decidedly like professionalism. pure and
simple Professionalism is one of the
dangers or, at least, one of the serious
drawbacks, of the existing methods in
nur public schools. Something less Of the
peGagogue and something more of the
man and woman would operate quite as
encouragingly on the pupil in mis- moral
as well as in his mental development
Teachers make a mistake If they think
that the Intelligent public accepts their
assumption of the role of moral directors
of the child, or places any great de-
pcndence on the existing educational sys,
tom in the formation of character. It is
a force. Of course and a strong one; but
coming down to the hard-pan of the mat
ter, and considering especially that The
public school is designed Us a place where
purely secular education may be had.
there IS Il disposition to ask questions as
to Just what the children are getting from
the public schools in the way of scholas-
tic knowledge. 1t is of little moment to
pooh pooh the mere knowledge of reading
and writing and the rest of it, as a part
Of teachers work for teachers will find
on every little inquiry that that is Just
the matter that the parent is thinking
Rbout-how much will the child learn at
school which Will fit him in the future
to hold a responsible or professional po-
sition
On this score there is an increaing mum.
Der of people who are opposed to believe
that better work can be done than is
done in the public schools in this partieu,
lar direction