The Leon reporter., 1900-03-08

text books, avOlQ lnCeTCouiSc Will .Acu,
shun the contests of the world and be-
come 80 pedantic that his school room
instruction will illtit his pupils to 20 out
into life and associate with men and
women to his own advantage? Are not
these the questions we are to answer:
What is the purpose of the school?
+ quote in answer from the report OF the
Committee of Fifteen made IN 1895 ny
Hon. W. I. Harris before the Cleveland
meeting of the department. OF Superln.
tendents. 1t is to "give the child an in.
SIGHT into the world that he lives in and
command over its resources such as IS
obtained bv helpful cooperation OF
one's fellows. In a word, the chief con-
sideration to which all others are to be
snbordinated, in the opinion OF your
committee is this requirement of civiliz-
ation into which the child is born, on
determining not only what he shall
study in school, but what habits and
cnstoms he shall be taught and further.
more. that this question Of the relation
of the nnpil to his civilization deter
mines what political duties he shall as,
sume and what religious faith and
spiritual aspirations shall be adopted
for the conduct OF life !"
II Won please, with this idea of the
nurnoses of the school and the RESPONSE
bilitv of the teacher, tine making OF cltl-
zens. how can the teacher meet these
RESPONSIBILITIES unless he, in the highest
sense of the term, is a citizen himself!
Bv the term ..social factor" in the
Question for our consideration, then in
'its broader use we mean three things:
list, a factor in polite society; "a, fac-
tor in civic institutions OF the state, 80,
a factor in religious institutions. what
then is the duty of the teacher with re-
spect to the relations and now pest can
it be performed? There is no mission SO
grand, no class Of people who deserve
such hearty appreciation as the real
teachers. But there is much meant by
the real teachers. 1t is not one who,
having no business on hand for term
of a,vear or two, inquiries for q vacant
school, and having obtained 1t, mar
shals his classes, prevents whispering,
hears lessons, occasionally whips child
goes through the motions day after day,
week after week in the accustomed way;
whose choicest recollections afterward is
of some mischief he circumvented, OF
some deviltry he outwitted, or OF the
jllfitting and uncomfortable dignity he
assumed and maintained. The genuine
teacher is a reformer and if he does not
associate with people is not social
factor in the three fold sense. How
does che know what needs reforming?
The interest which such teacher
taxes in his work and i'll the welfare Of
each pupil is wonderful power for
good. More and more one must teel
that simply imparting the facts OF a
ll.ae,, Ia a p,lnil is an imposition:
Of Of the the Isnens' papil" And hay add that that
living mind of the teacher must be a
mind living in its broadcast sense, living
in the world, in association with mer ,e
and women, as the growing mind OF the
child associates with men and women
Col. Parker, the veteran educator O
Illinois, has said, sThe ideal school !!
an ideal community" Another eml
| nent teacher has said that "the school i
not preparation for life, but 1t is life
Pupils then are not being prepared
| for citizens but are citizens. Whethe
this man is correct or the Committee o
Fifteen from whom l quoted earlier
makes no material difference in the con
sideration of this question. In eithe
event we are associating with boys ant
girls upon whom the duties of citizen
| ship i'm Republic will deyolve. Their
is no single fern of institutional lit
that can be identified with life; that is
life in no single institution of the socla
order can be identified with communit,
life, or life in the social order as whole
The state, the church, the family, tn
school, industrial society, professions
life, are phases or objects Of life, eac
having distinctive central idea, an
each having as distinct purpose. Thl
central idea is not exclusive, separatin
itself from the other central ideas an
denying kinship or unity with them
but the central idea is the leading one i
each special aspect or phase of life tina
we call an imitation or a vocation or
pursuit. The central idea i'll the schoe
IRON gives particu' ar cast to that al
pect Of life that eventually shapes itse
into the peculiar form and characte
known as school teacher.
| So of the minister, the physician, tn
lawyer. But every full, well rounde
life, every educated man or woman
who makes one of these institutions
ideas the center from which his activ
ties radiate, and to which they turr
has associated with this central though
and purpose, the thoughts and purpose
of the other aspects of life, which bt
come fused in that one large and con
prehensive idea which we call the CIT
zen. As citizen he can distinctively b
teacher and yet be a man CT business
preacher, politician, lawyer. II
cannot as teacher say to any Of thes
special avocations, 81 have no need {
thee" He may seek to become an e,
pert in one, as every true teacher doe
but in order to be this he soon lear1
that he must become an intelligent la.
man in all, if he shall be of the best tyl
ofexpert. In a word, life is a unity
which there is great diversity, and tt
chiefest duty as we'll as the highest a
tainmeut of the teacher IS to make h
own life one with the community lif
both in respect to its unity and its d
versity. This mein of the relations
the different forms of living to life as
whole suggest to life in the home ar
life in the school that they seek to di
! cover what they have in common ar
, what are the distinctive duties ar
. functions Of each.
A man on speaking Of one of b
teachers said, 81 never knew an j
f1uence so powerful and perfect as hi
He first brought me to realize how mut
a ..s III e.. * 4.