Smyrna times., 1904-07-06

exact, III the winter Of lslc =. ,bortI,,
after leaving Pennington Seminary.
We received the appointment a. priu-
clpal OF the school III Distr:c, No : II
hent County, Delaware. which -..o.l
was the larger one Of two IL Suuvru..
Our previous experience ia -rac..i.,
mad been confined to sLor, terms IN
New jersey towns, at intervals d.!ri..,
attendalce at the Seminary. SO the r--
sponSiblllty Of an eJucatiola. ia-.i-Y.
ton as large as the Smvr.a school
then seemed to us to be. was assumed
not without trepidatiou. However.
we entered upon our labors with high
spirits and a surplus Of hose.
At that time the raIlroaG iii r,.
enter the town, but the traveller p.3
TO leave the train some utue distance
away, and an oId-fasLIJ-gd .,s-r
coach, under the charge Of soc.air-
driver, conveyed him so Lis de,tira.
uon Beng young, enjoying exercise.
ana, moreover, not blessed with an
oVerabundauce Of worldly goods we
took the road, with few belou-iprs
under our arm and 50 made our first
appearance IN Smyrna sometime pre-
Vlous to receiving the appointment.
The town was prosuerov, L1.-,a..
center Of rich farming and frrr-
raising district, and the inhsb,tar-s
were mostly well to do. iutel.;-e.t
sociabie, and Iayi-lly ho,p.,ab.s
The Old No. Sehoolbouss in ls5,
The schoolhouse was two story
brick building, situated On ~.r.b
Street, if fmemorv serves IL. corrae-rv
and the senior class, OF which we b.I
charge, occupied the second door.
The lower story coutaiuedthe voan.er
pupils, under the immediate ,are ~ +.
young LAZY whose name we are unable
to recall. In those days each teacher
strictly attended to the charges under
MS or her care without much inrerf-t-
ence from the other. When the
youngsters had completed the course
OF study on the ground floor they w.,5
marched upstairs and given into the
charge of the teacher there
With the enthusiasm Of youth Ne
had high ideals, and graded the NJ
plIs INTO as many grades as was possi-
bic, outlined a regular program TO be
followed, and formulated a set of ruIes
Tor their conduct. One Of the penal.
ties inflicted for the iufraction Of a
rule was the copying of the entire set
given number OF times, and many
youth had the regulation indeliblv
impressed upon mis- memory in this
manner, let us hope to his lasting ben
eht. Some of the rules, which mum
oered twenty, are as follows:
Some Rules Strictly Laid DOvr.
Scholars will studiOusly avoid max
ing any noise with their books. states
feet, tables. chairs, or ANYTHING else .,
The scholars will be expected 10
maintain geDtlemanly and ladvlike
department both in school aud out.
This will be strictly required"
Scholars will not be permitted 70
use bad or improper language atany
time"
"No eating. especially chewing to-
bacco. will be permitted in study
hours"
"BOlsterous noise or any improper
conduct around the schoolhouse will
not be permitted" -"
These selections show the greatest
trouble teacher had to contend with
in those early days. While not at all
vicious, and probably without the
intention of doing injury to
he teacher, a certain amount Of skv-
arking and hOrseplay seemed to be
lecessary because of the highly de-
'eloped and uncurbed animal spirits
If the pupils. At first expressions OF
approval and disapDrOval were fre-
luently made during school sessions,
md states, books, feet, etc, were the
Mediums of expression; while outside
he school building there had hereto
ore been no restraint on any of their
ctiOns. In school tobacco chewing
ad been usual occurrence. Once a
ear, also, the teacher received a ride
endered him by the apprecIative
but the seat on toy of
ence rail was not the most cOmfor-
able in the world, nor was the gait
be most easy.
Teacher Was Sometimes Ridden on Raj
We came to school to teach, not to
kylark; to train the young men and
-omen to future usefulness, not to
ide rails for their amusement; and
e started right in with those pur-
oses in view. We were 1.-the and