The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-09-24
BETWEEN THE OLD
REGIME AND NEW
When One Teacher Was
the Whole Faculty.
AT CLOSE OF THE WAR
The Instructors Were Competent, AND
Had High Ideals, and The Boys Step
ped High When the Traditionary
Rod and Ruler Were Used to
Assist Them in Their Studies.

To the Editor:-I regret that
could not on account of press of busl-
ness, prepare short paper on Sound
teachers with whom l have come IN
contact" especially at that part of the
young life when contact with some
strong personality in the realm of
books meant SO much. When the
whole faculty consisted of one person
who was expected to take all who Of
fered and out of the most discordant
elements to bring accord and from
the most incongruouS material to
mould and shape the young character
of the community to better fill the
office OF honorable citizenship. My
experience deals with a time some
what between the old regime and the
new Tne rod and the ruler were not
yet discarded implements of bar
barrie period but were held in high
esteem by some and for the most part
their use met the approval of the
school patrons who. often however
were not aware of the occasions of
their employment because held by
the youth as q strictly family matter
between himself and the teacher. This
was good diplomacy, too. on the part
of the pupil for the parent was wont
to reflect that if the teacher licked
his boy he must have needed 1T and
would thereupon proceed to give him
a few stripes ''on general principles.
My lot was fortunately cast in a
neighborhood that was exceptional in
the large number of old families of
culture and refinement which insured
the employment of teachers that were
capable and efficient. Then in some
central locality not necessarily or often
a village or even a cross roads, but
geographically convenient to the
greater number the school would set
up and begin operations, perchance
with equipments most meagre-aside
from the teachers mental furnishment
because they had not as yet and in
that locality realized the need of bet
ter.
/ was about six or seven years OF
age when | entered the neighborhOod
school which was ably presided over
by a maiden lady who was we'll quail
flied in the usual English branches
and particularly strong in THE three
RS which We're, then, and, L suppose
! will ever remain, the prime essentials
but the modes of their teaching may
differ. She was painstaking and pa
tient a good disciplnarian and withal
of most kindly disposition and
doubtless it gave her pain to have to
use the rod increduously as the cal
low pupil might regard that state
ment The vista of years" has not
grown so dim that l do not call to
mind the keen and carefully trimmed
cedar switch from the thicket hand
by and the school house, which was
formerly a meeting house" named
Zoar, seemed an occasions to be en-
veloped in a sulphurous canopy-but
the fire and birthstone were of home
manufacture and not borrowed from
any near by Sodom and Gomorrah as
in the case of its Bible "name-sake
| must say it to the credit of the
good dame that she porbably never
gave me one lick that | didn't deserve.
To my own credit l will say, though
not boastfully 1 hope, that not one
lick was ever given me for lack of
lesson preparation.
l well remember the worst licking
/ ever had was not of the cedar va
riety but was in the line of moral
suasion" and was thus: My way to
school took me by the door of neigh
Dor where teacher boarded and one
gray and gloomy morning which
seemed to Indicate approaching bad
weather, |, together with other little
school companions, was commissioned
to go ahead to the school house-only
a quarter of mile distant-and there
wait half an hour when, if not one
came, we We're to return and report
and she would let us go for the day.
Duly arrived at the school house and
finding no one there we began game
of humble the peg to while away the
time, and bye and bye the arrival of
several pupils reminded us of our COM
mission and we noted that something
over half an hour had passed.
If my memory is not very treacher-
Gus, and | might well wish it We're
on some things, / conceived the
thought and whispered hastily to my
companions that more than a half
hour had passed when we saw the
others coming: Let us tell them
teacher said there would be no school
today, and we can tell the teacher
that there didn't nobody come in the
half hour like she said, so we come
back
There is nothing truer in holy writ
than the declaration BE sure your sin
will find you out" and in this case it
was not long finding US. Inquiries of
the teacher next morning as to why
she didn't hold school the day before
brought out the fact that while arri-
walls had been somewhat late there
had been a goodly number. Pending
the investigation there We're several
heads bowed over books in diligent
preparation of the lesson subject or of
some scheme to get out of the trou-
BILE which seemed imminent. The
crucial moment arrived. In tones as
solemn as the knell of a funeral bell
we heard our names called out by the