Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-13
Written for The Star.


1--we seen a good deal in the papers about
the selection of school teachers in New
York city," said the man with the griz-
cling mustache, land I've noticed that those
on one side of the current controversy de-
teacher as ability to pass an examination.
desire to say. right here, that in my day
l was born and brought up in York state
personality was as important in the teach
ers of the district schools as education.
More so, in fact good deal more.
1T was his personality that made old Bill
Skeeles just the man to run the school in
the Simpkins district, where 1 went to
school In middle teens, and, from what /
hear. a personality somewhat like his is
still necessary to run the Simpkins district
school
There have been great changes in the
way OF running the schools in the United
states since | was a boy, in the country dis
tricts as well as In the cities and towns,
but I'm told the old Simpkins district school
runs along about as it used to- Whether
there are any Old Bill Skeeleses to teach it
nowadays, l don't know. I'd like to go
back to the Simpkins district and spend a
week there this winter, just to find out.
Farmer and Teacher.
'skeeles lived in Riker's Hollow, five or
He had a big farm, which he worked in the
summer. teaching in the winter only. He
was good representative of what was
then large class of farmer-teachers, men
of mature years, who would have been
ashamed to teach school in the summer,
when the pupils were small children only
In fact, they were untitled for the task
just as the young women who taught the
summer schools would have been altogether
out of place at the teachers desk in the
winter, when many of the pupils were big
boys unruly and manageable only by
grown men.
"Old Bill Skeeles was one of the best of
his class and always in demand in districts
where the winter teachers had been unable
to carry their terms through.
His grade may be understood from the
circumstance that while So a week and
board yourself was fair pay for winter
teachers in those days $40 more than aver
age, SO extra, and SIS almost unheard Of
our district paid him SIS a week the first
winter he taught its school. Skeeles him
self admitted that such big pay seemed like
robbery, but justified the price by referring
TO the fact that right at home, in Riker' S
settlement, he could get SIS and that the
trustees on Drinks Hill had offered him s17
Il never heard that anybody ever COM
planned of the discipline Skeeles maintained
after the first three weeks, either among
the little children, the young ladies' or
the big boys. But he had his own way of
opening a term, and this resulted in a few
mighty lVeiy encounters with the big boys.
His plan, apparently, was to let the
school almost run itself at first, and his
course surprised, almost to speechlessness
half a dozen of the ringleaders who had
ousted four or FIVE of his predecessors in as
many winters. Instead of bringing in with
him great heavy ironwood ruler and a big
black snake horse whip as they expected
he came empty handed
Instead of making rigid set of rules
and telling what would happen If any OF
them were broken, he said nothing at all
about rules. He made no tiresome address
OH the beauty of education and the duty
we owed to our parents and ourselves to
study. He didn't even tell us that any one
of US boys might become the President if
we would try hard enough.
Studied the Situation.
mo; about all Bill SkeeIes did on the
first day was to fix UP the school register,
assign the seats, and hear the reading
classes. He let US choose our seats to suit
ourselves; he said not word about whis-
perinS; he let as many of US as wanted to
stand by the stove and he didn't appear
to be paying very close attention to any
body, or anything.
las Jonas Smith, the twenty old
son of Henry Smith, the miller, said:
Skeeles acted like he was the easiest
teacher to get along with that ever came
into the district though, as Jonas also
said, he didn't look it, The latter remark
was certainly justified Skeeles was about