The farmer and mechanic., 1906-12-04
Il Miss ADA NnNIRIE


BT SIoS ADA NDsIRLE
Having been for two years q stu
dent in two Of DR.. .McTver's classes at
Peace instituted esteem it q privilege
to be allowed TO say few words as
tribute to his ability as a teacher
aud i" his very vital influence upon
the teachers Of North Carolina
''Know a thing and know that you
know it "Jf you have anything to say
stand up and say it, "Belicve in
your own self such sentences were
50 frequently upon his lips that they
have written themselves indelfbIv Oh
the memories of his students. They
reveal one of the secrets of his power
as Il teacher. namely his ability to
arouse, To stimulate, to evoke Seif-dc-
tiVity on the part Of students. He tried
to get us to think. To think wrong
IN was better than not to think at all.
An honest error could be corrected.
1t was only mental passivity which
he condemned He fought that atti-
tuGe Of mind which hlindly accepts
statement because it is on the print
ed page. Only that knowledge which
we aSsimiiated and transformed into
character, he insisted was worth any
thing. And so, dav in and day out.
no matter what the lesson might be
we were taught sincerity of purpose,
self reliance and the value OF an ideal.
Another secret of his power was the
pupils. The girl of narrow means was
encouraged to believe that her own
peculiar work awaited her in the
world, and she was inspired and en-
cOuraged to bend all her energies =
prepare herself to act well her own
part. Upon the other hand her latent
capabilities of the girl of wealth were
recognized; her duty was shown her:
her am mbitiOn was aroused: the beauty
Of gifted life, devoted not to ones
personal enjoyment primarily, but to
an earnest effort to extend the realm
of Queens Gardens. The beauty OF
such Il life l say was held up before
the eyes OF girls who, heretofore, per
haps had looked forward to the close
of school days that they might enter
upon a life of unrestrained pleasure.
Some Of us. he learned. intended &c
become teachers. His interest was dt
once aroused. y normal class was or
Sanized which met after school. DIS
there was no time for it upon the reg
ular program. In this class we made
our first experience with the eNpOund-
ers Of the principles of pedagogy. But
We should have an opportunity to
study Greek, he thought, so another
extra class was organized. although il
meant more work. for him. While
we were unable to accomplish much
without regular instruction, yet the
little book which he put into oul
of the Greek in English. and starteG
us upon a very pleasant and profitable
field of investigation.
These details [ mention because they
show how vital was his interest in u
and his appreciation of our individual
needs. But this wonderful insight,
this divine patience. this inspiring en-
thusiasm marked DR.. McIVer'S rcld-
tions with the teachers Of the state
Mr. Daniels, in his beautiful tribute t.
his co-Worker and friend, which ap-
pCared in q Sunday edition OF his great
paper, has given us A picture worthy
of painters brush-a picture Of Dr.
McIVer and his wife holding an insti-
tute in q little out of the way mOun-
tain town. Dr.. McIver realized, we
know, that some of these teachers were
pitifuIly ignorant. But there was ne
harShneSS, no Scalplng, no dcnuncld-
ton. Instead there was a sympathetic
recognition of the best that was IN
them. land, II quote-"as he talked
with as much earnestnesS and vim as
if the fate of the nation depended
upon arousing those country teachers
to see the greatness of their work
and measure UP to it, that ugly
looking court house seemed illumined
and those Care-WOrn and hitherto am
bitiCnIe&s faces shone with q new
light. Now the little company thai
entered the court house from d sense
Of duty went forth with a new resolve
in their hearts and Il fresh baptism
and new consccration to service
Can YOU estimate the far reaching
influence of such u spirit? Most OF
our teachers of younger children, ~
least, are women. Would you under
take to sum up the power for good
such q life as DR.. MCIVer'S has beer
in cnhcartcning these women?
But during al the institute work he
never lost sight Of the fact that IL
should have been done before the
teacher WAS permitted to teach. Hence
his college came into being; hence his
untirine efforts to get people to un-
dcrstand that 'it is just as great d
waste to employ unframed mon and
women TO teach children as it is TO
employ unframed men to build bridg-
cs and construct roads,
But he did not forget the other side
Of the question. lie urged that peuu-
riousncss i'll providing for the main
tenance Of public schools is rcspon-
siblc in large measure for the incom-
petents that are SO often found i'll the
teacher class.
He pressed home the shamefulncss
Of the fact that the very convict who
works the county roads is frequently
better paid than the teacher in the
county school house beside the roaH
To sum up: Or. McIver has vitality
influenced the life Of the women of
North Carolina First, by Stimulat-
ing work in the school room; second,
by inspiring those who felt their limi-
tatlonS to do the very best i'll their
power: third. by establishing Il school
where those limitations might be re-
moved; fourth, by holding up high