The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-09-05

to the front and is Dre-eminent in the
items of appropriation, school buildings,
equipment and teaching corps. there
fore congratulate you on the fact that
YOU are identified with the schools of
Utah
THE calling Of the school teacher is a
dIgulfled and noble one-eXacting and re-
sDOnslble. Personally I can conceive of
no lOftier vocation than that of the in
dlVidual whose business it is to mould
and shape and direct in proper channels
the young and tender mind. A desired
end is always most satisfactorily accom-
pllShed through sacrifices. The aims of
life. toward the contamination Of which
the labor of our existence is directed, do
but seem larger and grander in their &C
cOmplishmenU when that accomplishment
comes as the result of individual sacrifice;
and I have many times thought of the
great financial surrender force of power
must make when directed solely along ed
ucatlOnal lines. To be plain, I believe
that in proportion to the skill and train
ing necessary and the services rendered
no calling of the day is so meagerly COM
pensated as the calling of the school
teacher. So that in choosing this employ
ment the Individual does so without hope
of that personal financial gain which is
the reward Of honest labor and intelligent
effort in almost every other line of ac-
tFity TO which one may apply himself.
Teaching Is an Art.
school teaching is more than a voca-
LAfllr IT, Is an dLL- demanding III It's sue
cessful practice the exercise of the high
est mental. moral and physical attributes.
1t Is calling which carries with il the
most eXacting neutrality-suspicious. long
suffering, love. intelligence, rare judE-
ment, discernment and a life above re
pTOaCh.
Regardless Of the fact that you have
trained yourselves by long and careful
study, mapped out by those who have
made a life consideration Of teaching
Notwithstanding you have mastered the
theory or teaching there are certain fun
damental requirements in the successful
management of the child, apparent even
TO the layman, that must be followed,
and, at the risk of invading the pedagog-
ical field, I shall make mention Of them.
Granting the scholastic attachments of
the teacher and speaking from cOnclu-
slOnS based entirely upon personal obser-
walton and experience. I am satisfied that
the greatest factor in the success of the
teacher comes from his study of the in
dlvidual child and the child's environ
ment With the advancing civilization
and intelligence Of the people as a class
there have developed higher methods of
education. the old ways have given Mace
TO new and better means Of importing
knowledge; our entire educational system
has adjusted itself to meet the new con-
diuons. While this great change has
worked a marvel i'm the syStematizing of
education and methods Of teaching-after
an, the real prOblem-the child with its
individual traits Of Character-hOme en-
NlrOnment intellectual capacity-falls
upon the teacher i'm the daily associations
with the pupil No system of education
however perfect will ever entirely plfmi-
nate this problem-it belongs 20 and can
not be divorced from him OF her who
presides i'm the school room.
And therein, 7 take it, lies the exact
ing and difficult requirement of the
teachers calling. It is this point that
fops the profession Of teaching Of rules
and strict methods Of procedure. and
places the teacher upon his individual
tact and resource
The farmer sows his grain and knows
Ihat with proper care and attention he
VIII reap harvest. the mechanic Yields
the tools of his trade with uerfect knovl-
edge or what each stroke will bring. the
afusI approaches a Landscape with rea-
sonabie assurance that natures pictdre
Will De transferred to his canvas. the
scientist applies rules in his research that
must bring invariable results But fine
scluoImdSJer enters the portals of the
: CHOoirooH-sazes into the faces of the
shy ana the bold, the strong and the
weak, the trusting and the suspicious. fine
ROBUST and the punv, and before him are
as many varied dispositions. as MANY
cilluiSi, ambiuous hopes, as there are pu-
pllS- And somewhere Ia a vague hack,
ground Turk the impresses of the stubborn
patflmonies OF ancestry, the unvfeldine in
uuence Of environment and the differen
sion has developed
And 10 bring harmony and uniform
lJN OF purpose. and unity of means to a m
end, out Of this wide range Of human
traits, without destroying the individual
ity of single child. Is the task assumed
ty the school teacher. Tha inherent de-
sire for knowledge found in every child
makes the task possible
But, even with this strong allv and
the support of an enlightened system of
imparung information, there remains the
all Important task Of ferrCting out nv
psinstalSing labor the peculiar facts with
relation to each child and the adjusting
and setting Alright Of those things which |
do not harmonize. And this must be