The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1909-02-25
TEACHERS
Should be Physically
Perfect Says
Corson
AT CITY INSTITUTE

o. T. Corson. editor of the Ohio Ed
ucational Monthly, in speech before
the city Teachers Institute, at the
High school Friday afternoon, stated
that he believed teachers, ten years
hence. will be compelled to undergo
physical examination before receiving
their certificates. He believes that
laws subiecting all teachers to such
test will be passed, and ne thlnkS
that it will be entirely proper, lie
bases his statement upon the theory
that the success of any teacher IS
largely due to his or her amount OF
vital energy, and that the public VIII
demand instructors as nearly physical
ly perfect as possible, and possessed
of a great amount of endurance.
Mr.. Corson's address was entitled
"TeaChers' Surplus" He said: ut is
not of financial surplus that | speak,
for having been a teacher myself, |
am well enough acquainted with them
to know that they very seldom have
any surplus. | refer to teachers
surplus of vital energy. A teacher
who is teaching to the full power OF
his ability cannot last long under
the strain. A teachers success de-
pends greatly upon the power which
he has in reserve-~the surplus.
There is no work so exhausting as
school teaching. There is a great deal
of drudgery connected with it. | am
familiar enough with the vocation, to
know that it is anything but
heavenly. There has been nothing
that has so added to the amount of
the drudgery of the work as the pen
Gil and paper. The slate gave way to
n, tnh yNF fr
alleged unhealthfulness. Tablet ex-
ercises are overdone in all of the
schools. 1t tends not only to make
the pupils careless, but it adds to the
CarelessneSs of the teachers. Pupils
are required to do so much writing
that by the time they reach the high
schools 1t is almost impossible 10
read some of it.
There is scarcely anything so try
ing to the nerves of teacher as to
carry home with her each evening a
bundle of papers to be graded before
morning. By the time she has read
over a dozen of them, they all look
alike to her, and it is impossible for
her to grade them properly Oral
recitations are the only recitations
1t is for the public to reduce the
drudgery Of school teaching, and to
recognize the limit to the human en-
duranCe of a teacher"
Mr.. COrson brought considerable
applause from the audience, when he
said: Hold the tests in the morning
and dismiss in the afternoons so that
they can be graded without adding
more work to the teacher.
I'VE are having too many holidays.
You may not agree with me there but
it is the truth. The popular kind of
celebration of the birthday of some H.
lustrious person is to dismiss schools
l think that they should be open as
usual, and the occasion revered by
appropriate exercises, instead of oc-
cupying the day before this celebra-
ton"
The he scored the teachers for what
he termed The keeping-in habit" 81
hope" he said, that any teacher who |
has become addicted to this habit will |
break themselves of it as soon as pos |
sible. When a teacher detains a pu.
pill, he or she is being kept also There |
is nothing so essential to the health of |
teacher as an hour or more exercise |
after school hours and all rooms |
should be dismissed exactly on time. |
Most teachers are almost criminal |
IN Jnelr neglect OF physical exercise. |
Instead of seeking the proper recre-
alton, most teachers after school hours |
always want to 90 to a quiet place of |
rest"
Don't worry. l have found in my
own experiences that SO per cent of |
the trouble that l worried about never
came.
"A teacher who can make the pupils
N CTrNr fpV. Lon,
one. Yet it is being understood more |
and more each day, that intellectual |
training should not be the sole pur- |
pose of the school. 1t is important |
for the public to regard taking care
OF the health OF it's children as it's
most important duty, and | will saw
that this is being given more and |
more attention each day"
The last session of the institute will |
be held this morning between 9 to II.