The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1910-04-28
PRES. FROST TO STUDENTS
Al Buckingham Place,
Brighton,
April 5, 1910.

Aprll D. l5lV'
Professor John w. Dinsmore.
My dear Professor Dinsmore:
am not supposed to think about
Berea. but l cannot help thinking
about you anG the great Normal De-
partment, and shall dictate this let
ter to them in your care.
have never had chance enough to
visit with you Normal students but
| mus. write you this letter TO impart
few OF the thoughts which are SO
constant In my mind. am anxious
above all things that you should have
broad ideas about your coming work
as teachers Just now most OF you
are bending every energy 10 the
task of preparing for teachers ex-
aminations. This is a splendid thing
to do. IL taxes all your powers OF at
tertion and memory and you Will
rightly think more of yourselves ever
after when you have passed good
teachers examination.
At the same time you very we'll
know that the examination is not
everything. A person may pass
good examination and still teach a
poor school and be poor stick him
self.
First of all ! would like to have
each one OF YOU give himself a little
lecture on what is necessary in good
teacher besides the possession of a
certificate A good teacher must be
able 10 convince parents and pupils
that going TO school Is wowrh while.
Nothing can excuse the teacher who
fails to get out a good attendance In
mis- district. The State makes great
mistake in paying for pupils who
never go TO school. IL Is your duty TO
get into your disric' and call on every
house long before school begins so
that they will plan and be on hand
the first day. And you must have
your plans all laid beforehand for keep
ing up the interest so that no pupil
will think of staying out OF school a
single day. You will take with you
compass and make a sundial which
win be the talk OF the district. You
will have a prism and delight the pu-
pills with rainbow oolors. You will
have a magnifying glass and show
them the leg OF fly or the wing OF
butterfly, and concentrate the
rays OF the sun and set paper afire.
You will draw pictures on the black
board and teach them To draw pic
lures You will have games for re-
cess time, and stories for noontime.
You will know how TO smoth away
the difficulties In advance when you
are giving oui hard lessons. and YOU
will have busy work" for the littlest
children so that they shall never sit
idle in the school room. Perhaps you
will be smart enough to get some
OF the older scholars 10 help you
care for the younger ones. not for
pay but for love and experience. And
you will be skillful enough to draw
ouf the olufl p'opiS W ohhNos NehNoA
and to some exhibition which you
will have towards the end OF the
term In this way you win become
the best friend to everybody in the
district, and whether you ever teach
there again or not they will remem-
Der you and bless your memory as
long as they live.
And then there is the matter OF
your own education outside of the
studies which the State requires IN
it's examinations. The subjects which
the State requires are all very good
and important but II you have studied
to any good purpose you have already
discovered that there are other things
which you must know about You
certainly must get hold OF the history
of England And you certainly ought
to study what we call physics, which
shows the principles OF machinery
and electricity and musical instru-
ments and half the graf inventions
Of the world. / wish each one of you
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