The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-07-31
BY II. GARD, OF INDIANA.
IEron The World.s Work.l

began teaching when was only
seventeen going on eighteen. then
knew as much about making the idea
shoot as Rameses II. knew about cleo
tricity and the .incandescent light. The
place was the Old Reservoir School
house. in Clay county. Ind. The Old
Reservoir was swampy tract OF
several thousand acres. frequently
overflowed by the back waters from
Eel River. The good seasons found
the families al extravagant as pigs in
clover. and the bad seasons came
often enough t keep them as poor
as Jobs turkey It was American
raw stock right up to the brtm. Not
one OF my pupils has been heard from
in the world. SO it may be taken for
granted that my teaching In that
nook of the woods failed to give
single child the Lincoln-urge to press
forward and to achieve.
Many OF the patrons thought that ]
was too young to teach school. and
they were right about 1t. Mrs. Jack.
son said wasn't nearly as smart as
her Johnny Johnny wanted to go to
school that winter, but his mother
said that she would not let him come
to that little scrawny Gard kid. SO
she sent him to the adjoining district.
That gave my pupils the idea that
was quite small fry. because Mrs.
Jackson spoke as one with authority.
Whatever / taught the boys and girls
was taken under adyisement, and bits
OF 1t were discussed at home.
One of the problems In arithmetic
contained a reference to the Leaning
Tower of Pisa. Charlie Moss couldn't
do any figuring to speak of. so got
to wondering what the Tower was.
oc rpa or tap
minutes to explain, and then we had
to hurry to get through with the
lesson. because we had q regular cut
and-dried program in little corner
Of the blackboard. We tried to put
things through on schedule time be-
cause we didn't want to have any coll.
lisions with the recesses. The next
morning I received note from one
OF the patrons, In which she told me
that ought not to take the time
allotted to the arithmetic class to
Leading Tour to Fido" was. for 1t
was only a fable-and then Charlie
wasn't Just right. anyway Her little
son got his cards mixed or dealt from
the bottom OF the deck and didn't
understand the name.
Johnny Jackson thought that surely
the county; superintendent had made
mistake when he granted me a
license to teach. He began to test
my scholarship by sending me ques-
lions in United States history, and
requesting me to send the answers
that evening Like fool. thought
that my honor was at stake; so ]
would. write out the answers and give
them to Johnny's little brother The
first few days l made 100 per cent.
but one day he asked me where the
territory of the Seminole Indians was
previous to the Revolutionary War,
got tangled up in my latitude and
longitude. and dumped the Seminoles
into the Pacific Ocean. He compared
my answer with the answer in his
question book-and he mad me on the
blink. The green parents and the
greener teacher gave the boys and
the girls the inside track, and they
enjoyed the fun. We all looked on
education as the dry, lifeless coming
OF facts.
The cut-and-dried course OF studies
laid down by the State authorities en-
scourases such a belief The course
prescrlbes that certain parts OF q
subject must be covered within a
certain time. II you do not cover that
the pupils will fall In their examina-
tons. II any number OF them should
tall It argues concluslvely that you
are poor truck MS teacher During
this period you must cover common
fractions: next period, decimals; the
4 next, denominate numbers, and so on,
~ sounds all right on paper;F 1t looks
llka O summer day With its babRli1g