Connecticut western news., 1911-11-30
STEVENS SCHOOL DAYS
OId-Timers Will Recognize Deacon's
 Pen Picture.
BY H. B. STEVENS

BY H. B. STEVENS
 To the Editor of The News:
 In "Everywhere" Magazine. (Will Carleton'sl for September, among his casual thoughts he had this: "A thought is good for nothing, unless it breeds more thoughts"
 do not know as my thoughts are worth anything. but they keep breeding more and more thoughts, and that in- definitely and think will jot down few of them.
 have been thinking over and review ing my childhood and youthful days, from the time I commenced attending school until I reached my majority. In those days there was no trace suicide" and wives were "helpmate" for their husbands. willing and happy to be mothers and make happy homes and teach their families good manners, good morals, and right living, which believe is the most blessed and glorious work in which woman can be engaged and means more for the cause of God and humanity. When these and all other duties necessary in caring for the family were faithfully performed our mothers had no time to teach children in the knowledge of books, so that must be left in charge of school teachers, and the progress the children made in learning depended much on the efficiency and faithfulness of the teacher, who was almost invariably male in the winter and @ female in summer. They had little tots in their letters to the oldest pupils in school, who were divided into classes and numbered first, "seoond, |" ''third," etc, beginning at the oldest and numbering down. In reading, spell ing and reciting they were called up in line on one side of the house, and in spelling were called out by numbers, beginning at the head of the class.
 In those days they used Webster's Spelling Book, and teachers gave out the lessons for each class, and the pupils were expected to study the lessons and thus become familiar with each word. When a class was called up for spelling the teacher called on the one at the head of the class to spell the first word of the lesson. If they spelled it correctly all right, and the next one in order was called upon to spell the second word, ,and so on through the whole class. If & word was missed it went to the next in order, and so on until 1t was spelled correctly and the one spelling it correctly took the place above the one who first missed it, and the one at the head of the class one day went to the foot of the class when they were called up the next day. In this way the scholars who had any ambition were stimulated to study and to know their lessons. not only in spelling but in other studies as well, and I remember 8 few of the scholars who were most frequently at the head of their class.
 As have already said, seventy-flve years ago mothers had no time to teach their children the letters of the alphabet and they had no blocks with letters on them to aid in learning them, and all such knowledge had to be acquired al school and many children were sent to school when very young-often not more than three or four years old. Some of the Lady teachers I remember used to bring little quills and pillows for the smaller ones, and wrap them up aud lay them on the benches and les them have a good nap and thus keep them quiet and save them lots of trouble and make the little ones happy.
 Of course the little tots did not attend school in winter, when they had a man teacher. remember my first experience in school. Like most of the little ones, I was rather timid at first, until we get kbecame well acquainted with the teacher, who would seat herself in her chair with Webster's Spelling Book iu her hand and call the whole class oi little ones around her and opening tc the alphabet would point to each letter and tell us their names and ask us tc name them after her and do this day after day until we could remember theil names. To ald us in remembering then she would call them straight I, round O crooked s, and so on, and if some were hard to remember, would chalk them on the stove pipe, telling us their names tC strengthen our memories. When wt had learned our letters we were taugh to put them together into words of on' syllable, consisting of two or nor, letters, such as by, try. what, midst ana so on, Then into words of two or more syllables. such as baker, botany, oere mony, etc. Then we were taught tC read sentences composed of words of one syllable, then of two or more syllables AS we advanced we learned to speI longer and harder words, such as ex aggerate, mucilaginous, inauspicious