The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1913-04-10

ent school system is largely due to
too frequent changes in our teaching
force. These frequent changes re-
suit often from discontented patrons
who have no knowledge of the teach
er's efficiency except that what they
have gained from the prattling of
their children This frequent change
Of teachers works not only as an in
jury to the teacher but as a greater
injury to the child. No teacher can
properly develop a child's intelligence,
knowledge and superior nature until
he first understands such nature, and
this can only be understood after more
or less study Of each individual.
About the time the teacher learns the
characteristics Of his several pupils,
he is removed and new teacher Sc
lected who cannot do the efficient
work incumbent upon him until he
too learns the special characteristics
Of the several pupils entrusted to
his care. About the time he learns
yet another teacher is selected. This
course does not tend to promote the
best interest of the child.
Trustees are too frequently given
to nepotism in the selection Of teach
ers: that is to say, they too frequently
elect as teachers in the several schools
under their care, those who are re-
lated to some member OF the board
This is prohibited by law and it Is
not to the best interest of the schools
for the law to be violated by Boards
Of Trustees, yet it is frequently vio-
lated all over South Carolina. 1t is
your duty to ascertain whether or
not this law has been violated in your
County.
We can never hope to have good
schools in South Carolina until we
put more money into them and more
business management into the selec
tion of proper teachers. We have
by our false economy, almost driven
the men, as school teachers, from
the school room and substituted for
them little girl graduates from eigh-
teen to twenty-three years Of age,
who do not feel especially called to
teach as life work and who have
no idea of engaging in it for life but
who undertake to teach for few
years while they are waiting for mat
rimony. No one has right to oc.
cupy the responsible position of teach
er who is not divinely called to that
work. This divine call is just as i'm.
portant for the teacher as it is for
the Minister of the Gospel, and one
has no more right uncalled, to thrust
himself into the school room as teach
er than one has to thrust himself into
the pulpit to preacn the everlasting
Gospel without special call to that
work. No one can teach, however
thoroughly educated they may be,
who has not been endowed ith the
teaching capacity or talent. one may
have the talent and yet be worth lit
tie in the school room until that tall
ent has been developed by experience
Teaching is an art, and can only be
learned from experience, and yet you
and / are guilty of the folly of pay
ing as much to the teacher just out
of school with little or no expert
ence as we pay to one who has taught
for ten years. This is the only pro-
fession, calling or business on earth
where the novice earns as much as
the trained and experienced work
men. This is why all the men have
been run out OF the school rooms in
our country schools, and the work
Of teaching has been turned over
entirely to comparatively inexperi-
enced girls and we have made the sub
stitute merely because OF the fact that
we can employ the girls at very
small salary.
We boast Of the superiority OF the
present school system over anything
we have had in the past: this is but
an idle boast The old time academy
taught by one man for years in one
community did much more efficient
work than any II our modern schools.
| will grant that education is now
more general but 1 insist that It is
much more superficial than that OF
the past. Your father and mine paid
from thirty to forty-five dollars
wear tuifiOn For aocb obiI5 ,,,kuo 81