The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1913-03-21
TEACHING OUT OF SCHOOL

At the meeting OF the State
Teachers Association Friday night
in Columbia, one of the principal ad-
dresses was that delivered by .. b.
Martin, former state superintendent
of education and now connected
with the agricultural department,
on Teaching Out of School"
His address is given below:
In the first years of a child's life
he learns more than he does in any
other period of the same length. He
masters a language to such an eX-
tent that he can use it directly and
effectively. He learns the names
and characteristics of the material
objects about him. A child born in
the country has the advantage of
one born in the city in this respect,
because he learns plants, flowers.
trees and animals. He learns also
form, color and relation. He gets
lasting idea of the whole geo.
graphy within his horizon. He mas
ters the vocabulary of his mother
tongue and acquires working use of
it better than any college student
can acquire any other language up
on which he concentrates all the
powers of his mind. All his ideas
and conceptions are fundamental
and vivid and they are the basis of
the entire structure of knowledge,
information and training. which the
schools may undertake in the sue
ceeding years. 1t is passing strange
that the subject matters taught and
the methods of instruction used in
the schools are not based upon the
early experiences of the child and
are not natural evolution to them
1t is the great anomaly and paradox,
when the teacher opens mans mis-
cradle books she too often closes
the inspiring and beautiful book of
nature"
WHAT HAPPENED
1t is an outrage that through our
into the idiotic practice of teaching
subjects and not people. This is
just as true of the work done in the
colleges as it is of that done in the
elementary schools. This is the
principal reason why the teaching
profession is lacking in leadership
of the people and in influence and
power among them. 1t is one rea-
son why demagogues flourish despite
the protests and pleadings of those
who try TO teach. 1t is the reason
why you feel like fighting a fellow
If he calls you professor. You know
and he knows that he has used
term which in his mind, is almost a
symbol of reproach and ridicule.
Walter Page says in The Worlds
Work" for February, that the
school master of the future must be
a real man" 1t is high time that we
stop talking of teaching a subject
I because of the mental training it
gives. 1t is high time that we stop
leading children through the mys-
teries and ethereal realms of nonen-
tity on the ground that we are chas-
ing ideals and giving training in the
formation of character. We may as
we'll recognize the truth in the old
axiom, that character is caught, not
taught"
Some time ago | visited class of
teacher pupils who had meeting
before sun~up 1t was at summer
school The ages of the members
of the class ranged from sweet 10
to that doubtful limit where no wise
man will venture an inquiry The
object OF their work on that morn
ing was TO learn the names and
characteristics OF all the different
kinds of clovers and other legumes
which hourished in the vicinity of
the institution where they were
studying. The exercise was enjoy
able, and | have since traced its
beneicicnt influence in communities
100 miles away. The best part of
the work was done out OF the school
room
\ little later in the same summer
] saw country school teacher take
seven boys into a corn field which
had cOwpeas between the rows He
! pulled up some of the peavines and
! showed the boys the nodulcS on the
roots and explained the tiXatiOu of