Year: 1874

is er oGicio Superintendent of Public In
struction. County Boards consist Of the
Commissioners OF school districts, who
elect their County Superintendent. The
officers of County Board are President,
Vice President, Secretary, and General
Superintendent. An Executive Commit
tee Of eight acts for the Board through
the General Superintendent, who may be
Secretary. A County Trustee has charge
OF the school funds. Counties are sub
divided into districts, which are both
judicial and school, districts; and these
elect each three district Commissioners
one each year-who become the general
trustees of the district school, and hold
their office for three years. They are
known as the Board of Education for the
district. who choose their own Clerk and
elect Treasurer.


The teachers are employed by the dis
trict Commissioners, who require certifi-
Gates. The county Board of Education





applicants to teach shall be examined,
and the qualifications required. The
county Superintendent is the usual exam
iner of teachers. A commo.l arrangement
of schools is into primary, intermediate,
and grammar departments. The two
| first named departments cover two years
each, and the third three years of study.
Scholastic age from 6 to Is yeas. The
branches taught are spelling, reading,
writing, mental and written arithmetic
geography, English grammar, and the
theory and practice of teaching. School
fund consists in county tax levies, the
county being the central idea of the Ten
nessee school system. The appointments
and lcvies both are made by each county
The Treasurer of the State is State SUI
perintendent mainly as an officer of fl
nance. \ Board of Commissioners for
the State, consisting of the Secretar.r of
the Stale, Comptroller of the Treasury,
the Treasurer and the Governor, We're
appointed last year to examine into, regu-
late and preserve the State school fund


THE OFFICE OF TEACHER.


The wisest and best men that have ap-
peGred upon the earth have come as teach
ers. In remote antiquity Coniucius came,
a teacher of righteousness and wisdom
lamong the Chinese. In refined and pol
'islled Greece, the wise Socrates was a
teacher; and the most distinguished men
of Athens walked with him about the
streets or in the groves in its neighbor-
hood, to listen to his instructions. His
pupils, Plato and Aristotle, were teachers
and their teachings have enlightened and
influenced the world down to- the present
time. Through all the history of the
Jews, their most venerable men were
teachers: to this day they arc teachers by
their writings Our Saviour was first
known as teacher of righteousness. lie
is still our teacher. The Office of teacher
is in its nature the highest office. That it
Is not universally considered such, comes
|
from The fact that SO many have entered
upon it without fitness of mind or char
acter for its numerous duties, and that
men are only beginning to estimate things
according TO their true value. 1t is in
deed no small matter to take charge of
school of thinking, immortal beings. to
educate their faculties, and prepare them
for all business and duties of life, without
some previous study Of the nature of
those beings, and some serious considera
ton of the manner in which they shall be
best fitted for their future position and
relation in life. The importance and res
possibility of the office of teacher are
sadly undervalued. A very common inn
preston is that any person of tolerable
character, who has been through school
and acquired the elements of the branches
taught, is qualified to teach; as if the art
of teaching were nothing more than
pouring into the mind Of another what
has been poured into ours; as if there
were no such thing as mind to act upon,
habits to form, or character to influence.
Fortunately, this state of feeling and
opinion is passing away. Men are begin
ming to see that, however valuable proper
ty may be to them, the happiness and
character of their children are much more
so that it is quite as important to get
suitable persons to take charge of their
schools, as of their factories, workshops.
or farms.


There is world of beautiful meaning
in the following rather liberal translation
from Freville:


GAS the clock strikes the hour, how often we say,
Time flies; when tits We that are passing away.
INTEREST RULES.


/ For finding the interest on any princi-
pal for any number of days, the answer,
in each case being cents, separate the two
right hand figures of the answer to ex-
press in dollars and cents.


Five per cent-multiply the principal
by the number of days to run, separate
the right hand figure from the product